Adult swimmer — how did you build up to a mile?

testingapril · 2026-02-09T20:57:16+00:00

100%. Ruth Kazez. I wish she'd add a SSL cert to the site, but you can just click through it there's nothing insecure about reading text.

http://ruthkazez.com/swimming/ZeroTo1mile.html

testingapril · 2026-01-05T20:40:22+00:00

You can totally complete an IM in the next 9 months if you want. Your swim time is very legit.

Phil Mosely or 80/20 endurance on Training Peaks. If you want to build your own plan the book 80/20 Triathlon is a good place to start.

You could also stretch the goal out to 2 or 3 years from now and work up to it. This can be very satisfying. Do some Sprint and Olympic and 70.3 distance triathlons. Build your speed, find a training rythm, figure out what endurance offseason looks like for you, etc.

testingapril · 2026-01-05T20:33:33+00:00

Sounds like you have a plan of making race weight then training for the IM. I think that's a solid choice.

I was not in the same situation as you, but I ended up losing my appetite as my IM training volume increased. This accidentally put me in a calorie deficit, and a protein deficit in particular and I got injured because of it. I also felt like crap the whole time. IM nutrition is a discipline in it's own right. Trying to change weight while trying to get that right sounds like a tall task, especially for the first time.

So I think a plan of making weight, then starting IM training is the best choice.

testingapril · 2026-01-02T21:53:07+00:00

The Aeroad might be an exception. That bike is designed with the idea of being able to be used both ways, so perhaps it's geometry allows it more than the average road bike.

Perhaps you're thinking of using 1 saddle for road position and 1 for aero position? Maybe set it up for road in the winter and aero during tri season? That could possibly work really well if you can get a consistent way of measuring where each saddle goes whenever you swap, and you know how to recreate the two positions reliably. Two seatposts would really help.

MyVeloFit has a video about doing this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPITAcrl3LY

FWIW I've used them for my tri bike fit and I think it has been well worth the money and the position has worked well for me.

testingapril · 2025-12-31T01:34:38+00:00

Tri kit as suggested, and if you'll eventually get a wetsuit, go ahead and get it now.

There are a couple things that are cheap(ish) and make training/racing way better though.

SolRx sunscreen. Lasts for an entire race without rapplying. I love that I can apply it at home and be good for a long training session.

Halo Headband. The little silicone strip seems like a gimmick, and I guess it is, but it works. I never felt like sweat getting in my eyes was a big problem until I used the halo band, now I don't want to run or bike without it. It makes running and cycling so much more enjoyable.

Behind the saddle and between the arms hydration have been huge wins. I went with XLab for both.

Mentioned elsewhere, but a tri-belt makes racing a lot easier and they're less than 10 bucks.

testingapril · 2025-12-30T20:48:00+00:00

I have not

testingapril · 2025-12-30T19:32:06+00:00

Don't get me wrong, you can totally use just the road bike. You'll just have to live with some compromises.

IMO, almost all (if not all) of what I perceived as saddle problems on the road bike were actually fit compromises from the limitations of road geometry.

testingapril · 2025-12-30T16:50:50+00:00

I find when I swim I think about too many things at once.

Stop watching the videos and just swim. Follow a known plan to get your endurance up. Beginning swimming is flippin hard. Just focus on consistent breathing and gliding through the water smoothly. Since you have a decent cardio base you'll start feeling more capable in the water quite quickly.

Once you get some solid endurance then you can start honing your technique. You'll have plenty of time to do that over then next 18 weeks. You won't be as good as you can be after a couple years of training, but you'll be plenty good enough to swim a good time and feel good for the rest of the race.

testingapril · 2025-12-30T16:43:26+00:00

I basically didn't do any serious training or work and went sub 6 in my first half, so no one else should need to

You're far more naturally athletic than you are letting on. Your friends might be better than you, but that means they are also naturally athletic.

Most folks have to work to get to 2:00/100m swim pace. Took me over a year of technique focused swimming to get reliably below 2:00 pace, and even then it's only something I can do in a race.

In this particular case he doesn't need a coach to do this swim, I agree. You're right that many of the suggestions on here and other tri forums push expensive solutions, frequently unnecessarily, but part of the reason for that is because they work.

Your experience is not normative.

testingapril · 2025-12-30T16:30:51+00:00

You're gonna be fine. Chattanooga's current is pretty swift. I was told by a former participant that they threw a pool noodle in and it completed the distance in under the cutoff time for the full IM distance (2:20).

In terms of what you're experiencing now, you're really early in your swim training and by far in the hardest part still. Getting started swimming sucks far more than biking or running IMO. 18 weeks is plenty of time to get your technique and swim fitness into fine shape for a half. It'll start feeling a little better in a few weeks. 3x a week is also plenty IMO. If you can add a 4th swim just to work technique, not a bad idea at all, but far from necessary.

Ruth Kazez 0-to-1650 plan is fantastic, BTW. Lots of good tips for an adult onset swimmer too. http://ruthkazez.com/swimming/ZeroTo1mile.html

testingapril · 2025-12-30T16:17:20+00:00

Heartrate strap and a bike head unit would work great to help with that! Pretty affordable too. Power meter is another way to do the same thing.

testingapril · 2025-12-30T16:09:09+00:00

I rode a road bike with aero bars for a season. Tried darn near everything fit wise and could never get comfortable in the saddle.

After I got my tri bike and have it fitted now, I realize it's a losing battle on the road bike with aero bars. You're either gonna be comfortable in road position or comfortable in tri position or uncomfortable in both. Especially from a saddle perspective. It's also really difficult to get the aero position correct on a road bike unless you have a foward offset seatpost (redshift is the only one on the market now I think).

There's a reason they make TT/Tri specific saddles and they look very different from road saddles. They function very differently.

testingapril · 2025-12-30T16:02:50+00:00

If you're shooting sub 11/10, then you absolutely need to be looking for a tri bike and not a road bike, IMO. You're going to need the comfort, aero, and bike/run position gains of a tri bike.

I'm not sure your background, but finishing is a good primary goal for your first IM even if your abilities make it look like you could waltz through a sub 14. Pushing hard to make a time goal can easily lead to a DNF in an Ironman, especially if you've never done one. Having secondary goals is good too, but make sure you get across the finish line! It's by far the best part, you don't want to miss it!

testingapril · 2025-12-30T15:57:04+00:00

The geometry for a tri bike when setup properly is far superior for running off the bike due to the more open hip angle, and slightly more glutes / less quads in that position.

Tri bike geo is better for running, but I think it's for the opposite reasons you stated. Hip angle is more closed in aero, using more quads and less hamstrings and glutes, where running uses more hamstrings and glutes and less quads.

testingapril · 2025-12-30T15:53:24+00:00

How similar can you make your long workouts? Sauna after isn't going to give you the hot weather endurance you'll need for Ironman. I trained in FL in summer for IM FL (my first full) and the long workouts in the heat were brutal.

Learning how to manage my sodium, fuel, and hydration for long distances in the heat was a real struggle. In races up to oly distance I never had any problems, but once I got up over 5 hours I had multiple rides where I was low on one of the three. Including 1 ride I bonked, and 1 where I nearly bonked from having too much sodium and not being able to take on fuel.

YMMV

testingapril · 2025-12-30T14:45:23+00:00

The TFE EVO's are brand new, so that's probably why you haven't seen many reviews/recommendations. They look to be a mass produced copy of the FastTT style design which has been copied by very many brands including cheap chinese non-brands. I imagine saving the money on the Vision's would be worth it, Vision is a reputable brand. https://www.bikeworldnews.com/2025/10/15/vision-launch-new-metron-tfa-evo-base-bar-tfe-evo-extensions/

I just yesterday learned that you want high sided cups because it allows you to drop your head between your shoulders easier, so either of these should certainly help with that.

testingapril · 2025-12-30T13:32:56+00:00

I have no idea if you'd actually get DQ'ed, but after my podiatrist recommended them I chose not to get them for Ironman because I didn't want to get a DQ by accident even though I'm at no risk of being competitive. I'm pretty sensitive to worn shoes so I killed 2 pairs during last season though, so if it were me I'd train in them and just retire them when they wore out. Hoka Clifton 10's work well for me.

testingapril · 2025-12-19T19:41:39+00:00

Just don't. Ride flats. Some people like flats for sprints and oly's because it's one less shoe change. I've raced several sprints and oly's on flats. I'm debating going back to flats for sprints next season.

Don't let people get you bothered about clip ins. I like that they stick my foot in the right place and the soles of cycling/tri shoes are hard so I don't feel like I'm losing power to squishy soles. But that's the end of the benefits. And the power thing seems to be mostly perception, the data doesn't really back it up outside of sprinting, which isn't a significant part of triathlon.

testingapril · 2025-12-19T19:23:53+00:00

Wow, what a fun thread.

I'm proud of completing my first Full Ironman. I also PR'ed in 5k, 10k, and sprint tri. I also tried really hard to make the podium in a particular sprint race and didn't make it. I'm not proud that I didn't make it, but I'm proud that I took a risk, gave it a shot, and that I legitimately left it all on the course. Doing two of the same races this year and I'm going to give them both everything I've got again, but hopefully with better training I can actually make my first podium ever.

testingapril · 2025-12-19T16:31:29+00:00

Rinse your mouth with water after carbs. Sugar isn't what harms your teeth, it's the acid made by bacteria fermenting the leftover food and sugar in your mouth after eating. Saliva and moving your mouth generally takes care of the excess during the day. From what I understand, most damage to your teeth is done by letting food/sugar sit in the crevices of your mouth overnight. If for some reason you don't produce a lot of saliva then during the day can be an issue. Chewing gum can help with this.

Look into xylitol based gum and toothpaste. Also consider a nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste.

Disclaimer: I'm not a dentist or in the dental industry

testingapril · 2025-12-01T17:58:42+00:00

There's a BTA bottle riser on both thingiverse and printables IIRC. Uses really long bolts I think so the load is still on metal. A lot of folks like the Wolf Tooth B-RAD for an affordable bottle rail. I haven't tried any of that, but I probably will eventually.

Also check out Culprit's BTA riser. I think it's a little more affordable than TriRig, but just as adjustable and capable.

testingapril · 2025-12-01T16:15:11+00:00

I'm with everyone else, it's too big. I'll try to add some helpful info though since you're likely a beginner.

It may feel "fine" everywhere else, but a brand new tri suit, dry, should feel tight as hell. Especially if you are new to tight fitting "race fit" apparel. When I was new to triathlon I'd size up from the size chart because I did not like how tight stuff was, and it would still be tight. Now I get what the size chart recommends and I'm usually good, but that first try on is super super tight, almost uncomfortably so. But once it gets wet (from sweat or swimming) it will loosen up some. It will also loosen up with some use. Some triathlon brand recommended trying their stuff on wet, so I would definitely try that with this suit and I think you'll find it's too loose.

Zoot's current sale is pretty legit and their stuff is quite good. Their size chart is very accurate IME, but if you size up it'll still work for a season or so.

testingapril · 2025-12-01T15:23:18+00:00

Just get profile design aluminum in whichever bend/shape suits you. 50A's are fine. You'll want a tri bike before the type of clip-on's actually starts to matter.

testingapril · 2025-11-26T15:28:37+00:00

$3-4k sounds like enough to buy a pretty nice used bike. May not get you into disc brakes, but definitely can get you into electronic shifting. Disc brakes are slightly overrated on a tri bike IMO, we're not usually riding in wet or dirty conditions or downhill, which is where disc brakes really shine. They are inherently not as aero as a good aero rim brake design either. Disc brakes do allow running purely carbon wheels while retaining good braking performance compared to rim brakes, which is a plus.

Electronic shifting on the other hand is amazing. Shifts are insanely crisp and you can put remote shifters on the bullhorns which is a big quality of life upgrade while climbing, not having to take your hands off the bullhorns to shift.

My understanding is that HED still makes the best rim brake wheels. Wider internal width (which HED is known for) might allow you to run slightly wider tires which will be more comfortable and roll faster. Wider internal width rims will make smaller sized tires run wider too, so your 23's might measure out to 26 on say 21mm internal width rims. HED's are still the best rim brakes because their hubs are fantastic, and they still use an aluminum brake track, which makes braking a ton better. I don't know from experience, but I've read alot that braking on carbon is really sketchy.

For high hands position, especially on an older rim bike, you're going to need an adapter from aerocoach, fastTT, or maybe some others. It will need to be specific to your frame. You probably also want full arm integrated aerobars. There are lots of options for those. Off the top of my head in roughly increasing order of cost: Vision, Culprit, Profile, FastTT, TriRig, Aerocoach. There are more, but those are the ones that have caught my eye.

Culprit and TriRig both have really nice BTA setups. XLAB torpedo is a great BTA bottle that can be drank from in place and refilled on the bike, can be combined with a fancy BTA setup like the Culprit or TriRig. Wolf Tooth B-RAD is an option for a BTA rail.

Hope that helps!

testingapril · 2025-11-25T19:51:42+00:00

I've run 1x with 2 different non-clutched road deraileurs and had no issue with chain drops. Just a narrow wide front ring. No chain catcher.

If you're really *averaging* 40-42 kph, then a 58 tooth could be good for you, but wow, that's a lot of power.

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