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Post by robreddy on Feb 28, 2013 11:31:57 GMT -5
From the FORUM Vault - #3 As part of CTC's 10 Year Anniversary Celebration we want to highlight some of the very best discussions that have been held on the CTC FOURM. So the thread up today discusses the idea of making the decision to 'move up' in race distance from Oly to HIM - which I think at this time of the year a number of people are starting to think about as race entries are starting to be made. Would love to hear some more chatter on this topic - What do you all think - when is it time to make the 'move up' from Oly to HIM or HIM to IM?  clevetriclub.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1047 |
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Dez
Newbie
Posts: 16
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Post by Dez on Mar 8, 2013 12:11:48 GMT -5
This will be my 4th year doing triathlons and I think I am finally ready to try the half ironman distance. I am a sprinter at heart and I was a sprinter my entire swimming career and I am best at the sprint distance Tri's but now I have done 3 olympic distance tri's over the past 2 summers and think I have finally found my pace and want to go to the next level. I am planning on signing up for the Rev3 half at cedar point. I feel this will be a good first HIM race since I have heard that it is a fairly easy course, it is close to home, I have all summer to train outside and there is the training day for the bike course.
I have started to set up my training for the summer and since I am a swimmer I have decided to mostly concentrate on the biking and running. I have ran 2 half marathon's before but I want to make sure I can do it after the swimming and the biking. The biking is my weakest and I plan on putting most of my efforts into improving my biking and getting my miles up.
The part I am most worried about is the nutrition. In the 3 olympic's I have done I only had water/gatoraide on the bike and run and that's it. I know different things work for different people and that it is a very tricky thing to get right but I honestly don't even know where to start. Is there a class you can take? haha I have never tried GU but I have a feeling I won't like it. I do like "Stingers" (I usually eat a couple before races) but i don't know if they are even an option they might just be for energy and not sustinence.
My main goal is to finish the race...I tell myself this because I don't want to get into that sprinter mentality and give everything i've got in the swim and the bike and then die on the run...which I did in my first olympic. So with the goal to just finish I feel I will pace myself better... I just need to figure out the nutrition.
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benv
Sprint Member
Posts: 28
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Post by benv on Mar 8, 2013 12:45:08 GMT -5
Actually the first triathlon I signed up for was a HIM, Vineman 70.3 to be exact. Registration opens in November and the it sells out in a few days so I decided to just take the plunge. When I signed up I did not even know how to swim (seriously) and started taking beginners lessens shortly after. (I was also about 30-40lb overweight at the time).
Point being - I think you can start at any distance and any time is a good time to move up. You sign up, an create a training plan for that specific distance and that's really as complicated as it should get. You will figure out a lot of nutrition from experienced team members, coaches or articles on the web.
That first season included many firsts - from reaching the other side of the pool doing freestyle for the first time, to my first half marathon, first sprint tri, olympic tri etc in the months leading up to the HIM.
In my 2nd year I moved up to IM distance (focusing on 1 HIM and 1 IM that season plus some shorter races). Year after was similar incl 1 IM and 1 HIM. This year will be 1 IM and 3 HIMs. So I think anyone can move up to IM distance also very quickly. Maybe not in the first year (though I know somebody who did an IM as his first ever tri), but definitely the year after having done a first HIM.
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benv
Sprint Member
Posts: 28
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Post by benv on Mar 8, 2013 12:48:35 GMT -5
This will be my 4th year doing triathlons and I think I am finally ready to try the half ironman distance. I am a sprinter at heart and I was a sprinter my entire swimming career and I am best at the sprint distance Tri's but now I have done 3 olympic distance tri's over the past 2 summers and think I have finally found my pace and want to go to the next level. I am planning on signing up for the Rev3 half at cedar point. I feel this will be a good first HIM race since I have heard that it is a fairly easy course, it is close to home, I have all summer to train outside and there is the training day for the bike course. I have started to set up my training for the summer and since I am a swimmer I have decided to mostly concentrate on the biking and running. I have ran 2 half marathon's before but I want to make sure I can do it after the swimming and the biking. The biking is my weakest and I plan on putting most of my efforts into improving my biking and getting my miles up. The part I am most worried about is the nutrition. In the 3 olympic's I have done I only had water/gatoraide on the bike and run and that's it. I know different things work for different people and that it is a very tricky thing to get right but I honestly don't even know where to start. Is there a class you can take? haha I have never tried GU but I have a feeling I won't like it. I do like "Stingers" (I usually eat a couple before races) but i don't know if they are even an option they might just be for energy and not sustinence. My main goal is to finish the race...I tell myself this because I don't want to get into that sprinter mentality and give everything i've got in the swim and the bike and then die on the run...which I did in my first olympic. So with the goal to just finish I feel I will pace myself better... I just need to figure out the nutrition. I think the nutrition part is something you got to figure out yourself ultimately, but remember you have plenty of opportunity to evaluate things in training. Every training is good to learn something from! I record all my nutrition after every ride in my log - it often helps me get a lot of insight, such as when I run out of energy (bonk), what seems to be too much, etc. |
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Post by jen on Mar 8, 2013 14:04:11 GMT -5
One of the first things to figure out is how many calories you need. You might not need as much as you think...your body can only handle so much per hour while racing. Most females it's about 200-250cal/hr on the bike to aim to take in. So you can figure roughly how long you'll be riding and what you need. It's a good idea to take the calories in over the hour-not all at once. For hydration roughly a bottle/hr is a good goal. On the run you won't be able to take in as much. Obviously these are just starting points and trying things out in training is a must.
For example in a HIM for myself I take in about 600 cal on the bike (2:35-2:45) and then 2 gels (about 100cal) on the run. I have used a mix of things and lately like First endurance and honey stinger gels. I will now have to be figuring out nutrition for IM which is a whole other topic!
Good luck!
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Dez
Newbie
Posts: 16
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Post by Dez on Mar 11, 2013 12:04:09 GMT -5
I will definitely have to record everything I try during my training to figure out what works and what doesn't. And figuring out how many calories I actually need will be key.Thanks for the great tips!
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Post by Jeff Uzl on Mar 11, 2013 12:47:37 GMT -5
It seems as if every time I read someone's post I learn something new. Ben, thanks for the tip. It never crossed my mind to log my nutrition. I always log my specific training workouts and now I'm going to start logging nutrition as well. It will be interesting to see what is revealed.
As far as the topic of moving up in race distance. There are so many variables that this is not an easy answer. Age, previous athletic experience, schedule of available time to train, specific race goals. Whatever you choose, understand your long term goal is to stay whole, overuse injuries from lack of proper base are no fun.
Dez, you may want to look into a heart rate monitor and train and race in the "zones". I recently started training with one and I can't believe how helpful it has been. Looking back, I think the HRM could have improved my HIM time last year. Also, there are some tremendously experienced cyclists in this group. I learned a ton from people in group rides last year.
This is my 3rd season of triathlon. First season Sprint, 2nd- Oly's and 1 HIM, this year's schedule- Sprint, Oly, 2- HIM, 1 full HIM.
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