I did an indoor triathlon today, a short, short one. 10 minute swim, 30 minute bike, 15 minute run. At 70, I was the oldest by far. I'm a lifelong runner, unable to run any more due to arthritis. And I've never been much of a biker with 7 month long winters in my area. That leaves one event where I can concentrate on improving. There were 27 people. I was #26 of 27 in the run (which I walked mostly). #24 of 27 in the bike. I suppose I might have been able to improve that by one place had I not dawdled in transition and started 2 minutes late. But I was #15 of 27 in the swim, despite being twice the age of most of them. I have my masters team coaches to thank since age and size did not hamper me as much as poor technique held the rest of them back.
...I have my masters team coaches to thank since age and size did not hamper me as much as poor technique held the rest of them back.
Yes, technique is King. That had to feel good. Way to go!
Congrats, Jack! Was your tri at Lifetime Fitness? I did one at a location near Philly. I'm only a few years your junior, and I think my result is pretty similar to yours, although I was able to run....just it's harder than it used to be. ;) My main interest was the swim. I wanted to see what I could do in 10 mins. Don't know my place off hand, but I wanted at least 450 yds, and I got to 460. The other stuff was just for the workout. Fun event!
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Good for you! I have tried those indoor tris and found that bikers can spin so fast so as to rack up points/time to discount any swim advantage we have.
Good for you! I have tried those indoor tris and found that bikers can spin so fast so as to rack up points/time to discount any swim advantage we have.
Triathlons of any length always favor to bike. It's the event you're on the longest, second is the run. You can only hurt yourself with a bad swim, and a good one can be undone by a poor showing in either of the others. It's just the nature of the beast.
It is my understanding that Triathlons favor bikes pretty much by accident. In Hawaii there was a swim across the bay race-2.4 mi, a bike around the island race-112 mi, and the Hawaii marathon- 26.2 mi. As I heard it, 6 guys drinking beer said" what if we do them all in one day." The rest is history, but that is how they got the ratios.