Triathletes

I would love it if more "try" athletes came out for the masters workouts. The bottom line though is that masters workouts are very intense (I don;t have to tell this group, obviously)...much more intense than any interval training you can do in practically any other sport...including triathelon training. After 4 years of high school and college lacrosse, 5 years of bike racing at the CAT 3 level including cyclocross and track...nothing will kicks my butt like a masters swimming workout. I am just proud to be able to actually complete the sets, frankly. A full college workout for one week is one of the most difficult things I have ever heard of. I have never done one and I am amazed that people do that day in and day out. No sports workout can compare! The tryathletes also have a very hard time keeping up unless they have a swimming background and they are unwilling to work hard on the other stroke. We have had several come through our program and disappear....

The tryathletes also have a very hard time keeping up unless they have a swimming background and they are unwilling to work hard on the other stroke. We have had several come through our program and disappear.... This is a very good point. Most of our team is tris and a typical "swimmers" workout differs from what tris usually do for swimming. This can drive them away and quickly. However, the ones that do remain become much stronger swimmers than those who think a swim workout is slapping on a pull buoy, fins and powering out a 1500 yard swim. I also see a lot of the tri training programs that are low yardage and kinda pathetic. I guess the goal is just to finish the swim.

I stretch a lot. No need for Balco with the daily massages ...

Geek: Maybe a bad point in time in Dixie region (I just checked again using the USMS link), I find 3 events for the remainder of the year! There are more running events than that this weekend in my little town outside Atlanta. Maybe I'm not using the right search engine. I've been checking the paper (AJC). I would love to be wrong. Point me in the right direction. :help: I'd love to one day be able to race (and get killed by you guys), the pools (4) I go to don't even have blocks!:shakeshead: There are many more masters runners than masters swimmers. Anyone can run. As a technique sport, swimming is much harder to master, especially if you lack an age group background.

There will never be as many pool events as running events. To have a road race you need a road and there are a lot of roads. Pool space is very limited, usually highly sought after and expensive. Staffing a meet is also difficult. Plus, everyone can run, or most everyone anyway. But, there are no Galloswimmers, where you can stop and dog paddle in the middle of your 200, except for Stud. The point is swimming requires a level of fitness and competence, whereas most road races these days are full of walkers or run walkers or fun whiners. On the other hand, it does pack em in to running events. Maybe we should have noodle races.

Poolraat: Alan Webb is just a local hero. It's fun for the kids here to meet him at events or on the local trails. I guess we'll see how he does in the semi-finals tonight. But he was pretty speedy the last time he ran! Alan is a great runner, just needs more international experience. He struggled a bit in the semis (I watched it during my lunch hour) today but is in the final. I hope he has a good race there but if it's a tactical race he may have problems again.

I was approached by a gentleman from a *shall remain nameless* local club earlier this summer. He, as a pool swimmer of all four strokes, was fed up with being a 1:9 minority in his pool and suffering through too many mid-distance free-only workouts, and was looking to start a new masters superteam. So look out for the NFTA - pronounced Nafta - team (No F'in Triathletes Allowed) at a USMS meet near you.

I don't know about that at all. You can get totally suited up for swimming, including the latest in meet gear, a practice suit and goggles for less than $400. You go grab bag and you are set for $30. You can't even sniff a bike with the latest gear for anything under $3K. Average equipping of a bike will run you at minimum $500-$1000, forget about the change of season wear. You want a top of the line bike and top gear, you are looking at well over $5K, way way over. Then, for some strange reason, you continue to nickel and dime yourself to death on the thing. Every biker I know is always buying something new. Then you got to tote your bike around, there's another few hundred for a rack. Triathlons are about 2-3X as expensive as swim meets for registration. As to environmental impact - roads also cost money to build, I've heard $1 million a mile these days. Every biker and runner I know also belongs to a gym so that is a wash with swimming. If you are a serious runner, you are looking at $200+ a year in shoes, plus warm and cold weather wear, which is probably comparable to swimming.

I was approached by a gentleman from a *shall remain nameless* local club earlier this summer. He, as a pool swimmer of all four strokes, was fed up with being a 1:9 minority in his pool and suffering through too many mid-distance free-only workouts, and was looking to start a new masters superteam. So look out for the NFTA - pronounced Nafta - team (No F'in Triathletes Allowed) at a USMS meet near you. I was told by a lady from a *shall remain nameless* local club earlier this summer that she was fed up with being a 1:9 minority in the pool and suffering through too many mid-distance or long distance free-only workouts, and was now ditching her tri-dominated team to practice with a USS team. I'm happy to practice with tris, especially those with an open mind who want to learn to "swim." But no way in hell am I doing all freestyle pace workouts. I know one fellow who insists on doing that 24/7. He's called Mr. Freestyle. It's not a compliment. This thread makes me glad that I have to work out on my own a lot. Geek is right. Running gear really adds up.

Geek - amen on the costing there! These are expensive habits we have. I did have the beauty of beating a friend of like athletic ability in the bike portion of a triathlon a few years back. He had just bought a new road bike... And I was on my mountain bike. He was pretty peeved about that. Despite the victory, I went out and bought a new road bike for myself a month later. Or better- hockey - all my equipment was $700+ just to try it out... sure, I am having a good time injuring myself. but yeah, nothing like swimming!