Triathletes

I've been following this thread and I must say that these are truly tri-ing times:shakeshead: Here are a few of my own observations: I don't swim in a group as such but since I swim when the pool opens at 05:00 AM all the folks are regulars and you know them all. In the last year or so we have had a few triathletes coming in a few times a week. Yes they swim free exclusively (except for a little c/d at the end of the session) but most of the non-triathletes also swim mostly freestyle. Some of them are excellent swimmers, some fair and some poor. They all follow a pre-planned w/o they bring with them. They seem to be very inovative - always willing to try something new. Alot of them have gotten into TI (an Israeli branch opened up this year) recently.Yes, they are a little cultish but hey, so is Tom Cruise. As long as they don't make me run 10 kms. I'm fine with them.

John, Your right triathletes are a PITA. You should understand though that since the swimming is the wussy of the three legs, that 99.9% of triathletes care very little about it. And those that do, are the back of the pack'ers. The only ones that are a PITA are the ones that beat you in the swim, I'd bet. My sister is a tri but swims 3 times a week with a good masters team. She did world's a few years ago (several times in fact but one I can remember), came out 72nd in the swim over all - men and women- and finished 245th overall. Does doing so well in the swim make her a back of the pack'er?! I think not. I'm woth Fort. If tri's were equal in the swim as they are to the bike and run distance, more people would be dropping out. Alison

Hey Josh, don't bring my crazy 12th cousin into this! .... No problemo. I like my couch.:bouncing:

Yep, the swim portion should clearly be longer. End of my comments on this thread. Was actually trying to post somewhere else.

The only ones that are a PITA are the ones that beat you in the swim, I'd bet. My sister is a tri but swims 3 times a week with a good masters team. She did world's a few years ago (several times in fact but one I can remember), came out 72nd in the swim over all - men and women- and finished 245th overall. Does doing so well in the swim make her a back of the pack'er?! I think not. I'm woth Fort. If tri's were equal in the swim as they are to the bike and run distance, more people would be dropping out. Alison If being the key word here. I don't participate in triathlons but I can see why somebody who does would spend more time cycling or running. It makes sense.

The swimming leg of a triathlon is the equivalent to the breaststroke leg of the IM.....a necessary evil. That's funny. The swim is my favorite part of a triathlon, and breaststroke is my favorite swim stroke. I would never swim IM though, nor would I use breaststroke in a triathlon for anything other than sighting or shaking loose a foot grabber. I do agree that the swim portion of most triathlons is way too short.

The swimming leg of a triathlon is the equivalent to the breaststroke leg of the IM.....a necessary evil. Sadly in the triathlon that leg has very little impact in the success of the race (the main goal being to come out of it relaxed and smoke all the "swimmers' on the bike/run)...whereas in the IM our misplaced gymnast type-breaststrokers usually dominate....such an unfair world!

That's funny. The swim is my favorite part of a triathlon, and breaststroke is my favorite swim stroke. I would never swim IM though, nor would I use breaststroke in a triathlon for anything other than sighting or shaking loose a foot grabber. I do agree that the swim portion of most triathlons is way too short. I'm with you Slug. Except I will do the IM (400 is my focus event for SC nxt year) Muppet, I like your tri! Alison

Here's another idea... All triathlons are swim>bike>run. Mixing up the order of events by Triathlon would certainly a)mess with people's heads; and b)put more emphasis on well-rounded athletes . Swimshark, you and I both know of this being an actual event... Tri It Now runs a reverse tri in Manassas, running first, then biking, then swimming. They run it in March, and tote part of the reasoning behind the order is you "won't end up with icicles in your hair" (as they point out on their site page). To that note, the spring (traditional order) Tri I did in 1st weekend of April 2006, start-time temp was 30 degrees. Even with the 7 minute transition time between swim and bike to throw on thermals, it was the coldest bike ride I had ever been on.

Here's another idea... All triathlons are swim>bike>run. Mixing up the order of events by Triathlon would certainly a)mess with people's heads; and b)put more emphasis on well-rounded athletes . Swimshark, you and I both know of this being an actual event... Tri It Now runs a reverse tri in Manassas, running first, then biking, then swimming. They run it in March, and tote part of the reasoning behind the order is you "won't end up with icicles in your hair" (as they point out on their site page). To that note, the spring (traditional order) Tri I did in 1st weekend of April 2006, start-time temp was 30 degrees. Even with the 7 minute transition time between swim and bike to throw on thermals, it was the coldest bike ride I had ever been on. I've been talking up the March Tri it Now Tri to the kids. I think some of them may try it since they can end in the water. I'm looking forward to it. My sister did a Half and it was 34 at the start of the swim. The water was so cold. Some tried but failed to do it without a wet suit. The bike was down the side of a mountain. Looked good to me but Jenn said when they'd hit the sun (for warmth) they'd also hit a downhill so it would actually be colder. Not her favorite race! But I got some awesome snow/fog/lake pictures. :) Alison