I love to swim sprints in a masters meet but I also have enjoyed doing triathlons. It is very difficult to train for both. I'd love to hear from folks that compete in both masters meets and triathlons to learn how they balance training and competing in both.
I am a triathlete who when she grows up, wants to be a swimmer!!!
I wanted to do tris at the age of 40--big problem--did not know how to swim (at all--not even put face in water) or ride a bike. Learned to do both. But, my swim coach after a year invited me to swim with him at a local masters.
I thought I was going to die. However, the masters coach said to me at the end of practice, see you on Monday. Three years later--still on that masters team. In the winter swim with the team 3-4 times a week; in the summer, I swim twice a week with team and on weekends in open water.
Yes, when I grow up, I want to do a swim meet. Go back to the top--I just learned how to swim....so our AWESOME director of Masters, Patrick Cantrell held a clinic for us because I did not know how to dive or do flip turns and I asked him to help find a place where I could learn. He did help me enormously and I am hoping next season to be able to do both well enough to enter a meet.
As for tri training, on the off days, I lift, spin and run. I do sprint and oly tris, so that is enough for me. Now, in the summer, on weekends, I go for a ride (and my other car happens to be a cervelo) and then run and then hit the local pool or the bay depending on the weather.
The swimming helps me because of my knees. I can only take so much pounding and I mash on the bike. Swimming relieves the stress.
I love swimming and appreciate masters and what it has to offer. I get annoyed when people say to the coach, but I would rather do yardage rather than sets for my upcoming tri. My response would be, that is why we also have a tri swim team and there are open lanes.
Our masters team also has some killer tri folks on it who do IM distances and several who place in national tris.....but they do the sets and love them.
I think it depends on you and what you enjoy the most. I am not out to win at the tris, just to do better than last time and stay fit. As for swimming, I cannot get enough or learn enough. I want so badly to be a better swimmer.
I am an attorney and so I work out every day at 5:00 am even on weekends. By 8:00, someone is just about starting to look for me.
Good luck--you can do both. I train with many excellent triathletes who also particpate in swim meets.
Elise,
I'd like to hear more about your experience with the AquaBike event you mentioned doing. I am medically not permitted to run either due to a spinal deformity, but I can swim and bike fine. I come from a family of ultra-marathoners and Ironmen/women and I feel a little left out. Can you tell us a little more about your AquaBike experience?
Thanks, Willow
Willow - You will love the aquabike event as much as I did. Many hosts of triathlons are now incorporating this event into the triathlon. It is treated like a separate category such as masters, beginner, clydesdale, etc. within the triathlon, so you are only scored against other folks doing the aquabike. You start the triathlon at the same time as the folks doing the full triathlon. The only difference is that your race is over as soon as you cross the line into the bike/run transition area. Kind of nice that you get to be done while everybody else has to take off for the run.
USAT came up with this idea three years ago to encourage folks to stay in competition who were not able to run because of a variety of reasons. It seems to have been successful so far and the field grows each year. You will find it at many half-ironman events and even on sprint triathlon events.
Give it a shot!
Elise,
I'd like to hear more about your experience with the AquaBike event you mentioned doing. I am medically not permitted to run either due to a spinal deformity, but I can swim and bike fine. I come from a family of ultra-marathoners and Ironmen/women and I feel a little left out. Can you tell us a little more about your AquaBike experience?
Thanks, Willow
Sorry for jumping in here...USAT recently has started sanctioning these kind of events. See:
www.usatriathlon.org/.../OtherDisciplines.aspx
I can't run either (bad knees) and I've done a few of these events, usually either Olympic distance or IM 70.3 distance. It is fun to head to the hospitality tent after racking your bike.
The number of local/regional opportunities to do aquabike races (they go by various other names sometimes) are increasing in this area; as baby boomers age and get more (running) injuries I suspect the popularity will increase even more.
Of course some triathlete purists don't like the event.
Elise,
I'd like to hear more about your experience with the AquaBike event you mentioned doing. I am medically not permitted to run either due to a spinal deformity, but I can swim and bike fine. I come from a family of ultra-marathoners and Ironmen/women and I feel a little left out. Can you tell us a little more about your AquaBike experience?
Thanks, Willow
Of course some triathlete purists don't like the event.
Yeah, I have been snooping around online and run across some pretty nasty elitism regarding the Aquabike. Oh well, when those folks blow out their knees or get visited by the arthritis fairy, they will undoubtedly throw their full support into such events, and probably want to exclude anyone who CAN run from them.
