How long is an Olympic Triathalon?
 

Is it 1k, 40k, 10k?

I've decided that I'm going to use the idea of doing a triathalon as my new focus in training/losing weight.

Yesterday I did 20k on the spin bike and a 5k run. The 5k took me 30 minutes and I felt like I was going to die.

It's a 1.5 k swim, 40K bike and 10 K run.

The cross training is great, but it's hard to get good at any particular discipline.

The people are usually very friendly though. Try it, you'll like it.

In your age group, you'll do well cuz runners win tris.

In my case, other than having been a swimmer years and years ago, I don't have any talents and had to learn to bike and learn to run (well I ran recreationally in college but not with the talent you have).

Had... That was about 100 lbs ago...

I can knock out the swim without any problem, the bike is about what I do on a long road day now so if I can just drop enough weight so that my knees don't take a beating when I run, I might actually have a good time.

I hear there is a Tri in Cd'A Idaho this summer. Anybody interested?

I guess I should check and make sure I wont be working on my externship that week...

It's just a little Ironman, which yours truly has signed up for, and given health and other life factors willing, will be showing up for.

Of course, you knew that. If you're there, you should drop by.

Ironman? I thought it was an olympic tri? Are there two?

If I'm in town the weekend of the Ironman, I'll probably make the trip to Cd'A to watch the finish.

Ironman is June 25, 2006. It's a great venue.

Crap... I'll be in SLC, UT.

On the bright side, I will be externing with a judge and mtn. biking with my friends the whole time...

CdA Ironman is a very prestigious event. Many of the people that qualify for the ironman championships in hawaii use CdA to do so.

Cross training for triathlons is a great way to get in shape. Just focusing on one of the disciplines can lead to their own problems, so the variety is good the whole body. Not too many fat triathletes out there. Just skinny, OCD types with way too much time on their hands. :wink:

My basic problem: nutrition. How do you handle nutrition for a 10 hour event?

To date I haven't figured it out.

There are only so many calories one can absorb per hour, certain types of calories are absorbed more easily than others and how to manage lactate acid build-up to avoid bonking and unnecessary and unrecoverable deficits.

Also, I have not be fortunate enough to avoid mechanical problems with the bike. If you go tubulars, flatting is a big risk, but if you fix the flat, you can't take turns. Big problem.

It is fun, but very difficult for an old, fat dog.

I don't know what works for a triathalon, but when I've done 13 - 14 hr death marches with friends (backpacking, canyoneering, etc...). I've tried to go with the old school ideas. A little dried salami or beef jerkey gets me my protein, some cheese makes it go down easier, a little fruit and some candy... I've only bonked once and that was on an 18 hr mtn bike ride in Moab. I forgot my lunch and only had a few sticks of string cheese.

When we got back to camp I ate a whole block of mozarella cheese and a bag of chocolate covered raisins... I don't remember anything after that...