I am 32 years old, married, and have three kids ages 10 months, 2 years, and 4 years.
My athletic background includes soccer from a young age through high school, pick-up basketball as a teenager through my early 20s, and biking around town from a young age to occasional road biking in my early to mid 20s.
In 2008, on a whim, I decided to train for a marathon. I spent a couple months getting in shape then followed a novice 18 week running plan to work my way up to 35 miles per week. I ran the marathon in 3:57:00 - then stopped running as it was a once and done endeavor.
Somewhere around 2013 and after our first child, I stopped my occasional road biking completely. Other than a couple seasons of an over 30 soccer, I was a couch potato for three years and terribly out of shape (+30 lbs from when I ran the marathon).
In March of 2016, on another whim, I decided to train for an Ironman. I always knew what an Ironman was from a young age (probably seeing it on TV?) but I just always thought it was impossible. After watching countless hours of Kona coverage on YouTube I finally decided it was time to scratch that itch. My wife (5 months pregnant with our 3rd kid) gave the okay and I hit the ground running the next day. I focused almost entirely on running to get into shape with a short term goal of running my local marathon at the end of the year. I spent 19 weeks getting in shape then followed another novice marathon plan for 16 weeks. I was hoping to beat my previous time of 3:57:00 but I came down with a nasty cold three days before the race. The peak of the cold was race day (November 13, 2016) but I still ran a 4:22:24 that I was happy with, I was just very disappointed that I couldn't perform at 100% after all the training I did.
Five days after the marathon I had my vasectomy taken care of and took a couple weeks off as I set up swim lessons. I purchased a five 30-minute lesson package at my local gym and started in December. I could swim in the sense that if I fell off a boat I would have been able to survive for a few hours treading water, but I would not have been able to swim more than a couple hundred yards before exhaustion. I was shocked at how terrible I was at swimming. I could only swim 25 yards for the longest time (see this thread). I was worried that I would never progress.
Sometime during the period that I was learning to swim, my wife gave her blessing that I could do Ironman Maryland in 2018 as well as my first triathlon which would be a local race in May 2017.
I spent the next 8 weeks hitting the pool and learning to swim, followed by 16 weeks of a custom 70.3 plan that I made.
I averaged roughly 9 hours per week of training for the 16 weeks leading up to the race.
12% Swimming (1 hour 7 minutes per week)
59% Biking (5 hours 22 minutes per week)
29% Running (2 hours 38 minutes per week)
I would have liked to spend more time in the pool than I did but it was hard logistically to get there while balancing family life.
-----
Lake Raystown 70.3 Race Report
My wife, kids, and parents stayed in a bungalow for two nights. It was right next to the transition area and the swim. It was a great family vacation. The kids loved it. It was very spectator friendly and my wife could take the kids back to the house as needed for food and naps during the race.
Only 24 athletes started the half race.
My swim went very well given that I first started swimming in December and that this was my first open water swim over 800 yards. It was a water start and a lot of my nerves were calmed while talking to other athletes floating in the water. Because there were so few athletes, I decided to start off to the side rather than in the very back. This way I would still be out of the way but also not have to pass anyone early on. I had no clue how I was doing compared to the rest of the field, but I did know I was swimming in a straight line and at a good pace for me. About half way through the second lap, I got run over by two athletes who were doing the Olympic race. The Olympic distance athletes started roughly two minutes after I completed lap one, so it made sense that the caught me and mowed me down. It really wasn't bad at all, I just kept doing my thing and holding my line to the buoy.
I came out of the water and of course my kids and family were screaming like crazy as I went into T1. My spirits were pretty high at this point because the worst part was over, and the fun part (bike) was just starting. I passed 6 or 7 people on the bike within the first 20 miles, then I did not see anybody until 2 miles into the run when I saw the leader coming back in from his out and back. I learned that he was a pro triathlete, which makes sense given that he had an 11 mile run lead on me. Second place came towards me about 15 minutes later, then it seemed like an eternity before I saw the next runner. I was beginning to worry that I missed a turn. It turns out I was in 5th place after my bike split which explains why I didn't see many people coming back from the out and back.
The turnaround point for the run was up a mountain, halfway down the other side, then turn around. At mile 5.5 and about 100 yards into the mountain my quads cramped up until I had to walk for 30 seconds. The rest of the race turned into a walk, run, walk, run. My quads would cramp no matter what pace I ran so after some trial and error I figured out that it was most efficient to run a bit faster than race pace before walking again, and I tried to keep the walking to a speed walk.
Swim: 0:46:11 (1:54 / 100 yards) 12th overall
T1: 2:16 3rd overall
Bike: 3:09:31 (17.7 MPH) (3,540 Elevation) 5th overall
T2: 1:35 4th overall
Run: 2:18:35 (0:10:35) (960 Elevation) 12th overall
Total: 6:18:07 9th overall
I was really happy with the race. I ran about a minute per mile slower than I was planning to, but I am wondering if killing it on the bike may have actually been worth it. It is hard to say if I still would have cramped if I spent 13 extra minutes on the bike. I was also very happy with my T1 and T2. My family said that I looked very smooth and fast even though I felt like I was taking my time and making sure I didn't screw anything up.
-----
My wife enjoyed spectating and was very impressed. She has already approved my next race which will be in September of this year. My ultimate goal is still the full Maryland next year but I enjoying the journey.
As you can tell from my times, I am not a very fast triathlete, but I do have experience balancing family life and my times may fall in line closer to some of you who are new to the sport.
Feel free to ask anything.
Tyler
"If it costs you 30 minutes at Maryland so what" -dwreal
My athletic background includes soccer from a young age through high school, pick-up basketball as a teenager through my early 20s, and biking around town from a young age to occasional road biking in my early to mid 20s.
In 2008, on a whim, I decided to train for a marathon. I spent a couple months getting in shape then followed a novice 18 week running plan to work my way up to 35 miles per week. I ran the marathon in 3:57:00 - then stopped running as it was a once and done endeavor.
Somewhere around 2013 and after our first child, I stopped my occasional road biking completely. Other than a couple seasons of an over 30 soccer, I was a couch potato for three years and terribly out of shape (+30 lbs from when I ran the marathon).
In March of 2016, on another whim, I decided to train for an Ironman. I always knew what an Ironman was from a young age (probably seeing it on TV?) but I just always thought it was impossible. After watching countless hours of Kona coverage on YouTube I finally decided it was time to scratch that itch. My wife (5 months pregnant with our 3rd kid) gave the okay and I hit the ground running the next day. I focused almost entirely on running to get into shape with a short term goal of running my local marathon at the end of the year. I spent 19 weeks getting in shape then followed another novice marathon plan for 16 weeks. I was hoping to beat my previous time of 3:57:00 but I came down with a nasty cold three days before the race. The peak of the cold was race day (November 13, 2016) but I still ran a 4:22:24 that I was happy with, I was just very disappointed that I couldn't perform at 100% after all the training I did.
Five days after the marathon I had my vasectomy taken care of and took a couple weeks off as I set up swim lessons. I purchased a five 30-minute lesson package at my local gym and started in December. I could swim in the sense that if I fell off a boat I would have been able to survive for a few hours treading water, but I would not have been able to swim more than a couple hundred yards before exhaustion. I was shocked at how terrible I was at swimming. I could only swim 25 yards for the longest time (see this thread). I was worried that I would never progress.
Sometime during the period that I was learning to swim, my wife gave her blessing that I could do Ironman Maryland in 2018 as well as my first triathlon which would be a local race in May 2017.
I spent the next 8 weeks hitting the pool and learning to swim, followed by 16 weeks of a custom 70.3 plan that I made.
I averaged roughly 9 hours per week of training for the 16 weeks leading up to the race.
12% Swimming (1 hour 7 minutes per week)
59% Biking (5 hours 22 minutes per week)
29% Running (2 hours 38 minutes per week)
I would have liked to spend more time in the pool than I did but it was hard logistically to get there while balancing family life.
-----
Lake Raystown 70.3 Race Report
My wife, kids, and parents stayed in a bungalow for two nights. It was right next to the transition area and the swim. It was a great family vacation. The kids loved it. It was very spectator friendly and my wife could take the kids back to the house as needed for food and naps during the race.
Only 24 athletes started the half race.
My swim went very well given that I first started swimming in December and that this was my first open water swim over 800 yards. It was a water start and a lot of my nerves were calmed while talking to other athletes floating in the water. Because there were so few athletes, I decided to start off to the side rather than in the very back. This way I would still be out of the way but also not have to pass anyone early on. I had no clue how I was doing compared to the rest of the field, but I did know I was swimming in a straight line and at a good pace for me. About half way through the second lap, I got run over by two athletes who were doing the Olympic race. The Olympic distance athletes started roughly two minutes after I completed lap one, so it made sense that the caught me and mowed me down. It really wasn't bad at all, I just kept doing my thing and holding my line to the buoy.
I came out of the water and of course my kids and family were screaming like crazy as I went into T1. My spirits were pretty high at this point because the worst part was over, and the fun part (bike) was just starting. I passed 6 or 7 people on the bike within the first 20 miles, then I did not see anybody until 2 miles into the run when I saw the leader coming back in from his out and back. I learned that he was a pro triathlete, which makes sense given that he had an 11 mile run lead on me. Second place came towards me about 15 minutes later, then it seemed like an eternity before I saw the next runner. I was beginning to worry that I missed a turn. It turns out I was in 5th place after my bike split which explains why I didn't see many people coming back from the out and back.
The turnaround point for the run was up a mountain, halfway down the other side, then turn around. At mile 5.5 and about 100 yards into the mountain my quads cramped up until I had to walk for 30 seconds. The rest of the race turned into a walk, run, walk, run. My quads would cramp no matter what pace I ran so after some trial and error I figured out that it was most efficient to run a bit faster than race pace before walking again, and I tried to keep the walking to a speed walk.
Swim: 0:46:11 (1:54 / 100 yards) 12th overall
T1: 2:16 3rd overall
Bike: 3:09:31 (17.7 MPH) (3,540 Elevation) 5th overall
T2: 1:35 4th overall
Run: 2:18:35 (0:10:35) (960 Elevation) 12th overall
Total: 6:18:07 9th overall
I was really happy with the race. I ran about a minute per mile slower than I was planning to, but I am wondering if killing it on the bike may have actually been worth it. It is hard to say if I still would have cramped if I spent 13 extra minutes on the bike. I was also very happy with my T1 and T2. My family said that I looked very smooth and fast even though I felt like I was taking my time and making sure I didn't screw anything up.
-----
My wife enjoyed spectating and was very impressed. She has already approved my next race which will be in September of this year. My ultimate goal is still the full Maryland next year but I enjoying the journey.
As you can tell from my times, I am not a very fast triathlete, but I do have experience balancing family life and my times may fall in line closer to some of you who are new to the sport.
Feel free to ask anything.
Tyler
"If it costs you 30 minutes at Maryland so what" -dwreal
Last edited by:
bluestacks867: May 26, 17 4:46