Toby wrote:
Mark Lemmon wrote:
Definitely concerning for this 58 year old too. It would be very helpful if someone could find and post detailed info on all the 60+ plus men who have died in tris included in this study. My hope is that they were less experienced triathletes than I am so I can theorize that my experience will mitigate my risk compared to my peers. Thanks Larry. I will read your blog piece tomorrow morning, but not before bedtime. :)
Not just experience - it would be interesting to find out what actually happened in these cases. Were the racers fit or "fit"? Did they have congenital defects that finally got to the point where they caused problems in the water? Or is it truly random? I doubt the latter, but that's what people seem to be assuming. Could it be that men are more likely than women to train and race with poor diet and health practices and it manifests in the water, like when shoveling snow? That seems likelier than being driven primarily by age alone.
After reading the article it appears that first-timers are at more risk, which makes sense, especially in the swim. The take away from me as I get closer to 60 is to continue to listen to my body closely, don't ignore symptoms and continue to get regular check-ups. In the past decade, I've had some inconsequential heart arrhythmias so I am now very cognizant of the need to do a thorough warm up before starting a triathlon, at least 30 minutes with 10 minutes in the water with some time at race pace. I am surprised at every tri with the number of participants who start a tri dry. You might be able to get away with that when you are <40, but I think it is stupid if you are >50. I think the growing trend of time trial starts might help reduce the number of issues with competitors who go way too hard at the start of the swim. RDs should also promote swim warm ups at their events and ensure that participants always have a place to warm up in the water within 15 minutes of their starting time.
Last edited by:
Mark Lemmon: Sep 20, 17 8:31