Average swimming ability. Not a tremendous amount of time improvement I can do there, really.
Run- I am very fit, but not fast, never have been. That said, if I really committed to being a better runner, which would include losing even more weight, then I could be better than a MOPer in 45-49.
Bike- Generally top 5 or so but, again it is level of commitment. If I didn’t have kids job etc, you know, life, I could train more effectively and knock another 10-15 minutes off my times. Basically, become a really good bike rider, not just a decent bike rider.
Okay so hills generally hurt the bigger person in a bigger way; ie, like doing pullups. Strength to weight ratio. But truly, and it is hard to admit but big, small, whomever, it always comes back to level of committment. The limiter is really how much time and focus one is willing to put into the sport, not body type. I can get light and strong enough to do lots of pullups, but never like the smaller guy given the same commitment to training.
So if I win my AG at 6’4" and 215, is it a bigger accomplishment than a guy 5’9" and 160?
The hand you are dealt is the hand that you work with. You can fold and walk away as soon as they are dealt or you can work it to the best of your ability. I’m 5’8" and currently 146lbs. I don’t have large levers for the swim or large quads to work the bike speed up nor do I have a ground swallowing stride on the run. But, I work on what I have and do the best I can. Bryce (UKGearMuncher) is in single figure fat percentage at 200lbs and is 6’3" but he works darned hard at his game and doesn’t moan (too much) whn the roads head uphill.
Just remember that we both have good health and are able to do these levels of exercise that many can’t.
As for your height, don’t complain. It’s not a handicap and, in any case, we all have to play the hand we’re dealt. If you surveyed your AG competitors I bet you’d find all sorts of stuff: asthma, cancer survivors, people with bad knees and other biomechanical problems, weight issues more serious than yours, back problems, more time-consuming “life” commitments than yours, lack of money, etc., etc.
We only race in the body we have. We never really know what it is like to race in someone else’s body. Don’t assume you’re overcoming more than what other people have to contend with.
it is a bigger accomplishment, because you are bigger.
Don’t loose any weight though, because it will marginalize your victory.
And please don’t sit on that little 5ft9in dude, you’ll break him
If your genetic materials scuks, then you have to compensate by being smarter or having better toys than the competition to kick their a$$. Simple as that. We work with what we’ve got.
I have no talent, but I can type REALLY fast… HAH!
It would depend on the race and competition. I’ve raced both athena and age group. I placed third overall in a half ironman as an athena- great accomplishment for me. However if I would have had to race an hour faster to place in my age group. I did manage to take off 20 lbs for a short time and my race times did improve, but so did the competition. Now I am back up within 5 lbs of racing athena again. My run times aren’t as fast, but I am improving my bike and swim times to compensate. Even as an almost athena I can still be fairly competitive at the smaller tri’s, but the bigger ones, I’m in the top 30%. Since I have 4 kids ( I don’t know who is more demanding- the 45 year old or the 5 year old), I get up before 5 am to get my bike and run workouts in. This means I spend a lot of time on the trainer (I can count the number of times I rode outside on one hand- excluding races). I don’t think you’re working any harder than the pre-child bearing racers.
