Hi all,
From delay to delay… I should do my first SprintTriathlon on september 7th.
There is one thing I’m still scratching my head on how “to do”, and that’s the pre race warm up.
Since the bike is in the transition area 4-5 hrs before the start, do some people have a second bike on a trainer near their cars in the parking lot ?
For the swim, do you have some efficient “dryland” warm up routines to suggest, since it’s a pretty fast event ?
Thanks !!
Louis 
Walk/run for 10 minutes. Warmup swim as long as possible. Kicking drills also warmup legs. During Practice Swim spike your heart rate a few times.
Outside of that preparer to be at max HR for about 80 minutes. Lol. Sprints are a lot of fun.
Kind of depend how hard you plan to go…
if you think you could do it under 1:15:00 (in the red the whole race), you need a really good warm-up. So 15-20 mins of running with some hard acceleration, and something similar for the swim… 100% effort from the gun.
On the other end, if it’s more about the experience, you are not sure how much walking you will do on the run… just a little bite of swimming should do (the swim is your actual warmup, conserve your energy for the run)
I can’t imagine there is a place or time for practice swim before the start. So many starts, registered distances, and categories in the same little basin. I will check again the technical guide, but I doubt there is one.
Louis
It chaps my ass when they don’t provide a spot for warmup swims.
I checked on the site map. There is a part of the basin that doesn’t have any event in it. I’ll ask if it is used for warm up/practice.
Louis
I truly do not give warm-up much thought for a sprint. If I can, I swim a couple hundred yards. I have never done any kind of run or bike warm-up. I usually finish top 10-15 overall and 1st AG (or masters podium), depending on the field. My philosophy, and it is probably flawed, is that the swim is my warm up, and I hit the bike jamming.
A top 10 overall is 1:03, podium in my AG would mean below 1:05. If I’m under 1:15 I’ll be happy.
There seems to be a swim practice (in a specific lane), but only the previous day, and right after the Sprint events… :-/ … lol.
Louis
Are you racing the Esprit? It’s been a couple of years, but I don’t think they have room to warm up for the sprint, unless you get in very early. I remember standing around freezing last time I raced it, but it’s a very well organized event.
I would just go for a jog to warm up and do a lot of light stretching and arm swings to get the blood flowing. You could geek out and use stretch cords if you wanted, but probably not necessary.
Yes, Esprit. Thanks for the tips !!
Louis
get in the water if at all possible. Anxiety about the swim, and/or cold water, cause lots of issues for new (and sometimes experienced) triathletes.
my pre-race w/u would be spending time on the foam roller, and some swimming.
It chaps my ass when they don’t provide a spot for warmup swims.
Bodyglide will help with that.
Have been doing the Esprit (at various distances) for over twenty years. It’s a great venue and for a first race, you’ll have a ball.
My experience is that, for me (I emphasize, for me), if you get your Heart rate up with a little jog, down the footpath beside the swim start area, and do a bunch of arm swinging, to warmup up those muscles, you are pretty well good to go as long as you don’t do a Michael Phelps first 50.
It may be called a sprint, but it’s still a solid hour plus exertion, too many think this is reasonable to redline the whole way.
If your heart and body don’t usually operate at this level you will find that painfull.
Don’t worry, if you do leave something in the tank on raceday…because next year…:0)
(and you’re hooked)
ps I have done the swim without a wetsuit, if the wetsuit causes you grief, it’s an easy swim without it. The water is usually warm and pretty shallow, with no waves.
(except for the year they had a windstorm and half the sand blew off the beach)…see you there !
Thanks for the feedback.
How many people can I expect at the 50+ Sprint start ( to make me even more stressed…) ?
I’ll try a few different workouts at the pool in the next weeks, with some 400’s - 800’s with fast starts, with a “dry” warm up.
To see what kind of “feeling” I can expect, and the times.
QUestion: Swim cap over goggles strap ? Or just under is fine ? I’m afraid of having my goggles fly off from a swimmer’s arm or leg…I would be in trouble ( wearing contacts, very poor vision).
Louis
Hi
Not too sure how many places there are for the Sprint. You might check the website as they used to show how many for each distance. Barring that send them an email, they’re pretty good at responding, it’s a one man (and daughter) show.
As for nervous starting. Start at the back.
There’s a line of buoys out and back and the cable is plainly visible under the water on the bottom it’s the Olympic Rowing Basin so the water may be 2.5m deep (maybe). And if you get really out of sorts apart from the kayaks, you’re about 20m from the bank, at all times, except the turn, where you cross from one side, to the other. Starting at the front or back will make only a few seconds difference in your time, if any.
As for wearing your goggles over or under your cap. Here’s the deal, you read all the time about people getting their goggles knocked off, I’ve done between 3 and 12 races a year for the last 25+ years, maybe 300 races all together, at every distance from Sprint to IM. It’s never happened to me and I wear mine over. If you are starting at the back because you are nervous, you won’t have a problem. If you are starting at the front of your AG because you’re a fast swimmer, you won’t have a problem. And don’t be the problem, by swimming over people.
Remember, most people are equally carefull not to bump into you for the same reasons you don’t want to bump into them. There’s only one or two idiots who think swimming “over” someone is fun. I used to know one of those guys, but he’s over 80 now and a pushover.
Here’s a hint in the Esprit. You can swim either side of the buoys except for the turnaround, which is usually a bigger brighter colour (Orange?), where it’s always one side (left usually in the Esprit). There’s two of those.
Have a great day…like I said before, this race is a blast.
Where else in your life will you ever race on a dedicated Formula 1 track.
Check out The Wall Champions, when you go by.
(it’s the wall they all hit)