Stick with sprints, or make the move to olympic distance?

JDAD · April 9, 2009, 9:41am

Here is my problem.

I started Triathlon about this time last year. I am pretty busy with work/family/moving/life, so I have trained off and on since last year. (big gap between Sept and Feb).

I don’t really have any “base” since all the sports I participated in since a young age have been fast twitch activities (ski racing, baseball, rock climbing, golf etc…)

I love the sport, but I also love competing against other people. Many people love competing against the clock, but I get a kick from competing against other people. After all, it is a race right?

I am registered to race in two aquathons, two sprints and an olympic tri this season (all between now and the end of May - my season is short due to my job).

I have no doubt that I could go out there right now and complete a 70.3 or 140.6 event, but it wouldn’t be pretty. (6 or 15 hours)

I am young (26) and in decent shape.

I would eventually like to compete at the olympic distance, and by compete, I mean go less than 2 hours. I think a reasonable goal for my first olympic is 2:30. While a great first effort, this is not even close to “competing” for a spot on the podium as the top 3 in the race I am participating in are right around 2:00 - 2:05 for my age group (not counting the elites/pros).

Here’s the question: stick with sprints this season where I have a chance at the podium or jump up to olympic distance and get beat down?

Keep in mind, I am in this for the long haul, I would eventually like to be able to hit the 2 hour mark in an olympic regularly. (My job/family/life are more important to me than the long distance races, olympic is the perfect distacne for me).

Thanks for any insight.

(just
for completeness, I think I can complete a 1500m swim with a pace of
1:30 - 1:40/100m, a 21-23mph bike, and a 7:30 pace on the 10km - not
fast, but a decent start)

Bmanners · April 9, 2009, 11:07am

I would say stick with sprints till you can put the base training in. Put the base down first. You registered for a oly so you already made the jump. Se how you like the one you registered for first.

suparuki · April 9, 2009, 12:30pm

Every distance races differently. I would stick with your schedule but keep the Oly. Use it as a test. See if you like racing that distance. I have raced sprint, oly, IM. Im doing my first 70.3 this year and I think that might be the distance im most comfortable in racing. You will find that you will prefer a distance and will have fun with that. So basically shop around till you find your niche and then have fun with it!

Scot · April 9, 2009, 12:50pm

I would use both as you build up that base but you need to work on that run you will need to go in the 35-37 10k range off the bike to even get close to 2 hours. You are giving up 10 minutes in the run alone. I came from a track background and my faster Olympic races were because of the ability to run 34-35 minutes off the bike. Even now in my fifties I run around/at 40 minutes. The race is for a strength runner. You need to do a lot of strength type workouts to improve. The sprints will carry over your fitness to the longer races. Set one or two Olympic races as benchmarks and use the sprints to work on pieces to the goal.

healthy · April 9, 2009, 4:16pm

Just like you, I enjoy the competitive aspect of triathlons. Fast times are great, but I’m not too concerned about them as long as I am competitive. That being said, IMO Sprints are the way to go if you want competitive racing. You can also get in a ton of races, for example I did eight sprints last summer and have done as many as twelve. You’re young, so you can still keep Olys as your main goal but use your sprint training to build up the necessary strength and endurance to reach that goal. Good luck!

pito00 · April 9, 2009, 6:50pm

I’ve never done an Olympic distance and am jumping straight to 70.3 this year. I train a lot and have a very solid base though. (ex. I put in 18 hours last week… 15050 yards swimming, 27 miles running, and 155miles biking)

That’s nice.

To the OP: Just like everyone said, shop around to find a race distance you enjoy and stick with it. If you keep in mind that this is a hobby you’re doing for fun, the improvements will come. It takes years to put together the improvements necessary for a 2:00 oly, if you enjoy the journey you will get to the goal faster than you expect.

Johnny99 · April 9, 2009, 7:28pm

I think you are making this way more complicated than it needs to be. Sprints and Olympic are not “either or”. You want to race sprints, race them, you want to try an olympic, sign up and show up.

Alex_Kehr · April 9, 2009, 10:33pm