I thought I’d poll the group with something I’ve been kicking around the last couple of months. I’ve been training and racing triathlon for the last 2.5 years. In that time I’ve improved greatly in times and placings. In that time, however, I’ve discovered somethings:
I don’t really care for swimming that much. I haven’t swam since September, and I don’t miss it. I’m not willing to “do what it takes” to get much faster at swimming either.
Running is fun, but running fast–hammering–really hurts. I did a 10k foot race for time in October and it took 1.5 weeks to recover. I’m 38, ouch! Similarly, I could get a bit faster. In shape I can pull a 6:50-55-ish pace. I don’t know how much faster I could get. I’m really not that motivated.
Cycling. I love cycling. I have a cycling coach. I’ve gotten soo much faster on the bike it’s not funny. I’ve gotten w/in a minute of a notable female pro in some of the races we’ve happened to be in. To be honest, I’ve been viewing Tri’s from June on as a bike race with swimming and running thrown in.
This year I did 7 tri’s and did pretty good in them. I did two bike races the State TT Champ and Tour De Gruene Team TT. In the TT Champs I did pretty crappy 20th in Cat 5. In the Team TT my coach and I won our division which was fun. This coming season, I’m planning to do 3 tri’s and focus entirely on bike races doing 7-ish or so.
I feel a bit odd about it. On one hand, I’ve understood that in triathlon the strongest in all 3 disciplines wins. On the other hand, bike racing is hard, and I really want to spend the time to develop my bike racing discipline.
Y’all’s thoughts?
Either way, I’m loving it in Austin “Center of the Triathlon Universe.”
I’m like you - love the bike, enjoy swimming but running always feels like work. It may be three disciplines but I’ll bet most AG’ers don’t enjoy them all equally. Everybody has their preferences.
It’s funny…I’m a good swimmer, but I can take it or leave it. I have not missed the pool at all since September. I love the bike. I am learning to enjoy running. Before Triathlon I would never think about running around the block, but it’s part of the sport I love so I will run on!
I swam competitively in high school back in the early 70s. Don’t have anywhere to swim where I live now (on a farm out in the country).
I ran track, too … but I was hit by a car a couple of years ago and can’t run anymore.
Like you, I LOVE to ride the bike. And I especially love to ride my TT/Tri bike. So I focus on time trials and I get together with other folks and team up for triathlon relays. I’m surprised how many people I find who hate the bike part of tris, so it’s easy to find teammates. Doing the bike leg on tri relays has been an absolute blast for me. Far more fun than doing bike races. I highly recommend it!
It’s really just a matter of personal preference. Personally, I tend to feel the same way about running that you do about cycling, but I’d also like to develop in a more balanced way then I could achieve by running races alone. If the balance aspect is not important to you, and you really dislike swimming and running, maybe you should just do bike races. Or perhaps you could specialize in bike racing, but throw in tris from time to time just for the variety.
Why don’t we just eliminate the swim and give the event a new name like…ummmmm…duathlon. Or, we could eliminate 2 events and call it a monothalon…Dooh!
Actually, I am with you on this one. I rarely find myself enjoying all three events. Sometimes I stay away from the pool months on end - same with cycling. However, I looooove running. All I need to do is transform my body into lungs and legs. I have been secretly working on trying to run using my feet and hands. I have been watching the animal shows on tv and I figure if I could get myself to run like a cheetah I will be miles ahead of everyone else. Am I going off on a tangent here?
Funny, I was just thinking about the “big three” earlier today. I like them all. I appreciate the time alone and I love to test myself. I’ll do tri’s, TT’s, and running races. I’ve not had the nerve to try a master’s swim meet yet. I enjoy each for what it is, I enjoy the solitude offered in all three, and I like putting them together in a tri or du. I just like getting out there and doing something.
Forget triathlon and stick to cycling. You’re not paid to do sport, so do what you enjoy. Without swimming and running you can train less/better in cycling, depending on what suits. Then race more and have fun.
Yeah, I way prefer cycling to running. I like swimming, but the pool that is convenient to me sucks, so I haven’t swum in over a year (I’ve been doing dus only this year). Ultimately, as much as cycling is my fav, I need to do more than one thing. So, someday if I have to give up running I’ll figure out how to work swimming back in. That would be OK. I’d hate to lose cycling though.
Well…there was that one guy in Texas that gave up triathlon to focus on cycling. He seemed pretty happy about that decision. So there’s that.
Go after what you love…I know someone who dabbled in multisport before deciding to focus on cycling…he just made it into Cat 1 this year…and is happy as a pig in shit. He still does the occasional multisport race for fun…
The start of my haitus from multisport many years ago was a foray into bike racing. And it can take you over just as much as triathlon can. But it does so in a different way. You say that you want to concentrate on cycling by doing 7 events… I say that’s pretty low from the cycling purist standpoint. I routinely logged 60 “events” a season (including mid-week “training” races and track nights). It can get expensive too. If you join a racing club, there will be pressure to do more and more events, so you have to set your own limits. The cycling season can start around mid February, and by late August most racers are burned out. I never experienced that myself, and always wondered why we were hammering ourselves in the crappiest weather, only to have no races by the warmest part of the summer… But that’s just the scene around here. My TT speed increased dramatically when I started bike racing.
I’ve only done one IM distance race, so… my views aren’t well rounded.
I do like the idea of a Long race, IM Distance.
The only thing I’d complain about is the distance of the swim. I know there have been other threads here about why we should raise the swim distance beyond 2.4 miles… not trying to open that can of worms.
My point is, when you are going long, You have the time and can enjoy the one discipline you are in at that moment.
When you are doing sprint races or oly’s by the time you finish you are pissed off that you have to change up.
Anyway, do what you enjoy doing. The second I’m not having fun doing Triathlons, I’ll move on to something else.
Am there right now - bike raced last year did one tri early on and retired. Been full time on the bike ever since March, not missing the swim or run at all.
