So what IS a triathlon? what's Ironman?? you mean the movie??
A lot of people don't know what triathlons are. They've heard of marathons....but a tri....athlon??
My passion, explained.
A triathlon is a race composed of 3 disciplines. It begins with a swim that can be done in a pool, lake or ocean, followed by a bike course that can be flat, hilly, both, a big loop, out and back or two loops, etc and lastly a run which can also be flat, hilly, both, one big loop, an out and back or consecutive loops. No rest inbetween. It's just one after another, after another. There are transition areas where you keep your bike and running gear so once you come out of the swim, you run to your bike, which is stacked on a rack, slip into your cycling gear and off you go. Coming back into the transition area and off the bike, you re-rack your bike and slip into your running gear and you're off for the last leg of the race. Simple!
Not all triathlons are the same though. They differ in their distances. There is a Sprint distance which consists of a 700m swim, 20km bike and 5km run. When I first heard these distances (plus the other ones I'm about to explain) I still didnt know how far they actually were. 700m? Should I get 700 meter sticks from Temp and lay them out? 20k bike? That's from where to where? 5km run....did I do that in gym for highschool? Is that like the campus run?
For your knowledge and mine....
The Sprint distance. That's like swimming from the corner of Hastings and Renfrew to Hastings and Kamloops (Where the Bank of Montreal is), riding from the corner of Hastings and Renfrew to the outdoor running track at SFU Burnaby Mtn Campus and then back again, and running from the Hastings side, Playland entrance to Willingdon street and then back. 1.5 hours and you're done!
Then there's the Olympic distance which consists of a 1500m swim, 40km bike and a 10km run. You're swimming from Hastings and Renfrew to Hastings and Victoria Drive, riding from Hastings and Naniamo to the Vancouver Airport and then back, and running....well, you've done the Vancouver 10K Sun Run!! If you haven't, you're not a TRUE Vancouverite! (j/k) It's like running from Hastings and Naniamo to Sushi Town in Burnaby and then back. You could be done in 3 hours!
Next up is the Half Iron distance which consists of a 2.0km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run. You're swimming from Hastings and Naniamo to Hastings and Skeena (the top of the block where that big McDonalds is), you're riding from the Ironworker's Memorial Bridge to Whistler (no back this time!) and running from Hastings and Naniamo to the Richmond side of the Knight Street bridge and then back again. This took me somewhere in the 6.5 hour range.
Lastly, there's the Ironman distance. 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42.2 km run. easy! You're swimming from Hastings and Naniamo to Hastings and Willingdon, riding from the Ironworker's memorial bridge to Whistler and back again, and running along the Trans Canada Highway (hwy #1) from the Hastings street exit, to the first exit going into Surrey (exit 48?) and then back again.
Wow, when I put it into those tangible reference points....it IS far!!!
You might be wondering 'how do you eat?? What happens if you need to go pee?' There are lot's of "fake food" alternatives that are in easy, single use packages like powerade gels or protien bars that provide you with carbs and engery. Most races also have water stations that give out water and some electrolyte drink usually powerade or gatorade. And I just pee in the pool. Hahaha, no I've never done that before! I pee before the race and I usually don't have to go again. For longer distances like the half and full Ironman, there are porter pottys that are set up along the route. I have to admit though, I have pee'd in my wetsuit before Ironman, but you can't help it! You wake up early and drink water to make sure you're hydrated and then you get your wetsuit on and wait and wait......and by the time you're on the beach, its too late to go back to the porter pottys...and the water is RIGHT there....no one knows you're doing it, but everyone else is doing it too!
Hmm, what else do people usually ask me about triathlons? How did I get into Triathlons? That answer will have to wait for another blog.
Do you have a question? Leave me a question in the comment box! Don't worry, you can be anonymous!
Anyone can do a triathlon! Start with a sprint distance! You don't need a fancy bike or a complicated training program. 6-8 weeks of training and you'd be ready for your first sprint triathlon! Finishing a triathlon is way better then finishing a run race anyways!!
You're absolutely amazing! At what point do you feel that excitement when you're about to finish? At the end of each discipline or at the end of the race only? Does the crowd energize you? No racing for me, I'll just anonymously cheer you on!
ReplyDeleteThank you!! I'm usually pretty happy to be done each discipline. I always have a huge smile on my face coming out of the water, and I feel so relieved to get off my bike. The excitement about finishing is always at the end of the race though. When you run closer and closer to the finish line, there are more and more people there and you can hear the announcer calling you're name out "and here comes Esther Lee from Vancouver....." and the crowd is loud and you can see the finish line!! Best feeling to be running towards that finish line!
ReplyDeleteThe crowd plays a HUGE part in my motivation to keep going. For longer races, youre bib number has your name on it, and so random people will just yell out "GO ESTHER!! WAY TO GO ESTHER!! LOOKING STRONG ESTHER" For Ironman (and most other races) there are much less women racing then men, so some people ONLY cheer on the women. That's fun too! The best though is when there's someone in the crowd who's a former triathlete cause they know exactly what to say. They are usually near the top of a steep or long hill, and they'll say exactly what you need to hear, and RIGHT to you! "C'mon girl, you've pushed this far, only a little more to go. Keep those legs going. Just a bit further and then you can spin your legs out on the downhill. You're keepin great form!!"
Man, those words give you juice to make it to the top!
And then there are the typcial goofs in the crowd who make you laugh. Usually a group of guys wearing women's clothing or hula stuff and they're just yelling out things like "you look so hot!! Look at number XXXX she's a sexy one "
The cheering club makes a world of a difference!
Cheer club? Like cheerleaders?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though. How hard is the jump from 1/2 to full Ironman?
Using your reference points, the half doesn't sound half bad ... but the full sounds like calling a taxi would make more sense ...
I've done the Olympic distance in under 2 hours, but it sounds like the full would take a full day!
I remember doing the Fall Classic (half marathon) out at UBC and some of the UBC cheer team were near the finish line doing some libs and cupees!
ReplyDeletePeople that cheer you on, whether you know them or not, give you that extra bit of fire under your butt!!
Um, it's about double hard to go from a 1/2 to full Ironman. (HAHA) Honestly, I think doing a Sprint and full Ironman are the easiest distances out of the 4. I say this because, in a Sprint, you go all out and as hard as you can for an hour and a half and your done.
You have up to 17 hours to complete a full (•Swim: 2 hours and 20 minutes, Swim/Bike: 10 hours and 30 minutes, Swim/Bike/Run Total: 17 hours). Pros usually finish in the 8 hour range, and us regular athletes anywhere in between. I say that a full is an easier distance to do as well, because you've got practically all day to finish it! Its not so much 'how fast can you get it done' as it is 'can you get it done.'
I find that for Olympic distances, going full out hard for that long is a bit too uncomfortable and unbearable. A little of the opposite happens for the 1/2 though. You've got enough distance to cover for it to be more of an endurance test then a speed test, but its way too long to be going full out and hard for that long.
Back to answering your question. I did a full first before doing a 1/2 so its hard to say what it would be like to do a 1/2 first (w/o having done a full) and then do a full.
I'm gonna have to give a text-book answer and say that if you train properly for a 1/2 and then train properly for a full, the jump is a piece of wheat-free, dairy-free cake ;)
PS congratulations on your Sub 2 hr Olympic finish!!
ReplyDelete