It was a very technical course, with lots of cornering and a few short climbs where you had to push over 350W to keep it up…Only a few longer stretches where you can gain speed and control your tempo. So I think it was normal that there was a difference between avg and NP. But maybe also the reason I overdid it and screwed my run. Part of the learning process I guess?
Personally I wouldnt sweat that - it’s your first triathlon, and short course.
Kurt’s right that it’s something to work on over time. Holding 350W for any significant period of time however is counterproductive when drafting is not allowed - there’s no need to keep up imo, race your own race. Unlikely this is the significant cause on your run.
It’s never perfectly aligned but I don’t use two ftps, pick which sport you care about. Early days for you so I’d agree with Kurt, shave down a few Watts so your target is more like a consistent 0.8 IF on Olympic and you should have more in the tank when you hit T2.
That and good fluid and fuel on the bike are probably the major cause for run problems, imo. Try a few brick runs after a vo2max workout and you’ll see the difference to a quality run.
I know, but what can you do? It is a 500m climb with 200m 10% gradient? I pushed 1:17 330W. Should you aim for a slower climb time? You can recover in downhill was my guessing. But harm for legs was done 
Great advice. Thx!
It’s not the end of the world at all, and sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, but in triathlon, especially long ones, as you said, “the damage is done”. Any time spent well above threshold is going to cost you later.
Joe makes a good point about racing your own race. There’s no “keep up” in American/IM/non-draft legal racing. You just race your own race, at your own pace, you don’t try to hold speed or placing. Execute your race plan, including pacing and fueling, and let the result take care of itself. That will take some practice and mental discipline.
Can’t tell you how many people I caught on the run who would fly past me standing and accelerating up climbs on the bike.
3 Likes
Hilarious but so true ;-). And I was certainly one of them ;-). Sunday I will keep this in mind ;-).
2 Likes
Loving this race report.
Appreciate you bringing some fun into my day of work
“This was a motherfucker of a run.”
Thanks, I felt this race deserved at least 150% more expletives.
1 Like
Well…2nd Tri done and that was much better then last week. Although the swim, horrible. 1k swim. Never found my rythm, struggling, for sure the first part. Still finding my arm movement restricted in the wetsuit. Never have the feeling I really am swimming (like in the pool). But ok…we made it ;-).
Cycling was very good. 100km in 2h40 (37km/h+). Never biked so hard for 100k ;-). After last weeks ‘debacle’ with the run. Started with some reserve for the 10k run. But felt ok and after 4k I upped the tempo a bit and was really feeling good. Never expected it to finish just under 50mins so very pleased with that. Something I can build on now towards my 70.3 events within 2 months…
4 Likes
Device recommendation: I need another HR strap for swimming and triathlon. What do y’all recommend as the best option? My priorities are accuracy and the thing not sliding off in the pool… cost is not important.
Thanks!
I doubt you’ll find a chest band that doesn’t slide off in the pool. I just use my watch in the pool; if I put it on tight, it records my HR in the pool pretty well.
In any case it’s hard to recommend an HRM for swimming because you’ll be pretty much limited to whatever brand of watch you have. Bluetooth and ANT+ can’t broadcast through water, so the band needs to store the heart rate internally and transmit it to the watch afterwards. That’s usually a proprietary feature, so it requires the watch and HRM to be of the same brand. I have both Garmin and Polar HRMs, but for swimming I can only use the Garmin one with my Garmin watch.
1 Like
Thank you! My old blue Garmin HRM Swim strap does not slide off in the pool. It’s so sticky as to be slightly uncomfortable anywhere else… but in the water, it stays put.
I was searching for a Garmin HRM-Swim or HRM-Tri, but those seem to be discontinued. So it would seem that my Garmin options are:
- HRM Pro Plus (Walmart $115, Garmin $130)
- HRM 600 (Garmin $170)
Both are water-resistant to 5atm, so both are swimming-capable… but the straps look like every other HRM out there, not as sticky as the blue HRM-Swim or HRM-Tri.
Are those really the only options we have for swimming-useful HRM straps today?
Yeah, I have the Pro-Plus, and it worked well for races, until it broke last month. It definitely slid down in the pool, and sometimes even running, though. I also have a Polar H10 which I’ve had since 2017 and is still going strong, but I can’t use it for swims with a Garmin watch. I’m gonna take my chances with the HRM 600, expensive as it is, when it goes on sale this week. At least it’s rechargeable so the battery won’t die on me mid-workout (that’s what I keep telling myself to justify the price).
I use my watch fr265 just to get the load data into the Garmin ecosystem but I’ve been considering attaching an HRM to my goggles for some time - there are a couple of polar models that attach to formswim goggles.
Very nice numbers 
but was it fun? 
Good to know, thanks. All the more reason why I want something like the old blue HRM-Tri or HRM-Swim. I’ve had my blue strap for six years and it’s been going rock-solid.
But last week I misplaced it somehow and can’t find it, so I’m trying to find another one.
2 weeks until Montauk. Swam 500m nonstop for the first time. I know how slow 2:45/100 is… and I’m still thrilled. 
Three swims a week have made it impossible to run, but MAP/VO2max work on the bike is definitely making me stronger.
I’m shooting for a 2:20 total time. 800m swim, 23.4km bike, 6.1km run. A warmup for most of y’all! 
3 Likes
Not racing Montauk. A client has major crisis, so I’ll be out of the country next Saturday. Three-day trip, but it had to be those exact three days. Sigh.
Realistically, it’s not a big deal. I train for health and fun, and I race so I can benchmark my progress and have a fun day (was going to be racing with my niece/nephew this time). Missing a race is just a fun day I didn’t get, but zero bad things happen. Moving on now.
1 Like
Another, rather general brand/model question… I’m going to be looking to buy my first TT bike/frame for triathlons (not time trials) the next time they go on sale.
I’m 53, 173cm (5’8"), 102kg (225lbs), and a total beginner at this, currently riding a gravel bike on the road because I still need that more relaxed position.
Which brands and models of bikes are generally known to be better for people like me, who are looking to get into the tri-bike space but need a lot of adaptability or a far-less-aero position from their bike? Are there any?
I’m open to both full bikes and frames that I then build up. Would prefer to build, but since I only do this recreationally I make more of an effort not to spend a fortune on this hobby.
Do you have a fitter you use? If not, I’d find one and start there. A lot of times your specialty bike shops will have fit databases that can help you find a bike that fits the geometry you need, and then the fitter can adjust the position based on your personal constraints/goals, etc. Some fitters even specialize in TT fitting, so might be worth poking around locally and seeing if there’s someone like that. We had one here in SD who did all my bike fits, but was a TT guy so really knew his stuff there, and his fit on my older Cervelo P3C was far and away the best I’d had on that bike in terms of comfort and performance.
Spending the time, money and effort on that fit process is well worth it, certainly well more worth it than putting another several hundred bucks into the bike itself. Fit and position are everything on a TT bike. So invest there first, then get a good aero helmet, and then get a solid set of aero wheels. Those are your best investments in terms of speed and performance. Happy to help with this if I can!
2 Likes
Yes, Tim Dougherty in northeast NJ is legendary. I’ve already had one fit with him, and I’ll definitely do it again the moment I’m ready to buy the tri bike.
What I’m thinking right now is that two of my three bikes have been $10K+ “last year’s model clearance” bikes that I got for half-price. So I figured that, if there’s a brand/kind of bike that is known to be of a more relaxed position, or more adjustable for newbies, that I’d start keeping an eye out or putting in a word with my favorite bike shops to see if I can do this a third time, or just score the bike/frame on sale somewhere. 