$$,
Good points on Macca, but keep in mind that distances are often HORRIBLY wrong in triathlon, even the world championships. At the World Cup in Sydney (2000), the 10km course was over 2km short! That's a pretty big oversight.
Although I haven't scanned a list of all his race results, I'll bet it was a short course when he pulled a sub-30min 10k.
Regards,
-Clive
Hey Black G, obviously 29:00 is not 26:22, I am aware of that but thanks for pointing out the obvious. I would like you to try something. Go to your local pool and bring your bike. Get in and swim 1500m as HARD as you can. Olympic distance tris the swims ARE pretty much all out. Now get out of the pool, put your bike in the 53x11-12 gears and hammer. Not all out riding, but definitely going very hard. Now get off and start running fast. Let me know how your arms, quads, and overall body feel, and how fast you run... Then let me know whether or not you are impressed by what these athletes do. Also, a very talented man by the name of Craig Walton made a habit this year of destroying pro fields at some of the biggest races in the world by killing everyone on the swim and bike.
Topdog,
Hard to give a generic answer here, but I'd say that absolute bare minimum to comfortably _finish_ an Ironman is around 400h/yr. Optimum for a working guy (i.e. non-pro)? Probably in the range of 700-800h/yr. Pros even more than this - some average 20h+/week. This is a total for everything - swimming, running, cycling, and weights (very important IMHO over the winter).
And no, I have never qualified in the M30-35 age group to get to Hawaii. I have done Ironman Lake Placid twice, and Ironman Austria once.
Taking a break from Ironman this year and concentrating on my first love - running.
Regards,
-Clive
Thanks for the response. I think I'll stick to running.
No thanks, I am useless at swimmming. Don't get me wrong, I have respect for the work ethic that triathletes undergo and I have no illusions that I would ever be competitive at the sport. However, I still believe that when you get to a certain level at swimming it becomes easier as you become more efficient. The bike part looks very tactical and from the triathlons I have seen on the T.V. there is usually a very large group that is overly concerned about drafting etc. I mean, comeon, it's not the Tour De France, why not go for it? I guess what I am getting at is that it is a misconception to compare the swim and bike to the run. A 1500m swim and 40Km bike is not equivlent in tiring terms as a 10km run. If they did a 10km run followed by another 10km run then followed by another 10km all in sub 30mins then I'd be impressed. Gebressalasie COULD do this. Therefore the talent pool in triathlon is not as great. So don't ever make out that triathletes are great runners coz that's bullshit. Triathletes are great triathletes and that's that. No triathlete can match Ian Thorpe at swimming, Lance Armstrong at cycling, or Geb at running. If they could, they would be in those sports and not in triathlon. Triathlon is an elitist sport which requires money. That is why you see very few countries competing in it.
By the way, great site you have.
[quote]Black G wrote:
No triathlete can match Ian Thorpe at swimming, Lance Armstrong at cycling, or Geb at running.
Obviously, once again. But don't you think that just as specialized as those three guys mentioned above talents are, don't you think it could be possible that it is the same LEVEL of talent that allows these athletes to be as good as they are at all three sports.
By the way, Macca, this past spring, did a unique tri where it started with a bike course that was the same course the USPRO cycling championship Time Trial had been held on. He beat the time of our national champion cyclist. Obviously, wind conditions, etc. can factor into this but it is something else to consider.
Black G wrote:
Triathlon is an elitist sport which requires money. That is why you see very few countries competing in it.
Very few countries? Check the top-50 rankings for the ITU world cup. Here are the countries represented: Australia, Spain, Great Britain, Czech, New Zealand, Kazakstan, Ukraine, Canada, USA (Hunter Kemper at 16th), France, Denmark, Brazil, Venezuela, Switzerland, Mexico, Japan, Hungary, Argentina, Germany. A scan of the top-100 would yield another 8 countries - Greece, Austria, Hong Kong, Italy, South Africa, Belgium, Colombia, Russia. This is a world wide sport, though I would say that aside from South Africa, not many triathles have come from Africa.
You may have been overtraining.... I went to a seminar where Greg Bennett spoke about his training. He does only 100-150 miles on his bike, but running and swimming mileage was higher in proportion. Granted he has an immense base on the bike... but for Olympic races, the running and swimming training are much more important. He also spoke a great deal about core strength, balance exercises, and bike technology which eases the efficiency to get off the bike and run (good news for runners).
As far a runners crossing over... true runners love the sport of running- the simplicity, the woods, the track, etc. In addition to the amazing fitness needed, triathlon is much more of an "adventure" sport where athletes must prepare in detail for the swim/bike run and the specific race course at hand as well as the stress involved. So, it takes an anal runner with some coordinated swimming/ biking skills... who likes to pay attention to detail and some gall for adventure to cross over.
Lastly, I think the sport of triathlon is totally untapped. The college circuit in the West was completely weak when I was in college and is just barely starting to blossom. I also think an immense number of triathletes overtrain and that quality will get better as athletes figure out the best way to train.
when i was in therapy over the summer my therapist ( a tri guy0 was trying to talk me into it. saying with my ten k time for my age id be really good...id have to swim...i swam a half mile without stopping once, and i havent seriously tried to swim any since then, that was 2 years ago.
He might be clearing $200/year, but he is 1 man....not the masses of pros....money is in short supply in this sport except for the very few. Don\'t for a second think money is plentiful in this sport. Many sponsors are giving top athletes product either very cheap or free, and have incentive contracts...they are not pissing money into the wind.
WHY?
Even with all the skills you stiil must transition well. Try running after a hard 40k time trail. Legs of lead are what happens frequently. You have to be good at all. Even with the 'National' team in town their top dog would usually not win against good loval talent. Like @2001 Joses' 5k Hunter vs Trent.