Should I TRI?

For the past two weeks, I have been toying with the idea of joining the Animo Triathlon on Sept. 14. I get stressed just thinking about the mini-sprint…(Don’t laugh!)

3.4km run around roads I’ve ran a hundred times over…easy!

11km bike at the only place I’ve biked lately…no problem!

350m swim at La Salle Zobel’s pool…I feel like I’m drowning already. Choke choke.

Since the swim leg is first, I wonder if I’ll even reach the bike and run portions. 7 laps in an olympic-sized pool is a big number for a newbie swimmer like me. It takes 30-seconds to catch my breath and rest (and maybe indulge in a Hizon’s halohalo) after each lap!

I took a TI course last Feb with my good friend Nonoy, but with the lack of practice lately, I’m not sure if I’ll survive without having one of those tall, burly triathletes resuscitate me after the swim. (Hey that doesn’t sound too bad, you know. To the hubby, I’m kidding!)

Aside from my swimming concerns, there are a whole lot of trivial (and embarassingly silly) questions that a wannabe triathlete has to deal with:

Do I have to wear a tri-suit? Marga says it will make me feel as svelte as Angelina Jolie, but I seriously doubt it. If it’s true though, I’m considering making it my daily attire.
Can I use my mountain bike? I heard I can for the mini-sprint. But how about when I join the Ironman…in like 20 years? Haha!
What if I get a flat tire? Will a tall, burly triathlete help me fix it? (Oops, there I go again.)
Do you wait till all your ten toes are dry before you wear your socks? If you don’t, won’t that make you prone to getting athlete’s foot?
What if your obsessive-compulsive about shoelaces being equally tight before a run? Will I look dumb retying my shoelaces twice or thrice?
Do you really have to stay until 10am?

Oh well, I’ll take the next week or so to think about the mini-sprint and decide then. In the meantime, I’m preparing myself anyway. This is what I did the past week. Hopefully, I’ll have time in between work and the kids to do more. If not, my first triathlon will have to wait:

Friday: 350m swim with long rests in between. Ayayayay!
Saturday: 11k run, pilates
Sunday: 18k bike
Monday: 7k run
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 5km run, strength train

Posted on 08.28.08 to 01 Bullish Insights. Tags: Triathlon. Subscribe to follow comments on this post. 30 comments. Add your thoughts or trackback from your own site.

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30 Responses to “Should I TRI?”

why don’t you get miguel to be your support crew on this one — lifeguard, mekaniko, and water holder? para walang issue. hahaha!

TRI NA!!!!!!!!!

Sponsor din

marga said on Aug 28 08 at 10:18 AM Reply
can you like pause/rest/grasp at the poolends in between 50 meter laps? like you, i have been toying with this tri thing and it is just the swim part i am not too comfy about.will there be tall,burly lady triathletes to help me out when i fagged out?oh well, tall,burly male triathletes doesn’t sound bad anyway.

yes,i think you MUST TRI in answer to your question above.

as we say it, TRI if you must but don’t you quit right sir jovie?

I’m sure we can pause, take our breath, and make a fool of ourselves

bugobugo85 said on Aug 28 08 at 10:35 AM Reply
hello! just an amateur’s attempt to address the questions…

Do I have to wear a tri-suit?
-some female athletes finish the whole race in their speedos (the regular looking ones that swimmers used to wear in competitions befoere LZR happened)

Can I use my mountain bike?
- ok lang but it’s heavier than your road bike. but it depends din on the course kase in hilly courses (and i mean hill, like a small mountain) it’s safer to ride those bigger bikes.

Do you wait till all your ten toes are dry before you wear your socks? If you don’t, won’t that make you prone to getting athlete’s foot?
- it’s gonna eat up your time. if you use bike shoes clipped on the pedals, there are those models that allow your feet to breathe and dry up. so by the time you put your socks and shoes on (for the run leg), all ten toes are already dry.

What if your obsessive-compulsive about shoelaces being equally tight before a run? Will I look dumb retying my shoelaces twice or thrice?
- they have garterized shoelaces available in sports houses. like the Boa thing. it says “never tie your shoe laces again” (or something along the lines of). it has those adjustable clip thingies so all you have to do is slip into your shoes, find that perfect lace tightness and adjust the clip to hold it. so literally, you are no longer tying your laces. it’s faster than making that perfect bow

Hey winna, thanks for patiently going through each question! Are you joining this?

winna said on Aug 28 08 at 11:01 AM Reply
Jaymie – if you can complete the swim leg then I expect you to easily complete the mini.

I am sure Nonoy, Levy and other triathletes can give you good advice. As for me, All I can tell you is safety first. Watch out for newbies in the bike leg. Some of them zigzag across the course which is dangerous. Take your time and enjoy the race. Swim start can be difficult because of the traffic so I usually let all the stronger swimmers go ahead.

Try to get a racebelt to pin your number on. Have your bike serviced before the race.

Regards Mark

Hey mark, thanks a lot! I’ll keep these in mind. At least now i have a good excuse if I finish last in the pool. I’ll just say I let everyone go ahead because of the traffic Hope to see you and tiffin there.

Mark P said on Aug 28 08 at 11:32 AM Reply
pero seriously, laking tulong ng trisuit. no need to change for swim bike and run. saves you lots of transition time. nung first aqua ko super laking chunk ng time ko ang kinain ng transition ko kasi nagpalit pa ako ng suot! super newbie talaga!

based on your workout last week, i think you should swim some more.

and YES, tama si mark! HAVE YOUR BIKE SERVICED BEFORE THE RACE! you won’t want a marga o3 mishap to happen to you!

Yes, ata marga. I’ll definitely have the bike serviced. Tri-suit or not. Bahala na. Let me decide if i’m joining first hahaha

marga said on Aug 28 08 at 12:14 PM Reply
I am thinking of it to but just reading all these comments make me doubt it, it sound slike preparing for your own funeral or something in that line…. I am aslo considering whether I should TRI but as they say you will never kno wuntil you take the first step. Maybe we should start a chat room somewhere to get all information needed for a first triathlon like what to wear, ride and tips to make it easier. I want to try teh bigger race as I can do those distances but never done a competition before so would like to get loads of information from where to start to what to wear. Let me know if you are going or not… KEEP FIT

The first time is the hardest since there are so many questions, so many things to prepare for. Training is also a lot more time consuming compared to running. But, it sounds like so much fun. We have got to try it at least once.

Foreignrunner said on Aug 28 08 at 12:16 PM Reply
i ve done a tri once in vancouver canada 1983 ( yes im old ). its really different especially the swim part. But Jaimie go for it. Try it out its a total different exprience. what do you know you might even enjoy it and make it your 2nd blog. “The BullTri”.

Hahaha. We’ll see, Patrick. Thanks!

runningshield said on Aug 28 08 at 12:28 PM Reply
I envy you…. I can swim I can run, not as fast as everybody, but I don’t know how to bike….. arrrghhhh. Go for it…. there should always be a first time ! Then the second, then the third…then you are hooked !

Allyn, it’s not too late to learn how to ride a bike!

allyn said on Aug 28 08 at 12:37 PM Reply
Mmm…so definitely no mountain bike for the Ironman, not unless you like working harder than everyone else. Umm no you have to learn to fix the flat yourself but it’s really easy, your brothers could show you how to do it. Really it’s easy. No you don’t have to wait until your feet is dry, in fact get used to being partly wet going into the bike. In fact if you use a tri suit, it will be wet when you get on the bike. For your obsessive-compulsive self about shoelaces being equally tight before a run use speed laces.

You should do it. You’ll do fine. The swim is hard for most people but you can get over it.

rick said on Aug 28 08 at 1:04 PM Reply
P.S.
I’ve decided to give up triathlons for now, you know for more running. Need to focus!

Thanks rick! I’m still focused on running. Just inserting this mini-sprint into the training sched since I cross train anyway. I think I’ll go into triathlon when I’ve done a marathon already. That may be a long time from now…

rick said on Aug 28 08 at 1:05 PM Reply
yes, you should

Aaack. Are you?

Mukhang Guilty said on Aug 28 08 at 1:24 PM Reply
hello…tara na…I actually registered today! Yikes…bahala na..I called up the TRAP office and was able to talk to Coach Rick. He was very encouraging and patiently answered all my newbie silly questions. You can stop in the swim part and rest if you need to, there are lane markers you can hang on to (for dear life!) . You can even use whatever stroke you want pwede pa nga daw dog paddle! hehehe. Newbies are very much welcome and people will cheer us on pa nga daw…and as to our fashion concerns he said nobody will even notice what we’re wearing…so game na let’s try this one na for experience…hope to see you there!!!

Mary Anne! I think we were meant to bump into each other last week hahaha. You signed up already? Okay, give me a week to decide

mary715 said on Aug 28 08 at 1:52 PM Reply
As my friend Monica would say, “you either do or do not…there is no tri”

Kaya mo yan, miss jaymie The good thing about doing your first Tri in Alabang is that the swim leg is done in a swimming pool. So, if you need to rest etc. you can just stand up, so don’t worry, it’ll be fun.

virginia

Virginia, sana pwedeng tumakbo nalang sa pool noh?

Levy said on Aug 28 08 at 1:54 PM Reply
I don’t swim but I know a thing about walking in the mud with wet waffle-stompers all day. We use all-purpose petroleum jelly before and after to water-proof the feet as well as to ward off blisters and fungus, especially where showers are not available.

miraclecello said on Aug 28 08 at 4:20 PM Reply
Go Go Go Jaymie!

I’ll miss this event but I hope to see you in October (AAV)

Ricecooker said on Aug 28 08 at 4:32 PM Reply
oh, i’m not joining. i’ll be elsewhere that day (yeah, it’s the most convenient excuse!)

winna said on Aug 28 08 at 4:44 PM Reply
Oh, good luck! (if you join ) Can’t wait till Sunday…

cougcat said on Aug 28 08 at 9:40 PM Reply
I’m also pondering to join this one, mini sprint too as my first try at tri.
The mini sprint distance are few and far between to literally get your feet wet in terms of tri. I will be fish out of water when I get in the water too.
I have an MTB unless I get a road bike miraculously by then.
Yup, an MTB should work. There are cheap 1.25″ slicks that should make it roll more like a road bike.

marvs said on Aug 28 08 at 11:01 PM Reply
ms jaymie, just do it and experience the feeling..i can swim but i need to develop endurance for it..i’ve done duathlon before (5K run-40K bike-5K run) using my mountain bike w/ slick tires but that was it. i am starting to enjoy ultramarathon and hope to experience 50-100-miler here in california next year’s summer. good luck on your Nike run this sunday & your 1st tri and hope to see you soon.

kingofpots said on Aug 29 08 at 3:08 AM Reply
“tall, burly triathlete” — FZA?

Makes me wish that Fred Uytengsu will be there. But sprint distances are peanuts for him.

marga said on Aug 29 08 at 8:15 AM Reply
I’m still contemplating of joining this one. I’m still injured so we’ll see how it goes. I also feel ill be last place not until the run leg… hehe…

Anyway I hope you’ll enjoy your first tri if you decide to join this one.

God Bless you.

taki said on Aug 29 08 at 9:53 AM Reply
YES I’M BACK jaymie… tara! will sign up for the mini sprint as well… I also don’t know how to swim.

Harry said on Aug 29 08 at 10:13 AM Reply
i know what we can do tbr…. i would gladly do the swim part.. then you run and bike hehehe…. whatchuthink ?
btw, guess what ? spent the night sewing up a contraption to hold hubby’s nikeplus sensor on the shoelaces…hehe…have to check if it will correctly measure the distance… with a nike shoe wallet the distance was not accurate …hehe….

allyn said on Aug 29 08 at 12:48 PM Reply
Hi TBR, just go through the swim, and beat everyone on the run If you think about it, the 30-second pause you need for each swim lap just adds up to 3-4 minutes, not much really.

groundhogdude said on Aug 29 08 at 6:38 PM Reply
mi amiga i think you should. i think you’re stressing yourself too much on how your first tri would fare…but i believe that the joy you draw out of the experience is the ultimate prize you can get. so go go go! and chikka to me your blow by blow experience…tri remains a dream to me…ello! pagtakbo nga alang ala ako practice eh. ambisyon pa ba ako ng tri! doooh!

banggigay said on Aug 30 08 at 1:16 AM Reply
Hi,

There’s nothing to lose, all to gain. Have fun and just manage your expectations. Its all about taking part of the experience and enjoying the competition.

markfb said on Aug 31 08 at 10:30 AM Reply
you should im one of your fans!
just have fun and finish the race. Its your first Tri so
blogging about it i can understand helps psyching yourself … people affirm their belief in you ! Wish you well!!

witchkitty said on Aug 31 08 at 11:22 PM Reply
Jaymie:

The Great Groundhogdude gave me the greatest tip on my first tri…”Just Smile!”
Believe me it made the difference.

JLA

JLA said on Sep 01 08 at 7:19 AM Reply
Hi jaymie!

I’m glad to know that you took T.I…I was also their student last year.I wanted to do TRI, and don’t know much how to swim, so i took the lesson.
I must say, taking the T.I. was really worth it..i am more confident now with my swim, and have been doing triathlons since..

I think you should join the ANimo Tri.It will be a lot of fun..Everybody says that it safe because the swim leg is in a pool.so don’t worry..

Just glide through the water..the bike and run leg would a breeze!

norman said on Sep 01 08 at 12:01 PM Reply
Hi. My batch and I are the ones who organized the Animo Tri (Batch 81, LSGH). I’m also part of the Sunkist Tri Hard Team who’re also helping out in partnership with TRAP. It’s a good chance to feel the rush of finishing the swim (yes, you can pause to catch your breath and the lengths are shorter – 25meter pool but the downside is more laps), mounting your bike to do the 11k ride and then finishing off with a 3.7k easy run.

The whole point of organizing the race is to get newbies interested.

Hope to see you at the starting line. I guarantee you that it will be fun and fulfilling. By the way, I think there are three La Salle Brothers who will also be doing the mini-sprint….all poor swimmers as well…..

Follow Nonoy’s coaching….glide in the water.

Greg Banzon said on Sep 03 08 at 1:59 PM Reply