As the title says! Beginner triathlete here who is doing the Big Apple Triathlon in NYC on October 10. I’ve been training consistently for it since early June (coming from a good running base, and adding cycling and swimming has been a lot of fun for my ADHD brain). I chose it because I am local to New York and really did not know how to travel with my bike and gear since I don’t have a car. I’m starting to get nervous about the swim - I’m training well for the swim and I’ve done a bit of open water practice but I am not sure that I am really mentally committed to swimming in the Hudson. I know the organizers wouldn’t do a swim in the river if it was unsafe in terms of pollution or otherwise, but I also know that it’s basically a brand new triathlon.

I also don’t want this to turn into any sort of argument in the comments - I’m really excited about it, even if it ends up being a duathlon, and I want to use it as a test case because I am interested in doing Jones Beach next year! Just want to get a gauge on how people have found this organizer’s races in the past (Alpha Wins), or if anyone else is doing it, and how the training is going!

Hello, I am a new cycler with a lot of running experience, I am progressing in swimming pretty fast and happy with how it’s going so far, I’m confident in every discipline, just a little less with biking, it’s probably been about a month of training for Ironman Jacksonville in May 2027, today my long ride was 3 hours and 15 minutes and covered 56 miles with an average heart rate of 135 but fluctuated throughout the ride, my cadence was around 78-82 RPM pushing 88-98 watts (I know it’s low but starting to introduce some sweet spot intervals to get my FTP up), I did this long ride on an indoor trainer and about the last 50 minutes my legs felt pretty heavy but still pushed through to finish my ride, followed it up with a quick brick run to practice running on heavy legs, I know I’ll be able to finish but I don’t want it to be a slug fest on the bike, how should I progress my bike so I can get my legs used to the 112 miles in the full Ironman because the half today felt pretty hard on the legs, I can push through boredom but the heavy legs suck 😔

Been gearing up for my first tri (sprint)

I’m average swimmer but happy with that and something I’ll look to develop. And my running is solid for now.

I have a 24.5k ride and I’m coming in at under an hour around 52-55min. And I just know I can get a better time.

One thing I struggle with is keeping focus and speed consistently on my rides. I feel I drift out of focus and sometimes end up slipping into comfy speeds and rhythms.

Any tips for staying focused on the rides and getting consistent output and pace, granted I’m using a hybrid commuter bike not a road bike which might be preventative of the best times in the ride but any tips to improve my cycle would be great

For context: my latest practice tri at the gym came in at 1:42 and I’d love to get closer to a 1:35

39y male. Did my first sprint in 2021, then several more sprints and OD in the following years. First 70.3. in May 2026 on a fast and flat course with good conditions. Finished in 4:57. Swim 0:44, bike 2:20, run 1:45. So i am a pretty bad swimmer but probably above average cyclist.

Two days ago i did another 70.3 in very windy conditions, overpaced on the bike and finished in 5:07 because i had to walk several times on the run.

I already registered for a 140.6 in August 2027, also on a fast and flat course, and my plan was to try to go sub 10. I joined a local swim club and will start proper swim training soon to work on my swim pace.

But after the last race i am not sure if sub 10 is a realistic goal. What do you think?

Hi everyone, I’m currently looking for a way to raise my cockpit. I currently have the tallest riser that comes included with the bike and am looking for an alternative from the fasttt adjustment kit that changes it to a double riser system. Any reputable 3d printed parts or other methods? Thank you so much!

El mejor tip para un debutante en ironman 70.3 cozumel.

I'm in my late 30s and starting a night shift job (7p to 7a) for the first time in my life... what worked for you to stay consistent with training with this weird schedule?

​

On Sunday I raced the craziest and most beautiful triathlon I've ever been a part of, the Survival of the Shawangunks (SOS) Triathlon! And I won!

​Here is my post about it from the finish line.

I'm gonna tryyy to keep this short because I tend to ramble on in these reports, but if I left anything out, fire away.

​The Season Buildup

​I've had some good races this season. I won the Jim Thorpe Marathon. I Won the Escape the Cape Triathlon. I ran 134 miles in a Backyard Ultra through Times Sq and got the assist. 

And I’ve had some less awesome races. Second place in the AC Triathlon, 2nd in Supertri NJ. Second place in the Medford Lakes Tri. Second in the Gaudreau Memorial 5k. Third place in the Squatch North Trail Half Marathon. Second in the New Years Day Half. You see the trend. More losses than usual!

I've been trying to tell myself that I'm not winning the short stuff this year because I've been Ironman focused, and NOT because I'm 42. (And I've been telling other people in podcasts this theory too). But either way I was looking forward to a longer one!

The Event

I signed up for this one pretty last minute, about a week ago. But I'd been looking at this race jealously for years, so I wasn't going in completely ignorant to what was ahead. Just mostly

TLDR, it's a Bike, Run, Swim, Run, Swim, Run, Swim, Run. Covering 30 miles on the bike with the last 5 being a hard climb, 19 miles of trail running with lots of elevation, and 2.1 miles of lake swimming. All through some of the most beautiful locations I've ever raced in. But I knew this was going to be hard, especially as a first timer.

The Report! 

• 30 Mile Bike. I wasn't really sure how to pace this. I knew the distances that were to come, but I wasn't sure how the switching between sports and trail climbs would hit me later. So I decided to take it out somewhat conservatively at 260-75 watts, then climb hard for the last 5 miles at 300-315 watts, but still metered. I got off the bike in first by a few minutes, but still felt fresh.

  • 3 Mile Run. (Shortened from 4.5 due to construction, I had missed that) I ran well, but my mind was on the final long run. I have heard stories of people falling apart there, so I was very set on saving enough energy to finish hard. Speaking of energy, there was a lot of fuel at the aide stations, but I wanted to make sure I was set up well here. I took in almost 200 grams of carbs on the bike and was carrying enough for well over 100 per hour running. I had the fastest first run split, extending my lead a bit. 
  • 1.2 Mile Swim. (Lengthened to make up for the construction). The classic decision! How to swim with your shoes and nutrition… in the chest? Back pockets? Buoy? Most of the fast swimmers I know chose a buoy, but I went with the back of my suit shorts over my quads. It was strange because they were pretty buoyant, and it definitely slowed me down, but I'm happy with the decision. I like simplicity and fast transitions. And I just kept all my gels shoved in the side of my zipped up suit. I was still in the lead after the swim but by about 5 minutes less! Not my discipline. 
  • 5.5 Mile Run. I ran controlled again. Had the fastest split in again too. But I was running miserably. Remember the shortened run I didn't know about? Well I spent this run thinking “that definitely wasn't long enough. I missed an out and back somehow." Luckily the RD was right at the run finish to hear my confession as I tried to DQ myself, and he told me it was shortened and I didn't have to head home early, whew!
  • 0.7 Mile Swim. Nothing fancy same plan. Gave back a few minutes but I still think I was out of the water around when the next person was getting in. most of my swims I was top 15 or 20 I think? I haven't looked too deeply at that and I likely never will.
  • 8 Mile Run. So scenic! They all were, but it was tough not to get distracted. I had saved enough. Even though my stomach was cramping for the first few miles it never really slowed me down. Had the fastest split again and had a pretty good lead that I did not know about at all. I just knew that I'd been alone up front since 10 meters into the bike, but no idea by how much. 
  • 0.5 Mile Swim. The big decision! It's so short.. shoes on and save the transition time? Or does that make you so slow it's not worth it? During the previous run this was mostly what I was thinking about. And I think just because I like fast transitions and because I wanted to try something new, I just dove in with my shoes. Honestly, still not sure if it was the move! Feels like a wash TBH. Definitely slowed me down. Definitely has faster transitions. 
  • 0.7 Mile Run to the Finish. The legendary "Survivor Line" climb. Straight up! Just relentlessly up. It was everything I had just to not walk, and I think I did around the tight turns actually. But it was a wave start and I started in Wave 1, the open wave. So I was just imagining someone catching up to me the whole race and I'd never know it. I actually had the fastest climb here too, securing the very cool segment awards (backpack and a plaque) for everything but the swims, obviously.

The Finish.

I found out at the top that the next fastest person hadn't entered the water for the last swim yet so I was likely gonna hang on. And I did, but if you saw my post at the top you'd know that 2nd overall finisher was a torpedo of a woman. She came in about 13 minutes behind me and had absolutely smoked me in every swim. I'm glad I got the win this year because she was was younger than me and only going to get faster. She'll win overall one of these years for sure. I can't wait to see it. 

Overall, I'm so proud of this one. The SOS Triathlon is a truly legendary race. This year was the 40th anniversary, and I just can't say enough good things about the crew, the volunteers, the fans, and the whole community surrounding the event. They really worked hard to make it yet another unforgettable day. 

Yep that was long again…but it's 8 stages!

Been trying to figure out why some brick sessions leave the legs fine the next morning and others wreck the whole week, and the variable that keeps lining up isn't pace or heat during the session, it's what happens to core temperature that night. A hard bike to run effort in the heat pushes core temp up for hours afterward, and if it's still elevated at bedtime, the drop into slow wave sleep, which is when a lot of the actual tissue repair happens, gets delayed or shortened. Cold showers before bed and a fan pointed at the bed have helped some, but neither fixes a mattress that holds heat all night.

Has anyone racing in hot conditions actually tracked overnight temperature against how their legs felt the next day, or is it still mostly going by feel?

Hi all, I’ve just got a membership at my local pool as I’ve set myself the goal in the next couple of years of completing an Ironman.

For context I’ve done 1 sprint triathlon before and my swim training was 30 minutes twice a week and obviously I struggled with the swim part of the tri.

I’ve got at least 3 sessions a week I can commit to swimming now, so was just looking for a bit of structure if anyone has anything they could recommend?

Thanks in advance!

Hello! I swim consistently around 1:40/100yds, looking to make a jump into 1:30 range for the full triathlon distance. please let me know what you guys see, and anything/any drills that might help :))

I (52M) participated in my first triathlon this past weekend, the Geist Waterfront Olympic Triathlon in northeast Indianapolis.

Here are my top 10 observations after successfully completing my first triathlon.

1. I can't swim in a straight line.
   Lane lines have been like training wheels for me my whole life. I know that now. Next time, I'm going to spend more of my training doing open-water swimming.

2. Triathlons really seem like a niche community.
   I'm used to running races with thousands of participants and tremendous volunteer and community support. This triathlon was basically 180 crazy people doing a thing. I dig it.

3. Race-day fatigue is 10x worse than training fatigue.
   I routinely swam, biked, and ran the race distances. I did brick workouts. I even did a full dress rehearsal a week ago, covering the entire race distance in the clothes I planned to wear. I felt fine.

On race day, though, I thought I was going to die during the run. Maybe it was adrenaline, maybe it was the lack of sleep the night before, but I ran a marathon last year and was running five times a week before signing up for this race. I still struggled on the run yesterday. I did not expect that.

1. Swimming directly into the sun is a thing.
   There was one section of the swim course that had us swimming directly into the sun. I couldn't see the next buoy and basically had to navigate by looking off to the side. I was not very successful at this (see #10). Since we did four laps, I encountered this problem four times. I made a mental note to look into darker-tinted goggles. Do they exist? Do they work?

2. Open-water swimming wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.
   Since it was a lake, the waves were pretty minimal. I didn't have any trouble with the actual swimming. I could breathe normally and felt comfortable in the water. I just had to lift my head every 10 strokes or so to orient myself. Other than that, I didn't get tangled up with other swimmers much after the first five minutes.

The organizers let us get into the water beforehand to acclimate, which really helped. It reduced the shock of diving directly into cold water.

1. The run to transition was longer than I imagined.
   The distance from the water to the bike racks was longer than I expected and was mostly concrete. I was a little anxious about running that far barefoot, but it ended up not being an issue at all.

2. I need a lot more bike fitness.
   I focused most of my training on cycling because I'm new to it. Judging by my performance, it's obvious I need a lot more time in the saddle, as they say.

Out of the 107 people who started the Olympic triathlon, I came out of the water in 85th place. Not bad for a first-timer, right?

By the time I got off the bike, I had dropped to 97th. I passed two of those people on the run and finished in 95th place.

Even though I felt like I struggled on the run, I don't think the bike did me any favors either.

1. I spent way too much time worrying about my bike.
   I had a lot of anxiety about my bike malfunctioning. I had two flat tires during training. Before this year, I had never changed a flat tire and had certainly never done it out on the road. I really did not want my first roadside tire change to happen during the race.

2. I subconsciously avoid difficult hills.
   I live about five minutes from Geist Reservoir and routinely run and bike on the roads around it. It became obvious during the race that apparently during training I naturally choose routes I enjoy.

When biking, I may go up big hills, but I find routes where the major climbs are preceded by long downhills. Or I find routes where the climbing is broken into smaller sections with enough flat ground to let me recover. I didn't even realize I was doing this.

I need to spend more time seeking out routes that make me uncomfortable and force me to work harder if I want to improve.

1. You don't need all the gear.
   Despite buying a bike, I didn't buy all the gear that many triathletes use. I swam in jammers and threw on a T-shirt and shorts for the bike and run. I didn't have aero bars or cycling shoes with clips.

I even used my running vest for hydration.

And honestly? I didn't feel out of place at all. There were plenty of other people with minimal setups just like mine.

Overall, I had a great time. I learned a lot, confirmed a few weaknesses I didn't know I had, and finished my first triathlon. Congrats to everyone else who raced and thanks to this community for providing support.

Started exactly an year ago with an IM plan (already capable of running a marathon and riding 200km on the road) - M35 following an Intermediate MyProCoach plan.

I'm almost 15 days going into my first 140.6 and I'm feeling everyday less capable of completing the event.

Only in 2026 I had:
SWIM: 53hr of swimming for a total of 176km (up to 4500 in a session also with 2x2500 OWS races)

BIKE: 130hr of riding for a total of 3900km (up to 176km testing big portion of IM-Italy course)

RUN: 75hr of running for a total of 860km (up to 28.55km with 400+ on unpaved road)

During the year I took swimming lessons, raced in open water to get better, but I'm still stuck at 2:00 in the pool and 2:15 in OWS.
Pedaled on trainers and onroad, barely moving my FTP from 240 to 260W and averaging 170W in flat Z2 (on a fairly new Orbea Ordu)
Run the most I could even if the summer here in Italy has been terribly hot and humid (plus I'm not managing well high temps due to high sweat), and still on 5:15-30/km pace on tired legs.
Went to a nutritionist to get in better shape and reduce fat mass while getting more energy (I'm 181cm x 76kg).

And still in the last two weeks after Peak Week I feel less confident than before on my capability. I know I've the single distances in each disciplines and have done my big-bricks (120 on the bike with 20 run brick + 3500 swim the day after).

Is it normal to suffer this type of mental "unsureness"?
If it would be a 70.3 I know I'll go easy even tomorrow, but the 140.6 look like a different story.
I know that now "what is done, has already been done", but I feel weaker and more tired than ever and it seems that having the last 3h+1h20 brick the weekend before the race may finally break me.
Every day I feel a slightly different pain (shoulder, calf, back, neck) for no apparent reason since I'm not overdoing anything specific and I'm starting to think that's related to the fact I'm "falling apart mentally; like thinking that the soonest the race come, the better it is so I can end it up.

I just finished up an Ironman 70.3 Poznan Poland over the weekend and made a rookie mistake with my goggles that almost cost me not even being able to start the race

Mins before the swim start, I went to put my goggles over my eyes from the top of my head and realized the black silicone suction on the right eye completely came off and was nowhere to be found.

After a lot of panicking and yelling asking if anyone had extra goggles, a gracious soul grabbed me and told me to ask the MC to make an announcement (thank you random stranger for telling me to do this and for calming my anxiety!!)

And miraculously another athlete had a spare and gave me them without hesitation. Huge shout out to her!

This is super rookie of me but i had no idea that the black silicone suction was something I had to keep an eye on or maintenance. With them being expensive goggles, i thought they were fine (had them for over a year now). I do swim in the pools a lot but make sure i rinse them off after every swim and always store them in the case.

Because my goggles are so expensive and hoping they’d be salvageable (which they are)i shoved them into the front of my my wetsuit. Definitely wasn’t comfortable.

Ironically enough, ended up with a PR on my swim.

The rest of the race was uneventful but lesson learned, check your goggles thoroughly before the swim!! Also so thankful to the tri community that helped me out on race day!

Also just curious what other people would’ve done if spare goggles HAD NOT been available. I thought about just swimming it with no goggles but i was worried about my eyes stinging really bad the rest of the day or getting an eye infection?

Hi all,

Super stoked to be running Ironman 70.3 Augusta in a few weeks, and I’ve been trying to decide on a goal time to shoot for. When I started training, I was originally just aiming for sub-6, but as I’ve gotten deeper into training, I’ve wanted to lower my goal time.

For context, my last race was an Olympic Triathlon in July. My splits were:

.95 mile / 1500 meter swim: 22:09
25 mile / 40k bike: 1:13:33
6.2 mile / 10k run: 49:59

Including transition time, it ended up working out to about 2:30.

Between the times I’ve already hit, the extra 2 months of training I’ve had, and Augusta being a slightly easier course (downriver swim, less hot / humid than Florida in July), is sub 5:15, or even sub 5:00 achievable?

Hi! I’ve just installed a front hidration system (Elite Buta) between my aerobars on my road bike.

When I’m in the aero position, the inside of my forearms are constantly touching the bottle. My arms are still properly supported by the pads and I can comfortably reach the extensions, so the bottle isn’t actually supporting my weight.

Has anyone had experience riding like this for several hours? Did you get any chafing or irritation from the constant contact?

I’m mainly wondering if this is something I should worry about for an Ironman, or if it’s perfectly normal and harmless.

Thanks!

Update: I’ve now tested the setup on a 2-hour ride and, surprisingly, it was very comfortable. Even with my forearms constantly touching the bottle, I had no rubbing, irritation or discomfort.

I did move the arm pads slightly outwards, though. Now there’s just a tiny bit of clearance between my forearms and the bottle, and it works really well.

I’ve also received quite a few DMs asking about the setup, so here are the details:

Extensions: ZIPP Vuka Alumina EVO 70. I really like them. The shape gives the wrists a very natural position and they’re not overly aggressive.

Mounts: Giant Contact SL Clip-On, standard version, NOT Aero. They’re easy to install and adjust, come with the spacers, and should also work with handlebars from other brands. Much easier to adjust than my previous ones!

The biggest positive for me is that I’m almost equally uncomfortable 😅 in aero as I am on the base bars. No pain, just some normal pressure on the sit bones that I’m used to.

So far, really happy with the setup. I’ll keep testing it on longer rides before the Ironman.