Triathlon is an increasingly popular sport.  It involves swimming, cycling and running one after the other, with the all-important changeovers, or transitions in-between.

 

Triathlon distances vary from Super-Sprint up to the ultimate "Ironman" distance.

 

The Ironman involves a 3.8km swim, followed 180km bike ride  finishing with a 42km marathon run !

 

Unfortunately there were no Ironman events nearby – such a shame !  So we’ve gone for the Sprint distance event.

 

The sprint events vary a little in length, and involve a 400m swim, then a 20 to 25 km mile bike ride, rounded off by a nice 5km/3.1 mile run.

 

There will also be a "fun" event at the Warwickshire Triathlon, which is roughly half the sprint distance, but not available as a relay.

 

This year we have added events for Young People agd 8 to 16 - please see this page CCS Young Triathletes

 

Those doing the “full” event will do these in succession, making sure they get the transitions right, trying to remember shoes, helmets, watches, glasses, goggles etc, whilst wearing some slightly dodgy sports gear.  Imagine trying to get to work or dropping small kids to school whilst performing several clothes changes, partly underwater, and that’s about it.

 

Those doing the relay almost have more of a challenge, as they have to link up with their team-mates at the right place and the right time, with little chance to pause for encouragement, or even “frank discussion” over their performance ….

 

Whilst a swim, cycle or run is a challenge in itself, Triathlons put still more stresses and strains on the body, as well as your fashion sense.  For example, during the bike ride, your body has got used to what you are doing. However, cycling uses completely different muscles to running, so when you start to run, your legs feel like jelly !

 

Nutrition is especially important, so to make sure that your fuel tank isn’t on red half-way through, you need to fuel-up and drink-up, mostly during the cycle.  You also need to train your body to use the fuel.  Most of the group still seem to be adamant that beer, wine, chocolate and take-away are an essential part of a triathlete’s diet, in which case I must be more dedicated than most.

 

Then there are the hills, especially difficult during the swim.

 

Our only saving grace is that our swims are in a pool, rather than open water.  This gives us something to look forward to for next time.  Next time ?!

 

We are not seasoned athletes or spring chickens, but this unique challenge seems to have attracted us !  Most of us are first-time triathletes.  For the full event, whilst one might be okay at say, one event, at least one of the other two is often something we’re not good at, so we’ve had to work hard at our weak disciplines as well as our stronger ones.

 

Especially hard is the simple practicality of training for three disciplines, and fitting this in with everyday life.  However, there is no sign yet of any freak injuries emerging yet, no dislocated ear-lobe or sprained little fingers…

 

So very soon, we’ll be doing our stuff, for a personal challenge, and to raise money for children who wait to be adopted.