Hogweed Trotters Road Running Club
“wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.” (William Shakespeare)
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Hogweed Trotters Road Running Club“wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.” (William Shakespeare) |
Hogweed Trotters are affiliated to British Triathlon. You can find out all sorts of things about Triathlon by visiting their website. Try www.britishtriathlon.org. Another useful website is www.triathletes-uk.org
Both of these sites will give you all the races that are sanctioned by the governing bodies of triathlon. The Hogweed site will try and keep a list togther of races that might interest Hogweed Triathlon people. Another site that supports the Hogweed site is www.sped-web.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk a site run by the Hogweed tri-coach Simon Spedding. You can also e.mail Simon at simonspedding@blueyonder.co.uk and ask advice.
British triathlon produced a leaflet giving the advantages of joining them. It can be found here.
If think you fancy a go at triathlon use the above to prepare yourself along with the following.
Triathlon training has lots of benefits, leading to a total body fitness programme. A programme that combines running, cycling and swimming. It builds full body strength and keeps you motivated through the variety of the training plan. Simon Spedding has put together some schedules and by clicking on the links you can access these.
I started Triathlon in 1995 having come from a football background Devizes Sunday league, Frome & District etc so nothing too pro) with a bit of squash and circuit training to boot.
I fancied doing running so entered a few half marathons, got injured and was then asked if I'd like to do one, "Sure" .
I bought a £150 Dawes racing bike, a helmet and some cycling shoes (I thought squash was expensive smashing rackets every 6 months and wearing out shoes). So 8 weeks later I did Marlborough (400m swim 20 mile bike and 5 mile run) 1995. I was well down the field, somewhere about 1/3 of the way down.
It is not scary at all but can be a nervous experience the first time it is attempted.
Choose a race: Ideally a 400m swim, 20km flattish bike and a 5km run. there are a few ideal races within an hour of Bristol/Bath. I would recommend the events towards the bottom of this page. Before you do an event make sure you are confident that you can compete the distance. you don't need to go out and do the full distance before hand just build up so you know you can do 400m, know you can ride the 20km and then get off and run and know you can run at least 5k.
Kit
The Swim: Goggles and a costume, that's it! Go for posher stuff when you get a bit keener. there are one piece suits for the fellers with padded seat. Girls can get a padded costume too.
The Bike: Well a bike would be useful. Mountain bike, touring racer, anything will do as long as it is roadworthy. Racers are faster than others, and slick tyres are faster than nobbly mountain bike tyres. Do a few races before you decide to invest in a new or quality second hand bike. A good investment is to have toe clip/guides on your pedals. they are very cheap and help get you feet in the right position for a more efficient pedalling action. Eventually if you get really keen you can move to clipless pedals and cycle shoes that in effect fix your feet to the pedals. the shoes are very rigid too and transfer more power into your cycling action.
You'll need a top to wear and have the number pinned on it ready by your bike. Your first event will probably mean using trainers which are kept by your bike. As mentioned above they are not as effective as cycle shoes. For first timers the trainer is king though. Bike shoes come into their own on the hilly courses where you get the benefit of pulling up on the pedal stroke which is difficult to do with trainers which are flexible and impossible to do if you have no clips on the pedals.
You must have a helmet that is approved for triathlon events. See the BTA web site.
Do I need a ｣2000 bike? No, Most people spend much much less. I paid ｣150 for my first bike. ｣500 will get you a pretty good new bike. Go second hand and you get a super bike for ｣500. At the end of the day it's the legs that make the wheels go round. A light bike pays dividends when you start going up hill or accelerating .
Where do I get a bike from? Total Fitness, Bath, Terry's Cycles, Yate, Avon Valley , Bath, Fred Bakers, Bristol, John's Bikes, Bath
The Run
You'll have your trainers on already you have your running vest. All you have to do is take your helmet off and start running....easy as that.
Practice the transitions from one discipline to the next. there is nothing like cycling hard then trying to run!
That's it!
For more info go to The BTA website. There is lot of info to read but they are the rules and worth a read. without the BTA there would be not much of a triathlon scene in the UK so support them.
There are also a lot of tips at the Triathletes UK web site so visit www.triathletes-uk.org and the training pages.
Joe Beer's site is also very informative. http://www.jbst.com/
A Local event to consider for a first event.
September: Another well organised event. 400m swim the bike is around 20km and a bit hilly. The run is 5km and has a big accent within the first mile mostly off road then a flat bit before a steepish path decent to the finish.
http://www.double-dutch.com/index.htm
E-mail me if you want to know more about these events or what else there is on.
Hints on training
Training is a hard thing to balance with your social and working life at the best of times. With triathlon it becomes difficult in triplicate. The bonus is with three disciplines you can have the flexibility to switch your routine. If the rain is hammering down and you don't fancy a run, go down to the pool for a dip. if you can't face a n hour in the pool and the weather is fine, get on your bike or slip your trainers on.
Different people can handle different amounts of training and different ratios to the three disciplines. this will depend on your individual strengths, weaknesses and desires. A common rule is train a little more in your weakest discipline. Good advice but not followed very often. there is always a tendency to drift back the discipline you are best at or enjoy the most.
When I started I tried to fit in an equal number of sessions of swimming, running and biking and then added some gym work. Not many people train more than 10 hours a week. Don't think Oh my god 10 hours I'll never fit that in. Start with the number of hours you want to train and the number of sessions that this represent. Once this is established divided up your disciplines and then work on the intensities of these. If you are very new don't worry too much about doing hard and easy sections just get used to the sessions themselves and train as you feel. You'll enjoy it more that way, and that's what is all about anyway.
I wont give examples of how to train but work on hard day-easy day through the week and have a rest day to allow your body to recover.
Don't increase your training volumes by more than 10% per week. if you ran 15 miles one week don't suddenly shoot up to 25 miles. if you went out for a 1 hour ride don't think that you can do 3 hours. You may be able to but you may also suffer afterwards and disrupt the following weeks training.
This is a typical week for me. Bear in mind I am a complete nutter and have been training for a number of years
Lunchtime or Early Morning Evening
M Swim Run on track (YOSC) hard session
T Easy Run Bike
W Swim or Run Run with Hogweeds 1-1.5 hours
T Bike or Run or Gym Bike or Swim (Swim-fit Yate pool)
F easy Swim general doss or take dog out
S Long Bike or long Run or a Bike/run session
S Similar to Saturday Hogweeds Sunday morning sometimes
If you are training for a sprint event clearly you don't need to train as much as a longer event. Don't do too much.