For triathlons to be called "Olympic" or "international" distance, the relevant distances are approximately: 1.5k swim (1500m or 1640 yards or .93 miles), 40k bike (24.8 miles), 10k run (6.2 miles).
If any one or more of the legs is substantially less than any of those numbers, it's a sprint distance. Regardless of how it's promoted.
Just so you know.
Another note: Try not to compare your times with pros doing some Olympic-distance races, because often they are draft-legal for the pros. In that case they're going to be able to bike about twice as fast as us poor shmucks cycling all alone out there. Unless you cheat and draft, but that's another rant. . . .
But if you do a real Olympic-distance triathlon and don't draft, anything approaching 2 hours finish time is incredibly professional-level fast. Under 2:45 is pretty darned smokin' fast for just about any female.
10 comments:
you forgot to mention, that if the event is held at sea-level, it is to be called an SLP Olympic or SLP Long Distance triathlon.
sometimes, i see notation such as Olympic* or International* (* SLP race)
this useage of the * is not acceptable, the full SLP denotation is required...
Uh, that would be SEA LEVEL PUSSY?
Sorry, my vocabulary doesn't include DEROGATORY REFERENCES TO FEMALE GENITALIA!!!
But yours does, Bold. Nanny nanny boo boo.
And what if you (I) barely break 4 hours?? Last but hopefully not forgotten.
I could only break 4 hours on my 2nd Olympic tri. RESPECTABLE, that's what that is!! :-)
You make a very good point. I signed up for my first Olympic distance only to find out that the swim was only 1320 yards. Now, that didn't really bum me, as I leave a lot to be desired as a swimmer.
However, it's difficult to make comparisons when several football fields worth of swimming are missing.
Of course, that may have been more than made up for by the fact that the 24.8 miles bike was set at 28 miles. And several of us had comptuters that showed it closer to 29 miles.
I thought SLP was "soft, lazy penguin."
I could try to understand Bold's need to use SLP except that I live at sea level and I'm a girl. I train my ass off in weather than sends most people crying for their air conditioned treadmills.
ANYWAY, 4 hours for an olympic distance race sounds good to me. The key is finishing and having fun, whatever the pace may be.
With any luck, the race director will make certain the distances are correct. They better get it right for me.
Nancy,
thanks for that. My cousin's wife completed he first triathlon this weekend and I asked if she was doing a "real" triathlon. She kept saying yes, finally I asked the distance of each event and said Oh you are doing a sprint, not an Ironman. She gave me that look like "i hate you". But heck I already knew that.
(i'm still jealous though)
SLP - "Slow Legged Pace" would be about right for me...lol. I had another L word in there and decided despite my slowness, I ain't one of those. *grin*
i just want to say, M, that any triathlon is a real triathlon. Granted there is a huge difference between Sprint and Ironman, but most folks who are doing an Ironman, will say so. No wait, make that ALL folks.
I don't blame her for giving you that look, why minimalize what she's doing? She's doing it, ain't she?
Oh, yeah, good point! There is NOTHING WRONG with sprint triathlons!!! They are NOT easier than longer ones, if they're run hard!!!
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