After two years of doing no triathlons at all I returned to the sport in August 2024. On the 4th of August I did my first middle distance triathlon.
The reason?
I still have the goal of completing a long-distance triathlon at least once.
For years, I’ve been following this sport and have watched numerous races on TV without truly understanding what it means to complete such a distance in one go.
For me, it was never a question of whether I could finish a long distance triathlon, but rather in what time. For most people this might seem a bit arrogant but I would describe it as ambitious.
In my opinion I should be able to finish it under 10 hours with the right preparation. Maybe even under 9:30 hours? And that in the first attempt? Is this realistic? These are question I ask my self at the moment.
These are numbers that only ambitious athletes consider. To bring myself back to reality and to see what’s possible, I decided in July to sign up for the Challenge Roth 2025 – a long distance triathlon.
Said and done, and luckily, I got a spot on my first attempt. At that time, I hadn’t even completed a middle-distance triathlon.
For over two years, I turned away from triathlons. More specifically, from swimming. It didn’t bring me much joy at the time.
The bubbling sound of water, the constant shortness of breath, the time-consuming trips to the pool, and the feeling of not improving much.
Swimming for 3.8km straight seemed so far out of reach for a long time.
In preparation for the middle-distance triathlon this year, I went swimming a total of seven times, about once a week. My goal was simply to be able to swim the 1.9 km distance of the middle-distance triathlon.
The approach: Swim further in each training session than in the last one, without focusing on speed at all.
The beginning of a long set was always tough. The breathing wasn’t yet settled. It got better when I focused on more exhaling underwater.
And then after the first 500m I suddenly started to get into a flow. The breathing normalized and it felt like a forced meditation in the bubbling water.
There were moments when I thought I had cracked the code of swimming. Suddenly, it felt like I could always reach forward with my shoulder, or I had identified the cause of my shoulder problems. Specifically, that the pull should only be executed when the body is rotated to that side and not still on the opposite side.
This gave me the feeling that I could definitely do it for the race and so it was. Although I came to the swim exit in the last third of the field, at no point did I feel like I couldn’t do it.
Swimming wasn’t the only thing that kept me from pursuing this sport. Triathlon requires a lot of gear. To compete on the same level as others, you have to spend a lot of money. You need a time trial bike (with bike fitting), a time trial helmet, a wetsuit, carbon shoes and good nutrition. Plus, there’s usually an expensive registration fee (for Challenge Roth, it’s 679€).
It also takes a lot of effort to gather all the things for the competition and then transport them all to the competition venue. Compared to running, where you only need shoes and maybe some food, this is a considerable difference.
However, the middle-distance race reminded me of what this sport is all about and why it’s worth pursuing:
- Running as the final discipline and overtaking from behind
- Many ambitious athletes of all age groups with crazy fast times
- Bringing the combination of different sports together
- All levels of ability, from beginners on regular city bikes to the pros on their 10.000€ time trial bikes.
The Middle Distance Race Report
THE STATS
4:44:58h
🏊♂️ 1,9km – 36:43min
🚴♂️ 90km – 2:35:56h
🏃♂️ 20km – 1:27:48h
The training before:
In the last three weeks before I had done three bike rides of 2-3 hours every week and one 14km tempo brick run on a 90k bike ride. This was my only specific preparation for this event.
Apart from that, I only trained specific volume of 50-70km in running. In addition to that came 1-2 bike commutes to work per week.
I’ve only cycled 2400km this year, but already run 1500km.
I only went swimming once a week and have only swum 2000m continuous twice in my life.
THE SWIM
1,9km – 36:43min – 1:56/100m
For only having trained swimming 7 times this year I’m super satisfied with my swim.
Didn’t wear a wet suit as 95% of the other athletes wore one.
When it comes to swimming, I always have the problem that I look forwards before every breath and therefore change my swimming position a lot.
In addition to that my frequency is kind of low.
THE BIKE
90km – 2:35:56h – 35km/h (Avg. 161bpm)
I didn’t have a time trial bike, just my normal road bike with time trial handlebars, but unfortunately they were much too low.
I was able to ride the first 20 km in the aero position, then my back hurt too much.
Had one 40g carbs gel directly after the swim.
After that I switched to liquid carbohydrates. I had two 750ml bottles with 100g carbs each on board.
THE RUN
20km – 1:27:48h – 4:23min/km
The first kilometers on the run felt awful because of the back problems. After a while my back opened up and I was able to push.
Took two 40g gels and had a soft flask with water and salt with me.
What helped me a lot in the midday sun was the cooling with water and the sponges in the aid stations.
When I reached the finish line, I still had a little energy left. A good sign for me that my body is capable of more.
At some point (approx. 5km before the finish) I took my watch off and just ran by feel to push myself even harder.
THE NUTRITION
PRE-RACE:
Carboloading with:
- Carbohydrate-rich meals in the last two days before the race less fiber and vegetables
- 750g of sweets
- Chocolate cake
- 3l of Sprite
In addition to that I ate some beet roots over the last few days and drank some pickle juice the evening before the race.
RACE:
BIKE:
40g carbs 1:0,8 MNSTRY Gel directly after the swim
2x100g carbs in 750ml bottles with 1:0,8 Maltodextrin/Fructose ratio with a pinch of salt.
The Study *Thanks to my friend Felix for providing that information.
RUN:
2x40g carbs 1:0,8 MNSTRY Gels
1x 500ml soft flask with water and pinch of salt
Over the entire duration of the competition, I consumed a total of 320g of carbs.
Race duration: 285min / 4,75h
320g / 4,75h = ~67g/h
So there is still some room for improvement in the intake as pro athlete’s consume up from 80 to 120g/h.
All in all, I have to say that the catering and the pacing worked very well throughout the race and I would still have had some energy left at the end of the race.
The ambitious athletes in triathlon
What struck me again at this triathlon is how many very good amateur athletes there are who swim, cycle and run such incredibly good, ambitious times.
As someone who trains hard during the week, you know what training demands of you. But there are some who work even harder.
First place was 40 minutes away.
CHAPEAU.
I take my hat off!
WHAT I HAVE TO IMPROVE TO RACE AN LONG DISTANCE TRIATHLON / IRONMAN?
The middle distance which almost no bike and swim preparation showed me that I’m capable of much more with the right amount of training in cycling and swimming. My initial assumption is that I would then be able to cover twice the distance in the same time.
The goal: Sub 9:30*
*Assuming that the weather cooperates.
SWIM: 1:10h 1:51min/100m
At the moment, this seems to be a time that should be achievable with a little more training (twice a week).
I also might get a few tips from some competitive swimmers in my environment.
Up to now, I’ve never really trained according to a swim trainingplan. That time is now over and I’m going to get myself a training plan.
I already have a Neo. I have to test again whether it is also suitable for the distance.
BIKE: 5:05h – 35,5km/h
I currently own a time trial bike. However, this cannot be adjusted to a reasonable position for me (at least from my point of view). It is simply too small.
So I’m going to sell my current bike (Giant Trinity Advanced SL0 – John Degenkolb Edition) and switch to another pre owned bike.
To be able to pace myself well on the bike, I also need a powermeter. So far, I have only been able to determine my performance values on my roller trainer and train accordingly.
In general, I will have to use the roller trainer more again due to time constraints.
I don’t see the challenge at the moment in putting in the necessary power values, but rather in maintaining the aero position over this long period of time. I will probably have to do a bike fitting beforehand and stabilization training will have to become my best friend.
RUN: 3:10h – 4:31min/km
Even though I have only run two marathons in 2:58h and 3:00h so far, the problem here was always due to the nutrition intake. I had stomach problems in both marathons and couldn’t pace myself properly.
After finishing my 5k sub 16:30 project, I will try to run a faster marathon again this year (>2:50h) in order to get some confidence.
So that’s it for now on the subject of triathlon and my plans.
I will be drawing up a more detailed plan over the next few weeks, in which I will at least try to establish a periodization, key sessions and a weekly structure.
If you have any question, feel free to contact me.
Thanks for reading!
Jan
