California college triathlon

Posted November 3rd, 2008 by DannyD

So I am new to California and will be going to school in S. Cal. I came from the Midwest and was a part of my college tri club (don't want to say who so that I don't make them mad - I still have friends there). I am new to triathlon but grew up swimming and 'am a low 6 min miler so felt as though I would do good by transistioning over to triathlon.
I have to say that what I have been observing in California is that the College athletes are way better than anywhere else. I have never been around so many fast athletes that are strong in all 3 areas. I hope that they will push me to become a faster triathlete and keep the flame alive for years to come.
My question is are all these athletes that much better than other tri clubs? Is it because they get better weather? Is everyone that much fitter on West?
I am not saying this to offend anyone. I am fairly new to the sport and beginning to feel a little intimidated by the blazing speeds of some. I am seeing guys at the college level put in very low 2 hr. international distance times. I am not even sure if I can be competitive for my school. What other advice can anyone give? This is a tough sport and it would be nice to meet other fellow athletes no matter what school and share advice.

Dan D

Nice to see results spread

DannyD's picture
On November 19th, 2008 DannyD said:

Nice to see results spread across all areas. 4 California schools in top 10, but not as heavy from S. Cal as I thought.
Now that I am getting into multisport more, I will definately be paying attention and trying to get my results higher.
My bike legs suck!

1 UC

Chris Green's picture
On November 17th, 2008 Chris Green said: 

1	UC Berkeley				28	53	81
2	University of Colorado Boulder	65	51	116
3	United States Military Academy		61	79	140
4	University of Florida			86	103	189
5	United States Naval Academy		87	124	211
6	University of California Santa Barabara	165	55	220
7	UC San Diego				238	35	273
8	Stanford University			195	93	288
9	Purdue University			83	229	312
10	Michigan State University		110	253	363
11	Virginia Tech				326	74	400
12	University of Montana			305	95	400
13	University of Wisconsin			236	185	421
14	University of Georgia			305	152	457
15	UNC-Chapel Hill				61	417	478
16	California Polytechnic State Univ. SLO	261	218	479
17	Texas A&M University			238	244	482
18	University of Arizona			301	208	509
19	Penn State				187	375	562
20	Georgetown University			378	190	568
21	United States Air Force Academy		278	301	579
22	Vanderbilt University			274	316	590
23	University of Kentucky			267	343	610
24	University of Alabama			365	255	620
25	Iowa State University			340	343	683
26	University of Michigan			315	376	691
27	Ohio State University			398	298	696
28	University of Iowa			457	278	735
29	Florida State University		344	427	771
30	University of New Mexico		588	196	784
31	Northwestern University		300	503	803
32	University of Central Florida		396	462	858
33	Miami University			        292	876
34	University of Southern California	706	220	926
35	Colorado State University		318	616	934
36	Clemson University			527	421	948
37	James Madison University		631	328	959
38	University of Dayton			361	626	987
39	Columbia University			634	358	992
40	Arizona State University		610	474	1084
41	University of Miami			592	519	1111
42	College of Charleston			636	493	1129
43	Auburn University			640	526	1166
44	Ohio University				754	486	1240

Have lots of ideas and

DannyD's picture
On November 11th, 2008 DannyD said:

Have lots of ideas and proposals to make my team have better organization.
Cool website! Seems like the UofA has a lot to offer for all of you.
S. Cal. is so heavily populated that it's hard to break away and get good rides unless you drive for a bit to get out of traffic. We have some good community pools around that some of us take advantage of.
Some are comfortable getting in the Pacific for some training. Not frequently as it's pretty cold.
Do more of the UofA or other college athletes hang out here? It would be good to hear from more and see your training plans and race results.
Not many spots for college triathletes or multi-sport types. I've tried telling some of my other friends and hopefully they will sign up soon but it would be cool to start a huge community and get tips. Also start some rivalries

we pay a small fee per

matt ward's picture
On November 9th, 2008 matt ward said:

we pay a small fee per semester to be a part of the club.  so our club dues cover the coaching.  plus our coach is generous enough to provide his services for super cheap.  doesn't hurt that tucson has a good triathlon community...so we've got good connections.  there are a lot of people in the club with varying abilities but our training plans take this into account and offer up a variety of workouts based on this. tucson is a really nice place to train.  tons of great cycling with plenty of  good climbing. there are also many good running paths at parks as well as plenty of trail running.  we swim at our school recreation center. the summer does get really hot (but the rest of the year is really nice).  you just have to get up super early or hit up the moutains or just train in the evening.  our website: arizonatricats.com

Thanks for the training

DannyD's picture
On November 8th, 2008 DannyD said:

Thanks for the training comments. I would have to say that my training is a bit similar. Some days, not as long of a workout as I would like due to work and school.
I am curious, how do you get professional coaching? Do you have to pay for that or does your team have some sort of a coaching contact?
Our workouts are generally set for us weekly and I believe that we are getting most info. from internet coaching sources.
P.S. I hear Tucson is a pretty cool place for training. What about the summer heat though?

How we train

matt ward's picture
On November 7th, 2008 matt ward said:

I'm a member of the team at the University of Arizona.  I've been doing triathlon for a little over a year now.  We have professional coaching and workouts scheduled every day of the week.  Not everyone goes to every workout, but my schedule and many others looks something like:  mon (rest), tues (bike ~2 hours hard with many hills or hill repeats; run 1hr-1:15), wednesday (easy bike 1 hr. 45 min-2hrs.; swim of 3K+ yards broken into drill/form work and interval sets of varying length and intensity), thursday (45min.- 1 hr. tempo run...getting ready to do some track workouts soon), friday (morning bike ride easy/moderate ~2 hrs.; swim same as before); saturday (long ride conversational pace with some moderate or hard efforts thrown in); Sunday (run 1.5 hrs. on hilly trails; long steady swim).  things vary but this is generally what i'm doing in tucson.  oh, and yes, we've got some fast people on the team.  but more than that, we have a lot of fun and interesting people who enjoy the sport and active lifestyle.

Did not mean anything

DannyD's picture
On November 5th, 2008 DannyD said:

Did not mean anything serious by the comments. More than anything I was hoping to hear how other people train.
If there are any college level athletes into multisport that are willing to share training and racing tips. Please do so.

Hey dude, I am a few years

TCR's picture
On November 4th, 2008 TCR said:

Hey dude, I am a few years out of college but read your post.
I don't think that it's just California people that are faster, etc. I have been to a lot of races where the event has hosted a college division. Plenty of non california people do well. Most events I have been in are in the West and not sure about other parts of the country. In any case, the nice weather on the West coast probably allows for better training and that's as far as it goes.
No matter where you are from if you get the time to train, the right coaching and focus you will be a better performer.
Be careful, your comments may have ticked off a few people as there are fast people everywhere.