| Triathlon – three discipline sport, usually done in the order of swimming, biking and running |
| Sprint Triathlon – distances vary a bit but it’s basically a .25 mile swim, 13 mile bike and a 3.1 run |
| Olympic Triathlon – (also called International Distance) – .9 mile swim, 25 mile bike, 6.2 mile run |
| Half-ironman –also known as the 70.3 race which is the total distance in miles. The race consist of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. |
| Ironman – an ultradistance triathlon, 140.6 miles total. 2.4 mile swim, 113 mile bike, 26.2 mile run |
| Tri-geek – anyone who really digs triathlon and knows all the vocabulary |
| Bonk – when you run out of energy in a race |
| PR – personal record; personal best |
| DQ – disqualified; usually for breaking some safety rules |
| USAT – USA Triathlon, our governing board. Everyone should be a member. |
| Penalty – minutes added to your finish time for violation of a rule |
| Transition, T1 or T2 – the time between the disciplines. T1 is between swim and bike, T2 is between the bike and run |
| Nutrition – what a lot of people don’t pay attention to in the long events, and then they bonk. |
| WTC – World Triathlon Corporation. Owns the Ironman-brand |
| Kona – the place where the Ironman World Championship is held in October each year. On the big island of Hawaii. |
| Clearwater – where the 70.3 Worlds is held each November |
| Chip – short for Champion Chip, the timing device you wear on your ankle in a triathlon. |
| Race belt – elastic belt to pin your race number to, to help with quick transition |
| Tri bike (as opposed to Road Bike) – bike with a special geometry to enable you to run off the bike better |
| Brick – what your legs feel like when you get off the bike to run. Also the name of a workout where you deliberately go for a run after the bike. |
| HR – your heart rate |
| Heart Rate Monitor – a device used to measure your HR while exercising. The price points on these vary depending on the features you want |
| Perceived Exertion/Effort – The level of effort you put into a discipline to gauge how your body is performing. This is hard to gauge when you’re new to working out but as you get to know your body you’ll be able to know how much effort you’re exerting by how your body feels. People usually describe this as a range from 1 to 10 being that 1 is low effort and 10 is max effort. |
| Training with Power – The amount of power measured in watts you exert when exercising. This would be the third and most expensive way of measuring your efforts (the others being Perceived Exertion and Heart Rate Monitor) when exercising as it requires an investment in additional equipment for your bike. |
| Lactic Threshold(LT) - The exercise intensity at which lactic acid starts to accumulate in the blood stream. This happens when it is produced faster than it can be removed (metabolized). This point is sometimes referred to as the anaerobic threshold (AT), or the onset of blood lactate accumulation (OBLA). When exercising below the LT intensity any lactate produced by the muscles is removed by the body without it building up. The lactate threshold is a useful measure for deciding exercise intensity for training and racing in endurance sports (e.g. long distance running, cycling, swimming), and can be increased greatly with training. |
| Red Zone – Above 80% of your maximum HR which as a general rule of thumb is when you move from aerobic exercise to anaerobic exercise. The two types of exercise (Aerobic and Anaerobic) differ by the duration and intensity of muscular contractions involved, as well as by how energy is generated within the muscle. Initially during aerobic exercise, glycogen is broken down to produce glucose, which is then broken down using oxygen to generate energy. In the absence of these carbohydrates, fat metabolism is initiated instead. The latter is a slow process, and is accompanied by a decline in performance level. This gradual switch to fat as fuel is a major cause of what marathon runners call "hitting the wall”. |
| Over Trained – What happens to your body when you spend too much time training in the Red Zone without proper base training at the beginning of the year. Your HR spikes with little effort and you find it hard doing any training without being exhausted. |
| Wetsuit – A triathlon specific wetsuit may be worn in a triathlon if the temperature is 78 degrees or below on race morning (race official makes the call). Between 78 and 82 degrees, you may opt to wear one, but you would be ineligible for awards. Above 82 it is not recommended due to overheating |
| Race “B***H” or Sherpa – any person(s) you con into going to a race with you to do all the “stuff” needed to keep you organized as your mind will be frazzled and this person(s) will keep you on track and sane. This person is invaluable but understand, the person you select for this role needs to be committed to helping you accomplish your goal. If you select someone that isn’t committed they will be more of a distraction and cause you more stress then you need. This isn’t as important on the shorter races but is essential on longer distances. |
| |