Gear priorities

Hi all -- I've been reading at BT for a while, but only now feel compelled to post. It's a pretty great community... thanks for all the racing wisdom I've already gotten.

I have a couple tri's under my belt and am starting to want some new gear. Obviously, there's a lot to be had (or wanted at least), and on a grad student's budget, I have to prioritize carefully. So I'd like to get some suggestions for a rough order of gear purchases.

For reference, and as my "introduction", I'm male, 30, 5'10"/167lbs. I've been training haphazardly for a couple years, and have started regular, well-planned, daily workouts this year. I've done a few sprints, the last one in 62 minutes and a half-marathon (1:47). I'm feeling pretty strong going into my first olympic-distance race in a few weeks. I'm signed up for a marathon later this fall and am eyeing a HIM next June with the intention of moving to the full iron-distance either later that year or the next. I'm currently riding a quality, but decidedly non-racing, old Panasonic road bike with caged petals and whatever components my buddy could find when he built it. Hey, why don't I just post a picture?




I use my iPhone to track speed and distance, I've got an Xterra wetsuit, a pair of tri-shorts, swim googles and jammers, and a made-for-biking camelback for longer rides. I think that's just about all my gear. So, here's what I'm thinking:

- HR monitor: this seems like a likely next purchase. RPE is good and well, but it would be really nice to have the data, especially as I move into more endurance training and have to force myself to keep in the lower zones. It seems like something that will beep at me at whatever HR I tell it to is probably all I need. Is recording avg/max HR important? Other features I'm going to wish I had? And what's up with chest straps? Do the wrist-only sensors fail regularly? The chest strap sure doesn't seem very pleasant.

- Bike: I could probably put between $500 ~ $1000 into a new (used) bike, but it would stretch my budget (I feel like I'm putting a small fortune into registrations alone!). The alternative would be a few upgrades (petals & shoes, aero-bars... others?) on this bike, but I think it's a bit small for me and not without issues, and for HIM training starting next spring, I'm going to want a more serious bike, right? Do you think in that price range, I can get a bike, used, that will take me through my first IM? I'm not a gear-junky at all, but I also don't know what 100 mile rides are like. Advice?

- Second water bottle cage. I think this will be necessary before the olympic. I don't want to ride with a camel back on, right?

- Tri-suit/shirt. Save a step in T1, increase aerodynamics, seems like a good idea.

- Running and bike shorts, for training. My baggies get awfully heavy by the end of long runs and I could definitely go for some more padding on the longer rides.

- Race belt, shoe-tie things.

- Finger lap counter/split timer. I lose count at least once per workout and would love to have my split times. Though I guess the HR monitor could do this, if I get one that keeps a fairly large dataset. I've heard people don't use HR monitors in the pool so much, true?

Anything I've not thought of that I ought to consider? Thanks so much. I look forward to meeting many of you at future races! (Speaking of, anyone doing the MedExpress in Morgantown, WV in a few weeks?) Thanks again -- it's really much appreciated.

Michael

Edited by neweyes 2010-07-17 11:28 AM