Noob questions

a Tri bike will not have drops but will have a flat/bullhorn style bar along with aero bars. To go with that it has a more aggressive seatpost/angle which allows for petter position on the aerobars to start with. Because in (most) tris you cannot draft the bike portion is considered a time trial. Hence you want yourself to be as aerodynamic as possible whereas on a road bike and in road races you can draft so you can rely on the paceline/Peloten to pull you through the air resistance.

To find a race I use the Find a race button at the top of BT. Either that or I go to Trifind.com and search with that. You can sign up as far in advance as you want. Typically the farther away you sign up the cheaper it is. Also knowing you have spent that money can provided some limited motivation when you may not want to train. I typically sign up between 1-5 months before a race.

I have not done those sorts of things but a lot of Triathletes specialize in one area and so enjoy doing ultras, marathons, centuries etc...It just depends on what you want to focus on.

Not a lady so I cannot answer this one from personal experience but I have heard if the cramps are bad then pop the advil/asprin/pamprin/drug of choice that reduces the cramps and then train through it. Good training for HTFUing through discomfort in a race.

I am a triathlete so....some consider that a serious mental illness...As far as things like serious depression, Bipolar disorders, being prone to panic attacks etc I would suggest talking to your doctor therapist. I do not see what is wrong with it and often exercise can help to reduce some of those I have heard (throughout high school I did often get depressed and at those times would go for a run and that usually cleared my head and at least made me  feel a bit better.) Again I would talk to your doc though and make sure any drugs you are on will not have issues with lots of exercise.

Good Luck!

I was not asking about the mental illness related to medication..but as for being able to complete this and train while having a mental illness. As in, manic/bi-polar, is anyone suffering from this and still able to maintain training? Or, perhaps chronic depression? What about something more severe, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

I wasn't asking for personal reasons, but more for finding out as much about this sport as possible.

Thanks

It all depends on the person. I am not a doctor but mental disorders are so variable between person to person even within the same diagnostic spectrum that it is impossible to say for certain. I have friends that do intense phyiscal activity but also suffer from severe depression and it is sometimes hard for them to get up to work out or go out to do it. Is it possible? yes but...it all comes down to the individual. I definately believe though that anytime someone has a mental disorder they need to be under the guidance of a trained professional.

There's a thread regarding this. You could probably ask those questions here:

Depression and Moods- Check in:
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp...

Edited by D001 2009-07-18 5:51 PM