QuincyF and Oriolepwr's Magical Mys-tri Tour for Newbies Has Begun (CLOSED) (Page 16)

here is a few thoughts for your schedule:

Lake Zurich tri (olympic)   well organized.   The lake itself is murky, muddy.  but I do like the bike and run course) http://www.321goevents.com/event4.asp  its  July 8th.

IM-Racine 70.3   Perhaps you do not want to do this distance this year?  It's July 15th. 

One thing I would seriously consider if I were you,  is the Chicago Triathlon    why?  you are in Chicagoland.   It's the largest  tri in the world!   many peeps  dream of being able to come to Chicago and do this.    By then you will be a Tri veteran.       It's on August 26th.   They have both a sprint as well as olympic distance.

Besides the Palos  1/2 mary,   what are your other run only thoughts/plans?   looking to do more  1/2's?   

I don't.   They all seem pricey to me.    Perhaps Q will know.     The race expo  at the Chicago Tri  is an awesome place to find deals in person.     Before then, perhaps look to rent  to check fit????   You can come to the city and rent a suit from Fleet feet on Saturday Am's it costs like $10   then once you know what you like.   ORDER ONLINE!  or wait till Chicago tri and get one even cheaper at the expo.       Let me know when you plan to go and I'd go swim with ya    ( HA! not that its a big treat or anything)

Right NOW, I am REMEMBERING  LOL    agony, agony, agony   And I did take today off, along with a couple of Sam Adams Octoberfest ( have to finish them before they expire)

At least two if not more shops bring their suits down to the Ohio St. Beach (Tri Beach) area, probably starting in June. I can't remember the weeknight, but it's kind of a 'thing.' Anyway, one of the shops is Mox. I am assuming Element as well. Both will rent wetsuits dirt cheap, you can swim in it and then if you like it, you get the rental forgiven as part of the purchase price. Not sure if you want to get one before Batavia. You don't need it for Batavia, but the quarry can be cold. I always wore mine because I was practicing for other races.

Both Mox and Element also have knowledgable and friendly salespeople who can talk you through trying suits on in their stores. Just don't put a nail thru the suit...bad juju. If you go to Mox, you can mention my name as I ride with them. I think I am in good standing right now. The owner was pissed at me for signing up for IMOO instead of defending our TT 3rd place, but I think that's over now. Mox is on Randolph right by the interstate and Element is at the intx of Damen, Clybourn, and Diversey across the parking lot from Costco.

You can rent from both of them for races as well, but that rental fee is far more expensive than the quickie lake rental...if you can get down there for that, you can kill two birds with one stone...

I bet you could google it and find out when they did it last year...or maybe it's on their website. 

I don't care for Running Away Multisport, but if you can hit them when Paul, their owner, is in the shop, you'll get treated well...otherwise they are super hit or miss (more miss IMHO). I think they are over on Clybourn now too.

You could always try a bunch on and then look online for the model you like, but don't tell Mox I said that...

Q

July is hard...I think it's the shoulder season effect...most places that have tris want them at the beginning or end of the summer because that is when they have more vacancies. Isn't there one downstate? Tri-Shark or Evergreen? Last year it was a big AG Nationals Qualifier...I've heard great things about it and it sells out fast. 

Is Door county only a HIM? 

Have you looked on TriFind.com? 

That's a pretty useful tool...I think you can pick regions in the advanced feature so you don't have to go state by state...

Lauren- did you talk to the tri-chicks at the office yet?

Hey, everyone!!  Sorry I disappeared, but I was on vacay last weekend in NYC.  Returned Monday afternoon in time to go to in-service days at school, and started teaching on Thursday.  I did work out in NYC, but had no computer access in hotel (crazy!) - ran for 20 minutes one day and did 40 minute bike/10 minute run combo.  The rest of the time I filled with seeing 6 Broadway shows - try that marathon!!  Thoroughly enjoyed the time with DH and friends known as "Broadway Bounders."  No workouts since ,  but going tonight.  So ready!

I've returned and have been reading ALL posts (on page 17, I think). First, thanks for all the detailed info, Quincy!!  Very helpful and added much to my conversations over the past couple of days.  WHile I have not yet talked to the tri-chicks at work, I talked to another speech colleague who does tris.  He totally scoffed at my commitment to spring.  He said, "Listen, you can totally do an olympic distance!"  I told him I appreciated his confidence, but I wanted to get into this a little slow.  He told me I'll find the spring totally easy, but I'm okay with that the first time around.  He also confirmed that I'll get addicted.  We talked bikes, training, all kinds of stuff, and I'm totally excited!  I think he'll be part of a good support system.

He also suggested Pleasant Prairie (?) as a good tri.  He even suggested that the location of the open water swim for that race is a good place to practice.

A friend of mine who I ride with regularly also got a new bike, so we talked about how that will change our riding together.  I know I'm going to need to get a new bike soon, but I'm sticking with my Cannondale hybrid for now.  Going to LBS, though, to talk about tire change.

I have an old wetsuit that I bought probably 12 years ago in Florida at a Wal-Mart during spring break. I haven't had it on in years.  Is that sufficient to use?

Glad to be back and reading up on what everyone's been up to!

Tom

That's interesting to know. I make jokes about mine sometimes but it really is fairly serious. I have aortic and mitral valve stenosis from radiation treatments for my first cancer. Mine is actually worsening each year and my cardiologist says it's not a matter of if but when I'll have to valve replacement surgery. I really did need a hrm because he doesn't want me overdoing it hr wise. I'll actually be doing some specialized testing soon as well so we can formulate a plan for what heart rate to back off on. He does say though that the progression would likely be a good bit worse if I didn't train like I do. He just doesn't want me having a heart attack during training. I kinda agree with him- that doesn't sound like too much fun- lol.

Shelly

10 Great reasons for Beer:   http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/10-surprising-health-benefits-beer

Now I can finish my training?  LOL

Wal-mart was selling wet-suits?  way to go Wal-mart!    hear that Costco?   you need to sell TRI gear!!!

PP is a very nice Tri     Much of its course  I train on ALOT!    I ride north from Gurnee and hook up to the bike course, ride it and come back.    My kids learned how to swim at the Rec Plex there.   While they were having their lessons,  I'd run the 2.25  loop around the lake.   

 Your friend is right!   Lake Andrea  a couple of nights per week in the summer does hold open water swim practice with a life guard and kayak (cost $10)    I swam there 5-6 times last year  and did the tri in 2010    

I liked it, but opted for Bigfoot tri in Lake Geneva last year (same weekend)   and planning on Bigfoot again in 2012

Have NEVER had it before. Maybe I will give it a try someday.

oriolepwr - 2012-01-14 9:32 PM Some great football action today.   I was stunned when the Saints lost that game.   

Me too. Of course the Broncos are being killed right now. Did I ever mention how much I HATE Tom Brady?

Wal-mart was selling wet-suits?  way to go Wal-mart! **** So I looked up wetsuits at walmart and I got this...Zhu Zhu pet wetsuit. Now I have been losing weight but I will NEVER be small enough to wear one of those.

On another note...been missing the last few days, been busy with school. I did get my bike put together. How in the heck do you upload a pic on here? Also, do we name bikes like cars and boats? If so I have to think of a sexy hot name for it because it is red in color. Of course I did put it together thursday night and said, I will test drive it tomorrow, and then we received about 6 inches of snow so no riding it for a little bit. Not happy about that. Love it though, will be looking into clip pedal and shoes next week.

Now now, just because the broncos never showed up to foxboro doesn't mean a thing.  I think that if the ravens beat the texans, they will then go on to crush the patriots.  IF the texans win, it will be another game like yesterday, and then the patriots will go on to get crushed by whoever is the NFC champ.

Tom Brady can do no wrong in New England.

Why do you dislike him?   Is it because he is one of the best that has ever been, and you loathe that he is better than some others?  I always hated Dan Marino, but later on in his career I learned to love him because with Dan Marino at the helm, you knew he would wine and cry, and be entertaining, and his games became FUN to watch because of it.  Perhaps you could look at the same, and see tom brady as being funny to watch rather than just straight hating him...

I was also stunned that the saints lost.  Oh well, perhaps the 49ers will beat the Pack?  WHo knows?

Mark W.

Planned a swim today, but weanied out in favor of a nap and playoffs.  Sometimes ya gotta be a slacker, I guess! 

Saints loss was disappointing, but WOW what a game!  I'll root for the Giants today, but really, I like all 3 NFC teams left.  I swore to my father-in-law that I'd root for the Giants for life when they took out the Pats in the Super Bowl a few years ago and stopped their undefeated season.

Not surprising the Pats obliterated the Broncos.  I don't want to be a hater, so I'll say that my "negative feelings" for the Pats and Brady and Bilicheat are fueled with the fire of a thousand white hot stars.  And the fact that I know how good they are and have so much respect for them as players and as a team just adds to the fuel.  As much as I want to win the contest at work and win a pair of tickets to the Super Bowl, it could somehow ruin it if I have to watch Brady play a Super Bowl on the Colts field.  Bleh!  So, I'll root for the Ravens (which pains me) or the Texans to muster what it takes to beat them next weekend!!

Jacki

oriolepwr - 2012-01-14 8:32 PM Some great football action today.   I was stunned when the Saints lost that game.   

I was/am totally depressed ;-(. May not be able to run again because of my overwhelming sadness.

Man I'll come up with anything to get out of running- lol.

Seriously, I was pretty disappointed but it is only football. And next year the Superbowl is in New Orleans so I think it's meant for the Saints to go the SB when it's here. So I'll just look forward to next year.

On a more exciting note dh and I ran a 5k yesterday and dh won 3rd in his age group. We were so excited and I am so proud of him. He got an awesome zip up tech shirt, a signed commerative poster and because he was one of the first 25 first time racers to cross the finish line he also won a pair of Mizuno running shoes that he gave to me. He's a great guy like that ( and actually Mizunos hurt his feet) lol. Then I attended a three hour run clinic taught by Jeff Galloway. It was awesome and he was a great motivator. He really had some interesting things to say about running and I can't wait to get out there and try his run walk run strategies.

All in all it was a great day. I did end up getting sick though and now can't move from the couch. Hopefully it won't last as I want to run soon.

Shelly

Peter

They are great, but be careful cause you may need an intervention if you get started on them. I might need to check with Dave and see if we can get group counseling because I think I need an intervention myself. They are more addicting than a jar of peanuts.

Shelly

I HATE him for the cry baby ways he has, I mean he is crying "I almost didn't get drafted" let's see you make almost 20 mill a year, married to a SUPER model which I am sure they have a bit of sex, so he is the 1% there. BTW if my GF ever reads this you are way hotter then his wife and I am POSITIVE the sex is better with us too. Sorry for the TMI

Ybeal - 2012-01-15 7:22 PM Okay, so the thing is I'm really psyching myself out about the new bike. I'm totally nervous to ride it, ESP around traffic, and the shifting and bike pedals have me totally worried. I'm even dreaming about it! Last night I dreamt my bike got stolen subconscious wishful thinking? Any advice?

I wish I had some wonderful pearls of wisdom. I can only say that I was  nervous wreck about going to clipless pedals and shoes when I bought my bike. I had just heard all the stories of falls and kept letting my head get me all worked up. When I finally made the switch it was so much better than I expected. Now I can't imagine riding without them. I predict you'll be the same way about your new bike.

Shelly