Dominion's Sprint and Olympic Distance - OPEN !!! (Page 16)

I'd go with the tri shoe. It';s basically the same as a road shoe but with velcro instead of locking straps. Unless you plan on doing any serious crit racing with your $200 bike, the tri shoe will be fine...best of both worlds. The Pearl Izumi TriFly is a great shoe. I see them the IV for as little as $70 and I think you can get the V for around $100. Its is a high quality shoe. You can get decent Shimano pedals from Nashbar for around $40 with shipping. They should come with a set of cleats.

I'd say get them, even if your bike isn't worth much. You can use them when you upgrade, and you will already have the skill set mastered. It shouldn't take long to get comfortable enough to race with them. All you have to do is get them clipped in and unclipped one time during a race presumably.

Good luck, and here's a link

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_527070_-1___205000

Busy schedule! Looks good!

It was just announced that one of the tri shops in Fort Worth has put together and got approved for a half and full distance triathlon right here in town! I already signed up for the 140.6 on May 7, 2017. I'm really stoked about this! They invited Ironman to host the race but IM wanted to stay in The Woodland (which is the race I just did). Everyone seems fine with it because local companies can get involved w/o the corporate contracts of Ironman getting in the way. It also cuts the entry fee in half. Which I'm fine with!

That is awesome. Support those local races. Those IM prices are just something I have a hard time justifying.

That's a busy two months.  Get better each race and have fun doing it!

That race sounds like a disaster from an organizational standpoint. The transition set up is just plain unfair. And the swim cap issue..was it chip timing? At least with chips it would keep someone from finishing 10 minutes ahead of their wave, at least their real time would be on the chip system. I doubt I would be doing that race again just for the inequitable transition set up.

Congrats on your finish though! Mid-Pack and moving up!!

Have someone at a local shop look at it and get an expert opinion. My first instinct from the picture is that it is probably cosmetic and still perfectly functional. I'm no carbon fiber expert though, so that is just my guess from looking at a picture. Have it looked at and maybe it can be filled in and/or painted over to minimize the appearance. I know what you mean though, even cosmetic damage would bother me too. Another alternative would be to buy a new fork if it bothers you that much.

Y'all looking good in July!

Personally, I took a little hiatus! I rode my road bike some and did a local bike tour, only 41 miles. Now I've started a training plan for a 70.3 in Nov. but I have a bike ride at the end of this month first. The Hotter than Hell 100. And yes, it is. I did a brick a couple of days ago, 1 hour on the bike with a 40' run after. It was 102*F out and I should have stopped the run after the first 20 minute loop. I didn't feel so good and had a headache later in the evening. Back in the pool this last week as well with some drills and some long, slow stuff. Another year of college about to start for the kiddo's so my wrist is getting a workout writing checks.

Have a great weekend. 

BIKE

 

9h 07m 28s - 143.54 Mi

RUN

 

1h 40m 28s - 9.63 Mi

 

 

Good job sticking with it! I feel your pain, been there! I haven't had issues with cramping since I added Base Salts to my nutrition plan. I know there's lots of controversy regarding salt intake but it works for me. Even on hilly "mashing" courses.

"My bottles were fuller than they should have been for a ride that was nearly 90 minutes long"

You probably hit on something there! Usually after some reflection of your performance you can put your finger on it. Or have a good guess.

I used salt tabs for a while: SaltStick. But I found out that a good percentage of the salt is lost in your stomach and digestive system and it's not a true electrolyte replacement. So now I've been using BASE salt: HERE. You can spend some time reading reviews. Also BASE website is good with info, usage, and testimony: HERE 

The way BASE works is it comes with a few small bottles with snap lids. You lick your thumb, pop open the lid, place thumb on the opening, shake, lick the salt off your thumb, close lid.

You can do a sweat test to get a rough estimate of your hydration needs: HERE

I got this advise from some long course guys who use 50/50 water and Gatorade Endurance for their hydration. I LOVE it!! Gatorade End also gives you some calories to meet your nutrition needs. My schedule: Two 28 oz bottles, one water and one Gatorade End. I take three large swigs every 15 minutes. 0 & 30 are water. 15 & 45 are G.E. That puts me right at two hours of riding time, 28 oz per hour. NOTE: With temps in the 90+ range take four swigs and carry an extra bottle. Plus I'll hit the salt a little more often. Reason: I lose salt. Even when I was just running my shirt would have salt marks on it from my sweat. It's been a trial and error process. Too much can reduce performance and it's not good for your health.

I eat gels and/or clif bars with the Gatorade End to make up my 230 cal per hour nutrition. Usually a gel or half a clif bar every 30 minutes. Clif bars on the bike give me some solid food in my stomach then gels, blocks, ect. only for the run works for me.

I apply this formula for EVERY bike or run workout! When you find your sweet spot you'll see a difference in our workouts, recovery, and races.

Lastly find a recovery drink. I use Recoverite immediately after EVERY hour or longer workout, any workout! 

Here's good trouble shooting issues info from Hammer Nutrition: Solutions. Also click on the PC Knowledge tab for lots of info. Of course they want you to buy their stuff, lol.

If you have a Tri Shop near you I would recommend checking out what they have. There's a lot of new stuff on the market. I went with Gatorade Endurance off a recommendation but also because they sponsor Ironman this year and were handing it up on my last race. I don't see changing anytime soon. I used Hammer's Perpetuem through training and a 70.3 once and in the end it didn't work well for me. But it works for some.

Hope this helps. Sorry it's just thrown together and I hope the links work. Sitting here at 1:30 am on night shift. Let me know if you have any questions.

I learned the hard way on my first 70.3. The water was cold and I came out a little nauseous feeling (I wear ear plugs in cold water now). I sipped a little on the bike and ate a couple of gels but didn't feel like it. The feeling soon passed and I was having a great ride. Then around mile 50 my quads started cramping and with a bottle and half of water still left I realized what I had done. Didn't stick to my nutrition plan. I could barley get off my bike and through T2 when I started my 30 minute walk drinking and eating. But I was able to walk/run to the finish. Then paid for it for multiple days afterwards. Nothing like throwing 4-5 months of time, money, and training out the window, lesson learned!