kenj group - Closed (Page 17)

That'd be great!  There's another mentor from BT (rbstocks3, I believe) who will be running it, too.

Oh no! Not rstocks3!   That will make another race for me to chase Bob around! (he is doing IMLP this summer, plus he does a lot of the races around the finger lakes.  Great athelete that is, unfortunately for me in my age group, plus a super nice guy.)

He lives in Binghamton, so if you ever get a chance to get some swim advice from him, he is a literal fish in the water!

Ok, February is just about over and a couple of you that live in the south have your first tri of the season coming up in March!  After reading a thread in tri talk it got me thinking that I should check with you guys about wetsuits.  The basic premise of the thread was a slight panic in the water caused by the restrictive nature of swimming in a wetsuit without spending some time training in the wetsuit.

Make sure that you get some time in the water with the wetsuit before race day.  Ideally, if you have access in the open water, but minimally in the pool.  Once you get used to the wetsuit, you'll probably love the added float you get.

Any questions or concerns?

Ken,

Thanks for the advice.  I did 2 tris last year without a wetsuit, the second was in some pretty cool water.  I got one on ebay this winter.  I will need to start using it as I plan to start swimming on the lake that I live on probably in late April or early May.  For those of you who don't have one, I got a smoking good deal on a wetsuit on Ebay.  It was a bit of a gamble but I followed their sizing chart and the one I bought fits me fine. 

I have not had any issues with leakage, I am not sure where it would go as my suit is pretty snug.  I let some water in more often to cool myself off than as a means of warming myself up.  The lake I swim in is fairly deep and rarely gets much above 73 or 74 even in late summer, so sometimes the air temp is fairly warm so it is not unusual to need to cool off a bit.

I got the same e-mail, it did look like a good deal if I needed a wet suit.  

I picked up one of the Xterra suits last time there were on sale.  Got backordered.  Was supposed to be here this week.

The extra bouyancy is nice but I never got "used" to it.  I only swim in a suit once before a race and then during the race.  Last year I only did one race that required a suit so I never got accustomed to the extra bouyancy.

Wetsuits should let in water.  Drysuits should not.  The water warms up REAL quick.  After a hard swim it's almost uncomfortably warm.

After I take mine off, I bike !

Seriously though, I like the buoyancy and have easy access to the lake which rarely warms enough to be uncomfortable with it on.  In the summer I rarely go to the pool.  After a break from swimming in the fall, by the time I go back to the pool it hasn't been an issue.  So I really can't answer your question as I have never really tried.

That said, the US Masters 2 mile National Championship is being hosted by our club this summer and I beleive that is a non-wetsuit event, so I will have to do a bit more practice in the lake without the suit!

One other point I will add, and this is true not just of swimming, nothing new on race day.  In other words, make sure if you are planning on not using a wet suit for a race that you get some quality time in ahead of the race without the wetsuit.

I've traded in the Roctane GU for NyQuil, and it sucks.

That sucks.  Being sick is never fun.

Tweaked my back again (sigh).  Not as bad as before but will give it a few day off to rest.  Some boxers have a glass jaw.   I have a glass spine.

I made the most deliciously disgusting birthday dinner for my sister today... pizza, scalloped potatoes and Kraft mac n cheese.  You'd think she was 5 based on the requests but, no, she turned 23.  We topped it off with funfetti cake. =x 

 Needless to say I spent the next few hours uncomfortably digesting the excess simple carbs and grease.  A nice n easy bike and run did just the trick to turn my frown upside down!

That's too bad!  Take it easy and hopefully it will pass quickly!

I'm not sure I could move for days after that!  

Another month in the books!  You guys all did a great job sticking to the plans and getting quality workouts last month!  Way to go!

March is bringing the first tri's of the season to a few of you that are in the south!  And, hopefully those of you (us) in the north will get some much needed outdoor training time!

Keep up the great work gang!

Anything new to look forward to anyone?

 I've narrowed my first Tri bike down to 2 choices at local shops and need some input from more experienced riders.  Both are 2008 Cervelo P2SL models - the yellow one has Ultegra components and is $1400 compared to the grey P2SL model  with Dura Ace components at $1750.  There are few additional differences. Both include custom fitting locally and some extended service perks.  I also shopped online but getting a good fit is questionable.

This is month 3 of training and am entered in 4 sprints and an Olympic this year.  I did an indoor sprint in Feb and did pretty well.   All advice is welcome.  Thanks.

Ahhh.  I love yellow.  Still, if it were me I'd go with the Dura Ace grupo.  The $350 extra won't be felt in a couple of months, and you'll enjoy the smoother, faster shifting for years.

I'm pretty sure my next bike will be a Cervelo.  Great bikes.

The upgraded components are worth the extra $$$ overall, although you will be happy with either bike.  Exciting times!

Great job with your training, too!!!