Jamie's HIM/IM Training Group-CLOSED (Page 19)

QOTD:  Why do you do triathlons?  Ok, I know this one is a bit philosophical, but I’m always intrigued by what makes people put themselves through the strains of training for tri’s.

 AOTD:  For me, it’s the challenge.  There are lots of ways to “stay in shape,” and most of them could probably be counted as more fun than triathlon training.  But in my opinion, it’s a true challenge to work on improving in 3 separate events, each very different than the others.  For my first tri, I did a HIM…for the simple reason that I considered it a big challenge to go from nothing to a HIM in 4 months.  It motivated me to get out of bed every morning, even on the days I was tired or it was cold out.  It was that fear of failing the challenge that drove me.  I also really like the balance that a s/b/r training routine gives for endurance training.

This summer I'm doing a 500 mile ride from Salt Lake to Vegas (about 100 miles per day for 5 days).  I want to get a nicer wheelset for this ride, since my road bike could use it anyway.  The guys at the bike shop are telling me that even the race sets are being made by the manufacturers now to withstand the day-to-day training rides.  Basically they're saying if you're going to spend good money on good wheels, why leave them in the garage for most of the year?...just ride them and enjoy them because you'll likely not ride them enough to wear them out.  What do you guys think?  I know a lot of people who use their race wheels just 3 days a year, which for me is a bad cost/benefit ratio.