2018 Beer Drinker Appreciation Society - Always Open (Page 2)

2018 goals:  set PRs in total distance for cycling and swimming, and get back to running in some form.  My totals from the past seven years:

So I'm targeting 3,000 miles and 180,000 yards for cycling and swimming, and whatever I can manage on the treadmill/road.  I started a couch-to-5K plan yesterday (4 x 30" jogs @ 5.5 mph on a treadmill) and it went fine, slow build up to 30' over about 5 months (I'm using the conservative plan).  I also need to be consistent in completing my strength and flexibility training.  I find that goes out the window as time gets constrained, and it leads me down the path to injury.  I've had a good two months of consistent training in Nov and Dec, just need to keep it up.

If all goes well, I should be able to race my sprint in June (vs. just trying to finish it) and see where it takes me from there. 

I also am going to get an updated bike fit and I'm hoping a new roadie in the spring.  We'll see how the finances look then.

That's GREAT news Gretchen!  Might be just a walk but 30 minutes is a long time on a busted foot.

Got in 90' on the trainer today, mostly tempo (70-80% FTP) work.  Last interval was almost 25' long.  BORRRRRIIIINNNNNGGG.  I'm beginning to watch the 2017 TdF on my DVR.  Don't tell me who won. 

Welcome Mark!  You've come to the right place.  Let us know what you want to know and when you want to get started. preferably at least 12 weeks prior to a race you have signed up for

I'll bet you can guess....hahahahaha.

Meanwhile I'm holding my breath waiting for the Tour Down Under to start.  That one actually gets NBCSN coverage!

Hi Eric - I'll throw my $0.02 in for now I'm sure everyone else has info as well. 

to answer the QR question, you do need to swap the QR on your bike out for one that comes with the trainer.  This will have nubs or something on the business ends of it to fit inside the trainer stand, which then should lock down on it to keep you in place.

For inexpensive used trainers I'd look at eBay.  The only thing to be wary of is that trainers, particularly fluid ones, do wear over time.  We've put 100's of hours into our CycleOps fluid trainer with no change in it's performance, but it's something that people told me to look out for so I pass that on to you.  Our 100s of hours has been winter riding for a few years and one 70.3 which my wife did nearly all of her bike training on the trainer.  So someone who's used one for 90% of their bike training for a few full IMs might have worn theirs more than we have ours.

There are basically 3 types of trainers, speaking about how the resistance is generated.  the old school is the wind trainer - basically you turn a large fan.  I don't think anyone makes these any longer and I don't know that I'd recommend one. The resistance as I understand it with wind trainers is not variable, and they are loud.

Next is the mag trainer.  These have come a long way.  Older used ones might have a wired remote to change resistance.  Really new school ones include 'Smart' technology to link up to Zwift or other training programs via bluetooth to vary resistance automatically according to whatever course you are riding.  I really want one of those   Although I think there are smart fluid trainers as well.

Last is the fluid trainer.  Just a few years ago before the smart trainers started to take hold, these were the best.  CycleOps Fluid 2 and Kurt Kinetic are tops - you might well be able to get a deal on one of these.  It's basically a fluid-filled drum that the faster it spins, the more viscous the fluid gets and therefore the higher the resistance.  Nothing to do other than mount the bike to it and spin.

Let us know when you find one that looks interesting and we'll have a look.

To add to John and Gretchen's responses...

I have a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine Trainer that I purchased in 2011 for $280 at Performance Bike.  It's basically the same as the Cycleops one John mentioned, just a different brand.  It's a "dumb" trainer, meaning it doesn't directly interface with any cycling software, and doesn't automatically control resistance.  You can add a speed sensor for like $30 and then you would have access to "virtual power" or "Zwift Power", or whatever software brand name.  This virtual power is derived from a known speed-to-power curve on the trainer (e.g. if you're spinning the wheel @ 15 mph you are generating 180 watts.  It's not really accurate (my power numbers are 10% lower with my real power meter vs. virtual power), but it is definitely consistent and that's all you need to train.  If you're not interested in power, then go by HR or RPE or whatever.  I have over 8,000 miles on the KK with zero issues so far.

You can really go nuts, cost-wise, with trainers and trainer software.  I use Trainer Road which is $99/year, plus there's Zwfit, The Sufferfest, and a bunch of others.  Some trainers alone are upwards of $1500.

My recommendation would be to grab a KK or Cycleops fluid as cheap as you can find it, slap on a $30 speed sensor, and then you have a base platform you could add the different apps to later if you wanted.

I just love spending other people's money. 

This weather makes a mess of pools.  Our old pool was an indoor/outdoor one with a tarp cover in the winter, which was a nightmare to control temperature.  Oh, and when it got really cold the condensation would freeze on the roof and drop ice chunks into the water. 

Good job getting back in the water.  I'll bet your chlorine tolerance is down after that layoff.  I also find that I get a lot of water in my ears when I get back into the pool after a long layoff, no idea why.

We need your yearly post of cycling events.  I'll make sure to record the TdU. 

3K in the pool today, felt really good but my times were just a tad slow.  Longest swim since like October of 2016.  I was going to go to Masters this morning (sorry, Nicole!) but schools were closed for the 2nd day after 1" (!!!) of snow so I had to totally rearrange my day.