Experior and Slornow's Winter Mentor Group-CLOSED (Page 28)

Randy brought up a good point - latex tubes.  Inexpensive way to shave a few seconds of your race times.  I ride the 4000s as well, but haven't had the money to play with other tires.  From the numbers I've seen the Bontrager R4 (I believe) has the best crr numbers.

Di - glad your husband is okay after the accident and that insurance looked after you.

When I first got into Tri's I bought an inexpensive road bike, but it has decent components and I looked at it from the perspective of "if I don't like tri's I can still ride my road bike".  Well, I ended up wanting/wishing for a Tri bike for the past few years, even though the road bike served me well.  In October I got the SC 7.2  I've only had the chance to ride it a couple of times, but admittedly feel faster on it that my road bike with clip on's.  Performance wise, the frame is one of the top super bikes out there at the moment.

That said, buy the bike you'll ride and want to ride - this is key.  Everyone always talks about fit, and it's of paramount importance, but once that's figured out then get the bike you think you'll love.

Di - congrats on the PR.  And if you haven't seen it in tri talk already...LANCE IS PLANNING TO RACE HONU!!!  Pretty cool if you ask me.

As far as the bike choice...what do you currently ride now?  I assume it's a road bike...will you have to sell it to buy the new bike?  If you already have a road bike (and plan to keep it)...then I would probably lean towards the tri bike given your scenario.  There is a noticeable difference in speed, and is much more comfortable riding aero than trying to ride in the drops on a road bike.

If you could only own one bike though...*I* would always opt for the road bike.  IMO, tri bikes are great for racing...but I don't really enjoy riding them too much.  Hawaii is a beautiful place.  I like to look around while I'm riding from time to time.  Burrying my head in the aero position and starring at the pavement ahead of me is no fun.

Di - congrats on PR, also glad husband is ok. 

Blanda - great job on the swim.  One day you'll connect all the dots and it will become second nature. 

I've had some good workouts in last few days.  I think my legs are finaly coming back, as I did two LT workouts (bike and run) and was stronger then I expected.  Hopefully I can maintain that intensity for next three weeks which will transition me well in to the HIM training.

Have good weekend folks.

Di: How scary!! Glad your husband is OK, and congratulations on the PR!!! Woo hoo! Bet that feels awesome.

Rested yesterday and might go for a walk with the girl today, but not much else. I'm trying to rest up for another GEAR adventure race and soccer game tomorrow.

Hope your Friday evening is going well!

I have a 5 mile run planned for tomorrow with a Core Workout thrown in, plus a 10 mile Longrun on Sunday to hopefully finish off a great week of runs.  I hope to start getting back in the pool and biking on the trainer this next week.  We'll see about the motivation factor.  Looking for a 1.5 to 2 lb. weight loss tomorrow at weigh-in.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Good morning-made it back to Chattanooga last night. Unfortunately, my son and I both seem to have acquired head colds during our travels.

Plan is to get in a run today. There are some great trails around Chattanooga.  Its 38 degrees overcast and windy with the rest of the day looking about the same. There is always the treadmill but thats what I have been doing all week.

Looking forward to catching up on everyones training. 

Blanda-good luck in the race.

Randy

I was laid out most of the week with a bad cold.  I am past it now, but had a minor freak out last night because I missed three days of training, and my first HIM is in 7 weeks.  If someone wants to chime in and tell me everything will be ok, I would love to hear it. One of the weird parts about my training right now, is that I am in completely unfamiliar territory.  I've never trained this much before.  For a sprint or Oly, I know what will be required come the day of the event, but the with the HIM, I just don't know.  I guess I better get used to it, because after this HIM, I will start training for the IM in the fall.  Definitely learning a lot along the way.

I was able to get in a long ride today, and will get a long run in tomorrow.  My run tomorrow will be sort of disjointed though.  I told a friend who puts on a local 10k that I will run it and give him feedback, so I will run down to the race.  Run the 10k, and then run home.  Total will be 12.

Jason - I am interested to hear about how the Continentals feel after taking off the Gatorskins.  In an effort to meet my price point on the new bike, it has Shimano R500 wheels, and cheapo conti tires.  I know I will upgrade the wheels and tires before the fall, but for now am just riding what came on it while I search for a good deal on the American Classic S58 wheel set I want to buy.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Sorry to hear about the cold.  I know it hit me for over two weeks.  Went to my chest whcih added time away.  Mucinex really helped me.  When I trained for my HIM I missed a few workouts and everything was fine.  I was more worried about the bike than my swim or run.  I cut back on the swim (twice a week and a few third swims as OWS) once I got to a point in my training when I knew I had the distance and time so I could focus more on the bike. 

To gain time I purchased an indoor trainer for my bike.  My wife didn't mind so much me training she just minded me leaving and riding on the road.  She woudl sit home and worry.  So during the week I rode in the garage and on the weekends ride with others as a group whihc she didn't mind as much.  I kind of enjoyed riding the trainer in the garage; much easier to get ready and everything right there.

Cold breezy day here in Chattanooga.  Did a nice 7 mile trail run with snow flurries this morning.  Hats off to you folks in Canada and other cold climates.  I really enjoyed the run but I'll take sunny and 55 degrees anytime.  Got in a nice nap this afternoon to try to get the head cold under control.  Hopefully, it will go away quickly.  Headed back home tomorrow.

Bennet-glad you are over the cold. 7 weeks is plenty of time.  You will be ready.  While you are working up to the race wheels you may want to consider a set of low rolling resistance tires and latex tubes.  Will provide you some additional speed on the stock wheels and then they can be used on the race wheels when you get them.  

Randy

It is funny you should ask that.  Ever since I begain training for Triathlons my taste buds crave beer.  I generally only have it on the weekends, but I used to hardly ever drink it for over 10 years or so.

Hey everyone.  Sorry I've been gone for a few of days.  I had a horrendous experience at work on Wednesday -- a kid came to my office very upset and actually tried to kill himself in my office.  I honestly don't know whether he would have gone through with it, but I had to physically intervene, and I've been pretty shaken up about it.  When I was in grad school I witnessed a murder and this felt oddly similar.  Not sure why.  But I haven't been myself.  I did get a little training in -- good for thinking.

I'll catch up with the group this weekend.

Race was nuts. I'm banged up and tired beyond belief. Had to play soccer because we were looking at only 1 sub if I didn't, but the other team was short so it was a pretty slow paced game. I was able to go in the goal so our keeper could get some field time and I could rest.

10+ miles of biking and trekking. More if you got lost, which I heard quite a few people did. My partner and I did pretty good. We were 9th out of 23, and 1 of only 4 female/female teams. Proud of us as we both were at first quite confused by the map we had to follow to find 6 different locations to punch our passport or pick things out of a basket. The coolest thing about this race was that anytime teams passed each other they gave each other help on how to reach the points the easiest way possible. I love my sporting community.

Had a great weekend. Lost of resting on Friday and Saturday (napped most of the day!), and a fun filled Sunday. Hope you are enjoying your weekend as well!

Blanda that just sounds like a complete and totally fun time.

Good Morning Michael.  Sorry to read about your recent experience.  I hope you are feeling better today.  Take good care!!!  Brian

Brian: It was a blast! I hurt like heck today, but it was worth it.

Here's my teammate going up one of the falls on the course:

Yeah, external things can really play with HR.  I used to play poker while riding the stationary bike and I'd notice HR spike on big hands!  Stay focused on these external factors and your training by HR will improve.

(Slight delay for dinner...)

Wow!  Lots of news Di.  Glad your husband and the other driver are OK, and fabulous job on the PR -- 5 minutes is big time in a half!

If you are looking for every advantage to try to get on the podium, the tri bike is what you want.  I ride a SC (9 series, but very similar to the 7 series).  I love it.  Here's how I would look at it:  Your current training and racing point pretty strongly to a tri bike.  I would maximize the effectiveness of your purchase there and worry about the future when it comes.  If you find yourself wanting to do a regular group ride on a road bike, a cheap but serviceable one can be had for very little.  Knock yourself out on the SC.  It's a great bike.  (If you do any of the wrenching yourself, ou will have to get used to some peculiarities, but it isn't rocket science.)

I train on whatever's available -- but I train mostly alone and when I'm in a group, it is not often a group that drops me (occasionally yes).  But my training tires are at least not glacially slow like the Gatorskins.  I race on Specialized Mondo Open Tubular (which is a clincher, despite the name).  Very quick tires.  Usually near the top of the list of CRR for clinchers.