McFuzz's Mentor Group-2010 Vintage CLOSED (Page 4)

Josh,

I wore swim trunks for my first two tris.  Yes...trunks...baggy, no padding...I pulled an old cotton t-shirt on after the swim and still had a blast.  For races shorter than an Ironman, there usually isn't a place to change and public nudity--while appreciated--will usually get you disqualified. 

Tri-shorts are a good option these days (I have a pair).  The pad is thin and designed to not absorb water during the swim and not interfere with running. 

Remember why we do this.  We do it for fun.  It's easy to get wrapped up in the toys and cool things to buy.  For a sprint tri swim, the difference between trunks and tri-shorts is probably 1 minute.  Did you used to ride a bike without bike shorts?  I did, and I was OK riding 12 miles "unpadded."  Did I give up time trying to put a shirt on after the swim?  Sure...would I do it again?  Sure...Depending on the weather race-day, I'll either swim in a tri-top or put on a bike jersey in T1.  The first race I swam in the tri-top was chilly and I didn't warm up for the entire 25 mile ride as the top dried out.  I'd rather be comfortable than fast. 

Has anyone had any experience renting a wetsuit?

Sorry I have not had any experience renting a wetsuit.  I found one 60% off on the internet.  I figured that it was a better investment.  I wanted to do alot of open water training before my tri.

It's more complicated than that, but not really too bad. 

The first place to start is http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO You'll need someone (they'd better be pretty special to you, some of the measurements get a little intimate) to help take measurements.  Once you've got the measurements, it'll calculate a reasonable setup geometry.  Go look at the geometry for a few of the more popular bikes (Trek, Specialized, Felt) and get familiar with the frame sizes most likely to fit based on effective top-tube. 

You can compensate a little with a different stem length (figure a stem length of 90--120 mm).  Hold off on changing this for a while because if you get a road bike and then add clip-on aerobars, you may find you want to move the handlebars farther back (or maybe forward) for a compromise setup between road/aero. 

A couple of caveats on buying used bicycles.  Go ahead and check out the prices of entry level road bikes at your local bike shop.  Around here, they start at about $700.  That gets you a basic aluminum frame, carbon fork, and Shimano Sora drivetrain.  That also gets you a bike with a warranty, a rough fitting including seat height, "stack" (handlebar height relative to seat) height, and a recommendation for whether a longer or shorter stem would be desirable, and a tune-up after 30 days (once cables have seated).  Some include tune-ups for a year.  Buying a used bike gets you none of these.  A basic tune-up is about $50 (around here).  New tires/tubes can set you back $50-100.  A basic fitting can be $70-150 depending on the shop (this would usually be somewhere between 1-2 hours) which is probably more involved than the "free" fitting that comes with an entry-level bike.  Factor these costs into the price of a used bike.  I've bought several used bikes, taken them apart and put them back together.  Older bikes may be a little more forgiving of inexperienced mechanics.  Do not expect to change from downtube shifters to integrated shifters.  The integrated brake levers are over $200 and you'll easily get yourself into $400+ of expenses.  You could convert from down-tube to bar-end (shifters on the ends of the aerobars) for considerably less.  Most bikes less than 10 years old will have integrated shifters and a free-hub. 

I haven't, but I know other people on BT have rented wetsuits.  You might try the search function and look for "wetsuit rental" in either tri-talk or gear/equipment forums. 

I know several of you are training for your first Ironman this year and are trying to sort out training plans and preparations. 

Training for an Ironman takes a lot of time and a lot of energy (and a lot of food ).  There is a reason most IM training plans are 20 weeks long, and that is because it's easy to get burned out training too hard too early.  If you've got a plan and it starts in a few weeks, enjoy these last few weeks of "unstructured" training.  Your goal right now is to be ready to start the training plan at the appropriate time. 

Whatever plan you pick, trust the plan.  You may (especially in the first month of the plan) think it'll never have you ready by race day.  The plan should bring you along smoothly enough that you don't get hurt and you don't get burned out.  How many 5-hour rides do you think you can do?  Don't forget you'll have other life commitments, and so you'll get home from the ride, shower, and then maybe go to a family BBQ where people might try to talk to you (so you don't want to be slumped over in the lawn chair drooling and delerious).  Now also keep in mind that the plans aren't usually customized to your specific race goals, temperment, and life situation.  The canned plan doesn't know you've got a band concert next Tuesday so you won't be able to ride for 2 hours. 

As you progress, and this is appropriate for all of us, remember why you're doing this.  This isn't our livelihood.  We aren't losing prize purses or sponsorships because we finish in 12:33 instead of 12:31 (or even 11:45).  We're doing this to be healthy and to have fun.  If the training is causing you health problems, back off.  If it's causing marital problems (it can happen), take care of the important things first.  (Even in the peak of training, make sure the people important to your life realize they're still important in your life. ) 

You're welcome Laura. 

I don't know about the accuracy of the calorie burn on a HRM.  I'd say it's probably within 5-10%.  I'll assume your HRM asks for your weight and gender and then makes some assumptions about body composition.  It doesn't take many calories to support a pound of fat for a day or to move a pound of fat along the ground for a mile (or 5, or 10 miles).  It does take calories to sustain a pound of muscle, and you will need calories to move muscles for a mile.  So...to the extent your body type matches the assumptions used by your HRM manufacturer, it'll be pretty accurate.  My guess is the HRM probably underestimates your calorie burn because you're very athletic and probably carry far more muscle than an average female. 

If you're trying to lose weight, track your eating and your exercise for 3-4 weeks, weighing yourself at the same time every day.  Measure your hips/waist/chest/thighs at the beginning and end.  You must have a 3500 calorie deficit to consume a pound of stored fat.  If your measurements haven't changed and the scale says you've lost 3 pounds (10,500 calories deficient over the 4 weeks), you can add all the calories you've consumed, subtract the calories your HRM says you've burned, the 10,500 calories attributed to weight loss, and assume the remainder is what your body uses for sustaining life.  If the result makes sense (divide by the number of days to get an average daily calorie burn), you now know what your body burns daily (your metabolic rate) and you can better track the accuracy of the HRM calories. 

If you've got access to a sports doc/trainer who's got more sophisticated equipment, you could probably try to correlate the HRM calories to VO2 performance (like on a treadmill stress test). 

Yes, and it hurts! 

Warm up
Start running at a pace you think you can sustain for 30 minutes.
After 10 minutes at the higher pace, start recording HR data for the last 20 minutes.
Cool down

Plug the numbers in and voila! you have training zones. 

If you run a 5K in 25-30 minutes, that's probably a good way to do the test.  If you're fast and run a 10K in 35-40 minutes, that's probably OK too.  The 5K may give you 1-2 bpm higher than a 30 minute test, the 10K 1-2 bpm lower.  What I found trying to do the test by myself is that I didn't push nearly as hard as I did during the race.  Doing it on a track or somewhere you can gauge progress also helps.  I knew I'd take about 24 minutes to run a 5K or 8-minute miles.  I'd try to run 2-minute laps and could tell if I started coming in at 2:05-2:10 that I was dogging it. 

I think you'll like that bike! 

Bear's rule of thumb on buying a bike is to spend no more than $1 per mile you ride in a year.  You might push a little and get over 1000 miles (purely psychological )

You need a few accessories.  Helmet, repair kit, water bottle & cage, and headlight/tailight to start.  Then a cyclocomputer (cadence is nice, I've been happy with the Cateye Strada 8 wired to my rear wheel). 

Cyclists will tsk tsk you for leaving the reflectors on the bike, but for training rides, why not increase the odds of a motorist seeing you (that's why I keep a headlight/tailight with each bike too). 

Clipless pedals and bike shoes are a treat.  If you've never tried them, my advice is to switch only one shoe/pedal at a time.  You'll still fall over, just not as much.  (Yes...I've fallen over several times even though I got through the first year without falling... ) 

I take the lights and reflectors off to race. 

As for bike clothing, I've bought gear from Nashbar and Performance as well as a few things locally.  I'd suggest two pairs of shorts (one pair could be tri-shorts) and two jerseys to start.  Then plan to add a pair of shorts and a jersey each year.  By the time you get to the 3rd year, you'll probably start replacing the first items rather than adding to the inventory.  I've never tried any of thd $100+ shorts, so I can't compare them to the $25 shorts.  I'd suggest starting with two different pairs of shorts.  You'll start to understand what you (or your rear) likes and what it doesn't.  If you get two copies of the same thing, you don't have any chance for relief if the shorts don't work (aside from buying 2 different pairs).  The jerseys should be fairly snug so they don't flap in the wind.  Shorts should be snug to support your thigh muscles. 

laurak11 - 2010-02-19 1:40 PM It's official! Last night I signed up for the Rev 3 full Tri in Sandusky on Sept 12!  No turning back now

WOOT!!  It's a little nerve racking as you put your cursor over the "Submit" button and get ready to push the button! 

Congrats, and know that I'm rooting for you for the next 6 1/2 months! 

From what I've read/heard/seen, they're pretty sweet bikes.  Canadian I think.  Hard to say what a fair price is for a used bike, as it all depends on the relative needs of the buyer and seller. 

How is it equipped,how old is it, and how well has it been maintained?  $1K for a 2000 bike with 105 components is probably too much.  $1K for a 2007/8 with Ultegra is probably a bargain.  How well it fits is also VERY important.  It might be worth spending a bit more if the bike really fits you well (this may be hard to discern on a short test ride). 

Cars may be offered with one or two engine/driveline choices.  Bicycles may be offered with many more and bike shops may offer additional customization (upgrading wheels for example). 

For road bikes, Shimano Dura-Ace, Campagnolo Record, and SRAM Red are the super-premium components.  Shimano Ultegra, Campy Chorus and Centaur, and SRAM Force are premium components.  Shimano 105, Campy Veloce, and SRAM Rival are "mid-grade" components.  Shimano Tiagra and Sora and Campy Mirage/Xenon are "entry level" components. 

Manufacturers are continually improving their product lines, so today's mid-grade components may be as good as 5-year-old super-premium components.