robin314159's Group - CLOSED (Page 4)

Sorry don't mean to harp on it but that's inspirational Robin, I have real respect for ppl with such huge capacity and that go out and make the most of it!

J

Hi,

I don't know a lot about bike's, road bike's, mountain bikes etc etc but I can tell you about what i have and my experiences which may help you, given that i've never owned a bike and cost or budget was a consideration for my as well.

I bought a Gaint Defy 4 brand new for 550AUD (approx) after postage and handling, the recommended retail is 1000AUD, it was shipped from the UK to Australia because i got it off a UK website wiggle.co.uk, i've also gotten some of my tri-appreal from there as well. Roughly took 7BD's to arrive which is pretty quick from half way accross the world, I did however have to assemble the the bike (attach the seat, wheels and handle bars from memory) but honestly if i can do it anyone can (i've never owned or ridden a bike since i got my defy 4). It comes with instructions and pictures for assembly. Very pleasent to deal with wiggle they are very quick with responses to queries online (had to change the deliver address a couple of times).

Now i've had the bike since dec, and its fine (haven't had any problems with it but like i said i am a novice when it comes to bikes so it's a little hard for me to provide feedback), does the job really well apart from the fact that i am still a little confused about using the gears (well not so much using them but finding the right gear for the right part of the course, still super confused, btw, any help from anyone out there on this would be much appreciated), but i guess that would have been the same with any road bike i'd gotten. Now it is a mens bike and i am not sure if there is a womens alternative but you may want to check out the website (wiggle.co.uk or giant.com) any way just to give yourself an alternative comparison, when you do go into your local bike shop or hop onto criag's list.

Let me know how your search goes.

J

Hi Numberlock;
Check out bikesdirect.com, they have some good prices on bikes. That's where I got my motobecan tri bike from at a reasonable price and I love it.  I also have a trek and a giant mountain bikes (which are good brands but a lil more pricey); but the most important thing is to go to a bike shop and ask them what size bike you should get because if you don't get the right size bike you won't be comfortable on it.  Some bike shops will offer a bike fitting service for a small fee and you don't have to buy from them, and some will fit you for free if you buy one from them.

Good luck.
KV

@Amber 
@James
@Kvenier

Thank you so much! I learned a lot from the web sites and info yall gave me.
Agian Thanks!

If of all the thinks you wanna save on the bike the last thing should be the frame imo. Not meaning you need to go for an aluminium or carbon frame. I have a metal frame myself. But I do mean the size of it. I think 80% of the bike is the frame as this has the most impact on how you can position yourself on the bike and feel good.

In regard to all the "moving" parts: These can all be upgraded over time by your own needs or wishes. You will just need to know/ learn your way of working on a bike.

If looking for a 2nd hand bike I would prefer a relative old bike that used to be a high model rather than a almost brand new bike at the low end of the models. The difference of quality of the moving parts can be quite significant. Plus the high end models are more likely owned by more serious bikers who take better care of their bikes...

@James
Thanks agian for the bike info.
Wow Australia! Me and my family are planning to move that way sometime after I graduate. (Hopefully within 2 yr of graduating so I can get the extended Work Visa). We are hopeing to vist in the next couple of years to check things out before we head that way. So, any places you recommend? Do yall have public schools for under 18? Hope you dont mind the questions, Im just very interested.

numberlock - My favorite Australian city was Melbourne. (I've visited Sydney, Cairns, Darwin, Perth and Melbourne.) Melbourne had a really super tremendous farmers market, and they have the tiny penguins nearby on their beaches.


@Everyone - Got any big training plans this weekend? We have a big marathon here in AZ this weekend, which I'm volunteering at the Expo for. I might go riding outside on Monday! I bet you guys have much more serious plans!

@Everyone -- just to recap some general pointers about using this site.

I would consider the following some of the top tips for how to benefit the most from BeginnerTriathlete. (Anyone have any other tips?) How much of this you opt to do is undoubtedly a function of time and incentive.

* Upload a profile avatar / photo, so people can begin to identify you online -- even if it's something like "zeefraughtries is a frog". (Settings - Account Settings - Profile Image)

* Friend everyone in this group, and other interesting people in forums or your town. Here is the list again:

amber.bonarrigo
kikadika1
Niezels
BMiller71
numberlock
kvenier
zeefraughtries
stephig
kimboreeser
jamesjong
DKusaywa
amybanaszek
robin314159

* Update your training blog with your latest workouts. This helps you keep track and can also keep you motivated.

* Check on the blogs of other people. You will learn of other ways other people are training, and also be inspired to keep up your own training.

* Leave comments to inspire people! (If you're so inclined. )

* Post your questions in the General forums and here. You'll get more answers than you can handle.

* Use a training plan, either from BT or somewhere else. The BT ones can be imported to your blog for free.

*********

Would anybody be interested in us covering a triathlon topic ... maybe 1 per week? There are a ton of sources to learn the ins-and-outs of how to do everything, from transitions to swim stroke... But we can give you a personalized answer here. If you have any burning, or even somewhat curious questions, ask them here!

Or I can get on a soapbox here or there on a Friday night and tell you everything I know about one thing or another. (Beware! Ha!)

Edited by robin314159 2011-01-14 9:05 PM

Hi everyone! My traing is off to a very slow start! But this Tues I start my swim clinic which will be 1x a wk. I am going to look for a swim/bike focus training prog on here tonight and try to plan the next week or so. My goals this 3x wkend, are to get to the gym 2x for some cardio and weights; get a bathing suit & goggles for Tues's class and get a plan out my schedule for the next 2 wks!

Yes, Robin, I decided to hold off on joining the $250 tri training group that starts in march. I will see how much support i am getting at the Y during Jan and Feb, then decide in about a month- of course i wory since it is cloased after 50 people sign up but i figure i have a little time.


Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Just a quick note:

@ Robin: I like the idea of a theme a weel to discuss on. And I will look for a handsome avatar.

@ kikadika1: GL at you first swim clinic. I hope it will serve you as well as it did me. I had my first real swim technique training today. And it showed. I think that the technique alone got my endurance increased with 400%, And that is just from one hour. Though I had to admit that 1 of the 3 available trainers gave me a personal training today.

This wednesday I have an apointment at the gym to set up a new strength work out. As I will only have 2 hours a week for it I will have it mainly focus on injury prevention and some flexibility and coordination.

For the rest no real big training plans this weekend. Though I am looking forward to take the bike for another ride tomorrow.

Stijn

I got in a swim and run today. Tomorrow Is supposed to be really nice so I will probably go ride my dirt bike with maybe an am short bike ride. I did wear my heart rate monitor yesterday on my dirt bike and I reached 171 with out even pushing it to hard, so I guess that counts for a good cardio workout. 

Next week I am going to make it to our gym's swim clinic. I need some help for sure. Seems I just can't relax for more than 2 laps hopefully a little instruction will go a long ways for me also.

@James: I was born in Singapore! Planning a trip to Singapore/Australia in 2013 for my 40th birthday. Have always wanted to visit Australia. Hope all is well with you and your family during this time...are you affected by the flooding at all?

@Everyone: Crummy day here in Northwest Louisiana. Drippy, wet and cold. Also, we've been dealing with having our ac/heating units replaced since yesterday and it's being done by a semi-pro (supposedly a good deal...long story) and well, we've had all sorts of comedy of errors including rain, dog poop and a stopped up toilet...all not quite related to the installation. I've also been having to play gopher all day long to get items forgotten.

I'm starting the 17 Day Diet with my partner on Monday. Should be interesting. At first glance it's really a revamp of the South Beach Diet. I've found that most diets are just an adaptation of one or another. Had a great start to 2011 and hope to get a much more sure footing coming this week. The install is supposed to go through tomorrow and perhaps beyond (don't ask).

Just wanted to check in with the folks.

To all -

Sorry I've been MIA recently, I've been getting stuff together because I go back to school tomorrow.  Classes start Tuesday, and I'm a little scared for this semester - it'll be a tough one - but I am counting on triathlon stuff to carry me through! I have been running a bunch and doing Crossfit, and I can't wait to do both of those back at school. 
I've also been a bit stricter with my diet, as the holidays have gotten the best of me.  I try to avoid processed sugars and grains, and as a vegetarian, that leaves me with fruits, veggies, nuts, fish, and beans.  I'm feeling much better now

@ Amber - thanks for the bike post! I have a Trek mountain bike at school but I'll need to buy a roadbike when I get back. 

@ Christal - haha...It's amazing that you finding it so intriguing. I live in Sydney, I think i am complacent sometimes because one of my dreams to globe trot after I finish graduate much like you. Sydney will always be home to me and I love it...but I do enjoy heading down to melbourne for a weekend away. I'll try and keep this short, I think you should think about where in Australia you want to live, first of all state (NSW, WA, QLD, NT, ACT, TAS, SA then city) generally speaking QLD (where all the floods are on atm) has the hottest climate, warmest weather etc, i haven't spent much time there. WA is the closest to the US and probably the cheapest in terms of living expenses, accommodation etc etc (it spans the content from top to bottom, whether is a bit hit and miss). I love melbourne as well very cosy feel to it, the architure and design/layout of the is fantastic (would love to live there one day), its cheaper than sydney to live in as well.

NSW and in particular sydney is probably the most dense in terms of population, I am a little biased because i am from sydney and i know most about it. It is expensive living in Sydney, no doubt about it, some of the nicer places are closer to the beach which if i had a choice i would love to live. So places in sydney's easy like Bondi, coogee, Marobra, bronte or northern beaches manly, dee why etc etc all close to the city and the sea (if you like that). I might also add all very affluent parts of sydney, good schools, and alittle more classy than other parts of sydney (I live in sydney's west). I think if your raising a family (I am assuming that's a primary consideration so i purposely haven't talked about the social and night life part of sydney) and budget is not the number one priority then i would stick to sydney's north and east. If budget is a strong influence then I would look at sydney's south or inner west, north west, then sydney's west (in that order).

In terms of schools (those btw the ages of 12 and 18 attend high school and 6-12 primary school), there are two types of public schools for those aged 12-18 in sydney selective and non selective, selective schools require potential students to sit an exam in order to get in. So as you would expect there are a higher calibre of students here, and it is still school public as you don't get the exorbitant fees that come with private schools. Some of the better selective schools are Sydney boys/girls, north sydney boys/girls. I think generally speaking the better schools are in the better areas of sydney.

Those are the main states, but i can't really provide as much comment on the others because i simply haven't been there.

Keep in mind things change very quickly so 2-3years maybe a while.

There is so much that i can talk about in terms of Sydney but i'll leave it at that.

J



Edited by jamesjong 2011-01-16 4:04 AM

@ Zee - If you do come to Australia you should definitively make time to visit some of south coast of NSW, which is where i am doing my tri in February, Jervis Bay.

So, I live in Sydney and don't have any personal ties to QLD so I am fortunate not to be directly affected, but its a great tragedy what's happening in QLD atm. Really is very sad whole cities in meters of water. Down town Brisbane which is the capital of QLD covered in water.

I liked Perth in Western Australia as well. That whole area (north of Perth) is so unpopulated! Perth seemed quite clean, and very multi-cultural, had decent beaches (from what I saw). The only thing about Western Australia is it seemed to have a lot of flies! But maybe it wasn't so bad in the city.

As a kickoff for the theme weeks I have one suggestion: What to train for?

Or what are the subgoals for a specific match. How does for instance an 1/8 triathlon translate to:
Swimming goals
Biking goals
Running goals
Strength goals
Brick goals
etc.

And how does this relate to personal factors as atlethic background of the athelete.

Brian and Stijn, you guys are killing it on the workouts! Keep it up!

I'm game for a weekly topic. Will do my best to participate. Hope you guys don't mind it if I'm not 100% focused on triathlons, but general strength and fitness because I think that may be where my year is angling towards.

Hey James, sidenote off the topic....when is the best time of the year to go scuba diving in Australia? My friends want to go cage diving with the sharks and I think that's more in Southern Australia and we also wanted to go and dive at the Great Barrier Reef, but I think that's Northern Australia? Not even sure we can do both in the same trip because Australia is rather large, no? Sorry if I'm geographically ignorant!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Thanks Zee. Although it is quite easy to keep it up for now as it is just pure fun! It is always fun to get the inspires on it as well :D.

For those interested in CF. I just read a thread on it on this forum. Thought it was good for sharing:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=239215&start=1

Hi all

How do you want to cover the weekly topics? Would you prefer me to write up one of my essays on a topic? Or maybe we can name a topic, get opinions, other people's research, and ideas, and we can all throw it in together. Let me know what would be most useful to you.

This woman is the CF/endurance athlete hero: http://trailgirl.blogspot.com/ I'm not huge into her hubris, but what she does is impressive: a lot of CF, CFE and 100 mile trail runs.

Zee - when I was at Great Barrier Reef (in northern Australia) they had a cage diving tour up there too. I don't know if it was more of reef sharks though...

Stijn - That's awesome that your training is pure fun! I hope it is fun for everyone else too. I have what I call "Type 2 fun" in my training.

Type 1 fun is the pure fun, Type 2 is not fun while you're doing it but fun afterwards -- "That grueling marathon was a lot of fun!".

(Type 3 is not fun while you're doing it, and not fun afterwards ["let's doing something fun like a 50 mile hike across the desert in the middle of the summer heat"], and Type 4 is fun while you're doing it, but not fun afterwards ["that was a really stupid thing i did"]).

A lot of times my training falls into Type 2 category, but it is awesome when it can be Type 1 fun!

Looking at those types I consider myself very fortunate. I think so far that all my endurance training have been type 1. While sometimes I anticipate them to be type 2 they end up type 1. My abs workout is still in de type 2 zone...

In regard to the theme I like a combination. Some research by all members and some final thougths of "Dr Robin"

Gonna relax now with a dvd. Run training with the club was again a big Type 1 tonight.

I'm glad others are interested in CF too!! I'm going to be doing a few 2-a-days with CF in the morning and triathlon practice at night. 

Also, I had a question...I ran track, so I know exactly how to pace myself for any distance from 100 meters to 10 miles, but I have NO idea how to pace myself swimming.  I have a fast and a slow pace, and that's about it.  Today at practice we did 6 x 100 with the first 50 hard and the second 50 slow, and then 4 x 300 meter with a 100 meter cool down, and I'm pretty sure my pace didn't change too much, but is that crucial to triathlons? From what I've heard, most triathletes aren't swimmers anyway, and they just kind of push through it...any thoughts?

How about the first topic on how to warm up? I pulled my calf tonight on my run. This has been a reoccurring injury for me. I have probably done it at least 6 times in the past. It has almost always been on a hill. Tonight was no different. About 1 mile into the run, got to a decent size hill and right away pulled it. I just ran this route last week, however I wore compression sleeves that I picked up awhile ago to help mitigate the problem. They seem to do the job, but tonight I could not find them (that is what I get for washing them) so I just left. In the past I have tried stretching before and had the same result. What has seemed to be working for me, which is what I did tonight, 2 minute walk, and then start a slow steady 11 minute mile or so until I start to feel really warmed up.

This also usually takes me a couple of weeks to be able to run on it again. Uhhg, usually in the past that is the time I grab a beer or 6 and take my 2 steps backward. I guess now its time to really focus on swimming.  





Edited by BMiller71 2011-01-20 12:14 AM