Razorxp Group Is CLOSED (Page 40)

KC - everyone misses workouts - some for good reasons and some for bad excuses.  I think if you're taking that time off and you feel like you might be using a bad excuse - read something tri related.  Grab a magazine, a book, whatever.  I think that might keep you motivated.

I've been EXTREMELY blessed lately that I haven't caught anything worse than a mild hangover.  I know though that if I do get sick, it usually takes me out of my workouts for about 3 days.  There's some loss there, but I can recover in a couple of days and be right back to where  I was.  I hope you can count yourself that lucky.

Anyway, hydrate, take care of yourself and get some good rest.  If you cuaght something that keeps you away from training, then I think your body is telling you that it needs a break.

Like my spin instructor said last night - "Let your rest be rest.  Let your work be work. Don't confuse the two or the training would be worthless."

Take care of yourself and get better.

Thanks Rob - wise words - and while I know I am sick - I guess I am just trying to learn to differentiate between when triathletes lay it down for a day or two because they have to not because they want to for no good reason and then recognize that so I can change the outcome. (does that make any sense?) 

In the future, if I give anyone in here a reason to think I am laying it down for no good reason I will need a serious pep talk and/or a swift kick in the ! PLEASE!

I guess I am just learning to recognize the difference in the two and hopefully I will get better at it as I go along so I can catch myself and turn around my actions before I do something silly like skip a workout for no good reason. I am sure with the help of this groups,  I will gain that physical and emotional strength and honesty to stay motivated and keep moving toward my goals.

Stay healthy team.

KC 

Edited by kcgolf 2011-02-08 5:58 PM

kc- you are not the type to just miss a workout.  you are dedicated and you have a goal.  i know when i start to get sick i try to continue to workout and i prolong the recovery- not smart.  i would tell anyone else to take a day or two and get plenty of rest.  i know that is hard to do but missing a few workouts will only help.

I think I am ready to get back at it. My knee seems better - we'll see next time I run - and my cold is almost gone. So tomorrow morning I am back in the game with coached swim class at 5:30.

On a side note.... I have gained weight - almost 5lbs. I'm having a WTFudge moment!! I may sink tomorrow morning.

you will swim like a dolphin!!

Hey Deb.

Glad your knee seems better - and don't worry you won't sink.
KC

THANKS JASON. I appreciate it.
KC

I am always available to provide a swift kick in the azz.  I've even confirmed this fact with my fiance.  She was able to agree that I "motivate" her with some kind and not-so-kind words.

Deb just make sure you don't push anything too hard. Keep your eye on the prize your race is only a couple weeks away so you will not gain anything from now till then, you can only do harm. 

KC, I don't think we have to worry about you slacking. You are WAAAAY to motivated :-)   Hope you feel better.


Rob what are these hangovers you speak of?? lol There is no drinking in triathlon..  Opps wrong sport.  Our local running club is know as a drinking club that happens to run every now and then.


I finally had a good workout tonight for me (can't compare to the machine Scott) but held 185 watts for 1:30 on the IMWI race course , speed was alittle off but first real workout on the computrainer this year.  Ran a slow 2miles right after the bike and legs felt like jelly in the hamstrings.  Now if I can just stay healthy while on vacation later this week.

Edited by razorxp 2011-02-08 9:35 PM

Rizzo's in downtown Naperville, Illinois had $2 burgers on Thursdays.  Add beer and good conversation with the fine folks that work at Naperville Running Co. and you're good to go.  If that sounded like a small marketing blitz, apologies...but those were good burgers and you can't discount a cold Sam Adams.

It's a fun course eh? 

I did a 90 min CT low cadence high power repeats 4X....like climbing those Wisconsin hills.  I swam too.  About 45 mins drills and speed work.  My coach had me start to throw my arms forward like a shot put...got great glide...times when down...less o2 though so will see how that all evens out.

Hey did you guys hear?  Packers won!



Edited by IceManScott 2011-02-08 9:50 PM

Shotput?  Really?  Did that cause a higher elbow for you?

RE: the Packers...yeah, I heard something about that.  Wondering why, with Woodson out, the Steelers never seemed to go downfield again...

Before I start - it's 10:56pm, zero degrees outside and I just heard a motorcycle go by....seriously?

So the question was already asked in this thread as to what we ride.  In another thread under Triathlon Talk, someone was showing off their new Cervelo S3, which was all sorts of sexy.  At $4,500 frameset and $6,600 complete, I really had to wonder about how I would approach that purchase.  I told my fiance about it and joked about how alot of the gentlemen on this site mention how they would be in the doghouse if they made such a purchase.

She experienced sticker shock when I shared the numbers with her.  I also told her that it's not the tires or the brakes or the steering mechanism, but the engine that's important.

So there's what I wanted to talk about - what do we think about that?  Will a $7,000 bike make that much of a difference to someone who is only just new to the sport?  I think not but would like to hear other thoughts.

Just called in sick to work - seriously - I can not remember ever calling in sick - this sucks - seriously depressed - back to bed damn it.

Yes, the shotput imagine really did help lift the elbow more.  Helped with reach and glide.  Helped with anchoring, which was the point.  Helped me swim taller and the kick was better. Funny how a little thing makes so much difference.  Only made me want more air.  I suspect not breathing as often.  That will shake out.

I bought my first road bike on sale, 25% off and paid about $3,000 for a Giant TCRc1.  Great carbon bike with Ultegra.  That was in 2006.  I bought a pristine used titanium frame and built a LeMond Tete de Course with Dura Ace for about $2,500.  New, I was probably looking at $5,500 for a titanium bike with Dura Ace.  I bought a Orbea Oru frame pristine and used and built a TT bike with SRAM Rival and Red, later added R2C shifters, a race wheel, a Wheel Builder disc and now I have a Red compact crank to put on.  It would probably be a $6,000-$7,000 new.  I have about $3,500-$4,000 in it, I think, and the race wheel was a lot. 

I've never had to justify any of this to my wife, who has a nice carbon Trek Pilot with Ultegra.  I just sold her Trek Pilot aluminum and a Cannondale MTB of hers this winter. I was riding to lose weight when we meet., We know that any money invested in this sport may help keep me out of the emergency room with a heart attack.  People ask, How much have you got in bikes and I say, About what it would cost for the ambulance ride, the ER and the first 12 hours in ICU.  That usually stops the conversation.

So is $6,000 for a new bike justified? Performance-wise?  You'll see a difference in the ride of a higher end bike.  That's why they cost more.  Will it cut a lot of time in a race?  Not likely to cut that much.  Will it be more fun to ride and so therefore would he spend more time on it?  Probably.  Pride matters. How you feel about your bike matters.  Did the guy rob a bank or go deep in debt to buy it?  Then probably not justified.  But if he had the money and wanted to spend it this way, what the heck.

There are good riding bikes out there for $1200 and above new. Then you pay more to weigh less, but you're talking to a guy who just lost 200 pounds.  A few ounces aren't worth it to me.  But I am at a level where if I want to shave seconds off a 12.5 time trial on Tuesday night with the gang, then I need to invest a little cash for some tweaks that will make a little difference.  Aero wheel, disc, a good aero helmet.  The return to center shifters were a safety feature for me and I like them.  They were $300.  They make me feel more stable on the bike and worth every penny.

What I like about triathlon is I started with a decent bike, a wet suit and shoes. That's all you need to compete well and have a great time.  After that, the investment has been some here, some there. (With the exception of a coach, which is a pricey add-on.  But I'm way old folks, running out of time to reach my long distance goal.  needed help to make certain my workouts were efficient.  Glad I have him.  We will likely tail back to only a 6 months a year next year or even more.  I may try to get my own USAT level 3 coaching certification next year.) 

Anyway, have fun and don't sell the baby for aero bars.  Spend what you can afford and what you feel will pay off in terms of your goals.   I love this stuff.

 



   




Edited by IceManScott 2011-02-09 8:00 AM

Take your time and get well.  The swim/bike/run will be there waiting for you.

KC hang in there and get better.

Scott, you just keep ticking off great workouts.  I wish I could get some of your motivation. Keep it up, glad your not in my AG.

Rob I will see if I can find it but one of the bike shops did a great test on tri bike comparing the low end to top end bikes.   They concluded that a 2-3k bike is where value to price ratio is greatest.  Once you get above that level of bike your talking grams and picking up seconds on a 40k ride.  Almost everyone agrees that there are things much more important that a high level bike.  The key is to have a good fitting bike and work on the engine.  Some "cheap" easy ways to get more speed are:

- Good body position
- Tight fitting cloths
- Areo helmet (for $100 almost as much advantage as 2k wheels)

I make no value judgements about how other folks spend their money, so apologies if I came off that way.  My question was - do you REALLY get the bang for the buck?  I can understand purchases made for safety/comfort, but if we're talking about performance - it's the engine(people) first, right?

Here are some great articles from a bike shop that is closed now but was great for our sport:


Price to performance ratio

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/store/howmuch.shtml


DA vrs Ultegra (don't forget could be alittle biased as they sell the equipment)

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/features/dura-ace-ultegra.shtml


Tri bike vrs road bike

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/bikes/difference.shtml

Rob I would say yes and no to being only the engine, especially in triathlon (don't forget you have to run after the bike so the bike needs to work the correct muscles).   Without a good engine everything else is worthless.  But once you get to a certain level and a more aggressive bike you will pick up speed.   In the beginning just worry about the workouts and getting stronger, and have fun passing people on the $6k bikes :-) 

Edited by razorxp 2011-02-09 8:29 AM

The articles you provided links for answered my question spot on.  Thanks!

And yeah - I was feeling really good about my progress in the pool.  And then a young woman got in the lane beside me and put any thoughts I had about being fast to shame.  Ah well - I'm competing with myself more than anyone else, right?  Then again, I think she is *just* a swimmer and I was on the last 400yds of a 2050yd swim.

I expect that once I get to a certain level, I may just drop $2.5k or so on a bike.  But that might be a year or so from now.

i know what you mean about the pool.  i was swimming yesterday and pushing pretty hard when a guy got in next to me and swim lap after lap  looking effortless.  he was doing about 1:40/100 and i was about 1:50/100.  i know that time does not matter when it comes to the long tris but i was impressed how effortless it was...while i was throwing water everywhere.  i would come up gasping for air and he was just enjoying himself.


ok- i am looking at wet suits on ebay.  what does everyone use?  can you go by height and weight when it comes to size?  woudl you rather it be too tight or loose?

I did what I think everyone would advise against.  I saw that someone was selling a XTerra Vortex wetsuit dirt cheap and I saw that the sizing on the XTerra site said it would fit me.  So, I bought it.  HUGE roll of the dice but it paid off.  The suit fits really well.  On top of that the guy threw in a Serfas saddle for my bike and shipping for free.

I've heard that it's not a bad idea to rent a wetsuit or try them on at a local retailer before finally buying.

So getting back to what I did - don't try it at home, you may not get the same results.

If I were in your shoes, I would look at wetsuits in your price range, look at the sizing charts online and then go find them so you can try them on.  Just my 2 cents.