Tri-Curious - -full (Page 5)

Good luck on the Marathon!  I understand the stir crazy anticipation of ramoing down the workouts when you feel like you should be doing more work to get ready.

It is funny that you mention the clipless pedals because I just bought and installed mine yesterday.  I practiced for a while clipping and un-clipping with each foot and felt good about it.  Took off and clipped in with both feet, panicked, and fell over on my side with both feet still clipped in.  Soon it will be second nature, but I knew that I would have at least on slow motion tip over while learning.

did a 1500m swim tonight..first time doing that distance

40mins...something to work on.

Nice to see everyone progressing! I haven't been able to do anything for way too long because I'm finishing up my sophomore year of college. So much studying to do for finals and I need to write a 20 page paper. It's due next Wednesday, but I need to finish it by Monday afternoon! I've only written 6 or 7 pages so far. Not good, but I'm working on it.

I'm gonna buy a bike soon! I do love spin classes, but in order to do a tri I kinda need a bike. I was thinking of buying an entry level bike on bikesdirect for $399. Seems like the best way to go for me unless anyone has a different suggestion? I don't really want to spend more than the $399 (+tax).

Thats nothing to be ashamed about!  Good job!

There have been several posts on this board about bikesdirect.com.  General concensus has been that they are decent bikes for the money, and some even say they have gotten several years out of them.  I have been in your shes before and I would say go for it unless you feel you have time to browse craigslist or classifieds until one pops up.  The big disadvantage is that you can not test ride the bike first to see if it fits you correctly.  Do some research on what size and dimensions you should look for to match your riding style and size.  After purchase take it to a local bike store to ensure everything is in good operating order and they can fit it to you.

Good luck on your paper.

Riding my bike to a 5K this morning.  How is everyone's training going??

This is a quiet group so it is hard to tell where everyones motivation level is!

I'm quiet because I'm sucking wind!

Going for a ride this morning.  Maybe 15 miles.  First one that long so I will see what happens.  

Randy, what pace are you running/riding?

Also, a question regarding bike computers.   It looks like I can spend anywhere from $20 to $400 on a computer.   At this point I think all I want is speed, and distance.  The other optional stuff I don't really need like weather, calories burned, earth rotational speed and  yada yada.   From your experience, is there something I'm missing and will regret having later?

I have a polar CS200 with cadence, I guess that's somewhere in the middle of the range. It's a good unit with hear rate monitor. I don't think you need much more than that in terms of monitoring speed/distance and being able to see how you are improving in terms of HR and cadence.

I managed to finish a pretty consistent week of training..1 month to go before my super sprint event.

Todays 5K I rode the hybrid bike to and from the race, a 8 mile round trip.  Took it easy.  On my road bike I am averaging 15-17mph.  The hybrid is 13-15mph. 

My race today I averaged a 7:32 pace, final time of 22:12.  Finished 21st out of 124 participants.  Fifth place for my 30-39 male age group.  The overall winner was in my age group and ran a 16:47!  Thats fast!

As for bike computers I have two Bontrager 50's, road bike and hybrid bike.  They are around $50, pretty accurate, and give you plenty of info.  Pretty much anything except cadance.  I would highly suggest this one, or one similar.  I did not think that I would use the extra stuff, but it has come in handy when interpreting a workout.  Off to soocer game with the kids, I will update my logs later.

Holy crap Randy!  You are a roadrunner!

I cycled 18 miles this morning and on the way "out" I was almost 20 mph!  I was thinking forget this triathlon thing I'm going to enter the tour de france!  However, when I made the turn and came back I realized I had about a 20 mph headwind.   .  The way home was gruelling.  Next time, check the wind.

http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/11067013

Nelson

Thanks!  I am still trying to be satisfied with my running because 17 years ago I ran cross country and would average a 15:00 3 mile race.  But that was several years and 50 lbs ago.

I hate biking against the wind!  It can really kill your strength.  You should have just kept going with the wind!

Finished this week of training with some swimming..I had to decide whether to nap while the baby slept or go to the pool...I chose the pool.

The weather here has been horrible the last few days..hopefully it improves. I'm desperate to get some real cycling in as my legs felt very weak the couple times I have went out this season.

Hopefully everyone is keeping up with their training.

Good choice by going to the pool!  Sometimes it is tough to make that choice, but I think it makes you feel better in the long run.

The weather here this week is rain, rain, and heavy rain.  I think I will have to get my bike time in on the trainer because I am still not willing to take my new bike out in the rain!

Hi everyone!

The trip was great and thanks for sticking around! I will be responding to the posts ASAP.

I hope that everything is okay.

Hi Nelson,

Working at that high of a HR frequently can result in injury/illness. You can choose to work above zone 2 but I wouldn't suggest training at 80-90% too often as a beginning runner. I know it can feel slow, but you can train more and will be less likely to burn out.

Hi! If you're still interested you can join. Since you are new to physical activity I suggest waiting until you have developed your new triathlon habits before you add additional activities. It will be easier to manage 3 sports in a training plan than 4.

Good answer!

Calorie burn (weight loss) happens at all levels of activity but we can sustain easier paces for a long time and can burn more calories for that reason.

Everyone: What can I do to help motivate you best?

I recommend checking in here regularly to interact with the team! Goal setting is also a great motivational tool.