mcgilmartin's 2013 Mentor Group~ let's get swimming! CLOSED FOR TRAINING (Page 6)

I paid $179 for it.  Amazon had it for $209 the day after Christmas and if I paid with my discover card they took it down to $179.  I have never seen it for less than $250 and that's without our 9% sales tax added.  I jumped at it.  I have the Ironman global trainer that has worked well for me.  Two years ago I picked it up for $125.  Although it's a nice watch that tracks my gps, hr and other variables it doesn't hold up to the garmin products.  It's still Timex's first generation of gps watches though.   I wanted the 310xt as it can double as my bike computer.

My issue with bikes right now is the Seahawks.  If they go to the superbowl then all my bike money will go to buying a ticket.  If they don't then I'm good.    I'm a season ticket holder so I have to support them in NOLA assuming they are good and lucky enough to make it. 

On a more serious note I'm not sure what I'm going to do about a tri bike.  I thought about getting a decent road bike and using that for my races.  I've seen several middle of the road ones with upgraded components for $1200 at bike shops here.  If I go crazy for Tri's later on then I can upgrade to a real Tri bike.  I've also thought about just getting a basic $500 road bike that will get me through the next year or two and making a bigger commitment later on.  I'm not really a gadget guy nor am I into bikes so kinda stuck.

You are going to have a small region of allowances - meaning, that the window of where you can place the magnet is going to be pretty localized. Remember, you have to make sure that the piece that is on the crank and the piece that is on the actual frame line up with the line that is located in the "circle" area on the front. The swing arm will then be on the backside and the magnet will have to line up with that in order for all three pieces to work together. In essence, you cannot just place the magnet wherever you want it on the wheel. If it is not lined up with all the parts, it will not read...

Good luck. Let me know if you want some pictures. I can send them to you if needed and that might make it a little easier to understand.

Two things on the tri bike - thank you to the Seahawks for beating my Skins! That was a bummer. And I think you are right to wait and upgrade later if money is an issue for you, like it is for me.  I bought a used entry-level road bike last March to use for triathlons and it worked out well. I might upgrade some components this year but the bike is still enough for me and my local tris anyway.

Sorry to barge in here and interrupt.   I took a peak at Matt's training log and saw all of the Yoga he has been doing.   OMG Yoga is hard.   Anyhow  thought he might want this bargain found on craigslist

Yoga mat for sale. Used once.

Date: 2011-09-13, 10:32PM

Yoga mat for sale. Used once at lunch hour class in December 2009. Usage timeline as follows:

11:45a
Register for hot yoga class. Infinite wisdom tells me to commit to 5 class package and purchase a yoga mat. I pay $89.74. Money well spent, I smugly confirm to myself.

11:55a
Open door to yoga room. A gush of hot dry air rushes through and past me. It smells of breath, sweat and hot. Take spot on floor in back of room next to cute blonde. We will date.

11:57a
I feel the need to be as near to naked as possible. This is a problem because of the hot blonde to my left and our pending courtship. She will not be pleased to learn that I need to lose 30 pounds before I propose to her.

11:58a
The shirt and sweats have to come off. I throw caution to the wind and decide to rely on my wit and conditioning to overcome any weight issues my fiance may take issue with. This will take a lot of wit and conditioning.

11:59a
Begin small talk with my bride to be. She pretends to ignore me but I know how she can be. I allow her to concentrate and stare straight ahead and continue to pretend that I don't exist. As we finish sharing our special moment, I am suddenly aware of a sweat moustache that has formed below my nose. This must be from all the whispering between us.

12:00p
Instructor enters the room and ascends her special podium at the front of the room. She is a slight, agitated Chinese woman. She introduces me to the class and everyone turns around to greet me just as I decide to aggressively adjust my penis and testes packed in my Under Armor. My bride is notably unfazed.

12:02p
Since I do have experience with Hot Yoga (4 sessions just 5 short years ago) I fully consider that I may be so outstanding and skilled that my instructor may call me out and ask me to guide the class. My wife will look on with a sparkle in her eye. We will make love after class.

12:10p
It is now up to 95 degrees in the room. We have been practicing deep breathing exercises for the last 8 minutes. This would not be a problem if we were all breathing actual, you know, oxygen. Instead, we are breathing each other's body odor, expelled carbon dioxide and other unmentionables. (Don't worry, I'll mention them later.)

12:26p
It is now 100 degrees and I take notice of the humidity, which is hovering at about 90%. I feel the familiar adorning stare of my bride and decide to look back at her. She appears to be nauseated. I then realize that I forgot to brush my teeth prior to attending this class. We bond.

12:33p
It is now 110 degrees and 95% humidity. I am now balancing on one leg with the other leg crossed over the other. My arms are intertwined and I am squatting. The last time I was in this position was 44 years ago in the womb, but I'm in this for the long haul. My wife looks slightly weathered dripping sweat and her eyeliner is streaming down her face. Well, "for better or worse" is what we committed to so we press on.

12:40p
The overweight Hispanic man two spots over has sweat running down his legs. At least I think its sweat. He is holding every position and has not had a sip of water since we walked in. He is making me look bad and I hate him.

12:44p
I consider that if anyone in this room farted that we would all certainly perish.

12:52p
It is now 140 degrees and 100% humidity. I am covered from head to toe in sweat. There is not a square millimeter on my body that is not slippery and sweaty. I am so slimy that I feel like a sea lion or maybe a sea eel. Not even a bear trap could hold me. The sweat is stinging my eyeballs and I can no longer see.

12:55p
This room stinks of asparagus, cloves, tuna and tacos. There is no food in the room. I realize that this is an amalgamation of the body odors of 30 people in a 140 degree room for the last 55 minutes. Seriously, enough with the asparagus, ok?

1:01p
140 degrees and 130% humidity. Look, , I need my space here so don't get all pissy with me if I accidentally sprayed you with sweat as I flipped over. Seriously, is that where this relationship is going? Get over yourself. We need counseling and she needs to be medicated. Stat!

1:09p
150 degrees and cloudy. And hot. I can no longer move my limbs on my own. I have given up on attempting any of the commands this Chinese chick is yelling out at us. I will lay sedentary until the aid unit arrives. I will buy this building and then have it destroyed.
I lose consciousness.

1:15p
I have a headache and my wife is being a selfish . I can't really breathe. All I can think about is holding a cup worth of hot sand in my mouth. I cannot remember what an ice cube is and cannot remember what snow looks like. I consider that my only escape might be a crab walk across 15 bodies and then out of the room. I am paralyzed, and may never walk again so the whole crab walk thing is pretty much out.

1:17p
I cannot move at all and cannot reach my water. Is breathing voluntary or involuntary? If it's voluntary, I am screwed. I stopped participating in the class 20 minutes ago. Hey, lady! I paid for this frickin class, ok?! You work for me! Stop yelling at everyone and just tell us a story or something. It's like juice and cracker time, ok?

1:20p
It is now 165 degrees and moisture is dripping from the ceiling. The towel that I am laying on is no longer providing any wicking or drying properties. It is actually placing additional sweat on me as I touch it. My towel reeks. I cannot identify the smell but no way can it be from me. Did someone spray some stank on my towel or something?

1:30p
Torture session is over. I wish hateful things upon the instructor. She graciously allows us to stay and 'cool down' in the room. It is 175 degrees. Who cools down in 175 degrees? A Komodo Dragon? My wife has left the room. Probably to throw up.

1:34p
My opportunity to escape has arrived. I roll over to my stomach and press up to my knees. It is warmer as I rise up from ground level - probably by 15 degrees. So let's conservatively say it's 190. I muster my final energy and slowly rise. One foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other. Towards the door. Towards the door.

1:37p
The temperature in the lobby is 72 degrees. Both nipples stiffen to diamond strength and my penis begins to retract into my abdomen from the 100 degree temp swing. I can once again breathe though so I am pleased. I spot my future ex wife in the lobby. We had such a good thing going but I know that no measure of counseling will be able to unravel the day's turmoil and mental scaring.

1:47p
Arrive at Emerald City Smoothie and proceed to order a 32 oz beverage. 402 calories, 0 fat and 14 grams of protein -- effectively negating any caloric burn or benefit from the last 90 minutes. I finish it in 3 minutes and spend the next 2 hours writing this memoir.

3:47p
Create Craigslist ad while burning final 2 grams of protein from Smoothie and before the "shakes" consume my body.

4:29p
Note to self - check car for missing wet yoga towel in am.

• Location: Bellevue
• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Ok sorry for the intrusion.    Get back to training...  er  swimming,   carry-on folks!

Everyone, meet Oriolepwr.  His real name is Dave.  He's also a Fantasy Football guru.  In addition to beating me in FFB this fall (and winning BT FFB League #2), he also outran me in the Chicago Marathon this past fall.  In spite of his supremacy in sports we play together, I'm a regular Deepak Chopra in the Yoga studio compared to him.  I'm also taller, better looking, and smarter!

Come and join us, Oh Wise One!

I was in the same situation you were 2 years ago. I had a 1996 Specialized stumpjumper as my "tri-bike." I wanted to get into triathlons but wasn't sure I could justify a tri bike. I put slicks on my mountain bike and started training, and was able to reach an average speed of 12-13 mph on a flat paved road. I was really working to keep that speed too and I knew i needed to get something better if I was going to seriously do triathlons. I started shopping around for a used tri bike and read as much as I could about them. Here's what I came up with:

I felt I could probably only convince my wife for me to get one decent bike - road or tri. I also sat down and realistically assessed my level of interest in the sport. I'm kind of a person that goes all in when I get into something. I was also pretty sure after starting to train that I wanted to do long course races and I knew a tri bike would be an advantage over a road bike with aero bars. I should also mention I hadn't ridden a road bike of any kind for over 20 years. I decided to try to find a used tri bike. My rationale was that if I was going to learn how to ride a roadie, I should just as well start with the tri bike. If I didn't like triathlons I could always re-sell it and not lose a lot. As it turned out, 3 days before my first sprint triathlon I got a slightly used Felt B-16 for $1200. Pretty much everything at that tri was new. I had put maybe 20 miles on the bike when I put it in the rack, had no idea what I was doing and was hooked! For me, it was the right decision. 

That's just my story. I never regretted getting the tri bike but I also knew it was something I wanted to do and I knew me well enough to know that if I got the road bike, I was always going to be wanting to get a tri bike. I seem to recall that there was an article here on BT that discussed the road v. tri bike question.

Good luck with whatever you decide to go with.

I opted not to get a tri bike or put aerobars on my roadie (bought new for tri's).  There were two reasons.  First was cost - a tri bike would have ended up being about $1000 more than my roadie.  Second was safety.  I live and ride in Long Island New York and I think like a lot of suburban areas there is a fair amount of traffic and a fair amount of inattentive traffic.  There's no way to brake quickly in the aero position.  I'm already at a fair risk and did not want to increase that risk more than necessary.

BTW, I am always amazed when I head out to Jersey, upstate or Penn. for a ride in the country about how different it is.  Away from home I could go for almost the whole ride without stopping, seeing more than two cars at a time.

I am still struggling to get training time.  I used to run in the morning and everything was great.  I could get in an hour run, shower and get to work in plenty of time.  I have been out on my own as an attorney for a year and my day starts earlier so its tougher to run in the morning and at night I am often wiped out when I get home (plus SWMBO deserves some attention too).  I think I'm going to have to force myself to get up early (EARLY - like 4:30) to get in the run.  And Monday night its back to the pool.

Wish me luck.

Of course, my suggestion is going to be Sufferfest videos! I love them and have all 12 of them. I think they are about $13 each. You download them straight to your computer, but can then load them on your iPod or whatever (I have them on my computer and my iPod touch).

Spinervals are okay, but they are just like sitting in a spin class. Sufferfest videos have actual footage from different events and on-screen directions.

Also, if you have a GSC10 speed/cadence sensor and an ANT+ stick, you can subscribe to TrainerRoad for $10 a month and get TONS of training plans and cycling workouts! Good stuff, especially when you pair it with the Sufferfest videos!

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on buying my first racing bike. 

Jen sorry about the Skins. 

Steve I have yet to do my first brick.   For my runs I do ten minutes spinning warm up and then head out.  Hopefully that will pay off in the long run.  Way to attack your training and not just the rest days.

You are awesome, thanks!

Sure would like to join the group Matt!    

I have like this MASSIVE trophy bestowed upon me, issued to me by BT for winning the BT FFB league #2  you ought to see it!   Massive I tell ya!    lol 

And truth be told Matt is taller, better looking and smarter.    And I bet he meets his future wife in a future Hot Yoga session.   I hear the Agitated Chinese woman instructor is totally available.  ;-)

I'll post a bio tomorrow.    My DW is calling me....   "balance"  yup It's important.

Nice to meet y'all    No I'm not from the south.  I just like saying y'all

This is kinda long so go ahead and grab a coffee  if you have some time to kill.   Or just skim through.

WHEN CAN YOU START MENTORING?  -um well not really mentoring.   But will help support Matt and the group and basically be a nuisance to all. 

NAME:  (Oriolepwr) Dave

FAMILY STATUS:  Married  with two daughters ages 12 and 10  (so proud both swim/run and have done a couple of Triathlons!  YAY)

WEIGHTLOSS:   Lost a bunch of weight in the past  but I do like to drink beer.  maybe too much?  Am food logging EVERY thing I eat and drink in 2013 on  Myfitnesspal.com

STORY:   20 years ago I was a Cat 2 cyclist.  Had a bad crash.  tried to get back into race shape, but mentally did not have it.   Hung up my race bike and stopped ALL training.  My days of being athletic were over.  Or so I thought.   14 years of sedentary life left me in bad shape.

 My DW finally was able to convince me to see the doctor.   High blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, High cholesterol among other things.  So I began to sulk.    Then one day I was just watching my two wonderful and very young daughters eat as poorly as I had been.   I decided stuff had to change.  

I changed my diet,  decided since I was a good runner when I was younger, I could just run 2 miles every day and the girls could see me do it. And get inspired.  I never saw either of my own parents run a single step.  I could not "DO as I say, not as I do" as a role model.   Because that does not work too well.    So each day I'd run.    BUT that was not good enough for me.  I had to run faster and faster to try and beat my time.  And I got faster.  and faster.   So I began to think.  hmmm maybe I should run a 5K  So I did!  it was soo much fun I ran a 5K the next 12 weekends in a row.   

I got my health back, and was able to get off all medication. 

   Eventually though, I got injured, and joined the local gym and started swimming a mile each day to try and maintain my hard earned fitness.   One day I go past the spin room.  got on a bike for first time in 15 years    Spin was FUN! so added that to the mix.       Took my old race bike down, overhauled it and entered a Duathlon.   wow that was fun!  so since I had been swimming and all.  I then moved on to TRIATHLON! 

And in over the last 6 years have raced over 100 events of various distances  running/cycling/Triathlon. 

PAST RACES  Tri's  IM-Moo, Muncie, Steelhead, Racine, Door,  Branson, Kansas 70.3's,  Marathons,  Chicago 4X,  Dallas 2X, NYC, Disney A bunch of  other stuff.

2013 RACES:  Dialing things down.  Want to do a couple of local Oly's, Chicago Marathon  and will add a few more events along the way if time/$$/work/life  allows.    Am trying to focus more on Running and losing weight thru better diet and food logging.

Misc:

Co-Mentored the infamous Magical Mys-Tri Tour mentor group last year, and also am a Spin instructor.

Matt as you all are aware is really great at swimming. I'm hoping to get better from just being part of this group. 

Actually I'm not all that fond of swimming. I basically do it so I can race my bike, and then get out there on the run.    An interesting thing to me, is that during my Ironman    What I remember enjoying the most was that swim.  Weird huh?  I dunno what it was, but I just relaxed and tried to enjoy it.

I have lots of experience doing mostly the wrong things.   I will happily share them, along with some genuine helpful knowledge about what might hopefully help you to maximize your Tri experience. 

I will support you, and hope you will do same for me.  Humor is a great way to get through good times and bad. 

I believe they are realistic.  

I used them for reality check following my own training thoughts.  I synced up the plan, and would look to see how well my training was tracking versus the BT plan.   SO while I did not actually do the plan, the BT plan was keeping my training honest.    So yes, short of a coach or following some other plan, it certainly is a good idea to use one.

I've also thought about just getting a basic $500 road bike that will get me through the next year or two and making a bigger commitment later on.

This is def a good idea.  Buy a nice USED road bike that fits you.   Get some clipless pedals and bike shoes, clip on bars  and after a good season of training and tri's you will know exactly what you want in a tri bike.  smart approach.

Hi Dave

Very nice introduction. Do you use the MyFitnessPal app to track your calories or just the site ? Have you tried other sites/apps? I am currently using an app called Tap&Track but the MyFitnessPal seems to have a more elaborate database. Am willing to give it a shot since it seems to be free.

Quite like your take on parenting as well.

Kind regards

Max