Ryan Mac’s HIM Focus Group - CLOSED (Page 6)

Good morning all-Just curious as to what your favorite bike shorts/bibs are. I have a pair of Desoto 400 mile bibs that are 3-4 years old and I like those but they won't last forever. I also use old team kit LG tri shorts on the bike as well. Bought a pair of the newer design Desoto 400 Mile bibs with the  14 mm Ceramico pad. The area covered by the pad material is huge. The pad itself is not that big but not sure why they extended the material so far away from the actual pad. They are fine on the bike but I feel like I am wearing a diaper when off the bike. I got them for a good price so I will use them on the trainer but curious what everyone's preference is. Saw a similar thread on ST but thought I would see what everyone used here. Never sprang for any of the high end bibs like Assos, Rapha or some of the Castelli stuff but thinking at some point it may be a consideration. 

Swim at lunch....with a bunch of ankle band work. Short run and some weight/core work this evening.

Pulling for Oregon tonight since Alabama is out of it. My son goes to Bama so I had a reason to cheer for them.

Damn....Monday already

I have the De Soto Riviera tri bib and it's perfect for IM distance.  I found the 400 to be too thick.  I hated running in that thing.  For short HIM distance I have a Sugio RS tri suit from the tri club that I love.  War Eagle. 

Warren:  That is my worst nightmare, the power meter battery dying during an FTP test.  I actually need to change my battery as it has been beeping at me the last two rides.  Obviously, a significant loss in FTP is to be expected after a 4-month layoff.  As Marc mentioned previously, a 6-week focus and you should be back in pretty good shape.

Randy:  I ride in cheap tri shorts from manufacturers across the board.  I would really like to get a pair of bib shorts though to keep everything in place a little bit better .

I am dragging quite a bit today.  I had a late hockey game and my son was up coughing the whole night so not much sleep.  I am also on the road for work.  Luckily today was a scheduled off day on the workout front.

In the next few weeks, I am really going to be cranking up the run mileage and looking forward to that and some spring road racing.

I am a Michigan State guy myself and would like the Big Ten to win for some national respect.  But really, just hoping for a competitive game as these big games always seem to be one sided.

Hi guys, 

Not sure my shorts recommendations are going to be helpful. I do have several I love and others that i'd rather not wear but since cycling/tri shorts are expensive i don't seem to get rid of even the ones I like.  I have had no issue using tri shorts for races and in general for training.  If you have a woman in your life who cycles i do recommend getting the Lululemon-Specialized kit - they do it every year with a new style. I did not know it existed but my hubby got it for me for a birthday and it's really nice! lovely bib shorts, a female oriented design but not too girlie. 

I also don't train with power but do track the discussion. I need to just get my head around more consistency and intensity on the trainer before I would invest the $ in a PM.  I can do a lot with the tools i have ... and i am not saying that downplay the value of training by power. I am just lazy when it comes to bike training! I need to get my butt in gear! 

I had a good weekend and managed to get a little training in - nothing overly strenuous but got it done. 

QUESTION: I need to get my HIM plan in order. I have Fink's book on Half Irons.  Anyone done is his half plan? it appeals to me because the days are predictable but some of the workouts look boring and starts pretty easy. I've used the plan on this site with good results but it takes a bit of effort to organize to fit life/schedule and it's not predictable (ie tuesday is a steady run and swim,  wednesday is a bike/run day, etc). Would love your thoughts. 

I never used it.  I know a few that used his plan to get ready for an IM.  They loved the pattern of the workouts.  Is this your first HIM?

That is what appeals to me.  It's not my first- it's my fourth - planning on a very flat but potentially hot (still have the sunburn marks from 2014) race.  But i also want to do at least a little better than last year.  My big area of opportunity is the bike. 

Cycleops fluid trainer - have the garmin 310XT with the cadence/speed sensor.  I also have but have only used a few times the Sufferfest videos ... i know i'd get a lot of value out of that ... 

Agreed.  Golden Cheetah is free or you could go TrainerRoad for $10/month.  Be a great tool for you while you are on the trainer so probably $40 total until you are able to start riding outside again.

Great way to utilize power at a fraction of the cost for a real PM.

so let me tell you what i learned.  i just bought a power meter so i'm new to it.  what i gathered from my research is that you want consistent over accurate.  company "y" will claim they are accurate over company "z".  who is right?  how do we know?  you want a meter that will give you the same number if the environment and effort are the same.  if you see 1000 (not possible... i don't think) over and over and over again on your 1 hour workout, that is better than seeing numbers bounce around 200, 185, 300, 210.  trainerroad is consistent.

I'll look into them both! 

As long as you set up your trainer the same way each time the numbers on TrainerRoad are consistent, but certainly not accurate.  

If you have the finances to purchase a PM then I would definitely say yes.  They are a great tool and an objective way to measure progress, perform intervals at the correct intensity and for pacing long course races.  The prices are getting more and more reasonable and you can even look used as well.

The suggestion I give people considering power is to start with Virtual Power.  A power meter is a tool....it's not magically going to make you faster.  It requires putting in some effort to know what the power meter is telling you, how to structure your training, and how best to race with it.  When I first ventured into the world of power, I got my hands on as much good information as I could (Allen/Coggan's book "Training and Racing with a Power Meter, Skiba's book "Triathlete's Guide to Training with Power", tons of resources on the Training Peaks website, and lots of great info on BT and ST) and made sure I really understood it.  I'm an engineer -- I love that kind of stuff.  Some people don't.

So my suggestion is to start with Virtual Power -- TrainerRoad is a great place to start as it's very user friendly and has a nice interface; it does charge a monthly or yearly fee.  Golden Cheetah also offers VP, but it's nowhere near as user friendly....but it's free and you have a GREAT resource in Marc here!

It's a lot better to have a small financial commitment and decide you hate training with power than it is to buy a $1000+ power meter only to try to turn around and sell it because it's just not for you.  Just my two cents

Oh no! I hope the little one is feeling better, Ryan!

Had a good swim last night. My swim coach is good at pushing things I don't like. We've started a period where we're doing band work most swims and I really dislike band. But yesterday it wasn't too bad. She also made me practice practice practice flip turns. Everyone else was doing vertical kicking and i was in my lane swimming to the end and mostly unsuccessful not flipping ... but i did some ... anyway, i am going to keep working on it.  Just a mental gap. 

Today, I hit up yoga at the studio across the street from work. They have hour-long lunch time classes.  This one was really stretch focused and it was just what my body needed. 

Planning trainer tonight after my little one goes to sleep. One leg drills are on the plan.