Kamala

dDidn't mean to exaggerate my 10K time, 1:20 or so for me. Same point though, that just doesn't seem like enough time to be reward territory. The reward is a scoop of ice cream. I had lap band surgery, so ice cream is on the big no-no list. But ice cream is also my kryptonite and thinking I can't have it at all just makes me focus on it way more than is healthy. Bright line rules tend to work very well for me with my eating, so 50 miles = 1 scoop of ice cream; 49 miles = no ice cream. Gets me riding a lot :-) Nutritionist seems to be okay with it, she gets way crankier about how much bacon I eat.

TechKnowGN

Yeah, 1:20 is probably my absolute fastest 10k right now, but by the end of month, Im hoping to be in the 1:15 range. I have a 19k 1/1.

I always try to be very careful about food rewards, at least when it comes to myself. If that motivation works for you, and your doctors are ok with it, more power to you!

TechKnowGN

I went the other direction. My late season change on my bike was a much more aggressive change. I moved from a riser bar to flat bar, and added the aero bars. I dont know if it's negatively affected my time in the saddle, but I know I need to work on my core to make being in that position longer and more comfortable

massi

Neil I was in the same boat as you several years ago. I couldn't swim ,crawl or breast stroke so i tried old English side stroke which is like breast stroke on your side. Its a brilliant stroke. It seems as fast as breast stroke and you keep your head above water at all times .This is a real big advantage for a novice swimmer because you can regulate your breathing more easily and also see where you are swimming all the time.
I started with a length and rest 10 seconds then another length. After 3 months I could swim 8x 25mts in under 3.5 minutes

TechKnowGN

Massi - I use side stroke when I need to recover without stopping and dont want to go to back stroke for fear of being overrun with folks from behind.

massi

its an under rated stroke I think. Breast stroke is a fairly technical stroke which requires some profficiency to get a decent speed out of it. I can swim sidestroke with no finesse at all and get some respectable speed. Crawl I find it difficult to breathe and soon get anerobic .

TechKnowGN

Massi - Absolutely. I found it quite useful. It wasnt as restful as backstroke imo for getting the breathing back in line, but I do like it. I find breaststroke to be incredibly useful. is it the fastest? maybe not, but for open water swims I think the ability to spot every stroke makes up most of the speed difference you might get from going off line doing crawl.

TechKnowGN

I have been debating posting this, because I didn't want to do anything that looked like I was taking advantage of this stickied thread I asked for, but I have started a blog about my adventures and efforts racing and training for the half ironman. It's called Becoming Timberman, and the link is in my blog. I'm not posting daily because I dont have enough good content ideas yet to do that. But I am posting every few days, and I think i will wind up posting daily at some point.

Daniel Frost

Well folks, I have officially entered and paid for my 1st triathlon. 3rd of Jan, lookin forward to it and heaps of my friends and family are coming to watch

cohophysh

Whoo hoo....let us know how it goes Dan!

bad91

Name: BAD
Age: 44
Clyde/Athena: Clyde
# of Triathlons completed: 0
Longest race: 0
Next Race: Sprint 3/20/10 Pasadena Triathlon
One piece of advice for fellow racers: Watch out for #1 because you might step in #2!

Looking forward to my race. I have somewhat an athletic history. In May, I ll be doing a 3 day bike ride from NJ to DC and then the following week, I will be doing a 1/2 marathon in Fargo, ND.

TechKnowGN

Dan - Way to go!! Good luck, and most of all... remember to have fun!!

TechKnowGN

Bad91 - Welcome!! It sounds like the bike and run won't be any issue for you in the sprint tri based on the rest of what you've got planned this year! Keep it up!

TechKnowGN

So did anyone else get any bike or tri gear for christmas?

I got a new UnderArmour longsleeve heat gear for spring and fall, a waterbottle with a hand sleeve to make it easier to hold while running, A Tooks hat with headphones built in, a Rudy project helmet, and rudy project USA Triathlon sunglasses. I also have a H2OAudio waterproof case and headphones for my G5 iPod Nano.

bald_guy

Name: Ryan
Age: 34
Clyde/Athena: Clyde
# of Triathlons completed: 0
Longest race: None yet
Next Race: None yet but signed up for a Beginner camp at end of Feb.
One piece of advice for fellow racers: None Yet.

I just signed up for a beginner triathlon camp at the end of Feb. and I'm really looking forward to it. I would just jump in and do one, but I can't really swim. Emailed the instructor at the camp and he said it's not a problem for the camp. I hope to do my first one either late this year or early next year and really looking forward to it. I figure by then I should be able to swim well enough to make it through the swim and not drown.

TechKnowGN

Ryan, good luck on your camp! Swimming will pick up faster than you think. You might want to see if you can find a YMCA or other local less expensive gym that has a pool and offers swim lessons, and eventually a masters swim team. (masters just means not kids)

cohophysh

Just ordered an F5 polar heart rate monitor to help with my training...any one else use one? What brand and how do you like it?

TechKnowGN

I had a heart rate monitor/watch set I got a while ago. I really liked it a lot. I wasn't 100% confident about what it told me regarding calories, but I liked knowing what zone I was in. Know that I know a lot more about heart rates and where I need to be to burn fat, or tune the cardio engine, I will probably get one that works with my iPod Nano/Nike+ combination. The new G5 Nano syncs with heart monitors.

bad91

I did my first base swim today, 1200 meters....Boy did it suck!!! I dont like swimming but I better like it =)

5280 Clyde

Name: Brandon
Age: 36
Clyde/Athena: Clyde
# of Triathlons completed: 0
Longest race:
Next Race: Sprint on 4/11/2010

I just found this site today while researching bike frames, but am participating in my first tri in April. I bike regularly during the summers, approximately 1200 miles over 4 - 5 months. I have done two organized century rides. I also run some, and recently ran 2 organized 10Ks (9/26/09 - 67 minutes and 10/31/2009 - 63 minutes) and a 10 mile run (11/26/2009 - 1 hour 40 minutes). I have never swam competitively, and don't even know proper breathing, but thought it would be fun to combine biking and running and challenge myself with something new. I am reading "Total Immersion" to help me learn proper swimming. I will not be able to train in the water until early Feb. I am already looking for an Olympic distance in the summer to follow-up with.

Ben, I will be checking out your blog, as I was considering the Boulder half Ironman in Aug.

Thanks for the tips on the training resources!

Daniel Frost

Triathlon Complete! Im alive! Tri went really well, good in transitions, except for coming off the bike I forgot to remove my cycle shorts, the 10 seconds or so may have helped on the run, I didnt actually notice until near they end. The swim went well, bike was good except for the course was a giant hill. Bike computer didnt start until about a km into the ride, just over half the run was on the beach. Sand was hard but running off the road over the dune was very soft. Main thing was i had fun!! booked and paid for the next event in 5 weeks too

Daniel Frost

I got some performance underwear,running socks and a cycling shirt. 1st christmas ever to be excited about getting socks and underwear.

TechKnowGN

Congrats on the terrific effort!! Did you get your time splits yet? Getting the times is like the best part of the race... next to every other great part. So jealous. I wont have a race for months yet because its winter here.

Daniel Frost

Time splits
Swim including T1 12:00
Bike including T2 28:41
Run 20:16
For a finish time 1:00:57

The swm was 300m happy with the time, swim was my weakest, just need more time in the pool so Im not worried about it.
Bike was 10km an up a very large hill, was very pleased with the time.
Run was 3.35km and half was on the beach, normally run 3km in about 18 minutes, so I am very pleased with the time as i walked about a 600m when we went from the road and over the sand dunes down to hard sand, the dune took it out of me. At no point did I thnk about stopping, that was a good feeling.

Very happy with my efforts, No specific area to focus on for the next event, just need to continue with my training program and the results will come.


oh yeah I told eeryone my target was to finish but actually had in my head 1 Hour 10 minutes

Neil_B

Oh, I've been slacking. My tri is scheduled for June 7, and I still haven't learned how to swim yet. Let alone swim a half-mile. :-(