Hi Jen,

What distances are you riding in the tri's you're doing? Heart rate monitors are good, I use one, but do not become a slave to it. It's possible to become so focused on your heart rate that you may not enjoy the work out. When you race it's OK to wear it but I would pretty much ignore it.

Take a look at the cycling section of trinewbies.com. It has some training plans for different length tri's. This could give you some workout ideas.

Don't forget about aerodynamics. Are you using aero bars? Perhaps a local triathlete or bike shop could take a look at your positioning on the bike and tweak it a bit to make you more aero. This will make you faster.

Good Luck with your races!

Zack