I have not. I was going to do it this year but it sold out before I registered. Oceanside is a bigger one so it does tend to sell out several months early. But when I did Indian Wells last year, I don't recall the total number in the field but I'm certain it was several hundred. I think 4.5 months is enough to train for it. I just think it would be good to get one or two olys in first. I think that was your original plan anyway. Where I was going with that is I don't know if you have time to get in any olys before IW registration closes. It would suck to do an oly and feel the confidence you could finish IW, only to find out registration had closed. It would suck worse to pay the entry for IW, then do an oly and discover you weren't ready for a 70.3.

Thanks... here's the plan: two more sprints and at least one Oly by the end of November. I'm likely to register for IW with the understanding that there's a 50% chance I lose my money.

Any tips on a bike chain cleaner? I imagine the extreme humid heat we have had this summer is messing with my chain. I was out of a town for about week and then this past Saturday I pulled out my bike and the chain had gunk all over it. It was dark, like rust, but it wasn't hardened. So I figured I need to clean it now before it does harden.

Any degreaser shoulder wok. Simply Green is good.

I was about to suggest foaming dishwashing Dawn Platinum Plus Powerwash. I recently discovered that stuff is great for degreasing bike gunk. I Googled for a link to provide and see that they now have a general cleaning degreaser. Based on how that foaming dishwashing detergent works, I’ll bet this stuff is pretty good too.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dawn-Pro...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

Dan

Is degreasing the chain a matter of just spraying it down and letting the cleaner do it's job, or do I need to get in and scrub the chain with a rag or something? Such a newb question. LOL.

Was out on my ride on Saturday. Had a guy pass me up who appeared to be working no harder, or even less than I was. I don't believe he was on a TT bike, but a road bike. But he did have way nicer wheels than I did. Got to find out the secret to that. I was doing around 18mph at the time and he probably passed me up doing 20mph or so and it looked effortless.

Check this out:

As for some dude passing you effortlessly, you can mark that up to a ton of different things.

If you’re not going to this extent…you’re wasting your time.



Dan

LOL...right? Some guys go nuts! When I first got into biking in a serious way I was watching a video where some dude was going through a really time consuming process of cleaning his chain so that he could wax it. Now, I know that a clean chain and waxing can have great benefits. But it was so over the top! Just keep the chain and bike relatively clean and the cables taught, is my advice.

No disrespect intended, but I'm sure the chain isn't going to be worth that much. Not advising against cleaning your chain, but don't expect to jump on and just go "wow! I'm so much faster now." Aint' gonna happen. Fact is, some people are and always will be faster than you.

There have been multiple times when I've blown by someone and felt all cocky, and just a mile or two further along some dude just cruises past me like I'm tied to a fence post. I like to think I'm pretty quick. On flat ground, I can hold around a 20mph pace for several miles. But when I was in Miami earlier this year I was running about that pace and had more than a few guys pass me like I'm dragging a dead rhinoceros.

But when it comes to chains, I have become a big fan of waxing. Not because I can tell a speed difference, but because it's so much cleaner than oil. I've heard it's suboptimal in humid environments but I live in a very dry environment so wax is really good at providing lubrication without attracting the grit and sand associated with petroleum lubricants.

I will say this about chain, cog, ring, and rear derailleur pulleys…keeping the built up hardened gunk off them makes shifting more accurate. I’m not good about regular cleaning of those components. And, there have been times when my shifting starts to go wonky, or the chain will skip, and I think “Well, I need a new chain (or gear cassette/chainring).” But then I put the bike on the work stand and notice that I have significant gunk on the gears. I clean it off thoroughly, and shifting improves. I think the hardened grease gunk prevents the chain from seating on the various gears, and thereby disrupts proper shifting…like a worn chain would do.

Dan

You can buy a new chain on the cheap. I bought an Ultegra 10-speed recently for, I think, $21.

Did my first open water swim this past Saturday. Wow. That was an eye opener. I have my distance up to a mile in the lap pool. But getting into open water was a whole different beast. I had a friend swim with me. She was a collegiate swimmer, so helped calm some nerves there. I also didn't have a wet suite. So it was just swimming with jammers. Got into the water (dang it was cold at first) and then we were off. Not being able to see the bottom really threw me off at first. After my first 25 yards I had to stop as everything was off because of that. It took my a couple more 25 yard intervals to finally start getting comfortable with the visibility aspect. Then when we turned around, my breath put the sun right into my eyes. So everytime I took a breath and then put my head back in the water, i had funky lines in my vision, looking into the water. That screwed me up a little bit also. After swimming the shore line for a while, we decided to swim out from the shore line (there are no boats in this lake). Next thing I knew I found myself in the middle of the lake. Proud of that swim, but then decided not to push it and swam back. I am glad I did this swim, instead of going into a race as my first open water swim. I think if a race would have been my first open water swim, I would have been doing that race in a backstroke. I think we are going to try to head out again this week for another open water swim now that I am little more comfortable with it.

I always tell new people that open water swimming is a completely different animal.

Good job Tex! I can't believe you posted on my thread from over a year ago. It's officially a Zombie thread now. I find the swim super easy at this point, but I have a swim background. Just keep at it. Jen may agree, but the difficulties I see people having are all in their heads. The more you do it, the easier it will be to slay those scary things. And take it slow and build up! I did an Oly late last year and there was this young guy - at least 30 years younger than me - who was clearly in phenomenal shape. Well, he hit that water so hard! I passed him after about 150 yards, as he was just treading water, breathing like a wild man, all wide-eyes and scared looking. He ended up swimming to shore an quitting! It was all in his head!
If you're near the gulf, get out there with some sharks and do a mile. That'll make you fearless!

Got in another open water swim today. Now that I knew what to expect, I went much farther and faster (for me). I actually enjoy the open water swim as opposed to a pool swim. I hate the stopping to turnaround on pool swims.

The spring tri in a few weeks is having a practice swim and run the weekend before the actual event. I am probably going to the practice day so I can get a feel for that body of water. For the practice, do most people wear the tri suit they will be wearing for the event or do they just practice in jammers?

I’ve never done a practice for an event on the actual course in advance of the event. But, there are a couple sayings, or ‘practices’ that come to mind here. One is: “Practice like you play.” IOW, do the practice swim like you’ll be swimming the actual event. The other is: Don’t ever use new equipment for the first time in an actual race. So, if you haven’t actually used the tri suit yet, I’d certainly get a swim or two in it (not necessarily on the racecourse)…as well as wearing it on a ride and a run. It’d be very frustrating if you find out on the bike, or in the run, that it chafes you, or doesn’t fit comfortably for that activity. But…if you’ve worn the tri suit, and are comfortable with it…then swimming in jammers just to get familiar with the course is fine. Things to look for on the swim: If it’s a body of water with currents/tides, take note of when, where, and direction of flow. (If it’s in water affected by tides, check the tide tables for that location in advance of the race). Look for shallow areas that might be too shallow for swimming at a low tide. Look for places where swimmers get congested, and how you might avoid that. Check prevailing winds, or wind forecast for race day, and look at where on the course you’ll be swimming against the wind. The difference in the water conditions swimming with or against the wind can be VERY different. Footing at the water exit, and along the path to T1. I’ve actually had flip-flop slides staged at the water’s edge so that I could run while others had to walk over the sharp gravel.

Dan

I have no idea what people wear on practice swims, as I've never done a group practice swim. I'm also not the person to ask, as I'm an oddball. I try never to wear a wetsuit, but will wear a tight-fitting muscle T on the swim so I don't have to change into one in transition before the bike. I've only done a handful of competitions, though, so figure out what works best for you. Try not to get caught up in what other people are doing; do your own thing. For example, I wish I had never bought a wetsuit, as I never wear one in a competition, if I can get away with it.

Dude, that's so funny! I must admit that I think some people go way over board in how they maintain their rides. Unless your a high-end competitor, I think routine maintenace is all you need. I'll give my chain a deep clean yearly by just letting it soak in degreaser. I then was it down with Dawn Power wash (that stuff is freaking amazing), and then dry lube. Nothing fancy and works really well.

Thanks all. The water the sprint tri is in, is a man made small lake in a park. So not really any tides to worry about there. Might be a little wind if it will be cloudy. Otherwise, it is going to be normal Houston area weather, hot and humid. Looks like the water temp will be around 80 degrees that day. They are having a practice run of the 5k also after the swim. I have not ever worn my tri suite in an activity, so I guess I will wear it for the practice swim and the practice run. My buddy gave me a speed suite and told me to try it over the top of my tri suite for the swim. Speed is not exactly a trait of mine in the swim. I guess the question is for a speed suite, does it really add any buoyancy like a wet suite does?

I have no idea what a speed suit is. First I'm hearing of it. But a tri suit adds tons of buoyancy, for sure. It's an unnatural feel for me. Why use one if the water is warm? They're a PITA to get in and out of, and for short swims, I'm not sure it gives any advantage. It doesn't for me.

Tri suit is the base suite that people wear during the triathlon. So the one you wear during the swim, bike, and run.

Wet suite is the one you wear over your tri suit for the swim that has buoyancy and some warmth when the water is cold.

Speed suite is a light one piece sleeveless suit you wear over your tri suite when the water is too warm for a wet suite and it also covers up all the holes and pockets of the tri suite for less resistance in the water. Not sure how much buoyancy it provides. I believe it is mostly to cut down the resistance.

How does a tri suit provide buoyancy? It’s just Lycra spandex, no neoprene.

Dan

I was referring to a triathlon-type wet suit.

Some tri suits (DeSoto comes to mind) does advertise a little buoyancy from the pad to help keep the butt up. It's minimal to be sure.