Forums >Cross Training>TRIATHLON
for crying out loud arca, what happened with the challenge?
Right?
Runners run
Glad you asked, and I'd love to be able to post the photo from the end of the race, but I can't work out how to get a photo into this forum.
The fat shire horse was more of a skinny thoroughbred by the time of the race. He'd obviously spent some time swimming, and took 5 minutes out of me there. I took 4 minutes back on the bike (hilly, so suited a short-arse like me), and I eventually caught him in the first couple of k of the run. Once I could see him, I knew I could outrun him . I beat him by 2mins30, and if I can work out how to paste it here then I'll attach the photo of us both standing in the lake and enjoying the cold beers that he had to buy for losing. It was satisfying, because it was a good race and we were well matched. Had the bike been flat it could have been a different result..
maybe this'll work..
.
CT JEFF
I'd disagree with this...a used entry level Tri Bike is going to run you $1000 on average. A middle of the line bike will run you $3000 and a top of the line will start around a $5000 price point. I realize it's realitive to your expendable cash but for me, even $2k is pretty significant. Now if you mean the price difference between an entry level Aluminum and entry level Carbon then yes, the price isn't that much different but Carbon alone does not justify "top of the line". I do believe someone running an entry level bike against a high end bike fully outfitted that the outcome will hinge more on the rider and not the bike.
I'd disagree with this...a used entry level Tri Bike is going to run you $1000 on average. A middle of the line bike will run you $3000 and a top of the line will start around a $5000 price point. I realize it's realitive to your expendable cash but for me, even $2k is pretty significant.
Now if you mean the price difference between an entry level Aluminum and entry level Carbon then yes, the price isn't that much different but Carbon alone does not justify "top of the line".
I do believe someone running an entry level bike against a high end bike fully outfitted that the outcome will hinge more on the rider and not the bike.
you just reiterated what I said.
I wasnt clear when I said, "but the jump isnt that huge going from entry level aluminum to top of the line carbon". The jump in price is high. The jump in performance isnt. That was my point, as the other comments I made like, "A faster bike will make anyone faster, but Id rather focus on getting my body into shape than my wallet out of shape."
So - I agree with you. Or rather, you agree with me, since I said it first.
RUN SAFE. Barefoot 1st: 6/9/13. PR: 5k=22:50 10k=47:46 HM 1:51. FM 4:28 Oct 2015 joined RUN 169!
i have been running a 500 dollar bottom line bike for 3 years and she is a tank. i bought it new and it owes me nothing. that said, i want to buy a better lighter bike but i am a 5' stump and not only are options limited but i have no job so so i can't justify spending thousands. however...i am torn as well because i am thinking i could be much faster and that hurts cause i just end up thinking i am just not very good at biking when others so easily drop me like i'm stilling still. so my solution is...attach extra weight to the bike and run tires with low air so i have to work harder in training. then race day comes...i strip the bike and run 110 in the tires in hopes it will make me faster cause i am used to killing myself during training. it works...i think. now i if i could just get myself to pee on the bike. that alone will cut 5-10 minutes.
i guess i need to physically try a lighter bike and see what it does for my speed to actually know if it is just my ability and worth $s spent because really all i am doing is speculating here but i liked the above quoted comment.
In order to see the truth, sometimes you have to loose an eye.
http://www.runningahead.com/groups/Utri/
rectumdamnnearkilledem
Keep your eyes open for something like a used 44-46cm road bike...that's probably the smallest you'd find with 700cc rims. A gently used bike could save you a ton. At that size you could end up with a bike that a tween/teen kid rode for a year or two or a woman who bought a nice bike, then decided she didn't really want to ride. There are always bikes like this showing up on eBay or CraigsList. Sometimes amazing deals can be had on last-year's models, too.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
My Local Bike Shop offers a yearly buyback /sale. The LBS prices the bikes, and tunes them if they sell. At the same time they offer a great sale on previous years models. I found some great deals on CL but I was too naive to know which were good deals and which were not at the time.
Recently I saw a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJXy2opUiFU - my swim is bad. I have gone to group swims with a coach and open water swims, but somehow reducing drag was not the first thing we covered. I just recently tried this out. I felt as though I was "pushing my head lower" - I wasnt swimming with my head out of the water as in the video, but my legs were dragging. Just by changing my body position I was able to reduce my effort significantly and maintain / increase speed.
Triathlon is a challenging sport and most athletes usually give more emphasis on swim and bike training. However, I believe that running is the most demanding part of a triathlon not just physically but mentally as well. And when it comes to sprint triathlon run training, the key is to increase distances over the course of your training program. Hence, you need to plan to work out six days per week 2 days per workout.
ME
Regarding the price of a bike. A very important thing is that the bike fits you properly. You'll do much better on a $500 bike that fits well than you will on a $5000 bike that doesn't.
Agreed, the most significant jump I've seen (besides having a second year of cycling base) was after I had a professional bike fit. I ride a decent road bike with clip on bars, but in the end I still do get bike envy when I show up to events. Some nice deep wheels would be nice.
I still consider myself a runner first and I find myself rarely passed on the run leg. As noted, this helps mostly in races with shorter bike legs where I lose less time to the "cyclists."
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i have been running a 500 dollar bottom line bike for 3 years and she is a tank. i bought it new and it owes me nothing. that said, i want to buy a better lighter bike but i am a 5' stump and not only are options limited but i have no job so so i can't justify spending thousands. however...i am torn as well because i am thinking i could be much faster and that hurts cause i just end up thinking i am just not very good at biking when others so easily drop me like i'm stilling still. so my solution is...attach extra weight to the bike and run tires with low air so i have to work harder in training. then race day comes...i strip the bike and run 110 in the tires in hopes it will make me faster cause i am used to killing myself during training. it works...i think. now i if i could just get myself to pee on the bike. that alone will cut 5-10 minutes. i guess i need to physically try a lighter bike and see what it does for my speed to actually know if it is just my ability and worth $s spent because really all i am doing is speculating here but i liked the above quoted comment.
well i can safely say that (for myself) going out and buying high end (that fits) will make you much faster, much easier for much longer. the difference is night and day.
that said...i can't help mentioning that if you want to reach YOUR fullest potential in a field of expensive rides and not be in the last 25% of the bike portion of your race, your only option is to ride what others are riding. training is only going to take you so far and it will never match the person who trains just as hard and rides on high end. really it is just as simple as that. it sucks and seems unfair in that chances are, the person who trains hard with the best bike does the best but well...i think we all know this. so for the person who rides the bottom line...you best be a great swimmer, a very fast transitionalist, and a very fast runner because being great at only one of those things probably won't make up for the slowness on bike where most of the race is spent. this has been a shitty thing to say and admit to but i have put in my time as anchor and i'm done.
two words repeated...ebay and craigslist.
Alternatively you can use a fast bike can let you skimp on your bike training and run some more instead. When I hop on my tri bike it's like getting a 1-2 mph boost over my already decent road bike, which is already night and day over a low end bike.
If you don't ride them much (like me) the bikes will last a very long time and spread the investment over many, many more years.
spread the investment over many, many more years.
by keeping the low end bike and using it to train on...then using the TT bike for competitions and group rides is what my plan is...i figure it will keep me as strong as i can be while keeping my good bike in the inflatable section and i won't be so left behind the fast cycle people when i'm with them.
and agreed.
As a guy who has logged some serious road miles on the bike and raced a little on the track, I have to tell you that cyclists laugh like hell at you tri guys with all that crap bolted to your bike, rolling around at 17mph. Add in the fact that road cyclists are all **holes who are way to caught up in their equipment and it's even funnier. If you wanna drop everyone like a sack of rocks in the bike stage, go get yourself a steel framed road bike from the 70's and set it up as a fixed gear bike and put in a couple hundred miles a week for 6 months. A 1% difference in fitness will always beat 100% difference in bike cost. You simply can't buy fitness or speed with your wallet.
You simply can't buy fitness or speed with your wallet.
Sssshhhh... companies are making a killing on this very thing.
If you wanna drop everyone like a sack of rocks in the bike stage, go get yourself a steel framed road bike from the 70's and set it up as a fixed gear bike and put in a couple hundred miles a week for 6 months. A 1% difference in fitness will always beat 100% difference in bike cost. You simply can't buy fitness or speed with your wallet.
the problem with this is...everyone is thinking and doing this very thing (as it turns out). so with that...you need to be in fact a follower to the mighty dollar to be in the very spot you were just in a short time ago before bikes really started to get $$$$ and everyone is buying them.
but this here is important as i change my tune a bit; i (a tri person) also have found that riding with "cyclists" is counter productive to my cause as i build myself into my training as i can't draft and do the quarter mile pulls thing where i come from and it's just so ass backwards to how i ride that i've had to adjust and look stupid(i think i've said this before somewhere, oh well). they can laugh all they want at my 17 mph cause that's fantastic for me on a good day where EVERYDAY is windy. when i do ride with cyclists i drop often cause it's what i do. i don't think they like that very much though cause i screw up the system or whatever. just 2 days ago, i saw a tight pack of cyclists literally flying down the road and i was the one laughing at their....what are we talking about here? maybe 25-30 mile ride at 23-4mph? jesus christ man. different worlds is all.
as it is plain to see i am very much a loner most of the time.