Well sat in front of my 2 computers for the last half hour, ready to register exactly at 2..............And got in
Very excited that I have the chance to compete at this distance next year. Completed 1 1/2 IM and 1 Oly and 3 Sprints this past year. The 1/2 (Timberman) wasn't that bad (minus the swim). But the bike and run were great. Have a swim coach and plan on swimming 4-5 days a week so that has to improve. And setting up the trainer after Thanksgiving.
Anyone done this before?
Marathonmanleto
Haven't done AZ, but just did IMKY in August. Train hard and the race is gravy! I was terrified after registering. Trained my ass off for 8 months and did it. Man, does that finish look pretty. Enjoy the journey.
Puttin' on the foil
I have not done IMAZ. I know many that have, it is a fast course (not necessarily easy, but fast). The top 5 in my AG all went sub-9:45 yesterday. Hopefully next year the weather is a little better. It was windy, rainy and cold yesterday. Good luck with your training. Keep it fun for the first few months, you race is a long way off. Probably a good idea to have some goals between now and then, like a spring half marathon and maybe a couple of half iron races next summer. Build a good base.
Don't be obsessed with your desires Danny. The Zen philosopher Basha once wrote, 'A flute with no holes, is not a flute. A donut with no hole, is a Danish.'
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A friend did it last year (not yesterday), and was really cold in the water and in T1, and still loved it and wants to go back.
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
Awesome! I have a friend who did it this weekend. Didn't get any feedback other than the bike course was windy. I think she PR'd with something like an 11:14.
Good luck to you!
Thanks guys, already signed up for Boston so running that in April, then 1/2 IM in the beginning of the Summer (either Rhode Island or Mooseman), then TImberman in August, with a sprint and oly somewhere in between. Haven't decided about the running tune up races but there are plenty in this area so I'm not worried.
Oh and of course thinking about upgrading my bike, tires? I don't have nice fancy ones, do they make a difference?
I am pretty ignorant, so hopefully someone will have a real answer, but I believe that putting air in the tires really helps.
I wonder if helium in the tires would make you even FASTER???????
The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
2014 Goals:
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Enjoy life
Wheels are perhaps the best value in terms of upgrading equipment for the bike. A pair of Zipps (or the equivalent) will certainly make your bike split faster. Tubulars are faster that clinchers, but not everyone agrees with that.
You can probably find a LBS that will rent a set to you for a week or so if its too much of an investment for you.
We have one in the area that will rent them out.
I'd worry that USAT is supposed to have a zillion rules and penalties, and there might be one for that. Plus, if you're not getting friction, I'm not sure if you're gonna get forward motion
Hey guys,
So the Summer went really well with the training and I had a good 70.3 at the end of August at Timberman. Had a few weeks of 20+ hrs training and it felt manageable. Now the days are getting a lot shorter. Sucks. All Summer I would get home between 5:30 and 6 and be out on the bike until 8ish. Its getting dark at 7 and soon will be 6:30, 6, etc.... I am more worried about the pavement than getting hit by a car and lack of street lights. Was thinking, should I ride on the trainer during the week at night and then on Saturday and Sunday bike outside? Does it make a difference? I know I won't be getting any hills on the trainer, but IM Arizona has a flat bike course. Just curious to see what some of you thought as I'm really not experienced on the bike at all. Thanks.
You simulate hills by increasing the resistance of your trainer. Training indoors is a necessity for us northerners and even T-Bone does a lot of training indoors.
If you're really serious about triathlon training you might want to consider getting a computrainer so you can load the profile, video of the goal race you want to compete in next year and train the course.
That's basically my program now that I've given up bike commuting.
One thing I've done on the trainer is to use a heart rate monitor. I basically work out where my heart rate would be for the kind of ride I want to do. Also, since there are no down hills it can be an honest workout with no breaks. I'll up the gear and get out of the saddle to simulate hills.
I've got a couple "Spinerval" workout videos. They are cheezy but give a good workout.
Back in 2000 I trained all winter on the trainer maintaing fitness from a fall century then, with just a few rides outside, won a "beginner" category mountain bike race that March. It was a big surprise but it's proof that the trainer works.
You could also try and coordinate spinning at the gym before or after swimming. Spin classes feel goofy to me but I find that my heart rate is about the same as if I were running so it's real work.
MTA: I just want to comment that I feel goofy commenting on a thread titled "Ironman Arizona" considering that I've never done a tri of any distance.