Triathlons

[Chairman Mallard]

Alright, Imp. You're guilting me into a new helmet. Still don't want to break the bank on one, though. This at least a bit better?

http://atlantacycling.com/product/bontrager-starvos-211973-1.htm

Also went ahead and bought myself a wetsuit, that should be here tomorrow, and should be able to get 3-4 swims in in it before the race.

Isn't the visor removable?

My helmet has that visor too and it just snaps off and on.

 

[RayP]

Isn't the visor removable?

My helmet has that visor too and it just snaps off and on.

Never checked, to be honest.

 

[Chairman Mallard]

Never checked, to be honest.

If all you care about is the look, and your current helmet is still in working order, it might save you 75 bucks. This is the helmet I have and it really easily comes off and on.

 

[Nunymare]

Good luck!

 

[The Imp]

Yes, it is likely removable. Just a little worried about the helmet being damaged while doing it, which is why I didn't mention it.

 

[RayP]

Hey Imp, this one a little better?

 

[The Imp]

Oh yes indeed. Very nice. Have an awesome race tomorrow!

 

[The Imp]

Eagerly awaiting a race report over here...

 

[RayP]

6:07:37

All in all very happy with time. Originally when I signed up I said I wanted to be around the 6 hour mark. But then after not training very well on the running end I moved that flower to 6:30:00.

Nearly died when I jumped on the river to get ready for our start. Literally couldn't breath for what felt like an eternity. Not sure what that was about. I got slaughtered by my age group in the water, but still had an official time of 35 something minutes so all in all pretty happy with that.

On the bike I felt so freaking comfortable. Easily my favorite part of the day. Anytime there was anything that resembled a hill Id pass people by the bunches. Felt really really good from on the bike as soo as I got rid of some of the anxiety from the swim. Final time on the bike was a hair over 3 hours.

Run felt great from the second I started until I hit the 10 mile mark. My quads really started to give out then. Tried to stretch them but even just barely bending my knee into a quad stretch immediately made my hamstring feel like it was going to catch, so couldn't stretch out my quad whatsoever. Last few miles were really tough but finished just a few minutes over 2 hours. Given my lack of training with running over 6-7 miles, very happy with that time.

Given it was moderately windy and rained pretty much the entire bike ride, very satisfied with how things turned out.

 

[The Imp]

Nice one, Ray. Getting used to the swim bit can be a hassle, I had much the same experience at 70.3 Kronborg, too.

I love the IM finisher medals - they're pretty creative with those.

I watched a bit of the live feed, but it only showed the finish line, and it didn't really seem like much of a party, tbh.

What was your bib number?

 

[RayP]

Yeah, I gotta figure out a better swim program for 70.3 Puerto Rico, but it's going to be winter here while I'm training so I don't know how I'm going to do that.

Post a pic when you can.

The finish line itself was rather tame but the run course had awesome support. Picked me up several times during the run when I wanted to walk. Off to the side where you wouldn't he able to see from that feed (I'm assuming) is where a big party was. Compared to races I've done in the past I was actually raving about the support for this one.

3100. Speaking of, second largest 70.3 event in the world, and largest in NA. At least that's what they said.

 

[The Imp]

Ironman Copenhagen:

That's the little mermaid on the medal, from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, and the Little Mermaid statue, one of the more famous landmarks of Copenhagen (which you run right by during the IM run).

Ironman 70.3 Kronborg:

That's Holger Danske (Ogier the Dane) on the medal, a statue that sits beneath Kronborg castle: "In Danish legend Ogier becomes a king in the mountain; he is said to dwell in the castle of Kronborg, his beard grown down to the floor. He will sleep there until some day when the country of Denmark is in peril, at which time he will rise up and save the nation. The largest World War II Danish resistance group, Holger Danske, was named after the legend."

 

[RayP]

I like that 70.3 one a lot.

 

[RayP]

I was surprised by the amount of road bikes I saw out there, along with mine. Quite a few. Thought I might stick out like a sore thumb, but not at all. Still trying to get a tri bike, but just haven't figured out all of that just yet. Was going to slap some tri bars on there, but figured that would be rather pointless other than doing it to "fit in with the club." No reason to add weight for something I didn't train with for a single day, so didn't even bother.

I did find a bike shop that will build a bike for $200, so I'm thinking of gradually buying all the parts for a tri bike, and then handing them all to them to assemble when I have it all ready. Would probably be able to put together a much nicer bike doing that vs buying an assembled bike.

Oh, but at the race I did see a hybrid bike with tri bars slapped on it and that was one of the weirdest things I saw all day.

 

[Dolemite]

I was surprised by the amount of road bikes I saw out there, along with mine. Quite a few. Thought I might stick out like a sore thumb, but not at all. Still trying to get a tri bike, but just haven't figured out all of that just yet. Was going to slap some tri bars on there, but figured that would be rather pointless other than doing it to "fit in with the club." No reason to add weight for something I didn't train with for a single day, so didn't even bother.

I did find a bike shop that will build a bike for $200, so I'm thinking of gradually buying all the parts for a tri bike, and then handing them all to them to assemble when I have it all ready. Would probably be able to put together a much nicer bike doing that vs buying an assembled bike.

Oh, but at the race I did see a hybrid bike with tri bars slapped on it and that was one of the weirdest things I saw all day.

One thing to possibly look at is renting one for the race. For my first sprint tri I used my modified mountain bike (with slicks & tri bar) because I couldn't afford a new one (also was seeing if I wanted to get into the sport as well). I didn't see until a few days after my first race that they had really light and durable tri bikes for rent.

 

[RayP]

Imp, what races you signed up for or looking at doing in 2016? I've got the 70.3 San Juan in about 8 weeks. Going to smoke the bike course, but I already know that run is going to hurt. Apparently the run is pretty difficult to begin with, not to mention very hot and humid.

 

[The Imp]

You live in hot and humid right? Train at the peak temps of the day, and/or head down early, to get used to it.

My activity/race program for 2016 is all set out (barring injury):

April 2nd, Berlin half marathon
Early April: 7-day Training camp Mallorca with Tri4 (my brother's club)
Mid-May: 10-day Training camp Mallorca with Kvik Tri (my club)
June 19th: Kronborg 70.3 individual
June 26th: Oresund 70.3 relay (bike)
July 2nd: La Marmotte sportive
July 31st: CPH 70.3 relay (bike)
August 21st: Ironman Copenhagen

Our Oresund relay team is really strong. I'm hoping for a time in the 4:25-4:30 range, with me doing a bike split of 2:20.

 

[The Imp]

How 'bout you, Ray? Anything planned after this race?

 

[RayP]

It's unbelievably humid here from March-October... but right now there is virtually no humidity.

I actually just cancelled that race, due to them issuing a state of emergency from the Zika virus... and us trying to have a kid this year, and the virus having a significant impact in regards to that.

So yesterday I signed up for the Coeur d'Alene 70.3 in June. And then I'm going to try and fine one more 70.3 to do in August, and a full in late October or early November.

Would like to find some long cycling events to add to that.

 

[The Imp]

I understand your thoughts completely, Ray. I imagine you're a bit disappointed, but it's a good call.

I found myself an interesting challenge for 2017...

Haute Route! They have three variants, in the Pyrenees, Alps and Dolomties.

This is the parcours for the Alps one:

http://www.hauteroute.org/events/stages/alps-2016

Mother, may I?

 

[RayP]

Honestly, I wanted to do that race in Idaho all along... but it was sold out and I didn't want to have to raise a couple grand for a charity entry. We're going to rent a car and spend about 2 weeks driving around the Pacific Northwest, hitting up places like Seattle, Portland, maybe Vancouver, Crater Lake, etc. That is way more my kind of trip than just sitting at the beach for a week.

And damn... that looks insane. Absolutely insane. Would love to have the strength to one day be able to do something like that. Nuts.

I'm not sure when I'm going to do it, but there is a trail out here called the Blue Ride parkway that covers about 500 miles. Nowhere like that in terms of elevation, but it's a nice 4-8 day ride depending the speed you go for. Definitely want to do it soon, since I can drive to where the trail starts in 3 hours. And the trail is no for being one of the, if not the, most scenic parkway in the States.

 

[RayP]

So I've never ridden a proper tri bike... and was planning on sending my Giant road bike up for the triathlon I have in a month... but found out it would be $1000+ to get it there and back, and require quite a bit of work.

But there is a company I can rent a tri bike through for less than $400, same components, and a better wheel set.... and they'll do a fitting when I pick it up, and don't have to return it and can just leave it at transition for them to collect.

But now I have 30 days to find somewhere to rent a tri bike here, to get a few rides in on one.

Might have been a dumb decision on my part, but we'll see.

 

[The Imp]

It fiddles with the whole "never change anything on race day" mantra, but I'd go with it.

You'd do well to get some training in on riding on a tri bike though. Odds are it'll help your run considerably, given the adapted position on the bike.

Going to do my first brick of the year on Saturday - 48 k on the bike, then a 7 k run, then another 32 k on the bike, then a 4 k jog to finish it off.

 

[the pen is mightier]

So I've never ridden a proper tri bike... and was planning on sending my Giant road bike up for the triathlon I have in a month... but found out it would be $1000+ to get it there and back, and require quite a bit of work.

But there is a company I can rent a tri bike through for less than $400, same components, and a better wheel set.... and they'll do a fitting when I pick it up, and don't have to return it and can just leave it at transition for them to collect.

But now I have 30 days to find somewhere to rent a tri bike here, to get a few rides in on one.

Might have been a dumb decision on my part, but we'll see.

Not sure if it there's anyone around you using it, but you could try Spinlister

 

[RayP]

It fiddles with the whole "never change anything on race day" mantra, but I'd go with it.

You'd do well to get some training in on riding on a tri bike though. Odds are it'll help your run considerably, given the adapted position on the bike.

Going to do my first brick of the year on Saturday - 48 k on the bike, then a 7 k run, then another 32 k on the bike, then a 4 k jog to finish it off.

Yeah... honestly, this is mostly on me and lack of planning. Oh well, just gotta deal with it now. Total cost if I shipped my Giant up there was getting close to $1500, although that includes me investing in a good case.

Not sure if it there's anyone around you using it, but you could try Spinlister

Never heard of it, will have to take a look into it.

I don't even want to get any training rides in on a tri bike, just get one one to shift the gears a bit with and get use to that. Maybe I'll go "test ride" one if I can't find one to ride a time or two.