Benihana's Group - CLOSED (Page 5)

A nice recovery weekend for me.  Not to be rude to you folks up north, but we had the most beautiful of weekends!  Not a cloud in the sky, with low 70's.  If you weren't on your bike or running this weekend in Texas, you should be shot! 

I've signed up for one of the local sprint triathlons on 3/8.  This was my first ever triathlon last year, so I'm excited to see how much I've progressed.

Sandy-

    Is it a pool swim then?  How far is the swim?

Ben

300 meter swim:        7:14
T1:                             3:25
14 mile bike:            44:23
T2:                             1:07
5k run:                     23:49
Total:                    1:19:59

This is what I hope to do this year.

300 meter swim:        5:30 (improvement of 1:44)
T1:                             1:15 (improvement of 2:10)
14 mile bike:            38:00 (improvement of 6:23)
T2:                             0:45 (improvement of 0:22)
5k run:                     22:00 (improvement of 1:49)
Total:                    1:07:30 (improvement of 12:29)

Sandy- It is great that you are not too worried about the swim, as that is what most people fear the most.  I have never done a pool swim race before (althought I have registered for one this year) so I can not speak from experience, but I can attest that the first time you feel someone swim close to you/touch your feet/body underwater it is not very comforting, as it feels like they are going to pull you under.  I would reccomend swimming with a few people in your lane (if possible) before the race and get used to touching peoples feet and vice versa so it is not new come race day.

Ben

swim:     5:15
T1:         1:00
bike:    37:00
T2:           :40
run:      21:40
Total: 1:05:35

The thing is, that day is a planned 110 mile ride for Ironman training.  So I'm going to have to ride 90ish miles after I finish this.  And I'm a bit scared to go all-out during the sprint, because Ironman is much more important to me.  I just can't see myself holding back during the sprint....

Sandy,
It sounds as if it is still far enough out for the weather to warm up.  I'm sure you'll be able to get some quality time outdoors soon enouigh!

honestly, one of my favorite seasons to run in is in the winter, as long as you have the right clothing for it, it is nice. 

Sandy-

Is there a price range that you are looking at?  Keep in mind that you ARE doing a full triathlon!  You have just chosen the sprint distance versus a Half Ironman or Ironman.

Let me know what you were thinking on price and I can throw a few suggestions at you

Ben

My first bike was a Trek 1000...it did the job.  I think it was right around the $550 (plus tax) range.  This is a great time of year to get to your LBS, get fitted, and then see if they have anything used that you can score for a good deal. 

Either way, I would HIGHLY reccomend getting a ROAD bike, and nothing else...you will go faster with much less effort on a road bike (skinny tires) than on anything else...your legs will thank you for it when it comes time to run!

Keep the patience with running Sandy.  I know for me, I was struggling to get to the 3-4 miles feeling comfortable.  And it was like suddenly everything clicked.  It will happen.

As for the bike, I couldn't agree more with Ben.  I bought a road bike (Specialized Allez), and it treated me great.  But I grew stubborn and thought I needed a tri-bike.  I now ride a nice tri-bike (Specialized Tranition Expert), but I often wish I had upgraded to a nicer road bike, or just kept the old road bike.  The roadie is much more comfortable and acceptable for group riding, and there are a few road bikes that have geometry very similar to tri-bikes anyways.  So strapping on aero-bars to the road bike is always a good option.  You can find a quality bike on your budget though, so don't get discouraged.

Tri season starts in just 8 days for me!  Thank goodness.  I'm having racing withdrawals!  Looks like we'll have great weather too.