Disylizzy

I think it may have been because your couch wasn't to scale...

Definitely feeling the love here!

I have to agree with you on the swimmers have a very hard time running, but swimmers make some of your best cyclists. Swimming really developes your core strength and helps a lot with climbing hills and attacking on a bike ride.

Not talking about endurance athletes, but your regular John Q. Public. I train with a lot of triathletes, and there are a lot of runners that get in to it because they're looking for cross training. They can run a 5K pace of say 5:30min/km, but when they start biking they're only biking at about 25kph, and it takes a lot of hard work for them to get better. On the flipside, when there are bikers that start out running, they can bike at about 32kph, and easily start off running at a pace of about 6min/km for a 5K. Obviously no scientific study, I just see it happen more often than not.

I think in order for it to be truely gauged as "their best", you would have to consider their overall position as well, i.e. did "their best" boost them to a better position overall? Also, from what I have observed, it's easier for cyclists to become runners, than runners to become cyclists.

Here's a link to an article discussing barefoot running:http://www.trainingpeaks.com/bbs-forum/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=60430&posts=1

Hahaha... At the very least we could discuss who are the "real" athletes - swimmers, bikers, or runners...

Here's a link to a series in my neck of the woods. Check out the media section for a short clip on the race recaps from last year. Lots of fun to watch, even more fun to do it! http://chicrosscup.com/

So when are you signing up? It's only seven years of your life!

I did a time trial last night, and totally bombed it compared to previous performances. It's an indoor 10 mile (16km) flat ride on a computrainer, so the conditions are controlled. It's used as a baseline for indoor training, and since the weather is getting cold here now, it's the start of indoor training again. Anywho, in April I did it in 29:06, avg watts 206, yesterday it was in 32:40, avg watts 176. Not pretty! First 10 minutes felt fine, and then min 15 I hit the wall until about min 27 when I was able to somewhat pick it up again (although I think this was me just being stubborn). I had a very successful racing season this summer, and granted I've been slacking on the bike the last 1.5 months due to working ridiculously long hours but I've been working harder on my swimming because I can get in to the pool at more odd hours than on the bike outside, so I haven't lost my aerobic fitness. Anyone else ever experience this? How long did it take you to get back to previous fitness level? Anything I should be doing differently? Thanks guys!

True dat! Case in point, I can buy a gallon of milk (3.7854 L), and it lasts me 2 - 2.5 weeks. I really don't want to know what's in there!

'nuff said...

Rudi - I like riding the computrainer better than a regular trainer, mainly because I can set some scenery and have a goal in mind and watch my cadence, wattage, and hr. I can also set it to race against myself from a previous ride. Crack - the hanging meter is used when the computrainer isn't hooked up to the computer, and it shows speed, wattage and cadence. I'd prefer to ride outside getting honked at and buzzed by cars, but when it's -20 Celsius come January, that's a little bit too fresh for me. And Rex, refer to The Saint's comment! Hehehe... Also, the weather is still somewhat decent to ride outside and if I don't leave the bag on the bike, I have a tendency to forget about it until I'm about halfway down the block. So far it's definitely been worth the investment. I've been going to computrainer classes 3x a week at a training facility, but the cost of the classes can add up very quickly, and I got a good deal on a used one on e-bay, which will offset the costs within a few months.

Here's my setup. Tried it out tonight and it was SAWWWWEEEETTTT!!!!

Good one cat-i!!! I almost fell out of my chair reading that one!

I'm gonna go swim, and then get my ass kicked in my first computrainer class since the weather turned bad. And, I get to see how much my watts have dropped

Great job to those two!!! Raynard was in the mix the whole race, and just kept moving up! And don't forget the swim times too, those are great splits for both of them!!!

If anyone is intersted in following the race live, here's the website: http://live.ironmanlive.com/Event/Ford_Ironman_World_Championship

Kuddo's to you! Thanks for stopping, we definitely need to help each other out!

I recommend getting a tri suit. I'm personally not a big fan of the one piece tri-suits, and prefer the tri shorts and singlet, it's a better fit for me. I know a lot of guys that also race in the tri shorts and singlets. You swim, bike and run in this, so it's important that it fits right and is comfortable. As for a wetsuit, I highly recommend one. It keeps you more bouyant and shaves off minutes on your swim time. Just did a race where the marshall decided the water was too warm for wetsuits and said you can wear a wetsuit but won't be eligible for placing. People that I knew weren't good swimmers and opted to use the wetsuits had similar times to people that didn't use the wetsuits and are really good swimmers. And the wetsuit goes over your tri suit. Other gear needed: Goggles: Get mirrored or dark tinted ones, this helps with the glare of the sun while you're sighting. Glide stick: It's like deodorant, but made of a vaseline substance. You rub it where ever you may chaffe. Especially around your neck with the wetsuit otherwise you walk around with hickey-looking marks for a week. A number belt: This is a strap that you put your number on. You use it going from biking to running, and it saves your tri suit by not putting pins in it. Yankz, this is just something nice to have. It's for your running shoes and it's in place of your laces. You just yank on it, and it tightens, and no need to tie laces. This is a rundown of how I usually set up my transitions: T1: As you're running out of the water, start undoing your wetsuit top half so that you just need to take your legs out. Then goggles and cap. Grab helmet, put it on, grab glasses, put it on, grab bike, run out of T1. Jump on bike, and then put feet in shoes (these are already clipped in). Definitely practice this. T2: Approaching, take feet out of shoes, jump of bike, put bike down. Grab socks, put them on, grab shoes, put them on. Grab number belt, and as I'm running out of T2, put number on. Hopefully this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks for all the input. I plan on going some time after work this week and check out the bike again, and then make the final decision on buying it. Actually still on the wall about getting a third bike, but it's SUCH a good deal... And I can't take my other bikes off-roading... Decisions, decisions...

Thanks Mojo, that was one thing I was curious about. They have the same model bike but with V-Brakes, and it's a lot cheaper. It's very flat here where I live, so I probably don't need disc brakes here, but if I move to another area then I might.

On sale for $699, and I have a 15% off coupon that I can use as well.

I'm looking to buy my first MTB. Don't worry, not another roadie completely converting, would just like to do some basic mtb-ing, nothing too technical (yet). So I found this bike on sale, and it looks like a pretty sweet deal, but have no clue on specs. So need some help either from someone that has this bike, or knows more than me, which I'm sure there are plenty of you guys out there: 2010 GT Avalanche 1.0 Disc Mountain Bike BOTTOM BRACKET: Shimano Octalink cartridge sealed BRAKES: Tektro Auriga comp, hydraulic, dual piston, cold forged CASSETTE: SRAM Nine speed index cassette 11-32 CHAIN: Shimano HG-53 Nine Speed CRANKSET: Shimano FCM-442, with octalink interface FORK: Rock Shox Tora 302 with 100 mm travel, mag lowers, lock out and rebound adjust FRAME: GT NEW Triple Triangle design 6061 butted aluminum with Hydro formed top and downtube, zero stack headtube. Disc compatible with removeable der. Hanger FRONT DERAILLEUR: Shimano Deore GRIPS/TAPE: GT Lockdown dual density with allen key fixing bolts HANDLEBAR: GT Mtn Riser, 15 mm rise, 6061 heat treated, 31.8 mm clamp HEADSET: Tange system for 1 1/8" LEVERS: Tektro PEDALS: ATB Aluminum body, Steel cage, toe clip compatible REAR DERAILLEUR: Shimano SLX Shadow REAR SHOCK: NA SADDLE: WTB Pure V, with stitched cover and protective corners SEATPOST: Alloy Micro adjust 31.6mm SHIFTERS: Shimano Deore 9 speed separate STEM: GT ATB, threadless 25 degree rise with four bolt alum CNC face plate for 31.8mm TIRES: Kenda Nevegal, 26 x 2.1 WHEELSET: Rims: WTB SX-24 ATB black anodized; Front Hub: Alloy QR for Disc; Rear Hub: Aluminum QR sealed mechanism 9 speed cassette for Disc

It's a chain store, so they're all over the US. The staff that they have know their stuff, and if they don't have something in stock, they can usually get it within a business day. The best part for me is that they have a buyers club, and you get 10% back to spend in the store, sale and clearance items included.