It's Not About the Bike...Until It Is...


Hey! A post not about food!

Sometime earlier this year, I decided to make the switch from being a runner (ha!) to being a triathlete (double ha!).  Partially it was because I started swimming at my gym and remembered how much I enjoyed it and partially because I finally got a bike (free! from a friend!), but mostly because I was really starting to lose interest in the running-for-a-long-Fing-time thing.  

I dipped my toe in the proverbial (and literal) water at a mini-sprint in July and had a blast. It was a .25 mile swim, a 7 mile bike, and a 2 mi. run. I did the whole thing in under an hour and felt pretty spectacular about myself.  So much so that I signed up for a "regular" sprint (.4, 15, 3.1) that I completed last weekend.  ...It was an altogether different experience. But, like every good race, it was a learning one.  And now, at no cost to you, I'm going to share what I learned during that long, somewhat painful triathlon, so that you might learn from my mistakes.

1.  This first one's a no-brainer: Don't underestimate the value of training. I was doing really well for a while on 2/3 of the program...swimming and biking several times a week, usually longer than the race distance. What I wasn't doing was running. And I'm apparently one of those people who immediately lose her running chops if she doesn't stay on top of things. (sigh) And since I failed to do a complete trial tri before the race, I was not as aware as I should have been that transitioning from bike to run would have been painful.  Like jelly-legs-for-the-first-mile painful. Lesson learned: more running, and less sleeping in and pie eating in the few weeks before the race.


2.  Those guys in the bike-repair tent are there to help you. Use them. My current set of wheels is a mountain bike with road tires on it....which is fine, but generates a degree of insecurity when you're surrounded by dudes with bikes that look like they were borrowed from Lance Armstrong's bike corral...never mind the sleek helmets with the pointed back-ends they were all rocking.  But I digress.

For some time prior to this, my bike had been doing this squeaky/rubbing thing where the brake pad meets the disk brake...probably because I take the front tire on and off when I'm loading it my car and it doesn't realign properly.  Race day rolled around and I thought "eh, it'll be fine. How bad could a little extra friction be?"  Answer: Real bad.  When you're pedaling like a mad woman on a flat, smooth highway in your lowest gear and a fat kid in a BeerFest t-shirt passes you on some sort of hybrid/cruiser bike, you know something isn't right.  Moral of the story: something out-of-whack on your bike? Take it to the race-day bike guys and let them take a look. They can probably save you some time, effort, and a lot of unnecessary exertion. (And also, don't snap judge the guy in the BeerFest t-shirt...there's no telling what he's capable of.)

3. Finally, doing a triathlon with a cold is hard.  If you can avoid contracting any sort of respiratory illness the night before your race, I would strongly advise it.

All that aside, when I was done (in barely under two hours...oof), I felt like I'd accomplished something...even though I knocked over an ENTIRE bike rack full of bikes when I came into the transition are for the run. (Sorry! Sorry!)  Besides, I learned a whole lot and will be better prepared for the next race. All I need now is one of those sleek, sporty bike helmets...

Comments

Anonymous said…
I want to congratulate you for the incredible work you do with this blog, you not only post good things about bikes, also you encourage other people to practice this so healthy sport, and at the same time your recommendation about xlpharmacy bikes, result in a total success.
December 13, 2011 at 5:45 AM
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