The Lay of the Land

The season is almost ready to begun for those of us in Chicago. Of course, there are the die hard (read FREAKS!! ... just kidding ... kinda) who have been out training on their bikes and running the hills in Barrington Hills as the snow is falling. I am committed, but not to that level. Even though Santa brought me thermal running clothes for Christmas, I have not tried to venture out in the elements. Yet, I digress...

This is my last week of calmer workouts...and I am on Spring break vacation. So before I start to document my training season - the pains, learnings, experiences and races - I thought I would give you the lay of the land for my training equipment.

The Swim

I am currently swimming with TYR brand swimming trunks. It is not that have an absolute preference; however, after buying a blue Speedo pair of trunks that quickly turned purple, I decided that, at least, I need to have a preference in color. I do not have a problem wearing purple...but I didn't appreciate the strange looks. So I am swimming in black trunks. Period. I invested in AquaSphere goggles and they definitely make a difference. I also use a nose clip - simply because I do not like water in my nose. It stays on without an issue so I can wear it easily in a race.

The Bike

I started out last season riding a Specialized Allez road bike. It is a good entry level road racing bike. It cost about $800 and is very good for training. In fact, I had the Specialized on the trainer for the winter and did all of my training only on that bike. This, though, leads me to the lustful draw of the "better bike". As I talk with all of my friends who ride, without fail, all of them can articulate the draw of the lighter, faster bike. And toward the end of the season last year, in weakness that demanded pure confession to God, I found a solid deal on a Cervelo P3 with upgraded handle bars and aero bars. I was also able to get a custom fitting session, with video analysis, thrown in. I won't say how much the bike cost, but on a calculation of dollars per decreased minute in a race...it was pricey. However, the bike is great to ride and light as a feather. The only problem now is that seat hurts my privates. I will remedy this problem in the coming months.

The Run

I have been a runner since I was 18 (with a 2 year hiatus which I will describe at a later time) and have run with many different shoes. My favorite shoes were the first running shoes that I ever purchased - a very light pair of Asics racing flats. The rest of my running career has focused on where to find those shoes again. This past fall I started reading about barefoot running...and thus my purchase of my Vibram Five Fingers. I have to admit that they felt good to run in (though different, for sure) and they immediately fixed some shin splint issues I was having in my right leg. I jumped in full throttle and started to wear them on my long runs as well as my shorter runs. All went well until I had a horrible run several weeks back where I pushed myself hard after hitting the wall early on...my form went to hell and so did my left ankle. So I had to lay off running for a bit (which is much easier for a triathlete than a single sport athlete!) and I also invested in my new running shoes - Nike Free 3.0. So far they have helped to allow me to run while providing some padding for my ankle. I will probably wear them for my upcoming 10k race.

It is great to talk about the equipment...it is another thing to put it to good use!