Hi! Folks,
Just wanted to talk about equipment for triathletes, with or without stents. Function, comfort and price are all important.
The swim: I use Swedish Goggles. They don’t work for everyone, but if they work for you you’ll be happy. In the pool, the plastic seal will oxidize in about three months, appearing as slight leaks that just don’t go away. This happens even if you wash them after your swim. You don’t need to use the string and piece of tubing, just cut off a short length of the elastic strap and use that for the nose attachment. Cutting this to the right length is critical (about 1.5 inches, cut at an angle to help you thread it through the strap hole in the goggles). When it comes to wet suits, I am still trying to find one that fits, but you’ll need two, one with and one without arms.
The bike: Took me a long time to get this right, and now I have a custom Karma beautifully constructed by my bike guy, Victor. It fits me like a glove, is a pleasure to ride, and has served me well in the Lake Placid Ironman three times. By the way, if you have an AAA-stent I don’t think that I would recommend an aggressive tri-bike set up with a tight body tuck as this may just put too much pressure on your lower abdomen (see: AAA Stent migration and Vigorous Rowing!). My first bike now serves as a trainer, with everything unessential for indoor training removed, and it is fitted with Power Cranks and a Computrainer, so there are no excuses during bad weather. Here are our bikes, trainer on the left and the others hanging from hooks (also provided by Victor) in the bedroom of our 667 sq foot little blue house.
I also have a fixed gear bike, made from my old Madone by Victor, but I am still scared of the thing!!! It takes a while to accumulate the right gear for you, so just be patient and if it doesn’t fit get rid of it or the run will always suck.
The Run: Well! The jury is still out on this one. Some like Chi Running, some are into Barefoot while others are not, some use the old tried and true methods. The shoe industry will have you running in clunky orthotics, whilst the Tarahumara Indians are amazing runners and they apparently use old car tires. I have been exploring a combination of barefoot for improved foot strength along with Nike Free Shoes, but using a purely barefoot style, on the balls of my feet, engaging my toes, and never ever letting my heels hit those massive heel supports in the shoes. So why wear Nike Frees? Because I can walk around in them and then I always have my running gear with me. I live in these shoes because they work for me. That said, I think that this is such a dangerous topic that I’ll make it a separate post when I have finally settled on a format for my marathon distance runs. Still a work in progress.
In summary, chose the right gear, make it available all the time if you can and not just some special thing you do three times a week.
Have fun and stay fit.
Cheers,
Kevin
Important Note: These posts do not provide medical advice. You should always consult your physician before undertaking or significantly modifying an exercise program.
Copyright © 2010 Kevin T. Morgan aka FitOldDog, Old Dogs in Training, LLC.
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