Without Bells and Whistles

     I'm a minimalist when it comes to just about everything. I don't like a lot of decorations in my home, when I dress I tend to choose one piece of jewelry to accent, when cooking I like simple tasty dishes that don't have a lot of ingredients. Triathlon is no different in that when it comes to gadgets or equipment for triathlon, I am a believer that less is more.
     When I started racing triathlon, ten plus years ago, I did my first race on an old mountain bike. I didn't want to spend money on a new road bike when I wasn't sure that I would even finish my first triathlon. I learned later that I would want to continue racing, but even then I decided to buy a used road bike, which I had for several years before my husband bought me my current bike for my fortieth birthday. Again, I know people who obsess over fancy wheels and rims and accessories. I love my bike, but it's not the most expensive or cheapest. My LeMond Reno is great, but the bike alone can't make me a great cyclist. Riding and training makes me a better cyclist.
     I know a guy who used to work with my husband that spent 5k on a bike. It was supposed to be a really," fast bike," and I think this guy thought that the bike would make him a better, faster athlete. Turns out that it did not give him that fast time he was looking for during a race we did together last summer. A lighter, more technical bike can help take some time off a ride because of the aerodynamics, but it can not take the place of proper training.
      I tell people that are new to triathlon not to get bogged down with all the gadgets and gizmo's of the sport. You can spend a lot of money on equipment, but that equipment is not necessarily going to make you faster or better at the sport. I am living proof that you can be successful without a lot of ,"stuff." I had the same cycling shoes for ten years-I put cleats on my old mountain bike shoes. I finally broke down last summer and bought new cycling shoes and I haven't noticed that much of a difference in my race times. Effective training in the seat, on the run, and in the pool will get you results, not the gadgets.
     I would advise a beginner to invest in a good pair of tri-shorts, a tri-shirt, some decent running shoes, and goggles that don't leak. Inside Out Sports in Cary and Raleigh(or any other triathlon store) can provide you with all of those items. Try a triathlon first to make sure you like it. If you don't have a road bike use a hybrid or borrow a road bike. You don't need a wetsuit for many tri's, but if you do need one many triathlon shops will rent one. Many times I've found that newcomers to the sport get overwhelmed in deciding what triathlon equipment they truly need. Don't get caught up in that trap.
     Recently, I had a woman call me to ask about my swim class. She wanted to know what the prerequisite was for coming to class. I asked her how far she could swim without stopping and she said about 25-50 yards. I encouraged her to come to class and swim so that she could build up her endurance. She was a bit discouraged, but my advice to her was that you have to swim to get better. The Nike slogan," Just Do It,"rings true. Most of the time the more you practice something the better you will become- of course there are always exceptions and that is another blog.
      The woman then went on to ask me if I thought she should train in the water with a heart rate monitor. Heart rate monitors are an important tool, and I do use one for cycling and running, but again that is a gadget that I just recently added after being an athlete all of my life. I told her to work on the being able to swim a little further first and worry about the heart monitor later. I felt she was a prime example of someone who was caught up in technology.
     My friend Mark D. recently asked me what type of bike I have. He was looking for a new road bike. Mark has been racing for a while and like the rest of us tri-people he is hooked. My advice to him was not that much different than what I would tell someone new to the sport. I told him he could get a great bike for around 1k- not 3k or 5k, but that the most important thing would be to get proper bike fit. This can be done at any bike or triathlon shop. The cyclist can avoid unnecessary injuries by having the bike fit to their body.
      A few years ago, I did a road ride in Cary on the fourth of July. It wasn't a race, but a ride for cancer awareness. I had my Colnago road bike that I had just bought used. There was a man riding a Schwinn bike and he maintained a higher cadence than I did- I kid you not. He was doing a fifty mile ride, while I was doing a thirty miler. His bike had no gears on it- it reminded me of a bike I had when I was a kid. The bike had regular, upright handle bars on it and looked heavier than my steel framed bike, yet he was ahead of me and maintained his speed for the ten miles that I saw him. He eventually made a turn that was different from mine because of the different distances we were riding. He was proof positive that you can be fast without the technology.
     Ease into investing in gadgets and equipment for the sport of triathlon. Gadgets and equipment can be great tools to aid in your success, but don't forget that proper training/practice is the way to improve. If you don't possess all the fancy," bells and whistles," in your equipment don't let that deter you from signing up for a race.

Tri- On Friends,
Kelly