The Journey to a Texas Ironman

It was a fun week of training as the theme turned into a song and dance of mechanical issues for my bike. The GPS kept shutting off on it’s own, the chain told me it was time to retire after a year of dealing with me learning how to gear correctly and a few noises appeared out of the norm. Guess it’s time for a bike tune up.

So for starters, it was off to the bike shop to purchase a new chain. I love visiting local bike shops and I always try to take one other person with me to make sure I don’t end up buying “one of each” from every shelf. It’s funny, many of my friends are into “that purse” or “that shoe”….me, it’s simply “that tri gear”. It’s truly a love hate relationship. The hate part grows from my pocketbook but hey, ya gotta take the bad with the good is my thought.

For instance, did you know you could buy a headlamp for your helmet which can change easily to your handlebar for only four hundred dollars? I mean come on, really? Oh sure it’s specially made for road cyclists with the clearest of clear vision into the night as you cycle the miles away. I snorted then moved on to pick up the necessary items on my list. Do realize, now that I have mentioned this cool contraption, it’s typically a sign that I will unfortunately succumb to a purchase in the future.

Another expenditure was made in regards to swim training and unfortunately it was not a new pair of goggles. This week I broke down and joined a health club. The natatorium where I swim is really limiting adult swim time during the week with all the hub-bub of classes on the schedule. Squeezing swim workouts in at this point proved difficult so I bit the bullet and did it. A couple of clicks online and I now have a membership where I can swim anytime day or night. So, if I did purchase that fancy light, I could realistically ride to the club in the middle of the night, swim as long as I wanted then ride back with the clearest of clear vision in the dark. See how this goes?

Go ahead and laugh but once you get into this sport, it can turn into a money pit if you let it. So shop smart and learn from fellow triathletes and their purchases. Oh, and let me know if you want to ride at night. I know a good light for your bike.

Talk to ya next week,

Janet