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 By Tracy T, on February 2nd, 2010**Tracy is a guest blogger for SilvermanOrBust.com. Tracy has a long background in fitness and has raced numerous Triathlons among other events. She is also a physical therapist completing a graduate degree. Tracy is going into her second year as a pro-triathlete. **
It’s time to start talking about the bike. For most of us, the bike will be the single longest leg of the triathlon, both in distance and in time. For that reason, it’s important to get the right bike. Triathlete Magazine has some good bike buying and first time tri tips in the latest issue, so I would encourage you to check it out.
At any triathlon, there is a dazzling amount of bike bling on display in the transition area. From full carbon triathlon specific bikes with disc wheels to uber light road machines with aero climbing wheels. The variety of bikes and equipment can be staggering. Add to that the high pressure ads on-line and in the magazines claiming that “these wheels are the fastest ever” and “this bike weighs nothing at all” and trying to find the right bike for your first and many other triathlons can be very challenging. It’s even more challenging if you have money to spend and a planned up-grade from the bike in the garage. There is a lot of information and many different styles and brands of bikes. I’ll start a series here discussing bikes – the differences between road and triathlon (and maybe mountain), the types of wheels available, and equipment, clothes, safety and basic maintenance.
As with any topic, some information might be new, some might be a good review or it might completely contradict what you have heard elsewhere. That’s okay! Bikes are such an important part of our event and represent the single greatest expense we have. But you don’t need the bells and whistles to complete a triathlon, even one as challenging as Silverman. All you need is a bike that fits comfortably and works well. The latest high tech bike won’t be as fast as the clunker in the garage if it’s not the right size or not comfortable for hours.
 By Lifan, on January 29th, 2010I could tell that training started off on the wrong foot this week when on Monday I found myself nutritionally depleted after one spin class. I didn’t expect this trend to continue the next morning by waking up in the early hours on Tuesday to a stomach revolt that proceeded to empty the contents of my stomach throughout the rest of day, in essence putting me on a forced fast for 24 to 48 hours. Consequently, my training plan for the week was derailed and my body feels fatigued and weak.
There is a bright side, however. My little setback has brought me a step forward. Last night I bought the book “The Triathlete’s Training Bible” and I’m loving the information. This book feels like it’s talking directly to me and it is really filling in the gaps of information that I am looking for during this process to striving for the Half Silverman. The questions about training versus rest are addressed. How should I increase my sessions? Should I train once a day or twice? What are the benefits and drawbacks? The author talks about philosophy of training and how each of us has one. It’s the foundation of how we train whether we know it or not.
I am looking forward to delving into this book more and sharing as I go through the information. The thought for today is this: Training for a triathlon is a commitment. 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. What is your goal? How serious are you? What are you doing TODAY to reach your goal?
Happy training everyone!
 By Jack, on January 28th, 2010For me, training tends to mirror life, with many of the same pitfalls and opportunities. I’ve begun to realize the same blocks I put in my “real” life apply to my training regimen.
Along these lines, I found some great advice over at tinybuddha.com:
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/live-your-life-out-loud-30-ways-to-get-started/
By Lifan, on January 25th, 2010
Some days, I feel strong and full of unlimited energy. These are never the days that you worry about. This morning’s spin class was a just a little bit miserable. It was likely due to a combination of legs still feeling tired from snowshoeing on Saturday, combined with gorging on 18 pies at our little pie party last night. Yes, you read that right – 18 pies.
Okay, everything in moderation, but I was stuffed last night. Since I was still feeling stuffed this morning, I opted to skip my usual pre-spin snack of banana, almond butter and honey toast. (This combo was first suggested by James at Studio 222 and I’ve since adopted it It hasn’t disappointed me yet!) Consequently, I could feel right away that my body was sluggish and resisted waking up. I started tired and it just got worse. I got through 1 hour of spin but with about 10 minutes of full-on, zoned-out-brain-off -body-crashing food bonk. I couldn’t even consider a back to back spin at that point, so no more skipping morning snack before 5am workout!
Always remember to fuel your body correctly and well. It’s not worth the misery and recovery later.
By Lifan, on January 24th, 2010
When it rains in Vegas, it snows in the mountains. Mount Charleston to be exact. We got an unusual and refreshing week full of real rain. You know the kind. It starts and doesn’t stop for hours and everything stays wet. In my memory, it’s been years since it’s rained like this and we need it. Not only do we need it, but this means snow! Lots and lots of snow in the mountains.
If you’ve been following the blog, you know that I’ve just started snowshoeing this year. It’s challenging, but at least you get to spend some time in the great outdoors breathing in all that natural beauty and fresh air. Yesterday, our group was the first to tread into the fresh powder that blanketed the Lower Bristlecone Loop. The power was thick and loose. Without snowshoes, you could easily sink hip deep into the snow. Luckily we had snowshoes.
Although snowshoes makes traveling on snow a little easier, it is not entirely like hiking. It’s more challenging and slower going. We made it again to our previous turnaround point of about 2 miles up the trail, but I have to be honest, I would have been ready to turn back at 1 mile. ;-P Luckily I was with more persistent folks! It was another great day, physical and spiritually rewarding day, on the mountain. Silverman or Bust!!
By Lifan, on January 22nd, 2010
My friend Michael mentioned in one of his facebook posts yesterday that the climb out of Lake Mead is knarly and that little statement planted a seed. I got scared – a little. This past week I’ve been getting a little more serious about training. I did back to back spin classes on Monday, swam on Tuesday and today did spin and yoga. Okay, for those of you out there who are veterans to training for triathlons, this may not seem like much, but boy, it’s been a nice big step for me!
Next week my goal is to swim 2 times and do at least one day of a morning and evening training session. After that, I want to keep that momentum for a couple/few weeks.
It’s refreshing here in Las Vegas. Cloudy, raining, snowy. Life is good! Get out and enjoy the weekend.
 By Bonnie, on January 21st, 2010I have been at this for a couple of months now and sometimes start to feel a bit discouraged. It feels like the more I decide to set a reasonable goal, the harder it gets. But I have kept at it, even, if all I am able to do in a day is read about others successes or jump rope for for a total of 3 minutes (of coarse it takes me at least 5 to get the deed accomplished.) But yesterday and today! I went a mile in 14 minutes, and then today went on the treadmill for 60 minutes! I did 3.45 miles, of which, one of the miles was at a jog the whole time. I am proud of myself. I didn’t give up and I feel like being able to run a mile continuously is a breakthrough goal for me. I have a long way to go, but that first hurdle is finally over with. It took me a couple of months. I hope things fall into place a bit faster in the future, but for today..I am grateful to have a body that will carry me and keep me going, I am grateful for friends who won’t let me stop and won’t let me feel guilty if I am slow in getting started. In short- it is a good day! 
By Lifan, on January 20th, 2010
I had breakfast with my cousin from out of town recently and he made a great suggestion that I want to pass along to you guys. As we get more serious about training, nutrition is going to become more of a key element to keep us strong and lean. For those of us who want to get off and stay off the couch, losing a few extra pounds will definitely be a bonus. All of this comes back to developing and maintaining a good nutritional program that supports our goals. In order to do this, keeping a food journal is key and often an eye-opener to most of us. When we start recording what we put into our bodies, we quickly realize that it’s often more than we need, or the quality of food could be a lot better for training purposes.
Keeping a food journal may be a little cumbersome. Perhaps we can do a fairly good job for a few days and sometimes even a week, but if your are anything like me, this practice often falls to the wayside. Now, however, with the camera phones practically becoming a mainstay, we have another alternative. Instead of tediously writing down everything we eat, we can pull our our phones (which for most of us is simply in our pockets or purses) and snap a quick picture before we put it into our mouths. Instant, visual food journal. Voila!
Try this technique at home and see if you don’t start shaping up your diet! 
By Lifan, on January 19th, 2010
It’s a good thing that Tracy has been blogging about swimming. It’s kept it on the forefront of my mind. My goal this week was to get in to the pool. Preferably twice. I’ve done one so far and am not quite certain where to schedule my next one. Friday maybe.
When I was in grade school, I swam on a swim team. In my opinion, I was pretty good. Not the very best out there, but I could hold my own. I must have had some good coaches, or I must have really been paying attention, because many of their lessons still stick with me about the basics. I think this was what got me through my swim today. I actually felt good – better than any other time I attempted to start swimming! I swam freestyle (crawl) most of the time and switched to breast stroke or kicking with a kickboard when I got tired. Boy, I can sure feel it in my arms and back, but I feel great. I need to work on endurance and consistency, but I’m happy to report that I completed 1200 meters in all today. That’s about .75 miles! I can do this. I can do this. I AM doing this!
…and so can you!
By Lifan, on January 18th, 2010
Happy Monday everyone! Sorry for the lag in blogging! This past weekend was moving weekend and thus a bit busier. Not to worry though, I HAVE been training by starting spin class, doing yoga and core work as well as meeting and walking with the girls. Now this last part continues to be an essential part of, what I consider to be, my success thus far. To have people – friends who you can rely on to touch base on a weekly basic is a key part of my keeping up with training, keeping motivated, keeping inspired. Bonnie and Annette have been great for this, among many other supportive friends. The community just keeps growing and it’s AWESOME!
From time to time, we may all experience set-backs. This might be a physical set-back, motivational, or something having to do with work or family life. We have 24 hours each day to work with. For many of us, trying to scrape together enough time to train for a Half Silverman can be challenging in an already packed schedule.
Silverman is my big goal this year. There are 10 months left and each day I have one less! I’ve suddenly been hit with this reality. If we don’t pay attention, suddenly we will be down to 6 months or 3 months before we get very far with training. So, I’m stepping up my training this week. I did back to back spin classes this morning. Tomorrow, I’m getting in the pool for the first time in a long time and as we roll into February, I’m striving to extend my weekly training sessions to a minimum of 2 hours 2-3 times during the week. Sound good? Okay, let’s get down to the fun!
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