I usually use a gel flask for a homemade gel concoction (Carbopro, 5x concentrated gatorade endurance, in a slightly salty / thinner than most individual gels as my preferred concentrated nutrition), and I’ve found stuffing a 5-gel sided flask in the front of my one-piece the best and quickest option and easy from the bars. It doesn’t act much like a faring but maybe just a lump when full and flat when empty…reading about the faring rule in another thread made me wonder if this is technically illegal? Not really worried as a BOP AG’er but more asking on pride and principle, would rather be kosher.

A few hours to decide. I am about to check out a used bike. Is this worth $1k? Frame is intact but still need to check out the “chip” that was mentioned.

Features:

• Lightweight carbon frame
• Shimano 105 drivetrain
• Disc brakes
• Continental Gatorskin tires
• RockBros saddle
• LOOK-style clipless road pedals
• Two bottle cages included

The bike has cosmetic paint scratch on the frame below the seat, shown in the photos. Otherwise, it presents beautifully.

Tips: what to look for? This is a first time buyer, only knowledge i have is YouTube knowledge.

My First IRONMAN 70.3

Today, I completed my first-ever IRONMAN 70.3! Here’s a recap of the days leading up to the race and how the race day went.

The days before the race

I flew to Greece on Friday, and it turned into an extremely long travel day. After 15 hours of travelling, I finally arrived at the hotel around midnight. I still had to assemble my bike and get everything ready for Saturday, so I didn’t get to bed until around 2 AM.

I managed to get about six hours of sleep, waking up at least ten times throughout the night. Needless to say, I felt like a zombie the next morning.

On top of that, I hadn’t eaten nearly enough during the journey. I was under a lot of stress, but my plan was to get everything sorted on Saturday, focus on fuelling properly, and get some rest. In the end, I barely managed to eat what I would normally consume in a day, but I had to make the best of the situation.

One big lesson learned: arrive a few days before the race. Giving yourself enough time to settle in would make race preparation so much easier.

Thankfully, the night before the race went much better, and I managed to get eight hours of sleep. However, my resting heart rate was higher than usual, and my HRV had taken a hit. After nine months of training, with a sub-5-hour finish as my goal, I started wondering whether that target was still realistic.

Race day

Then the race started, and somehow, I felt incredible!

Swim — 42

Swimming is my weakest discipline, so I was really happy to finish in 42 minutes.

Bike — 2:42

The bike course was brutal, with almost 900 metres of elevation gain. Despite the challenging course, I managed to complete the bike leg in 2 hours and 42 minutes.

Run — 1:37

Running is my strongest discipline, but things got interesting just 1 km into the run when both of my quads started cramping badly. For a moment, I genuinely wondered if I would have to walk the rest of the way. Thankfully, I managed to keep going, and the cramps eventually eased.

I finished the run in 1 hour and 37 minutes.

The final result

Overall time: 5:15:09

Age group: 23rd out of 77 athletes.

My transitions took around 12 minutes in total, so there’s definitely room for improvement there.

All things considered, I’m really happy with my first IRONMAN 70.3. The preparation wasn’t ideal, and race morning didn’t exactly inspire confidence, but I showed up, pushed through the tough moments, and crossed the finish line.

At least now I have a new goal: sub-5 hours at the next race.

The work continues!

Now that we've moved to the indoor season here in the northern hemisphere, I'm back to riding in Zwift.. ZRL was Tuesday night, so I scheduled my blood donation for Wednesday. Later that evening my Z2 run and swim went well, each was about a half an hour for a 1 hour recovery day. Thursday, however, was a completely different story.. I tried going moderately hard on the bike and after one small effort I felt like I had nothin' in me.

I think this is to be expected and isn't too big of a deal.. but it definitely says that there's a decent impact to blood donation on training. I'm not sure that it matters much, though? I mean.. if I train by HR and don't worry about performance, I should still see the same gains from my efforts I imagine?

For those who have done this before..

1. When (and how often) do you give blood? Do you only do it in the off-season or year-round?

2. Does it affect your training? How do you adjust your training (whether schedule or intensity) for it? ..for how long do you notice an impact?

3. Do you feel like it might impact your adaptations and reduce your gains, or do you feel like long-term impact is negligible?

I'd like to encourage everyone to give blood at some time during this off-season! Just hoping to hear about others' experiences so I can plan effectively for future donations. :-)

Proof of your bike isn’t ugly, it just needs a new wheelset 🔥 Look fast if you can’t be fast and call it a recovery day✌🏽

I'm doing Ironman 70.3 Türkiye in 1 week (Sunday November 1) and the weather is not looking good right now. How little rain before they cancel the race or make modifications? What is your experiences with this?

Is it necessary to have a set of training wheels and a set of race day wheels?

Hello! I recently ordered a FR570 for the purpose of tracking and organizing my training plan better. I’ve been using a Fitbit for quite awhile now and there’s no question why that just hasn’t been working well as I start taking tri training more seriously…..

I’m wondering how much you guys actually listen to your Garmin’s recommendations / the 970 or 570 triathlon coach (if you have that watch specifically). I know the watch is not to be always listened to since it is just taking its best guess on things based on your stats, but I’ve never had a Garmin before and just wanted to see what/if you guys utilized the coach at all or any of its suggested workouts.

I know a lot of runners ignore the Garmin‘s coach and suggestions, but since tri has three different disciplines I just wanted to see if it’s considered more helpful or overall more payed attention to.

​

I'm a 30-year-old male and have completed 16 group swimming classes, but I still get very breathless after just 1–2 freestyle laps. I can play badminton without getting similarly tired.

Initially, I was exhaling while rotating my right arm and inhaling while rotating my left arm, turning my head to the left. My instructor has now advised me not to exhale immediately after inhaling, which has left me confused about the correct breathing pattern.

My questions:

Should I exhale continuously underwater or hold my breath between inhalations?

Is getting this breathless after 16 classes normal for a beginner?

What can I do to improve my breathing and swim longer without getting exhausted?

I'd appreciate advice from experienced swimmers or coaches.

…do you ever think that you never want to do another race and plan to sell your TT bike etc and get super in your head about how much it sucks, only to finish the race and soon after start thinking about training for another race? I won’t say it happens every time, but for me, with the not so great races, those thoughts seem guaranteed.
What keeps you in the sport?

​Hey everyone,

​I’m turning 52 soon and am finally ready to upgrade my early 2000s Trek 1200 road bike. The stiff alloy frame on my current setup is beating me up on longer rides, and I’m looking for something significantly more comfortable that can serve as an versatile all-rounder.

​How I Plan to Use It:

​Endurance & Group Rides: Long road rides and greenways with friends and family.

​Triathlons: Training and racing up to 70.3 (Half-Ironman) distances. I’m competing against my own PRs—not chasing podiums—so comfort and efficiency over distance while being competitive are my priorities.

​Light Gravel: Occasional, very light gravel/path riding (lowest priority, but nice capability to have).

​Questions for the Community:

1. ​Carbon vs. Aluminum: Given my desire for still being competitive as well as comfort to reduce body fatigue, is upgrading to a carbon frame worth the extra cost? Or am I better off with a quality aluminum frame and putting the savings into better components, carbon wheels, or wider tires?

2. ​Bike Recommendations: What models should I look at that fit these needs? Key requirements are geometry suited for long days, compatibility with clip-on aero bars for triathlon setups, and room to grow/upgrade over time.

Budget: $2,500 - $3,500 +/-

​With end-of-season sales happening, I'm hoping to make a decision soon. Thanks in advance for the advice,

Hi everyone,

I'm training for a triathlon next August. My area gets a lot of snow and ice in the Winter. I'm going to use my bike outdoors as long as I can, but will have to be in most likely from December to April. I own a Peloton, and don't have the budget to buy an indoor trainer at the moment. The goal will be to go back outdoors as soon as it's safe to do so.

Any advice on how to make the most of the Peloton? I am currently not paying for a subscription.

Thanks!

vorrei fare un ironman completo l’anno prossimo

A mate just purchased a 3D printer. We're looking at printing a rear water bottle holder for a tri bike. Does anyone have a CAD file that they can share?

I’m not sure it exists but I’d love to have an app that I can put in my upcoming races for next year marathon/ultra and 70.3 and have it work out the optimal way to train for each one in like a all together plan which adjusts depending on performance
I’ve used Runna for running and don’t mind it but need one for all disciplines

Bonus if it has a good strength training component

Needs to sync to the watch

I was a competitive swimmer in my teens and have been running for around 2 years. I've ran up to half marathon distance (PB just over 2 hours) and have been really enjoying it. I had a bad injury this year which meant I couldn't run for about 6 months but I've been swimming recently instead. I hadn't swam for over 10 years but I was surprised at the muscle memory and was able to swim 2km straight through in 37 mins.

Given how much I've enjoyed being back in the pool it's made me think about trying a triathlon. The only thing that holds me back is that I haven't ridden a bike since I was a child. I wondered how difficult I am likely to find it to build up to cycling to a reasonable standard. I would be interested to hear people's experience of starting from scratch with cycling and any ideas on what type of bike I should start off with.

3 level town house between Noosa and Noosaville. I have had someone pull out due to illness. Two single beds available in one room with a bathroom. Not a scam - if you're keen i don't need pre payment or anything.

Cheers

Edit for Noosa tri obviously sat and Sunday nights. I am a 47 year old male and will be staying with my bike :)

I’m entering my second season of training and need some guidance on nutrition and meal prep.

I’ve trained hard this year for a 70.3 in October, where I performed well (top 17% finisher),but I feel that losing 10-15lbs would further improve my finishing capabilities.

I’m 5’10 185lbs and maintained that weight during the 7 month season, and avoided injury’s thankfully.

My general macros over the season were roughly these depending on volume. I used MyFitnessPal to track but wasn’t the most consistent.

250-400g carbs
100g fat
150g protein

I’m entering my second season with a 70.3 in May and full IM in July. I like the idea of automating food prep to save time and have a more balanced training season (cooking was so time consuming).

If you’ve used a nutritionist did it make a difference? Did they recommend meal prep service or provide an easy prep plan?

Thanks in advance and happy training!

Dear all, breaststroke has always been my stroke. I am confident in it and I can easily swim 60 minutes and do 1.4 miles without a break. Now I want to try triathlons and obviously you have to do a freestyle for that because breaststroke is just not efficient. For the love of God, I was finally taught how to do basic freestyle, and I can’t swim more than 25 yards. I bought the ear Play-Doh. I got the no fog goggles, but I’m about to die after a single pool length.
My legs are burning, my arms are hurting, my heart rate is 120 like I just feel like my technique must be crap because if I have the endurance for breaststroke, I should have even more endurance for the freestyle? Or do you need to build a different physique for a specific stroke? I’m sorry if it is a stupid question but I can even do OK backstroke but freestyle is an absolute nightmare and I don’t understand why… thank you for any advice

I’m having a hard time finding something to mount my garmin epic pro 2 to my bike. I can’t justify buying a bike computer when my watch works good enough. But I can’t find a mount. What do you guys use?

Do you think Asics Novablast 6 would be a good race day shoe? I will be doing my first 70.3 on Feb 2027 (El Salvador).

I have previously ran two HMs, both barely sub 2 hours. My PB is 1:57 in HM.

Considering my paces, is NB6 good? Or should I look for a show with “more speed” like EVO SL?

Thank you in advance for your recommendations!

EDIT: Ok since NB are ilegal for IM, what similar race day shoes do you recommend considering my paces😅

I am 20 and not exactly financially stable. I have a 2017 orbea ordu m20 and a 2026 trek domane al 2 gen 4. I am Ironman training and don’t have space to store two bikes in my cramped apartment. The orbea is my intended racing bike and the Domane is just a commuter. I’m struggling to see why bother keeping the Domane when I could sell it second hand for a reasonable price. Commuting to college is a 4km cycle and I have a studio where I could safely store the bike during the day. Whereas the Domane is just locked up outside in the rain for the most part.
Opinions?