u/BoomerBarnes

It’s more difficult to take my bike out and ride multiple hours a week than I expected, so I’m looking into an indoor trainer. I have my “nice” bike and a hybrid bike that stays in my shed (Fuji absolute 1.3)

Is there any issues with using my hybrid bike as my trainer? I don’t want to go through the trouble of moving my bike back and forth from a trainer and I figure weight, components, and aerodynamics aren’t important if your stationary. Buying a second road bike is a conversation I don’t want to have with the wife.

I’m getting more into endurance sports and have goals on doing triathlons. Up until recently I’ve been doing my boxes programming and adding in cardio around it. My reasoning was pretty simple, I already pay for the classes, and I really enjoy the group environment of class.

Im dealing with the obvious problems that come with that though (inconvenient class times, classes that take too much time by design to justify the amount of work that gets done, and movement overlap with my own training). We also have a handful of people who utilize open gym hours before class so working out alone doesn’t feel like working out alone.

All that said, I’m wanting to find a hybrid program that still uses CrossFit type movements, because I do really believe in the functional fitness trend. I’ve seen Josh Bridges has a “pay once” training program that has marathon and half marathon tracks, and I know mayhem has a lift and run program that I can probably make some alterations to (mainly longer runs) to be able to tackle an Olympic triathlon.

Are there any others you guys have first hand experience with?

I'm hoping to volunteer for an Ironman in 2027, I've recently gotten into triathlon training with the ultimate goal of completing an ironman in 2028.

In my time I've come to realize I enjoy supporting events as much as I enjoy competing in them. (I've competed and volunteered in 5k's, crossfit competitions, disc golf tournaments). There's just something that makes me feel a sense of accomplishment in helping at an event that may very well be a huge milestone in someone else's life. I also get a lot of motivation from seeing the action up close and personal.

With the sappy stuff aside, what does the process of volunteering look like? Do you get to pick your role or are you assigned a role at random?

Are there certain jobs that are better suited for people with Ironman experience as opposed to rookies (by this time if my schedule holds strong I should have a couple sprints and 1 Olympic length triathlon under my belt so I wouldn't be a complete rookie)

Assuming you get to pick the role you want, is there a priority list (like previous volunteers get to pick the more sought after positions) or is it an early volunteers get their pick type situation?

I want to do Ironman TX in 2028. I’m aiming for 2028 to give myself more training time, and as a way to spread the cost out over a couple of years. With me planning so far in the future. What are some luxuries that amount of time might give me? Are there any tips you wish you had been given early on?

Backstory in the comments for anyone interested.

I truly love CrossFit and believe if I hadn’t started going a little over a year ago, I would still be 40lbs overweight. I have however started looking into triathlons and really want to start dipping my toe into the water. Training for a sprint (hopefully my first sprint will be in October) and while still going to CrossFit classes shouldn’t be difficult at all, but once I push into Olympic or longer I’m not sure how reasonable it is.

Any of you guys that do triathlons have any luck continuing your CrossFit training as well? I figure I could do endurance training 5 times a week, 3 CrossFit classes a week, and 1 dedicated Murph day by doing 2 workouts a day a few times a week.

How can I avoid overtraining? Am I setting myself up to lose strength purely off the extra cardio? Should I just suck it up and follow a hybrid athlete programming instead of trying to work around my class schedule?

I have a Fuji absolute 1.9 I’ve used for a few years just to ride around town when I’m bored or wanted to run errands on 2 wheels.

I’ve recently been getting interested in triathlons and plan on doing a sprint in October, just to see if it’s a hobby I really have any interest in pursuing. The plan is to ride my current bike, but I would like to get a little faster. I’ve been riding about 10 miles once a week, just getting used to being on a bike. My semi comfortable zone 2 rides have me at 12-13 mph. I would like to get that to 16+ mph.

I already plan on going to the local bike shop this weekend to get it tuned up, as well as getting any advice for an improved fit ( I really know very little about bikes so I’m sure some easy things need tweaked.)

For upgrades to the bike itself, I would like to keep them under $100 total. It sounds like the single best upgrade under $100 would be going to a 700x28 tire. Is there any other low hanging fruit that might be worth pursuing. I considered clip on Aeros, but it feels very silly to have Aeros on a hybrid/commuter bike.

Full disclosure, I did not read any of this series. My wife got me to listen ( audiobook)to the first book of the Acotar series, and about halfway through the 2nd before I told her I had to tap out because I was not entertained by it at all. Simply put it's not my writing style. Her plan had been to get me through all of Acotar, fourth wing, and Throne of Glass. We have What I call our "In home date nights" on Tuesdays and listening to audiobooks in the background while we play card games has been a recent favorite of hers.

Anyway, back on topic, she's mentioned a few times that she wants to get a tattoo of the quote "We do not yield". Because I never read the books I don't know the true context, but I have to assume it had something to do with protagonist lovers overcoming insurmountable odds. I considered getting a picture, painting, or possible even calendar highlighting her accomplishments or points of struggle that she (and we) have overcome (college graduation, befriending local book club girls, raising our special needs son)

Before I commit to that I figured I would check in here for ideas for gifts, or insight as to whether I may be taking the quote either too literal or not literal enough.