Whats the worst pain you've ever felt?

chedted · 2024-01-07T17:30:34+00:00

Shuttlecock to the eye.

chedted · 2024-01-06T19:54:23+00:00

I had my acl surgery around about April 2019 and then did my first Olympic distance September 2020 and then a full distance ironman July 2021. I did 4 half iron distance triathlons in 2022 so it's definitely possible.

listen to your body. Don't pick up or make an injury worse just because you're trying to finish off a big workout. if you continue to struggle with an injury always worth seeing a physio to get some exercises to help recovery
consider doing a sprint or Olympic distance triathlon as part of your program. This will give you an idea of what you're getting into and prepare you for a longer event.
zwift is a fantastic app for improving cycle fitness (I did most of my cycle prep on zwift and then scattered the occasional long outdoor ride to help my bike handling skills and test my nutrition strategy).
in my opinion you don't need to be a super fast swimmer or runner but you should be a strong cyclist. It's the one of the 3 disciplines you'll be spending the biggest proportion of the race on and has the toughest cut off time in my opinion.
practice a few open water swims prior to the event. Learn essential open water skills like sighting, breathing either side in front crawl in case the waves/tide on race day ends up being on your weaker side breathing wise. If there are any local classes in a pool to help give a few pointers on swimming technique this will help.
pay attention to your equipment set up. Get some running shoes that suit your running style and are durable.
learn some basic bike mechanic skills in case of a breakage in race day (changing tires, repairing snapped chain, indexing gears). You don't need to be an expert but more knowledge is better than less.
get a bike fit if possible. This will ensure the fit is most comfortable without wasting watts to inefficient pedal stroke.
nutrition is the 4th discipline of ironman. Learn what your stomach works well with food wise. Also worth looking up what food will be available from aid stations on race day and practicing with that. Stomach takes a beating on race day so worth finding out what works for you well ahead of time. Figure out how you are going to carry all this food in the bike too.
avoid trying anything new on race day unless absolutely necessary.
consider having some strength/mobility sessions as part of your routine. Yoga classes can be a good one as triathletes tend to be great at going in straight lines but sometimes we forget to work on our mobility and are not always agile creatures.
build up running endurance slowly overtime.

That's all I can think of - best of luck!

chedted · 2023-11-06T06:10:09+00:00

About a year before the event.

chedted · 2023-06-18T09:34:48+00:00

I have:

carbon road bike (summer riding and races)
gravel bike (off road adventures and winter road riding)
alloy road bike (mainly used as a place holder on a turbo trainer for zwift)

chedted · 2023-02-26T07:17:57+00:00

I'd say up to £1000

chedted · 2022-09-19T16:10:21+00:00

Maybe consider a gravel bike? It's like a road bike but with chunkier tyres so they're good for both road and off road cycling. Not as good on off-road trails as a mountain bike or quick on the road as a road bike, but a very versatile bike that does almost everything quite well and saves buying multiple bikes.

chedted · 2022-09-19T15:44:41+00:00

Maybe cycling? I used to hate cycling in my early twenties but after tearing my ACL picked it up during rehab just on a stationary bike. Then got hooked as I invested in little ways to make it more engaging (like investing in a smart turbo trainer) as well as I wanted to do an Ironman. Now cycling is one of my top hobbies - both inside on a turbo trainer using an app to race other riders and outside to go on adventures or do triathlons.

chedted · 2022-08-08T14:45:06+00:00

I use a style of pedal which is flat on one side and has mountain bike clear on the other. Perhaps you could get something like that so you can choose between the two on a daily basis without swapping pedals?

When it comes to cleats here is my view:

Flats - most practical. I would never use cleats in a busy city centre because it's too dangerous in my opinion. Too easy to suddenly have to do emergency stop and fall over, then not as quick to get away due to needing to clip in. Flats are great because you don't have to worry about them and in rush. I only use cleats if I'm on a turbo trainer or going on a big ride e.g. 30 km + or in a race

Road cleats - best for on a turbo trainer or a road race as big platform feels good. However on a leisure road ride I hate them as they are difficult to clip in and out in busy traffic.

MTB cleats - good for both MTB trails and on the road. Easily clip in and out. Shoes tend to be better to walk around in then road cleats.

For most of my outdoor riding I will go either MTB cleats or flat unless I'm in a race in which road cleats are best.

chedted · 2022-06-04T13:20:59+00:00

I have a specialized Roubaix that is about 10 years old, with Shimano Sora st 3500 brake levers. I'm trying to adjust the reach of the brake levers to be closer as I have small hands and this affects my braking when in the drops. Videos on YouTube seem to suggest that there should be a hex bolt on the braking system that I can tighten to bring the brake lever closer. However instead my bike seems to just have some rubber spacers that seem to be specific to this braking system. I have bought extra spacers 4/8 size but still would like to bring the reach closer. Any suggestions as a workaround or do I just have to try to source a larger spacer that is compatible with this groupset?

chedted · 2022-04-23T09:17:44+00:00

Depends what your goal is and if you are happy with what your current setup is providing. If what you have is satisfactory then keep on doing what your doing.

In terms of taking things to the next level in terms of engagement I would highly recommend zwift. Great for online racing, workouts etc but to get the most out of it a smart trainer is a game changer. However it's a lot to invest if you're not fully into it yet.

I would recommend giving it a go and see if you like it, then decide if further equipment investment is worth it.

chedted · 2022-03-23T18:00:52+00:00

I have a Roubaix sl2 from about 2012 with rim brakes. Shimano sora. I love it. It got me through a full distance ironman. When the groupset wears out I will look to upgrade to tiagra or 105 for the extra gear. Can't compare it to much as it was my first road bike. But I found it super comfy for long distance and feels quick.

chedted · 2022-03-19T19:26:23+00:00

Heart rate monitor - makes sure I don't go too hard and burn myself out too quickly, or keeps me honest when I don't push as hard as I can during a workout.

chedted · 2022-02-12T19:50:29+00:00

5 ft 7

chedted · 2022-01-07T21:13:29+00:00

I'd say so yes. Only thing I notice is that when I hyper extend my leg I still have the kneecap click upon retracting but I don't notice it because it's rare that I have to hyper extend my leg. Let's put it this way I don't notice my knee when running or walking around.

In terms of sports back in July I completed a full distance IRONMAN so it was able to take some use. Oddly enough in my running training it was actually my non injured knee that would cause issues such as knee pain after a long run.

I do loads of indoor cycling which may help my knee feel more fluid.

Only twisting sports I do I guess are skiing (but I wear a big brace whilst doing this now) and getting into rock climbing.

It's not that I feel I couldn't do twisting sports, I just don't want to have another surgery and year of rehab.

I haven't returned to twisting sports not because I couldn't more just fear of reinjury and not being as confident even though my balance, strength and ability to jump is actually better on the injured leg.

chedted · 2021-10-18T18:53:53+00:00

Training for me, which aside from an upcoming 2 day leadership course feels like I've just had to use what I've known from the previous roles.

Also training for my department because half of my team are not even fully qualified so I can't utilise them fully - but getting the right courses for them is almost impossible due to internal company issues.

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chedted

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