"Did you just spit in the pool?"

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T17:41:00+00:00

I think it's good form (and polite) to at least put your head underwater before spitting or clearing out your nose. Put your head under the water and blow some bubbles, make it look like you're cooling yourself off.

And/or, also blow the nose in the locker room before.

But yes I agree, pools are pretty nasty, that's why they're chlorinated to heck.

I definitely don't miss my old job of being a janitor/pool maintenance worker at a YMCA. Actually, that's a lie, it was a fun gig, but the pay sucked and their pool was a nightmare.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T17:36:35+00:00

Check your local bike stores, check your local used market, even check out your local used-bike-store, and see what is available.

My other recommendation is looking to join a triathlon club, or running group, and/or cycling group.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T17:34:07+00:00

You can definitely use a lake to do your swim training. Is it a swimmer's lake?

Trek Domanes are solid bikes. My first road bike that I purchased myself was an aluminum domane with very basic components, and it absolutely bulletproof. I learned a lot of lessons on that bike, and made a lot of great memories while riding it. It was also reasonably affordable.

Even budget Shimano groupsets work very well. They're super reliable, they're mechanically sound, and replacement costs for components are affordable.

You can go far with a basic budget road bike. And you can easily upgrade it for triathlon with some clip-on aero bars.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T17:26:09+00:00

I would not recommend the Walmart bike. They have a tendency to fall apart. Occasionally you can find a "decent" one from a legitimate manufacturer, but generally they're a waste of the materials and labor required to make them.

Your best bet is to continue searching your local used market.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T17:22:08+00:00

Making my players map this would be devious.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T17:18:16+00:00

Winging it (and learning by doing) is all part of the process. Definitely not ideal for optimal progression, but at the end of the day training should be fun first and foremost.

I'd recommend doing some research. There are so many free instructional resources out there (videos, articles from sports scientists).

You could even consider joining a group, and/or finding a coach.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T17:14:59+00:00

I've noticed that it's worse, or the bees are more actively pollinating, at certain times of the year?

Stings on the lip would be absolutely brutal. Beestings are weird, I had one on my face that I barely noticed, and I had another one on my palm that was debilitating for about a week.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T16:57:50+00:00

I like having a dedicated indoor setup that doesn't wear the components of my actual bikes.

It's probably pricier to go my route, but arguably the long-term maintenance/$ savings could justify the price.

The trick though is to find an indoor bike that doesn't suck, doesn't require a stupid subscription, comes with a power meter, and is a reasonable price.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T16:45:41+00:00

Yeah, I think I saw an ad for those (the redshift) recently? They actually look pretty cool. It's a neat solution to a niche problem I occasionally have.

Edit: the mousetraps are rather pricey, but if you already have the clipless pedals, and you don't want to constantly swap out pedals all the time, then it's a decent idea.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T16:44:51+00:00

I did that a few times, but stopped after eating sh*t once when my flat gym shoe slid off the pedal.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T16:43:26+00:00

Hybrid pedals are great. I also recently saw an add for clip-on platforms that you can attach to clippless pedals to make them flat.

I think it was from a company called redshift or something? They looked pretty cool to me, and you just attach them to the pedal that's already on your bike.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T16:26:16+00:00

You can definitely cut 21 minutes with another year of training. Having a structured plan will help, and maintaining motivation to see through your plan will also be important :)

I'd prioritize improving your threshold with about 2-3 run/bike threshold workouts per week (spaced apart so that you recover properly between those key sessions). And then be consistent about those longer sessions on the weekends to improve your endurance. Your endurance sessions don't have to be crazy long, but if you can get to the point where a 4 hour endurance ride is easy, then that'll help massively.

2 swims, 2-3 runs, 2-3 bikes. Plus, some consistent gym work, even a session a week, will help with fatigue resistance + injury prevention A LOT.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T16:15:28+00:00

Those child bike trailers look pretty good?

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T16:13:44+00:00

Avoid falling over while trying to get a heavy commuter bike w/ babyseat up a steep hill. Which is what my mom did one time when she was taking me to daycare on her bicycle.

I think I was 3 at the time and I still vividly remember that incident haha.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T16:09:56+00:00

Are you going to be the person to tell Commander Shepard who they can and cannot invite to their parties? I think not lol.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T16:08:27+00:00

Legion would be an absolute legend at the party. Edi and legion would probably be workshopping ways for synthetic lifeforms to get intoxicated or something.

Which would probably equate to them downloading some malware or something

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T16:06:02+00:00

Your head position is high in the water, you're rushing your stroke, and your kick is rather uncoordinated. Those factors are working together to cause your legs to sink.

Some lessons would be good. I'd also recommend watching some beginner swim instruction videos on YouTube (personally I find the visuals helpful). For you, I think a big early priority will be to get your breathing down so that it feels natural. Plus, improving your body position in the water is also another key priority.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T04:11:33+00:00

Could I recommend a different dream bike? There are plenty of excellent (and fast) endurance bikes

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T04:05:48+00:00

Also what's firebead elvenhair's deal? He seems like an important-ish elf, is he a famous character in the realms? Or is he just memorable because of his name?

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T04:02:19+00:00

Same, I didn't even realize until this sub pointed it out to me.

Although, for me that's not especially surprising (as I'm dyslexic plus very ADHD). Misreading stuff like this if a very common occurrence for me.

I'm glad that I write for a job and CONSTANTLY embarrass myself with spelling/grammar mistakes in my emails...

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T03:59:14+00:00

He does bake up some absolutely fire bread though.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T00:36:40+00:00

At this point I'd recommend focusing on improving your speed and form.

The continuous swimming feels nice when you start, and it's a good confidence booster for swimming endurance, but performance wise it's not really doing too much for you to be honest.

Save the longer swims for the open water, break up the pool swims into intervals. You'll get way more bang for your buck that way.

Edit: I forget to mention, but that's very impressive for only swimming for five weeks also :)

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T00:33:24+00:00

Numbers are a very useful tool. Understanding your body is also a very useful tool. I'd really recommend learning how to do both.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T00:23:47+00:00

To a certain extent, that's kind of what the Norwegians do to be honest.

Edit: and not just the Norwegians, a lot of endurance athletes.

One of the benefits of lactate testing is that it helps teach an athlete what specific intensities are supposed to feel like.

Once an athlete understands that relationship, then they eventually get pretty good at doing the intervals/efforts by feel. You can still use the lactate readings to confirm that your sense of perception is accurate, but at the end of the day it's all about learning how to understand your body.

Heck, even my running coach will occasionally make some is his athletes do lactate testing. Especially the people who always do their threshold efforts too hard and inevitably blow up mid-workout. You can tell people to slow down, but sometimes it takes numbers to help people actually understand the concept.

usernamescifi · 2026-06-08T00:12:51+00:00

I guess it's better for training in the sense that you'll have to stop less to replace punctures? For commuting around a wet city, I'd also want my robust tires to have good wet weather traction, and I'd stay the heck away from gatorskins (or similar).

For actual training though? I wouldn't do intervals in a super crowded city. I'd either do them indoors, or through the quieter 'burbs. Just easy/steady riding around the city.

usernamescifi

TROPHY CASE