Without a doubt, the most important item to call out this morning, actually occurred this past Sunday morning. As some of you will remember, my Mom’s been training for her first triathlon this summer. And on Sunday, she officially became a triathlete.
She did an awesome job going from not having done any lap/open water swimming just a few months ago, to finishing her first tri – and came in the top half of all finishers! Plus, her official race photos are pretty funny (see above) – I’ve never seen anyone smile so much during a race, heck – even exiting transition she was smiling away. :)
Congrats Mom!
Speaking of triathlon related things…a special something arrived from Garmin on Wednesday morning.
What would it be? A Garmin 310XT eval unit to complete a product review on. It’s their successor to the Forerunner 305. Since it arrived I’ve been taking a gazillion photos (from unpacking to configuration), and using it on virtually all my workouts. I have 30 days until it has to go back to the Garmin folks.
Look for a full detailed review in early to mid September after I’ve had time to really get a good grasp on it, like all my other detailed reviews (305/410/705). Thus far though out of all the things I’m impressed with – perhaps the biggest is actually the HRM strap. It’s a new fabric strap that’s way more comfortable than the old one. Here’s the new one picture below.
You can see the comparison shot below, the new one is on top and the old one on the bottom. The good news is the new style one also works with all of the other Garmin’s (305/405/705), the bad news is it’s a wee bit expensive.
And the 310XT pairs with the Quarq Cinqo power meter I’ve got (along with PowerTap and SRM units that I don’t have):
So with that, I’ll let you off the hook and avoid a long post so you can go forth and enjoy your Friday and weekend!
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congrats to your mom.. she looks like she really enjoyed herself!
I was suprised to see that it looks like you are riding with a compact crank.
I just ordered one for my bike and would be interested in hearing what made you go that direction vs. a standard crank.
Hey Al-
I’ve been riding with a Compact for a bit now, mostly because the Ironman Canada course has some fairly hilly sections and I find I climb significantly faster at a lower HR with the compact. I wrote-up a bit about it back a few months ago here:
link to dcrainmaker.blogspot.com
In choosing the Compact Cinqo model, I figure I can get a fairly similiar gear ratio to a standard if I swap out the back cassette, in the event I need more top-end speed (say, for a flatter course). On Ironman Rhode Island 70.3 I actually swapped back to a standard because it was a fair bit flatter, but most of my courses tend to be somewhat hilly, so this gives me a bit of an advantage.
I’m so glad you posted pictures of your mom from her triathlon – she looks great!!
Dude – your mom is badass! That is freaking awesome.
Congrats to Mrs Rainmaker! Very cool.
Garmin’s not letting you keep the GPS?! You promote that company more than anyone I know. That seems pretty stingy.
Of course, I probably should have said Mom Rainmanker, not Mrs Rainmaker. Don’t want to give anyone the wrong idea.
Woo Hoo Mommy Rainmaker!! Congrats! :)
wow – you’re mum looks amazing – well done Mum Rainmaker!!
Congrats to Mom Maker!
Yay mom! That’s awesome! She looks great, and yes, very very happy. :)
Congratulations to your mom!
How cool that your mom is doing tris too. Congrats on bringing her over to the dark side ;-)
And I just realized that I can use my husband’s power tap (when he gets one and he’s not home) but I won’t be able to see any nbrs unless I have a head unit of some sort – DOH!
I`m kinda sorta getting caught up, but want to send a huge congratulations to your mom! How awesome that she is a triathlete. Best of luck this weekend. I`ll be out volunteering early Sunday. Hope you have a great race!