Wetsuits and Chainlinks and Knees, Oh My!

It's been a little over two weeks since the National Duathlon Festival and the multisport season is starting to kick into high gear with the inaugural Rocketts Landing Triathlon this weekend and many others in the area over the next two months. Up until the National Duathlon Festival, my training was going great. So where am I now?

Wetsuits

Back in the mid-80s when wetsuits started to enter the triathlon picture, I was always a purist. I never have used a wetsuit then, even though I needed it when I did a tri with water temperature of 58F! I always discounted the advantage of wetsuits until I did a tri last fall and a friend, who about the same speed as I am, beat my time in the 1500M swim by over three minutes. Okay, I think it's time to get a wetsuit. This winter I purchase a Farmer John suit and finally had a chance to try it out at the RTC open water swim clinic. The water temperature was a cool 60F so this would be a good test. I entered the water and was totally comfortable with the temperature! Also, I felt like a cork! After practicing some drills and swimming for a while, I can see why wetsuits are so popular. Also, it didn't chaff me! Basically, I'm sold and I look forward to trying it out at Rocketts Landing this weekend!

Chain Links

In my last post, I described the problem I had with a sticky chain link. Well, the chain has been replaced and the bike works great now. However, I still have pain in my left knee. Which leads to the next subject:

Knees

Here it is, over two weeks after the Duathlon, and my left knee still hurts. Looking back, I should have stopped when the chain kept sticking but being stubborn, I pushed through it! Hopefully, I'm a little wiser. (Probably not!) After the Duathlon, I was able to ride hard without problems but the run, with the pounding hurt really badly. Anyway, I am able to run on it now but I still feel it. I'm not sure if competing in an olympic distance tri would be wise right now. Therefore, I have change my entry to Aquabike and save my legs for the Power Sprint at the end of the month. I'll let you know how it goes!