triathlete wall

Bulky, GPS watches give you sticker shock? We’ve found this one, the Timex Marathon GPS watch, to be reasonable with basics needed to track your walk/runs. The GPS is powered by the fast and accurate SSiRFstarIV™ to monitor pace, speed and distance. The eight hour battery life will last long enough to tell you how many calories were burned. Other features include hands-free auto-split based on distance, five alarms, 100-lap memory chronograph and rechargeable battery with cable. Tracking workouts doesn’t have to deplete your wallet.

Italian helmet manufacturer, KASK, welcomes a new aerodynamic helmet to their 2012 line, the K.31 Crono. This time trial helmet was built to be the best with comfort, fit, design and manufacture (a good portion of their products are hand-made and all built in Italy). The helmet incorporates a unique up-and-down size hinged adjustment system to comfortably cradle the nape of the neck, providing the ultimate fit in terms of precision, comfort and security. The tail of the K.31 Crono forms a vertical fin, like the tail of an aircraft, to reduce drag as the rider lowers their head. And in unfortunate incidents, the strengthening frame helps prevent the helmet from shattering into pieces. Ventilated, non-stick pads keep you cool and the chin pad is made of anti-allergic leather.

It’s easy to check how your heart is doing on the run and bike, but on the swim? Thanks to Finis, they’ve created the Aquapulse Heart Monitor that will verbally announce your heart rate while in the water. You don’t have to wear a strap around your chest, stop to check your watch and there aren’t any ear buds to fuss with. Attach the unit to goggles and a soft rubber clip goes on the earlobe. The infrared sensor picks up heart rate through your earlobe and data is announced to you every 10 secs, 20secs, 30secs, 45secs, 1min, 2mins or 5mins via Bone Conduction technology. It should last anywhere from five to eight hours and is easily recharged by plugging it into a USB port. Obviously waterproof.

Take a break from gels to try Cytomax’s Energy Drops. These easy-to-pop-in chews are sweet and each packet contains 22g of carbohydrates, 65g of sodium and 35g of potassium. Use it before, during and after training for an extra kick when you need one. Available in two great tasting flavor options: Tropical Fruit/Pomegranate Berry (non-caffeinated) as well as Orange/Tangerine (50mg of caffeine per pouch). Each pouch contains ten chews.

Cobb’s V-Flow saddle is designed for the triathlete, male or female, who is typically rotated much more forward and riding on a part of the pelvis that’s not typical in road cycling. The internal base of the seat minimizes lower back stress by holding the rider in place so that he/she does not slide back and forth on the seat. As the rider pedals with more pressure, the V-Flow cradle gives a front support zone that the rider can pull against for increased power. The narrow rear section helps relieve pressure from the hamstring muscle and the upper adductors, thus increasing rider comfort. The exclusive “V” notch in the rear of the seat cut out area functions as an air scoop, bringing moisture relief to reduce saddle sores and rashes. To go fast and far you have to be comfortable, and this saddle helps with both speed and comfort.

This is a very happy post. After burning so many calories, feel guilt free to replenish your muscles with some ice cream. Yep, you read right – ice cream. The guys at Sleddog re-invented this popular dessert for athletes by providing 3:1 carbs to protein ratio for optimal muscle glycogen restoration post exercise recovery. Each pint contains organic ingredients, natural electrolytes and 5 grams of protein per vanilla flavored serving (6 grams of protein for chocolate flavor). The product appears only available in the San Francisco/Bay Area at the moment, but hopefully more folks will be able to dig in as their popularity grows.

Cycle for hours without any interruption from lights and traffic on the Road Machine from Kinetic by Kurt. Yes, we know riding indoors isn’t as fun, but not everyone has the luxury to train on the road due to our desk jobs and weekend obligations. One of the best fluid trainers available, it’s quiet (relatively), smooth and 100% leak-proof. The power calibration gives you true outdoor simulation and automatic resistance adjusts as you change speeds. Easy set-up with legs that fold to make it flat and compact for storage. It also comes with unconditional lifetime warranty and lifetime crash replacement policy.

Let’s do a check. No rubberized material, no polyurethane, and no neoprene. Great, it’s USAT approved and WTC legal. Now we can move on to details that may help you. De Soto’s Liftfoil Speed Trisuit with coldblack enables you to swim faster by having a front-zip instead of back zip, no pockets, no lining and providing a one-piece float pad. Coldblack technology, a special finishing for textiles, reduces absorption of heat rays buildup for better heat management with guaranteed minimum UPF 30 protection (blocks 70% of from UV rays). This speedsuit is also a trisuit so you don’t have to change out of it after the swim. Hop on the bike and go!

Quintana Roo’s Illicito is their most aerodynamic bike ever and unique out of all bikes out there. Based loosely on their flagship CD0.1, the revolutionary, high modulus carbon fiber frame records the lowest drag coefficient of any modern design. What did they do? Well, the use of SHIFT technology ‘shifted’ airflow from the front wheel to be re-directed from the dirty, drag-producing side (drive side) of the bike to the clean side (non-drive side). The asymmetric bottom bracket reduces drag around the drive train and they removed the left side seat stay. OK, now you have a puzzled look and asking why the left side…

You’re out on a long training run, but unlike most organized events you don’t have the convenience of an aid station to refuel. With FuelBelt’s Gel Ready Race Number Belt, pack your favorite gels, blocks or pill dispensers in any of the ten elastic loops for easy access, anytime. The lightweight belt has a snap buckle and is adjustable for all hip sizes. On race day you can lace lock your bib on instead of fussing with pins and still get to keep all your favorite flavors with you.