Tri Talk Tuesday - These Are A Few of My Favourite Things!

Hey Hey Hey...it's TRI TALK TUESDAY!  I'm super excited for today's post because Cynthia, Courtney and I are talking about our favourite triathlon things.  This is anything triathlon related - it could be your favourite race, your favourite running shoe, whatever.  I love posts like these because they inevitably introduce me to new products.  Just what every triathlete needs...MORE things to add to their "I want" list, ha ha.

There are lots of things I own that I like and that serve me well, but there are only a few that I absolutely LOVE and wouldn't want to train without them.  I also threw a race in there because why not?  These are my FAB FOUR.

1.  My Garmin 920xt.  I have to admit, I have a love / hate relationship with my Garmin stuff.  When it works, it works REALLY well.  But when it doesn't...it's a failure of epic proportions.  They've gotten a bit better at keeping software updated to fix glitches.  I found the 920 to be a bit glitchy (the screen would freeze a LOT) when I first got it but this latest software update seems to have fixed the issues.  I love how connected this machine is.  I just recently paired it to my iphone and now I get text messages and other alerts ON MY GARMIN.  Mind=blown.   And I can instantly upload my workout to the Garmin Connect app via Bluetooth.  No more waiting until I get home, hoping that the wifi automatically connects.   And no more connecting it to my laptop and hoping it syncs.  I've also just started using it to track my sleep.  Yes, it means I have to wear it to bed but I don't really notice it.   I don't even think I've scratched the surface of what this piece of equipment is capable of!

Clearly I need to sleep a little deeper, ha ha

2.  My Cervelo P3.  I've had Tom Sawyer for a year now and I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this bike.  I had a 7 year old Scott Plasma Contessa that was wonderful but wasn't suited to my riding abilities any longer.  I needed something responsive and light.  G had gotten a P3 the year before and I was very envious.  I probably should have done the same thing at the time but we were going to Europe and I didn't want to spend the money on a new bike.  Looking back I probably could have used the extra gears, ha ha.  But I waited a year and ended up getting the same bike with race wheels for a really good deal.  I've logged some serious km's on this bike over the last year.  My first ride on it was my very first stand alone time trial and I ended up in 3rd place overall, averaging just over 36kph.  I knew right then and there that was money well spent.

3.  IM Luxembourg 70.3:  Maybe because this was my first Ironman branded half, and maybe because it was in Europe...but I absolutely LOVED this race.  If money was no issue, I'd go back and race it again in a heartbeat.  For a race that we picked totally randomly, it suited my abilities perfectly.  The swim was in a narrow river, which helped keep me calm (always close to shore) the bike was 50% flat and 50% rolling hills with 2 good climbs.  The run was 3 loops (I love multiple looped courses) and it was also flat.  And there were lots of spectators on the run course which always makes it better because I draw a lot of energy from people cheering - it really gives me a boost.  It's also the only course on the Ironman circuit that goes into 3 different countries.  You swim in the Moselle River, on one side is Luxembourg, on the other side is Germany.  If you swim wide enough in the swim, like I did, you cross the border, ha ha.  About 10km of the bike course goes through France.   It was one of the coolest races I've done.  And Luxembourg is absolutely stunning.  One more reason to go back.  Look at how happy I was coming down the finishing chute!

4.  My Mizuno Wave Sayonara 3's:  These are a brand new addition to my shoe rotation as they are a really new shoe.  I wore the original Sayonara's and LOVED the responsiveness of them but I found that the ride was really firm especially if you are heavy on your feet like I am (I may be small but I'm not light on my feet).  After racing a half marathon in them, my feet actually hurt.  They were sore.  But I could go REALLY fast in them.  Mizuno has now beefed them up a bit.  There is more cushioning through the mid-foot but they are still super light and responsive.  I'm pretty confident I could race a marathon in these babies with no issues where as before I'd use my Sayonaras for a half marathon or shorter and then I'd use my Wave Riders for anything longer.

Tell me a few of your favourite things!

And of course, don't forget to check out the link up for even more favourites!

An InLinkz Link-up