https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:00:46 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-168439 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:13:47 +0000 Katja 168439@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thank you! (Maybe we should take this offline...)</p> <p>We also have friends in Dunedin, so that's another SI plus. Now to convince my husband that it will work to entrust a $3000 handcycle to an airline... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-168414 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:24:21 +0000 londonkiwi (now back in NZ) 168414@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Well, then you should be fine! You should also consider exploring the northern part of the SI (Nelson and the Marlborough Sounds) and if you are interested I can help you with any wine testing that you may want to partake in... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-168412 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:10:59 +0000 Katja 168412@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <blockquote><p>A cycling tour of the South Island would be great - how is your hill training? </p></blockquote> <p>Oh, I definitely need to work more on hills. Lucky I live in the Rocky Mountains :-). I've already replaced the little ring on my triple chainring with a smaller one, but it's still not ideal for hills. And some more operator conditioning won't hurt either.</p> <p>I read this account of a handcyclist's tour of SI, and got all excited about doing it, too: <a href="http://www.abilities.ca/travel/2008/11/10/new_zealand_handcycling/" rel="nofollow">http://www.abilities.ca/travel.....ndcycling/</a> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-168341 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:48:17 +0000 londonkiwi (now back in NZ) 168341@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I just stuck to the sprint length ones. My strongest leg is the swim and you never really gain enough time on that leg to make it count on the others. In NZ our open water swims are mostly in the sea - I had to invest in some goggles that also had sun protection so I could see where I was going...</p> <p>A cycling tour of the South Island would be great - how is your hill training? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167895 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 20:10:20 +0000 Katja 167895@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <blockquote><p>Would your open water swim be in a lake or in the sea?</p> <p>My sister and her husband take it one further and do half and full iron man ... I'm not that crazy!</p> </blockquote> <p>My husband does the Olympic distance triathlons - I might work my way up to that.</p> <p>We're pretty landlocked (1600 km from any ocean), so triathlons around here are usually in reservoirs. I'm considering one in August that's in a reservoir east of Denver.</p> <p>Triathlon is very popular here, too - my area in general is very attractive to competitive athletes due to the altitude (1500 m and up).</p> <p>I've been trying to rustle up enthusiasm around here for a bike tour of South Island - that's a trip I'd love to make! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167811 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 16:00:45 +0000 londonkiwi (now back in NZ) 167811@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I did a few tri and duathlons in NZ and loved them they are a big sport in NZ for both "fun" and competitive people and the community of people who does them is incredibly supportive.</p> <p>Would your open water swim be in a lake or in the sea? </p> <p>My sister and her husband take it one further and do half and full iron man ... I'm not that crazy! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167794 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:35:58 +0000 Queen Mum 167794@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>thanks for the clarification Katja! that makes sense </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167793 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:34:42 +0000 Sparky 167793@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>So, so cool to hear about your triathlon. I loved looking at all the pictures. It must be wonderful to share this as a family activity. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167792 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:33:35 +0000 Katja 167792@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <blockquote><p>Please excuse my ignorance, but I'm a details person.... so did you use 2 different wheelchairs for the ride and the run?</p></blockquote> <p>Yes, that's right.</p> <p>For the bike portion, we use a <a href="http://www.topendwheelchair.com/Handcycles/Top-End-Force-Handcycle-pid21.html">handcycle</a>. This is a three wheel vehicle with a bicycle gearset. The gears give you mechanical advantage just like a bicycle gives an able-bodied person.</p> <p>For the run portion we use a <a href="http://www.topendwheelchair.com/Racing-Wheelchairs/Top-End-Eliminator-OSR-pid14.html">racing wheelchair</a>. There are no gears and it's solely arm powered, therefore it's the equivalent of an able-bodied person running. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167750 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:10:50 +0000 Queen Mum 167750@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Congratulations Katja! It sounds like you had so much fun.<br /> Please excuse my ignorance, but I'm a details person.... so did you use 2 different wheelchairs for the ride and the run? I'm a little confused.... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167738 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 11:54:02 +0000 yublocka 167738@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Katja thanks for posting this - amazing!! Please do continue to post your successes like this. It's such an inspiration. One of my goals is to try and do a triathlon later this year, once hopefully my knee is all good again!!! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167403 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 22:54:01 +0000 Inge 167403@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Congratulations Katja, and thank you for posting this, such a lively account of your day! (I gasped when I got to the part of you getting knocked over, so glad you weren't hurt!).</p> <p>You must feel fantastic (and tired;-) about another great race, wow! And how fantastic that your family joined you too. You are one fit bunch!-)</p> <p>That's a fab suit by the way, love it that you treated yourself to this! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167332 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 21:28:46 +0000 rute 167332@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh.. That's amazing!</p> <p>Congrats! You are a strong lady indeed! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167314 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 21:16:10 +0000 Louise 167314@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>*happy clapping* well done what an achievement x </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167261 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:12:54 +0000 Rosie 167261@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Tris are really fun, aren't they? I have only done one, the Pacific Grove Triathlon, the Sprint. It's amazing how much more tiring the open water is, and we had a decent amount of waves last year. The course is pretty mellow and lots of fun.</p> <p>Love that suit!!! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167258 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:05:08 +0000 Katja 167258@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <blockquote><p> Did you have more fun doing the run or the tri? </p></blockquote> <p>Oh, the tri, for sure. Partly because I was more familiar with the event. Partly because as a low key, low publicity event it wasn't as anxiety-inducing as that gigantic 10K. Partly because it was fun to do a bunch of different activities over the time frame instead of just one.</p> <p>Now I have to do an open water swim tri.</p> <p>And I bought myself a new competition swim suit (<a href="http://www.tyr.com/shop/eternal-flame-maxback-p-894-c-30_31_32_33.html">this one, in red</a>) as a reward. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167257 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:03:07 +0000 taylor 167257@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>WOW.. I am exhausted just reading. Ha, more potty tales!!!!! That must have been awful, but you have such a great sense of humor, up off the ground, and glad you had your helmet on still .... on to the next event .</p> <p>Congrats on a fine job!! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167234 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:50:53 +0000 Anonymous 167234@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>You are FAB Katja! Go girl! You must have trained alot for this. I bet you feel fearless right now! I'm proud of you.<br /> I have taken about 8 months off of my excersise routine and I am scheduled to go back this evening. Thankyou so much for the inspiration. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167176 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:08:48 +0000 londonkiwi (now back in NZ) 167176@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Well done! What a fantastic achievement - I bet you are feeling wonderful today. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167174 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:07:04 +0000 Anonymous 167174@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Congratulations! What a wonderful accomplishment and way to spend time with family. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167171 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:03:58 +0000 Rosie 167171@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think you can change it when you edit the post? You can click "edit" towards the bottom and switch the topic, I believe... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167169 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:57:54 +0000 Katja 167169@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Sorry, I didn't put this in the right forum! Don't know how to change that. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167168 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:57:24 +0000 Rosie 167168@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>OH Katja, fantastic! You are inspiring me to do another triathlon! </p> <p>Did you have more fun doing the run or the tri? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167167 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:53:47 +0000 Sihaya 167167@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Congratulations Katja - how inspiring. how fun that it was a family affair! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-wheelchair-triathlon-report#post-167165 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:50:31 +0000 Katja 167165@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yesterday I did my first sprint triathlon. It was an interesting intersection of my family and my adaptive training (EXPAND) team mates.</p> <p>First, it was a family affair: my husband, daughter, son and sister-in-law all did it as well. My husband has done this triathlon for about the last fifteen years, and the kids have done a bunch of them (not as consistently as their dad, of course). My SIL came out from Seattle - she did a triathlon (one of the Danskin series) 4 years ago, but hasn't done another until now.</p> <p>Team: since I was signing up, my coach talked to the race director about actually having a wheelchair division, and she was open to that. We had hoped for 6-8 wheelchair competitors, but wound up with 4 (which was fine, too).</p> <p>The swim:</p> <p>It's a 525 yard pool swim, which means 10 laps plus an extra length. This triathlon (unusually) is organized such that the slowest swimmers start first. One of the other wheelchair competitors persuaded me (and the race director) that it was best for all of us to swim in the first heat, thus getting us out on the bike/run course sooner, with less traffic.</p> <p>I was very ambivalent about this, and woke up worried that this would mean that I would have to swim in a lane with 4-5 people who were twice as slow as me, and that my swim would really suck as a result.</p> <p>But it turned out great - Karen (race director) put the four of us in 2 lanes, which meant that we could split the lane (each swim up and down on one side, at our own pace) rather than having to worry about passing each other. So the swim went really well. I was the second one (of the wheelchair athletes) out.</p> <p>The bike:</p> <p>A 12 mile bike course, composed of three times around a 4 mile loop. My daughter and some of the EXPAND volunteers were ready to get me into my shorts, shoes, sunglasses and helmet and out onto the course. The other guy was slow getting going, so I was the first one out. I wasn't overtaken for about 2 miles. The volunteers on the course were all very supportive - lots of cowbells. The other three wheelchair competitors all overtook me at some point on the bike ride (not unexpected).</p> <p>The run:</p> <p>So everyone was hot for me to just jump into the racing chair and get going, since I was now last, but I really, really had to pee.</p> <p>So I got into my day chair, went into the portapotty, did my thing, and then, coming out, the door was so tightly sprung that it knocked me over onto my back and then the door slammed down on my head. Thank goodness I was still wearing my helmet!! I was shocked but unhurt, so we just hauled me back up again and into the racing chair.</p> <p>The run segment was 3 miles, and they felt really, really short. It seemed like no time when I was back at the finish line. It also felt good to get in the racing chair and sort of stretch out everything that was all cramped up from the handcycle. Afterwards I told my coach and the others that maybe I liked racing better than handcycling, which is a big change from my first month racing...</p> <p>Oh, I came in last (of course), but not by much (3 minutes). My time was 2:00:00. Here are some pictures: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brokenclay/sets/72157624093960121/" rel="nofollow">http://www.flickr.com/photos/b.....093960121/</a> </p>