Rest feels so good. Seriously. I got back in the pool yesterday and while I was still a little slower than I wanted, I wasn’t going to push myself. I decided to let my body do what it wanted and stop when it told me to. Today I had a nice hour long bike ride scheduled. Thunderstorms were also predicted for the day, so I headed to the gym since I didn’t want to risk getting soaked. I was a little bummed about this because I still need to log more hours on Taylor in order to get used to her and I don’t like the gym bikes that much. I wish I had a trainer so I could set the bike up inside, but a trainer isn’t really in my budget, so beggars can’t be choosers. Speaking of budget…

Tri gear is expensive! Wowzers! This is not a poor man’s sport. However, I’m determined to not miss out on anything that I need based on my budget. I’m going to find ways to make it work despite my budget constraints.

The biggest investment is the bike. You have to have one to compete in a triathlon. So, I started my research. I started by seeing what the cheapest investment was. I went to Kmart to see what they had. Most of the bikes there are lower quality, but completely acceptable for some things. However, I knew that it wasn’t what I needed for a triathlon. After talking to my brother, he said that I should start with a road bike. So, I narrowed my search and created my budget. I knew that I couldn’t spend over $300 on a bike. This makes for some really limited options, but of the few that I found, Taylor Dayne was the best reviewed and came pretty highly recommended, so I went with her. So far so good.

It’s amazing how many people kept saying to me, “well, if you just spend another hundred dollars or so you could get yadda yadda yadda,” or “once you start riding you are really going to want yadda yadda yadda, so you need to invest more now.” I kept asking these people if they were going to give me the extra money for the bike, because if they were, I’d be happy to buy the best bike available. No one seemed to understand that the budget wasn’t moveable. I couldn’t go over $300 no matter how bad I wanted to. So, this left a limited range of bikes to choose from, but I opted for Taylor Dayne and so far I’m really pleased with her. She’s a Vilano and they make a variety of bikes. I recommend them. www.vilanobikes.com

I needed some gear, so I decided to visit Roadrunner Sports on 14th Street because I read online that it was a great place dedicated to the triathlete. And let me say that this shop is great, but I learned quickly how expensive this gear was. I was looking at the prices trying to not gasp from sticker shock when I was approached by the saleswoman. She was tall, athletic, and had a glow about her that seemed to be a product of loving her job, or loving triathlons (or perhaps both). She even seems to glisten a little as if she had just come from a workout. Maybe they spray down their employees in the back in order to make sure they constantly have the post workout glisten and glow?

I wanted cycling shorts, but I don’t have $100 to spend on them. How about cycling gloves? Nope. I don’t have $50 for those. I didn’t even look at the triathlon suits because I knew they weren’t going to be an option. Roadrunner is an excellent store, and if I had the money, I’d have a field day there! But alas, my budget dictates otherwise. So, I went home and was determined to find what I could online for a much cheaper rate. I raided ebay and found some amazing deals! I was able to get three pairs of cycling shorts for about $50 total. I got a cycling jersey of $8. Cycling gloves for $9. I even got a trisuit for $40 brand new! The bargain shopper in me is really happy. So is my bank account.