I'm glad that I can help clear up the confusion on all the bike issues.  There is soooo much out there it can be worse than looking for a car.

I have several friends who ride 29's and they all say it's a smoother ride but you can't make the really tight turns with them.  Marin's a good brand, I personally ride a Specialized Hardrock model on the trails.  Any major brand will do well, just don't buy a bike at Wally World and expect it to take much abuse.  The 29's will have good rims, just make sure any 26's you look for have the double wall rims or they will be far more likely to buckle.  Suspension components are nice but be aware that the fancier they are the more it takes to maintain them.  I deliberately bought some basic ones because they don't need much but high end ones with gas shocks need a rebuild yearly which is not cheap.  That fact isn't advertised very well.

In the road bike realm, Scott has a good name.  Fuji, the Specialized Dolce, Felt, Trek, Giant, all will be able to deliver a quality bike.  That's not a complete list but again, just don't bother with one from a mass retailer because they just aren't intended for event level use.  Get one that fits and you'll enjoy it for a long time.  Penny, your friends will be a great help.  By the time you enter a triathlon you'll just breeze through it.

For my part I'm planning 'Hill-a-palooza' on Saturday.  It's a 10 mile course with lots of rolling hills that I need to hit hard for the best interval effect.  My HM in April has 3 major climbs in the first 6 miles so I'm going to be doing a lot of hill repeats and high intensity work over the next 5 weeks.  It won't be pleasant but the results are well worth it. 

Andy

Hey guys... been a few days due to a trade show in Baltimore.  Just some thoughts:

1) This was in a seminar today -  powerful stuff.  I am going to use this as a motivation while training for this season.....http://youtu.be/iE5YK7R5Oug.

2)  If you happened to be running in downtown Baltimore today - thanks... you gave me motivation to get out tonight, even though I was on my feet all day at the trade show.

3)  Proven fact - guys running (shirt or not) are not a pretty sight.  However, I think most guys would acknowledge there is nothing more beautiful than a lady out there putting a good workout in.  I have tried to convince my wife of this fact and she just does not buy into it (maybe because she cannot stand being around me after I work out)

4) Can you really get a quality work out in when running in a downtown city?  I would have loved to run in downtown Baltimore but... you would have to stop all the time for traffic and people...

In other comments:

- Interesting comments on the bike.  I have a 20 year old road bike and need to replace it.  I will have to remember things mentioned here

- Britta, I guess that is good news that you might be able to be back in time to do the next 1/2.

- For me- the runs have been varied... Monday - I did my 1hr aerobic classes then did 30 minutes on the treadmill, working on speed... 1/4 mile at 7mph then 1 min at 5mph.  I did this for most of the time.  Tuesday, After 12 hrs at the trade show, I did a late run.  I ended up doing speed work again.  It was a great run - 3 miles 1st mile : 9:23, mile 2: 9:28, mile 3: 9:13. I did a 1 min. walk in between each mile run.  Considering it was supposed to be at my 5k pace which has been 10 min/ mile - not too bad.   Skipped Wednesday and pushed it back to tonight.  It should have been 6 miles at 12 min/ mile.  It ended up at 4.5 miles at about 10:30.  I could not get loose - calves, thighs and feet were all tight.  My right foot cramped up at the end and I was really running flat footed.  Just could not get in a rythem and gave up when the foot started hurting along with the knee a little.

Forgot - a little braindead. Saw a MotoActv yesterday and fell in love. I want! Anyone have history with it? I will be selling the Garmin Forerunner 305 that I bought in August. Still have the box and all, including HR monitor.

Ahhahahaha! Love smoked pig!!!! Thanks so much, Andy, for the reminder.

Forgot:

Anyone who is a fan of Bondiband headbands (to stave off the flop sweat) I got notice of an online deal with my last order. Buy 3 get 1 free; coupon code is ONE. five for $25, coupon code is FIVE. @ www.bondiband.com. I do not work for them, just like their product.

Mary Kay - congrats on last Sunday's race.  Don't worry with 2  more tune-up races lined up, as andy says you'll surely smoke that pig! After long runs or intense workouts, I usually take  Promax bar.  It is a good recovery supplement. They come in various flavors, peanut butter and cookies and cream.

Britta - try to be compliant with all the doctor's orders, the meds, PT, and strengthening exercises.  They will help you resolve the iliotibial issues and as soon as it resolves, you run your HM race in May with the doctor's approval of course.

Stephanie - so happy to hear that you are back to running.  I am cheering you on for the June HM.

Eric - never tried running in a busy downtown city.  I would definitely have a hard time navigating through traffic, people rushing in and out, stoplights, etc.  Unless, I am running early morning or late evening, just maybe I can try it.   As per the wife, it might take some time.  She might be encouraged when she notices the running benefits in you.

Andy - a sub-2 HM, that is so awesome.  Nice work on last Sunday's hill-a-palooza.  Btw, I got to  check out a Merida Scultura Juliet bike. 

It will almost be a full month before my second HM.  Trying to squeeze in morning and afternoon runs whenever possible.  Was not able to do  my long run this Sunday, planning on doing it mid week.  Is it okay to  do a long run on Tuesday,  then easy runs for the next 3 days (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)  rest day (Saturday)   then another long run on Sunday? This week is kind of crazy at work and family.

Run safe and run fierce.

Penny, if you're doing short easy runs after a long one then emphasize easy.  It does depend on how long your big run is too.  Personally I'm exhausted after Hill-a-palooza but hope to get in something tomorrow.  With nearly a month to go I wouldn't push yourself to the max on the long run so you'll get more benefit from being able to do the shorter ones.  Sometimes you need to push yourself to exhaustion to get certain benefits but if you're just working on your endurance keep the effort low enough that you can do all possible runs because you'll get more out of it that way.  Merida is a great brand, I know pros who ride those and love them.

Mary, it can be hard to find a good training group.  I don't run with my own tri club because I can't keep up.  I do most of my training with my dog or on my own.  Some sporting clubs will offer group runs that cater to all levels and they're great for learning and motivation.  We know you're putting in some hard miles and while we can't run with you we at least try to share in your journey's highs and lows here.  Don't apologize for anything to anyone and go smash that 3 hour mark.

I wasn't going to give a resume but maybe it's worth a mention.  I took up road riding in 03 and since then have completed 3 centuries (100 mile rides), I lost count around 24 metrics (50 to 70 mile rides, 62 miles is 100 kilometers and sometimes referred to as a metric century), started triathlons in 08 and have done about 10 sprints, 1 olympic, and my current crown jewel was last year's Boulder 70.3 half ironman.  I haven't kept track of the 10k runs but there's about 3 or 4 a year and have done about 3 stand-alone HM's.  Now you understand why I have a base fitness level that allows me to do these crazy events, I'm always out doing something.  When I started riding a 5 mile ride was a big deal, but I kept at it and soon was doing lots of fun stuff.  It has all just sort of grown from those humble beginnings and I'm loving the results.  I was absoutely stunned one day when I realized I said to a friend that any rides under 35 miles were considered recreational.  Now I don't usually do 5k races because I don't see them as value for money when my typical morning run is that long.

The key point here is that everyone on this thread is now in the 'fun cycle' as I like to call it.  You get out and do events and have a great time.  Because you have a great time you do more stuff.  Because you do more stuff you get more fit and can do better and have more fun.  Then it all repeats because now you want to do more events and have more great times.  It's classic inertia because once you get moving you tend to stay moving. 

Stay moving, enjoy the journey.

Andy

Penny, you'll do fine at a tri if you can handle the swim.  If you can already do 800 meters well the rest will come easily.  Just stay to the outside of the swim lane and you won't get too much traffic.  I also deliberately let the wave start ahead of me.  I'm a slow swimmer and am usually in a fierce battle for last place on the swim leg but I make up a lot of ground on the bike.  The fun part of tri's is everyone had different strengths.  Sometimes you can find smaller races or ladies only races which might be less intimidating.  For what it's worth, your apprehension is exactly the same for everyone who wants to do a tri for the first time.

Britta, IT band issues are fairly common.  One of those Konas would serve you very well in low impact strength training.  I'm not sure how much it would help the IT issue, but my research on shin splints has shown that bike riding is good for strengthening the muscles that prevent them and after coming from a cycling background I never really had any issues with either splints or my IT bands.  For me, running was more a matter of toughening up for the higher impact it involves.  Some form coaching helped and I use Asics Kayano shoes which help a lot.  One other thing that may or may not be relevant is that I walk 3 or 4 miles a day with my dog partly for recovery and partly because he needs to get out too.  From what you've said you're still in the early recovery stage so take it easy for now.

Andy