) In addition to the slicks, I would definitely make sure your saddle is comfy and that you can put your seatpost high enough to climb comfortably. Rather than spending a lot of $$$ getting your MTB in order, you may want to look at used road bikes, especially if this is something you might do again. The ride is much more comfortable on a road bike.
You're a lot more experienced than me, but cuz I'm a wuss, I'd never change equipment close to any event.... rent a road bike for the race.
If there was a "Post Hall of Fame", that would go in it. I've never thought about the anatomy and physiology of it all and your explanation was simple and clear.
About the saddle choice... (bear with me though this explanation)
People who stand all day don't have trouble with their feet hurting after standing for 4-5 hours straight, whereas people who are unaccustomed to standing for extended periods will complain that their feet hurt after a few hour standing. So... what's up with that?
When you have a muscle over a bone, and that bone is subjected to a fairly regular pressure, the muscle will build up to protect the bone. This happens with you feet as well as your tailbones.
If you intend to do fairly regular rides more than 45 min long, you will be better served if you choose a saddle that has a flat hard surface for your sitbones, and a center that is cut away so that your soft tissues have someplace to go. If you are only riding occasionally, and will not have much of an opportunity to build up the muscles over your sitbones, you might be better served with a cushy saddle. Be aware that the bloodflow to your soft tissues will most likely be restricted with a cushy saddle.
So, just like a shoe size, your tailbones are a specific width. This does not change with your weight - your bone structure is your bone structure. If the saddle you have is too narrow for your sitbones, nothing will make it comfortable.
Find a Specialized dealer in your area that has a "sitbone measuring device," affectionately called the "assometer." It's a piece of memory foam with a metric scale running across the edge. You sit on it, make an impression (hopefully a good one), and read from the indents how far apart your sitbones are. Many women have sitbones about 130mm across (including me). If you then take a measuring tape and look at where your sitbones will be atop a specific saddle, you can tell if it's too narrow or not.
Better to go too wide than too narrow.
Past an appropriate saddle, a good pair of shorts is a must for training. Race day, you can throw on a pair of good shorts on over your swimsuit for the ride, swim in tri shorts and a tri top and do the whole race in those, or just ride and run in your swimsuit.
Hope this helps. Have fun!
-sunny
I agree.
I agree with this one. I don't have bar-ends on my rig currently, but I do have these Ergon grips and I get into a sudo-aero position with them.
