I'm so jealous. I grew up in Co, and my parents live just a few miles from where you work. I don't know much about that area specifically for training, all my experience is in the north end of Denver. You do have Chatfield dam and Cherry Creek reservoir around there, Chatfield is a great place for running, never biked there.

John

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Top notch coaching: Francois and Accelerate3 | Follow on Twitter: LifetimeAthlete |

You are going to be pretty close to the "Gravel Pond" reservoir at Chatfield State Park which is the best open water swimming spot I know of in all of Metro Denver. Many triathletes congregate there during late Spring and Summer.

This is the site where you go to register:

http://www.comsa.org/

I live on the East side of town and don't know what indoor pools are in your area, but there are some folks here, and a ton of folks on the Colorado forum of http://www.beginnertriathlete.com, on the West side.

Lots of great riding around Chatfield - Deer Creek/High Grade is there for good long climbing, as is a bunch of great front range riding. Plus, from that area, you're on a main bike path that can take you across Denver, downtown, and all the way up to Golden (Lookout repeats, anyone?). Living in the area you'lll be in is really pretty good for training. Ditto the Gravel Pond. Green Mountain masters swim is good, too.


As for tri clubs, there is the Rocky Mountain Tri Club http://www.rmtriclub.com , or Bikesource Multisport http://www.denvercoloradomultisport.coach-site.com/page/page/5396304.htm ...both are full of great folks. Not sure I'd clssify one as better than the other, and I know people in both. I'm in a smaller one here in Evergreen that is just starting.

Only other thing is to remember your sunscreen!!!!

Hi Z....just saw you, DG

I grew up right near Wadsworth and Hampden (285).

For a place to swim near where you work, there is a YMCA at Hampden and Sheridan. There is also a public pool a couple of blocks off of Wadsworth near where you will be living, but I can't remember the name.

From where you live, you will be close to some good riding around Chatfield and Deer Canyon. Deer Canyon is a notorious climb in the Denver area and you park right at Wadswoth and Deer Canyon, or you can hop on the C-470 bike trail right near where you will be living and ride there.

Running on the C-470 and Platte River trails is good also.

Beemis, how old are you and are you single? If you're a young single person, you may find the social options in that neck of the woods to be a little limited. I would get closer to downtown if possible.

But it is a good area to ride and run. Ditto on Chatfield and Deer Creek and they just did a nice tri right by there last weekend. From Chatfiled you can also find a lot of flatter long rides if that's what you're looking for. And Mtn. biking (and running) in the Jeffco Open Space Parks is stellar.

I echo what everyone has said so far. The gravel pond is great for open water swimming. The riding opportunities from that side of town are awesome. You can be climbing into the foothills and beyond in minutes. There is also a new triathlon shop called Trifecta Multisport that recently opened not to far from where you'll be near Kipling and 470. I'm sure they can point you to all kinds of options. Deer Creek/Hi Grade is a must ride.

Welcome and enjoy. If you see a guy riding a red Titanflex that's me- say Hi.

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Formerly DrD

Gravel pond open water swimming sounds great and I will check out the tri shop near kipling and 470.

I am 30 and single, but am not all that interested in the "night life".... I much prefer to get outside the main part of the city where I can get to the mountains faster and have some good bike areas without the traffic. My nights out usually end by around 9 or 10pm anyway so I'm sure I don't need to be too close to downtown denver. I think I would be willing to go a little farther for the social options and be a bit outside of the city. I guess we shall see, I can always move later if I want to be closer to downtown, but I loved the area near C-470 and 285 when I was there interviewing and really want to try living in that area. The training in that area sounds great from the responses so far, although I'm not sure how much triathlons I will do this season with the move and new job and all (and my main race for the season is a late october marathon to try and BQ). Anyway thanks for all the helpful responses so far.

I wouldn't worry too much about the night life. If you really want, there is a light rail station not too far from you, and you can get to LoDo pretty quickly.

John

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Top notch coaching: Francois and Accelerate3 | Follow on Twitter: LifetimeAthlete |

Get ready for your 5K and 10K run times to come down...longer distances don't seem to be affected as much since you're not working so hard. Even though you'll be "acclimated" after a while, it's always harder to run hard here. Harder swim efforts will also seem, well, harder, and probably a bit slower. Cycling...no personal observations...never really cycled that much when I lived in Indiana (now in Colorado Springs). I suspect that your FTP as determined on a trainer will be a little lower than if you did it at sea level. Out on the road, I've wondered if the thinner air reduces drag enough to compensate for lower power output...

Welcome to Colorado