Stop Running Long on Sunday.

Stop Running Long on Sunday
by Rich Strauss of Endurance Nation 

Many Ironman athletes, training plans, and coaches schedule the weekly long run on Sunday after a long bike on Saturday. The reason is often given as “you need to practice running on tired legs.”

This is NOT a good idea and here’s why:
A long run on tired legs is just another opportunity to practice running slowly on tired legs vs running more quickly on fresher legs. The best way to become a faster runner is to create opportunities in your training week for you to…run faster, not slog through a run on wooden legs!

The recovery cost of a long run done on Sunday, for example, after a long Saturday bike is much greater than that same run done mid-week. The net is that Monday, often Tuesday, and sometimes Wednesday’s workouts begin to become compromised, especially as that weekend volume gets up to a 4-6hrs long bike on Saturday and 2.5-3hr long run.

Any long run in training will have at least an hour or more where your legs feel Ok. That is, they feel like you’re starting a long run after a long bike the day before. Contrast this to Ironman race day, where you’re coming right off a 112 mi bike after a 2.4mi swim. After you get your legs back a bit, by about mile 6 or 7, your legs will now feel like, at best, about mile 15 of your best long run…then it just gets harder. My point is that your tired legs on Sunday long run isn’t even close to what it’s going to feel like on race day…so why bother?

By separating the long bike from the long run:
The long run can now accommodate some get-faster work.

We can separate the long run from the long bike with a no-legs day on Friday.

We weight the cycling to the weekend. A 3hr semi-long ride on Sunday has a MUCH lower recovery cost than a hard 2.5hr Sunday run = much lower chance that it, and it’s combination with the Saturday ride, will affect your early week workouts the following week.

     Finally, it may create a social opportunity for you on the bike on Sunday — a Sunday ride with friends. Riding with other athletes, especially those stronger than you, is a very, very valuable opportunity that we encourage our athletes to seek out.

EN provides training plans and articles on triathlon and the endurance lifestyle.
Visit EN at Endurance Nation.

Monday Motivation - "No Excuses"

"You are never too old
to set another goal
or dream a new dream!"
Les Brown

At 80, The "Iron Nun", Sister Madonna, prepares for her next Triathlon.

Monday Motivation - What motivates you to train and participate in Triathlon?

   According to a survey by USA Triathlon and TribeGroup, in Triathlete
Magazine "Training" article by Lance Watson and Lucy Smith, the number one reason people participate in triathlon is

    "For the personal challenge".            


  
                  


Other motivational reasons given in the survey included -            

"I am inspired when I see a challenged athlete participating"
"Completing a race is an emotional or spiritual experience"
"I participate in triathlon for the socual reasons"

While triathlon is indeed a physical challenge, the most common reasons a lot of us participate are either emotional, personal, or social.

   Triathlete and multiple Ironman finished Dr. JéAnna Lanza Abbott, writes in an article for
Vibrant Nation her top ten reasons to participate in triathlon.

1. You can eat anything you want.
2. It builds confidence that carries over to other aspects of your life.
3. Camaraderie.
4. It creates positive psychological well-being.
5. It promotes hope.
6. It promotes resilience to adversity- the ability to fail and be okay is powerful.
7. Optimism: You start to view the world in a more positive frame.
8. It keeps you young; physically, mentally, and emotionally.
9. It promotes a healthy lifestyle.
10. It makes you feel good about the way you look.

Comment and share, what motivates you to train and participate in triathlon?

6 Tips for Coaching Youth Triathletes

6 Tips for Coaching Youth Triathletes

By Alan Ley
USA Triathlon

Do you have a youngster interested in pursuing the sport of triathlon? Alan Ley of USA Triathlon Life magazine offers these six tips for coaching youth triathletes. Be sure to check out Active.com’s kids triathlon directory to find a race near you!


1. Seven- to 15-year-olds are not adults. Always put their best interests, healthy, safety and long-term personal development first!

2. Teach technique and neuromuscular pattering before anything else.

   *Use visuals, demonstrations, video or pictures. Young athletes are very visual and need to "see" what you want done first.

   *Keep the technique sessions short.

   *Use slow-motion movements and ask the athletes to "feel" the movement.

   *Have them shut their eyes and visualize the movements.

   *Teach the young athletes one movement at a time and repeat it until they get it right.

3. When teaching any new changes in movement (swimming, cycling or running), break the change into small sections. Make one small change at a time. Youth and adults become overwhelmed with too many changes or corrections are all happening at once.

4. Coach one thing at a time and have them perform it right before moving on to something new.

5. Not always, but many times a movement done silently or as quietly as possible makes for a more efficient movement pattern. Try asking your young athlete to swim silently or run quietly, and you will be amazed at how the athlete can change their movements based on sound. It works!

6. Last and most importantly: give them plenty of rest when teaching technique and new patterns of movement. This is not the time to work on endurance. Teach technique at the beginning of a session. Revisit it in the middle of a workout and reinforce it at the end with slow short repeats with lots of rest between.

    Alan Ley formerly served as the USAT coaching education manager and is now the ITU sport development manager. His passion is developing the sport of triathlon and working with young triathletes around the world.

    This article originally was published in the spring edition of USA Triathlon Life magazine. USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the national governing body for triathlon--the fastest growing sport in the world - as well as duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States.     Visit usatriathlon.org.

Ironman Coeur d’Alene - Americans Sweep !!! Happy Independence Day!

Americans Take Ironman Coeur d’Alene
And Earn First Ironman Titles.
   Americans Andy Potts (8:24:40) and Linsey Corbin (9:12:54)
won 2010 Ironman Coeur d’Alene in Idaho.
Potts led nearly from start to finish to earn a dominating victory, while Corbin battled with American Meredith Kessler all day and came out on top thanks to a strong run.

   The day started off with American John Flanagan, perhaps the only man faster than Potts at the swim, leading the men into T1 in 45:58. Potts exited at 46:28, with the next fastest swimmer not finishing for another six minutes. With Flanagan and Potts starting the bike with such a significant lead over the competition, the chasers were forced to head onto the 112-mile bike course with a strong effort. As Potts surged, Flanagan faded and Potts’ lead only continued to grow.

   While many have questioned if Potts will ever be able to bike with the best in Kona, he made a strong statement by heading into T2 with a large lead and a 4:42:28 bike split. Once on the run, Potts continued to shine, posting a 2:52:47 marathon. He earned his first-ever Ironman victory with a time of 8:24:40. Australia’s Courtney Ogden ran a 2:56:28 marathon to earn second. American Michael Lovato turned in a patient race, working his way from fifth out of the swim to third at the finish line.

   Linsey Corbin celebrated her first Ironman victory with a new course record of 9:12:54




Article excerpts from Daily Triathlon

Summer heat is here... Time for Hydration 101

Hydration 101
  article excerpt by Infinit "The First & and; Last Word in Sports Nutrition"

   Do you know how much you should be drinking to stay hydrated
during training or racing?

   Infinit explains a trend it has seen over the past couple of years, the issue...
"Athletes have no idea exactly how much they should be drinking in order to stay hydrated. It is a HUGE component of how you will perform. If you lose 2-3% of your body weight in water loss you will lose 5-15% of your watts (power output). For an athlete that weighs 150 pounds, only a few pounds that will make the difference between a solid result and potential disaster.

Salt does not prevent dehydration or cramping. That is the stuff of urban legend. Salt is a transporter of fluids. You need salt, but only enough to move water out of your gut into your system. The movement of water is the key to prevent dehydration and possibly cramping issues. If you are not drinking enough, I don’t care how perfect your formulation is, you might be in for a long day. For most males the target should be around 375 mg of sodium per hour and females around 325 mg. It should be a blend of electrolytes containing sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. To reiterate, salt is a transporter. You don’t have to overdue electrolyte intake. You only need enough to move the liquids you are putting into your system.

There are two things that you must have in order to train and race efficiently.

DO A SWEAT RATE TEST! How are you going to know how much you need to be drinking if you don’t have a handle on how much you are sweating? Remember, no product in the world is going to prevent you from dehydrating if you are not drinking enough. Your hydration target will vary somewhat depending on the heat and humidity, but this is a crucial component to race day performance.

• Before your workout empty you bladder, and record your weight
• Record how much you drink during the workout
• After the workout, re-empty your bladder and re-weigh yourself
• Take the weight you lost, ADD the amount you drank, then divide by the number of hours you worked out.

That will give you an hourly hydration target. I would do it a few times to have an average. Your hydration target will need to be adjusted somewhat for heat and humidity. But this is key information for performance.

Calorie and electrolyte intake (in a form that is isotonic). Most athletes perform better by not overdoing calories and salt. Rule of thumb is 2 calories per pound of lean body weight. Obviously some people need more and some people need less. Long distance racers typically need more calories per hour than sprint racers. But these are solid starting points based on working with thousands of athletes.

So there it is. With those these small pieces of information you can have a great race.

• Know how many calories per hour you need
• Know how much you need to be drinking per hour
• Put your nutrition in a form that is isotonic

It does not have to be complicated. Remember simple and repeatable. Follow those simple steps and you will perform the way you want with no nutritional issues."

See this full article and many other great nutrition tips and training articles at Infinit Loop

Rain predicted...make the best of it and train for a rainy (day) race.

The Upside of a Rainy Day
       Jim Rutberg and Chris Carmichael offer some suggestions on how to make rain your ally on race day.
       (Chris Carmichael is founder of Carmichael Training Systems, the Official Coaching Partner of Ironman and Ironman 70.3. Jim Rutberg is a Pro Coach for Carmichael Training Systems, Inc.)

   One of the wonderful parts of triathlon is that races rarely get called for rain. Auto racing and baseball have their rain delays, but a downpour won't stop triathletes from pushing on. Sure, some races get delayed and some have to be cancelled or altered due to lightning, but if you're going to be a triathlete you're eventually going to ride through a soak-you-to-the-bone bike leg. Yet rain doesn't have to be the end of a beautiful day if you know how to ride fast and stay safe on wet roads.

   The Upside of a Rainy Day

   Heat is an endurance athlete’s primary enemy and the harder you work the more heat your body produces. Racing in the middle of a sunny mid-summer’s day just makes it more difficult to keep your core temperature from rising out of control. In these conditions, rain can really help keep you cool. This means it will be easier for you stay on top of your hydration. Better hydration means you’ll stay stronger longer through the bike leg and have more energy left in the tank for the run.

   Of course, the same rain that keeps you from overheating can also cause your body temperature to drop too much, which means hypothermia is not out of the question, even in the summer. Sudden rain storms can drop air temperatures 20 degrees in less than an hour and the rain itself can be quite cold. This is especially true if you’re racing at higher altitudes. If rain is threatening and you’re competing in an Ironman or Ironman 70.3 race, leave T1 with a rain jacket. If the rain is warm and you don’t use it, no harm done. But if the temperature drops significantly and you can’t stay warm through exertion alone, then that jacket may be the only thing standing between you and a DNF.

   Staying Safe

   Staying warm is part of staying safe when you’re riding in the rain. As you get cold you lose focus, or you focus more on being cold than on controlling your bike. Either way, you’re not concentrating on going fast or keeping the rubber side down. But if you can ride safely and manage your core temperature, you can have a great race in the rain. Here’s what you really need to remember about staying upright on wet roads:

   Avoid road paint, grates, and manhole covers: Wet steel and paint are among the slipperiest materials you’re going to encounter on the roads. Ironically, a lot of athletes will ride on top of white lane lines because they’re sometimes smoother than the road surface, but they’re really slick when you make a turn. Also, watch out for painted crosswalks, directional arrows in intersections and railroad crossings.

   Brake early and in a straight line: Some brake/wheel combinations work better in the rain than others, but none work as well as when they’re dry. It will take you longer than usual to slow down and you want the vast majority of your braking done before initiating a turn, so really think ahead. Pulling hard on your brakes in the middle of a wet corner is likely to be the start of a wild ride.

   Test your equipment in training: This tip comes directly from the preceding one, but you’d be surprised by the number of athletes who don’t take their race-only gear out for a rainy-day test ride. Do yourself a favor and get out there with the carbon wheels and your full race setup and make sure you know how your bike’s going to handle in wet weather. If you have to find out your brake pads are next-to-useless in the rain, better to realize it on a training ride.

   Test your apparel in training: Cycling and running in the rain can make for challenging apparel choices, too. Test your eyewear to see if the lens shape provides protection from spray when you’re in an aero position. It’s also a good idea to test your running apparel in the rain because wet clothing is more likely to cause chafing, which is something you want to know about ahead of time so you can apply a skin protectant like Aquaphor during T2.

   Keep the bike more upright through corners: All right, so you have the right brake pads, controlled your speed and avoided the painted crosswalk; now you just have to turn. Since your tires have less traction on wet pavement, you can’t lean your bike into corners the way you can when it’s dry. Instead, keep the bike more upright, focus your eyes on where you want to exit the turn, put your outside pedal down and plant your weight on it. Maintain light, and steady, pressure on both brakes if you need to and be patient. A lot of crashes occur when a person gets overzealous about accelerating out of a corner. They shift their weight and jump on the pedals too early, just after the apex of the turn, which is enough to break what little traction they had. Get through the corner and then start accelerating. It may seem to take forever, but it’s only a few seconds and it’s a lot faster than picking yourself up off the ground.

   A lot of athletes associate rain with misery and automatically assume their performance is going to suffer when the skies open up. In truth, as long as you can manage your core temperature, you can perform just as well – and in some cases better – in the rain. Learn to be comfortable and confident riding in wet conditions and the only thing your competitors will see is the spray coming off your rear wheel.

This article and other training tips featured at Ironman

Triathlon Cycling - four key areas to emphasize

Triathlon Cycling - Getting fit for the bike leg
of a triathlon requires four key basic areas.
article by six-time Ironman Triathon World Champion Mark Allen

   Cycling for triathlons requires some basic core elements. These are aerobic fitness, position, cadence and strength. Beyond that there are some additional topics like refueling, mindset and overall pacing strategies, but lets take a look at those first four to get your cycling built on solid ground.

AEROBIC FITNESS

   This is the bottom ground level base of the base of the cycling performance pyramid. Cycling fitness for triathlons requires key weekly workouts. The first is your long endurance ride with a length that is appropriate for your goal race distance. For sprint races this should be up to about 1.5 hours in length, for Olympic distance up to about 3 hours, for a half Ironman up to about 4.5 hours and for a full Ironman as much as 6-7 hours. This workout not only builds your cycling fitness but is part of the overdistance work that will enable you to have the endurance you need for your race overall.

   Next is your tempo or speed session. This is a higher paced effort that is still aerobic during your base phase and then becomes much more intense as it turns into speedwork later. This can be supplemented with some race efforts on the bike either in the form of time trials, fast group rides or hard individual efforts. These will be weekly in your speed phase but should be limited to only once every 3-6 weeks during your base.

POSITION

   Even when you are in your base phase, working on getting comfortable and powerful in the aero position will pay off later in your races. The more time you are in that position, the more efficient you become in it. But being comfortable is only partially a function of time spent in it. What will be most important is your actual setup on the bike. And the measure that usually makes a person comfortable or not is the amount of stretch they need to do to reach their elbow pads. The correct position is one that when you are down in it you will find that your upper arm is at the same or steeper angle than the angle of your fork. If your upper arm is more relax or at a more horizontal angle than your fork, then you are too stretched out and will find it tough to stay in the aero position. Make adjustments necessary to bring the arms in closer to the knees if this describes your current position. 

CADENCE

   The correct cadence rate that is most efficient is going to vary slightly person to person. It will also vary for the same person depending on the race they are targeting. In general, 90-95 rpms is a good starting point for finding that ideal cadence. For those who are large with big muscles they may be most efficient on the lower end of this range, while those with smaller muscles or large cardiovascular capacities will benefit from being in the higher part. Then from race to race, the longer the race the lower the ideal cadence is going to be simply because you are moving away from your peak power output. So for a sprint ideal might be 95-100rpm, and Olympic 90-95rpm, for a half Ironman 85-90rpm and for a full Ironman 80-85rpm. But again this is going to be individual.

STRENGTH

   The ability to push on the pedals over and over is something that gets developed through riding and through lifting weights. A good strength program for working all of the leg muscles will help with building power output on the bike. Also there are drills that will help you out with this. One is to do some drills on a stationary trainer where you ride with only one leg at a time. This develops the spin neuromuscular patterns. Do these again in the aero position as much as possible.
  

DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) - Victors' shared words

   Sore a day or two after training or a race? Victor and personal trainer Thad the "RunnerDude" from NC says, don't blame Lactate.

So why do you get it?

"DOMS—Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness...we've all had it and we all hate it, but it's a necessary evil in your pursuit for a fitter stronger body. Whether you're a swimmer, a runner, a cyclist, a gym rat, or a combination of them all, you've experienced DOMS. You don't have to be a newbie to fitness to experience DOMS. Anytime you expose your body to new or more intense demands you're more than likely going to experience muscle soreness a day or two after the workout.

   Lactate (a by-product of intense exercise) is often blamed for the muscle soreness, but lactate is not the culprit. Lactate actually isn't the bad guy it's often portrayed to be. A trained athlete can actually use lactate as an energy source. When an athlete pushes him/herself past his/her lactate threshold (such as in an interval workout), the body can no longer clear the lactate fast enough so it builds up and can cause that burning sensation in the muscles eventually fatiguing the muscles causing you to slow down. But if you've ever experienced that burn in an interval workout, you also know that if you slow it back down or stop and walk it off, that burn will eventually subside because the body pretty quickly is able to recoup and clear the excess lactate (usually within 30 minutes). DOMS, however, doesn't happen until the next day or sometimes not even until 2 or 3 days later. So, Lactate, you're off the hook.

   If it's not lactate buildup, then what's the cause of DOMS? If you're a runner, you can probably pin point two types of workouts that might result in DOMS—short fast workouts such as intervals or hillwork and very long slow runs. Downhill running seems to cause the most intense DOMS. Whenever you up-the-ante with duration or intensity, you're putting your muscles under more stress. You're actually causing microscopic damage to the tiny myofibrils that make up the muscle fibers. Don't worry. I know that sounds bad, but it's not. This is actually how muscle becomes stronger. The pain you're feeling the next day or so, is the result of that microscopic muscle damage. But during this time the body sends in the troops and begins to repair the damage. It's this repair process that actually makes the muscle stronger. Because the muscle will be stronger, the next time you apply the same stress that caused the initial DOMS, your muscles will be able to handle the workout and most likely you'll not experience DOMS. That's called adaptation. Your body has now adapted to the intensity level.

   Because your body is an expert at adaptation, it's very important to always mix up your running routine. Have you ever heard someone say, "I run every day, but I can't seem to get any faster. I'm even gaining a little weight." If you dig a littler deeper into this person's running regimen, you'll probably discover that he may have the mileage, but he's running the same distance and the same intensity every time he runs. His body has adapted to this and so he's stagnated. In order to get out of this slump, he needs to mix-it-up by throwing in a tempo run, add some fartleks to a regular run, or add a day of speed work each week such as intervals or hill repeats."

   Now these folkss have some serious DOMS! 
Watch and chuckle, we've all been there...(watch till end, too funny!)

Monday Motivation - GOTRIbal "empowering women through the journey of endurance sports"

Beginner or World Ironman Champion, everyone's journey starts with taking that first single step.

"GOTRIbal empowers, engages and excites women through the journey of endurance sports"

Chrissie Wellington - World Ironman Champion 2007, 2008, 2009, Times Sportswoman of the Year, and irondistance world record holder





   "I am so proud and excited to be involved in the development of GOTRIbal.
Four years ago I was asked whether I would ever do an Ironman. My response? ‘No way, you must be completely mad to do something like that!’ Imagine if I had never gone back on my word, if I hadn’t changed
‘I can’t’ to ‘I can’, if hadn’t dared to push myself harder, and most importantly what if I hadn’t had people to support, encourage, mentor and most of all make me believe in ME?

   I never ever thought I would be able to run a half marathon, and once I finished my first in 2002 I realised it wasn’t such a big hurdle after all. I never thought I could kayak over 40miles, but again, once I had done it, the insurmountable dream became a reality. And I never ever thought I would be crowned World Ironman Champion, but in 2007 and 2008, I achieved more than I ever thought possible.

   We all have our own personal barriers, be they mental or physical. We are all nervous about trying new things and giving ourselves bigger mountains to climb. We all worry about the ‘what if’s’ and, of course, we are all scared about being seen in public wearing lycra…

   But in reality there are no limits to what you can achieve, in sport and outside. Only the limits you place on yourself. So whether it is a walk, a 5km run or an Ironman, if you have faith in yourself and a support network around you, those colossal mountains can truly feel like mole hills once you have scaled them.

   But we cannot do it alone. And that is why I am so proud and excited to be involved in the development of GOTribal – a global movement which aims to encourage and help people around the world, particularly women, raise their own bar that little bit higher - providing them with a cocoon of support in which they can grow, flourish and become the athletes that they never thought they could be. And like a snowball the ‘pay it forward’ support process will roll around the world, growing and building as it gathers energy and momentum: building bridges, breaking down barriers, inspiring confidence, encouraging participation and enabling people to realise their dreams. No matter who they are.
GOTRIbal will help you change ‘I can’t’ to ‘I can’ – good luck!"

                                                                   Chrissie Wellington

Thanks out to Brenda Cochran
for sharing her journey with IronMakeover
and paying the gift forward!

Planning your season? Now an easy way to find a race that fits your schedule.

New USA Triathlon Event Calendar allows you to find multisport events to fit your season's schedule.
Online calendar allows you to search for events by name, date, distance, discipline, location, and even register for your events.

Planning your upcoming season just got easier!   





Visit USA TRIATHLON for much more.

Should I be using a Coach... Do I really need one?

Attending a recent Northeast Multisport Expo ViF noticed one of the largest exhibitor categories was that of coaching and coaching related services.
One might think, "Wow, so many coaches and coaching programs or methods!
Can't an athlete just train on their own, do they really need a coach to tell them what and when to do things?"

The answer is Yes and No, as always, it depends.

ViF - Victory is Finishing is about finishing...but you define "Finishing".

Are you at the stage of your journey where "Finishing" to you is now more than reaching and crossing the finish line?
Has "Finishing" become defined more by how quickly you reach that finish line? Do you have a certain finish time or goal you want to achieve this season?

Could a tri or running club, strong training partner, or a coach help you reach your goals?

Kerry Sullivan of  Rock Star Triathlete Academy
might help you answer that question with his recent article -

What's the Point of a Coach?    

"I truly love coaching, and I believe it is important for everyone, even coaches, to work with a coach. I believe in this so strongly that I work with two coaches: one for swimming, and one for overall triathlon training. Yes, I am a certified coach and experienced athlete in all types of endurance sports, and yet I still utilize coaches.

Why?

1. Often, people can become so focused on moving in a particular direction that they do not even realize that they are headed the wrong way. Needless to say, I have done this and, as a result, I have run myself into the ground, even though I knew better. A coach can stand back, look at things from a fresh perspective, and help the athlete to realize that a different direction is needed. This is the same reason why many corporations hire consultants -- to help them run their companies better.

2. I love to read about top performers in all different areas, from business to sports. Most top performers employ coaches and or mentors, even though they already have a great deal of knowledge. Tiger Woods, for example, is very knowledgeable on golf, yet he still has many people around him who assist him with all areas of his game.

3. I once read that the two things that will have the most impact on a person's life are the books a person reads and the people with whom he or she chooses to associate with. If a person wishes to develop more strength in a particular area, it is a good idea to surround oneself with knowledgeable and experienced people. That is why many top athletes have coaches, nutritionists, strength and conditioning coaches, and strong training partners.

Top Ten Triathlon Tips for Women

You don’t “need” women-specific training tips!

EN - Endurance Nation shares these training tips for Women (or anyone).
Almost 40% of Team EN membership are women.

 1. Nutrition is key. Plan, pack and prepare your foods in advance.
On your grocery days, set aside some time to wash, chop and bag fruits, veggies and prepare basic meals for the week. Chopped up veggies can become salad fixings, a healthy on the go snack or be incorporated with meat for a quick healthy meal. Marinate, grill and keep chicken ready to add to salad or pair with veggies or pasta for a quick fix dinner.

2. Retire your cape.
Outsource daily tasks such as cleaning, meal preparation or laundry when you encounter those high volume training weeks. No price can be put on your peace of mind. The only person who thinks YOU have to do it all is…you.

3. Get your zzzz’s.
Important repair work goes on at the cellular level which only happens during REM sleep. Don’t underestimate the role that adequate rest plays in your success in training. Naps are good!

4. Recovery weeks and easy workout days are there for a purpose.
Too often we “A” types can tend to go too hard, too long, too often, much to the detriment of our overall training. Give your body the rest it requires to perform. The upside is that you’ll be better off at all aspects of your life.

5. Create your own race team.
It takes a nation to get you to race day. Family, friends, training partners, coaches and health care professionals all play valuable roles in delivering you to the starting line healthy, happy and ready. Be sure to recognize and thank those who support and sacrifice for you throughout the season.

Triathlon (Ironman) - Thank you Spectators and Volunteers!

    Think of your favorite triathlon events or memories. More than likely they will somehow involve other people, family, friends, the cheering crowds, the super volunteers. You get to relive your favorite memories because of the pictures and videos someone else patiently waited to capture for you. You were able to finish that Ironman because of the many volunteers that also endured a day-long endurance event.
    Triathlon and multisport events would not be without the support of others. Without the support of family, friends, and volunteers all you have is another day of training!
    When scheduling your training this season, be sure to schedule time to thank all those whose support you'll need along the way and on that special event day! 

    Watching a triathlon can in itself be an endurance event as shared by Victor Robin's IronMom.

    Thank you Patricia for sharing. Enjoy and be thankful for spectators!

   
Simply Watching an Ironman is an Endurance Event
By Patricia Curren

It's hard being the mother of an Ironman. Oh sure, I know the participants of an Ironman have to endure a certain amount of discomfort as they swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles, all with set time constraints, but just once I'd like a show of empathy for the spectators, especially the moms. Let me fill you in on the difficulties I suffered at my daughter, Robin's, first Ironman in Penticton, British Columbia.

The day of the race I was up at 4:00 a.m. in order to be showered, dressed, made up, and coifed for the family photo shoot before the 7:00 a.m. splash off. Watching Robin fight back tears of anxiety and anticipation did little to quell my fear of her being knocked unconscious in a mass of writhing arms and legs as over two thousand swimmers plowed into the water at once. I so wanted to ask if anyone had ever drowned at an Ironman, but instead, I forced my quivering lips to smile for the camera. I couldn't help thinking this was as much fun as bathing my cat without benefit of body armor.

At the starting gun, we watched the swimmers, donned in black wet suits, and pink or blue swim caps, depending on gender, race down the beach and into the lake. "There she is!" Jeff, my son-in-law cried. "No, there she is!" shouted Robin's dad. How could they possibly tell? It was like looking at an anthill, picking out one ant, and saying "There's Cousin Betty!" After straining my eyes at the pummeling arms thrashing frantically about for a few moments, I decided instead to focus on the lifeboats stationed over the course, and pray the lifeguards hadn't been partying the night before.

Long Course Triathlon Training - for a "Real Person" in the "Real World"

Victors' Rich Strauss and Patrick McCrann share Long-Course Triathlon Training for the "Age Grouper" and "Real Life"
(A three part series worth the read!)

5 Keys to Long-Course Triathlon Training: Part I - The focus you put on your training will determine how prepared you are at the start line.

By Rich Strauss and Patrick McCrann of Endurance Nation

We'd like to share with you our distilled summary of what long-course triathlon training is all about, learned from our nearly 20 years of long-course training, coaching and racing experience. Our goal is to bring you years and years up the learning curve, saving you tons of time and experimentation. In short, we've made all of the mistakes so you don't have to.

In Part I we'll discuss keys one through four. In Part II we'll discuss the fifth key. Finally, in Part III we'll contrast our approach with the conventional long-course training wisdom.

The Five Keys are entirely a function of the need to both maximize and reserve your training time investment for as long as possible to meet real world constraints.

Everything we do—the workouts, the structure, everything—flows backwards from the fact that you are an age-group athlete living in the real world. Period. We feel very strongly that any discussion on how to train that does not begin, in the first sentence, with defining how much time you have to train, is largely invalid.

In other words, we can't talk about what goes in your training box without first talking about how big your box is.

Life - not a spreadsheet, not a coach, not a book—dictates the size of that box. This is an absolute, do-not-pass-go thing you gotta get through your head. This is all just a game and it must fit within your life.

Endurance Nation's -

Five Keys of Long-Course Training

1. Real-World Volume

2. Maximize Return on Time Invested

3. Fitness = Ability to Perform More Work

4. Intensity = Most Flexible Tool to Manipulate Training Load

5. The Best Predictor of Performance is Pace/Watts at Functional/Lactate Threshold

Breathing in Freestyle: How To Stop Choking On Water

Breathing in Freestyle: How To Stop Choking On Water
by Brenton Ford - Effortless swimming from The Land Down Under

Swimming can be a difficult sport to learn if you’ve never been taught the very basics. One of the biggest issues most beginners face is breathing in the freestyle stroke. Even for veterans of the sport, breathing can be a nightmare if you don’t know the correct technique and method for easy and effortless breathing in freestyle.

The prospect of swallowing water can stop people from learning swimming as it can all seem too difficult after they’ve given it a shot three or four times. If you are having breathing problems in your swimming, don’t despair. There is an easy solution which can be implemented right away. Here I will outline the three keys to overcoming breathing problems in swimming.

1. Breathing out -
The most important aspect of breathing technique is the breath out. The reason most swimmers choke on water is because they blow out all of their air too early or too late. The swimmer should breath to the side of the recovery arm (the arm which is out of the water) and take a big breath of air. As the head enters the water, begin blowing a small amount of air out of both the nose and the mouth. Continue doing this until just before you take your next breath. As you go to breath again let all your air out quickly through your nose and mouth just before you take that next breath. Remember that last sentence and your breathing problems should be fixed.

2. Rotation -
To breath effectively it’s necessary to breath to the side. The easiest way to do this is to rotate the shoulders throughout the freestyle stroke. This makes it easier to get the mouth out of the water so not as much head rotation is required. Use your body roll and momentum to help rotate your head when breathing.

3. Stay relaxed -
A secret to effortless swimming, not just effortless breathing, is to stay relaxed. Too often swimmers will tense up, hyperventilate and force themselves through the water. This isn’t how to swim fast. You must stay relaxed, keep calm and allow yourself to glide through the water. During your breathing, keep calm and allow yourself to breath normally without forcing air in and out.

There you have it, three important tips which will help you breath easier in freestyle. Remember to let all of your air out quickly through your nose and mouth just before you take a breath. Use your body roll and momentum to help rotate your head when breathing, and stay relaxed and breath normally though out the stroke.

Improve Swim, Bike, Run, Endurance - Victors' shared words

How to Create Your Own Interval Workouts

by Jessi Stensland - professional triathlete, movement specialist and
creator of MovementU

Having a specific purpose to each of your workouts is key. Interval training is a great way to help you achieve specific improvements as you work to reach your true potential.

Here is a great example of an interval progression with a basic premise that can be applied to any endurance sports, whether it be swimming, biking or running. It has two goals that are key to increasing your capacity to do work when you train and race:

1. Increase anaerobic threshold

2. Increase leg speed

By improving both your anaerobic threshold and your leg speed, you will increase your endurance for longer distances. The workout involves short, intense intervals followed by a period of rest, and takes into account this work-to-rest ratio.

With increased fitness over time, the intense intervals will get longer and the rest needed will get shorter.

    Choosing your speed — You'll want the intense intervals to challenge you beyond your current anaerobic   threshold, taking you very close to your maximum effort for each interval.

    Choosing your rest — You'll want to take enough rest to be able to continue to perform the hard intervals well throughout the set.

The Workout

After a dynamic warm-up and about five minutes easy of whatever sport you're doing, begin the workout with a one-to-one work-to-rest ratio.

How to Achieve Better Results with Spinning

How to Achieve Better Results with Spinning

by Jesper Bondo Medhus


Spinning is extremely popular and it’s a great way to train your endurance in the winter season. Here are some simple tips that will increase your gains from spinning:

1. Warm up before spinning
   Spinning lessons have a normal length of around 50 minutes. For trained cyclists this is a very short amount of time, when this time includes both warm up, intervals and cool down.
   Remember that most spinning lessons are made for people who are not very familiar with cycling training. Therefore, I suggest you do a warm up before you enter the spinning room in order to get more training time.

2. Drink water with electrolytes and carbohydrates
   Spinning rooms have a very high temperature and high humidity. Therefore, it is quite normal to sweat much more than you are used to.
   Some people believe that they sweat more at spinning lessons because they work harder. That is not true.
They sweat more because of the climate, not because they work harder than normally. I will recommend you to drink water with electrolytes and carbohydrates to maintain a high level of performance during the whole session.

3. Choose intervals carefully
   Spinning instructors plan their lesson to be interesting and challenging for a wide range of riders. Most of them train spinning only 2 to 3 times week, so they can use all their effort in this short period.
   If you do not like the program made of the instructor, consider to use your own program or one of the indoor cycling programs here on Training4cyclists.com It is possible to ride one of these programs without telling the instructor. Just remember to stand up and sit down when the instructor tells you to (and ignore his commands about pacing strategy).

4. Remember rest days
   You can’t do intervals every single day. Some days should be easy days. If you go for a ride in the spinning class on one of these days, please remember your goal with the training.

Should I wear a wetsuit for a sprint Triathlon? - Victors' shared (humorous) words.

I Tested Positive for Neoprene But My Wetsuit Doesn't Think I Suck  
by Ismael Rodriguez


This story originally appeared in Mindset Triathlon's Triathlon's Toughest Sport: True Stories Told by Triathletes Making Their Case for the Swim, the Bike or the Run.

Victors' Shared Words -

I'm a new 'swimmer'. I state that as such because what I do in the pool hardly constitutes swimming. I decided to enter into the wonderful world of triathlon last year when I signed up for the Nautica New York City Triathlon. I felt there was plenty of time to learn how to swim in time for the July 2008 event. All I had to do was temper my fear of the deep water, learn the front crawl, and be competent enough to eventually look like the 'other' competitors, you know blend right in like I'd been doing this for a long time.

Well, November rolled by, so did December and so on... then I woke up one day in April and realized, "holy crap, you gotta learn how to swim, dude."

I eventually signed up for an adult swim class and was immediately struck with a sense of dread - "I can't do this." My fears were confirmed after the second class when I came to the stark realization that I suck at this. I was classified as a 'sinker' - my legs were about as buoyant as a sack of potatoes - the industrial sized pack. Undaunted, I soldiered on and with each class I got, well, worse. I decided to cycle to the pool weekday mornings before work. A 5:00 a.m. start, get to the pool at 5:30 a.m. Empty lane lines and a chance to strut my stuff without the embarrassment of the noisy splashes to disrupt the other real swimmers.

Then it happened: I completed a full lap. 25 meters without stopping.

One problem however: it was a week before the Nautica New York City Triathlon. But after that triumph of the lap I declared myself ready. So here was the deal: I'd done one full lap on my own and I felt I was ready to take on the mighty Hudson River and 1,500 meters!!! Note to self, there's a Visa commercial here:

Swim skills: 0.
Open water experience: 0.
Stupidity: Priceless.
Yes, stupidity, that one intangible that sets me apart from your average, run-of-the-mill triathlete - if there exists such a person. Now I was not completely incompetent. I had an ace in the hole. I'd done some homework on wetsuits. I'd read everything I could and asked a few experienced athletes the same question: "How buoyant is a wetsuit?"

New USA Triathlon logo - New England Patriots

      Guess if you live in New England and do triathlons, you love it!

   Go Patriots!

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