Articles

July 25 -- Recent article / interview on Chrissie after her world-record breaking IM at Roth Challenge: (GOTRIbal gets a little shout out!)

http://www.xtri.com/features_display.aspx?riIDReport=5801&CAT=21&xref=xx

Sept 1, 2009
Swim/wetsuit/open water tips

You made it through all those early morning and late evening training sessions. You sacrificed your chips and chocolate for sports drinks, gels and energy bars. Now the big day is upon you, and the water is cold and it is has been declared a wetsuit swim. This is a good thing if your swimming is on the slower side, as the buoyancy of a wetsuit can actually help you go faster as well as keeping you warm. But there are a few things you should know.

Put on your suit with care as those beautifully manicured nails can easily puncture the neoprene. Second, try to practice in the pool/lake/ocean prior to race day and focus on taking your suit off quickly. The best way to do this is put some baby oil around your wrists and ankles before you put your suit on. Then once unzipped, take your arms out and pull it as far down your legs as possible. Stand on the suit and proceed to take one leg out at a time.

Now to the actual swim leg. Wetsuit or not, you need to navigate the swim. Sometimes you can follow the feet in front of you, but there is no guarantee they know where they are going. So prior to the start, find landmarks that may make it easier to spot the turn buoy and/or swim finish. While swimming, count and on the 15th stroke, poke your head up and try to sight the turn buoy and/or landmarks you picked out. Finally, there is no need to be a rock star when the gun goes off. If you know you are a weaker swimmer, hold back a little and let the masses go first. This way you will not have anyone swimming over the top of you.

Remember, enjoy, smile and relax. It's supposed to be fun, too!

Next article in the series coming on Oct 1!

July 25, 2009

Next in our series, by Leanda Cave Pro Triathlete (www.leandacave.com), on:

Race Morning and Transition Area

Make sure you get up early enough. You need time to get in a good breakfast and do all the other things with a clear head. I tend to get up 3 hours before race start, and sometimes earlier depending on how long I have to travel to the race venue. In the first hour I have my breakfast. I find for a short race, a bowl of oatmeal is plenty. For a middle/long distance race, I would add a couple of pieces of toast and sometimes a small bar close to race start time.

After breakfast, I have a good cup of coffee. Sometimes in hotels this is not possible, so I take a Red Bull or similar closer to the race start. Then I go over my list of race things I need to take. This list should be made a week prior to the race in case you need to buy anything, and I use the same list in transition area to lay out things in the order I need them. My list is also made in the order I will use things.

It is always important to have gels ready in your transition area as well as a few stuck on your bike (or in a bento box). You may not feel hungry during the race, but these will save you from losing your energy. If you are not sure if your run shoes give you blisters, wear socks. Put vasaline around your neck before you put your suit on to stop chafing. If it is cold, wear over-bike-shoe toe warmers and maybe consider a long sleeved top.

That's the quick and dirty for today! Good luck and next time, we'll talk about the swim/wetsuit and open water tips!

June 25, 2009

So, you're thinking of racing are ya?

Leanda Cave, Pro Triathlete, www.leandacave.com

To start with, my biggest pre-race advice would be.........DO THE TRAINING! Triathlon is a great sport and should be enjoyed. However, if you don't train enough for a race, it can be a very unpleasant experience. To get an idea of the correct amount of training, you should consult a coach (Torsten Abel from www.triumphmulitsport for example) who may charge a fee, but it will pay dividends in the long run. An example for a beginner doing a sprint distance would be about 8 hours a week for a minimus of 6 weeks, consisting of 2hours of swimming, 3-4hours of cycling and 2 to 3 hours of running.

Secondly, in the weeks leading up to the race, there is a heightened sense of anticipation. This may lead to doing silly workouts that ultimately leave you flat and wiped out on race day. For example, like doing hill repeats on the bike or run, swimming a 90minute set with hard intervals. Be sure to rest up in the week prior to racing doing only half of a normal weeks training. Get a massage 2 days out if you can and do some short fast efforts within your pre-race swim, bike, and run sessions to wake up the muscles.

With respect to nutrition, traditionally we are told to carbo load before a race. However, this will happen naturally if you reduce your training volume and eat as you normally do. If you train well on your normal diet, why change it prior to a race? Ideally a good athlete diet has about 60% carbs (complex and wholegrain), 30% protein (including protein shakes like Endurox R4), and 10% fat/oil (not saturated or animal fats). Keep intake of sugars to a minimum, eat fresh as possible (fruit/veg/meat/fish), and snack on foods and drinks that suppress hunger, like Forze Bars/Drinks.

Finally, get on top of your equipment. Clean your bike, lube the chain, go over your tires and pick out debris/glass if necessary, and check that the gears functions well. You might want to use your local bike shop if mechanical things are not your forte.

In the next series, titled 'Getting Ready to Race', I will cover race nutrition, do's and dont's in transition, and give you a list of must haves for the race itself.

If you're interested in submitting an article, too, here are a few ideas:

- videos: 2.5 minutes

- articles: Max 600 words

Images - well, we love 'em of course!

Onward and upward!

Tanya San Diego TRIbe