Ironman Championship, Pain and finishing

image ironman 2007 world campionship
We have seen the footage, watched the race, heard the stories and maybe one day will experience the thrill, disappointment, satisfaction of this race that captures the curiosity of all triathletes. This year seems to be the year that will put the Ironman into Tour De France status, in turms of media coverage. You could watch the whole event on Ironman.com's website, next year this will or should be covered live by Versus. An article (blog) that was published by Chris Lieto sums up the race, first hand.
Check it out! Trifuel 's Ironman World Championships Race Report

Neglected and Over Used!

image from eothopod
One of the most overused muscle and seldom worked out is the rotator cuff. We spend countless time in front of our computers, in our cars, swimming and biking and this causes our shoulders to be internally rotated and protracted for long periods of time. Which leads to weakness!

This is the off season lets get to work on making the core and muscle that are overused and neglected stronger.

Scapular Push-up: This strengthens your scapular muscles, rhomboids, and middle trapezius.

1. Put your hands directly under your shoulders on a Swiss ball.
2. With arms slightly bent, pinch your shoulder blades together for 2 seconds, then push them apart and pause. Do 12 to 15 reps

Behind the Neck Band Pull: Lower traps for adequate scapular upward rotation and shoulder health.

1. Arms shoulder width apart, grasp the resistance band with your at shoulder width apart and palms facing forward.
   
2. Pull the bands apart, by pulling the shoulder blades back and down and flexing the elbows.
   

To learn more goto Triathlete magazine, or subscribe.

2007 Ford Ironman World Championship

KONA, KONA, KONA, is upon us! If you can watch the race, it is going to be one of the best based on all the trash talking going one. Here are some of the stats:
The field racing here in Kona on Saturday will include just over 1,800 athletes.

Of that group, 73 per cent are men.

There are 90 male pros and 52 women professionals.

The largest category is the men 35-39 with 259 athletes, but the men's 40-44 is only nine behind on that front.

The largest women's categories are the 30-34 and 40-44, each with 75 participants.

51 countries are represented here, making this truly a world championship

There are 49 states represented.

One way to celebrate your birthday would be doing an Ironman, which is exactly what Patrick Bless, Marty Bulcock, Erik Grimm, Michelle Krelle, Hiroyuki Nishiuchi and Lynette Warn are doing.

The youngest competitors on Saturday include Phan Long from Carmel, Indiana and Tatiana Vertiz from Dallas, Texas.

Frank Farrar, the former governor of South Dakota, is our oldest competitor at 78. He's a few months older than our other 78-year-old, California's Loren Leonard.

Sister Madonna Buder, 77, from Spokane, Washington, is our oldest female competitor.

Watch this video from last years champion Normann Stadler.

The one competitor that is sure to excite is the defending Ford Ironman 70.3 World Champion, Samantha McGlone, is here to compete in her first Ironman. She’s prepared carefully and arrives here in Kona both fresh and with lots of bottom-end speed thanks to a career that included both the Olympics and lots of World Cup experience. She has breathed some life back into the smaller events and has shown that you don't need to do Kona to be successful. Samantha is the best at the 70.3 distance.

and

Craig Alexander
who is a world class professional triathlete with nearly a decade of racing experience. Craig, known as Crowie, is based in Boulder Colorado in the USA for the spring and summer, then heads home to Cronulla for the Australian summer. He too is also the male Ford Ironman 70.3 World Champion 2006.

This is crucial to your training.
Kona

Cyclocross coming to Mercer County Park, NJ

Mercer Cup, presented by Toyota
, is coming to NJ. Wow Mercer County park has changed so much in the last 10 years, you now have the New Jersey State Triathlon being held here and the USRowing National Championship Regatta, what a great thing to see.
So what is this:

• "Cyclocross has been described in many ways, some of the more common phrases are...
• “the toughest hour in cycling”
• “the NASCAR of bike racing"
• “requires the finesse of a ballet dancer, the speed of a motorcycler and the grit of a hockey player”

Cyclocross is a fall/winter, on-road/off-road cycling discipline held on a looped circuit of approximately 1-2 miles.

Cyclocross racers navigate mud, sand, pavement, grass, gravel, pasture, and mulch. When the terrain is too steep to ride or they are confronted by a standard set of wooden barriers, riders dismount, shoulder their bikes and run. Regulations suggest a lap be comprised of 90% riding and 10% running.

Each race is a timed event lasting anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour depending on the racer's category. The race leader at the completion of the last lap is declared the winner. The sport originated in Europe after the second World War where road cyclists began riding in pastures and muddy fields to maintain their fitness. The first World Championship was held in Paris in 1950.

A cyclocross bike splits the difference between a road bike and a mountain bike, equipped with knobby skinny tires, drop handlebars and a lightweight frame.

Cyclocross enjoys a colossal following in continental Europe and is currently the fastest growing cycling discipline in the United States. The UCI has targeted the US as a key market for the expansion and continued growth of the sport.

In 2007 US athletes made history - winning 3 Silver Medals at the World Championships for the first time since the US began competing on the international stage.

Cyclocross is a great sport for viewing by spectators as the racers complete laps every 6-7 minutes, so there is always plenty of action happening right before your eyes. Clanging cowbells are a staple accessory used in cheering on the competitors at most every cyclocross event."

This is a great way to change it up and enjoy another way to train in the off season. If not just come out and support the riders. Cyclocross, Mercer County Park

Nike Amp+ and Nano maybe the iPhone

Well this is pretty cool looking, Nike could have made a bit more fashionable watch but at least the made the watch. The Nike Amp+ Sport Remote Control is a watch and a remote for the Nike+ experience. Hear instant voice feedback of your time, distance, calories and pace when you add the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit and Nike+ Ready shoes or the Shoe Pouch.
Now I am not a fan of the crazy new look but for the individuals that are wearing this at the gym or to do their daily run, Nike has hit the spot. Not being able to use a iPod or MP3 player while in a race, training with one becomes a crutch.
They built the controls right into the front of the watch along with a speaker so if you don't have the headphones you can still hear your results, smart since you don't want your headphones in while running on a crowded street or at night.
Nike and Apple are pushing technology further than most and other companies are just following at this point. The Polar is still the leader in high fitness, but with the middle market still needing a cool watch Nike + Apple are it. If they wanted to take this to the next level (which I am sure they have thought of) is the iPhone, let me have one device to do it all.
Check it out.
Nike Amp+

300 workout, improve your strength

The 300 workout seems to be one of the best overall body workouts. Keeping your core fit is important and better than just doing a boring gym routine. Developing real strength that can be used outside of the gym and to tackle "real" world task is important. From chopping wood to doing a Triathlon, ones body must be prepared to fit off injury. This is not for the weak, so most triathletes should not have a problem, and since this is the off season it is the best time to redefine your core body.

The 300 Workout
The workout gets its name from the total number of repetitions.

25 pull-ups
50 deadlifts at 135 pounds
50 push-ups
50 box jumps with a 24-inch box
50 "floor wipers" (a core and shoulders exercise at 135 pounds)
50 "clean and press" at 36 pounds (a weight-lifting exercise)
25 more pull-ups -- for a total of 300 reps
There's no rest between movements

Beginners, start slow and work up to the 300.
Fortunately, this can all easily be adapted. Appropriate exercises can be subbed in: Drop down to 150 total reps, or 4-6 exercises of 15-25 reps each. For example, you might try this workout, great for a guy with moderate fitness:

15 bodyweight rows
25 bodyweight squats
15 pushups
50 jumping jacks
20 mountain climbers
10 close grip pushups
15 bodyweight rows

Now build the strength to carry you through next season.

Bike Crashes, Road ID

OK here is my public service announcement, be careful and over cautious. Now a lot of people who do the sport of triathlons have fallen down or been hit by a car while biking.
So here are some things to remember and DO:

1. You must carry ID on you, it is against the law not to have ID.
2. Get a Road ID
3. Never, Ever think that someone (a car) sees you, be on the offense at all time. This stinks for serious training but we are smaller and lighter than a 5,000 pound car.
   
4. If you carry a phone, and you should have I.C.E. (In Case of Emergency) plugged into your contacts or favorites so if unconscious, the police have a number to call.
   
5. Helmet, but this one is not for us.
   
6. Insurance, both for your bike and yourself.

Having this happen is scary and there are really only two outcome, scraps bruises and broken bones or morgue.

Be safe and careful, I like having people around reading Thinktri

Off Season

Well here we go, for some of us on the east coast we are heading into the off season. Yes of course we will still get out and ride and do an occasional race but for the most part we are inside. So what to do, work on your "bad" events, or find a triathlon in some warm spot, and use it for training. If your swim is your weak event, go out hard and see how the rest of the race plays out, this will give you some idea of how hard you can push and where you start to fall off. Nutrition can play a big role in your training, work on getting fluids into your system doing the run or bike. See what does not agree with your system.
There are many things that you can do, find your weak event and exploit it, attack it and make it your strong part of the triathlon, best of all enjoy the down time, the season will be back soon.
Fun warm triathlons
Caribbean
Think, Tri, Train!

Power Meter Training

I guess the more that you do one thing the more you learn. Triathlons have been growing in numbers the last couple years and this year has seen one of the biggest jumps, so how do you gt better. First start with a heart rate monitor and make sure you are staying within your threshold. As you progress, a cadence, and power meter for biking are going to be one of your biggest investments, besides a bike!
Training Peaks has a great article on training with a power meter.
"Training with power means that you are utilizing the latest tool in the cycling industry today in order to maximize your athletic potential. A power meter is a measuring device that is on your bicycle to determine the amount of wattage that you can produce while pedaling the bicycle. These power meters can measure the watts in the hub of the bicycle wheel, the 'spider' of the crank arm, the axle of the bottom bracket or even measure the tension of the bicycle chain. A power meter looks just like a larger more complex bicycle speed-o-meter and it records every few seconds while the cyclists rides. It records many different metrics from the rider including: watts, heart rate, speed, cadence, torque, and distance that the rider has traveled. This record of the cyclists ride is then available for download to a PC computer and can be analyzed post-ride to determine optimal training or racing performance." more..

Kids, running and making you faster!

If you ever get the oportunity to go for a run with your child or with a high school cross country team you will be amazed at how fast these kids really are! Some where as we get older we have forgotten how to run, watch these kids and they are fast and most have proper running technique, without ever being taught. Take a look at this animation to see a good representation of how one should run.
Running on a Cross Country team in K-8 was one of the best experiences, you are against all types and the best part was that everyone ran all out, there was no pacing yourself, gun goes off and everyone ran until the race was over.
Being young and not knowing was a great place to start, so get back if you get a chance.
Cheers

The Right Running Shoes

Finding the right running shoes will help from getting injured. With the new running shoes coming out, it might be a little hard to find the one that you like. Newton Running shoes were designed by runners for runners to mimic the advantages of barefoot running, Then you have Nike Free which kind of doing the same sort of thing as the Newton but Nike does not seem to have the actuator lugs which help when pushing off.

Action: When you forefoot strike with a Newton running shoe the actuator lugs stretch a membrane as they are pushed from the outer sole into the chambers of the mid-sole. This replaces the foam/air/gel used in the outer and mid-sole of traditional running shoes.

Reaction: As you begin to push off after striking, the membrane returns to its original shape pushing the actuators out from the mid-sole and returning the energy into forward propulsion.

Mimicking the barefoot running style and keeping on the toes seems to be the industries leading focus. For sometime it was the cushion in the heel, but things have changed and to run smarter, faster and with less injury keep it on the toes.
Now Think, Tri, Do!

Always Competing

Competing in triathlons is fun, but what or how do you keep that competitive spirit when you are training. One way is on the day that you are to go hard do just that, and to make it special, find others out on the road and catch them. If you see someone 100, 200, 1/2 mile ahead of you, go for it. Can you catch them, can you pass them, can you sustain that level for you full ride or run. If you are ridding with a group then play rabbit, each one leaves at 2-3 min intervals, the leader of course tries to hold of the group and the rest (tri's) to catch, pass the rest.
These types of workouts help that competitive spirit and also help improve/surpass level periods in training.
Chee

Bigger lung capacity

You want to have a larger lung capacity or just be able to hold your breath for 4 minutes, then practice these techniques from Outside Magazine.

1. Start in the Kiddie pool: Practice in the shallow end and wear a dive mask.
   
2. Bring a Friend: Hey if you are going to try this then someone should be there to bail you out, plus it helps that they keep time and tap you on the shoulder every 30 secs.
3. Prep You Lungs: Above water start with 2-3 minutes of slow, deep-belly breathing, air into the stomach.
4. Warm Up: Hold you breath in a dead man's float. Come up when you feel that you need air, do this twice.
5. Take a Deep Breath: Inhale and float face down.
6. Relax your mind: Your body will say give me air, but overcome this by humming a song or counting tiles.
7. Breathe!: When you can't take it, come up for air. lean against the side and get your breath for 30 or more seconds before you talk or move.
   

Mark Anders writer for outside magazine.
Pick up your copy today.

Strength for Triathlon

As we all start to get into the summer and biking and running outside is a lot more fun then being in the gym we seem to let the little things go, strength training. From the swimming and biking you tend to use more chest, shoulder and parts of the back (lats), but the traps and rhomboids (center of the back) get forgotten. So when you start to feel your shoulders getting tired start working the traps and rhomboids. Doing exercises while on a balance board (Indoboard) not only improves the muscles that you are working but "core" muscles as well. The muscles of the torso stabilize the spine and provide a solid foundation for movement in the extremities. These core muscles lie deep within the torso. They generally attach to the spine, pelvis and muscles that support the scapula. When these muscles contract, we stabilize the the spine, pelvis and shoulders and create a solid base of support. We are then able to generate powerful movements of the extremities.
Remember you are doing hundreds of miles a week, between swimming, biking and running, so through out the high reps and light weight (after you have mastered the movements, don't jump into anything until you consult your doctor or NASM Trainer) and lets get down to business!

"The most effective type of strength training program for a triathlete incorporates a single, very high intensity set for each muscle group. This stimulates the desired strength increase without building huge muscles or using up too much time or energy that we need for swimming, cycling, and running. Strength training is an important supplement, but it is a supplement. Spending hours in the weight room won’t improve triathlon performance." read more...

Hydration, training and racing in the heat

We all have our way to stay hydrated or think that we are hydrated. An easy way to tell if you are dehydrated is if you stop sweating, this is one of the first signs. In the northeast the heat, humidity, can be just as bad as the cold, and who want to go inside and run on a treadmill. Train like you would race.
First and foremost drink plenty of liquid before a race, being hydrated starts days if not a week before. Some people like Gatorade, some like Accelerade while other like Cytomax it all depends on what is best for YOU!
Jennifer Hutchinson has some great points on Hydration:
"Anyone who has raced in Hawaii, Arizona or in any other notoriously toasty Ironman conditions is aware that how well one can take the heat can determine who has a great day or who goes home unfulfilled. Successful racing in hot conditions depends on how well the body is able to adapt to the heat (acclimatization)." read more, from IRONMAN training tips...