 A drive train encompasses all the parts of your bike that chain touches – chain rings upfront and cogs in the back. Indicators that you need to replace your bike chain may be sloppy or slow shifting, mis-shifts, or grinding.
A simple test to find out if things are getting a little too worn is to pull on your chain with your fingers while it’s in the big ring. If the chain moves and wiggles around all the teeth on the chain ring, and you can see spaces between the ring and the chain, you can bet that it’s time to look at swapping everything. When your chain has been used for a long time and has stretched out, the gap between the rollers on the chain will grow larger. This will cause the chain to be misaligned with the teeth on the gears. Another visual cue is to look at the shape of the teeth. The older things get the pointier each tooth will get.
Continue reading Worn out bike chain?
 If you live somewhere that gets snow in the winter, avoid falling into hibernation mode. Consistency is key to successful triathlon training so throw on lots of layers and get out the door. You may think that you can’t benefit from trying to run in 2 ft of snow, but the white stuff can actually lead to a really good low HR session. Your muscles will get a break from the impact of running on the road or the treadmill, and you will work your lateral stabilizers in a big way. Go out with the intention of having a fun adventure. You will be pleasantly surprised by the quality of the workout.
 Not many triathlons, especially Ironman branded events, are going to be non-wetsuit. If they are, you can bet the water is usually warm enough for the no-wetsuit rule to not effect even cold water susceptible athletes. Every once in awhile, however, you may hit a race that is just barely over the wetsuit limit (or has a crazy race director) and you’ll want to be prepared.
From first hand experience we have been on the sharp end of this stick early this year. We were very unprepared for a cold water no-wetsuit race and paid for it dearly. Some things we’ll be bringing with us to any potential non-wetsuit race in the future are:
**Double cap it – A definite must. Try to get a silicone cap underneath the race cap. Or, if you can handle the neoprene-under the chin caps then those do a great job too.
**Heat pack in a plastic bag – You know those little hand warmers (see picture) that stay hot for a few hours or so? Put one in a plastic bag between the two caps, and another somewhere around your belly or lower back. Hopefully your swim skin is tight enough to hold everything in place. Simply drop it all in T1.
**Go for a light run with plenty of clothing on 10 minutes before your start. Break a sweat, but don’t tire yourself out.
**Warming oil on the skin – Slop this stuff on and don’t rub it in too much so as to leave a little water repellent layer on your skin. Careful if it’s a sunny day as you may open yourself up to sun burn. Belgian cyclists are famous for this little trick. The start line in a chilly Euro bike race smells oh so sweet.
Continue reading Swimming in cold water
At the request of a reader we’ll do a little tip on aero positions. We will, however, refer you to a great photo essay at Slowtwitch. They took amazing pictures of some of the best Pro athletes at the Hawaii Ironman World Championships this year. (Unfortunately I can’t find the link to that particular article - but here’s another with some pictures for your interest.) If anyone happens to find the other article please feel free to leave a comment pointing the way.
Our take on aero positions (like most) is to be as aero as possible without compromising your power. Aerodynamics are indeed important, but time saved due to less drag will pale in comparison to the time you lose if you are so uncomfortable you can’t ride properly, or if you hinder your ability to run afterward. Here’s a couple pictures to show you some extremes on either end of the scale.
Bjorn Anderson – This position is CRAZY. It works for him on the bike – but it’s hard to say what it costs him on the run. He usually has the fastest bike split outside of Kona, but rarely has a good run. He did win Wildflower, but I think his Ironman attempts have been lackluster. Maybe he can’t digest food properly, maybe he rides too hard. Whatever it is, the point is to show a very extreme aero position:
Continue reading Good and Bad Aero positions
 We spend a lot of time worrying about run mileage, frequency, and intensity but your running form is equally important. A lot of us assume that the way we run is the way we run and that there is little we can do to improve our natural gaits. Wrong. Focusing on proprioceptive cues (being mindful of specific things that you are doing with your body) while you run can make a world of difference. Those that paid attention to Craig Alexander’srun form in this year’s Ironman World Championships were super impressed with how he “popped” forward off the ground with each stride – basically he minimized his time on the ground and maximized the effect of that time on the ground. In the book “Brain Training for Runners” Matt Fitzgerald gives great examples of run cues and drills to help us do just that. One is to imagine yourself running on water. To avoid breaking through the surface you have to be quick and light, yet forceful. By thinking about actively driving your feet to the ground instead of passively allowing them to drop while running, you can increase leg stiffness on impact and improve your ability to generate forward thrust quickly, with minimal ground contact time. Also, if, in the instant before your foot makes contact with the ground, you contract the muscles in the glutes on that side of your body and keep them engaged thru the ground contact phase of your stride, you will minimize wasteful side to side rotation, maintain greater stability in your hips and generate more forward thrust. Next time you are running pick a single cue “run on water” or “butt squeeze” and focus on it.
Continue reading Run on water
 Have you ever watched a world class swimmer on video? It’s as if they have gumby feet, acting like flippers pushing them through the water. You may have heard, or believe, that your kick is not a huge part of your Ironman swim stroke. This is true relative to a flat-out pool race, but if you can give yourself a strong and efficient kick it will most definitely benefit your longer triathlon swims and leave you fresher coming out of the water. Obviously training your kick in the water is step #1, but working the foot and ankle flexibility while you’re at work or lying in bed will do wonders for the efficiency of each kick as you push down through the water.
Continue reading Stretch your feet for a better swim kick
 One of the best things you can do in the off season (if you haven’t been doing this all year) is to pay attention to your hip flexors and IT bands. Throughout the year we all tend to neglect the side to side motion as we busy ourselves running, riding, and flutter kicking our way through each training session. Doing so can easily bring on the dreaded IT band syndrom or unfortunate knee and back pain related to tight/weak lateral legs muscles and stuck muscle fibres and tendons. A secondary effect of week hip flexors is to have your run form fall apart in the later stages of your race. You may not notice during the race, but if you look at those race pictures from mile 10 and mile 20 where you seem to be about to fall sideways into a heap on the ground, you can bet your stabilizing muscles – hip flexors being one of them – are not helping you look good.
Continue reading Stretch and strengthen your lateral leg muscles
 This is the second computrainer workout we’ve posted, to find the other you can click on the computrainer tag above, or in the sidebar tags.
Depending on your desire to ride your bike inside, you can get this workout going when you’ve got that extra jolt of motivation. We like to think that an hour on the computrainer is equivalent to 1.5hrs outside – in some cases probably more, provided you keep it steady. So, if you can put together 2 hours, or even 3 hours on the trainer you’re getting yourself some good mileage. In the winter, for long course racing especially, low HR rules all so throw on that HR monitor again. Know your Aerobic limit.
Continue reading Computrainer workout #2
 Visualizing your upcoming race, or even individual training sessions is an extremely important part of improving your personal performance. A lot of people make this part of their race week routine, but if you can make it part of your daily routine you’ll reap the rewards.
We tend to visualize at two distinct times: 1) During a training session, 2) In a quiet place with our eyes closed. For the former, imagining yourself in your race situation, or performing like a world class athlete can help you improve the overall quality of your training session and kick the effort level up a notch as needed. The most important thing is to keep the mental imagery positive – run strong up the hill just like you will in the race, ride the next lonely 10k like your are passing your competitors on the bike, do those repetitive laps like you are swimming strong within a group of 2000 people. Pretend you are your Ironman idol.
Continue reading Visualize your best race
A great way to build bike specific strength is to find yourself a nice, not so steep hill and ride up it in your big chain ring. When selecting the hill look for something that will allow you to ride up for a minimum of 5 minutes. Keep your HR low and focus on a nice circular pedal stroke. Doing these in your aero position is a great way to strengthen your race specific muscles (and to look ridiculous to the common observer). If your knees aren’t tracking straight and are wobbling from side to side you should most likely put it in an easier gear. Look to hold between 50 and 60 RPM for 5-10 minutes. You should feel a gentle burn and fatigue in your quads, not the oxygen debt, lactic acid burn that you would get from a max effort hill climb. Think “weight room on the bike”.
Continue reading Big Ring Hill Intervals
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As seen on: Ironman Triathlon Tips  |
A drive train encompasses all the parts of your bike that chain touches – chain rings upfront and cogs in the back. Indicators that you need to replace your bike chain may be sloppy or slow shifting, mis-shifts, or grinding.
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