 As race season rolls around, getting time out training in the open water is a great way to mix it up and give yourself a break from the black line. However, it is very easy to fall into a leisurely pace that won’t benefit your race day goals. To get around this you need to keep in mind that it is still a training workout and some effort is required. It is also very easy to fall into a similar routine swim after swim.
-Two times around the big island.
-To the far beach and back.
-5th dock around the point.
We all have our own lake swim turnaround points. Be adventurous if safety allows and switch it up. You also can’t forget about the harder efforts you would normally do while in the pool: Continue reading Open water swimming
 There are different approaches to the last couple days of a taper before a full Ironman event (in most cases, a 70.3 event requires a slightly different approach than a full Ironman). You’ve probably read about some athletes putting in a fairly hardy dose of training on race week. Even within the last couple days before the race. This doesn’t work for everybody, but you always hear about the people that do it because it’s outside the norm (Belinda Granger -to name a name off the top of my head). Then they go and win Ironman events and you start thinking that that is what you should be doing too. Not the case. Keep in mind, the people doing this have been training incredibly hard for a long time (we all have – but relatively speaking not as hard as a full time athlete). A 3 hour ride two days out from the race may seem like peanuts to them. Unless you’re training full time and can test that type of situation I would steer away from it. We’ve found that our best races always happened after we thought we had NOT done enough during race week. Assuming the race was on Sunday, we started getting really antsy on Saturday or even Friday. For most athletes starting an Ironman this is a good thing. It means you’re rested, your body wants to go exert itself, you’re ready. Even the feeling of being somewhat sleepy is not altogether a bad thing for an Ironman (you’re welcome to disagree). It’s a long day and using the first 20 kms to shake out some sleepiness can lead to a very strong finish.
Continue reading Last couple days before an Ironman
 I was looking at this picture the other night of the Ironman Coeur D’Alene start line. Heather is in the blue cap, front and center (Click to enlarge). That stance shows that she is thinking about one thing, and that is how quickly she’s going to get herself to the far turn buoy. You can tell she’s on the start line with a purpose and knows that she can do it.
This doesn’t mean you have to be on the front line staring down the far turn buoy. The point of this tip is to be mentally strong and confident that you’ve brought your best to the table, even if there are doubts in your training. No matter where you decide to line up on the start line, be there with purpose and keep your goals front and center. It’s not hard to be intimidated on an Ironman start line, everyone looks fast in a wetsuit. At that point it is very easy to fall into the “I’m just going to see what happens” frame of mind. No you’re not!!! You’re going to swim faster than that kickass workout you had a month ago. Remember how good you felt on that group swim a few weeks ago!! That is what you are GOING to do. The chick in the blue cap knows she’s going to swim well and as fast as she can. Green cap girl looks to be thinking about how chilly the water is. Sorry green cap girl.
 Many men and women who engage in regular, intense exercise such as running, competitive swimming, and cycling have “marginal or inadequate iron status”. Possible explanations include increased gastrointestinal blood loss after running, a greater turnover of red blood cells, and the fact that red blood cells within the foot can rupture when you pound the ground during a long run. For these reasons, the need for iron may be 30% greater in those who engage in regular intense exercise.
Female athletes, distance runners, and vegetarian athletes are the most likely to experience iron deficiency. It is particularly important for these folks to consume recommended amounts of iron and to pay attention to dietary factors that enhance iron absorption. If appropriate nutrition (enter spinach salad with mandarin oranges and walnuts) does not promote normal iron status, iron supplementation may be required. In one study of female swimmers, researchers found that supplementation with 125 mg of ferrous sulfate per day prevented iron depletion.
Continue reading When to take iron
 This one is best done on a fixed trainer (ie. Not rollers – but if you can do it on rollers -you’re crazy awesome- or would like to see someone doing this on rollers, check the comments) and is a great way to break up an indoor ride. There’s not much to explain, other than to pedal your bike with one leg at a time. Put your free leg on the trainer, next to where it attaches to the bike. Try and keep your quad in line with it’s normal plain of motion so that your hips don’t twist on the saddle.
The best way to do this is to count your revolutions for each leg, and you don’t need to have the wattage/resistance very high. It’s more about spinning smoothly right through the whole revolution. 50 on one leg, 50 on the other. Then 40 and 40. 30/30. 20/20. 10/10. Work through that a couple times and you can bet you’ll be feeling some muscles you didn’t know you had. This drill also activates your core muscles – which are very important for an efficient and strong pedal stroke. Once you’ve mastered that drill you can also do it in the aero bars. As an added bonus, this drill will help indicate if you’re in the aero position properly. If you find you simply can’t do it in the aero position (likely you feel really weak pulling up), it may be woth getting someone to look at how your bars and saddle are set up.
 Sometimes when you hit the water for training you may lack some motivation to put the time in. When that happens it’s good to have a swim set that you enjoy and can fall back on. Of course, this only works if you have control of your own workouts. Sometimes, however, you may be feeling totally out to lunch and can’t stomach the 1500m TT that coach has on tap for the day. Well, rather than say no to the pool, fall back on your old standby and get some time in.
Here’s our favorite. All on no rest, keep going through each 200. You pick the intensity:
200m Kick
200m Swim
200m Pull
200m Pull/Paddle
200 meters goes by super quickly, then you get to switch up the focus a bit. You’ll be surprised how quickly you get through 800 meters. Go through it 2 or 3 times and you’ve got yourself a very decent set.
 If you are new to the world of long distance triathlon, or simply have incredibly robust skin, you may not be intimately familiar with wonderful anti-friction products such as BodyGlide. You can apply this stuff anywhere and it will prevent fabric-on-skin or skin-on-skin chaffing (‘chub-rub’ as we affectionately call it). Most people use it on race day to lube up their forearms and calves for easy wetsuit removal, and to prevent chaffing on the back of their necks from wetsuit zippers. Many also apply it around their armpits where jerseys and sports bras make contact.
If you have sensitive skin, applying body glide between your legs, along any areas where seams and chamois in your bike shorts may rub, around the draw-string of your shorts, where a race number belt may make contact with your waist, and around your ankle where your timing-chip strap goes - are all important measures to take to keep your lower half happy. In addition to the armpit and sports bra areas, you may want to apply body glide to your neck and the front of your chest if you have a zipper that opens up the front of your jersey. Men may also find that nipples are an essential area to cover, especially if they change into a more loose fitting jersey for the run. If you wear a heart rate monitor it can be good to apply body glide in a band right around your ribcage.
Continue reading Say no to chaffing
 Going back to the topic of consistency with this short tip. A good rule of thumb is to never let three days go by where you haven’t trained one of the three sports. Being consistent in training as whole is great, but being consistent across swimming, biking, and running is also very important. Keeping the 3 day rule in mind, even during a bike focus week, will help hold on to any gains you’ve made in the other two sports. Haven’t been in the water in a couple days? Get to the pool! Bailed on that ride becuase there was black ice, and couldn’t commute to work for whatever reason? Hop on the trainer.
Sticking to the 3 day rule definitely help your performance over the long run.
 Coaches are important and many athletes have one…sometimes even two that work together. They help take you to new levels and they help see your weaknesses from a different perspective.
Generally, a coach is not only giving you a training plan, but they’ll also be following up with how each particular day or week progressed, making further adjustments as needed. The key here is to be 100% honest in your training log. Your coaches daily plan is a guide, but if you couldn’t finish the workout, don’t keep the full workout in your log. It’s not shameful to tell your coach you couldn’t finish a workout, it’s important to tell them why you didn’t finish the workout and how much of it you actually did. At the other end, perhaps things feel too easy and you want train harder. Well don’t go out and double the workout or throw in 3 extra intervals because you felt good. Ask your coach about it, maybe next week is going to be killer and you need to be ready by training a bit easier this week. The most important thing is to have open, guilt free, lines of communication. You have to be honest or you’re leaving your coach in the dark. If your coach isn’t taking your input to heart or simply dismissing your thoughts, they aren’t doing their job properly.
Continue reading How to get coached
What is your underlying motivation for doing well in triathlon? Material aspects of competition, such as prizes, trophies, money? More immaterial, egocentric aspects of competitive events, such as recognition and respect from peers? Or how about the desire for self-development, and to challenge yourself?
Sports psychology studies emphasize that athletes should be encouraged to improve performance using intrinsic (within yourself) rather than extrinsic (outside yourself) motivators. This is because, with extrinsic rewards, your self-confidence and overall satisfaction with training and performance are defined by external factors, which are out of your control.
Continue reading Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation
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As race season rolls around, getting time out training in the open water is a great way to mix it up and give yourself a break from the black line. However, it is very easy to fall into a leisurely pace that won’t benefit your race day goals. To get around this you need to keep in mind that it is still a training workout and some effort is required. It is also very easy to fall into a similar routine swim after swim.
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