Gearing up for a marathon?

Triathlon LAB carries a variety of hydration belts. Get help choosing from TriLAB’s own Robert Keating in this video.

Gearing Up For Triathlon

Here is a write-up that TriLAB Christine wrote for an online magazine, Made Woman Magazine. If you or a friend is thinking about trying a triathlon this year, this article breaks it down.

More and more people are doing it. You probably have a few friends who have finished at least one. I’m talking about triathlons, the growing sport that has you swimming, biking, and running in one race effort. Triathlons, you’ve heard, are for the crazy and uber-athletic so you stayed away. Then you wondered, “how did that guy go and do one…and finish?”

Here’s the true story. Triathlons, like fun runs, have different course lengths: sprint, Olympic distance, 70.3 (also known as the branded half Ironman), long course, Ironman, and ultra. A sprint consists of not more than the following mileage: .5 mile swim, 17 mile bike, and 4 mile run. The Olympic distance triathlon is (you guessed it) the distance that is completed in the Olympics, so it’s metric: 1.5 kilometer swim, 40 k bike, and 10 k run. Ironman, which gets all the glory, is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run. The 70.3—the number of miles you finish—is half of each leg of Ironman. Long course is the name given to the race that has any variation of distances between 70.3 and Ironman. And, ultras are any distance longer (yes, longer) than Ironman. Now, you know the basics of triathlon distances, and may safely decide whether or not you want to put a triathlon on your list of things to do before the end of 2012.

The sprint distance triathlon is kinda like the gateway race to the sport. It is a lifestyle sport, including cross-training in the training schedule, so many participants will find themselves “addicted” to it after crossing their first finish line. Like many addictions, it may take a lot of the dollars out of your wallet. I think that’s why it’s quickly taking executives off the golf greens, and putting them into spandex and lycra swimsuits, cycling kits (that’s what those matching padded shorts with jersey are called), and running tanks and shorts.

You might not be convinced to try it yet, so let me break it down—how to do this without breaking yourself or your bank.

1. Pick a local sprint distance race and sign up for it. Give yourself a minimum of twelve weeks to train for your first race.
2. Find a friend to do the race with. Everything is more fun with a friend, and you’ll have a training partner. You might be able to find a local triathlon club that you may join, gather support from, and train with.
3. Get the gear. For your first triathlon, consider borrowing big ticket items like a swimming wetsuit (if the water you will be swimming in is colder than 78.1 degrees, you may use one—it keeps you warm and keeps you more buoyant, making the swim effort less consuming) and a bike. The one most crucial article you must get for yourself that you likely don’t already have, in my opinion, is a pair of tri shorts. The other accessories you need to have are running shoes, bike helmet, swim goggles and swim cap. (In case you want all of your own new stuff, we have a “starter kit” that comes with all of the above and a few extras for just under a $1k.)
4. Get on a training schedule. Finding a coach is highly advisable, but if that’s not an option, there are books and fitness magazines that have training schedules based on your fitness level and the distance that you will be completing.
5. Don’t take it too seriously. Have fun. Remember you are doing it to finish, not to make a living at it. (Although, you may discover that you have the talent to make money racing, as you go along.)

Those are the super simple, down and dirty, basics of getting to the finish of your first triathlon. You’ll pick up a few more tips along the way, from said triathlon club(s), book(s), and magazine(s). So, what are you waiting for? Get to it!

Triathlon Swimming’s Golden Rules: An Interview With Gerry Rodrigues

This interview was conducted by Chris, from Flo Cycling.

This article has an incredible amount of information and outlines specifically what a triathlete learning to swim truly needs.  Learning to swim for many triathletes is a struggle because of the mass amounts of misinformation out there.  Gerry’s title for this article “Drowing in Misinformation” couldn’t be better.  In this interview, Gerry discusses how to cut through the clutter and provides a great amount of additional information.

Interview

Drowning in Misinformation

An Interview with Gerry Rodrigues

FLO Cycling:  

Tell us about your background in swimming and Tower 26?

Gerry:

 My background can be broken into three categories:

 A) Athlete

 B) Coach

 C) Publisher

FLO Cycling:

 What advice would you give to a new triathlete swimmer?

Gerry:

Let’s frame this with historical perspective, followed by a paradigm shift, and then a look out toward the horizon.

Unfortunately, both new and established triathletes encounter a minefield of obstacles to swimming improvement.  These include:

1) general, non-specific swim instruction;

2) a deluge of misinformation that is either simply wrong or again, not specific enough to their needs; and

3) the increasing infusion of online or remote “programming”. None of these examples are helpful to them.

Expanding upon these three examples, and then advising:

1) Non-specific swim instruction: Triathlon is still a sport in infancy with an Olympic debut in 2000, as is open water racing with its Olympic intro in 2008 with a 10k race. Duly, the evolution of swim instruction has yet to catch-up with the needs of the sport, ie. Specificity of the training, the type of swim mechanics needed, and racing skills. Mainly available to triathletes is traditional pool based training, with improper emphasis, taught by many untrained and/or misinformed coaches (see item 3). Masterful and imaginative coaches are far and few between.

2) Misinformation: Considering the abundance of non-specific swim instruction, coupled with unreliable publishing resources, triathletes struggle filtering information.

Preparing athletes for open water racing requires a lens-shift from swim coaches, publishers and educators; it’s a new paradigm. Publishers must be more diligent in providing substantive highly specialized, appropriate content for their subscribers and members.

The current approach of many publishers, providing “alternative or different perspectives” hits and misses the educational mark for their readers with the volatility of a 90s internet stock. These publishers need to recognize the paradigm shift.  Present content is “unfiltered” and often lumps pool-specific traditional information together with open water advice, as if they were one subject. Readers need distilled, qualitative, specifically purposeful content. Triathlon participants lack the appropriate filter or knowledge in sorting through the various opinions emanating from traditional pool coaching, and from an abundance of inexperienced coach authors (see item 3). Unfortunately, many editors lack expertise for such filtering.

Although Triathlete Magazine has improved their content and material presentation in the last year, advancements are still needed from the likes of: Inside Triathlon; Ironman’s LAVA Magazine; Competitor magazine; 3/GO Triathlon; Slowtwitch; Beginning Triathlete; Ironman on-line; Active Corp; USA Triathlon’s national publication; SWIMMER, the national magazine of US Masters swimming; SPLASH, the national magazine for USA swimming; and ASCA, the American Swim Coaches Association.

3) On-line or remote coaching is not coaching; it’s programming and generally low quality. Although I do some remote coaching, it is nowhere near as good as seeing someone in person. Why is quality generally low?

a) Lack of club coaching infrastructure for educating coaches;

b) Lack of proper editorial content and coach mentor programs; and

c) A very low entry barrier to triathlon coaching.

Many triathlon clubs do not have a head coach. There are approximately 900 triathlon clubs only, servicing about 1/3 million partial or yearly association members. Conversely, at USA swimming, there are a few thousand clubs servicing the same volume of members, with every club having multiple coaches providing daily instruction.

In triathlon, anyone can purchase a triathlon coaching credential for a few hundred dollars, by attending a two-day seminar, taking a test, then receiving a certificate. This new “coach” has a tacit stamp of approval from the sport’s national governing body, USA Triathlon.  Think about the message this basically sends:  No experience needed at anything.  Approximately 4,000 credentials have been issued.  This presents a puzzle to the consumer for proper coach selection while bringing new meaning to “let the buyer beware”. Compare this with USA swimming’s model where coaches are usually former swimmers, who spend countless years being educated and mentored by veteran coaches, while coaching juniors, all prior to becoming a head coach. And that’s if they can get hired for a head coaching position. In triathlon, a “coach” just arrives by calling himself a coach.

If you look at some of the respected coaches, most have gone through a LONG journey of competition, mentoring, education, and then coaching. For illustration, let’s take Matt Dixon, of purplepatch fitness whose resume I am most acquainted since I coached him for a brief period. His resume would be similar with other respected coaches:

• Competitive swimmer for 15 years.
• Olympic Trial finalist in 1992 and 1996.
• Triathlete for eight years; professional for five years.
• Evolved from Olympic distance, to ½ IM, and then to IM.
• 2004 overall Vineman winner.
• Age-group swim coach for 5 years.
• Year round swim coaching to National standard.
• Developed and fostered by a team of supporting senior coaches.
• Coached swimming two years at NCAA div 1 with a team of 5 coaches.
• Developed under guidance of multiple triathlon coaches and advisors.
• Backbone of Masters in Clinic Physiology.

….and only after all this did he take on his first individual client. Respected and successful coaches don’t just arrive.

Advice to the new triathlete: Choose and hire a swim coach as carefully as you would a doctor for surgery on your child, using the same prudence. Seek someone with history in the sport who works full-time at the job. It’s helpful if they have both a swimming and coaching background, with successful experience coaching open water. If they were not a swimmer or swimming coach before, then be cautious. Find out if they had long-term mentoring from a bona fide swim coach or triathlon coach, and whether they have continued their education.

The horizon: Fortunately, with triathlon becoming an Olympic sport in 2000, more substantive coaches are entering the space, raising the present mark of swim coaching and triathlon coaching in general. There are many good swim coaches for triathletes; unfortunately, many do not publish. Here are some examples worth following when they do publish: Swim Smooth (Paul Newsome); Jim Vance; Mike Collins; Joel Filliol; Brett Sutton; Matt Dixon. These coaches together, along with a few others, are the future for triathlon swimming.

FLO Cycling:

What the most common swimming mistake people make?

Gerry:

There are several, but probably at the top of the list is the athlete who swims straight for 20-40 minutes, a couple of times a week. Next would be those who subscribe to all those conventional “pool” drills such as side kicking, switch drills, sculling, and consistent bilateral third stroke breathing. These are possibly appropriate drills, but generally administered to an inappropriate audience or prescribed at inopportune times in an athlete’s development.

FLO Cycling:

What drills/training tools give athletes the most bang for their buck AND is it true that people can do too many drills?

Gerry:

Given the limited time budget for triathletes, many spend way too much time doing the traditional “pool” drills mentioned. It’s almost a waste of time. I’ve observed beginners kicking on their sides, almost drowning; complete torture, too advanced, and a real waste of learning time. Just swim! Build some specific muscular endurance for a month (10-12 one hour sessions), and then you’re better able to receive technical feedback.

Get yourself a swim snorkel, a pull buoy, a pair of fins and an ankle strap. Here’s the package: http://www.theswimmall.com/package.php?package_id=TheSwimMall

Some will need a tempo trainer, to rid themselves of the catch-up like swimming called “front quadrant swimming” they were taught or read. It slows their stroke rate down and is the absolute slowest form of swimming for a non-competitive, inexperienced participant. It’s also “old school” not meeting the needs for the modern day open water swimmer.

To read the complete interview, which includes more tips on swimming strategies and Chris Foster, TriLAB-sponsored triathlete, click here to go to FLO Cycling.

Fun Friday Swim

This is a fun swim workout that Mike & Carly did and particularly enjoyed. It’s sunny in Los Angeles right now, so we hope you are able to enjoy this workout in the sun wherever you are at.

Warm up:  300 Easy

Drills:  500 – 5xRight/Left/Catch-up/Fingertip – Focus purely on technique not speed

Main Set:  1-2 min break between sets

a)  6×75 @ over 90% effort on 30 sec rest  (hurts pretty bad by midway, enter the hurt box)

b)  8×50 @ over 90% effort on 20 sec rest (maybe close to vomit feeling, keep working)

c)  10×25 all-out on 10 sec rest (whatever you have left, leave it out there)

Cool Down:  500 Mixed Stroke & Easy Swim

Total:  2400

…stretch, rehydrate, Fluid Recovery and then drink a great craft beer…but check Carly’s blog for better beer advice.

http://tricraftbeer.tumblr.com/

http://tricraftbeer.tumblr.com/

TriLAB Mike’s Adventure in Training Using Science

Over the past few weeks, I’ve posted some blog entries about my new training approach in my build
towards Ironman 70.3 Oceanside. My training, with the guidance of Coach Gareth, has taken on a much more refined and scientific approach. I started off with lab testing at the TRIO Performance Lab, and I am now in my 3rd week of a training program based on the results. The first 2 weeks were filled with a variety of workouts and Week 3 is a recovery and testing week. The testing during Week 3, is field testing. Think swimming a 4×400 time trial on 1 min rest, biking a hill for 45 minutes in a specific heart rate zone while recording the distance and running on a treadmill for a specific time period at a specific speed and recording the average heart rate. All field tests must be repeatable in order to be of any use. I will repeat testing every 3 weeks as indicators of progress between quarterly lab tests.

One of the things that I’ve noticed about my training program is that although each 2-3 week block is
focused on specific physiological adaptation (general conditioning, strength, endurance, etc…), within
each week I am hitting a variety of intensities in each sport. For example, most Monday mornings are
high intensity bike workouts on the indoor trainer, followed by a transition run of 10-20 minutes of med/hard intensity. These workouts hit entirely different systems from my long bike rides on Saturdays that tend to be in the lower aerobic zone or my speed workout in the pool on Friday afternoons that tends to send my heart rate up towards my VO2 max…particularly when I’m splitting a lane in the warm pool at SMC with superstar swimmers like TriLab’s Carly & Christine. It’s all about mixing intensities while maintaining an overall focus for each training block. If your focus is aerobic development, you should spend most of your time developing efficiency in that particular zone, but some time should still be spent hitting some lactate threshold intensities and above as well.

If you’re looking for some variety to your base training workouts over the holidays, I’ve included two of my recent favorites to help you hit some various intensities during the holidays. The second workout will be posted in a couple of days, so keep your eyes open.

Mike’s Monday Brick Workout:

Wake up at an unholy hour of the morning, I like 4:15am. Start by eating some fruit and a Bonk Breaker Bar and fill up your water bottle with some Fluid Performance Drink Passion Fruit Tea w/Caffeine. Get your music going, I like Death Cab for Cutie for the warm up Adele for the drills and then Rise Against for the main-set intervals.

On an indoor bike trainer…

1) Warm up 10 min
2) Mixed Drills (single leg, high cadence) 10 min
3) Main Set 8×5 min at Steady State Threshold Pace on 1 min rest (think Olympic Distance Race
Pace, legs are searing, panting like a fat dog, it hurts pretty bad, very uncomfortable)

Fast Transition to running shoes, either outside or on a treadmill

4) Run 15-20 min at a pace above your Lactate Threshold but below your Steady State Threshold

Pace (think breathing heavy, not conversational, it burns quite a bit but not vomit-inducing
discomfort)

…stretch and drink some Chocolate Fluid Recovery Drink (available at www.Triathlonlab.com).

Total: 80-90 minutes

Training With Science

This is a follow-up of Mike’s previous report on his lactate testing experience:

In my last entry on the Triathlon Lab Blog, I shared my experience with Blood Lactate/VO2 Max Lab testing.  This time I’m going to talk a little bit about what it’s like to put those numbers into good use.  I completed separate bike & run tests with Coach Gareth Thomas @ Trio Performance Lab in order to establish proper training zones for my build up to Ironman CA 70.3 Oceanside on March 31, 2012.  I am sort of treating myself as a sports-science experiment over the next few months.  I am now following a very specific training program written for me by Coach Gareth that is specifically based on my lab testing results.  I will follow the plan and then get re-tested periodically to see how my body is adapting to the training.  I have dabbled in some periodization for training programs in the past but never had the scientific understanding or coaching power behind it to really get the most out of it. The variety in workout duration, focus and intensity throughout each week is keeping the training interesting. As someone with a history of injuries I also have regular visits to the gym built in for core-strength and regular yoga.  In addition to training changes, my diet is also changing as I try to alter my body to primarily burn fat at aerobic intensity.  This very scientific approach to training is very different from the more subjective and less scientific approaches which some people favor.    

I recently read an article by a well-known and extremely successful professional triathlete in which he argued that triathletes should put away the heart rate monitors and power meters to train more by feel and “perceived exertion”.  The problem with this very subjective approach is that many people without loads of experience in endurance sports, like me, don’t really know what those middle intensity zones feel like.  I grew up playing team sports like football and baseball.  Everything was all out, on the field, in the weight room and on the running track.  There were rarely easy days, no tempo days, and certainly nothing as complex sounding as a lactate threshold effort.   As a result, I know what it feels like to go all-out but everything besides that is open for interpretation.  Improvement in endurance sports requires training at a variety of specific intensities, a very different approach than the sports that most of us grew up playing.  Having those training zones established, quantified, and accessible via a heart rate monitor or power meter, allows for the body to safely adapt at an optimal level.   This helps those of us with less than Armstrong-Wellington-like-genetics improve towards our potential without wasting any training time.  The professional athlete that recommended abstaining from heart rate monitors and power meters, is a full-time athlete with over 20 years of professional racing experience.  I’m sure he knows exactly what his lactate threshold feels like but for the rest of us, we might want to consider a device to aid in the quest for training time efficiency.  It’s not that training based on feel and “perceived effort” is wrong, it’s just an unscientific approach to training. 

I should probably note that I’m a totally unscientific guy in every other aspect of my life.  For example, I love cooking but I don’t bake anything–too many formulas involved.  As an 8^th Grade History teacher, my students sometimes ask for help on their Math or Science homework during lunchtime. I have no clue about algebra or ionic bonds.  I think this is why I’m so intrigued by the ideas behind sports science.  It’s all so foreign, but I’ll try anything for 16 weeks.  I’ll update the blog periodically with some of my favorite Coach Gareth workouts and progress reports.

Swim Workout

In case you are bored with some of your swim workouts, here is one from TriLAB Christine’s library…

Warm-up: 200 m swim
2 x 100 kick, no kick board–back, R side, L side, back
4 x 100 drill/swim–50 drill of your choice, 50 swim

Main set:  5 x 200 N/S each 50 (Negative split each 50. Each 50 should be about 1 second faster than the last), 20 second rest
45 sec rest
5 x 100 N/S each 25, 10 sec rest
45 sec rest
5 x 50 build-up, 10 sec rest
30 sec rest
5 x 25 fast, 5 sec rest
125 kick on your back, no kickboard

Cool-down: 200 swim EZ, your choice

Total distance = 3000 meters

Enjoy!!!

Gain Measurable Results by Getting Measures

TriLAB super guy and Culver City teacher, Mike Levy, just got his lactate testing and shares his thoughts on “getting tested”–not drug tested a la USADA, but lactate tested to see how (in)efficient his body is at burning fuel for the endurance sport we TRI. Read on for his thoughts:

How do we accurately assess our current fitness and prepare our next cycle of training?  Most of us think that we know what it feels like to be “in-shape” or “out of shape”, but the reality is that our fitness if very much a scientific construct.  There are a number of options for how to plan training.  Some people throw together a bunch of workouts and call it a training plan while others follow a pre-written plan from a magazine or a website.  Many people have a plan written for you from scratch by a great triathlon coach.  However, if all of these options are based on the idea that we are all starting from the same fitness point, then they are all truly ‘trial & error’ approaches to training.  To truly get the maximum benefit from training, the plan needs to be constructed based on your exact fitness on the day you start training.  Those of us with long days at work and family commitments needs to get the most out of every training session if we want to see improvements on race day.  How we feel day to day is largely subjective, but the quality and condition of our engine can be evaluated most objectively by blood lactate and VO2 max testing.  The only way to truly figure out what is going on inside our fitness engine is through controlled lab testing.

The picture here is during my recent Blood Lactate/VO2 max testing on the bike at the Trio Performance Lab with Coach Gareth Thomas.  This was my first experience with any type of lab fitness testing and it proved to be a great learning experience.  Coach Gareth and his team strap on a mask and heart rate monitor for the VO2 test and take blood samples every 3 minutes for the blood lactate test.  For a better picture, think back to 1985.  Remember the scene in American Flyers where the guy is breaking the test record in the sports lab?  If you haven’t seen American Flyers, then stop reading this blog to go watch Kevin Costner sporting a porn-stache and people cycling fast on bikes with downtube shifters.

According to the test results, I need to better train my body to burn fat during prolonged training & racing.  My body really likes to burn carbs which isn’t very efficient for a long 70.3 race.  It was also cool to do my VO2 max test which confirmed my hypothesis that I do not have the superior genetics of a Lance Armstrong but I do have enough genetic athleticism to improve quite a bit from where I am today.  My focus in training for the next 6 weeks will be to alter my body’s fuel source during longer workouts.  This means keeping my heart rate and power in the prescribed zones, even if it hurts my ego to go a little slower.  I still get to hit some steady tempo efforts but the focus is on burning fat, not carbs.  According to my test results, I also need to eat more protein and fat before long workouts.  The testing tells a lot about performance, training and nutrition.  My run test is in a couple of days, I’m looking forward to it…

Base-Training into Threshold Training Workout

No lying down allowed during the off-season! Photo courtesy of Shiggy Ichinomiya. www.goshiggygo.com

‘Tis the season for base training!

For a lot of triathletes, that means long and boring workouts in “heart rate prison”.  For others, that may mean absolutely nothing!

The following workout can be adapted for both types of triathletes:

Warm-up ~ 7-10 minutes easy dynamic swim, bike, or jog warm-up

Pre-set ~ Swim – 4 x 75 swim, kick, drill (your choice of drill)*

Bike – 5 x (20 sec. right leg only, 20 sec. left leg only, 20 sec. both leg spin)

Run – 4 x strides, 20 seconds (your goal is to have your right foot strike the ground at least 30 times); skip to return to starting position

Main set* ~ Swim- 200m sets: 25 m hard exertion, 175 m easy-medium; Rest 1 min.

Bike – 15 seconds hard exertion (about 8.5 on a scale 0f 1-10 rate of perceived exertion (RPE)), back off pace and continue bike interval for 3.5 minutes. Recovery 2 min. spin.

Run – 15 seconds run uphill (approx 2-3% grade), jog on a flat for 3.5 minutes.  Recovery – 1-2 min walk.

In threshold training, the 3.5 minutes should feel like an exertion of 7-8, despite being at a slower pace.

In base training phase, the initial “hard” interval should feel like an RPE around 6-7, the interval following should feel like fairly comfortable around 4-5. The goal is that interval is to watch your heart rate, use breath control to prevent your heart rate from going above your zone 3.

Repeat 3-5 times, time permitting.

* The adaptations for swim, bike and run are listed.

Enjoy!!! Please feel free to comment below with your favorite workout!