EverymanTri.com

Can't swim bike or run with Andy: Andy joins the A-Team

Back in 2009 when I was training hard for my attempt at completing Ironman Germany I took myself out of my ‘comfort zone’ by tagging along with COLTs ‘A’ ride. The club has two weekend rides, the Sunday ride or ‘B’ ride which is at a pace that most people could easily keep up with and lasts 2-3 hours normally. It also after an hour splits into a ‘C’ ride to allow the different paces to be catered for. This works really well and means that no one should get left behind.

Can't swim bike or run with Andy: Virtual training in the real world

I met up with my clubmates at 6.45am this morning and we were all admiring Toms Garmin Edge 800. It didn't matter that the rest of us had 310xt's on our handlebars, we all had gadget envy. Triathletes ( or the ones I know ) all love their gadgets, and even if they don't, they rely on it for every aspect of their hobby, they just might not realize it.

When I first started running over 25 years ago the hobby was very very different. There was one running magazine, Athletics Weekly, this was the runners bible. Inside you'd find adverts for all the races that you could enter. Also it was the place to buy your running shoes, there were very few specialist running shops and certainly none in my home town. You had to pick your shoes from the adverts for shops in the big cities. You had to ring up and order them and hopefully they would arrive in about 3 weeks. There wasn't much choice other than Nike or New Balance.

Can't swim, bike, or run with Andy: The cold dark waters of the United Kingdom

Now I don’t know about you but out of the three disciplines that make up our sport, I’m more likely to shy away from a swimming session than I am from a run in the rain or an icy bike ride. Even the warm water of a heated pool doesn’t entice me. I’d rather be outside getting battered by the elements than inside like a goldfish swimming up and down in an enclosed tank.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy the actual swimming when I drag myself to the pool, I do. It’s just the actual thought of dragging myself there. I can come up with an excuse in a heartbeat: I’m too busy, It’s too cold, It’s Friday, It’s Monday, It’s (insert any other day of the week here). You get the picture? I just don’t get that adrenaline rush, that buzz that comes from a really good run, or hitting 30mph on the bike.

Can't swim, bike, or run with Andy: An Ironman or a Sprint, it just doesn’t matter

Last week I wrote all about how my nervous energy was motivating me ahead of the last race of the Triathlon season. I somewhat grandly described the race as being my Superbowl, trust me Fleetwood Sea Front ( where the race took place ) is no Raymond James Stadium or a Soldier Field but it was the arena in which I won the right to say afterwards “I’m going to DisneyWorld”.

I recorded a new personal best, by just over 7 minutes, which when you think about it, in a sprint race is quite a big chunk of time. The best thing is I know I could have gone faster as well, I actually held a lot back on the run to protect my injured hamstring. I’d not run for a month as a precaution, and I won’t run again for a month.

I felt strong on the run and had to tell myself to slow down, I didn’t want my leg to go pop and set me back months, missing vital winter Ironman training. I finished the 5km run in 25.30, with no ill effects, which realistically in the long term is even better news than my 7 minute pb.

Can't swim, bike, or run with Andy: each race is a new Superbowl

This Triathlon season seems to have flown by quicker than Mark Cavendish on the Champs-Elysees. It doesn’t seem five minutes since I opened my account back in May at the St Annes sprint triathlon. Sunday sees me closing my account in the last of the Fylde series at Fleetwood, a small coastal fishing town. The attraction of course is racing on closed roads, something of a rarity in this country. So as always the day before a race I’ve got a million and one thoughts running through my head.

Which bike do I use? Do I go with a two piece or use a tri-suit? ( I sound like such a diva ) Which running shoes do I wear? ( I have 3 pairs on the go at the moment ) What time do I need to set off to get there in time? What should I eat for my dinner tonight?

Can't swim bike or run with Andy: cycling is quickly becoming the new running

Winter arrived this past week with a vengeance. The remnants of Hurricane Katia crossed the Atlantic and battered the United Kingdom. Torrential rain and gale force winds wreaked havoc on the coast where I live. Trees were felled, rivers burst their banks and buildings were damaged. Not the sort of weather that lends itself to cycling.

I’d taken the day off work this past Monday to watch the second stage of the Tour of Britain cycle race. The route from Kendal to Blackpool would pass along many of the lanes that I train on as it passed within three miles of my home. I was genuinely excited to be able to watch many of the stars of the cycling world such as Mark Cavendish, Geraint Thomas and Thor Hushovd whiz past. I’m a massive cycling fan as I’m sure most triathletes are and I’ve never had the opportunity to watch a major road race. I mean I’ve been to the track cycling world cup and seen Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins and the Queen of the track Victoria Pendleton, which was amazing but there’s something gritty, almost gladiatorial about road racing.

Can't swim, bike, or run with Andy: The best laid plans of mice and men...

It’s been a frustrating week in terms of training, but a rewarding one in terms of being a dad. I have to use my annual leave up by the end of September so I’d taken this past week off with the intention of getting some quality training into my legs. The best laid plans of mice and men springs to mind as my training equates to 50 miles on the bike and a couple of hours on the turbo.

The week started off great on Sunday when I joined my club mates from COLT on a challenging 41 mile ride over the hills. I was reminded of the famous Monty Python sketch called Bruce ( If you don’t know it, check out YouTube ) as there were six of us on the ride and four of us were called Andy. It certainly made it fun to communicate; you just shouted “Andy” and you got a response, although not necessarily from the person you wanted to speak to. This was the first club ride I’d been on in months, being a new dad hadn’t allowed me the time. And to be honest I’d enjoyed my Sunday mornings off relaxing with the family.

The lack of long rides certainly became apparent as every time we hit a hill I was dropped off the back. Being a Clydesdale with little fear I descend like a stone and was soon back with the peloton after each hill. That set the pattern for the morning as we covered the 41 miles in 2.44, with climbing of 1619 feet. It was a great workout and just what I needed to kick off my September of hard work.

Can't swim bike or run with Andy: Ironman Lanzarote bound

After the exploits of Ely and “Saddle-gate” ( see last week’s article by me ) I had a complete week off to recharge the batteries and to let things heal up.  It was just what the doctor ordered, I think I was physically and mentally burnt out. I even indulged myself with pizza and chocolate, two things I love but seldom eat anymore, as let’s face it they aren’t the healthiest of foods. I figured in my ‘treat week’ a little of what I fancied wouldn’t kill me, and I’m happy to report it didn’t.

Following on from this I’ve started training again and on September 1st became much more disciplined with my food intake. As I’ve previously said next May I shall be doing Ironman Lanzarote, my training plan for that starts in November. So I’m having two months of trying to lose weight to give myself every advantage with my forthcoming training, which will also hopefully see me shed the pounds. It’s kind of a pre-Ironman detox. After all more exercise = more calories burned, it’s not rocket science, and it’s a good job because I failed the NASA entrance exam.

Can't swim bike or run with Andy

I don’t know about you but I live in fear of getting a puncture during a race. It’s the reason I ride clinchers and have never dabbled with tubs, punctures with them just sound so complicated, glue and tape and the possible need for a knife.

No thanks. 

I practice changing tyres and fitting tubes but still to get one in a race would be a nightmare. This past Sunday it was my ‘A’ race, a half Ironman, in the city of Ely. “The Monster” it was dubbed.  How I would have loved a puncture to have been my main problem, unfortunately the monster ate me up and spat me out in a horror show called a ‘Nightmare on Ely Streets’. (Sorry for the bad joke – couldn’t resist)

The swim was fairly uneventful, the usual battle of arms and legs, in cold muddy water. Thankfully the plentiful geese and swans just looked at the strange creatures filing past in silver caps, not inclined to defend their river with beaks.

The 1.9km was tough for me as it was all upstream against the current, it wasn’t raging but it was significant enough to make me some 10 minutes slower than I was expecting. I was out of the water in 51 minutes and as I ran through transition, little did I know that I had approximately eight minutes until the best part of my day would be behind me.

Onto the bike and I was feeling really confident as I got up to 23mph on perhaps the flattest and therefore fastest 56 mile bike course in the world. My garmin file would show later that it had -8m of elevation average. I just passed my cheering family and gave them a huge big grin, I was buzzing and feeling like I was going to challenge my pb of 5.35. Two minutes later as I reached 1.8 miles that feeling was destroyed.

Can't swim, bike, or run with Andy

Editor's Note: We'd like to welcome Andy Holgate of the great state of Britain to the EMT editorial team. Andy will be writing a weekly column each weekend about his continuing journey from everyman to Ironman. Today he starts with a brief tale of testicle shrinking proportions.  

The freezing cold water enveloped me, stabbing at my exposed body like a hundred knives. My testicles took their self-preservation seriously and retracted towards internal safety somewhere in the vicinity of my gasping lungs. Adrenaline flooded every inch of my body and I started thrashing wildly, forgetting all that I had learnt about swimming technique. Not surprisingly I winded myself.
 
Knackered, only about fifty metres from the start I ground to a halt. Gasping for breath, treading water, taking a few seconds to dispel the panic. Telling myself to get a grip, quitting was not an option and besides the hardest part was over with. I’d jumped blindly into the cold, dark water and wasn’t dead.
 
Reaching out with my right hand, throwing my left arm above me I plunged forward. Learning my lesson, I counted out a rhythm with my arms. One, two, three, breathe…..one, two, three, breathe. The panic subsided, moving through the water my lungs didn’t seem to be working so hard any more. I took that to be a good sign.

Nutritional Stress- Eating for energy!

I don't know about you, but I constantly struggle with my weight...so it is a real pleasure to have a nutrition pro and triathlete on board.

I'm thrilled to welcome a new nutrition partner. Her name is Liz Stein and she's a Certified Holistic Health Counselor. Please visit her web site www.appetiteforhelthyliving.com for some great nutritional programs for triathletes.

Below is just a short excerpt from her 8-week Endurance Training Nutrition Program. 

So many of my clients come to me with a high level of stress. Whether it’s from their jobs, relationships, the environment they are in or the food they are putting into their bodies.  Stress plays an enormous role in how our body functions. High levels of stress can lead to weight gain, fatigue, bad sleeping patterns, digestive problems and poor performance just to name a few.  It is important to keep our stress levels to a minimum.  The good news is that unlike other stresses we don’t have control over, such as our environment, nutritional stress is something we can directly change. With less nutritional stress you will see improved performance, increased energy and faster recovery.

Consuming too many refined foods causes nutritional stress. Refined sugar for example, is the ultimate stressor on our body. Because refined sugar is void of all fiber, minerals and nutrients, it is the definition of an empty calorie. When we consume refined sugar our body actually has to pull from our own reserves in order to metabolize and digest. Rather then providing nutrition the result is actually a deficiency.

In order to maintain a low level of nutritional stress in the body, we must nourish ourselves with the simplest, purest, nutrient rich whole foods. Think of the difference between eating a highly processed McDonald’s Cheeseburger and a banana. The later will be quite easy to digest and use for energy.  The cheeseburger on the other hand will require more energy to digest and therefore leave you with less energy to use. When we eat poorly (refined foods) extra blood is needed and drawn to the stomach to aid digestion.  Because it is drawn from other parts of the body, those functions slow down and cause stress in the body.

You want to try and think of eating low stress, easily digestible foods that will give your body the most energy and therefore improve your athletic performance. This includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes.  Raw foods can be very beneficial as there is very little energy needed to breakdown in your body as the enzymes are still intact making digestion quick and efficient (This is why smoothies are such a great recovery meal). With less energy spent on breaking down food- more energy can go to training and recovery!

The iPod Dilemma By Lance Panigutti

My local profesional Tri friend, Lance Pantigutti, recently formed a new company that will try to bring affordable races to the Denver-Boulder area.

You may recall Lance from his spectacular second place performance at the 24-Hours of Triathlon earlier this year.

In case you are in the hood and happen to be looking for an affordable race next year here is a link to his new company's web site: Without Limit Productions.

And here's some recent iPod musing by Lance that I hope you will enjoy.

Ask an athlete who grew up in the 70's or 80's how they met their partner and chances are they'll have a great story of meeting while on a group ride or at masters swim practice. They might even have had
the courage to turn-around mid run to do some flirting. We've all seen the Prefontaine movies and can vividly remember how gutsy that cocky freshman was, to run ahead of his teammates and flirt with his
"future" girlfriend. After telling his teammates to hold up he ran ahead to casually comment on Mary Marx's running stride, while bold it was still a great opener. For someone who ran hundred mile weeks that
boy had some serious "game".

Fast forward to 2007 and pretend another cocky freshman is trying to pull a "Pre" out on the trail. He runs ahead of his teammates all eager and excited only to see a dreaded little device, one we might as
well call a "game killer", the iPod. He tries his best openers, but they just bounce off the Apple force field she put up the minute she pressed play. Why would she want to talk to someone mid-workout anyway when John Mayer is just a play button away?

Training out on the trails and roads use to be a friendly experience, even a chance to get some digits. Well unless you have an iPod scrambler those days are long gone. Things have gotten so bad that
most athletes won't even work out if they left their "game killer" device at home. It's as if this little box has some magic power to make the workout feel pain free and as if it never happened at all.
Guess what folks, people ran long before 2001 without being plugged in to the Billboard top 100, incoming calls, constant heart rate, and pace data.

Let's take a look at our cocky freshman post run. Is he discouraged at running past 4 gorgeous girls with their pink iPod nanos? Ha, not this guy, this gamer still gets to walk back to his dorm during the Baywatch rush hour. As he makes his way through campus, day-game openers' ready, his face turns from shock to disgust. The iPod
epidemic has spread like a malignant virus from the running trails to the sidewalks. When did walking become so tough that we need Survivor or Kayne West to pump us up?

So to combat this growing epidemic what has corporate America decided to do? They find a way to make iPods water proof and small enough to swim with, put TV's in treadmills, and flood the media with more ads. Instead of giving 5 year olds Tonka Trucks we might as well stick an iPod shuffle in their ears, tuning them out to society one playlist at a time. Take note Steve Jobs, endurance athletes won't lay down and sleep alone. We're stepping up our game, we're fired up, and we're getting those digits even if it means running twice as much.

GUTTI

Swimming Outdoors

Since I am currently stuck behind massive piles of snow in my driveway, I thought I would feature this great story by Niki Dobbyn of TriathaNewbie.com

Not only does the story make me long for the summer and swimming in the heat, but I also love the great image that Niki created to make the story complete.

I spent the first ten years of my swimming career in a nicely lit pool with six lanes, a long blue line painted on the floor of each lane and a T at each end. There were walls (of course), overhead flags for backstroke, swimmers swimming in the lanes with and around me and that wonderful taste of chlorine -- not that I liked drinking it, but it occasionally got in unwanted orifices like your mouth, your nose and ears. I had locker rooms, bathrooms and tiled floors to walk on.

When I was introduced to triathlons, It didn't dawn on me that the swim was going to be anything different from the pool swim until I arrived at my first tri having trained solely in a pool -- bad idea! Let me tell you why. I arrived at the triathlon at about 6 am and got everything situated, like TriathaNewbie.com suggests. I brought my wet suit down to the beach and stood there looking at the water."Hmmm, " I thought to myself. "The water looks pretty dark." I looked around a bit at the people getting ready. "Those buoys look pretty far away, too." I thought, squinting at the triangular flotation devices far far away on what looked like the horizon. "Those must be the out of bounds buoys". I shrugged.

I walked over to the water and stepped up to my ankles. "Holy crap! It's cold" O.K. I think I might have said something a bit more colorful at the time. The guy next to me smiled with that knowing "you must have trained in a pool" smile and I told him this was my first triathlon so he didn't think I was a total idiot. But he didn't. Apparently, there were newbies starting triathlons all the time and today just happened to be my day. He brought me over to his group that included his sister and two friends. They watched me in hysterics as I tried to put on my shortie wet suit in the sand. I had sand all up in my wet suit from my feet being sandy and wet -- big mistake! Then his sister explained that the place to put on the wet suit on is in the parking lot where there is little risk of sand irritating those parts we don't like to talk about. O.K. I learned that lesson the hard way. For some reason, I was pretty sure, I had a few more coming.

I had the wet suit on, I had the bathing cap on and I was just standing there with the group looking at the water waiting for the event to begin when it dawned on me: Are sharks gonna eat me? "Holy crap! Are Sharks gonna eat me? Are there sharks out there? The water is pretty freekin' dark ya know!" (again, more colorful at the time) Why didn't I think about this before?" I actually started seriously panicking about it and all the hairs on my body began to stand up on their ends. The cool guy I met at the water edge said, still staring at the water mentally preparing for his race, "Relax and see if you can follow me on this...There are about 500 swimmers preparing to swim this course. Our heat is roughly in the middle, which means that almost 500 swimmers will be in the water at the same time. IF there's a shark AND he decides to eat you, out of the 500 other snacks, I'm gonna have to believe that it is just your time."

Believe or not, that made perfect sense to me and I was ok.

The starter climbed the lifeguard stand and started announcing directions through the bull horn. I stopped hearing what he was saying when I heard that the buoys weren't the "out of bound markers". They were the buoys the swimmers needed to go around to complete the course! Holy Crap! (again, a more colorful metaphor was thought). I just stared at the buoys thinking, "there's no way I'll make it out to that buoy, then over to that buoy and back to shore. There's no way the distance is a half mile!" I actually swam a mile in my pool three times a week and couldn't, for the life of me, rationalize the distance with the one laid out before me. I was literally stunned. I had to keep telling myself, "Technically, you CAN do this... you just don't know you can." I try not to lie to myself and this was the most accurate statement I could encourage myself with.

I saw my group walking towards the water and my brain shut off. It literally shut off. I remember my virgin feet stepping on rocks, shells and other things but it was very surreal. I waded out to the outside of the group because the group looked enormous. I semiconsciously calculated that I was kinda small and might break under the weight of all of those people charging at once. I heard a noise and saw bodies flying and splashing and running. I starting flailing and doing the same, only in my own lane - Where's my lane?!?! Where the hell's my lane?!?! I have to swim. So I swam like a bat outta hell as fast as I could until I was exhausted.

I stopped and looked around. I was very alone, way out over my head and in black Falmouth water. There was no one near me and the shore was far behind. l looked to the far left, saw the race continuing without me and realized I was heading to Martha's Vineyard all by myself. I had a small panic attack and a tingling sensation began to radiate all over my body. I knew this was the type of situation that divided the men from the boys (I'm a girl, but try to follow the spirit of this logic) and made the decision to pull myself together. I took a few composing breaths, put my head down and swam towards to the first buoy stopping every ten strokes to realign myself. I encountered these things called waves, which are not present in pools, got salt water up my nose and it threw my navigation off every time I looked up, but I made it to the first buoy.

Next stop, buoy number two! I spotted it, put my head down and began to swim. There were people all around this time, thank God! Luckily, swimming has always been my strongest suit and I finally remembered. I realized that swimming with my head down was a big mistake when I went to spot the buoy and instead found a pair of fluttering feet in my face. I had another expletive deletive cross my mind, stopped dead in my tracks, recouped and then started again with my b-line for the next buoy. With my head tilted at a 45-degree angle, watching the blurred underwater version of people encompassed in black swimming around me, I swam ten strokes and spotted. Swam ten strokes and spotted. The count was giving my mind a great pattern to concentrate on and as I passed other swimmers, I gained confidence. It was working like a charm until...

Yes, "until" always pops up in confident situations. Well, I swam ten strokes and spotted Fred at 2:00. For this story, let's call him Fred anyways. He was, shall we say in lifeguard terms, a distressed swimmer. He was way out over his head, literally and figuratively. He was working his butt off going nowhere and had just flipped over on his back to rest and stay alive. Fred was done. "Do I help? Awh, man!" I just got into my groove and this guy's gotta screw up my race. "Hold on Missy," I thought. "You're missing brain cells if you think your race is more important than whether or not this guy makes it back to the shore." The waterlogged angel in my brain finally popped through and I was next to Fred talking to him. Luckily, for me, he was too embarrassed to have a tiny chick like myself give him a hand and he politely waved me off. OK Florence Nightingale, back to my b-line for the second buoy. (just as an FYI, I didn't hear about any deaths after the race, and I checked the newspaper, so I think Fred floated himself to shore just fine without my help)

As I neared the second buoy I got so excited. One more turn and I'm headed home -- warm beach with sand and people and no more salt water. I got my body around it and dug in. I passed more swimmers along the way and got more and more excited as I could see things on the bottom of the ocean floor getting clearer and clearer. I could stand now, yes! "Ouch, oooh, youch, ahhh!" were my g-rated remarks as I tried to run in five feet of water towards the beach on rocks, shells and other really sharp unknown objects. Take my word, friends, SWIM as far as you can before you begin using your feet for anything else but kicking! Ever have that dream where you're running away from someone and you feel like you're running in slow motion or in jelly? Well, my exhaust from running in water almost left me at the water's edge. I was seeing dots when I was running up the beach so badly that I couldn't find my wetsuit pull string-thingy and started whacking myself on the back like I'd just been bitten by a swam if bees trying to locate it. I was so trapped in it for what seemed like forever that it took me a long time to realize that there were a million people standing around doing nothing and one just might be able to help me! And one lucky fan did. With a heartfelt, "Thanks", I was off to the second leg where I was sure to learn more lessons in triathlon biking!

Are You Ready For Newbie Week?

It is the start of Newbie week here at Everyman Triathlon.

I’ve got a great week planned, just for you, of very helpful advise, tips, guest authors, pearls of tri wisdom, and crazy Newbie stories to close out January...culminating in the biggest feature ever put on by Everyman Triathlon. We here in Boulder, the triathlon Mecca of the wold, have pulled out all the stops to make this the best week of Everyman Triathlon ever.

NO you didn’t?

YES we did!

And…you won’t believe the grand finale. For clues, as to what it is going to be the showstopper of this huge event, you’ll have to check back all week. We’ll do our best to try to spoil the surprise…so check back often.

To get the ball rolling here’s a great training story for Newbies and Oldies alike written by Nikki Dobbyn from www.triathanewbie.com:

Back to Triathlon Training

It's the beginning of the year and the beginning of triathlon training for those of you who are competing in your first triathlon or for those of you who have taken a long time off and it feels like the first one. Here are some tips on getting your body back in gear and ready for the season.

Swim:
Let's get something straight. It's hard for EVERYONE to get back into the pool. There are three things you always remember about the pool after taking a long break: being cold, feeling like a million bucks and being cold and wet (in that order). The best way to get yourself back into the pool is to have a swim buddy that will motivate you. The second best way to get yourself back into the pool is to imagine how you will feel during your first competition when you get tired in the middle of the swim and have to back float back to shore. Both have their merits!

If you have a very difficult time entering water that you feel is hypothermic, find another pool. You will never get a good swim workout if you don't ever get into the pool. If you have thicker skin, then the only thing you have to remember is to head to the pool at the designated lap swim time. Arrive at your local pool prepared. Bring goggles, a swim cap, your swim suit and a towel.

Find the appropriate lane by watching the other swimmers. If they are swimming at a pace you can swim, then enter that lane. Remember, your pace may be a bit slower where you haven't been in the pool in a while. If you are a brand new swimmer, you should try the slow lane first. If you don't know how to swim, you should take some lessons before committing to a triathlon training program.

Do not expect to swim a mile if you haven't swam in a long time. Just start swimming long gliding strokes to get your muscles used to the motions again. Take breaks when you need breaks. Don't kill yourself trying to do an amazingly hard workout or you will surely be disappointed. Your goal is to get your heart and muscles moving--that's it! When you've had enough, look at the clock to see how long you swam. Now you have a starting point for your next swim.

Bike:
If you have four seasons, you can look outside right now and see snow, ice, cold rain and/or a wintery combination. None of these sound like conditions neither you nor I would like to ride in. There are options, however. Find a local gym that offers Spin Classes. Start with a beginner class if you've never participated in a class before. Bring a hand towel and a water bottle (or two). Wear bike shorts, a tank top and sneakers under your winter traveling gear.

I promise that you will get really hot and thirsty and you'll be thrilled that you have these things. Let the teacher know that you are new so he/she can help you adjust your bike to fit your body. You run the risk of being injured if your bike is not properly set. Hop on and have a blast! Remember to sit when you get tired, sit if you get lightheaded and keep on peddling no matter how you feel. You can peddle slowly until you feel better. Then you can rejoin the class. By the way, your butt will hurt for a few days afterwards--it happens to EVERYONE.

A second option is to buy a Trainer. If you already have a great road bike, you can purchase a stand (Trainer) that will lift up the rear wheel and allow you to bike miles without leaving your living room. You can put on your favorite TV show or music and pump away! Try varying your speeds a bit, standing and sitting. If you feel lightheaded or tired, back off a bit. When you've had enough, look at the clock to see how long you biked. Now you have a starting point for your next bike.

Run:
If you like running outside, be careful. Winter brings with it some tough conditions like ice, snow banks, and crazy drivers. You don't want to be near any of them! Find a safe place to train, like a running path or treadmill, and begin by walking briskly. If this is too easy, add some hills. If this is too easy, jog. If you get tired slow down a bit. If you have more energy, pick up the pace.

It's all about getting your body used to moving. It will respond and you will progress! Wear appropriate clothing for being in the temperature you will be running. Layers are always a good idea. You can always take one off and tie it around your waste while you're training. Wear material that wicks the moisture away from your body. Nothing is worse than being hot on the inside and cold/wet on the outside. When you are finished, look at the clock to see how long you ran. Now you have a starting point for your next run.

Set Realistic Goals:
If your mini-triathlon is in July and it's a .25 mile swim, 10 mile bike and 3 mile run, set realistic goals on a calendar so that you can be able to reach them by the time the event rolls around. You have 7 months to prepare. It works the same for any distance triathlon event. Plan ahead so that you are prepared. Plan your practices so that they are challenging, but don't make them so difficult that you can't finish them. It's tough on your body and will leave you mentally disappointed every time.

Triathlon training is supposed to make you feel great inside! Yes, you will have some aches and pains, but you should feel like a million bucks once you've completed the workout. There are also some great books that give detailed practices and triathlon groups that you can join for motivation and support. Check them out!

Core Strengthening Exercises for TriathaNewbies

I’ve been speaking with some of the local pro triathletes here in Boulder, the Mecca of triathlon, and asking them about what’s the secret to their speed. I thought they’d say things like speed workouts, great nutrition, mental stamina or EPO (just kidding guys and gals). It turns out that they all rave about core strength…especially during base training. I was surprised to learn the pros use yoga and pilates, among other ways, to build core strength.

Now to me core strength means being able to get out of bed without grunting. Lucky my web friend Niki Dobbyn, who runs TriathaNewbie.com, knows a lot more about the subject. So I’ve borrowed the following story about core strength workouts. I think that it gives a great way to build strength, plus I like the little pictures/diagrams. For some strange reason they make me really smile:

We challenge ourselves with triathlons, training year round to keep our aerobic levels and technical skills to a point where we can compete to our body's potential, but sometimes we forget that not all of our bodies are made for the wear and tear that accompanies such a demanding schedule. Professional athletes have personal trainers, but the average triathletes have to listen to our bodies and interpret the signals to our best ability. We all have aches and pains that we deal with on a regular basis, and we work through them. Occasionally though, we misinterprets the pain signals and try to push through aches and pains that should be addressed and not pushed through.

One of the most common problems triathletes face is a weak lower back. If we push though lower back pain instead of address it, there is a possibility that we will have to discontinue working out altogether to recover from related injuries. But if we can detect the weakness ahead of time, there are exercises we can do to build up our lower back muscles before we injure them.

Warm Up:
Before you start these exercises, be sure that your body has had a sufficient warm-up. You can walk for 15 minutes on a treadmill, go out for an easy 15 minute rollerblade or jog around the block a few times. Take a few minutes afterwards to stretch out so that you do not pull any muscles while following the exercise drills below.

Exercise 1: (see fig 1)
Grab an exercise ball and sit on it. Roll down the ball carefully until only your neck and head are on the ball. Push your butt up so that your back is aligned with your head and neck. Bend your knees and plant your feet firmly on the floor. Try and keep your knees close to together. They don't have to touch. If you are having pain in your knees, position them comfortably to avoid injury.

Keep your body in position and raise both arms so that they are perpendicular to your body. Keeping your left arm in place, lower the right arm down to your side. Then bring it back up. Keeping your right arm in place, lower the left arm down to your side. Then bring it back up. Be sure to keep your body posture through these arm movements. Start out by completing 1 minute of these exercises. Then, as you get better, move up to 2 minutes.

To challenge yourself even more, grab some stretchy bands and ask a friend to help out or use a pole. Slide into the same position listed above, but have your friend or the pole stand behind you and hold the stretchy band in the middle while you hold the two ends. You will do the same exercise above, but this time you will have resistance. This will work your core muscles, specifically your lower back and butt muscles as well as simulate a freestyle-like arm movement that will certainly strengthen your swim.

You can do this same exercise but change it up to work other muscles by having the friend or the poll on the other side of you, standing down by your knees. Instead of lowering each arm to your side like the exercise above, lower each arm the opposite way and brush your biceps by your cheek. Make sure your arm is straight and not bent. Again, start out doing 1 minute drills and move to 2 minutes as you get stronger. To get out of this position, let go of the stretchy bands, put your hands on the floor and sit down carefully. Move the ball away and stand when you are ready.

Exercise 2: (see fig 2)
Keep the exercise ball and rest only your calves and feet on it. The rest of your body should be lying flat on an exercise mat. Your arms should be facing palm down next to you body on each side for balance. After you have gotten yourself into this position, you want to push your butt up into the air so that you can draw a straight line from your neck to your ankles. Do not arch your back. The straight line is the key! In this position, you want to lower your butt to the mat and raise it back to the initial position slowly. You will feel your butt and thigh muscles working! Start out doing a two sets of 10 slow sets and move to 20 when you feel strong enough to complete them. To make this workout harder, roll the ball so that only your ankles and feet are on it. It will make your butt and thigh muscles work harder producing much better results. To get out of this position, put your butt on the floor, bend your knees, push the ball away and put your legs on the floor. Simply sit up from there and stand up when you are ready.

Exercise 3: (see fig 3)
Continue using the exercise ball and lay face down on your belly. Put both hands and both feet on the floor to gain your balance. Once you have your balance, raise your right arm and left leg at the same time. Then lower them back to the ground and raise your left arm and right leg. Do not raise your hand higher than your head or your leg higher than your butt. You should be using your lower back muscles to do raise and lower your arms and legs. If you are not sure whether or not you are using these muscles, ask a friend to feel your lower back while you are doing this drill to make sure they are flexing. Just a tip: Be sure to keep your head facing down or you may strain your neck muscles.

Start out by completing 1 minute of these exercises. Then, as you get better, move up to 2 minutes. To get out of this position, simply put all hands and feet on the floor, roll back so that your knees are on the ground, and sit back on your feet. Roll the ball away and stand up when you are ready.

Warm Down
When you are finished, take a few minutes to stretch and think about the drills. If you are having problems with these drills, ask a friend to watch or exercise in front of a mirror so that you can see if your body is properly aligned.