Very basically, your kinetic chain is the way that your body was intended to move. When working properly, all muscles are firing at the right time, in the right order, to maximize your efficiency of movement. When not working properly, overuse injuries tend to occur, and you may be working harder and utilizing more oxygen for a given movement than you need to. Two primary causes of disruptions to your kinetic chain, especially relevant to triathletes, are repetitive movements, and being in awkward positions for long period of time (aero bike anyone?).
Mixing in a few exercises to your training routine that specifically target kinetic chain imbalances will make you a faster, more efficient athlete, as well as prevent overuse injuries. Plyometrics are a great way to train athletic movement because they teach your body to produce more force through less energy expenditure. Here are 6 plyometric exercises to get you started:
1. Split Jumps. Watch demo here
2. Ice Skaters. Watch demon here
3. Box Jumps. Watch demo here
4. Burpees. Watch demo here
5. Single Leg Burpees. Watch demo here
6. Burpee/Pushup/Long Jump/Tuck Jump. Watch demo Here
D3 has a full library of strength and exercise videos and articles in both D3 U. and on our Youtube Channel.
D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each week, and we promise you will learn something you didn’t know.
Coach Simon shares his unique sock roll and two other important reminders to ensure smooth, speedy and safe transitions.
If you’ve been around triathlon for a while, you probably understand why the Chicago Triathlon is a bucket list race. If you’re a little newer to the sport, here’s a very brief history. It started in 1983 as a stop on the U.S. Triathlon Series (USTS). The race was an Ironman qualifier in the ‘90s and hosted TriFed (this was pre-USAT days) national championships. The race has grown to become the largest triathlon in the U.S. with about 8,000 competitors (across multiple races) and has changed title sponsors several times--Bud Light, Mrs. T’s, Lifetime, and now Transamerica.
This is one of my very favorite Olympic distance races, not just because of the history, but because of the special challenges that it presents. Following are thoughts and tips about the race.
Packet Pickup is a big deal and attending a pre-race briefing is mandatory. I know that a lot of races say that the briefing is mandatory, but it REALLY is mandatory at this race. Briefings are about 30 minutes long and typically occur on the hour and half hour when the expo is open (Friday and Saturday). You get a ticket for a briefing when you arrive at the Expo. During busy times, you may have to wait for a briefing that has space. You get a hand stamp at the end of your briefing. No hand stamp, no packet pickup. They do a good job of keeping the briefing interesting and entertaining. With a race this big and a bike course that’s a little complicated, it’s a good idea to pay attention.
The briefing/packet pickup/expo are at the Chicago Hilton on Michigan Avenue. As with any big city race, parking is a pain and with a race this big, expect to spend close to an hour (at minimum) once you’re in the hotel. You can spend a lot longer if you want to spend time at the expo--it’s enormous and every triathlon-related brand you’ve ever heard of (plus many others) are there.
Race Morning requires patience and extra time.
Transition: The first wave goes off at 6:00 am so they close transition at 5:45 am. (You read that right--transition opens at 4:00 am and CLOSES at 5:45 am.) If you’re not staying downtown, plan to arrive plenty early. The transition area is enormous and it can be disorienting if you’re seeing it for the first time on race morning (in the dark). I strongly recommend checking out transition in the daylight on Saturday to get a feel for the space. Bikes are racked by age group and the racks are usually pretty tight. Arrive a little early to be sure you can stake out a decent spot. If you don’t make a habit of walking your path through transition, you definitely should for this race. Swim in/run out are in the SW corner and bike out/in are on the north side. (The transition area is curved and on a hill.)
Wave Starts: There are a ton of waves in this big race. Usually around 30 or more waves in the Olympic distance race followed by 25 or more in the sprint race. There’s close to two-and-a-half hours between the first and last waves. So if you’re not in an early wave, you’ll have some waiting after you leave transition. There’s a large bank of porta-potties on top of the hill by the swim in/run out side of the transition area. I recommend you stop there after leaving transition. There are a bunch of porta-potties near the swim start, but the lines there are usually longer. Note that it’s about a half mile walk from transition to the swim start. They offer a morning bag service so you don’t have to change into your wetsuit until your wave begins to line up. You’ll begin queueing for your wave about 20 minutes or so before your start. They’ll let you into the water exactly one minute before your start. (Even with a good porta-potty strategy, most people spend the better part of that minute peeing in their wetsuits.)
Swim: The swim is entirely inside the marina along the sea wall. It’s a bummer that you don’t get to swim out into Lake Michigan, but this course is super spectator-friendly because your friends/family can walk alongside you as you swim. It also feels very safe, especially considering the size of this race. There are tons of kayaks and boats along the course. You swim south for about 400 meters then you u-turn around the only turn buoy and swim north, past the swim start, to the swim finish. The exit from the water is up some stairs and there are volunteers there to help you stand up and get up the stairs.
Equipment note for the swim--be sure you bring two pairs of goggles: clear and tinted. Remember that the first wave goes off at 6:00am--this is usually about 15 minutes before sunrise! Last year, I was in a 7:08 am wave and clear goggles were the best choice under the overcast skies. Plan to make a goggle choice before you queue up with your wave. You can put your other pair in your morning bag. The sun will be on your left as you start the swim and then on your right through the main portion--never in your eyes. Err on the side of lighter goggles.
T1: There is a very long run from the swim exit to transition--about a quarter mile plus the extra distance within the big transition area. Some people will drop shoes or sliders near the swim exit but I think looking for shoes is a time-waster. The path is fully carpeted so it’s not a big deal to run barefoot. I do recommend working out of your wetsuit as soon as you exit the water and once you have the top off and down around your waist, pulling to the side for a moment and slipping out of the suit. The problem with waiting until you’re at the rack is that all of the water will be out of the suit, making it harder to take off. Plus, you’ll be a faster runner out of the suit. Just be sure you don’t impede any other athlete’s progress when you stop. Then, the only real key to transitions in this race is knowing how to get to your bike and then out of transition.
Bike:
You’ll exit transition and head north up the onramp to the famed Lakeshore drive. Lakeshore is a bit of a bumpy ride with some big expansion joints here and there, but is definitely in good enough shape to stay in your aerobars the whole way. You’ll ride out-and-back on Lakeshore--about 7 miles each way. During the Lakeshore portion of the bike, you’ll RIDE LEFT and PASS RIGHT--opposite of normal. When you exit Lakeshore, the bike will switch back to the normal RIDE RIGHT and PASS LEFT format as you head under Chicago on Wacker. This presents an interesting challenge because, although it’s well lit underground, regular sunglasses might feel uncomfortably dark. Last year, I chose to wear clear glasses for the bike (and squint a bit on Lakeshore) in order to have great vision underground. This will be my plan for this race going forward--worked perfectly. You’ll pop out onto a busway and into the sunlight for a bit on this out-and-back segment. The underground and busway portions of the ride are completely closed to traffic. There are cars next to you on Lakeshore, but there’s a huge amount of buffer and the cars are moving very slowly--a very safe setup.
T2: Like T1, the primary trick to T2 is knowing where to go--transition is enormous. If you went with clear glasses on the bike, you’ll want to have a regular pair of sunglasses waiting in T2 for the run.
Run: The run is pretty flat and mostly on a concrete path (although the first half-mile is on dirt/grass). The course takes you past some pretty cool landmarks--Buckingham Fountain, the Museum, and the Shedd Aquarium. It’s an out and back course with a few minor rollers but is overall pretty flat. There is a short uphill section just before the finish. It can get pretty hot by the time you get to the run and Chicago humidity in August is on full display. Keep up on your hydration and adding salt tabs to your nutrition mix is a good idea.
Coach Dave Sheanin approaches coaching from a holistic perspective. Adult age-group triathletes typically have substantial demands in their lives outside of training and racing. Looking at any individual component of an athlete’s training (or life) is a data point, but it rarely tells the full story. He makes it a priority to understand what’s going on in an athlete’s life beyond triathlon in order to build a plan that is smart, fits their lifestyle, and builds toward appropriate goals.
D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each week, and we promise you will learn something you didn’t know.
Coach AJ shares a tip that will help you run faster ... without using your legs!
As a coach, I certainly don’t want my athletes to fail at their A priority race, but I do want them to fail in other races. While that may sound counter-productive, failure is where you learn the most. So when I talk about failure, I don’t mean it in the traditional sense, I mean it as a way to see what you are truly capable of.
I’ll use my own racing experience as an example. I was not particularly strong in any one discipline, rather, it was my calculated approach to racing that helped me reach the top 10 in my age group in Kona. I never hammered the bike, or took off on the early portion of the run and ended up blowing up and having to walk. I always had the finish line in mind and metered my effort accordingly. I liked to think that I was racing smart, and I was.
However, while pacing was my strong suit, it was also my weakness because it never allowed me to fully explore how fast I could go. To me, blowing up was a failure, and I wasn’t willing to risk failing in my own sense. In hindsight, I should have chosen some B priority races to find out where the edge of my fitness was and pushed the bike to the limit, or gone out of T2 like a rocket. I never did and if there is any regret in my career, it’s that I didn’t take that risk.
So, look at your own racing to identify what is holding you back. It may not be your fitness, it may be your own pacing strategy, your inattention to nutrition, your lack of mental toughness or something else. For example, many athletes I have coached have told me, “I have to push the bike because I’m not a runner.” My response has always been, “Have you ever held back on the bike and given yourself a chance to run well?”
This is a perfect example of how you can take a risk during a B priority race to see how you can reach your optimum performance. I have athletes choose a B priority event of the same distance as their A priority race and pace the bike a little more conservatively than normal. This allows them to potentially nail the run, which then opens their minds to other strategies of reaching their peak performance.
For some, it can be hard to get past the idea of not using their strength during a race. But it is by addressing your perceived weakness that you find your true limits. After following my advice about holding back on the bike, many athletes have said, “I never knew I could run that well.” This gives them new confidence and a whole new card to play during their A priority race. I urge you to take a hard look at what you believe is holding you back. Address it in training, and give yourself an opportunity to prove yourself wrong on race day. Fail at what you think is your strength, and you may just find that you have a whole new strength to tap on race day.
Coach AJ believes that the foundation of a great coach/athlete relationship is mutual agreement on a few core principles: the setting of realistic expectations and goals, honest and open communication and trust. Once we establish that base, I don’t follow a specific template. He tailors each plan to the individual and make adjustments along the way.
Why You Should Do It
Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon is an iconic race on the bucket list of triathletes worldwide. In 2016, the 2000 athletes represented all 50 states and 54 other countries. Escape consistently gets mentioned in top 10 lists of must-do triathlons. In 2016, there was a long line after the race at the tent offering to engrave your finisher medal with your name. Evidently, many athletes were not just going to dump their finisher medal in the big box with all the rest of their medals. It’s a classic race.
The Race
It’s a singular course, with a 1.5-mile swim, an 18-mile bike and an 8-mile run. The bike and run are both very hilly, and so can be the swim depending on winds and tidal currents. Be aware that from the swim exit back to transition is a half-mile run. Brief but very informative videos abound. If you view the videos now, you will have a good idea of what you are signing up for.
The Swim
The swim is about 1.5 miles in temperatures ranging from 58 to 61 degrees. If race day brings favorable tidal currents, the swim can be blindingly fast or a little less so. The water can be calm and glassy, or give you craggy, three-foot waves with whitecaps hissing off the tops. This is one of the most weather-dependent swim courses anywhere. If the morning weather gives you dense fog, you will probably have calm air and thus flat water.
If the morning weather is clear, you will probably have wind. When the tide goes out and the wind comes in, moving in opposite directions, the waves will stack up. There can be strong tidal currents during your swim. When the tide goes out (ebbs) in San Francisco Bay, five million gallons of water per second exit through the Golden Gate. In the 2016 race, the ebb tide produced a 1.2-knot current to the west (equivalent roughly to 2:20 minutes per 100 yards in swimmer’s lingo), sweeping the swimmers toward the Golden Gate. This means that you had to swim directly to the south, across the current, to end up at the swim exit at the St. Francis Yacht Harbor 1.5 miles to the southwest of the swim entrance. Remember the short videos on the web site: they will tell you exactly how to race this race. Watch the videos. I’ll repeat this later. Also, during the athlete briefing and on the boat to the swim start, you will hear exactly what features on the San Francisco landscape to swim toward. Swim toward what they tell you to swim toward. Because of these currents, you cannot arrive at the St. Francis Yacht Harbor by swimming directly toward the St. Francis Yacht Harbor. Swimmers who follow directions can have a faster swim. In 2016, a pack of the best swimmers from the pro field somehow selected the wrong line and ended up five to seven minutes off the swim pace. The logistics of the swim are a bit complicated. On race morning, go to transition, set up your gear, then board a bus from Marina Green to Fisherman’s Wharf. Disembark the bus, walk 200 yards to the ship Hornblower with the other 2000 athletes. Bring only what you will swim with, as there is no bag drop on the boat. The good ship Hornblower, tastefully decorated like a New Orleans river boat, will have no furniture; only a massive, carpeted deck. Younger age groups get to sit, stand or lie on the first deck; older age groups climb one flight of stairs to the second deck. Bodies will be strewn everywhere. The ship motors out to the southeast corner of Alcatraz Island. Athletes actually never set foot on the island (unless they take the National Park Service tour some other time, which is well worth doing and will make you never, ever want to be sentenced to a maximum security federal prison). During the ride the announcer will tell you dozens of times to “Swim across the river,” meaning swim to the south to get to the swim finish. The announcer will tell you dozens of times which prominent buildings to swim toward. Do what he says. I also will tell you this dozens of times. At last, it’s time to swim. 2000 athletes abandon the ship in six minutes, with the pros jumping ship first. Jump the six free from the deck into the water and swim away right now, as there are a hundreds of athletes jumping in right behind you, just like the penguins pouring off the Antarctic ice floes in Animal Planet videos. The ship leaves the pier at 7:00 AM. The ship arrives at the swim start at 7:20. The first athletes dive in at 7:30. By 7:36, everyone is in the water. You are on your way. Swim to the landmarks they tell you to.
The Bike
The bike course features four miles of flats and 14 miles of hills. It’s a course that Charles Dickens would appreciate: the best of climbs and the worst of climbs. Because it is an out-and-back route, every short, sharp downhill you descend later becomes a short, sharp uphill. In 2016, female pro winner Holly Lawrence clocked a scorching 51:21 bike split, battling the wind on the outbound segment, riding the tailwind on the return and logging 2140 feet of elevation gain and loss in the process. The bike course is stunningly scenic, if you can divert your eyes here and there between the technical descents and the sharp climbs, going along San Francisco Bay, past the Golden Gate Bridge, along Baker’s Beach on the mighty Pacific Ocean, then past the Cliff House and into (and out of) Golden Gate Park. Given the hilly, technical bike course, should you use a tri bike or your road bike? About 80% of athletes used tri bikes, but some were heard to say on the climbs, “I should have brought my road bike.” Some of the climbs exceed 10%, but they are all short. The last two miles of the bike course are flat, straight and downwind, giving athletes a chance to sort out the plans for T2 and get ready for the run.
The Run
The run course is déjà vu all over again: eight miles of back to Crissy Field along the Bay, then up a long set of stairs to the Golden Gate Bridge, and down the steep hill to Baker’s Beach, paralleling the way you just rode your bike. The trudge across the soft sand of Baker’s beach is anything but a Baywatch moment, except for the slow-motion effects. Once you get close to the water, where the sand is more solid, the pace picks up for the quarter mile down the beach to the turnaround, then back toward the greatly feared sand ladder. The sand ladder is a set of wooden beams laid across a track straight up a 200-foot-tall sand dune. Fortunately, there are stanchions with cables on both sides of the track, and almost all the athletes haul themselves up the sand ladder by pulling on the cables with their arms as well as chugging up the sand with their legs. Timing mats at the bottom and top of the sand ladder capture that part of the race. In 2016, sixth-place male pro Mauricio Mendez Cruz from Mexico (who still holds the course record for 14 and under from 2009) scorched the sand ladder competition with a 1:50 burst. Once off the sand ladder and on to solid footing, athletes face another half-mile of climbing along the coastal trail, then a short series of stair steps through World War II artillery batteries, then back down the steep stairs to the flat, downwind two-mile finish. In 2016, second-place female pro Katie Zaferies clocked the best female run split at 49:27, finishing hand in hand with Tommy, her husband and 12th-place male pro. To say that this is an iconic triathlon is a weak description. Escape from Alcatraz is a top-of-the- bucket-list race. In 2016, 22% of the athletes were female, up from 18% last year and 12% since 2008. Slowtwitch offers a nice photo gallery giving you a good sense of the iconic parts of the course.
The swim can be cold, dark and rough. The bike course is hilly, technical and windy. The run course is plagued by stair steps and beach sand and long climbs and descents. In the end, you will have escaped. What are you waiting for?
Will Murray knows a few things about racing tough courses. He is the D3 expert on mental skills training for triathletes. He notes, " I often hear triathletes saying that the sport is at least 50% mental and 50% physical, but I’ve come to notice that they spend very little (if any) time doing mental training. Fortunately, it’s easy and fast to train-up your mind to help you achieve your triathlon goals. I’ve been lucky enough to bring these mental conditioning techniques to first-time athletes and Olympians, kids and seniors, triathletes who want to finish the race and those who are gunning to win."
What are my protein needs as an endurance athlete?
Protein needs for athletes are 1.7-1.9 grams of first-class protein per kg bodyweight per day.
This will help build lean body mass as well as recovery in terms of muscle building and repair. Protein is a key functional nutrient to helping your overall health and many athletes are deficient in their true needs. The RDA in the U.S. is 56 and 46 grams for Men and Women. This is for the average person’s diet, and even still may not be enough as each person’s protein needs are different.
How many grams of carbohydrate should I be consuming per hour when training hard or racing?
Carbohydrate needs for athletes during races and high intensity exercise for more than 60 mins should target 60 grams per hour.
This will help fuel your body for your needs during that exercise. There have been studies showing athletes being able to oxidize carbohydrates at higher levels, however, as a rule of thumb 60 grams per hour should be the starting point and assessing performance and tolerance as you increase your intake. This will help understand how your body digests and tolerates different levels of carbohydrates during exercise.
How do I know how much fluid I need to stay hydrated?
Understanding your sweat rate in different environmental conditions helps you understand what your fluid needs are during exercise.
Athletes can perform a sweat test while on the bike and/or run to help determine how much fluid they lose during exercise in those conditions. Follow the instructions below as it will help determine what your potential fluid loss needs are once you begin going over 60 minutes or more of exercise. *CALCULATE YOUR SWEAT RATE: To begin, record your nude body weight prior to exercising. When you are finished exercising, dry yourself off the best you can and record your nude body weight again. Record what and how much you consumed of fluids during your exercise. Subtract your pre-exercise weight from your post-exercise weight and add the amount of fluid you consumed to that number. This will give you the amount of fluid you lost while exercising. Then you need to divide that number by the amount of hours you exercised for and that will equal your sweat rate. Be sure to record the weather conditions as well, as to see how this may fluctuate.
1. ________ Record your nude body weight prior to exercise.
2. ________ Record your nude body weight (dry off best you can before recording weight) after exercise (convert weights to ounces; 1 lb = 16 oz).
3. ________ Record how much fluid you consumed during exercise (use ounces).
4. ________ Subtract lines1 & 2 from above for total weight loss and add line 3. This is the amount of fluid your body lost while exercising.
5. ________ Take the number from line 4 and divide it by how many hours you exercised for. This will give you and idea of what your sweat rate is.
Nick Suffedin is passionate about emerging science in sports nutrition as it relates to physiological and performance responses. Areas of research Nick has been involved in include muscle recovery, athletic performance, carbohydrate metabolism, rehydration and dehydration, stress testing, body composition, gastric emptying, sensory perception, along with aerobic and anaerobic performance testing. He is available to D3 athletes for race day fueling strategies.
Pre-race nerves can threaten your race if you let them get the best of you. And while managing them can be easier said than done, all it might take is a fresh look at your pre-race routines to come up with a new strategy to calm down.
Without some coping strategies, you might find yourself defeated before the gun goes off, and consequently will not rise to your capabilities of having a great race. There are a number of resources available to help you with open water angst, and other pre-race jitters, in fact, at D3, we recommend checking in with our mental skills expert, Will Murray. But I’d like to leave those skills to him because what I want to know is …
Will sexual relations the night before your race help with nerves? Male or female, I’m talking about everyone. What does sex do to you the night before a race?
I’ve learned that the amount of energy required for such bedroom training sessions is about as much as walking up two flights of stairs, or 25-50 calories. Your glycogen stores will not be depleted. (2) I promise! And if you can’t handle walking up two flights of stairs to get some relaxation, you’re probably not tapered enough to race.
Evidence suggests that hormones do not change negatively during bedroom training sessions and can be eliminated as any concern that would affect your race, in fact, it looks like it could enhance race day performance. In men, testosterone peaks after 7 days of abstinence, but then dramatically falls after 30 days (if you don't use it, you lose it). Yet after such training, there are no acute changes that either increase or decrease your testosterone, but rather a gradual rebuild of testosterone occurs. (1) In women, sexual activity releases pain-blocking endorphins which can help mitigate sore muscles.(2)
Studies have actually been conducted with the greatest athletes of all time about their advocating for a bedroom training session before a big event. From Muhammed Ali to Joe Namath to Pele and Jimmy Riccitello they are noted as saying respectively no, yes, yes and yes. (3,4) So unless you are in a contact sport, it appears that you get their support for going for gold in the bedroom before an event. It is acceptable, suggested, and maybe even required for improved race performance.
Now, let's get this straight. It’s not the same if you fly solo on an evening training session. It’s not the same emotional, relaxed confidence building session. However, you might not have a choice so here is some advice.
If you need to relax and fall asleep, take two melatonin and I’ll see you at the start line. If you travel solo to races and a partner might not be right there alongside you, I do not recommend finding a new bedroom training partner the night before the race. Even if I was 23 and unmarried - no, thank you! You don't need new saddle sores or to wake up with a flat the next morning because someone let all the air out of your tires. Be smart, not desperate. Casey Stengel, the legendary coach of the New York Yankees, who said, "It isn't sex that wrecks these guys, it's staying up all night looking for it."
Let's get a little specific about this training session. How long should the session last before pre-race benefits are achieved? Will 3 minutes, 8 minutes, 20 minutes be sufficient? My conclusion is, whatever, it doesn't matter! If you wind up with a TSS (training stress score) score of 3, maybe an IF (intensity factor) score of .95 or even 1.5 (if it was amazing), it's all good. I hope you know I'm joking at this point and are not actually going to try and calculate either of these.
If you’re so focused on a race that you cannot relax and unwind, then do yourself a favor and indulge. It's not selfish to take time for yourself to relax, in fact, everyone around you will appreciate the calmer you. A calmer you means a smoother race day and you will be able to better adapt to all of the conditions a race can toss at you. There's one caveat to all of this. Like your nutrition and other race strategies, don't try anything new the night before the race.
Coach Jim believes that every one of us has the capacity to improve our efficiency, get stronger and run, bike or swim faster. Sure, it takes time, dedication and discipline but it’s possible.
1-https://examine.com/nutrition/does-ejaculation-affect-testosterone-levels/2-https://www.neilbaum.net/sex-before-athletic-events---facts-and-myths.html3 https://www.cnn.com/2012/08/10/health/sex-athletes/4. https://www.triathlete.com/2013/01/training/performance-pointers_68968
Triathletes invest in their sport time, effort, emotion, and funds. You invest in running and cycling shoes, a bike, swim goggles and a wetsuit for starters. Then you may shell out for a Garmin device, a lactic threshold test and a blood test to check for micronutrients and balanced physiology.
Some athletes believe that their absolutely most important investment is in a smart, competent, experienced and supportive coach, who writes your training plan, provides race advice, works through your emerging issues, keeps you injury-free and has your back.
Sometimes, as an athlete, you might have doubts whether if it’s worth all this investment. Or, more truly, have doubts that you are worth the investment. This doubt can be temporary. You have one disappointing track session, but the next day your tempo run goes fine, and the doubt shrinks in the rearview mirror. But sometimes these doubts are more deep and stubborn.
Masters swimming: “Oh, I don’t swim well enough to take up lane space from the real swimmers.” Group runs: “Oh, they don’t want somebody like me slowing things down.” Group rides: “What if I get dropped?” A coach: “A coach, for me? I’m nobody. I’m not the kind of person who deserves a coach. I’m not good enough.”
If any of these prickly little phrases sounds familiar, don’t fret. There are answers.
Preparation
The technique below requires work. You actually must do the steps, as though you were with your coach and she is expecting you to carry out the instructions. When you are doing a swim workout, you actually must swim and not just read about swimming—you follow the coach’s direction. To get ready to do the next steps, round up a pencil and paper (not optional). Take your time. I’ll wait until you are ready. Now? Okay, let’s go.
Step 1. Articulate your goals and reasons for doing triathlon.
You may be striving for a healthy lifestyle and general fitness. If you have aspirations beyond this, such as finishing a longer distance race, achieving a personal record or qualifying for a championship race, having a clear, written goal statement is indispensable. You already know the trick—write your goal statement (e.g. qualify for USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals) on a piece of paper and stick it to your refrigerator or your bathroom mirror.
Step 2. Ask yourself, in the privacy of your own mind, “Am I worthy enough to pursue that goal?”
Notice carefully any response you get. If no response, wait a few moments, then ask, quietly, the question again.
Step 3. Notice whose voice is answering the question.
Carefully listen, not so much to the answer, but to the voice providing the response. Is it your voice? Or someone else’s voice? Or a blend, a small chorus of different voices? Notice carefully who does this sound like? When you have a clear sense of who is answering your question go to the next step.
Step 4a. If the voice is someone else’s ask, “What is your positive intention for me?”
Wait for a response. If the response makes sense to you, great. If not, ask, “What is important about that?” Wait for an answer. Keep asking this same question, “What is important about that?” until you get an answer that makes sense to you. Thank the voice each time you get a response. Go to Step 6.
Step 4b. If the responding voice is your voice ask “What is your positive intention for me?”
Wait for a response. If the response makes sense to you, great. If not, ask, “What is important about that?” Wait for an answer. Keep asking this same question, “What is important about that?” until you get an answer that makes sense to you. Thank the voice each time you get a response.
Step 5. Ask the responding voice, “How old are you?” and notice the response.
If the responding voice is younger than your present chronological age, ask this (exactly as stated here): “Without giving anything up, and while keeping everything you have, would you like to gain all the experience and wisdom available to you to advance to [your current age] or beyond?” If the response is positive, allow the part to grow up to your current age and ask it to tell you when it is done.
Step 6. Imagine your next big event.
This could be a key workout session, a race, or even that masters swim that you have been putting off. See yourself, over there, performing exactly as you wish you would. Start a color movie at the beginning and run it to the end of this event. Make this image run perfectly, as you are the director and you can have the image run exactly to your desires.
If the image runs well, run it again in fast motion so that it takes five or ten seconds total.
Step 7. Return to the responding voice in Step 4 and ask, “Do you have any objection to having the image run that way?”
If there are no objections, your work is finished. If you receive objections, repeat Step 4.
Conclusion
The way you make progress toward your goals is to stretch and pursue improvements. The way you pursue is to recognize the worth in the pursuit, and the worth in you. The way you do that is to act as if you are worth it, that you truly do deserve it, and then go do what a deserving person would do.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Who am I not?’” Marianne Williamson
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D3's go-to Mental Skills expert Will Murray works with beginners to Olympians helping them use their heads to do more than just hold their hats! In addition to being a triathlete himself, Will is a USAT Certified Coach, holds a practitioner certificate and more than 100 hours of advanced training in Neuro-Linguistic Programming. He helps athletes fix the issues that are holding them back.
References
Andreas, S. (2012). Transforming negative self-talk: Practical, effective exercises. New York, NY: W. W. Norton.
Andreas, S. (2012). More transforming negative self-talk: Practical, effective exercises. New York, NY: W. W. Norton.
D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and we promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know! Continue your triathlon learning curve, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
This Triathlon Minute is ‘The Importance of a Race Plan'.
Hopefully, by now you have signed up for your A race this season? It not, get to it! Your training will be focused toward getting you to race day in peak form to achieve the goals you have set out for that day. So why do another race before that? The impetus for this article was that I recently raced a 'B' race and did not heed my own coaching advice.
Call this a “tune up” race and here are some of the advantages:
How to select your B race? Ideally, it is a local race and a shorter distance. Here are some guidelines. If your A race is:
As a coach, I work with my athletes on their annual training plan which includes A/B and sometimes C races. We strategically choose those races based on timing, location and what works for the athletes.
Good luck and have fun this season!
The Race I Love to Hate … And Hate To Love
I hit up IM 70.3 St George in 2015 and 2016, and at this point have settled into a kind of love-hate relationship with the event. I simultaneously never want to do the race again and am considering it for 2018. If you can figure that one out, feel free to explain it to me.
Maybe it’s because the race course perfectly mimics my overall feelings about each leg of any triathlon: I actually really like the swim; I don’t think I like the bike until I start riding, and then I enjoy it; in contrast, the run is more painful than I even imagined. More likely, I’m drawn to the “beauty and the beast” aspect of the course, which is as challenging as it is breathtaking.
Weather
I don’t really know what to tell you here. In 2015, we had blazing blue skies and 90-degree temps. In 2016, we had wind rain and hail and maybe it was finally 50 degrees by the time I started the run.According to Accuweather.com, the average high in St George in early May is in the low 80s, average low is in the mid 50s - but clearly, I would be prepared for anything. Do plan for a cool morning and a potentially hot run. St George has also seen high winds on race day, so don’t rule that out either.
Logistics
IM 70.3 St George is a two-transition race. On race morning, you’ll drop your stuff in T1 and then board shuttles for T2. Ironman provides plenty of shuttles and the loading process is expedient, so you don’t need to budget for a long wait there. The ride to T1 is 25-30 minutes, though, so you do want to allow for that in your race day timeline.
Swim
The swim is a single, counter-clockwise loop in Sand Hollow Reservoir. Average water temps are in the low 60s, so bring your full-sleeve wetsuit for sure, and add a neoprene cap if you’re averse to cold water. It’s an in-water wave start, which is helpful in terms of acclimating to the cooler water temp - bob your head in and out of the water and blow bubbles while you’re treading water and waiting for your wave to start.
Personally, I loved this swim. Sand Hollow State Park, which houses the Reservoir, is absolutely gorgeous. The water was cool but manageable, visibility was decent, and because you are swimming around a rock formation in the middle of the Reservoir, you actually feel like it’s a “course” rather than a bunch of buoys in the middle of a lake. Also, the swim was the only part of the race that was flat.
T1
T1 is short and sweet - my Garmin clocked it at less than 0.2 miles from water exit to bike mount. You’ll run up a paved boat ramp out of the Reservoir, find an open wetsuit-stripper, go straight to your bike and be on your way. Easy peasy lemon squeezy, as my kids would say.
Bike
The bike is a point-to-point course, stretching from Sand Hollow State Park around to Snow Canyon State Park and back to downtown St George and T2. Over the the 56 miles, you’ll have some long hills, some long descents, some flat stretches, and of course the Snow Canyon climb. And if you lift your head for a moment, you can dull the pain by soaking in the dramatic red cliffs visible throughout much of the course.
Over the past two years they’ve made a few slight changes to the bike course, which are a definite improvement over the 2015 course. Most importantly for 2017, the initial 8-mile stretch of chip seal hell has been repaved, so you can look forward to more speed and fewer flats over that first stretch of road.
The first hill is early in that initial stretch and is likely to be a good wake up call for the day ahead. It’s not the longest of the hills you’ll face, but outside of Snow Canyon it’s the steepest. Watch your effort level and enjoy the incredible views back toward Sand Hollow State Park. From there you’ll get a nice moderate stretch to settle into your pace, followed by a series of long descents and long climbs. Be mindful on the descents - you’ll have plenty of road to work with, but the bike course can be crowded. As for the climbs: yes, they are long, but they are manageable. Pacing is key along this course, as you’ve still got the Snow Canyon climb to come.
After poring over updated course maps, Google maps, and my Garmin files from 2016, here’s what I believe you can anticipate for your final climb (but don’t come yelling if my mileage is off - it’s just a guesstimate):
You should reach the top of Snow Canyon Drive and the right turn back toward St George around mile 46. And here’s the good news: the final 10 miles of the bike course is a screaming descent. Plenty of time to rest your legs for the run.*
*For those that rode this course prior to 2015, there is now an overpass coming down State Route 18 over Red Hills Parkway, so there is no interruption in your descent to downtown St George.T2If you thought T1 was short and sweet, you will love T2. My Garmin clocked the total distance at a tenth of a mile. That means you’ll be able to take the extra few seconds and let the volunteers at run out slather you with sunblock. I’m not kidding here - do not skip the sunblock!
Run
I will try to be neutral and unbiased, but you should know that I really don’t like hills, and since this run is essentially hills followed by more hills, I was a little traumatized by it. Maybe others would have a more balanced take on it, or maybe it really is as bad as I remember. Either way, here are the facts:
You come out of T2 onto a flat road, turn left, and go up a short but steep hill, take a second left to a long 2.5 miles of gradual climb, then turn right for a half-mile beast of a climb. (If you’ve run continuously to mile 3, pat yourself on the back because you’re one of the few.) You then hit a mile of rollers - including one biggie - and then a long descent. You’ve got a little climb in Pioneer Park, then a continued descent to the turnaround.
Sadly, what comes down must then go up. After the turnaround you’ve got a gradual climb to a flat-ish out and back, which does have great views of downtown St George if you’re cognizant enough to look around.* In 2016, this out and back was extended from the short stretch they debuted in 2015 - and by extended, I mean that it went almost as far as the initial turnaround point, so prepared to hang out on that portion of the course for a while.
Once the out and back is done, you hit the long descent that you really liked coming down, and will really, really dislike going back up. It lasts possibly forever - three-quarters of a mile? - and it’s steep, and it will end you if you let it. On the other hand, if you put your head down and manage your effort level and will yourself up that final beast, all that’s left to do is fall downhill for four miles. Granted, by then your legs don’t even want to run downhill, but it’s easier to convince yourself to keep going when you know gravity is doing at least part of the work.
Aside from the hills, another important aspect to understand about the course is how totally unprotected it is. There are stocked aid stations with great volunteers approximately every mile, but there is barely an ounce of shade to be found on the course, and that’s only in the few miles coming into and out of downtown. Be prepared for relentlessly hot and sunny conditions and plan accordingly.
*For those that ran this course prior to 2015, the second loop of Pioneer Park was removed and the out and back was added in it’s place. That saves you just a little bit of elevation gain.
Final Thoughts
Your course strategy likely comes down to a single word: Pacing. You’re going to have to be smart about managing the 3500 feet of elevation gain on the bike so that you are ready and able to tackle the 1200 feet of elevation gain on the run.
Not surprisingly, your training strategy comes down to a single focus: hill work. I would mix in some hill repeats mid-week (and by hill repeats, I mean repeats of 5-minute hills on the run and 10-minute hills on the bike). I’d also make sure to get A LOT of elevation gain in on your long bikes and runs - as much or more than you will see on race day.
Finally, unless you have prior experience on this course, throw away your time goals and focus on the process. Your #1 goal should be to pace the bike correctly so that you can be one of the few who is actually running up the hills. If you can do that, you will without a doubt be proud of your results.
These muffins are best enjoyed as a snack or pre-workout
Banana Muffin
Yields 10 muffins
This is either a post workout or dinner option (fresh choice for Spring!). These following two recipes are enjoyed together, and enough can be made for delicious leftovers.
Thai Pulled Chicken and Veggies
*Turmeric: anti-inflammatory and cancer preventative*Black pepper: anti-inflammatory*Parsley: anti inflammatory and cancer preventativeVeggie Slaw
*Basil : antimicrobial and anti inflammatory*Black pepper: anti-inflammatory*Recipe as a whole is very alkaline and abundant in nutrients
As we hunker down in the midst of winter, I thought I would share one of my favorite recipes for pancakes. These are easy to make with very little prep time and perfect for a post workout breakfast. They also make for tasty mid-day snacks.
Ingredients
InstructionsMash the banana in a small bowl and mix in the egg. Add dry ingredients and mix together for the batter. Feel free to add walnuts or a small amount of rolled oats to give it some texture. Cook on medium heat with coconut oil. Top with butter and honey/maple syrup or choice of sweetener. Makes three small pancakes. Enjoy!
Highly driven, ambitious, goal-oriented. These are all positive traits that many of us triathletes take pride in. They have led us and will continue to lead us to success in our sport. Most of us are Type-A Go-Getters, and when it comes to doing more (whether it’s more speedwork, more time on our bikes, or just more volume in general), we are happy to oblige. But where we might be able to gain an edge on our competition comes from a mindset that may be difficult for most of us: being patient and maintaining consistency in our training.
Those of us that started off in other sports (aside from swimming, biking, or running) had all kinds of skills we could work on that didn’t involve exercising. Sports such as soccer, lacrosse, or basketball rely on running for conditioning, but there are more specific skills you can work on that make you a better athlete. You have to work on passing, dribbling, juggling, or shooting. When I played lacrosse, if I was frustrated with myself or the way I was performing, I would spend hours playing wall-ball and improving my stick skills. I could even run some sprints and be totally fine to go to practice the next day and run some more sprints. In triathlon, we can’t take out our frustration or impatience with the sport by doing more triathlon. Well, technically we can, but it will likely have a negative effect on our performance.
Trying to squeeze in more volume or additional workouts into your training plan can lead to overtraining or overreaching. You may start to feel fatigued, notice that your heart rate won’t increase past zone 2, start to fall into a plateau, or become unmotivated. As a coach, we love working with highly motivated athletes, but our goal is to keep them highly motivated by holding them back just enough to avoid these plateaus. We know it can be boring and tedious, but having success throughout a long season relies on aerobic base training (especially for long-distance racing) and proper recovery. Zone 1-2 base training workouts enable your body to efficiently transport and utilize oxygen and don't place too much stress on your musculoskeletal system, which will lead to faster racing with fewer injuries.
I always played team sports growing up, and I remember that one of my friends in high school who was on the cross country team had a shirt that said, “my sport is your sport’s punishment.” I remember my first reaction to that shirt was jealousy (which is probably when I should have known that triathlon was in my future). In college, the “punishment” became my favorite part of practice. The more additional work I put into lacrosse, the better athlete I became. Then ironically, after I graduated and started racing triathlons, I learned that I couldn’t use running (or swimming or biking) in that same way anymore. I got caught in a rut of wanting to do more and more to get myself out of a plateau and just kept getting more tired, less motivated, and worst of all - slower.
So as triathletes, what can we do instead of sabotaging our training when we just need a little extra, or we’ve come to rely on our training as a release, an endorphin rush, or therapy? This is truly where you can set yourself apart. Being patient and trusting your coach and/or your training plan will build mental strength that you can rely on when it comes time to race. Instead of diving into more volume, you can work on your mind by reading, meditating, or working with a mental skills coach.
You can optimize your recovery so that when it comes time to nail a hard workout or race, you’ll have full energy to do so. Stretch, take a yoga class, ice, heat, foam roll, and don’t forget to make sure you’re getting enough sleep. There’s a fine line between being dedicated enough to get up at 4 am to fit all of your workouts in or compromising your workouts by not getting enough rest. Sleep is arguably the best form of recovery because while your brain rests, the blood supply to your muscles is able to increase, providing them with the necessary oxygen to facilitate recovery. Your body also releases growth hormone while you sleep, which is essential to muscle growth and repair. Lack of healthy amounts of growth hormone can lead to weight gain and decreased exercise capacity. If you’re having trouble getting enough sleep or enough restful sleep, there are helpful sleep apps and coaches that can give you strategies to help.
And lastly, we all know the importance of eating well to support activity, so you can cover all of your bases by optimizing nutrient timing, balancing your macronutrients, and diving deeper into your individual needs by working with a nutritionist and/or doing bloodwork to find out what your body may be deficient in. A nutrition coach that works specifically with endurance athletes may be able to help you create a specific plan for what to put into your body during a race in order to maximize your performance and decrease the probability of bonking. You put in the hard work in training, and there’s nothing more frustrating than falling short in a race because you didn’t go in with a proper plan in place for nutrition and hydration.
We all want to train hard and push our limits. That’s why we do triathlon in the first place! The unexpected way to gain an edge is to be patient and consistent in your training and recovery. So channel your inner Aaron Rodgers and R-E-L-A-X.
*Footnotes: D3 specialty coaches have been successful in assisting athletes in recovery, nutrition, as well as mental skills: Meg Forbes - Certified Nutritionist, Nick Suffredin - Race Day Fueling Expert, and Will Murray - Mental Skills Coach
**R-E-L-A-X refers to Aaron Rodgers' famous quote "R-E-L-A-X" here.
In this week's D3 Triathlon Minute, Coach Mike talks about digging deep in a race and how to never give up.
D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, "The Triathlon Minute". Invest 1 minute each Friday and you may learn something you didn't know.
D3 Nutritionist Megan Forbes brings to light the importance of replenishing fatty acids during the winter months.
D3 coaches have a library of training tips and articles for your reference at D3 U.
D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, "The Triathlon Minute". Invest 1 minute each Friday and you may learn something you didn't know.
Coach Brad Seng demonstrates how to create a swim band in this week's tip. When used properly, the swim band will help you develop more power in your swim stroke during training, and that means you'll get you into T1 a lot faster!
The November issue of the Extra Mile has a progression of workouts to help you achieve the power gains from using a swim band.
D3 coaches have a library of training tips and articles for your reference at D3 U.
D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, "The Triathlon Minute". Invest 1 minute each Friday and you may learn something you didn't know.
Sage advice: when things seemingly go wrong, the one thing you can affect is your own attitude. True enough, and if you have a race day plan to help you identify and anticipate the things that might go wrong, your attitude is likely to stay more positive. A positive attitude means a much better race experience! Mental Skills expert Will Murray brings these concepts together in this week's tip!
Get more training tips, from D3 U.
D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and you may learn something you didn’t know.
What’s your plan when you get to the swim start? Coach Brad Seng shares several strategies to help put you at ease and get you ready for a solid swim.
Get more training tips, from D3 U.
D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and you may learn something you didn’t know.
What’s your plan when you get to the swim start? Coach Brad Seng shares several strategies to help put you at ease and get you ready for a solid swim.
Get more training tips, from our Resources section.
