2008-12 Triathlete

2008 BEIJING OLYMPIC COVERAGE GEAR >> TRAINING >> RACE SCENE >> LIFESTYLE

NO.296

BEIJING BLOWOUT SNOWSILL CRUSHES COMPETITION

GOING GREEN

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DECEMBER 2008

EXERCISES TO BALANCE

YOUR BODY

AND EASE YOUR PAIN

TRIATHLON CLEANS UP ITS ACT THE TRUTH ABOUT

AERODYNAMICS

INTERBIKE

triathletemag.com

UNCOVERED

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CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL AVIA ATHLETES

ON A STELLAR 2008 SEASON

CONRAD STOLTZ 2007 XTERRA World Champion, XTERRA Mountain Champion, XTERRA Southeast Champion, XTERRA West Champion EDUARDO STURLA Ironman Brazil Champion SHONNY VANLANDINGHAM XTERRA Southeast Champion, 2nd TERRA Mountain Championships, 3rd XTERRA East Championships HEATHER WURTELE Ironman Coeur d'Alene Champion, 3rd Subaru Ironman Canada, 5th Wildflower Long Course, 3rd Boise 70.3 TREVOR WURTELE 2nd Lifesport Victoria ½ Ironman CHRIS BOUDREAUX Subaru Sooke ½ Ironman Champion KENNY SOUZA Packed on 10lbs., Played Tech Support at Wildflower Long Course AMANDA FELDER USAT Collegiate National Champion STEVE SEXTON USAT Collegiate National Champion, 7th World University Championships TYLER STEWART 2nd Vineman 70.3, 2nd Hawaii 70.3, 4th St. Croix 70.3 VICTOR PLATA Pacific Grove Champion ANDREA FISHER CapTexTri Champion, 3rd Rhode Island 70.3, 5th Kansas 70.3, 3rd Austin Triathlon NICHOLAS THOMPSON Long Course DuathlonNational Champion, 1st Amateur & Course Record Holder Wildflower Long Course SCOTT TINLEY Hobbled Through a Couple of Local Sprints ANGELA NAETH Boulder Peak Champion, Sylvan Lake ½ Ironman Champion, 3rd Muskoka 70.3, 7th Wildflower Long Course ALEXIS SMITH 2nd Pacific Grove Triathlon, 6th Escape from Alcatraz, 8th Wildflower Long Course HER SPORTS + FITNESS ELITE AMATEUR TEAM Over 100 Podium Finishes LUNA BAR PRO TEAM with too many accomplishments to list!

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CONTENTS No. 296

DECEMBER 2008

132 40

TRAINING

COLUMNS

BODY BALANCING | 116

CUTTING EDGE | 145

BY M AT T F I T Z G ER AL D

B Y J I M R U T B ER G

LANE LINES | 129

XTERRA ZONE | 150

BY KE V I N KO S K EL L A

B Y DAVE N I C H O L AS

BIG RING | 130

TRIATHLETE’S GARAGE | 152

BY M AT T F I T Z G ER AL D

B Y J AY PR AS U H N

GEAR BAG | 154 B Y J AY PR AS U H N

DEPARTMENTS

IN ENGLISH | 156

STARTING LINES | 20

TICKET PUNCH | 158

B Y C L I F F EN G L I S H

B Y MITC H THROW E R

B Y S AM AN T H A M C G L O N E

EDITOR’S NOTE | 22

TINLEY TALKS | 208

B Y B R AD C ULP

B Y S C O T T T I N L EY

MAIL CALL | 24

C OVER : EM M A S N OW S I L PH O T O B Y D EL LY C AR R

CHECKING IN | 26 IndusTri; Medically Speaking; 70.3 Series; Selection; Review; Pro Bike; Endurance Conspiracy; Training Tip

145

AT THE RACES | 160

178

ON THE RUN | 132

BY E RI N B ER ES I N I

TECH SUPPORT | 136

BY IA N B U C H AN AN

SPEED LAB | 138

BY T IM M I C K L EB O RO U G H

DEAR COACH | 140

BY PA U L H U D D L E & RO C H F R EY 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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TM

Screen Feedback includes: Built-in fitness test

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Date and Time

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Current, Average and Maximum: ■ Power ■ Altitude ■ Speed ■ Hill Slope ■ Wind Speed ■ Temperature

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■

CONTENTS No. 296

DECEMBER 2008

FEATURES SHOCK AND AWE IN BEIJING | 48 Frodeno stuns the men’s field while Snowsill is coronated queen of the ITU.

BY TIMOTHY CARLSON

COACH MUDDY WATERS: IN IT FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS | 60 Why a laidback gardener from Northern California is one of the world’s best tri coaches—but you’ve never heard of him and he won’t coach you.

BY BRAD CULP

2008 INTERBIKE COVERAGE FROM LAS VEGAS | 68 B Y B R A D C U L P A N D J AY P R A S U H N

TRIATHLON MAKING STRIDES TO GO GREEN | 82 What our sport is and isn’t doing to get on Mother Nature’s good side.

BY NAN KAPPELER

WELCOME TO FLORIDA’S WINTER WONDERLAND | 92 Get a jump on next season at Clermont’s National Training Center.

BY BRAD CULP

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE | 99 B Y J AY P R A S U H N

TRIATHLETE’S BOOKSHELF | 108

BY MELAINA JUNTTI

ON THE COVER BEIJING BLOWOUT | 48 INTERBIKE UNCOVERED | 68 GOING GREEN | 82 9 EXERCISES | 116 THE TRUTH ABOUT AERODYNAMICS | 136

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FIRST WAVE

Taking In the View Photo by Thierry Deketelaere Olympic paparazzi snap photos of the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s triathlon medalists against a breathtaking backdrop of the Ming Tomb Reservoir in Beijing, China.

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FIRST WAVE

Pure Bling Photo by Don Karle At the 2008 Interbike Expo, Sept. 22-26 in Las Vegas, Cerveloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s founders Gerard Vroomen, left, and Phil White debuted the highly anticipated P4.

See page 68 for more Interbike coverage.

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STARTING LINES

Tune In to Your Early Warning System

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Publisher Associate Publisher VP, Sales & Marketing

John Duke Heather Gordon Sean Watkins

Editor Brad Culp, bculp@competitorgroup.com Managing Editor Somyr McLean Perry, sperry@competitorgroup.com Senior Editors Matt Fitzgerald, mfitzgerald@competitorgroup.com Jay Prasuhn, jprasuhn@competitorgroup.com Photo Editors Brad Kaminski bkaminski@competitorgroup.com Don Karle dkarle@competitorgroup.com John Segesta jsegesta@competitorgroup.com International Editor Shane Smith, ssmith@competitorgroup.com Graphic Designer Oliver Baker, obaker@competitorgroup.com

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

Triathlon is a great sport in which to test your limits and exceed them.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true for Hawaii Ironman winners like Chrissie Wellington and Chris McCormack, and for those who rise from the couch to train and ďŹ nish a sprint triathlon. Part of the discipline of training and racing involves overcoming feelings of exhaustion, soreness and yes, pain, to meet our goals and get the best out of ourselves. But not always.

A key tenet that all good coaches drum into their athletes is, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Listen to your body.â&#x20AC;? Take hydration for example. While experts warn that you should take in plenty of water, there are examples in which strong-minded triathletes force-drink excessive quantities of water during an Ironman. This overloads their digestive systems and, in some cases, leads to a dangerous state of bloat and hyponatremia. Some warn that if you wait to hydrate until you are thirsty in an Ironman, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s too late. It is crucial to calculate and practice drinking correct amounts of water during training and not simply slam it down on race day.

Kids naturally evince a tremendous capacity for risk-taking that allows them to grow and stretch physical and emotional limits. Perhaps a bit of the adolescent remains in those adults who choose to be triathletes. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all ďŹ ne and well, but we have to learn to pay attention to the sometimes subtle signals our bodies send out. We have to learn to distinguish between simple tiredness and incipient injury or weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll pay a long-term price.

Triathletes need to be able to distinguish real danger from a ďŹ&#x201A;ock of soreness. I took Lance Armstrongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s phrase that â&#x20AC;&#x153;pain is temporary, but quitting is foreverâ&#x20AC;? to heart when I slowed down, walked and gathered myself to avoid quitting an Ironman. But you must remain alert to recognize what I call the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pheidippedes line.â&#x20AC;? Pheidippedes was the Greek messenger who ran from Sparta to Athens to tell the citizens, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rejoice, we have won,â&#x20AC;? and then keeled over and died. Cited as the inspiration for the marathon, he should not be too strict a role model for anyone. Think about it. The danger was over. The battle was already won. If he had just slowed down and walked a few miles and drank some water from a creek â&#x20AC;Ś Triathletes, too, should use their heads and not override their bodiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; incomparably sensitive and brilliant computers to ape some myth of the Spartan, the ridiculous warrior mentality of Rocky Balboa or to live out the absurd bumper sticker slogans, â&#x20AC;&#x153;No pain, no gain,â&#x20AC;? and, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Winning is the only thing.â&#x20AC;?

Too often, triathletes accept pain as a normal part of their workouts. A sure sign of this syndrome is regular use of ibuprofen or other over-the-counter painkillers to ďŹ nish your daily workouts. Another sign is ignoring a pain that kicks in at a certain set mileage in a run or bike ride. These are clues that you are working on much greater, long-term, more devastating damage to your body.

Through optimism and intensive rehab I came back from leg injuries that threatened my athletic life. Now, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m coping with a nasty ear infection that has left me bedridden and seeking answers to get back to my workouts. From time to time, I Train Smart, wonder if I missed or ignored some of my bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s early warning signs. But maintaining a state of alert for those warnings is just what the doctor ordered. We have been given something Mitch Thrower fantastic in this human bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and we should listen to it. mthrower@triathletemag.com

.O s $ECEMBER

Contributing Writers Roch Frey, Paul Huddle, Tim Mickleborough, Scott Tinley Contributing Photographers Delly Carr Robert Murphy Medical Advisory Board Jordan Metzl, M.D., Jeff Sankoff, M.D. VP, Production/Circulation Heather Gordon, hgordon@competitorgroup.com Customer Service Linda Marlowe Senior Account Executive Sean Watkins, Cycling & Events swatkins@competitorgroup.com Senior Account Executive Lisa Bilotti, Nutrition, Apparel, Footwear & Auto lbilotti@competitorgroup.com Marketplace Sales Laura Agcaoili, lagcaoili@competitorgroup.com Accounting Vicky Trapp vtrapp@competitorgroup.com Triathlete Magazine Offices 10179 Huennekens Street, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92121 Phone: (858) 768-6805; Fax: (858) 768-6806 www.triathletemag.com Attention Retailers: To carry Triathlete in your store, call Retail Vision: (800) 381-1288 SUBSCRIPTIONS: Your satisfaction is important to us.

For questions regarding your subscription call (800) 441-1666 or (760) 291-1562. Or, write to: Triathlete, P.O. Box 469055, Escondido, CA 92046. Or, e-mail: subs@triathletemag.com.

Back Issues available for $8 each. Send a check to Triathlete Magazine Back Issues, 10179 Huennekens Street, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92121 and specify issues requested, or visit www.triathletemag.com.

Submission of material must carry the authorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;/photographersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; guarantees that the material may be published without additional approval and that it does not infringe upon the rights of others. No responsibility is assumed for loss or damage to unsolicited manuscripts, art work or photographs. All editorial contributions should be accompanied by self-addressed, stamped envelopes.

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David S. Moross, Chairman Peter Englehart, President & CEO Scott Dickey, COO & CMO John Duke, Sr. VP of Print Media

Courtesy Cervelo

EDITOR’S NOTE

There’s Hope for The Little Guys

By Brad Culp

T

Thirteen years ago a pair of college buddies, Phil White and Gerard Vroomen, showed up at the Interbike trade show with a frame that looked like it was straight out of Star Trek. The Canadian duo had only finished building the bike a few days before the show and they didn’t really have time to get it professionally painted. Instead, Phil and Gerard spray-painted the frame the night before the show in the parking lot of their motel. They couldn’t afford an actual booth inside the expo, so they set up shop outside and tried to corral as many people as possible to look at their product. Some people liked the frame; some laughed at it, but most didn’t even notice it was there. They dubbed their bike the “Baracchi” and Cervelo was officially in business.

Flash-forward to 2008 and Phil and Gerard are doing well, to say the least. They unveiled their newest stealth rocket, the P4, on the first day of this year’s Interbike with hundreds of reporters, retailers and industry folk in attendance. I made Cervelo’s mammoth booth 2 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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my first stop of the show, because I couldn’t wait to see the result of a million dollars worth of wind tunnel time. Like most of the spectators I was impressed, so I congratulated the engineers and went on my way.

Over the next three days I checked out hundreds of new bikes, wheels, components and just about anything else you can fasten to a bicycle. For my final stop of the show I made my way to a distant corner of the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas to find Eric Sampson, founder, owner and one-man show behind Sampson Bikes.

Eric is one of the most innovative and passionate engineers out there and he builds solid bikes at a modest price. He even built his own component group this year—the Sampson Stratics—just because he could. Is Sampson the next Cervelo? Probably not, but I’m sure no one thought Cervelo was the next Quintana Roo in 1995.

Point is, while any financial guru would tell you this is a terrible time to start a business, I came across at least a dozen upstart bike builders in Vegas and I get the feeling that most of them are here to stay. This year’s Interbike was a crystal-clear reflection of how healthy the cycling and triathlon industry is. With consumer demand at an all-time high, manufacturers are constantly forced to innovate and we, as athletes, reap the spoils.

Tech geek extraordinaire Jay Prasuhn and I combed the endless aisles of Interbike for three days and have come up with what we think will be the sexiest products of 2009 starting on page 68. So without further ado, enjoy the show.

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MAIL CALL Age-Group-by-Gender Start Archaic

Male pros go first, followed by female pros, followed by the oldest women, then the oldest men, and alternating between the genders in order of descending age until, finally, we launch the 24- to 29-year-old men. What ensues in the water and the first transition looks something like a cross between lumberjacks trying to un-stick a logjam and the opening of Macy’s the day after Thanksgiving.

To put the fastest competitors at the back of the line is unfair in every sense of the word. Those athletes must spend extra effort and energy maneuvering through a crowd of slower swimmers, which hurts their time. The slower competitors are also slighted; they get needlessly knocked around by speed-demons too inconsiderate to give them a few extra inches of room. It’s unfair to first-timers looking forward to their race photos to commemorate their achievement, only to find out that most of the course photos are obscured by half a dozen people going past them, and their finish line photo is turned from a moment of lasting glory to a vision of them battling some anonymous person for space.

And let’s be realistic, this isn’t just about fast guys being behind slow women. There are lots of fast women looking for elite status who find themselves in the same situation. Race organizers claim that this system is more efficient and that it keeps traffic to a minimum. What that translates to is less effort and time required of the organizers themselves. A lot of people train very hard for triathlon. Whether it’s for elite status, a sub three-hour PR, or just to finish, we’re all there to do our best. No one should be hamstrung at the very start.

And we don’t have to be. There’s a better way.

I propose that race organizers go to a start system that uses athletes’ last finish times to help them determine starting position.

The Memphis in May Triathlon organizers did this and it worked wonderfully. Athletes were asked the finish time of their last race in the online registration, and placed according to merit. Male, female, old, young, it didn’t matter. First-timers in the back. Even on a tight swim course with a narrow exit off the transition area there were minimal backups and it contributed to much smoother traffic on the bike course. You didn’t have huge packs of guys in aero helmets scaring the daylights out of recreational relay-riders. This was in stark contrast to Chattanooga where the swim was a straight shot down river, and yet it still felt like a roving water polo match followed by a demolition derby in the transition.

The age-group-by-gender start is archaic and inefficient. It’s a practice propagated by those who lack initiative and imagination. It’s uninspired, and as such it’s anathema to the very spirit of triathlon.

Jim Gourley Clarksville, Tenn.

Raising the Tri Reporting Bar I have been an occasional reader of your magazine for many years. Usually, I find your content just OK. I was glad to pick up your October issue to read great articles such as “Running Hot” by Matt Fitzgerald and contributions by Tim DeBoom and Sam McGlone. As a veteran XTERRA racer, I was pleased to read “Moving Forward” by Jay Prasuhn about Jamie Whitmore and her winning 2 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

Having participated in the three major races in Tennessee this season (Memphis, Chattanooga, Nashville), I feel I must write to rally the masses against a despicable, sexist conspiracy instituted by the most vile of cabals—the age-group start system used by race organizers.

battle with cancer. God willing, she will be back competing next year giving McQuaid and XTERRA another year of championship rivalries.

I hope Triathlete can consistently produce issues like this one.

Jay McDonald Duluth, Minn.

Poor Choice of Race Coverage I enjoyed the in-depth features of elite athletes in your recent magazine. The otherwise brilliant edition was tainted by coverage of a ridiculous event called the “Beer Mile.”

Promoting the abuse of alcohol and the human body by glorifying the event with a magazine feature story—and close-up photo of a participant vomiting—is ill-advised and inappropriate.

Society has enough problems with people unsuccessfully controlling their drinking to promote it extending over athletics. I have an idea, how about a regular endurance event followed by a sensible celebration?

Daniel VonSpanielle Iowa Hill, Calif.

My Favorite Things In the October Issue

After having received my fifth issue of Triathlete, I had the strong desire to say thank you for a fantastic magazine. Here are my four reasons why you guys are the best magazine out there. s You are able to find the right wording to describe the sport, feelings and add some deep meaning to it. Just as you did in “Evolution.” Fantastic! s You are able to allude to things that are so incredibly important and let all of us become aware of it; not hokey but touching! The way Jay Prasuhn did in “Moving Forward” is very special and gave me the opportunity to help at the same time. s You keep the fun since our world has enough sad aspects. I couldn’t stop laughing when reading “Don’t Blow Up” by Roch and Paul. I reckon he thought of me when talking about the “40-something triathlon coach whose brain has achieved time travel and gone back 20 years—without his body.” Hilarious! s You even have a philosopher. This is exactly what you have to be to write “Embracing the Fear” by Scott Tinley.

Volker Hartzsch Malta

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CHECKING IN

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photo © Segesta 2007

Becky Lavelle - Winner of the 2007 Wildflower Triathlon, 2007 Pacific Grove Triathlon, 2007 Tinley’s Triathlon & 2007 Escape to Bermuda.

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Revolution3 Announces New Triathlon for 2009 Revolution3 will direct its first half-irondistance triathlon (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run), The Half-Rev, on June 7, 2009, at Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury, Conn. Registration opened October 1.

The inaugural Half-Rev will feature the largest professional prize purse of any nonIronman 70.3 event of its kind, $100,000, coupled with $20,000 in cash and prizes for age-group athletes. The event’s promoters expect it to attract some of the biggest-name professional and amateur athletes in the sport of triathlon.

“I am thrilled to be part of the new Revolution3 Triathlon,” says Leanda Cave, 2007 ITU Long Distance World Champion.

“The $100,000 prize purse will attract the world’s best triathletes—it doesn’t get better than that.”

The Quassy Amusement Park venue offers a challenging and scenic course for athletes and a fun-filled, active day for family members and spectators. “Our immediate goal is to make triathlons a more interactive, enjoyable experience for spectators and family members by providing fun activities for children and families during the race,” said Heather Gollnick, director of sponsorship/marketing and pro liaison for Revolution3.

“We’re about change. Change for the agegrouper, change for the professional athlete, and change for the spectators.”

Revolution3 is teaming up with Trakkers, a GPS technology that tracks athletes in real-time. Trakkers will allow spectators to participate in the triathlon by providing real-time athlete information such as location, speed, heart rate, elevation and current pace.

All of this information will be available for spectators to view at the race via computers set up in the transition area.

Revolution3 plans to add two new events in 2010—an Olympic-distance triathlon followed by a Full-Rev (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run).

Age-group and professional athletes will compete in the three-race series to determine the most “complete” triathlete.

Visit www.rev3tri.com.

Dallas Triathletes Launch Online Tri Marketplace Trey Bennett and Jessica Albrecht of Dallas, Tex., recently launched TriGearTrade .com, an online marketplace designed for 2 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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INDUSTRI

multisport athletes to buy and sell merchandise and advise and learn from other athletes.

The online marketplace is designed with a relevant search category structure, and users can buy and sell through an auction or fixed-price format. The site will use industrystandard functionality to showcase products while keeping fees 20 percent lower than eBay with no relisting fees. Customer service is available through E-mail and chat boards.

Bennett, co-founder and chief executive officer, said, “The growth of the large online auction sites has diminished the personal experience. With an advertised 115 million items on eBay at any given time in 50,000 different categories, searching for a good bike, for example, takes hours of sifting through unspecific listings. We have designed a site by triathletes, for triathletes.”

“Ultimately, we founded TriGearTrade.com as a hub for multisport enthusiasts because we believe it will be a great service to the multisport world, instantly connecting buyers and sellers from around the globe,” said Albrecht, co-founder and chief operating officer.

Visit TriGearTrade.com for more information.

Red Rock Co. Announces Soma Prize Purses The Red Rock Company Inc., an event production corporation specializing in producing multisport events, has announced the prize purses for both pro and age-group athletes for its Soma Half-Triathlon on Oct. 26 in Tempe, Ariz.

Red Rock will distribute more than $11,000 in cash to the top pros and age groupers for the half-iron distance only. The prize purse will be distributed as follows:

Half-Iron Distance

MALE PROS 1st $3000 2nd $1500 3rd $500 FEMALE PROS 1st $3000 2nd $1500 3rd $500 MALE AGE GROUP—OVERALL ONLY 1st $500 2nd $250 3rd $100 FEMALE AGE GROUP—OVERALL ONLY 1st $500 2nd $250 3rd $100 Visit Redrockco.com for race information.

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Courtesy Luke McKenzie

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Scott Team Signs Ironman Luke McKenzie Luke McKenzie, winner of Ironman Japan and multiple Ironman 70.3 podium finisher, has joined the Scott Triathlon Team.

The 27-year-old Australian native has been a consistent performer on the long-distance tri circuit since his debut in 2004.

A strong all-round athlete, McKenzie is not only one of the best swimmers in the sport but is fast becoming known for his cycling prowess.

McKenzie has shot to the lead of several Ironman events in the past three years and was sixth off the bike at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii last October.

McKenzie’s breakthrough win came at Ironman Japan this past June when he led the race start to finish and set a new courserecord time of 8:29.

McKenzie‘s 2008 season culminated at the Hawaii Ironman on Oct. 11, where he hoped to break into the top 10 for the first time.

Scott will support McKenzie with the new Plasma 2 LTD model, which launched in July.

“I am really excited about joining forces with the team at Scott,” said McKenzie.

“I was attracted to them by their constant innovation and dedication to the very best triathlon-specific bikes. The new Plasma 2 is a testament to Scott’s everlasting pursuit to produce the best bikes on the market today.”

“Sometimes you run across an athlete that is so passionate about your brand that you have a sense they would make a spectacular ambassador for your product,” said Adrian Montgomery, marketing/public relations director for Scott Bicycles.

“This was one of those cases exactly. We are committed to the sport of triathlon and would like nothing more than to post some excellent results aboard the Plasma2 in Kona.

With Luke joining the team, we have another contender in the hunt for victory.”

Visit www.SCOTTusa.com.

MEDICALLY SPEAKING

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

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Nerve Compression Injuries: Too Much Pressure in the Wrong Places J o r d a n D. M e t z l , M D Since most triathletes spend at least half of their training and racing time on their bikes, it is to be expected that certain injuries will result from time spent in the saddle. Some of these injuries come from putting too much pressure on nerves that get trapped between pressure points on the bike and the body. In this column we’ll look at two common nerve compression injuries.

Shannon is a 30-year-old triathlete who lost feeling and some function in her pinky and ring finger of her left hand. She came into the office and said, “Hey, Dr. Metzl, I look like I’m giving the sign from Mork and Mindy – Nanoo, Nanoo. I don’t like it at all.”

Shannon was describing symptoms caused by compression of the ulnar nerve in her hand casused by pressure from the handlebar when riding. The ulnar nerve runs just beneath the skin on the outside of the hand, through a small area called Guyon’s canal.

When there is too much pressure between a cyclist’s hand and the handlebar, this nerve may become injured. The primary symptom is numbness caused by interference with the sensation in the outside part of the hand.

Sometimes the function of the muscles in this area is also disrupted, leaving the rider looking like Mork.

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ing your hands in one position too long by moving them between the drops, the hoods and the handlebars. Sometimes it also helps to lower the seat position and strengthen the core muscles to take weight off the hands.

Cycling gloves may also lessen pressure on the ulnar nerve.

Shannon’s hand took a few months to improve, but it eventually did. She is now more careful with her hand position.

The other common nerve-compression injury happens lower down on the body.

David, a 46-year-old triathlete, could tell you exactly where. We were enjoying a long ride together when he said, “Jordan, after my long training rides, my bike performance goes up, but my bedroom performance leaves much to be desired. Is this normal?”

I asked him for more information and found out that David commonly experienced numbness and erectile dysfunction after long rides, and that the symptoms worsened as he spent more time in the saddle.

David was describing compression of the pudendal nerve, which runs just beneath the ischial tuberosity, otherwise known as the sit bones. Men can experience erectile dysfunction and women can develop numbness as the result of too much time in a saddle that doesn’t fit properly.

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Athletes can alleviate this problem by getting a better bike seat. The qualities to look for are comfort, comfort and comfort.

Make sure that you feel comfortable in the saddle, and make sure that the symptoms David described aren’t happening to you. If they are, be sure to stand up every once in a while, and try to change the pressure point in your saddle by shifting forward and backward on the saddle periodically during longer rides.

David changed his seat and got in the habit

“After my long training rides, my bike performance goes up, but my bedroom performance leaves much to be desired.

Is this normal?” of standing more frequently during rides.

Now he shows up for every workout wearing a broad smile.

Nerve compression injuries are common in triathletes, but the good news is that with careful attention, they can usually be prevented.

Jordan D. Metzl, MD, (DrJordanMetzl.com) is a nationally recognized sports medicine specialist at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

In addition to his medical practice, Dr. Metzl is a 25-time marathon runner and six-time Ironman finisher.

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70.3 SERIES After the 2004 Athens Olympics Andy Potts decided to step up to the 70.3 distance to further challenge himself. “The 70.3 distance seemed like a good challenge for me based on my goals in the sport,” Potts says. “I knew it would test my riding ability as well as my ability to stay mentally focused for a longer race.”

To put it mildly, Potts has found success on the 70.3 circuit, highlighted by his win at the 2007 World Championship in Clearwater, Fla. The former Olympian has continued his roll this season, with dominating 70.3 wins at California and Timberman.

“To be successful at the 70.3 distance you better not have any weaknesses,” Potts says.

“You might be able to hide a little bit on the swim, but there is nowhere to hide on the bike or the half marathon.”

Now another four-year Olympic cycle has passed and a new group of U.S. athletes are taking on the challenge of a new distance.

“I have always believed a very strong ITU or Olympic-distance non-draft specialist would be very dangerous at the 70.3 distance,” says former U.S. Olympic Team coach Cliff English.

“Most short-course athletes train long enough to handle this distance, and the it allows an athlete to go quite hard throughout—almost as hard as an Olympic-distance event.”

Tim O’Donnell is among the top short-course triathletes moving up in distance next season.

Three U.S. Short-Course Standouts To Take on 70.3 in 2009 After modest success on the ITU circuit, O’Donnell, Umphenour and Fleischmann will try their hands at a little longer distance.

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Olympic Training Center athlete Tim O’Donnell stepped it up to the half-iron distance in the summer of 2008 and found much success already. O’Donnell led through the run at 70.3 Buffalo Springs Lake (Lubbock, Texas) and the 5430 Long Course Triahtlon (Boulder, Colo.) before he was passed within a mile of the finish in both races. “I think Tim will be a top 70.3 guy,” says English.

With the fastest bike-splits at Lubbock and Boulder, the 28-year-old clearly enjoys the longer bike because he can take advantage of his strength. “I am a strong cyclist and with drafting in an ITU race I have not been able to really utilize this strength,” O’Donnell says.

“In 70.3s there is the chance for me to really gain time on the bike.”

A competitive swimmer since the age of 5, the Naval lieutenant doesn’t doubt his physical ability to cover the distance as much as his ability to manage his nutrition. “Nutrition is probably my biggest worry because in ITU races, one gel on the bike will keep you going,” he says. “In long-course racing if you don’t nail your nutrition it could be a bad day.”

The 70.3 World Championship is next on O’Donnell’s race schedule. “I feel that my cycling is at a great level. I just need to keep

Photos by Courtney Johnson

Tim O’Donnell

70.3 SERIES it under control so I can manage the run,” he says. “If I can find that extra mile or so in my legs I will be able to have some really great performances.”

Joe Umphenour To Joe Umphenour, finding success in 70.3 is all about pacing and nutrition. “I worry a bit about nutrition and going out too fast, like I would in a World Cup, when I have twice the distance to manage,” he says.

“I will need slightly more complex carbs plus pizza and beer at the end.”

When the now 39-year old started racing as an age grouper 15 years ago, he was racing among the best at the Ironman and 70.3 distances. “When I started as an age grouper my aspirations were all for Ironman and half-iron races. I’ve done three Konas and four halves as an amateur,” he says.

For 12 years the former University of Wisconsin swimmer has raced elite on the ITU circuit. “ITU racing is the toughest racing in triathlon, bar none,” Umphenour says. “The athletes there are the most well-rounded and talented guys around. I think that training and racing with them will definitely help me in 70.3.”

Umphenour’s next race is the Longhorn Ironman 70.3 in Austin, Texas. “Now that I have done 12 years of Olympic-style racing, I felt it was time to go back to where I started—into something that didn’t have quite as much pressure,” he says. “I am very curious as to what 12 years of elite-level racing can do for me in this format. Granted, I am 12 years older too.”

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chmann in preparing for 70.3 racing. “The more I ride, the more I will have to eat. I eat quite a bit already, so this may become a challenge for me.”

His first 70.3 might be California in 2009. “Although I still plan on competing on the World Cup circuit as well as the U.S. non-drafting circuit next year, I believe a few 70.3 races will work well into my 2009 race schedule without compromising shorterdistance races,” Fleischman says.

Looking to follow in the steps of Chris

McCormack, Craig Alexander and Craig Walton, O’Donnell, Fleischman and Umphenour are hoping their years of red-lining from start to finish can help them achieve their goals at the 70.3 distance.

“Coming from ITU, these athletes have developed incredible speed and pain tolerance over their careers,” English says.

“You have to be bloody tough. Some of the athletes from ITU were forged in fire.

When these athletes step into 70.3, records start to fall.”

Brian Fleischmann After concentrating on the 2008 Olympic Trials, Brian Fleischmann is looking for a little change of pace in his race schedule. “Long course is a whole different animal than ITU racing,” he says. “A new format will essentially give me a breath of fresh air, so to speak, from the ITU scene.”

The former Florida State University swimmer and cross-country runner has always been dangerous in the water and on the run.

“This distance will allow me to exploit my swimming and running strengths,” the 30year old says.

The bike is the area Fleischmann thinks he really needs to work on to find success at the new distance. “The 56-mile time-trial requires a tremendous amount of strength,” he said. “The stronger I am on the bike, the faster I will go and the better I will be able to run.”

Nutrition is also a key focus for Fleis-

After failing to achieve his Olympic dream, Fleischmann hopes for greater success in non-drafting tris.

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SELECTION

By Cour tney Johnson

Craft proWarm Crew Neck $84.99

Old Man Winter says it is time to put away the short-sleeve jerseys and running singlets and break out the cold-weather gear.

With these great base-layer tops, the nasty weather won’t stop you from getting in that winter run or bike ride.

Craft has been keeping athletes warm since 1977. Brand new for this year is its warmest base layer yet, the proWarm crew neck. Designed to anatomically match the body, the proWarm provides the proper amount of ventilation and warmth to the right zones of the body.

A sport-specific fit with mechanical stretch and seamless torso ensures your base layer will fit comfortably and properly. The proWarm will give any athlete the proper insulation in temperatures of 40 degrees and below using performance hollow fiber that traps body heat where you need it the most. Windstop and warmer weather base layers are also available. Craftsports.us

Jaggad Zone Top $75

CWX VersatX Web Top $90 Wacoal Sports Corp., makers of CWX, recently entered the U.S. market after making performance wear in Japan since 1991. Wacoal’s VersatX longsleeve base layer is great for hard workouts in the frosty air. Made of Dry-Zone lightweight fabric, the top is stretchable, breathable and comfortable.

With superior moisture transfer ability, it can be layered under a jacket or worn on its own. The built-in conditioning web provides extra support for the upper back to help arm motion, balance and posture during workouts. Silver fibers in the fabric keep the top bacteria- and odor-free and the 50+ UV protection is a great addition. You can also wash this garment in your standard washing machine without compromising fit or function. Cw-x.com

Zoot CompressRx Active L/S Top $110 Where else can you expect a base layer and compression top to come together than in Zoot’s new lineup of gear? Its Active Top provides zoned muscle stability that supports each muscle group individually. Graduated compression speeds blood flow to the heart and helps keep you active longer on cold days.

This lightweight layer is treated with a silver-based anti-bacterial solution so it won’t hold onto odors and will last through more than one winter. Polypro material keeps you dry and warm. Wear it alone or underneath another layer for performance and warmth. Zootsports.com 3 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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Popular among athletes Down Under, Jaggad has made a big splash on the triathlon scene in the U.S. this year with its functional, colorful and reliable gear.

Its Zone Top can be used universally as a lightweight but warm base layer on those really cold days or by itself on milder days. MicroTech fabric helps wick away moisture to keep you dry and comfortable. The ThermalTech inner collar is a nice extra feature that makes sure the cold air stays out. Thumbholes provide extra warmth for the hands when you don’t want to wear gloves. The Zone Top offers comfort and freedom of movement no matter what activity you are doing. Jaggad.com

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SELECTION

2XU Thermal Base Layer $90 Keeping athletes warm and dry since 2005, 2XU has a great base layer to keep you comfortably active no matter the temp. The turtleneck style of its layer keeps the warmth in and the cold out.

Thumbholes provide extra protection for the hands and tighterfitting arm panels make this layer great for running or cycling. SMDthermo fabric provides moisture transfer to keep you warm and dry. Channeled yarn enhances capillary action and keeps the fabric from clinging to the body.

When the temp starts to drop, this long-sleeve layer will fit great under a jersey, jacket or other top. Expect this top to hold up to wear and washing for many seasons.

2xu.com

SLS3 Base Layer Hoody Classic European $69.90 Best known for its compression socks, SL3 will release a limited-edition base layer hoody this winter. Nylon fabric makes it stretchable and comfortable to wear by itself or under another shirt. The Lycra inside is “roughened up” to make it warmer and a roomy zippered pocket can hold keys, credit cards and an MP3 player. It hits at the hip and is longer in the back to make sure your back isn’t exposed when sitting in the saddle. The speed skating-inspired hood is a nice addition that will stay on while you are active and will keep your ears and cheeks warm. Slstri.com

Bellwether Base Layer $30 Bellwether has been making trusted cycling gear at affordable prices for more than 30 years. This base layer is no exception. It’s made of a lightweight Spin-Tech fabric that wicks away moisture, keeping your body temp regulated on cold days.

The fit makes it comfortable under a jersey, vest or jacket. The layer is longer in the back so it will tuck in and nothing is exposed to the elements. Check out the sleeveless and short-sleeve versions for slightly warmer days when a base layer is still needed.

Bellwetherclothing.com

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Louis Garneau Light WindDry $64.99 “There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear,” says Louis Garneau. His company has been making trusted cold-weather gear for 25 years. The company’s WindDry base layer is made of lightweight fabric that drags moisture away from the skin, making for a warm and pleasant fit. The windproof and waterproof 3-ply fabric on the front and upper sleeves protects you from the elements whether you wear it alone or under another top. Stretchable material allows for ease of movement and ensures no bulkiness when layered.

Louisgarneau.com

SRAM Rival Road Group $919

By Brad Culp It took a good bit of convincing from the boys at SRAM to allow me to try their Rival group. It’s their third-tier offering and I figured it wouldn’t be worth dismantling my beloved Red group and rebuilding my ride.

They assured me the Rival group wouldn’t

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REVIEWED

feel “third tier,” so I conceded and the dismantling began.

First impressions? It’s not Red, but it’s not as far off as I expected. From a functional standpoint, it’s really the same as SRAM’s Force group (which falls between Red and Rival on the SRAM hierarchy). All the shifting components are the same on both groups, but Force has a few more carbon and titanium pieces, which brings the weight down and bling factor up.

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Yes, Rival is 104 grams heavier than Force, but if you’re the type of person who cares about 104 grams, you really need to be riding Red. Most of that 104-gram surplus is the result of the Rival’s alloy crank, which weighs a good bit more than the carbon crank on the Force group.

Not that I’m bagging on the new Rival crank arms. Last year’s arms were solid-forged aluminum, whereas this year’s group features hollow-forged arms—a considerable improvement in terms of weight and stiffness. If you were to upgrade anything on the Rival group, spend a little extra coin and get the Force crank. Upgrading the crank will make the overall weight almost on par with the Force group and we think the carbon crank looks a bit sexier.

All things considered, you’ll be hardpressed to find a better group for $919.

Actually, I promise you won’t find a better group for the price. If you’re looking for a group for your $5,000 race bike, you may want to go Red. But, if you’re just looking for a trustworthy group for your training rig, Rival is hard to beat.

Learn more at Sram.com

Courstesy SRAM

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PRO BIKE

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By Jay Prasuhn Being the reigning world champ affords you a few luxuries, not the least of which is feting by your bike sponsor. Cannondale is one of the best at it, having done one-offs for

Faris Al Sultan in Kona (the tiki with gold leaf trim lettering) and Filippo Potazzo at the Tour de France (iridescent green paint, again with gold trim).

For Ironman 70.3 world champ Mirinda Carfrae, Cannondale went with something a bit more subdued, but stylishly befitting the friendly Aussie—and the company presented it to her as a surprise. “Everyone was keeping it a secret,” she said. “Someone let it slip a bit, but seeing it for the first time, it was awesome.”

With a paint job that will match her race kit, they went with a cloud-like white and powder blue, with details such as an Australian coat of arms on the fork. Zipp finished off the look with custom powder-blue-accented decals for her wheels—note the special lettering for the fleet-footed speedster called Rinny.

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Frame: Cannondale Slice, 51cm Headset: Full Speed Ahead Carbon Integrated IS, 1 1/8” Aerobar: Profile Design Carbon X.5 Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace 10-speed, 11-23 cassette Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace, 53-39, 167.5mm crankarms Wheels: Zipp 1080 rear, Zipp 808 front Tires: Continental Competition, 700 x 22mm tubulars Pedals: Sampson Stratics s3 Hydration: Profile Design AeroDrink Saddle: Fi’zi:k Arione Tri 2 Travel Case: Trico Sports IronCase

Courtesy Cannondale

Mirinda Carfrae’s Cannondale Slice Special “Rinny” Edition

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You spend countless hours training, so make sure your tires are as dependable

and ďŹ ne-tuned as you. By racing a set of the lightweight, fast-rolling Maxxis Courchevels, you are preparing yourself for victory in the long journey from T1 to T2.

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Finding Inspiration In Our Peers

By Tim DeBoom To be an inspiration to others, do you first need to be inspired yourself? Over the course of my career as a professional triathlete, I have often had people approach me and say, “You’ve been such an inspiration to me.”

That is definitely a nice thing for anyone to hear, but I never really gave it much thought, and I certainly did not let it change the way I lived my life or raced my races. I was just doing something I loved the only way I knew how.

When I was young, I looked up to my parents and my brothers. I wanted to be like them, and thus, what they did influenced my life. As I progressed as a swimmer, I still looked up to my family, but increasingly I found inspiration in older swimmers, coaches and the current crop of Olympians. They were my first athletic heroes. Rowdy Gaines, Steve Lundquist and Tracy Caulkins motivated me to wake up for morning swim practices.

When I first started racing in triathlons, I studied, marveled at and followed the ways of the top pros. I didn’t know any of them personally, but I read what I could and aspired to one day race among the elite. When I finally found myself competing among the pro ranks, I never again looked up to another professional triathlete. I was focused on my own career. Yes, I loved watching amazing athletic performances, but the athletes as people did not inspire me. Instead, I started to find inspiration outside the world of sport.

I found strength in the mountains of Colorado and in the beauty of the solitude I experienced there. I watched my wife, Nicole, step away from an amazing racing career and start a business from scratch. I also watched my brothers start families and find the pure joy in being fathers.

Now, in an interesting twist, I find myself back where I was when I first started in this sport. Other triathletes once again inspire 4 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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me—I’m talking about the actual people and not just their accomplishments. I’m impressed by who they are and what inspires them. This time around, they are my peers, and I realize I have been quietly cheering for them as I’ve followed their seasons.

The last time I saw Simon Whitfield was more than a year ago at the pool in Flagstaff, Ariz. He was with his training group beginning what would be a long build-up toward another shot at Olympic glory. I think, like every great athlete, Simon had his struggles after first reaching the very pinnacle of his sport—in his case, winning gold in Sydney. He had some great races, but Athens was a disappointment and he wanted redemption in Beijing. I could relate because of the trials I’ve endured in Kona; once you’ve tasted the top of the podium, nothing else is quite as sweet.

After briefly speaking with Simon in

Letting go of my own racing pursuits, even temporarily, has opened my heart and mind to the great exploits of others and made it easy to rediscover the love and motivation that propelled me into this sport so many years ago.

Arizona that day, I could immediately see the fire in his eyes, and I began to follow his blog (simonwhitfield.blogspot.com) to watch his progress.

He opened up his life and training to the triathlon world. He showed everyone what he was doing to win another gold. No secrets, just incredibly hard work. He even went to the extent of building a heat shack in his backyard so he could simulate China’s climate while training. He was always utterly respectful of his competitors, but never hid the fact that he was out to beat them. He was the consummate professional, trying not to

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leave anything to chance this time around.

He did all this, and most impressive of all, did it while becoming a first-time father, keeping his healthy perspective on life and never losing his sense of humor.

As he brought his form to a peak this year, anyone who had followed his progress knew he was a favorite for gold. When he made the final turn on the run and sprinted for all the marbles, I was sure he could do it. The 2008 Olympic race was historic, and Simon won the silver, outsprinted at the line. He was a true champion, though. He is an incredible ambassador for his country and the sport, and an all-around classy guy.

I’ve also followed Chrissie Wellington this year. After she won Kona as a relative unknown, it was hard not to believe that she might be a flash in the pan. But as I watched her speech in Kona last year, I knew she was no one-hit wonder. She stepped up to the podium, and she showed that belonged there. Her speech was humble, grateful and absolutely delightful. She talked about the people and things that inspired her and how she wanted to share her joy, experience and life with others in need. She made me think of some other great athletes; those who have transcended their sports. The ones that make a change in their lives, then go on to change the lives around them and ultimately the world.

To say that Kona was just the beginning for Chrissie is an understatement. She has dominated this year and shows no signs of letting up. And she has done it all with a heartfelt smile on her face. I hope the others in attendance at the awards ceremony last year realize they were watching the next great triathlete introduce herself to the world.

All this inspiration has emerged because of my little breather from full-time racing this season. I’ve refreshed my body, mind and some relationships that had taken a back seat. Letting go of my own racing pursuits, even temporarily, has opened my heart and mind to the great exploits of others and made it easy to rediscover the love and motivation that propelled me into this sport so many years ago.

Next year it will be my turn to say, “Thanks for the inspiration!”

Tim DeBoom is in his 14th season as a professional triathlete. He is a two-time Ironman world champion and produces several triathlons of his own through the Red Rock Company (redrockco.com). He, along with his wife, Nicole, owns the women’s fitness apparel company, SkirtSports (Skirtsports.com).

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

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Putting the Glycemic Index In Perspective

By Matt F itzgerald Twenty years ago, most Americans had never heard of the glycemic index (GI), which is a measure of how quickly the blood glucose level rises after carbohydrate-containing foods are consumed. Researchers began to focus on the glycemic index in the early 1980s.

They found that the body processes equal amounts of high GI and low GI carbs quite differently, and that these differences might have important implications for health. The researchers’ excitement slowly leaked out of the laboratory into society at large.

In 2002, with the publication of The New Glucose Revolution, the glycemic index burst into the collective consciousness as the lowcarb diet craze sank toward its inevitable demise. Diet-crazy America latched onto the glycemic index as the new skeleton key of weight management. The New Glucose 4 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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Revolution, and the many similar books that followed it, taught us that high-glycemic foods increase appetite, cause carbohydrate cravings and sugar addiction, promote fat storage and lead to the development of diabetes.

There was never much proof that any of this was true, but subsequent research suggests that the glycemic index is a borderline-useless tool for weight management. Here’s the truth about the glycemic index:

The Real-World Factor One of the most obvious faults in the system used to generate GI values is that it doesn’t match real-world eating patterns. First, GI scores are determined in a fastest state, whereas you and I seldom eat carbohydrate-containing foods in such a state. This is significant because what you ate in your last meal can affect how your body processes the carbs you eat in the next. Second, carbohydrate-containing foods are consumed alone when GI scores are determined, but you and I seldom eat a single food in meals. Coca-Cola has a very high glycemic index score, but if you consume a Coke with a hamburger and French fries,

T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

you’re eating a low glycemic index meal.

Finally, glycemic index values are determined with equal amounts of carbohydrate in all foods. But since foods have wildly variant carbohydrate content, testers have to eat huge amounts of low-carb foods versus tiny amounts of high-carb foods in testing, which is not necessarily what we do at home.

No Hunger, No Cravings Most dieters still believe that insulin spikes and subsequent blood sugar drops that follow consumption of a high GI food (or rebound hypoglycemia) trigger hunger. Research has shown that the link between blood sugar levels and hunger is relatively weak compared to the volume of food in the stomach. A 2005 study

by Brazilian and Indian researchers found no difference between the effects of high and low GI foods on hunger levels.

Nor does the phenomenon of rebound hypoglycemia trigger a specific craving for carbohydrates, as many dieters believe. In fact, a recent Tufts University study suggests that nobody ever craves carbohydrate specifically.

Rather, the body craves calories, and it so

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TRAINING TIP connection was clearly demonstrated in a study linked to the gigantic Nurses Health Study. In a population of 284,000 women it was found that the more whole grains there were in the diet, the lower the risk of type-2 diabetes, regardless of what else was eaten.

the muscles burn carbohydrate faster than the body can possibly absorb carbohydrates consumed in food. Consuming carbs immediately before and during prolonged exercise has been shown to enhance performance by providing an extra fuel source to the muscles. But this benefit can only be realized if those carbs are absorbed quickly. They don’t do the muscles any good if they’re just sitting around in the stomach being processed. This is why sports drinks and energy gels contain sugars such as dextrose that are rapidly absorbed.

happens that many high-calorie foods get most of their calories from carbohydrate.

Not a Better Diet The promise of the various low-glycemic popular diets is that by ridding your diet of high GI foods you will crave sugar less and be less hungry and consequently lose weight.

However, several studies have shown that there is no association between the glycemic load of one’s diet and body weight. If you simply lower the GI of your diet without consciously eating less or moving more, you will not lose weight.

No Diabetes Link The popular mythology of the glycemic index also includes the notion that the repeated insulin spikes caused by eating high GI foods eventually cause the pancreas, which produces insulin, to “wear out,” leading to the development of type-2 diabetes. However, most studies have found no link or, at most, a weak link between consumption of high glycemic foods and diabetes.

In any case, any real correlation between consumption of high GI carbs and type-2 diabetes risk is almost certainly not indicative of a causal connection. Rather, the real causal connection appears to be between fiber intake and diabetes, and it so happens that high-fiber foods typically have low glycemic indices. This 4 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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DECEMBER 2008

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Type-2 diabetes is not a disease of impaired insulin production caused by poor diet; it is a disease of impaired tissue insulin sensitivity caused by overweight and inactivity. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that most cases of type-2 diabetes are fully reversible through exercise. That’s because exercise promotes weight loss and increases tissue insulin sensitivity. Indeed, a recent study found that physical fitness effectively lowers the glycemic index of any given food.

The Individuality Factor Nutrition scientists are now finding that the effect of foods on blood glucose levels may have more to do with individual biochemistry than with the foods themselves. For example, the glycemic index of white bread is 70. But in a recent study involving 14 subjects, the individual glycemic index scores of white bread ranged from 44 to 132. Sure, the average score was 70, but that score was irrelevant to most of the study participants’ bodies.

What’s more, the Tufts University Researchers who conducted this study also found a high degree of variation in the blood glucose response to specific foods within individuals depending on when they ate them—as much as 42 percent variation. That means a low-fat muffin could be a low GI food for you in the morning and a high GI food in the evening.

Athletes Need High GI Foods High GI carbohydrates are actually preferable for athletes before, during, and immediately after exercise. During exercise,

T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

High GI carbs are also beneficial in the first hour after exercise because they result in faster replenishment of the muscles’ depleted carbohydrate fuel stores. Also, when high GI carbs are consumed along with protein after exercise, the muscles are able to repair and rebuild themselves faster.

The Glycemic Index and You Using the glycemic index to guide your diet is a bit like using blood lactate measurements to control the intensity of your workouts. While there is a correlation between blood lactate levels and fatigue, recent science has determined that there is no causal connection. Blood lactate levels just happen to increase in parallel to other muscle chemistry events that do cause fatigue. And since blood lactate is not only unconnected to fatigue but tedious to measure, there’s really no point in doing so.

Similarly, many of the processed foods we eat today have high glycemic index values, while most of the natural foods we are meant to eat have low GI values. Consequently, the average GI value of one’s diet is a somewhat reliable indicator of a diet’s healthfulness.

However, foods are not healthy or unhealthy because of their glycemic index. There is merely an association between properties that do make certain foods healthful or unhealthful, such as fiber content, and their effect on blood glucose levels.

And since it’s a pain in the butt to learn the glycemic index of individual foods, and these values vary wildly between individuals, there’s little point in paying attention to the glycemic index. You’ll eat just as well and a lot less stressfully if you simply try to maintain a balanced diet that is comprised mainly of the natural foods (fruits and vegetables, fish and lean meats, etc.) we are supposed to eat.

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

Subsequent research suggests that the glycemic index is a borderline useless tool for weight management.

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4 8 T R I AT H L E T E | D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 | T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

SHOCK AND AWE

IN BEIJING Frodeno stuns the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s field while Snowsill is coronated queen of the ITU.

By Timothy Carlson

T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M | D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 | T R I AT H L E T E 4 9

THE MEN Spain’s Javier Gomez, the reigning ITU world champion and generally recognized as the fastest runner in the Olympic-distance game, led a tight formation of four of triathlon’s top guns dueling for gold. At his elbow was New Zealand’s 2004 Olympic silver medalist Bevan Docherty. On his flank was Canada’s Simon Whitfield, the 2000 Olympic gold medalist, looking for a repeat Olympic triumph at age 33.

The gate crasher, the stealth candidate for glory in this exclusive group with impeccable résumés totaling 25 World Cup wins, two world titles, and Olympic gold and silver, had exactly zero big wins. But at that moment, Germany’s Jan Frodeno had an audacious idea.

“When I heard them breathing so hard, I realized they were hurting too,” said Frodeno, a lanky, laid-back 27-year-old whose favorite post-race pastime is surfing. “That was the first time I realized this could be more than just a good day.”

Frodeno’s belief in miracles was surely awakened by the shocking, come-from-behind win of countryman, training partner and close friend Daniel Unger at the 2007 ITU World Championship in Hamburg, Germany. Before that moment Unger had no wins. But like many in the Olympic field, Frodeno ascended to being a gold medal contender after daunting tribulations. Before acupuncture cured a crippling Achilles injury early last year, Frodeno despaired that his career was over before it began. During this dark period, personal relationships crumbled and a coach was fired. And while his swift legs healed, he’d lost two heartbreaking sprints to the line.

Surely, he would step aside once again on triathlon’s biggest stage, joining an all-star murderer’s row who would come up short in Beijing: Great Britain’s Tim Don, the 2006 ITU World Champion, was suffering from food poisoning; two-time ITU World Championship medalist Brad Kahlefeldt of Australia was fighting a hip injury; two-time Hy-Vee World Cup winner Rasmus Henning of Denmark was a big man suffering in Beijing’s heat; former world No. 1 Hunter 5 0 T R I AT H L E T E | D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 | T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

Kemper of the U.S. was still behind with his fitness after losing 2007 to an injury; and Kiwi Kris Gemmell had cut his foot just three weeks prior to the big day.

Simon Whitfield had had his eye on this prize since a disastrous run at a repeat gold at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. “I had overprepared for that steep hill on the bike and was undercooked for the swim,” Whitfield said. “I worked so hard keeping up in the swim, I was toast on the bike.”

After that 11th-place finish, Whitfield embarked on triathlon’s equivalent to Tiger Woods’ daring mid-career re-engineering of his golf swing. To keep up with triathlon’s new crop of talent, Whitfield took a calculated risk to develop a first pack-caliber swim and a strong bike leg. Some critics thought the free-spirited Canadian had paid for his new strengths by altering his swift runner’s body and allowing his shining run to rust. Regardless of what anyone said, Whitfield came into Beijing fresh and free from the burnout that held him back in 2004.

Docherty, who took second at major pre-Olympic tests at the ITU worlds in Vancouver and at the Hy-Vee World Cup in Des Moines, Iowa, claimed that, like Whitfield, he was saving his season’s peak for Beijing. “Last Olympics, I was trying to protect a medal,” said Docherty before the race in Beijing. “This time, it’s all about the gold.”

After his dominating wins at last year’s Beijing World Cup and his world title in Vancouver, Gomez was the prohibitive favorite—at least on paper. But before the race, Whitfield spotted some tape on Gomez’s lower leg hiding an Achilles injury. “I’m not sure Javier was at his best,” said fellow Spaniard Rana. “But he was awfully close,” noted Docherty after the great duel was over.

While almost everyone overlooked Frodeno, there were clues that the 27-year-old was ripe. At the Tongyeong (South Korea) World Cup, he finished third and lost a sprint finish to Docherty. But he ran a brilliant 30:36 10K. At Hamburg, he lost a finish-line duel with Unger after another world-class 30:39 run.

Photos by Thierry Deketelaere

Fifty-five men representing 31 nations started the race in Ming Tomb Reservoir on a warm and humid morning.

New Zealand’s Shane Reed was first out of the water in 18:00. He finished 34th, two places behind his brother Matt Reed of the U.S.

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The main bike pack entered T2 50 seconds behind leaders Axel Zeebroek of Belgium and Dirk Bockel of Luxembourg.

More importantly, Frodeno learned crucial lessons in timing and mental strength. “I lost so many sprints to the finish this year,” he said. “But it teaches you that you have to pace yourself and wait for the right moment to go. Physically, I was on the verge. But mentally, I had a lack of confidence and surged too early.”

On the second lap of the run, Rana made a surge up a sharp incline, which jolted the pack out of its complacency. In Rana’s mind, this was his gold medal chance. After two years of purgatory following a bike crash, Rana had won the final World Cup before Beijing and was returning to his form from five years ago. While the rest hung back, Gomez came hard after his countryman.

“Javier comes with me because he knows if I attack, I am thinking I can win the race,” Rana said.

Unlike Gomez, Frodeno, Docherty and Whitfield held back.

“When Rana went and Gomez followed, it was a crazy attack,” Whitfield said. “I held on to my experience and kept telling myself, ‘Be patient.’”

Docherty, Frodeno and Whitfield gradually reeled in Rana and returned to the two Spaniards’ sides. Soon thereafter, Rana drifted off the back. The survivors took stock of their precious energy reserves like NASCAR crew chiefs calculating whether their cars have enough thimblefuls of gas left for the finish.

“I could have pushed and surged with Rana,” Frodeno said.

“I believed it was too hot in the day and it would have cost too much energy. When you push your heart rate when it’s so hot, you won’t recover.”

Frodeno said he learned that during a key workout in South Korea just before the Games. “I went out one day in heat and humidity like Beijing and ran two intervals. In the first, I went out hard and 5 2 T R I AT H L E T E | D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 | T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

eased off the last two kilometers. The next time I took it easy the first mile and really pushed to the finish. That [the second interval] went much better and showed me how important pacing can be.

I realized if I waited and had something left, I could do a lot of damage at the finish.”

Like Frodeno, Docherty also chose patience. “That morning, my coach Mark Elliott told me, ‘You’re not a patient man, but you need patience today. It’s a chess game. You have to choose which move to go with, and which not to go with. Be patient and don’t show your card too early.’”

Gomez was faced with a different situation. Normally, he runs a negative split and inexorably pulls away from his opponents in the final 5K. But with his Achilles tendon still on the mend, he didn’t have his usual firepower. This left him vulnerable in his opponents’ minds.

“Gomez has great endurance and can call upon several varieties of pace,” said Frodeno. “But he doesn’t have a finish-line sprint. Daniel [Unger] showed us that in Hamburg.”

Docherty, not aware of Gomez’s Achilles problem, thought that the Spaniard’s vulnerability might have been more psychological. “Unfortunately for him, when Gomez wins races, he wins them too easily,” said the 31-year-old Kiwi. “When he is pushed, he seems to shrivel.”

On the final lap of the run, Whitfield fell back 20 meters on a sharp hill less than a mile from the finish. Almost everyone thought he might be toast, including Whitfield. “I honestly thought I got dropped by that last climb,” said Whitfield.

With Whitfield seemingly out of the race, it appeared to be down to three men, but according to Frodeno, none was eager to make the first move.

“When Simon dropped, Javier [Gomez], Bevan [Docherty] and

Spanish teammates Ivan Rana and Javier Gomez could not break Canada’s Simon Whitfield and Kiwi Bevan Docherty.

I ran side by side,” Frodeno said. “We pushed the pace, but we weren’t really attacking—just going really solid.”

Docherty, who wins most of his races in the final strides, had no problem sitting back and waiting for the kick to start.

“My game plan was to play a waiting game,” explained Docherty. “Stay in contact. Don’t make a move here. Wait until it turns into a sprint.”

When the three-man train ahead of him was playing cat and mouse, Whitfield envisioned an old rival, training partner and friend to bring him back in the game.

“As I slowly ran back up to them, I had just one thought; one image in my head,” said Whitfield. “Benno [Aussie Greg Bennett, his training partner from 2000 through 2003] has this beautiful tempo run. He is very graceful, compact, and efficient. I thought, ‘Be Benno.

Be patient. Tempo yourself back up.’”

It worked.

Whitfield rejoined the final group with about 600 meters to go. He took a couple of strides with the pack to catch a breath. Then, with less than a quarter-mile to the finish, Whitfield put all his chips in the pot.

“I basically felt I had nothing left, but I tried to bluff it,” said Whitfield. “I wanted to make it a total test of willpower.”

While no one would doubt Whitfield’s will, Frodeno simply had more in the tank. “I was feeling good and still had a reserve of strength,”

Four men were left to contend for three medals in the final kilometer of the race.

T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M | D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 | T R I AT H L E T E 5 3

hierry Deketelaere

The medalists are Simon Whitfield (silver), left, Jan Frodeno (gold) and Bevan Docherty (bronze).

Frodeno said. “Before Beijing, I’d always made the first move and got nailed at the end. But this time I knew it was time to go.”

Whitfield’s closing kick has always been key to his short-course success, and in Beijing, the Canadian tried to resurrect one of his furious finishes from the days of old. “I was trying to break the elastic band between me and Frodeno,” Whitfield said. “But I never gapped Jan.” Gomez, who had been clutching at a painful stitch in his side, was unable to respond. “During the last kilometer the pain was unbearable and I almost didn’t make it to the finish,” Gomez said afterward.

The last member of the foursome, Docherty, saw the move from Whitfield and Frodeno coming but couldn’t respond.

“As Whitfield and Frodeno took off, I tried to go, but Simon [Whitfield] hit me so hard. My legs wouldn’t react quickly to the pace.”

So it was down to two: The unheralded German and the legendary Canadian trying to conjure up a rerun of his last-lap surge at the Sydney Games.

“He tried going left, then right,” Frodeno said. “I think he was just trying to shake me. From that point on, I was completely on remote control with total focus on the finish line. I put my whole heart and soul into the attack and ran as hard as I could.”

On the final straight, as the crowd of 10,000 roared, the consciousness of the two contenders for gold narrowed to a virtual pinpoint.

“Back in 2000, I was aware of all kinds of external things,” Whitfield said. “This was the opposite. It all narrowed down to one man and the finish line.”

Like his competitor, Frodeno could only focus on the finish as he strode toward the line with a slight advantage. “The crowd must have 5 4 T R I AT H L E T E | D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 | T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

been screaming, but I could not hear any spectators,” Frodeno said.

“I didn’t hear anything at all until I grabbed the tape at the line.”

Frodeno hit the line in 1:48:53 on the wings of a race-best run of 30:46 for a five-second margin of victory over the former Olympic champion. Docherty was another seven seconds back for the bronze and Gomez was shut out of the medals.

“My emotions were on a roller coaster,” Frodeno said of his finish.

“In one moment it all came together—my dream, all my friends who helped me battle through the injuries, the fears that my career was over. I was near tears. It was all too much.”

Whitfield was comforted by his father after the race. “As close as I’d come to getting another gold, I was 2008 Men’s Olympic Triathlon struggling a bit,” said BEIJING, CHINA Whitfield. “But my dad Aug. 19, 2008 came up and reminded 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run me that this had been great poetry—great symmetry. Eight years ago, I stole gold from a German Stephan Vuckovic at the end. Eight years later, a German, who is about the same age I was in Sydney, did the same to me. I thought he was right.

Sport is great drama— great beauty.”

1. Jan Frodeno (GER) 2. Simon Whitfield (CAN) 3. Bevan Docherty (NZL) 4. Javier Gomez (ESP) 5. Ivan Rana (ESP) 6. Daniel Unger (GER) 7. Hunter Kemper (USA) 8. Rasmus Henning (DEN) 9. Igor Sysoev (RUS) 10. Frederic Belaubre (FRA)

1:48:53 1:48:58 1:49:05 1:49:13 1:49:22 1:49:43 1:49:58 1:49:57 1:49:59 1:50:00

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Australia’s Emma Snowsill rebounded from a difficult 2007 season to win gold in convincing fashion.

In sharp contrast to the intricate strategy and adrenaline-rich battle to the line for the men’s Olympic gold, the women’s contest was decided with one swift move at the start of the run. In the first 200 meters Australia’s Emma Snowsill advanced from fifth after the bike and took the lead with complete authority.

Even including a high-fiving, Aussie flag-waving, soak-up-thecrowd stroll down the finishing chute, Snowsill ran an Olympic record-smashing 33:16 10K to put an exclamation point on a definitive 67-second margin of victory over her great rival Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal. Snowsill outran the 22-year-old Portuguese prodigy, and winner of a record 20 World Cups, by 65 seconds.

And with her gold, Snowsill ended eight years of Olympic frustration for Australia after countrywomen Michellie Jones and Loretta Harrop lost the Olympic gold in finish-line sprints in 2000 and 2004, respectively. Adding to the Aussie joy, the country’s other Emma (Moffat) sneaked by American Laura Bennett and Japan’s Jure Ide for bronze.

Moffat, while thrilled about her own medal, was even more over the moon for her teammate. “I couldn’t hold my excitement for her,” Moffat said. “I know how hard she has worked, so I was ecstatic for her. She really stuck it to us.”

As commanding as her win was, Snowsill said she was fueled by insecurity and fear, not confidence. “There’s nothing like running scared from the rest of the field,” Snowsill said. “You never know what 5 6 T R I AT H L E T E | D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 | T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

America’s Laura Bennett was the race leader after the swim and wound up finishing fourth.

Photos by Thierry Deketelaere

THE WOMEN

Several half-hearted breakaways were attempted during the six-lap bike leg, but no one succeeded in getting away.

anyone else is capable of in an Olympics.

“I was definitely looking out of the corner of my eye at all the turnarounds to see if anyone was making a surge. What happened to Loretta [Harrop] at Athens, where she had led the whole day and got passed with 150 yards to go, was definitely on my mind.”

While Snowsill may have looked like she was calmly taking charge from the beginning of the run, inside she had real questions.

“When I started the run, I didn’t feel very comfortable at all,” she said. “I didn’t feel like I had a decent turnover. My back felt tight and it worried me. I just told myself to relax, find my legs and keep deep breathing—all the cues I use in training.”

After a very rocky 2007, Snowsill could be excused for worrying. That June, knifelike

back pains forced a rare and discouraging DNF at the inaugural Hy-Vee World Cup in Des Moines. At about the same time, in her first few weeks of training in Boulder, Colo. (where she trains during the summer), she suffered from altitude sickness and symptoms of a mononucleosis-type immune problem.

She appeared to be suffering from the same symptoms that had sidelined her fiancé and coach, Craig Walton, for almost two years of his career. On top of it all, she was diagnosed with a severe case of exercise-induced asthma in November.

All of the Aussie’s tribulations offered an explanation for the thrashings she received at the hands of Fernandes that year. In 2007, Fernandes took wins at the LifeTime Fitness Triathlon (Minneapolis) and the ITU World Championship and she won her third straight T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M | D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 | T R I AT H L E T E 5 7

Photos by Thierry Deketelaere

Snowsill is flanked by silver medalist Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal, left, and Emma Moffat of Australia.

Olympic preview event at the Beijing World Cup. Amazingly, the down-but-never-out Snowsill managed to finish as the runner-up at all three of those events. This year’s Games marked a passing of the torch, but there’s little doubt in anyone’s mind that the rivalry will continue into 2009.

As for American gold-medal hopeful Bennett, her fourth-place finish was bittersweet, to say the least. Few knew beforehand that Bennett had been dealing with a series of serious leg issues since May, which limited her to only two serious speed workouts before the Games.

“In May, I broke a cleat on my custom bike shoes,” said Bennett. “When the cleat broke, I strained my adductor and it ignited plantar fasciitis, which felt like a bone spur.”

Bennett coped with her foot pain by spending extra time in the pool, both swimming and aqua-jogging. Her foot pain was so bad before leaving for Beijing that she needed a cortisone shot just to get to the starting line.

“I took four days off and was on crutches to take all the pressure off,” Bennett said. “By the time I left for Beijing, I had only done two full rides on the bike in the last few weeks.”

While she may have hoped for more, Bennett knew fourth place was a victory given the circumstances.

“With all I’ve been through, I know I did the best I possibly could on the day,” Bennett said.

5 8 T R I AT H L E T E | D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 | T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

The Americans It wasn’t the medal he’d dreamed of, but after a year of injuries that threatened his career, Hunter Kemper was happy with his seventhplace finish, bettering his 17th-place finish in Sydney and ninth-place finish in Athens. His finish in Beijing marks the best placing by an American male in an Olympics.

“After all I’d been through, I’m proud of my finish,” Kemper said. “I still haven’t regained the snap in my legs I had when I finished with the fastest run in Athens, but I got everything I had in me on the day and I’m looking forward to London [site of the 2012 Olympics]. After all, Hamish Carter won Olympic gold at age 35 and I’m only 32.”

Jarrod Shoemaker, a year after his remarkable 11th-place finish at the Beijing World Cup, took 18th. Matt Reed, after a frantic spate of racing around the globe to ensure that the U.S. men qualified for three Olympic spots, was out of gas and finished 32nd.

As for the women, Bennett’s near-medal performance was backed up by an 11th-place finish by Sarah Haskins. Californian Julie Ertel, who won an Olympic silver medal in water polo in 2000, finished 19th in her second Olympic sport.

2008 Women’s Olympic Triathlon BEIJING, CHINA Aug. 18, 2008 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run 1. Emma Snowsill (AUS) 2. Vanessa Fernandes (POR) 3. Emma Moffatt (AUS) 4. Laura Bennett (USA) 5. Juri Ide (JPN) 6. Nicola Spirig (SUI) 7. Daniela Ryf (SUI) 8. Andrea Hewitt (NZL) 9. Kiyomi Niwata (JPN) 10. Debbie Tanner (NZL)

1:58:27 1:59:33 1:59:55 2:00:20 2:00:23 2:00:29 2:00:39 2:00:45 2:00:51 2:01:06

In It for ALL THE RIGHT REASONS Why a laidback gardener from Northern California is one of the world’s best tri coaches—but you’ve never heard of him and he won’t coach you.

By Brad Culp Photos by Lar r y Rosa Photography

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In It for ALL THE RIGHT REASONS

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riathlon coaching has become a big business. There are hundreds of online coaching programs, which offer detailed training plans each month in exchange for the cost of a disc wheel. Then there’s Muddy Waters, who gives the athletes he coaches his heart and soul for almost nothing—but sorry—he’s not looking for any more athletes and he really doesn’t want your money.

Waters is the head coach of ALCiS Racing, a San Jose, Calif.-based team of about 30 athletes, who for lack of a less explicit description, kick some serious ass. The whole group is from the Silicon Valley area and they train together at least twice a week. Waters is right there with them on their group rides, but nowadays, the former pro duathlete prefers his tricked-out scooter to his tri-bike.

ALCiS Racing isn’t an ensemble of weekend warriors who wear their sponsors’ jerseys in exchange for a little swag. They’re a tightknit group of scary-fast guys and girls who aim to dominate every 6 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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race in Northern California—and they do just that.

You can take my word for it, because even their “slow” girls smoked me while I tried to keep pace on their Wednesday ride, or you can look at the results. At the Wildflower Long Course Triathlon in May, ALCiS Racing captured both the men’s and women’s overall age-group titles. Team member Lauren Swigart put the hurt on the women’s field and broke the age-group course record that had stood for more than a decade. Teammate Nick Thompson shattered the men’s age-group record and finished with a nine-minute gap on the runner-up. Luckily for every other amateur triathlete in California, Thompson now races professionally.

The team’s other pro is Brian Lavelle (husband of superstar Becky Lavelle), who has charged Waters with the task of turning him into a long-course standout—something Waters knows a thing or two about.

In It for ALL THE RIGHT REASONS

“Every member of the team who wanted to qualify for Kona this year has ... The rest of them will be racing Clearwater, because that’s what they set out to do.” —ALCiS team member Todd Hinders “Every member of the team who wanted to qualify for Kona this year has,” says team member Todd Hinders. “The rest of them will be racing Clearwater, because that’s what they set out to do.”

Twenty-two of Waters’ athletes raced in Kona and there will be 11 at the 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater, Fla. Hinders is known to his teammates as “The Godfather,” since he was the original member of the team. It all began when the now 37-year-old businessman was sitting at the San Diego Airport after competing in the 2005 edition of Ironman California 70.3 and was popping anti-inflammatories like they were Tic Tacs. Brian Berchtold, ALCiS president and chief executive officer, happened to be sitting nearby, watching Hinders plow through the bottle of pain pills.

Berchtold offered the ailing athlete a sample of his pain cream and a business card and then both went their separate ways. The cream must have worked, because Hinders called Berchtold the next day and the two laid out the groundwork for ALCiS racing.

“Our sponsorship in triathlon started as a fluke, but is now a part of a very focused strategy,” Berchtold says. “If [ALCiS] works 6 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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for these extreme athletes, surely it will work for recreational athletes or anyone who needs pain relief. And our team members have been able to prove that our product works.”

Once the team got rolling, the next step was to find a coach.

Hinders suggested Waters, who had coached him in the past, but Waters wasn’t an easy sell. He prides himself on only coaching a few athletes so that he can give each one the personal attention he or she needs.

“You can’t coach everybody,” Waters says. “I spend about 5,000 minutes on the phone each month talking to my athletes. That’s what it takes to really get to know them.”

Getting to know each of his athletes inside and out has been critical to Waters’ success as a coach. Instead of emailing training spreadsheets to his athletes one month at a time, Waters handwrites individual plans every week, for every athlete, based on how each felt the week before. Not bad for a guy who also works up to 12 hours a day as a gardener in the San Jose area.

Waters’s training plans are meticulously detailed and personalized,

In It for ALL THE RIGHT REASONS

but are void of heart rate and power zones.

“I’m not very big on technology,” he says. “If you spend an entire ride from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz staring at a power meter, you’re really missing out on the best part of the sport.”

The lone piece of high-tech equipment you’ll find in his arsenal is his scooter, which doubles as a support vehicle on group rides.

Since Waters refuses to accept a bigger paycheck from the team, the group got together and purchased their coach a new scooter to replace his original one, which was barely running. His new rig is equipped with a rack that holds eight spare wheels and plenty of storage for his athletes’ nutritional needs. There’s no stopping to fix a flat or refill water bottles on an ALCiS Racing ride—Waters does it all for them.

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As much as Waters does for his team, he doesn’t deserve all the credit for the success of ALCiS racing and he would be the first to tell you that.

“I can only do so much,” he says.

“These guys (the team) are the ones out there winning races.”

The team has developed a camaraderie not often witnessed in the multisport world. You won’t see just one or two bright orange ALCiS jerseys at an event—they show up in droves.

“We’re a close-knit family,” says team member Billy Richmond.

“Muddy attracts good people and makes sure no one has an ego.”

In charge of keeping the family as close as possible is ALCiS marketing executive Greg Quinn, whose title of Team Manager is certainly apt. Quinn organizes social outings, team dinners, and yes, even the occasional happy hour. Quinn isn’t some corporate bigwig who just makes sure the athletes have plenty of ALCiS-branded gear to wear at races; he’s actually part of the team.

Since becoming involved with the program, the former pro golfer has caught the triathlon bug and recently broke the five-hour mark in his first Ironman 70.3 event.

“ALCiS isn’t just a sponsor dumping money into a program,” Lavelle says. “They’re committed to the sport and the team. The executives will all come out to the races to cheer us on.”

And at every race, there’s Muddy Waters. Whether he has one athlete racing in Lake Placid or 20 athletes racing at the San Jose International Triathlon, he’s there. The coach does all the team members’ last-minute bike work, prepares their nutrition and previews the course. He’s up at 4 a.m. on race day (if he sleeps at all the night before) to make sure everyone is ready to go. He says that he’s often brought to tears before the start of a big race from a mix of nerves, excitement and the love he has for his athletes.

“He’s an emotional dude,” Richmond says. “He really loves what he does.”

As much as he loves triathlon, Waters does need the occasional reprieve.

“If I need a break from everything, I’ll go to a Motley Crue concert,” he says. “I’m a rocker at heart.”

To find out more about ALCiS Racing visit alcisracing.com.

To learn more about ALCiS Daily Pain Relief Cream visit alcis.com.

I N T E R B I K E 2008 The annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas is a first look at the bike industry’s newest and greatest bike (and triathlon) equipment that will show up at your local shop next spring.

By Jay Prasuhn and Brad Culp

What caught the eyes of editors and resident techno-philes Jay Prasuhn and Brad Culp? Have a look at this year’s top head-turners including our top five picks.

J AY’ S BES T OF S HOW

CERVELO P4 ($6,800 WITH SRAM RED, $4,800 FRAMESET ONLY) The most hyped and anticipated new tri bike aerodynamically beat Cervelo’s standardbearer P3. To create the P4, Cervelo’s engineers revamped the entire P3 (save for a fist-width section of the top tube), the bike was made more aero via proprietary brakes integrated within the chainstays, new tube shapes and depths, forward-pitched seatstays and a new top tube-located internal cable run. But the most visible cue is the 570 mL aero water bottle (or optional utility box), which creates a seamless fairing from the downtube across the rear wheel.

Cervelo.com

FIRST ENDURANCE EFS LIQUID SHOT ($6) It’s a brave new world in caloric intake and First Endurance is coming on strong with this 400-calorie shot (don’t call it a gel), which also has a massive 1,500 mg of electrolytes and 1,000 mg of amino acids. The fact that it doesn’t have gelling agents and it doesn’t paste up in the mouth means it’s absorbed into the bloodstream quicker. We had a chance to try it, and not only does it deliver the caloric goods, but the vanilla flavor tastes truly fantastic. Hitting the flask will soon take on a whole new meaning. Firstendurance.com

FELT DEVOX CARBON TRI BAR ($899) The beauty of this bar is in the simplicity. This new Felt Racing spin-off brand has extensions in line with the aerobar, with pads and hardware that can be removed and mounted on the opposite side of the basebar, if you prefer the sweep of the aerobar to rise. At 595 grams it’s one of the lightest bars on the market. Feltracing.com

AVIA AVI-BOLT II ($90); AVI-STOLTZ ($110) These two new kicks—the Avi-Stoltz (an Xterra-specific shoe codesigned with Conrad Stoltz) and the new Avi-Bolt racer, left, are a departure from what was a tame shoe line. The Avi-Stoltz has an agro-traction sole and a sealed tongue to keep out rocks and debris. On the road, the new Avi-Bolt II, designed specifically for triathlon, has the tongue sewn in at the medial side, leaving it set for a quick entry off the bike.

Both shoes have nylon eyelets for fast lacing. Avia.com 6 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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FEATHER BRAKES ($399) The hard, sexy CNC’d angles on this new brake, accented with titanium pivots and your choice of upgradeable color-accent cams and barrel adjusters (available in red, blue, black, pink or gold) caught our eye. But as former motocross parts developers, the engineers at Feather Brakes didn’t get into bike brakes for the aesthetics, aiming instead to improve the stopping power of other aftermarket brakes available.

Fashion with function rules. Featherbrakes.com

BR AD’ S BES T OF SHOW RIDLEY DEAN ($3,499 FRAME AND FORK ONLY) You don’t need a wind tunnel to know that this bike is seriously aero. All you need to know is that Ridley spent a ton of time in the tunnel creating its first serious TT frame. The bike’s signature feature is the R-Flow fork and seatstay slots, designed by Oval Concepts engineer Morgan Nicol. Basically, air travels through the slots faster than it can travel around them. The cut-to-fit seatmast comes with two clamps and the tri-specific clamp can get you to well over 80 degrees of seat angle. Ridley-bikes.com

ZIPP VUMACHRONO CRANK WITH CERAMIC BEARINGS ($1,560) If Darth Vader rode a bike he would use this crank— it looks that sinister. The VumaChrono’s face is one monocoque carbon piece, which delivers incredible stiffness and almost no chainring deflection. The solid face and beefy arms also reduce turbulent airflow over the crank, which Zipp estimates can save up to nine seconds over 40 km. It’s available with 53/39, 54/42 or 55/42 chainrings with 167.5 to 180 mm arm lengths (in increments of 2.5 mm). Zipp.com

LOOK ZED CRANKSET (ONLY AVAILABLE AS PART OF THE LOOK 596 FRAMESET) In my opinion, this crank takes the cake as the most innovative product of the show. The crank arms, spider and bottom bracket spindle are a single piece of high-pressure-molded carbon, which delivers out-of-this-world stiffness and trims any excess weight. The entire unit weighs 320 grams, which puts the ZED in a league all its own when it comes to stiffness-to-weight ratio. Further pushing the envelope, LOOK created a 170, 172.5 and 175 mm crank arm all in one. A special axle system on the KEO ZED pedals makes it possible to change the length of the arm with a simple turn of the axle. The ZED crankset is only compatible with the LOOK 596 frameset, which retails for $5,499 (frame, fork, headset, stem, E post, crank, bb, pedals). Lookcycle-usa.com T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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INTERBIKE

2008 LITESPEED BLADE ($8,500 FRAME, SEATPOST AND FORK ONLY) Remember the days when everyone said titanium couldn’t be shaped into aero tubes? Those days ended when Litespeed unveiled the redesigned Blade. No, it’s definitely not cheap. In fact, if you build it up as Litespeed did at the show (with a SRAM Red group and a HED cockpit and wheels), it may be one the most expensive bikes in the world. That said, it is the finest display of titanium we’ve ever seen and it’s a tri addict’s dream bike. In true Litespeed style, a 53 cm frame tips the scales at only 1,500 grams. Litespeed.com

CAMPAGNOLO 11-SPEED SUPER RECORD GROUP ($3,395) Do you need 11 speeds? Absolutely not. But you don’t need dimples on your wheels and water bottles either. These things are just cool to have.

Campy revealed its highly-anticipated 11-speed group at the show and let us take it for a spin. Campy added the extra cog to provide a wider range of gear options, but that benefit is secondary. The real bonus of the extra speed is that it tightens up the jump from one cog to the next, making for extremely crisp shifting. Then again, this is Campy, so anything short of perfectly tuned shifting wouldn’t be acceptable. Currently, bar-end shifters aren’t available, but we hope that changes by Interbike 2009. Campagnolo.com

B ES T O F T HE R E S T SCOTT PLASMA2 LIMITED ($9,000) The choice of uber-biker Normann Stadler for this year’s Ford Ironman World Championship, this tunnel-tested frame features a unique front end that caught our eye. Scott eliminated the gap between the fork and downtube to stabilize airflow over the entire bike. The price tag is hefty, but Scott specs the bike with a SRAM Red group, Profile aerobar and a Zipp 1080/808 wheelset. Scottusa.com

QUINTANA ROO CD0.1 (NOT PRICED YET) You probably won’t find the name of this bike sexy unless you’re a serious wind tunnel geek. Cd0.1 refers to the extremely low drag coefficient that QR was able to reach at certain yaw angles. The down tube is slightly offset and forces air coming off the front wheel toward the non-drivetrain side of the frame (which has less resistance than the drivetrain side). The bike comes spec’d with SRAM Red, Vision aerobars and a Reynolds wheelset. Rooworld.com 7 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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Torbjørn Sindballe

AWARD 08

Behind the calm demeanor lurks an iron will. His objective: to be among the foremost triathletes in the world. To achieve this, he has made the necessary sacrifices and has adopted a well-balanced, optimized way of life in the pursuit of uncompromised athletic excellence.

Torbjorn has been a member of the Argon 18 family for three years and there he has found a community that fully understands his vision and his goals. The E-114 he rides exemplifies our shared commitment to optimal balance and the fuller integration of man and machine. Optimal balance. Always.

ARGON 18 Tel.: 514.271.2992 www.argon18bike.com

INTERBIKE

2008

ORBEA ALETTA ($2,149)

FUJI D-6 PROFESSIONAL ($8,000)

While Orbea’s top-shelf ride, the Ordu, is the eye candy of its offerings, we were most excited about the ultra-affordable Aletta. For less than the price of many high-end wheelsets, the Aletta delivers an aero full-carbon frame with a Dura-Ace group and Mavic wheels. It’s also available in a women’s-specific version (the Aletta Dama) for the same price. Orbea-usa.com

We’ve always dug Fuji’s road bikes, but their tri bikes have left a little—OK, a lot—to be desired. At this year’s show Fuji unveiled the new D-6, a ride worthy of short-course juggernaut Matty Reed, who now rides it. It looks beefy (especially in the rear triangle), but a complete bike tips the scales at just over 17 pounds. A Matt Reed signature edition frameset is available as well. Fujibikes.com

KESTREL AIRFOIL PRO SL SPECIAL EDITION ($8,335) Not much has changed on the AirFoil in the past decade, and with good reason: This design is just plain fast. Kestrel spared no expense for the Special Edition, which includes a Zipp 404 wheelset, Zipp Vuka aerobars and a SRAM Red group. Only 150 of the Special Editions will be available in the U.S. Kestrelbicycles.com

FELT AR4 ($3,799) The Tour de France saw the debut of this aero road bike (one we reckon would be great for hilly tri courses and clip-ons) and Felt will offer the Garmin-Chipotle Team version in ’09 at a lofty $8,999 price. If that price makes you blanch, Felt wisely offers the AR4: same frame, same wicked aerodynamics, on a bike with Shimano Ultegra SL. At just under 17 pounds, the AR4 deserves to be a big hit in ’09. Feltracing.com

BH GC AERO ($5,300) We finally got a look at the bike that rising Ironman star Eneko Llanos has been racing this year: the GC Aero. The Spanish-branded bike, once thought to be a TT-centric offering, is designed with a three-position saddle clamp, presenting angles of 74, 76 and 78 degrees. While the price above gets you a SRAM Red group, the version with Ultegra SL is a quiet steal deserving of a place on the Kona starting grid. Bhbikes-us.com 7 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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… W H O ’ S N O T I N YO U R A G E G R O U P Triathlon Training Series: Volume One 5-DVD Box Set. The most comprehensive and technologically advanced triathlon training DVDs available; the per fect solution for all your gif t giving needs.

AVA I L A B L E E XC LU S I V E LY AT

w w w.triathlontrainingseries.com

BONUS! PRINTABLE TRAINING PLANS & WORKOUTS ON EACH DISC!

INTERBIKE

2008 ZOOT COMPRESSRX ACTIVE TIGHT ($120)

MAVIC TRI PRO ($250) The storied French wheel manufacturer ventures into footwear and does it with aplomb with the Tri Pro. The light (290 gram), two-strap shoe has a real carbon fiber heel cup (not some cosmetic wrap) to keep the heel snug during the race. Mavic.com

Zoot dived into the compression market this year with style. It uses a polypropylene-based fabric instead of Lycra, which makes for seriously tight compression. The compression is greatest at the ankle and graduates toward the waist, helping your body filter blood as quickly as possible.

Zootsports.com

2XU ELITE COMPRESSION TIGHT ($140) 2XU jumped on the compression bandwagon before there was a bandwagon and since then it has been constantly updating its technology. The newest model features extra support through the calves and hamstrings, reducing soreness and fatigue where you feel it most. 2xu.com

POLAR FT80 WITH GPS ($460) A heart rate monitor worthy of a James Bond film. It’s sleek, stylish and has all the features you need—and then some. Ideal for interval or strength training, the display shows two heart rate graphs: one tracks your current heart rate while the other tracks your working baseline. When the two lines merge, you’re ready for the next rep or interval. The unit also tracks real-time speed and distance when paired with Polar’s G1 GPS or S1 Foot Pod. Polarusa.com 7 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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PEARL IZUMI PRO OCTANE JERSEY ($225); SHORTS ($250) For decades Pearl Izumi’s Microsensor has been the standard-bearer fabric, but in plain black, what can you do? How about add PI’s top-shelf 4D chamois to the short, then throw in some Italian styling in simple-but-elegant black and white? The result is a kit that stands apart from all the cartoonish day-glo stuff you see all too much of out there.

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INTERBIKE

2008 VALDORA SR-1.0 AEROBAR ($750) Finally an aerobar that’s all about comfort instead of aerodynamics and weight. That’s not to say that it’s not aero or light (it weighs 740 grams), but this low-profile bar is all about keeping you comfortable for 112 miles. The SR-1.0 features oversized armrests and ergonomic extensions, coupled with endless options in terms of fit adjustments.

Valdoracycles.com

SKINS ICE LONG SLEEVE TOP ($175); TIGHTS ($175) Heat-reflective compression bike gear is cool—both literally and figuratively. Skins’ new top and tights reflect sunlight to keep your skin cool in the most extreme conditions and the Motion Tech panels on the top keep you from feeling constricted.

Skins.net

HED BLACKDOG ($900) Vaulting off the success of its Vantage 8 aerobar, HED created the Blackdog (named after a Minneapolis-area lake and namesake group ride) to take the thin basebar and integrate brake levers, resulting in a 900 gram bar. The Blackdog is also offered with flat and drop (shown) basebar options. Hedcycling.com

PROFILE DESIGN VOLNA ($860)

3T BREZZA LTD ($800) A year after the wild success of the super-aero Ventus aerobar comes the nonintegrated Brezza, which is compatible with your existing 31.8mm stem. You can also get the Team version, with alloy s-bend extensions, for $200 less. Thenew3t.com

EDGE COMPOSITES 68 CARBON CLINCHER ($2,550/PAIR) These matte beauties look boutique but they’re about more than looks.

For bike powerhouse Steve Larsen to endorse them they have to be incredibly strong, which is Edge’s true selling point. The Utah-based wheel builders have created a 68 mm unidirectional carbon fiber rim using high temperatures and pressures. As a carbon clincher, it delivers a one-two punch: it’s a super-light race wheel and an easy-to-fix-a-flat training wheel. Edgecomposites.com 7 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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On the show floor we were taken with the organic, ergonomic feel of the new Volna. The extensions and braking positions each have shaping that makes it naturally comfortable when you’re spending hour after hour on your aerobars. Profile-design.com

INTERBIKE

2008 BLACKBURN FLEA FRONT & REAR LIGHT ($30 EACH OR $55 FOR BOTH) It may not look like much, but that’s the point. Each light weighs only 17 grams but packs the punch of lights ten times its size. The Flea can also be recharged using any standard 1.5V battery—a great way to squeeze any remaining life out of old batteries.

Blackburndesign.com

GIRO LOCKUP HELMETS (PRICE VARIES); MONACO ($40), TESSA ($25) GLOVES Helmets are Giro’s bread and butter, so we weren’t surprised to see Giro has “locked up” a few helmet color and design schemes for its Lonos road helmet and Advantage II aero helmet to be sold as a pair. For the biker who wants to match in training and racing, the LockUp package is the way to go. And as for Giro venturing into soft goods? The men’s Monaco glove features a Pittards leather palm and a breathable, four-way stretch upper.

The women’s Tessa uses a Clarino palm, with much the same upper and cut features of the Monaco. Giro.com

NINETEEN FREQUENCY SS ($250) Nineteen’s debut speedsuit features the must-haves, like a seamless, slick SCS fabric for exceptional hydrodynamics, but the back of the suit is what really stands out. Nineteen uses a superstretchy Wingspan SS back, which makes for uninterrupted stroke mobility. Nineteenwetsuits.com

ROCKET SCIENCE SPORTS ROCKET SL WETSUIT ($699)

LOUIS GARNEAU DIAMOND ($190); SUPERLEGERRA ($180) The Diamond is Garneau’s new top-of-the-line road helmet, complete with 40 vents and weighing just 285 grams. It’s a super-light, super-cool helmet for putting in the miles. But for race day, LG revamped its aero helmet in creating the Superlegerra.

They added dimples to the leading edge for more attached air-flow as wind passes over the helmet. Louisgarneau.com 7 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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It’s not easy to be innovative in wetsuit design-—there’s only so much you can do with neoprene. So the guys at Rocket Science Sports (who actually are rocket scientists) developed what they call BLT (buoyancy laminated technology), which is considerably lighter (and more buoyant) than neoprene.

They insert the material between the neoprene layers of the suit and the result is the lightest suit we’ve ever seen.

Rocketsciencesports.com

INTERBIKE

2008

SARIS POWERTAP ANT+ SPORT HUB UPDATER ($99) If you’re a PowerTap Wireless SL 2.4 owner who turned green upon hearing that Saris made an ANT+ compatible PowerTap last year, be envious no longer. PowerTap now offers updater software that you can install into the hub yourself, making your PowerTap ANT+ compatible.

Saris.com

TIFOSI TYRANT ($60) Ever the kings of optic value, Tifosi debuts a new race shade optimized for small- to medium-sized faces with an adjustable nosepiece and temple section. Like other Tifosi models, it also comes with three interchangeable lenses. Tifosioptics.com

RUDY PROJECT EXOWIND ($150) Rudy debuted the new Exowind at Le Tour and now they’re available to those outside of the Pro Tour peloton. The bombproof lenses can take a crash at 40 mph (too bad your face can’t). Rudy offers a variety of lens colors, including crystal-clear photochromic for a $30 up-charge. Rudyproject.com

OAKLEY CUSTOM OPTICS (PRICE VARIES) Do you like the green-and-gold Radars Craig Alexander wore in Kona? How about the polished aluminum-and-gold pair Carlos Sastre rocked at the Tour? You can have your favorite sunnies—from Radar to Enduring to Flak Jacket—made to order via Oakley’s new custom program. Design your dream optics online to match your race kit for a truly pro look, even if you’re slow. Oakley.com

NUUN U ($8) Add flavor and vitamins to your water without overdosing on sugar. Nuun’s newest low-calorie tablets are available in three hippie-friendly flavors: lemon chai, goji berry green tea and tangerine ginger. Uhydration.com

LEZYNE MICRO FLOOR DRIVE HP ($40); CARBON 5 ($80) The polished simplicity of Lezyne made a rumble when it debuted last year. This year engineering takes center stage. This frame-mount pump unfolds into a tiny floor pump with a hose attachment, allowing those who loathe hand pumps a way to fill up without burning out their arms. The ultra-light Carbon 5 is insanely light (55 grams) and has the five basic tools you need on a ride: a Phillips and 3, 4, 5 and 6mm Allen keys. Lezyne.com

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Triathlon Making Strides to

GO GREEN What our sport is and isn’t doing to get on Mother Nature’s good side.

By Nan Kappeler

I

magine running over a beach covered with Styrofoam pellets.

Imagine swimming through massive blobs of leftover trash floating on the ocean’s surface, or having to wear a chemical wetsuit to protect yourself from the streams of floating sewage. Imagine burning eyes and difficult breathing from a red tide that never leaves. Imagine having to wear a facemask during a bike ride to protect your lungs from the clouds of pesticides and gasoline fumes.

We’re all to blame for the very possibility of this nightmare vision—we who drive our cars to work, fly around the country to races and over-water our lawns. We’re not suggesting that you live in a tree, or install windmills by your house to prove how serious you are about the global warming crisis. Going green is about being aware and taking steps—big and small—to decrease our waste, use alternative power sources and reduce the amount of atmospheric carbon, which is produced by planes, cars and even manufacturing technical race shirts. This massive output of carbon into our atmosphere has contributed to the gradual warming of our planet and threatens our climate, water resources, food supply, energy production, outdoor areas and wellbeing.

“This isn’t happening 30 years down the road, it’s happening now,” says Jeff Henderson, director of the Council for Responsible Sports, an organization that assists races in becoming environmentally responsible. “The intersection of triathlons and the environment is 8 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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coming a lot quicker than people realize. There are sites in Texas where triathlons can’t be held because of the [poor] water [conditions].

You can’t have the sport of triathlon if you don’t have clean water, air and clean venues to hold [events] in.”

In the last few years, the triathlon industry has taken notice and is taking action toward reducing triathlon’s impact on the earth. Races are going “sustainable” and are leaving no trace after events. That means trash from recycle bins is actually going to recycle centers, not the local landfill.

Alternative energy sources, such as solar panels, are being used to decrease energy consumption. Trash isn’t left at race sites thanks to dedicated athletes, volunteers and race workers, who have a pre-event plan for trash cleanup and removal. Athletes traveling longer distances are offsetting the impact of pollutants issued from planes and cars by purchasing carbon credits or offsets. The money from carbon offset purchases buys trees, which take carbon out of our air and release oxygen, and it funds projects that combat global warming.

“Triathlon is starting to recognize the importance of reducing its impact on the environment, but it’s still in its infancy,” says Barry Siff, founder of 5430 Sports. Siff is the producer of the Boulder (Colo.)

Triathlon Series, which achieved “tri-sustainability” with less than 10 percent of the waste from the event going to the local landfill. “It’s positive that we are starting to have visibility,” he adds.

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

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The industry’s commitment to going green goes beyond the race circuit. Professional athletes are partnering with sponsors to bring attention to energy conservation through Web sites and advertisements. Workplaces are going greener by encouraging employees to bike to work and cut down on paper waste. And communities and city officials are working with events to implement traffic and noise plans to reduce the impact on neighborhoods.

Fed up with constant beach closures, sinus infections and sharing the beaches and oceans with trash, the surfing industry took serious action years ago. Realizing their industry’s survival depends on a healthy planet and water, surfers banded together to make a positive impact on the environment.

“You don’t want to be sick each time you go into the ocean,” says Alexis Henry, member of the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving oceans, waves and beaches.

With more than 50,000 members worldwide, Surfrider has become a caretaker and powerful voice for the ocean. Since 2006 the group has had more than 90 coastal victories by helping communities develop green street programs to reduce water runoff, which carries harmful lawn fertilizers, oils from cars, pet waste and detergents into

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

Triathlon Making Strides to GO GREEN

LEARN FROM THE SURFERS

the ocean. It has also worked to stop proposed toll roads to coastal areas that could impact beaches and shore breaks.

Dozens of surf companies have established eco-friendly gear and workplaces. Leading names in the business such as Billabong, Quiksilver, Reef and Hurley have taken control of their carbon footprints by producing more environmentally friendly products, such as board shorts made from recycled bottles and surfboards with bamboo veneers in place of fiberglass cloth. Industry execs admit there’s still a lot of work to be done, but agree their efforts are a step in the right direction.

At a recent USA Triathlon meeting, race directors raised the issue of clean air and water and the need to create more places for races to take place. USAT addressed the issue from the top level and the board appointed a four-person task force to determine what role the organization should play in promoting sound environmental practices.

“This would allow the task force to expand and get specific about coaches, members and groups, and define USAT’s role in using its communication platform, which includes magazines, races and meetings,” says Kathy Matejka, director of event services for USAT. The resolution is currently in front of the board.

“It’s not difficult to get people and races involved,” says Bruce Rayner, a triathlete and environmental consultant who serves on the USAT task force. “They know how important clean water and air are for the sport. They know they should be doing something.”

ECO-FRIENDLY RACES It’s no secret: triathlons can be a large source of waste. Paper is used to make fliers and registration packs; race shirts are produced using chemicals; athletes take planes to events and hundreds to thousands of people drive to race locations.

“It’s amazing how many races do nothing,” Henderson says. “At least 95 percent have no recycling. The expense of doing some of these things is no longer an excuse.”

ATHLETES Encourage race directors to get involved in recycling sports drink bottles and gel packets.

Use reusable goodie bags instead of plastic.

Reduce paper waste through electronic registration.

Carpool or ride your bike to races.

Purchase carbon credits.

RACE ORGANIZERS Use solar panels or windmills to provide energy for timing and the sound system.

Use alternative race shirt materials such as organic cotton and recycled polyester.

Initiate a used running shoe drop-off bin. Recycle the shoes by sending them to a developing country.

Create a local bike-rack exchange or sharing program for the transition area.

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Courtesy Barry Siff

Reducing Carbon Footprints

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Triathlon Making Strides to GO GREEN

Rayner believes event organizers are just not paying attention to their waste and impact on the planet. He had a revelation when, at one event, he couldn’t find a recycling bin for his plastic water bottle.

“It just makes sense to promote a clean environment,” says Ranyer. Shortly after his moment of revelation, he launched Athletes for a Fit Planet, whose client list includes Tri-Maine’s Urban-Epic race, the Westchester (N.Y.) Triathlon and the Patriot Triathlon in Massachusetts.

Working with race directors, Rayner now helps identify an event’s goals for environmental practices.

Categories include waste management of recyclable materials, eco-friendly portable toilets, decreasing an athlete’s carbon footprint and working with vendors to employ the same practices.

One of Rayner’s noticeable changes at a recent race was the absence of bananas. With zero banana plantations in the U.S., all of the fruit is imported, using fuel and adding a footprint. He suggests substituting local organic foods, such as nectarines in Oregon, or lobster (post-race) in Maine.

Race officials can work with enviromental consultants on ways to implement eco-friendly initiatives, such as recycling.

In 2006, Siff decided to do something about the carbon footprint at the Boulder Triathlon Series by setting out recycling bins, but no one was in charge of directing people to bins.

“It was a disaster,” Siff says. “People need to be led.

It takes focus and a deep commitment.” Afterward he hired a pair of environmental consultants to implement a sustainability program the following year.

The plan went off smoothly and Siff implemented the use of solar power and recycle bins and offered cool-tags for $2.50. Cool-tags are similar to carbon credits, which offset a buyer’s carbon emissions. Special raffle prizes were offered for people who purchased cool-tags. Participants were also treated to local beer in compostable cups.

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

LEARNING CURVE

Shopping Green as a Triathlete

GOING PRO Use race shirts made with 100-percent organic cotton.

Buy from companies that use recycled paper for packaging.

Use eco-friendly bike cleaners that don’t contain dangerous chemicals.

Outfit your team or race participants with organic or recycled material shirts.

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Green-Layer clothing offers some eco-friendly fabrics, such as bamboo, bamboo carbon, Cocona, polyester repreve and organic cotton. www.green-layer.com

Courtesy Green-Layer

AMATUER LEVEL Purchase products using recycled materials such as bamboo, which easily regenerates.

Avoid buying single-serving portions that are individually wrapped.

Buy large containers of energy drinks and sort into reuseable water bottles and flasks.

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Triathlon Making Strides to GO GREEN

“It sounds easy but it’s not,” Siff says. “If vendors are going to give out non-eco-friendly cups, you have to make them change.”

Becoming “sustainable” and “leaving no trace” really aren’t hard at all. Deciding to do something small each day will help. See page 86 for a few “amateur” and “pro” tips for reducing your carbon footprint when you train and race.

SUPPORT THE CAUSE WITH ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS Take a look at your running shorts or shirt. The polyester material is derived from crude oil; leftover material scraps are sent to landfills, and that bold yellow color is made from dyes that release chemical fumes into the air. And those new running shoes you recently brought home wrapped in paper inside a cardboard box—we can hear the trees screaming.

“People underestimate the impact apparel has on the environment,” says Kim Bilancio, founder of Greenlayer Inc., an environmentally friendly athletic wear company in Portland, Ore. “They don’t really know how many chemicals it takes to produce one technical shirt.”

Thanks to innovations that can convert bamboo, seaweed and recycled polyester into alluring textiles, athletes don’t have to compromise comfort or performance when going green. New materials are inspiring designers to create products that are good for your sports wardrobe and for the environment.

Greenlayer (www.green-layer.com) manufactures stylish longand short-sleeve running tops and tees made with recycled polyester that incorporates bamboo charcoal, which helps remove moisture from the skin.

Art of Tri, based in Agoura Hills, Calif., (www.artoftri.com), offers casual athletic clothing, including t-shirts and hoodies, made with 100-percent organic cotton, hand-picked and grown without the use of pesticides.

“Why do we want to pollute the air we train in?” says Toby Jones, owner of Art of Tri. “We should be making a difference.” The company also says that it uses recycled paper for all labels, fliers and packaging.

With a growing demand for these products, most are available at affordable prices.

“A lot of people used to associate eco-friendly as ‘granola-ish’ or it wouldn’t be as good, or it would have a high price tag,” Bilancio says. “The more the consumer starts to look for this type of product, the more the price will fall.”

Big-name companies are also working to reduce their footprint.

Brooks Sports Inc. of Bothell, Wash., manufactures shoes and uses recycled paper for its shoe boxes. Berkeley, Calif.-based Clif Bar and Company’s sustainability program aims to reduce the number of energy bar wrappers going into landfills by offering two cents to a charity of choice for each wrapper returned by a consumer.

The wrappers are recycled for other uses. And NEHP Inc. of Acton, Calif., manufacturer of the Fluid Recovery Drink, shrank its product packaging 40 percent to reduce waste to landfills.

GOING GREEN AT WORK Providing showers and bike racks at the workplace, installing sky lights and creating incentive programs are just a few of the things companies in the triathlon industry are doing to make the workplace “greener.”

When the online and retail multisport store TriSports.com relocated its offices in Tucson, Ariz., owner Seaton Clagett jumped at the opportunity to make the workplace a less wasteful place.

The new office space provided showers and lockers for employees, incorporated skylights for natural lighting and added recycle bins in numerous areas.

“I’m always amazed at how little companies recycle,” Clagett says.

“We have to be good stewards to the environment.”

With many of its 30 employees involved in running and cycling, it wasn’t hard to gain support for the company’s official commuter program. A computer database is used to log individual employees’ travel miles to and from work (no extra hill repeats count), which accumulate to earn store credit.

“Some employees get it, some don’t,” Clagett says.

At the USAT offices in Boulder, Colo., the process of becoming sustainable started with the hiring of a recycling company to set up bins in the parking lot. Next, a water cooler and water glasses replaced plastic bottles.

“We now have the whole building recycling,” event services director Kathy Matejka says.

While participating at recent races, Doug Welling noticed more recycling bins and attention toward going green. When he returned to work at Midcoast Multisport in Brunswick, Maine, where he serves as assistant manager, he realized how much paper and plastic waste came with each bike and other products.

“It was a wake-up call to see how wasteful we are here in the shop,” Welling says. “Now we recycle boxes in the store, we don’t use the air conditioning in the summer and we have showers and changing rooms for bike commuters. Maybe we can all do more.”

What You Can Do at Work

PRO LEVEL Use recycled carpet and furniture.

Use solar power for lighting and energy.

Install low-flush urinals and toilets.

Serve organic foods in the cafeteria.

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Courtesy Barry Siff

AMATUER STEPS Appoint an employee to spearhead a recycling program.

Use green cleaning supplies.

Have an in-house recycling program to reuse boxes, paper and plastic.

Provide showers and a changing area for people who bike to work.

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What You Can Do on Your Bike AMATEUR LEVEL Bike to the store or to perform local errands.

Bike at least one day a week to work.

Be respectful of your neighborhood and store energy wrappers in your shirt and dispose at home.

Race close to home.

PRO LEVEL Ride your bike everywhere.

Sell your car and use public transportation if you absolutely can’t bike somewhere.

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Courtesy Paige Dunn Courtesy Cannondale

Triathlon Making Strides to GO GREEN

mitted to reducing carbon emissions by participating in local triathlons and combining destination races with vacations.

You don’t have to be a pro to show your commitment to being a bit green.

Just leaving your car at home one day a week can decrease carbon in the air, ease traffic congestion and reduce the oil on the roads, which is washed by rain into sewers and taken to the ocean. You also get a little extra training time by commuting to work on your bike.

“I need to go to the office and get in a good bike workout. Depending on my training plan that week, I make my commute a one-hour hill repeat day or a two-hour tempo workout,” says Sherry Rennard, a 46-year-old age grouper and medical transcriber from Costa Mesa, Calif.

For nearly 15 years Mark Duss Professional Triathlete Chris Lieto promotes environmental has commuted by bike to work. At awareness by driving a biodiesel vehicle to his races. first the 12-time Ironman used his 30-mile round-trip commute to add ATHLETES DOING THEIR PART training miles. But five children later, he’s found that riding to work Over the past several decades, the triathlon community has been saves not only gas, but time. Instead of traveling home to change, he successful in raising millions of dollars and awareness for numerous goes directly from work to meet friends for hill repeats or interval causes. Now, athletes are starting to realize how important their voices training.

“It’s doing two things at once,” he says. “All the little things add are in making the sport more sustainable and reducing waste.

Professional triathlete Chris Lieto has been a visible athlete in up to keep our community clean.” campaigning for different environmental programs and bringing awareness to the issue of global warming through his Web site The bottom line is that we can all help in some way. Even the (www.thegreenathlete.com). He also uses biodiesel in the van he smallest step—biking to the store, placing your plastic water bottle in drives to each race. the correct recycling bin or registering for a race online—can help.

“I don’t want it to just be a wasteful time. I want it to have some We may not be able to reinvent our sport with bamboo bike seats purpose, to leave it better in some way,” Lieto said of his sport in a and grass bathing suits. But since the physical fitness of our planet recent interview with Bohemian.com. determines the longevity of our sport, we may all need to make During the past year, Lieto joined forces with sponsors to pro- changes. Not sacrifices, but choices to keep our planet healthy. mote his green initiatives. Many of his sponsors already have their “People understand this is important,” says Henderson. “It’s part own programs, such as Trek’s One World, Two Wheels’ bike-riding of a package that people will have to accept in the future. There’s so project and the Soles4Souls shoe-recycling venture. He’s also com- much more to be done.”

WELCOME TO FLORIDA’S

WINTER WONDERLAND Get a jump on next season at Clermont’s National Training Center.

By Brad Culp

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Courtesy of Kimberly Couch

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WINTER WONDERLAND

Courtesy of Kimberly Couch

WELCOME TO FLORIDA’S

B

elieve it or not, there are some serious hills in this country’s flattest state. I’m not talking about the mammoth bridges that connect the Florida Peninsula to the Keys—I’m talking about the quad-burning, lung-busting, wish-you-had-a-compact-crank kind of hills. Don’t believe it? Head to Clermont, known to many as Florida’s “Gem of the Hills.” While most of the Sunshine State is known for its ridiculously flat roads, which offer ideal venues for destroying a personal record, Clermont dishes out menacing terrain and near-perfect weather in the winter months. All this makes Clermont the perfect off-season training destination.

Clermont is located in central Florida, about 30 minutes west of Orlando. It’s a small town, but like most of Florida, it’s growing quickly. Clermont receives substantial rainfall on an almost daily basis in the summer, but conditions become more favorable in the winter months. If your mission is quality triathlon training, December through March is the best time of year to visit. The temperature during these

use our facility.”

The gem of the NTC’s facilities is its outdoor aquatic center, which operates year-round. The 70-meter by 25-yard pool offers more than 20 lanes and even has a zero-depth entry point, ideal for practicing swim starts.

In addition to a world-class pool, the NTC has a 400-meter outdoor track, a state-of-the-art gym, a rehabilitation center and a human performance lab. Specific training packages are available through the NTC’s office and cater to each athlete’s individual needs. Plan on spending around $1,000 if you want the royal treatment, which includes a comprehensive, triathlon-specific human performance evaluation. The lab’s “triathlon package” includes: a bike fit, VO2max test, lactate threshold analysis, metabolic rate analysis, swim-stroke force analysis, dry-land strength test, spin scan, motion analysis and a body composition test. If you don’t mind suffering a bit, you can get all of these tests done in one pain-filled weekend.

Opened in 2001, the NTC has hosted thousands of triathletes, from back-of-the-pack age groupers to Olympians like Hunter Kemper and Laura Bennett. months rarely creeps over 75 degrees and rain is scarce.

The sunshine and topography may be a big boost for your off-season fitness, but the real reason to choose Clermont for a winter training trip is the National Training Center (NTC). It’s the only place in the world where you’ll find a 37,000-square-foot facility dedicated almost entirely to making you a better triathlete.

Opened in 2001, the NTC has hosted thousands of triathletes, from back-of-the-pack age-groupers to Olympians like Hunter Kemper and Laura Bennett. Think of it as an Olympic Training Center that also caters to not-so-elite athletes.

“Sometimes I’ll see a sprinter like Tyson Gay doing a track workout and in the lane next to him is someone from Clermont just trying to get in shape,” says Kimberly Couch, the NTC’s marketing and media coordinator. “There’s really a wide range of people who 9 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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Further demonstrating its commitment to multisport, the NTC recently hired ITU standout Sara McLarty to build a number of triathlon-specific programs. McLarty has already set up a camp for tri-newbies on Jan. 17-18, as well as a train-with-the-pros camp on Feb. 14-15. Athletes attending the February camp will have the opportunity to train under the guidance of McLarty and a number of other professional triathletes for a weekend. Every athlete in the camp will also receive free entry to Florida’s Great Escape Triathlon, held in Clermont on Feb. 15.

Not only does McLarty work at the NTC, she uses the facilities on a daily basis.

“When I moved back to Clermont, I made it my number-one priority that my house be within a mile of the NTC,” McLarty says.

“I spend that much time there.”

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WELCOME TO FLORIDA’S

The lab’s “triathlon package” includes: a bike fit, VO2max test, lactate threshold analysis, metabolic rate analysis, swim stroke force analysis, dry-land strength test, spin scan, motion analysis and a body composition test.

WHERE TO RIDE Clermont is the unofficial cycling capital of the Sunshine State, which means you’ll never have to worry about riding solo while you’re in town. The Cycling Hub, Clermont’s largest bike shop, hosts rides almost every day of the week. Weekend rides start at 8 a.m. and offer A, B and C groups that cater to different abilities.

Most group rides are between 35 and 60 miles and include all of the area’s “famous” climbs.

If you prefer to ride without a guide, be sure to get in a few repeats on Sugarloaf Mountain and Buck Hill. Both are located about nine miles north of Clermont, just east of Highway 50. While neither hill is particularly long (this is Florida, after all), they feature grades you won’t find anywhere else in Florida.

WHERE TO RUN Lake Louisa State Park, only five minutes from the NTC, has about three miles of traffic-free roads and is a great place to get in a quick jog. If you’re looking to log some longer miles, head to the east side of Lake Louisa and pick up the Clay Trail at 5 Mile Road. You can follow the dirt trail for about 10 miles and get in a few rolling hills along the way. Be sure to take your own fluids, as there’s nowhere to stop for water along the way and there’s absolutely zero shade.

carb-lover’s breakfast each morning. Make your reservation by calling 352-394-6585. Additional lodging may be found at Usantc.com.

GETTING AROUND The NTC has teamed up with Dollar and Enterprise Rent-A-Car to offer special rates for visiting athletes. Discount information may be found under the “General Information” tab on the NTC’s Web site.

WHERE TO EAT If there’s one thing Clermont is missing it’s fine dining. That said, the city’s lack of culinary acclaim may be a good thing if you’re coming to town to get in shape. There are all the classic chains if you’re looking for a quick fix, but our pick is the Bread ‘n’ Buns Bakery and Café located on Oakley Seaver Drive. They serve a variety of healthy, all-natural breads, sandwiches and salads—perfect for fueling you up for long base training.

WHAT ELSE TO DO

WHERE TO STAY

If you’re traveling with kids, taking a trip to one of Orlando’s many theme parks is a must. Discounted tickets to a number of parks are available through the NTC. If you’re kid-free, you’ll be better served to stay out of Orlando—Disney World is only the “greatest place on earth” if you’re younger than 12.

If you’re in town on a Sunday, head to the mammoth Downtown Farmer’s Market, held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

If you need a night out, try the Sunset Grill and Comedy Club, which has shows just about every Friday and Saturday night. Tickets for the show are only $8 if you go for dinner as well.

The Fairfield Inn and Suites, located on Hunt Trace Boulevard, is literally a stone’s throw from the NTC and they serve up a healthy,

To start planning your trip to the NTC visit Usantc.com

GETTING THERE Clermont is an easy 30-minute drive from the Orlando International Airport. Book your flights as early as possible, because flights to Orlando fill up quickly with Disney World-bound tourists.

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Holiday Gift Guide

By Jay P rasuhn // Photos by John Seges ta

Red, white and black. For some reason, our sportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s colors mirror the colors of Santaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s suit. Think about all the festively painted Specialized, Cervelo, Kuota, Zipp, FSA and SRAM goods out there. Impetus enough for us to head out and look for the sweetest gifts for your multisport spouse, or leave this article out as a hint to that special someone.

Full Speed Ahead TriMax SI Carbon $770 (as shown on the Kuota Kueen K) Want your loved one to grin this holiday season? Nothing says â&#x20AC;&#x153;happy holidaysâ&#x20AC;? like the gift of carbon. Known as a brand with stem-integrated aerobars, FSA debuts its first bar independent of a stem, allowing you to use your own 31.8 diameter stem to adjust length on your own. Of course, paired with the super-light, carbon-wrapped OS-99 will set the package off completely. Fullspeedahead.com T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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Holiday Gift Guide Action Wipes 15-pack $9.49 Love your spouseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard work but not the sweaty funkiness that accompanies it? The scents of tea tree and eucalyptus in Action Wipes not only refresh the face, neck and body, but thanks to its anti-fungal and antiseptic properties, cleans and disinfects. Perfect for use after open-water swims and long rides, or even following your morning commute to work. Actionwipes.com

Athlete3 Triathlete Coffee Mug $14 Swim-Bark-Run Collar $15; Leash $18 Who says Fido and your friends canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get in on the tri life? State your style when headed out to cheer on your spouse at the race with this new collar and leash for dogs. The Athlete3 coffee mug has an etched Athlete3 swim/bike/run icon and is narrow enough at the base to fit in your carâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cup holder. Athlete3.com

FSA K-Force Carbon Road Quick Release $120 The K-Force line epitomizes FSAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top range, and this little beauty with a stainless axle and carbon fiber lever will bring a smile to the face of your loved one who thinks they have everything. Fullspeedahead.com

SPIBelt $20 Why wear a full-size fluid belt if all youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re carrying for personal race nutrition are gels and salt tablets? With a tight neoprene pocket that stretches to fit upwards of five gels and lays flat against your body, SPIBelt (an acronym for small personal items) resists bouncing on the run, and can stash other stuff like your car key or even cell phone. We used the belt in training and racing with gels and even small baked potato halves, and marveled at its low profile and truly amazing capacity. Spibelt.com

Knog Beetle $20 and Skink $30 The go-anywhere, easy-on, easy-off Knog glows up in â&#x20AC;&#x2122;09 with these new bike lights. Aside from solid and flashing, the two-LED and four-LED Skink add intermittent and directional flash patterns to the arsenal. Available with white or red beams, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re perfect for visibility in winter commuting.

Knog.com.au

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Holiday Gift Guide

Lickety Split Transition Mat $25 Easier to wash and pack away after the race than a towel and, of course, easier to see at the rack, the Lickety Split mat makes a great gift. It has several color and print options so you can pick one that stands out, making it easier to find your bike at the racks. Fasttransition.com

Tanita BC-558 Ironman Segmental Body Composition Monitor $299 In seconds, the BC-588 delivers it all: a complete body composition profile that includes weight, total and segmental body fat percentage, body water percentage, total and segmental muscle mass, bone mass, basal metabolic rate, visceral fat and physique rating. If thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anything to motivate you through the holiday season, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s raw data. Thecompetitiveedge.com

Fiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;zi:k DualTape $22 Adding a fine second line of accent color to your bar wrap, Fiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;zi:kâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Dual Tape adds a bit more stylistic flavor to your ride, as well as a comfy cloth backing. Fizik.it

Bell Volt $175 Having debuted with Team CSC at the Tour de France, the Volt not only has a new look, but introduces arced carbon fiber intake structures designed to direct air into the helmetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 22 vents for cooling. Silver-infused internal pads reduce sweat stink, and a fit system adds vertical adjust for a custom-perfect fit.

Bellbikehelmets.com

H2O Audio Amphibx $80 Surge Waterproof Headphones $60 With size options for any Nano, Shuffle, iPhone or other personal music unit, the Amphibx will seal your tunes in a watertight armband (or waist belt with the optional $30 waist attachment), making a swim workout more palatable with your favorite tunes or podcast. We used our own iPhones with our mind eased by H2O Audioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 100 percent guarantee against damage to your tunes machine, and found it to be a non-impeding system. Paired with the bass-amplified Surge in-ear headphones, it delivers shockingly exceptional sound clarity. H2Oaudio.com

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Holiday Gift Guide Timex Ironman Road Trainer $100 Forget the bells and whistles. The new Road Trainer is a heart rate monitor that gets the job done, delivering the key basics, as well as calculating time in heart rate zone, average heart rate and calories burned. It also takes advantage of FM transmissions to eliminate cross-talk. Timex.com

ViewPoint Mini Spy Mirror $15 To give you that extra bit of comfort that comes from knowing whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behind you without having to install a mirrored arm to your sunglasses, ViewPoint offers a tiny 3/8th-inch pivoting mirror that adheres to the inside of your glasses. It provides a close-up look at traffic and riders behind you.

Cycleaware.com

Tifosi Dea $60 Face it: some guys are myopic, oblivious to anything outside their local track, bike shop and lane pool. So theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be surprised to learn that they can buy a gift for their wife or girlfriend that sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll love. Enter Tifosiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Dea sunglassesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;they have competition utility, with rubber temple and nosepieces to keep them on your face, but a fashionable style that makes them work. Tifosi also has a photochromic, polarized version for $90. Tifosioptics.com

Oakley Enduring $155 For years, women have had to use the race sunglasses the market put out for menâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;until now. With design consult from former Hawaii Ironman champ (and current Oakley staffer) Greg Welch, the Enduring is a performance optic delivering clean peripheral view on an interchangeable hydrophobic lens that beads off water and sweat. It wears feminine curves and flair that appeal to a womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sense of style. Oakley.com

Halo Anti-Freeze Ear Cover $17 There are two things a run or ride in the cold brings: frozen ears and chilling sweat. Halo battles both with the new Anti-Freeze headband that protects the ears from the biting cold wind. It also features Haloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proprietary Sweat Block Technology that redirects sweat to your temples, blocking it from running down your brow. It fits perfectly under your helmet too. Haloheadband.com

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Holiday Gift Guide Rocket Science Sports Rocket Bag $150 With pockets and compartments seemingly everywhere, the lightweight, waterresistant Rocket Bag has a perfect place to stash keys, bottles and other quick-access needs. Zipping down the main compartment reveals an effective sectioned storage area for your apparel, sunglasses and shoes. A wet bag and transition mat are included. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finished with a padded back. Rocketsciencesports.com

Total Immersion Easy Freestyle DVD $40 Got that tri teammate who needs the winter to work on his or her form? The Easy Freestyle DVD is for basic and advanced athletes, and addresses everything from body balance to hip driveâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;all the elements needed to develop a powerful stroke with minimal drag. It even addresses flip turns! Totalimmersion.net

TriSwim Shots $3.75 Paddles, fins, pull buoy, towel â&#x20AC;Ś our swim bags are chock full these days. And huge bottles of shampoo, conditioner and skin cream for your post-swim shower add more bulk. To fix the problem, TriSwim introduces new two-ounce shots of its products, including chlorine-fighting shampoo and conditioner, body wash and lotion.

Sbrsportsinc.com

TRX Suspension Trainer Professional $150 Stay fit over the winter with one of the most demanding (but rewarding) core conditioning tools, and without space-consuming balls and weight machines. This Navy Seal-born program uses your own body weight and a versatile fitness tool that weighs less than two pounds. And it can travel with you.

Fitnessanywhere.com

DeSoto Sport Triathlon Travel Pack $132 Triathlonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s airline-legal sherpa pack does it allâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the 4,600-cubic-foot travel pack has two mesh pockets on the shoulder straps for your phone and keys, a top compartment for your travel documents, floating internal compartments (to keep the clean gear separate from the dirty stuff), and heaps of room. A full-size floor pump even fits inside! And it has a suspended laptop pocket to boot. Desotosport.com

Nubßtte Chamois Butter $20 With one of the most wonderful collections of ingredients for a chamois cream, including tea tree oil, calendula, witch hazel, grape seed oil and olive and avocado oils, this shea butter-based chamois crème soothes and heals saddle sores and will help prevent new ones from forming. Nubutte.com

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$

mindbodymachine.

#

! % ! # # "

TRIATHLETE’S

BOOKSHELF

By Melaina Juntti

Going Long: Training for Ironman-Distance Triathlons, 2nd Edition

By Joe Friel and Gordon Byrn (VeloPress, Available September) $18.95, Velogear.com Best-selling author and TrainingBible Coaching founder Joe Friel and revered endurance athlete Gordon Byrn draw from years of experience and scientific research to deliver this in-depth guide to succeeding at iron-distance triathlon. With discipline-specific chapters, the two-color second edition of Going Long offers exercises for developing proper form and enhancing efficiency in each sport, while a newly expanded section on the psychological aspects of multisport speaks to the burgeoning number of triathletes trying to balance training and racing with work and family.

This 320-page book is ideal for anyone looking to lift his or her game to the next level.

Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes, 2nd Edition

By Monique Ryan (VeloPress, 2007) $21.95, Velogear.com In an age of ever-evolving dietary trends and tough-to-decipher research on vitamins and nutrients, crafting a sound nutritional strategy can be extremely challenging—and confusing—for endurance athletes. In this latest edition, Monique Ryan, MS, RD, LDN, demystifies the dietary cosmos, offering easy ways to eat for optimum performance. She organizes the book into sportspecific sections and offers in-depth and practical info on fueling for running, cycling, triathlon, swimming, adventure racing and rowing. Ryan explains the roles carbohydrate, protein and fat play in your diet and walks through proper meal timing and season-spanning nutritional periodization. Sports Nutrition even tells you which foods to stock up on at the grocery store, offers sample menus and compares popular sports nutrition products.

Strength Training for Triathletes

By Patrick Hagerman, EdD (VeloPress, Available October) $21.95, Velogear.com A new addition to the VeloPress multisport library, Strength Training for Triathletes shows how adding strength training to your exercise program can yield significant performance results.

Author Patrick Hagerman explains that a short-course specialist or an iron-distance racer will benefit from a speedier metabolism, increased muscular endurance, enhanced stability on the bike and in the water and stronger muscles. The book is full of core, upper- and lower-body exercises for swimming, cycling and running that are accompanied by full-color illustrations. The book also offers sample training programs and information on exercise equipment.

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Zinn & the Art of Triathlon Bikes

By Lennard Zinn (VeloPress, 2007) $24.95, Velogear.com From the guy who builds 70 bicycle frames per year and fields umpteen bike maintenance and repair questions from devoted masses each week comes the first-ever triathlon bike-specific manual, Zinn & the Art of Triathlon Bikes. In this guide, Inside Triathlon and VeloNews technical writer Lennard Zinn covers tri-bike fit, aerodynamics, tuning and maintenance using the easy-to-follow format of his best-selling road and mountain bike books. Both newbie mechanics and experienced bike tool wielders will glean useful information on how to disassemble, transport and reassemble a tri-bike, choose proper componentry, make equipment upgrades and decide whether to tackle a repair at home or seek a specialist.

Know Regrets

By Tim Durant (Lulu, 2008) $19.95, Lulu.com When seeking reprieve from tedious training logs and snooze-worthy heart-rate charts, delve into Tim Durant’s inspiring new novel, Know Regrets. This easy-reading story follows Trip Johnson, a 40-year-old single father who reignites his long-buried dream of racing the Ironman World Championship in Kona.

Riding on sheer determination and all the physical and mental strength he can muster, Trip turns his fantasy into reality as he journeys from the suburbs of Boston to the legendary lava fields. The perfect read for those days off from training and racing, Know Regrets will hit home with triathletes of all ages and experience, as it captures the sweat and struggle, exhaustion and exuberance inherent in the swim, bike and run.

Fitness Swimming, 2nd Edition

By Emmett Hines (Human Kinetics, 2008) $18.95, Humankinetics.com Top Masters swim coach Emmett Hines helps you get the most out of your in-water workouts with his thorough training tome, Fitness Swimming, 2nd Edition. An ideal guide for new triathletes and seasoned veterans alike, Fitness Swimming is jam-packed with 60 new swim workouts and 16 sample training programs that correspond to specific fitness levels and performance aims. Hines also covers stretching, warm-up and cool-down tactics and offers drills to perfect posture, balance, turning and stroke integration.

Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair, 2nd Edition

By C. Calvin Jones (Park Tool Company, 2008) $24.95, Parktool.com If its alliterative title didn’t grab your attention, this book’s content certainly will. Park Tool Company’s second edition of its successful Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair hit bookstores and bike shops this summer, offering juiced-up instruction on servicing your entire rig. This simply written yet thorough manual walks you through how to fix everything from brake levers to bottom brackets, saddles to steerers, with added info on carbon, hydraulics, tandem bikes and tubulars.

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THANK YOU FOR MAKING THE

2008 SERIES A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS

Championship Triathlon Training

By George M. Dallam, PhD, and Steven Jonas, MD (Human Kinetics, 2008) $19.95, Humankinetics.com George Dallam knows a thing or two about successful training tactics—the longtime triathlon coach guided Hunter Kemper to three straight Olympics, after all. Now Dallam teams up with triathlete Dr. Steven Jonas to deliver Championship Triathlon Training, a photo- and illustration-filled training guide for the serious multisport athlete. The authors show how focusing on specific techniques such as proper breathing, strength building, transition-area tactics and fueling can not only make training more enjoyable but also allow you to achieve peak performance while spending less time training.

In essence, train less to race faster. This new for ’08 book opens with a Kemper-scribed foreword that testifies to Dallam’s coaching skills and deep well of training knowledge.

• MORE THAN 20,000 PARTICIPANTS • COUNTLESS VOLUNTEERS • TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FANS • THE COMMUNITIES THAT SUPPORTED EACH RACE

SEE YOU IN 2009

LTFTRIATHLONSERIES.COM ©2008 LIFE TIME FITNESS, INC. All rights reserved. TSMG8029

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Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon

By Brad Hudson and Matt Fitzgerald (Broadway Books, 2008) $13.95, Randomhouse.com/broadway This groundbreaking new book from renowned running coach Brad Hudson introduces adaptive running, a fresh approach to run training that combines scientific evidence with Hudson’s tried-and-tested training methods. In Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon, Hudson gives self-coached runners the tools necessary to assess their own strengths, weaknesses and fitness levels; monitor their responses to workouts; and detect training issues and modify workout cycles accordingly. Run Faster teaches you to train smarter and avoid injury, which will lead to faster times in both short sprints and endurance pursuits.

CONGRATULATIONS 2008 TOYOTA CUP CHAMPS! AMATEURS.PROS.YOU. Hats off to Greg Bennett and Becky Lavelle, 2008 Toyota Cup Champions, elite amateur champions Brooke Davidson and David Kahn and all age group champions. Your hard work has earned you the most coveted prize in triathlon. But we know the greatest rewards can’t be displayed on a shelf. And that’s why we all stand up and cheer.

SEE FULL RACE RESULTS AND GET GEARED UP FOR NEXT YEAR WITH INTERACTIVE, PRO-GUIDED TRAINING AT LTFTRIATHLONSERIES.COM

MINNEAPOLIS

NEW YORK

CHICAGO

LOS ANGELES

DALLAS

SPONSORED BY:

©2008 LIFE TIME FITNESS, INC. All rights reserved. TSMG8028

Photo: Layne Murdoch

Training and Racing with a Power Meter

By Hunter Allen and Andrew Coggan, PhD (VeloPress, 2006) $19.95, Velogear.com It’s no coincidence that Tyler Stewart broke the women’s irondistance bike record at Ironman Florida last November using a posh PowerTap SL 2.4 power meter. Indeed, speedy splits such as Stewart’s 4:47:59 prove that training and racing with a power meter can boost your cycling mojo significantly. For power meter virgins, Training and Racing with a Power Meter presents useful information on how to choose a model, install each system and interpret data, while providing experienced power users a guide to delving deeper into the numbers and recognizing patterns that surface over a season. Every triathlete can benefit from the book’s in-depth info and detailed graphs showing the numbers you need to kill the competition.

Brain Training for Runners

By Matt Fitzgerald (New American Library, 2007) $15 As proficient as triathlete and coach Matt Fitzgerald is at run training, the guy can also turn a mean phrase, making Brain Training for Runners a deliciously well-written, thorough examination of brain-centered training. Fitzgerald draws from the latest research in exercise physiology, and this revolutionary two-part book introduces the theory, “Train the brain and the rest will follow.” It shows how the philosophy can open runners up to critical feedback. Scientific and sensible, Brain Training for Runners offers a new and effective method of maximizing potential on the run course.

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Happiness, I have discovered, is nearly always a rebound from hard work.

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TRAINING

Body Balancing A balanced “kinetic chain” is the foundation for efficient swimming, cycling and running.

By Matt F itzgerald Photos by John Segesta

T

The average office worker spends almost nine and a half hours sitting each weekday. The most notorious consequence of such idleness is weight gain. In fact, one study found that men and women who spend more than seven hours each day sitting are nearly 70 percent more likely to be overweight than those who spend fewer than five hours sitting.

But there’s another, lesser-known, just-as-evil health consequence of excessive sitting that doesn’t get as much press: muscle and postural imbalances. Over time, spending hours of every day curled into a seated position causes some muscles to become abnormally tight and others to become very weak. When a muscle or muscle group on one side of a joint becomes too tight, it may pull that joint out of its normal alignment, creating a postural imbalance.

Such imbalances are known to result in pain and dysfunction in the low back and other areas, reduced performance in sports and exercise activities and sports injuries such as runner’s knee. There

By practicing a few simple mobility and strengthening exercises, you can reverse the imbalances that sitting causes and avoid their painful consequences. might not be much you can do about the amount of time you spend sitting each day. Fortunately, however, by practicing a few simple mobility and strengthening exercises, you can reverse the imbalances that sitting causes and avoid their painful consequences.

SITTING TIGHT Muscles tend to work in pairs of agonists and antagonists. When a muscle or group of muscles shortens and moves a joint, it acts as an agonist. The muscle or group of muscles on the opposite side of the joint that stretches to allow this joint movement acts as an antagonist.

When the joint is moved in the opposite direction, the roles switch: the agonist becomes the antagonist and vice versa. Normal joint functioning requires that opposing muscles be relatively equal in terms of their strength and length. There is no rigorous definition of muscle balance and imbalance. Rather, an imbalance is inferred when an injury or functional issue occurs that can be corrected by strengthening the muscles on one side of the affected joint or loosening the muscles on the opposite side.

Imbalances develop when people use a particular muscle group a lot more than the opposing muscle group. When sitting, the hamstrings, hip flexors and chest muscles are shortened and continuously active, and thus tend to become chronically tight. Meanwhile the quadriceps, glutes, deep abdominal muscles and upper back muscles are either stretched or inactive or both, and thus tend to become difficult to properly activate at times when they are really needed, 1 1 6 T R I AT H L E T E | D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 | T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

such as during swimming, cycling and running.

All of the major joints are also affected by too much sitting. The ankles become immobile from spending so much time locked in a slightly plantar-flexed position, thanks to the elevated heels in almost all shoes. The knees become unstable due to the muscle imbalance that develops between the quadriceps and hamstrings.

The hips become immobile from being locked in a severely flexed position. The pelvis and lumbar spine become unstable because the muscles responsible for stabilizing these joints are largely inactive during sitting. The thoracic (or mid-) spine becomes immobile from being stuck in a forward-hunched posture. The shoulders become unstable because the shoulder stabilizers spend so much time in a stretched and relaxed state.

To make matters worse, the repetitive movements involved in triathlon training exacerbate some of these imbalances and their consequences. For example, lack of scapular (shoulder blade) stability predisposes the tissues of the shoulder rotator cuff to impingement during overheard arm actions such as those involved in freestyle swimming. No wonder swimmer’s shoulder affects up to 67 percent of swimmers at some time!

INDIVIDUAL IMBALANCES, CONSEQUENCES LOWER LEGS Strength and conditioning guru Michael Boyle, CSCS, author of Functional Training for Sports (Human Kinetics, 2004), postulates that each major joint of the human body is designed primarily for either mobility or stability, and that the primary function alternates from joint to contiguous joint from the bottom to the top of the kinetic chain.

The first major joint is the ankle, and it is designed primarily for mobility. However, the ankle joint lacks adequate mobility—specifically, its ability to dorsiflex (or pull the toes up) is compromised—in most people today. Stiff ankles create a variety of problems for triathletes.

First, flexible ankles make the freestyle swim kick far more efficient, and indeed stiff ankles may cause the kick to create more drag than it does propulsive force. Stiff ankles also reduce the efficiency of the pedal stroke in cycling, and on the run, stiff ankles absorb less ground impact force and pass more force to the knees, increasing the risk of knee injuries.

UPPER LEGS When you’re sitting, the quadriceps are stretched and inactive, while the hamstrings are shortened. Consequently, the nervous system “forgets” how to fully activate the quadriceps, rendering them functionally weak. The hamstrings often tighten further to prevent the quadriceps from fully contracting. This phenomenon is called “reciprocal inhibition,” and it’s basically the nervous system’s way of protecting weak muscles.

Knee pain in athletes is commonly associated with weak quadriceps and tight hamstrings. One of the four quadriceps muscles, the vastus medialis (VMO), is responsible for pulling the kneecap into proper lateral alignment as the knee extends. If it’s too weak, the kneecap may be out of alignment at crucial moments such as the moment of footstrike during running, resulting in damage to the joint tissues.

HIPS AND PELVIS The hip flexors are constantly active and shortened during sitting.

Over time, this causes them to become chronically tight. Meanwhile

TRAINING the glutes, which are hip extensors—antagonists to the hip flexors, are stretched and inactive during sitting. This causes them to become weakened relative to the hip flexors.

Tight hip flexors pull the pelvis forward, while weak glutes allow this to happen. As the pelvis tilts forward, the hamstrings are stretched.

Thus, people with this particular imbalance are more likely to suffer hamstrings strains when running.

The muscles that pull the leg away from the body (hip abductors) and the muscles that rotate the leg externally (hip external rotators) also become weakened in all-day sitters. This renders the muscles less able to properly stabilize the hips and pelvis during running. Weak hip stabilizers are a major risk factor for the two most common running injuries: patellofemoral pain and iliotibial band syndrome.

SPINE AND SHOULDERS In the chair-seated position, the muscles whose major function is to stabilize the lower spine and keep the trunk erect are not able to function optimally. (Interestingly, they work better when one is seated on the ground). As a result, the low back is not properly stabilized and tissue damage, swelling and pain begin to accrue.

Swelling and pain in the local lumbar stabilizers send a message that essentially tells the brain to deactivate the affected muscles. As a result, they quickly atrophy, and other muscles, such as the psoas (which connects the lumbar spine to the upper thigh), are forced to completely take over the job of stabilizing the low back. The trouble is that these other muscles really weren’t designed for the job. Your psoas is normally a pretty powerful hip flexor. But if it

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has to create stability at the lumbar spine and still flex your hip, it’s like driving with your parking brake on. For triathletes, that means compromised performance and increased risk of injuries such as hip flexor tendonitis.

The thoracic spine consists of the 12 vertebrae sandwiched between the five vertebrae of the lumbar spine and the seven vertebrae of the cervical spine. While the lumbar spine and cervical spine are designed to provide stability, the thoracic spine is designed to provide mobility.

Specifically, the thoracic spine is the main source of the ability to bend your trunk forward and backward (flexion and extension) and twist your trunk from side to side (rotation).

Unfortunately, in most of us the thoracic spine does not extend and rotate as well as it’s supposed to. Again, sitting is the main culprit.

When you’re seated, your thoracic spine is locked in a flexed position.

Over time, people who spend most of the day sitting lose some of their range of motion in extension and rotation.

The topmost and most intricate joint in the human body is the shoulder complex, which includes the scapulae and the rotator cuff. Commonly known as the shoulder blades, the left and right scapulae are strategically positioned as links between the spine and the shoulder rotator cuffs. Thus, the scapulae and the 17 muscles around them are essentially the foundation of your shoulders and the base of every arm movement.

The first major imbalance affecting scapular function is forward rounding of the upper spine, which frequently develops in desk workers. This posture inhibits the ability of the scapula to tilt backwards and create space for the rotator cuff in the shoulder joint when the

TRAINING arm is lifted overhead. As a result, the rotator cuff gets pinched, causing tissue damage.

Sitting in a hunched position also affects certain muscles that act on the scapula. Most commonly, the lower trapezius, which helps rotate the scapula upward to lift the arm overhead, and the external shoulder rotators become weak. These weaknesses reduce the mobility and stability of the shoulder, especially during overhead movements. In swimmers, this imbalance shortens the stroke and increases the risk of developing swimmer’s shoulder.

VMO DIP Strengthens the vastus medialis to improve knee stability Stand on an exercise step that’s eight- to 12-inches high. Pick up your left foot and slowly reach it toward the floor in front of the step by bending your right knee. Allow your left heel to touch the floor but don’t put any weight on it. Return to the start position.

Complete eight to 12 repetitions and then switch legs.

A variety of mobility and strengthening exercises can put your muscles and joints back into their proper balance. Here is a selection of them—one for each part of the kinetic chain. I learned them from America’s master of body balancing, Eric Cressey, CSCS, author of Maximum Strength (Da Capo, 2008). Perform these exercises at least twice a week.

ELEVATED BACKWARD LUNGE Increases mobility of the hips Stand on a four- to six-inch step with your arms resting at your sides and a dumbbell in each hand. Take a big step backward with one leg and bend both knees until the knee of the back leg grazes the floor, then thrust powerfully upward and forward off the rear foot and return to the starting position. Be sure to maintain an upright torso posture throughout the movement. Complete 10 reps with one leg, rest, and then work the opposite leg.

WALL ANKLE MOBILIZATION Increases the ability of the ankle joint to dorsiflex Stand facing a wall, with the toes of one foot against the wall, and break the knee forward to tap the wall with your kneecap. Now slide the foot back a bit so that your toes are about an inch away from the wall, and repeat. Keep moving back until you get to the exact point where the kneecap is barely touching the wall. Make sure that your knee goes straight forward and not inward, and that the heel remains on the floor. Perform eight repetitions on each side.

X-BAND WALK Strengthens the hip stabilizers Loop a half-inch or one-inch wide band under both feet and stand on top of it. Your feet should be roughly 12 inches apart at the start. Cross the ends of the band to form an “X” and grasp one end in each hand. Pull your chest up and shoulders back and keep tension on the band.

Start walking sideways with small lateral steps. The leg that’s on the side of the direction you’re moving will have to overcome the

TRAINING FOR BODY BALANCE

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TRAINING bandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tension to take each step. Make sure that you keep the hips and shoulders level, and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t deviate forward or backward as you go to the side. When this exercise is performed correctly, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll feel the movement in your glutes. Complete 10 steps in one direction and then 10 more moving in the opposite direction.

SIDE BRIDGE Strengthens the lumbar spine stabilizers Lie on your right side with your legs fully extended and stacked and your right arm bent 90 degrees with your forearm on the ďŹ&#x201A;oor.

Lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from neck to ankles. You may do this exercise in front of a mirror to make sure your hips donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sag toward the ďŹ&#x201A;oor. Hold the bridge position for 20 to 30 seconds and then ďŹ&#x201A;ip over and do it again.

LYING DRAW-IN WITH HIP FLEXION Strengthens the deep abdominal musculature to improve lumbar spine and pelvic stability Lie face up with your head supported by a large pillow or foam roller. Begin with your legs bent 90 degrees and your thighs perpendicular to the ďŹ&#x201A;oor, feet together. Engage your deep abs by drawing your navel toward your spine and trying to ďŹ&#x201A;atten your lower back against the ďŹ&#x201A;oor. While holding this contraction, slowly lower your right foot to the ďŹ&#x201A;oor. Return immediately to the start position, and simultaneously lower the left foot. If you ďŹ nd this movement easy, you arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t holding the contraction of your deep abs. Lower each foot to the ďŹ&#x201A;oor eight to 10 times.

THORACIC SPINE ROTATION Increases mobility of the thoracic spine Kneel on all fours. Lift and bend your right arm and place your right hand on the back of your head. Now twist your torso to the left so that your right elbow swivels toward your left arm, which should be kept straight. Now rotate back toward the start position, but go a bit farther, so that your eyes are directed toward the wall to your right. Complete 12 rotations and then reverse your arm positions and rotate the opposite way.

SCAPULAR PUSH-UP Strengthens the scapular stabilizers Assume a standard push-up position. Keeping your elbows locked, retract the shoulder blades so that your torso sinks a couple of inches toward the ďŹ&#x201A;oor. Now protract your shoulder blades fully, so that your upper back takes on a slightly hunched look. Finally, return to the start position. Complete 12 to 15 repetitions.

CABLE EXTERNAL SHOULDER ROTATION Strengthens the rotator cuff musculature to improve shoulder stability Stand with your left side facing a cable pulley station. Grasp the handle in your right hand and begin with your right arm bent 90 degrees so that your forearm is pointing toward the cable pulley station across your belly. Now rotate your shoulder externally and pull the handle across your body. Return to the starting position. Complete 10 repetitions and repeat the exercise with your left arm.

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The thoracic spine consists of the 12 vertebrae sandwiched between the five vertebrae of the lumbar spine and the seven vertebrae of the cervical spine. While the lumbar spine and cervical spine are designed to provide stability, the thoracic spine is designed to provide mobility. Specifically, the thoracic spine is the main source of the ability to bend your trunk forward and backward (flexion and extension) and twist your trunk from side to side (rotation).

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LANE LINES

TRAINING

if you have taken significant time off from swimming and are now coming back. I’ve been guilty of trying to do too much too soon after I’ve taken time way from the water—and have paid for it with shoulder tendonitis.

Photos by John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

The most common stroke problem that causes shoulder issues is crossing over the midline of your body at the beginning of the pull.

Swim Right, Swim Healthy

Once you overcome that initial hump and you are doing straight (full stroke) swimming for the majority of your workout, you definitely want to increase distance slowly. The definition of “slowly” will, of course, vary from person to person. Some swimmers can handle faster training increases than others. Listen to your body and you will find the rate that works best for you. Here’s an example of a three-phase, 12-week beginner’s plan for building swimming volume. It is best suited to triathletes preparing for Olympic-distance events.

WEEKS 1-4: Gradually decrease drills from 80 percent of your yardage to 20 percent. Gradually increase yardage from 1,200 to 2,200 per workout.

WEEKS 5-10: Keep drills at 20 percent of your yardage.

Gradually increase yardage from 2,200 to 3,200 per workout.

WEEKS 11-12: Taper. Increase drills to about 30 percent of your workout. Decrease yardage to about 2,000 per workout before your race.

Again, each athlete is a little different in terms of the total volume and rate of volume change that work best. The emphasis should be on technique first. Go at your own pace and don’t be tempted to keep up with your training mates in terms of increasing distance or dropping your interval times at the expense of technique. Instead, you can compete with them on runs, rides or where it counts: at the race.

Emphasis on technique helps prevent injuries.

B y Ke v i n Ko s k e l l a

O

One of my favorite things about the sport of swimming is that it’s a non-impact activity. As such, it carries a much lower injury risk than a heavy-impact sport such as running (except in the melee of a triathlon wave start). Shoulder injuries resulting from overuse and poor technique are common in swimming, however. To prevent these injuries, make sure your technique is in order.

The most common stroke problem that causes shoulder issues (although not the only problem) is crossing over the midline of your body at the beginning of the pull.

The second most effective way to prevent swimming-related shoulder injuries is to avoid overtraining. It’s safe to say that many triathletes are competitive and sometimes type-A folks who just want to keep up with their training partners. They may be prone to making the mistake of trying to advance to the next level in training a bit prematurely. If you are this type, you will come out ahead in the long run if you ramp up your training cautiously and stay healthy instead of aggressively increasing your training volume and get injured.

I highly recommend that beginners stick to drills as much as possible early on. In the first several weeks of training, 80 percent to 100 percent of your yardage should consist of drills that help your stroke technique. Keep this in mind if you are just starting out or T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M | D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 | T R I AT H L E T E 1 2 9

RING

Your body’s “message” telling you to stand or sit is not much different from your internal feel for pacing …

Sit or Stand?

Trust and train your body to tell you whether a seated or standing position is the best way to climb a hill.

By Matt F itzgerald

U

Unless you’re Jan Ullrich, the oversized 1997 Tour de France champion from Germany, there are some hills, or at least some stretches of some hills, that all but demand you stand on the pedals to get up and over them. But unless you’re like the late Marco Pantani, the whippet-like Italian winner of the 1998 Tour, you probably feel more comfortable when seated than when standing on most climbs.

How do you know whether the climbing position that feels right at any given time actually is the most effective position? Simple: You look at the many studies on this issue, whose results collectively suggest that cyclists typically make the right decision, and that in some cases both options are equally effective, leaving room for

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personal preference.

One of the earliest studies was performed by researchers at the University of Colorado and published in 1996. Seven competitive cyclists completed graded exercise tests in both seated and standing positions to determine their VO2max in each. Various measurements were also taken in both positions at a speed of 20 kph on a 4-percent gradient and at a speed of 12.3 kph on a 10-percent gradient.

They found that heart rate and oxygen uptake were significantly higher when cyclists pedaled out of the saddle at the higher speed on the shallower gradient, but that there were no differences between the two positions at the lower speed on the steeper gradient. However, the cyclists did rate the perceived exertion of their legs as lower when standing on the pedals on the steeper climb.

The study’s results suggest that cyclists can work just as hard in either climbing position, but are more efficient when climbing in the saddle on shallower hills. On steeper hills, climbing feels easier in the standing position. This last result confirms the experience of everyone who rides a bike: You start a climb in the saddle and stay there as the strain in your legs increases, until it becomes too uncomfortable and

Photos by John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

TRAINING BIG

BIG RING you then stand on the pedals, which, thanks to the added gravitational force of your full body weight on the pedals, takes some of the strain off your poor quads.

A 2002 study by French scientists approached the matter from a different angle. They compared the gross efficiency (the energy cost of turning the pedals) and economy (the ratio of energy expenditure to power output) of eight cyclists climbing in seated and standing positions at 75 percent of peak power output and also measured peak power output in both positions in 30-second sprints.

They found that gross efficiency and economy were similar in the two climbing positions, but peak power was greater when cyclists stood on the pedals. Just as you must stand on the pedals to sprint on level ground, you must also get out of the saddle to maximize your power on climbs.

The most recent study comparing seated versus standing climbing on the bike looked at the all-important matter of performance.

Researchers from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences had 10 cyclists perform rides to exhaustion at various percentages of their individual VO2max power (Wmax) on a 10-percent grade.

They concluded that, “In general, cyclists may choose either the standing or seated position for maximization of performance at a submaximal intensity of 86 percent of Wmax, while the standing position should be used at intensities above 94 percent of Wmax and approaching 165 percent of Wmax.”

TRAINING (Note that Wmax corresponds roughly to the maximum power output sustainable for six minutes.)

Taken as a whole, the research on seated versus standing climbing suggests that neither climbing position is strictly preferable to the other. Standing on the pedals requires a little more energy and produces a little more power, so it’s a faster way to climb for shorter stretches. And because it uses more of the body to generate force, the standing position provides a way to give the thigh muscles a brief relative rest during longer climbs.

You can trust your sense of body awareness to tell you whether remaining in the saddle or standing is the best way to climb a given hill. Your body’s “message” telling you to stand or sit is not much different from your internal feel for pacing—those sensory messages telling you to slow down, speed up or hold steady. The more climbing experience you gather, the more reliable these messages become.

That said, there is a place for staying in the saddle when your body tells you to stand and staying in the saddle when your body tells you to sit in training. When you climb hills in your everyday rides and perform climbing intervals, choose some occasions to stay seated from bottom to top, even when pushing big watts; and use other occasions to keep your butt off the saddle the whole way, even on sustained climbs lasting several minutes. Testing the limits of your ability to climb in both positions will make you a stronger all-around climber.

Sip the ‘aina

K

ailua-Kona this October will once again play host to top-rate athletes, incredible performances, and..... outstanding coffee! Our traditional outrigger sailing canoe will serve espresso on the swim course in the days before the race.

Swim by, say “aloha”, and “Sip the ‘aina.”

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T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M | D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 | T R I AT H L E T E 1 3 1

THE RUN

istockphoto.com

TRAINING ON

The Winter Ultramarathon: Wise or Witless?

By Erin Beresini

A

As the days get shorter and the weather turns colder, many triathletes go into an athletic state of hibernation commonly referred to as the “off-season.” For some athletes, the off-season begins in earnest on Thanksgiving, when calorie-dense foods are hoarded and stored as bodily insulation protecting athletes from the cold. For others, however, it’s impossible to go longer than a month without completing an activity that bestows bragging rights. For these athletes, the off-season is the time to seek out a new challenge, which may present itself in the form of an ultramarathon.* There is a risk inherent in choosing this particular off-season challenge, however. Before pursuing it (if you are so tempted), you must ask whether running 50 or more miles in a day or two, not to mention logging the heavy training miles necessary to complete such a challenge, might come back to bite you in the behind when your 2009 tri season starts. Will running an ultra give you strength for the upcoming tri season or reduce you to a mushy pile of damaged muscle fibers?

Venture capitalist turned 2002 Ultraman world champion and triathlon coach Gordo Byrn believes participating in an ultra may help a triathlete immensely—if the athlete trains right.

According to Byrn, training right for a race of this magnitude means running often and slowly increasing your mileage. For triathletes hoping to kick ass in 2009, it also means not completely neglecting

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the swim, because there are three things to avoid while training for an ultramarathon: injury, burnout and loss of swim performance.

Yes, a single-sport focus period can provide an excellent mental break from tri training. And devoting a chunk of time to running a lot is the surest way to improve your run. But if you kick off the new year relying on your amazingly new-and-improved run to make up for a miserable swim, you won’t be much better off as a triathlete than before you started the ultramarathon journey.

Of course, a neglected swim won’t matter if you get injured while training for your ultra—in that case, you might not race at all. The first step to avoid injury is to make sure you’re not biting off more than you can chew in attempting an ultramarathon at your current stage of development as a runner.

Byrne suggests the following rule of thumb: “You want to be able to comfortably handle your anticipated race distance within a normal, single-sport focus week,” he says.

For example, if you plan to run a 50-miler, you need to build your training to the point where you can comfortably run 50 miles a week. If your longest run week coming out of the 2008 tri season was 15 miles, perhaps an ultramarathon isn’t in the cards this year, as ramping up your run mileage too quickly is a common cause of running injury. If, however, you capped off 2008 with an injury-free Ironman, doing an ultramarathon a few months later isn’t out of

THE RUN

istockphoto.com

TRAINING ON

the question.

There’s also a form of “mental injury” that you want to avoid at all costs—burnout. While some triathletes may see a period of singlesport training as a mental vacation from the demands of juggling three sports, others may be negatively affected by training through the winter instead of indulging in well-earned downtime.

A race goal can be a good source of motivation to train consistently and purposefully. But there can be too much of a good thing.

Constantly pushing toward race goals with little time off for other things can lead to a full-blown motivational meltdown.

If you felt close to needing therapy by the time of your last race this year, perhaps a goal as grand as an ultramarathon should be refashioned into one that demands less from you at such a vulnerable time, like running your best 10K—or watching DVDs of the Olympics.

That said, if you’re mentally at peace, uninjured and eager for a new challenge, extraordinary brain and body benefits might await you in the quest to become an ultramarathoner. According to Byrn, running downhill, tolerating pain and fueling extending running are three skills that ultrarunning develops and will carry over to benefit your triathlon performance.

Through your training, you will build a magnificent running base for your triathlon season, while simultaneously training your brain to maintain focus on a singular goal—finishing a workout or the race—through several hours of self-induced pain. In fact, says Byrn, the benefits of ultramarathoning really come from the training, not the racing.

That’s a truth two-time Ironman World Champion Tim DeBoom discovered while training for the Leadville 100 ultramarathon this year. Although he was unable to complete his highly publicized quest to race that ultra because of a dislocated toe, he already felt the benefits of ultratraining months before his scheduled event. He said in May that he was noticing mental and physical breakthroughs of 1 3 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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sorts that he hadn’t had since he first started in Kona—breakthroughs that would definitely come in handy in Hawaii.

Suppose now that you have done the training, stayed uninjured, kept up your swimming, haven’t freaked out your family with any kind of frustrated burnout rampage and are ready to rock your winter ultramarathon. How long will it be until you can begin the 2009 tri season with your newly built running and mental strength?

Well, that all depends on you.

Byrn says that recovery is a highly individual phenomenon. If this was your first ultramarathon, there’s no telling how your body will handle the smackdown you just delivered to it.

There are a few things you can do to help yourself bounce back fast. First pick a race on natural surfaces (like the 50-miler on Catalina Island, Jan. 17, or Texas’ Rocky Raccoon Trail 100, Feb. 7). You may also benefit from consulting a triathlon coach with ultramarathoning experience. Such a coach will be more familiar with what Byrn calls “the fragile nature of triathlete legs” than a pure running coach.

Remember that your altered brain and body will certainly need some post-race recuperative time. As a rough guideline, Byrn says that “recovery for a 50-miler will be somewhere between half IM and IM distance,” while “recovery for a 100-miler will be very similar to what athletes experience after an iron-distance triathlon.”

So if you’re looking for a new challenge this winter, or a way to prevent grandma’s cookies from finding a second life on your hips, perhaps a winter ultramarathon is just what your tri coach ordered. But remember: don’t neglect your swim and be sure to let yourself recover from the event before jumping full-steam into your 2009 races. It will be your well-deserved mini-off-season, bragging rights included.

*

While technically any distance run over 26.2 miles is categorized as an ultramarathon, Doug Rennie of Runner’s World has stated that a true, bragging-rights ultra starts at 50 miles. Far be it from Triathlete to contest this definition.

“If this is what ‘tri-widow’ means, I’m loving it.”

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SUPPORT

Aerodynamics 101

By Ian Buchanan HOWDY, TECH SUPPORT, From the great state of Texas. It seems like more and more products are being wind tunnel tested, yet multiple companies often claim that their product is the most aero. They can’t all be right in their claims. What gives?

Anonymous Lincoln, Texas

Each rider is shaped uniquely and has his or her own posture and technique. So the helmet, frame, handlebar or other component that tests best with the test subject may or may not be the one that would work best for you.

Wind tunnel data, and continued development of aerodynamic computer modeling, will continue to provide useful information for product development and making cyclists faster. However, it is important to realize that aerodynamics is a personal and individualized matter. Do not choose your riding equipment based on wind tunnel data alone. Instead, consider the big picture and make sure the products you choose help you stay as aerodynamic as possible without compromising power and comfort in the process.

DEAR TECH SUPPORT, DEAR ANONYMOUS, You have hit upon one of the great mysteries of the cycling world.

How can so many things be the best? While wind tunnel testing has helped push product development and improve performance, it has also led to a significant amount of confusion, as the test results can vary significantly in concrete terms and through interpretation.

In some ways, all the companies can be “right” in their claims.

Under certain conditions any given product probably did achieve the claimed results and it was likely the “best in test.” However, “best in test” may not mean much to your performance if the results do not translate well to the real world and your individual circumstances.

To boil aerodynamics and its relationship to performance down to such a basic level is to oversimplify a complicated subject that humans are still far from mastering.

From the yaw angle (the angle at which the wind hits the object) to the fixtures that hold the bike and the wind speed used in the test, there is not a standardized test protocol for aerodynamic testing in the industry. Every test is thus its own entity and the results depend directly on the protocols used. Also, unless you are the test subject, none of the tests takes the biggest aerodynamic variable into account: you.

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While I would very much like to go to a wind tunnel, I just can’t spend the dollars. Is there any way to accurately test aerodynamics without a wind tunnel?

Tom C., via E-mail

THE SHORT ANSWER IS, YES. A team of researchers at the University of Utah, led by Jim Martin, PhD, developed and scientifically verified an aerodynamics testing formula that consistently and accurately predicts aerodynamic drag. The results are arguably even more valuable than the data a wind tunnel provides, as they apply in real-world conditions. While they require some initial study, the procedures are not difficult, are repeatable and scalable test to test, and provide functional data.

Visit www.sportsci.org/2006/jcm.pdf to access a complete list of required items and instructions on the protocols to use and go to www.sportsci.org/2006/Cda_calculator.xls for the associated spreadsheet for data recording and calculations. You need a power meter to complete the tests.

While you can do these tests on your own, it is best to do them as a group and to test multiple people at once. In addition to the peer-reviewed scientific proof provided by the Utah team, we have

Photos by John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

TRAINING TECH

TECH SUPPORT

How much does shaving weight on the bike really matter? As a follow-up, what about becoming more aero? Are there any averages that can be used?

Trish, New York

TRISH, The weight versus aerodynamics question is likely as old as the first bicycle race.

Based on the work of Jim Martin, PhD, at the University of Utah, there is some excellent data on just how much different variables matter and what they will get you.

Here are some interesting statistics based on an average TT course and rider: Reducing weight: A 2 percent reduction in total vehicle weight (bike and rider) results in about six seconds of time savings over a flat 40K. If you and your bike weigh 180

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DEAR TECH SUPPORT,

pounds together, this means you would need to take a huge 3.6 pounds of weight off your bike to see this benefit. Most riders would have an easier time taking this amount of weight off their body! Interestingly, if you reduce weight by 2 percent, but also reduce power by 2 percent simultaneously, you will go about 13 seconds slower. So, no matter how light you can make your body, don’t lose power in the process.

Reducing drag: A 2 percent reduction in overall drag results in about 12 fewer seconds to cover the same 40K. If they are willing to work at it, many riders could see a 10 percent to 20 percent improvement in drag, which translates into a couple minutes.

What does this mean? It means you want a reasonably light bike, but gram counting rarely pays off; and continuing to work on maximizing the potential of your maintainable aero position and equipment is where you will see the biggest speed gains.

Ride hard and smart.

proZEROextreme˘

anecdotal evidence that the formula works.

Dean Phillips, one of our lead bike fitters, has used this formula to test a variety of equipment and riding positions for himself.

Even though his training hours are down from three years ago, he has dropped almost three minutes off his 40K time trial and broken many regional TT times using the data he has gathered.

TRAINING

Ian Buchanan is co-owner of Fit Werx with locations in Waitsfield, Vt., and Peabody, Mass.

Fit Werx offers cycling and triathlon products, specialty bicycle fitting and analysis services, consultation and technology research. Visit www.fitwerx.com.

Breathe between extremes

T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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TRAINING SPEED

LAB

Anaerobic Sessions May Offer a Competitive Edge

By Tim Mickleborough, PhD DEAR SPEED LAB, What is your opinion on incorporating anaerobic sessions into an endurancetraining plan? Is this type of training going to be harmful or helpful to my performance?

Many professionals in a variety of endurance sports include this type of training in their training plans.

Daniel Schlader Louisville, Ky.

DEAR DANIEL, One of most fundamental rules of training is specificity, which states that your training should replicate the demands of the specific event you’re training for. The rule of specificity arises because different events tend to rely on different energy systems in the body (which need to be specifically trained) and also because many disciplines require a specific set of motor skills and neurological adaptations.

However, the reality is that while endurance sports draw heavily on the aerobic energy system in competition, they do sometimes perform short, high-energy bursts (e.g. sprinting for the line) that rely on pathways that are often neglected in training because of the need to concentrate on endurance performance training.

New findings by a team of Finnish scientists at the Research Institute for Olympic Sports suggest that neglecting to train for anaerobic performance may be counterproductive for endurance athletes, and that anaerobic performance can be enhanced without increasing training volume or compromising endurance.

In the study1, the effects of concurrent explosive strength and endurance training on aerobic and anaerobic performance and neuromuscular characteristics were studied in 25 endurance runners. These runners were split into an experimental group (13 runners) and a control group (12 runners).

All runners trained for eight weeks with the same total training volume, but in the experimental group 19 percent of the endurance training was replaced by explosive-type training, which included sprints and strength drills. After the eight-week training program, all the runners were evaluated for various aspects of performance with the following results: 1 3 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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The maximal speed during a maximal anaerobic running test, and 30m sprint speed, improved in the experimental group by 3.0 and 1.1, respectively, compared to the control group. The concentric and isometric forces generated during leg extension increased in the experimental group but not in the control group.

The experimental group improved their muscular force-time characteristics and had rapid neural activation of the muscles (i.e. they were able to generate more power through more rapid muscular contractions).

The increase in thickness of the quadriceps muscles after eight weeks was nearly double in the experimental group compared to the control group.

Importantly, the maximal speed during an aerobic running test, the maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and running economy (how efficiently the runners used oxygen for any given running speed) remained unchanged in both groups.

The implications of these research findings are clear. If you are an endurance athlete whose event also demands brief bursts of high-intensity work, substituting some of your endurance training (up to 20 percent) with anaerobic work may not cause a drop in aerobic performance, and may even give you a competitive edge.

REFERENCE: J. Mikkola1, H. Rusko, A. Nummela1, T. Pollari and K. Häkkinen. (2007). Concurrent Endurance and Explosive Type Strength Training Improves Neuromuscular and Anaerobic Characteristics in Young Distance Runners. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 28: 602-611.

DEAR SPEED LAB, It seems like a lot of new energy drinks on the market are adding glutamine and branched-chain amino acids to their beverage. What’s your take on this? Is there a benefit in terms of performance?

David Perry Baton Rouge, La.

DEAR DAVID, There are often suggestions that the addition of ingredients other than the conventional sports drink ingredients may

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

SPEED LAB theory proposes that an increased uptake of tryptophan (TRY), the amino acid precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin, into neurons located in the brain is associated with increased susceptibility to fatigue in the periphery (i.e. the muscles). The BCAA compete with TRY for uptake into the brain, and it is argued that increasing BCAA availability will decrease brain TRY uptake and thus reduce the subjective sensation of fatigue.

Well-controlled laboratory trials of BCAA supplementation, however, do not support an ergogenic effect.3

TRAINING REFERENCE: 1. Shi, X., Summers, R. and Schedl, H. P et al. Effects of carbohydrate type and concentration and solution osmolality on water absorption. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 27: 1607-15, 1995.

2. Rohde, T., MacLean, D. A., Pederson, B. K. Effect of glutamine supplementation on changes in the immune system induced by repeated exercise. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 30: 856-62, 1998.

3. van Hall, G., Raaymakers, J. S., Sarris, W. H. and Wagenmakers, A. J. Ingestion of branched-chain amino acids and tryptophan during sustained exercise in man: failure to affect performance. Journal of Physiology (Lon). 486: 789-94, 1995.

enhance the efficacy of sports drinks, and a variety of different amino acids have been proposed. Among these are glycine, glutamine and branched-chain amino acids (BCAA).

Glycine and other actively transported amino acids offer the prospect of enhancing the rate of intestinal water uptake. However, the limited data available do not support this proposition.1 Glutamine can act as an energy substrate for cells of the immune system. Plasma glutamine levels may fall after intense exercise, leading to the proposal that glutamine supplementation may enhance immune function in athletes during periods of hard training.

Although this is an attractive hypothesis, the available evidence does not support it and well-controlled studies of glutamine supplementation have failed to show a beneficial effect.2 The lack of stability of glutamine in an acid solution would also seem to be an insuperable difficulty to its addition to sports drinks.

The addition of BCAA to sports drinks is based on the central fatigue hypothesis. The T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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TRAINING DEAR

COACH

cycle faster run faster increase VO2 max reduce risk of injury rehab if injured and more . . . see www.powercranks.com

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time is everyone's most precious training resource All athletes, even the pros, have a limited amount of time to train. Triathletes have to divide that limited time between three disciplines. Then, you have to decide between working on technique, aerobic conditioning, or power. Is it possible to work on both cycling and running technique and conditioning at the same time? YES!!! If you do your cycling training with PowerCranks.

About 80% of PowerCranks new users set some sort of running PR within 3 months of starting cycling training with PowerCranks, usually despite very limited running. This is what we mean by improving training efficiency. Train with PowerCranks and:

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In this installment of “Dear Coach,” we have not only a reader question and response but also a follow-up message from that same reader after he put our advice into practice. We know that sometimes you might wonder how one of our responses is received or if we ever actually help anyone with their issue of the moment, so we thought we’d share an example. Of course, it’s one of the few positive responses we’ve received.

B y R o c h Fr ey a n d Pa u l H u d d l e

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DEAR COACHES, I have read a number of articles and opinions all dealing with the same problemâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;achieving a race weight versus running out of gas. I had expected to lose weight over my ďŹ rst build phase of training, but I am at what appears to be a plateau. I am eating at a level necessary to keep me fueled and training, but I must be consuming as much as I am burning.

How important is optimizing to a race weight versus staying well-fueled for training?

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TRAINING DEAR

COACH

RIC, This is a great question, and like many past great questions in this column, there isn’t one answer for everyone. One person’s ideal body composition is another person’s anorectic ideal and yet another person’s upper blubber limit. That’s not some P.C. coach’s statement to make you or anyone else feel good, either. It’s true.

We could go down our usual juvenile path in responding to the “race weight versus running out of gas” line by alluding to every endurance athlete’s favorite topic: gas. But, no, we’re just going to prove we can stick to a question without resorting to such antics.

Look, we’ve seen every version of every kind of body have success in this sport. Granted, the bodies you see crossing the finish line in first place tend to be the leanest samples of the entire group but there can even be a significant disparity among the body compositions of these front-runners. It’s funny to hear one pro call another pro “fat” when both have ridiculously low body-fat percentages, but among these weight-conscious whippets the difference between 4 percent and 10 percent body fat is noticeable.

We believe that, provided there are no prior medical conditions, your body will arrive at its best weight based on the activities it does most. There are published body mass index (BMI) calculators that purport to provide an ideal range for your height, gender and age, but these ranges are too broad to be useful to any single individual and they are not designed for use by endurance athletes. Like so many training and physiological factors, optimal body weight for triathlon performance is determined by a large number of influences that are particular to the individual.

You describe being at a “plateau” with your current weight. Do you know, however, what your body composition is? That is, do you know what percentage of your weight is fat versus muscle/bone (lean mass)? This is an important consideration for people getting back into training because your body can change pretty dramatically in composition when you start a training program. You can even gain weight due to increased muscle mass. Remember, muscle weighs a lot more than fat because it’s composed primarily of water.

The question then should be, how do your clothes fit compared to when you started training? The old clothes-fit test provides a good indication of the weight distribution changes that can come with changes in body composition.

There’s no question that with a lighter body weight you’ll probably be a better climber on the bike and a better runner because of the simple concept of strength-to-weight ratio. Given two athletes who are equally fit and strong, it will be easier for the lighter of the two to overcome gravity. In our experience, it does pay off at the sprint- to Olympic-distance events and, to some extent, at the Ironman 70.3 distance, to be on the light side of your “normal” body weight.

That said, for an Ironman athlete, being lighter doesn’t necessarily translate into better performance over the course of 140.6 miles under one’s own power. There are countless examples of athletes who arrive on the starting line too light and end up performing worse compared to prior years.

There seems to be a much thinner (no pun intended) line between ideal weight and too light for performance in long-course events. During an Ironman, many athletes who have arrived on the starting line too light find that, by the time they get off the bike or a few miles into the run, they seem to have no reserves from which to draw. This doesn’t make sense intuitively because you should be able to simply fuel and hydrate your body as you go, but it’s a phenomenon we continue to see played out each year.

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at which they seem to get sick more often. Both of these scenarios contradict the prevalent thinking among endurance athletes that lighter is better in every way.

Running out of gas is another story entirely. This is something that is within your control and greatly impacted by intensity (pace) and your own personal rate of calorie absorption during the given activities. Running out of gas shouldn’t have as much to do with your weight as it does with your absorption rate in each activity at varying intensities and this needs to be determined through training.

If you’re running out of gas, you can determine why by analyzing the situation under which it occurred. Were you going too hard to absorb the calories and/or fluid you were ingesting? Did you eat too much? Were you eating too little?

So, what’s your ideal body weight? We don’t know. Most people know where their optimal weight range lies based on life experience but, and for triathletes this means paying attention to how your body performs at various weights. Look at some of the BMI calculators and see if you’re within the recommended range and, if so, at what end of the range you lie. Then, think about what’s realistic considering your build, history and how you’re feeling and performing at your current weight.

Hope that helps, Paul and Roch

DEAR PAUL AND ROCH, Thank you for the response. I expected that the answer would not be simple.

Since October, I have lost almost two inches off my waist and my clothes are falling off my lower body. Despite a slight weight gain over the past two weeks (despite increased training time), my clothes continue to fit loosely.

I had a very solid performance at a half-Ironman last weekend, so I am looking at just staying stable on weight and staying fueled to a level that keeps me training strong.

Keep up the great work!

Ric Johnsen

RIC, There you have it. You may be gaining weight but you’re gaining the right kind of weight—muscle. You’re also losing fat, as your clothes are telling you. You’re on the right path. Don’t over-think it and don’t try to hit someone else’s “perfect weight.” Your body has an uncanny way of reaching that elusive point on its own.

Keep well, Paul and Roch Paul Huddle and Roch Frey are not winners of the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii but they’ve trained with and coached many of them. They have lived the sport of triathlon on every level for the past 30 years and use their extensive background to assist others with their goals. Based in Encinitas, Calif., Paul and Roch are partners in Multisports.com, an endurance coaching service that includes camps, online coaching, and personal coaching. Never resting on their considerable laurels, both continue to explore strange new worlds (adventure racing) seek out new life (ultra-running) and new civilizations (paddleboarding and stand-up paddling) and to boldly go where no man has gone before (The Underpants Run). If you want to consider coaching that emphasizes experience, common sense and simplicity, go to www.multisports.com.

If you have a question that begs for ridicule and sarcasm, please send it to: info@multisports.com

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Saturday, June 27, 2009 Sprint Triathlon Kids Race Sunday, June 28, 2009 Olympic Triathlon

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CUTTING EDGE

Wind Tunnel Vision Athletes fine-tune their cycling aerodynamics for maximum efficiency and speed.

By Jim Rutberg

T

There are two ways to go faster on a bicycle: put out more power or slide through the air more smoothly. In their quests for Ironman glory, professional triathletes Craig Alexander and Desiree Ficker aim to do both. This past July it was the pursuit of free speed that drew them, supported by their sponsors and coaches, to the AeroDyn Wind Tunnel in Mooresville, N.C., deep in the heart of NASCAR country.

Carmichael Training Systems headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., whose coaches Nick White and Lindsay Hyman work with Craig Alexander and Desiree Ficker, respectively, spearheaded the trip. Company founder Chris Carmichael and CTS Premier Coach Dean Golich were members of the “F1 Group” of experts assembled to help seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong optimize his cycling position, equipment and training. They believed a similar effort, with input from Alexander and Ficker’s equipment sponsors, could dramatically improve the athletes’ performances at the 2008 Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.

Both athletes have finished second in Kona—Alexander last year in his debut race in Hawaii, and Ficker in 2006—and entered the 2008 season eager to take the necessary steps to win triathlon’s most prestigious event.

Mooresville is a small town just north of Charlotte and is home to more than 60 motorsports race teams, which test their cars and trucks at the AeroDyn Wind Tunnel 24 hours a day, five days a week, at a cost of nearly $1,500 an hour. The AeroDyn owners also built

the A2 Wind Tunnel—a second, smaller facility to meet the growing demand from lower-budget motorsports teams as well as amateur and professional cyclists and triathletes. In this case, sponsors including Profile, Guru, SRAM and Retul footed the bill.

Mike Giraud is the cycling specialist at the A2 Wind Tunnel, and with more than 20 years of experience in the cycling industry and a professional, patient and no-nonsense approach to aerodynamic testing, he makes sure athletes get maximum value from their time in the tunnel. At a fraction of the cost of time in the big tunnel, anyone can walk out with an optimized aerodynamic position that will save more time than a new set of wheels.

“I’ve spent a lot of time in wind tunnels, and not only does Mike know his stuff, he’s also a great guy to work with,” Golich said. “I was amazed at how many trials we completed in just a few hours.”

Truth be told, Alexander and Ficker probably would be willing to pay just about any price for a greater chance of victory at the Ford Ironman World Championship. Last year Alexander finished only 3:30 behind winner Chris McCormack.

What difference could aerodynamics make? Well, all other things being equal last October, going just two seconds per mile faster on the 112-mile bike leg would have cut 3:44 off Alexander’s time and enabled him to break the tape. Ficker was a bit farther off the winning pace set by Michellie Jones in 2006, but as a run specialist she had more room to improve on the bike starting with her aerodynamics.

CYCLING AERODYNAMICS 101 The ultimate goals of visiting a wind tunnel are to reduce the total aerodynamic drag generated by the combination rider and machine, and to simultaneously put the athlete in a powerful riding position that he or she can maintain for the duration of the ride. The rider is the biggest problem, being responsible for about 80 percent to 85 percent of the total drag. To bring that drag number down, T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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CUTTING EDGE FIRST UP: CRAIG ALEXANDER Prior to visiting A2, Craig Alexander had never stepped into a wind tunnel. As with most athletes, his cycling position had been honed by a combination of trial-and-error and a series of bike fits, so the first step was to test his current position and establish baseline drag numbers. Giraud set up Alexander’s Orbea Ordu in the tunnel, cranked up the wind with just the bike, and then again with Alexander sitting perfectly still on the bike.

“The first thing we noticed was that Craig’s frontal area and CDa [drag coefficient times area] were already remarkably low,” White said. “Typically, elite cyclists can achieve more aerodynamic positions than Ironman triathletes because their time trials are one quarter to one third the distance of an Ironman bike leg. Craig’s initial numbers were a little high for an elite cyclist, but very low compared to most long-distance triathletes.”

Winning in Kona still comes down to “ being the strongest athlete on that day, but it’s valuable to do the testing and know your equipment and position are helping you go faster.

—Craig Alexander

Since Alexander’s cycling position and sustainable power output were already quite good, White and Golich decided to focus their attention on optimizing the athlete’s equipment choices and riding strategies. “The wind tunnel doesn’t only show an athlete’s flaws; it can be very important for confirming that their current position is good, which then helps them avoid unnecessary—and potentially detrimental—changes,” Golich said.

By the end of the session, Craig Alexander had been in the wind tunnel for 27 individual runs over about three hours, these runs measuring the impact of changing everything from the position of his head and fingers to the height of his stem and his choice of water bottles, and a new set of aerobar extensions from Profile. While his coach, Nick White, wouldn’t reveal Alexander’s actual drag numbers, he indicated that the top three aerodynamic savings came from: Ducking his head: By lowering his head to fill the space between s his upper arms, Alexander dramatically smoothed the airflow

you have to reduce an athlete’s frontal area—the total surface area facing the wind—and help the air flow more smoothly around the athlete and bike. But the best possible position from an aerodynamic standpoint may be the worst in terms of comfort or power production, so that an athlete’s optimal position is the result of a long series of compromises.

“Cutting 100 grams of drag saves an athlete about 15 watts at 30 mph,” Golich said. “Bike speeds at Kona average closer to 24 to 25 mph for the men and 20 to 22 mph for the women, but cutting drag will allow Craig and Desiree to go faster with the same power outputs, or go the same speed with lower workloads.” Either scenario would be beneficial, the first resulting in a faster bike split and the second leaving the athlete with more energy for a faster marathon.

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s

s

around his body. This was so effective that it even negated the normally detrimental impact of looking down, which causes the tail of an aero helmet to stick up into the air and generate more drag.

Raising his behind-the-saddle water bottle: In terms of aerodynamics, carrying fluids is a necessary evil for Ironman triathletes, and with Alexander’s body profile, behind the saddle is actually one of the worst positions for a bottle. To minimize the drag caused by this bottle, White raised it as much as possible so it sat in the already-turbulent air behind Alexander’s back instead of blocking airflow around the slender seat post of his Orbea.

Responding to speed and wind: Perhaps the greatest benefit of wind tunnel testing is increasing the athlete’s awareness of their position. By cranking up the wind speed in the tunnel, White and Golich were able to show Alexander the true benefits of holding his hands and head in the optimal positions when going fastest or riding into a hard headwind.

Robert Murphy/bluecreekphotography.com

”

Robert Murphy/bluecreekphotography.com

CUTTING EDGE

“It was a great experience,” Alexander said. “I’m glad there were no major changes needed in my aero position, but I came away with very effective ways to go even faster on the bike. Winning in Kona still comes down to being the strongest athlete on that day, but it’s valuable to do the testing and know your equipment and position are helping you go faster.”

NEXT UP: DESIREE FICKER In contrast to Alexander, Ficker is having her position on her custom Guru Crono undergo significant changes. “When Desiree was more focused on being a runner, her cycling position gravitated toward a more neutral triathlon setup,” said her CTS coach Lindsay Hyman. “Now we want to gradually move her to a more aggressive cycling position so she can generate more power.”

In terms of priority, comfort and power gain importance relative to aerodynamics as events get longer. Based on a Retul bike fit in May using infrared motion-capture technology, Hyman has a long-term plan to move Ficker into a more powerful position on her bike, but it may take until the 2009 season to get there. “A primary goal of the visit to the wind tunnel was to allow Desiree to see the benefits waiting for her at the end of this process,” said Hyman. “We knew—even before the wind tunnel—that these changes would make her more powerful, but it helps to see that she’ll be able to generate more power and have less drag at the same time. It makes the uncomfortable work of changing her cycling position worth the effort.”

“The position we’re working toward is definitely aggressive,” said Ficker. “Right now I wouldn’t be able to ride 112 miles like that and then produce a great run, but we’re changing the position in small steps over a long period of time and I’m confident that in the end I’ll go faster on the bike and maybe even have more energy left for the run.”

As with Alexander, the team of coaches and experts also focused on individual equipment and behavior changes that could save Ficker time and energy. Currently without a helmet sponsor, she was free to experiment with various lids. One design with a long tail was fastest 1 4 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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… I’m confident that in the end I’ll go “ faster on the bike and maybe even have more energy left for the run. ” Ficker —Desiree for her when it was perfectly positioned over her back, but that same tail section cost her a lot of speed when she looked down. Over the course of a five-hour Ironman bike leg, the team felt the losses would outweigh the gains, so they went with a more conservative design that generated a little more drag in the perfect position, but was far less detrimental when Ficker moved her head.

“Regardless of the helmet, one of the big things we noticed with Desiree is that when she’s tired her head moves forward and down, but not into an advantageous position that fills the gap between her arms,” said Golich. “As she continues to train and compete, it will be important for her to focus on keeping her head more in line with and closer to her body, especially as she fatigues.”

Hyman is also quick to point out that Ficker started out with some natural advantages on the bike. “She has a great body profile for cycling aerodynamics,” he explained. “She has a very slender upper body and also narrow hips, and that combination works really well for total frontal surface area and airflow. We want to take advantage of that and increase her power output, all from a position that she can maintain for a full 112 miles.”

“Overall I’d say it was a very successful day,” said Golich, the team member with the most experience in wind tunnels. “Nick and Craig made some adjustments that could take three to five minutes off his bike leg in Kona—and that’s without any increase in power output.

If he’s stronger and makes the adjustments, he could potentially go even faster. And I think Desiree and Lindsay are headed in the right direction with her position on the bike, and it’s important that they’re moving gradually. Major changes all at once almost always do more harm than good.”

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XTERRA ZONE

Jimmy Riccitello Named XTERRA Hall-of-Famer

By Dave Nicholas

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XVII ENDURANCE SPORTS AWARDS

“The Academy Awards of Endurance Sports” -Entertainment Tonight

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The honorees at last year’s 16th annual Competitor Magazine Endurance Sports Awards Gala included (from left to right) Saul Raisin, Conrad Stoltz, Samantha McGlone, Chris McCormack, Heather Fuhr, Scott Rigsby and Ryan Hall.

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Courtesy XTERRA

F

For more than 20 years, Jimmy Riccitello was one of the world’s top professional triathletes. His career began in the “prehistoric days” before aerobars and clipless pedals and spanned the gamut of triathlon—from the sprint and Olympic distances to half and full Ironmans … and XTERRA. Today he’s known as a Rules Guy or “Jimmy the Coach,” but “Jimmy the Athlete” is hard to forget. “I’m known as ‘used to be good,’” says Riccitello. Affectionately nicknamed “JR Superstar” and “The Italian Stallion,” he has more than 50 professional victories, including prestigious wins in the St. Croix International Triathlon, ITU World Cups and the Vuelta de Bisbee cycling stage race.

Riccitello won several stages in the France Iron Tour, including the stage up Alpe d’Huez, and took the best cyclist trophy. He was the last of those strong cyclists that could

XTERRA ZONE actually bust open a race and drop the ďŹ eld. There were many cases and event staff were subjected to his less-than-politically-correct when the peloton simply could not catch â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Stallion.â&#x20AC;? opinions, quick wit, bodily sounds and practical jokes. His approach From day one, he was self-coached, and his philosophy has always was honest and irreverent. been to see how hard he could push himself and measure his training One of his training students said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the only person Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve against others. Winning wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a big concern. encountered who can weave George Bush, breast implants, Katie â&#x20AC;&#x153;Throughout my life I came in second place a lot,â&#x20AC;? says Riccitello. Couric and diaper rash in the same sentence.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;First loserâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as my dad would call it.â&#x20AC;?

Riccitello coached long-distance athletes over the Internet and What concerned him most was the battle itself. gained their respect for his ability to bring the best out in them â&#x20AC;&#x153;Racing is my passion,â&#x20AC;? he once said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I love it and everything about without ever meeting them in person. itâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the conďŹ&#x201A;ict, the confrontation, the challenge, the cerebral part.â&#x20AC;?

He has written extensively on the sport and is perhaps most Flash back to 1996 at AquaTerra, the ďŹ rst XTERRA. A hundred widely known for his Slowtwitch editorial â&#x20AC;&#x153;WussiďŹ cation of coffee and twenty three Speedo-clad racers on the start line at dawn on the â&#x20AC;&#x201D;the blacker the better,â&#x20AC;? and an online contest to name his unborn beach in Wailea, Maui. A whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s who of triathlon and mountain biking son, who at the time was known as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cletusâ&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201D;rhyming with â&#x20AC;&#x153;fetusâ&#x20AC;? showed up to try something completely newâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;off-road triathlon. in a song he had written for his wife, Traci.

It turned out that XTERRA, with its catch phrase, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Your toughest Riccitello served on USA Triathlonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s board of directors and competitor is Mother Nature,â&#x20AC;? was right up Riccitelloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s alley. He took Athlete Advisory Committee for six years. Upon retiring he took the inaugural XTERRA World Championup coaching (creating XTERRAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ rst ship by more than three minutes over training program for Multisports.com) XTERRA HALL OF FAME triathlon great Mike Pigg. and is now Ironmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head referee. Some INDUCTEES After the win, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Man, this race is think thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like letting the inmates run a bitch, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the true spirit of triathlonâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; the asylum, but so far so good.

2008 Jimmy Riccitello the athlete against the course.â&#x20AC;?

For his contributions to and inďŹ&#x201A;uOver seven years, Riccitello raced ence on the sport, XTERRA honored 2007 Kirsten Weule XTERRA all over the U.S., including six Jimmy Riccitello, the sportsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ďŹ rst World 2006 Scott Tinley more Maui World Championships, and Champion, as the 2008 inductee into was always the life of the party. Fellow the XTERRA Hall of Fame on the eve 2005 Ned Overend athletes, XTERRA University students of the Championship in Maui.

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TRIATHLETE’S GARAGE

Photos Courtesy Blue

Blue Triad

The Triad as tested with SRAM Red and a Zipp 808/404 wheelset retails for $7,650, but can be purchased with a Shimano Ultegra SL package for $4,400. The frameset is $2,500.

Blue steps out of its ITU shadows and into the big leagues with a uniquely engineered long-course weapon.

By Jay Prasuhn

I

I’m going to admit it right here, right now: I used to be a Blue hater.

I was never a fan of their designs, and saw their alignment with USAT and hire of Olympic athletes as a snub to the rest of the sport—that is, us, out there racing every weekend. How were they going to grow the brand by putting their products under Olympians that we can’t identify with? And what’s with all these ITU bikes?

With the debut of the Triad this year, I’m a fan, and eating my words.

Triathlete had a chance to visit with Triad engineer Mike Skop at Interbike in September. Skop showed us a bike that certainly has application for us—the rank and file. And they’ve scooped up Ironman Coeur d’Alene winner Heather Wurtele and XTERRA/ middle-distance pro Brent McMahon riding the Triad as well. They’re an ITU brand no longer.

The Triad is, as is increasingly important these days, the product of computer fluid design (CFD) engineering and wind tunnel testing at A2 Wind Tunnel in Mooresville, N.C. That means it isn’t just wicked looking because they drew it that way. In fact, they’re so cognizant of the truly aero aspect of this bike and its users having a positive experience on the Triad, Blue offers every Triad buyer a free hour of tunnel testing at A2. Fly out with your bike and a list of your key fit goals and hone your position.

But before melding body to bike, let’s look at the bike. It’s complete with the growing list of requisites: semi-horizontal dropouts on a unidirectional carbon fiber cut-to-fit mast frame with a couple centimeters of vertical play, 1-inch carbon steerer on the fork and internal cable run with porting at the front of the top tube to keep 1 5 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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the cables out of the wind.

But the most identifiable features are the low-slung seatstays and dogleg-bent chainstays.

With a blend of cues akin to those found on the new Scott Plasma and Specialized Transition, the chainstays are tucked narrowly in parallel with the wheel (and out of the wind), only flaring out to meet the axle and skewer. Skop said the stays fit most wheels, with the Mavic R-Sys being one they potentially couldn’t. We both agreed there’s not much reason to put that wheelset on the Triad anyway.

It’s a design that makes for a long, beautiful unidirectional carbon seat mast. Skop confirmed that the purpose of the rear stay design is twofold: to lower the seatstays (to reduce exposed frontal area on the bike), and to increase stiffness with a smaller rear triangle. Paired with those snugged chainstays, it makes for a tiny rear triangle, the smallest we’ve ever seen on any bike we’ve tested.

The geometric variability built into the Triad’s alloy mast cap is one of the things that lends to this bike’s greatness. Its seat angle is 76 degrees when the saddle rail clamp is in its central location.

But that clamp has a fore and aft setting (those little circles) that allow the saddle to be moved to as much as 80 degrees and little as 72 degrees of seat angle.

With a fairly low top tube and accordingly short headtube, you can get as low as you need to in front. If you’re not that flexible, you’ll be left with several spacers under the stem. But offering a range of options has been a Blue hallmark for years.

The aerobars (on the SRAM Red and Shimano Dura-Ace package) are supplied by Blue’s subsidiary components brand, Aerus. It’s a safe bar pick with lots of adjustability on a slightly sloping basebar.

I found the pad placement in relation to the extension rise to be just right. And the high shoulders of the armrest were very comfortable.

It’s not the sexiest bar on the market, but it gets the job done.

Our test ride was fitted with SRAM Red. It also offered us our first

TRIATHLETE’S GARAGE chance to install and ride a bike outfitted with a BB30 bottom bracket and crankset. With the bearings pressed directly into the frame, the crank is lighter but the spider is narrower as well, making for a crankarm with better ankle clearance—and better aerodynamics. In an era when we’re making every aero adjustment possible, this is a nice feature. We hope and expect to see more tri brands adopt BB30 for just this reason.

There’s always a downside. For the Triad,

The Triad is the product of CFD engineering and wind tunnel testing at A2 Wind Tunnel in Mooresville, N.C. That means it isn’t just wicked looking because they drew it that way. it is that it has one bottle boss on the downtube. If you’re doing anything longer than an Olympic-distance race, you’ll need an aerobaror rear-mounted hydration system.

Another feature could be good or bad: The 73-degree head angle makes for a bike that is highly predictable, but lacking snap when steering through curves at speed. On the flats, it was every bit the match of its biggername predecessors. Again, with a slack head angle, it was easy to stay in the aerobars and pick my path. One could look at this in two

ways. For a novice or timid bike handler, the forgiving nature of the front end is a blessing, making for a less nervous ride. But the more savvy handler taking the Triad to a technical course, may want a bit more snap.

Neither is right or wrong, you just have to determine your proclivity. If I were taking this to a race, I’d aim it at Kona, Florida or Western Australia.

Finally, the frame comes in one color: blue. In an industry that is awash in red (I think the last four bikes we tested had a red motif) something as small as this makes a

difference. And the matching Zipp 404/808 combo is a nice touch as well.

All told, Blue finally came to the market with a bike built for consumers, and they back it with testing.

The kicker is that they throw in an hour of wind tunnel testing. For what we expect of our bikes, shouldn’t we expect as much from ourselves? I’d be headed to Carolina and taking advantage of the complete package Blue offers.

For more info on the Triad, visit Rideblue.com

Carbon Wing

4 Storage Options

PRO LEVEL CARBON. MICHELIE JONES PROVEN. UÊ Carry Hydration, Tire/Tubes, Tools, Inflation, Phone, Keys/Cash UÊ Carrier Only 55g (excludes hardware) UÊ Around $120 CARBON WEAVE

Super Wing

4 Storage Options

PRO LEVEL ALLOY. TIM DE BOOM PROVEN. UÊ Carry Hydration, Tire/Tubes, Tools, Inflation, Phone, Keys/Cash UÊ Carrier Only 85g (excludes hardware) UÊ Around $80 COLORS: WHITE, RED, BLACK

Sonic Wing

3 Storage Options

SPECIFIC FOR CERVELO P2C, P3C & P4C. UÊ Carry Hydration, Tire/Tubes, Levers, Inflation UÊ Carrier Only 64g (excludes hardware) UÊ Around $60

COLORS: WHITE, RED, BLACK

Mini Wing

3 Storage Options VALUE CARRIER INCLUDES CAGES. UÊ Carry Hydration, Tire/Tubes, Levers, Inflation UÊ Carrier With Cages Only 195g UÊ Around $50 ANODIZED BLACK

Flat Wing

3 Storage Options VERSATILE ENTRY LEVEL CARRIER. UÊ Carry Hydration, Tire/Tubes, Levers, Inflation UÊ Carrier Only 145g UÊ Around $40 ANODIZED BLACK

Photos Show Options

Hydration Tire/Tubes Inflation Storage Anti-Ejection Cages Xlab Gorilla Carbon

Xlab P-Cage Composite

Use Xlab Strapsets

Xlab Inflation Components and Kits

or Xlab Tire Bags

Xlab Mini Tool Bags

Red or Black

or Xlab Kona Bags

Red or Black

T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

Red or Black

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GEAR BAG

By Jay Prasuhn

LifeSpan Extreme Endurance $30

The lactic acid burn and slow recovery from a hard track-session day can be a pain, literally. Used and endorsed by Timo Bracht, and used in the Beijing games by swimmers Jason Lezak and Larsen Jensen, Extreme Endurance tablets neutralize hydrogen ions, killing that acid buildup and allowing for less soreness and quicker recovery. For athletes’ peace of mind, LifeSpan has stringent control of its raw materials sourcing, following with production and packaging in a sanitized room. Batches are randomly tested by a highly reputed HFL testing lab for a certificate of analysis to ensure that products are clean. The end game is that it’s safe for novice athletes on up to Olympians.

Xendurance.com

Opsal Sport Keirin and 3-Sport T-shirts $26 each

Take a bit of artisan style, throw in some ragged classicism and the result is a line of casual apparel that helps define your lifestyle. Opsal has several road-racing-influenced designs, and introduces several new triathlon designs as well. The brand features counter-culture polos, hoodies and jerseys. They’re all a fresh respite from sponsor-laden race t-shirts.

Opsalsport.com 1 5 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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GEAR BAG DT Swiss Superlight RWS Skewer $150/pair

At 38 grams front, 40 grams rear, with a carbonreinforced plastic “lever,” the RWS gets points from the gram-counting crowd. But that “lever” ain’t a lever at all; it’s instead a cam that, as twisted, cinches down onto the dropouts. When it’s tight enough (about 15nm), it simply stops. You can adjust the physical location of the cam by laterally pulling it out, adjusting it to horizontal, and letting the spring pull it in. In the first real departure from the quick release skewer Tullio Campagnolo created in the 1930s, DT Swiss hits a home run with a safe, light new skewer. Dtswiss.com

True Motion T-Zero Transition Jacket $130

A transition jacket? What makes it a transition jacket? For one, it has a zip sleeve for pre-race body marking. Plus it’s unreal warm with a nice fleecy inside and windblock exterior. It’s also got pockets everywhere, an internal clip in one pocket to keep your keys, a chest pocket for your MP3 with an internal earphone run and reflective piping for a bit of safety on that dark ride to the start.

We tested this at the perfect venue: a windy, chilly Escape from Alcatraz.

Verdict? Best technical race morning jacket ever. Plus, you don’t have to pull off your jacket on that coooold pre-race morning until you absolutely have to.

True-motion.com T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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IN ENGLISH

GOT

Knee

PAIN

SYMPTOM:

Pain and nagging discomfort in the knee and upper or lower leg.

PROBLEM:

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

When the inner and mid quads become tight, due to a lack of elasticity within the muscles, they begin to pull on their insertion points causing severe knee pain.

SOLUTION: Treat your

soleus, calves, shins, quads and other associated muscles with our new Knee Dysfunction Kit. The Kit includes all the tools you will need plus our new Knee DVD with: • How-To Section • Practical Education Section • Re-Gen Class (30min) NEW! • Tips For Success Section

By Cliff English

F

For the majority of North American triathletes the 2008 race season is winding down and many have called it a year. Some have written, talked about and philosophized about the “off-season” phase of the year and how it fits into your yearly and longterm plans.

What to do, what not to do—it can all be overwhelming. Here are some simple guidelines to help you in the off-season as you plan your next triathlon season.

STEP 1: REST

GET

The end-of-season break is an important opportunity for athletes to mentally and physically re-charge from a season of hard racing.

For all the answers on how to train and race without pain go to

www.tptherapy.com

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I like to have my athletes take about two weeks off of training, including one week of pretty much nothing and one week of light training. Light training could include activity other than swimming, biking and running. Maybe even try a new sport for a change!

The most important thing is to just have fun. Take a vacation or get out of town and do many of the things you normally wouldn’t when you are in the race season or in a large block of training. Rediscover some balance in life and have fun.

In considering an athlete’s long-term development and progression, taking time off from training is as important as planning a key training block. Optimal development

IN ENGLISH

STEP 2: ALL SYSTEMS GO The off-season break is an opportune time to set up appointments with sports medicine professionals and get checked out.

An athlete’s body goes through a lot in a year, so it is important to submit to annual blood work and a physical check-up from a doctor as well as a structural assessment from a chiropractor or physiotherapist. If you’ve had minor chronic injuries that haven’t disappeared during the race season, this is the ideal time to let your body heal.

DOWNTIME CHECKLIST Schedule a check-up with your doctor, include blood work Visit a massage therapist and a physiotherapist for injury prevention and structural assessment Consult a nutritionist and perhaps an exercise physiologist for a general fitness evaluation Set up core, flexibility and strength programs and integrate other recovery and regeneration activities into your training schedule

STEP 3: PLANNING Planning may be the most vital and labor-intensive task that an athlete does.

This is mainly because you must coordinate many different components and have built-in flexibility to be effective.

Mapping out next year’s plan is money in the bank. You will definitely have to revisit the plan over the course of the year to revise and tweak it.

Start the planning process by scheduling your top-priority races, training camps and other commitments. Once this step is

complete, move onto the details: break the schedule into phases, plan volume targets and so forth. Be sure to include strength training periodization, as your strength needs will vary throughout the year.

You don’t need to develop an annual plan in excruciating detail. The annual plan is meant to provide a general framework within which to develop your microcycles (seven- to 10-day blocks of training) with much greater detail for each training session. In microcycle design you consider the intensity and volume of each session as well as how the sessions are sequenced in the training block.

.com

STEP 4: GOAL SETTING Review your training log and do a season re-cap. Look at what you’ve done well and what you need to improve on and consider how your performance measured up against the goals you set for the season. Moving forward, you can develop new goals and also identify your limiters in racing and training.

When establishing goals as an athlete, consider both process and outcome goals. It is somewhat simple to establish a goal of “I want to win Ironman Hawaii,” but the real challenge is the process of building up to that point, which requires that you set appropriate intermediate goals along the way.

Before loading yourself up with mileage it is wise to set goals for the training block as well. For example, goal No. 1 for the general preparatory phase is to build up a strong aerobic base and aerobic capacity. Having a goal for a training phase or block is very much like having a purpose for that block. It can be as simple as achieving a mileage total for the next week (microcycle) or four- to six-week block (macrocycle). Goals not only give you something to strive for they also give you some positive reinforcement along the way.

Goals are meant for you to assess, evaluate, refine and then re-implement.

Congratulations on a great year of racing.

Now take a nice break from training and racing for a few weeks. Enjoy yourself—you deserve it!

Cliff English is a high-performance triathlon coach who has coached many athletes, including Samantha McGlone, to top finishes at ITU World Championships, ITU World Cups, IM Kona, Clearwater 70.3, Chicago, Wildflower and many more. For more on coach Cliff or 2009 training camps visit www. cliffenglishcoaching.com.

T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

gifts for triathletes

of the athlete over the course of a year and over multiple years requires careful administration of the training load and training intensity in one’s program. The picture of a sensible one-year plan looks like a series of peaks and valleys—training overload, recover and adapt.

Over a prolonged period of time, adaptation will cease to if you remove the valleys from this picture by failing to get adequate rest. It will leave you stale and most likely overtrained. This is why recovery weeks, or adaptation weeks as they are sometimes called, are essential components of a training program. Some coaches and sports medicine professionals believe that you have 42 to 46 weeks of training and racing per year in your body. The remaining weeks must be devoted to rest and regeneration.

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TICKET PUNCH

12k Carbon construction Ergonomic grip area on extensions relieves forearm and hand strain

Ergonomic oversized

Adjustable telescoping aero extensions

Internal cable routing (clean and aero)

1-877-TRI-BIKE (874-2453)

Gone But Not Forgotten Athletes who give up doping retain a training advantage after they’re clean.

By Samantha McGlone

D

Drug cheats are a miniscule portion of the triathlon community. On the whole, I believe our sport is a relatively clean one—if only because drugs are expensive and the sports that seem to involve rampant drug use are the ones with much larger stakes than even the most lucrative triathlon. That said, there have been a number of cases of triathletes being caught using performance-enhancing drugs at most of triathlons’ major events.

Some might say this indicates the system is working because cheaters are getting

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caught, but when we factor in the leniency of a positive test (for every “confirmed” positive there are about nine “likely positives” that are let go because of natural variance of results)—maybe not so much. A question that is just as important as, “Are we catching the cheaters?” is, “What are we doing with them once we’ve got them?”

I must stress that I am not attacking athletes who have mistakenly tested positive for taking cold and allergy medications or unwittingly using tainted supplements.

Jay Prasuhn

arm rests for added long distance comfort (horizontally adjustable allowing movement of elbows toward or away from body)

Instead, I am focusing on the deliberate use of drugs that are proven to aid performance in endurance athletes—namely HGH (human growth hormone) and EPO (erythropioten).

Under the current system it is assumed that a typical two-year ban from competition is long enough for an athlete’s body to come clean and return to normal. (It is also assumed that the athlete does not continue taking performance-enhancing drugs during the period of the ban). But there have been no long-term studies to prove that athletes who have used substances such as EPO or HGH have not irreversibly changed their physiology to their advantage.

When they return to competition, are they really back on an even playing field?

Even if their bodies are now “clean” enough to pass drug tests, benefits incurred while training with performance-enhancing drugs may have elevated their performance permanently. While certain drugs can make an athlete go faster immediately, the real benefits often come from the ability to train longer and harder and recover more quickly.

Training undertaken in this period will be more effective and elevate the athlete to a higher level of performance than the same training performed without illegal ergogenic aids. Even when the athletes go clean and lose the drug’s direct benefit they will retain the “muscle memory” gained by these blocks of super-training.

The effects of using EPO, such as increased red blood cell counts, are shortlasting; the new red blood cells turn over and are degraded after 120 days, thus the immediate effect of increased oxygen transport is rapidly lost.

However, using EPO can allow an athlete to complete training loads in one year that may take another athlete five years to achieve.

Coaches in triathlon talk about “training age” in sport—the combination of the athlete’s biological age and his or her number of years of training. Doping allows an athlete to gain years of training load in a relatively short amount of time. Loads that would over-train a clean athlete can be sustained by and actually benefit a drug-enhanced athlete—a benefit that can never be undone.

We’ve all seen the out-of-shape ex-swimmer in the Masters lane who can still rip off a fast 50m despite being significantly less “fit” than the triathlete next to him. That is due to previous years of training and the resulting muscle memory.

Until there is concrete evidence that the body returns completely to base levels after

Even if their bodies are now “clean” enough to pass drug tests, benefits incurred while training with performance-enhancing drugs may have elevated their performance permanently. taking drugs, athletes who take performanceenhancing drugs should not be allowed to return to competition.

Suppose an athlete uses EPO to increase his hematocrit by 10 percent. After cessation of use that level may drop back down, but because of the enhanced training benefits the athlete has a net lasting gain of 2 percent.

That may not seem like much, but to put it in context, 2 percent equates to about 10 minutes in an Ironman. That is easily the difference between first and fifth at the world championships—a $100,000 difference.

This brings up another issue. Athletes who have used performance-enhancing drugs have cheated not just their competitors, but their sponsors, race sponsors and any athlete who has paid an entry fee to a race that offers a prize purse.

These athletes have essentially stolen money, yet there are no criminal implications. In certain sports and other countries there seem to be harsher consequences–there are Tour de France riders currently facing jail sentences for drug use. In triathlon we welcome them back. Yes, an athlete may serve a temporary ban, but are dopers required to refund their sponsor dollars that they have stolen over the years?

Athletes are stripped of titles and prize money for exactly one race—the race they were caught at. Are we really to believe that these athletes only cheated that one time or did they just get caught the one time?

Earning a living in sport is a privilege, not a right, and cheating athletes relinquish that right. These athletes should be allowed to rejoin the sport only in a participatory role; they may attend races and compete but no longer earn prize money or sponsorship dollars.

It is disheartening that cheating is even an issue in our sport. I hope for a day when we can all stand on a start line with complete faith in our competitors.

But until we can all learn to play nice, the unfortunate reality is that some shouldn’t be allowed to play at all.

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Becky Lavelle was virtually unbeatable in the latter half of the season.

Lavelle, Hayes Victorious At Malibu Olympic Tri New Olympic-distance event draws big names ahead of the sprint classic.

By Jay Prasuhn The Malibu Triathlon, on the periphery of Los Angeles and its glitzy movie industry, has classically been a sprintdistance event, but organizers introduced a hotly anticipated Olympic-distance event that drew nearly 1,000 for individual and relay action on Sept. 13, ahead of the sprint classic, held the following day.

With the new distance came a solid field of pros from across the country. And taking top honors were women’s winner Becky Lavelle of Los Gatos, Calif., and Great Britain’s Stuart Hayes.

The women’s race was simply another 1 6 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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platform for Lavelle’s dominant late season, with wins at the Chicago Triathlon, the Los Angeles Triathlon the previous weekend and now Malibu. “When you start winning, you get on that roll and start to feel good. I’m there right now,” Lavelle said.

Lavelle joined Jasmine Oenick and a trailing Julie Swail Ertel in bounding out of the water and up Zuma Bech after a glasscalm longshore swim, over a minute ahead of the rest of the field.

From there, Lavelle put her powerful bike to work, distancing herself from Swail, then Oenick to record the fastest bike of the

Photos by Rich Cruse

AT THE RACES

AT THE RACES

Stuart Hayes turned in the dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only sub-30-minute 10K. Lavelle said racing in the land of movie stars brought its own unique element. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was weirdâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;there were actual paparazzi photographers taking photos during the awards presentation,â&#x20AC;? Lavelle said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was like, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t recognize any of these guys!â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?

The menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s race opened with a largely massed swim exit at Zuma Beach with no breakaways. Powerhouse biker Bjorn Andersson, however, looked to change that on the bike, earning a 1:30 lead on the outbound portion of the undulating out-and-back along the scenic PaciďŹ c Coast Highway.

But a pack of 10 men cruised behind, stalking the Swede and awaiting their chance to attack him on the run. And attack they did, ultimately relegating him to a 12th-place ďŹ nish despite

his solo effort.

Great Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Stuart Hayes turned in the only sub-30-minute run of the day (29:58) to take the win from countryman Oliver Freeman. American Matt Reed took third to hold off Brit Todd Leckie. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had trouble finding my run since Beijing,â&#x20AC;? Reed said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But I was glad to keep it from being a Great Britain podium sweep.â&#x20AC;?

2008 NAUTICA MALIBU OLYMPIC-DISTANCE TRIATHLON Malibu, Calif.

Sept. 13, 2008 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run

Men 1.Stuart Hayes (GBR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2. Oliver Freeman (GBR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3. Matt Reed (USA). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4. Todd Leckie (GBR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5. Hunter Kemper (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6. Stephen Hackett (AUS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7. Tim Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donnell (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8. Fabio Carvahlo (BRA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9. John Kenny (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10. Paul Matthews (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Women 1. Becky Lavelle (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2. Julie Swail Ertel (USA). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3. Jasmine Oenick (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4. Tyler Stewart (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5. Amanda Stevens (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6. Kelly Handel (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7. Amanda Felder (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8. Fiona Docherty (NZL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9. Jennifer Garrison (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10. Kathryn Donovan (USA). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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day in 1:02:07â&#x20AC;&#x201D;despite a few seconds lost to having to extricate by hand a dropped chain that jammed between her cranks and frame. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My hand was, like, black with grease!â&#x20AC;? she said with a laugh. Lavelle put it into cruise control to ďŹ nish with a comfortable win by nearly two minutes. Swail Ertelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 34:59 runâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fastestâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;leapfrogged her past Oenick into second place, with Oenick claiming the ďŹ nal podium spot.

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Photographers surround actor Matthew McConaughey as he exits the water after completing the swim leg.

Macca Wins Malibu, J-Lo, McConaughey Get the Spoils

were a couple of first-timers: actors Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Lopez.

“I was worried about Matthew McConaughey because I see he’s been training with Lance (ArmEndurance and Hollywood stars mingle as Chris McCormack preps for Kona; Matthew strong),” McCormack, standing outside the finish gantry, said with McConaughey and Jennifer Lopez bring the paparazzi to the beachside triathlon. a wry smile. He, along with fellow Kona foes, power biker Chris Lieto

By Jay Prasuhn and Ironman Japan champ Luke McKenzie and Olympians Matt The scene on Sept. 14 was unlike any other triathlon on earth; Reed and Hunter Kemper, were unfettered by the press. “Yeah, it Chris McCormack, the reigning Hawaii Ironman world champ, was was surreal,” McCormack said. “But the way it looks, these celebs just a few weeks away from defending his world crown in Kona, did an awesome job.”

McConaughey and Lopez, co-stars in the movie The Wedding and had just taken a late-season tune-up win at the 22nd annual Nautica Malibu Triathlon in front of more than 3,000 fans that Planner, had their significant others in attendance: McConaughey flooded the tiny beachside town. was with girlfriend Camila Alves and their newborn, Levi, and Lopez And not one reporter (save from this publication) sought him was with husband Marc Anthony. Other celeb attendees included out after the race. Few even knew he was there or cared that he William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman, Jon Cryer, and Mark-Paul had won the half-mile swim, 18-mile bike and 4-mile run event in Gosselar, as well as former tennis pro Anna Kournikova. The event 1:18:46 or even who he was. Macca, anonymous at a triathlon? Had emcee: Cindy Crawford. earth tilted off its axis?

With them came fans—and paparazzi. As J-Lo and McCoNo, this day was about the celebs. Big name celebs. Two highly naughey walked from transition to the swim start, a swarm of notable age groupers that lined up on Zuma Beach for the race photographers, tripping over themselves and the occasional clump 1 6 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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Jay Prasuhn

AT THE RACES

so far. “The swim, I had no idea,” McConaughey said of his firstdiscipline expectations. “I was out of breath in the first 200 meters and had to open my wetsuit to let some water in to cool down. After that, I did the parallel real cool, got out of the water—and was like ‘whoah’… a little dizzy.

“My bike, it felt good. It took 30 [minutes] to make the first nine [miles], but I booked it back home, so I felt like I went in under an hour there,” he said. (The actual split was 54:45-ed) “Then on the run, I think I ran a 28 (27:26-ed) so that put me at about seven-minute miles. I felt that was a good pace for those four miles.” His finish time was 1:43:48.

After totaling the splits—like any good type-A triathlete—he had a classic first-timer’s epiphany: the sport is a balanced effort. “Granted, this was my first one, but I think the coolest thing is all three add up to fatigue, but all three use difference muscles. It was a ball.”

Lopez finished the race in 2:23:38, taking fifth in the women’s celebrity category.

All the pros agreed that the celebrity angle, and the crazy media that comes with this event, only benefits multisport. “I reckon it’s good for the sport,” McCormack said. “I saw J-Lo and McConaughey and saw Tiffany Amber Thiessen. More of this Hollywood set that comes into our sport, it boosts the profile of the sport.”

“It’s intimidating standing in transition with those guys that you see in the movies,” McKenzie said. “I passed William H. Macy and said a little hello, and saw Matthew McConaughey ahead and tried to get him on the line, but he was laying it down.”

The event raised more than $125,000 for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Jay Prasuhn

AT THE RACES

of beached kelp, snapped shots, lighting up the misty dawn with the crackle of flash strobe.

“It was pretty wild this morning watching all the flashes going off,” Lieto said. “I walked in with Matthew going into the water and all these photographers were in the water. I told him, ‘I don’t know how you deal with it,’ and he said, ‘Aw, I just focus on what I’m doing and just ignore it.’ Hats off to them. I totally appreciate them coming out and being part of the sport.”

McConaughey, who paired with respected L.A. triathlon coach Ian Murray of Triathletix, spoke to Triathlete after the race. With a solid finish time of 1:30:44, McConaughey spoke with an excitement for not just completing the race, but placing in the top five in the celebrity category. Considering that he has in the past trained with good buddy Lance Armstrong, he was certainly not out for a joyride.

In fact, he and Murray did a course recon earlier in the week.

“Just knowing the course, getting familiar with the course, knowing where I could put in some horsepower saved six, seven minutes,” McConaughey said. “Ian said to set things out, then go over it all in my mind—shoes first, then helmet, then sunglasses.

And he said, ‘Don’t bring choices, either.’ Just bring your one thing you gotta have.’”

But as with all first-timers, preparation took McConaughey only 1 6 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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Jay Prasuhn

Actress Jennifer Lopez placed fifth in the celebrity women’s category.

where’s your race?

Since its inception in 2006, the

Ironman 70.3 Series has become the fastest growing triathlon

series in the world. There are now 32 qualifying events that culminate each November at the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Clearwater, Florida.

2009 EVENTS

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2009 EVENTS

DATE

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Amica Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island Ironman 70.3 Vineman Whirlpool Ironman 70.3 Steelhead Ironman 70.3 Antwerp Ironman 70.3 Calgary Ironman 70.3 Germany Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3 Timberman Ironman 70.3 Putrajaya Ironman 70.3 Monaco Subaru Ironman 70.3 Muskoka Ironman 70.3 Brazil Ironman 70.3 Cancun Ironman 70.3 Augusta Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3

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REGISTER TODAY AT IRONMAN.COM Ironman®, M-Dot® and 70.3® are registered trademarks of World Triathlon Corporation

Jay Prasuhn

AT THE RACES

Bennett, Lavelle Dominate At Los Angeles Triathlon Race to the Toyota Cup series leaders extend their lead heading into the Dallas finale.

By Jay Prasuhn It was business as usual for Australian Greg Bennett and American Becky Lavelle, as the two extended their Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series lead by winning the Los Angeles Triathlon Sept. 7.

The morning grey at Venice Beach gave way to a sunny, warm day in Los Angeles. But under the cool cloud layer, the men commenced by burning up the road.

After American Andy Potts ripped out of the Pacific first in 18:29 with a group including Canadian XTERRA star Brent McMahon, Stuart Hayes of Great Britain and Australian Paul Matthews in tow, he went to work distancing himself from his chasers.

Conspicuously missing from the lead group was Life Time Series leader Greg Bennett. “I was on someone’s feet, and he got gapped,” he said. “By the time I looked up, it was 10 meters, and I couldn’t close it.”

Out of the water a minute behind the leaders, Bennett was forced 1 6 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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to chase his way to the front—not the best situation, considering he was making the start despite a cold that his wife, Laura, brought back from her trip to the Olympics.

“The last 10 days I had to back the training off, taking Robitussin,” he said. “I didn’t know how I would go.”

But chase he did. With his SRM reading an average of 360 watts, a coughing Bennett cut a fast path to the front. “Coming into the race, I had to make it a strength race, and made the bike really important,” he said. “Bennett tore through the field to move past Matthews, then Potts at 25K to grab the lead.

“That was one of the best rides I’ve had in a long time,” he said. His final bike split, 53:57, was best by more than a minute and a half.

By T2 Bennett had a 25-second lead on Potts. With his Hawaii Ironman debut to come the next month, Potts found he simply missed his speed. “I’ve been putting in more miles, and it kind of saps that speed,” Potts said. “I definitely didn’t have dead legs—I could keep going at my pace, but I couldn’t click into that next gear and hit it.”

Bennett and Potts split the run within one second of each other (31:19 and 31:18, respectively), leaving the Aussie cruising across the finish with another big win. Potts earned second, while Matthews held off Hayes for third.

While the Life Time finale in Dallas is of key importance to Potts’

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Photos by Jay Prasuhn

AT THE RACES

Becky Lavelle used her trademark pedal power to win in L.A. season, his Hawaii Ironman debut, one week after Dallas, has him excited. “Normally I’d be done and just catch a cab back, but for sure I’m going to ride back to the hotel, then maybe go for another dip. More training!”

About his debut in Kona, he said, “My expectations are realistic.

I know what Kona stands for, but I don’t know the experience. I’m

Greg Bennett missed out on Beijing but triumphed in Los Angeles.

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going there to feel that magic that everyone talks about. It’s triathlon’s biggest day, and I want to be a part of it.”

The women’s race was equally electrifying, despite the absence of Olympic gold medalist Emma Snowsill, who missed the race because of other obligations. But the race saw a select group—Olympian Julie Swail Ertel, Lavelle, Colorado’s Mary Beth Ellis and Aussie Pip Taylor—land on Venice Beach within a few seconds of each other.

Left out of the mix nearly two minutes down out of the water was reigning Ironman 70.3 world champ Mirinda Carfrae of Australia.

Lavelle put her stamp of authority on the race during the bike.

“That’s my goal during all these races, is to hammer the bike,” Lavelle said. While all others fell off pace, Ellis was able to stay within five to 10 seconds of Lavelle throughout the relatively flat bike from Venice Beach to downtown Los Angeles. She, in fact, took the lead from Lavelle on a steep descent in the final mile of the bike, but Lavelle regained the lead as the two dived into T2.

It was early pressure during the run that dropped Ellis from Lavelle’s heels. “ I just had to hammer the first three miles on the first loop, see what happens,” Lavelle said. “It worked out great.”

A 36:17 run took Lavelle across the finish first with a comfortable 1:26 gap to runner-up Ellis. Swail had the fastest 2008 LOS ANGELES run of the day (35:50) to TRIATHLON take third. With just the Los Angeles finale left in Dallas on Sept. 7, 2008 Oct. 5, Bennett and Lavelle 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run extended their lead in the Men Life Time Triathlon Series 1. Greg Bennett (AUS). . . . . . . 1:46:04 Race to the Toyota Cup. 2. Andy Potts (USA) . . . . . . . . 1:46:47 With Britons Liz 3. Paul Matthews (AUS) . . . . . 1:48:09 Blatchford and Jodie 4. Stuart Hayes (GBR) . . . . . . . 1:49:01 Swallow as no-shows in 5. Brent McMahon (CAN) . . . . 1:49:17 Los Angeles, Lavelle is all but assured a series win Women with her L.A. victory, while 1. Becky Lavelle (USA) . . . . . . 1:59:46 Bennett gained further 2. Mary Beth Ellis (USA) . . . . . 2:01:12 separation from Potts 3. Julie Swail Ertel (USA). . . . . 2:03:10 and Stuart Hayes of Great 4. Rebeccah Wassner (USA) . . 2:03:44 Britain.

5. Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) . . . . . 2:06:50

Chris McDonald followed up a second-place finish at Ironman Louisville with a victory at Ironman Wisconsin one week later.

McDonald and Biscay Achieve Back-to-Back Feat in Wisconsin

in New York.

In her second attempt at the doubleheader, Biscay didn’t have to travel across continents. She and Teammates win in Madison one week after racing in Louisville. f e l l ow Te a m T B B member McDonald

By Liz Hichens took advantage of the Finishing an Ironman triathlon has long been considered one close proximity of Ironman Louisville and Ironman Wisconsin, and of the most difficult feats in athletics. American Hillary Biscay and started as top contenders in each race. They decided together to do Australian Chris McDonald took the challenge one step further by both races, and even went as far as challenging each other to see who deciding to race in consecutive Ironman events within a week’s could have the best cumulative finish. The first race in Louisville time. This was not the first time for Biscay, however; earlier in the went well for both, with Biscay finishing fourth among the women season she raced in the Quelle Roth Challenge and in Ironman Lake and McDonald second among the men.

The two faced a competitive field in Madison and had to overPlacid the very next weekend, finishing sixth in Germany and third 1 7 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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AT THE RACES

Hillary Biscay staged a dramatic comeback in the closing miles of the marathon to claim victory over Karin Gerber of Switzerland. power the fresh legs of fellow pros to win the race. In the men’s field, McDonald was joined by Switzerland’s Serge Meyer, Canada’s Luke Dragstra and pre-race favorite Jason Shortis of Australia.

On the women’s side, Biscay came in as the favorite to win her first Ironman title. Other top pros in the women’s field included Germany’s Ina Reinders, Switzerland’s Karin Gerber and Americans Jessica Jacobs, Amanda Lovato and Wisconsin-native Lauren Jensen.

After a week of rain and cold temperatures, race day in Madison brought pleasant conditions with the sun shining and temperatures in the 70s. There was additional incentive for pros and age groupers to finish the race early, as temperatures dipped into the 40s before the end of the race.

McDonald was the first to navigate his way through Lake Monona, and came into the first transition with a swim time of 51:52. He was followed closely by Germany’s Markus Kadenbach and Austria’s Norbert Langbrandtner. The fastest overall swimmer for the men was age-group competitor and Wisconsin-native Austin Ramirez, who exited the water in 49 minutes. McDonald, Langbrandtner 1 7 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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and Germany’s Markus Fachbach established themselves as the lead pack on the bike, with American Blake Becker and Australia’s Justin Granger on a chase to catch the leaders. Langbrandtner took the lead from McDonald but the Australian and Fachbach remained in the lead pack. Near the 40-mile mark, McDonald broke away and established a one-minute lead over the trailing group.

Through 70 miles on the bike, McDonald improved his lead over Fachbach to nearly three minutes, with American Zach Ruble trailing by six minutes. McDonald built on his lead, and came into T2 with a bike time of 4:48:40 and a seven-minute lead over Fachbach. Meyer was third into transition, followed by Ruble and Shortis.

McDonald continued strong as he took to the run course on the campus of the University of Wisconsin. Fachbach trailed McDonald in the marathon, but quickly lost ground to the Australian. Shortis looked to be the strongest runner as he came out of the transition, but had already had a tough day with asthma problems plaguing him on the bike. At one point, Shortis had worked his way up to third place behind Fachbach, but was eventually passed by Meyer.

Nearing the 20-mile mark of the marathon, McDonald did not appear affected by his back-to-back effort and had improved his lead to nearly 10 minutes over Fachbach. Fachbach was clearly exhausted by his efforts to catch McDonald and Meyer passed him with a few miles remaining.

McDonald crossed the finish line with a time of 8:43:29, a new course record. Meyer came across second with a time of 8:55:50, and Shortis came on strong in the end to finish third at 8:59:14.

Unlike McDonald, Biscay faced a tight race throughout the day. She was the first woman, and fourth overall, out of the water.

Behind her were Americans Karen Melliar-Smith and local favorite Lauren Jensen. Biscay did not hold back during the opening miles of the bike, and opened up a sizeable lead over the trailing pack of Melliar-Smith, Reinders and Jensen. Reinders appeared to be gaining on Biscay, but after the halfway point of the ride the German fell off of Biscay’s pace. Through 70 miles on the bike, Biscay had built a lead of more than five minutes and had new competition as Gerber passed Reinders for second position.

Biscay came into transition with a shrinking lead over Gerber.

The pair was followed by Jenson and Jacobs, with Reinders falling off of the lead group in fifth. Through the halfway point of the marathon, Gerber had cut Biscay’s lead to 1:29, with Jacobs trailing three minutes behind Gerber. As Biscay turned into the University of Wisconsin campus, Gerber overtook her for the lead. FORD IRONMAN Biscay looked to be in a WISCONSIN battle to hold onto second Madison, Wis. position, with Gerber Sept. 7, 2008 building nearly a minute 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run lead with only four miles Men remaining. At that point, 1. Chris McDonald (AUS) . . . . 8:43:29 Biscay quickly closed the 2. Serge Meyer (SUI) . . . . . . . 8:55:00 gap on Gerber and man3. Jason Shortis (AUS) . . . . . . 8:59:14 aged to regain the lead in 4. Bernhard Keller (AUT) . . . . 8:59:39 the last miles of the race.

5. Markus Fachbach (GER) . . . 9:01:56 Biscay held onto the lead for her first Ironman vic- Women tory and a time of 9:47:25. 1. Hillary Biscay (USA) . . . . . . 9:47:25 Gerber claimed second 2. Karin Gerber (SUI) . . . . . . . 9:49:46 with a time of 9:49:46, 3. Jessica Jacobs (USA) . . . . . 9:50:45 and Jacobs came in third 4. Heidi Jesberger (GER) . . . . 10:02:18 at 9:50:45.

5. Lauren Jensen (USA) . . . . 10:07:39

Paul Phillips

AT THE RACES

5(*,675$7,21 23(16 129 $0 ::: 1<&75, &20

AT THE RACES three-hour pace quickly dropped a spent Cartmell, allowing the 29-yeard-old Team TBB member to win comfortably in 8:53:59, more than 10 minutes ahead of last year’s winner, Great Britain’s Scott Neyedli, and another four in front of Austrian Andreas di

Jolly Good Racing

Homegrown talents (and now husband and wife) Stephen Bayliss and Bella Comerford claim Ironman UK titles Stephen Bayliss hung around the finish line to see his betrothed match his win with her own.

By Matt F itzgerald The future children of the Stephen Bayliss-Bella Comerford marriage are likely to have VO2max values in the stratosphere. After all, how many sons or daughters have ever emerged from the union of a man and a woman capable of winning an Ironman triathlon on the same day—twice in one year?

England’s Bayliss and Scotland’s Comerford came into this year’s Ironman UK, held Sept. 7, not only as an engaged couple but also as favorites to keep the winners’ plaques in Great Britain, based on their wins at Ironman South Africa earlier in the year. They did not disappoint the throngs of British triathlon fans and media at Sherborne Castle to watch the favorites compete with approximately 1,400 other participants on a raw and blustery day.

Bayliss was at the front from start to finish. Exiting the swim with three-time world champion and fellow Englishman Spencer Smith and Scotsman Fraser Cartmell, Bayliss then cooperated with Cartmell to build a 10-minute lead over the rest of the field through the murderously hilly three-lap bike leg. On the run, Bayliss’ sub1 7 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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IRONMAN UK Berardo.

“The day then got even better,” Bayliss later wrote on his blog, “as I knew Bella was winning.

In the end she crossed the line 36 minutes ahead of the next girl. She was pretty exhausted and emotional so I said to her, ‘Why did you push so hard, you were miles ahead?’ But I knew the answer: Bella only knows one way and that is to give everything she has.”

Sept. 7, 2008

Sherborne, Dorset, United Kingdom 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run

Men 1. Stephen Bayliss (GBR) . . . . .8:53:58 2. Scott Neyedli (GBR) . . . . . . .9:04:29 3. Andreas di Bernardo (AUT) . .9:08:24 4. Spencer Smith (GBR) . . . . . .9:13:33 5. Nick Saunders (GBR) . . . . . .9:18:24 Women 1. Bella Comerford (GBR) . . . . .9:49:06 2. Heike Funk (GER) . . . . . . . .10:24:40 3. Susanne Buckenlei (GER) . .10:28:40 4. Monika Stadlmann (AUT) . .10:35:26 5. Alice Hector (GBR) . . . . . . .10:41:28

Photos by asiphoto.com

Bella Comerford won two Ironmans in 2008—the same two her fiance Stephen Bayliss won.

AT THE RACES

Winter Vinecki, left, poses with her mom, Dawn, after the race.

Anton Van Zyl’s favorite ride at Walt Disney World is his Cannondale.

Athletes Race to Battle Prostate Cancer at Walt Disney World

By Dave Ragsdale Charity was the big winner at the inaugural Athletes for a Cure Triathlon held at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla. The event, a rebirth of the Disney International Triathlon, benefited Athletes for a Cure, the athletic fundraising arm of the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

Men’s winner Anton Van Zyl relied on a quick run to take the lead on the second of two laps, leaving teenager Nicolas Tautiva in the runner-up position. Angela Hygema, a firefighter from Dania Beach, Fla., dominated on the bike and cruised to a win.

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Kids participating in the duathlon take off from the start line.

The biggest story of the weekend, which included a Kids Duathlon, was 9-yearold Winter Vinecki of Gaylord, Mich. When Winter’s dad, Michael, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in May, Winter pledged to make a difference, joined Athletes for a Cure and set a $10,000 fundraising goal. By race day, Winter had raised more than $31,000. Winter completed the Olympic-distance course with her mom, Dawn, and celebrated her achievement by running the 10K alongside former ITU world champions Karen Smyers and Simon Lessing.

ATHLETES FOR A CURE TRIATHLON Orlando, Fla.

Sept. 21, 2008 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run

Men 1. Anton Van Zyl (USA) . . . . 2:06:03 2. Nicolas Tautiva (USA) . . . 2:07:46 3. Andres Munera (USA) . . . 2:08:43 4. Mike Easterling (USA) . . . 2:10:51 5. Andrea Ugazio (USA). . . . 2:12:03 Women 1. Angela Hygema (USA) . . . 2:22:41 2. Sara Dipaolo (USA) . . . . . 2:32:22 3. Karen Alderman (USA) . . 2:32:38 4. Marianne Curtis (USA) . . 2:33:04 5. Sheila Donahoe (USA) . . 2:33:18

2 0 0 8

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AT THE RACES had used his mountain biking skills to make up a large deficit and take the lead with Kienle and Raelert both within two minutes.

The pre-race favorites were all more than six minutes back, their hopes for a win dashed. Raelert, who represented Germany in both the Sydney and the Athens Olympics, put his stamp on the race by passing both men in front, on his way to a blistering 1:09 half-marathon.

German Sebastian Kienle leaps over the finish line in third place.

Surprises Galore at Monaco Ironman 70.3

By Don Ryder Germany’s Andreas Raelert and Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig captured the victories at Monaco Ironman 70.3, in Monte Carlo on Sept. 7.

Raelert’s win came as a surprise to pre-race favorites Marcel Zamora Perez, a two-time champion, Ironman World Champion Chris McCormack and local favorite, Patrick Bringer of France.

Equally surprising, second place went to Austria’s Michael Weiss, a former pro mountain biker, with an unheralded Sebastian Kienle of Germany taking third.

Defending champion Alexandra Louison, and last year’s third place revelation, Christel Robin, could not answer Spirig, fresh off her sixth-place finish in the Beijing Olympic Triathlon. Catriona Morrison also eluded them for second, leaving Spain’s Virginia Berasategui, who placed third, as the only pre-race favorite to make the podium.

This race, which takes place in the magical Principality of Monaco, qualifies 50 athletes for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater, Fla., in addition to offering 30 slots for Kona. It is known for its challenging course with steep climbs and fast technical descents.

Uncharacteristically, it rained the day before the race and the bike course was wet, which proved a factor in the final race outcomes.

After the top 10 men exited the water within 90 seconds of each other, the race began in earnest. By the time they entered T2, Weiss 1 7 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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Berasategui was first out of the water among the women, and Spirig followed 13 seconds later, with Morrison 90 more seconds behind.

As with the men, it was the bike leg MONACO IRONMAN 70.3 where the decisive Sept. 7, 2008 move was made, 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run as Spirig came into transition more than Women seven minutes ahead 1. Nicola Spirig (SUI) . . . . . . . . . . . .4:37:12 of the rest of the 2. Catriona Morrison (GBR) . . . . . . . .4:41:12 field. Robin, a local, 3. Virginia Berasategui (ESP) . . . . . .4:44:25 was second into T2, 4. Christel Robin (FRA) . . . . . . . . . . .4:46:57 but could not hold 5. Alexandra Louison (FRA) . . . . . . . .4:47:23 off Morrison and Berasategui, who both gained time on Spirig, yet could not overcome her insurmountable lead off the bike.

Men 1. Andreas Raelert (GER) . . . . . . . . .4:10:10 2. Michael Weiss (AUT) . . . . . . . . . . .4:14:12 3. Sebastian Kienle (GER) . . . . . . . . .4:14:48 4. Marcel Zamora Perez (ESP) . . . . . .4:19:20 5. Mikel Elgezabal Fernandez (ESP). .4:20:11

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the race grounds to witness America’s top Olympic-distance professionals vie for the Elite National Championship. The opportunity to observe both the amateur and elite championships is rare, as the last time the two took place at the same venue was in 1992 in Cleveland, Ohio. Although the event was touted as a chance to see all three Olympic males compete on the same stage again, Hunter Kemper withdrew prior to the race and Jarrod Shoemaker dropped out after the swim, leaving Matt Reed as the only male Olympian to complete the race. Another top Olympic-distance competitor, Andy Potts, was also absent from the race as he focused his late-season efforts on longer-distance events.

After finishing a disappointing 32nd in the Olympics, Reed bounced back to win the race with a time of 1:54:30. Reed’s win came in large part from his strong performance on the second leg with a bike time of 59:49. Joe Umphenour posted a solid run time, and was the second to cross the finish line with a time of 1:55:38. Ethan Brown earned the third-fastest time finishing in 1:55:44.

In the women’s race, Julie Swail Ertel, Sarah Haskins and Laura Bennett competed in the National Championships after representing the U.S. in Beijing. Ertel used a fast break at the end of the race to defend her title with a time of 2:05:46.

Haskins crossed the line 11 seconds later for second position.

Sarah Groff remained in the lead pack through the majority of the race and finished third at 2:06:27. Bennett was the final Olympian to finish the race in fourth position at 2:07:51.

Athletes line up in Hagg Lake, Ore., for the USAT nationals.

Amateurs, Elites Shine At USAT National Championships in Oregon

By Liz Hichens There are few sports where the recognition of amateur accomplishments rivals that of the professionals. Nearly every triathlon allows everyday athletes to compete alongside the most gifted and talented pros.

The Age Group National Championships, held Sept. 20 in Portland, Ore., showcased the best amateur athletes in the country, bringing age groupers into the same spotlight as the top elites.

With the age-group competition taking place in the morning and the Elite Nationals slated for the afternoon, the 2008 “Northwest Trifest” challenged America’s best athletes to conquer the difficult Olympic-distance course made up of rolling hills near Henry Hagg Lake. Age groupers and pros enjoyed nearly perfect conditions on race day with temperatures lingering in the mid-60s and little to no wind on the entire course.

The age-group athletes took to the waters of Hagg Lake at 7:15 a.m. on race morning with hopes of being crowned one of the U.S.’ top triathletes.

The overall male winner was Jason Schott of Dahlonega, Ga., with a time of 1:54:08. Brooke Davison of Boulder, Colo., earned the top spot for the women finishing with a time of 2:05:52. The Grandmaster Title (ages 60+) went to Steven Smith of Granger, Ind. With a time of 2:15:17, Smith defended his 2007 title by a margin of nearly 10 minutes.

Many of the competitors from the Age Group Nationals remained on 1 8 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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USA TRIATHLON AGE GROUP/ ELITE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS Hagg Lake, Ore.

Sept. 20, 2008 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run

Elite Men 1. Matt Reed (Boulder, Colo.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:54:30 2. Joe Umphenour (Seattle, Wash.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:55:38 3. Ethan Brown (Lowell, Mass.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:55:44 4. Matt Chrabot (Virginia Beach, Va.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:56:33 5. Brian Fleischmann (Colorado Springs, Colo.) . . . . . . 1:57:02 Elite Women 1. Julie Swail Ertel (Irvine, Calif.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:05:46 2. Sarah Haskins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) . . . . . . . . 2:05:57 3. Sarah Groff (Boulder, Colo.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:06:26 4. Laura Bennett (Boulder, Colo.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:07:51 5. Becky Lavelle (Los Gatos, Calif.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:08:19 Age-Group Men 1. Jason Schott (Dahlonega, Ga.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:54:08 2. Adam Webber (Denver, Pa.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:54:58 3. Nathan White (Des Moines, Iowa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:56:03 4. Eric Bell (Knoxville, Tenn.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:56:06 5. Doug Clark (Morristown, N.J.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:56:16 Age-Group Women 1. Brooke Davison (Boulder, Colo.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:05:52 2. Cathy Yndestad (St. Paul, Minn.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:09:37 3. Stacey Richardson (Chapel Hill, N.C.) . . . . . . . . . . . 2:09:51 4. Shannon Donley (Anchorage, Alaska) . . . . . . . . . . . 2:10:52 5. Lori Deschamps (Anchorage, Alaska) . . . . . . . . . . . 2:12:06

Steve Fry

AT THE RACES

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AT THE RACES followed within 10 seconds of Jacobs. Australia’s Cameron Watt came from sixth after the swim to lead the men with a bike time of 2:09:22. His lead coming into T2 was small with fellow Aussie Luke Mckenzie, Thompson, Jacobs and Bozzone close behind. With these men heading onto the run course at the same time, the winner of this year’s race would be determined on the run.

Bozzone and Thompson accepted the challenge of the halfmarathon, quickly breaking away from the rest of the field and running neck-and-neck for the entire third leg. Thompson came away with the win and a time of 3:55:40, only 15 seconds ahead of Bozzone. Jacobs rounded out the podium with a time of 3:57:47.

With Bozzone and Thompson posting similar times on the swim and the bike and Bozzone posting a run time a minute better than the Australian’s, the race splits suggest that Thompson’s T2 time of 39 seconds proved to be a key to his victory over Bozzone.

The women’s race also featured lead changes throughout the three legs. Ferguson was the first to finish the swim with a time of 28:09 and was followed closely by Australia’s Sarah Pollett. Granger trailed

Neither tough competition nor tropical conditions could hold back Rebekah Keat in Singapore.

Aussies Sweep In Singapore Thompson and Keat win on a new course.

In only its second year of existence, the Ironman 70.3 Singapore event is quickly becoming a popular race among pros and amateurs alike. As a destination triathlon complete with a tropical climate, this race allows many pros to simulate the conditions of the Ironman World Championship in Kona and the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Florida. Standouts in the men’s field included last year’s winner Brazil’s Reinaldo Colucci, New Zealand’s Terenzo Bozzone and Bryan Rhodes, and Australia’s Simon Thompson. The women’s field also brought back the defending champion in Australia’s Belinda Granger. Granger was joined by New Zealand’s Gina Ferguson and fellow Australians Rebekah Keat and Ali Fitch.

The athletes faced a brand-new course this year. After a successful first race in 2007, race directors went back to the drawing board in hopes of finding a way to make the race even better. The swim course was moved and made an inshore ocean swim at Singapore’s east coast parklands. The bike course was formatted to include expressways made of smooth tarmac and showcase the area’s beautiful scenery in a trek across the entire island. The run was re-routed along the east coast beach front and features consistent shade and flat terrain. The event will see another change in 2009 when race day moves to March 22.

In the men’s race, Australia’s Pete Jacobs led the men out of the water with a time of 26:42. Rhodes, Bozzone and Thompson 1 8 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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Simon Thompson’s quick transitions were the key to his victory. by nearly two minutes but came off the bike with the lead, followed by Fitch. Keat followed closely and posted the fastest bike of the group with a time of 2:22:12. Keat carried her momentum from the bike to the run and overpowered both Granger and Fitch for the win and a time of 4:25:43. Ferguson also had a fast run and placed second at 4:29:46, with Fitch holding on for third at 4:31:45.

Photos by Nick Munting

By Liz Hichens

AVIVA IRONMAN 70.3 SINGAPORE Singapore

Sept. 7, 2008 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run

Men 1. Simon Thompson (AUS) . .

2. Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) . . .

3. Pete Jacobs (AUS) . . . . . .

4. Peter Robertson (AUS) . . .

5. Cameron Watt (AUS) . . . .

3:55:40 3:55:55 3:57:47 4:03:33 4:03:45

Women 1. Rebekah Keat (AUS) . . . .

2. Gina Ferguson (NZL) . . . .

3. Alison Fitch (AUS) . . . . . .

4. Belinda Granger (AUS) . . .

5. Naomi Imaizumi (JAP) . . .

4:25:43 4:29:46 4:31:45 4:34:11 4:35:12

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AT THE RACES

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society benefited from this year’s race.

Nearly 2,400 Compete in the Nation’s Triathlon

By Liz Hichens

The Nation’s Triathlon in Washington, D.C., has grown from a race that saw fewer than 500 athletes finish in 2006 to one of the largest races in the country. In the 2008 version, nearly 2,400 amateur athletes entered the waters of the Potomac River, each with a different motivation for crossing the finish line. Several hundred of the competitors were first-time triathletes with goals of simply finishing the Olympic-distance event. Others competed for a cause, as the event aimed to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

This year’s event also featured a unique twist that showcased federal employees who work at the nation’s capital. The Congressional Challenge encouraged members of congress, and their staff, to form teams and compete in a separate category in the race. Also starting the race was Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. After finishing 10th overall in the 2007 event, Fenty entered the race despite being injured in a bike accident just a few months prior.

The murky waters of the Potomac River and the extreme heat and humidity plaguing the entire course challenged even the most 1 8 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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seasoned triathletes.

The first athlete to navigate out of the water was Stuart Martens of Washington, D.C., with a time of 19:41. Following Martens was Kyle Hooker with a time of 20:38. William Schultz of Bowie, Md., proved to be too much for the competition on the bike and the run. Despite earning a two-minute penalty on the bike course, Schultz ran his way to the win and a final time of 2:01:50. Vinnie Monseau of Morgantown, W.Va., was second to cross the finish line with a time of 2:06:02, and Charles Graf of Mountain Lakes, N.J., rounded out the podium in third at 2:07:15.

In the women’s race, Megan Knepper of Fairfax, NATION’S TRIATHLON Va., was first out the water Washington, D.C. with a time of 20:00. Knep- Sept. 14, 2008 per faced tough competi- 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run tion on the bike and the Men run, but didn’t relinquish 1. William Schultz . . . . . . . . . . 2:01:50 her lead, winning the 2. Vinnie Monseau . . . . . . . . . 2:06:02 race with a final time of 3. Charles Graf . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:07:15 2:17:37. Heather Leiggi of 4. Kyle Hooker . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:08:06 Bryn Mawr, Pa., posted the 5. Ben Delia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:08:33 fastest bike time among the women and came in second Women at 2:18:01. Rebecca Newton 1. Megan Knepper . . . . . . . . . 2:17:37 of Lexinton, Md., posted a 2. Heather Leiggi . . . . . . . . . . 2:18:01 fast swim time and had a 3. Rebecca Newton . . . . . . . . 2:18:14 strong race, finishing third 4. Samantha Bird . . . . . . . . . . 2:18:40 5. Hilary Cairns . . . . . . . . . . . 2:21:16 in a time of 2:18:14.

AT THE RACES

By Liz Hichens For many competitors participating in the third running of Ironman Cancun 70.3, the race was an opportunity to train in a hot, tropic environment similar to that of the Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.

Others entered the waters of the Mexican Caribbean as a lastchance effort to qualify for the Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Clearwater, Fla. For the majority, it was simply an opportunity to take part in a late-season race at a vacation-destination known for its crystal clear waters and gorgeous views. The men’s professional lineup included Australia’s Chris Legh and Luke McKenzie and Argentina’s Oscar Galindez. The women starters included Australia’s Michellie Jones and the U.S.’ Kim Loeffler and Caroline Smith.

McKenzie led the men out of the 1.2-mile swim with a time of 23:26, followed by Hungary’s Balazs Csoke at 23:29. Legh posted the fastest bike-split of the day with a time of 2:09:26. Legh carried his power from the bike to the run and posted the fastest run time of 1:22:06, crossing the finish line in first place with a final time of

Craig Alexander won easily over fellow Aussie Richie Cunningham.

Alexander, Zeiger Win Inaugural Ironman 70.3 Muskoka

By Liz Hichens Muskoka has long been known as a leading tourist destination in Canada, and it has quickly become popular stomping grounds for triathletes from around the world. Because of the region’s top-notch racing conditions and ability to attract the top pros, the site earned Ironman 70.3 status to create the inaugural running of the Subaru Ironman 70.3 Muskoka in 2008.

The men’s starting list included former Ironman 70.3 world champion Craig Alexander and Richie Cunningham of Australia, as well as Simon Lessing of Great Britain and Dave Harju of Canada.

1 8 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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4:01:47. Galindez also had strong performances on the bike and the run to finish second in 4:03:10, followed by Brazil’s Igor Amorelli Flonseca with a time of 4:03:26.

Australia’s Pip Taylor and Jones were the first two women out of the water with times of 24:55 and 25:45, respectively. Loeffler found herself more than seven minutes behind the leaders heading into T2.

Jones continued her strong performance by taking over the lead on the bike and posting the fastest time of the IRONMAN CANCUN 70.3 second leg. After Jones Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico dropped out of the Sept. 21, 2008 race early in the run, 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run Loeffler overcame the Men deficit by running the 1. Chris Legh (AUS). . . . . . . . . . . . 4:01:47 half-marathon 14 min2. Oscar Galindez (ARG) . . . . . . . . 4:03:10 utes faster than the next 3. Igor Flonseca Amorelli (BRA) . . . 4:03:26 competitor. Loeffler’s 4. Balazs Csoke (HUN) . . . . . . . . . 4:09:48 final time of 4:33:33 5. Allan Villanueva (MEX) . . . . . . . 4:11:14 earned her the win.

Smith earned second Women position at 4:44:57, with 1. Kim Loeffler (USA) . . . . . . . . . . 4:33:33 Mexico’s Dunia Tirado 2. Caroline Smith (USA) . . . . . . . . 4:44:57 Gomez rounding out 3. Dunia Tirado Gomez (MEX) . . . . 4:46:52 the podium with a time 4. Valentina Filipetto (ITA) . . . . . . . 4:47:48 of 4:46:52.

5. Melody Ramirez (MEX) . . . . . . . 4:55:13 The women’s field featured 11-time Ironman champion Lisa Bentley and two-time Ironman champion Joanna Zeiger of the U.S. With Kona only weeks away, Alexander used this event as an opportunity to compete in a quality field and sharpen up for Hawaii.

He started off in front coming out of the swim in fourth behind Lessing, Canada’s Brent McMahon and Cunningham. American Daniel Bretscher came from an eighth-place swim time to dominate the bike portion of the course, heading into T2 with the lead and the fastest bike time of 2:26:59. Alexander’s strong running talent proved too much for the rest of the field as he ran the half-marathon in 1:13:48 to win the race with a final time of 4:10:31. Cunningham also posted a strong run time for second place with a time of 4:14:58. Bretscher followed his fast bike time with a run good enough to earn himself a third-place finish with a total time of 4:16:43.

On the women’s side, SUBARU IRONMAN Zeiger continued to domi- 70.3 MUSKOKA nate the 2008 season by Huntsville, Ontario, Canada posting the fastest swim Sept. 14, 2008 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run and bike times of the entire women’s field. Zeiger’s lead Men going into the run was too 1. Craig Alexander (AUS) . . . . 4:10:31 much for the competition 2. Richie Cunningham (AUS) . 4:14:58 as she posted a run time of 3. Daniel Bretscher (USA) . . . 4:16:43 1:24:59 and a total winning 4. Simon Lessing (GBR/USA) . 4:19:17 time of 4:37:04. American 5. Janda Ricci-Munn (USA) . . 4:20:50 Rebeccah Wassner was the fastest runner of the Women field, earning her second 1. Joanna Zeiger (USA) . . . . . . 4:37:04 position and a final time 2. Rebeccah Wassner (USA) . . 4:42:49 of 4:42:49. Canada’s Angela 3. Angela Naeth (CAN) . . . . . . 4:43:27 Naeth finished third with a 4. Charlotte Paul (AUS) . . . . . 4:49:45 5. Lisa Bentley (CAN) . . . . . . . 4:52:21 time of 4:43:27.

Jason Budd/asiphoto.com

Legh, Loeffler Win Cancun 70.3

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CALENDAR

XTERRA TV SCHEDULE (DECEMBER 2008)

SOUTH ATLANTIC

Check your local listings to see an updated broadcast schedule for the award-winning TEAM Unlimited Television productions, and check out the www.XTERRA.TV 24/7 web network to watch shows on demand for free. For more information and a complete list of broadcast dates and times visit xterraplanet.com/television.

12/6-San Antonio, Fla. Powerman Florida Duathlon. 5-mile run, 33-mile bike, 5-mile run.

MOUNTAIN PACIFIC 11/23-Tempe, Ariz. Ford Ironman Arizona. 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run.

11/23-Tempe, Ariz. Ford Ironman Arizona. 2.4-

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Photos by John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

RACE DIRECTORS: For online race listings, please go to triathletemag.com and post your races under our Calendar link. Allow one week for your events to become live.

For listing in our print calendar, e-mail your information to bculp@competitorgroup.com.com or fax it to (858) 768-6806. Entries submitted before May 31 have been included in the August issue. All entries that were submitted after that date will be in the September issue.

Please note that most XTERRA global tour events consist of approximately a 1.5K swim, 30K mountain bike and 10K trail run.

Triathlete endeavors to present the most comprehensive calendar of tris and dus. However, because event dates are subject to change, please check with race directors to confirm event information before making plans.

See Multi-Event Contacts for contact information for promoters that have multiple listings.

Listings printed in red indicate Triathletesponsored races. USA Triathlon-sanctioned races are designated with a #. Register at active.com for events designated with @.

CALENDAR

mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run.

11/30-San Dimas, Calif.

Turkey Tri. .5-mile swim, 14mile bike, 4.5-mile run 12/6-Anthem, Ariz. Anthem Holiday Classic Tri. 400-meter swim, 20K bike, 5K run.

1/17/09-Bakersfield, Calif. Glinn and Giordano Rio Bravo Rumble Duathlon. 6.2-mile run, 16-mile bike.

4/4/09-Oceanside, Calif.

Ironman California 70.3.

1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run.

6/13/09-Midway, Utah.

Battle at Midway Triathlon. 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run.

INTERNATIONAL 12/14-Canberra, ACT, Australia. Canberra Half-Iron.

1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run.

2/8/09-Geelong, VIC, Australia. Snap Ironman 70.3.

1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run.

2/22/09-Huskisson, NSW, Australia. Australian Long Course Tri Championship. 2-km swim, 82-km bike, 20-km run.

Reminder: If a raceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contact information is not listed with the event in the preceding section, refer to the Multi-Event Contacts listings below. There you will find a list of race organizers who put on either multiple races or series events.

For more events and online race registration, be sure to check out triathletemag.com and active.com. Both sites offer up-to-date racing and training information, as well as the most recent news and coverage of triathlonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most popular events. To list your event in our online calendar, please go to triathletemag.com.

T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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DECEMBER 2008

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T R I AT H L E T E 1 9 9

2 0 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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DECEMBER 2008

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MULTI-EVENT CONTACTS

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

LOOKING FORWARD TO A GREAT 2009

THANKS TO ALL OF OUR RETAIL PARTNERS FOR A SUCCESSFUL AND FUN 2008

CALENDAR

3 Discliplines Racing:www.3disciplines.com; 866.820.6036 5430 Sports: Barry Siff, 1507 North St., Boulder, CO, barry@5430sports.com, www.5430sports.com; 303.442.0041.

AA Sports: 503.644.6822; www.racecenter.com; events@racecenter.com.

Blue Sky Sports, LLC: 678.237.0308; director@tribluesky.com; www.tribluesky.com.

Bradventures LLC. Producer of Auburn International Triathlon. www.auburntriathlon.com; 530-888-9911; info@bradventures.com.

By the Beach Productions: 5153 Soquel Dr., Soquel, CA, 831.465.6517; www.bythebeachproductions.com; info@bythebeachproductions.com.

Capri Events: 773.404.2372; www.caprievents.com.

CFT Sommer Sports: 838 W. DeSoto St., P.O. Box 121236, Clermont, FL 34712; 352.394.1320 (p); 352.394.1702 (f); info@triflorida.com; http://greatfloridian.com.

CGI Racing: 856-308-7522; www.cgiracing.com.

Cutting Edge Events: 217.347.3739;

T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

www.cutingedgeevents.net, beccakoester@yahoo.com, www.signmeup.com.

Danskin Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Triathlon Series: 800.452.9526, www.danskin.com, triathlon@danskin.com.

Elite Endeavors: Jim & Joyce Donaldson, 8963 Stoneybrook Blvd., Sylvania, OH 43560; 419.829.2398, jdjp@sev.org.

Emerald Coast Events Commission: 850.784.9542; www.emeraldcoasstevents.com; jlynch@knology.net.

EndorFUN Sports: 603.293.8353, 512.535.5224; www.endorfunsports.com, keith@timbermantri.com.

Envirosports: P.O. Box 1040, Stinson Beach, CA 94970, 415.868.1829 (p), 415.868.2611 (f), info@envirosports. com, www.envirosports.com.

Event Power: 22 Jagger Ln., Southampton, NY 11968; 631.283.7400; eventpower@aol.com; www.swimpower.com.

Exclusive Sports Marketing & Nestle Sprintkids Series: 1060 Holland Dr., Ste. 3-L, Boca Raton, FL 33487; 561.241.3801; 888.

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ESMSPORTS (376-7767); tjcesarz@exclusivesports.com, www.familyfitnessweekend.com.

Fat Rabbit Racing: Craig Thompson, 614.424.7990, 614.306.1996; craigthompson@fatrabbitracing.com; www.fatrabbitracing.com.

Field House Athletic Club: 166 Athletic Drive, Shelburne, VT 05482. 802.985.4402; rayne@fieldhouseraceseries.com; www.fieldhouseraceseries.com.

Finish Line Productions: 475 Tinkerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Trail, Boulder Creek, CA. 831.419.0883; info@finishlineproduction.com; finishlineproduction.com.

FIRM Racing: 66 Bruce Rd., Marlboro, MA 01732; P: 508.485.5855, F: 508.229.8394; bill@firm-racing.com, www.firm-racing.com.

Firstwave Events: P.O. Box 321269, Los Gatos, CA 95032; P: 408.356.0518; F: 408.356.0534; www.firstwave-events.com.

Georgia Multisport Productions: Jim Rainey, 4180 Liberty Trace, Marietta, GA 30066; 770.926.6993, 770. 928. 9292 (F); jim@gamultisports.com, www.gamultisports.com.

Great Smokey Mountains Triathlon Club: www.gsmtc.com; tri2000@dnet.net.

Greater Knoxville Triathlon Club: Kevin Mahan, 205 Cross Creek Private Ln., Lenoir City, TN 37771, 865.675.BIKE (2453) (p), 865.988.9250 (f), www.knoxtri.org; kevinmahan@chartertn.net.

Green Brook Racing LLC: Joe Patanella, P.O. Box 825, Green Brook, NJ 08812-825, 732.841.2558; greenbrookracing@aol.com, www.greenbrookracing.com.

HFP Racing: P.O. Box 375, Thornville, OH 43076; shannon@hfpracing.com, 740.743.2418; scott@hfpracing.com, 440.350.1708; www.hfpracing.com Ironhead Race Productions: Jack Weiss, P.O. Box 1113, Euless, TX 76039-1113; 817.355.1279; ironjack@ironheadrp.com; www.ironheadrp.com.

HMA Promotions: 216.752.5151; www.hmapromotions.net Ironman North America: 4999 Pearl East Circle Suite 301, Boulder, CO, 80301; 518.523.2665; 518.523.7542; imanusa@capital.net.

J&A Productions: www.japroductions.com; info@japroductions.com.

JMS Racing Services: P.O. Box 582, Marion, IN 52302, 319.373.0741; www.pigmantri.com jmsracing.html; jim@pigmantri.com; john@pigmantri.com.

KOZ Enterprises: San Diego Triathlon Series.

P.O. Box 421052, San Diego, CA 92142; 858.268.1250; www.kozenterprises.com; info@kozenterprises.com.

Lake Geneva Extreme Sports: P.O. Box 1134, Lake Geneva, WI 53147, www.lakegenevasports.com; lgsports@lakegenevasports.com; 262.275.3577.

Lakeshore Athletic Services: 847.673.4100, lakeshoreinfo@aol.com.

Mattoon Multi-sport: mattoonbeachtri.com; ltgarrett@hughes.net.

Maui Multi Sports Club: P.O. Box 1991, Kihei, Maui, HI 96753; trimaui.org.

MESP, Inc. Racing Series: 29395 Agoura Rd., Ste. 102, Agoura Hills, CA 91301; 818.707.8867 (p); 818.707.8868 (f); www.mesp.com.

Mountain Man Events: P.O. Box 255, Flagstaff, AZ 86002; www.mountainmanevents.com; admin@mountainmanevents.com.

New York Triathlon: P.O. Box 50, Saugerties, NY 12477-0050; 845.247.0271; www.nytc.org.

North Coast Multisports, Inc: P.O. Box 2512, Stow, Ohio 44224; 330-686-0993; NCMultisports@aol.com; www.NCMultisports.com.

On Your Mark Events: 209.795.7832; info@onyourmarkevents.com; www.onyourmarkevents.com.

Pacific Sports, LLC: 1500 S. Sunkist St., Ste. E, Anaheim, CA 92806; 714.978.1528 (p); 714.978.1505 (f); www.pacificsportsllc.com.

Palmetto Race & Event Production: P.O. Box 1634, Bluffton, SC 29910; 843.815.5267 (p); 843.785.2734 (f); andy5267@ aol.com; www.palmettorace.com.

Personal Best Performance: Michael Hays, 808 Saturn Ave., Idaho Falls, ID, 83402-2658.

208.521.2243; Michael@PB-Performance.com.

PCH Sports: www.pchsports.com; 2079 Cambridge Ave., Cardiff by the Sea, CA 92007; 760.944.7261.

Piranha Sports, LLC/ Greater Atlantic Multisport Series/Greater Atlantic Club Challenge/ Escape from School Youth Triahtlon Series: Neil Semmel, P.O. Box 150, Kirkwood, DE 19708; nsemmel@piranha-sports.com; www.piranha-sports.com.

PR Racing, Inc., P.O. Box 56-1081, Miami, FL,

33256; 305.278.8668. trimiami.com, trimiami@gmail.com.

Premier Event Management: P.O. Box 8764, Metairie, La. 70011. 504.454.6561. www.pem-usa.com.

Race Day Events: P.O. Box 31333, Knoxville, TN 37930; 865.250.5948; www.racedayevents.net; Kevin@racedayevents.net Score This!!!, Inc.: 15 Ranch Trail Ct., Orchard Park, NY 14127; 716.662.9379; www.score-this.com; info@score-this.com.

Set-Up, Inc.: P.O. Box 15144, Wilmington, NC 28408; 910.458.0299; set-upinc.com; billscott@set-upinc. com.

TBF Racing: Bill Driskell, 5209 Blaze Ct., Rocklin, CA 95677; 916.202.3006; bill@totalbodyfitness.com; tbfracing.com.

Team Magic, Inc.: Therese Bynum, Faye Yates; 205.595.8633; www.team-magic.com; races@ team-magic.com.

Team Unlimited: XTERRA Series; 877.751.8880; www.xterraplanet.com; info@xterraplanet.com.

The Pumpkin Triathon Festival: Kat Donatello; 20 Doe Drive, Eliot, ME 03903; (207)-451-7437; pumpkinmantri@yahoo.com. www.xterraplanet.com; info@xterraplanet.com.

Time Out! Productions: Rich Havens, P.O. Box 543, Forestdale, MA 02644; 508.477.6311 (p); 508.477.6334 (f); timeout@ capecod.net; www.timeoutproductions.com.

TriAthlantic Association: 410.593.9662; www.triath.com.

Triathlon Canada: 1185 Eglington Ave., East Suite 704, Toronto, Ontario M3C 3C6; www.triathloncanada.com; 416.426. 7430 Tri-California Events, Inc. Terry Davis, 1284 Adobe Ln., Pacific Grove, CA 93950; 831.373.0678, www.tricalifornia.com.

Tuxedo Brothers Event Management: Don Carr, 317.733.3300; tuxbro@indy.rr.com; www.tuxbro.com.

UltraFit/USA: P.O. Box 06358, Columbus OH 43206, 614.481.9077, www.ultrafit-usa.com.

Updog Sports LLC. www.updogsports.com, info@updogsports.com.

Vermont Sun Triathlon Series: 812 Exchange St., Middlebury, VT 05753; 802.388.6888; www.vermontsun.com/triathlon.html, vtsun@together.net.

YellowJacket Racing: 6 Regent St., Rochester, NY 14607; 585.244.5181; www.yellowjacketracing.com, yellowjacketracing@hotmail.com.

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Brickwell Cycling 2 Multisports Great Neck 516.482.1193 Fleet Feet Syracuse 315.446.1444 Jackrabbit Sports Brooklyn 718.636.9000 New York Running Co New York 212.823.9626 Runner’s Edge Farmingdale 516.420.7963 SBR Multisports New York 212.399.3999 Sunrise Cyclery West Babylon 631.587.6200 Super Runners Huntington 516.549.3006 Ubiquity Distributors Brooklyn 718.875.5491

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Boca Hawaii Honolulu 808.591.9839 McCully Bicycle Honolulu 808.955.6329 Yasu Corp. DBA Running Room Honolulu 808.737.2422

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Eclipse Running Reno 775.827.2279

Orlando 407.422.5552 RB Cycles Coral Gables 305.666.4898 Southlake Bicycles Minneola 352.394.3848 The Triathlon Store Miami 305.668.5650

Armadillo Distributors Inglewood 310.693.6061 B&L Bike and Sport Solana Beach 858.481.4148 B&L Bike and Sport San Diego 619.294.9300 City Bicycle Works Sacramento 916.447.2453 Fleet Feet Sacramento 916.442.3338 Forward Motion Sports Danville 925.831.3745 Hazard’s Cyclesport Santa Barbara 805.966.3787 Metro Sport Palo Alto 916.933.2627 Metro Sport San Francisco 916.933.2627 Nytro Multisport Encinitas 760.632.0006 or 800.697.8007 Runner’s Factory Los Gatos 408.395.4311 Runner’s High Menlo Park 650.325.9432 San Diego Running Institute San Diego 619.265.7374 Transports Oakland 510.655.4809 Triathlon Lab Redondo Beach 310.374.9100 Adrenaline Tri Sport Niwat 303.482.2007

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VIRGINIA Footsteps of Reston Reston 703.476.1022 Gotta Run Running Shop Arlington 703.415.0277

WASHINGTON Everyday Athlete Kirkland 425.821.4301 Runner’s Soul Spokane 509.624.7654 Speedy Reedy Seattle 206.632.9879 Super Jock and Jill Seattle 206.522.7711 Train or Tri Bellingham 360.647.8048

Try Sports Charlotte 704.544.4626

OHIO Bob Roncker’s Running Spot Cincinatti 513.321.3006 Frontrunner Columbus 614.486.0301 Tri Tech Multisport Columbus 614.846.1516

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All Tri Sports Portland 503.408.8303 Eugene Running Company Eugene 541.344.6399

Mud Sweat & Gears Sherwood Park 780.449.2453 The Runner’s Den Red Deer 403.341.4446

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Gazelle Sports Grand Rapids 616.940.9888 Hanson’s Running Shops Royal Oak 248.616.9665 Running Fit Ann Arbor 734.769.5016 Team Active Cycling and Fitness Battle Creek 616.962.7688

MISOURI Fleet Feet Sports- St. Peters Saint Charles 636.939.0161

Aardvark Sports Shop Bethlehem 610.866.8300 Cadence Philadelphia 215.508.4300

La Biciletta Vancouver 604.872.2424 Speed Theory Vancouver 403.202.1030

RHODE ISLAND Camire’s Athletic Soles Wakefield 401.782.8353 Caster’s Bicycle Center Warwick 401.739.0393 East Providence Cycle East Providence 401.434.3838

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T R I AT H L E T E 2 0 7

To Die Trying

S

Something mysterious is happening in triathlon. The sport’s recent growth has born a multi-headed beast whose name is yet unknown.

While triathlon’s popularity has competitors scrambling for race entries, the rising number of sport-related deaths during 2008 has followers searching for answers. USA Triathlon cites eight fatalities this season alone, or one-third of the 24 documented deaths since 2004. Eighteen of them have occurred during the swim. But where research in other endurance sports has indicated significant patterns, medical experts are scratching their heads over specific reasons for the triathlon deaths.

The overly-simplified notion that there are simply more of us out there racing could hold some water. It’s basically a game of numbers—the more fish tossing in the sea, the more caught.

A more scientific explanation notes something called swimming induced pulmonary edema (SIPE), a condition that occurs when proteins and red cells in the blood leak from the capillaries of the lungs into airspaces and other non-vascular lung structures. While there is some disagreement whether this is a carcinogenic or heart-related event, most experts agree that the external pressure of immersion in water is a key factor. Other suspected contributors are exertion, anxiety, over-hydration, hyponatremia and cold water.

What strikes me as interesting in this tragedy-catalyzed investigation is that it now stands as one of triathlon’s first sport-specific medical maladies. Or at least one of the first medical conditions to stem from mass participation in multisport. And while there are countless advantages to multi-sport training and racing, those eight fatalities may signal something greater, some icy tip of an underlying pattern that requires further consideration.

Most endurance athletes who compete feel a degree of anxiety during the swim. Logistically, if well-guarded, it may be the safest

part of the course. But with thousands of beginner athletes in their 30s, 40 and 50s, many are subjecting themselves to a physical challenge that they are not prepared for. The stress of race-day conditions is impossible to simulate in an amateur’s training program. Asking 50 of your closest friends to paw and poke at you while you try to swim across the pool eliminates the fun. Even seasoned veterans tend to focus mainly on the feel-good benefits of cardiovascular training: increased cardiac output, lower blood pressure and resting pulse rates, not to mention that intangible stress reduction that 20-plus minutes of cardio exercise can bring.

There is a great unknown that lurks invisibly, though, and even the most thorough medical exam may not expose the risks of something like SIPE. Perhaps it took the 30 years of triathlon history to bring the possible risks to the mainstream medicine discourse. Perhaps athletes’ increased performance levels have simply unearthed the first of many medical landmines to come. Or maybe the documented cases of SIPE are just physiological perfect storms. We certainly know more about how to train than when we did in 1975. But knowledge doesn’t exist in a vacuum and demographics are hard to deny.

There are between 1 million and 5 million people participating in triathlons worldwide. Only a small percent has access to proper training and education. That’s hard to believe with this magazine on your lap but in some ways the global participants are lab rats, testing the limits of human endurance. As Coeur d’Alene Ironman Medical Director Dr. P.Z. Pearce suggests, “I don’t really think it’s an aberration, more like time has finally caught up with our sport.

When you get enough crazy folks running around, a few of them are bound to keel over.”

There is the question of responsibility that comes with experimentation and growth. Some of that duty may be to ourselves, as Joe Bator, 37, of Boston told the New York Times. “We want to push the limit of our comfort zone and experience life,” he said. But we might also consider our families and those who have less access to what we have collectively learned.

If approximately 50 people have died while competing in triathlons since a handful survived the Mission Bay Experiment of 1972, 50 gazillion have been positively affected by the simple yet complex combination of swim, bike and run. And a great portion has succeeded due to the passing of knowledge and experience.

Still, there are bound to be more endurance-related syndromes exposed in the coming years. Our population is aging up, societal stress is meteoric and everything is bigger, faster and more intense. An Ironman finish is the entry, not the exit, to that exclusive endurance sport club. The good news is that the human body will evolve and adapt to the forces we are subjecting it to. The bad news is that it may take a few thousand years.

—Scott Tinley

Triathlete (ISSN08983410) is published monthly by The Competitor Group, 10179 Huennekens St, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92121; (760) 634-4100.

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