2009-02 Triathlete

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SPECIAL BEGINNER’S GUIDE GEAR >> TRAINING >> RACE SCENE >> LIFESTYLE

TRIATHLETES OF THE YEAR

NO.298

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12 SUPERSTARS OF 2008

BEYOND THE BIKE FIT PROPER RIDING TECHNIQUE TO SMASH YOUR PR

ANDY POTTS SETS HIS SIGHTS ON KONA

TH THE TRU ABOUT

IC LACT ACID triathletemag.com

$5.99 U.S./CAN

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endurance | sports | racing

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AVI-BOLT II (mens color shown) TRIATHLON RACING

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AVI-LITE II

(womens color shown) LIGHTWEIGHT TRAINING/RACING

AVI-STOLTZ

(mens color shown) TRIATHLON/OFF-ROAD RACING

CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON

[COMING SPRING 2009]

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AVIA’S COMMITMENT TO ENGINEERING THE

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FINEST COLLECTION STARTS WITH OUR GUIDANCE SCALE PHILOSOPHY. WE INVITE YOU TO AVIA.COM TO LEARN MORE ABOUT AVIA AND OUR NEW LINE OF

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AVI-LITE GUIDE II (womens color shown) LIGHTWEIGHT TRAINING

AVI-RHYTHM (mens color shown) LIGHTWEIGHT TRAINING

RACING AND TRAINING FOOTWEAR.

photo ©Segesta 2008

WWW.ORBEA-USA.COM

WWW.ORCA.COM

ALEXANDER THE GREAT 2008 FORD IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPION

Congratulations to Craig Alexander on his win at the 2008 Ford Ironman World Championships. Orca and Orbea are proud to partner with such an exceptional competitor. Craig’s Orbea Ordu: Evolved multisport technology meets the world’s highest-end carbon composites. Choice of champions worldwide. Craig’s Orca Racing Gear includes: Orca Alpha Wetsuit, Orca Distance 226 Tri Top, Orca Distance 226 Tri Pant and RS1 Swimskn.

CONTENTS No. 298

FEBRUARY 2009

TRAINING TRAINING FEATURE: LACTIC ACID MYTHS DEBUNKED | 94 BY M AT T F I T Z G ER AL D

LANE LINES | 100

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BY SA R AH M C L AR T Y

BIG RING | 102 BY J A S O N G O L D B ER G

DEPARTMENTS

ON THE RUN | 108

STARTING LINES | 14

SPEED LAB | 112

132

BY KE V I N B EC K

B Y MITC H THROW E R

EDITOR’S NOTE | 16 B Y B R AD C ULP

MAIL CALL | 18

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

COLUMNS

TECH SUPPORT | 116

TRIATHLETE’S GARAGE | 128

BY CHR I S T O PH ER K AU T Z

B Y J AY PR AS U H N

DEAR COACH | 120

XTERRA ZONE | 132

CHECKING IN | 20

BY PA U L H U D D L E AN D RO C H F R EY

B Y M EL AN I E M C Q U AI D

IndusTri; Point-Counterpoint; Reviewed; Pro Bike; Medically Speaking; Endurance Conspiracy; Light Read

NUTRITION Q&A | 124

TICKET PUNCH | 134

AT THE RACES | 138

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

FUNDAMENTALS | 126

IN ENGLISH | 136

BY IA N M U R R AY

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BY P IP TAYL O R

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

TINLEY TALKS | 160 B Y S C O T T T I N L EY C OVER : AN DY PO T T S PH O T O B Y J O H N S EG ES TA

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CONTENTS No. 298

FEBRUARY 2009

FEATURES 2008 TRIATHLETES OF THE YEAR | 38 Twelve athletes who made their marks on the past 12 months. B Y B R AD C ULP

Q&A WITH ANDY POTTS | 52 INTERVIEW B Y B RA D CUL P

BEGINNER’S GUIDE ATTACK YOUR WEAKNESS

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The surest way to improve is to become more balanced in all three disciplines. B Y MATT FIT Z G E RA L D

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12 WEEKS TO YOUR FIRST TRIATHLON B Y MATT FIT Z G E RA L D

BEGINNER TIPS FROM THE ULTIMATE VETERAN | 70 B Y MAR K ALL E N

NECESSITIES FOR YOUR FIRST RACE

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B Y JAY PR AS UH N

TRIATHLON BERMUDA STYLE | 84 Forget about time splits and age-group placings for once and do a triathlon for the sheer adventure of it. B Y MATT FITZGE RA L D

ON THE COVER 2008 TRIATHLETES OF THE YEAR | 38 BEYOND THE BIKE FIT | 102 ANDY POTTS | 52 TRUTH ABOUT LACTIC ACID | 94

Corrections:

In the January 2009 issue we omitted Orbea from the results of the Kona Bike Count (page 90). There were 68 Orbea frames in Kona, which placed them in a tie for seventh place. In the January Pro Bike featuring Craig Alexander’s Hawaii Ironman-winning bike, we incorrectly listed his aero hydration system. Alexander ran the Xlab Carbon Wing. Triathlete regrets the error.

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esa

XVII ENDURANCE SPORTS AWARDS

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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.

“The Academy Awards of Endurance Sports”

-Entertainment Tonight

THE EVENING BENEFITS THE CHALLENGED ATHLETE’S FOUNDATION TABLES AVAILABLE! For more information vist our website listed below and to order tickets ZbV^a <Zd[[ Vi ^c[d5ZcYjgVcXZhedgihVlVgYh#Xdb

lll#ZcYjgVcXZhedgihVlVgYh#Xdb The Competitor Magazine Endurance Sports Awards is a property of

FIRST WAVE

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70.3 Miles to Go Photo by Robert Murphy The pro women’s wave takes off at the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Clearwater, Fla. American Joanna Zeiger won the women’s race in 4:02:48, smashing the Ironman 70.3 world record. T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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Like Alcatraz, Only Warmer Photo by Rich Cruse Just like the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, atheltes kick off the Escape to Bermuda Triathlon by leaping off of a ferry. The water in Bermuda was about 25 degrees warmer than the San Francisco Bay. 1 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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STARTING LINES

In the Beginning Triathlon, for all of us, starts when we are kids. It is in this dreamlike land of imagination and possibilities that we learn to swim, bike and run, and where we learn how much fun it is to stay active. Somewhere deep inside our hearts, we learn that our physiology and psychology can improve when we engage life through sports, even before we know the science behind it. Positive physical development happens quickly when you are propelled by the joy of movement. As children, a desire to suck the sweet marrow of life moves us past nerves and fear to master the techniques of swimming, biking and running and all the adventures they bring. So realize that, if you are reading this, you are ready for your ďŹ rst triathlon. It is an evolutionary process with mistakes and apprehension (all of which make for better, funnier stories) and proceed into mastery of the disciplines, overall ďŹ tness and a sharpening appetite for life in all its aspects. And maybe if, like a child, your focus remains on the fun, you will stick with it and get faster, ďŹ tter and better looking along the way. In this beginner’s issue, plenty of expert advice will guide your transition into the sport. While there are many lessons to be learned, here are a few of my favorite tips culled from years in the sport and from Triathlete Magazine’s Linkedin group members who have discovered their passions for the sport: Ease into the sport slowly so you won’t get discouraged. John Martinez, medical director at Coastal Sports and Wellness Medical Center, jokes, “Wait at least until your second race to do an Ironman.â€? Swimming is the most difďŹ cult event for many. Joanna Chodorowska, Terenzo Bozzone’s nutrition and swim coach, says, “Practice open water swimming at least once if you can. It makes a world of difference!â€? Even with swimming lessons under your belt, there are tricks for staying calm through charge at the start of a race. Ashley Halsey, a reporter at The Washington Post, writes, “First timers should focus on exhaling during the ďŹ rst 500 yards of the swim. Too many people simply forget to breathe! If a swimmer starts out exhaling powerfully, he or she very naturally will inhale powerfully as well, preventing him or her from panicking.â€? Tempted though you might be by the high-tech gear in the transition area, ďŹ rst race with basic or even borrowed equipment. Daniel Chawner, a systems development tech advisor says, “A beginner’s ďŹ rst race should be a sprint, which can be done without a wetsuit and a road bike.â€? Steven Williams, director at TSC, Inc., adds, “There is an incredible amount to learn about this sport and one’s body once that initial commitment has been made. Learn as you go so that when you are ready to invest some real cash, you’ll be much smarter about where to spend it.â€? One key to a good ďŹ rst race is logistics and organization. Steven Schindler, an aerospace and defense senior account executive, advises: “Use a backpack large enough to carry your equipment from your car to the transition area. You will almost always have to walk a good way to get to the start, and a backpack makes it much easier.â€? And, he adds, “Carry two sets of goggles. It’s easy to lose a pair before the race; I know!â€? Don’t be intimidated by the preparation you think is necessary. Mathieu Dussartre, a video marketing executive, says, “Come to the race with a minimum of training so you won’t get discouraged before you start.â€? If you make it to the start, you’ll ďŹ nd a way to ďŹ nish. Before your ďŹ rst race, scout the course. Mark Dunaisky, director of information technology for a bank, suggests, “Train on your race route if possible; it will give you increased conďŹ dence on race day.â€? Enjoy the lifestyle and friendships that triathlon gives you. The best part is not the swim, bike, run or the medals but the camaraderie and adventures you share with a new set of positive, healthy people. If you feel bad during the race, don’t stop. You can slow down but make sure to keep moving forward. Triathlon’s key satisfaction comes from adapting to many challenges to ďŹ nish. All of us often feel bad after the bike, and it takes a while to redirect the body’s blood ow. Don’t be intimidated by the difďŹ culty of the race and the ďŹ tness of the athletes that do it. Everyone started out just like you. Paul Mangual, a vice president at an insurance company, Train Smart, reminds all newbies, “We all look funny in triathlon shorts, not just you!â€? After you ďŹ nish your ďŹ rst race sign up for your second one. The great thing is that while our sport has a beginning, it Mitch Thrower has no end. mthrower@competitorgroup.com 1 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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.O s &EBRUARY Publisher Associate Publisher VP, Event 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 Editorial Intern Ashley Slaney, aslaney@competitorgroup.com Photo Director Don Karle dkarle@competitorgroup.com Photo Editors Brad Kaminski bkaminski@competitorgroup.com John Segesta jsegesta@competitorgroup.com Graphic Designer Oliver Baker, obaker@competitorgroup.com Medical Advisory Board Jordan Metzl, MD; Jeff Sankoff, MD 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 Ad Manager Deena Hancock, dhancock@competitorgroup.com Ad Coordinator Lisa McGinn, lmcginn@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 authors’/photographers’ 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. Printed in the USA. Triathlete Magazine is a publication of the

David Moross Peter Englehart Scott P. Dickey Steve Gintowt John Duke John Smith Bruce Herring Dan Vaughan David O’Connell Rebecca McKinnon

Chairman President & CEO Chief Operating Officer/CMO Chief Financial Officer SVP, Group Publisher SVP, National Sales SVP, Events VP, Digital Media VP, Western Region Sales VP, Easter Region Sales

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

EDITOR’S NOTE

Don’t Worry About Your Timing Chip By Brad Culp

I

I was 16 when I did my first triathlon. It was the summer before my senior year of high school, and I was looking for a way to stay in shape for the upcoming swim season. I found a sprint race in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., paid my $45 entry fee (remember those days?) and committed myself to a two-week training “plan.” It’s not that I was cocky and thought two weeks was all I needed to do a triathlon; it was just all the time I had before race day. The only bike I owned was a 1996 GT Performer BMX bike, and since I didn’t know there was such a thing as a tri-bike, I figured I’d get by just fine. My father didn’t know much about triathlon, but he knew BMX bikes weren’t the preferred choice of triathletes. So he offered up his circa-1990 Bianchi fixie. I was grateful until I showed up on race morning to find out what a real tri-bike looked like. I carefully examined the ride of the guy next to me in transition. “What’s with the funny handlebars?” I asked. “They make you more aero,” he replied, and then he went back to meticulously setting up his gear.

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I just nodded my head and pretended to know what “aero” meant. The race itself went much worse than I ‘d expected. I think my expectations were a little high, especially given the fact that during the swim I had to continuously remind myself that biking comes next, not running. I can’t tell you what my final time was. Not because I’m embarrassed, but because I never put a timing chip on. I saw the chip in the bag I received before the race, but since I didn’t know what it was, I figured it was meaningless and left it in my backpack. It wasn’t until a volunteer asked for my chip at the finish that I realized just how notmeaningless that little device was. The point of this anecdote is that you have to start somewhere. This is our second annual Beginner’s Guide Issue, which will tell you everything you need to know for your first race and probably a bit more. We’re excited to have Mark Allen, possibly the greatest triathlete of all time, share his tips on getting over the mental humps of being a “newbie” (Page 72). You’ll also find the second edition of our new “Fundamentals” column (Page 126), in which veteran coach Ian Murray breaks down the seemingly opaque intricacies of triathlon training. You can also find videos demonstrating Murray’s monthly tips on Triathletemag.com. There are countless people who would love to complete a triathlon but feel that three sports are just too much and it would never be possible. You really don’t need a whole lot to get started. For some, a steel fixie and two weeks of training will do just fine. You don’t even need a timing chip.

Photography: Robert Murphy

IJGC>C< 9G6< >CID A>;I % ) 63 ( = 2 % 1 - ' % 0' , ) 1 = Employing every design technique and analysis tool we could imagine, Zipp’s quest for the ultimate aerodynamic breakthrough culminated with the Sub-9, the ďŹ rst bike wheel capable of generating forward lift. In 2007, it debuted at the Ironman World Championship 70.3 as part of Andy Potts’ win. In 2008, Terenzo Bozzone paired a Sub-9 with a Zipp 1080, the world’s fastest non-disc wheel, to set a Clearwater course record. Triathletes have always obsessed over minimizing drag. Now it’s time to maximize propulsion.

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MAIL CALL the cold weather, lack of money for gear and parts, and I recently got my driver’s license. Yet, in the end it’s worth every ride. Zac Bunker Oxnard, Calif.

Tinley’s Column on SIPE Brings Topic to Light

Walks to the Finish Not Shameful

In your Letter from the Editor, “Off to Kona to Check Out Some Ladies (November 2008),” you used an unfortunate phrase, “several shameful walks to the finish,” which I take great exception to. Some of us do not have the luxury of good knees and, while physically unable to run, we can speed walk a marathon (it’s a six-hour ordeal, and if you think that is easy, try walking for six hours, especially after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112 miles). I have finished two Ironman triathlons (Wisconsin and Canada) and have un-shamefully walked across the finish lines. My knee is so bad my orthopedist wonders how I walk, let alone swim and bike. (I refuse to get [my knee] replaced because it would end my triathlon career.) So, while I may never qualify for Kona, or much of anything else, this 56-year-old man proudly walks across the finish lines to the adoring cheers of my wife and all six of my children. Jeffrey K. Heinichen Cincinnati, Ohio

Editor’s Note: I did not mean to imply that walking across the finish line at an Ironman is shameful. There’s nothing shameful about finishing an Ironman or even making the attempt, no matter what speed you go. I felt shamed in my particular case because I had bragged about my fitness level to my coworkers before the event, only to be humbled to a walk on race day. —Brad Culp

Sold a Car for My First Tri Bike

Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would trade something of importance for it? I have recently experienced this feeling, and acting on impulse, I traded my sister’s old battered 1989 Honda Civic for a Specialized Allez 2004. The reason for the trade: triathlons. I have started training for my first triathlon and I needed a bike. The problem with this trade is 1 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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and on the cutting edge of science, research and technology. Sometimes in print media, it’s easier to take the safe route and cover topics that are less controversial. Until now, SIPE (swimming-induced pulmonary edema) has been overlooked as a cause of death in racing, and many don’t know the signs to look for when an athlete exits the swim in trouble. In July 2007, I was pulled from Ironman Lake Placid and taken away by ambulance after the swim portion of the race. I was coughing up blood and couldn’t get oxygen. This was my second DNF in the 2007 race season—both were confirmed cases of SIPE. I have been on a quest to find the answers to this puzzling condition and to share that knowledge with as many triathletes and race directors as possible. I posted my experiences on the Slowtwitch Web site and was fortunate enough to connect with a research scientist out of Houston, Dr. Charles C. Miller III, who was instrumental in helping me piece together the puzzle of this condition. With Dr. Miller’s help and the careful guidance of my cardiologist, I continued to train and race in 2007 in order to identify my triggers and prevent another occurrence of SIPE. In my case, it seems to be a combination of mild-hypertension, over-hydration and a rapid start that was the cause of my perfect storm. I’m happy to report that with some careful attention to my pre-race regimen, I have raced SIPE free for the entire 2008 triathlon season at Ironman Florida, Ironman Germany, Muskoka 70.3, Timberman 70.3 and the Mooseman. Dr. Miller has put together a large-scale survey to help define the risk factors of SIPE more clearly. The hope is that once he has the prevalence data in hand, it will give him the necessary information in which to form a case-finding on the subject. The survey has already been sent out in an e-news blast to all USAT members and we’ve had quite a few respondents, some of which have experienced the tell-tale signs of SIPE. Those include coughing up pink frothy foam and blood. I am trying to create a useful resource for anyone wanting more information on this condition, these articles are on my Web site, www.endurancetriathletes.com/sipe, along with a New York Times article, “Recent Triathlon Deaths” from July 28, 2008. Katherine Calder-Becker Quebec, Canada

Newby-Fraser’s Bike Training Helped My PR

I was hit by a car and broke my leg in three places on May 4 of this year. With lots of hard work I was able to complete IM Florida five months later in a very respectable time. Since my bike was totaled in the wreck and I need to ride custom at 6’6”, I only had eight weeks to prepare on the bike. I used the Paula Newby-Fraser’s “Honest Ironman Bike Training” from your magazine to average 19.8 mph, which was less than 1 mph off my Ironman bike PR. Despite having to do a run/walk combo on marathon, I finished in 12:37:14. Rick Christensen Charleston, S.C.

Thierry Deketelaere

I would like to extend a warm thank you to Triathlete for its coverage of the mystery of triathlon deaths in the December issue of Tinley Talks column, “To Die Trying.” It’s truly an open-minded effort that keeps our sport healthy

INDUSTRI | POINT-COUNTERPOINT | REVIEWED | PRO BIKE | MEDICALLY SPEAKING ENDURANCE CONSPIRACY | LIGHT READ 2 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

CHECKING IN

CHECKING IN

Sun Multisport Events announced that two-time Ironman World Champion Scott Tinley and world-renowned swim coach Terry Laughlin will lead the list of expert speakers at this year’s Multisport World Conference and Expo at the Zesiger Sports & Fitness Center at MIT in Cambridge, Mass., March 21-22. Developed in partnership with the Northeast region of USAT, Multisport World offers two days of seminars, training clinics, competitive events and the largest collection of multisport vendors of any event on the East Coast. Tinley will keynote the USAT Northeast Welcome Reception that concludes day one and will give a seminar on day two. Laughlin will lead a seminar that explains three techniques for reducing energy waste in the swim. Other seminars, given by certified coaches and exercise science professionals, will cover topics that include nutrition, training and race strategy. The conference will also offer Chi Running clinics, Total Immersion swim clinics, a strength-training workshop, a first-time triathlete workshop and other hands-on sessions. For athletes looking to get a workout there’s the Fast Splits Indoor Bike Time Trial and a swim meet. More than 75 sponsors will exhibit products and services. They include manufacturers and retailers of gear, apparel, nutritional products and training equipment, plus certified coaches, multisport clubs and race directors. Admission to the expo floor and seminars is free. All registered attendees are eligible to win valuable giveaways and the first 2,000 receive a free event goodie bag. Visit www.multisportworld.com to register and for more details.

Brian Gavette, director of sales and marketing for Zipp, affirmed, “We are proud to add two-time world champion Chris McCormack to our team. We feel that Zipp’s commitment to excellence and Macca’s desire to win are a great match.” In 2009, McCormack plans to race the Lava Man Triathlon, 70.3 New Orleans, 70.3 China, 70.3 Honu Hawaii, Ironman Frankfurt and the Ironman Hawaii World Championship. With the triathlon legend promoting their products, Zipp hopes to uphold its reputation for innovation in cycling technology and thus help athletes post faster times. For more about Zipp, visit Zipp.com. For more about McCormack, v isit chrismccormack.com

Faster Tomorrow to Sponsor IM 70.3 Champion Bozzone

Shimano Dura-Ace 7970 Di2 Wins Popular Science Award

Chris McCormack Signs Deal with Zipp Zipp Speed Weaponry, renowned for advances in bike technology, has formed a partnership with 11-time Ironman winner Chris “Macca” McCormack, according to his management. “To be working with Zipp for the rest of my competitive career is just a blessing,” said Macca of the deal. “The fastest wheel set in the world and the range of products to choose from allow me to focus simply on winning races.” 2 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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“I am honored to be working with the Faster Tomorrow team and their flagship product ARX,” said Bozzone. “For me, the difference between winning and a back seat in the top 10 is how fast I can recover from hard training. ARX helps boost my performance and helps speed up my recovery time.” According to the manufacturer, ARX shortens recovery time and increases endurance by facilitating the lactate oxidation process. Healthy Directions Chief Executive Officer Kevin Donoghue is equally excited about the partnership, stating, “We are thrilled to have such a remarkable, up-and-coming athlete on our team and look forward to a long and successful partnership. We hope that we can contribute to his future success beyond the Ironman World Championship 70.3.” For more information about Faster Tomorrow and ARX, visit www.fastertomorrow. com. For more information about Bozzone, visit his official site, www.terenzo.com

Faster Tomorrow, a division of Healthy Directions LLC, has announced that it will sponsor Terenzo Bozzone, winner of the 2008 Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3. The company specifically recruited Bozzone to endorse the company’s ARX recovery supplement, which he reportedly began using eight weeks before the race in Clearwater, Fla., and credits with improving his racing.

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Popular Science has named the new electronic shifting components of Shimano’s Dura-Ace 7970 Di2 the “Best of What’s New” in the recreation category for 2008. In addition to topping the recreation category, the product won one of 10 Grand Awards presented to the top product in each of the 10 categories into which the selected innovations are placed. Each December, Popular Science profiles 100 new products that present great technological innovations in their respective fields. “This exciting award from Popular Science honors Shimano’s continued leadership in innovation to redefine what’s possible in road cycling with Di2,” explained Devin Walton of Shimano American Corp. “Elite competition road cycling has never before seen an innovation like Dura-Ace Di2, a component group that marks the highest level of performance with the most precise shifting imaginable.” The Di2 is an electronic shifting option that allows the rider to shift with greater precision while adding only 56 grams to the weight of the bike. It includes combination shift/break levers, front and rear derailleurs and a user-friendly interface. The Di2 is a component for the Dura-Ace 7900 series and will be available for purchase in January 2009. For more information about the Di2 and other Shimano products, visit www.shimano. com. To see the rest of the “Best of What’s New” for 2008, visit www.popsci.com/bown/2008.

Larry Rosa

Tinley, Laughlin To Headline 2009 Multisport World Conference and Expo

INDUSTRI

boulder, colorado

TRAIN SMART.

RUN FAST. RECOVER QUICKLY.

REPEAT.

SCIENCE IN MOTION.TM

CHECKING IN Trek Bicycle to Sponsor New Women’s Triathlon Series Trek Bicycle and The Xxtra Mile LLC, have announced a new triathlon series targeted specifically toward women—the Trek Women’s Triathlon Series—set to kick off in Florida sometime in 2009. The organizers expect to hold events in 12 cities in 2009 and hope to draw upward of 25,000 entrants in all. They aim to create an event with a non-intimidating atmosphere that encourages novice participants to enter while also attracting more experienced athletes. Maggie Sullivan, former director of the Danskin Women’s Triathlon Series, has signed on to direct the series, and said, “I am confident that we … will deliver the remarkable life-changing experiences that have been experienced by so many women across the country who have participated in triathlon races.” Sally Edwards, a Hall of Fame triathlete and spokeswoman for the new series, shares that enthusiasm, explaining, “I’ve dedicated my life to encouraging women to become more physically active and to use triathlons as a means to achieve their life goals. [This event] will enable me to take these efforts to a whole new level.” Each race will be a sprint-distance triathlon (.5-mile swim, 12-mile bike, 3-mile run), and certain locations will also host youth-oriented races. Events are currently planned for selected cities in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, the New York Metro area, North Carolina, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin in addition to the series debut in Florida. The Xxtra Mile planned to announce a definite schedule for 2009 by Dec. 31, 2008. For more information and to add yourself to the series mailing list, visit www.trekwomenstriathlonseries.com or call 877-221-9665.

Lickety-Split Partners with Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training Lickety-Split Triathlon Mats has become an official product partner with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training, designing a special neoprene mat that features the Team in Training logo. Lickety-Split, the leading manufacturer of triathlon transition mats, will donate $10 for each mat sold through its Web site to the cause. Said Lickety-Split founder and owner Nan Kappeler of the partnership, “We are proud to support the TNT athletes and to be able to give back to the LLS to help the lives of others.” The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program helps interested individuals train for a variety of endurance events, including marathons, triathlons and century bike rides. To date, more than 380,000 participants have raised more than $900 million for the society. Along with the specially designed Team in Training mat, LicketySplit has also dedicated a page on its Web site to the cause. Select retail outlets will also carry the mat, priced at $24.95. For more information and to purchase the mat, visit www.fasttransition.com 2 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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POINT-COUNTERPOINT

At Issue: Does Lance Armstrong risk tarnishing his legacy by returning to professional cycling?

Lance, Forget the Tour and Return to Tri By Cameron Elford In 2001, basketball great Michael Jordan annulled his 1999 retirement decision and returned to play two mediocre seasons with the sad-sack Washington Wizards. After winning six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls, plus two Olympic gold medals, Jordan ultimately went out with a whimper in Washington, hobbled by a knee injury and dragged down by a lackluster team with a losing record. While none of this cancels out Jordan’s unparalleled accomplishments in the sport, it takes some of the shine off his legacy. Yes, Jordan says he came back for the love of the game, and yes, he was an intense and talented competitor—but why is it that some folks just can’t let go? Late last summer, another athletic great with nothing left to prove similarly decided he couldn’t stay away. When (or if) he races this July’s Tour de France, seven-time winner Lance Armstrong will be almost the same age as #23 when he stepped back onto the court. And as with Jordan’s decision to unretire (again), the prospect of Armstrong’s 2 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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return to the ProTour holds very few advantages for him. Yes, I get that, like Jordan, Armstrong is an intense competitor, that he’s probably (OK, unquestionably) the most talented athlete to ever race the Tour, and that his return to cycling will be accompanied by a campaign to raise funds and awareness for cancer prevention and treatment. I’m not questioning his motivation or sincerity here but, rather, his judgment, and the possible legacy spoilers for Armstrong would likely be far more damaging to him than they were for Jordan. In short, Armstrong has very little to gain and everything to lose. Armstrong will not race the Tour for shits and giggles. If he starts the race on July 5, he intends to win. What happens if he doesn’t? Maybe he doesn’t care, but will his fundraising efforts stumble if he comes up short? And no discussion of the Tour would be complete without addressing doping. Armstrong has never flunked a doping control. Still, some Tour insiders and onlookers continue to publicly question his record. There remains in France a movement to retest Armstrong’s 1999 urine sample, collected after his first Tour win. In 2005, just a month after Armstrong retired, French sports newspaper L’Équipe reported that synthetic EPO had been detected in that sample. Armstrong strongly denied this charge and was cleared by the UCI, but now he risks stepping back into a possible witch hunt, or whatever you want to call it. Further, in a preview of what may be to come, new Tour president Jean-Étienne Amaury told L’Équipe last fall that Armstrong had embarrassed the Tour—making an oblique yet unfounded reference to Armstrong’s presumed guilt as a doper. Now Armstrong is chumming the waters with a comeback. Testicular cancer notwithstanding, the guy has a lot more balls than I do.

Lance Will Have The Last Laugh By Matt F itzgerald Last year, at age 50, 1984 Olympic Marathon gold medalist and former marathon

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American record holder (2:21:21) Joan Benoit Samuelson competed in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials Women’s Marathon, finishing 90th with a time of 2:49:08. The national running community shook its collective head in disapproval, sadly disappointed that such an icon of the sport would so brazenly tarnish her legacy by insisting on competing against the big girls long after her prime. Wait a minute; that’s not what happened! Samuelson was actually the story of the 2008 Olympic Trials. Tens of thousands of adoring spectators cheered wildly as she cruised the streets of Boston, where her legend was born, and marveled at her age-group recordsmashing performance. Now, there was a time, perhaps 20 years ago, when running fans were a little sad for Joanie. At that time, she was still young enough to continue setting records and winning medals, but her performances had already slipped from their peak level, largely due to injuries. “She’s done,” whispered observers of the sport belonging to that annoying type that loves to be the first to whisper of great athletes on the wane, “She’s done.” But fortunately Samuelson didn’t listen and didn’t care. She kept running as best she could, year after year after year. Although she did begin to slide early, her descent turned out to be very slow, such that the runner who could no longer win the big races at age 30 survived to become the fastest 50-year-old marathon runner in the history of America. And those who once whispered, “She’s done,” have fallen silent—or more likely, have hypocritically joined the chorus of those who shout, “Go, Joanie! Go!” At the 2008 Olympic Trials, Joan Samuelson represented Lance Armstrong’s Team Livestrong. The connection between the two doesn’t end there. At age 37, after three years of retirement, Armstrong has decided to return to professional cycling. I expect him to pick up more or less where he left off—off the front—but he might not. And if he doesn’t, there will be those who shake their heads and say he’s tarnished his legacy. But like Joan Samuelson, Lance Armstrong won’t listen and he won’t care. While his professional road bike racing comeback may last only a year or two, you can trust that 10 years from now, 15 years from now, he will still be competing in something. He will continue to dazzle and inspire us with his awesome talent, his insatiable drive to perform and his courageous willingness to risk failure. By that time, those who, 10 or 15 years earlier, judged Armstrong guilty of tarnishing his legacy will be silent. Chastened.

Brad Kaminski

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Xterra World Champion.

Womens Ironman World Champion. 5 world records in the pool. Olympic Openwater gold medal. Olympic bronze medalist. Mens 70.3 World Champion. Womens 70.3 World Champion. Womens ITU Long Course World Champion. Third Womens ITU World Championships. Second Mens ITU World Championships. 10 Ironman ‘First from the water’. 19 70.3 ‘First from the water’.

THEY CHOOSE TO WEAR BLUESEVENTY.

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REVIEWED I have tried it the other way around; it does shift, but less crisply. Eschewing the trend of carbon cranks, Shimano 7900 cranks and chainrings are stiffer, lighter and shift faster than Shimano’s previous iterations. Not only are the crankarms hollow, but so are the chainrings, which are made of two plates bonded together for extreme stiffness. The mounting nuts are integrated within for an unbroken appearance, mounting seamlessly on super-thin, hollowed-out spider arms. Whittling away weight here and there yields a 136-gram group weight savings, or 95 grams without the dual-control levers. The entire 7900 group for aerobars (which includes BL-TT79 and SL-BS79 levers instead of ST-7900 dualcontrol levers), excluding pedals and wheels or hubs, retails for $2,340. The group with ST-7900 dual-control levers, excluding pedals and wheels or hubs, retails for $2,705.

Shimano 7900 Groupset $2,340 - $2,705 By Lennard Zinn Given its market domination, triathletes expect performance, reliability, durability and ease of installation and adjustment at a reasonable price from Shimano. With a new flagship group, expectations are stratospheric, but Shimano generally lives up to them, and the Dura-Ace 7900 is no exception. The rear derailleur is rated to 28 teeth, and Shimano has three new cogsets for 2009: 11-25, 11-27 and 11-28. The 7900 front derailleur eliminates chain rub throughout the range from big/small all the way to big/big gear combinations. There’s no trim adjustment over the big chainring, but you still have to trim over the inner chainring to go to the small/small combination. So it’s not entirely trim-free, but how often do you ride a small/small combo? Incorporating Shimano’s first carbon fiber lever blades, the dual control levers shift crisply with a shorter throw than previous models and offer great braking coupled to the lighter 7900 calipers. However, you can downshift a maximum of two cogs (rather than the current three) with a single push and still up-shift only one cog at a time. Pulling the brake lever produces first high cable pull and then high leverage due to the decreasing 2 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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distance of the cable path from the lever pivot as the lever is pulled further. Lever reach adjusts with a turn of a screw. You won’t find these features on most aerobar brake levers, so braking and shifting improvements will be smaller on an aero bike. But the better pads still will improve wet braking substantially and dry braking marginally. And a much-needed lower cable entry point with a shorter barrel adjuster on the brake arm offers smoother cable routing on aero frames with low top tubes and on compact frames. Something entirely new for Shimano is a master link: Its Quick-Link has a movable pin that slides to a notch in the plate at its base, while the opposite, slotted plate slides to present a large opening to free each pin in succession. And this unique chain is directional (asymmetrical). All of the plates facing in toward the bike are slotted for weight reduction, distinguishing them from the solid outer plates facing away from the bike. Due to differing demands of moving the chain across the cogset, versus moving it from chainring to chainring, the shapes of the plates differ on either side of the chain.

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Shimano’s new electronic shifting system for aerobars has a pair of small shift buttons (one to shift up, one to shift down) on the inboard side of each plug in the aero extensions. There is also a pair of shift buttons on the inboard side of each aero brake lever’s body. Shifting takes as much effort as clicking a mouse. Some advantages are obvious. You no longer have to reach out to the end of the aero extension to shift; you can shift when gripping the base bar while cornering, braking, climbing or sprinting. And shifting when in the aero position takes minimal hand movement and concentration and causes no aerodynamic disruption. A less obvious advantage, shared with the drop-bar dual-control shifters, is that you need not anticipate the gear required and shift in advance when entering a corner or a hill. Instead, you can just shift when your legs beg for it, even when under full power, front or rear. The downside is that spectating on Palani Hill in Kona would be less fun if everyone had this. No more could you watch over-eager pros in the Ford Ironman World Championship frantically trying to grab another gear in the middle of the hill and coming to a grinding halt with their chain jammed or wrapped around their crankarm. The Di2 group with dual-control levers will retail for $4,847; no aerobar pricing has yet been established. Look for a complete review of the Di2 system in an upcoming issue of Triathlete.

Courtesy Shimano

Sneak Peak: Dura-Ace 7970 Di2 Electronic Shifting

YOU’VE GONE GREEN. NOW GO TEAL.

7 SPRINT RACES 1 CHAMPIONSHIP THE AMICA TRIATHLON SERIES BEGINS SPRING 2009

www.amicatriseries.com

TRIATHLON

SERIES

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PRO BIKE J

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By Jay Prasuhn It took several years of honing his bike to match his devastating run, but seventime Ironman New Zealand champ Cam Brown did it and has since reeled off six top-10 finishes in Kona since 2001. He has been one of the most consistent performers in Hawaii for nearly a decade, with the only downturn coming in 2007, when he recorded his first DNF. But in ’08, Brownie came back, finishing 5th. To boot, he spent the year—and his Hawaii lead-up in the French Alps—on a new bike: the Pinarello FT3. The venerable Italian company has been quietly making inroads into tri, sponsoring Brown and Leanda Cave with a bike built for our sport. The FT3 features 3 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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a 76-degree seat angle and a rail clamp centrally located on the carbon fiber post. For a true pro pedigree, Brown also has a trick race-number bracket bolted through his rear brake. While Brown says the Toryaca 50HM1K carbon makes it the lightest bike he has ever owned, he’s also sold on the looks. “It looks great,” he says. “The Italians have created a masterpiece with their paint jobs.”

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Frame: Pinarello FT3, 49cm Fork: Pinarello FP8 carbon Headset: Pinarello MOST, 1 1/8” Aerobar: Vision by FSA Carbon Pro clip-on and basebar; Vision SizeMore stem, 70mm; Vision AeroLevers Groupset: Campagnolo Record 10-speed, 11-21 cassette Crankset: Full Speed Ahead SRM, 175mm crankset, 53-39 chainrings Wheels: Zipp ZedTech 1080 Rear, Zipp 404 front tubulars, ceramic bearings Tires: Schwalbe Ultremo Tubular, 700c x 21mm Pedals: Speedplay Zero Saddle: Fi’zi:k Arione Tri 2 Carbon braided Hydration: Elite Carbon Cage

Jay Prasuhn

Cameron Brown’s Pinarello FT3

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MEDICALLY SPEAKING

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness Plagues Triathletes, Runners B y J o r d a n D. M e t z l , M D I was in my office last month when Christy, a marathon runner and triathlete, came in to see me. “Doc,” she said, “I ran the marathon of my life a few days ago, but today, I’m really having trouble moving.” “How bad is it?” I asked, knowing that Christy was an experienced athlete. “I have had plenty of aches after races,” she said. “But this is way out there—the worst I have ever had.” When I asked a bit more about her race, I discovered that several factors were at play. The day was quite humid and Christy said she didn’t do a very good job with pre-race or during-race hydration, and, the week before the marathon, she had viral gastroenteritis (stomach flu). 3 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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Christy was suffering from delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), a potentially serious injury to muscle that results from excessive loading force on muscle cells. It is important to distinguish the symptoms of DOMS from the everyday aches and pains that come the day after a hard race, training day or athletic event. DOMS generally shows up 24 to 48 hours after the muscle injury and is more severe than the mild, everyday soreness that all triathletes are familiar with. When muscle tissue is injured, it releases a protein called myoglobin. We all have a bit of myoglobin release after hard athletic events. Several studies have looked at healthy athletes after marathons and found mild

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to moderate amounts of myoglobin in the urine, a condition called myoglobinuria. When the muscle injury is more serious, however, the amounts of myoglobin can be quite high. The urine can be dark colored, and in some cases, kidney damage and even kidney failure can result. In Christy’s case, I set up a urinalysis right away, especially because she mentioned that she had noticed her urine was a bit darker than normal. Sure enough, she had high levels of myoglobin in her urine. Thankfully, due partly to staying wellhydrated over the ensuing days, a series of blood tests to determine her kidney function revealed that Christy’s kidneys were only slightly injured. Her status returned to normal after a couple of weeks. DOMS is actually much more common than most athletes realize. Why some athletes experience DOMS and others don’t is not yet understood, but one of the most important factors is dehydration before, during and after a hard event. As was the case with Christy, an illness that results in vomiting or diarrhea can increase the risk of DOMS due to baseline dehydration before the event. Finally, some athletes just seem prone to developing DOMS and seem to get it after every major event, probably because of biological and genetic factors affecting their muscle tissue. Keys to DOMS prevention include smart hydration, immediate recognition of “worse than normal” muscle pain and avoidance of significantly harder than normal exercise bouts (whether workouts or races). If you suspect DOMS make sure to discuss it immediately with your sports doc as soon as possible. The good news: DOMS is usually preventable with smart pre-race behavior and athlete education. Jordan D. Metzl, MD, 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 26-time marathon runner and six-time Ironman finisher (and counting). For more information,visit Drjordanmetzl.com.

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

Keys to DOMS prevention include smart hydration, immediate recognition of “worse than normal” muscle pain and avoidance of significantly harder than normal exercise bouts.

Torbjørn Sindballe

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

ENDURANCE CONSPIRACY

Massage Therapist to Sports Psychologist By Tim DeBoom “You are ready to win.” Normally, these words do not carry much weight with me, no matter who is speaking them. In fact, even when I repeat that phrase to myself, it is often just a reassurance to fight the doubt that sometimes creeps into my head. But back in 2001, I was lying on the mas-

sage table in a room at the Kona Seaside, and, as Kristen McFarland was finishing up my final bodywork before the race, she uttered those words. She had never said anything like that before, and it surprised me. I often heard, “Your legs were tight, but they loosened up nicely.”

And the dreaded, “Your body feels good, but keep up your stretching.” “You are ready to win” was new altogether. Kris and I sometimes joke that she knows my body better than my wife, Nicole, does. In fact, I’ve known Kris a little longer than Nicole. I have been getting massage treatments from Kris for almost 14 years now. I originally called her on a friend’s referral after breaking my back in 1995, my first pro year. I was in no position, financially, to be paying for massage, but I knew I needed the help if I was going to get my body back on track. She helped me throughout that season, which culminated in a 10th-place pro debut in Kona. Following that result, I was sold on the benefits of massage, and even as I continued to race paycheck to paycheck, I would not skip my weekly massage workout. Yes, massage counts as a workout in my world. I’ve had the same Monday afternoon appointment since that first year: 3:15 p.m. every Monday I’m in town. It even goes on my USADA drug testing information form so they know where to find me. During Kona builds, we add another session later in the week. I always laugh when I tell someone I “have” to go to

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512.782.4448 T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

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ENDURANCE CONSPIRACY massage, and they sarcastically respond that I sure do have it rough. Most people do not understand that it is not a pleasant, relaxing experience. It’s not one of those fluffy hotel massages limited to the lower back with lots of fragrant oils. I treat my weekly massage as another workout—it’s painful, requires concentration, and helps me race faster. It is a deep-tissue, full-body massage, and Kris works on me until I am “done.” Of course, I do love having my feet worked on. They take such a beating with all my training that a nice foot massage can be heavenly. Unless, of course, there are post-race blisters involved. Kris also keeps very detailed records. She has compiled notes from every appointment we have ever had together. It’s a rather large book by now. Some might call it a novel. This journal has proved invaluable when injuries crop up, or when we want to go back and look at how my body was responding during certain times of training. We study her records, compare them to my training logs and gather some crucial information. In fact, I will not go to a regular MD unless I have a traumatic injury, such as a broken bone. Together, Kris and I usually figure out most issues and deal with them better than

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many doctors could anyway. As I get older, the benefits of her work are becoming even more important. I know that my longevity in this sport has much to do with our weekly sessions. However, our relationship has evolved into something more than just physical therapy. It has become a sports psychology outlet as well. With full days of training, e-mails, phone calls and everything else I need to get done, Monday afternoons are my time to focus within. The connection between the body and mind is significant. When we work out, it can be a stress release or empowering. The same goes for massage. I have a funny habit that I was unaware of until Kris brought it to my attention. When I lie on my back during massage, I don’t close my eyes. They are wide open and staring at the ceiling. I have realized that I focus on one spot until I start to see things. It becomes a form of meditation for me. Of course, when she begins to work on my IT bands, the pain usually snaps me back to reality. The end of the massage is the time of reckoning. I wait to hear what she found, or ask how my legs felt, and I hang onto her every word of feedback. Since she started working

I treat my weekly massage as another workout—it’s painful, requires concentration, and helps me race faster. with me, Kris has become a student of triathlon. She has worked on several world champions, traveled to Kona every year since 1995 and even completed a couple Ironmans of her own. I doubt she knew that she would also become that last, maybe superstitious, piece of my training routine leading up to a big event. She has always been bluntly honest. If my body is not quite ready, she will tell me. It is nice to hear people say I look fit and ready. I can also look back at the training I did and know that the work is done. But, when Kris said those words the first time, “You are ready to win,” they made a difference. I knew that she could feel it in my muscles. I was ready. I walked away with a little more confidence, and I believe it helped me win that first world title. I started out with a massage therapist and gained a sports psychologist along the way. I sure hope I don’t start getting charged double.

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Woo Hoo Economics Some investments paid off in October.

By Jef Mallett Triathlon is economics. I don’t mean money (though I certainly could). No, triathlon is real economics. As an economist friend once explained to me, economics isn’t the study of money. It’s the study of the allocation of limited resources, and if that doesn’t sound like triathlon, I don’t know what does. Who hasn’t written a check on the bike that he or she couldn’t cash on the run? Who 3 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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LIGHT READ

hasn’t finished with too much left in the till? Who hasn’t invested over the long haul for that one glorious withdrawal? I’m writing this during interesting economic times. It’s early November 2008. I’ve watched all of my investments go south. All but one. I’ve just returned from my first Ironman, my first investment through 140.6th National Bank and Trust. Like any business story, this one comes with numbers and a narrative. My numbers are good but unremarkable. The ticker reads 11:02:53, in chunks of roughly 1:08, 5:17 and (oh, dear) 4:24. The narrative is familiar to most Triathlete readers, and it will sound familiar to others

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once they live it themselves. With minimal alterations, it’s familiar to any grammar-school kid whose classmate’s banker dad spoke on Career Day. You start early. You diligently invest a little at a time. Your investment grows. You start seeing little returns, and then you reinvest them. The snowball picks up speed, and you realize you’ve gone from middle-class or worse to affluent. Where you once struggled to invest anything at all, your new challenge is diversification. How much here, how much there? Play it safe. Take some risks. Too much, too soon. Too bad. You injure yourself, or your spouse loses patience. Recession. You start over, but this time with the luxury of experience. You’ve ridden this bronco before. Affluent turns to flat-out wealthy. Your pants hang like a dishrag on a doorknob, but your shirts still fit across the shoulders. You steal curious glances at the mirror. Whose skin are you wearing, exactly? Where did those veins come from? Those cuts? You recover quickly from workouts that once compelled you to nap through the week. You tell people you’ve never felt better and realize you mean it. Race day arrives and seems almost like gratuitous piling on. But it’s not just a payoff; it’s part of the process. It’s the part where numbers turn into words. You’re number “2614.” An “11:03.” Then you’re an “Ironman.” An “inspiration.” A “nutcase.” What you’re not is “done.” If the economy in 2008 taught us anything, it’s that there are no guarantees. After all, the foreclosure plague found some of its most compliant hosts in boom-time mansions. So I’m a triathlete. Now I’m an Ironman. It would be easy to say that can never change. It would even be accurate, but it might not be entirely truthful. What you create, you have a responsibility to maintain. I’m on it. I had a good race, a good season. I invested. I reinvested. I swooned and recovered. I cashed out. I’m happy with my numbers, but I’m eager to improve. If I make the right choices and my economy doesn’t crash, maybe I’ll see you. I’ll be out making deposits at the Training Plan Credit Union, buying bonds at Marathon and Olympic, Ltd., maybe making a few deals and adjustments at Long-Course Brokers and finally lining up again for a big withdrawal at the Louisville Branch of 140.6th National. But first, a beer. Maybe some ice cream. The new economy can wait a day. I may be prudent, but I’m not an idiot.

All3Sports.com/tv Your online resource to learn about all things triathlon.

ALEXANDER’S 2008 RESULTS

2nd – Ironman 70.3 California 4th – St. Anthony’s Triathlon 1st – St. Croix Ironman 70.3 3rd – Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon 2nd – Kansas Ironman 70.3 8th – Life Time Fitness Triathlon 1st – Newfoundland Ironman 70.3 2nd – Vineman Ironman 70.3 1st – Muskoka Ironman 70.3 1st – Ironman World Championship

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CRAIG ALEXANDER (AUSTRALIA) Crowie is a true professional in every sense of the word. In 14 seasons of competing in triathlon, Alexander has learned the value of peaking at just the right time. He competed in 10 races in 2008, but in the first few races, he was off of his typical form. He had a handful of podium finishes, but his only early-season win came at the St. Croix Ironman 70.3. After competing in some high-profile events, such as the Life Time Fitness Triathlon and Escape from Alcatraz, Crowie laid low for most of the summer. While most of his would-be competition in Kona raced Ironman events in Europe, Alexander headed up to Canada and picked up wins at 70.3 races in Muskoka and Newfoundland. As soon as the top contenders made their way into the marathon in Kona, it was clear that no one could match Alexander’s fleet feet. He ran through the first 10K at a torrid six-minutes-per-mile pace, while the so-called super-bikers struggled to stay within a minute of that pace. Crowie won Kona in only his second attempt, and for that, he’s our men’s overall triathlete of the year.

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John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

OVERALL MALE TRIATHLETE OF THE YEAR

2008 TRIATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Twelve athletes who made their mark on the past 12 months By Brad Culp This year, however, our jobs were made easy again by the likes of Chrissie Wellington, Greg Bennett and Emma Snowsill. These three superstars, along with a few newcomers, dominated their chosen disciplines in 2008. We looked back at the past year and selected the top performers and performances in eight categories.

WELLINGTON’S 2008 RESULTS 1st – Ironman Australia 1st – Ironman European Championship (Germany) 1st – Alpe d’Huez Long Course Triathlon 1st – Timberman Ironman 70.3 1st – ITU Long Course World Championship 1st – Ironman World Championship

CHRISSIE WELLINGTON (GREAT BRITAIN) This choice needs little explanation. Wellington raced six times in 2008 and was flawless, winning in convincing fashion at each event. Even a 10-minute flat tire delay and stomach issues couldn’t prevent her from dusting the field at the Ironman World Championship, which she won by 15 minutes. Such a dominating win in the sport’s biggest race is unheard of, but winning by absurd margins is nothing new for this Brit. At the Alpe d’Huez Long Course Triathlon, Wellington finished 25 minutes ahead of the women’s runner-up. Just weeks later, at the ITU Long Course World Championship, she beat the rest of the women by more than 27 minutes. For winning three Ironman events (Australia, Germany and Hawaii) and completing an undefeated season, Wellington is our women’s overall triathlete of the year. T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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OVERALL FEMALE TRIATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Typically, our annual Triathletes of the Year honors are cause for a heated debate among our staff. With the depth of talent in triathlon constantly growing, it has become increasingly difficult to pick a clear-cut favorite in each category. Things were much easier for us when Paula Newby-Fraser won every race under the sun.

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70.3 MALE TRIATHLETE OF THE YEAR BOZZONE’S 2008 IRONMAN 70.3 RESULTS

1st – Ironman Boise 70.3 2nd – Eagleman Ironman 70.3 1st – Ironman Kansas 70.3 1st – Vineman Ironman 70.3 2nd – Ironman Singapore 70.3 1st – Ironman 70.3 World Championship

Another pick that fostered little debate. The 23-year-old Kiwi raced six 70.3 events in 2008 and won all but two. He finished second in both of the events he didn’t win (Eagleman and Singapore). After spending the early part of the 2008 season attempting to make the New Zealand Olympic team, for which he was not selected, Bozzone turned his focus to 70.3, and the rest of the half-Ironman world simply couldn’t keep pace. Bozzone’s biggest strength is that he has no glaring weaknesses; he’s one of the most balanced athletes in the sport. At the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater, Fla., Bozzone was fourth out of the water, third off the bike and first at the finish. For winning four 70.3 events and setting a new world record in Clearwater, Bozzone is our men’s 70.3 triathlete of the year.

70.3 FEMALE TRIATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Robert Murphy/bluecreekphotography.com

TERENZO BOZZONE (NEW ZEALAND)

ZEIGER’S 2008 IRONMAN 70.3 RESULTS

1st – Eagleman Ironman 70.3 2nd – Buffalo Springs Lake Ironman 70.3 1st – Vineman Ironman 70.3 1st – Ironman Muskoka 70.3 1st – Ironman 70.3 World Championship

Although Joanna Zeiger is 15 years his senior, her 2008 season was the spitting image of Bozzone’s. The American took a shot at making her second Olympic team, missed it and went on to dominate the 70.3 circuit. Of the 11 races she completed in 2008, five were 70.3 events and she won all but one. Zeiger has been one of the most versatile athletes in the sport for nearly a decade. She’s shown speed on the ITU scene and endurance in Ironman. No other distance blends speed and endurance quite like 70.3, and Zeiger used both of those attributes to win in Clearwater. For winning her first world championship and setting a new 70.3 world record in the process, Zeiger is our women’s 70.3 triathlete of the year.

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Courtney Johnson

JOANNA ZEIGER (UNITED STATES)

BENNETT’S 2008 SHORT-COURSE RESULTS (NON-DRAFTING)

3rd – St. Anthony’s Triathlon 3rd – Life Time Fitness Triathlon 1st – New York City Triathlon 2nd – Chicago Triathlon 1st – Los Angeles Triathlon 1st – U.S. Open Triathlon

GREG BENNETT (AUSTRALIA) Greg Bennett had some bold plans for 2008. He set out to solidify a spot on the Australian Olympic team, as well as defend his title as the Life Time Fitness Series champion. He achieved both goals, but Australia failed to earn a third Olympic slot so he was unable to compete in Beijing. Being forced to sit out of the Olympics would break almost any athlete’s will, but it did little to stall Bennett’s determination. With the Games out of his head, the Aussie turned his attention toward the Life Time Fitness Series, which he won for a second consecutive year. Although he wasn’t quite as dominant as last year when he won all five Life Time events, his wins in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas were more than enough to secure the series title. For dominating the most competitive series in the sport for the second year in a row, Bennett is our short-course triathlete of the year. 4 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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SHORT-COURSE FEMALE TRIATHLETE OF THE YEAR (NON-DRAFTING)

LAVELLE’S 2008 SHORT-COURSE RESULTS (NON-DRAFTING)

3rd – Iron Girl Las Vegas 5th – St. Anthony’s Triathlon 2nd – Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon 3rd – Life Time Fitness Triathlon 2nd – New York City Triathlon 1st – Chicago Triathlon 1st – Los Angeles Triathlon 1st – Malibu Triathlon 6th – U.S. Open Triathlon 1st – Marin County, Calif. Triathlon 3rd – Escape to Bermuda Triathlon

BECKY LAVELLE (UNITED STATES) Lavelle was one of the busiest athletes in the sport last season, competing in 13 events. She was by far and away the most consistent performer at the Life Time Fitness Series events and earned her first series title. Even a lackluster sixth-place showing at the series championship in Dallas wasn’t enough to knock her down from the top spot in the points standings. Lavelle netted three marquee wins in only four weeks during the summer with victories in Chicago, Los Angeles and Malibu. For unrivaled consistency and a hell of a lot of racing, Lavelle is our women’s short-course triathlete of the year.

Rich Cruse

SHORT-COURSE MALE TRIATHLETE OF THE YEAR (NON-DRAFTING)

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ITU MALE TRIATHLETE OF THE YEAR

ITU FEMALE TRIATHLETE OF THE YEAR

GOMEZ’S 2008 ITU RESULTS 1st – Bloemfontein African Cup 1st – Mooloolaba World Cup 1st – New Plymouth World Cup 1st – Pontevedra European Cup 7th – Lisbon European Championship 1st – Madrid World Cup 1st – Vancouver World Championship 1st – Tiszaujvaros World Cup 4th – Beijing Olympic Games

SNOWSILL’S 2008 ITU RESULTS

JAVIER GOMEZ (SPAIN) Gomez may not have finished 2008 with the ultimate prize of an Olympic gold medal (or any medal, for that matter), but he was once again the most dominant draft-legal triathlete throughout the entire season. The Spaniard competed in nine ITU events in 2008 and won all but two. After an upset by German Daniel Unger at the 2007 ITU World Championship, Gomez took back his spot in the ITU pecking order with a win at the 2008 World Championship in Vancouver. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Gomez’s continued success is that his competition knows precisely what his race plan is before every event, yet they still can’t keep pace. Week after week, Gomez storms out of T2 at a blistering pace and challenges the rest of the runners to keep up. On seven different occasions in 2008, the rest of the runners simply couldn’t stay with him in the early miles of the run, and Gomez cruised to what seemed like an easy victory. For winning seven races, a world championship and the World Cup points standings, Gomez is our men’s ITU triathlete of the year. 4 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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1st – Mooloolaba World Cup 1st – Ishigaki World Cup 1st – Hy-Vee Des Moines World Cup 1st – Beijing Olympic Games

EMMA SNOWSILL (AUSTRALIA) It only took one race for Snowsill to prove that she is the best women’s ITU athlete in the world. Her performance at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in August was nothing short of brilliant and left little doubt as to who is the queen of draft-legal racing. Most of the experts predicted a fierce battle between Snowsill and Portugal’s Vanessa Fernandes, but the battle was short-lived. As soon as the pint-sized Aussie exited T2, she opened up a mammoth gap and never looked back. Snowsill posted a 33:16 run-split in Beijing—more than a minute faster than Fernandes—and faster than more than half of the men who raced on the same course the following day. Aside from her Olympic dominance, Snowsill went three-for-three on the World Cup scene, including a win at the highly competitive Hy-Vee World Cup in Des Moines, Iowa. For winning when it counts, and for doing so in convincing fashion, Snowsill is our women’s ITU triathlete of the year.

Delly Carr/triathlon.org

XTERRA MALE TRIATHLETE OF THE YEAR

STOLTZ’S 2008 XTERRA RESULTS

MCQUAID’S 2008 XTERRA RESULTS

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4 – XTERRA South Africa 1st – XTERRA West Championship 1st – XTERRA Southeast Championship DNF – XTERRA East Championship 2nd – XTERRA UK 6th – XTERRA Czech Republic 2nd – XTERRA France 1st – XTERRA Mountain Championship 1st – XTERRA Snow Valley 8th – XTERRA USA Championship 12th – XTERRA World Championship

CONRAD STOLTZ (REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA) By the Caveman’s standards, he didn’t have a great year. But by anyone else’s standards, Stoltz had a career year. We gave the mammoth South African the nod over Frenchman Nico Lebrun, who also would have been a worthy choice. Lebrun topped Stoltz on three occasions in 2008: XTERRA Czech Republic, XTERRA UK and XTERRA France. (Stoltz had mechanical issues at all three of those events). However, in the bigger picture, Stoltz was the more dominant performer. The Caveman was one of the only athletes to take on both the XTERRA European and American tours, finishing tenth in the European standings and first on the American Tour (for the sixth time). Stoltz raced 11 times in 2008 and won four events, which is impressive, but still well below his average. However, in six of the seven races he did not win, he suffered some sort of a mechanical mishap on the bike. Flat tires are simply part of the race, especially in XTERRA, but we can’t fault a guy for having some seriously bad luck. When it comes down to it, the Caveman is still the most feared athlete on the XTERRA circuit, and for that he’s our men’s XTERRA triathlete of the year. 4 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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1st – XTERRA West Championship 8th – XTERRA Southeast Championship 1st – XTERRA East Championship 3rd – XTERRA Crested Butte 1st – XTERRA Indian Peaks 2nd – XTERRA Beaver Creek 1st – XTERRA Mountain Championship 1st – XTERRA USA Championship DNF – XTERRA World Championship

MELANIE MCQUAID (CANADA) In what was an even more contested pick than XTERRA’s top man, McQuaid gets the nod over reigning world champion Julie Dibens of Great Britain. Dibens went three-for-three this season (Austria, UK, Worlds), but McQuaid raced three times as many events and was almost flawless on the American Tour. Aside from stomach issues that took her out of the world championship, McQuaid appeared to have the best form of her career in 2008. She’s regarded as one of the best swimmers and cyclists in XTERRA, but last year she added a stellar run to the mix and used that balanced approach to record five wins. McQuaid’s performance at the USA Championship at Lake Tahoe demonstrated why she’s the top dog of the trails. She exited the water with an unfamiliar three-minute deficit but found herself in front only a few miles into the bike leg. She took the lead into T2, and instead of being conservative on the run, she opened up a huge gap during the first lap to put the race out of contention. McQuaid is a true frontrunner and her win-or-die-trying attitude makes her our women’s XTERRA triathlete of the year.

Nils Nilsen/XTERRA

XTERRA FEMALE TRIATHLETE OF THE YEAR

BREAKTHROUGH MALE TRIATHLETE OF THE YEAR

VAN VLERKEN’S 2008 RESULTS

3rd – Tongyeong World Cup 5th – Schliersee European Cup 2nd – Hamburg World Cup 1st – Beijing Olympic Games

2nd – Ironman Malaysia 1st – Ironman 70.3 Austria 1st – Quelle Challenge Roth 3rd – ITU Long Distance World Championship 2nd – Ironman World Championship

JAN FRODENO (GERMANY)

YVONNE VAN VLERKEN (THE NETHERLANDS)

Our senior editor, Matt Fitzgerald, was live blogging on NBCOlympics. com during the men’s Olympic Triathlon. As Frodeno surged to the front during the final kilometers of the run, Fitzgerald found himself furiously Googling Frodeno’s name to find out who the hell he was. Frodeno ended up in the lead pack of four in the final meters of the Olympic race, and there was no doubt that he was the odd man out. He ran alongside Simon Whitfield, Javier Gomez and Bevan Docherty—three men who have dominated the ITU scene for nearly a decade—and somehow the German pulled it off. Not only had Frodeno never won an Olympic medal, he had never even won an ITU event. The 27-year-old pulled off a stunner on the biggest stage in sport, against the best competition in triathlon, and for that he’s our men’s breakthrough triathlete of the year.

When Van Vlerken set the iron-distance world record at the Quelle Roth Challenge in July, there were still plenty of question marks surrounding her ability. Some believed she was ready to compete with Wellington on the Big Island, while others were skeptical. One thing was clear: Covering 140.6 miles in 8:45:48 is impressive. The former duathlon world champion has steadily improved her swimming ability over the past few seasons, and because of that, she’s become a contender at Ironman events around the globe. The Dutchwoman swam more than 10 minutes slower than the leaders at Kona but went on to post the fastest bike of the day and the fifth-fastest run en route to finishing second. For being the fastest Ironwoman in the world not named Chrissie Wellington, Van Vlerken is our women’s breakthrough triathlete of the year.

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Left: Delly Carr/triathlon.org Right: John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

FRODENO’S 2008 RESULTS

BREAKTHROUGH FEMALE TRIATHLETE OF THE YEAR

PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

RACE OF THE YEAR

MEN’S OLYMPIC TRIATHLON Say what you want about draft-legal racing. Love it or hate it, the format makes for some seriously exciting finishes, and the men’s Olympic Triathlon had just that. After running nine kilometers at redline pace, four men were left to fight for the most coveted prize in sport. There was Spaniard Javier Gomez, who has been almost unbeatable over the past two seasons. Next to Gomez was 2000 Olympic gold medalist Simon Whitfield of Canada, who, at 33, is still regarded as having one of the best finishing bursts in the game. Next in line was Bevan Docherty, a lanky Kiwi with an even more impressive final kick than Whitfield. The final member of the group was some German named Jan Frodeno, who had never won an ITU race but was looking the most composed of the bunch. 5 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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As the finish line neared and the pace dropped well below five minutes per mile, Whitfield fell back and appeared to be out of contention. Docherty went for his trademark surge, but his legs simply wouldn’t respond. Gomez, who is not known for his finishing speed, merely tried to hang on and wait for the others to fade. With less than 200 meters to go, Frodeno’s adrenaline took over and his mammoth strides opened up a gap on the rest. Whitfield, who was at least a dozen meters behind the trio, also put out a surge and flew by Gomez and Docherty. The Canadian’s burst was impressive, but he simply ran out of room. The previously unknown German broke the tape first, five seconds ahead of Whitfield. Seven seconds later, Docherty grabbed the final medal position.

Delly Carr/triathlon.org

At the risk of sounding sexist, we think it’s fair to say that men are generally faster than women in triathlon. Wellington may prove that statement false before her career is over. Case in point: the 2008 Alpe d’Huez Long Course Triathlon where Wellington finished second. Not second among the women, just second. After a frigid 2.2K swim, a grueling 115K bike leg and a high-altitude 22K run, Wellington ended up only 83 seconds behind men’s winner Marcus Ornellas. What’s more, Wellington made it up the 21 switchbacks of Alpe d’Huez in 54:46—two minutes faster than any male and seven minutes faster than any other female. The only athlete to outrun the Brit was her TeamTBB teammate, Stephen Bayliss, who finished more than 18 minutes behind Wellington. It seems unfair to compare the rest of the women to Wellington at this race, but for the sake of reference, she finished 25 minutes ahead of the female runner-up. Perhaps most impressive about her finish is that it was merely a training race for her. A number of the pro men she was racing “against” came to Alpe d’Huez to win—and ended up getting chicked by the fastest woman in the sport.

Rebecca Marshal

CHRISSIE WELLINGTON AT THE ALPE D’HUEZ TRIATHLON

I can’t believe how light Nanograms are. It’s like riding with the weight of one pedal instead of two. My foot is so close to the spindle, I can hold the gear better, and I have a real awareness that 100% of my power goes right into the bike. – Chris McCormack – 2007 Ironman World Champion

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www.speedplay.com

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

Andy Potts—America’s best bet for regaining the top spot in Kona. Inter view by Brad Culp

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ndy Potts didn’t make our Triathletes of the Year list. He just missed the Olympic team, didn’t defend his Ironman 70.3 world title and didn’t make the podium in Kona. If you look at the numbers, you may think it was a down year for Potts, but in reality, it was anything but. The 32-year-old dedicated the first six years of his triathlon career to the Olympics and earned 22nd place at the 2004 Games in Athens. After getting inched out by Hunter Kemper for the final American Olympic spot last year, Potts made his Big Island debut, finishing seventh. While he’s certainly not the type to celebrate a seventh-place finish, the fact that he had never biked more than 70 miles or run more 15 miles at one time in his life was cause for a little finish-line revelry. Not to mention that he competed in the U.S. Open only six days before Kona—not exactly the standard Ironman taper. Triathlete caught up with Potts while he enjoyed a little winter downtime to talk about everything from Kona to Terenzo Bozzone to college football.

Speaking of Clearwater, Terenzo Bozzone seems to be on a similar trajectory to yours. He started off as a successful ITU athlete, moved up to 70.3 and is now the world champ at that distance. It looks like he’s going to follow your lead (and Craig Alexander’s) and try his hand at Kona. He’s only 23, which is very young for an Ironman contender. If you were in his shoes, would you go for Hawaii or would you hold off and pick up a few more 70.3 titles? Kona has a really big pull. It has a magical feel to it, and it’s hard to pass up. I was definitely not in his shoes at 23. At that age I was still three years away from my first triathlon. I think 23 is young, but it’s certainly not outrageous in terms of doing an Ironman. Having done Kona, I’d never tell anyone who has the opportunity to pass it up. I’m aggressive when it comes to racing, so with that mindset, I’d tell him to go for it. I think you should find the biggest race with the best competition and go race. It gives you a true measuring stick of where you stand.

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2008 was an interesting year for you. You set out to make the Olympic team, just missed it and then went on to finish seventh in Kona, which blew away a lot of people’s expectations. Looking back at the season, are you pleased or do you feel something was missing? My mental approach and goals for the year surrounded Beijing, and when that didn’t happen, I was really heartbroken. I was gutted. But it opened my eyes. There were two ways for me to look at it: I could’ve decided that the year was a total failure and taken some time off before deciding if I was going to come back or retire. The other way to look at it was to think about why I love this sport and what else was out there for me. I think the best part about my skill set is that I have options. It ended up being a blessing in disguise. I went to Kona with the goal of just becoming an Ironman, and it ended up being an amazing day.

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Had you ever been to Kona as a spectator? Nope, this was my first time there. I wanted to experience triathlon’s biggest day, and since I had the opportunity to race I went for it. Maybe I wasn’t fully prepared in terms of training, but I know how to race and how to fight. I thought that with a good plan I could have a successful day. With about 10 miles to go on the run, I realized I had a chance to punch my ticket for 2009. (The top 10 pro men and women re-qualify for the following year.) I decided that I had to battle for that spot, so I ran my way up to it. I was in a ton of pain. It was by far the hardest race day of my life, but it was also the most rewarding.

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Four weeks after Kona you went to Clearwater to defend your 70.3 world title and finished sixth. Heading into the race, did you think you had a shot to repeat as world champ, or could you tell beforehand that your body was still trashed from Kona? I knew I wasn’t at my physical peak. I wasn’t able to run much at all after Kona and certainly not at the intensity that I needed to have a good run at Clearwater. Knowing how I felt before the race, I was actually very pleased with the result. But it was a really tough run. John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

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Do you regret racing in Clearwater? No, it was the right thing to do. I had to honor the race and defend the world title. I looked at it like boxing. You have to put up your title and fight for it. You can’t just duck it. So I threw some punches and got knocked down a few times.

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Robert Murphy/bluecreekphotography

I think you should find the biggest race with the best competition and go race. It gives you a true measuring stick of where you stand.

Let’s talk 2009. You seemed pretty jazzed after your finish in Hawaii. Is it safe to assume that you caught the Kona “bug” and that it’ll be your focus going forward? Yes. If I prepare properly, I see some better finishes in Hawaii next year and down the road. I think that race deserves a little more attention from me. If I can get in some longer miles on the run, I think I can do some really special things. Kona will be the center of my focus for 2009.

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Not only will training for Ironman be a change for you, it’ll also be a change for your coach, Mike Doane. You guys have a reputation for being very scientific with your training—so much so that Popular Science did a feature story about your techniques. Do you plan on continuing this numbers-oriented approach as you attack Ironman? Most likely. It’s hard for me to turn my brain off while I’m training. Some days it’s a blessing, others it’s a curse. I think we’ll continue a similar approach so that I can race toward my strengths in Kona. If I start throwing in some crazy-high mileage, I think it’ll take away that speed. That said, I’m sure there are going to be some days where I just have to turn off the brain and get in some mindless miles. We’ll continue doing plenty of speed work because I think that’s what gives me an advantage over the competition.

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Just to warn you, the rest of these questions have almost no significance with regards to triathlon. I can deal with that.

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You grew up as a swimmer and no doubt had to shave your legs on more than a few occasions. Now you’re one of the only top-tier triathletes who doesn’t keep his legs smooth. What gives? I find it to be a complete and utter waste of time. It just goes to show you that you don’t need to shave your legs to go fast. It’s overrated.

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I shave my legs, and I don’t think it’s overrated. I can’t lie; it just makes me feel faster. If you’re only doing it once or twice a year, then it’s definitely a waste of time. If you’re doing it all the time—like a woman—then maybe it’s OK, if you really like it. I’m not calling you a woman or anything.

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I see how it is. I’ll keep shaving. You have an Olympic Rings tattoo. Would you ever go for the M-Dot tattoo?

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That’s up in the air. Maybe if I pull off a “W” in Kona.

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Would you ever race in compression socks? [Pause] The potential is there. If someone wants to come on board and throw in a little money, I’ll consider it.

You’re a die-hard University of Michigan fan and an alumnus. So if Ohio State were to play Notre Dame in football, which would you root for?

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Ohio State. Go Big Ten.

Photos by Robert Murphy/bluecreekphotography.com

Wow. I was expecting you to say Notre Dame. You’re supposed to hate Ohio State.

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I do, but I can’t stand the Domers (Notre Dame).

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I’m a die-hard Notre Dame fan. Does that make you want to stop this interview? [Pause] No, but I’d never watch a Michigan-Notre Dame game with you.

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The feeling is mutual. True or false: Michigan sucked at football last season. True. It was a bad year.

Agreed. They lost to Toledo. That’s bad. I know. It was a rough season.

What’s your favorite beer? Fat Tire Amber Ale.

Which triathlete is the most fun to hang out with after a race?

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Kris Gemmell.

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True or false: Andy Potts will win Kona in 2009. [Very long sigh] The humble part of me doesn’t want to answer, but … why don’t we end with the dot, dot, dot?

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ATTACK YOUR WEAKNESS

The surest way to improve is to become more balanced in all three disciplines. Here’s how. By Matt F itzgerald // Photos by John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

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here aren’t many triathletes who are more or less equally competent in swimming, cycling and running, but there are some. Michellie Jones comes to mind. Balance is the formula that has driven Jones, the legendary Australian, to two ITU World Championship titles, an Olympic silver medal and an Ironman World Championship victory. She has always been among the best swimmers, cyclists and runners in the sport but has never been the best in any single discipline. Consider Jones’ victorious performance in the 2006 Ironman World Championship. She recorded the fifthfastest swim, the sixth-fastest bike and the fourth-fastest run of the day. How’s that for balance? Some triathletes have achieved a very high level of success without balance. Jimmy Riccitello was all about the bike. His mediocre swim forced him to play catch-up in most races, and his mediocre run caused him to get caught in many others. But his cycling prowess was so great that he still managed to win some big events, including the St. Croix International Triathlon and the Buffalo Springs HalfIronman. Australia’s Mirinda Carfrae is just the opposite. Her bike leg is weak compared to that of other female long-distance triathletes on her level, but she swims well and crushes the run. That’s enough to make her first to the finish line in races such as the 2007 Ironman World Championship 70.3. It would be a mistake, however, to look at athletes like Riccitello and Carfrae, who succeed despite a clearly weak discipline, and assume that you can do the same. First, weakness is relative. U.S. Olympian Matt Reed’s run is weak compared to his swim and bike, but he still runs a 32:30 10K split 6 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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in World Cup races. Your weak discipline represents your greatest opportunity to improve as a triathlete. You can only improve your splits in your best triathlon leg so much. The real opportunity to shave minutes off your overall finish time lies in becoming a more balanced triathlete by shoring up your greatest weakness. Even if your weakness never becomes a true strength, you stand to become a higher-performing triathlete by elevating your weak discipline from an embarrassment to a non-liability. You may never win races in your weak leg, but at least you can stop losing them there. There’s no secret to shoring up a weakness. You just have to work hard at it. But, of course, this is exactly what most triathletes don’t do. If you asked a roomful of other triathletes to first name their weakest discipline, then name the discipline they least enjoy training in, and then name the discipline they spend the least time training in, most of them would speak the same word three times. It is human nature to enjoy what one does well and avoid doing what one does not do well, but indulging this facet of human nature leads triathletes into stagnation. If you really want to bolster your weak discipline, sooner or later you have to suck it up and work hard on it. Some coaches advise triathletes to spend the most time on their weakest discipline. I see nothing wrong with maintaining this sort of strategic imbalance—called a single-sport focus period—for relatively short stretches of time, but in the long term, triathletes who take this approach tend to lose fitness in their strongest discipline, which is also undesirable. By doing a roughly equal number of workouts in all three disciplines, you get something close to the best of both worlds: You do enough to get stronger in each discipline and weaker in none.

weeks in December and January for a single-sport focus period during which you train five times per week in your weak discipline and just twice a week in each of the other two. In this case, you’re simply redistributing your nine weekly workouts. If you wanted the off-season to provide a break from heavy training along with an opportunity to strengthen your weakness, you might instead do five workouts per week in your weak discipline and only one in each of the other two. Because one’s weakest discipline is typically also one’s least favorite, maintaining motivation through a single-sport focus period can be challenging. For some, selecting a single-sport race as the culminating point of a single-sport focus period is an effective way to overcome this motivational challenge. The most popular goal of this type among triathletes is a fall or winter marathon, such as P. F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon held in Phoenix on the third Sunday in January. But there are equivalent goals you can set in swimming and cycling. If swimming is your weakness, you could train for the Nike Swim Miami, an open-water swim competition held in mid-April. Take your choice of three distances: one mile, 5K or 10K. If it’s cycling that holds you back, train for a spring century ride such as the Wine Country Century, which takes place in California’s Napa Valley in early May. A single-sport focus period is not the only path to improving a weak triathlon discipline. You can also attack your weakness within a balanced training regimen by focusing on the individual key to improvement in each of the three triathlon disciplines.

BECOMING A BETTER SWIMMER

SINGLE-SPORT FOCUS PERIODS The best time to commit to a single-sport focus period is during the off-season or early base-building period. Anytime you’re within roughly 10 weeks of an upcoming race, your training should be balanced, but over the winter, balance doesn’t matter as much. At this time you can sharply reduce or even briefly cease your training in one or both of your stronger disciplines to free up time and energy to work on your weakness without jeopardizing your summer race performances. As long as you restore balance to your training by March or April, you won’t be in a hole you can’t climb out of by May or June. For example, if you normally swim, bike and run three times each per week during the racing season, you might block out eight 6 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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The fastest way to improve your freestyle swim technique is to have your stroke analyzed by a qualified coach. Indeed, after plain old time in the water, stroke analysis is probably the single most indispensable tool for becoming a better swimmer. You cannot possibly self-diagnose and self-correct every single flaw in your stroke. Even Olympians rely on others for this. Masters swim coaches are great resources for stroke analysis. They can provide it both within the context of group workouts or one-on-one (sometimes for an additional fee, depending on the coach). Another good way to receive stroke analysis is by attending a weekend swim or triathlon camp, some of which even offer videotape stroke analysis. You can also do your own videotaping and send the tape to an expert coach for analysis by mail. I myself am a good case study in the power of technique analysis. My youth sport was running, and I came to triathlon in 1997 as a weak swimmer. Over the next few years I tried to become a better swimmer basically the same way I had become a good runner, by “getting in shape” in the water—that is, by building up my yardage and working hard. But it didn’t pan out. After working harder than ever on my swim over the summer of 2003 in preparation for my first Ironman in Wisconsin, only to exit the water in 373rd place, I called coach Roch Frey in frustration and requested a video technique

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analysis session. Armed with the tips that came out of that session, I improved my swimming more in the next six weeks than I had in the preceding six years. In my next race, the Long Beach Triathlon, I was seventh out of the water in my wave and finished second overall.

BECOMING A BETTER CYCLIST If cycling is your weak link, your best bet to attack it, aside from spending more time in the saddle, is to increase the variety of your bike training. The specific sort of variation I’m talking about entails challenging the limits of your pedaling capacity in different ways. Throwing disparate types of pedaling challenges at your neuromuscular system forces it to get creative—to try out different patterns of muscle recruitment, some of which will be more efficient, others of which will help you better resist fatigue. Each bike workout within your weekly training regimen should be unlike the others. The most important variable to manipulate in training is speed, or intensity, because fatigue results from different causes at different pedaling intensities, and experiencing fatigue from different causes stimulates disparate physiological adaptations. The four major speed/intensity levels you need to incorporate regularly in your training, in order of decreasing volume, are moderate aerobic intensity (a comfortable but not dawdling pace), threshold intensity (roughly 40K race pace), VO2max pace (a pace you can sustain for no longer than 10 minutes) and maximum power. Other variables to fiddle with in bike training are duration (be sure to do one longer ride each week), gradient (don’t let a week go by without taking on some challenging climbs), cadence (throw some high-cadence intervals into the mix to improve your efficiency at higher cadences) and force (throw some high-gear efforts into the mix to improve your power output capacity). 6 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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BECOMING A BETTER RUNNER The secret to boosting your running performance is building a solid foundation of running fitness. The foundation of running fitness is itself twofold: part speed and part endurance. If your running performance is weak, work on developing each of these two components independently. You need to run really fast in some of your workouts to stimulate neuromuscular adaptations that will enable you to later extend your speed over distance. You also need to run really far in some of your workouts to stimulate metabolic and cardiovascular adaptations that will help you sustain faster pace levels down the road as well. “Fast” and “far” are relative terms, of course. By “fast” I mean significantly faster than your triathlon running race pace. Save the tempo runs and other moderately fast stuff until after you have built your foundation. In the meantime, hit the track and blast out 200- to 800-meter intervals. By “far” I mean farther than you really need to run to develop the necessary endurance to finish your races. For example, if you’re training for an Olympic-distance race, there’s no strict need to do long runs that are longer than seven or eight miles. But if you’re trying to address a weak run by building a proper running foundation, then build your long run distance up to 10 or 12 miles in training for an Olympic-distance event.

BE LIKE MICHELLIE Every triathlete has a weak discipline, but the best triathletes tend to be very balanced, like Michellie Jones. Becoming more balanced requires a commitment to work on strengthening your weakest discipline. While you might dread the idea now, if you make the commitment anyway, you will surely warm up to it. There is no thrill quite like the thrill of improving.

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12 WEEKS TO YOUR

FIRST TRIATHLON

By Matt F itzgerald

I

f you are generally healthy, know how to swim and ride a bike and you are not too overweight, you can prepare for a triathlon in 12 weeks—even if you’re pretty out of shape today. Untold thousands of men and women starting from a place very close to yours have prepared for a successful sprint triathlon finish in less than three months. Now it’s your turn. This 12-week beginner’s sprint triathlon training plan features a manageable weekly schedule of two swims, two rides and two runs per week. It starts with very short, moderate-intensity workouts in week one and becomes more challenging each week thereafter. Before you start this plan, you should be able to swim 200 yards (eight lengths of a standard 25-yard pool) without taking a break. You should also be able to bike for 30 minutes and run for 15 minutes. If you’re not there yet, take a few weeks to gradually build

your endurance before starting this plan. For example, start with a 15-minute workout consisting of one minute of running followed by one minute of walking. In subsequent workouts, gradually increase the duration of the running segments until you’re able to run for 15 minutes straight. To monitor your workout intensity throughout this plan, use an effort scale of 1-to-10. “1” is a slow walk/coasting on the bike/treading water, “5” is a moderate, comfortable pace and “10” is a full sprint. The rest of the information you need to do each workout is contained within the training schedules themselves—except for the swim drills, which are prescribed but not described. You can learn appropriate drills from a Masters swim coach, a Web site such as Trinewbies.com or a book such as Triathlete Magazine’s Complete Triathlon Book. Good Luck!

12-WEEK BEGINNER’S SPRINT TRIATHLON TRAINING PLAN MON

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Off

SWIM Warmup: 100 yards Level 4, Drills: 4 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 100 yards Level 6-7, Cooldown: 100 yards Level 4

BIKE 30 minutes Level 5-6

RUN 15 minutes Level 5-6

SWIM Warmup: 100 yards Level 4, Drills: 4 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 100 yards Level 6-7, Cooldown: 100 yards Level 4

BIKE 30 minutes Level 5-6

RUN 15 minutes Level 5-6

Off

SWIM Warmup: 100 yards Level 4, Drills: 4 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 2 x 100 yards Level 6-7 (rest 30 seconds after each 100), Cooldown: 100 yards Level 4

BIKE 30 minutes Level 5-6

RUN 20 minutes Level 5-6

SWIM Warmup: 100 yards Level 4, Drills: 4 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 2 x 100 yards Level 6-7 (rest 30 seconds after each 100), Cooldown: 100 yards Level 4

BIKE 35 minutes Level 5-6

RUN 20 minutes Level 5-6

Off

SWIM Warmup: 100 yards Level 4, Drills: 4 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 3 x 100 yards Level 6-7 (rest 30 seconds after each 100), Cooldown: 100 yards Level 4

BIKE 35 minutes Level 5-6

RUN 20 minutes Level 5-6

SWIM Warmup: 100 yards Level 4, Drills: 4 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 3 x 100 yards Level 6-7 (rest 30 seconds after each 100), Cooldown: 100 yards Level 4

BIKE 40 minutes Level 5-6

RUN 25 minutes Level 5-6

Off

SWIM Warmup: 100 yards Level 4, Drills: 4 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 4 x 75 yards Level 9 (rest 30 seconds after each 75), Cooldown: 100 yards Level 4

BIKE 10-minute warmup Level 4, 10 minutes Level 8, 10-minute cooldown Level 4

RUN 20 minutes Level 5-6

SWIM Warmup: 100 yards Level 4, Drills: 4 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 4 x 100 yards Level 6-7 (rest 30 seconds after each 100), Cooldown: 100 yards Level 4

BIKE 40 minutes Level 5-6

RUN 25 minutes Level 5-6

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Off

SWIM Warmup: 200 yards Level 4, Drills: 8 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 4 x 100 yards Level 6-7 (rest 10 seconds after each 100), Cooldown: 200 yards Level 4

BIKE 10-minute warmup Level 4, 15 minutes Level 8, 10-minute cooldown Level 4

RUN 5-minute warmup Level 4, 3 x (5 minutes Level 9/3 minutes Level 4), 5-minute cooldown Level 4

SWIM Warmup: 200 yards Level 4, Drills: 4 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 8 x 50 yards Level 10 (rest 30 seconds after each 50), Cooldown: 200 yards Level 4

BIKE 40 minutes Level 5-6

RUN 30 minutes Level 5-6

Off

SWIM Warmup: 200 yards Level 4, Drills: 8 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 6 x 100 yards Level 6-7 (rest 10 seconds after each 100), Cooldown: 200 yards Level 4

BIKE 10-minute warmup Level 4, 3 x (5 minutes Level 9/3 minutes Level 4), 10-minute cooldown Level 4

RUN 5-minute warmup Level 4, 15 minutes Level 8, 5-minute cooldown Level 4

SWIM Warmup: 200 yards Level 4, Drills: 8 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 10 x 50 yards Level 10 (rest 30 seconds after each 50), Cooldown: 200 yards Level 4

BIKE-RUN Bike 40 minutes Level 5-6 + Run 10 minutes Level 5-6

RUN 25 minutes Level 5-6

Off

SWIM Warmup: 200 yards Level 4, Drills: 8 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 8 x 100 yards Level 6-7 (rest 10 seconds after each 100), Cooldown: 200 yards Level 4

BIKE 10-minute warmup Level 4, 20 minutes Level 8, 10-minute cooldown Level 4

RUN 5-minute warmup Level 4, 4 x (5 minutes Level 9/3 minutes Level 4), 5-minute cooldown Level 4

SWIM Warmup: 200 yards Level 4, Drills: 8 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 12 x 50 yards Level 10 (rest 30 seconds after each 50), Cooldown: 200 yards Level 4

SWIM-BIKERUN Swim 300 yards Level 5-6 + Bike 40 minutes Level 5-6 + Run 10 minutes Level 5-6

RUN 30 minutes Level 5-6

Off

SWIM Warmup: 200 yards Level 4, Drills: 8 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 4 x 75 yards Level 9 (rest 20 seconds after each 75), Cooldown: 200 yards Level 4

BIKE 10-minute warmup Level 4, 3 x (5 minutes Level 9/3 minutes Level 4), 10-minute cooldown Level 4

RUN 5-minute warmup Level 4, 10 minutes Level 8, 5-minute cooldown Level 4

SWIM Warmup: 200 yards Level 4, Drills: 8 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 8 x 50 yards Level 10 (rest 30 seconds after each 50), Cooldown: 200 yards Level 4

BIKE 15 minutes Level 4

RUN 40 minutes Level 5-6

Off

SWIM Warmup: 200 yards Level 4, Drills: 8 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 6 x 75 yards Level 9 (rest 20 seconds after each 75), Cooldown: 200 yards Level 4

BIKE 15-minute warmup Level 4, 15 minutes Level 8, 15-minute cooldown Level 4

RUN 5 minutes Level 4, 4 x (5 minutes Level 9/3 minutes Level 4), 5 minutes Level 4

SWIM Warmup: 200 yards Level 4, Drills: 8 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 3 x 300 yards Level 8 (rest 45 seconds after each 300), Cooldown: 200 yards Level 4

BIKE 1 hour 10 minutes Level 5-6

RUN 50 minutes Level 5-6

Off

SWIM Warmup: 200 yards Level 4, Drills: 8 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 7 x 75 yards Level 9 (rest 20 seconds after each 75), Cooldown: 200 yards Level 4

BIKE 15-minute warmup Level 4, 20 minutes Level 8, 15-minute cooldown Level 4

RUN 5-minute warmup Level 4, 20 minutes Level 8, 5-minute cooldown Level 4

SWIM Warmup: 200 yards Level 4, Drills: 8 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 4 x 300 yards Level 8 (rest 45 seconds after each 300), Cooldown: 200 yards Level 4

BIKE-RUN Bike 60 minutes Level 5-6 + Run 10 minutes Level 5-6

RUN 55 minutes Level 5-6

Off

SWIM Warmup: 200 yards Level 4, Drills: 8 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 8 x 75 yards Level 9 (rest 20 seconds after each 75), Cooldown: 200 yards Level 4

BIKE 10-minute warmup Level 4, 20 minutes Level 8, 10-minute cooldown Level 4

RUN Level 4, 5 x (5 minutes Level 9/3 minutes Level 4), 5-minute cooldown Level 4

SWIM Warmup: 200 yards Level 4, Drills: 8 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 3 x 400 yards Level 8 (rest 45 seconds after each 400), Cooldown: 200 yards Level 4

SWIM-BIKERUN Swim 300 yards Level 5-6 + Bike 40 minutes Level 5-6 + Run 10 minutes Level 5-6

RUN 60 minutes Level 5-6

Off

SWIM Warmup: 200 yards Level 4, Drills: 4 x 25 yards (rest 30 seconds after each 25), Main set: 6 x 75 yards Level 9 (rest 30 seconds after each 75), Cooldown: 200 yards Level 4

BIKE 10-minute warmup Level 4, 10 minutes Level 8, 10-minute cooldown Level 4

RUN 5-minute warmup Level 4, 10 minutes Level 8, 5-minute cooldown Level 4

SWIM Warmup: 100 yards Level 4, Main set: 200 yards Level 6-7, Cooldown: 100 yards Level 4

BIKE 15 minutes Level 4

SPRINT TRIATHLON

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BEGINNER TIPS

FROM THE

ULTIMATE VETERAN By Mark Allen P h o t o s b y Jo h n S e ge s t a / j o h n s e ge s t a . c o m

T

he first race I ever did was in San Diego in 1982. That seems like a lifetime and a world of experience ago. There was nothing familiar in that initial triathlon race experience. I had not put together a fast swim, bike and run—ever. I was not a stranger to competition, having grown up as a swimmer, but this was different. There were no moms cheering from the pool deck, giving reassuring smiles to calm my nerves. I certainly wouldn’t find a nice roped-off lane line to follow, just a furious, cold ocean for the swim. Beyond that, the second two thirds of the race were such an unknown to me. I really had no clue about pacing. How would I know if I was going too easy, too fast or pegging it just right? But I made it through and learned a few things that might help you in your journey as a triathlete.

BE COMFORTABLE WITH THE UNKNOWN The first thing every beginner needs to accept is that you are indeed a beginner; the mechanics of racing might feel awkward. This is OK! It can take years to learn to temper your nerves and find your approach to racing. But what follows here will help you jump ahead of the learning curve and race well your first time out. 7 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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COVER YOUR BASICS From day one in the sport all good things start with training. Before the exotic (and expensive) bikes can work their magic, you have to swim, bike and run over and over again. This preparation starts in the weeks and months leading up to your competition. Draw strength from your workouts. You will forever be learning how to perfect this three-part sport. No one has it all buttoned up.

PLAN THE DETAILS Some details to consider include planning what you will wear in each segment of a race, creating a strategy for taking in calories and fluids during the day and practicing your actual transitions. Don’t save these decisions until race week. Figure out beforehand if you will need a full wetsuit or none at all, if you will take bars, gels or just sports drinks on the bike and whether to do the entire race in the same outfit or change partway through. Over time the details become second nature and will be a strength that helps you perform better.

race day you are usually the most rested you have been in a while, and when that surge of extra energy is coupled with race day nerves, you can swim like a hydroplane for the first 500 meters in the water. But guess what? There is a lot of racing to do after those opening minutes. You can avoid this mistake by thinking conservatively. Hold back about 5 percent to 10 percent from the pace you feel you can sustain during the first third of the swim. Continue to hold back about 10 to 15 seconds slower per hundred meters than you can typically swim during the second third. Then, just maintain your pace for the final third. Once on the bike, give yourself a few miles to get the blood out of your upper body and into your legs before really pushing the pace. But again, pick a speed and effort level that you feel you can build on throughout the entire bike ride. Don’t try to peg it and then hold it. That strategy leads to a lot of tough moments later in the race. One trick to help you pace your energy output is called “soft pedaling,” where you push on the pedals with the sensation that you are letting up on that pressure at the same time. Try to get the feel of this in training. It is easiest to get the hang of when you maintain a modestly high cadence rate (around 90 to 95 rpms). Riding with a strong tailwind is another good way to practice softpedaling. If you find yourself turning big gears with a low cadence and really pushing hard on the pedals in the opening miles of the bike, well, good luck to you! For the run, the same rule holds, which means you should feel like you are floating rather than racing during the opening miles. Keep a small amount of energy and speed in reserve so that you can gradually increase your pace until you find that perfect rhythm that is both competitive and sustainable. It is much easier to back off 1 percent to 2 percent from a pace that was gradually built into than it is to come back from pushing way too hard in the opening miles of the run.

LOCATE YOUR STUFF

THE PERFECT RACE

This may seem like a rudimentary idea, but it’s not. I guarantee you that how your gear looks in a transition area in the wee hours of the morning will be very different than it does when you come out of the water and your eyes and brain are waterlogged. A bike rack full of equipment can look totally different if half the crowd has gone by the time you try to find yours. Have a plan. Pick a stationary landmark in the area that will help you find your bike, your running shoes or anything else. It might mean placing a colorful towel near your gear or finding a unique object near your spot that will tell you you’re in the correct row.

I tell people all the time that there is no such thing as a perfect race, but you can run a race perfectly. What this means is that things happen in racing that are, at the very least, unwelcome and, at worst, unexpected. It’s how you handle each of them that can make every race “perfect.” You always try to visualize what your perfect race will look like and how you will deal with situations that are challenging. But the reality of racing is that usually you will encounter situations that you hoped you would not have to deal with and situations that can seem off-the-charts tough. Racing perfectly means that you deal with difficult situations calmly. If you get a flat, don’t freak out; just change the tire. If you get kicked during the swim, just keep swimming. If you miss a water stop on the run, pick up some extra at the next one. Whatever it is, just deal with it calmly and move on. That is what having the perfect race is all about.

BUILD, BUILD, BUILD The No. 1 rookie mistake is to go too hard too early. There are many reasons why beginners make this mistake. The first is that by 7 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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NO BAD RACES There is really no such thing as a bad race. Certainly there are expectations that far exceed reality, and there are days where absolutely everything imaginable goes wrong. But there is really never a bad race—with one exception. That is the race where nothing is learned that will help you out in the future. Each moment in your race day is a chance to note something that will help you in the future. It might be a stark reality that tells you how to train better for the next race. It could be personal insight into a weakness that you become inspired to transform into a strength. The toughest races are often the ones that give you the pot of gold for the future. But this only happens if you reflect on them and learn something that betters you as a person and gives you insight that helps you race better the next time. As for the ultimate race of your life? Well, it is only after the finish line has been crossed and enough time has passed to reflect back on the day that you will really be able to see how great of a race you just had. In the moment of having the race of your life, it will hurt, you might doubt your preparation and you could ask yourself a thousand times why you are even there. But between those moments of questioning and doubt, there can be magical miles where your mind

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is quiet and your body is working at its top efficiency, where you ignore the moment before that was tough or the next instant that is unknown. The best race of your life exists in the quiet beating of your feet on the pavement and the breath of air that is sustaining your efforts. That is the mindset that will take you from being a novice in the sport to having the best experiences you can. Mark Allen is a six-time winner of the Ironman World Championship in

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Hawaii and is available for speaking engagements worldwide. For further information about Mark’s speaking availability, please call 800-994-5306. Based in Santa Cruz, Calif., Mark has a state of the art online triathlon training program at www.markallenonline.com. In addition to the online program, Mark co-teaches a workshop entitled Fit Soul, Fit Body with Brant Secunda, a shaman, healer and ceremonial leader in the Huichol Indian tradition. They have also recently released a book by this same name that you can find at bookstores near you or on Amazon.com.

NECESSITIES FOR YOUR FIRST RACE By Jay Prasuhn // Photos by John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

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t can be the most daunting sight for first-time triathletes embarking on their first race: rows upon rows of sleek carbon fiber bikes with matching gloss black wheels and aerodynamic helmets. Do I belong? Do I have all the right “stuff?” Don’t feel pressured by the ads and the shiny bikes in the transition area. Your first experience is meant to be fun. This sport was borne of heavy steel road bikes, old running shorts and bandanas, and it still works that way today.

WHAT YOU NEED WETSUIT While most brands promote the crème de la crème wetsuits that retail upward of $600, the fact is, you can get a good, swim-specific wetsuit for as little as $200. The primary benefits of a wetsuit are to keep you warm and act as a full-body flotation device, with the neoprene helping level your body with the water for a more efficient form. Higher-priced suits will feature special coatings or differing thicknesses, but as long as you’re getting a swim-specific wetsuit (as opposed to a surfing wetsuit that often lacks range of shoulder motion for your swim stroke and the slick, heat-harnessing rubber coating), you will get what you need: flotation and warmth. Tri wetsuits come in sleeveless and sleeved varieties. Go for the sleeved version. It may cost a bit more, but it’s going to keep you warmer during your races. 7 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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GOGGLES Remember those tiny socket goggles that Michael Phelps and the pros at your local race were wearing? Forget ’em. For many new triathletes, the swim is daunting enough, and tiny goggles can seem claustrophobic. The larger mask-style goggles give you a more comfortable, panoramic field of vision and don’t give you those often-irritating raccoon eyes.

BIKE Choosing a bike is the one area where you don’t need to go crazy or get sucked into the hype. You just want a bike that you can enjoy: one that fits and won’t break the bank, and that’s a simple entry-level road bike. If after a few races you find you enjoy the sport, the sky’s the limit. Jump in with both feet and purchase a tri bike. But at first, a simple road bike will do the trick. Plus, you can use it to take the kids out for a ride in the park on Sundays. Get the one that fits you best. Since these bikes are typically sized in a measure of centimeters instead of small, medium or large, your local bike shop can tell you your optimal frame size. A frame that fits equals a bike that you’ll enjoy and thus will want to ride more often. During these early rides, stick with standard platform pedals. Over time, you may want to get into clipless pedals, but learning

worlds better. Like bike shorts, they have a padded chamois that makes that bike seat a bit more tenable. The chamois in this $50 to $60 piece is a bit thinner than that of a traditional bike short, so you can do that 5K run without feeling like you have a diaper attached to your shorts.

HELMET The local Wal-Mart has them, and your dad might have an old one in the garage from his riding days, but you’ll want to get a new one from a reputable bike shop. Supermarket-brand helmets may not meet the stringent testing standards of current industry brands, and the polystyrene in Dad’s old one has likely degraded to the point where it would be of little help for protecting your head in the event of a crash. Again, while some of the spendy ones at $150 look trick, the only difference is the amount of ventilation. They both serve the same purpose: protecting your noggin. You can get a basic helmet for around $60.

SHOES

them can be tricky. And before heading out the door, pick up a tool kit that mounts in a bag under your saddle. Your local retailer may even offer lessons on how to change a flat tire. Pay attention because AAA doesn’t do bike flats, and flats are an inevitability of cycling.

AEROBARS Ah, the ubiquitous aerobar that identifies you as a triathlete. To be clear, the length of your first triathlon, likely a sprint, makes it possible to do the race without them. But if you add these for a bit of an aero advantage, there are plenty to choose from. A basic clipon (an aerobar that simply clamps onto your existing handlebars) will do the trick. While the extensions that point out instead of up are in fashion now, simple ones with an upturn to grab will serve you well. Several brands offer smaller “shorties” or “jammers.” Ironically, these shorter-length clip-on aerobars, targeted to the athletes who do triathlon in the Olympics on road bikes, are ideal for beginners as well, providing a good aero position. Their shorter reach often help prevent a rider’s hands from tangling with the brake cable. Practice using your aerobars in an open parking lot before using them on the open road. When race day comes and you’re on the bike with a bit of open road, just scooch forward on your saddle and get comfy.

APPAREL Do you need a form-fitting triathlon kit? Certainly not. Something as simple as a technical fabric top or even a t-shirt will be fine as a top to wear on race day. But for the bike and run, you will want something other than a pair of standard athletic shorts; cotton underwear is abrasive and will leave you badly chafed by day’s end. A pair of triathlon shorts, however, will make your experience 8 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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You don’t need to go to a specialty store for this one. Sports Authority or Foot Locker will do the trick, but a running shoe specialist can deliver a bit more info to help you with your shoe choice. While it may be “just running,” you’ll find that there’s actually far more to it. Over time you’ll become familiar with your run stride, how your feet land, and you might discover little niggles and will buy your shoes accordingly. Until then, a running shoe retailer is your best friend; he or she can help analyze your walk and run stride to determine your ideal running shoe.

YOUR FIRST TRI: WHAT TO BUY? Getting into triathlon doesn’t have to break the bank. Here’s a sample of basics that will get you ready to race your first swim-bike-run event. TREK 1.2 $879 While Trek makes arguably one of the fastest aero-tested bikes in the world (just ask Lance, Trek’s inspiration for much of its aero work), Trek also offers an aluminum-framed bike that will get you out on the road comfortably without breaking the bank. The 1.2 has a reversible, infinite adjust seat post that will get you into a more forward aero position if you choose, nylon platform pedals and is littered with reliable Bontrager parts, all at about a tenth the price of the bike Lance or Trek-sponsored pro triathlete Chris Lieto would ride. And lo and behold! It has a carbon-fiber fork for comfort. Trekbikes.com

PEARL IZUMI SYNCROFLOAT III $115 The SyncroFloat III is an everything shoe; it’s relatively light at 13.1 ounces, and has lots of cushioning and a bit of protection in the form of its SyncroFrame technology through the heel, keeping your foot in top form when it’s tired and wants to collapse late in the run. Pearl Izumi adds a 360-degree lacing system that makes for fast, even pull when quickly lacing up. Pearlizumi.com

VISION MINI CLIP-ON $99

BLUE SEVENTY SPRINT WETSUIT $199

Used by athletes at the Beijing Olympics, these little aerobars bolt easily onto your bike’s handlebars and allow you a bit of an aero position for your bike leg. Vsisiontechusa.com

Built for the first-timer, the Sprint delivers all the features that will make a newcomer comfy with the swim, including a low neckline and high-stretch underarm gussets for an unimpeded swim stroke. Blueseventy.com

GIRO STYLUS $85 Helmets are designed to keep you safe, but Giro adds a bit of style to the equation. The Stylus is light and well-ventilated to keep your head cool, but it’s the look that rivals those of Giro’s own top-line models at, believe it or not, half the price that makes the Stylus such a stylin’ deal. Giro.com

IBIKE ISPORT $199 For just a little more than you would pay for a bike computer, you can get something that you’ll take with you when you do upgrade to a true tri bike: a power meter. One of the best values of the iSport is that it has a fitness test built in, giving newcomers a baseline of their fitness to gauge progress. And when you want to start recording your data, its software can be upgraded to the company’s iPro, allowing you to download your ride data to your computer. 8 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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TRIATHLON Forget about time splits and age-group placings for once and do a triathlon for the sheer adventure of it.

By Matt F itzgerald // Photos by Rich Cr use

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TRIATHLON

The Escape to Bermuda Triathlon features a water start near the old Royal Navy Dockyard.

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f the creators of the Escape to Bermuda Triathlon had been too clever by half, they might have tried to come up with a race name or theme that forced an association between the three sides of a triangle (as in Bermuda Triangle) and the three legs of a triathlon. Fortunately, they didn’t go there. But it’s no stretch to draw general parallels between the sport of triathlon and the island nation of Bermuda. Triathlon was created in the 1970s by a small group of very physical men and women with an outsized spirit of adventure. Bermuda, previously uninhabited, was discovered in the early 16th century by Spanish sailors who got the same kinds of kicks from going to sea for months in search of new worlds as triathletes get from testing the performance limits of their bodies. Since the advent of the passenger plane and the modern cruise ship, Bermuda has become a symbol of the good life. Tourists with disposable income travel there to eat, drink and frolic in one of the most beautiful and fair-weather environments on earth. Triathlon has a more complex relationship with the good life. On the one hand, triathlon is like golf, a sport that is favored by and, let’s face it, more welcoming to those with a little money to spend. On the other

hand, triathlon offers an escape from the spirit-killing excesses and pampering of the modern good life, with its heated seats, remote controls and online shopping. Triathletes have a divided vision of the good life, one in which the decadent feast is preceded by an hour or two (or three or more) of intense, self-powered forward motion, and the net result (one of them, anyway) is a slight decrease in stored abdominal fat. Bermuda is, therefore, a most appropriate place for a triathlon, in addition to being a good place for a triathlon. The Escape to Bermuda Triathlon was jointly conceived a couple of years ago by global sports management mega-corporation IMG and the Bermuda Department of Tourism as a means to increase lifestyle sports tourism on the island. (How important is tourism to the Bermudian economy? Prime Minister Ewart Brown is also the Minister of Tourism and Transport.) After much planning and a few delays, the inaugural event was held in October 2007. IMG elected to take a top-down approach to developing the event, inviting a large number of big-name pros to participate and producing a 60-minute video of the race for broadcast on the Versus network. New triathlons in exotic locations attract a different breed of T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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TRIATHLON

Kids Triathlon finishers were treated to autographs from the likes of Jodie Swallow and Richard Allen.

triathlete than Ironmans and other major domestic events. Participants in upstart races like Escape to Bermuda skew a little more toward being motivated by enjoyment of the triathlon experience instead of competitive ambitions. A case in point is Bryan Lee, 46, from Seattle, Wash., whom my wife, Nataki, and I met on the flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Bermuda on the Thursday before race weekend. Lee caught my attention when he sat down in the aisle seat next to me and immediately struck up a conversation with the man sitting directly in front of him, who happened to be professional triathlete Benjamin Sanson of France. One of the delightful aspects of Escape from Bermuda is that it has perhaps the highest ratio of pros to age-groupers of any triathlon on earth, giving race weekend the air of a fantasy camp. “Bermuda is my favorite triathlon,” Lee said. “It’s just so beautiful, and the camaraderie is like nowhere else.” “How many triathlons have you done?” I asked. “This will be my 35th.” “Wow. When did you start?” “Last year.” I choked on a gulp of ice water. Lee explained that he had participated in his first sprint triathlon the previous May as a way to address concerns about his health, which included risk factors for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Self-admittedly obsessive-compulsive, he developed an instant endorphin addiction and began looking for races to do every weekend, soon traveling all over the world (Chile, South Africa, Monaco) for fixes. “My friends tell me I’m having a midlife crisis,” he said. “They’re probably right.” 8 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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“At least you didn’t get your ear pierced and buy a Porsche,” I said. “Actually, I have two Porsches. But they’re old.” I squinted at Lee’s left earlobe but thankfully saw no hole. Our jet touched down after nightfall, so I didn’t get my first good look at the island until the next day. Nataki and I spent most of that day blowing money at the Willow Stream Spa located within the Fairmont Southampton Hotel, the official headquarters of Escape to Bermuda. We had been forewarned that Bermuda is expensive, and after paying $424 for a pair of 60-minute side-by-side massages, I would not argue otherwise. With our massages came all-day access to the spa’s full panoply of facilities, so we spent as much time as we could stand in the dry sauna, the steam room, the fitness room and a hot tub situated on a terrace overlooking the ocean, determined to get our money’s worth. At dusk we took a taxi to the island’s largest city, Hamilton (population 15,000), for dinner. Upon learning our nationality, our driver, warm and friendly like just about everyone else we met on the island, insisted on discussing the imminent U.S. presidential election, as did most of the other cabbies who served us subsequently. Obamamania had swept the nation. We traveled a road that participants in Sunday’s race would ride over, and while inspecting it I found myself wishing I would be among them, although admittedly I am the type of athlete unlikely to travel thousands of miles to race for sheer adventure. The road was narrow, winding and undulating, bordered on both sides by ancient stone retaining walls holding back a riot of vegetation ranging in form from tall tropical plants with sword-like leaves to towering Bermuda cedars. Only 21 square miles in area and less than a mile wide at most points, Bermuda has few roads, and

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TRIATHLON

The Escape’s bike course is among the most visually stunning in the world.

most of those it has are as old as the first human footprints on the island, little changed from the original crude paths hacked through suffocatingly thick plant life. After winning the 2008 Escape from Bermuda Triathlon two days hence, Matt Reed would describe riding this course as akin to playing a videogame, made especially exciting by three near collisions with cows. Hamilton is a charming town, with elements reminding one of sundry other places (English architecture, Mediterranean hillside setting, island people) but fused in an iconoclastic blend. The concierge at the Fairmont advised us to sample the local seafood, and this we did at a cozy upstairs restaurant called the Barracuda Grill. Nataki chose fresh red snapper, and I ordered the yellowfin tuna. The most popular men’s mixed drink in Bermuda is the dark ‘n’ stormy, consisting of dark rum and ginger beer, and I drank more than one of them. Consequently, the next morning was a bit rough. I was obliged to get up at 4:45 a.m. to join other visiting triathletes and their families on a caravan of buses to Clearwater Beach, site of the Bermuda Shorts Sprint Triathlon and the Bermuda Kids Triathlons, a pair of Saturday morning appetizers served up ahead of Sunday’s Olympic-distance main course. Event staff members were already there when we arrived, busily setting up tents, tables, cones and such in the dark. I decided to go for a short, easy run to kill some time. The smooth roads were empty save for a scattered few islanders enjoying an early morning stroll, some with dogs. Each greeted me cheerfully; there is great enthusiasm for saying hello in Bermuda. When you ride in a taxi your driver will honk his horn every half mile or so as he passes people he knows. 8 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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The Bermuda Shorts Sprint Triathlon was a homey affair. Most of the three dozen or so participants were Bermudians, and few wore fancy race togs or rode bikes of the brands that dominate the Hawaii Ironman bike count. A race official with a bullhorn addressed twothirds of the racers by their first names as they passed by, encouraging many, good-naturedly teasing a few. As the leading competitors were transitioning from bikes to running shoes, a shuttle bus arrived and disgorged a murderer’s row of professional triathletes, including 2007 Hawaii Ironman world champion Chris McCormack of Australia, 2008 Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series Race to the Toyota Cup winner Becky Lavelle of the U.S., 2008 U.S. Olympians Matt Reed and Jarrod Shoemaker and Jodie Swallow of Great Britain, making a comeback after several injury-marred seasons. The pros gathered behind the finish line and placed medals hanging from pink ribbons (pink is a popular color in Bermuda, even in exterior house paint) around the necks of the finishers. It looked like union work as nearly a dozen pros stood around and watched as one of their peers took his or her turn to perform the ritual as often as needed, which was no more than once every minute or two. “I’m saving this one for Bryan,” announced Benjamin Sanson, showing off the chosen medal as though it were visibly different from the others. He was as good as his word. When Bryan Lee crossed the finish line in 20th place, Sanson stretched the ribbon over his friend’s bowed head, memorializing the transformed man’s 35th triathlon finish in 18 months. Intermingled with the finishers of the sprint triathlon were finishers of the kids’ triathlons for 7- to 10-year-olds and 11- to 14-year-olds. Most were members of the TriHedz Bermuda Junior

TRIATHLON

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" # Former Bermudian elite Neil de Ste Croix, left, is committed to cultivating the island’s youth triathlon talent.

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Triathlon Club, coached by Neil de Ste Croix, who proudly watched his young athletes at my side and told me about his program with paternal pride. “Flora Duffy and Tyler ButterďŹ eld both came up through our program,â€? said Ste Croix, a former national triathlon champion of Bermuda. Duffy now competes on the World Cup circuit, and ButterďŹ eld represented the island in the 2004 Olympics. After a hot breakfast at the race site, we were herded back onto buses for the return trip to the hotel. During the ride Bryan Lee introduced me to a group of friends he met here the previous year. Vivacious and full of jokes, they quickly struck me as being further representatives of the sort of people who tend to be drawn to small, new events in exotic places. It turned out that two of them, Melanie Horn, 47, and her friend Liz Titan, 48, of Great Neck, N.Y., were hoping to compete in Sunday’s race as a relay team but lacked a runner. I can’t recall whether I was asked or volunteered to run. The result was the same: A few hours later I was signing a waiver form and picking up a race number at the registration ofďŹ ce. Melanie, our swimmer, warned me that

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she was slow, as did Liz, our cyclist. I warned them that I was still recovering from a marathon run six days earlier and that I planned to drink several dark ‘n’ stormies with my wife the night before the race. “You’re our kind of teammate!â€? they said. Predictably, I awoke early on race morning with a splitting headache. Nataki and I joined a couple dozen racers on a bus bound for the old Royal Navy Dockyard, now a docking site for cruise ships and today the site of the triathlon swim and ďŹ rst transition. There we boarded a police boat that took us out to watch the start and the ďŹ rst leg of the race. Sunrise brought the ďŹ nest day yet, nearly cloudless, dry and warmer by the minute. As the top athletes doffed their swim caps and grabbed their bikes, we cut a sea tangent to the other end of the crescent-shaped island at 45 mph while the competitors took the long way over winding, undulating roads at much slower speeds. We docked at the charming little village of St. George’s Parish, where we found a bike-run transition area and a ďŹ nish chute crammed between old stone churches and quaint shops lining cobblestone streets. We arrived just in time to see Benjamin Sanson leap off his bicycle and stride barefoot to

his transition spot, still in possession of the lead he had claimed in the first strokes of the swim. After watching his pursuers come through one by one for a while, we found a nice park bench situated 100 yards from the finish line and sat down to await the arrival of the race winner, who turned out to be Matt Reed. I kept my seat long enough to see Jodie Swallow take the women’s race, then made my way over to the second transition area, warmed up and waited for Liz Titan. And waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, as the race clock was ticking on towards three hours, I spotted her bright yellow cycling top. I jogged alongside her as she dismounted and wheeled her bike to her spot on the transition rack, and we transferred her timing chip from her left ankle to mine. “I’m sorry I made you wait so long,” she said with a tone of deep embarrassment. “Don’t be silly,” I said. “You did great.”

All I remember of the next 36 minutes is wheezing my way up some of the steepest hills I have encountered in any race, having what remained of my breath taken away by the spectacular ocean views that greeted me atop each hill and seeing scores of Bermudians lining the streets and cheering enthusiastically for my fellow sufferers and me. I finally heard Steve Titan, husband of my teammate Liz, shout my name as I sprinted to the finish with tunnel vision and not a thought in my head except recording the fastest run-split possible. Minutes later, to my great mortification, I discovered that Steve, Liz and Melanie had gathered together ahead of the finish line in hopes of crossing it with me, a lovely gesture that I would never have anticipated, being the time-and-placing geek I am. Yes, events like the Escape to Bermuda Triathlon attract a special sort of athlete, and I’m not that special.

England’s Jodie Swallow outpaced a strong women’s field to win the 2008 Escape to Bermuda Triathlon. T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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TRAINING Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.

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TRAINING

Lactic Acid Myths Debunked By Matt F itzgerald

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There are many myths about lactic acid. Perhaps the greatest of all is the notion that there is lactic acid in the human body. There is not. The body actually produces lactate, which is lactic acid minus one proton. The difference between lactic acid and lactate is, for all practical purposes, semantic. But other popular beliefs about lactic acid (or, as I will properly call it from this point forward, lactate) are about as wrong as can be. Most triathletes believe that lactate is an end product of anaerobic muscle metabolism that causes local muscle fatigue by increasing the acidity of the tissues to the point where they no longer can function effectively. In fact, we now know that lactate is an intermediate link between anaerobic and aerobic muscle metabolism that serves as both a direct and indirect fuel for muscle contraction and delays fatigue in a couple of different ways. Our new understanding of the nature and function of lactate is interesting to all athletes curious about how the human body works. But does it make any practical difference? Does the new understanding of lactate suggest a different approach to training than the old science did? I would suggest that it does call for a subtle tweaking of the standard approach to endurance training, but it warrants no 9 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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major overhaul. Before we get to that, however, let’s take a closer look at how classic beliefs about lactate were exposed as myths and replaced by an almost opposite explanation. The classic explanation of lactate in exercise dates back to the 1920s, when researchers showed that the exposure of frog legs to high levels of lactic acid (not lactate) interfered with the ability of the muscles to contract in response to electrical stimulation. Later research determined that lactate was produced through anaerobic glycolysis, or the breakdown of glucose or glycogen molecules for energy without the help of oxygen. It was then concluded that fatigue occurred at high exercise intensities because the cardiovascular system could no longer supply the muscles with enough oxygen to keep pace with muscular energy demands, resulting in increased reliance on anaerobic glycolysis, hence lactate buildup. How exactly did lactate buildup cause the muscles to fatigue? Biochemists believed that lactate was formed in the body by the removal of a proton from lactic acid. When protons accumulate in living tissues, these tissues become more acidic. And when muscles become too acidic, they lose their ability to contract. This tidy little explanation began to unravel in 1977, when South African biochemist Wieland Gevers showed that the reaction producing lactate actually consumes a pair of free protons, thus retarding muscular acidosis rather than promoting it. More recently, scientists have observed that, while protons do indeed accumulate in the muscles during high-intensity exercise increasing muscle acidity, these protons are produced through a reaction that is completely separate from that which produces lactate. To make matters even worse for supporters of the classic lactate hypothesis, we now know not only that lactate does not cause

TRAINING muscular acidosis, but also that the muscles never reach a level of acidity that would directly cause dysfunction (or fatigue) of the muscle fibers anyway. The body’s normal pH at rest is approximately 7.4. During intense exercise, as the muscles become more acidic, pH may drop as low as 7.0 at the point of exhaustion. However, when muscle cells are electrically stimulated outside the body, mechanical failure only occurs when the pH drops to 6.8. This observation suggests that fatigue always occurs before a catastrophic loss of acid-base homeostasis in the muscles takes place. What’s more, research conducted in the past decade has shown that lactate counteracts another cause of muscle fatigue at high exercise intensities: namely, depolarization. Muscle contractions are stimulated by electrical currents that flow throughout the body via minerals including sodium and potassium. Each muscle cell contraction involves a lightning-fast exchange in which potassium molecules inside the muscle cell and sodium molecules outside the muscle cell switch places. These exchanges are most efficient when there is a high degree of polarization (a difference in the strength of the electrical charge) between the spaces inside and outside the cells. At the beginning of high-intensity exercise, the inside of the muscle cell has a much stronger positive charge than the area outside the muscle cell. This difference in charge strength makes it easy for sodium and potassium to cross the cell membrane. During sustained high-intensity activity, potassium is released from the muscle cells faster than it can be channeled back in through special potassium pumps in the cell membrane. The resulting buildup of potassium outside the muscle cells causes a progressive lessening of the difference in charge strength between the intracellular and intercellular spaces, hence weaker and less efficient muscle contractions (i.e. fatigue). It is now widely recognized by researchers in this area that muscle cell depolarization is a much more significant cause of muscle fatigue than muscular acidosis. Where does lactate fit in? In a series of studies beginning in 2001, Ole Nielsen of the University of Aarhus in Denmark, has shown that high levels of lactate partially restore muscle cell function in a depolarized state. Hence, if your muscles did not produce large amounts of lactate during high-intensity exercise, your muscles would actually fatigue a lot sooner.

The story does not end there. In the new scientific understanding of lactate, arguably the most important role of lactate during exercise is not to delay fatigue caused by muscular acidosis or muscle cell depolarization but rather to serve as a direct and indirect fuel for muscle contractions. That’s right: The substance that was once thought to be a worse-than-useless byproduct of anaerobic glycolysis turns out to be one of the most important energy sources for highintensity muscle activity. Our knowledge of lactate as a muscle fuel is largely the product of the work of one man: George Brooks of the University of CaliforniaBerkeley. Brooks became interested in lactate in the 1960s, when his track coach at Queens College told him that lactic acid was the cause of the burning sensation and loss of performance he experienced when running hard. Brooks went on to earn a doctorate in exercise physiology and made the study of lactate his life’s work. Brooks suspected that the classical lactate theory was dead wrong when, in one early experiment, he gave radioactive lactic acid to rats (so he could trace it) and found that their bodies used it faster than any other energy source. He then set about figuring out how lactate was used. The result of this process was the discovery of the lactate shuttle (now known as the extracellular lactate shuttle). Lactate is a highly mobile compound that easily leaks through the walls of the muscle cells that produce it into the bloodstream. From there the lactate flows to other muscles (especially resting muscles and muscles working at lower intensities) and organs—particularly the heart, liver and brain—and used as a fuel. Lactate that reaches the liver is even converted back into glucose and sent back to the hardest-working muscles to replenish declining fuel stores. When Brooks published his first research on the lactate shuttle in the mid-1980s, he did not propose that any organ used lactate as a direct energy source. While his proposal that widespread use of lactate as an indirect energy source during exercise was radically new, Brooks did not initially challenge the notion that the human body is incapable of directly oxidizing lactate to release energy. Instead, he hewed to the universally held conviction that lactate had to be converted to pyruvate before oxygen could do anything useful with it. But secretly Brooks suspected that some types of cells, including muscle cells, could break down lactate aerobically, and in the past few years he has proven it.

LACTIC ACID-RELATED SUPPLEMENTS There are various sports nutrition supplements that claim to enhance exercise performance by reducing lactic acid levels or by buffering the lactic acid that the muscles produce during exercise. But we now know that lactate does not cause muscle fatigue and is actually used as a fuel. Does this mean that all such supplements can’t possibly work? Not necessarily. Whenever any supplement is definitively proven to enhance exercise performance, it doesn’t matter whether the proposed explanation for the effect is right or wrong. For example, sodium phosphate is an acid buffer that was shown to increase cycling time trial power by 9.8 percent in athletes who took the compound supplementally for six days. It almost certainly achieved this effect by absorbing hydrogen ions produced by the working muscles. It’s just that these hydrogen ions were not produced through the same process that produces lactate, as was previously believed. Supplements that enhance exercise performance and appear to reduce lactate production may achieve their effect not by preventing lactate-induced muscle fatigue, but instead by increasing fat-burning 9 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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capacity, as increased fat-burning capacity is associated with increased endurance and fat oxidation produces no lactate. For example, green tea extract has been shown to increase swimming endurance and fat oxidation and to reduce lactate production in mice. (These results have not been duplicated in humans, except that green tea extract has been shown to boost fat burning during low-intensity exercise in humans.) Other supplements that enhance exercise performance and appear to reduce lactate production may achieve their effect not by preventing lactate-induced muscle fatigue or reducing lactate production at all, but by enhancing lactate oxidation. In a human study from Beijing Medical University, a supplement containing mushroom extracts was shown to reduce blood lactate levels during treadmill running. In a separate animal study, the same supplement was shown to increase swimming endurance and reduce blood lactate levels in mice. The authors of these studies speculated that the supplement worked by accelerating the lactate shuttling process. —M.F.

TRAINING

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John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

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First Brooks showed that endurance training reduces the amount of lactate that enters the bloodstream without affecting the amount of lactate that the muscle cells produce—a strong piece of circumstantial evidence that lactate is somehow used within the cell. In fact, as much as 75 percent of the lactate produced by any given muscle cell never leaves it. Then, in 2006, Brooks was able to peer through a confocal microscope and all but see aerobic lactate metabolism in the mitochondria, the intracellular site of aerobic metabolism. Gathered together there he saw the transporter proteins that deliver lactate to the mitochondria, the enzymes that catalyze the first step of lactate breakdown and the protein complex where oxygen is used to complete the process of energy release. A smoking gun if there ever was one! It would be difficult to overstate the magnitude of this discovery. Brooks proved a direct link between aerobic and anaerobic metabolism. What was previously thought to be anaerobic metabolism is actually just incomplete aerobic metabolism. During moderate-intensity exercise, most of the carbohydrate broken down for energy is processed aerobically and produces no lactate. But at high intensities, a second pathway—the lactate pathway—ramps up, giving the muscle two parallel pathways to release energy aerobically at very high rates to keep up with the muscle’s energy demands. In this second pathway glycogen or glucose is broken down to lactate without oxygen, and then lactate is broken down to carbon dioxide and water with oxygen. Brooks’ most recent research has examined the role of lactate in cell signaling. It suggests that the high levels of intracellular lactate that arise during intense exercise stimulate some of the beneficial fitness adaptations that occur in response to such training. Specifically, high lactate concentrations trigger the production of free radicals that “upregulate” a variety of genes. Some of these genes govern mitochondrial biogenesis. So it appears that intracellular lactate accumulation during intense exercise stimulates the muscle cell to produce more mitochondria, thus enhancing its ability to burn lactate (and other fuels) in future workouts. If I had to package all of this science into a single upshot, it

would be this: According to the classical theory of lactate, one of the highest priorities of training was to reduce the amount of lactate the body produces at higher exercise intensities so that the athlete can race faster without fatiguing due to high lactate levels. According to the new theory of lactate, one of the highest priorities of training is to increase the body’s capacity to use lactate during high-intensity exercise so that the athlete can race faster. So what practical difference does this shift make in terms of how we train? In truth, not much, because the advanced training methods that today’s best-informed triathletes use were developed through blind trial and error, not fashioned consciously to conform to now-discredited ideas about lactate. That said, for many years lactate-conscious coaches have counseled athletes to strictly limit the amount of training they do above the lactate threshold because the large amounts of lactate produced in such workouts are very stressful to the body. The rationale for this widely heeded caution has disappeared. It remains true that the physiological stressfulness of exercise increases exponentially as the intensity does, such that the amount of training the body can handle is inversely related to its intensity. But lactate is not the reason. And lactate threshold intensity is not particularly high. In the typical trained triathlete it corresponds to the fastest swimming, cycling or running speed that can be sustained for one hour. There’s plenty of room to go faster in your training without wearing yourself down. Furthermore, as we have seen, far from stressing the body, high lactate levels trigger some of the most important performance-boosting muscle adaptations. You might not be able to handle a high volume of training above the lactate threshold (again, for reasons that have nothing to do with lactate), but the new science of lactate suggests that you should nonetheless go there frequently. Many triathletes wait until the race phase of training to introduce supra-threshold training into their bike and run regimens. (Swimming, as always, is another matter. Training in this discipline is entirely based on highintensity interval work.) It would be better to do a small amount of supra-threshold training throughout the training cycle, with the greatest volume of such training immediately preceding races, for those who compete in short-course events (because lactate threshold pace is close to race pace at these distances) and falling somewhat earlier for those who compete in long-course races. A Spanish study involving cross-country runners found that a mix of 81 percent moderate-intensity training, 10.5 percent lactate threshold training and 8.5 percent supra-threshold training produced optimal results. That 8.5 percentage is a sensible median target. All triathletes should do 5 percent of their bike and run training at supra-threshold intensities as a baseline. Short-course specialists can peak at roughly 12 percent and long-course triathletes at 8 percent to 10 percent. Research shows that the greatest lactate exposures occur during workouts consisting of 3- to 5-minute intervals at VO2max velocity separated by 2- to 3-minute active recoveries and in 30- or 60-second intervals at the same intensity separated by active recoveries of equal duration. VO2max velocity is approximately the fastest speed you can sustain for 10 minutes in swimming, cycling or running. Lactate interval workouts featuring shorter intervals are more manageable and should therefore come earlier in the training process. Never try to do more than 20 total minutes of VO2max intensity swimming, cycling or running during a single session. If you do, you will boil alive in toxic lactic acid. Just kidding.

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LINES

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

TRAINING LANE

Working on Your Swim Stroke Consider the “prettiness” factor in the pool.

By Sara McLar ty

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When you watch an elite athlete at work—in triathlon, snow skiing or gymnastics—they all have one thing in common: Their actions appear effortless and their motions are smooth and pretty. Every movement is choreographed, and no energy is wasted. Last month, in my inaugural column, I used the word “pretty” a few times to describe good swimming technique. Think back to watching Michael Phelps swim at the Olympics, or glance down at the fast lane during swim practice. All of these talented swimmers have smooth strokes, streamlined body position, steady kicks, a stable core and good hip rotation, which are all aspects that help a swimmer glide through the water with minimal resistance. Notice that I did not mention any of the following: flailing arms, scissor kicks, splashing, thrashing, high-head position, sinking hips or anything else that detracts from the “prettiness” factor. From the ends of your fingers to the tips of your toes, think about every movement you make and ask yourself, “Is this pretty?” Are your hands entering the water above your head by slapping the surface and sending up a big splash, or are they gracefully knifing into the water barely creating bubbles? When you turn to breathe, 1 0 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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From the ends of your fingers to the tips of your toes, think about every movement you make and ask yourself, “Is this pretty?” are you tossing your neck, shoulders and chest to one side and lifting your whole head out of the water to take a gasping inhalation? Or are you calmly turning your face to the side, keeping one eye in the water and drawing a quick, but sufficient, breath? What about your hips? Do they wiggle their way down the pool or rotate directly in line with your shoulders to give your arms a longer reach and better catch before starting the pull? Core strength is not just important for cycling and running. A proper swimming stroke gets all its power from the torso and midsection. Even the kick starts at your hips. Driving yourself through the water with your knees, causes lots of whitewater and splashing (which also deters fellow swimmers from sharing a lane with you). Small, fluid kicking motions from your hips with a relaxed knee, a strong ankle and a pointed toe is what you want. It just so happens that a swimmer’s efficiency in the water has a direct correlation to the “prettiness” factor, and efficiency in the water is what makes you swim fast. Not brute strength, not raw power, not intensity, but rather efficiency, defined as the degree to which something is done well or without wasting energy. Every movement you make in the water should contribute to your forward movement through the water. Any movement that forces your body up and down, side to side or backward is wasted energy. In school, we learn that the shortest distance between two points is

LANE LINES a straight line. By applying that principle to triathlon’s first sport, we arrive at the following theorem: The fastest way to swim across the pool, or to the next buoy, is in a straight line. That straight line begins at the center of the top of your head. It then travels straight down your spine and comes out between your legs. Imagine a long metal bar through the centerline of your body, like a giant shish kebab. You cannot bend this bar, but you can rotate around it. When your right arm enters the water above your head, you can no longer wiggle your hips to the right to increase your reach. Instead, the bar forces you to rotate your body in order to extend your shoulder forward. As a result, your right hip rolls toward the bottom, the tops of your legs are facing the side of the pool and your left arm smoothly exits the water below your hip on the high side of your body. The same thing happens during the stroke cycle for your left arm. It enters above your head and your whole body rotates to the left. With that bar running along your spine, there is no way your head or hips can move out of perfect hydrodynamic alignment. All the while, your legs are helping you along with a steady flutter kick. They maintain your balance and keep your hips at the surface. The fastest and straightest line applies to your path and your body, but it also applies to your position in the water. The surface of the water is where all swimming actions take place. If your head, arms and shoulders are up there doing all the work, shouldn’t your legs attend the party? When your legs follow the line of your body, they don’t have to break through more water. You will go farther and faster using the

TRAINING

same energy when you narrow your body and reduce drag. Practice pushing off the wall in the tightest, longest streamline possible. See how far you can glide without kicking. Remember where you stopped and try to glide farther the next time. Try this from a dive too. If you start improving your swimming efficiency, you will get faster. You may not get stronger or feel like you are going faster, but trust the clock. Swimming cleanly and “prettily” will increase your lead into T1 and get you there with less effort. This means you will have more energy for the other two thirds of the race. You might even see the result before your next race. If more people are willing to share a lane with you at practice, you know you are heading in the right direction! Sara McLarty is a professional triathlete based in Clermont, Fla. For more about her, visit www.saramclarty.com. She also coaches Masters swimming and leads triathlon camps at the National Training Center. For more information, visit www.usantc.com.

6-3-6 DRILL TO IMPROVE YOUR STROKE Push off the wall. When you break the surface, pull through with your right arm. Pause on your left side with left arm extended above your head and right arm at your side. Stay on your left side and kick for six beats. Next, swim for three strokes and pause on your right side with left arm extended above your head. Kick for six beats. Continue to repeat this drill cycle for 8x25.

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Don’t waste your winter… swim at home. T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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TRAINING BIG

RING

Swede Bjorn Andersson combines a flawless position with perfect technique to be the best cyclist in triathlon.

Fit Versus Technique To maximize bike performance pay as much attention to positioning as to your setup.

Stor y and Photos by Jason Goldberg

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Something has been lost in the recent bike-fitting craze. We’ve forgotten that it’s not just about the bike. The typical fitting is all about setting up the bike to support an assumed position of the rider. The goal is a setup that creates an optimal blend of comfort, power and efficiency, but to actually get this result, a fitter must devote just as much attention to the rider’s position, which cannot be taken as a given. Unfortunately, few fitters know much about rider positioning. Worse, many triathletes don’t even bother to seek out qualified fitters to work on their positioning. On many triathlon forums, people post side-view photos of their positions and ask board members to

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critique them. The problem here is twofold. One issue is that air hits you from the front as you cut a hole through it, not from the side. The second issue is that most of the people replying with positioning advice have never been in a wind tunnel nor are experienced fitters. In other words, they don’t know what they’re talking about. Let’s look at what wind tunnel testing and real-world experience at the elite level tell us about proper positioning. There are three major forces that will hold you back when riding your bike on a flat to rolling course: mechanical resistance, rolling resistance and wind resistance. Mechanical resistance is the least important. It is generated by the gears of your bike, which are fairly efficient, especially on a race-tuned bike, and in the bearings, which are also quite efficient. Rolling resistance is a little more complicated, as it varies by tire construction, inflation pressure and surface smoothness. Both mechanical and rolling resistance increase in a linear manner, but wind resistance is different because, assuming that there is no change in your body riding position, it increases at the square of the increases in speed. The drag on a cyclist traveling at 20 mph is

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TRAINING BIG

RING

Notice Andersson’s low head position and the short distance between his elbows. This helps reduce front-end drag. four times as great as the drag at 10 mph. Thus, the faster you go, the more power is required to overcome wind resistance. In any given riding position, you need about 33 percent more power to go 10 percent faster. The good news is that you can reduce wind resistance at any given speed by manipulating your position. The key is to cut down the frontal area of your position, forming your body into a more streamlined shape on your bike. Watch the Tour de France and you can tell which teams and athletes take this streamlined position seriously and which do not. The same goes for the front of most professional non-drafting triathlon fields. A rule of thumb developed by Steve Hed, of Hed Cycling Products in Shoreview, Minn., is that you can save three seconds over 40 kilometers for every 10 grams of drag dropped. There are 454 grams in a pound; therefore, dropping a pound of drag can save you roughly 2.5 minutes over 40 kilometers and more than 11 minutes over an Ironman bike course.

REDUCING DRAG The most effective positioning change you can make to reduce drag is to lower your head as much as you can toward your hands. This change alone has been shown reduce drag by more than 200 grams in the wind tunnel. Taller athletes typically cannot get their head as close to their hands as shorter athletes because of the length of their upper arms. They can overcome this disadvantage to some degree by angling their forearms upward. When this is done properly, you can actually hear the wind resistance decrease. The next biggest time savings comes from repositioning your 1 0 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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There are three major forces that will hold you back when riding your bike on a flat to rolling course: mechanical resistance, rolling resistance and wind resistance. shoulders. The objective here is to narrow your shoulders by rolling them inward. To do this, get into your riding position indoors and look directly into a mirror. See if there is a way to “shrug” your shoulders to make yourself narrower. Modifying your elbow and hand position might make it easier. The more your shoulders roll in the narrower your shoulders will get and the faster you will be. This can save you another 100 to 200 grams of drag. Again, angling your aerobars slightly upward might enable you to narrow your shoulders more comfortably. Moving your elbows closer together may also help. We use giant calipers that we call “manipers” to measure shoulder width and ensure that as the elbows come closer together, the shoulders follow. Eventually, you will get to a point where your shoulders are unaffected by further reductions in the distance between your elbows, and that’s the point where you’ll want to stop.

AERO POSITIONING There is no apparent effect of aerobar shape and aerodynamics.

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Notice the very slight curve in Andersson’s back and the elevated hand position. S-bends offer the most powerful position but are not necessarily the most comfortable. Finding a balance between power and comfort is important. While pulling up on the bar (which is a real power position), the more rotated your wrist becomes, the more leverage you can generate. The more angle there is in a single bend, the less power you will have pulling up. The variety of hand positions that are possible with S-bends makes it easier to find a position that optimizes power and comfort. The key to proper S-bend positioning is to make sure that your ring finger is lined up with your elbow. This will prevent the wrist and forearm discomfort often seen with ill-fitted S-bend aerobars. Also, avoid angling your aerobars downward. This not only increases your frontal area, it also raises your effective bar height, causing you to ride “taller” and further increasing your frontal area. Many triathletes assume that the surest way to increase the aerodynamics of the riding position is to drop your bars and lower your torso, but this is not always the case. A better indicator of aerodynamic positioning, from a side view, is how low the head is. A greater sternum angle may actually facilitate a lower head position because the rider is not forced to keep his or her head back to see forward. Using a goniometer, we measure an athlete’s sternum angle rather than hip angle. It is certain that if your sternum angle goes below five degrees, you will be slower than if it were at five to 15 degrees. We actually raise some riders because their net drag is unaffected by going a little higher, as the steeper their torso angle is, the more they can lower their heads. This is not to suggest that your back position is not important to 1 0 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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aerodynamics. However, what matters is not how low it is but how you hold it. You want to strive for a slight curve in your mid-spine, almost like a hump. This will help integrate your aero helmet into your streamlined position. Specifically, it will help smooth airflow over your aero helmet, integrating your aero tuck into a neat little package and lowering your drag numbers another 50 to 100 grams. There is a principle in aerodynamics that states that air likes to flow over curved surfaces as opposed to flat ones. Consider the toroidal bulges of aero wheels versus flat sidewall wheels. If you have a naturally flat back, work on curving your back into a hump, and if you have a humpback, rejoice, because it will help you ride faster. It is important to note that the best time trialers and triathletes in the world all work very hard to make the unnatural natural. Almost everyone who attempts to modify his or her position according the guidelines I’ve just given you comes back to me after the first few rides complaining about feeling uncomfortable. Be patient, as it takes time to first get into the right position and then learn to pedal, steer, corner, drink and feed in it. When it does become tolerable and eventually comfortable (and it always does), your persistence will be rewarded with significantly faster bike-splits. Jason Goldberg is the director of operations for FIT Multisports, a professional sports marketing, management and coaching company. FIT Multisports uses cutting-edge scientific modalities and surrounds itself with industry leaders to achieve optimal results for professional athletes such as Bjorn Andersson, Richie Cunningham and Bryan Rhodes, as well as age groupers. Their website is www.fitmultisports.com.

&

TRAINING ON

THE RUN

Medium-Long Run: A Secret Weapon

Last month’s article described the long run, which is one of the three most important kinds of run workouts for triathletes. This month, we look at the long run’s vital yet often ignored little sibling.

B y Ke v i n B e c k / / P h o t o s b y Jo h n S e ge s t a / j o h n s e ge s t a . c o m

T

Those who come to triathlons with experience in marathon running may be familiar with Advanced Marathoning, a book co-authored by Pete Pfitzinger (with Scott Douglas). Pfitzinger is a two-time U.S. Olympian in the marathon who now works as an exercise physiologist and triathlon coach. One of his athletes, Debbie Tanner, was 10th in the Beijing Olympics, and of the various popular marathon training schemes dotting bookshelves and the 1 0 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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Internet landscape, Pfitzinger’s remains unique for its emphasis on the midweek medium-long run, or MLR. The utility of the medium-long run lies in its addressing several components of endurance at once. Any run lasting between 90 minutes and two hours is long enough to stimulate physiological adaptations that do not occur to an appreciable extent in shorter efforts, yet not so long as to prolong recovery. Also, the distance of

TRAINING ON

THE RUN

The utility of the medium-long run lies in its addressing several components of endurance at once. such runs—commonly 10 to 15 miles, depending on a runner’s speed, training load and experience—allows for the integration of a variety of intensities that long runs do not and durations that shorter runs do not. The MLR, therefore, is a strong ally owing as much to its flexibility as to its distance.

THREE TYPES OF MLRS As with long runs, it is convenient to separate MLRs into three categories. Each serves a distinct purpose, and skimping on any one of them will deprive you of the full range of benefits that the MLR offers. Steady-state. These runs are basically everyday runs sustained for an extra 30 to 60 minutes. They aren’t recovery runs, but they 1 1 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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aren’t hard and should not require special recovery. A target heart rate of 75 percent to 80 percent of maximum (representing about 70 percent to 75 percent of maximal oxygen uptake) is desirable. In warmer weather, be sure to start taking in fluids early on, and don’t skimp on carbohydrates in the latter stages and immediately after finishing. Well-trained athletes can get a little extra bang by doing these runs on hilly courses, although care should be taken not to pound the downhills too enthusiastically. Tempo. The tempo run—known to some as a lactate threshold (LT) or an anaerobic threshold (AT) run— has become a staple among distance runners since Jack Daniels coined the term about a quarter of a century ago. The term is used in a variety of ways, but strictly speaking, threshold effort is that which a well-conditioned runner can maintain for approximately an hour under optimal race conditions. So for most people, tempo pace lies between 10K race pace and 10-mile race pace. Daniels’ original recommendation for the masses was tempo runs of 20 minutes or so, but true endurance athletes, such as marathoners and triathletes, can absorb more stress and hence benefit from longer tempo runs. Therefore, LT stretches lasting as long as about 40 to 45 minutes can be worked into MLRs, either at the end or in the middle. Fast finish. As with long runs, it can be useful on occasion to run the first 85 percent to 90 percent of an MLR at the usual pace, then pick up the pace in the last 10 to 15 minutes in a progressive manner, starting this process at roughly tempo-run pace and winding up at 10K pace or even faster in the last few minutes. This challenge recruits both types of endurancehappy muscle fibers (slow oxidative and slow glycolytic) when each has already been significantly taxed but not exhausted, owing to the run’s basic duration. The result is a training stimulus not available in either shorter or longer runs. Pfitzinger cautions against going overboard with the fast-finish MLRs, even if you feel fantastic. There can be a fine line between incurring a level of fatigue that generates a considerable training stimulus without needing days of recovery and hammering yourself so strongly that the aftereffects are more race-like than training-like. One lesson few endurance athletes fail to learn in their competitive lifetimes is gauging how much more their legs can take when they’re already 90-plus minutes into a run. It is tricky and best not to find out the hard way. As with the other types of MLRs, these can be accommodated once every three weeks or so.

ON THE RUN PUTTING IT TOGETHER Here is a sample MLR schedule for a 3:30 marathoner. Athletes who do their long runs on Sunday morning are advised to do their MLR on Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning, which allows for one additional intense session on Friday. In any event, a rest period of 60 to 72 hours between an athlete’s longest two runs of the week is optimal. Also, Pfitzinger recommends that more seasoned athletes incorporate MLRs done right off the bike. If you opt for this route, stick with doing this “brick” on days when your MLR doesn’t include either tempo or fast-finish portions, at least in the beginning. Next month’s column will deal with interval training, thus concluding this threepart series on the various types of running workouts you’ll want to consider regularly including in your pre-competitive-season training.

TRAINING

WEEK

DISTANCE

SPECS

1

10 miles

Last 2 miles in 14:10 (7:15, 6:55)

2

11 miles

In 1:40:00 to 1:45:00

3

13 miles

Last 4 miles in 29:40 (7:25 pace)

4

11 miles

Last 1.5 in 10:30 (7:05, 3:25)

5

12 miles

In 1:48:00 to 1:53:00

6

14 miles

Last 5 miles in 37:00 (7:24 pace)

Kevin Beck is a senior writer for Running Times and editor of Run Strong (Human Kinetics, 2004).

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Do compression stockings improve exercise performance, and is there any rationale for wearing them before and after exercise in healthy individuals?

The Compression Question By Tim Mickleborough, PhD DEAR SPEED LAB, While competing in the 2008 Hawaii Ironman World Championship, I was surprised to see so many athletes wearing compression socks or tights while training and competing in the race. I was given a pair of Skinz tights eight weeks ago and wear them after I train for recovery. I’m not sure if they reduce muscle fatigue, or if other factors are involved, such as proper nutrition, hydration and sleep. I was wondering what the physiology is behind compression socks, tights, arm warmers, etc. There seemed to be a lot of hype at the Ford Ironman Expo regarding compression socks. Wendy Mader 2008 Overall Female Age-Group Ironman World Champion 1 1 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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I was also in Hawaii and noticed that many triathletes were wearing compression stockings before, during and after the race. Claims from companies that manufacture compression stockings range from reduced delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) following a race, prevention of excess muscular vibration and hence reduced fatigue, improved return of blood to the heart and reduction of foot and leg swelling that may occur during long plane flights. Elastic compression stockings have been used medically in preventing and treating aching, tired, heavy legs, leg and ankle swelling (edema), varicose veins and spider veins. Additionally, these medical garments are used as a compression therapy for post-sclerotherapy, lymphedema, chronic vein insufficiency (CVI), deep vein thrombosis and other vein disorders and diseases. Research supports wearing compression garments for these diseases and has shown that they can help prevent or slow the progression of vein problems. However, the question remains: Do compression stockings improve exercise performance, and is there any rationale for wearing them before and after exercise in healthy individuals? There is a plethora of studies looking at the effects of a variety of compression garments (shorts, tights and full body suits) on muscular performance, vertical jump performance, muscle fatigue, repeated-sprint performance, post-exercise response, post-exercise blood lactate and DOMS in healthy subjects, all with mixed results. However, the majority of these studies have focused on compression stockings in unhealthy individuals. Many of the studies involving unhealthy populations have focused on assessing compression stockings on exercise performance or vascular function in patients with thrombosis or varicose veins, and again the results are mixed. Zajkowski, et al.1 showed that compression stockings are more effective in controlling the backward flow of blood in varicose veins than in improving calf muscle pump function for activities of daily living in subjects with varicose veins and deep vein thrombosis. However, Ibegbuna, et al.2 indeed showed improved venous blood return in patients with chronic venous insufficiency at a variety of walking speeds. In contrast, Jones, et al.3 found that compression stockings did not have any benefit on vascular function in healthy subjects. Similarly, Kahn, et al.4 found that compression stockings did not improve exercise capacity while running or walking in patients with thrombosis. A literature search revealed only three studies that have assessed the impact of compression stockings on physiological function in healthy individuals. Berry and McMurray5 showed that compression stockings resulted in no change in VO2max recovery, VO2 or plasma volume shifts, but did result in lower post-exercise blood lactate levels compared to subjects wearing no stockings. Ali, et al.6 demonstrated that after a fast-paced, continuous 10-kilometer road run, stocking-wearers exhibited a reduction in DOMS 24 hours after exercise compared to controls (no stockings) but no change in venous blood return. In addition, no performance or physiological differences were observed between conditions (stocking use versus no stockings) during intermittent shuttle running. Recently, Perrey, et al.7 found that subjects who wore compression stockings for five hours per day had reduced

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DOMS, but their data demonstrated no benefit for the treatment of strength and functional declines. It is apparent that the findings from these studies assessing the effects of compression stockings on physiological function in unhealthy and healthy individuals are diverse. It is clear that more studies are needed to assess the impact of compression stockings on venous return, exercise performance, muscle fatigue and DOMS before any firm conclusions can be drawn regarding their usefulness. It should be noted that the benefits of compression stockings seen in unhealthy individuals may not be the same as those that are ultimately confirmed (if any) for healthy individuals. The pressures that are used mostly in scientific research are between 30 and 40 mmHg. What is not clear is whether this pressure range is suitable for runners and triathletes. Many of the manufacturers give no indication of the pressure of their garments. Manufacturers claim that wearing compression stockings can optimize blood flow, reduce leg fatigue, reduce muscle soreness, prevent injury, help remove metabolic byproducts, dampen muscle vibration and thereby increase endurance and improve running performance. More research needs to be conducted to substantiate or refute these claims and determine whether it is worthwhile to use these garments before, during and after exercise. For now, all we can do is rely on reports from athletes wearing them in the running and triathlon communities.

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TRIATHLON/OFF-ROAD RACING

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Dr. Mickleborough is an associate professor of exercise physiology at Indiana University. He is a former elite-level athlete who placed eighteenth overall (08:55:38) and second in the run (02:52:13) in the 1994 Hawaii Ironman World Championships. REFERENCES: 1. Zajkowski, P.J., M.C. Proctor,, T.W. Wakefield,, J. Bloom,, B. Blessing and L. Greenfield. “Compression Stockings and Venous Return.” Archives of Surgery 137.9 (2002): 1064-1068. 2. Ibegbuna, V., D.T. Konstantinos, D.N. Nicolaides and O. Aina, “Effect of Elastic Compression Stockings on Venous Hemodynamics during Walking.” Journal of Vascular Surgery 37.2 (2003): 420-425. 3. Jones, N.A., P.J. Webb, R.I. Rees and V.V. Kakkar. “A Physiological Study of Elastic Compression Stockings in Venous Disorders of the Leg.” British Journal of Surgery 67.8 (1980): 569-572. 4. Kahn, S.R., L. Azoulay, A. Hirsch, M. Haber, C. Strulovitch and I. Shrier, “Effect of Graduated Elastic Compression Stockings on Leg Symptoms and Signs during Exercise in Patients with Deep Venous Thrombosis: a Randomized Cross-Over Trial.” Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis 1.3 (2003): 494-499. 5. Berry, M.J. and R.G. McMurray. “Effects of Graduated Compression Stockings on Blood Lactate Following an Exhaustive Bout of Exercise.” American Journal of Physical Medicine 61.3 (1987): 121-132. 6. Ali, A., M.P. Caine and B.G. Snow. “Graduated Compression Stockings: Physiological and Perceptual Responses during and after Exercise.” Journal of Sports Sciences 25.4 (2007): 413-419. 7. Perrey, S., A. Bringard, S. Racinais, K. Puchaux and N. Belluye. “Graduated Compression Stockings and Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (P105).” The Engineering of Sport 7.1 (2008): 547-554.

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Courtesy FSA

TRAINING TECH

The BB30: Passing Fad or the New Standard? When it comes to your bottom bracket, is bigger really better?

By Christopher Kautz

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Bottom bracket designs have remained relatively unchanged for literally decades. There were bearings that sat inside the shell of the frame with an axle running through them and the crank arms affixed to the ends of those axles. While the axles themselves changed over time, from square taper designs to various types of spline systems, the basic idea remained the same, and the diameter of the bearings was limited by the frame’s bottom bracket shell size. Then came the advent of the now-ubiquitous external bearing bottom bracket and crankset. By moving the bearings outboard of the frame, it allowed for a number of things to happen. First, the bearings could become larger, improving durability and service life. Second, with larger bearings came room for larger-diameter axles, which are affixed to the cranks rather than being integral to the bottom bracket. This significantly improved the stiffness of the crank/bottom bracket interface while allowing for a weight reduction in the axle. And so the obvious question is raised: If enlarging the bottom bracket bearings and axle adds stiffness and lightness, does it make

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sense to move further in this direction—perhaps even beyond the restriction of the current bottom bracket shell diameter? Several manufacturers think so, and their solution is referred to as BB30, so named because of the 30 mm axle diameter used in these systems, up from the 24 mm axle used in current outboard bearing designs. There are two approaches to the BB30: Zipp’s and everyone else’s. In all cases other than Zipp, BB30 refers to a frame and crank integration in which the frame is designed to accept press fit bearings that work with the 30 mm-diameter axle. In general, this is what people are referring to when they talk about the BB30. It should come as no surprise that this system was first designed by Cannondale, who has long been known for developing integrated parts for their bikes. Chris Peck, their vice president of research and development, said that in 2001 they saw an opportunity to make a crank that was both lighter and stiffer than those currently in use. By going to an axle of that size, they were able to make it from aluminum, rather than the steel and titanium usually used, leading

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SUPPORT

Courtesy FSA

TRAINING TECH

to significant weight savings. Due to the increased size of the bottom bracket shell, it provided more surface area for welding, allowing for a larger downtube and thus a stiffer frame. Full Speed Ahead (FSA) started working with the BB30 concept in 2003, touting the same benefits as Cannondale and also citing two others: increased bearing life and increased heel clearance. Ric Hjertberg from FSA explained that the often-discussed Q-factor (how far apart the rider’s feet are) won’t change with this system, since the crank arms have to clear the chainstays. However, what he calls the “U-factor” can change since the bearings sit recessed into the frame. Essentially the crank designers have more latitude in shaping the crank arms and can move the rider’s feet away from the chainrings. Given how common the problem of striking a heel or ankle on the crankarm is for many riders, this is a welcome improvement. With all of these benefits, what are the downsides to the BB30? First and foremost, both Cannondale and Specialized, who also uses BB30 on all of their S-Works bikes, mention that the tolerances on the frames needs to be much tighter in order to work with the press-fit bearings. As Nicolas Sims from Specialized points out, this means frames have to be designed around a BB30 system, so you can’t put a BB30 crank on a standard frame. Zipp’s system is the lone exception to this rule. 1 1 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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Josh Poertner from Zipp admits that they have a lot more design freedom than most companies since their production goals are much smaller. When Zipp realized that there is room inside of a standard bottom bracket shell to fit a 30 mm axle, they set about designing a crank with an oversized axle that will fit into both standard frames and BB30-specific frames. The result is a crank that offers the weight savings and stiffness of BB30 without the need for a new frameset. So one would have to ask, if BB30 offers all of these advantages, what about going bigger, to BB40 or BB50? According to Poertner, it turns out that after 30mm of axle diameter the advantages stop accruing. You can only thin out the walls of the axle so much before it becomes susceptible to breaking, so the weight-to-stiffness ratio ceases to improve beyond 30 mm. With the obvious advantages of a BB30 system, and some major component manufacturers such as SRAM, FSA and Zipp advocating this as a major leap forward, what is preventing widespread acceptance of BB30 as the new standard for both frame and crankset design? Hjertberg points out that widespread changeovers in the bike industry are always a bit slow to occur, as everyone has to get on the same page. But, with a stellar list of manufacturers backing the BB30 system, all signs point to 30 mm axles soon becoming an industry standard.

TRAINING DEAR

COACH

JASON, Ridicule? Sarcasm? For a member of our armed forces currently deployed to Afghanistan, all we have for you is respect, admiration and thanks—but, since you asked for it, we consider it our duty to oblige. So, you’re in the Army? Our Marine buddies at Camp Pendleton tell us ARMY stands for “Ain’t Ready to be a Marine Yet.” Any truth to that rumor? And what’s up with “Classification: Unclassified?” Is this some sort of military oxymoron? Does this really need to be mentioned? It sounds like “Definition: Undefined” or “Specification: Unspecified.” We assume this is some sort of code that means that you’re really in Iraq because there’s no way we’re supposed to know where you really are—or else you’d have to kill us, right? OK, now to answer your question. Way back when we were in our formative years of racing (you know, when swim goggles had yet to be invented, bikes had wooden wheels, helmets were molded from salad bowls and high-top “running shoes” had canvas uppers), no one trained in all three sports year-round. It was common to pack up your bike the day after Kona and not unpack it until April. We would go back to our single-sport roots for the winter, only occasionally doing one of the other two disciplines for variety. You have been forced into a situation where you are unable to swim for the next several months. This is just fine and may even be optimal. Once you get back home, you will not only have plenty of time to bring your swimming fitness back around and be ready for a spring IM 70.3, but swimming might have become novel enough to be your first choice of activity. Our first piece of advice for your swimming should be applied while you’re still in Afghanistan. You mentioned you have been lifting

Preparing for the Swim Without a Pool B y Pa u l H u d d l e a n d R o c h F r e y DEAR COACHES, I just read your December column, and I am ready for ridicule, sarcasm and hopefully some useful information. I am in the Army and am currently deployed to Afghanistan, not far from the Pakistani border. One of the goals I set for when I return in early spring is to complete an Ironman 70.3. As you might imagine, my proximity to the Pakistani border creates complications in my training. I currently run on a treadmill, ride a stationary bike and do weight training. Aside from the mind-numbing monotony of doing long runs and rides inside, I am doing well in my preparation 1 2 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

in those two disciplines. My question concerns the swim. I should be back to the States in early April, and I plan to do Ironman 70.3 Kansas in midJune. With two and a half months available for swim training, should I focus more on build-phase workouts or base-phase workouts? By that time, I should be through the base phase of my training plan in running and biking, but I will not have done any swimming in well over a year. Jason Wesbrock Forward Operating Base Orgun-E, Afghanistan Classification: Unclassified

TRAINING DEAR

COACH

weights. Adding swim-specific exercises, like stretch cord pulls, to your routine will maintain and/or build swimming-specific upper body strength. It won’t help with your feel for the water, but the swim-specific movements this simple device allows will make the transition back to the water much quicker. Two to three short sessions per week are all you need. This allows you to maintain swim-specific neuromuscular patterning while improving strength. You’re not trying to build aerobic fitness when doing stretch cord exercises, so there’s no need to do them for 45 minutes at a time. There will be plenty of time for that when you get back in the pool. All you need right now are two to three sets of 10 to 15 reps of double-arm, single-arm and single-arm continuous pulls. To increase or decrease the resistance, move away from or closer to the anchor point, which will adjust the tension on the cords. This should not be a session where you go to the point of failure. At the end of each set you should still feel like you could perform one or two more reps while maintaining the proper pull pattern. Over the next several months you will gain a lot of aerobic fitness from your cycling and running. While this fitness will surely pay off when you get back in the pool in April, we’re not going to lie and say you’ll be back at top swimming speed in a week. It’s more likely that you’ll feel like a fish out of water … in the water. The first half of your first swim session back may not seem too bad, but you’ll soon realize that your “feel” for the water and swim-specific fitness are lacking. Don’t rush it. Instead, make it a point to spend your first two to four weeks focused on technique while your swim-specific muscles catch up with the cardiovascular fitness you’ve built on the stationary bike and treadmill. Resist the temptation to just hammer out yardage. No matter what level of swimmer you are, take the time to hook up with a coach and have him or her check out your stroke for efficiency. Without this objective feedback from a coach, you will reinforce bad habits and ultimately limit your swimming potential. If you are swimming with a group, consider moving down one lane slower than you know you are capable of being in so you are not pressured into swimming inefficiently. The only truly “fast” swimming you’ll do during this techniquefocused period is a few very short sprints toward the end of each workout. Start with 4x25 yards with full recovery—30 to 60 seconds should do the trick. Build up to eight to 10 of these 25-yard sprints. Your stroke may deteriorate a little during these sprints, but they are short enough and make up such a small percentage of your total swimming volume that you shouldn’t pick up any lasting bad habits. These short sprints will stimulate your swim-specific muscles and ease your transition to faster and harder swimming as your fitness in the water returns. After a few weeks you will be able to transfer your slower but more efficient swimming form into some harder efforts. By this point you’ll be four to six weeks away from your IM 70.3 in early June. Your efficiency should now have improved, and you’ll have some base yardage under your belt. You’re now ready to handle higher-quality and longer-duration swim sessions each week. Shoot for a minimum of three primary swim sessions each week. If you can get in more, do so, but keep these extra sessions shorter and on the aerobic side of the intensity spectrum. The three main sessions should consist of one longer aerobic workout, one higher-quality (a nice euphemism for “harder”) session and one sprint session. Keep some technique training in the mix in every session by adding drills to the warm-up and cool-down. The longer aerobic session may consist of longer intervals (300 to 1000 yards/meters) but could also be broken up into shorter 1 2 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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intervals with shorter recovery times. Since the intensity of this workout is aerobic, you shouldn’t need a lot of rest anyway, right? A 1.2-mile open water swim imposes certain realities you can’t escape: an unalterable distance to be covered and no walls to rest on. Therefore, this workout should total 4000 yards/meters or more, but remember that this is not a hard session in terms of intensity. Aerobic here means a comfortable effort. The harder session should consist of a main set that is of a duration and intensity specific to the race on which you are focusing. The two-kilometer swim of an Ironman 70.3 triathlon can be swum hard if you have trained for it. So here’s your chance to train for it. Following a 500 to 1000-yard warm-up, this main set should consist of longer intervals of 300 yards or more. An example would be a main set of 8x300 yards with only 15 to 20 seconds rest. Despite the short rest, try to swim all the 300s at a hard effort (2 km effort or slightly harder) and at the same pace. You could also try to “descend” these 300s (making each interval faster than the previous one). You can break up some of these intervals into smaller bites but, trust us, when you’re preparing to swim your best possible two-kilometer swim, doing 20x100 does not have the same impact that 4x500 or 2x1000 does. Any combination of intervals is fine, provided they’re at least 300 yards and total at least 2,000 yards. The third key swim session each week should focus on sprinting— short, high-quality repeats with plenty of rest. An example of a main set for a sprint workout is 16x50 free as two fast/two easy on 20 to 30 seconds of rest or a basic set of 10x100, one fast/one easy, on 45 seconds of rest. During this sprint workout, resist the temptation to reduce your rest intervals. The point is to swim fast, so take as much recovery time as needed so you can continue swimming fast. The total main set does not need to exceed 1000 yards. With an 800- to 1000-yard warm-up and cool-down, you have a 2600- to 3000-yard workout. Finally, thank you for your service and the perspective you’ve brought to our lives with your question. For most of us, “complications in training” consist of trying to fit in a workout around work, family and the hazards of soccer moms driving minivans while talking on cell phones and sipping lattes. When a soldier in a war zone understatedly describes “complications in my training,” we know that probably means dodging land mines, sniper fire and incoming mortar rounds. Suddenly our lives seem that much easier and any whining about how “hard” we’ve got it is replaced by embarrassment that the thought even crossed our minds. Keep well and we look forward to seeing you at a race next summer. 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 this extensive background to help others achieve 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 (paddle boarding 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.

TRAINING NUTRITION

Ask the Food Guru B y P i p Ta y l o r

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Beginning this month, professional triathlete and diet expert Pip Taylor will answer your nutrition queries in her monthly column. If you have a question you’d like to ask her, please send them to Brad Culp at bculp@competitorgroup.com. This month, Taylor gives her take on amino acids and weight training recovery.

Q:

What is the purpose behind putting individual amino acids (or amino acid blends) in sports nutrition products such as gels? Rebecca N. Kurtz Ft. Collins, Colo. 1 2 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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Adding amino acids (the building blocks of protein) to sports drinks and gels has challenged the more traditional formula of carbohydrates and electrolytes, which have long been believed to improve endurance exercise more than the consumption of water alone. During exercise, fat and glycogen (stored in muscles and the liver) are the body’s primary fuel sources. However, protein may contribute up to 10 percent of the energy used during highintensity endurance training and even more once glycogen stores are depleted. This means that toward the end of a long, hard training session or race, the body begins to break down muscle proteins for fuel. Sports drinks and gels that contain carbohydrates reduce this muscle damage and improve endurance by providing a readily accessible fuel source. The accepted optimal carbohydrate concentration is 6 percent to 8 percent for maximal uptake beyond which gastric emptying slows, thus reducing the uptake by depleted muscles. Since the uptake pathways for carbohydrates and protein are separate, adding protein in the form of amino acids means that you are effectively adding another fuel source simultaneously. Amino acids from the breakdown of ingested protein may also moderate the metabolic responses to exercise, limiting muscle breakdown. The common perception is that the recovery process begins after exercise ceases. However, there is ample evidence to show improved muscle protein balance when protein and carbohydrates are consumed both before and during exercise. Faster muscle damage repair leads to improved recovery, which in turn means greater adaptation and performance. There are studies showing improved endurance performance when protein is added to a carbohydrate formula during exercise, and although other studies have failed to show the same beneďŹ ts, none have shown a detrimental effect. So it seems there is nothing to lose and potentially a lot to gain! As with many nutritional issues, individual response is a huge component, and what works for some may not work for all. I use Accelerade and Accelgels, as they work the best for me. However, I would recommend experimenting with any new products in training before trying them out in a race.

Robert Murphy/bluecreekphotography.com

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John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

TRAINING FUNDAMENTALS

Pre-Season Bike Basics By Ian Murray

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The winter months are the perfect time to let the bike become an extension of your body. All you need is a stationary trainer. Today, modern trainers provide smooth, quiet resistance and are also indestructible, so expect the one you acquire to last decades. Set up your trainer in the living room, garage, basement or anywhere else you’d like. You will definitely sweat, so if you’re on carpet, put an old towel down to protect the floor. The trainer will lift the rear wheel off the floor, so place a wheel block (included with most trainers) or an old phonebook under the front wheel to make the bike level. If you’re still riding in running shoes with platform pedals or toe clips, use this time to make the switch to a cycling shoe and a “clipless” pedal system. Have a fit expert position the cleats in the proper spot for you, and have them reduce the spring tension on the pedal to a minimum. Plan one ride a week that is about 30 minutes long. During this ride, visualize a stop ahead every three minutes. As you slow your pace to a halt, unclip one foot by swinging the heel out. Then pop back into the saddle and guide the cleat into the pedal to clip in again. This practiced repetition will have you in full control of the new pedal system in just a few weeks. Once you’ve mastered the new pedal system, you’ll be ready to incorporate some drills into your off-season bike training. One drill to improve pedaling efficiency is the classic one-foot drill. After a

One drill to improve pedaling efficiency is the classic one-foot drill. 1 2 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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solid warm up, clip one foot out of the pedal and place it safely on the frame of the trainer. Then, with concentration, pedal the bicycle with just one foot. The goal is to make a smooth, fluid circle without any clunks or surges. Focus on transitioning smoothly from the “down stroke” (2 o’clock to 5 o’clock) to the “scrape” (5 o’clock to 7 o’clock) to the “pull up” (7 o’clock to 11 o’clock) and then advance across the top (11 o’clock to 1 o’clock). You’ll improve your neuromuscular fitness (coordination), which helps your brain coordinate muscle movements faster. Start with four sets of 30-second one-leg drills (switching legs each time) with two minutes of easy spinning between each. Build progressively over several weeks to six sets, then lengthen each set up to 60 seconds. Another drill that improves pedaling mechanics is the spin-up. After your warm up, set the trainer to moderate resistance. Put the bike in a fairly easy gear and find a nice comfortable effort at 90 revolutions per minute (rpm). Leave the resistance and the gear untouched for 15 seconds and steadily creep your cadence up to 95 rpm, then 100 rpm and keep going until you find yourself bouncing in the saddle. Bouncing is your cue that you’ve increased the cadence too much, so decrease the cadence a bit and continue to spin for 15 more seconds. Try doing four sets of this drill with two minutes of rest between each spin-up. As you progress, you should be able to increase the duration of the spin-up and the number of repetitions. Trainer workouts won’t have the distractions that most rides outside throw at you. Because of that, there is great value in even a 30- to 45-minute workout. Put some of these drills to work and you’ll pop out in the spring a fitter, faster cyclist. For a video of these drills, visit Triathletemag.com and click on the “Video” icon.

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The Suplicy TTM starts at $3,400 kitted with SRAM Rival and Suplicy wheels. The frameset only costs you $2,200.

By Jay Prasuhn

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Some savvy readers may know this, but for the rest, I’m going to let you in on a little bike industry inside info: It may break your heart, but not all carbon fiber bikes out there have had millions of dollars invested in their design. It’s to our benefit that the big boys like Specialized, Cervelo, Trek and Scott have millions to devote to aerodynamics research and testing, but there’s value in the little guy—a smaller bike brand, without the millions, but still with a vision to see valid ideas come to fruition. New to this class of brands is Suplicy Bikes. Namesake Caue Suplicy is a Brazilian-born triathlete who now lives in San Diego. He’s one of the fastest local pros, possessing an inquisitive technical nature. Suplicy takes that nature to Asia, where he works with builders to use their equipment and engineering talent while drawing on his personal race and wind tunnel testing experience. Their latest product is the Suplicy TTM. Indeed, the TTM is similar on its face to several other bikes on the market, with a frame template that others have used. But the TTM has a few characteristics that make it unique. For example, while the frame has a “safe” 76-degree seat angle, a seatpost with a forward-of-center seat clamp makes it a bike with an effective 78-degree seat angle. Suplicy also opted for the best carbon he could get: weaves with CNT carbon nanotubes. It’s the same carbon fiber that Easton and BMC are using in their bikes and equipment to make for a tougher carbon matrix. The top-tier carbon also keeps weight down, as our test bike tipped the scales at just under 17 pounds (with a Zipp disc/808 wheel setup). Stepping back and looking at the frame globally, it’s evident that while it has great basics, including a seat tube cowling and replaceable vertical dropouts, it needs to undergo some wind tunnel testing. The downtube has a front wheel cutout to create a fairly singular surface from wheel to frame. But unlike its design predecessor, the Felt DA,

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the TTM has a downtube that flares into a diamond shape. Suplicy contends that the wider design will still provide aero benefit, as the front wheel wags back and forth from the centerline of the downtube when riding on the road. We’d love to see data to prove that, and while Suplicy says it’s coming, at this point only Felt has numbers to that effect. Having seen Felt’s bikes developed in the tunnel, we’ll stick with its data indicating that a narrower downtube is better. While the TTM may take a backseat to the million-dollar designs, you’ll be hard-pressed to feel the difference on the road. On my size large (56 cm) test bike, the top tube length measured 54.5 cm at 78 degrees. A head angle at 71 degrees paired with that top tube length results in a bike with predictable tracking but certainly not sloppy handling. I felt as steady in the aerobars as I do when riding a Cervelo—which I consider one of the finest-balanced bikes on the market. The Suplicy design engineers have that going for them. With that proper geometry, ride quality on our Zipp-outfitted test bike was as good as that of any of the big boys. While the oversized downtube may have been at an aerodynamic disadvantage on the smaller scale, the larger tubeset reminded us of the original Scott Plasma in terms of stiffness. Blend it with a top tube that pairs the headtube with increased surface area, and you have a bike with top-shelf stiffness. Value is on par for what it delivers. Its direct competitor, the Felt B2, costs $300 more but it also offers a bit more with its bayonet front fork and its rear brake placement at the bottom bracket. It’s splitting hairs, but it’s up to you to decide which is a better value. Can you find bigger brands with pedigree? Sure. Might another bike net you a few more seconds into T2? Probably. But the right geometry and the aero basics make the TTM a good bang for your buck. It’s proof that the little guy can make it in this industry. For more information visit Suplicybikes.com

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

y c i l p Su TTM

GEAR BAG By Brad Culp and Jay Prasuhn Polar RS800CX Multi $499

This isn’t your grandpa’s heart rate monitor. The new Polar RS800CX training system is for multisport athletes who want to know the what, when, where and how of all their training disciplines. Fully equipped with the Polar G3 GPS sensor and the Polar ProTrainer 5 software, this system can measure the speed, pace, heart rate, distance, terrain and route in every sport imaginable, from the basic swimming, biking and running to other activities such as skiing, kayaking and in-line skating. The GPS maps can be viewed on Google Earth and are color-coded to show how the athlete’s heart rate fared on varying terrain. Polarusa.com

Istik $20 to $27

It’s the quintessential question: Where do you put your iPod when you’re out for a run, especially because an armband is cumbersome when running? iStik solves this problem with a hard plastic case that you can clip your second, third or fourth generation iPod into. Just place it anywhere on your clothing, your run cap, wherever, and a strong magnetic back holds it firmly in place. Goistik.com

PhizaTrim $40 (30 servings)

The first thing we noticed about this new fat burner was the list of ingredients— it’s short, which is rare among pills that claim to “melt, burn or annihilate fat.” PhizaTrim, from the makers of Kona Endurance (a Rhodiola and Cordyceps supplement) contains a hefty dose of hoodia gordonii to control appetite and a bit of green tea extract to give your metabolism a kick in the you-know-what. The other weight-loss aid is one you may not find in many other pills: cissus quadrangularis, which may help target fat and preserve lean body mass. Our take? If you gain 30 pounds this off-season, PhizaTrim isn’t going to get you back down to race weight by itself, but it’s worth a shot if you need a little extra motivation to get things going. Coffee addicts will certainly feel less of a “buzz” than those who are sensitive to caffeine. We also found that the appetite-suppressing effects are less pronounced in larger individuals. Phizatrim.com 1 3 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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Art of Tri Hoodies $55

Fashion and function don’t typically blend in triathlon, but Art of Tri manages to fuse the two. There’s no better top to ward off the morning chill before a race and to wear right after the race without looking too trendy. Several top pros have been showing up in pre-race transition in Art of Tri hoodies. Maybe there’s something to it? Artoftri.com

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

GEAR BAG Ultimate Cyclist $35

When all external elements, from training to equipment to fit, are optimized, the last available bastion of performance improvement is the mind. The mental aspect of cycling lends itself to multisport, so the hour-long Ultimate Cyclist DVD delivers both conscious affirmation and unconscious audio to help the athlete increase his or her focus, confidence and relaxation. Endorsed by Levi Leipheimer and two-time national time trial champ Chris Baldwin, it could be a helpful tool for improving your performance. Ultimatesportspsychology.com

Triathilates DVD 1.0 and 2.0 $30 each

The off-season is the perfect time to address any muscular imbalances that may have plagued you during the previous season. Triathlon coach and Pilates guru Kelly Wissolik has developed two Pilates DVDs, both of which emphasize muscle groups commonly ignored by triathletes (such as the lower back and hip flexors). Each DVD contains two 25-minute workouts. Those with a solid Pilates foundation may start with version 2.0, but if you’re new to Pilates, you better start with 1.0. Energyfitnesscoaching.com

Sampson SL Brakes $325

There are two types of brakes out there today: the sorta-heavy but ultra-reliable stock ones, and the superlights that put stopping power secondary. Sampson marries the two with the new red anodized SL. It has a dual-pivot design built for massive stopping power, but Sampson also carves material through the cold-forged arms, uses carbon fiber brake pad holders and … well, it’s a cool anodized red. Sampsonsports.com

Rocket Science Sports Rocket Racer $200

When it comes to our bikes, most of us are obsessed with trimming every possible gram, but we seldom give much thought to the weight of our race suits. Further demonstrating their commitment to scientific nerdery, the boys at Rocket Science Sports (who are rocket scientists—no joke) have created an absurdly light (130 grams) one-piece race suit. Will shaving 80 grams off your suit make you drop an hour at your next Ironman? Absolutely not, but it makes things a bit more comfortable when you’re going 140.6 miles. Beyond the weight, the Rocket Racer has plenty of bells and whistles, but it wasn’t the bells and whistles that did it for us. Rocket’s exclusive 360 Stretch Fabric moves in near-perfect unison with the body, which means no more bunching, rubbing or chaffing. Rocketsciencesports.com T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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you have time to view, and the only obstacle between you and T2 is a road full of lava marbles trying to unseat you. The run is only slightly better. From transition you head back in the same direction, up the same dirt road, but then veer off onto another road before being dumped onto Makena Beach to battle the shifting sands all the way back through Spooky Forest, where you encounter the only single track in the race. Just before you reach the finish line, you are treated to a fun technical section. Unfortunately, you can’t enjoy it because you are tired beyond belief; the finish line is 400 meters away, and someone is breathing down your neck. The exception to the mediocrity of this course is the swim. The swim course in front of the Maui Prince is amazing, as curious turtles and angel rays watch the hopeless human swimmers splash above them. This year it was a little less fantastic, as the Portuguese man o’wars stopped by the day before the race to take a peek and sting some people. That just made the race even more XTERRA, which is a Hawaiian word meaning “unexpected.” (Not really, but due to the nature of the sport you might think so.) That doesn’t sound fun, you say? Well, the army of XTERRA zealots will disagree wholeheartedly. In fact, anyone who has come to Maui knows that the mystique of Maui is the fickle fortune that accompanies it. There are plenty who have come to the race and won only to mistakenly think it was easy. My first trip to Maui was accompanied by my first trip to nearly the top rung of the podium. That year was followed by two years of heartbreak and frustration. Those with experience know that fortunes change and shift with the trade winds that blow over the island. The XTERRA World Championships can be a magical and wonderful experience as easily as it can become a horrible and painful one. No amount of confidence, training and preparation can help you deal with the whims of the island gods. If your fortunes do change, it can be a long and arduous journey back to grace. Beyond the mystical and spiritual side of the World Championship, there is also the battle of nations and cultures that occurs among individual competitors. Athletes representing a variety of nations, backgrounds and occupations have the opportunity to battle athletes in the same age bracket for the chance to bask in the recognition of their peers. It is rare that an accountant is set upon a podium for excellence in accounting at work. Where was the last podium for best preschool teacher? XTERRA gives non-professional athletes a place to show that they have worked hard through conflicting responsibilities to accomplish a very specific, very demanding physical task: completing 41.5 kilometers of human-powered travel in a wild environment in as little time as possible. XTERRA is not just about physical ability. XTERRA is a sport for talented people who are also mentally tougher than your average human. XTERRA is not for everyone. If you qualified for Maui and got to the finish line, you can count yourself as one of the most physically, mentally and spiritually gifted people on Earth. The podium of finishers at Maui is very small in relation to the global population. If you have it, wear that badge of achievement with pride and show it off as often as you can. For those of us not on the podium this year, at least we have next year. I will see you there.

The Mystique of Maui By Melanie McQuaid

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In the sport of XTERRA, there is no bigger race than the World Championship in Maui. There are races with greater numbers, longer events and, arguably, “harder” events, but all pale in the shadow cast by the event held once a year in Makena, Maui. Athletes work all season to earn the right to compete in this race, pouring their hearts and souls into a two-and-a-half to six-hour experience out on the dust-coated lava fields. Their hope is to take home a share of the glory, or at minimum, a decent story to tell while showing off race-related scars. What is odd about the excitement of it all is that the Maui race isn’t much of a course. Honestly! After the swim, you hop on your mountain bike, push it up a short rise on the Maui Prince golf course and then start your day on Haleakala Volcano. One mile down the paved road and the dirt road begins. This is your day on the bike—a dirt road. It’s not what one would expect from the Holy Grail of XTERRA. There is no gnarly single track, there are no epic vistas that

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John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

XTERRA ZONE

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Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight Times By Samantha McGlone

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It was the last place I wanted to be—Kona during Ironman week, watching the very race that had been the focus of my entire season. What should have been the highlight of my year had turned into an albatross, as I was unable to compete because of an Achilles tendon injury. Illness or injury can make professional athletes seriously question their career choices. In what other job could

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you work hard all year only to suffer the misfortune of a torn muscle, a mechanical failure or just an off-day, and suddenly all that work is for nothing? There is no disability insurance for athletes. That paycheck at the end of the race is not a bonus—for a pro athlete it is rent money, food, or a kid’s college fund. This career that can be so rewarding can

TICKET PUNCH also be merciless and fickle. In dealing with disappointment we build strength and character. How we approach life’s disappointments is just as important as the victories, and it occurred to me in Kona that maybe the two aren’t so different after all. We humans like to label things as “good” or “bad.” In reality, there is just stuff that happens, and we must deal with it. There’s no intrinsic positive or negative value to events, only our own interpretations. There are a few helpful things we can do in the face of adversity: look for the positive in the situation, learn something from the experience and then try again. It’s said that you learn something about yourself during the long day that is Ironman, but it came as a surprise to me that it can also happen just standing on the sidelines in the lava fields. What makes our sport so great is often not the superhuman performances that occur on the race course but the stories and people behind those performances. I have never been one to cry at movies, but watching an impossible, come-from-behind final surge like that of Simon Whitfield at the 2000 Olympic triathlon reduces me to tears every time. There are always great stories of hope and inspiration at Ironman, but the silver lining in the cloud for me this year was witnessing a much smaller, simpler act of generosity. When Chrissie Wellington punctured a tire on the bike just outside of Hawi, my heart sank—she had been leading the race, with no one in sight, and another deserved win was all but in the bag. The flat tire seemed to be just another indicator of how unfair sport can be, when the outcome of an athlete’s efforts is at the mercy of a piece of glass and a shred of rubber. At one point during the tire change, Chrissie’s CO2 cartridge broke, possibly out of the race, but a simple act of generosity changed all that. Rebekah Keat stopped and gave Chrissie her spare cartridge. Rebekah was a direct competitor, someone who was in the hunt for the win herself. But she paused in her race to aid another athlete in the ultimate display of sportsmanship. As impressive as Chrissie’s race was, Rebekah’s act of selflessness was something entirely different, and it truly blew me away. It reminded me of the great Armstrong-Ullrich duels on the slopes of the Alps in the Tour de France. Each one faltered at least once because of a mechanical failure or a crash, and each time the other sat up and held the pack back to wait for the fallen rider. With millions of dollars and the biggest prize in cycling on the line, they displayed a level of respect and sportsmanship toward each other that is

rarely seen in other professional arenas. Even though sport can seem brutal or unfair at times, there are also those shining moments that make it all worthwhile. They remind us that there is a higher standard to which we should hold ourselves and teach us a lesson we can all incorporate into daily life. Finding the positive in and learning from a negative experience are two steps for dealing with a setback. The most important step is to get back on the horse (or back on the bike, as the case may be). Once you’ve learned from an experience, it is time to get

up and try again. There is a popular saying among the Japanese marathoners: “Fall down seven times, get up eight times.” These words speak to a determination beyond that of simply trying again. It reminds us that life may hand us not just one lemon, but several, and that we will fall, not once or twice but many times. The important thing is not to avoid falling, which is impossible, but to keep getting up. The walls in life are there not to stop us but to deter those who aren’t determined enough to climb over them.

Craig Alexander Photo by Robert Murphy | All Photos Show Options

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Decoding the Swim Session By Cliff English

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Walking into a swim club, Masters or triathlon club swim session for the first time can be an intimidating and confusing experience. Fear rises in you as you stroll across the deck, working your way through the gear and fit bodies to a crowd standing around a dry erase board. As you peer through the crowd, you realize you have no idea what the fellow dressed in the Speedo polo shirt with a whistle and stopwatch is saying. You are even more confused when you glance at the board and see nothing but brackets with numbers and letters. What is going on here? Ideally, when a newbie inquires about joining a swim club, the coach provides a quick personal orientation session, thus sparing him or her much of the potential stress of that first workout. But it doesn’t always work out that way, so here is a different sort of orientation to help you decode the swim workout. The language of the swim workout is fairly simple and basically made up of abbreviations, numbers and a few terms. While most of what is written on the board will be fairly consistent among all coaches, there will always be variations, and it will still take a week or two to get to know your coach’s swim set language. After you’ve learned the basics, the next step is learning to read a swim set. Swim set descriptions are usually fairly clear. Sometimes, however, as in the world of academics, where it often seems the professors are either trying to confuse students more or just impress them with their grasp of the English language, the swim coach can get carried away as well. The bottom line is that we are just describing a workout. Sure, it can be creative, but it should make sense and be simple enough for people to remember. Here’s one example of two identical sets written differently. The first reads as two sets of 4x50m with 50m swim choice in between. There EXAMPLE will always be a few monster sets 2x (4x50m FR 1-4 on :45 / with brackets within brackets, and :55 / 50 choice ez :15 RI ) then you will have to rely on your OR old college math and physics classes 2x 4x50FR 1-4 on :45 / :55 to help you make sense of them. 50 ez :15 RI I also threw in a send-off time. 1 3 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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That’s the part that reads “on :45 and :55”, which means that if the 50m took you 38 seconds, you then have seven seconds of rest left before you have to go again in the case of the 45-second send-off and 17 seconds of rest if you go on the 55-second send-off. For 100m sets you will have send-offs of 1:15, 1:20, 1:30, and so on. The entire swim workout is comprised of sets. Usually coaches will start everyone off with a warm-up and then maybe a little drill set followed by another little pre-set with some descending 50s to get the swimmers ready for the main set. After the main set, it is pretty common to go right into the cooldown, but you never know what kind of mood your coach will be in. You may find yourself having a kick set thrown your way before it is all over. Coach Cliff English has more than 15 years of experience coaching athletes ranging from age-groupers to Olympians, first-timers to Ironman champions. For more on coach Cliff ’s coaching services or 2009 training camps visit www.cliffenglishcoaching.com. MORE COMMON TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS FR = Freestyle stroke EZ = Easy BR= Breaststroke w-up = Warm-up BK = Backstroke c-d = Cool-down Fly = Fly RI = Rest interval w/ = With PP = Pull + paddles Dr = Drill CH = Choice LESS COMMON TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS IM = Individual medley (all four strokes swam in the order of Fly/ BK/ BR /FR) Lung busters entail purposely restricting the number of breaths you take while swimming. For example, “Breathe five or seven,” would mean, “Breathe once every five strokes or seven strokes.” SG = Swim golf is a fun drill in which you add your stroke count for a given interval (for example, 50m) to your time for the same interval to generate a composite score. Band = Band only is a strength drill where one wears a band around his or her ankles to limit the kick. DPS = Distance per stroke is a drill where the swimmer tries to get as much distance as possible out of each stroke, usually measured by counting strokes for 50m. (-) = Negative split is when the second half of the distance is swam faster than the first (e.g. (-) 100m) “Descending” and “ascending” refer to swimming increasingly fast through a set (descending) or starting fast and then getting slower through a set (ascending). There are quite a few swim drills, as well, including sculling (Sc), fist, head up (h-up), drag finger tips (dft) and one arm. These drills work mainly on “feel” for the catch and pull phases of the stroke.

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

IN ENGLISH

AT THE RACES everything I could, but on the bike I “kindI didof overdid it. I got a bit of a lead going out onto the run, and I was stoked about that. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe I held them off. I’m so happy I could do this.

”

–Terenzo Bozzone

Bozzone set a 70.3 world record of 3:40:10 at his first world title.

Bozzone, Zeiger Win Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater

B y S u s a n G r a n t / / P h o t o s b y R o b e r t M u r p h y / b l u e c r e e k p h o t o g r a p h y. c o m On a day with perfect swim conditions, almost zero wind, an anticipated high of 80 degrees and an incredibly stacked professional field, the Foster Grant Ironman 70.3 World Championship was sure to be a hammer-fest of driven, focused competition and record-setting performances.

THE MEN’S RACE Andy Potts was correct at the pre-race press conference when he said that his Kona race hadn’t taken anything out of his swim. In fact, he led the pro men’s field in Clearwater with a course-recordbreaking 21:44. But he had to settle for that singular victory today, 1 3 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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as the fatigue of the full Ironman held his legs back from a peak performance on the bike and run. After leading the bike through mile 20, a group including Andrew Starykowicz, Oscar Galindez, David Thompson, Joe Gambles and Reinaldo Colucci caught him, and he eventually finished in sixth place. While Starykowicz and Galindez took turns in the leader’s spotlight, it was Joe Gambles who broke ahead at the right moment to claim the Timex Bike Prime at mile 34. Add to this group Luke McKenzie, Fraser Cartmell, David Thompson and Terenzo Bozzone and you have the top 10 men who continued to leap-frog for first place throughout the remainder of the bike.

AT THE RACES

Four weeks removed from his first Ironman, Andy Potts was unable to defend his title in Clearwater. While many from this group could be podium contenders, it was Kiwi Terenzo Bozzone who ran first out of T2 and held that lead all the way to the World Champion title. Despite a still-healing broken wrist that kept him out of the Hawaii race, Bozzone’s 2:01:28 bike-split positioned him perfectly with the lead group and paved the way for a blistering run. Bozzone immediately opened a gap on the rest of the men, and by the time he headed onto the second run lap, he was 1:20 ahead of his closest rivals. The men’s race quickly sorted itself out into a hard-charging chase pack of Reinaldo Colucci, Richie Cunningham and Oscar Galindez, followed by Potts in fifth. However, running up steadily from behind was swift-moving Andreas Raelert of Germany, picking up close to 20 seconds per mile for an eventual second place finish. Australia’s Luke McKenzie turned in an impressive performance for seventh, followed by Canadian Brent McMahon and fellow Aussie Joe Gambles. Fraser Cartmell of Great Britain rounded out the men’s final top ten. After crossing the line in a record-setting 3:40:10, an exuberant emotional and almost disbelieving Bozzone was greeted by his girlfriend and parents, who chose the right day to watch their loved one race. When asked about the challenge of competing with a broken wrist, Bozzone said, “I put myself in the best position, I did everything I could, but on the bike I kind of overdid it. I got a bit of a lead going out onto the run, and I was stoked about that. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe I held them off. I’m so happy I could do this. Everyone has given me so much support over the years, and my family helps 1 4 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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me so much. Having them here means everything. I’m just happy I could put on a show for everyone, hopefully I made it an enjoyable day for them. Well, everyone except for my competitors!” As for 2007 champion Andy Potts, he learned a lesson about racing again so soon after Kona. “I’m certainly not ashamed,” said Potts. “I gave it a great effort, but I just didn’t have the legs. All I wanted to do on the run was stop, but as soon as you stop once, it opens the floodgates. I know why Craig [Alexander] didn’t come; I know why nobody comes after racing Kona. But I’m a little bit thick-headed, I needed to experience it firsthand.”

THE WOMEN’S RACE Not surprisingly, Becky Lavelle led the swim, setting a new Clearwater best of 23:03. Immediately following Lavelle out of the water was Colorado’s Joanna Zeiger, chased closely by two-time XTERRA World Champion Julie Dibens. Once onto the bike, Dibens rode into an early lead and these three, joined shortly by American Mary Beth Ellis, controlled the women’s race through the finish. While Dibens claimed the Timex Bike Prime, she lacked her other-worldly cycling speed of 2007 and was unable to put more than a handful of seconds between herself and the other women. By the time the fantastic four—Dibens, Lavelle, Zeiger and Ellis—simultaneously reached T2 and began the run, they had more than a nine-minute gap on the fifth-place woman. No longer content with the cozy group dynamics, Zeiger quickly stepped up the pace and pulled away from her gal pals. During the first lap she led by a

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Incredible Spring Training Camps in Tucson, Arizona

February 28-March 5th Mile Madness March 9-23 Women Specific Camp March 16-20 Olympic Distance Camp Join coaches Cliff English and Paul Cross (Endurance Specialists) as well as guest coaches Sharon Donnelly (USAT resident coach and Assistant Olympic coach) Bobby McGee (Gold Medal Run Coach) - and pro super star athletes Samantha McGlone and Matty Reed.

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AT THE RACES

Zeiger had plenty of time to celebrate at the finish after crushing the field on the run.

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AT THE RACES minute, followed by Ellis and then Dibens and Lavelle, each less than 30 seconds apart. These gaps soon doubled, and though Zeiger at one point seemed to slow down slightly, she quickly regained her focus and hammered out an eventual world record time of 4:02:49. Ellis followed soon after, and Lavelle managed to pass Dibens for third, securing an entirely American women’s podium. Following the win, Zeiger was elated that her efforts paid off. “My training has gone really well,â€? said the former Olympian. “I knew I had the ability to have a strong day. But then again it’s triathlon and anything can happen; any number of things can go wrong. But I was able to come into this injury-free and with a really solid training block. I’m just so excited. I had a lot of conďŹ dence in my legs going into the run and was ready to put the hammer down. My plan was to take it out really hard on the run, then relax into it a bit and then bring it home hard, and it worked.â€? Runner-up and newcomer Mary Beth Ellis seemed a bit shy of the commotion at the ďŹ nish line. “This is only my second 70.3 ever. I started racing triathlon in June 2006, so it’s only been two and a half years,â€? said Ellis. However, when asked if she was at all intimidated by the caliber of athletes she kept company with for much of the race, she sounded as experienced as the wisest pros. “I just tried to focus on my own rhythm, my own zone and pace and stay relaxed. After all, you can only run your own race.â€? Defending women’s champion Mirinda Carfrae was noticeably absent from the women’s leader board. Rinny, describing the disappointment of her eventual twelfth place ďŹ nish, said her body felt useless. “It wasn’t my day. I wanted to stop, but the pain of not ďŹ nishing is way worse than the pain of being useless. It’s good to get your ass kicked every now and then, but I just wish it wasn’t today.â€? One thing’s for sure—Carfrae and Potts’ shared sentiments about slugging it out to the ďŹ nish speak volumes about what true champions are made of.

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Pro Men’s Top Ten 1. Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. Andreas Raelert (GER) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. Richie Cunningham (AUS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. Oscar Galindez (ARG) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. Reinaldo Colucci (BRA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6. Andy Potts (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. Luke McKenzie (AUS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. Brent McMahon (CAN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9. Joe Gambles (AUS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10. Fraser Cartmell (GBR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Pro Women’s Top Ten 1. Joanna Zeiger (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. Mary Beth Ellis (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. Becky Lavelle (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. Julie Dibens (GBR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. Nina Kraft (GER) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6. Erika Csomor (HUN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. Catriona Morrison (GBR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. Angela Naeth (CAN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9. Leanda Cave (GBR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10. Amanda Stevens (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4:02:48 4:04:07 4:07:32 4:09:10 4:15:32 4:16:00 4:16:28 4:16:49 4:18:50 4:20:28

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FEBRUARY 2009

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T R I AT H L E T E 1 4 3

AT THE RACES

New Champions and Broken Records at Ironman Arizona Part II German Raelert proves he’s one to watch, while Dutchwoman Bij de Vaate claims her first Ironman win.

By Liz Hichens While date changes for events from year to year are not rare in the triathlon world, the schedule shifts tend to be minimal and have little effect on the overall nature of the race. However, the decision to move Ironman Arizona from April to November seems to have changed the entire makeup of the event. With the exception of a slight change to the bike course, the 140.6-mile course remained the same. The impact of the move was most present in the weather conditions and the professional lineup. Instead of brutally hot temperatures and strong winds, competitors enjoyed temperatures reaching the mid-70s and only slight winds on the bike and run courses. The move also eliminated the race’s position as one of the first Ironmans of the season, likely removing fears of battling off-season cobwebs that resulted in a deeper pro field. Whatever the reasons, the fall debut of Ironman Arizona featured faster times among the pros and the age-groupers alike, providing a record-breaking day in Tempe. Germany’s Andreas Raelert and Denmark’s Heleen Bij de Vaate added to the memorable day by claiming the first Ironman titles of their respective careers.

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Fewer than six months after claiming his Ironman Arizona title, Hungary’s Jozsef Major returned for round two. This time he faced a competitive field that included the U.S.’ Chris Lieto and Jordan Rapp, as well as Ironman Wisconsin champ Chris McDonald of Australia. On the women’s side, recently crowned Ironman 70.3 World Champion Joanna Zeiger of the U.S. came to Tempe in hopes of adding to her successful 2008 season. Other top women included Great Britain’s Leanda Cave and the U.S.’ Kim Loeffler. With the sun barely rising over Tempe Town Lake, the gun for the pros went off at 6:50 a.m. Kieran Doe of New Zealand upheld his reputation as one of the strongest swimmers in triathlon by coming out of the water at 46:02 and setting a new swim record for the event. Argentina’s Francisco Pontano was close behind at 46:10, followed by five other male pros with swim times under 47 minutes. Lieto finished the swim in 10th at 48:04 and quickly worked to make up the deficit on the bike. Doe carried his momentum onto the bike and maintained a lead through the early miles of the second leg. Doe’s efforts to hold off a pressing Lieto came up short, as Lieto posted a 4:26:44 112-mile split and made it to T2 just ahead of Doe. Rapp was the third man off of the bike with a new course record time of 4:26:12. Major and American Ben Hoffman were fourth and fifth into T2 and was contention heading into the three-lap marathon. Raelert positioned himself well, heading into the run in sixth position. Lieto was cruising as his closest competitor, Doe, began to struggle. After looking strong in the early miles of the marathon, Doe began to fade and opted to run the final 18 miles of the marathon barefoot because of severe foot pain. With Doe falling behind, Lieto’s greatest

AT THE RACES The fall debut of Ironman Arizona featured faster times among the pros and the age groupers alike, providing a record-breaking day in Tempe. competition was Rapp, who passed him at the end of the last lap. Lieto did not let his fellow American get away, and the pair ran neck-andneck for much of the remainder of the marathon. Behind those two, Raelart, a two-time Olympian, was on his way to running the fastest marathon of the group (2:46). Raelert surged passed the lead duo in the closing miles, and his pace was too fast for his competitors to match. In the German’s ďŹ rst-ever Ironman attempt he managed to claim victory in 8:14:16, a new course record. More than ďŹ ve minutes after Raelart crossed the ďŹ nish line, the ongoing battle between Lieto and Rapp came to an end as Lieto outpaced Rapp for an overall time of 8:19:25. For the second time this year, Rapp claimed third place in this event while posting a time of 8:19:45. All three of the top men’s times would have been good enough to break the previous course record of 8:20:56 posted by Michael Lovato in 2006. One of the biggest surprises of the day came from up-and-coming American Ben Hoffman. In his ďŹ rst Ironman, the 25-year-old overcame severe stomach issues to run his way to sixth overall. On the women’s side, Zeiger started the day strong by managing to swim with the men’s lead pack, coming out of the water at 46:17. Nearly two minutes later, Cave was the second woman into T1 with a swim time of 48:13. Canada’s Donna Phelan and several other

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athletes reached the swim ďŹ nish around 52 minutes, giving the pair of Zeiger and Cave a sizeable gap heading into the bike. Bij de Vaate did not appear to be an early favorite, coming out of Tempe Town Lake with several age groupers at 1:06:05. Zeiger looked to have the best form of the day on the bike and grew her lead throughout the entire 112-mile leg. The American entered T2 with a sizeable gap, with Sweden’s Tove Wiklund entering transition second. Bij de Vaate was sixth to hit T2, after posting the day’s best bike split of 5:02:46. Once on the run, 2008 FORD IRONMAN Zeiger’s stomach turned ARIZONA on her, and she was forced Tempe, Ariz. Nov. 23, 2008 to drop out. 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run With Zeiger out of the race, Cave took the lead. Men The Brit looked strong, 1. Andreas Raelert (GER) . . . . 8:14:16 but she couldn’t hold off 2. Chris Lieto (USA) . . . . . . . . 8:19:25 Bij de Vaate, who took the 3. Jordan Rapp (USA) . . . . . . . 8:19:45 lead late in the run. After a 4. Jozsef Major (HUN) . . . . . . . 8:21:34 3:07 marathon, the Dutch- 5. Jan Raphael (GER) . . . . . . . 8:23:03 woman crossed the line in 9:21:06 for the win. Cave Women held off a fast-approaching 1. Heleen Bij de Vaate (DEN). . 9:21:06 Edith Niederfriniger of 2. Leanda Cave (GBR) . . . . . . . 9:25:07 Italy for second place in 3. Edith Niederfriniger (ITA) . . . 9:28:09 4. Kim Loeffler (USA) . . . . . . . 9:33:54 9:25:07. 5. Tove Wiklund (SWE) . . . . . . 9:44:44

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FEBRUARY 2009

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AT THE RACES

Past Champions Return to Victory In Ultraman World Championships Ribeiro, Armstrong take the titles.

By Liz Hichens The deďŹ nition of the ultimate triathlon is typically an Ironmandistance race featuring a ďŹ eld packed with top professionals. Now in its 24th year, the Ultraman World Championships in Hawaii celebrates the spirit of triathlon in a way that sharply contrasts with the majority of the elite triathlon events. One of the most unique aspects of the Ultraman World Championships is that there is no way to qualify for it; athletes are individually invited to compete in the late-November event. Additionally, the ďŹ eld is limited to 35 athletes selected their personal stories as well as their athletic abilities. The three-day event consists of several legs making up a total of 6.2 miles of swimming, 261.4 miles of biking and 52.4 miles of running. As an event designed to capture the history of triathlon, participants are required to adopt the old tradition of supplying their own support crew for the 320-mile trek.

THE FIELD With the entire starting lineup consisting of fewer athletes than one age group in most triathlons, it is common for many Hawaiian spectators and volunteers to know each athlete’s background. In the 2008 version of the race, more than half of the athletes had

previously completed an Ultraman event. While the majority of the athletes aim to simply cross the ďŹ nish line on the third day, other competitors arrive with the goal of being crowned the best at one of the most difďŹ cult feats in the world. The top men vying for ďŹ rst position included former champions Peter Kotland of the Czech Republic, Erik Seedhouse of Great Britain, Brazil’s Alexandre Ribeiro and three-time runner-up Tony O’Keefe of Canada. On the women’s side, everyone was gunning for the U.S.’ Shanna Armstrong, who is an undefeated four-time world champion.

STAGE ONE The ďŹ rst day of competition consisted of a 6.2-mile ocean swim, starting at Kailua Bay and ďŹ nishing at Keauhou Bay. Upon completing the lengthy swim, competitors embarked on a 90-mile bike ride that included 7,600 feet of climbing. The ocean provided rough conditions for this year’s swim. Forceful currents and jellyďŹ sh plagued the course, resulting in slower-than-normal swim times. First out of the water was 46-year-old Marty Raymond, with a time of 2:38:23. He was followed closely by Richard Roll at 2:41:28, and Seedhouse completed the swim third at 2:55:53. After coming out of the water at 3:04:06, O’Keefe posted a solid bike time of 5:04:22, giving him the lead and an overall day one time total of 8:08:28. Ribeiro had the second-fastest bike-split of the day, pushing him into second place with a day total of 8:13:25. Less than four minutes behind Ribeiro was Seedhouse in third position. Josef Ajram rode his way to fourth place, posting the fastest bike time of the group at ďŹ ve hours.

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AT THE RACES Armstrong quickly took the lead for the women by posting a swim time of 3:02:44, giving her a one-hour lead over Catherine Paulson, the second-fastest woman out of the water with a time of 4:09:14. With such an impressive lead out of the swim, Armstrong swept the day by posting the fastest bike time of 6:05:30, now giving her a two-hour lead heading into the second day of competition.

STAGE TWO Day two returned the competitors to their bike saddles to embark on a 171.4-mile ride that included 8,600 feet of climbing. The ďŹ rst tough climb of the day proved to make the biggest difference that day. Ribeiro took the lead early in the climb and never looked back. Ribeiro’s 7:20:41 bike time was the fastest of the day by more than 16 minutes, giving him the overall lead at the end of the day. O’Keefe continued to be consistent, ďŹ nding himself 10 minutes and 50 seconds behind Ribeiro overall. Kotland had the second fastest bike time, propelling him into third position with a day two time of 7:27:27. Armstrong continued her dominance in the women’s race by posting the fastest bike-split of the women at 8:59:36. Just under an hour later, Suzy Degazon came in with a bike time of 9:57:33. A few minutes later, Paulson ďŹ nished with a time of 10:03:19.

STAGE THREE The third day of competition featured back-to-back marathons totaling 52.4 miles of running for the day. Ribeiro and Miro Kregar pushed each other through the ďŹ rst marathon, both ďŹ nishing the 26.2-mile course in 2:57. Kotland managed to complete the ďŹ rst half three minutes later,

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giving Ribeiro a sizeable lead going into the ďŹ nal marathon. On the second marathon, Kregar proved he was the strongest runner in the ďŹ eld, posting an overall run time of 6:14:16. That time is the ďŹ fth-fastest run time ever recorded in an Ultraman. Ribeiro was not far behind, posting the sixth-fastest run time at 6:15:32. With his lead going into the third day, Ribeiro’s time was good enough to give him his third world championship victory. O’Keefe’s run time of 6:46:58 was good enough to give him the runner-up position for the fourth time in his career. Kregar’s impressive performance on the run earned him the third spot on the podium. Armstrong’s approxi- ULTRAMAN WORLD mately three-hour lead CHAMPIONSHIP going into the third day The Big Island, Hawaii would have been difďŹ cult Nov. 28-30, 2008 6.2-mile swim, 90-mile bike, 171.4-mile bike, for any female competitor 52.4-mile run to overcome. Armstrong’s double marathon time of Men 8:17:13 earned her a per- 1. Alexandre Ribeiro (BRA) . . 21:49:38 sonal record for the distance 2. Tony O’Keefe (CAN) . . . . . . 22:31:54 along with the overall vic- 3. Miro Kregar (SLO) . . . . . . 22:35:24 tory. While earning her ďŹ fth 4. Peter Kotland (CZE). . . . . . 23:38:48 overall victory, Armstrong 5. Carlos Conceicao (BRA) . . 24:27:17 also earned a personal record for the three-day Women event with an overall time 1. Shanna Armstrong (USA) . . 26:25:0 2. Suzy Degazon (USA) . . . . . 31:23:52 of 26:25:03. 3. Catherine Paulson (USA) . . 32:48:22

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FEBRUARY 2009

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T R I AT H L E T E 1 4 7

CALENDAR

PRESENTS

Kick off the new season at the east coast’s LARGEST Multisport Conference and Expo! U Keynote speakers Scott Tinley and Terry Laughlin U Expert-led seminars, clinics and workshops

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U The Fast Splits Indoor Bike Time Trial U Great deals and valuable giveaways U Events for the kids U Total Immersion Swim Clinics U Relay Team Swim Challenge U USAT Northeast Welcome Reception U FREE admission to seminars and expo plus goodie bags with a Spinervals DVD to the ďŹ rst 2,000 registered attendees

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March 21-22, 2009

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FEBRUARY 2009

SOUTH ATLANTIC 2/1/09- Pembroke Pines, Fla. Groundhog Triathlon. 400m swim, 10-mile bike, 3-mile run 2/22/09- Fort Worth, Tex. TMS Duathlon. 2-mile run, 15-mile bike, 2-mile run 3/15/09- Miami, Fla. Miami International Triathlon. 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run 3/21/09- Moultrie, Ga. Tri @ the Y. 400-yard swim, 15-mile bike, 3.1-mile run 4/18/09- Lubbock, Texas. 2009 Collegiate Nationals. 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run usatriathlon.org/news/article/7168

Physiological Testing

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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 Triathlete-sponsored races. USA Triathlon-sanctioned races are designated with a #. Register at active. com for events designated with @. 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.

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May 2009 Featured Events Aflac Iron Girl Lake Las Vegas Triathlon Las Vegas, NV Saturday, May 9

American Triple-T - Ohio Portsmouth, OH Friday, May 22

2009 Gulf Coast Triathlon Panama City Beach, FL Saturday, May 9

6th Annual Got the Nerve Triathlon Mt. Gretna, PA Saturday, May 23

Sudbury Spring Sprint Sudbury, MA Sunday, May 10

2009 Ironman 70.3 Hawaii Kohala Coast, HI Saturday, May 30

EnduraSport Olympic Triathlon - New York Pomona, NY Saturday, May 16

SheROX Miami Triathlon 2009 Miami, FL Sunday, May 31

Find thousands more at www.active.com/triathlon EVENT DIRECTORS: SAVE TIME AND MONEY, with Active’s online registration tools, volunteer management, merchandise sales, training plans and more. U.S. Toll-Free: 888.543.7223, x1 The Active Network, Inc.

CALENDAR

8/22/09- Tuscaloosa, Ala. Age Group National Championship. http://usatriathlon.org/event/event/47

NORTH ATLANTIC 6/06/09- Delavan, Wis. Delavan Lake Triathlon and Adventure Race. Olympic, Sprint, and Super Sprint Triathlons. Lakegenevasports.com 7/11/09- Kenosha, Wis. Lake Michigan Triathlon and Duathlon. Olympic-distance and sprint triathlons. Lakegenevasports.com 7/26/09- New York, N.Y. Physically Challenged National Championship. 7/26/09- New York, N.Y. Nautica New York City Triathlon. 1500m swim, 40K bike, 10K run. Nyctri.com 9/12/09- Fontana, Wis. Lake Geneva Triathlon Series. Olympic, Sprint, Super Sprint and ½ Extreme Triathlons. http://www.lakegenevasports.com/

MOUNTAIN PACIFIC 2/21/09- San Diego, Calif. Tritonman Triathlon. 500-yard swim, 12-mile bike, 3.1-mile run. tritonman.com

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3/14/09- Pasadena, Calif. Pasadena Triathlon. 3.1-mile run, 9.2-mile bike, 150m swim 3/21/09- Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Havasu Triathlon. Intermediate: 1500m swim, 40K bike, 10K run Short: 500m swim, 20K bike, 5K run 4/04/09- Arroyo Grande, Calif. March in Motion Triathlon. 1500m swim, 24.9-mile bike, 6.2-mile run 4/4/09-Oceanside, Calif. Ironman California 70.3. 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run. 4/11/09- San Rafael, Calif. Vineman Showdown. .25-mile swim, 9-mile bike, 3-mile run 6/13/09-Midway, Utah. Battle at Midway Triathlon. 1.5-km swim, 40-km bike, 10-km run. 7/26/09- Newport Beach, Calif. Pacific Coast Triathlon/Sprint National Championship. .5-mile swim, 12-mile bike, 3-mile run. Pacificcoasttriathlon.com 8/08/09- Colorado Springs, Colo. Youth and Junior National Championship. 7-10-year-olds: 100m swim, 5K bike, and 1K run. 11-15-year-olds: 200m swim, 10K bike, 2K run. Youth Elites: 375m swim, 10K bike, 2.5K run. Junior Elites: 750m

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

swim, 20K bike, 5K run. http://usatriathlon.org/event/event/100

INTERNATIONAL 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 race’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 triathlon’s most popular events. To list your event in our online calendar, please go to triathletemag.com.

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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; www.cutingedgeevents.net, beccakoester@yahoo.com, www.signmeup.com. Danskin Women’s Triathlon Series: 800.452.9526, www.danskin.com, triathlon@danskin.com. Elite Endeavors: Jim & Joyce Donaldson,

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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.ESMSPORTS (3767767); 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 Tinker’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;

CALENDAR

2009 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.

SALUTES CHILE

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

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T R I AT H L E T E 1 5 3

CALENDAR

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@piranhasports.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 Events: P.O. Box 15144, Wilmington, NC 28408; 910.458.0299; setupevents.com; bill@setupevents. 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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TO ADVERTISE HERE 800.677.0030

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ARIZONA

Bear Family Distributors Tucson 520.325.8187 Run AZ Gilbert 480.507.0002 Runner’s Den/Walking Room Phoenix 602.277.4333

CALIFORNIA

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 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 Transports Oakland 510.655.4809 Triathlon Lab Redondo Beach 310.374.9100

COLORADO

Adrenaline Tri Sport Niwat 303.482.2007

FLORIDA

Bob’s News and Books Fort Lauderdale 954.524.4731 Foot Works Miami Miami 305.666.7223 Gear for Multisport Inc. Clermont 352.394.7434 Orange Cycle Orlando 407.422.5552 RB Cycles Coral Gables 305.666.4898 Southlake Bicycles Minneola 352.394.3848 The Triathlon Store Miami 305.668.5650

GEORGIA

All3Sports

Atlanta 770.587.9994

HAWAII

Boca Hawaii Honolulu 808.591.9839 McCully Bicycle Honolulu 808.955.6329 Yasu Corp. DBA Running Room Honolulu 808.737.2422

ILLINOIS

Get a Grip Cycles Chicago 773.427.4747 Runner’s High ‘N Tri Arlington Heights 847.670.9255 Village Cyclesport Elk Grove 847.439.3340

INDIANA

Athletic Annex Run Shop Indianapolis 317.872.0000 Runners Forum Carmel 317.844.1558

IOWA

Action Accents Inc. Des Moines 515.277.7365 Fitness Sports Ltd. Des Moines 515.277.4785

MASSACHUSETTS

Landry’s Bicycles, Inc. Natick 508.655.1990

MARYLAND

TriSpeed Timonium 410.823.7000

MICHIGAN

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

NEVADA

Eclipse Running Reno 775.827.2279

NEW JERSEY

Beacon Stores Northfield 609.641.9531 Cycle Craft

Warwick 401.739.0393 East Providence Cycle East Providence 401.434.3838

Parsippany 973.227.4462 Cyclesport Park Ridge 201.391.5291

NEW YORK

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 Shawangunk Running Co. New Palt 845.256.8448 Sunrise Cyclery West Babylon 631.587.6200 Super Runners Huntington 516.549.3006 Ubiquity Distributors Brooklyn 718.875.5491 Westchester Road Runner White Plains 914.682.0637

NORTH CAROLINA

Try Sports Charlotte 704.544.4626 Try Sports Wilmington 843.849.9292

Try Sports Mt. Pleasant 843.849.9292

TENNESSEE

Acme Multisports Goodletttsville 615.855.1760 Fleet Feet Sports Knoxville Knoxville 865.675.3338

TEXAS

Austin Tri-Cyclist, Inc. Austin 512.494.9252 Hill Country Running Company Austin 512.731.4766 Richardson Bike Mart Richardson 972.231.3993 Tri On The Run Houston 832.673.0600

UTAH

Salt Lake Running Company Salt Lake 801.484.9144

VIRGINIA

Gotta Run Running Shop Arlington 703.415.0277

WASHINGTON

OHIO

Bob Roncker’s Running Spot Cincinatti 513.321.3006 Frontrunner Columbus 614.486.0301 Tri Tech Multisport Columbus 614.846.1516

OKLAHOMA

Fleet Feet Sports Tulsa Tulsa 918.492.3338 Runner Oklahoma City 405.755.8888

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

CANADA ALBERTA

Mud Sweat & Gears Sherwood Park 780.449.2453 The Runner’s Den Red Deer 403.341.4446

OREGON

All Tri Sports Portland 503.408.8303

BRITISH COLUMBIA

PENNSYLVANIA

Aardvark Sports Shop Bethlehem 610.866.8300 Cadence Philadelphia 215.508.4300

RHODE ISLAND

La Biciletta Vancouver 604.872.2424

NEW BRUNSWICK

Tri-Athlete Authentic Fitness Fredericton 506.455.7946

ONTARIO

Camire’s Athletic Soles Wakefield 401.782.8353 Caster’s Bicycle Center

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

SOUTH CAROLINA

Runner’s Life Peterborough 705.876.8960

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TRI CLUB LISTING

ARIZONA

Tucson Tri Girls Niki Mathias tucsontrigirls@cox.net

CALIFORNIA

LA Tri Club president@latriclub.com latriclub.com Tri Club San Diego triclubsandiego.org Fleet Feet Multisports Orange County Michael Collins info@multisportsoc.com Orange County Triathlon Club Huntington Beach OCTriClub@triathlete.com San Francisco Tri Club Amy Bohutinsky info@sftriclub.org Golden Gate Tri Club-San Fran Karen Kofod president@ggtc.org Silicon Valley Triathlon Club webmaster@svtriclub.org svtriclub.org Tri Club Marin Mike Belloumini mike@fleetfeetsananselmo.com Kain Performance-San Jose Pete Kain pete@kaiperformance.com kainperformance.com Newport Coast Tri Team Daniel Mathot ncttpresident@hotmail.com nctt.us Sacramento Triathlon Club Kathryn Caucci 916.736.2746 sactriclub.com Santa Cruz Triathlon Assoc. Sherri Goodman scat@sctriathlon.com sctriathlon.com

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Pikes Peak Triathlon Club John “Woody” Noleen noleen@aol.com p2triclub.org

FLORIDA

Gold Coast Triathletes goldcoasttriathletes.com

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Tri- Sharks Chris Sweet tri-shark.org/tri-sharks

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Tri Fort Triathlete

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LOUISIANA

Team Earthquake Ben Hewett trioften@teamearthquake.org teamearthquake.org

MAINE

Bikesenjava Multisport Chris Christie shop@haybikesenjava.com haybikesenjava.com

president@cnytriathlon.org Hudson Valley Tri Club markstriclub@hotmail.com HVTC.net Team Runners Edge mindyruns@aol.com runnersedgeny.com Terrier Tri Robert@terriertri.com terriertri.com Triathlon Association of New York City (TANYC) Mo Modali mo@tanyc.org tanyc.org

NORTH CAROLINA

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North Shore Tri Club-Salem Randi Hodson-Dion bhodsdon13@aol.com Wheelworks Multisport- Boston wwmsdirector@yahoo.com wheelworksmultisport.com

MINNESOTA

Gear West Triathlon Club Gw tri club of Long Lake kris@gearwestbike.com gearwestbike.com

South Charlotte Tri Club CJ Warstler info@southsharlottetriclub.com southcharlottetriclub.com

OHIO

Cincy Express Joe Yorio cincyexpress.org info@cincyexpress.org Team Toledo jdjp@sylvania.sev.org

TENNESSEE

(HEAT) Hendersonville Endurance Athletic Team Bill Taylor Ftaylor200@comcast.net triheat.com

MISSOURI

St. Louis Triathlon Club Jason Difini contact@stloustriclub.com stlouistriclub.com

UTAH

NEBRASKA

Team Nebraska Triathlon Club Kelley Perry KelleyTRIUSA@hotmail.com teamnebraska.org

Team Fastlane Scott Kelly teamfastlane@comcast.net Teamfastlane.com

VIRGINIA

NEVADA

Tri Pro Cyclery, Las Vegas Baker1@ameralinx.net triprocyclery.com

Tri Cats Chas Ryan tricats.org Tri Girl Training Jaime Waite grandison@trigirltraining.com trigirltraining.com

NEW JERSEY

WASHINGTON

Team Paramount Mike Grussgott mgrussgott@yahoo.com eteamz.com/paramountadventure Road Fit Multi-sport eric@roadfit.com roadfit.com

WSU Triathlon Club Dave O’Hern daveohern@wsu.edu

NEW YORK

NATIONAL

Asphalt Green Triathlon Club New York, NY 212.369.8890 CNY Tri Club Inc. Jim Szczygiel

WISCONSIN

Wisconsin Fox Cities Triathlon Club info@foxtriclub.com foxtriclub.com Team Trichic Brenda Gilchrist trichic@trichic.com trichic.com

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

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Sports Nutrition By Scott Tinley

S

Supermarkets are some of my favorite places. I don’t necessarily like to shop, but there is something enticingly postmodern about their diamond-tiled aisles stocked with bright packaging and the shiny meat behind chrome and glass counters. The fruit seems to be in competition for top honors in the primary color division, and cheery Muzak is interrupted only by the grinding of fresh coffee beans. This menagerie of manufactured sensory delights always reminds me of slick event expos, with sample bites of gourmet hot dog taking the place of 10 percent-off-your-next-pair coupons. I used to love to go grocery shopping with my fellow athletes. It was the highlight of any race week. Hotels were chosen for their strategic proximity to the nearest Vons, Safeway or Food Giant, and we’d roll in, each armed with his own basket and plan of attack. No food group was safe. The more competitive types would hide their choice of go-fast foods under paper plates and cases of bottled water. You could tell a lot by how an athlete shopped for his pre-race food. Mark Allen was a highbrow eater of the continental variety, choosing fine cheeses, choice cuts of beef and anything that sounded French. Scott Molina’s basket contained exactly these items: Kona coffee, a decent liqueur, two six-packs of Tecate beer, chips, a large frozen pizza and more coffee. Mike Pigg, one of the most famous eaters in the

history of multisport, would vary his diet based on what bad advice he was receiving at the time. One season, poor Mikey was coached into consuming a cube of butter per day. But his metabolism was beyond reproach. Mike Pigg could have eaten and processed tree bark. I had the experience of grocery shopping with Dave Scott on only a few occasions. He was calculating and methodical, elevating the act of choosing vegetables to its own virtue. I had to leave him and his produce advisor after their first hour of tomato deliberation. Kenny Souza refused to eat, so he never shopped. He has certainly made up for that lately. And Jimmy Riccitello, well … Jimmy was all about garlic. It’s odd. I don’t have memories of grocery shopping with female triathletes. Perhaps they were night shoppers, that skulking variety of closet consumer who waits until 20 minutes before closing time when the workers have rolled out the wood pallets stacked with cases of shrink-wrapped dog food and 24-pack boxes of Raisinets. Night shoppers are dangerous because they’re usually working undercover, and in the case of athletes, that can include the procurement of ingredients for the clandestine production of some ergogenic aids. Before the advent of sport bars, sport drinks and sport candy in the shape of an M-Dot, we used to make our own concoctions and stash them on the course at mile 20 of the marathon, usually under some big rock. One of the most widely-copied formulations was Jet Fuel, a rather risky concoction of Gookinaid, fructose, salt, crushed aspirin, crushed NoDoz, smashed banana, baking soda and just a hint of tequila. Oh, and a bit of water to prevent implosion. To walk the aisles of a SuperSaver with all the ingredients for Jet Fuel in your basket was a signal to the world that you were willing to commit gastronomic suicide in an effort to win. I don’t see athletes in the grocery stores anymore, or if I do, I can’t recognize them. Do they wear dark glasses with a hat pulled low over their eyes? Do they order their food online and have it delivered? Do they have handlers? Are post-millennium athletes eating only engineered food? I hope they don’t have lists. People who shop with grocery lists are weak. They should do their shopping in those warehouse stores where you can find a car battery, an umbrella and a 50-pound vat of peanut butter in the same aisle. Lists are for people who can’t remember—the old, the timid, the over-organized. Can you imagine Michael Jordan checking his list and scanning labels for things like monosodium glutamate and sodium benzoate? No way. Michael leaves his car at the curb, motor running, grabs a few packs of Ball Park Franks, maybe a lottery ticket or two, drops a Ben Franklin on the counter and splits. That’s a smooth shopper. I’d like to take a job as a personal creative grocery shopper someday, but I’m afraid I’d get fired before even reaching the checkout stand. I tend to buy too much, cook too much (when I cook at all) and save leftovers until penicillin can be harvested from the mold. On occasion, though, when all the stars are aligned and the apples look like a Paul Klee painting, I can choose, purchase and even consider preparing something memorable. It’s not a duplicable act. It’s never easy. Ah, but to saunter down that bakery aisle on a Sunday morning when everyone else is running long, smell the whole wheat rising and hear that sweet sound wafting through the fluorescent air: “No waiting on check stand four.” It reminds me of, well, victory. —Scott Tinley

Triathlete (ISSN08983410) is published monthly by The Competitor Group, 10179 Huennekens St, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92121; (858) 768-6805. Subscription rates: U.S., one year (12 issues) $34.95; two years (24 issues) $59.95. Canada $58.95 per year; all other countries $90.95 per year, U.S. currency only. Periodicals postage paid at San Diego, CA, and additional mailing offices. Single copy price $5.99. Triathlete is copyright 2003 by The Competitor Group. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Send address changes to Triathlete, P.O. Box 469055, Escondido, CA 92046-9513. Ride-along enclosed in all book region 2 copies. 1 6 0 T R I AT H L E T E | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 9 | T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

Publication mail agreement NO. 40064408, return undeliverable Canadian addresses to, Express Messenger International, P.O. BOX 25058, London BRC, Ontario, Canada N6C 6A8

TINLEY TALKS

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