2009-10 Triathlete

THE BEST PLACES TO LIVE: 30 TOP TRI TOWNS GEAR >> TRAINING >> RACE SCENE >> LIFESTYLE

NO.306

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OCTOBER 2009

BECOME A STRONGER SWIMMER WITH CROSS-TRAINING

16 WEEKS

TO A FASTER BIKE SPLIT DO YOU EAT TOO MUCH ON RACE DAY? [SEE PAGE 120]

BEAT

THE HEAT triathletemag.com

NATALIE COUGHLIN OLYMPIC SWIMMER

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contents

october 2009

DEPARTMENTS 20 Starting Lines

By Mitch Thrower

22 Editor’s Note

By Brad Culp

24 Mail Call 26 Checking In IndusTri; Pro Bike; Reviewed; Recipe; Medically Speaking; ITU Q&A; Endurance Conspiracy; Get Leaner; Iron Kids; PC Athlete; Light Read

TRAINING 88 No Water Necessary: Q&A with Natalie Coughlin

By Brad Culp

93 Heat Acclimatization

By Paul Regensburg

97 Lane Lines

By Sara McLarty

98 Big Ring

By Matt Fitzgerald

105 On the Run

By Brian Metzler

108 Speed Lab

By Tim Mickleborough, PhD

112 Tech Support

By Christopher Kautz

117 Dear Coach

By Paul Huddle and Rock Frey

120 Nutrition Q&A

By Pip Taylor

122 Fundamentals

By Ian Murray

125 Triathlon Heresies

By Marc Becker

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Columns 129 Cutting Edge

By Mark Deterline

132 Triathlete’s Garage

By Jay Prasuhn

134 Gear Bag 136 Xterra Zone

By Melanie McQuaid

138 Ticket Punch

By Samantha McGlone

140 Kona or Bust

By Matt Fitzgerald

142 Up Front

By Andy Potts

151 At the Races 168 Tinley Talks

By Scott Tinley october 2009

The Timex Ironman Race Trainer digital heart rate system kit features the ANT+Sport interoperable platform.

The race of truth never lies. It loves to expose strengths as well as weaknesses. So don’t let your bike hold you back. Get the most stable, best handling tri bike in the world and simply go faster than you ever have before. Team Astana did.

To ďŹ nd out more, go to trekbikes.com.

TREKBIKES.COM | © 2009 TREK BICYCLE CORPORATION

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features

october 2009

On the Cover Cover: Natalie Coughlin • Photo by John Segesta Makeup by Noseph Trinh •Hair by Sharle Kochman Natalie Coughlin 16 Weeks to a Faster Bike Split Do You Eat to Much on Race Day? Beat the Heat

50 The Best Places for Triathletes to Live By the Editors

64 Record Setter Chrissie Wellington crushes Ironman distance record at Roth.

By Jay Prasuhn

72 Project Ali’i Leanda Cave hopes to become the next multi-distance triathlon world champion.

By Matt Fitzgerald 12

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76 Kona Won’t Be the Same Without Him Torbjorn Sindballe, one of the most dominant cyclists in the history of triathlon, has been forced off his bike by a heart condition.

By Brad Culp

82 Italians, Beer and Bike Seats Triathlete visits the home country of renowned bike seat manufacturer Fizik.

By Brad Culp

Clarification: The correct website for the wireless audio manufacturer Cy Fi is Mycyfi.com. In the August issue we listed the website as Mycifi.com, which also directs to the company’s homepage.

Correction: The September issue “Fundamentals” article “Tips for Running Your Best” was written by USAT coach Ian Murray. october 2009

triathletemag.com

Courtesy Interbike

This month on

interbike Coverage Triathletemag.com is sending a team of editors and photographers to Las Vegas to bring you inside the showrooms and exhibits at Interbike. Triathlete Senior Editor Jay Prasuhn will bring you insider coverage of next year’s rides at the Interbike Outdoor Demo, and he’ll share his insights and opinions of the newest tech and gear on a daily basis. Check the site from Sept. 21-25 as we bring you photos, video and blogs straight from Las Vegas.

As the ITU World Championship Series winds down and long-distance triathletes gear up for the Ironman World Championships, the race scene becomes relatively quiet. We’ll use this time to gear up for the big race in Kona. Triathlete Editor Brad Culp weighs the odds in his Big Island Toteboard and provides brief profiles on the top contenders for both the men and the women. We’ll also post photo galleries of the top Kona athletes, highlighting their performances up to this point in the season.

Finally, we’ll turn our focus to off-road triathlon on the weekend of Sept. 26, as the top XTERRA athletes compete at the XTERRA USA Championship in Ogden, Utah.

Nils Nilsen/n2fotoservices.com

Race Coverage

online webisodes

Triathletemag.com’s webisodes continue to bring you the latest triathlon news from around the world. This month our news coverage will go high-tech with weekly online webisodes devoted to analysis, race highlights, interviews and tech features.

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october 2009

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First Wave 16

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october 2009

Mountain Cruise LARRY ROSA With a river guiding their way, triathletes bomb down a descent along Highway 73 at Ironman Lake Placid on July 26. Czech-born Canadian Tereza Macel and Germany’s Maik Twelsiek each claimed their second Ironman titles.

october 2009

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First Wave 18

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october 2009

Roth Rampage JAY PRASUHN Fans lining the course at the famed Solarerberg climb nearly envelop eventual race winner Chrissie Wellington as she attacks the ascent at Quelle Challenge Roth on July 12. Wellington set a new Ironman-distance record with a time of 8:31:59.

october 2009

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Starting Lines

It’s OK to Go a Little Crazy

By Mitch Thrower I remember thinking my college roommate Adam Thornbrough was crazy. He would wake up and run in the morning for an hour, then go to track workout in the afternoon after classes, followed by a workout in the gym after dinner. Adam was the first Triathlete subscriber I ever knew—his copy was delivered to campus. “Check this out,” Adam said about the triathlete Mark Allen, then featured as the 1990 winner of the Ironman. At the time, as someone who could barely swim 100 yards without stopping, I thought Mark was also crazy. Run a marathon after biking how many miles? Riiiight.

Fast forward a decade and several lifechanging experiences and I find myself a triathlete with a strong passion for the sport, working in the business that is multisport.

Yet, in the last decade, I’ve noticed that when people find out you are a triathlete, they will either tell you immediately about what they do to stay active, or they simply stand there in disbelief, thinking you’re crazy.

And with triathlon’s ever-widening exposure to the mainstream, the latter reaction is quickly becoming less frequent. It’s refreshing 20

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to find more and more people who are training for their next triathlon.

Still, we are lying to ourselves if we don’t admit that we’re a little crazy. After all, triathlon pushes our bodies to the brink of collapse— and sometimes beyond it. To simply get to the starting line of any triathlon, we have to jump through a rigorous series of hoops to balance work, family, training time and equipment purchases. Triathletes can train for months for a single-day event, spending weeks doing several miles of swimming, hundreds of miles biking and tens of miles running. It takes a little bit of insanity to eat, sleep and dream such a rigorous sport.

But there are lots of crazy sports out there.

There’s the Wife Carrying World Championships in Finland in which a male competitor carries his wife for 253.5 meters through various obstacles. The prize is the wife’s weight in beer. There’s the world’s largest pillow fight, in which more than 3,500 full-grown adults whack each other silly. And I can’t leave out the Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake, an annual event held in England in which 20 young men dive, run and roll like rag dolls at break-neck speeds chasing a 100-pound cheese wheel as it bounces down a steep hill. The winner (if he isn’t sent home in the waiting ambulance) gets the cheese.

There is, of course, a slew of more commonplace but still absurd extreme sports.

Think Ultraman and the Deca-Iron Triathlon

at the deep end of distance. Perhaps you prefer throwing yourself out of a plane with only a parachute and a prayer. Or better yet, diving out of that same plane without a chute and chasing a trustworthy friend who has one, as Keanu Reeves did in “Point Break.” Perhaps you’d prefer diving with great white sharks off the Farallon Islands; or base-jumping from Half Dome in Yosemite or the natural Trango Towers in Pakistan. Many people couldn’t be paid to participate in these sports, but for others, they add essential ingredients of thrill and excitement to life.

Now think rock climbing, alligator wrestling, rugby and whitewater rafting. Aren’t these sports a little nutty too?

Come to think of it, lots of sports are a little daft—and that is the allure. All sports involve some risk of personal injury, overexertion, giving up your lazy Sundays to train.

Every competition involves the possibility of losing. Every moment spent training is another moment that you can’t spend working, eating, relaxing or with your family.

The truth is there are a million and one reasons not to participate in any sport ever.

But when you gaze across the overweight tourists traveling this summer and peer into the unhealthy sedentary souls, you might perceive an even greater danger: leaving your brief life unlived.

When asked why he stayed in a risky sport, Formula One driver Jean Behra put it well: “Those who aren’t racing are dead already.”

Another driver put it this way: “I don’t have a death wish. I have a life wish!”

You can’t deny the ultimate truth about sports—that the only thing more crazy than participating in life through an exciting sport is never participating in anything more demanding than eating a Krispy Kreme donut.

But there is a great difference between choosing something involving random luck like running with the bulls in Pamplona versus a calculated venture like a triathlon with an excellent risk-reward ratio.

Your body is a gift, capable of some magnificent things. To not use it to its full potential is the real crime. Keeping motion in your life keeps you healthy and young. It gives you more energy to be a good employee or boss, a good child or parent. Triathlon, though it might be a little nuts at first glance, is definitely not nuttier than letting an active life pass you by.

Don’t be afraid to go a little crazy.

Train Smart, Mitch Thrower mthrower@competitorgroup.com october 2009

Editor’s Note

Hippies, Freaks and Me When I was 12 years old, my parents decided that we should spend the holidays driving from San Francisco to San Diego instead of enduring another winter break in sweet home Chicago. I was disconsolate when they informed my older brother and me of our unconventional holiday plans. In my 12-year-old head, palm trees and Christmas were mutually exclusive.

In Chicago, winter break equated to two weeks of forced hibernation—the only time of the year that you could exercise your inner sloth without guilt. Driving 650 miles down CA-1 was too complicated for late December.

Plus my brother said that California was full of hippies and freaks. I didn’t really know what that meant, but it sure sounded worse than evergreens and frostbite. My parents were certain that my Christmas spirit could be resurrected, but I clung to my contempt of California for the first three stops of our southbound tour.

San Fran felt colder than Chicago even though the thermometer said it was 62 degrees. I just assumed the hippies and freaks in California used the Kelvin scale and onward we went.

Next up was San Jose, a city that made no sense to me at the time. Whose idea was it to build a city extremely close to the Pacific but not actually on the Pacific? To me, that seemed like going to Chuck E. Cheese’s when Disneyland is right next door. Why settle?

Stop number three was the endless urban expanse known un-affectionately as L.A. After about nine seconds in Venice Beach, I realized what my brother meant by hippies and freaks. I was scared, bored and I could actually taste the air. I wasn’t sure where this taste came from, but I knew it probably wasn’t good.

We headed toward San Diego on Dec. 25 with my Christmas spirit more deflated than ever. I longed for snow, hot chocolate and the great indoors. I was sure that the following year would be afflicted because I didn’t have my normal winter break routine. California seemed to be the antithesis of everything I thought the holiday season ought to be. Why wouldn’t the sun go away? Why was everyone so happy? Why was it socially acceptable to ride a skateboard after the age of 16?

Sensing my distress, my father tried to convince me that the best was yet to come as we drove southward through Orange County.

“You’ll love San Diego,” he said to me. “It’s warmer than San Francisco, more coastal than San Jose and … well … it’s not L.A.” 22

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Pops was right. Even as a stubborn preteen, I conceded my disdain of the Golden State after two days in my newly discovered favorite city. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why San Diego stood out from the other places we’d visited, but I remember thinking that it was the only one I wanted to come back to. Maybe the pace of the city was just right for me. Maybe the weather was so perfect that video games and all other indoor-only activities seemed pointless—and I liked that. Maybe the Mexican food was just that damn good. All I knew was that I wanted to come back.

And I did—10 years later. Armed with a college degree, complete uncertainty about what to do with that degree, and an expensive obsession with bicycles, I loaded up my Jeep and followed that innate twitch to head west.

For me, San Diego is the ideal place to be a triathlete, but that’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of other great tri towns strewn throughout this country. After a few heated debates, two broken dry-erase boards and one black eye, our editorial staff has put together what we feel are the 20 best places to live in America for triathletes. These are cities where you frequently have to find an excuse not to train. These are places where you can find a group to ride with just by rolling down the main drag in Lycra. These are towns where others assume that a guy has smooth legs because he’s a triathlete and not because he’s kind of weird and thinks it makes his satin sheets even more comfortable.

You’ll notice that our picks are mostly small cities or suburbs of larger metropolitan areas.

We don’t have a bone to pick with the likes of New York, Chicago or Los Angeles, but when it comes to tri training, the outskirts of such metropolises are typically better options, unless you really like training indoors.

We realize that this is not a definitive list, and that there are way more the 20 great triathlon towns in the U.S. If you feel your hometown has been slighted, we want to know why. E-mail me your best argument (bculp@ competitorgroup.com) and we’ll publish it on Triathletemag.com. Write a convincing enough argument, and you just might see your hometown make our list in 2010.

There is no one city in this country that is the best place to be a triathlete—it’s only a matter of what’s best for you. If you’re bold enough to make the move to one of the 20 towns on our list, we can’t guarantee that you’ll never want to move again, but we can guarantee that you’ll want to spend a lot of time training while you’re there.

No. 306 | October 2009 Publisher John Duke Associate Publisher Heather Gordon VP, Event Marketing 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 Associate Editor Susan Grant, sgrant@competitorgroup.com Online Coordinator Kurt Hoy, khoy@competitorgroup.com Online Editor Liz Hichens, lhichens@competitorgroup.com Editorial Intern Bethany Leach, bleach@competitorgroup.com Copyeditor Marilyn Iturri Photo Editor 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 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 Customer Service Linda Marlowe, Linda@pcspublink.com Nancy Pomeroy, Nancy@pcspublink.com Triathlete Magazine Offices 10179 Huennekens Street, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92121 Phone: (858) 768-6805; Fax: (858) 768-6806 Triathlon.competitor.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 Triathlon.competitor.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 Sean Clottu Heather Gordon

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, Eastern Region Sales VP, Sales Development VP, Circulation & Production

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Mail Call

We Still Need You, Mr. Tinley

I

t was sad to read in the August issue that Scott Tinley and the graying knights of triathlon are done. For years, you have inspired us to stay true to what we do. A few friends and I get together every Thursday night at Kennebunk Beach for a mini-triathlon. No race director, no prizes, no entry fee. Just a swim, a bike and a run. Different people come and go, but most of us are pretty regular: a retired doctor in his 80s, an insurance broker and his wife, a sales guy, two med students and a high school sophomore. For us, it’s not about the $200,000 purse in Des Moines or an invite to Kona; it’s about getting out there. So, Mr. Tinley, your job is not done. We need you. We need you to remind us of the purity of what we do, of who we aspire to be, of what lives we can touch with triathlon. We need you, the clubs need you and the sport needs you.

You have a story to tell and we need to hear it.

Chris Ebbrecht Kennebunk, Maine

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Nothing Like the Support of a 4-year-old

I

had a great experience that I want to share with you. On April 15, I found out that I had won a lottery slot to Kona. Needless to say, my life has become 4 a.m. bike rides, afternoon swims and long Sunday runs. I’ve put IM photos all around my house and tried to incorporate my wife and children (ages 8, 6 and 4) into my preparations for Kona. My 8-year-old just completed his first triathlon with a top-10 finish. My 6-year-old is autistic and is why I race and the person to whom I’m dedicating Kona. One day, my wife and I couldn’t seem to locate our 4-year-old daughter, but we found her in her bedroom with a Sharpie drawing on herself and her dolls. We asked her why she was drawing on herself, and she said, “Daddy, you can’t be mad at me! These are our tattoos and my dolls and I are in a triathlon!” We’re still laughing.

Dan McDonald Via e-mail

Stay Out of Politics

A

frican-Americans are rich enough, smart enough, and athletic enough to get involved in triathlon without white people’s “efforts.” We don’t need racist articles in Triathlete talking about “inner city pools.” Last I looked, a person of African descent was living in the White House.

You guys are spending too much time hitting the bong at California dinner parties. Stick to pedal cadence and the latest gadgets. After almost 20 years in the sport, I promise I will unsubscribe to Triathlete if you Neanderthals attempt to tread into political waters. This is my escape, you know, hobby—to get away from serious stuff.

Edward A. McClarty Via E-mail

Have something to say?

Send Letters to the Editor to bculp@ competitorgroup.com. Include your name, address and the best way to contact you.

Letters may be edited for clarity and length. october 2009

©2009 Pearl Izumi

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John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

IndusTRI Pro Bike Reviewed Recipe Medically Speaking ITU Q&A Endurance Conspiracy Get Leaner, Go Faster IronKids PC Athlete Profile Light Read

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october 2009

IndusTRI Blueseventy Sponsors Danskin Triathlon Series Blueseventy announced its sponsorship of the Danskin Triathlon Series, the largest and longest running women’s triathlon series in the world, and in which more than 200,000 women have participated during its 20-year history. The series will host 10 sprint-distance triathlons between May and September. As part of the sponsorship, Blueseventy will host fittings at the event expo the Saturday before each event to ensure that the participants’ first open water experiences are positive. Blueseventy is known for crafting women-specific products using “femme fit” features such as a lowered neckline for comfort, longer zipper length to accommodate wider hips, and narrowed neck, wrists and ankles for a customized fit.

Visit Danskinwomenstri.com.

Blueseventy Raffle Sending Two to Kona Blueseventy is raffling off a trip for two to Kona for the Ironman World Championship in October.

The trip includes two round-trip tickets to Kona along with a three-night stay at Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort Oct. 9-12 for the race. To qualify, any athlete who demos a Blueseventy wetsuit at Ironman Wisconsin will be automatically entered into the raffle for the trip. Also, any athlete who purchases a Blueseventy wetsuit at the event will receive six additional raffle tickets. Blueseventy will have a full fleet of suits to try out at the event.

Visit Blueseventy.com.

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C hec king in

Endurance Sports Travel Launches Website, Training Camps

The triathlon travel company Endurance Sports Travel has launched its new website to coincide with the announcement of its first “Living the Dream” Triathlon Training Camps. Campers can train alongside six-time Ironman champion Ken Glah as he prepares for his 26th consecutive Ironman Hawaii World Championships. They take place in September in southeastern Penn-

sylvania, feature three- to nine-day programs, and are designed for triathletes of all levels preparing for late season long-course half- and full-distance Ironman races. EST will also make available a limited number of race entry slots to sold-out Ironman races, including Wisconsin and Arizona. The race entry slots are offered in conjunction with EST’s full-service ground packages. In addition, EST has created TriBy3 Performance Coaching, which utilizes three coaches—Glah, Gregory Close and Stefan Bill—to provide the utmost in individualized attention. EST hopes to revolutionize the coaching industry by providing athletes with the collaborative effort of its skilled coaches.

Visit Endurancesportstravel.com.

Premium Leisure Signs Gollnick, Launches Swim Spa Premium Leisure LLC has signed fivetime Ironman champion Heather Gollnick to be the spokeswoman for its revolutionary new swim spa, the Swimmer’s Edge 18. The spa was launched during the inaugural Rev3 Triathlon, Gollnick’s new half-iron triathlon series, which focuses on an interactive, familyfriendly experience. Gollnick, who has owned and used competitive swim spas in the past, said she is glad there is finally a product that will challenge elite athletes during their swim training. Swimmers can pick their workout

number (between 50 and 999) and get a consistent workout every time. “This is the Mac Daddy of all fitness spas,” she said.

“It’s great.”

Visit Premiumleisure.com or for more about Heather Gollnick, visit Heathergollnick.com.

Ironguides Names Kestrel Official Bike Kestrel Bicycles has been named the official bike of Ironguides coaching, a worldwide company dedicated to serving endurance athletes of all skill levels. The partnership provides Ironguides’ clients the opportunity to train and race on Kestrel bicycles, and to be fitted with the model that’s best for them.

“While Kestrel isn’t the only bicycle we work with, it is the one we recommend to our athletes. Kestrel’s philosophy of delivering the best quality product meshes with Ironguides’ philosophy to deliver superior coaching, training services and information to our athletes,”

said Ironguides coach Kristian Manietta.

Visit Ironguides.net and Kestrelbicycles.com.

october 2009

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Tires Continental Grand Prix 4000 tubulars, 700x21mm

Frame Ridley Dean, size small

Hydration Shimano PRO bottle cages (downtube and horizontal between aerobars)

Pedals Shimano Dura-Ace Groupset Shimano Dura-Ace 10-speed, 11-21 cassette

Chainring Shimano Dura-Ace, 53-39

Wheels Shimano Dura-Ace C-50 Carbon Tubulars

cockpit Shimano Pro Missile aerobar/Pro Carbon stem, 90mm, Shimano Dura-Ace carbon brake levers

Photos by Jay Prasuhn

Saddle Selle Italian T1

Richie Cunningham’s Ridley Dean

By Jay Prasuhn Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. That’s the story line for Richie Cunningham, the Aussie pro who always seems on the threshold of big victories—but more often than not comes up second.

But that’s testament to his reliable ability. While occasionally on the short end of the stick, Cunningham is still one of the most well-balanced long-course athletes on the Ironman 70.3 circuit. Cunningham has an impressive list of victories, including wins at the Longhorn Ironman 70.3 and the Laguna Phuket Triathlon last year along with a spate of podium finishes.

This year, Cunningham is one of the first to ride the Ridley Dean, which features unique aerodynamic features, including bumped leading edges that help trip up airflow and adhere it to the frame for smoother flow. It also uses technology introduced by Oval Concepts’ Morgan Nicol: Venturi slots on the fork blades and seatstays that help accelerate wind through the airfoil with reduced drag resistance. Richie’s also one of a few, including reigning Hawaii Ironman champ Craig Alexander, to run a complete Shimano range, from the new 7900 Dura-Ace mechanical groupset (which cut more than 180 grams over the earlier iteration) to wheels, to the company’s high-end Pro aerobars.

Cunningham runs a fairly aggressive position with his seat angle at approximately 79 degrees, the saddle nose dropping about 2 centimeters in front of the bottom bracket, countering the steep setup with a nice, low front end to open his hip angle and drop his frontal aero drag.

You can follow Cunningham’s season at Richiecunningham.net.

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october 2009

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Somnio Custom Running Shoes $110-$130

By Courtney Johnson Sean Sullivan and Andy Pruitt, two of the geniuses behind Specialized’s Body Geometry concept, recently set out to build the perfect running shoe. The pair recruited gait analysis expert Tim Hilden from the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine to take the principles learned from years of designing cycling gear and apply them to running shoes. After three years of testing at the BCSM, the Santa Cruz-based Somnio brand was born under the premise, “Don’t just sell shoes, solve problems.”

Latin for “dream,” Somnio uses a simple concept to design its kicks: adapt the shoe to the runner’s actual foot instead of the runner having to adapt to the shoe. As Sullivan says, “It is like a bike fit for your feet.”

Somnio has a specific design philosophy focused on a biomechanically based product design that is medically proven and very functional. What is unique about the design is that each shoe can be customized to adapt to or correct the arch, cushioning and alignment needs of each runner’s foot. With three base models and 12 adjustable inserts, there are 108 fit combinations per shoe model (216 32

triathletemag.com

per pair) and 648 combinations total for the product line, ensuring that both the elite and newbie runner can get the perfect fit.

The shoes are found at more than 100 specialty running stores around the country, and their sales staff undergo extensive fit training in order to customize the shoes to your own biomechanical needs.

The fitting process begins by gathering information on runner history, injuries, orthotic use and shoe model preferences. From there, the salesperson uses a laser fitting tool to determine the correct “prescription” for you to help with any muscular imbalances and gait inefficiencies. One of three various wedges, ranging from 2 to 4 degrees will be chosen to aid in controlling pronation by correcting the subtalar joint alignment and provide forefoot control. A choice of three footbeds means adequate and comfortable arch support for flat or high-arched feet. Three different density levels of cushioning are also available for both the forefoot and heel and are prescribed based on specific podiatry issues or preference of the runner. The five-step process finishes with

inserting the adjustable components into the shoe and the runner hopping on a treadmill for gait analysis.

With the launch of the Westridge in the spring of 2010, customization will also come to trail running. Prices range from $110 for the neutral Runaissance to $130 for the Mission Control. Somniorunning.com.

Different combinations of inserts and wedges allow the Somnio shoe line to be adjusted to fit your foot.

october 2009

Win the Ultimate Training Run!

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Recipe

C hec king in

Desirée Ficker’s Turkey Chili Desirée Ficker makes a hearty and healthy turkey chili stuffed with meat, beans and spices. It is full of lean protein and flavor while low in fat, making it a good post-workout meal.

—Compiled by Ashley Slaney

Ingredients

Directions

1.5 pounds lean ground turkey 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes 1 16-ounce can cannellini beans 1 16-ounce can chili beans 2 small cans green chiles 2 tablespoons chili powder 1 tablespoon paprika 1 chopped small white onion 2 chopped garlic cloves 1 tablespoon salt

Brown the turkey in a large pot and drain the fat. Add in the garlic and onion and stir on medium heat until onion is soft.

Add tomatoes, beans, green chiles and spices.

Stir until well mixed, cover pot and reduce heat. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt to taste. Ser ve on top of tortilla chips, spinach or rice, or enjoy it on its own.

You can use the leftovers to make a casserole, lining a glass dish with sliced veggies or chips and pouring the remaining chili on top.

Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Cut this page out and save it in your recipe book!

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october 2009

and help you perform your best on race-day

See LINSEY CORBIN** on October 11, 2009, enter the waters at the Ironman World Championship plus learn about her RACE SECRETS

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C hec king in

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

Medically Speaking

Groin Pain might not Be What you think

By Jordan D. Metzl, MD Molly, a 33-year-old triathlete, came into my office. “I have been increasing my running mileage, and for the past few weeks I’ve had this aching in my groin,” she said. Groin pain can be quite confusing for athletes, especially since there are several types of injuries that can produce similar symptoms.

The most common type of groin pain is muscular. The adductor muscles originate along the pubic bone and attach on the femur.

When these muscles are strained, or torn, they produce the classic groin strain. Clues to groin strain include pain with movement of the leg and pain when the adductor muscles are pushed. Muscular groin pain usually heals within a few weeks, depending on the severity of the muscle injury.

Muscular groin pain can also be caused by a strain of the iliopsoas (hip flexor) tendon. Similar to adductor muscle strain, hip flexor strain hurts when the hip is moved 36

triathletemag.com

and is generally treated by physical therapy cartilage lining in the hip joint. Impingement to strengthen the hip flexor muscles. of the hip is also evaluated using MRI and Another cause of groin pain that doctors sometimes requires surgery to repair. are finding with increasing frequency is the Molly’s diagnosis was a hip stress sportsman’s hernia. A hernia, or a tear in the fracture. Among the most serious types of lining of the abdominal cavity, allows the stress fractures is the femoral neck stress intestines to push outside fracture. This injury comthe abdomen, causing pain. monly appears in runners Many patients are This type of hernia can and triathletes who try cause pain in the groin, and surprised to learn that to “load” running miles it’s known as a sportsman’s the most problematic too quickly. These athletes hernia since it occurs most always complain of types of hip problems almost commonly in athletes. This groin pain that worsens cause groin pain. is different than the classic with running. The keys hernia that occurs closer to recognizing this injury to the hip. Symptoms of a hernia include include groin pain that worsens with the pain that worsen with coughing or sneez- landing phase of running or when hopping ing. Sometimes symptoms that appear to be on one leg. Often these injuries are diagnosed muscular pain persist for months and turn by MRI, and if not detected early might lead out to be a sportsman’s hernia. Diagnosis of to a hip fracture. a sportsman’s hernia is best done by MRI, After many months of limited activity as and the treatment is surgery to close the gap well as calcium and vitamin D supplements to in the abdominal cavity. increase her bone strength, Molly successfully Molly’s groin pain was actually coming returned to running. from her hip. Many patients like Molly are surprised to learn that the most problematic Jordan D. Metzl, MD, Drjordanmetzl.com, is a nationally types of hip problems cause groin pain. These recognized sports medicine specialist at Hospital for include impingement, a pinching of the hip Special Surgery in New York City. In addition to his that causes groin pain when the hip is flexed medical practice, Dr. Metzl is a 26-time marathon and is often due to a torn labrum, which is the runner and six-time Ironman finisher. october 2009

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ITU Q&A

C hec king in note: Brownlee followed up his win in Madrid with victories at the next ITU World Championship stops in Washington, D.C., and Austria, landing him a No. 1 ranking in the series.)

Q: A: Q:

Q:

A:

A:

Alistair Brownlee Meet the new (and young) king of draft-legal racing

By Holly Bennett

Q:

Let’s talk about your triumph at the ITU World Championship in Madrid. You smashed that run course, leaving everyone else in your dust. Did you know when you woke up that morning that you had something special in you?

To be honest, I had no idea. The day before I felt terrible and didn’t have the best night’s sleep. I had confidence in my fitness because of a good winter of training, but I really did not have a clue how the race would go until it was over.

A:

Q: A:

What did the Madrid race do for your confidence?

It’s great to have a good race under my belt, but it doesn’t mean I can do it again. I had a very good day in Madrid—the course suits me and I felt great. I’m not sure how much better things can go, so I will just have to see. (Editor’s 38

triathletemag.com

Q:

Beyond London, what ar e your plans—athletic or otherwise?

I can never imagine a day without running.

I have no doubt that, if possible, I will be involved in athletics indefinitely. In 2020 I will be 32, so there is no reason why I couldn’t race at that Olympics. But I would also love to try different events such as Ironman, XTERRA and marathon running.

A:

Q:

Tell me about fell running, another of your athletic pursuits. Is it as crazy as it sounds?

Don’t you just run straight down the side of a mountain as fast as you can, regardless of any obstacles in your path?

It is a fantastic sport that varies from quite tame cross country-type races to events involving extremely steep and rocky inclines and declines. The goal can be as simple as first one there and back—choose your own route. I did a lot of fell races when I was young. I enjoyed them because they involved so much more than just running, such as climbing walls and wading through rivers. It is a summer sport so I don’t get to do it much any more, but I try to run a few in the off-season.

A:

You recently turned 21 years old. In the U.S., most guys would celebrate by going out and getting drunk. How did you mark the occasion?

I didn’t do a lot as I had a race two days later. I do celebrate from time to time in moderation, but the legal drinking age here is 18.

Q: A:

When you were younger what did you dream of becoming when you grew up?

An athlete of course! What could be more perfect than earning a living from doing something you love and would be doing anyway?

I was told by a teacher at school, “If you enjoy what you do for a living, you never have to do a day’s work in your life.”

Q: A:

You have two younger brothers. Were you guys pretty wild growing up? Were your parents strict, or would they be considered cool?

They were not particularly strict, and they were very passionate that we should have the best opportunities. They spent a lot of time ferrying us to and from training venues. I was lucky to have an obvious place to channel my endless amounts of energy. Otherwise, who knows where I might have gone or what trouble I might have gotten into.

Q:

Most long-course triathletes put a big emphasis on recovery after hard training and racing. What about you? Do you take naps?

No, I never sleep during the day. I can’t! I believe you can train as hard as you like as long as you sleep properly and eat properly.

I try to have at least nine hours of sleep every night, I never train earlier than 7 a.m. (four days a week I swim at 7 a.m.) and I make sure I eat two good meals a day.

A:

Q:

If you could be a celebrity for something besides athletics, what would it be and why? Rock star, philanthropist, King of England … anything.

I’m not sure I would want to be a celebrity; but maybe someone with the power to change things for the better, and the good sense not to abuse that power.

A:

Q: A:

What are five things in your refrigerator right now?

You would find a lot more than five things: everything from yogurt, fruit and veggies to chocolate and cream cake. october 2009

Delly Carr/triathlon.org

I’m sure the London 2012 Olympics figure pretty big in your plans. Can you imagine what it would be like to be in contention for a medal in front of your home country?

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift.

That’s why it is called the present. While I look forward to the future, I like to take things day by day and enjoy the here and now. London is definitely in my plans, but I don’t really like to look too far into the future because anything can happen.

Is there anything that frightens you?

Being injured so that I can’t do what I love every day.

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Endurance Conspiracy

C hec king in

The Power of Belief

By Tim DeBoom The justice of sport is defined by sacrifice without end. There are winners and losers at every event in every sport. Goals are accomplished, dreams are crushed and injuries happen. No matter the result, most athletes continue to come back for more. Few decide to hang it up because of a single result.

I was sharply reminded of this after witnessing the incredible men’s Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick this year. It was their third time in the finals together, and the result was the same as before: another victory for Federer, another defeat and lost opportunity for Roddick. Both played unbelievably well, and it could be argued that both deserved to win. However, that’s not how sport works. The commentator made that point when she started her interview with, “Tennis can be cruel sometimes.”

Both athletes said that they will return in 2010 for another chance at winning. Will Federer continue his dominant winning ways, or will this year’s close match be the catalyst for Roddick to finally step up and claim that elusive title?

40

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So what is the difference? What allows one athlete to win it all and accomplish his ultimate goal, while another can be a perennial second placer? Is it luck, better preparation, genetics or in the stars? Or did one just not want it badly enough?

Here’s my take on it: The winners stake their claims early, either to themselves or to an audience. There are athletes in this world who believe that “it” belongs to them and that they are going to have it no matter what it takes. There are different ways to achieve this, with generally the same result.

I was always the more guarded type. I kept my goals and dreams close to my heart and still do. Quiet confidence is how I’ve heard it described. Let me take you back to high school swimming. I had watched the state meet several times as a youngster and marveled at the champions. These experiences resonated with me, and I knew that my time would come.

When the opportunity was there, I worked hard and accomplished what I deserved. I won a state title. I learned that if I took an unquestioned leap of faith and believed in the process, the results would be there.

This carried on into my triathlon career.

My first experience at Kona was nothing special in terms of results, but it set the stage for my future on the island. My experience there in 1992 created a dream that was slow to manifest.

I did not actually have reason to believe that

dream until 1998. I had trained for Hawaii with Peter Reid. We spent about six weeks together, pushing each other to the limits. Some days he got the best of me, and on others, I took it to him. We complemented each other nicely.

We then spent the last few weeks on our own to finish preparing for race day.

Pete went on to win that year, and I rounded out the top 10. Although I would probably not have been faulted for feeling a bit dejected, I was far from it. That was the moment that I knew I could win the Ironman. I had gone toe-to-toe with Pete in training. The ability was there, and all I had to do was stay the course and believe in everything I did from there on.

I’ve had several setbacks since my two titles, but I keep coming back for another shot. It has been said that greatness courts failure, but if you get bowled over by that failure and can’t pick yourself up, you will never get another shot.

In recent years, Chris McCormack has been labeled the brash triathlete who has staked his claim on certain goals and events. As I have never been one to verbalize my ambitions, Chris has made it very clear that he believes he deserves “it,” and he is going to take it no matter who is there to challenge him. In a way, he has claimed ownership of the titles he’s won before the race has even taken place.

In the lead-up to the 2002 Ironman, Chris talked about winning it on his first attempt.

He had no fear and believed in his ability. In his mind, being an Ironman champion was a done deal. Even though that first attempt did not turn out as he hoped, he eventually claimed what he believed was his five years later. I have no doubt that it was his strong belief he would win that allowed him to deal with the tough races and claim the title.

Chris and I took different approaches to claiming what we thought was ours. His has always been more aggressive while I am still more guarded. Neither style changes the fact that we both feel a sense of ownership in Kona that continues to drive us. This year’s Hawaii Ironman is going to have even more returning champions who believe the title is already theirs. I wonder if one of us will claim a bigger piece of the pie, or if a new winner will emerge and stake his claim of ownership on the Big Island. october 2009

Don Karle

It has been said that greatness courts failure, but if you get bowled over by that failure and can’t pick yourself up, you will never get another shot.

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Get Leaner, Go Faster Presented by

Christina Noordstar has a life—and a body—that most triathletes would envy

By Matt Fitzgerald

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When Christina Noordstar gets a hankering for a healthy meal to fuel her busy lifestyle and twice-daily workouts, she doesn’t have to go far. She and her husband, Robert, own three Tropical Smoothie Cafes in the Tampa Bay Area where they live. “I eat at the store or take something home from it almost every day,” she says. “We have a large variety, so it never gets boring.”

And because she’s the boss, Noordstar can leave the store to train—almost always with Robert—whenever she feels like it. You might say she has found perfect synergy between her career and her hobby. In fact, it was triathlon that led her into the smoothie business.

“We both started doing triathlons about eight years ago,” she says. “We were both in the corporate world and wanted to branch into doing something on our own. We were absorbed in the triathlon world and wanted our work to fit with it.” The opportunity that changed their lives came to them through their extensive triathlon social network.

“We have an awesome triathlon scene here,” Noordstar says. “Every day, morning and night, there are groups that meet for swimming, cycling and running. We’re entirely socialized through it.”

But it’s not all about socializing for Noordstar. It’s also about performance. In other words, she kicks butt. Her racing accomplishoctober 2009

ments include a win at the 2004 Great Floridian Triathlon and a fifth-place finish at the 2008 LongCourse World Championships.

You might not expect such a successful triathlete to think much about her body weight, but Noordstar does. “It’s a major focus for me,” she says. “I know what my ideal body weight is.

There’s a certain point where my weight will slow me down. I may go for three-hour bike rides, but I still have a hunger that stays with me, so I really do have to focus on control.”

Control for Noordstar is more about what she eats than how much. “I generally eat healthy,” she says. “I almost never eat fast food or anything fried.” In addition to the healthy smoothies and snacks she gets at her own stores, she frequently eats salad, salmon, couscous, all kinds of veggies, chicken, pita sandwiches and sweet potatoes.

Noordstar says that her weight is not quite where she wanted it to be. “My weight fluctuates by a good five to eight pounds over the course of the year,” she says. “Right now I would like to lose a few pounds.”

Noordstar and her husband planned to travel to France to watch and ride the last few Tour de France stages, including the epic climb to the summit of Mont Ventoux. Something tells us she will be at her perfect weight by the end of the trip.

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IronKids

C hec king in

Get the Kids Involved in ’09 WORLD CHAMPION SUPPLIERS ‘92, ‘93,’94, ‘96, ‘97, ‘98, ‘99, ‘00, ‘01, ‘04, ‘06, ‘07, ‘08

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With so many different youth-specific events springing up, the tri season is now just as long for the kids as it is for the rest of us. Even though this season is coming to a close there are still plenty of kids-only events left for those of you who have been considering getting your kids’ multisport career rolling. Distances vary based on miniature age-groups (in most cases the age-group breakdown is 6-8, 9-11, 12-15), so be sure to check the race’s website for specific distances.

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PC Athlete Profile

Believing I’m Superabled Mike Savicki, Cornelius, N.C.

I had the kind of start in triathlon that would make most guys jealous. About 11 years ago, the organizer of a local triathlon asked if I knew any physically challenged athletes who might want to join two special guest triathletes on a relay team at his upcoming sprint event. When I learned the two pros were Wendy Ingraham and Lori Bowden, I nominated myself.

I couldn’t have asked for better teammates. I knew Ingraham belonged in the water and Bowden’s running legs were fantastic. It was the strength of the cyclist that I thought would be the problem. When we first met, I told them that I was afraid of being the weak link on the team because of my disability.

As a higher level spinal cordinjured athlete, I had already convinced myself that my arms and shoulders just couldn’t match the power of an able-bodied cyclist’s legs and we would finish last. Ingraham and Bowden told me that success in triathlon is a direct result of focusing more on what you can do than what you cannot. My teammates suggested I consider myself superabled instead of disabled and keep that thought in mind as I rolled out of transition.

Somewhere along my 17-mile cycling leg, I began to believe them.

I experienced the feeling of flying over the pavement just like october 2009

every other cyclist. The freedom of movement and the satisfaction of hammering through the miles was more than I imagined. My teammates were correct; my disability didn’t matter at all. I could be a triathlete just like everyone else.

The next year, Ingraham and Bowden came back and so did I. They had a new teammate because I chose to race on my own.

I crossed the finish line as a solo competitor; that race was the first of many sprint and Olympic-distance triathlons I have completed, in addition to numerous marathons, time trials, road races and open-water swim competitions.

In the last decade, I have learned that competing in triathlon with a disability goes beyond inspiration. If you ask any challenged athlete why we participate, you’ll more than likely hear an answer that doesn’t include the word “inspiration.” We compete for the same reasons that most pros, age-groupers, Clydesdales, Athenas and novices do: We compete to see how far we can go when we push ourselves beyond our perceived limitations.

I have also learned that triathlon is more than simply a swim, bike and run sport. I have had the good fortune of receiving support from the Challenged Athletes Foundation to train on my own. I have been lucky to participate in the San Diego Triathlon Challenge alongside some of the greatest athletes in the sport. And I have also had the misfortune of missing a race and hearing the starting gun sound while I was in a hospital bed because of overtraining.

I’m not finished quite yet.

This fall, I have my first half-iron distance race on the calendar. And the sport of triathlon is now part of my everyday lifestyle thanks to Ingraham, Bowden and the entire triathlon family. And what lives we triathletes lead … we are all superabled, aren’t we?

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Light Read

C hec king in

Father Knows Best, but Newton Knows Why

By Jef Mallett Sir Isaac Newton would have made a good dad. Dads have an answer for everything, and the answer is this: “Because I said so.”

Isaac Newton really did know the answer to everything, or at least everything that hadn’t been explained by 1687. His idea of “because I said so” was to write “Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica.” In it, he explained nothing less than how the world works—why nothing moves until it’s pushed, why it moves in the direction it’s pushed and why the harder it’s pushed, the faster it moves. He explained how gravity is pretty much behind everything, and how every action has an equal and opposite reaction—why balls bounce, guns recoil, rockets fly and the Thursday enchilada special at Aztec Ollie’s backfires on you (maybe not that last one).

Isaac Newton wasn’t a dad. Indeed, when he died at 84 years old, it is widely believed that he was a virgin, which pretty much settles any debate about objects at rest remaining at rest.

But in a way, we triathletes are all his children because we do exactly what children do. We take all that he held dear, and we rebel against it for no good reason except that we can.

He said an object at rest remains so until it’s pushed by an outside force, but we like to think we motivate ourselves internally. He said an object in motion remains in motion, but when we race, we stop twice to change our shoes. We fight gravity with carbon bikes, featherweight shoes and unadorned salads.

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And while we accept that our actions have opposite reactions, we see to it that they’re as unequal as possible.

To borrow from another genius, singersongwriter Todd Snider (who is alive and well, a good deal more modern, a whole lot funnier and, being a guitar player and all, substantially less virginal), “We want the most we can possibly get for the least we can possibly do.” If we’re going to swim through water that’s pushing back against us, we’re going to do it in rubber overalls that hold as much of our bodies out of the drag as possible. If we’re going to ride bikes through an atmosphere that quadruples its resistance every time we double our speed, then we’re going to do it with tight clothes, lenticular tubing, disc wheels and a helmet that makes us look like the hood ornament on a 1946 Nash.

It’s that helmet that brings the rebellion tumbling down. Oh, sure, time-trial helmets are great in the wind. If you’re going to make something aerodynamic, make it your head.

That’s a lot of surface area to punch through dense and undisturbed air, and an aero helmet is the logical way to beat Newton’s third law of motion.

Dignity is another matter. For every gain we make in image and esteem, the aero helmet is there with an opposite, and at the very least equal, riposte. By the time we start getting tempted by the helmets, we’ve been in the

sport a while and gotten good at it—good enough to ride at speeds where a helmet like that can make a difference. We’re thin. We’re muscular. We’re confident that we’re good looking. We’re easy pickings for the Newtonian dose of humility headed our way.

So of course I own one. I don’t mind how it looks. Truth be told, I kind of like how it looks, at least at the races. But mine is kind of a starter aero helmet. An ideal helmet, really.

It’s not huge or bulbous. The tail is of modest length. It’s comfortable and reasonably cool inside. And it doesn’t cover my ears.

It is this last characteristic that coaxes me away from reason and sets me up. I have—let’s put this as charitably as we can—non-aerodynamic ears. No, let’s not put it charitably, since I’ve finally forgiven my great-aunt Clara and her exclamation: “Will you look at the handles on that sugarpot!” I’m over it. Why would I worry? These ears are an opportunity. Cover them up with the right helmet, guide the air around them, and we could shave minutes from my bike splits.

I saw that helmet at my bike shop. Ooh. It was my size. I picked it up. Nice and light.

Sharp. I unbuckled the chinstrap and put it (oof) partway (agh) on my (ow) head. It would not go over my ears. There was no room. I tried working my ears inside, but it was like putting shoes on a toddler. By the time I got the thing all the way on, my ears were an origami project, I’d chewed up twice the minutes the ear fairings could possibly have saved me, and I wasn’t sure I could take the helmet back off without prescription painkillers.

A couple weeks later, I rode a fine race with my ears flapping in the wind under my old, modest, comfortable helmet. I was eating watermelon when my friend finished up, a little sheepish about his own brand-new aero helmet. He had barely averaged 19 mph, somewhat below the threshold where the aero benefits kick in and well below where he felt justified wearing something that assertive.

Newton’s third law had gotten him.

There it was, next to his bike: His helmet of shame. And I thought, “Hey, I bet my ears fit inside that one.” And I wondered how cheap he’d sell it after just one race. But I kept it to myself. I told him to relax, that he’d had a rough day over a new distance, and that he’d catch up to that helmet soon enough.

You don’t try to profit from a friend’s disappointment—my dad said so.

Mallett’s new book, “Trizophrenia: Inside the Minds of the Triathlete,” is a lighthearted exploration of the triathlon lifestyle and those who love it. It will be available this fall in bookstores, tri shops and online. october 2009

– Brett Sutton, Team TBB coach, 2009

No piece of equipment will save them more time in a non wetsuit triathlon... period.”

“When Team TBB athletes ask me if it is worth them wearing a swimskin, I give them a very simple answer:

www.blueseventy.com

Bellevue, wash.

Bend, ore.

Boise, idaho

reno, Nev. Park City, utah san Francisco, Calif.

Boulder, Colo.

santa Barbara, Calif.

Carlsbad, Calif.

Tempe, Ariz.

Tucson, Ariz.

maui, Hawaii

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october 2009

TriATHleTe’s

20 BesT PlACes To liVe

BY THE EDITORS We didn’t use a scientific formula to put together this list. We didn’t worry whether or not certain areas of the country were adequately represented. We just put a few of the world’s biggest tri geeks in a conference room and asked ourselves one question: if you were moving, and triathlon training was the main criteria dictating your decision, where should you go?

Plymouth, minn.

Providence, r.i. madison, wis. state College, Pa.

Barrington, ill.

Des moines, iowa

Columbia, md.

omaha, Neb.

Bloomington, ind.

Alexandria, Va.

wilmington, N.C. Chattanooga, Tenn.

Cary, N.C.

little rock, Ark.

Austin, Texas The woodlands, Texas

Clermont, Fla. Coral springs Fla.

Honorable mention

october 2009

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Best Terrain

No. 1: Tucson, Ariz.

Population: 545,702 Median home price: $200,000

Why it’s on our list: There’s a reason

Bruce Griffin

names like T.J. Tollakson, Peter Reid, Sheila Taormina and Lance Armstrong have made the college town of Tucson a training base, and why tri camps make annual pilgrimages to the city. And it’s the same reason why current pros Samantha McGlone and Leanda Cave call it home: high-quality, year-round training.

The variety of training options on predominantly sunny, warm, rainless days is astounding. Want flatland work on the bike?

Head south along Old Nogales Highway.

High tempo? Madera Canyon. How about a beautiful rolling cruise in the Sonoran Desert? Try Gates Pass and ride smooth and serpentine Kinney Road. Serious hill work?

Make the 19-mile ascent up Mt. Lemmon.

There are simply no shortages of options for any level of cyclist.

Running options are equally rife, with many school tracks having open access, and desert trails providing great technical trail running—just keep an eye out for the local flora (cactus) and fauna (rattlesnakes, bobcats and mule deer). Tollakson’s staple run is along the ephemeral Santa Cruz River Park on the city’s west side.

Live here if: You begin to twitch when you think about another winter of riding the trainer, running on the treadmill and doing indoor swim drills while staring at a wall and waiting for your spring race.

Don’t live here if: You can’t take the

David Jewell

heat. In the summer, be sure to get your workouts done before 9 a.m., when 100-plus degree temps make you fodder for one of those postcards of a skeleton clawing his way across the desert, the caption reading, “Yeah, but it’s a dry heat!”

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Best Place To Find a Training Group

No. 2: Boulder, Colo.

Population: 103,100 Median home price: $545,000

Why it’s on our list: We know, listing Boulder ahead of our hometown of

Dave Sutherland, City of Boulder

San Diego might get us stoned the next time we’re biking down the Pacific Coast Highway. Perhaps Boulder’s only drawback is that the town doesn’t provide year-round outdoor training. From April to October, Boulder is simply the best place in the country to train—and the best place to find others to train with. With perhaps a higher concentration of multisporters than any other town in the country, there’s always somebody willing to swim, bike or run with you. Also, the trails are plentiful and the climbs are epic.

Live here if: You’re a true tri geek who can’t get enough of the great outdoors.

Don’t live here if: You’re not cool sharing your serene hometown with 45,000 college students. Boulder is home to the University of Colorado.

Best Climate

No. 3: Carlsbad, Calif.

(and the North San Diego Area) Population: 90,000 Median home price: $588,795

No. 4: Austin, Texas Population: 680,900 Median Home Price: $258,000

Why it’s on our list: San Diego gets all the credit for being a tri

ACVB Photo/Barton Wilder Custom Images

mecca, but the city itself is too congested for many multisporters. About 40 miles up the coast you’ll find the City of Carlsbad as well as a ton of triathletes. Some of our sport’s all-time greats like Michellie Jones, Paula Newby-Fraser, Scott Tinley, Heather Fuhr and Kate Major have all made San Diego’s North County home for good reasons: The weather is unbeatable; the Pacific is way more exciting than a pool; and you can never run out of people to train with.

The terrain in and around Carlsbad makes it almost impossible not to add variety to your training. On the coast you’ll find your flat roads, about 10 miles inland you’ll find endless short-and-steep hills and about 40 miles inland you’ll find punishing climbs like on Palomar Mountain.

Live here if: You don’t

Why it’s on our list: When a town can hold claim to Lance Armstrong,

think 70 degrees F and sunny skies would ever get old.

Dennis Rodman and the Whole Foods Market headquarters, you know it’s worth considering. The city’s local slogan is “Keep Austin Weird,” so be prepared to feel like you stepped out of a spaghetti western and into a leftist sanctuary. Take a dip in Barton Springs, the largest natural swimming pool in the U.S., and then head out for a run or a ride around Lady Bird Lake, named after the former first lady. While this capital city’s summers can be balmy, you’ll have the last laugh in winter when you can still ride and swim outdoors while the only exercise your friends in the Midwest are getting involves a Nintendo Wii and a bag of Cheetos.

You only race off-road.

You can find some OK running trails near Carlsbad, but most mountain bikers will be disappointed with North County’s lack of legitimate riding trails.

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Live here if: You want to live in Texas—but you’re not a Texan.

Don’t live here if: You don’t know at least one line of a Dixie Chicks song. october 2009

Visit Carlsbad

Don’t live here if:

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We want you to see that the locking mechanism of a Speedplay cleat is fully recessed so you can’t wear down the pedal contact area from walking. We want you to see for yourself that Speedplay pedals offer an unmatched package of performance features and benefits, but not at the expense of strength, safety, or functionality. We want you to see for yourself that the world’s top racers ride Speedplay pedals.

We want you to know that we’re serious about making the world’s most technically advanced pedal systems.

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®

No. 5: Santa Barbara, Calif.

No. 6: San Francisco

Population: 92,000 Median Home Price: $900,000

Population: 824,525 Median Home Price: $780,102

Why it’s on our list: The

Left: Jim Corwin, Right: Lewis Sommer

American Riviera, as it’s also known, should be on any list of the best places to call home. Santa Barbara’s proximity to the Pacific provides a Mediterranean-like climate, while the Santa Ynez Mountains just east of the city offer some of the best climbs in Southern California. The University of California, Santa Barbara, also offers excellent facilities for swimming and weight training.

restaurant every night for almost two years. With almost 700 restaurants in the greater Santa Barbara area, something will always sound good.

Don’t live here if: You hate having

Best Quiet Roads

Why it’s on our list: Typically big cities are not considered ideal places to live and train, but San Francisco is certainly proof to the contrary. Living in the vicinity of Golden Gate Park means immediate access to excellent road and trail loops for distance running, and by tacking on loops around Lake Merced, through the coastal trail along Land’s End, or across the Golden Gate Bridge into the Marin headlands, one can fortify a log book with high-mileage training numbers. Biking is best done across the bridge and into Marin, and of the many popular swimming spots, local triathletes love to train in the salty, frigid waters of Aquatic Park at the west end of Fisherman’s Wharf. The city has vibrant tri and running communities and, if you like food, restaurants to die for.

your runs disturbed by wayward drivers asking directions.

Santa Barbara has a billion-dollar tourism industry, which Live here if: You can’t imagine giving up the big city but want an means the city is outstanding place to train. Also, you don’t mind staggeringly high rent. always teeming with visitors.

Don’t live here if: You want nothing to do with a big city or if there’s no way in hell you’re going to blow $2,000 per month on a one-bedroom, dishwasher-less apartment.

Greg Peterson

Live here if: You’re excited by the prospect of eating at a different

No. 7: Bend, Ore. Population: 80,995 Median Home Price: $289,450 Why it’s on our list: This northwestern city might be a cyclist’s paradise.

Steve Tague/Northwest Crossing

Add to that the fact that Bend has six microbreweries in a town that’s only 32 square miles large, and we’re all wondering why the hell we don’t live there.

Home to the 2009 and 2010 USA Cycling Elite Road National Championships, the Cascade Cycling Classic and the 2008 and 2009 USA Winter Triathlon Championships, there’s a reason Conrad “The Caveman” Stoltz and ProTeam Astana’s Chris Horner call Bend home. Nestled in between the Cascade Mountains and the Deschutes River you’ll find more than 300 miles of trails to play on year-round. Did we mention the beer?

Live here if: You ride bikes so much that you’ve sewn chamois into all your pants.

Don’t live here if: You’re an Adidas fan. Phil Knight is a seasonal resident and Nike sponsors both Oregon State and the University of Oregon.

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october 2009

Shoes are the

opium of the masses.

Promising happiness in a dazzling

array of shapes and colors, they blind us

from seeing the truth. And the truth is shoes are conspiring with hard, at surfaces to ruin your back. Which is why we designed an alternative.

An alternative that will protect your spine, knees and hips. That tones your muscles and improves your posture.

An alternative that will forever release you from the tyranny of shoes.

Style: Fanaka. theantishoe.com Š2009 Masai USA Corp

No. 8: Clermont, Fla. Population: 23,476 Median Home Price: $113,700 Why it’s on our list: This suburb of Orlando is quickly building a reputation as one of the country’s true tri meccas.

With quiet roads, rolling terrain and year-round training, Clermont has plenty of upside. It’s a favorite of Jarrod Shoemaker, Lisa Bentley, Sara Haskins and Nina Kraft—just not in mid-summer, when Clermont gets pummeled with rain.

To make rainy days bearable during the summer months athletes use the National Training Center, which is basically Disneyland for triathletes. The NTC is a lot like your gym, only 20 times bigger with way nicer equipment.

Live here if: You like to train with other athletes but you don’t like to

No. 9: Alexandria, Va. Population: 138,621 Median Home Price: $386,000 Why it’s on our list: If you follow the campaign trail as much as the bike path, then this city is for you. It’s located just eight miles from the nation’s capital, and in the mornings you’ll find dozens of Alexandrians hopping on the Mt. Vernon trail and commuting into the city via bicycle.

Considering the city’s largest employer is the Department of Defense, we recommend you don’t cut any of them off.

Get your swim on in one of the city’s six outdoor pools or head out for a run in the area’s 950 acres of parks and trails.

Left: Lake County Tourism, Right: Richard Nowitz

Best Facilities

stick to a schedule. Head to the NTC any time of day and you’re likely to run into dozens of tri geeks.

Live here if: The abbreviation in front of your name is Sen., Gen. or Capt.

Don’t live here if: You’re turned off by air that you can actually feel. Don’t live here if: Discussing foreign policy on group rides makes

Best Small Town

No. 10: Park City, Utah (and the Snyderville Basin) Population: 8,000 Median Home Price: $1,806,250 Why it’s on our list: The

you nauseous.

Best Big Climb

No. 11: Maui, Hawaii Population: 141,000 Median Home Price: $600,000 Why it’s on our list: The Big Island hosts our sport’s marquee event, but if you’re looking to make Hawaii home, we suggest the state’s second-biggest island. Our favorite feature of Maui is the massive (but dormant) Haleakala Volcano, which towers more than 10,000 feet over the coast. From the shore to the peak is simply the best 38-mile ride in the country—and the ride down is pretty fun too. The highlands around Haleakala also serve up some of the finest mountain biking and trail running Hawaii has to offer.

smallest town on our list has the biggest playground. Normally we’d never recommend moving to a place that has an average low temperature of 0 degrees F in February, but we’ll make an exception here. That’s Live here if: You can find a legitimate reason to. because Park City’s endless slopes serve up some of the Don’t live here if: You can’t handle the slower pace of life on the best winter cross-training there islands. Nothing happens quickly on Maui. is. Even people who hate winter won’t hate it in Park City—many homes in town have ski-in/ski-out capability. And the riding isn’t half bad either.

The 48-mile Browns Canyon loop has long been a favorite of local riders looking to get in some hill work, and there’s plenty of single track to keep the mountain bikers and trail runners happy.

Michael McRae

Winters in Clermont are gorgeous, but the relative humidity doesn’t stray far from 100 percent in the summer.

Live here if: Triathlon is your third-favorite sport—right behind snowboarding and skiing.

Nils Nilsen

Don’t live here if: You can’t bring yourself to train indoors during the off-season. Swimming, biking and running outside is simply not an option during Park City’s snowy, cold winters.

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Best Trails

No. 12: Reno, Nev.

(and the Lake Tahoe Area)

No. 13: Madison, Wis. Population: 228,775 Median Home Price: $218,000

Population: 220,613 Median Home Price: $181,000 Why it’s on our list: Reno often takes the brunt of many jokes, mostly

Eric Tadsen

because of Comedy Central’s Reno 911 and the fact that the city used to tolerate prostitution. But Reno has undergone a huge revitalization over the past decade and is now an outdoor sports paradise. Casinos are being renovated into upscale condominiums, and it’s definitely a buyer’s market.

When it comes time to train, Reno and nearby Lake Tahoe (it’s about 40 miles to the north shore of Tahoe) offer plenty of variation. From trail running at Incline Village, Nev., to mountain biking in Kirkwood, Calif., to long rides through Reno’s valley, there’s more than enough to keep you occupied and fit. The 14 ski resorts surrounding Lake Tahoe makes winter pretty fun too.

Live here if: You want

Don’t live here if: You take issue with the gaming industry. Reno has improved leaps and bounds since the ’80s, but it won’t be casino-free anytime soon.

Best Place to Find a Race

No. 14: Wilmington, N.C. Population: 101,000 Median Home Price: $272,784 Why it’s on our list: Believe it or not, North Carolina rivals Texas and

Why it’s on our list: Wisconsin’s capital city may have truly horrible winters, but the “cheeseheads” make up for it by packing more into summer than just about anyone else. “Mad-town” is a big city and a college town at the same time, which creates a fine balance of work and play. The city is built on an isthmus between two expansive lakes, which means there’s always a place to swim. Madison also has some of the most challenging yet quiet roads in the Midwest just a few miles west of town.

Live here if: You’re looking for Berkeley,Calif., mixed with Chicago.

Don’t live here if: You hate being pestered to sign some progressive group’s petition while you shop for groceries.

No. 15: Barrington, Ill.

(and the North Chicago Area) Population: 10,000 Median Home Price: $528,600-$678,800 (North and South Barrington)

California when it comes to the number of triathlons held each year. SetUp Events, the country’s largest race-production company, calls North Carolina home, and that’s a big benefit to triathletes from Tobacco Road. If you’re looking to call the Tar Heel State home, coastal Wilmington is hard to Why it’s on our list: As home of the world’s largest triathlon and beat. Like the rest of the state, the air is humid throughout summer, but one of the largest tri clubs, Chicago is a great place to be a triathlete. the winds coming off the Atlantic help keep Wilmington a bit drier when However, the city proper is only a great place to train for those who the temperatures really heat up to an average high in July of 90 degrees prefer staying indoors. Chicago is a huge city, and if you’re looking for F. Wilmington’s roads are relatively quiet and well-maintained, and local quiet roads, we suggest heading north to Barrington. Living in the affluent drivers score above average when it comes to being kind to cyclists. An suburb near the Wisconsin state line will have you riding around gorgeous added bonus is the new Beach 2 Battleship iron-distance triathlon, which Lake Geneva in the morning and then having an overpriced steak on takes place in Wilmington each November.

Michigan Avenue at night. Barrington’s proximity to both country and city makes it possible to train like a pro while maintaining a real job.

Live here if: You dream of an oceanfront home but the West Coast just isn’t right for you.

Live here if: You can’t stand living in a big city but you still need one nearby.

Don’t live here if: You don’t like the idea of boarding up your house from time to time. While North Carolina doesn’t get hit with as many hur- Don’t’ live here if: You’re not sure about your job security. Barrington ricanes as the Gulf Coast states, it does get hit with a major storm about is where many of Chicago’s biggest money makers call home and that means everything from homes to milk is expensive. once every three years.

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RSCVA/VisitRenoTahoe.com

that big city feel but you also want to be able to ride right out of your door.

No. 17: Tempe, Ariz.

Population: 120,600 Median Home Price: $543,400

Population: 169,712 Median Home Price: $220,000 Why it’s on our list: Yes, we know it’s

in and launch a business, Bellevue is the perfect location for those Type-A triathletes who want to be their own boss (and therefore train whenever they want to). The city is less than 20 miles from the hustle and bustle of Seattle and sits in between Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish, both of which offer excellent open-water swimming opportunities in the spring and summer. If you don’t mind a little “Seattle-sunshine”—the city averages 37.5 inches of precipitation a year—you will enjoy year-round cycling and running routes in the city’s more than 100 parks and open space areas.

Live here if: You get turned on by flannel and khakis; Bellevue is home to Eddie Bauer’s corporate headquarters.

Don’t live here if: You start to feel suicidal after more than a week without sunshine.

No. 18: Providence, R.I. Population: 176,365 Median Home Price: $256,500 Why it’s on our list: Economic good times fueled a major revitalization that brought in a gorgeously redesigned waterfront, a new Performing Arts Center, upscale condominium projects and shopping centers, earning the city a new designation as “The Renaissance City.” The recession has cut home prices in half, so there’s never been a better time to move to Providence. The Ocean State’s capital city is minutes from the ocean in several directions, and the swimming season lasts longer than you might think. The area also hosts several first-class events, including Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island.

Live here if: You like your urban culture to come with the smell of the ocean.

Live here if: Your post-training recovery tends to include happy hour.

Don’t live here if: You’re the type of person who would miss winter.

No. 19: Cary, N.C. Population: 135,955 Median Home Price: $238,800 Why it’s on our list: This suburb of Raleigh, squarely in the middle of North Carolina, is a hidden gem for endurance athletes, but it won’t be hidden for long. The U.S. Census Bureau recently named the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area as the fastest growing municipality in the country. This is great news for mega-retailer Inside Out Sports, which is headquartered in Cary. Our favorite feature of the area is William B. Umstead State Park, located just a few miles north of Cary. Surrounded on all sides by growing suburbs and sprawling cities, Umstead State Park remains an untouched escape from the real world. There are plenty of smooth roads traversing the park for road riding and endless miles of trail when you want to get off road.

Live here if: You’re looking to start a family. Cary is as safe a town as you’ll find these days and the public schools will set your kids up nicely for four years in the Ivy League.

Don’t live here if: You need access to quiet roads for cycling right Don’t live here if: You prefer to stay inside on hot and humid summer outside your front door.

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days. Cary has rather mild winters, and it’s possible to ride outdoors almost year-round, but expect July to be 90 degrees F and sticky. october 2009

Marianne Grosko

Why it’s on our list: Recently named CNNMoney.com’s No. 1 city to live

brutally hot. But if your goal is to someday race in Kona, the heat’s not so bad. Tempe’s greatest advantage for its tri-minded residents is Tempe Town Lake. Ten years ago Tempe would have been left off this list, but the creation of Tempe Town Lake in 1999 has allowed the City of Tempe to build an impressive race lineup. This year the lake will host five triathlons that range from the Danskin women’s-only sprint triathlon in May to Ironman Arizona in November. As a resident of Tempe, you have the option to race any distance right in your own backyard. Training in Tempe also comes with several options for triathlon clubs and group rides, as well as dozens of opportunities to hop in the lake as part of splash-n-dash events. As a bonus, the restaurants, bars and clubs along Tempe’s Mill Avenue offer the perfect opportunity to let loose after a big training or racing day.

Left: Big Picture Photography: David Johanson, Right: Tempe CVB

No. 16: Bellevue, Wash.

No. 20: Bloomington, Ind. Population: 183,733 Median Home Price: $155,400 Why it’s on our list: In your ongoing quest to watch any triathlonrelated movie ever made, you’ve likely rented, “Breaking Away,” the 1979 surprise hit about cycling that won an Oscar for best original screenplay. “Breaking Away” tells the story of four blue-collar kids who have grown up in the college town of Bloomington, one of whom is a cycling nut. The movie casts Bloomington as one of the best places in the country to be a true cyclist, and based on the riding Indiana has to offer, this is fact, not fiction. And of course, thanks to the University of Indiana, Bloomington has the sports facilities all multisporters crave.

Add in the college town feel and its proximity to Ironmans Wisconsin and Louisville, and you’re set for great training and great road trips.

Live here if: You not only want to revel in triathlon but also want to finish up that nagging post-grad degree.

Don’t live here if: You find Big Ten college towns fundamentally

Bloomington Photo Tour

juvenile and annoying.

Honorable Mentions These towns almost made our top-20 list, but each is an excellent place to train and worth consideration if you get the relocation bug.

Boise, Idaho

Little Rock, Ark.

Population: 208,219 Median Home Price: $248,900

Population: 184,055 Median Home Price: $134,500

Chattanooga, Tenn.

Omaha, Neb.

Population: 168,293 Median Home Price: $140,000

Population: 438,646 Median Home Price: $135,700

Columbia, Md.

Plymouth, Minn.

Population: 98,627 Median Home Price: $390,000

Population: 71,536 Median Home Price: $335,000

Coral Springs, Fla.

State College, Pa.

Population:128,930 Median Home Price: $212,000

Population: 39,600 Median Home Price: $225,800

Des Moines, Iowa

The Woodlands, Texas

Population: 202,116 Median Home Price: $153,200

Population: 89,397 Median Home Price: $353,775

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october 2009

Record Setter Chrissie Crushes Ironman Distance Record at Roth

Great Britain’s Chrissie Wellington chopped down the Ironman-distance standard with an 8:31:59 at Quelle Challenge Roth, begging the question: Will it ever be touched again?

Wellington says, “Yes, I can.” s tor y and p hoto s B y Jay P r a s u h n

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There are “questions,

but I know I can go faster, get stronger.

”

Wellington still managed to play to the cameras as she set high the new world distance mark in Roth.

s the relatively young sport of Ironman-distance triathlon has grown, the evolution of training and technology has led to a linear progression of faster times since the day Lyn Lemaire took the first women’s title at the Hawaii Ironman in 1979 with a time of 12:55:38. In 1994, eight-time Hawaii Ironman world champion Paula Newby-Fraser raised the bar to a time that few thought would be broken when, on the Ironman Europe course in Roth, Germany, she recorded an astonishing 8:50:53.

After going untouched for 14 years, the women’s record was broken three times in 2008—the best result recorded by Dutch triathlete Yvonne Van Vlerken, who dropped the time by more than five minutes to 8:45:48 on the same Roth course. It seemed insurmountable.

But that was before reigning two-time Hawaii Ironman world champion Chrissie Wellington tried her hand at the speed-friendly Quelle Challenge Roth course. The bubbly Briton further built on her growing reputation by not only claiming the new Ironman-distance record, but also lifting the bar so high—with a time of 8:31:59—that it leads one to ask if this time the record is truly unassailable.

“I’m ecstatic; I never expected to go that fast,” Wellington said 66

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moments after breaking the tape. “It is a perfect day for world record pace, and this course is phenomenal. I still really can’t believe this can happen to me!”

If the record can be further lowered, there’s no woman at the moment more likely than Wellington herself to do so. “This sport for me is always about pushing myself, seeing how good I can be,” Wellington said. “There are questions, but I know I can go faster, get stronger. This has given me great confidence.” Perhaps she will take that confidence to Kona in an attempt to break the Ironman World Championship record women’s time of 8:55:28, set by Newby-Fraser in 1992.

Women’s professional long-distance racing has recently seen a renaissance, with a depth of talent and intensity of competition never seen before in the sport. The runner-up in Roth, Rebekah Keat, who pursued Wellington throughout the day, admits she’s a beneficiary of the Briton’s amazing success. “Chrissie’s obviously lifted the bar—no one has come close to her,” Keat said. “I think with Chrissie coming along, it’s made everyone step up—the women’s field had always been quite soft until then. Now we’re pushing ourselves to our limits.”

Quelle Challenge Roth is the popular flagship event in the buroctober 2009

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Solar Eclipse: Enthusiastic fans up to five deep nearly blot out the athletes struggling up Solarerberg, one of the hallmark points of the race in Roth.

geoning Challenge Series with events in New Zealand, Austria, France, Denmark and Spain, with discussion for series expansion into the U.S. and Canada, and a potential world championship event that could give the Ironman brand a true run for its money.

Amid the growth, the Roth event remains race director Felix Walchshofer’s pride and joy. Located in a town that embraces the event, Roth drew an estimated 150,000 fans this year on a picture-perfect day.

Walchshofer is a fan as well; he can be seen on race day buzzing about the course on a BMW motorcycle, stopping to cheer on his constituents.

The course is a Bavarian beauty. It’s predominantly flat, but not exclusively—the course has several rollers and a few steep jabs, most notably the famed Solarerberg, a quarter-mile rise that is lined with hooting, hollering fans, sometimes five deep, who give the ascent a Tour de France-like atmosphere. But the race is best known for its record-breaking speed. A straight-shot swim in Main Donau shipping canal, smooth, straight roads and a tamped gravel marathon course that’s easy on the knees make it a PR delight. The event has hosted its fair share of records, including the first sub-nine-hour Ironmandistance women’s time (Thea Sybesma, with her 8:55:29 in 1991), the first sub-eight-hour men’s time (Lothar Leder’s 7:57:02 in 1996), and of course Newby-Fraser’s 1994 women’s record.

In this year’s overshadowed men’s race, homeland favorite Normann Stadler made an impressive bid for his own record-breaking glory. He 68

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was well on his way, taking the lead early in the bike from Australian Pete Jacobs, then peeling away solo midway through. Hunkered in the aerobars, he powered away over the German countryside, chasing not only a win but a chance at breaking Jurgen Zack’s 1999 bike split record of 4:14:15.

Stadler rolled into run transition 27 seconds late, stopping the bike split clock at 4:14:42; the bike record would have to wait for another day.

Despite the six-minute buffer he enjoyed heading onto the marathon, Stadler was unable to hold the lead and succumbed to countryman Michael Gohner, whose 2:41 marathon carried him to the largest win in his career and the day’s only sub-eight-hour performance, in 7:55:53. Jacobs shook off a flat spell during the marathon to hold off surging New Zealand adventure racer Richard Ussher to take second, while Stadler held off defending race champ Patrick Vernay for fourth.

Yet it was the women’s race where the drama was richest. Wellington was marked closely for the first quarter of the bike by Australian TeamTBB gunner Keat as the two cut a swath through the early swim leaders. On the course’s first vertical effort through the town of Heideck, the world champion put in a surge that shed the tenacious Aussie, who settled into a more sustainable pace and was soon joined by former long-distance duathlon world champ Catriona Morrison of Scotland and Aussie Belinda Granger. “I wanted to give her a scare but it didn’t quite work,” Keat said.

Wellington had just one more mark up the road in countrywoman october 2009

A 4:14:42 bike split left a hard-charging Stadler not only 27 seconds shy of Jurgen Zack’s course record, but also deflated for the run, as he faded from the race lead to finish fourth.

Leanda Cave. After holding Wellington to a 30-second gap for nearly 20 miles, Cave eventually relinquished the race lead at the 50-mile mark. Then, after forgetting to take up calories while looking in her rearview mirror through much of the bike, Cave experienced a bonk that she didn’t recover from for the remainder of the day, fading to 11th at the finish.

The rest of the day was easy to foretell; Wellington came into T2 with the course’s fastest-ever bike split (4:40:28) and despite a slight hiccup in her marathon pace from mile six to 12 that she called “shabby,” the smiling Wellington made the wide, stadium-like arc to the finish line well ahead of the time pre-race pundits suggested she might be capable of, smashing the world mark.

Not to be overlooked is Keat’s breakthrough result. After shedding Morrison midway through the run, she went on to post the day’s best marathon in 2:55:28 to take second. If Wellington had been absent, Keat’s 8:39 time would have earned her the record. “Let’s see if after another year with Brett [Sutton, her coach], I can get one over on her,” she said with a smile.

Despite gastrointestinal issues, Morrison still managed to record the fastest Ironman-distance debut (and the sixth-fastest in history) with her bronze medal-winning 8:48.

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A balanced day meant Germany’s Gohner earned the right to suck down the sudsy spoils at the finish line.

2009 Quelle Challenge Roth July 12, 2009—Roth, Germany 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run

Women

Swim

Bike

Run

Total

1. Chrissie Wellington (GBR) 50:28

4:40:28

2:57:32

8:31:59

2. Rebekah Keat (AUS)

50:21

4:50:10

2:55:28

8:39:24

3. Catriona Morrison (SCO)

51:47

4:48:55

3:03:57

8:48:11

4. Erika Csomor (HUN)

53:16

4:54:37

3:08:39

8:59:42

5. Belinda Granger (AUS)

51:48

4:48:26

3:28:14

9:12:12

Men

Swim

Bike

Run

Total

1. Michael Gohner (GER)

50:30

4:21:25

2:41:17

7:55:53

2. Pete Jacobs (AUS)

45:57

4:23:47

2:49:13

8:02:01

3. Richard Ussher (NZL)

50:31

4:22:02

2:46:58

8:02:15

4. Normann Stadler (GER)

48:56

4:14:42

2:56:51

8:03:43

5. Patrick Vernay (NCL)

47:44

4:25:08

2:48:05

8:03:46

october 2009

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october 2009

Leanda Cave hopes to become the next multi-distance triathlon world champion.

By Matt Fitzgerald

T

he most exclusive club in triathlon has only six members. It is the club for athletes who have won both an ITU World Championship and the Hawaii Ironman World Championship. Erin Baker and Mark Allen joined first. Baker won Hawaii in 1987 and 1990 as well as the inaugural ITU World Championship in 1989, which Allen also won on the men’s side. Two months later, Allen won the first of his six Hawaii Ironman titles. The very next year, Greg Welch and Karen Smyers won the short-course world championship. Welch completed the double in 1994 and Smyers did so in 1995, picking up a second ITU title that year for good measure.

The most recent additions to the club waited the longest to fulfill the second requirement after taking care of the first. Michellie Jones won the 1992 and 1993 ITU World Championships, but did not win Hawaii until 2006. Chris McCormack captured the 1997 ITU crown and won Hawaii a full decade later, on his sixth attempt.

Interestingly, the list of ITU world champions who have seriously tried to complete the double and failed is shorter than the membership roll of triathlon’s most exclusive club. Twotime world champion Spencer Smith of Great Britain never finished better than fifth in Hawaii (1998), while fellow Brit Simon Lessing, history’s only four-time world champion, dropped out of the Hawaii Ironman in two attempts (2004, 2005).

Only one athlete has a chance to join triathlon’s most exclusive club this year: Leanda Cave. Having won the 2002 ITU World Championship, Cave, who was raised primarily in Australia but raced for her birth country of Great Britain before settling in Tucson, Ariz., is determined to complete the double, if not this year then someday. “I want to win Kona,” Cave says simply. “And I think that’s realistic.”

Is it realistic? Paul Huddle, the lead expert commentator on Ironman.com’s coverage of the Hawaii Ironman, is in a better position than most to handicap the elite field. His assessment is blunt, but not hopeless. “I don’t think it’s likely [that Leanda Cave will win] as long as Chrissie Wellington is in the field and healthy,” he says. “I don’t know of any woman who has shown that she can be competitive with Chrissie over the Ironman distance, so, while I always hesitate to pick an overwhelming favorite, Chrissie is exactly that.”

Stuff happens, though. Greg Welch won in 1994 when overwhelming favorite Mark Allen decided to take the year off. Heather Fuhr won in 1997 when overwhelming favorite Paula Newby-Fraser collapsed within sight of the finish line. And Huddle grants that if Wellington takes a year off á la Allen or collapses á la Newby-Fraser, few other women have a better chance than Cave to take advantage of the opportunity.

“I think she’s in a pretty select group of contenders ready to win should Chrissie falter,” Huddle says. “She DNF’ed at Kona in ’08 but was leading the race in ’07 (her first attempt there) and ended up eighth. That’s a pretty good rookie performance. She doesn’t seem

to have any fear of taking it out hard and that’s important, too, if her endurance can catch up with her motivation and aggressive nature. I love the way she races.”

He considers Cave to be Wellington’s equal at the Ironman 70.3 distance already. “Leanda has the speed, that’s for certain,” he says, “and she showed as much at Disney this year,” referring to Ironman Florida 70.3, which Cave won with a course-record time of 4:15:29.

“Four-fifteen is flying, regardless of how flat a given course is, Huddle adds. “If I’m Leanda, I take a lot of confidence from Florida.”

Huddle made these remarks less than two weeks before Cave went toe-to-toe with Wellington in Cave’s fifth attempt at the iron distance, Quelle Challenge Roth (an event she also raced in 2008, finishing seventh with a broken rib suffered a week earlier). It started well. Cave was first out of the water and held the lead through mile 20 of the bike leg.

But Wellington passed her there and Cave faded badly, ultimately finishing nearly 75 minutes behind the two-time defending Ironman world champion.

This catastrophe may have deflated any confidence Cave did take from Florida.

The pundits’ consensus is that Cave, who is only 31 years old, just hasn’t mastered the iron distance yet and needs more time to do so. “Her downfall so far has been her run,” says Huddle. “The best Ironman runners develop over years. It takes a while to develop the endurance that allows you to sustain your speed potential over 26.2 miles.” Cave’s coach (and boyfriend), Torsten Abel, agrees that patience and persistence are needed. “Like other athletes who have come before her, she requires more experience in Ironman racing,” he says.

Cave has not yet settled on a pacing strategy she can depend on in a 140.6-mile triathlon. After fading from first to eighth in her first Hawaii Ironman, she concluded that she had gone too hard too early, so she dialed back her effort the following year, only to drop out of the race. She then vowed, “I think I’m going back to the first recipe. I like going out hard. I’m going to attack that race like I have nothing left to live for. Now that I have a background of marathon-specific training I think I won’t die so much on the run.”

That did not prove to be the case in Roth. So will she now return to plan B, racing conservatively on the bike and saving something for the run? After all, in her best Ironman performance so far, at Arizona last year, Cave sacrificed nine minutes to eventual winner Heleen Bij de Vaate on the bike and managed a decent 3:21 marathon to claim second place with a respectable finishing time of 9:25:07.

But Cave does not think that poor pacing was the cause of her distant 11th-place finish in Germany. Rather, she suspects, it was poor nutrition. “I once was able go flat-out for the entire race and get away with eating two or three gels and a sports drink if I was lucky,” says Cave in reference to her days as a short-course specialist. “But with Ironman, there is no way you can ignore the nutritional side of things, and this

“She doesn’t seem to have any fear of taking it out hard and that’s important, too, if her endurance can catch up with her motivation and aggressive nature.”

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is what I am learning the hard way. I had a great swim in Roth, and I still felt like a rock star for the first half of the bike, but then a switch flicked and I completely lost power and I went all dizzy.

“The penny dropped after the race when I went over and over what went wrong, and worked out [that] in the first three-and-a-half hours of racing all I had consumed was 270 calories,” she continues.

“It should have been 900 calories. I often learn by mistakes, so this is a huge learning curve for me going into Kona for the third time. I’m currently creating my nutrition plan for the big race.”

Cave’s struggles at the iron distance have not caused Abel to secondguess the training system he developed with the intent of transforming her into an Ironman world champion when they started working together (and dating) three years ago. “We are going to succeed,” he says, “but she needs to improve her race nutrition and avoid related issues.” Understandably, Cave is impatient to achieve the result she is certain she’s capable of. “I don’t know why it is taking so long to figure this Ironman stuff out,” she says. “I think I am almost handicapped coming from the shorter-distance racing,” where pacing and nutrition are not nearly as tricky as they are in iron-distance racing.

While she may feel that her short-course racing experience failed to prepare her for the nutritional challenge of Ironman racing, Cave still sees value in continuing to contest shorter events—and lots of them. “I find that doing the shorter races actually makes me a stronger 74

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Ironman athlete,” she says. But these races matter to her in their own right. While she wants to win Kona, that goal is by no means her sole obsession. “I want to win every race I enter, whether it’s shorter or long,” she says, “so I’m not going into these shorter races just to make myself stronger for Ironman.” Her recent wins in premier short-course such as Escape from Alcatraz (2007 and 2008) are proof of that.

Short-course racing fits well with Abel’s approach to developing her as a long-distance triathlete, which emphasizes quality over quantity.

“Among other areas, we have been working on power development, strength-endurance and maximizing aerobic capacity,” he says. “Quality of training matters, in my opinion. It also matters to pay attention to your state of mind, health, state of fatigue and overall stress levels and adjust training accordingly. Hence, a huge amount of my attention goes to avoid any junk in her training.”

This approach stands in contrast to that which most coaches use to turn speedsters into endurance jocks. Huddle, for example, while he confesses that he has no knowledge of Cave’s training, believes she may need more junk—or what he prefers to call volume—in her regimen.

“She should do a whole bunch of running in the off-season and early season, but in her immediate preparation [for Ironman], I think volume on the bike will help immensely,” he says. “She’s too blown off the bike to be able to make use of her running ability. Her ticket to a better run is a pretty significant jump in her cycling volume.” october 2009

If Cave never does win the Hawaii Ironman, she can take comfort in knowing that she gave it everything she had and did not fail because of lack of effort. Her athletic motto, according to her website (Leandacave .com), is “Win by choice, not by chance.” Asked to elaborate on its meaning, she says, “Do everything you can to win. If you have a crappy diet, fix it up. If you know that you have a weak core, then strengthen it. You can’t expect to just train and train and train and win every race if you’re not building the foundation.”

Doing everything possible to win also encompasses taking maximum advantage of her relationships with sponsors—which include K-Swiss (shoes), Pinarello (bikes), TriSports (apparel and other gear) and PacificHealth Labs (nutrition)—to ensure that the products she depends on to race well never let her down. “When I began working with Leanda I was impressed by her conscientiousness,” says PacificHealth Labs President and chief executive officer Jason Ash. “I was interested in having her try our new line of nutritional tools for appetite control.

She was not one of those athletes who says, ‘OK, thanks, here’s my address, send them there.’ She wanted to really understand the products and asked a lot of questions about how to use them most effectively to optimize her racing weight.”

Winning by choice for Cave also entails doing what it takes to avoid overtraining and injury so that she can do the consistent training that is required to gradually raise her endurance to world champion level. october 2009

In the past she has had major struggles with injuries, which essentially forced her out of World Cup racing when she was still very young. It was not long after winning the World Championship in 2002 when Cave’s body first began to unravel. “I was training how I needed to train to stay on top, but my body ended up breaking down and I got such a bad injury that it put me out for almost two years,” she recalls.

Then, in 2006, the injury bug bit again, this time in the knee, which required two operations.

Abel is proud that his premier athlete and sweetheart has been free of major injuries since he began working with her. “She required a more balanced and structured training approach that incorporates sufficient recovery,” he says. By putting health and recovery first, Abel believes, it is only a matter of time before incremental fitness gains render her able to compete against any woman in the sport—including Wellington in an Ironman.

Abel also has a few words for those who base their Ironman predictions for Cave on the assumption that she has had little success in long-distance racing. “Please remember, she already won the long-course world champion title a couple of years ago. Chrissie Wellington came in fifth, by the way.” Indeed, if Cave wins in Hawaii, she will join the even more exclusive club of triathletes who have won an ITU World Championship, an ITU Long-Course World Championship, and Hawaii.

Only Karen Smyers and Greg Welch have done that. triathletemag.com

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october 2009

TORBJORN SINDBALLE, ONE OF THE MOST DOMINANT CYCLISTS IN THE HISTORY OF TRIATHLON, IS FORCED OFF HIS BIKE BECAUSE OF A HEART CONDITION.

BY BRAD CULP It had to be his heart. Of all the possible conditions that could have forced Denmark’s Torbjorn Sindballe to retire, it had to be his heart. The massive triathlete had made his way to the top of the sport because he had more heart than the guys who appeared custom-built for Kona. Now, in his prime, Sindballe’s heart has forced him to walk away from competition.

Often referred to as the Great Dane, the 32-year-old has known about an abnormal valve in his heart since 2005. The condition, a bicuspid aortic valve, affected his body’s oxygen transport throughout his racing career, but it was never considered dangerous until just after the Wildflower Long Course Triathlon in May. Sindballe became extremely fatigued during the ride and began hyperventilating after reaching T2. After the Wildflower incident, he returned to Denmark and was re-evaluated by his doctors. The abnormal valve sends about 20 percent of his blood back to his heart with each beat, and putting his heart under stress greatly increased the risk of a serious complication. Given that he and his wife, Mette, recently welcomed their second child, risking his life for his sport simply was not an option.

Sindballe himself readily admits that he was not naturally suited for triathlon, especially in Hawaii, where the heat and humidity routinely took a toll on his large body. Standing 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing almost 180 pounds, Sindballe was quite an anomaly among Ironman’s elite. A man of his size should not have been so fast. But Sindballe was fast—really fast—especially on the 112 miles between T1 and T2.

He compensated for his not-so-ideal-for-Kona physique with a punishing training schedule and meticulous attention to detail that few others could match. More than any other athlete, Sindballe is a true student of the sport. Tweaks to his riding position, apparel or race strategy were only made after analyzing every piece of empirical data he could get his hands on.

This singular focus paid off for the Dane. He competed on the Big Island four times, posting the fastest overall bike split on three of those occasions. His best performance at the sport’s marquee event came in 2007, when he led the field off the bike and battled through the marathon to finish third.

We spoke with Sindballe in July, shortly after he announced his retirement, to chat about his past success, his heart condition and his hopes for the future.

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2007 3rd at Ironman World Championship 4th at ITU Long Course Worlds, Lorient, France 3rd at Ironman New Zealand 2006 1st at ITU Long-Distance Worlds, Canberra, Australia 1st at Ironman Australia 70.3 2005 1st at Ironman California 70.3 2nd at Wildflower Long-Course Triathlon 2nd at St. Anthony’s Triathlon 2004 1st at ITU Long-Distance Worlds, Säter, Sweden 6th at Ironman World Championship 2003 1st at European Long-Distance Champs, Fredericia, Denmark 2nd at Ironman Wisconsin 3rd at Ironman California 70.3 2002 1st at Ironman California 70.3 2nd at ITU Long-Distance Worlds, Nice, France 1999 2nd at ITU Long-Distance Worlds, Säter, Sweden Danish Record of 8:18:53 at Almeere Iron-Distance Triathlon How soon after the Wildflower race in May did you begin to consider retirement?

I was pretty scared for the first couple of weeks and ended up in the hospital with chest pains and tingling in the left arm. Once we had ruled out the acute stuff, I calmed down and focused on the exams to be done. There were times where I believed things would be fine and times where I sat all day staring out the window. I worked out different scenarios in my head, but deliberately waited on any decision until after the exams were finalized. From then on it was pretty clear what I had to do.

Did the recent death of Steve Larsen weigh on your mind? What were the other major factors that you and your family considered?

I read about Steve and David Goggins [who recently underwent successful heart surgery] as well, but those cases were different than mine, and it was hard to compare. The heart is obviously a very scary thing to worry about, but learning as much as I could about the condition helped to control the initial panic.

My fellow triathlon pro and very good friend Steffen Liebetrau was hospitalized with coronary blockage at the same time that I was hospitalized, and that affected me a lot. Not only because he is a dear friend, but because we had both struggled with our training this season. We were both struggling, which might have been related to our respective heart issues. you plan on remaining involved in the sport? Aside from being IDoawantprofessional athlete, what’s your ideal career? to stay involved to a certain extent. I have a lot of knowledge and experience that I want to give back as a coach, writer or consultant. I 78

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also have great interest in the mental and emotional side of life and would love to work with this in the business world. I have always felt that I was able to combine the intense focus needed to succeed without sacrificing my sensitivity and life balance. I will take the summer to think things through and then see where I go from there.

Without you in the field, it’ll be up to Rasmus Henning to represent Denmark in Kona. How well do you think your countryman can do in his first attempt at the Big Island?

I think he will be the biggest dark horse going into the race.

He could definitely pull it off in his first attempt if he manages to stay injury free and nails his nutrition and pacing on race day. He has what it takes and is physically better suited to the conditions in Kona than me.

The men who routinely ride under 4:30 in Kona seem to push each

other every year (guys like you, Normann Stadler, Faris Al-Sultan, Eneko Llanos and Chris Lieto), but, you’ve been the most consistent on the bike. Do you think any of these guys will ride differently now that you’re no longer controlling the pace?

I think all of us are trying to use our powers in the best possible way and we see the race as a triathlon more than a race to T2.

The dynamics we saw last year, when the race was very fair on the bike, were interesting. There were several groups riding hard rather than a big slower group. Lieto and Stadler are the only ones who have documented their abilities to separate themselves from the main contenders by a large margin, and we will continue to see that. october 2009

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

SINDBALLE’S BEST PERFORMANCES FROM A DECADE AT THE TOP OF THE SPORT

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2008 Time: 4:27:40 Rank: 1st Average speed 25.11 mph 2007 Time: 4:25:26 Rank: 1st Average speed 25.32 mph 2005 Time: 4:21:35 (course record at the time) Rank: 1st Average speed: 25.69 mph 2004 Time: 4:48:50 Rank: 2nd Average speed: 23.27 mph

Who was typically the hardest to ride away from in Kona? Did you always want to be the first to T2, or were there certain guys who you were comfortable giving a little time to?

My focus has always been on my own race until 20K into the run.

It has never been about killing the rest on the bike—even though that was fun when it worked out. Chris is probably the one who has been closest to me in Kona. That said, Stadler’s ride in 2004, when he put almost 20 minutes on the group, stands out as the most impressive performance.

Who do you expect to be the first guy back to T2 at this year’s Hawaii Ironman?

Lieto has been the most consistent for the past few years and I would bet on him. If Stadler can regain his strength from a few years ago, he’ll be first off the bike, but he isn’t as consistent as Lieto.

What are your podium predictions for Kona this year?

It is going to be a very tight run race with all the former short-course guys at the front. If the conditions are favorable, we might see someone break 2:40 on the marathon. I’ll pick Crowie (Craig Alexander) for the win; Macca (Chris McCormack) second; [Rasmus] Henning third.

Andy Potts may be in the mix, too, if the conditions are cooler.

Most people would point to your 2007 performance in Kona as

a career highlight, but on your website, you highlight your 2005 race at Ironman 70.3 California as your best event. What race will you remember most fondly?

The third-place finish in Kona is definitely special, along with my first ITU Long Course World Championship in 2004. My two wins at California 70.3 (2002 and 2005) stand out as well. In 2002, it marked my first major win. I beat guys like Craig Alexander, Tim DeBoom, Craig 80

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Walton and Cameron Brown—and I beat them on the run! In 2005 I had the same run fitness, but I also had much improved bike and run legs. It all combined for that one perfect race that you dream of having.

You were one of the only Ironman athletes in recent memory who had a “lay-it-all-on-the-line” mentality. It’s no doubt a painful way to race 140.6 miles, and it sets you up for either a breakthrough performance or a bodily breakdown. What advice can you give other athletes when it comes to pushing their pain thresholds?

I have always had the perfect race as my aim and have always raced to achieve just that. Unlike most other athletes, I have never raced tactically. I always wanted to win by going off the front and pushing the limits of what was possible. I faltered many times due to injury, heat or maybe some of it was my heart condition, but I’ve also had a handful of those special races that I can treasure forever. They were all worth it.

You could have won numerous Ironman events around the world each year, but you chose to focus on Kona—a race that did not suit you very well. Why was Kona so important to you, and are you glad that you made the Ironman World Championship the focus of your career?

I always preferred racing the toughest fields rather than getting easy wins and glory. Kona is the most prestigious race in the world.

Because of the heat, Kona was always an especially challenging race for me and it was the best place for me to measure my potential. Had I settled for less, I would not have learned the same valuable lessons.

On a final note I would like to thank all the people who have written to me with encouragement and support. I am touched and humbled that so many people have taken the time to react to what I have done and have followed my career. The inspiration always goes both ways. Triathlon is an amazing sport because of all the wonderful, positive, energetic people in it. october 2009

Rich Cruse

SINDBALLE’S RIDES AT IRONMAN HAWAII

Italians Suck at Brewing Beer ...but They Make a Fine Bike Seat Watching a few Italians hand-build bike seats might sound boring—and it is, for the most part. But seeing the process first hand revealed why these cycleobsessed people do certain things better than anyone and a few things a lot worse.

Photos Courtesy Fizik

By Brad Culp

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M

y full-blooded Italian mother frequently explains why Italy our conversation and pretended to be really interested in the latest is the greatest place on earth and why a life without at least issue of US Weekly. one trip to the motherland of espresso and global conquest would be We hadn’t yet hit the Eastern Seaboard and I had already offended incomplete. As a Rocky-watching, meat-grilling, muscle car-driving my first Italian. My mother would have been mortified.

American, I’ve done my best not to listen to my mother’s stories about A few days later I cleaned up my act and held a respectful conversaItalia. Nonetheless, when Italy-based Fizik invited me to Vicenza for a tion with my gracious Italian hosts. Even though I wasn’t able to enjoy tour of its factory, I owed it to Mom to pay homage. their mouth-puckering excuse for beer, I was starting to understand I was only mildly interested in knowing why Fizik’s saddles have been why it tasted a lot like fermented cardboard. The more I hung around good to my nether region on long rides. As with any other foreign press the Fizik crew, the more I realized that most Italians prefer to keep camp, product launch or factory tour, my real motivation for visiting things as uncomplicated as possible. Leaving out exotic spices and Italy was beer: frosty, delicious, always-the-perfect-time-for-it beer. additives makes for some of the best wine there is, but unfortunately, Unlike the nerds on the Travel Channel, I judge every country based it also makes for some really bland brew. on the objective criterion of how well it works with malted barley and That’s right, while sipping yet another Peroni with a bunch of hops. Using this standard, I’ve discovered that Germany is the greatest dudes who know way too much about bike seats, I had an epiphany: place for beer and Italy is the worst.

When it comes to saddles, vino and pizza, simple is always better. These I know what you’re thinking: No one with half a brain would uncomplicated Italians had things figured out—except beer. deem Italy the worst country on the planet. But its brew tastes worse The excitement of my revelation took over. I harangued my hosts about than curdled buttermilk with a twist of lime. I brewed my first beer how I had uncovered the metaphoric message behind the trip. Once again, in my parents’ basement when I I was bombarded with the look was 19, and it was horrible (not normally reserved for someone to mention illegal). Even so, wearing a straitjacket and foaming my failed concoction would’ve at the mouth. I was overcomplicatwon a gold medal in any Italian ing things again (very un-Italian brewing contest. of me). It also didn’t help that I had no idea how to translate En route to Venice, I sat next to a young Italian dude “metaphoric” into Italian.

I couldn’t wait for the facwho was returning from his first trip to Los Angeles, where tory tour the next day. I was he had achieved his lifelong convinced it would be so much dream of learning how to different from all the others I’ve surf. He was very jealous of been on. I imagined a small me for living in California, but room with five or so old men seemed quite perplexed when hand-building Arione saddles I explained to him that I don’t one by one, from start to finish. surf 18 hours a day.

Of course, while doing so, they’d “I would,” I told him, “but be exchanging stories about the unfortunately I have a job that Fizik individually tests every carbon braided rail for time they burned Ernesto Colhas me spending lots of time durability, shape and flexion. If the rail is anything less nago up the toughest climb in on airplanes, often explaining the Dolomites, or the time they than perfect it won’t be affixed to a saddle. to non-Californians why I don’t suggested to Tullio Campagnolo surf all day instead of actually surfing all day. If you have five euro, feel that someone should invent a better way to remove a rear wheel. free to buy me a sympathy cocktail the next time the cart comes around.”

But Fizik’s factory wasn’t a whole lot like the absurd fantasy I had I had forgotten that only Brits pick up on bone-dry, overly sarcastic concocted. In some regards, however, it was even stranger than expected. humor. He thought I was insane and attempted to shift the conversa- The term “hand-built” is thrown around loosely these days, so I was tion. “So you come to my country to see a place even more bella than surprised to find that Fizik sticks to the dictionary definition of this California?” he asked. term. In the dozen or so steps between raw materials and a ride-ready “Umm—not really—no,” I said. “I’m on a mission to find out if saddle, only one step—molding the high-density foam—involves Peroni really is the worst beer on the planet. I’m 99 percent sure it is, more machine than hand. All the other steps, from cutting leather to but in the interest of journalistic integrity, I figured a trip to Italy was inserting rails, are done with the careful attention of really tiny hands. the only way to do a true taste test.”

My expectation that the factory would be filled with a few elderly “It’s certainly not the worst beer out there,” the Italian responded. gentlemen couldn’t have been more off target. Of the 19 workers I counted “I enjoy Peroni and drink it often. I think you’ll like it after you drink on the assembly line that day, 13 were women. Alberto, our guide, was it in Italy.” quick to point out that it’s rare to see so many men working at once.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I probably wouldn’t enjoy a pint of Peroni This struck me as odd, given Italy’s reputation for embracing even if the bottle were blessed by the Pope and served to me by Milan’s more traditional gender roles. Did I miss the news about Italy passing finest lingerie model.” an equal-opportunity employment bill? Were the Ferrari and Ducati In addition to sarcasm, it was clear that my row mate didn’t pick up factories just down the road doing the same? on hyperbole. I had defiled two emblematic aspects of Italian culture Alberto said that because of the number of microscopic details without even needing a comma between insults. Surfing be damned, in their saddles, only a woman’s tiny and precise fingers can get the I could tell that I was no longer this guy’s amico. He abruptly ended job done right. october 2009

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Fizik goes a little overboard when it comes to testing the durability of its saddles. These pistons drive the saddles into a block of solid rubber for the better part of a day.

The most intricate part of the saddle-making process was the setting of Fizik’s actually-made-in-Europe carbon-braided rails. At this stop along the line, we found a large table with five women seated around it. Each worker was wielding a dental pick and mirror—not a tool that just looked like it belonged in a dentist’s office, but an actual orthodontic instrument.

On one side of the table sat four women, each carefully inserting glue into the base of the saddle, then meticulously setting the woven carbon rail, and then removing every bit of excess glue with the pick.

Roughly one minute was spent removing the extra glue from each saddle, which resulted in a weight savings of less than half a gram.

I’ve often lauded manufacturers for demonstrating over-the-top attention to detail, but removing half a gram of glue with a plaque pick makes everything else pale in comparison. They could do away with this tedious endeavor, which requires more hands than any other step, and not one consumer would ever notice. However, doing so would result in a saddle that’s half a gram less than perfect—something entirely unacceptable for Italian manufacturers.

The outrageously precise techniques didn’t end at that side of the table. A lone woman stood at the opposite side, staring through a large magnifying lens. She examined each and every carbon rail and found imperfections too trivial for the naked eye. If this woman detected even the slightest blemish in the carbon, the rail was scrapped and the saddle went back to the other side of the table.

Alberto said that nine out of 10 scrapped rails have only cosmetic, 84

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not structural flaws, but this company doesn’t want to sell you something that’s only 99.99 percent perfect. I found it hard to believe that Italy’s finest sports car builders take the same level of pride in their craft.

Perhaps they should hire a few more women.

I went to Italy knowing that I love Fizik’s saddles, but having no idea why. The design is so simple—void of any striking, high-tech features—that it’s almost impossible to pinpoint what makes these saddles so damn pleasant to ride. No excess engineering is needed to be better than the rest, which is the embodiment of Italian manufacturing at its finest.

This method of design stands in stark contrast to Italy’s northern neighbors, the Germans, whose model of engineering perfection involves pushing the limits of what should be possible (or necessary).

That’s not to say that one country has it right or wrong. As a NASCAR-loving American, I’ll admit to being a little turned on by a V12 Mercedes with more torque than a Learjet and more horsepower than an ore hauler. But when I’m able to think past my Americanmade lust for big engines and endless technological advancement, I realize that the high-tech way isn’t always the best way. Sometimes unscientific simplicity is the only route to perfection, leaving no room for improvement.

Someday a German engineer may debut a saddle with a butt warmer, a built-in GPS and a tiny cooler to keep my GU at optimal temperature—and I’ll still ride a Fizik. But my post-ride beer will be German. october 2009

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No Water Necessary Eleven-time Olympic swimming medalist Natalie Coughlin’s secret for setting records might be what she does when she’s not in the pool.

By Brad Culp

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t last year’s Olympic Games in Beijing, Natalie Coughlin became the first American female athlete to win six medals in one Olympiad. She took home gold in the 100m backstroke, her marquee event, and became the first woman ever to break 59 seconds in that event (58.96).

Coughlin has developed into one of the most versatile swimmers in the world—capable of racing with the best in all four strokes—and 88

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a large part of this utility comes from how she trains away from the pool.

Triathlete spoke with the Vallejo, Calif., native about her triathlon-like training methods, what’s on her iPod and why San Francisco is her favorite city.

Q:

Shortly after the Beijing Games, you told Universal Sports, “Lately, all I’ve been doing is running.” During those periods

when you take a break from the pool, how many miles of running will you typically put in each week? How has running helped you become a better swimmer?

Since I’ve been taking a break from the pool, I’ve upped my running quite a bit.

The amount that I run depends a lot on my travel schedule. If I’m at home I’ll run between 30 and 35 miles a week. I try to do half of it on a treadmill and the other half on hilly trails near my house.

A:

october 2009

T R A INING The cardio helps me stay in good cardio shape when I’m out of the pool while it also keeps my legs, which account for most of my speed in all four of my strokes, in great shape.

Q:

You’ve also been a big proponent of Pilates.

For an athlete already in top shape, what sort of benefit can you get from Pilates and how often would you recommend doing it?

I started doing Pilates when I began training at Cal in 2000. I increased the intensity and amount of Pilates in 2004 and noticed a drastic improvement in my overall strength and power. My Pilates instructor is amazing and he has taught me how to use my body properly: how to release tension in places I don’t need it, improve my recovery, improve my body awareness and improve my functional range of motion. These are obvious benefits for any athlete. Ideally, I like to do some sort of Pilates workout every day. This isn’t necessary, but I feel really good when I get a little in every day. I see my instructor once a week and do the rest at home. For beginners, I think they would greatly benefit from twice a week.

A:

Q:

For both triathletes and swimmers there is a constant debate over what are the best strength-training exercises. What are your three favorite strength-training exercises for developing swim-specific power?

I absolutely love strength training and have tried a lot of different things from heavy, max-out weight lifting to simply Pilates.

Although I loved how lean I was when I was doing the max-out lifts, I was way too heavy in the water and my swimming suffered. I like to do a combo of Pilates and moderate weight training. I recently started using the TRX suspension system and absolutely love it. I bring it with me when I travel.

A:

Q:

So-called “training devices” are quite popular among swimmers. Aside from the boring ol’ kickboard, what other gadgets are in your deck bag?

Hands down, my favorite training device is my H2O Audio Interval. It’s an underwater housing for the second generation iPod shuffle, so it allows me to bring my music into the water.

Because of my hectic travel schedule and the fact that I train with a collegiate team (and I’m not in college), I often have to train by myself.

Having my music keeps me company and has greatly improved my solo workouts.

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

A:

Q:

If you had to do a 4,000m continuous swim, and you could only have 10 songs loaded on your iPod, which songs would you choose?

This is such a tough question because it depends on my mood! Sometimes I

A: october 2009

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John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

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like relaxing, chill music, like Jack Johnson or Eddie Vedder; sometimes punk, like old Green Day; sometimes hip-hop, like old school Snoop, Tupac and Biggie; and sometimes pop music like Britney, Lady Gaga or Katy Perry. I definitely take advantage of the genius feature on iTunes!

Q: A:

Any chance we’ll see you race a triathlon in the near future?

I’m not sure I’ll be doing any traditional triathlons in the near future because biking doesn’t seem to agree with me—it kills my back. However, I did compete in the Surf Monkey Triathlon in Oceanside, Calif., in August. It was kind of strange in that it was swimming, running and paddle-boarding, but it was fun. Running in the sand was a bit different for me, however, since I’m used to training on the treadmill or on pavement.

Q:

Our feature story in this issue is about the 20 best places in the country for triathletes to live. If finding a great place to 90

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train were the only factor in your decision, where would you like to live?

I’m completely biased, but I would say my home (San Francisco Bay area) has to be one of the best places to train for a triathlon. There are tons of biking and running trails, swimming pools everywhere and agreeable weather. Yes, the ocean in a bit rough and really cold, but that’s why I have an extra thick wetsuit for my times in the ocean.

A: Q:

In the U.S., few sports rival swimming when it comes to getting youth involved.

What can triathlon learn from swimming in terms of gaining more youth involvement?

Swimming is successful in getting youth involved because it’s a life skill that’s important for children’s safety. Being water safe is a goal of most parents for their children, and joining a local swim team is an easy way to achieve that goal.

A: Q:

Recently, we’ve seen a few elite-level swimmers—most notably Hayley Peir-

sol—transition from swimming to triathlon with success. Do you think this may be a trend among swimming’s elite?

I’m not sure. I’ve heard countless times that swimming is the most difficult skill of the triathlon to learn, so being an elite swimmer would be an obvious advantage. I definitely see a lot of my ex-swimmer friends move on to triathlons because they miss competition, yet they do not want to just swim.

A: Q: A:

You’ve had the opportunity to swim at some of the finest pools in the world, so what are a few of your favorites?

Although it wasn’t a permanent facility, the Rod Laver Arena (where the Australian Tennis Open is held) was my favorite facility. The Australian public is so passionate about swimming and that makes for an exciting atmosphere.

Plus, the shallow stadium seating allowed us to feel the presence of the crowd (much more so than steep stadium seating). october 2009

The Legend

Multiple Kona Ironman World Championships – both mens and womens.

Numerous victories in every Ironman race in the world. Countless stages and overall victories in The Tour De France, The Giro and The Vuelta. National TT championships (in18 countries), TT World Championships, Track World Championships and The Olympics.

Everything, everywhere, all the time, the legend continues.

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Training for Hot Races in the Cold

By Paul Regensburg

M

any triathlons around the world are staged in hot climates, and none is more important than the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. If you are one of the lucky triathletes who has qualified to race down the Queen K and Ali’i Drive, you probably know that how you handle heat can make or break your day.

In this article we will focus on how to prepare for Hawaii, but the tips presented here apply to any hot race—especially if you are coming from an environment that does not allow for consistent training in the heat or if you live in an area where the summer has already turned to fall.

Traveling from a cooler climate to the heat of Hawaii is a drastic change in environoctober 2009

ment. As the fall brings shorter days and cooler temperatures, preparing for a hot race can be challenging. The good news is that the human body is pretty good at adapting to different types of stress, including heat stress, when given enough time.

The key concept to embrace is acclimatization. Getting your body accustomed to heat can be one of the most important factors for a successful race-day performance.

What is Acclimatization?

Acclimatization is the process of getting your body accustomed to performing in hot conditions by simulating the same environment in training. Air temperature, humidity, wind

and solar radiation are all factors that affect thermal balance and ultimately performance.

Training should replicate the expected environmental conditions as much as possible. Heat acclimatization should be considered part of your training plan, and if done properly, it can result in significantly improved heat tolerance. In general, studies suggest that about 75 percent of acclimatization occurs within five days of exposure to the environment. Full acclimatization occurs in 10 to 14 days.

How Does Acclimatizing Help?

Acclimatizing helps evenly distribute blood between your skin and muscles so you have the oxygen needed for muscle contraction triathletemag.com

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T R A INING and blood flow to the skin for cooling. Your sweating threshold lowers, meaning that you start sweating earlier and therefore start cooling earlier, and your sweat output increases. The salt concentration of your sweat will decrease, as acclimatizing helps preserve electrolytes.

There can also be an excellent mental effect because you become more comfortable and confident in hotter conditions and are able to properly train the intake of additional fluids, carbohydrates and electrolytes and practice cooling strategies.

Taking Steps to Prepare Athletes preparing to race the Hawaii Ironman or any other hot race must be creative in finding ways to replicate the race environment.

Here are some proven concepts to help with acclimatization at home or to take with you to a hot training destination and race.

Turn Up the Heat: If outdoor weather conditions aren’t cooperating, get inside and turn up that thermostat. Champion triathletes Greg and Laura Bennett found it helpful to take their trainers to the sun room to work out, but if no sun room is available, use your trainer indoors with the heat turned up. If you’re looking to compete in a hot and humid environment, it is necessary to acclimatize for both heat and humidity. Training in a hot, dry environment provides only partial acclimatization for a hot, humid environment. To add some humidity, try heating a kettle of water in the room you are training in.

Watch the Intensity: Just because you work harder in the heat doesn’t mean you adapt faster.

To the contrary, the best acclimatization comes from longer workouts with lower heart rates.

If the workout entails long, intensive sections, it will be difficult to realize the training benefit because your body’s priorities are divided between coping with the stresses of intensive training and the heat.

Wear Extra Layers: Wearing extra layers is a good way to increase your body’s core temperature. When heading outside for a run, or if you’re running indoors on a treadmill, try putting on a few extra layers—a hat, gloves or anything else that will heat you up—even in warmer conditions. Wearing impermeable clothing can contribute to acclimatization.

Choose the Right Time of Day: If you are still experiencing warm weather conditions at home, choose the time of day when the temperature is highest. If you travel to a warm climate or the race site, perform some of your 94

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less intensive workouts in the heat of the day or at the time of your race, specifically your run. This is better done two weeks before your race rather than in race week.

Get to Your Race Destination Early: Some athletes preparing for Hawaii plan a spring trip to Kona or another hot destination to get familiar with the weather. But if planning an extra vacation doesn’t fit your schedule, you can also try to arrive at the race site early.

Arriving a minimum of one week, and ideally 10 to 14 days, before the race will really help with acclimatization. Think of not only the physiological benefit, but the psychological benefit of pre-training on the Queen K and running a few times down Ali’i Drive.

Lose the Air Conditioning: To maximize acclimatization, athletes should be exposed to the anticipated environmental conditions 24 hours a day. If the only exposure to hot conditions is during a training session and the athlete then returns to an air-conditioned environment, the effectiveness of acclimatization is reduced. Ironman champion Peter Reid would make sure that as soon as he stepped off the plane in Hawaii, usually two weeks before the race, no air conditioning was allowed until race day—not even in the taxi from the airport.

So turn off the AC, or at the very least, keep it on as little as possible if it’s required to get a good sleep.

Add it Up Keep in mind that acclimatization is cumulative. This means that the more you revisit the conditions, the quicker and easier it is to adapt. If your key race is in the fall, try working back six to eight months or so. See if you can include a late winter or spring camp in the heat and then one week of hot training per month leading up to your hot race.

Some studies have shown that acclimatization to the heat can accumulate over the years, so it is never too early to practice in the heat, even if a hot race is not in the near future. Growing up in a hot climate can be a big advantage because the body will remember how to deal with the heat, and some athletes are just blessed with a predisposition to performing well in hotter conditions.

Heat Chambers Gordon Sleivert, vice president of sport performance at the Canadian Sport Centre Pacific, works with national-level athletes in a heat chamber to help them acclimatize. The heat chamber was created to allow athletes to prepare for any event in an extreme environment,

Sleivert’s suggested bike workout: Warm up with 10 minutes of easy spinning 5x1 minute at 90 percent max heart rate with 1 minute of rest 5 minutes of easy spinning. Repeat.

Back off and spin easy for 45 to 50 minutes at a comfortable pace at 60 percent to 70 percent max heart rate. whether it is hot or cold, and was used to help Canadian triathletes prepare for the Olympics in Beijing, where race day was expected to be 90 degrees and humid.

“The most important thing in achieving heat adaptation is doing five to seven days of consecutive training where you elevate and then hold your body temperature for 45 to 60 minutes,” explains Sleivert. “As you adapt to this heat, you will be able to do more.”

“When you add shorter intensity at the beginning, you can drive up your internal temperature quite a bit,” explains Sleivert.

“Here we try to monitor body temperature as best we can, but as this is hard to do from home, use intervals to get really hot and then lay off to maintain core temperature.”

How You Know if It’s Working A simple and effective way to monitor improvements in acclimatization is to use your heart rate as a guide. Just record your heart rates at certain speeds as you begin training in the heat.

During your first workout, you will most likely see a much higher heart rate than normal even though you may be moving at the same speed or even slower than you are accustomed to. As you acclimatize with heat training, your heart rate will decrease as you perform at the same level. Your physiology becomes more efficient and you don’t have to work as hard to produce the same result. You will also notice a change in your perceived exertion: You will feel much better while completing the workout.

These are indicators that you are acclimatizing.

If your goal race is a hot one, give heat training the same importance as your swim, bike and run. A generally strong training program will help, too—the fitter you are, the better you will be able to handle the heat.

Once you are acclimatized, beat the heat with sunscreen, cooling methods (such as sponging), and a well-developed hydration, nutrition and electrolyte plan.

Paul Regensburg is a senior coach at LifeSport, the official coaches of Ironman. He is an Olympic, Pan Am Games and Ironman Coach. Visit Lifesportcoaching.com. Thank you to Amee Nijjar for her contribution to this piece. october 2009

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Lane Lines (she might have to swim close to you if swimmers are coming in the other direction) and then resume your pace.

If you are passing another athlete, always look up for oncoming traffic while you go into the center of the lane.

Hanging on the Wall: Be aware of other athletes between intervals and between sets. While you are resting, other people are still training.

The correct place to rest is in the corner of your lane or out of the water on the ledge.

Experienced swimmers prefer the left corner (as perceived by oncoming traffic).

It is important to be aware of your actions immediately after you stop at the wall. The swimmer directly behind will be expecting you to continue swimming, so move to the left as soon as possible.

Pushing Off the Wall: My motto here is: on one side of the lane, it is important to get the “Look before you leap!” Judge the pace of the attention of both people before starting to circle oncoming swimmer. Is she going to be turning swim, which is mandatory when more than at the same time you push off? Just like in the two swimmers share a lane. If the swimmers “passing” section above, the swimmer on the are already circle swimming or performing a wall must yield to the swimmer in action. Adjust continuous swim and not stopping, follow the your send-off time a few seconds and start “entering the water” etiquette below. your next interval early or late. Do not push Entering the Water: Nothing is scarier than off directly into the face of another swimmer. swimming toward the wall when someone International Guidelines: One more motto: jumps in the water right in front of your head. “When in Rome …” The sport of triathlon can Pay attention and be courteous to the people take you to some awesome locations. Whether already in the water. it is a world championship competition or just Wait until there is a large gap between a destination race, observe the local routine people and slip into the water feet first, on before starting your workout. the right side of the lane, and stay close to the In countries where they drive on the leftwall. I like to hang on the wall long enough hand side of the road, they swim on the leftfor all the other swimmers in the lane to make hand side of the lane. Be aware of this when a turn and recognize my presence. training in Australia and New Zealand. Some Circle Swimming: This is a no-brainer for European countries, including England, have all swimmers, novice to elite. It is as simple adopted a way to reduce injuries from hitting as driving a car: Stay on the right side of the swimmers in adjacent lanes by alternating the center line. If you stay on the right side of the circle direction across the pool. black line on the bottom of the pool, going Think of the pool as a mini-highway. If you both directions, you will create a circle (well, act just like you are driving a two-ton SUV at an elongated loop, anyway) in your lane. This 60 mph down a crowded road, you should have allows multiple people to train in the same no problems in the pool. The No. 1 guideline lane without head-on collisions. in both situations is be aware. Accidents hapPassing: Inevitably, passing will occur in any pen when you zone out and don’t know what swimming lane with circle the people around you swimming. The request to are doing. Also, remempass is signified by a gentle Think of the pool as a ber that courtesy begets tap on the feet and the slower courtesy; if you start mini-highway. If you act more swimmer always yields. bringing etiquette to the just like you are driving pool, everyone else will Yielding does not mean stopping. It means a two-ton SUV at 60 mph catch on quickly. what it means on the road: down a crowded road, Sara McLarty is a professional “give way.” Stay to the right side of the lane if you feel you should have no prob- triathlete living in Clermont, a tap on your feet. Slow Fla. In her spare time, she leads lems in the pool. down a slight amount, let triathlon camps at the National the faster swimmer go by Training Center, Usantc.com.

Pool Etiquette101

By Sara McLarty

T

oday, lane space at the better swimming pools is a rare commodity. Teams, programs, groups and camps are forced to compete with each other for legroom and elbow room.

The facility managers walk a tight line between making a profit and trying to please every client. Unfortunately, they are dealing with a fixed amount of supply—they can’t just fly in some extra lanes when demand is at a peak.

Unless you live in a tiny town with a huge pool, you have probably experienced the limited pool space problem firsthand. What is worse than walking out to swim practice and finding the pool a white, frothy mess of other swimmers—two or more in each lane? Some are going slow, some fast, some are kicking, maybe some have a snorkel and aren’t even stopping at the wall. All you want is to get in the water and complete a workout before your lunch break is over. What is a triathlete to do?

The following basics of swimming pool etiquette are universal (OK, American—I’ll touch on some international points a little later) for swimming laps. Unless a sign at the pool specifies different rules, stick to these: Choosing a Lane: As you walk out on the pool deck, take a quick glance at all the swimmers in the pool. Make a mental note of the speed at which they are swimming. Compare their pace to how you are going to swim and look for a good match. Use your best judgment so both you and the other swimmers will have a pleasant workout. Some pools post signs on the wall that describe the pace in each lane (“Slow,” “Medium,” “Fast”).

Alerting Other Swimmers: If you choose a lane that has just one swimmer, wait until she stops on the wall and politely ask to share the lane.

In the case of two swimmers, figure out if they are circle swimming or splitting the lane.

In the second case, where each swimmer stays october 2009

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Super Simple Cycling Interval Progressions

By Matt Fitzgerald

T

here are a million different ways to do an interval workout on the bike. And that’s just the problem. With so many formats to choose from, how do you decide which workout is the best workout for you today? And next week? And the week after that?

Relax. Choosing the perfect interval workout for you now is not so important. In fact, there is no such thing as the perfect interval workout for a given athlete at a particular time.

Any of a number of different formats will yield more or less the same benefits. What’s more important than the specific format of each interval workout is the direction defined by the sequence of interval workouts you do. The right direction has two aspects: Your interval 98

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training should be progressive and should become increasingly race-specific.

Within these parameters, your interval training can be anything else you want it to be, and I recommend that you also keep it simple.

It can be tempting to think that a more complex interval workout progression is somehow more scientific and effective, but this is not necessarily so. The advantages of using a simpler interval workout progression are that doing so makes it easier to ensure that your training is moving in the right direction, and easier to monitor your improving fitness.

A sequence of interval workouts is progressive if each workout entails a greater workload than the last, except for scaled-back interval

sessions performed within recovery weeks. You can make interval workouts more challenging by increasing the number, duration or intensity of intervals in it. If you have a power meter, you can ensure that the workload of your interval workouts is increasing from session to session by downloading your ride data onto a software application such TrainingPeaks WKO+, which assigns a “Training Stress Score” to the workout based on its duration and intensity relative to your current functional threshold, which is the maximum power output you can sustain for one hour. This handy tool allows you to make apples-to-apples comparisons among all works, even when the number, duration and intensity of intervals differ. october 2009

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A sequence of interval workouts becomes increasingly race-specific if the intensity and total amount of work performed move closer to the intensity and duration of your race. In practical terms, this means that the sequence begins with intervals that are shorter and much faster than race intensity and culminates in longer intervals that are only a little higher than race intensity.

This progression should not be perfectly linear, however. Once every three or four weeks you should reach back and perform a set of shorter intervals to maintain the speed and power you developed through your initial focus on them. Also every three or four weeks, as suggested above, you should perform a lighter set of intervals to facilitate recovery. It is sensible to combine these two ways of “stepping back” by doing a lighter set of shorter intervals every third or fourth week.

Traditionally, triathletes incorporate cycling intervals into their training only during the “build” and “peak” phases of their training.

More recently, however, there has been a movement toward including interval work throughout the training cycle. The rationale for doing interval work in the base phase of training is that the base phase is the best time to build a foundation of speed and power through very short, very high-intensity intervals 100

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that can then be developed into a capacity to work and long rides in a cycling program. sustain speed with the use of progressively Indeed, these interval workouts are not the longer intervals in the build and peak phases. only hard rides you should do. You should Personally, I favor this approach, but I don’t do a second high-intensity ride each week think it matters too much either way. with more sustained efforts at threshold to A 16-week cycling interval progression race intensity. for triathletes, that is similar to The total ride duration for your 16-week the progression I am currently interval workouts can be anywhere cycling interval from 30 to 60 minutes. They should using in my preparations for Ironman Arizona, can be used never be longer than about 90 minprogression in training for triathlons of any utes, as the duration of the ride will 6 x 0:20 (2:00) 1 distance because high-intensity start to affect the quality of your 8 x 0:20 (2:00) 2 interval training is not meant intervals beyond this point. The 8 x 1:00 (2:00) 3 to be specific to race intensity. numbers in parentheses in the right Instead, it is meant to boost column of the table represent sug6 x 0:20 (2:00) 4 your peak power and maximum gested spinning recovery durations.

10 x 1:00 (2:00) 5 short-term sustainable power Ride the intervals in each workout 12 x 1:00 (2:00) 6 so that you can sustain your at the fastest pace you can sustain 6 x 2:00 (3:00) 7 target power output for any through the end of the last interval 8 x 1:00 (2:00) 8 race distance more easily. without losing power. Note your The longest intervals in this average power output within the 8 x 2:00 (3:00) 9 progression are five minutes. intervals in each workout and try 4 x 3:00 (3:00) 10 You can perform five-minute to match or slightly beat it every 5 x 3:00 (3:00) 11 intervals at a power output level time you do intervals of the same 6 x 2:00 (3:00) 12 that is significantly higher than duration. your race power output level.

Finally, note that it is much 4 x 4:00 (3:00) 13 Few triathletes ride this hard more convenient to do these work4 x 5:00 (3:00) 14 consistently, but it is extremely outs on an indoor trainer than 5 x 5:00 (3:00) 15 beneficial, especially when comoutdoors. I use a CycleOps PT300 8 x 0:20 (1:00) 16 bined with regular threshold with a built-in PowerTap. october 2009

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On t he run

Targeting a Sub-2:40 Run Craig Alexander is ready to defend his title in Kona.

By Brian Metzler

F

or a soccer player, 2008 Ironman champion Craig Alexander is a pretty good runnerHe’s a pretty good runner by triathlon standards, too runners as demonstrated by his 2:45 marathon splits each of the last two years in Kona. He’s not only had superior run-specific fitness, but he’s also one of the most efficient runners in the field.

His running prowess was a big reason he finished second in his debut at Kona in 2007 and it helped him literally run away with a win last year.

If all goes as planned, he’ll once again show up to defend his title on Oct. 11 and will be especially ready to rock and roll out of T2.

“People tell me what a beautiful runner they think I am, but it was something I have worked on,” he says. “I didn’t come from a running background, so when I started in october 2009

triathlon I had to get into the mindset of not only training properly for all three sports, but also having the mindset of having the right technique for each one.”

It’s not that Alexander never ran as a kid, it’s just that he didn’t train for the sport. In high school, he regularly won and placed highly in cross-country races, and was fast enough on the track to break two minutes for 800 meters.

But soccer was his first love, a game he played until he suffered two hernias in his early 20s.

In hindsight, he knows he was building his aerobic engine during a decade of playing soccer, even if much of his training was based on short bursts of explosive speed. During a game, he’d endure what was essentially 90 minutes of non-stop intervals, something that certainly contributed to his running fitness.

Coincidentally, his sidelining injuries

actually led to him become a runner, as he used running to get fit after hernia surgery.

The injuries were also a sign that he needed to improve his core strength to become the runner that he is today.

“Back then, I had a really weak core. My hips were never that stable,” he says. “All great runners, it’s about efficiency and fluency. I was lucky I got good advice early in my career and have always worked on core strength and core stability.”

When he first got into triathlon, his thin running background put him off the back, but it forced him to learn to train and race the right way. Not long after he broke into the sport, Alexander had the opportunity to train with four-time world champion and 1994 Hawaii Ironman champion Greg Welch. It was Welch who taught Crowie how to become a versatile, all-around athlete, one who could compete at any distance from sprints to Ironman, and specifically instilled in him ideas about becoming the best runner he could be.

“He always said, ‘The best triathletes can do it all, no matter what the course,’” Alexander triathletemag.com

105

On t he run says. “He said, ‘They buzzing.

Alexander started his 12-week swim with the front It’s a formula that works, one he group, they ride with build-up to Kona in late July. the front group developed while racThe first four or five weeks ing Olympic-distance and they’re great runners. Never piare a high-volume phase, and 70.3 races before geonhole yourself as moving up to Ironwhere he typically runs 60 man two years ago. a one-dimensional athlete.’”

“Initially I to 70 miles per week. thought it was a It was from We l c h t h a t h e disadvantage that I learned no matter how much endurance was such a late starter in triathlon,” Alexander training you do, it’s the little things—ef- says. “When I started in my early 20s, there ficiency, technique, diet—that can make were a lot of guys who had been in the sport the biggest differences. Along those lines, for many years. But I realized that if I could Alexander does everything he can to become a just be patient and stay around longer, I would model of efficiency, especially while running. get to my peak physical endurance years with He does a lot of one-legged hopping drills no injuries and no wear and tear and still be at the end of easy runs, and he always does motivated to do well. core-specific work in the gym.

“Now, in hindsight, it’s an advantage.

“I do a lot to focus on strengthening It took a while to get on level par in terms up my hips, hip flexors, lower back, lower of endurance and base. But I had to learn abdominals,” he says. “Really you have to to walk before I could crawl. I had to learn make your pelvis so stable that every ounce about the sport and develop as an athlete.” of energy that you drive is going forward. You Before his first Ironman in April 2007, need to ration your energy. And someone who Alexander had never run 26.2 miles. And is more efficient has energy reserves longer heading into Kona this year, he’s only covered into the race than someone who is not.” the distance three times.

As for actual running, Alexander starts Alexander has run a 65-minute half his 12-week build-up to Kona in late July. marathon and run well under 15 minutes The first four or five weeks are a high-volume for 5K on a track. Those numbers suggest phase, where he typically runs 60 to 70 miles he could run a very fast open marathon, per week. A lot of those miles come in two perhaps in the 2:20 to 2:30 range, if he trained slow to moderately long runs, one about exclusively for one. While he appreciates and two hours and the other between 80 and has studied what it takes to be an elite, sub100 minutes. As he moves into the middle 2:08 marathoner—he rattles off the names of of his pre-Kona block of training, he’ll spice Paul Tergat, Haile Gebrsellassie, Carlos Lopes those long runs up a bit with negative-split and others—he has no interest in running a efforts—going out slower than marathon race marathon like that. pace and coming back slightly faster than race “Running a marathon really doesn’t pace—with bouts of tempo running thrown interest me,” he says. “People who don’t run into the mix. don’t appreciate how hard that is. They look As the big race draws closer he’ll add so fluid and effortless, but what you don’t faster-paced running, such as 5x5 minutes realize is that they’re right on threshold all hard or perhaps long intervals on the track, the time. Running a marathon in an Ironbut he allows his weekly running mileage man is different. It’s more about keeping a to drop to 35 to 50 miles per week. With tempo and monitoring your pace based on a month to go, he typically races one last the fact that you’ve already been out for five time—this year it was Ironman 70.3 Muskoka hours racing.” in Canada—before taking a barometer of Still, he thinks he could run under 2:40 in what else he needs to do in the next two Kona in the right conditions. And he knows weeks before going into a two-week taper. that, to become the first person to win backIf he feels he needs more time on his feet, to-back Ironman titles since Tim DeBoom he might log one or two more long runs. Or, in 2001 and 2002, he might have to. if his legs are fatigued, he’ll ease off his run“All I can do is turn up in great shape, ning and get his final cardio workouts in the healthy, fit, fresh,” he says. “That’s a juggling pool. During his taper, he’ll drop the running act in itself, but I know how to do that. And I workload considerably—maybe running know if I do, I will be competitive and improve 45 minutes to an hour once a week—but on last year, and that’s what I want. I may be he’ll keep the intensity up to keep his engine first, I may be fifth. I don’t know.”

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october 2009

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Triathlon’s Effects on Immune System Health

By Tim Mickleborough, PhD Dear Speed Lab, I compete mostly in half- and fullIronman races. After an Ironman race this year, I became very fatigued and lethargic, and for about four weeks afterward my training was seriously reduced. I also had flu-like symptoms. My physician said I had an upper respiratory tract infection, which I most likely contracted either during or after the

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Ironman race. I am now fully recovered, but it took about two months. I have been doing a fair amount of research on this condition, but what is not clear is whether contracting this infection is related to overtraining or working out too hard for too long. Any further information would be great.

Katharine Jenner Santa Fe, N.M. october 2009

speed lab Dear Katharine, A relationship between intense exercise and susceptibility to illness was noted in the early part of the last century. For example, W. N. Cowles noted in 1918 that nearly all cases of pneumonia that occurred in a boys’ school occurred in athletes, and that respiratory tract infections progressed toward pneumonia only after intense exercise and competitive sports.

Upper respiratory tract infections, or URTI, involve the oral and nasal regions and include the common cold, sore throat and middle-ear infections. Frequently contracting illnesses such as infectious mononucleosis and URTIs is linked with overtraining syndrome, a neuroendocrine disorder in athletes.

This syndrome is generally characterized by persistent fatigue and poor athletic performance primarily due to excessive training (Lehman et al, 1993). Although not extensively documented, upper respiratory tract infections appear to be the most prevalent infectious illness among athletes. Although the incidence of URTI varies by sport, type of athlete and duration of study period, illness rates as high as 68 percent have been noted after an ultramarathon run (Peters et al, 1993).

Published rates of URTI, which vary among endurance athletes, have been reported as high as 47 percent during the two weeks following a 56K ultramarathon; 40 percent in the two

The mechanisms responsible for the apparently high incidence of URTI among athletes are not currently known. However, there are several possible explanations. months before and 12 percent runners in the week after a marathon; 68 percent after a 90K ultramarathon; 50 percent in the week after a marathon and in rowers after competition; and 40 percent in elite swimmers during four weeks of intensified training. These data suggest that triathletes may also be at particular risk for URTI. Although overtraining is associated with frequent URTI, data in support of such a perception are indirect, and there are few studies to address this issue. In particular, large prospective studies are needed to follow different types of athletes over extended periods of time to determine whether increased risk of URTI is a consequence of overtraining.

To date, the studies on URTI among athletes and recreationally active individuals suggest that top competitive athletes and those

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speed lab Summary of Research in Athletes and URTI Compared with non-athletes, competitive endurance athletes such as distance runners experience high rates of symptoms of URTI within two weeks of major competition.

In distance runners, the incidence of URTI symptoms increases with training volume and intensity.

The risk of URTI is not elevated and may possibly be reduced in moderately active individuals, or recreational athletes.

Exercise capacity is reduced during viral illness.

What this means for You Athletes should not be expected to perform to their usual standards during viral illness, and attempting to do so may be detrimental to their health.

Athletes and their coaches should consider ways to modify training volume and intensity to avoid excessive exercise that may increase susceptibility to URTI. If regular moderate exercise can be shown to reduce risk of URTI, the health of inactive individuals may be enhanced by a physically active lifestyle.

who engage in very long or intense exercise, such as marathons and ultramarathons, are more susceptible to URTI than the general population, whereas regular moderate exercise increases resistance to infection.

The mechanisms responsible for the apparently high incidence of URTI among athletes are not currently known. However, there are several possible explanations, including high ventilatory flow rates alter mucosal surfaces of the upper respiratory tract that are exposed to the environment; infiltration of inflammatory cells, or mast cells, into the mucosa; depletion of factors needed by the immune system; and psychological stress.

A few studies have suggested that vitamin C (ascorbic acid) supplementation may reduce the incidence of URTI after endurance competition (Peters et al, 1993, 1996). In addition, recent evidence suggests that oral supplementation with the amino acid glutamine may also reduce the frequency of URTI among endurance athletes (Castell et al, 1996).

What are the practical considerations for the athlete? It has been suggested that certain illnesses, such as influenza and other systemic bacterial or viral infections, require at least two to four weeks of recovery. Serious illnesses such as infectious mononucleosis may require extended recovery—up to six months—before an athlete can resume intense training. Other viral illnesses such as the common cold without systemic involvement may not require cessation of training. However, impaired strength and exercise capacity during viral infection may lead to musculoskeletal injury or overtraining in athletes who attempt to continue training at high intensity during illness. In addition, systemic viral infections may cause structural and functional changes in cardiac and skeletal muscle.

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It has been suggested that viral illness with systemic involvement, with symptoms such as fever, fatigue, muscle aches and enlarged lymph nodes, requires at least one month for complete recovery before resumption of intense training. The general rule is that athletes may continue training only when symptoms are above the neck (e.g. nasal congestion). Athletes should not train intensely during any other type of illness unless it is first diagnosed by a physician who can recommend the proper course of treatment and training.

Dr. Mickleborough is an associate professor of exercise physiology at Indiana University. He is a former elite-level athlete who placed 18th overall (08:55:38) and second in the run (02:52:13) in the 1994 Hawaii Ironman World Championships.

References: 1. Castell, I. M., E. A. Newsholme and J. R. Poortmans.

“Does glutamine have a role in reducing infections in athletes?” European Journal of Applied Physiology 73 (1996): 488-490.

2. Cowles, W. N. “Fatigue as a contributory cause of pneumonia.” Boston Medical and Surgery Journal 179 (1918): 555.

3. Lehman, M., C. Foster and J. Keul. “Overtraining in endurance athletes; a brief review.” Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 25 (1993): 854-862.

4. Peters, E. M., J. M. Goetzsche, B. Grobbelaar and T. D. Noakes. “Vitamin C supplementation reduces the incidence of postrace symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection in ultramarathon runners.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 57 (1993): 170-174.

5. Peters, E. M., J. M. Goetzsche, L. E. Joseph and T. D. Noakes. “Vitamin C as effective as combinations of anti-oxidant nutrients in reducing symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections in ultramarathon runners.”

South African Sportsmedicine 3 (1996): 23-27. october 2009

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

t e ch sup p or t

Selecting the Right Wheels

By Christopher Kautz

I

n last month’s Tech Support column I began addressing a question from Gray Augustus of Idaho Falls, Idaho, regarding wheel selection for races. I covered the two basic areas to consider when selecting wheels: your needs as a rider and the demands of the course you’ll be racing on. However, the details of wheel selection are becoming more significant as wheel and frame technology evolve, and in this article on wheel selection, I will explore three of the more critical of these details—rim shape and a pair of interaction effects.

The obvious goal in selecting a pair of wheels is to choose the wheels that will be fastest. Generally speaking, the more rim depth a wheel has, the faster it is. However, adding rim depth generally comes at the expense of bike handling because more rim depth makes a bike less stable in windy conditions, primarily when added to the front wheel. Or does it?

Dealing with Crosswinds Rim depth, the amount of surface area in a wheel, is only one component of its ability to deal with crosswinds. As it turns out, rim shape is at least as important as rim depth when it comes to assessing your wheel selection, contrary to popular belief.

Engineer Josh Poertner from Zipp says that this is one of the biggest misconceptions 112

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that they have to overcome as a manufacturer.

“When we come out with wheels of varying depths, other manufacturers quickly follow and sell wheels with the same rim depth. Consumers then wrongly assume that all these rims are equally fast and will have similar handling characteristics in crosswinds,” Poertner says.

In reality, the shape of a rim greatly affects both its speed and stability, and actually has more impact on stability than a rim’s depth does. It is for this reason that Zipp and HED jointly hold a patent on their unique rim shape.

“How the air flows off the back of a wheel plays a huge role in how that wheel does in a crosswind and how much side pressure the wheel exerts,” says Poertner. Echoing these sentiments, Tim Mulrooney from HED points out that as a wheel stalls—an effect that deep section wheels experience as wind angles become too steep—it becomes less stable and harder to control. The shape of a rim plays a large role in pushing this stall point further out, making a deeper section wheel rideable under a larger set of conditions, and reducing the side pressure on the wheel.

What this means in practical terms is that a well-designed wheel will be more rideable than a comparably deep wheel without the same level of design. Or said differently, you can ride a deeper, and therefore faster, wheel that

is well-designed and have the same or better handling than a shallower wheel without an appropriate rim shape because the side pressure, which is the sideways push you feel from a crosswind, will be less on an appropriately shaped wheel.

Adding Stability The second important detail in wheel selection is the interaction effect between your front and back wheels. Unbeknownst to many people, your choice of rear wheel can actually help offset the instability caused by your front wheel in a crosswind. When you experience crosswind situations, the side pressure on your wheels acts disproportionately on the front wheel because of its ability to turn via the steering axis of the fork, and this greatly impacts the handling of your bike. To counteract this effect, adding depth to the rear wheel helps move the center of pressure to the back of the bike. This has the effect of offsetting the steering forces at the front of your bike with a yaw force at the rear. In layman’s terms, in a crosswind from the left, the pressure on your front wheel is trying to turn your bike to the right. By adding depth to the rear wheel the pressure from the back of the bike helps turn the bike back to the left and stabilizes it.

Offsetting Steering Forces This effect is similar to the third detail of wheel selection, which is the interaction effect between the wheels and the frame. Just october 2009

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MINI BAG 24 cu.ins TIRE BAG 53 cu.ins KONA BAG 84 cu.ins

Inflation Holders

Inflators

CO2s

Attaches to carriers

Carries Inflator and CO2s

NANOFLATOR

Also fits Discs

SPEED CHUCK

triathletemag.com

to offset the steering forces on the front of your bike because you continue to increase the total side pressure on your bike when you do so.

Given that this two-part article is just scratching the surface, it is clear that selecting the appropriate set of wheels for your bike has become a fairly involved process. And as I mentioned last month, to have the right wheels for all occasions involves having a number of different choices.

However, knowing that the wheel companies are happy to discuss your needs and help you make the right decisions when purchasing wheels, using their expertise is a great place to start to make sure you put the right wheel set on your bike for race day.

Christopher Kautz is the owner and founder of PK Cycling, and one of the originators of the fit studio concept. His clients include numerous Ironman world champions, Tour de France veterans and Olympians. You can find him at Pkcycling.com.

Quick tips for selecting the right Wheels

1

Study the Course: Races requiring climbing and technical handling command a lighter, less aero wheel; flat courses require a deeper aero rim to take full effect of aerodynamics at speed.

2

Tubular vs. Clincher: While tubular wheels offer the greatest weight savings and aero optimization, don’t add stress to your race if you are unfamiliar with how to change them. Clincher race wheels offer nearly similar aero advantage.

3

Tire Selection: Wheel selection is half the battle; as the wheel’s leading edge, a tire that matches with the wheel can add great aerodynamic effect.

4

Consider Your Stature: Bike handling of extremely deep aero wheels on a windy day by a 110-pound woman is much more pronounced than that seen on a 175-pound man. If the winds are calm, go deep. But if you’re a smaller athlete with only basic bikehandling skills and there’s a chance of windy conditions, consider a shallower wheel for better crosswind stability. It may not be as optimal as a deeper wheel, but the energy you save by not having to fight the bike as the wheel is blasted by winds may well make up for it.

5 16g and 12g CO2s

FOR DETAILS AND DEALERS 114

as a side wind pushes the wheels sideways, that same wind pushes the frame sideways. The current generation of aero framesets has started to increase the total amount of surface area exposed in a crosswind, and they have disproportionately added that surface area at the juncture of the headtube, toptube and downtube. While this has made bikes much faster, it has exacerbated the steering impacts acting on a bike in crosswinds.

Just as side pressure on the front wheel turns the bike away from the wind, so does side pressure on the headtube juncture.

And just as with wheels, moving the center of pressure to the rear of the bike by adding surface area to the rear wheel helps to offset this effect. As a result, your rear-wheel selection needs to be based not only on your frontwheel selection, but the frame you are riding. However, you cannot simply continue to add side area to the rear of the bike

Prepare a Spare: Ensure your spare tire or tube already has a valve extender installed, or swap the short core for a long-valve core—and leave the valve’s actuation head open. Should you flat, you’ll have preventively eliminated one step in the tire change process, saving several seconds and getting you back into the race faster.

october 2009

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de a r co a ch

Advice for Kona Spectators and Sherpas

By Paul Huddle and Roch Frey Dear Coaches, I subscribe to Triathlete, have raced Arizona the last three times and watch the Hawaii Ironman on NBC every year. After all that, I have not heard the answer to the training question burning in my mind: How do I prepare to be a spectator for my spouse at Kona?

We’ve done more than 100 races together, including Arizona in November, where she qualified for Hawaii. (I did not qualify perhaps because of certain unfortunate genetic difficulties I must bear regarding consistent training, as well as chronic and debilitating gastrointestinal abnormalities inhibiting proper digestion of fried hot dogs and coffee chip ice cream.) Nonetheless, I am ready to commit to a serious training program to get myself in shape to stand around at the festivities in October, projecting the aura that everyone else is lucky that I’m not racing. I’m considering several strategies: First, at 6’4” and 255, I could easily adopt october 2009

the “weightlifter boyfriend” motif, augmented with a massive intake of steroids and 30 sets of bench per day. However, that seems like the easy way out. The Big Island deserves more.

Or, at 6’4” and 155, I could adopt the “I am Peter Reid’s uncle” motif. This will require 45 hours per week of swimming, biking and running, as well as a strict diet of fruits, vegetables and raw bison. This seems promising, and I should have plenty of time to train, since the missus appears to have ample free time on her hands.

She just spends her days splashing around a pool or toodling around on a bicycle. I’m also ready with a full suite of compression socks, kinesio tape, visors, sunglasses and a sling for my arm, to make it clear that I am hardcore, that I am someone who knows more about triathlon than you’ve ever forgotten, but who has tragically suffered a non-specific training injury. I’m still considering the best non-specific training injury to fake—something that won’t

limit my comfort and mobility.

Also, can you recommend the best foreign language to fake at such a multi-cultural event in order to avoid difficult questions? My usual “fake German” routine will obviously not work.

What are the odds that there will be any Navajo code talkers at the race?

Are there any training camps I could attend to learn from pros? Is it worth going to the low-speed wind tunnel to test out which straw hat will best stay on my head when the wind kicks up?

Alternately, I also wonder what it would take to adopt a strategy of overwhelming arrogance—something along the lines of, oh, Normann pushing children out of the way in the line for a merry-go-round?

If I can get down to about 130, I can respond to “Are you doing the race?” with “No, I prefer endurance sports.” The problem with this is that my compression socks would no longer fit, and buying new gear for just one triathletemag.com

117

de a r co a ch race seems excessive.

Can you recommend strategies for regaining optimal body composition (284.3 lbs, with 26.1 percent body fat) after spectating at the world championships? I want to be in peak shape for the college football bowl season, which should set me up well to repeat my Kona strategy in 2010.

Mike San Carlos, Calif.

Mike, Good effort. That’s too many questions for one column and starting off in French doesn’t help. That said, you bring up a very important but little discussed issue: preparing to spectate the Ironman World Championship on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Your situation is complicated by being both a triathlete and the spouse of a participant in Kona. This scenario represents the most delicate of spectating scenarios possible: how you balance the need to be fully supportive in the face of your natural tendencies toward self-centered competitiveness and burning jealousy.

Many spectating family members and friends already have a difficult time hiding their own self interests (snorkeling, golf, luaus, pupus, sightseeing, lying on the beach) in the face of the athlete’s urgent need for the perfect final taper week (eating, sleeping, napping, massage, and random periodic emotional meltdowns) and all the possibilities that exist for blowing their shot at immortality in Ironman’s holiest venue.

You’ve already suggested some well-known strategies for handling your core responsibilities while maintaining your own agenda, but we have compiled a list that only 100 years of combined experience can bring. We categorize our suggestions chronologically. We’ll refer to you as “SS” for supporting spouse and the athlete who will be competing as “MP” for mental patient.

Pre-race Make a schedule based on your MP’s training, napping and eating. Ensure this schedule is adhered to or you risk a violent emotional eruption (VEE).

Plan your personal schedule around your MP. A popular time to get out and have some fun is after 7 p.m., when most MP’s are tucked in bed. You’ll find many other SS’s on the town, but remember that you have to be up early to support the MP’s schedule. There’s nothing worse than a VEE when you’re hung over.

The best responses to your MP’s performance anxiety-riddled ponderings are: 1: Yes; 2: No; 3: You look great; 4: Really? I think she looks a little heavy; 5: You’re going to do great; 6: 118

triathletemag.com

I’ve never seen you as (pick one) fit, thin, tan, chisled, good looking, etc., as you look this week!; and perhaps the most useful, 7: I’ve got to run an errand—I’ll be right back.

Sound interested. Make sure you know your MP’s swim, bike and run splits and always err on the side of faster when referencing these splits in conversation.

On race morning, be there but don’t insert yourself unnecessarily. You’re a sherpa. You’re furniture. No suggestions. Don’t speak unless spoken to. Use radio discipline and keep your answers short. Don’t risk an unnecessary VEE on race morning.

For heaven’s sake, don’t wish your MP “good luck.” That phrase suggests your MP is unprepared and will need divine intervention to get through the day. They might need it but they don’t need to be reminded of this fact. Consider something along the lines of, “See you later” or “I’ll catch up with you at dinner.”

Race Day Have a plan A and plan B. You should have an idea of your MP’s projected split times. You might even have these memorized because of incessant repetition. This allows you to establish a plan A, which includes a buffet during the swim, round of golf during the bike and movie during the run; or plan B, a trip to Volcano National Park.

Yes, you’ve got to get up early but after the gun goes off at 7 a.m., you’ve got a minimum of eight hours to yourself with three to six 30-second appearances you have to make depending on how devoted you want to appear. This is your moment!

Let your MP know where you’ll be and when and try to actually be there. There’s a theater close to the run course so, depending on your athlete’s expected bike-to-run transition and marathon split, you could easily catch a two-hour movie and be back on Kuakini and Hualalai or even at the finish line in time to see your MP. Remember that in the eyes of every other athlete competing except your MP, you’re background noise. Say whatever you want.

To your MP, however, you’re a symbol of stability and reassurance. What you say could make or break them so be careful with your words. Since it’s likely that no matter what you say you’ll be wrong, consider something neutral. Positive cheering is fine as long as it’s not too far-fetched.

“Looking good” or “You’re almost there” is flat out lying, and while that’s fine for the rest of the participants, it will never result in a positive outcome. Once you’re

sure of your MP’s emotional state you can step out on a limb with, “Great job. I love you, honey.”

If you get a negative response (crying or cursing) early in the day (swim-to-bike transition, for example), move to plan B.

Post Race The hand off. This is a scene you’ll see repeated at every Ironman finish line and one of the fringe benefits to being a SS. Upon finishing, the MP has a maximum post race relaxation window of 30 seconds before they’re fair game for a return to reality. This could entail any one of a variety of responsibilities that have been shirked over the past couple of months, the most popular of which is children.

Chores, bills, in-laws and pets will all make their return to the MP’s life soon enough, but nothing represents the sudden and violent return to everyday life than the supervision of children. The sight of an MP changing diapers within minutes of crossing the finish line while a harried SS says, “I’ll be right back,” is truly something to behold.

Consider a wheel chair or over-sized baby jogger to get your MP around after the race.

It will cut down on all the whining about sore legs and, frankly, is a much quicker way to get around in the 48 hours after the race.

You’ve got a vacation to maximize and can’t let a pair of aching legs slow you down. Plus, you can pile shopping bags on top and have a built in security guard to watch them while you browse.

Whatever you do, remember that one day in the future, the roles could be reversed.

See you in Kona!

Roch and Huddle 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 assist others with their goals. Based in Encinitas, Calif., Paul and Roch are partners in Multisports.com, an endurance coaching service that includes camps, online coaching and personal coaching. Never resting on their considerable laurels, both continue to explore strange new worlds (adventure racing), seek out new life (ultra-running) and new civilizations (paddleboarding and stand-up paddling), and to boldly go where few men have gone before (The Underpants Run). If you want to consider coaching that emphasizes experience, common sense and simplicity, go to Multisports.com. If you have a question that begs for ridicule and sarcasm, please send it to info@multisports.com. october 2009

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nu trition Q & A

You can Consume Too Much

GI Troubles On Race Day

By Pip Taylor

Q:

I can eat anything during training, but I have tremendous problems during racing. I always end up with an electrolyte problem. My stomach issues typically become more pronounced as the weather gets hotter.

In an Ironman, I take anywhere from two to six electrolyte tablets per hour on the bike and keep taking them on the run. I can’t stomach flavored drinks when I race, so I have tried CarboPro in my water bottles or just a lot of gels. Although I don’t have an appetite on the bike when I race, I still follow a plan to ensure that I get sufficient calories for my weight. I drink about one 750mL bottle of water per hour. On the run I switch to water, gels and electrolytes. This is generally where it all falls apart.

Somewhere in the run I feel my shoulders tighten, my stomach goes, and unless I get salt in me, I feel nauseated and my legs start to cramp. At this point, no matter how many electrolyte tablets I take it doesn’t matter. Is there anything I can do for relief?

Evan Baergen Vancouver, Canada

A:

That your nutrition problems arise only in races and never in training is important. Consider if there is anything 120

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First, I suggest you take note of what you do day to day and try to apply this to race day. It is entirely possible that you are concentrating too much on trying to do things by the book and following all the nutrition recommendations but are losing sight of what obviously works for you in training.

From the disastrous race experiences you have described, it sounds as though you might be trying to consume too much. The consequences of over-fueling can mean trouble.

Taking in too many salts and too many calories might be causing your dehydration, cramping and nausea issues. The art is getting the right balance of carbohydrates, calories, fluids and salts. Your system can only handle a certain amount before it shuts down.

During exercise lasting more than 90 minutes, aim for 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour. Try the lower amount if you are a smaller athlete, well-trained and used to racing long distances, and the higher amount if you are larger, stepping up to a new distance, or racing at the beginning of the season after a break. Any more than 60g will not be absorbed, so they will sit in your gut and make you feel sick.

Stick to things that you know are easy to eat. And remember to count the calories and carbohydrate content of not only the foods and gels but also any drinks. If you are drinking a sports drink as well as eating gels or bars, it is easy to overdo it. If you pick up extra foods and drinks at aid stations keep a mental checklist of how much you are eating and drinking.

When you start to feel nauseated, start sipping on water only until you feel better.

Track Your Intake Also take note of both pre-race breakfast as well as consumption the day before. You can definitely eat too much the day before a race. Carbo-loading is beneficial, but this does not equate to huge plates of pasta, breads and cakes, which will leave you feeling stuffed and

heavy. A pre-race breakfast that’s too big will be just as disastrous. In fact, with a reduced training load, carbo-loading may actually mean eating no more than your usual diet or perhaps adding an extra sports drink or two.

Stay Conscious of Sodium Regarding sodium, triathletes are more conscious than any other athlete about the dangers of drinking too much water without electrolytes. And hyponatremia (low blood sodium levels) is a genuine concern, especially among endurance athletes racing at a slower pace because they can consume large volumes of water, potentially flushing their systems of electrolytes. Thus, salt tablets can be effective and convenient.

However, because you can ingest salt tablets without tasting them, you can consume large volumes of salts without any of the sensory feedback from taste buds. This can be a problem if you are unaware of your needs or of the exact contents of the tablets.

Most sports drinks, gels and bars have at least some electrolytes added to them, so it is important to factor all of them into the equation so as not to overload. You are not necessarily aiming to replace all of the sodium you lose during the race, and there are many factors you must consider, such as sweat rates and concentration, which are influenced by environment, pace changes, fitness, altitude and nutritional status. These factors make it impossible for me to estimate how much salt you need.

Time Your Fluid Intake Dehydration will lead to slowed gastric emptying and feelings of nausea as well as impaired performance, mental and physical fatigue and elevated heart rate with compromised ability to regulate body heat. Giving recommendations for fluid intake, though, is also difficult and depends on so many individual and environmental factors.

I advise to be well-hydrated going into a race, start drinking early and continue to drink often. Perhaps you can get an idea from your body weight before and after training about fluid losses and aim to replace most of this—you don’t need to try to replace all of your losses and certainly don’t want to be heavier after a race than before. Take advantage of the bike portion as being the best opportunity to get fluids in.

Get back to basics—take note of training and nutrition routines that work and remember that guidelines and recommendations are not individual prescriptions. You can have too much of a good thing in terms of caloric intake. october 2009

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

that you do significantly different in training than in racing. Note timing of eating in relation to training, type of food, quantities and caloric intakes.

Race day always adds another dimension.

Nerves, changes in routine due to travel, tapered training and a disrupted “digestive clock” can all contribute to your sensitive digestive system.

A familiar nutrition plan can reduce some stress in this area. Remember, though, that ports nutrition guidelines, even those based on sound research, are still generalizations; nutrition is individual.

Thierry Deketelaere

f u nd a me n ta l s

Deeper the Roots, Taller the Tree

By Ian Murray

T

he moment an athlete falls in love with this sport is a beautiful thing to witness. Very often it happens at the finish line of the first triathlon, a race entered on a dare or a whim or a bold, self-inflicted challenge. Whether you’ve just been bitten or the hook was set deep years ago, it is most fulfilling to be a complete triathlete. Learning the roots of multisport history is part of that. Balance your participation with triathlon knowledge, and you’ll find a deeper connection, greater inspiration and deeper roots in your lifestyle as a multisport athlete. Here are some tri facts everyone should know.

Triathlon started in September 1974 in San Diego when members of the San Diego Track Club organized an event that involved running, cycling and swimming. Extra Credit: The entry fee was $1 and 46 athletes competed.

The first Ironman was on Oahu in February 1978.

Extra Credit: The idea was to combine the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 mi), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115 mi) and the Honolulu Marathon (26.2 mi). A bunch of athletes sat around arguing about which race demanded the most fitness, so what the heck, they strung them together.

Triathlon made its Olympic debut in Sydney in 2000 and was featured in Athens in 2004 and Beijing 122

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in 2008. Extra Credit: North Americans who have medaled in Olympic triathlon: Canadian Simon Whitfeld, who took gold in Sydney and silver in Beijing; and American Susan Williams, who took the bronze in Athens.

Know your acronyms: USAT: USA Triathlon, America’s triathlon governing body WTC: World Triathlon Corporation, which owns Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races ITU: International Triathlon Union, the world governing body for draft-legal racing and for non-draft World Championship amateur events that are not M-dot (Ironman)-related.

USOC and IOC: U.S. Olympic Committee and International Olympic Committee. Their names say it all.

Extra Credit: XTERRA: while not an acronym, it signifies the off-road race series. XTERRA is down and diiiiirty; get ready to be bitten all over again.

USAT has more than 100,000 annual members and is growing. Extra Credit: In 1986 that number was only 5,000.

There are more multisport formats that you can shake a stick at: Duathlon is running and cycling.

Aquathon is swimming and running.

Aquabike is swimming and cycling.

Extra Credit: Biathlon is ski ‘n’ shoot and out of our purview; but we have winter triathlon, which includes running, mountain biking and nordic skiing, all done on snow.

Future speculation: If running events in the Olympics span everything from the 100m to the marathon it’s conceivable that we might have more than one distance of triathlon in future games. Extra Credit: The Hy-Vee ITU event in Des Moines, Iowa, this year featured a team relay triathlon that was a thrill to watch.

Ian Murray is an elite-level USAT coach and the writer and host of the DVD box set TriathlonTrainingSeries.com. october 2009

T ri at h l o n h e r e sies

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

ground as forcefully and your stride length is thus shortened. Your stride length shortens further because the fatigue in your muscles means you can’t lift your knees or heels as high, and your range of motion is reduced.

There’s also fatigue in your motor neurons to overcome. Ever had that “dead leg” feeling off the bike, like you’re trying to run through molasses? That’s motor neuron fatigue. Your natural reaction is to slip into a slow jog, taking short steps at a slow stride rate. However, by training to run at a fast stride rate, you can break through this natural tendency and break up the viscosity in your legs felt after a long or intense bike, or during the later parts of long runs.

To discover your stride rate, count how many times one of your feet lands in 60 seconds while running. The number of steps you have taken in that time is your stride rate.

Generally, this number is similar even at different run speeds. More advanced runners will have a natural tendency to complete more than 90 steps per leg per minute, while new or poorly trained runners, and many triathletes, find that their natural stride rate is significantly less than 90.

As triathletes we fall into this category so easily because of the effects of fatigue in our legs from cycling or poorly structured training programs. You can’t fight it—the only way to maintain your run speed at the end of a triathlon is to work with what the race forces on you. This means that triathletes should focus particularly on maintaining a high stride rate in training so that it comes naturally in racing.

To run fast in a triathlon, you need to learn to run with a high stride rate.

Training Versus Racing

Stride Rates: Keys to Speed

By Marc Becker

I

n recent articles we’ve challenged conventional thinking around triathlon swim and bike training and discussed how triathletes can improve performance by adapting swim and bike training to the specific demands of triathlon. Likewise, conventional run training methods can and should be adapted to meet the specific needs of triathletes.

Last month we looked at how to approach bike training with the specific intent of maximizing your combined bike-run performance in triathlons. By considering the forces we exert on the bike as age-group athletes (and not professional cyclists) and the need to run after october 2009

the bike, we defined a strategy that places more emphasis on developing cycling strength using a lower cadence. This lower cadence also reduces fatigue in your motor neurons and leaves the “fast twitch” fibers in your leg muscles more rested. We opt for this cycling strategy because in a triathlon athletes always run on tired legs, a scenario that has some important effects on run mechanics.

Stride Rate When you run on tired legs, your ability to forcefully contract your muscles is weakened.

This means you can’t push your feet off the

Ideally, triathlon training creates a stimulus to teach the body to perform more naturally at sustained, high levels of intensity in competition.

It’s a little bit like programming a computer… made of meat.

When you train to improve your stride rate, remember to differentiate between the training stimulus of running at an uncomfortably high stride rate and the race-day application of running at a consciously high but not intolerable stride rate. For example, we train athletes at low cycling cadences to provoke increased strength and muscle recruitment, but we encourage them to race at somewhat higher than training cadence to reduce muscular fatigue.

Similarly, when working to improve your racing stride rate, your training goal is to teach your body to naturally run at a faster stride rate than what feels normal or comfortable. As triathletes we fight leg fatigue constantly and are triathletemag.com

125

T ri at h l o n h e r e sies often tempted to settle into a nice, comfortable rhythm, thinking this is natural after cycling— but in training, your job is to fight this temptation and consciously program your nerves and muscles to fire at a higher rate.

The Magic Number At Ironguides, 96 is the magic number in stride-rate training. This is not because science says that 96 is the optimal stride rate for all runners. Each race is different and there is no optimal number—we simply believe that better runners tend to have stride rates greater than 90, while less advanced runners tend to have stride rates less than 90.

Aiming for a stride rate of 96 is practical.

Ninety-six steps per leg per minute is a high enough rate to ensure an athlete is forced to work at hitting this rate in training. Also, 96 divides evenly so you can easily derive your stride rate by counting steps per leg over intervals of 12, 10, 15, 20 or 30 seconds instead of counting for a full minute.

Over time, by consistently striving to maintain a stride rate of 96 in training you will teach your motor neurons and muscles to fire at this rate more naturally.

Remember that advanced runners display high stride rates over all run speeds, so you should try to program this rate of firing into your legs during warm-up and cool-down too.

Treadmill Work A good tool for training stride rate is the treadmill. Treadmills help you program better motor skills into your run stride, including a faster stride rate. Note that the intention of a treadmill session is not to simulate land running, but to not simulate land running.

The action of a flat treadmill assists your legs in moving backwards and reduces some of the aerobic strain on your body.

This means that at a given aerobic intensity you can run faster on a treadmill than outdoors, which helps you simulate the biomechanics of race pace for longer durations (more time to program new skills into your body) without subjecting you to the aerobic stress of a race effort.

For this reason, keep the treadmill gradient set to flat if you are training stride rate or other aspects of run motor skills.

As well, because all the variables of a treadmill run are controlled, you can gradually ac126

triathletemag.com

custom your legs to increased intensities while maintaining stride rate.

At Ironguides we use the words “form under duress” to describe the ultimate goal of training: to hold great form (physical or otherwise) under increasing levels of aerobic stress.

Your body’s ability to naturally run at a higher stride rate is only as good as your ability to sustain an uncomfortably high stride over higher and higher intensities. As your body adapts to the stride rate at one intensity, over time you need to keep pushing the pace at which you can hold that stride rate. This changes what used to feel unnatural into an ability that becomes second nature at increasingly higher intensities.

Your body’s ability to naturally run at a higher stride rate is only as good as your ability to sustain an uncomfortably high stride over higher and higher intensities.

Downhill Gradients Another way to develop a high stride rate is using a gentle downhill gradient of 1 to 2 percent. Find a short loop (one half-mile to one mile long) that includes a short, steep uphill and a long gradual downhill, and run repeats of that loop while focusing on running the downhills with the greatest stride rate you can muster.

The downhill gradient takes some of the aerobic load off your body (just like the treadmill) while helping you maintain race-pace biomechanics. The short uphill will spike your aerobic effort, adding the duress you can use to practice great form and stride rate under increasing intensity. Don’t forget to shorten your stride and maintain stride rate as you climb the hill.

If you live in an area with no hills but have access to a beach, you can use soft-sand running alternating with running on a flat hard surface (preferably packed dirt or gravel road) to simulate a hill run. Alternate several minutes of sand running with fast, short bursts on the hard surface, keeping your stride rate high throughout the session.

While stride rate is not all there is to triathlon running, focusing on increasing your stride rate to 96 steps per leg per minute in training can help you develop a running style that allows you to naturally maintain a more effective stride rate of close to 90 in your races.

This in turn helps you break up the run into more manageable pieces and helps get you to the finish line faster.

Marc Becker is the head coach at ironguides.net. october 2009

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Cu tt ing ed ge

How Kinesiology Tape Can Help the Masses

By Mark Deterline

T

he Beijing 2008 Olympic Games probably marked the moment in sports history when kinesiology tape first raised public awareness—or curiosity—on a large scale.

Pro beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh had some on her shoulder, and talk went from, “Is that a tattoo?” to “Tape? You mean like an Icy Hot patch?” to “It’s an elastic tape without a warming/cooling effect that is actually supposed to stabilize and speed healing?” For many, it sounded like a stretch.

History of kinesiology tape Kinesiology tape was developed more than 25 years ago by U.S.-trained chiropractor Dr. Kenzo Kase. Despite its obscurity in the mainstream until Beijing, it has enjoyed widespread use internationally by progressive chiropractors, physical therapists and sports doctors for at october 2009

least a decade. Lance Armstrong mentions its use by professional cycling team support staff in his book “Every Second Counts.”

Kinesio tape was developed as an alternative to non-flexible tapes that were previously the standard. As an alternative to rigid taping methods intended to stabilize muscles or joints for semi-immobile recovery and healing, kinesiology tape was designed to serve those original purposes while enabling athletes to return to competition or training sooner—in many cases, immediately.

Explanations of what kinesio tape can do are met with a combination of skepticism and wonder. However, when an accomplished expert like chiropractor Dr. Ted Forcum, a veteran member of summer and winter Olympics sports medical teams, enthusiastically explains the broad range of injuries and ailments that

can be addressed with the tape, one can’t help but try it. Forcum first received professional training in non-elastic taping 27 years ago, but the arrival and continual improvement of elastic taping products have enabled him to develop more versatile taping methods.

I contacted Lumos Inc., one of a growing number of kinesiology tape manufacturers and the maker of KT Tape, to ask if I could try it. I’ve developed knee soreness due to riding many different bikes, shoes and pedal systems this season, and I have one shoulder/neck area that tends to get tight when I spend a lot of time at the computer.

Jim Jenson, vice president of sales and marketing at Lumos, provided some background regarding the history and use of kinesiology tape as well as why his product is user-friendly, and well-suited for professional use.

According to Jenson, KT Tape is the only pre-cut tape on the market—one of those innovations that seems obvious in hindsight.

Other brands come in a single long roll which requires both inexperienced and experienced users to cut it for specific applications. Jenson explained that filming multiple chiropractors while they cut and applied kinesiology tape from rolls inspired them to implement three features in the design and manufacture of KT Tape: the strips are pre-cut to a standard 10inch length; corners are rounded off to ensure better adhesion, especially for use in water; and a perforated line runs down the middle and most of the length of each strip so that one can easily pull apart the ends and apply as a commonly used Y-shape.

Jenson also says that in making an effective kinesiology tape, it’s important to give it the right adhesive pattern and tackiness to stay on despite activity, bodily oils, sweat and water.

I followed up that correspondence with a call to the expert. Here are some of the things Forcum mentioned during our phone interview, many of which seem to warrant more in-depth discussions. He essentially broke down the use of kinesiology tape into two primary approaches: function and stabilization.

Function and Stabilization Forcum used the example of a swimmer with a shoulder injury. In this case, the body wants to compensate for the injury, which could increase the tone of one muscle and decrease the tone of another. Kinesio taping can preserve balance by encouraging continued full range of motion of the affected area by providing dynamic support, lymphatic drainage for less swelling and quicker healing and reduced pain.

The same would apply to an ankle sprain.

A stabilization approach would strive for triathletemag.com

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the same result that rigid taping provides, but without limiting activity and movement.

Forcum said that in this scenario, the goal is to maintain proper positioning and movement of joints and muscles along their desired natural arc to avoid further aggravation to the affected area while enabling an individual to be active during healing.

Other issues kinesiology tape can address, often with a single strip of tape include: Reproducibility of motion Balance across a joint Facilitation of energy storing and release using the elastic quality of the tape for parallel elastic (kinetic) energy during eccentric contractions Improvement of performance by reducing load Increase in muscle tone to get a muscle to “fire” better Mechanical control joint movement, even moving it over to another plane to enhance muscle “fullness” After receiving some tape from Jenson, I asked the new, young-gun chiropractor at Olson Chiropractic in Northern California if she knew anything about kinesiology taping.

“Sure,” Dr. Johanna Lelke replied. “I was trained by a well-known authority on the discipline, Ted Forcum.”

Small world. I had figured Lelke might have experience in this area since she had recently been brought on staff to expand their implementation of therapeutic treatments, such as active release techniques (ART), the Graston technique and kinesiology taping.

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Learning Taping Techniques Lelke recommended we do a supportive Y-strip (one of the standard KT Tape strips) from my shoulder blade to the base of my neck to relieve some of the pressure in that area, and then cut up the already perforated tape for a lymphatic drain along my inner knee. I have seen her do this three times and prefer her taping me instead of trying to do so myself.

When I told Forcum of my preference to have a professional’s help, he said that there are some techniques that most people can become proficient at, but there might be some techniques that an expert can more effectively do, or that he can at least go through with a patient a few times until that person gets the hang of it.

He also mentioned that it can be helpful to have a coach or spouse come in for a doctor’s or therapist’s visit for cases in which the affected area is hard to see or reach. Ultimately, he compared it to getting professionally ana-

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lyzed and fitted for running shoes: Learn from an expert how your body wants to move and then gain some technical insights on how best to deal with your own unique needs.

Since Kerri Walsh acted as the original plug for the technology and practice, more and more athletes are claiming positive results and relief through the use of kinesiology tape.

Forcum explained that he had the opportunity to implement kinesiology taping with members of Coors Light’s professional cycling team (which boasted riders like Davis Phinney and Greg LeMond) back in the early ’90s, and then again with cyclists at the Beijing Olympics. In fact, Forcum has worked with athletes of all backgrounds and in many different disciplines, and he has recently been using the latest kinesiology tape products and techniques with Greg and Laura Bennett.

As a new user who is still getting his feet wet, I can only say that Forcum and Lelke’s experience with athletes and their conviction of the effectiveness of kinesiology taping have impressed me. I have greatly benefited from competent chiropractic, ART and massage therapy, so if the best of these disciplines are advocating the use of kinesiology tape, I think anyone who is struggling with injuries or pain should at least be open to trying it.

And if the Bennetts are doing it, you don’t need to take it from experts you don’t know or from companies who are marketing their own products.

Over the past few weeks, I have noticed a difference, albeit subtle. My left shoulder/ neck area was less tight the days I had tape on it—each tape application would stay put two to four days at a time. And the lymphatic drain configuration that Lelke applied to my inner knees on three different occasions seemed to make my knees more sensitive to post-ride icing, implying increased blood and lymphatic flow.

To emphasize the relevance of kinesiology taping for all types of lifestyles and sports activities, Forcum was excited to report that one of his age-grouper clients was able to complete Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene despite a hip injury.

Ultimately, the accomplished expert believes that cyclists, triathletes and active individuals of all backgrounds will benefit and can become self-empowered through this technique, explaining, “I wish I had this back when I was an athlete.”

You can find Ted Forcum’s biography at Bimsportsinjuries .com. To learn more about Kerri Walsh-endorsed KT Tape, visit Kttape.com. Professional women’s cycling sponsor Rocktape can be found at Rocktape.com. october 2009

7/30/09 2:20 PM

TRIATHLETES GARAGE The Lynskey Houseblend T230 frameset (with an Alpha-Q TS-20 fork) can be had for as little as $1,915 for a stock satin finish, or more than $3,495 for a made-toorder, full-custom build.

Add a bit more for a custom paint job.

Lynskey Houseblend T230

BY JAY PRASUHN

T

alk about “coming home” again. After a solid year of riding on either carbon fiber or aluminum bikes on test rides, it’s an understatement to say it was a pleasure to put in some serious volume on Lynskey’s Houseblend T230. It reminded me that aero is not the end-all, be-all for triathletes, especially for enjoy long days in the saddle.

Some may be familiar with the Lynskey name. Mark Lynskey was one of the principal members of the family-owned Litespeed bicycle company in the early ’90s, supplying race-winning titanium rigs to names like Cameron Brown, Tim DeBoom and Michael Lovato, among others.

Five years ago, the family sold Litespeed to a larger partner and left the business. For craftsmen like Lynskey, the passion that comes from creating works of art doesn’t easily fade, and it wasn’t long before Lynskey joined his mother and brothers back in the industry under their new namesake brand. So while the brand is just 2 years old, the bike-building expertise runs decades deep.

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The Homeblend is a race bike, front to back, with ovalized aero tubesets, horizontal dropouts for a tight rear-wheel tolerance to the seat tube and a short head tube allowing for a low front end.

True, it doesn’t have the wind tunnel pedigree that seems to be a mandate for acceptance among the Internet-era chat room goers. But whether you’re a front-of-pack or back-of-pack racer, the ovalized tubesets on the Homeblend will be enough— for these athletes it’s simply not critical enough to split hairs about getting into transition 28 seconds faster due to a tunnel-proven airfoil shape.

That’s because greater gains may be found in the quality of ride. The first point to that end: The fit geometry is no-nonsense; a 78-degree seat angle and a balanced stack and reach that fall right in line with Dan Empfield’s FIST triathlon bike-fitting protocol, set with an aluminum Thomson layback post. That’s steep, and can be made even steeper, upward of 81 degrees, if the post is reversed.

Our size medium to large frame, equivalent to a 56cm frame, had a beautiful balance of steering, thanks to a proper reach and head tube angle of 72 degrees. It was as it should be; low in front and easy to steer while in the aerobars.

But the greatest quality came via the frame material. For the uninitiated, here’s a titanium primer: The metal has amazing properties.

It has a low specific gravity, is resistant to corrosion and has excellent resiliency and

fatigue life. For that reason, it’s prized by the aviation industry in order to make lightweight, strong fighter jets and electrical line insulation.

It also makes a wonderful material for bike frames. What makes it pricey is not only the cost of the tubesets (finagling material from companies like Boeing is like wrestling a gorilla) and the high art of welding titanium, which requires a much more complicated and intricate process than, say, tig welding or filet brazing (welding techniques applied to aluminum or steel).

While carbon fiber may be the hot ticket ride right now, it still fails to meet the smooth ride the Tennessee-built Houseblend T230 presented. It took just one ride on a typical section of road to experience it and feel at home again. When I say “typical section of road,” I mean what the State Department of Transportation passes for acceptable roadway: pitted, seam-gapped, usually chip-sealed, occasionally beset by those land mines we call potholes. It’s this kind of riding that makes your long Saturday ride one of dread.

The Houseblend T230 was a completely different experience than any bike I’ve ridden in the last year; I could quite literally sail over the consistently crappy roads in a way that made me smile. Riders can focus on turning over the pedals in a way that is simply impossible on any other bike, other than steel. And there aren’t too many steel tri bikes on the market.

It’s hard to quantify the benefit of a truly comfortable ride. When you’re not bracing, and are instead putting power through the pedals because of that greater comfort, are you not getting from point A to point B faster?

This may well be enough to trump any carbon fiber aero argument.

Let’s put it this way: If a proper geometric fit aboard the Houseblend T230 is getting you to 90 percent of your optimized aero advantage, then perhaps you lose that 10 percent to a slightly less aero bike than the carbon offerings out there.

But what if you can make up that 10 percent—plus maybe another 2 percent— based on a separate parameter—greater power output, thanks to that significantly greater comfort element?

That’s hard to quantify, but it’s a valid consideration. If an athlete in his 40s, 50s or 60s still wants to podium in his age group but has dreaded the beating his bike (however tunnel-pedigreed it may be) is delivering, that athlete ought to have a serious look at the Houseblend.

Visit Lynskeyperformance.com. october 2009

WIN A TRIP TO JAMAICA and be featured in the

2010 TRIATHLETE SWIMSUIT ISSUE!

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Submit a color photo with your name, age, home address & email address to trimodelsearch@gmail.com.

Visit triathlon.competitor.com/model search for details and official rules.

Must be 18 or older & a u.s. citizen to enter. Entry deadline 10/2/09.

gear bag Oakley Radar Antifreeze $195

Making its debut at the Tour de France, the limited-run Radar Antifreeze features an iridescent green frame that looks, well, like antifreeze fluid. It’s jade iridium lens promotes truer color recognition during road-riding conditions, particularly in bright sunlight. Available in a standard path lens and in the new XL version, with a taller nose bridge and greater upper lens coverage, it’s ideal for time trialists and triathletes looking up the road in aerobars. Oakley.com

Zipp Cork Composite Brake Pads $75

What could Zipp possibly bring to the table to plain old—but still awesome for their heat dispersion capability—cork brake shoes? How about redesign the shape? Zipp improved stopping power in the dry by adding more material to the front of the pad, and in the wet by flaring the aft of the pad, plowing water away from the braking surface. Zipp.com

Giro Prolight $200

Giro debuted the superlight Prolight at the first mountain stage at the Tour de France in July.

Busting the sub-200 gram barrier with a 175 gram offering, the Prolight’s weight savings points to a new Roc Loc SL fit system, all the while keeping things cool with 25 vents and deep internal channels. It will be available in four colors next spring. Giro.com

PowerBar Protein Bites $2.79/packet

Studies have shown that supplementing carb intake with protein can optimize lean muscle building during training. To that end, PowerBar debuts its Protein Bites that deliver 20g of PowerBar’s own protein blend, supplying a steady dose of amino acids—in an on-the-go package that fits easily in your bike jersey pocket. Each re-sealable package has a personalized usage charge that helps determine your own optimal protein intake for your weight and goals. Available in chocolate and oatmeal raisin. Powerbar.com 134

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Pearl Izumi P.R.O. Black Star Jersey $120 and Bibshort $165

The result of secretive testing in Pearl Izumi’s Speed Shop and developed in conjunction with, and ridden at the Tour de France by, the Slipstream road squad, the limited-edition Black Star kit applies aero elements to a daily training kit with an anatomic fit, clean seams and a special Transfer Aero fabric, while maintaining day-long comfort with an anatomic 4D chamois.

Pearlizumi.com

Gravity-Zero TT Rocket Disc Wheel $1,995

Sure, this disc looks cool, but the reason the TT Rocket is worth a second look has more to do with something you can’t see.

Gravity-Zero has built its reputation on building some of the smoothest hubs on earth. The Aussie wheel builder uses ceramic bearings matched to a carbon hub, which will make you feel like you’re riding a fixie—it’s seriously smooth. The disc itself is made with only high-modulus carbon, which is good news for weight weenies. At only 890g, it’s one of the lightest disc wheels on the planet. Gravity-zero.com.au

Injinji Ex-Celerator Compression Socks $38

We dare you to go on your worst run and come back with blisters; it’s impossible.

We can attest to the sheer comfort and general awesomeness endurance runners have experienced with Injinji toe socks with their ability to knock out friction, and thus blisters. Now they come to market with their first compression sock, with fourlevel gradient compression from calf to ankle, making for a great training and travel for recovery.

Injinji.com october 2009

Ritchey WCS 4-Axis Wet White Stem, $130

Mmm, white. If black is too passé for your style, Ritchey offers its ultra-strong (forged 2014 alloy) WCS stem in a glossy white that adds style to a piece of four-bolt, 31.8 diameter substance.

Ritcheylogic.com

OmegaXL $50 (2-month supply)

Among the many benefits of omega-3 is its ability to reduce muscle and tissue inflammation.

OmegaXL has been formulated to maximize this particular benefit. Think of it as ibuprofen without the ulcers. While most omega supplements contain one or two essential oils, OmegaXL packs in 30 different fatty acids, each of which helps calm your body’s inflammatory response. Omegaxlsport.com

Zone Labs SeaHealth Plus $40 (30 servings) It seems like there’s a new nutritional craze every year. In 2007 it was green tea; in 2008 it was omega-3s; and sea vegetable extracts might be the big craze of this year. Sea vegetables are a lot like non-aquatic vegetables, only packed with considerably more nutrition.

SeaHealth also contains a blend of 10 fruit extracts to further boost its antioxidant profile. If you find yourself getting sick during big blocks of training, try boosting your immune system with SeaHealth once a day.

Zonediet.com

Take the next step.

Performance training and coaching services by Life Time Fitness.

• Online coaching and education • Event-specific training • Training groups for Life Time Fitness members • Led by former pro athlete Troy Jacobson and a staff of experienced endurance coaches

See our full range of coaching services at lifetimeendurance.com.

To become a Life Time Fitness member, visit

lifetimefitness.com.

Eco Sport Steel Bottle $20

In an effort to keep it green, USAT-endorsed Eco Sport endeavors to spare the environment of plastic bottle waste within a sport that sees copious amounts of fluid ingestion, and thus bottle waste. The new EcoSteel is a lightweight, dishwasher-safe bottle that holds 27 ounces of hot or cold fluids. The company says it also represents the only FDA-approved stainless steel bottle on the market. The EcoSteel uses nontoxic, lead-free paint in its painted version. It’s available with a twist top or sport top, and is contoured to fit in bottle cages.

Ecosportsbottle.com october 2009

©2009 LIFE TIME FITNESS, INC. All rights reserved. FDMG9054

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X ter r a zone

You Have the Control

O

ctober is go time for both the Ironman and the XTERRA crowd. This is the time when all potential champions from all around the globe converge on the islands of Hawaii to compete for their place in history. As both races are winner-take-all world championships, the pressure and excitement are enormous.

An entire season might have been planned with this one race as the peak. With all the months of preparation completed, it seems like all that is left to do is wait and see how it unfolds. However, some people struggle during the waiting period. The best-laid plans can come completely unraveled in the days leading up to the race by a controllable variable: YOU. Too much thinking can be a bad thing.

Your mind can be a more serious challenge to overcome than any competitor. The greatest obstacles to personal achievement are selfdoubt and fear. Incredibly talented athletes have ruined their own chances at success by talking themselves out of it before the race.

Don’t want to be that person. Here are some thoughts to keep you in control: 1. Racing is a privilege, not an obligation or chore.

All negative thoughts about failing should pale in comparison to the opportunity to be at the starting line. Worry less about the outcome and focus on having fun, no matter your race level. Enjoy this moment in life when you’re at this level of fitness and among this group of peers participating in an amazing event.

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You will find that by living in that moment, you will perform at your best.

2. Focus on a breakthrough moment in your training. Remember how good it felt to achieve and take confidence from that workout that you are prepared. Keep reminding yourself that you are ready to rock.

3. If you start to criticize yourself for anything, turn off that voice. There is nothing you can do about it now; focus on the present.

4. Make a list of all the reasons your race will go well. Your training, sacrifices, lessons learned and your achievements give you confidence.

Focus on that list and read it daily.

5. Keep your list of goals with you. Consider the ones you’ve met and give yourself credit.

Read the one that you have for this particular race and tell yourself why you can achieve it.

6. Ignore the posturing and preening of your competitors; don’t let others distract you.

If you are an introverted athlete, you might need quiet time to maintain your focus, so minimize your exposure to the big show until after the race. Kick back with a beverage and watch athletes do hard efforts in front of the hotel. Know that they will likely be crushed from expending too much nervous energy.

7. Take care to eat well during your taper. With decreased activity your muscles start to feel lethargic as they repair and regenerate. If you eat poorly, you will feel sluggish and tired.

Keep your body optimally—not overly—fueled and you will stay focused and confident rather than guilty and stressed.

Your mind can be a more serious challenge to overcome than any competitor.

8. Plan a reward just for being there. Whether you spend an evening at a nice restaurant, eat ice cream you’ve been avoiding or take a trip, choose a reward that is unrelated to your race result. You deserve to celebrate.

On race day, stop and think a minute about where you are. Savor the moment.

When the gun goes off, stop thinking altogether and just let your body do its thing.

The optimal mindset for racing in the zone is thinking about nothing at all and letting your body do what you have trained it to do.

You want to race without any interference from your conscious, potentially distracting mind. Let’s get this party started! october 2009

Nils Nilsen/n2fotoservices.com

By Melanie McQuaid

t ick e t p unch

Beating the Recession triathlon on a budget

BY SAMANTHA MCGLONE

S

ome experts claim that the recession is almost over. But with bank CEOs forfeiting their private jets and Escalades on fire sale at local dealers it seems like it might be a long time before the economy truly recovers. Until we can all once again enjoy drive-through, no-money-down, interest-only, 50-year jumbo mortgages, I will be counting my pennies and looking for ways to trim the fat from my triathlon budget. Here are some frugal training and racing tips till we are back in the black. $ ditch the gym membership and find a strength program you can do on your own with a stability ball and3:26:54 dumbbells.

Triathletel_CWM_August.pdf 7/30/09 PM Some of the most effective and sportspecific strength exercises for triathlon are plyometrics and core exercises, most of which can be done with body weight and minimal equipment. On a cost-per-muscleshredding basis, jump squats, planks7/29/09 and Triathletel_CWM_August.pdf

lunges will give you a bang for your buck. $ when purchasing a new bike ensure you are fit correctly the first time. A good bike fit with a trained professional will save you money in the long run.

Going through three or four stems to find the right position once you make a purchase is no bargain. $ become a “locavore” athlete and support local races. There are many great, small races across the country, so don’t think you have to enter a big-branded race half-way around the world to be a real triathlete. Some race organizers will even offer discounts for entering the entire series or signing up in advance. Also, consider volunteering at an event in exchange for a free entry later. $ race for free. If you really want to do an interesting race in an exotic locale, race for a charity. By raising money for certain foundations, race entry fees and travel 3:25:48 PM

$

$

$

$

expenses are covered by the organization.

Plus, racing for something bigger than a PR is a great way to add some incentive to get your butt out there and train. use your commute to work as an excuse to fit extra bike or run mileage in. If you are spending time and money in the car driving to work, surely you can find a way to make that commute into a bike workout. It might involve some logistical planning (not to mention liberal use of Handi Wipes), but it can be done. At the very least, run some local errands on your bike. A couple miles to the post office can be incorporated into any training route. swap gear with other athletes. Invite some triathlete friends over for a party where everybody brings gently used gear to trade.

Maybe that wetsuit that never fit right can be turned into some race wheels.

Definitely still take care of your body by having regular massages, but check out a local massage school. Often, an hour massage is priced at about $30 from an experienced but still-in-training therapist. consider bartering for services. Almost everyone has a skill that can be used in exchange for someone else’s expertise.

For every runner in you!

TM

C

M

October 3, 2009 in La Jolla, CA

Y

ll the a g n i Join us for the second annual Coastwise Mile! This course features a r Featu one-mile scenic route and a new 5k run. With an expo, festival and a spectacular ocean view from Scripps Park, there’s something for everyone.

CM

k! new 5

MY

CY

CMY

K

1 Mile Events: Age Group, Baby Jogger, Mutt Mile, Youth (ages 10-17), Corp/Team Relay 5k Run/Walk: Age Group Tot Trots Fun Run

Register now at www.CoastwiseMile.com!

This race supports the Scripps Park Project and the San Diego Humane Society.

Generic Events 825 Wilshire Blvd. #431 Santa Monica, CA 90401 310.821.7898

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t ick e t p unch $

$

$

$

Offer to babysit your massage therapist’s kids or do your bike mechanic’s taxes.

Ask if your employer or health insurance provider offers healthy living discounts. All those miles of training and having the cardiovascular system of a 20-year-old ought to count for something. Some employers are trying to cut medical costs by promoting prevention and health—maybe the boss will chip in for that pool membership.

Get a small group together and hire a coach for a few private sessions. With four to five athletes sharing the cost of individualized coaching you can get the benefit of (almost) one-on-one attention without the cost of months of expensive service.

Eat in. Quality food cooked at home is always cheaper than even a middle-of-the-road restaurant meal. The markup for a pasta dish in a restaurant is about 400 percent.

Cooking whole grains, lean protein and fresh fruits and veggies from scratch will save you money, taste better and improve your health and performance.

Leave the family at home. It’s always nice to spend a weekend with the kids, but extra flights, rooms and SUV rentals can really add up. Relive the good old college

october 2009

days and slum it at your next race. Find some other athletes from your area and make a weekend of it. Share a ride to the race, split a hotel room or condo with a kitchenette and cook communal meals together to shave the food bill. Think of it as an “athletes-only” weekend—no nonracers allowed. So you may have to pump your own tires on race morning, but think of the money you’ll save by not having to rent an SUV with a car seat. Convince the family to give you the weekend pass by promising to bring them to Hawaii when you qualify. $ Spend where it counts on equipment. A decent set of aero race wheels will make more difference than saving a few grams on the extra-light titanium bolt kit. Skip dessert instead.

Never scrimp On:

$ Don’t sacrifice safety to save a few dollars; even a minor crash or ding requires the purchase of a new helmet. The same goes with a crack in a carbon frame. You don’t ever want to doubt your equipment on a 40 mph downhill. $ Always get new rubber for important races.

Become a “locavore” athlete and support local races; there are many great, small races across the country. Don’t think you have to enter a bigbranded race half-way around the world to be a real triathlete.

Spending a hundred bucks on some new tires is much cheaper than risking a puncture and sacrificing thousands in race entry and travel fees. $ Continue eating quality food. High performance and optimal health require proper nutrition. Fresh, healthy food may seem more expensive in the short term, but in the long run that dollar value menu is really no value at all. $ Don’t bonk. It might seem like a good idea to use the failing economy as an excuse to shed a few pounds by under-fuelling, but don’t try this on longer workouts.

Cab fare home from a failed 100-miler can add up quickly.

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k ona or bust

Lewis Bennett

The Team Is Taking Shape

By Matt Fitzgerald

I

n the first installment of this column, I announced that, after a long hiatus from triathlon racing during which I focused on running, I made a commitment to resume my pursuit of the dream of qualifying for the Hawaii Ironman—for 2010. I also invited you, my fellow triathletes, to join me in this quest, and the response has been tremendous.

Dozens of Triathlete readers have nominated themselves (and in a few touching cases, others) to be spotlighted in future installments of “Kona or Bust,” which will culminate in a report on the 2010 Hawaii Ironman, supposing any of us actually make it there.

The first three members of Triathlete’s “Kona or Bust” team have been selected. First up is Kit Phillips, a newly married 32-year-old automation and controls engineer from Apex, N.C. He completed his first triathlon in 2005, which hooked him on the sport immediately, and within three years he had worked his way up to the iron distance, finishing Ironman Wisconsin in 10:27:19. Kit, whose typical training week includes three swims, four or five rides, four or five runs and one or two yoga and Pilates sessions, says he wants to race 140

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Mary Holt-Wilson

in Kona because the competition is intense, the conditions are brutal and the mystique is unparalleled. “Plus,” he says, “it would be the perfect location for my wife and [me] to spend the honeymoon we haven’t taken yet.”

Kit will attempt to qualify for the 2010 Hawaii Ironman at this year’s Ironman Wisconsin.

Our next selection is Mary Holt-Wilson, 39, from Westwood, Mass. “I have three kids under the age of 7, I am a teacher and I train pretty damn hard,” she says. Mary has a couple of subfive-hour half-irons on her triathlon resume and just completed her first Ironman, in Lake Placid, where she came up a little short of qualifying for this year’s world championship. She aims to chase a 2010 Kona slot at Coeur d’Alene next year. Coached by Jennifer Harrison in Chicago, Mary says, “When I first began triathlon I didn’t know or care particularly about the Kona quest.

I was more focused on simply completing an Ironman. But soon after I signed up for Lake Placid in the summer of 2008 I began to fantasize about it. And the more I thought about it, the more real the dream became.”

Previous Kona qualifiers are eligible for selection to this group, and so far I have selected one Kona veteran: Scott Poteet, 35. I picked Scott because we attended the same high school, Oyster River High School in Durham, N.H., and this is my column so I can do what I want with it. He was three grades behind me, though, and I hardly knew him.

After graduating, Scott joined the Air Force

and became a fighter pilot, then a Thunderbird air show pilot. He also became a triathlete—a very good triathlete. He’s qualified for and competed in the Hawaii Ironman before, but for the past four years training and racing have taken a back seat to the Thunderbirds gig and caring for his young children. Scott has two young daughters with a third due in February.

He was recently transferred to a non-flying assignment at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., has more time to train and is looking to make a comeback.

Scott will attempt to qualify at Ironman St. George on May 1. His training will be bikeheavy, and almost necessarily so, as he uses his bike for transportation. He swims three times per week, 3,000 to 3,500 yards per session, and does one long run, one high-intensity run and a short transition run after most rides.

You will meet Kit, Mary and Scott again after their qualifying races as I deliver full race reports on each and inform you of who punched his or her ticket to Kona and who came up short.

To facilitate focusing on one athlete per column, I am trying to select athletes targeting different qualifying races separated by three to five weeks. I am particularly interested in recruiting folks preparing for Ironmans Florida, Western Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Lanzarote and Lake Placid.

Is that you? Let me know: mfitzgerald@ competitorgroup.com. october 2009

where’s your race?

Since its inception in 2006, the

Ironman 70.3 Series has become the fastest growing triathlon

series in the world. There are now 33 qualifying events that culminate each November at the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Clearwater, Florida.

2009 EVENTS

DATE

2009 EVENTS

DATE

Spec-Savers Ironman 70.3 South Africa Cristal Ironman 70.3 Pucon Snap Ironman 70.3 Geelong Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore Ironman 70.3 California Ochsner Ironman 70.3 New Orleans CLSA Ironman 70.3 China Ironman 70.3 St. Croix Ironman 70.3 Florida Ironman 70.3 Austria Ironman 70.3 Hawaii Ironman 70.3 Switzerland Ironman 70.3 Boise Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Ironman 70.3 Kansas Ironman 70.3 U.K. Ironman 70.3 Buffalo Springs Lake

Jan. 18 Jan. 18 Feb. 8 March 22 April 4 April 5 April 19 May 3 May 17 May 24 May 30 June 7 June 13 June 14 June 14 June 14 June 28

Amica Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island Ironman 70.3 Vineman Ironman 70.3 Putrajaya Whirlpool Ironman 70.3 Steelhead Ironman 70.3 Antwerp Ironman 70.3 Calgary Ironman 70.3 Germany Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines Ironman 70.3 Timberman Ironman 70.3 Brazil Ironman 70.3 Monaco Subaru Ironman 70.3 Muskoka Ironman 70.3 Cancun Ironman 70.3 Augusta Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3

July 12 July 19 July 26 Aug. 1 Aug. 2 Aug. 2 Aug. 16 Aug. 16 Aug. 23 Aug. 23 Aug. 29 Sept. 6 Sept. 13 Sept. 20 Sept. 27 Oct. 25 Nov. 14

REGISTER TODAY AT IRONMAN.COM Ironman®, M-Dot® and 70.3® are registered trademarks of World Triathlon Corporation

Confessions of A First-Timer

By Andy Potts

D

o you remember your first time? I remember mine like it was yesterday. I remember the setting, how it made me feel and—most of all—wanting to brag afterward, to tell people, “Yep, I did it. I raced my first triathlon.”

My first triathlon was a sprint race in the summer of 2002. I found it ironic that only in triathlon will you find an event that lasts more than an hour called a “sprint.” Reminiscing about my first time is always nostalgic, energizing and puts a smile on my face. I recently sat down with my parents, Hattit and Buzz, who reflected on their first time as well.

My mom was lured into her first race in August 2007, and my dad just finished his first triathlon in May of this year. Like many first-timers, they had lots of questions and I provided insight as best as I could. I tried to manage their expectations, but they just needed to go out and race. Knowing my parents, I knew that once they got the first one under their belt, they would be back for more.

Both of my parents are extremely athletic and have enjoyed participating in sports since 142

triathletemag.com

from me. He managed to set an impressive new family record for slowest T1. He had trouble taking off his wetsuit, he mixed up the order of putting on his helmet and glasses and had to redo it, he completely emptied his transition bag during T1, and he actually ran back to his racking spot after heading out for the bike because he forgot his shirt. Then, to top it all off, he had to take his helmet and glasses off to put his shirt on. Before he had even pedaled one stroke, he had put his helmet and glasses on three times. My dad said, “Practicing transition is no substitute for the real thing. In practice it is hard to raise your heart rate to where it will be in a race, and it is hard to account for your adrenaline as well.”

My mom fared much better in transition during her first race. When in doubt, she referenced the person next to her and copied her layout. In an effort of full disclosure, I think I did a better job of explaining things to her than I did to my dad. “The other competitors were really helpful and were out for a good time as well as the challenge of the race,” my mom recalls.

Another thing that stuck out for my parents was the body marking. Race numbers went on both hands, both arms, both legs; mercifully, only one calf got marked with their age. Seethey were kids. However, it took them until they ing the ages of other competitors ignited my were around 60 years old before they took up parents’ competitive side. “I remember seeing triathlon, proving that you’re never too old to a woman who was in my age group just up the be a first-timer. They both found that the swim road from me on the run. I kept telling myself, was the most daunting task of the race. Because ‘I can catch her!’” The run wasn’t nearly as of the lack of visibility, the contact with other painful for them as it was for me. They had lots swimmers, the claustrophobia, and no wall to of time to prepare and were more realistic in grab if something went their minds about the wrong, the swim can be of the race.

My parents were more challenges a showstopper for a lot For both my parprepared for their first ents, their first race was of people. With that in mind, my mom rememrace than I was for mine. I a family affair, and it bers telling herself, “If was nice for them to be had youth on my side but a part of the race rather I don’t complete the swim, then I can’t do than spectators. Just as certainly not experience. the bike and the run.”

I predicted, the festival My parents were nature of triathlons and more prepared for their first race than I was the euphoric feeling of crossing the finish line for mine. I had youth on my side but certainly have compelled my parents to enter more not experience. The two biggest things that I triathlons. My dad said, “There was a distinct look back on and smile about were that I had energy in the finishing chute for everyone. I no clue as to how to set up my transition area, got a real feeling of accomplishment when I and I had no idea how tough it would be to run crossed the line.” after riding. For transition, I had all of my stuff One thing is for sure: I had no clue what I in a bag next to my bike. I remember fishing was doing my first time. I didn’t have anyone through it to find my helmet and bike shoes coaching me on how to set up my transition; during the race. As for running after swimming I hadn’t really trained for it, unless you count and biking first, I spent the entire run doubled visualization as training. Needless to say, I was over at the waist as if I were carrying a piano under-prepared and overwhelmed. Even with on my back. that recipe for disaster, my first triathlon ended My dad had a similar experience despite tips up sparking my new passion. october 2009

John segesta/johnsegesta.com

u p f ron t

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a t t he r a c es “Watch out for the climb at mile 12!”

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Rated 8 times

Sean Walkinshaw/brightroom.com

Bennett, Wassner On Top In The Big Apple

Australian Greg Bennett outclassed the field on the bike to take a dominant non-drafting win in New York City.

Nautica New York City Triathlon New York, N.Y.—July 26, 2009 Rocky Arroyo/brightroom.com

1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run Women

Swim

Bike

Run

Total

1. Rebeccah Wassner (USA) 13:40 1:06:01 34:36 1:58:25 2. Becky Lavelle (USA)

13:35 1:05:33 36:46 2:00:17

3. Margaret Shapiro (USA)

14:14 1:07:06 37:54 2:03:21

4. Samantha Warriner (NZL) 14:15 1:08:29 38:32 2:05:32

New York’s own Rebeccah Wassner caught early leader Becky Lavelle during the run en route to a convincing victory in the Big Apple.

october 2009

5. Mary Beth Ellis (USA)

13:37 1:12:46 37:31 2:08:28

Men

Swim

1. Greg Bennett (AUS)

12:34 58:37

Bike

31:12 1:45:50

Run

Total

2. Andy Potts (USA)

12:14 59:27

31:11 1:46:27

3. Matt Reed (USA)

12:35 59:44

31:55 1:47:43

4. Andrew Yoder (USA)

12:38 56:37

34:41 1:47:50

5. Stuart Hayes (GBR)

12:32 59:33

32:24 1:48:02

triathletemag.com

151

a t t he r a c es “Super challenging, but fun!”

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Rated 5 times

Kitzbühel Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship

Brownlee, Moffatt Continue To Shine In Austria

Kitzbühel, Austria—July 11-12, 2009 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run Women

Swim

1. Emma Moffatt (AUS)

17:52 1:00:41 34:42 1:54:38

2. Nicola Spirig (SUI)

18:31 1:00:08 35:15 1:55:12

Bike

Run

Total

3. Andrea Hewitt (NZL)

17:55 1:00:46 35:16 1:55:17

4. Kathy Tremblay (CAN)

17:56 1:00:45 35:25 1:55:21

5. Helen Jenkins (GBR)

17:53 1:00:47 35:26 1:55:27

Men

Swim

Bike

Run

Total

1. Alistair Brownlee (GBR) 16:15 55:07

30:36 1:43:13

2. Javier Gomez (ESP)

16:11 55:08

30:43 1:43:21

3. Laurent Vidal (FRA)

16:50 54:31

30:46 1:43:24

4. Maik Petzold (GER)

16:16 55:01

30:59 1:43:36

5. Daniel Unger (GER)

16:45 54:36

31:14 1:43:51

Great Britain’s young Brownlee continued his 2009 tear in Austria with his third World Championship Series win.

Shoemaker Sprints To Victory, Moffatt Dominates In Hamburg Hamburg Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Hamburg, Germany—July 25-26, 2009 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run Women

Swim

Bike

Run

Total

1. Emma Moffatt (AUS)

17:33 1:03:01 34:28 1:56:12

2. Lisa Norden (SWE)

17:45 1:02:51 35:25 1:57:06

3. Daniela Ryf (SUI)

18:17 1:02:25 35:55 1:57:39

4. Lauren Groves (CAN)

18:20 1:03:50 34:37 1:57:58

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Men

Swim

1. Jarrod Shoemaker (USA)

16:40 56:46

Bike

29:37 1:44:06

Run

Total

2. Brad Kahlefeldt (AUS)

16:45 56:40

29:50 1:44:14

3. Alexander Brukhankov (RUS) 16:35 56:54

29:45 1:44:16

4. Steffen Justus (GER)

16:37 56:55

29:55 1:44:21

5. Bevan Docherty (NZL)

17:08 56:19

30:03 1:44:25 october 2009

Photos by Delly Carr/triathlon.org

5. Barbara Riveros Diaz (CHI) 18:22 1:03:45 34:50 1:58:02 American Shoemaker ran to his first career World Championship Series victory, while Moffatt continues her series dominance with her fourth straight win.

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Rated 5 times

Reed Wins Lifetime Fitness Triathlon In Sprint Finish With Potts, Bennett

Matt Reed, left, won a threeway sprint with Andy Potts and Greg Bennett to take the title, as Haskins, below, simply ran away with the win in Minneapolis.

Lifetime Fitness Triathlon Minneapolis—July 11, 2009 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run

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Women

Swim

1. Sarah Haskins (USA)

19:24 1:02:24 36:40 2:00:51

Run

Total

2. Julie Dibens (GBR)

20:40 1:01:06 37:47 2:02:14

3. Becky Lavelle (USA)

19:28 1:02:29 38:12 2:02:39

4. Rebeccah Wassner (USA)

19:57 1:04:42 35:55 2:03:03

5. Sarah Groff (USA)

19:24 1:08:17 36:51 2:06:56

Men

Swim

1. Matt Reed (USA)

18:23 56:54

Bike

31:44 1:49:15.3

Run

Total

2. Andy Potts (USA)

17:50 57:45

31:25 1:49:15.5

3. Greg Bennett (AUS)

18:42 56:39

31:53 1:49:19

4. Paul Matthews (AUS)

18:24 57:29

33:46 1:51:52

5. Craig Alexander (AUS)

18:38 59:02

31:57 1:51:56 october 2009

Paul Phillips

Bike

Oct. 3rd and 4th

Take your multisport experience to the “END” – Montauk, New York. Do a sprint or the half distance tri, as a relay or an individual at the MightyMan Festival.

The following copy is excerpted from an editorial article in Triathlete Magazine by Cameron Elford titled:

MightyMan Montauk - A must for every athlete!

This Long Island event combines scenic beauty with a spectacular course and grass� roots charm. The half�Ironman�distance MightyMan Montauk is quickly emerging as a top destination race as much for its small�town hospitality and charm as for its challenging course. The route includes a 1.2�mile freshwater swim in protected Fort Pond; a rolling, rural bike that winds past Montauk Point Lighthouse, commissioned by the second Congress under President George Washington in 1792; and a spectacular run that follows country lanes past multi�million�dollar homes and bucolic, seaside shacks. The MightyMan is an impressive event in a spectacular location, and the race is quickly blossoming into a late-season classic.

Register at eventpowerli.com today!

a t t he r a c es

“Plenty of porta-potties!”

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Rated 15 times

Twelsiek, Macel Dominate In Victories At Ironman Lake Placid Ironman Lake Placid Lake Placid, N.Y.—July 26, 2009 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run Women

Swim

1. Tereza Macel (CZE)

50:48 5:13:25 3:20:09 9:29:36

Bike

Run

Total

2. Caitlin Snow (USA)

55:11 5:43:10 2:57:11 9:41:21

3. Samantha McGlone (CAN) 55:41 5:28:44 3:15:35 9:44:24 59:23 5:26:25 3:25:59 9:56:24

5. Paolina Allan (CAN)

1:05:35 5:26:50 3:27:41 10:05:59

Men

Swim

1. Maik Twelsiek (GER)

51:53 4:37:23 3:02:22 8:36:37

2. Christian Brader (GER)

55:47 4:53:55 3:02:16 8:56:35

3. Jason Shortis (AUS)

55:39 4:56:22 3:00:30 8:58:09

4. Mike Caiazzo (USA)

55:21 5:03:42 2:56:08 8:59:57

5. Matt Lieto (USA)

51:50 4:54:07 3:10:26 9:02:31

Bike

Run

Total

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Wheels ZIPP, SRAM, Mavic, American Classic

156

triathletemag.com

october 2009

Larry Rosa

Both Twelsiek, left, and Macel tore through the hilly bike course to set up their respective victories.

4. Tamara Kozulina (UKR)

R

a t t he r a c es “The volunteers were amazing!”

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Rated 12 times

Gambles, Taylor Battle Heat To Take Vineman Ironman 70.3 Vineman Ironman 70.3 Sonoma County, Calif.—July 19, 2009 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run

158

triathletemag.com

Swim

1. Pip Taylor (AUS)

25:13 2:26:37 1:25:16 4:20:04

Bike

Run

Total

2. Tyler Stewart (USA)

31:24 2:23:42 1:23:17 4:21:34

3. Dede Griesbauer (USA)

26:09 2:28:35 1:25:33 4:23:29

4. Linsey Corbin (USA)

29:34 2:30:23 1:21:07 4:24:37

5. Kelly Couch (USA)

26:28 2:29:20 1:26:19 4:25:23

Men

Swim

1. Joe Gambles (AUS)

25:12 2:08:15 1:13:17 3:49:18

2. Simon Thompson (AUS)

24:17 2:15:01 1:11:49 3:53:38

3. Leon Griffin (AUS)

25:14 2:15:46 1:13:18 3:57:01

4. John Dahlz (USA)

23:30 2:15:42 1:17:42 3:59:45

5. Brian Lavelle (USA)

24:20 2:14:52 1:18:09 4:00:25

Bike

Run

Total

october 2009

Rich Cruse

Pip Taylor’s ace swim set up a comfortable win in Santa Rosa, while Joe Gambles’ 2:08 bike allowed him to cruise to victory.

Women

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a t t he r a c es “Watch out for the climb at mile 12!”

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Rated 8 times

Lebrun, Bucher Win Cup Race Number Seven XTERRA Northeast Cup Warren, Vt.—July 12, 2009 1-mile swim, 15.5-mile bike, 5.75-mile run Swim

1. Renata Bucher (SUI)

20:47 1:38:26 47:40

Bike

2:46:54

2. Melanie McQuaid (CAN)

19:50 1:39:08 52:16

2:51:16

3. S. Vanlandingham (USA)

23:49 1:45:02 53:23

3:02:15

4. Christine Jeffrey (CAN)

17:43 1:57:25 50:50

3:05:58

5. Danelle Kabush (CAN)

24:37 1:57:16 45:47

3:07:41

Bike

Run

Total

Men

Swim

1. Nico Lebrun (FRA)

20:22 1:21:58 41:57

Run

2:24:18

Total

2. Seth Wealing (USA)

17:56 1:27:46 41:11

2:26:54

3. Conrad Stoltz (RSA)

19:00 1:23:39 44:14

2:26:54

4. Sam Gardner (GBR)

23:22 1:23:20 41:55

2:28:38

5. Dan Hugo (RSA)

19:04 1:26:43 45:26

2:31:14

SweepStakeS RuleS 1. No purchase necessary. To enter without ordering, send an index card to: Triathlete Ultimate Winter Sweepstakes, 10179 Huennekens St., 100, San Diego, CA 92121, with your name address and phone number.

2. This sweepstakes is sponsored by Triathlete, 10179 Huennekens St., 100, San Diego, CA 92121.

3. All entries must be received by December 15th, 2009.

Triathlete is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, damaged, illegible or postage-due mail.

4. Prize winner will be selected no later than December 18th, 2009 from among all entries received. Winner selection will take place under the supervision of Triathlete, whose decisions are final. Each entrant consents to the transfer of all information contained in the completed entry form to other companies.

5. The odds of winning are determined by the total number of eligible entries received. Taxes, where applicable, are the sole responsibility of the winner.

6. Potential winners will be notified by mail, telephone or e-mail.

Potential winners must follow the directions contained in any correspondence and return all forms correctly completed within 7 days of the date of correspondence. Non-compliance will result in disqualification and the naming of an alternate winner.

7. All entrants will be eligible to win a prize package for two that includes, free entry to the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon & Half Marathon, hotel accommodations, VIP packages, training appareal and $100 gift cards to P.F. Chang’s.

There is no cash exchange for this prize.

8. Employees of Competitor Group or anyone affiliated are not eligible. Sweepstakes subject to all federal, state and local tax laws and void where prohibited by law.

9. For the name of the winner, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope and letter of request to: Triathlete Ultimate Winter Sweepstakes, 10179 Huennekens St., 100, San Diego, CA 92121.

160

triathletemag.com

october 2009

Courtesy Sandy Macy/Sugarbush Resort

The European champs proved their mettle at Sugarbush; Bucher took advantage of the ski terrain for the win, while Lebrun kept alive mathematical hope of winning the series title.

Women

a t t he r a c es “Super challenging, but fun!”

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Rated 5 times

Lebrun, Vanlandingham Win XTERRA Mountain Cup XTERRA Mountain Cup Beaver Creek, Colo.—July 18, 2009

Nils Nilsen/n2fotoservices.com

1-mile swim, 15.5-mile bike, 5.75-mile run

After giving up a few minutes to the race leaders in the water, American Shonny Vanlandingham and France’s Nico Lebrun both dominated the bike leg in Beaver Creek and held on for the win.

Women

Swim

1. S. Vanlandingham (USA)

21:53 1:24:37 41:44

Bike

Run

Total 2:30:14

2. Danelle Kabush (CAN)

21:26 1:31:45 41:08

2:36:16

3. Sara Tarkington (USA)

20:58 1:29:15 44:08

2:36:32

4. Susan Williams (USA)

17:31 1:34:03 43:11

2:36:58

5. Rebecca Dussault (USA)

21:52 1:32:56 43:01

2:40:00

Men

Swim

1. Nico Lebrun (FRA)

20:08 1:14:45 38:33

Bike

Run

2:15:06

Total

2. Mike Vine (CAN)

18:05 1:17:19 39:11

2:16:29

3. Josiah Middaugh (USA)

18:22 1:18:34 39:17

2:17:42

4. Cody Waite (USA)

20:47 1:16:28 37:22

2:18:09

5. Branden Rakita (USA)

17:24 1:18:07 42:14

2:19:14

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Rated 5 times

Lovato and Jones Take Amica Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island Amica Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island Providence, R.I.—July 12, 2009 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run Swim

1. Michellie Jones (AUS)

25:06 2:28:58 1:27:30 4:23:55

Bike

Run

Total

2. Desiree Ficker (USA)

27:40 2:30:33 1:25:57 4:27:20

3. Heather Jackson (GBR)

31:07 2:23:55 1:35:36 4:33:38

4. Kim Loeffler (USA)

30:29 2:36:42 1:27:07 4:36:52

5. Suzanne Zelazo (CAN)

27:18 2:37:55 1:33:03 4:40:56

Men

Swim

1. Michael Lovato (USA)

24:02 2:10:29 1:18:06 3:54:38

2. Richie Cunningham (AUS)

22:25 2:12:51 1:17:46 3:54:49

3. Cameron Brown (NZL)

22:37 2:12:33 1:17:35 3:54:52

4. Wolfgang Guembel (CAN)

22:37 2:15:50 1:17:13 3:58:01

5. Nick Frank (USA)

25:41 2:15:03 1:20:06 4:03:11

Bike

Run

Total

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Trek-Livestrong U23 Sponsor october 2009

Larry Rosa

A strong swim/bike combo helped Michellie Jones overcome Desirée Ficker and rookie pro Heather Jackson, while Michael Lovato held off a charging Richie Cunningham and Cameron Brown.

Women

a t t he r a c es

“Plenty of porta-potties!”

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Wisthoff, Lovgren Win In Charlotte Amica Triathlon at Lake Wylie Charlotte, N.C—July 25, 2009

Courtesy Eident Sports

750-meter swim, 10-mile bike, 5K run

Men’s winner Matthew Wisthoff takes a second to pose with the race’s sponsors after his narrow win over Kevin Lisska.

october 2009

Women

Swim

Run

Total

1. Alysia Lovgren (USA)

11:50 30:19

20:32

1:04:30

2. Melissa Bell (USA)

11:28 29:59

23:16

1:06:51

3. Colleen Angstadt (USA)

15:18 29:21

21:29

1:08:16

4. Carrie Andrews (USA)

12:13 30:03

24:43

1:09:00

5. Stacey Bhalla (USA)

13:10 30:38

22:50

1:09:44

Men

Swim

Bike

Run

Total

1. Matthew Wisthoff (USA)

9:37

25:48

17:19

54:15

2. Kevin Lisska (USA)

10:02 25:20

17:46

54:42

3. Donny Forsyth (USA)

11:18 24:44

18:05

55:45

4. D. Rougier-Chapman (USA)

10:39 25:34

20:02

58:20

5. Lat Purser (USA)

12:54 25:36

18:08

58:39

Bike

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I confess that I have rarely attempted to pen thoughts on a sport with less misgiving. Like being assigned as a junior public defender to ensure that a criminal knows his rights, I am attempting to make a case for golf—and to make a good one.

For the most part, endurance athletes don’t play golf. It’s a long a time under the sun and a mystery that’s tough to master. The challenge is in the terrain, the concentration and the abandonment of ego. Golf is a game played in your head, I kept thinking, not overly physical but practiced by masochists who are driven to myriad emotional swings in a few short hours.

People who play golf wear funny clothes and would rather talk about their game than play it.

With golf, those in the back of the pack have the opportunity to talk with their peers while they finish their day. And with golf, the manufacturers know how infectious the lure of new equipment is, so every six months they roll

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. Periodi­ cals 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.

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october 2009

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

Mixed Mediums

out updated models that represents. To the endurance athlete, golf reprethe players simply can’t sents a sedentary life, a post-active ethos of lime live without. green pants and white vinyl shoes. To the golfer, Geez, I realized, golf endurance sport represents a lack of common is just like triathlon. Oh, sense. After all, what intelligent example of the the horror. human species would run through barren lava We often find our fields in a bikini? Or swim in shark-infested definitions in the binary waters when there is a perfectly fine beach to opposites. How would we lie on? Then again, who’s the wizard who came really know what the word up with the idea of adding to the golf course a “black” means unless we bunch of artificial mini-beaches that you can’t also know what “white” even pitch an umbrella on? means? We relate to the Ironically, golf and endurance sports are physical challenge inher- supposed to expose our true character and ent in endurance sports by to offer us self-reflective time to know and conjuring the image of a understand ourselves. Maybe they’re even quiet, early morning walk to foster self-improvement with increased along groomed fairways tolerance for the other, which includes the while passively stroking a acceptance that golf allows you to have someball toward its inevitable one carry your tools while triathletes enjoy end place within the earth. handlers who pass fluids and sustenance But against most of my while they pass through. historic reasoning, I will Golf and endurance sports are supposed to argue that there is more give us insight into human nature—our own similarity than difference and those that we compete against. I don’t know between the two sports. if it’s the difficulties inherent in each—one Triathlon is a sport technical and one physical—or the fact that that you can enjoy even both of us are just out there so damn long. if you don’t particularly Novelist and critic John Updike claimed, excel at it. Same with golf. “The golf swing is like a suitcase into which You can’t make the same claim about blood we are trying to pack one too many things.” sports like boxing and bullfighting. As we grow The same could be said about the mind of older, we not only retain enjoyment of both an endurance athlete. Sometimes it takes an sports, but become competitive within the Ironman distance race to dump some of the various brackets and groupings that mediate excess baggage. the advantages of youth and excellence. It’s hard I don’t know many athletes who excel at to join in a rough-and-tumble pick-up game both triathlon and golf. They seem diametrically of hoops at the local schoolyard and ask for an opposed. Still, there is that awkward hybrid age or metal body parts handicap. called “speed golf ” that combines running And one of the more colorful analogies time and number of strokes. And while it’s is found in each sport’s tolerance of rude or fun to play, it reminds me of one of those kit childish behavior. A four-letter expletive mut- cars meant to look like a Ferrari but built on tered under your breath after a hooked tee shot a Volvo frame. Or of someone citing the work is as socially acceptable as the response to a of Rousseau in a barroom argument. Some flattened tire two miles from the bike finish. things just weren’t meant to be combined.

We’ve all been there. We all know. We all use Mark Twain certainly agreed, describing golf those same words. as a “good walk spoiled.”

But perhaps the greatest similarity beI want to like golf, and certainly I’d consider tween those who chase taking it up in my 90s Ironically, golf and endurance when there are few a white ball around a long green field and options left. sports are supposed to expose athletic those who ride their But mostly I wish bikes down longer our true character and to offer people would stop fields of white-striped us self-reflective time to know saying I look like Greg asphalt is our mutual Norman. and understand ourselves. fear of what the other Scott Tinley

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