Bike Riding Safety

There are obviously many measures you can take to make sure you ride as safely as possible on the road.

Begin with YOU first. Make sure you wear bright clothing that will be more noticeable to drivers. Always wear a helmet and make sure it fits AND is securely fastened to your head. Don't ride with headphones in both ears. Don't text or talk on the phone or otherwise mess with your cell phone while riding. Ride defensively and anticipate situations and what drivers might do - think 30 seconds ahead. Use hand and voice signals. Do not run red lights and stop signs. THANK drivers for yielding to you. Avoid obstructing traffic and be considerate and thoughtful. Do not react in a hostile way towards drivers but instead take the high road. Let someone else know your riding plans and carry a cell phone. And while you're at it, always carry emergency information.

Next, consider your bike. Make sure it is working properly. Make sure the brakes are in good condition.

Finally, take extra measures to increase your safety. Consider using a red "blinky" light on the back of your helmet. Use a red "blinky" light on the back of the bike, even in daytime. Use a headlight, even in daytime. Attach a rear view mirror to you glasses, helmet, or handlebar in order to see behind you (but always do a head check as well.) If the situation calls for it, go to a crosswalk and push or ride your bike across the street if getting over to the left turn lane is dangerous or you feel uncomfortable crossing traffic lanes. Use a cell phone app like eCrumbs by Road ID to allow a loved one to track you and know where you are.

Below is a checklist you can refer to that might be helpful.

• helmet, strapped
• bright clothing
• use a headlight and taillight
• ride defensively
• use signals
• stop at red lights and stop signs
• be thoughtful and considerate
• check brakes
• use head and tail lights
• use a rear view mirror
• carry a cell phone
• carry emergency information

Remember, in an accident with a car the car will always win. Stay safe out there, and as they say, keep the rubber side down.

A Taste of Ironman - Join Us In Arizona 11/17/2013

A Taste of Ironman

Ever watched an Ironman on television and wondered if you could do one? Curious about Ironman Arizona? Want to see what it’s like to do 140.6 miles?  Thinking about signing up for 2014? Do you just want to have a fun, different, and inspiring experience even if you NEVER intend to do one? Here’s your chance to get up close and personal with Skip, an Ironman finisher and Certified Level I USAT Triathlon Coach, as he prepares for and races his 6^th one on November 17^th. 

See what it’s like to do an Ironman – from pre-race logistics, to racing 140.6 miles, to the finish line and post-race recovery and celebration.  Skip will provide information, insights, and answer questions about pre-race preparation and racing. 

Linda will be your “cruise director” on race day, guiding you to all the prime spectator spots and providing strategies on how to spend the many hours on (and off) the course, including an optional stint as an Ironman Volunteer, which gets you priority registration on Monday morning following the race.

COST: Free.  You pay for your transportation, food, lodging, and optional Athlete’s Pre-race Dinner and Post-Race Breakfast.  Both the Athlete’s Dinner and Post-Race Breakfast are great insights into the Ironman experience.  If you would like to join us for those please let us know so we can obtain tickets for you.  Also available for purchase are Get Sladed Nation Ironman t-shirts – a fun race day uniform but certainly not mandatory!!! (They cost around $20 to have made so that’s what they’ll cost you. Autograph is extra! ;-))

WHEN: Ironman Arizona is Sunday, November 17^th. Please plan to arrive 1 to 3 days prior.  Return on Monday, November 18^th.

Where: Tempe/Mesa/Phoenix, Arizona. We will be staying at the Hyatt Place Phoenix/Mesa. This is a great location, just minutes from the race venue, but out of the craziness of downtown Tempe.

Hyatt Place Phoenix/Mesa  

1422 West Bass Pro Drive

Mesa, Arizona, 85201, USA

Tel: 1 480 969 8200

Includes free Wi-Fi and breakfast

WHY: You know why! It’s going to be a lot of fun, you’ll have a great experience, and you’ll likely come away inspired.  Come see why Linda insists that being an Ironman spectator is harder work than racing.

RSVP: Please RSVP by October 31.  We recommend sooner if you are planning to volunteer or are trying to stay at the same hotel.  Any questions please don’t hesitate to ask!

DETAILS: Here are Linda and Skip’s plans as of now, day-by-day, so you can see how much of this you may want to be a part of. (It’s all optional – join us for as much or as little as you want.)  We strongly recommend that you arrive no later than early afternoon Saturday and stay until the very end of the race at 11:59:59 on Sunday. 

Thursday, 11/14:

Drive to Arizona.

Check into Hyatt Place Phoenix/Mesa.

Friday, 11/15:

Race Check In.

Visit Expo.

Drive (and ride if you bring your bike and helmet) part of the bike course.

Watch an Ironman obsessively pack and unpack and pack his gear bags. Help if you want.

Observe Linda trying to keep her Ironman calm and in the moment (not for the squeamish).

Welcome Dinner and Athlete Meeting.

Saturday, 11/16:

9 - 10:30 Volunteer Meeting – if you sign up to volunteer.

9 – 11 Watch Practice Swim at Tempe Lake.

Expo on your own.

Ride (with Skip) or walk or run a portion of the run course.

Help Skip with bike and bag check-in.

Race experience talk – seeding in the swim, pacing, nutrition, mental preparation, etc. – a casual sit down conversation with Skip and Linda about Race plans and anything triathlon.

5:30 Pre-race dinner at Ismorada Fish Company Restaurant (at Bass Pro Shop – not just seafood is available, they have alligator, chicken, burgers, etc.) and its Skip’s all-time favorite pre-race dinner place.

Meet with Linda for race day orientation and plans.

Go to bed early, tomorrow is a REALLY LONG DAY.

Sunday, 11/17:

5:00 am Transition - Get up early to watch the athletes get ready.

Watch Mass Swim Start:

·         6:45 am Pro Start

·         7:00 am Age Group Start

Go back to the hotel for breakfast.

Out to the bike course to see Skip and the other athletes whiz by.

Volunteer – if you plan to register for 2014 you definitely want to do this. We are still working some things out but here is the link for volunteering. Before you sign up for a job you should check with us about the logistics of it all.

Chargers are playing the Dolphins at 11, so we may have lunch at the local Charger’s Bar and then walk to Tempe Lake and the run venue.

Climb the rocking bleachers for a rollicking finish line experience.

Watch Skip (hopefully) finish and hear Mike O’Reilly call him an Ironman.

Help collect Skip’s gear and bike and then hoist him into the van and fetch ice for his ice bath.

Celebrate with dinner – probably at Famous Dave’s BBQ.

Return to the finish line for the last hour to cheer on the final racers struggling to be Ironmen before midnight.

Go to bed exhausted.

Monday, 11/18:

8 – 10: On-Site registration for Ironman AZ 2014.

10: On-site “Roll Down” for Ironman World Championship – this is where they award slots to Kona 2014

10: Pro and Age Group Awards celebration, breakfast, official video, and speeches from the winning Pros (who generally give some pretty awesome speeches).

12:00ish: Pack up and head for home.

Water Running Again

If you ask Linda if I'm an optimist she would first laugh and then say, "If you're talking about triathlon, yes. Everything else, no. I freely admit that she is the optimist in our relationship. I will hedge a little and say that her optimism has rubbed off a little, as has my triathlon experience.

In a roundabout way this leads me into a post about water running and how to do it. I began water running when I was training for my first Ironman race - Arizona 2009. That year I got plantar fasciitis (aka plantar f-ing-itis) in my right foot. I was frustrated and was trying to get treatment so I could do the race. I was worried that I wouldn't make it to the starting line. With the help of strength training guidance from Diane Buchta as well as a story about Paula Newby-Frasier (8 time IM World Champion) using "aquajogging" to train while her stress fracture healed, I continued to train with the optimism and blind faith that things would come together in the end. I trained "as if" I was going to race. I modified my run program by substituting mostly water running (and some elliptical machine) for regular running until about 6 weeks from race day when I got the go ahead to start running.

I find myself training again for Ironman Arizona and am in pretty much the same situation as in the past. My foot (left this time) has had a stubborn case of plantar f-ing-itis for well over a year. As I pursue various treatments I have been training on the elliptical machine consistently for about a month or 6 weeks. Yesterday I reluctantly decided to return to the water for some water running. I'm reluctant because for one thing, water running is pretty boring. 2nd, I often just don't feel like getting in the water yet again - it's wet (!) and initially slightly chili. It's been a while since I did it so when I finished the session I came home to look up the guidelines I'd written back in 2010. I've edited and reposted that information here at Water Running - How To.

I intend to substitute it for at least one "run" training session per week and do the others on elliptical. My progress will be charted on my training blog. As a triathlon optimist I am training "as if" I will be racing Ironman Arizona in November 2013. My hope is that I will be able to phase run/walking into my training far sooner than I did in 2009.

Water Running - How To

Studies have shown that you can maintain your aerobic conditioning with water running for 8 weeks. Why not longer than 8 weeks? Simply because the study was stopped after 8 weeks. I believe water running can help you for a much longer time period. It WORKS! 

While water running can keep you in the game if you're injured, there is a down side to using water running and/or elliptical machine exclusively to train for a running event. Come race day your joints, tendons, ligaments, and muscles will not be prepared for the ground contact and effects of gravity that come into play. Transitioning into "real" running as soon as is practical is the best way to do things. Adding more walking to a run/walk protocol will also lessen the impact on race day.

Here are suggestion on using water running effectively:

• Wear a flotation belt around your hips/waist. You can also wear it around your stomach below your bottom rib or around your lower chest and under your arms but both of these tend to restrict your breathing especially if you overtighten the belt. Also, wearing it lower will not interfere with arm swing.
• Wear a t-shirt or surfing rash guard under the belt if you want to avoid any possible rubbing spots. (Ok, I admit that I also wear a shirt so I don't feel like a wussy. I usually choose my Gatorman 3 mile La Jolla Rough Water Swim finisher's shirt.)
• Run in water deep enough that you won't touch the bottom.
• Make sure you "run" upright or with a little forward lean, just like on dry land. Do not bend over at the waist. (I try to make sure to push my hips forward slightly but is a personal thing because I need to do that for my dry land running form.)
• Use your arms the way you would in running. Keep them moving straight forward and back, close to the body as you pump them. I only use my hands in a paddling-type position during a recovery effort when I've slowed my legs to recover from a sprint or hard effort. Sometimes during warm-up when I want to work my arm muscles and raise my heart rate I'll also put them in a paddling-type position but I still move them in a running motion.
• Run more like you would if you were running in place on dry land. Don't pedal like a bicycle. Lift your knees. Push down and extend your leg. Extend your foot at the ankle just like when you toe off when running. Remember that your objective is to imitate running form, NOT to see how fast you can do a length of the pool. Unlike with swimming, the effectiveness of water running is not measured by lap speed.
• Do workouts as written in your plan (although I'm not real sure how you can duplicate hill running!) If your training is listed in miles, convert that to an appropriate amount of time instead. Again, the number of laps or distance traveled in the pool has little or nothing to do with how much work you are doing. If you have sprints or strides or whatever, try to imitate them as best as you can.
• Do a warm up just like in running. Start with a slower, easier intensity for a few minutes before picking up the pace/intensity.
• The best way to raise your heart rate is by stride rate and arm swing. After a warm up, try to keep your stride rate at around 84-90 per minute (per leg). When you a short sprint, say doing 30 seconds on, 30 sec. recovery, focus on intensity and increase the stride rate even more, to 100 or higher if you can. You will breathe hard but you are unlikely to achieve the same heart rate as you would on dry land because water running doesn't involve body weight and gravity.
• If possible, find a source of music to help pass the time. If you are going to be doing this for more than a few weeks I would suggest getting something from H20Audio or something comparable that is waterproof that you can use in the water. If you're at a private or community pool where you can plug in an MP3 player or radio, do that. And, if you're out in the sun, wear a hat and water resistant sunscreen.
• The 1st few times you do this your skin might feel a little funny. I think it's because of tensing and relaxing of the muscles as they move in the water. They sort of jiggle. Maybe it's a vibration thing or water "friction". For me it's only there while I do it and then it goes away. As I do more water running it occurs less and less as I become accustomed to the training.

The above information is meant for someone who does not use "aquajogging-type shoes". My understanding (but not firsthand experience) is that wearing this type of shoe will add resistance and improve the quality of your workout. These should not be mistaken for the type of shoe that protects the feet when coming in contact with the pool bottom. Instead these are intended for use in "deep" water. There are 2 brands that I'm aware of. AquaJogger makes AquaRunners Rx. Really, I'm not at all impressed. The other choice is the AQx Aquatic Training Shoes by ActiveForever. They are about 3 times as expensive. According to their website: "The patented AQx Aquatic Training Shoes (US Patent No. 7,794,364) are designed to simulate on-land movements while in low-impact or zero-gravity aquatic environments. Designed with strategically-placed hydrodynamic fins on each side, the ATS add 20-30% more resistance to many aquatic exercises at a medium pace. They also have a sticky rubber out-sole that has been rigorously tested to prevent slipping on most pool surfaces. The ATS feature a cushioned insole for greater comfort, arch support for stability, and drainage ports for quick drying. They are constructed with premium quality neoprene, leather-like fabric, and mesh to increase longevity of the shoe; they also have a bungee lace-up system for a snug, secure fit. They have been proven to increase caloric expenditure by 9% at a sub-maximal level as compared to running barefoot in the water."

If you are going to be doing water running for a few months and can afford to purchase a pair of these, I would. And, since you don't have to be injured to include water running as a nice supplement/compliment to your regular running, a pair of specialized shoes might be a good option!

Recoverate - Thoughts on My Taper and Post-race (ITU San Diego) Recovery

(If you just want to cut to the chase, scroll past the first 4 paragraphs.)

I raced the San Diego ITU triathlon (did the Aquabike) last Saturday. A perfect taper for me would have been about a week long, containing reduced volume as well as reduced intensity load. I had made sure to up the intensity on one bike and one swim workout each week during my build up. I also cycled through 4 phases of strength training over the previous months, dropping weight training for the 3 weeks prior to race day.

My taper turned out to be less than perfect, although it was very enjoyable!  3 weeks out we went to England for vacation. I took tri shorts, Speedo, goggles, and rubber tubing with me, hoping to get a smattering of workouts in. I pretty much knew swimming would be unlikely so rubber tubing with handles was the plan. I also thought I might get on my sons trainer 2 or 3 or 4 times. The pool and the trainer were not in the cards because I wanted to make sure this was a NON-triathlon vacation. The tubing got used just once because I lacked a good anchor point where we were staying and doing it outside in 0 to 4 degrees Celsius was out of the question! So my 2 weeks of "training" were comprised of lots of walking and standing, as well as some core work and push ups! Endurance didn't suffer but sharpness did.

There was a week left pre-race once we returned home. I went for some endurance effort stuff on Sunday and Monday and added some speed and tempo efforts Tuesday through Thursday. It seemed like the best I could do under the circumstances.

Saturday's race went well. It amounted to a 1500 swim at a strong effort followed by a 40K time trial (hard effort) on the bike since I didn't have to run off the bike. The next day I certainly felt it in my calves, quads, and lats - DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. I committed to swim with my buddy, Italiphil on Sunday so instead of taking the day off I swam 2800 yards. It took 1500 before I could get any speed going. I got to work on my "drafting" as a result - my buddy pulled me along as I swam by his hip or behind him for much of 600 yards post-warmup. On Tuesday I swam again, eased back into strength training (1 set, slightly reduced weight), and took a spin class with too much intensity (backed it off to zone 1 recovery 30 minutes in).

While I didn't injure myself I did stupidly put myself at risk. The smart things to do?

• Take Extreme Endurance magnesium supplement - check
• Take in carbs and protein (including amino acids) for tissue repair - check
• Take supplements to aid with reducing inflammation and help with immune system (Omega 3s, Vitamin C, etc.) - check
• Wear compression socks post-race and next day - didn't do it
• Do an EASY bike ride the day of or day after the race - didn't do it
• Swim EASY or not at all the day after the race - didn't do it
• Use a foam roller - check
• Elevate feet and legs for 10 or more minutes a few times a day for a couple of days - didn't do it
• Get plenty of sleep - maybe, maybe not
• Do not charge into a high intensity workout until you've recovered from the race - didn't do it

Recoverate? Yes, recoverate is my new, made up word to emphasis what you need to include in part of your training. It's a combination of the words Recovery and Recuperate. Maybe next time I'll take my own advice! Recoverate!

ITU San Diego Triathlon (Aquabike) Race Report - 2013 April 20

I raced in the 2013 ITU San Diego Triathlon yesterday on a day of perfect San Diego weather. I did the Olympic distance (1.5km swim, 40k bike) Aquabike (swim-bike-NO run) because I'm still dealing with plantar fasciitis.

I arrived at the shuttle parking lot a little before 5am and got on the bus to go to the transition area next to Venture Cove on Mission Bay. Traffic cones were everywhere on the road, which completely confused the driver. He was uncertain where to go and how to get there. Some of us at the front finally begged him to turn at a certain point and just run over the cones or we would not be getting to transition any time soon! We had visions of being stuck on the bus for an extra half hour!

Got to transition in plenty of time and got my area set up. It's a bit less complicated when you don't need to run off the bike! There was lots of room on my aisle. I was relaxed, treating things casually, and feeling like I knew what I was doing after racing for over 6 years. (More on that later.) Music was playing, bathrooms were uncrowded, and my area was well-lit, though I had an LED headlamp just in case. I brought my rubber stretch cord and warmed up my arms and lats for the swim. Two familiar voices started making announcements. Former pro triathletes Paul Huddle and Greg Welch were on the mics. Unfortunately the sound kept cutting back and forth between announcements and music so I could never hear complete instructions.

When I went down to the beach I STILL didn't know how we were supposed to round the buoys. Fortunately a friend of a friend knew and shared the info 7 minutes before my wave start. We went 2nd so I could at least see the first wave round the first buoy to confirm what I was told. NOTHING was explained by any officials down on the beach. As we stood waiting for the horn, I was passing on what I knew to the other geezers around me since they seemed not to know where they were swimming either. The water was 62*f. I hadn't been in open water since November so I was worried about not being acclimated to the cold. Got my feet wet and splashed my face but that was it because I didn't want to stand around shivering. In hindsight, I wouldn't recommend that. If they allow you to warm up, do it!

The horn sounded and off we went. The crowd of 185 men thinned out quickly, at least for me. A few went off the front very quickly and I didn't manage to hang with them, while everyone else soon dropped behind. So while I didn't have anyone to draft off of, no one drafted off of me for very long. Compared to a mass start Ironman this was nice. The course was well-marked and easy to follow. With the sun still below the horizon, sighting wasn't an issue. 3 of the 4 legs were easy to use high landmarks to sight off of and the buoys along the second leg without landmarks was easy to see. There was no tidal current to worry about either so that was not an issue.

It was a beach start so I ran through the shallow water until about knee deep. Then I "dolphined" 5 to 7 times until it made more sense to start swimming. I felt the cold water rush into my wetsuit but it just didn't feel as icy as I expected. I forgot about the temperature quickly as I made my way to the first turn buoy followed by the next 3 turns to head towards the swim exit. Had to weave past swimmers from the first wave who had left 5 minutes ahead but it never got crazy crowded. It is amazing how crooked some people swim though! I'm sure some of them probably swam 1700 m. when it was all said and done!

The end of the swim is a beach exit so I did what I advice all my athletes to do: when you touch the bottom with your hand, start pulling a little shallower. When you touch bottom again then, depending on the steepness of the bottom, touch 3 more times before standing and running out to transition. I lifted the goggles off my eyes but left them on my head with my cap so I could start stripping the wetsuit with both hands. One leg got stuck on my oversized calf in spite of the copious amounts of body glide so I ended up sitting down to remove it.

Helmet on, sunglasses on, then bike shoes, grab the bike, and run out of transition. Though you were allowed to have your shoes preclipped I have never been a fan of this technique - for me anyway. Plus it was a loooong run through an uncarpeted parking lot to the mount line. I went without socks for the first time in a race and that workout just fine. What's the saying? "SOMEthing new on race day"?!

Did a running mount and headed out, feeling a little cold and wet but not too bad. As the sun rose higher and I worked the pedals I warmed up quickly. The 2 loop course had (I think) 4 - 180* turns that really made you slow down, as well as 2 or 3 very short "no passing" zones where things got very narrow. Except for a bidge over the bay the course was very flat. Each identical loop went out around Fiesta Island, considered the birthplace of triathlon in the 1970s. It's also a frequent training location. I took in about 6 oz of water that had about 100 calories of gel mixed in it.

Being that this was an Olympic distance race I did my best to push my pace and effort level on both the swim and bike. I didn't want to be racing in an aerobic/Ironman zone, though that's where I've spent nearly all of my racing time the past couple of years. Although I felt like I was working hard for the whole bike, it took awhile for my heartrate to really climb out of high zone2/low zone3. It may have been that my core temp was taking awhile to heat up after the swim but I don't know for sure.

All in all it was a great day. I stuck around for awards because I knew not many raced the Aquabike division. I never did find posted results so I just waited. I was right to do so. They awarded in each 5 year age group down to 3rd place. I got a 1st place out of a wopping 3 people in my group, 6th overall out of 49. I was at least glad to see that no women and no one OLDER than me were faster! hahaha! I feel pretty embarassed about the award given the numbers involved! I'll even point out that if I was doing the full triathlon I would have been in 4th place going into the run.

Awards are nice but really was most rewarding about racing this came down to 3 things for me: I was healthy enough to do this demanding physical activity, I pushed myself hard enough to be satisfied no matter my place or time, and I got to share the race experience with some fellow triathlete friends, all on a gorgeous day.

Lesson (re)learned: Use a check list! I'm something of a "king of check lists" guy and yet I didn't use one in my preparation or execution. This meant that I forgot the silicon swim cap I was going to wear under my race cap. I also forgot my pre-race nutrition that I was going to consume just before the start. Finally, if I hadn't happened to go on the race website the night before and seen a picture of athletes coming out of the water I would have forgotten my goggles!!! Think things through and use a checklist no matter how many times you do these things. Triathlon has a LOT of moving parts!

Boring times and stats:
Swim 22m24s
T1 2m56s
Bike 1h10m33s - average about 21mph, max HR 149, ave HR ~135
Final 1h35m51s

The New Coaching Blog

Linda and I are starting a new coaching blog to hopefully offer useful information to our friends and athletes about fitness, nutrition, racing, training, and all things triathlon.