Triathlon Blog

Have you joined the Triathlon Forums yet? It’s completely free. Come join the discussions. Here’s a few topics we are discussing now:

• Warm-up and recovery
• How many triathlons have you done?
• When are you going to give up triathlon?
• What got you interested in triathlons?

It takes a lot of hard work to be a triathlete. Why do you do it? Please tell me at the Triathlon Forums. It’s completely free.

Janet Wilson recently wrote an article entitled Triathlon Bike 101 - Getting Started. Check it out:

I met with one of my new triathlon clients recently and noticed 7 things during a quick 5 minutes review of his triathlon bike (this was after I begged him to bring his bike to one of his swim training sessions). Hopefully you can learn from these 7 issues:

1. Basic triathlon bike maintenance. The first thing I noticed was his chain - it was rusty. Six drops of chain lube could have prevented this rust. Beginner triathletes often know little about basic bicycle maintenance. The chain should be cleaned when dirty and lubricated. Your local bike shop can give you some great suggestions about cleaning solutions and lubricants you can use on your triathlon bike.

2. Brakes rubbing. The second thing I noticed was his front brake was rubbing the wheel. This was mainly due to the fact that the bike was transported loose in the back of a pickup truck. The first rule is to secure your bike if you are carrying it in your vehicle (a rubber mat if it must lay flat in the car - a bike rack is better). Second, always check your brakes before you start your ride (especially if you have to take your wheels off to transport the bike). You can test this by holding the wheel off the ground and spinning it hard. If there is a problem the wheel will not spin freely - you will feel vibration in the frame or hear a rub, and the wheel will slow down. If the brake is rubbing check to see if the wheel was put on correctly (you can also adjust the brake assembly slightly by hand). If the brakes are still rubbing you want to have a bike shop check to see if your wheel rim is warped and needs to be trued.

3. Saddle bag supplies. His saddle bag supplies were the following: cell phone and keys. Not good. Make sure you have at least one spare tube of the correct size (you can find the size on the sidewall of your bike tires), tire levers, some supply of air (either a CO2 cartridge or a bike pump), and a few bucks. Other good things to consider are a tube repair kit and a hex wrench set. The cell phone and identification are also a good idea.

4. Eye protection. He didn’t have a pair of sunglasses or other eye protection. It is imperative to have your eyes protected, not just from the sun but from a 50 mph rock or insect. Not only can these cause discomfort, but they can lead to a wreck with another cyclist or even worse a vehicle. This is just as important as a bike helmet (you’ve got your bike helmet right?)

5. Tire pressure. His tire pressure was about half the recommended pressure. Check the sidewall of your tire - it will give you the recommended pressure range. Get a nice floor pump with a pressure gauge so you can fill your tires properly before you ride. Properly filled tires create less rolling resistance - and let you ride faster with less effort. But be careful not to overfill your tire - that is another good way to get a flat.

6. Learn how to fix a flat. Please don’t be one of those triathletes whose flat repair kit is a cell phone (and you will get a flat). Watch the video above where I show you the proper way to fix a bike flat.

7. Look, listen and feel. We’ve gone over what to look for, but while riding the bike make sure to listen for creaks, pops and rubbing noises. If you hear or feel anything like this pay close attention. These are sure-fire clues that there is something wrong. Most of the time these are things that can be easily fixed by your local bike shop. But left unattended they could slow you down and eventually may cause something to break.

I worked at a bike shop in St. Louis when I was in college. It is important to find a repair shop you can trust. Ask people in your local bicycle club for recommendations. Don’t assume that the bike is ready to go when you get it home. Double-check the whole bike to make sure everything works and is tightened up. Once you find a good bike shop, take your bike in regularly for a tune-up and overall check. You will get a ton of miles and enjoyment (okay, maybe enjoyment is too strong…) out of a well-maintained triathlon bike.

Triathlon Coach Janet Wilson is a USAT certified triathlon coach and ACE certified personal trainer. Janet is an accomplished and nationally-ranked amateur triathlete and she coaches triathletes of all skill levels, from a triathlon beginner to Hawaii Ironman qualifiers. To learn more about triathlon training, swim tips, coaching programs or just great tips on how to stay in shape visit her website at http://www.coach-janet.com

I want to make this into a great website for triathletes of all kinds. You know what you want better than anyone else. Please suggest ways to improve this website. Tell us what features you would like to see on this website. You can post your suggestions in my Triathlon Forums at the following URL:

http://vegantriathlete.info/forums/

Thanks!

My brother-in-law Dan recently won Age Group Coach of the Year in Connecticut in swimming. Why does this matter to you? It matters to you because he will help answer any of your swimming-related questions to assist you in your triathlon training and competing. You can ask your questions for free in the following thread in my Triathlon Forums:

http://vegantriathlete.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=105

It’s completely free!

I hurt my toe, so I will probably have to take a few days off from running. Hopefully, it will heal quick.

What injuries have you had to deal with before? Tell me at my Triathlon Forums.

Janet Wilson recently wrote about how to swim level in water:

I got an email from a beginner triathlete that went like this: “Can you help me with my triathlon swimming? When I get in the water I sink like a rock and can’t keep myself near the top of the water. Any tips?”

This is a pretty common problem for triathletes struggling with their swimming. It is an important problem to fix, too. The more of your body (low hips and legs) you have to pull through the water, the slower you go and the more energy you use during the swim. Slower and more tired getting out of the water is not a good combination.

If your hips are sinking then you aren’t level in the water and that causes problems. Here are 5 tips on how to teach yourself to swim level in the water during your next triathlon swim.

1. One common misconception is that you need to swim “on top” of the water. The first thing you need to understand is that your goal is not to be “on top” of the water - you can work so hard on pushing your body up that your stroke suffers. Your goal is to be level in the water, with mainly your arms and mouth (during your breathing) out of the water. Swim some without your swim cap so you can feel where the water line hits your head. You want more than half your head to be below the water line - higher than that and you are probably holding your upper body too high, which can cause your hips to drop.

2. Take a big breath. When your lungs are full of air they act like a life preserver and make it easier to keep your whole body higher and level in the water. Use this as your “ballast” that you push to raise your hips (see tip number 3 for more about this). Practice holding your breath during most of your stroke, exhaling quick at the end just as you begin your next big breath.

3. A big part of swimming is just getting comfortable. Practice floating on both your stomach and your back. Practice rolling from your stomach to your back and then back to your stomach. Concentrate on pressing your chest (if you are on your stomach) or your shoulder blades (on your back) into the water. You should notice that your hips pop up level with the rest of your body.

4. Concentrate on your balance during drills. Swim lengths of the pool doing stroke drills where you concentrate on your balance and pressing your chest into the water.

5. Improve your kicking form. Many beginner triathletes kick by bending their legs a lot at the knee - this can definitely cause your hips to sink in the water. You want to stay very long in water, so your kick needs to be from your hips, not your knees. Swim some drills wearing flippers and concentrate on keeping your knees somewhat straight (they can bend, but only slightly). Flippers will also improve flexibility in your ankles, which will further improve your swim stroke. I sometimes imagine that I’m wearing flippers while swimming to improve my kick technique.

If you use these tips during your triathlon swimming training you should see your swim times drop and you should have more energy on the bike when you get out of the water. See my 3 minute swim lesson at Coach-Janet.

Triathlon Coach Janet Wilson is a USAT certified triathlon coach and ACE certified personal trainer. Janet is an accomplished and nationally-ranked amateur triathlete and she coaches triathletes of all skill levels, from a triathlon beginner to Hawaii Ironman qualifiers. To learn more about triathlon training, swim tips, coaching programs or just great tips on how to stay in shape visit her website at http://www.coach-janet.com

Janet Wilson wrote an article about getting your bike miles up:

I got a question this week from a triathlete struggling to build up mileage on his triathlon bike. This is a common challenge for triathletes. The trick here is to build mileage slowly and consistently. Here are some tips:

Remember to consult your physician before starting any fitness program.

1. Build up mileage slowly. Most triathletes are competitive by nature and they tend to push themselves to the limit. Out of frustration they might try to do a 4-hour bike ride when their longest ride before that is only a couple of hours. This is very risky and counterproductive.

If you overtrain like this you are likely to injure yourself, which can take you out of the game for weeks. Even if you manage to finish it without injury, your body will take a long time to recover from the workout and you may lose a lot of the benefit you might have gained from the long ride. Instead you want to build up slowly over time, adding maybe 25 to 50 percent to your base long ride (based on time in the saddle not mileage) every couple of weeks (see my sample plan to do this below).

2. Take time to recover and adapt. The goal is to slowly build up the length of your longest training ride while building in time to recover. Get to a plateau, ride there for a week and then try to extend it (see the sample program below).

3. A beginner can build effectively riding just 2 to 3 times per week. You don’t have to build your endurance by riding 3 or 4 hours every time you get on your bike. Instead focus on one long ride each week (time not miles). Your ultimate goal should be to ride for as long as you think your complete race will take you to finish. Your other rides during the week don’t need to be as long, but you might want to add some strength or technique training to these rides (like hills or cadence work).

4. Sample triathlon training plan Let’s say that your goal is to finish an olympic distance triathlon in around 3 hours. “Leg time” for this race is 2.5 hrs or more. Building your bike to 2.5 to 3 hours will help build the endurance needed for this event. Let’s make your goal to do a long ride of around 3 hours about a month before your race. Today you can easily do two one hour rides per week. How do you get to your goal?

By the way, you don’t have to be able to do a 3 hour ride to finish your first olympic distance race, but it is a good goal. As you advance you might try to increase the number of miles you finish during your long ride (see tip 6 for more on this). Here is an example of a basic plan to get you to your goal:

Building Bike - Time goals for your one long ride per week. Other workouts for the week would be based on your personal level of fitness.

a. Week One: Ride = 1.5 Hours
b. Week Two: Ride = 1 Hour
c. Week Three: Ride = 2 Hours

At this point you’ve doubled your long ride. Do you need more time to recover? If so then start over at Week Two and then do Week Three again. If you recover better then move on to Week Four. Do the same thing after each week that you build mileage - if it takes more than a couple of days to recover go back to the next lowest recovery week and start from there.

d. Week Four: Ride = 1.5 Hours
e. Week Five: Ride = 2 Hours
f. Week Six: Ride = 1.5 Hours
g. Week Seven: Ride = 2.5 Hours
h. Week Eight: Ride = 2 Hours
i. Week Nine: Ride = 3 Hours

Note: All rides should be ridden fresh with no hard workouts at least the day before and the day after. The pace should be in a comfortable easy pace (you should be able to talk or have a conversation while you are riding during the majority of your ride). Learn to “spin” or use your easier gears to prolong your muscle endurance.

You did it! At this point your long ride is now 3 hours and you have made a great improvement in your endurance. Next you will want to start working on other things like speed, terrain, etc.

5. Make sure that you are eating and drinking during these rides. If you are hungry or thirsty you waited to long to eat or drink. Right now you are asking your body to do things it hasn’t done before, you will need the calories. Eventually you will get more efficient and may not need to eat as much.

6. Time, Mileage or Heart-rate? Eventually all three of these measures will be important. When I start training someone we focus first on time at a comfortable pace. Next we add a heart-rate monitor to the mix and shoot for time within heart-rate zones. Finally we start working on the number of miles covered, heart-rate, and time. I suggest you start the same way.

If this sounds too over-planned, simplify it. Last winter I started training for a spring Century ride and my workout plan was just to add an hour to my long ride every 3 weeks until I got to 6 hours (although remember that I was starting from a pretty strong base and I didn’t train much in the other disciplines, I did hit the weight room 1 time per week, and the Yoga mat a couple times a week). The key is to do what works for you. Use this plan to adapt something for yourself or for you to present to your coach.

Triathlon Coach Janet Wilson is a USAT certified triathlon coach and ACE certified personal trainer. Janet is an accomplished and nationally-ranked amateur triathlete and she coaches triathletes of all skill levels, from a triathlon beginner to Hawaii Ironman qualifiers. To learn more about triathlon training plans, triathlon bike tips, coaching programs or just great tips on how to stay in shape visit her website at http://www.coach-janet.com

Janet Wilson wrote an article about race day nutrition:

I am often asked by triathletes, “What should I eat to kick butt in my next triathlon?” The answer is, “It depends.”

I’m not a nutritionist, but I have learned a lot about my own nutrition planning through years of training experience. Each individual is different, and if you really want a personalized plan you should seek out a professional nutritionist.

Some basic tricks to proper triathlon nutrition include figuring out what will keep the athlete fueled for optimal performance (and help them recover quickly after the event or workout). Here are the 3 key factors to consider:

1. What are you doing (i.e. swimming, biking or running - or all three) and how intense will you be exercising? 2. How long will you be training? 3. What can you stomach or tolerate?

There is no one diet plan for all triathletes. Nevertheless, there are some rules of thumb you can use to figure out your very own high performance diet.

The first thing you have to figure out is your fuel needs - in other words, how many calories do you need to consume to prevent your body from shutting down and your performances to whither.

The amount of calories you need to consume will alter based on Key Numbers 1 and 2 - what are you doing that day and how long will you be doing it?

The basics:
1. Before your workout/race: Start increasing carb and fluid intake an hour or more before your workout. This will help build up carbohydrates that your body will need for fuel during your workout. It will also help keep you hydrated.

For shorter workouts, maybe half a nutrition bar and 10 or more ounces of water. If you plan to work out longer than an hour, maybe eat a PBJ and drink 8 ounces gatorade and 8 ounces of water.

2. During your workout/race: One rule of thumb that many start with is 100 calories per hour. If you are working out more than an hour you will need to replace carbohydrates during your workout. Make sure you are drinking 4 to 8 ounces of fluid every 15 minutes (this should replace both carbohydrates and sodium). You want to consume around 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour - this can come from an energy drink, fruit, energy bars, gels or any other source you tolerate. Experiment some while training to find the best sources for you.

3. After you workout your body needs fuel to recover. If you are doing endurance work (training in one of the three disciplines) you need to consume some carbohydrates to replace energy you burned as soon as you can - no later than an hour and a half after the workout. After every workout I try to also eat some protein to help with recovery. There are several “recovery drinks” on the market. While some may not taste to great, remember getting the nutrition down is important. You may have to base what you use more on how it works than what it tastes like. Some good real food choices are bananas, nuts, electrolyte drink like Gatorade, milk, or PBJ.

4. Between workouts I have had good luck eating regularly throughout the day (5-6 small meals). I try to eat both a carb and protein serving at each meal. This keeps my blood sugar levels regulated and decreases the mid-day energy slump. When I eat out I’ll eat half the meal at the restaurant, and the rest later or for lunch the next day. I also make sure one of these meals happens around 2 hours before a workout session.

5. Know the amount of liquids your body loses. Occasionally do a test by weighing yourself before and after workouts to get an idea of how much fluid you lose. Drink 24 ounces of fluid for every pound you lost during your workout.

If you use these tips as a starting point for your triathlon nutrition plan you will see your body recover faster from workouts and your performance improve. You need to self-experiment with your nutrition plan - everyone is different - and see a nutritionist who specializes in sports nutrition if you experience any problems or just want to take your nutrition plan to the next level.

An easy way to estimate your daily calorie needs is to go to this website: http://www.stevenscreek.com/goodies/calories.shtml

Triathlon Coach Janet Wilson is a USAT certified triathlon coach and ACE certified personal trainer. Janet is an accomplished and nationally-ranked amateur triathlete and she coaches triathletes of all skill levels, from a triathlon beginner to Hawaii Ironman qualifiers. To learn more about triathlon training, nutrition, swim tips, coaching programs or just great tips on how to stay in shape visit her website at http://www.coach-janet.com

I won’t participate in any Ironmans this year. I cannot get ready for it in time. Hopefully, I can get ready by next year. I just have to keep training.

I have to overcome a few obstacles first. Most of all, my feet start to hurt once I run more than 2 miles at a given time. That significantly hinders my training.