Tri Club Marin Bi-Weekly Bulletin

TCM Newsletter: Tuesday July 10, 2007

Race Results

Andrew S & Mark M recently completed the Carlsbad Triathlon in SoCal. Andrew placing 19^th in AG and Mark setting PRs all the way! See race report below.

Race Report – Carlsbad Sprint Triathlon 7/8/07

What do you get when you cross SoCal weather, an IM World Champion & warm water? The Carlsbad Sprint Triathlon, one of the oldest tris around which because of it’s location attracts a top flight field.

But before getting to the race details, here’s a little tip – Nytro in Encinitas rents Cervelo P2SL tri bikes at an unheard of rate of $45 for a 24 hour rental. They’ll also set you up in a nice aero position. Sweeeeet!!!!

So anyway, Mark & I are walking down to T1 to set up our bikes when who is right next to us. None other than transplanted local & 2006 IM World Champ, Michellie Jones. Talk about star-struck. Apparently, it’s her local race and she was back as defending champ – she won again of course.

To the race itself, and the swim is off Carlsbad beach and had us punching into 3-4 foot waves before heading out and around the buoys. Water was unbelieveably warm at 70 degrees– a real contrast to the Bay.

The ride was a nice flat & fast course of 2 loops along the coast. Rounding off was a 5km run again along the scenic coast line.

All in all a really fun race.

Club Events – Mark your Calendars

July Speaker: Marvin Zauderer on The 5 Core Skills of Mentally Fit Triathletes

Join us on July 20, 2007, 6.30pm, at Tam Bank in San Rafael (click here for address: http://www.tambank.com/01_ourbr.html ).

Many athletes find that it's the mental side of their game that sets them apart from their competitors. Marvin Zauderer's presentation, "The 5 Core Skills of Mentally Fit Triathletes," identifies the skills triathletes need to get an edge. Marvin leads the Mental Training program at Whole Athlete (www.wholeathlete.com), a performance center in Marin County that provides a comprehensive set of coaching, testing, fitting, and consulting services for amateur and professional athletes. He is a licensed psychotherapist with a private practice in SF and Marin, a USA Cycling Level 2 coach, and Masters road racer.

Local Events

FREE ChiRunning Workshop: Next Tuesday!

with Hazel Wood, Certified ChiRunning Instructor

Tired or afraid of injury? Training for a summer 5K, marathon or triathlon? Just want to improve your running? Come for a FREE workshop at Fleet Feet Sports, Tuesday night, July 17th. From 7pm to 8:15pm we will discover the secrets of ChiRunning.

For runners of all abilities. Learn how you can reduce impact, prevent injury and increase energy during your workouts. Get practical tips on how to use alignment and core strength to power your running. Discover the keys to efficient running form.

About Hazel Wood: Hazel has been a Certified Instructor of ChiRunning since 2003. She has over 25 years experience running distances from 5K to 50 miles.

• When - Tuesday, July 17, 7:00pm to 8:15pm
• Where - Fleet Feet Sports, 649 San Anselmo Ave
• Who - Runners from 8 to 80
• Cost - FREE!

Training Tips – from Coach Matt Russ (www.beginnertriathlete.com )

For many of my athletes, staying on top of their training while traveling is one of the biggest challenges they encounter. While running and even swimming can be performed relatively easily on the road, cycling presents the greatest challenge. Perhaps you have experienced a similar situation: You have not been on your bike since last Sunday’s ride, and feel you are losing your fitness in the face of your upcoming race. You go down to the hotel gym and find one somewhat dilapidated Lifecycle. How is it possible to get a good workout in on one of these? Will the fitness remotely transfer to real road cycling?

The answer is that you can get a good workout that will transfer to road cycling. While training on a stationary bike could never fully substitute time on the road, there are many workouts you can perform to work on a piece of your cycling. Cycling can be broken down into two basic components—leg speed and force production—both of which can be trained on a stationary bike if no other option exists

Strength Training on the Bike
Strength training enhances your cycling, and athletes often spend a portion of their season lifting weights to increase force production. Strength training performed on the bike is even more specific. You can perform the following strength workouts on a stationary bike.

Force Reps: Warm up for 10-15 minutes, then crank the resistance down until it is very heavy as if you were climbing a steep hill. Drive the pedals down for 20-30 pedal strokes, concentrating on producing force on the down stroke. Do not increase cadence; keep cadence very slow. Recover for five minutes and repeat. You can perform 4-8 force reps per workout.

Leg Tension: This trains strength endurance. Envision climbing a long, steep hill. Keep your cadence in the 50-60 rpm range with a heavy resistance. Smoothly pedal the length of the interval using good climbing form. You can perform leg tension intervals of 5-20 minutes with 5-10 minutes recovery between efforts.

Aerobic Tension: This trains aerobic strength. Picture a very long, moderate climb. Keep your cadence in the 65-75 rpm range and your heart rate towards the top of your aerobic zone. Smoothly pedal for 20-60 minutes using these parameters. This workout is a lot harder than it may seem at first, and is highly productive.

Power Training on the Bike

Power training is strength plus speed. You should have a good strength basis before moving on to these workouts. Form is important. Make sure you are producing smooth power and not “bobbing” in the saddle.

Power Bursts: These are the first phase of power training. Using a high cadence and resistance, pedal as hard as you can for 10 seconds. At the end of the interval, your legs should be very fatigued and ready to quit on you. Recover for 10 minutes and repeat 4-8 times.

Power Intervals: These are more sustained and build aerobic capacity. Using a high cadence (over 100 rpm) and high resistance, pedal as hard as you can for 1-4 minutes. Recover for an equal length and repeat 3-6 times.

Speed Intervals: These have limited recovery and train your body to buffer lactic acid. Use a high cadence and resistance, pedal for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Recovery is the same length as the interval. Repeat 8-20 times.

Speed Training on the Bike

Speed training is simply training your muscles to fire quickly and to pedal efficiently at higher pedal speeds. Low resistance is used, unlike power training. Form should be the focus. Speed training is good for lighter days on which you do not want to overstress the body.

Progressive Fast Legs: Start off at 90 rpm and increase your cadence by 5 rpm every 30 seconds until you reach your maximum sustainable cadence. Your max cadence is the point at which you begin to lose form and bob in the saddle. Hold for 30 seconds, then recover for several minutes; repeat 4-6 times.

Endurance Spinning: Perform this at 5 rpm below your maximum sustainable cadence and hold your cadence for 10-60 minutes. You may need to start off with a shorter duration and increase each workout.

Spin Ups: Spin up quickly to your maximum sustainable cadence and then let it drop 20 rpm. Repeat this 8-12 times.

Working out on a stationary bike is not the best way to train in a perfect world, but you can break down portions of your cycling and work on them effectively. Most of these workouts should be performed in the base and general preparation phases of training. As you get closer to your goal race(s), try to spend more time on the road and as little time as possible training indoors.  

Matt Russ has coached and trained elite athletes from around the country and internationally for over ten years. He currently holds an expert license from USA Triathlon, an Elite license from USA Cycling, and is a licensed USA Track and Field Coach. Matt is head coach and owner of The Sport Factory, and works with athletes of all levels full time

Links and Other Stuff

Don’t forget our fab website – www.triclubmarin.org – for workouts, events, links to our sponsors and other interesting items about the Club.

http://www.enduranceplanet.com  - audio programs for endurance athletes
http://www.220magazine.com – triathlon news & info from across the pond

We are always looking for suggestions/content for the newsletter. If you have any ideas, links, articles you want to contribute email me at: seacap@netscape.com before Thursday.

TriClub Marin
PO Box 829
San Anselmo , CA 94979
www.triclubmarin. org

Previous Newsletters:
March 30, 2007
April 12, 2007
May 1, 2007
May 21, 2007
June 5, 2007
June 27, 2007
July 10, 2007