Please forgive the title. This is the second weekend triathlon clinic I’ve attended, and Spring 2013 TCTC triathlon clinic just didn’t sing. Once more I had an opportunity tap into Triathlon Coach, John Hanna’s encyclopedic knowledge of all things triathlon, and experience the friendship and spirited tomfoolery that is the Tri-Cities Triathlon Club.
The theme of this workshop was “A Change of Plans.” A lot of thought, effort and energy went into developing a program for the weekend’s activities including multiple open water swims and then the weather came along and dropped an arctic or even an antarctic air mass on us. Saturday was particularly cold. At first the group tried to stick it out at Warrior’s Path State Park but by mid afternoon hypothermia set in, and we sought an indoor venue. Sunday the weather relented, and we returned to the park for a bike to run brick workout. This post will cover some of the highlights of the clinic. I make no attempt to be either comprehensive or chronological.
Metabolic Efficiency
Over breakfast, Coach John gave us a brief overview of Metabolic Efficiency. He recently became certificated on this topic. If you’ve been following the triathlon blogs, podcasts and publications at all, I’m sure you know that this has been a hot subject over the last couple of years and that Bob Seebohar, the well-known sports dietitian, coach and athlete, is the pioneer behind this lifestyle. The idea as I understand it is to make food choices that improve the body’s ability to burn fat, control blood sugar and insulin, and eliminate GI distress during training and racing. Also you can avoid becoming what Coach John described as the “rolling smorgasbord.” If you’ve ever taped a dozen gels to the top tube of your bike for a sprint triathlon then you know what he is talking about.
An additional benefit of the metabolic efficiency approach is that it is not necessary to count calories or measure food. For details contact Coach John or check one of Seebohar’s books or seminars. I’ve been looking at Seebohar’s Nutrition Periodization for Athletes: Taking Traditional Sports Nutrition to the Next Level.
Running: Form is Function
The running efficiency workshop was my major reason for coming out this time. I’ve been struggling with my running for the last couple of years. My major limiting factor has been shin splints. Also while I’ve never been a fast runner, recently I’ve become epically slow. Clearly I could use a few clues here.
We started out in a parking lot lined up in rows working on dynamic running warm up drills. So we are doing high knees, butt kicks, bounding, skipping and striding for all we are worth. Think West Side Story in running clothes or Thriller with really fit zombies. The park had several programs and nature walks going that weekend. A group of birdwatchers came through while we were going through our warmups, and I think it was entirely possible that we may have gotten more attention than the red crested tree snipe or the horned gargle lark.
Once we warmed up, Coach John watched each of us run and gave tips on form. He diagnosed me as a heel striker. While this hurt my feelings, accepting reality is often the first step toward making progress. I had worked for months to improve my running form and move to a more mid-foot strike, and apparently failed miserably. To be fair and somewhat reasonable, he also showed us a way to get off your heels and experience what a mid-foot strike feels like.
He had us pair up and face each other. One person would lean forward from the ankles and the other would support them by placing their hands on their shoulders. On command the person holding would step to one side, and the person leaning would run to avoid falling. When I did this, I didn’t heel strike. Once you know what good form feels like you can repeat it. Later running the 5K route there at the park, I found that if I leaned forward until I was just a bit uncomfortable I didn’t heel strike.
There are a couple lessons here worth consideration. There are many aspects of this sport, like running form, that cannot be assessed by the athlete. While this is more obvious in swimming, it is also true for the bike and the run. This points out the benefits of group workouts, classes, workshops, coaches and trainers.
With practice you can move your bike through transition with one hand.
The Transition Zone
When it comes to transition I’m pretty sure that I’ve won my “Don’t be that Guy” award. Yeah I was the guy sitting on the five-gallon bucket putting on socks at a pool-swim sprint race. And yes early on I thought you needed nutrition for sprint races. On the positive side, I was never seen making a sandwich in T1 or T2 although this was likely due to a lack of available ingredients. Once I finally got the basics of transition down I never really spent much time improving and refining. Why? I’m pretty slow in all three sports so time saved in transition didn’t seem all that important. Yes I realize that I just took a side trip into bizarro logic land and stayed for a self-guided tour.
Meanwhile back in reality, the secret to transition is having a good plan and practice. Let me share something here that my PTA instructor taught me. Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. You shouldn’t just do a quick walk through. You should actually practice your transitions in something close to race conditions. Also let’s not wait until the weekend before the event to start. Let’s look at a few highlights from the clinic.
You should arrive early to your event. Ideally you want to be there when transition opens for setup. If this is before sunrise bring a headlamp. Set up your bike and gear the way you practiced, taking care not to take up too much space. Send your significant other back to the car for the item you forgot. Do not pump your tires to max pressure, especially if it is going to be a hot day. Send your significant other back to the car for the other item you forgot. Vow to make a checklist next time.
Thoughts for T1: Make sure that you bike is in a gear appropriate for the terrain. If you wear socks, roll them up. If you haven’t practiced putting on socks with wet feet, do it now. I’ll wait. Sorry didn’t realize that you were at work. Helmet on before unracking bike. Congratulate yourself for putting Body Glide inside the back your bike shoes for easy entry. If there is a big crowd at the mount line realize that you can run past and mount in the clear. You just can’t mount before the mount line.
Thoughts for T2: Rack the bike before taking off your helmet. Change shoes. Elastic laces make it much easier. Congratulate yourself for putting Body Glide inside the back your running shoes for easy entry. Grab your race belt with number attached and hat. Scram. You can put those on while running. Think about how glad you are that you did those brick workouts.
Coach John demonstrates bike shoe – rubber band technique.
TRX: Combining Strength and Core
The segment on functional training with the TRX suspension system for a combined strength and core workout, did not initially interest me all that much. We were introduced to TRX on one of the basketball courts at the Wellness Center, in Johnson City. After doing a few exercises like rows, squats, single-leg squats, and planks I began to understand just how much core work the system can deliver. Coach John demonstrated how to do burpees with TRX. I did not attempt this exercise. The face-plant potential was just too great. A couple of days after the clinic, I found myself on Amazon looking at TRX reviews. Suspension training may have a place in my routine after all.
Triathlon Community
As I left the weekend clinic I had the same two thoughts that occurred to me at the last clinic. First, I couldn’t believe how much information I had picked up in a sport that I’ve been involved in for years. Second, I couldn’t believe how much fun it was to hang out with other triathletes. Watching and encouraging new triathletes just starting this insanity also a blast. I need to get out more, and so do you. Stumble on.
Links:
Triathlon and Swimming Coach, John Hanna
Bob Seebohar
http://bobseebohar.blogspot.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Bob-Seebohar/e/B00287PB6Q
TRX
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