So, one thing that I want you to do this week, is to make sure that your indoor trainer is in good working order.  Unfortunately, in our neck, of the woods we do do a fair amount of training indoors.  Some thoughts on indoor cycling.  Because there is no coasting, turning corners, stop signs, etc, riding on a trainer can be consider twice the amount as outdoor riding.  In other words, one hour insider, can be calculated as 2 hours outside.  The other idea, is that the torque that is absorbed with motion, of the bike when riding outside, is absorbed by your hips and spine, when riding indoors.  So, I strongly suggest you not spend great than 90-120 minutes inside.  So, if you need a longer ride, I do have some ideas.

Concentrating, on a mechanically sound pedal stroke is very important, so you donʼt overuse one muscle group.  A poor pedal stroke generally overworks the quads, and than when you get off the bike to run, the quads fatigue too quickly.  Also, if you tend to “ankle” or point your toes down, at the bottom of the stroke, your calf muscles will tighten, and once again, you will feel those affects, on the run.  So, try to keep you ankle at 90 degrees, and think the mantra “shove it (pedal/foot) forward, pull it (pedal/foot) back,  lift it up.”  Your cadence should be between 85-100 rpms.  Sound familiar?

Drill 1:    20 min warm-up, easy pedal stroke, but always good technique;
30 min in a moderate gear, holding your cadence between 85-90 rpm;
10 min cool down
Drill 2:    10 min warm-up;
20 min in a moderate gear, cadence 85-90 rpm;
10 min easy run;
20 min in a moderate gear, cadence 85-90 rpm;
10 min easy run
10 min cool-down

Drill 3:    15 min warm-up
5 min choose a gear where you maintain 85-90 moderate effort
5 min gear down a couple clicks 75-80 rpm moderately difficult
5 min gear up where you are spinning as fast as you can without bouncing on your seat and maintain good pedaling mechanics
(repeat the above set 2x)
15 minute cool-down

Drill 4:    15 min warm-up
3 min difficult effort (HR 155 or so), 2 min easy recovery  (6x)
15 min cool-down

Drill 5:    Try to get a 60 minute ride outside thinking about a good pedalstroke, maintain a cadence of 85-95 rpm, how you feel on your bike, are you dressed correctly, etc, etc, etc., and maybe even incorporate a couple of the above drills

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This week, I would like you to try to run some everyday; with the shortest of the runs being 20-30 minutes, an intermediate day of 45-60 minutes, and maybe a longer run, on New Yearʼs Day, of maybe no more than 12 miles, easy, depending, on how you are feeling. As you know, I am not a huge fan of treadmill running, but max is 1-2x/week. I am sending 5 days, of specific focus. All of your run days should include a 5-10 min warm up and cool down.

Day 1:

Concept is Speed = stride rate (cadence) x stride length (increased ” air time and distance, NOT taking great big steps!!) ” Todayʼs focus is cadence. I would like you to maintain between ” 85-90 rpms. Remember that you cadence is independent, of your ” overall speed, as you can just push off with less power. It is good ” to count your strides occasionally and see if 90 rpm doesnʼt equal ” a minute. Than, if I want you to run 2 minute intervals, you could ” just count, to 90 twice, and not have to keep looking, at your watch.

Day 2:

Todayʼs focus is stride length. ” As discussed above, stride length is in reference to increased air ” time, in a HORIZONTAL direction. Try to lean forward slightly, ” maintaining your pelvic tilt, which allows your foot to hit ” ” ” simultaneously under your base of support (your hips), with a mid ” foot strike, driving your knee FORWARD, not up. Forcefully driving ” the knees upward, while landing on your forefoot promotes vertical ” displacement which decreases both economy and efficiency, of ” running. Once the foot strikes the ground, apply a backward push, ” as if you are trying to scrape something, off the bottom, of your ” shoe.

Day 3:

Todayʼs focus: “What the heck are my arms for??” ” In running, the arms assist in balancing the trunk, and driving the ” legs. The legs must follow the rate that the arms are moving. ” Keeping the concept, of a strong core (pelvic tilt/hip abduction ” strength/stability), concentrate, on pushing the elbows backwards, ” which will drive the hips forwards. The shoulders, neck, wrists and ” hands should remain relaxed. The only muscular tension should be ” felt between the shoulder blades. With the continued thought that ” all movement should contribute to forward motion, try to avoid ” swinging the arms and hands across the midline, of the body.

Day 4:

Todayʼs focus: Hill training ” To keep the foot strike under the center of gravity, take slightly ” shorter strides, maintain or slightly increase you cadence (85-90 ” rpm), and take smooth, quick and light strides. Lean slightly into ” the hill, maintaining a pelvic tilt, and always leading with your hips. ” Running uphill is the most running specific strengthening and power ” exercise that you can do. ” When running downhill, maintain control, but not to the point, of”braking.” Avoid over striding, as this can result in injury, to the ” hamstrings. Run with light, quick steps and smoothly glide down ” the slope.

Day 5:

Todayʼs focus is on using your HR monitor ” Today, I would like you to play a little game with yourself. The point ” of the game is for you to learn to match your perceived exertion, ” with your HR zone. In other words, zone 1/perceived exertion very, ” very easy, zone 2/perceived exertion easy, zone 3/ moderate to ” moderately hard (marathon pace), zone 4/ moderately hard to hard ” (10 km to half marathon pace), and zone 5/very hard to extremely ” hard (5 km/sprint). Once you feel, you are at a certain level, of ” perceived exertion, see if your HR matches.

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Monday: (30-45 minutes)

BALANCE is todayʼs focus, and the goal is to have the body plane in the water, resulting in less drag.

DRILL:

20 x 25 yards with 5 sec rest (500 yards) !!Stand with your back to the wall, drop completely below the !!surface, push off in a streamline body position. Maintain a !!pelvic tilt to stabilize core and keep you eyes looking down at !!the bottom, of the pool. I do NOT mean drop our head down. !!Maintain cervical neutral (same place your head would be if you !!were standing). If you are in balance, you should feel the back, !!of your head, your rear end, and heels break the surface !!simultaneously. when you feel yourself slowing, initiate the !!kick and swim the rest of the lap.

MAIN SET:

(1000 yards) !! !!10 x 50 on 5 seconds rest !!Keep the above drill, in mind, not only as you push off the wall !!turning, but feel your core strong, as you are swimming. This !!provides a stable axis, for generating power, in your swim. !!5 x 100 yards on 10 seconds rest !!Steady, sustained effort with a perceived exertion moderately !!hard. Attempt to set a pace you can maintain, for all 100s.

COOL DOWN:

(500 yards)  200 pull  100 kick   200 swim

Tuesday: (30-45 minutes)

KICK is todayʼs focus, and what is the most efficient technique, in longer distance swimming and triathlon. The kick in triathlon swimming is more about maintaining balance, than creating speed. It than follows, that the focus is not on the magnitude or intensity, of the kick but the cadence. ( sound familiar)? I would like you to focus on a 6 beat kick, for todayʼs workout. This means that for every 1 RPM, of the stroke, you will be kicking 6 times. (each leg counts as 1)

DRILL:

10 x 50 on 5 seconds rest   (500 yards) Although, the focus today, is KICK, try to keep yesterdayʼs concept, of balance, in mind. We will begin with the push-off with the gliding off the wall, keep your streamline position, holding your pelvic tilt and looking at the bottom, of the pool, initiate the kick, when you feel yourself slowing, keep you hands our front and kick the rest, of the lap. NO FINS!!! the kick is generated, from the hip. think of your hip joint, as if it is Indiana Jonesʼ whip. Your hip joint is what is holding on to the whip, and if you can allow the knees and ankles to remain relaxed, you will have generated a lot of force at the foot.

MAIN SET:

1000 yards     (1000 yards) A straight 1000 yards swim. Easy to moderate effort, to work on the two days, of technique. Sustained effort. ! COOL DOWN:! same as Monday

Wednesday:  (30-45 minutes)

ROTATION is todayʼs focus. You should picture yourself as a chicken on a rotisserie, holding a great pelvic tilt, and rotating rhythmically 45 degrees, side to side. This image should suggest that your head DOES NOT TURN, to take a breath, but the rotation of your trunk lifts your mouth above the water, so that you can take a breathe.

DRILL:

10 x 50 yards on 5 seconds rest!! (500 yards) Again, donʼt forget two previous dayʼs focuses. I would like you to swim these 10 x 50, picturing that your hips or pelvis is driving both the entry of the hand, on one arm, while simultaneously driving the pull, on the opposite side. This should result, in a more powerful pull. So, I would really like you to over emphasize the length of your stroke by pushing your shoulder directly forward. We will now document you distance per stroke (DPS). Generally, the least amount of strokes, the more efficient the stroke.

MAIN SET AND COOL DOWN:

choose from Mon or Tues

Thursday:  (35-45 minutes)

HIGH ELBOWS is todayʼs focus. Your elbow should always be oriented above your hand, in swimming. Keeping your elbow high during the recovery allow correct fingertip entry, and allows the best catch of the water, with the pull.

DRILL:

20 x 25 yards on 5 seconds rest!! (500 yards) If you can continue to think and incorporate the previous 3 days, of technique, these will be easier drills. Fingertip drill: from the beginning of the recovery, to the entry of the hand in the water, keep the elbow high, and allow the fingertips, to just skim over the surface of the water. Zipper drill: imagine that you have a zipper running up your side, and that you are
Dzipping it up, as you begin your recovery. I want you to alternate these drills every 25 yards.

MAIN SET/COOL DOWN:

choose from above

Friday:   (30-45 minutes)

CATCH is crucial to the propulsive phase of the pull. The goal of the pull is to push the maximum amount of water straight backwards, which results is maximum forward displacement. The catch is not just down with the hand, but with the entire forearm and arm. To be able to achieve this we need correct angle of the arm and hand at entry, keep the elbow oriented above the hand and initiate the pull with the rotation of your hips.

DRILL:

20 x 25 yards on 5 seconds rest    (500 yards) Fist drill: swim with you fists closed, this will give you the feel of pushing the water with your forearms and arm, rather than just your hand. Alternate one lap fist drill, with l lap, a swimming, where you attempt a perfect stroke.

MAIN SET/COOL DOWN:

your choice

Saturday:   (30-45 minutes)

OPEN WATER is the focus. This requires both mental and conditioning training. To orient oneself how much distance you are covering in the open water, you can count your strokes. You practiced this earlier with your DPS. so, for example, if you took 25 strokes per lap, than in the open water, in you counted to 100, you would have covered 100 yards. Also, if you are getting the heck beat out of your, counting can keep you relaxed and focused. Also, if you are swimming where the water is rough, and coming at you from the right side, than you will need to breath off your left. So, it is important to have practiced this before, it is actually a necessity.Also, sighting is a skill that must be perfected, not only to maintain speed, but to maintain efficiency, so that you are not wasting energy unnecessarily.

DRILL:

10 x 100s on 10 seconds rest  (1000 yards) Alternate 1 lap breathing to the (R) every stroke, 1 lap breathing to the (L) every stroke, 1 lap sight every 5th stroke breathing as you normally would, and 1 lap bilateral breathing.

Sunday:  (30-45 minutes)

TECHNIQUE, TECHNIQUE, TECHNIQUE   is todayʼs focus.

DRILL:

12 x 100 yards    (1200 yards) Alternate (2 x 100)   Balance drill  Kick drill   Rotation drill    High Elbows drill    Catch drill    Open Water drill

COOL DOWN:

300 yard pull    200 kick with or without fins    300 swim

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Wetsuit Rentals:

WetsuitRental.com

If you are in need of a good wetsuit for racing, please visit this WA company’s website. They do a great job with fitting you with the perfect suit and all BHT athletes can enjoy $10 off your rental by using the code BHT14.

Need Help With Open Water Swims?

The wonderful coaches at Blue Wave Aquatics are ready to help you train. They will be doing a free swim clinic for us as we get closer to the race, and they have a number of classes that you can sign up for. Visit their website and check it out: Blue Wave Aquatics

Books

Triathlon 101 – John M. Mora
The Triathlete’s Training Bible – A Complete Training Guide for the Competitive Multisport Athlete – Joel Friel
Serious Training for Endurance Athletes – Rob Sleamaker
Swimming for Total Fitness – A Progressive Aerobic Program – Jane Katz
Total Immersion – The Revolutionary Way to Swim Better, Faster, and Easier – Terry Laughlin

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NO EXCEPTIONS.

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Kim is the Regional Business Manager for South Sound Physical & Hand Therapy and also sits on the Capital City Marathon board. She completed her first sprint distance triathlon in 2009, after undergoing extensive rehab for a multi-level cervical fusion (read about it here). The experience was so meaningful that it stirred in her a passion for others to experience triathlon for the first time. Kim brings an expertise in strategic management, as well as a talent to articulate vision and engage with people, to the Black Hills Triathlon team. She is a USA Triathlon Certified Race Director. You may contact her directly at: blackhillstriathlon@gmail.com or 360-888-0501.

Bill Herzog, Visionary and Course Advisor

For the past 26 years, Bill has worked as a high rise journeyman window cleaner, and is credited as the catalyst to bringing the Black Hills Triathlon back to the Greater Olympia area. It was through his vision, and tenacity, that we all came together to dream and plan our race. Bill is the past President of Club Oly Running , where he served as Race Director for numerous races. He has competed in several running and triathlon races, including Half Ironman and Leadman events. He has a passion for course development and race growth, which has been invaluable to the BHT team. Bill has helped foster a commitment to fitness in many people and considers volunteering at races an honor.

Christie Agtarap, Sponsorship Director and Swim Coordinator

Christie is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Group Fitness Instructor. She is also the Board President for the Boys and Girls Club of Thurston County. She completed her first Olympic Distance triathlon in 2005 and has competed in more than 40 endurance races, including several Ironman competitions, and both the New York and Boston Marathons (read about Christie’s race history here). Christie is also a USA Triathlon Certified Race Director and brings an intimate awareness of race management and endurance training to the Black Hills Triathlon team. She may be reached atCAgtarap@comcast.net.

Carrington Sedgwick, Bike Course Coordinator

Carrington is an Orthopaedic Physician Assistant with Olympia Orthopaedic Associates, and an avid endurance athlete. He completed his first triathlon in 2005 and has since finished three Ironman and two half Ironman races, as well as numerous others including both the Boston and New York marathons. As an experienced competitor, Carrington was able to coordinate the BHT bike course from the perspective of an athlete. He remains zealous about growing as an endurance athlete and seeing others excel in triathlon.

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Black Hills Triathlon Association

Our race committee consists of experienced athletes and event specialists. We are dedicated to providing a well-organized, community supported triathlon that inspires both beginning and experienced athletes.

We hope you will take advantage of the potential to create goodwill and increase name recognition for your business as a partner in this community event.

Kim Stamp – Race Director

Bill Herzog – Visionary, Course Advisor

Christie Agtarap – Sponsor Coordinator, Swim Course Coordinator

       Carrington Sedgwick – Bike Course Coordinator

       Mary Coppin – City of Lacey Liason, Run Course Coordinator

       Joe Evankovich – Transition Coordinator

PASSION     PRIDE     PERSISTENCE

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