Triathlon Swimming – Revisited

I wrote a blog post way back in 2010 about swimming techniques and mechanics to improve your speed and efficiency in the water.  And while those techniques and topics are indeed helpful, there was one topic of discussion where – I hate to say it – I was off base.

I talked about “front-quadrant” swimming and linked to an article on Active.com where it was discussed as well.  Let’s just say that while swimming techniques such as this (and some others) are massively helpful in a pool, specifically for swimmers, they’re not as helpful as you think for open-water swimming or in the sport of triathlon.

Triathlon is an interesting and complex sport.  Each leg of the race is tied to the others more than you realize.  And that relationship is never more apparent than between the swim and the run.

Things that make you faster in the pool aren’t always as helpful as you think for triathlon as a whole.  Utilizing stroke techniques and mechanics that are born and bred for pool-based swimming builds up muscle in your lats, back, and arms.  While you’ll surely become quicker in the water, you’ve added muscle mass to your body.

Muscle mass = weight.

This new muscle you’ve added to aid your swim is now weight you have to carry on the run (and the bike).  While you can potentially improve your 1,500 meter swim time, you very well might add that time back on your 10K run.

To get an improvement in one leg (the swim, bike, or run) you sometimes have to give up some time elsewhere.  Or, more importantly, do you find efficiencies in one discipline – maintain the time in a particular leg – yet do so without as much effort?  This leaves one less fatigued for the other legs of the race.

It’s complicated.  Finding that balance between disciplines is what coaches spend a lot of time doing.  The education in coaching never stops.  This is one of the reasons that I love triathlon coaching – I never stop learning.

To that point, Vanguard Endurance – the high-performance coaching group I’m now a part of – has regular Webinars on any and all topics relating to triathlon training, coaching, and racing.  In the upcoming month, I’ll be presenting a Webinar specifically covering the topic of triathlon specific swimming mechanics and techniques.  I’ll keep you posted.

Moving on. Moving up. Moving west

After a modest start a couple years ago, my tri-coaching business had been getting some traction. I’d started with only a couple of athletes.  Friends, really, that let me coach them – I didn’t even charge them.  I had some success and, over time and via word-of-mouth, added more athletes.  Soon I had a good stable of triathletes that were getting good results and seeing some great performance gains.  

This year I had athletes set amazing personal best times at races.  I had others place on the podium in their age-group for the first time.  Some had overall race wins.  I was getting such a kick out of seeing these results, and seeing the impact it had on the individuals themselves.

I wanted to do this full time.

Recently, my wife and I were talking about our careers.  Retirement.  How we want to live our lives. We half joked that we weren’t going to be retiring anytime soon, and if we were going to be working until we were 70 we should be doing work that we love to do – work that inspires us.  My wife recently started her own consulting company and was thriving. Working with clients that she wanted to work with. Working with like-minded people.

We agreed that we both needed to pursue careers that ensured we were happy over the long haul.  But equally as important was the question of where did we want to do this?  Cost of living mattered in this equation, and we had the flexibility to move anywhere.  The locale also needed to ensure that we lived a lifestyle that we truly enjoyed as well as still being readily accessible to clients.  Immediately our wheels went into motion and options were discussed.

As I started building my new soon-to-be business plan, I had so many questions.  I’d been working with a great mentor to help me progress in my triathlon coaching, and I knew that speaking with him would give me the insight and guidance that I needed.

Justin Trolle had been a presenter at my USA Triathlon coaching clinic a couple of years ago.  He’s a USA Triathlon Level 3 coach and has worked with elite athletes all over the world.  I had initially reached out to him about 18 months ago with some training questions.  He was generous with his time and was incredibly helpful.  He told me how he has a program to mentor up and coming coaches – I jumped on board.  I gained experience by flying out to Colorado Springs to join him for coaching weekends – watching him work with his elite and pro athletes.  I gleaned as much information as I could.  My approach to coaching my athletes began to change.  Training methodologies improved.  They became more strategic, with more intensity where it mattered.  Athlete improvements became more pronounced.

I reached out to Justin and told him of my plans, and that I was looking for some advice on how to best approach this. I wanted to not only look for ways to move my coaching career forward, but if possible I wanted to help him as well.  He’s been so generous with his time that anything I could do to assist him in my endeavor would be the least I could do.  After listening to me, Justin said something that rendered me speechless.  He asked me to join his coaching staff at Vanguard Endurance.  I was floored. 

The chance to work with elite athletes?  Not right away, of course, but eventually?  And to work with an elite level coach who works with professional athletes as well as Olympians? What a massive opportunity.  How could I not jump at this?

This is also a huge opportunity for my athletes.  As I grow and expand my knowledge and abilities, so too do your potential gains and ability to become better triathletes.  And those athletes that are beyond the age-group category, welcome to the elite training-ground of VanguardEndurance.

In less than a month’s time we’ll be moving to Colorado Springs.  My wife, JL, has been nothing but supportive of this adventure.  She’s amazing – she jumped on board immediately.  A couple trips to Colorado Springs to meet people and get the lay of the land, and she was in.  No way I could have done this without her. 

Expect The Unexpected

One of the numerous things that I enjoy about being a triathlon coach is speaking with multisport and endurance groups.  I recently spoke with a small group of my own athletes who have a target race coming up in a few weeks – it was a casual, laid back Q&A session.  The purpose of this meet-up was to discuss their final training preparation and how to approach race day itself.  These athletes range from first-time / novice triathletes to competitive age-groupers.  My hope was to calm some nerves while finalizing last minute training plan changes and strategy

The most interesting and vibrant conversation occurred when the questions focused on what happens on race-day.  And by “what happens” I’m referring to questions that started with “What do I do if…”

·      What do I do if I lose my goggles during the swim?  (Um, keep swimming.)

·      It’s an Olympic distance tri – what if I get a flat? (Fix it! You might not place in your age group, but you’ll still finish strong.)

·      What if I have a serious mechanical issue? (Your day might be done – wait for the sag wagon or start walking.)

·      What if the weather is terrible?  What if there are three-foot swells in the swim?  (Pack your arm warmers, and sight early and sight often.)

LA Triathlon Swim Start - Source

There were many more questions but you get the point.  Eventually, as the queries continued, my answers shifted from being specific to more of a “don’t worry about what you can’t control” vibe.  There were some first time triathletes that I could tell were now stressing about the “what ifs?”  So I countered: “Did you enjoy your last training ride?  Did you have a good run last week?  If so, then excellent” 

Yes, your training is targeted towards, and culminates with, your “A” race.  And it will, well, suck if something happens and you can’t finish your race.  Truth be told, you’ll find another one to do.

If you’re not enjoying the training – the process – then why do it?  You have to enjoy the time spent on the long rides, at the track, the long hours in the pool.  To quote someone much smarter than I: The journey is the destination.  Yes, we all want to perform well. But focusing on what is beyond our control is a fruitless endeavor. Did you become a better athlete over the past six months of training?  Most likely, yes.  You’re a better triathlete even if your race doesn’t go well. 

As a coach, I have many such discussions with my athletes.  Eventually we dial things in and focus on what is needed for the particular, targeted race and what the plan is for varying distance races.  But we don’t talk about “what ifs” anymore.  Why worry about what we can’t control?  Enjoy the process.

Product Review: Skin Strong Skin Equipment

As many of you have seen over the past few months, I’ve been adding a few new products to my endurance training arsenal.  I was introduced to the SkinStrong brand by my mentor, a pro / elite level USAT coach.  During a coaching weekend visit back in February, he gave me a tub of Slather to try – I’ve been hooked ever since.

Slather Cream

Slather does exactly what it’s supposed to: It creates a nice layer between you and the chamois in your bike shorts to keep friction down.  It’s just the right consistency as well.  Not too thin or too thick.  It goes on easy.   What’s better is that it lasts over the entire ride.  I’ve been out on four-plus hour rides this summer and by the end of the ride it’s still there.  It doesn’t wear off with sweat, heat, and use.  The ingredients are great as well.  A nice combination of cocoa butter, seed oils, and tea extracts.  Feels great, doesn’t smell to “clinical” and makes all my rides very comfortable.

Slik Spray

When I made my first official purchase of Slather, I sent a note to the awesome folks over at Skin Strong about how much I liked their product.  They were cool enough to send me a sample of Slik.  After using it a few times on some training runs, I had to buy a full-size bottle. This stuff is my new anti-chafe solution and replaces the old product I used to use.  A few sprays of the non-aerosol pump and a thin non-greasy layer of protection is formed.  It almost seems to disappear and I stop thinking about it.  But any areas prone to chafe (thighs, underarms, whatever) are totally protected.

What’s better was my experience with Slik during my last two triathlons this year.  I sprayed my neck to protect against chafe from my wetsuit – worked like a champ.  I also sprayed my knees, shins, elbows, and shoulders before putting my wetsuit on.  A few sprays on the wetsuit itself from the knees down as well ensured that I was in and out of T1 in very little time.  Haven’t had the wetsuit come off that easily for as long as I can remember.  And again, the ingredients: Predominately seed oils and natural extracts.  Very nice.

Slik Dust Powder

Kind of like Slik, but in powder form.  I put some of this in my running shoes in T2.  Getting into my racing flats is a breeze: Smooth entry, no fuss.  On top of that, it helps keep the friction down on the heel of my shoes.  The texture is great.  It’s not like your normal powders that you might be used to.  It looks “grainy” out of the bottle initially.  But when you start to rub it between your hands or on your body it becomes a smooth, silky textured, product that goes on nicely and stays with you for a long time.  And, since it is a powder it helps to keep you cool as well as dry.

Aside from the inside of my shoes – for ease of entry on race day or just to keep things as dry as possible – I’ve become a big fan of Slik Dust after I’m done working out.  Post-shower, I use this product religiously.  It’s been a hot summer, and this is a really nice moisture wicking layer to have.  Feels cool and comfortable. 

And have I mentioned the ingredients?  Basil oil, Tee Tree Oil.  This stuff feels good and it isn’t full of a bunch of ingredients that I can’t pronounce.

What makes me like this brand even more is that this is a relatively small operation making these products.  They’re gaining in popularity and it’s very well deserved – recently becoming an official product of Ironman.

I'm honored to have recently been asked to become a Skin Strong product Ambassador. You can check out their products here: Skin Strong.  They're a great group of folks.   

Unexpected Second Race Of The Season

I gained entry to the Long Island Gold Coast Triathlon at the last minute.  It was closed out, but due to some cancellations the wait list opened up. I was training pretty hard through the week – assuming I wasn’t going to be racing – and when I got the notice that I was now in the event I decided I’d just use this as a big training weekend.

It was a pretty large, event with over 700 participants.  Pre-race warm up run felt good and the weather was pretty much perfect.  Overcast.  A little cool.  Almost ideal.  My wife  joined me for the race to take some pictures and soak in the vibe.  She also wore a great shirt to show her additional support.

Caption is self-explanatory!

An athlete that I coach was also in this race, and we met up on the beach and did a quick warm up swim together.  We were both in the same age-group and in the 3^rd wave out of eight.  As we waited for the swim start, we began to see the beginnings of some major disorganization.  Finally, I made my way to the swim start

My athlete shave 6 minutes off his PR at this race.  Nicely done!

Heading to the swim start

The swim buoys were moved multiple times.  First the swim looked short.  Then it looked like it was going to be very long.  Then more buoy repositioning and it looked like a short swim again.  Instructions changed multiple times, and the race start was delayed by almost a half hour.  Final instructions were given, but with a poor sound system, not everyone heard them.  The swim was very short and a free-for-all with people cutting a corner and making the swim an almost non-event.  The good news was that I was 2^nd out of the water for my wave / age-group with the athlete I coach coming out seven seconds ahead of me.  Glad to see the speed drills he’d doing in the pool are paying off! 
 

T1 was uneventful and quick. It was a two-loop course, and come the second loop there was a bit of congestion to contend with.  This was another race where the body marking was interesting (LINK).  No age designation on the calf.  So, unfortunately I couldn’t tell who I was competing against from an age-group standpoint.  I saw the leaders on the first loop and they were really moving so I didn’t focus on them too much.  But it was very annoying to not know who was competing against whom.

At the end of the bike course I wasn’t passed by anyone and moved through the traffic well.  T2 was very quick and, thanks to some great brick workouts (LINK), my legs came around pretty quickly.  Truthfully, because of a heavy training week, I didn’t have high expectations but I certainly didn't want to be gathered up by anyone on the run.  I felt strong and once I hit the half-way point of the run I put a little extra effort in and finished well. 

Timing and scoring was apparently quite a mess (adding more to the disorganization).  After massive delays results finally started to go up.  I placed first in my age group, and 14^th overall.  Two and a half hours later, awards were not yet presented. Positions changed.  Names showed up and disappeared from overall results.  After almost three hours the race director made it clear he didn’t know when awards were going to happen. 

I left winning my age group and placing 14^th overall.  On Monday I was 13^th overall.  By Wednesday I was 9^th overall. Hold on – let me go check again!

A nice second race of the season, and a pretty good follow up to my first race of the year.