On July 26, 2011,
in 
Do you remember the first time you finally were able to balance, pedal, and move forward all at once on your first bicycle? If you do remember, it was no doubt a magical moment after weeks of frustrating crashes.
Some children will never learn how to ride a bike or how to swim. Once these youth reach adulthood, it is very difficult to learn. Many children don’t learn due to a lack of resources, including not being able to afford a bike, lacking an adult in their lives able to teach them, and/or just having no interest since people around them do not use bicycles. This blog will discuss an innovative solution for this void, ACHIEVE Kids Tri, and how you can help support it by convincing friends or family to sign up for the Sold Out Nation’s Triathlon through an ACHIEVE Kids Tri charity slot.
Support a great cause and register through the Nation’s Tri Charity Option!
ACHIEVE Kids Tri, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to enriching the lives of youth by introducing them to the sport of triathlon.
Athletes learn how to train for the swim, bike, run, and transitions of a triathlon in a free six-week camp open to youth ages 9 – 14. At the end of every ACHIEVE camp, the athletes put all their hard work into action at a USA Triathlon-sanctioned Official Kids’ Triathlon. As youth navigate the challenges of a… Read the rest
Many triathletes are nervous about the swim portion of a triathlon, and many rely on their wetsuit to feel a sense of ease going into the first leg of the race. Here at The Nation’s Triathlon, we constantly get questioned about whether the race will be wetsuit legal.
USA Triathlon rules state that each age group participant shall be permitted to wear a wet suit without penalty in any event sanctioned by USA Triathlon up to and including a water temperature of 78 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water temperature is greater than 78 degrees, but less than 84 degrees Fahrenheit, age group participants may wear a wet suit at their own discretion, provided however that participants who wear a wet suit within this temperature range shall not be eligible for prizes or awards. Age group participants shall not wear wet suits in water temperatures equal to or greater than 84 degrees Fahrenheit.
Last year it was a close call, and the day before the race gave us a comfortable feeling of wetsuit legal… thought not everyone wore theirs. The question still stands: Wetsuit or No Wetsuit? For this week’s blog, we’re getting the pro-wetsuit angle from DC Triathlete Sara Gimmy. Next swim blog we’ll look into the mind of non-wetsuit-wearing triathlete, Kristen Avioli.
Sara Gimmy: Pro-Wetsuit
Wetsuits are super advantageous to a triathlete, especially to a triathlete like myself who feels less than confident in the water. It acts like a safety blanket, in more ways than… Read the rest
It’s a common mistake among triathletes, especially those new to the sport: after dealing with anxiety over swimming, and sorting their way through the proper gear and technique for cycling, they don’t give much thought to what they should do to improve their running. After all, many triathletes were runners first, and feel that they don’t need to give that element any thought. That’s a mistake, especially in the Nations Tri, where a mostly flat course gives participants who do their homework the chance to really finish strong.
What to do. In this article, we’re going to begin to show you how to fine-tune your running. We’ll start by building a strength base through hill running and stair climbing. The leg strength you build now will help provide the power you’ll need later for speed work. Do this by running hill repeats or stairs once a week. Pick a moderate length hill – 100 yards or so at a 5-10 percent grade – or a set of stairs equal to at least 4 flights. Run up as fast as you can, making sure that you keep an upright posture and swing your arms smoothly from your shoulders. Don’t let your arms swing across your body. On the stairs, you can alternate running single steps to increase your leg turnover, with running two at a time, which builds explosive strength.
How to do it. Begin with a 10-minute warm-up, and then run 4 hard repeats of either hills or… Read the rest
I hope that most of you are feeling more efficient in the water after working on your technique. Always keep in mind that it’s hard to change something you’ve been doing all along… change will come gradually but keep at it and you’ll get where you need to be. Here are some more things to think about regarding technique as well as additional drills you can do to maintain that technique.
Body Roll & Pull
Imagine yourself on surfboard. How do you paddle to get through the water? You probably don’t pull under your board, but on the side of the board, and you’re rotating your body in order to stay in line on the board and stay straight. Pulling under the board only pushes the water into the board, not past you. The same concept goes for swimming. You don’t want to pull under your body, but on the side of your body, and you want to rotate your body from your shoulders down to your hips down to your toes. Pulling under your body will cause you to push the water into yourself, and you won’t get anywhere. You want to push the water past you. Keep a straight wrist – your power should come at the beginning of the stroke, not at the end. Aim for a high elbow catch under the water, like you are swimming over something dangerous and you don’t want to touch it. ( As your arm comes out of the water and… Read the rest
If you’re looking for a flat and fast bike course, the Nation’s Triathlon has you covered. Besides a few rollers on the Parkway, the 40K course is built for speed. Here are a couple bike workouts and tips to get you ready:
Lucky 777s - The goal of this workout is to improve your race day threshold by working slightly above your 40K bike goal. Start with a 15 minute warm and throw in a few out of the saddle 20 second bursts. This will help “open” up the legs and prepare the body for the upcoming sufferfest. Main set – Roll into a 7 minute effort just above the pace you plan to sustain at Nation’s Tri. Take 7 minutes of easy spinning, repeat six more times. So a total of seven sets of 7 minutes on followed by 7 minutes off. Ten minute cool down. APPROX TIME: 2 HR.
20 Minute Thresholds - The first workout called for intervals just above threshold. This time we work our aerobic engines by riding tempo just below threshold. Start with a 15 minute warm up and throw in a few 20 second bursts. Main set – 20 minutes at tempo just below your race day goal pace. Take two minutes rest, then roll into the second round and follow up with a ten minute cool down. Also known as the “2×20″, this is a staple workout for those training for a flat and fast 40K. APPROX TIME: 65 MIN.
Adding… Read the rest
On September 26, 2010,
in So Half Full Tri in Ellicot City is finally almost here… and yes I’m worried! I’m worried about making a fool of myself out there… having a terrible swim… terrible bike… and terrible run! I can’t just run a 6 hour race… I HAVE TO run at least a 5:45 race… because that’s what I’m capable of… even if the bike and run are monstourously hilly as hell harder than Lake Placid awful. I have to reach this time goal… cause otherwise I will have failed to reach any goal this season… which will only make me hate myself more than I already do. I have seen all of my tri buddies reach their goals all season long and I have only FAILED this season. I FAILED at DC Tri to reach the podium by 10 seconds… I FAILED to finish Lake Placid… and I FAILED to be to place top 10 in age group and run a PR at Nations two weeks ago… so this is my LAST CHANCE ya’ll!
Nation’s Tri Race Report will be up before I race Half Full next weekend.
More to come…
Nation’s Triathlon
September 12, 2010
Washington, DC
Bib Number 4952
Swim 1.5 Km 30:50 1:53 per 100 pace
Transition 1 3:43
Bike 40 Km 1:11:49 20.7 mph avg
Transition 2 1:58
Run 10 Km50:25 8:08 min mile pace
Overall Time 2:38:43
20 out 391 25 to 29 year old gals
98 out of 1557 gals overall
Shoulder bothered me on the swim… Poured on the bike… Legs were tired as hell on the run… Not so epic race for me…
Race report to come…
More to come…
Nations and Half Full Tris and Philly 26.2 Training
September 6 to September 12
Monday
Swim
2000 long course meters
Bike
28 to 42 miles on Beach Drive
Run
5 to 6 miles on Beach Drive
Tuesday
Day Off Working All Day
Wednesday
Day Off Working All Day
Thursday
Run 5 to 6 Miles
Friday
Bike 28 to 42 Miles
Saturday
Swim
Part of Nations Tri Swim Course
Bike
6 to 9 Miles around Hains Point
Sunday
RACE DAY
Nations Triathlon
Washington DC
Swim .9 Miles in 27 to 29 Minutes
Bike 25 Miles in 1 hr 10 min to 1 hr 13 Min
Run 6.2 Miles in 50 min to 52 Min
More to come….
Just got an email from Nations Triathlon… and this is what it said…
MARCI GOLDERG
Bib #: 4952
Swim Start Time: 08:36:00 AM
Woot Woot…
Can’t Wait…
More to come…
