On May 11, 2012,
in 
Waves and chop at the 2012 Ironman St George were reported to be between 4-5 feet.
Over the past week there has been a considerable amount of web traffic posted about the swim conditions at this year’s Ironman St. George and how it appears that a considerable number of athletes were pulled from the water. One of the more interesting dialogues that has been occurring related to the question of whether athletes who cannot swim a pace faster than 2:00 per 100 yards should even attempt an iron distance race swim of 2.4 miles, with the main premise being that they shouldn’t.
At first, the conversation (which is on Slowtwitch) was focused on the concept and theory that swim speed was correlated to swim stroke mechanics and ability (which it is) and the thought that poor swimmers shouldn’t swim an iron distance race. Then, as more and more athletes chimed in, the conversation switched to the concept that slow swimmers just aren’t safe and ultimately present a hazard to both themselves and to race directors.
I’ve written before that I’m not the fastest swimmer – I have been recently training in the 1:45-1:50 range per 100 yards. While I may be slow compared to some swimmers, I’m not the slowest and I hardly consider myself a hazard. In fact, I’d wager that I’m a middle of the pack swimmer in terms of most triathlon swimmers.
To prove this point, I did a little analysis by taking… Read the rest
366 days ago, I spent the day racing Rev3′s Knoxville race. I had such an amazing experience last year that I had planned on the 2012 race at Knoxville being my first “real” effort of this season. This year’s Rev3 Knoxville race was this past weekend. Many of my Team Rev3 teammates raced this weekend – I was looking forward to meeting some of the new folks, reconnecting with folks who were on the team last year, and seeing some of the folks from Rev3 (Carole, Charlie, Eric, Ashley).
This year, however, I didn’t race. I didn’t even head up to Knoxville to be a spectator or volunteer. What did I do instead this past weekend? I went on a weekend retreat/mission trip with a group of middle school kids. I’d like to share a little about the weekend. I promise I won’t get preachy or too religious, but I’d love to give you a glimpse into our weekend and why this past weekend was every bit as good (and probably better) an experience as I’d have had if I was up in Knoxville racing.
This was the third year in a row I’ve gone on this trip, and each year I find it immensely satisfying, fun, and exhausting. There were about 150 sixth, seventh and eighth grade kids that went on this trip. We headed south from Jacksonville to Daytona Beach for 72 hours of wild and messy games, amazing music, and worship.
I roomed with 20 eighth grade guys – and I’ve… Read the rest
Photo/Marcy Browe & CNN
I suspect that the vast majority of us pay scant attention to physically challenged athletes when we’re racing. Except, of course, for when we’re getting passed by someone on a hand-cycle or in a wheelchair. Or when a visually impaired athlete and their guide pass us.
There’s no denying that folks with physical disabilities can be tremendous athletes. In fact, I’d argue that in some cases these athletes are better and stronger competitors than their non-disabled peers because of their challenges.
The fact of the matter, though, is that I have never paid attention to the rules that are applied to these athletes. Take, for example, the rule that a person with limited sight abilities and who is legally blind is required to wear “black out glasses” during the run phase of a triathlon. Seriously. It’s part of the rules for both USAT and ITU.
So…an athlete with 20% of their vision is required to become totally sightless via black out glasses in order to compete in a triathlon. That doesn’t seem right. In fact, isn’t depriving someone of what little sight they have actually dangerous? For example, a person with limited sight often has the capability to use peripheral vision. That peripheral vision could help that athlete avoid obstructions, other people, and stay on course in general.
I read an article on CNN today about Aaron Scheidies, a 30-year old legally blind triathlete from Detroit, who has filed a Federal… Read the rest
Credit/funtimesguide.com
My undergraduate degree is in Broadcast Media. Radio & television. Once upon a time, I had designs on being the next Matt Lauer. Eventually, I discovered that I had a face for radio and a voice for newsprint – and thus the days of my media career were short-lived.
All that said, back in school, working in the broadcasting world was exciting to me. I worked at a couple of commercial radio stations, but by far my most memorable experiences came working at my college radio station, WASU.
For those of you who don’t know, college radio is what radio is supposed to be about. It’s live. It’s eclectic. A breath of fresh air. It’s really good programming – and a chance for you to learn something new both musically and about yourself at the same time. Often the music is cutting-edge, even if the technology in the station may not be. As a DJ, working on a college radio station was FUN. You never knew when the turntables wouldn’t work, when a record would skip, when the CD player would go haywire in the middle of a song, or when you’d get a call from a drunken student requesting some really obscure song (or it could have been that you couldn’t understand through the slurring). Working on the radio was an experience!
So how does this all fit into triathlon, you ask?
Well, it’s simple. Triathlon should be a fun experience. Each time you… Read the rest
I’ve got an issue with sites like Beginner Triathlete and Slowtitch.
Both of these sites offer up fountains of information, and serve a fairly broad purpose in the word of triathlon. That said, however, both have ticked me off, and I’ve had enough of it. The straw has arrived; my camel’s back is broken.
What on Earth could they have done, you might ask?
Well…..to me, it all boils down to a lack of consistency.
See, I’ve posted on both of these sites for more than a handful of years now. I’m not the most prolific contributor on the planet, but I’ve been an active participant. Sometimes I’ve contributed to long-lasting threads (for example, the Ironman Florida and Ironman Louisville threads on BT back in 2009). Other times, I’ve congratulated someone on a race report. Or commented on a picture someone posted.
Both of these sites have rules or guidelines about what can and can’t be posted. I’m fine with rules. We have to have them as a society. I’m OK with a forum setting a rule and expecting members of the forum to follow the rule – so long as they apply the rules in a consistent and non-arbitrary way.
Case in point: In 2010 and 2011, I ran a series on my blog called “Ten Questions With…” where I interviewed lots of triathletes – many of them were professionals that we see at races, read about in magazines, and dream of beating. OK – maybe I’m… Read the rest
You may be familiar with customer surveys. Most companies do them. They are almost ubiquitous with online retailers. Companies worldwide want to know what their consumers think about them.
The best companies value the customers to the point that all of their interactions are deemed critical to success. Customers are viewed as assets – protected, nurtured, loved.
Some companies use a metric called Net Promoter Survey (NPS) as a measure of their customer experience and loyalty. Basically, customers are asked a question and are invited to score said question from 0 (lowest) to 10 (highest). The question? “How likely are you to recommendto a friend or family?” Those who score the question either a 9 or 10 are collectively called “promoters”. Those who score 6 or lower are called “detractors”. The NPS metric is simply derived – subtract the percent of detractors from the percent of promoters. The outcome is a value that can be used to approximate customer loyalty.
There are companies that totally get customer experience. Companies such as Amazon. Apple. Ritz Carlton. As you’d expect, their NPS results are typically very high. Other companies don’t do such a good job. Recently, banks haven’t scored well on NPS. One critical part of the NPS process is taking the survey data and implementing a “closed loop” process whereby detractors are contacted for verbatim information, problem solving and relationship building (or rebuilding).
In a sport dominated with acronyms, abbreviations, numbers, and metrics, the phrase NPS might be a new one to triathlon. … Read the rest
A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the folks who put together and market a product called Phil Keoghan’s NOW Energy Bar about doing a product review. For those of you who don’t know, Phil Keoghan is the host of CBS TV’s show “The Amazing Race”. I agreed to take a sample from them and promised I’d do a write up as to what I thought of the product.
Fair warnings….For the past two seasons, First Endurance has been my nutrition sponsor, and I have exclusively used their products (and have talked about their products copiously on this blog). I typically don’t use solid energy bar products as part of my training or racing nutrition, so trying this bar product would be a little bit of a stretch for me. Additionally, you should know all the quasi-legal mumbo jumbo…Neither Phil Keoghan nor the makers of NOW Energy Bar compensated me for a good review. All the opinions are mine (and those of my son, who was also a taste-tester).
Background:
According to the marketing material that came with my samples, NOW stands for No Opportunity Wasted. This is supposedly Keoghan’s mantra for life. The bars are gluten free, and don’t include GMO ingredients. They are dairy and tree-nut free, and incorporate an ingredient called Manuka Honey. Manuka Honey is a product of New Zealand, and is reported to have immune boosting capabilities due to a higher antibacterial component than “regular” honey. I Google’d Manuka Honey and found tons… Read the rest
Credit: CNN.com
As you may well know, the New York City Triathlon has endured more than its share of tragedy. Just this past year, two athletes died during the swim portion of the race (you can read about them here).
As part of their actions to make the race safer, recently the organizers of the race announced that going forward each athlete will be required to sign a waiver that they have swum at least a half-mile open water race during the preceeding 18 months. The thought is that by having this prior experience in open water, swimmers will be safer. People will be used to swimming in open water and no future deaths will happen.
If you believe that, I’ve got some pristine swamp-land I’d be happy to sell you.
In my opinion, asking athletes to sign a waiver that they have previously done an open water swim is nothing more than a lawyer-approved C.Y.A. maneuver. A signature on a piece of paper does not a safe swim make. But it does make the prospects of the race organizers drowning in a sea of lawsuits much more palatable.
So what would make a safer triathlon swim?
Frankly, there’s lots of things. Smaller start waves. Time trial starts. More lifeguards. An in-water start (especially for cold-water starts like the NYC Tri). Arm floaties. Fins. Trolling motors attached to folks’ arses. Newbie-only waves.
Let’s face it, the triathlon swim is well documented as the… Read the rest
Florida is the Sunshine State. The land of the Mouse and the Early Bird Dinner. A place where you can wear shorts and a t-shirt on Christmas and where you can get dehydrated from walking to your car in the summer. A land of few hills, some wide open spaces, and tons and tons of cyclists, triathletes and runners.
Florida is also home to 17% of all the bike fatalities in the United States each year. There are three times more cycling fatalities per million people in this state than the rest of the country. Folks on bikes literally get hit by a car every day.
Trust me. As a triathlete who has had some close calls with vehicles, side-view mirrors, and bottles launched from vehicles, I know that my state can be dangerous.
Far too few of our roads have dedicated bike lanes. Some don’t even have a shoulder to ride upon, exposing cyclists further to the dangers of riding alongside vehicles.
Being a pedestrian in Florida isn’t much safer, either.
To help raise awareness about the epidemic of pedestrian and cyclist collisions, the Florida Department of Transportation has launched a program called “See the Blindspots“. This campaign is designed to help remind folks to be on the lookout for pedestrians. To be careful. The corollary aim is to educate pedestrians and cyclists to practice safe behaviors as well.
The campaign offers up a plethora of facts and details about how dangerous it is to be a… Read the rest
Every generation has an event that galvanizes it. Defines it. A “signature” event so to speak.
Some are good; most are bad. The Depression. The Attack on Pearl Harbor. The Kennedy assassination. Martin Luther King are but a few of the more notable tragedies. People can often tell you exactly what they were doing when the key event of their generation happened. Folks will tell you exactly what they were doing when they heard that Kennedy was shot, or when John Lennon was killed. Events of such magnitude are etched into the very fabric of our being, and literally define a generation.
My generation has been (un)lucky enough to have more than our share of defining moments, but there are two that stand out: Challenger and 9/11.
I was in high school when the Challenger exploded in January 1986. I remember where I was and what I was doing as if it were yesterday, and yet it’s been 25 years. I was in my high school library, studying for an exam. English, I think. I recall that the sole TV in the library was tuned to CNN to show the launch. I looked up just as the shuttle lifted off, and watched in horror as it exploded a minute later.
Yet, as significant an event as Challenger was, I think the most defining moment of my generation has to be the attacks on 9/11.
credit: Getty Images
At the time, I was working for a large… Read the rest
