TRIATHICA NOW OPEN 24/7
Ron Saetermoe
That’s right, Triathica is now open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
We’re excited to bring this new feature to our membership because it gives you the flexibility to workout whenever you want. Please note that we will still have staff hours after February 1st but you should call before coming if you need to meet with a trainer.
So here’s how it will work for current members:
1. Call Ron at 949.795.1900 to arrange to pick up your key.
2. Sign the membership agreement addendum.
3. Come in and workout whenever you want!
New members will receive their personalized key when they enroll and begin using the facility immediately.
Please call if you have any other questions about this exciting new development.
Cheers!
Ron
Tips For Your First Race
Jarrett Pflieger
So you signed up for your first triathlon in 2010; that is a great first step. Now it is time to put in the work. The first thing you need to do is accept you will not have a perfect race, or set any course records your first time out. Too many athletes go into their first few races with their hopes set too high, which creates excessive nerves and a bitter feeling when they don’t live up to their own lofty expectations.
If you are the opposite and are afraid of being the last one across the line, I can guarantee that will not happen if you train hard and prepare yourself. Even if you are last across the line, think of all the people that didn’t finish. Even if you are unable to finish, think of the millions of people that don’t even have the ability or will to get out there and do this in the first place.
There is nothing wrong with not finishing, being slow, or not reaching your goal times. Once you stop thinking about that and concentrate on going out there and racing to your abilities, you will have a lot more fun and probably be faster as well.
Here are a few more tips on how you can have a successful race:
1.Train how you race
If you are racing a sprint distance, train for a sprint distance. If you train around an eight minute/mile pace, don’t expect to sustain a seven minute/mile pace in your race. Know the distances of your race and first make sure you can make it that distance. Only then should you concentrate on increasing your speed.
2. Relax
You are going to be nervous on race day; it is inevitable. Just make sure your nerves don’t overwhelm you and affect your performance. Always picture success in your mind and visualize your perfect race. This is supposed to be for fun, enjoy the day and don’t get too caught up in the competitiveness just yet.
3. Practice
If your first race is also your first day of training, you are probably not going to have much fun, unless you are already an experience swimmer, cyclist, or runner and/or in excellent shape. You need to practice everything you will be doing or could experience on race day including transitions, mounting/dismounting your bike, changing a flat, and of course swim/bike/run.
4. Don’ try anything new
Don’t try anything that you haven’t already done in training. That goes for pacing, race nutrition and fluid intake, equipment, technique, etc. Even experienced triathletes struggle with this, always looking for the last minute edge. More often than not, it ends up hindering performance.
5. Prepare for mistakes
You will probably make mistakes. Just prepare for them and accept them when they come. So what if you swim off course, just get your bearings back and head for the next buoy. Who cares if you go out too fast on the run and have to drop the pace a bit. Just be ready to correct any mistakes you make or just forget about them and move on.
ADAPTATION PERIOD
Ron Saetermoe
Here at Triathica we prescribe to the concept that your training year should be “periodized.” That simply means that the nature of your workouts will evolve as you get closer to your “A” (most important race of the season) race.
In our model, the first of five periods is called the “adaptation” period. This is the period way out front of your “A” race. It is also the period where you’re just coming back to working out after a hiatus or lull period.
Last year my “A” race was Ironman Arizona. After my big race I cut back on my training and have ignored any semblance of dieting. However, I’ve just completed my fifth week of my adaptation period.
The key things about the adaptation period are:
– You start back to a routine training schedule
– You maintain a light volume of training and moderate intensity
– You may incorporate some cross-training such as roller blading or skiing
– You’re likely to be sore because you’re getting back into your routine again
– You may miss workouts here and there without guilt
Here’s what the ideal Triathica year looks like:
We feel that three, three-week cycles within each period is optimal for building fitness and recovery. The adaptation period is a necessary step so you can return to your training without injury or sickness.
Cheers!
Ron
RACE REPORT: SOCAL HALF MARATHON
Ron Saetermoe
Early season racing is always tough. You’ve probably been overeating and under-training for at least a month. That’s exactly where I was when I did the 2010 SoCal Half Marathon on Sunday, January 9th.
I’m one of those people that like to reward myself when I work especially hard. And since I worked my tail off in preparation for IMAZ I’ve been rewarding myself ever since. As a result I’ve gained six pounds. I’m not beating myself up about it, I’m just sayin.’
Actually, I have been working out. As of race day I had just finished the first four weeks of my 2010 IM training plan and hadn’t tapered for the ½ marathon. I did beat myself up pretty bad the week before and included resistance training and a couple of awesome CompuTrainer sessions (you know the ones where your legs are shaking when you get off your bike).
And while I had no reason to expect a PR (personal record) was in the cards for me, I decided to go hard anyway. Besides, Scott (Scooter) Calendar was going to shoot for 1:30:00 so I figured I’d run with him at his Garmin defined 6:52 mile pace until I blew up.
The race was great with a lot of friends there. The guy I really had to keep my eye on though was Stan Gertler. Stan is older than me but runs like a rabbit. And as it happened, Stan was staged just in front of me and Scooter.
The gun went off and Stan took off. Scott wanted to log the first mile a bit slower than our target rate to ease into a good pace. The first mile was 7:05, just exactly as Scott prescribed.
We started to pick up after that and we nailed a 6:50 pace for the next several miles, still on Stan’s heels. It was getting hard. My breath was labored and my legs were burning but I was going to hang on for all it was worth.
At about mile six I determined I couldn’t hang with Scott any more so I let him go. We waved at each other multiple times throughout the race. While I didn’t actually “blow up” my pace had slowed considerably, but it was “comfortable.” As comfortable as one can be with labored breathing and legs that are on fire!
The miles click by amazingly fast when you quiet your mind. I know Mark Allen really believes in this and I’m not sure if I’m doing it in the prescribed method but I get into a near trance after a while and time goes very quickly.
I hit every water stop other than the first one. This is a little bit of strategy I use. Generally, a lot of racers go out at a pace faster than they can hold so the first aid station, in particular, gets clogged up (I use this same strategy in century rides and SAG stops). After that I take water at every aid station.
No, I don’t drink Gatorade or take gels. I do take gels with me as insurance but I didn’t use any today. The reason is that many people tend to take in more calories than they need while racing. We were taught at our USAT training that the average male has about 3,000 calories in glycogen stores and women have about 2,000. If that were the case, I wouldn’t come close to burning that number of calories so water should be just fine.
Turns out, water was just fine and I managed to maintain a good pace for the entire race. 1:31:43 (7:00) a PR. Think I didn’t celebrate after that? Beer!
Next up, the Palm Springs century ride on Saturday February 13th followed by the San Diego half marathon on Sunday, February 14th. You game?
ANDY’S NEW LEG
Jarrett Pflieger
If you are an active part of the triathlon community here in Orange County, you have probably heard of, or even met, Andy Bailey. Andy is actively involved in the community, and can frequently be seen at meetings and functions of the Orange County Triathlon Club, Challenged Athlete Foundation, and more. The fact that Andy is still competing at 71 years old is amazing. The fact that Andy is still competing and is a single leg amputee right below the knee is downright incredible.
Andy was seriously injured on December 12, 2006 when a run-away delivery truck slammed into him while washing his car in the driveway. After the accident, he had an ankle fusion and a muscle graft and tried to save the leg for 14 months. Unfortunately it did not heal and he had to have his leg amputated. Since that day, it has been a battle to get back to doing what he loves, competing in triathlon.
Andy’s comeback has included several indoor triathlons with the Triathlon Club of San Diego and the 800-yard ocean swim in the Malibu Triathlon as part of the Challenged Athlete Foundation relay team. He also completed a 1.2 mile swim during the San Diego Triathlon Challenge as part of an Orange County Triathlon Club relay team.
One big part of his comeback has been a company called Ossur, who specializes in making prosthetics for walking and higher performance prosthetics for running.
It seems it was fate that brought the two together. Andy was at the Endurance Sports Awards banquet down in San Diego in 2008. It was right before his amputation that would take place on February 28, 2008. At the time of the banquet, the doctors were still trying to get his surgically repaired ankle to fuse. He was talking about his yearning to compete again, even if he happened to lose his leg. There happened to be the director of education from Ossur, Tabi King, sitting at his table who overheard the conversation. She gave Andy her info and told him to contact her if he needed anything in the future.
The next year, Ossur put on a special amputee running clinic at Soka University in Aliso Viejo. Andy wanted to attend, but didn’t have a run leg yet, so he called Tabi and told her the situation. Ossur was able to have a Flex-run leg ready in time for Andy to do the clinic. NBC even came out and did a news story on Andy and his new leg.
Since then, Andy has been named an Ossur Ambassador and helps promote Ossur products, serves as a model, and helps with occasional PR related activities.
Andy is currently working with Southern California Prosthetics here in Irvine, CA on a new cycling leg, which he has been testing out here at Triathica. The custom liner in this leg has made a huge difference in the healing of the skin from his injury, Andy explained.
Everything seems to be going great and I asked Andy what he was up to now.
“I just sent in my application for the Desert Triathlon Sprint in March. This will be my first individual triathlon since my injury. Then if all goes well, I’ll think about doing the San Diego Sprint Triathlon, Mission Bay, and maybe one of the Bonelli races,” he said.
For now, Andy is working hard to come back and prove, even at 71, you can do anything you put your mind to. In the short term, has his sights set on the Los Alamitos reverse tri where he will be doing the swim portion of the race with a group of other challenged athletes.
