Here are some tips to help you get through the swim calmly and quickly:

• Get in the water at least 5-10 minutes before you start and warm up a bit. If the water is cold, warm, choppy, etc, you want to be prepared for it before you start racing.
• Seed yourself according to your swim ability. If you’re a newer or a weak swimmer, seed yourself toward the back and/or outside of your wave.  Stronger swimmers should take the “prime” spots at the front and/or inside.
• If you’re at all nervous, wait 10-20 seconds before you start swimming! Let the rest of the swimmers get a bit of a head start, and then start your race.  The few seconds won’t make a difference in your time, and will give you a lot of peace of mind as you swim.
• If the water is cold, make sure you put your face in the water before the race starts. Hopefully you’ve had a chance to warm up, but sometimes this is not possible.  Flinging yourself headfirst into 65 degree water can take your breath away, so find a way to get your face wet before you start!
• Look for a draft. While swimming in a triathlon, drafting is legal.  It gives you anywhere from a 5-20% increase in speed.  Swim immediately behind another swimmer to maximize your draft–get your hands as close to their toes as you can (but don’t touch)!
• If you get kicked or swatted, do NOT retaliate. They didn’t do it on purpose.  Getting pissed will only screw up *your* race.  Contact during the swim is par for the course.  Keep moving forward!
• Breathe away from any surf or harsh sunlight you encounter. This is where your bilateral breathing in training gets put to good use!  If surf is coming from your left side, breathe on your right (and vice versa).
• Sight every 6-12 strokes. Don’t lift your head out of the water more than is necessary to get a quick glimpse of the next buoy.  Don’t sight too often (sighting slows you down) but don’t delay your sighting more than every 12 strokes or so, as you may end up swimming off course.
• Know how to do a “dolphin dive,” and execute it in shallow water. Dolphin diving, or performing a shallow dive in thigh-deep water, is faster than swimming or walking.  Do several dolphin dives as you start (if it’s a beach start) and exit the water.
• Get out of the water SLOWLY. The transition from swimming (in a horizontal position) to running to your bike (in a vertical position) is very stressful.  Even though you’re racing, it’s worth an extra second to shed the dizziness and disorientation that comes from this switch in body position.

Of course, you’re already a badass, so these tips are about highlighting the already-present inner badass inside you.  Be sure to follow all of these tips for maximum bad-assery, especially at your local triathlon where everything is at stake.

10.  Take up a lot of space in the transition area.

Transition area too compact. Not a badass athlete.

Badass athletes need more space to contain their awesomeness.  Most people will require about 2 feet of horizontal space for their area (including their racked bike, helmet, running stuff and accessories), but true badasses need 6 feet or more!

9.  Sprint the finishing chute.

Suck it, 186th place finisher!

Real badasses leave enough in reserve to run the last 50 meters at 5 minute mile pace, obliterating at least 4 racers who were foolish enough to run at a constant pace the whole way.  Plus, you’ll look super great in your finishing photo.

8.  Bring an unnecessarily tricked out bike to races.

Top speed for true triathlon badasses: 15.3mph

The only bikes you should even consider adding to your arsenal are the ones that cost over $8,000.  Even though you can get a bike that is just as fast for $3,000, and a bike that’s 98% as fast for $1,000, there’s something magical about that extra $5-7k you spend.  Not sure what that is though.

7.  Complain about the post-race food.

Where are the bagels, guys!?

You are a serious bad-ass athlete.  You deserve to be completely renourished after a long, tough sprint triathlon.  And pizza, clif bars, gatorade, water, GU gels, cookies and pretzels doesn’t cut it.

6.  Ride the bike as hard as you can (the run doesn’t matter).

Who cares about running when you look this bad-ass anyway

True bragging rights come from having the 16th fastest OVERALL (OMG!) bike split.

5.  Don’t ever acknowledge any volunteers while you’re racing.

Don't even LOOK at the volunteers! Minus 8 badass points for this "triathlete."

You’re too busy kicking ass to bother.  Besides, they get a free t-shirt out of it!

4.  Do a “flying mount” and a “flying dismount” when exiting T1 and entering T2, respectively.

Minus eleven badass points for not using a disc wheel though.

These are easy ways to save a few seconds on race day that carry no risk whatsoever.  No risk of falling on your face, dropping your bike and busting your derailleur.  It’s never happened before.

3.  Talk about your bike non-stop to whoever will listen.

Yeah, pretty awesome amirite

Before the race to the other racers in attendance (“these carbon skewers save me 2 seconds over 40k!”), during the race (“bet you can’t get much of a draft off of me on my Trek Speed Racer 9000!”) and after the race (“my Zipp 150mm wheels were so fast, but I think I would have been faster if I had gotten the ceramic spoke upgrades”).

2.  If you are a man, do not let a woman pass you.  Ever.

Pick it up, son!

On the bike, on the run.  It doesn’t matter.  No man (especially no bad-ass man) has ever been beaten by a woman at anything except billiards and cake decorating, and you’re not about to be the first.  Pass her right back, and if she passes you for good after that, she’s doping.

1.  Make fun of the 1st time athletes at the race.

What a noob.

It’s part of the “initiation” into the sport of triathlon to get “hazed” at your first event.  Just do silly little stuff, like tell them about the 20% hill on the bike (that doesn’t exist), ask them about their training (and then tell them how you doubled their weekly mileage), regale them with stories of how you “won” your first triathlon, and if all else fails, let just a little bit of air out of their tires.  They’ll laugh it off after the race and they’ll be even more exited to try another one!

Since Florida summers are super hot and humid, and since it’s tough to get a quality workout in as the temperature goes up, I thought it might be a good idea to try out some of Emilio DeSoto’s new “SkinCooler” products. They supposedly wick moisture much faster than normal tech fabric (and still quicker than the wind whipping against you as you ride), allowing your body to keep cooler than it could if the skin was just bare.

I have tried four products: the helmet beanie, the arm coolers, the leg coolers and the l/s top:

HELMET BEANIE

I wear this most often under my cycling helmet, but also works as a running hat. It works well to keep the sweat out of my eyes, and does a decent job of keeping the head cool as well.

Even though I have short hair, I think the skin cooling component of this garment would work better if I had a shaved head. So, folks with longer hair, I’m not so sure if this product will work to its maximum effectiveness for you. Rating: 7/10.

ARM COOLERS

These would be awkward (but usable) for running, so I wear these only for cycling. They are tight-fitting and comfortable. They do a great job of blocking the sun from my arms; DeSoto claims 75% UV protection. Water poured on them feels great (even if it’s not cold).

You’re not going to make it suddenly feel like springtime when wearing the arm coolers, but I’ve found that you can usually get a little bit of temperature benefit from these, from blocking the sun and from the moisture wicking.

Below heat indexes of about 85, these don’t really work for me (I feel warmer instead of cooler) and if the temp is below 65, arm warmers are probably a better choice.

If nothing else, the UV protection you get from wearing these is an excellent reason to wear them. Plus, in the event that you crash, it’s one more layer between your skin and the pavement… 8/10.

LEG COOLERS

A lot of what I wrote about the arm coolers applies to the leg coolers. However, I don’t like these as much because they just feel awkward on my legs. Maybe it was just that my legs want to be FREE because of the warm weather, maybe it’s the seam that runs the length of the garment. But I can’t get motivated to wear these.

Maybe if I do a super hot weather long distance ride, I’d find a use for them. But for day-to-day riding, these stay in the closet. 5/10.

LONG SLEEVE RUNNING TOP

This is a tight-fitting garment designed primarily for running. It is relatively short in length but provides full coverage of the torso and back. I ordered mine with a single small pocket in the back so I could use it for cycling, or for storing gels on a long run. It ran true to size.

The garment wicks moisture very well. I noticed that the wind blowing on the sweaty garment often feels cooler on this garment than it does on other comparable garments. As with the arm coolers, pouring water on it feels great.

It’s a bit hard to put on, especially if you’re sweaty. And it’s not particularly useful as a standalone cycling garment, with its lack of spacious pockets and its see-through nature (ladies take note).

But this garment does generally serve its functional purpose, and at times it definitely feels cooler than running with no top on, due to the sun blockage and good moisture-wicking.

I will be wearing this shirt on the run portion of the Great Floridian Iron-distance tri later this year, where temps often climb into the 90s. 9/10.

OVERALL

The SkinCooler products are reasonably priced and perform as advertised.  They won’t work miracles–it’s still hot outside–but they make those long rides and runs a bit more tolerable.

The fabric is a bit fragile, and tends to pick up colors of whatever you wash it with (my helmet beanie is a bit red, and my arm coolers are a bit blue).  So treat the garment carefully for the first few weeks.

On a customer service note: I accidentally tore a hole in one of the arm coolers (my fault) and DeSoto was kind enough to send me TWO replacement coolers.  So I actually have three coolers now that I rotate on my rides.  Shop with confidence–DeSoto’s customer service is excellent.

All in all, these garments are not worth your time and money if you live in Vermont, but definitely give them a try if you live South. 8/10.

We’re kicking off the 2010 season here at the Pointy Helmet Coaching blog with a series of “Top 10″ posts. First up is a topic that comes up often in triathlon, whether you’re a beginner or veteran. Our sport attracts all kinds of people who say all kinds of silly things. Here is my Top 10 list of the silliest things that triathletes say!

10.  ”I need as light a bike as possible, because having lightweight equipment is very important.” Unless you’re climbing very steep grades, the weight of your equipment doesn’t really matter in triathlon.  Especially here in pancake-flat Florida, you’re much better served getting equipment that is as *aerodynamic* as possible, such as an aero helmet, deep section wheels and a skintight race suit.  Losing weight off your body always helps, but going from a 21 pound bike to a 19 pound bike will actually not gain you very much time in a steady-state cycling effort.

9.  ”I need to carry all of my nutrition with me during my race.” This depends on the distance you’re racing, but usually this is not necessary.

For triathlons with total duration under 90 minutes, you don’t need any nutrition (except for some water, probably in the form of a single bike bottle) unless it’s very hot or humid.

For races that are 90 minutes-3 hours, you can consider taking in some nutrition if you want, but you can usually get this from the on-course aid stations.

For Half Ironman races and longer, the course will almost certainly have well-stocked aid stations on the bike and run, so all you need to do is carry what you need to get from one aid station to the next.

That means rarely do you need more than 2 bike bottles, huge quantities of gels in your Bento Box, or that cumbersome Fuel Belt on the run.  Carrying less stuff = a more streamlined bike/run = a faster race.

8.  ”My bike is broken; I’ll just have my Local Bike Shop (LBS) fix it.” While sometimes it’s necessary to take your bike into the shop, the majority of bicycle maintenance and repairs can be completed by you, with some knowledge and practice.  I’ll be doing a separate article on this topic in the near future, but you should certainly be able to change your flat tires, clean your bike, adjust the shifting and replace certain parts without having to drop your bike off at your LBS.

7.  ”Doing these squats will help my bike strength.” Cycling is an endurance event.  Even if you’re pushing hard, you’re still doing 90+ “reps” per minute (i.e. each pedal stroke) at a relatively low “weight.”  Any strength training you do should be as specific as possible to your athletic needs, which for most triathletes means a focus on functional strength and injury prevention  High-weight, low-rep squats just don’t fit into that plan for triathletes.  Go ride instead!

6.  ”I can do that flying mount/dismount on race day, even though I’ve never tried it before!” The flying mount is when, exiting T1, you jump on your bike in one swift motion.  The flying dismount is when, approaching T2, you jump off your bike and hit the ground running, literally.  For both maneuvers, your shoes remain clipped to the pedals the whole time.  Both are difficult to do (the mount is harder than the dismount), and unless you practiced before the race, you shouldn’t do the flying mount or dismount.  Too many triathletes have injured themselves (or others) by attempting the flying maneuvers without having mastered them in practice.  You only save a few seconds with each, and if you screw them up you risk injury.  Don’t do these unless you’ve practiced them.

5.  ”Aero helmets look silly.  I won’t be wearing one.” Rubbish!  Pointy Helmets, in terms of “dollars spent per second of time saved” are one of the most efficient ways to spend your equipment budget.  Only aerobars and a skintight suit are more cost-effective.  Once you’ve decided you’re serious about triathlon, go get your aero helmet.  Get one of the ones with the long tail that covers your ears–there are several models on the market that cost between $100 and $200.

4.  ”I’m going to pump my tires to 160psi, that will make me faster!” The notion that higher tire pressure is always better is one of the most common (but easily correctable) misconceptions among cyclists and triathletes.

The reason we use pneumatic tires (i.e. tires with a layer of pressurized air between the tire and the wheel proper) is because the road surface we ride on isn’t perfectly smooth.  The layer of pressurized air absorbs the minor imperfections in the road surface, allowing the wheel to glide along efficiently.  Obviously, if there’s not enough air in the tire, the tire will deform too much, causing increased rolling resistance.  However, if there’s too much air in the tires, the wheel will “bounce” over the imperfections in the road surface, wasting energy with each bounce!

The goal is to put enough air in the tires to minimize tire deformation, but not so much that the wheel bounces around.  For most riders, assuming 20-23mm tire width, this pressure is between 100-125 psi.  Less for smaller riders and rider tires, more for larger riders and narrower tires.

3.  ”You don’t need to buy all that aero equipment.  Just go train more!” This is a false dichotomy.  The amount of training you do is completely independent of the amount of money you spend on equipment.  Spend as much on equipment as your budget can afford, while also training as much as your schedule can allow.  It’s really that simple!

2.  ”I don’t deserve to buy all of that go-fast equipment.” This is the second cousin once removed of #3.  It implies that you’re not fast enough for the aero equipment to make a difference.  The reality is that aero equipment works at all speeds, and in fact will save you *more* raw time at slower speeds!  If it makes you happy to buy that set of aero wheels, then by all means go for it, even if you ride the bike leg of a sprint triathlon at 14mph!

1.  ”People will make fun of me if I show up at my first triathlon with a mountain bike.” False.  We were all new to triathlon at some point.  Doing your first triathlon on whatever bike you already have isn’t embarrassing, it’s a smart financial decision.  If you buy a fancy bike, and then decide after your first race that triathlon isn’t for you, then you’ve just lost a bunch of money.

Besides, most triathletes at your first race will be too absorbed in themselves to even notice you.  Of the 10% that do notice you:

• 30% will smile, and/or offer words of encouragement to you.  Most triathletes recognize that it’s in everyone’s best interest to maintain a positive environment at these races, to encourage triathletes to keep racing.
• 65% will notice you, feel positive toward you, but not say anything.  I fall into this category.  I privately say to myself, “oh cool, a new triathlete–I hope she has a good time today!” but I decide to say nothing because I’m awkward and would probably end up accidentally saying something stupid.
• 5% will make a face at you or say something stupid.  However, these are the sort of people that you’d ignore under normal circumstances–they’re just douchebags.  Take pride in the fact that you’re a better person than them (and you’re probably faster than them)!

So, about 0.5% of triathletes will treat you negatively for bringing a MTB to your first race.  These people are assholes anyway.  The remaining 99.5% will either do nothing or give you positive encouragement.  Ride your mountain bike with pride!

November has arrived.  In most of the United States, that means the return of cold weather, indoor cycling, layered sweaters and hot cocoa.  It’s an exciting time of year if you’re into frostbite and icy mustaches.

On the other hand, here in Gainesville, November means it’s time to break out the arm warmers on a cool morning.  November is a great time of year for athletics in Gainesville, as the climate is enjoyable for all outdoor activities, including swim/bike/run.

However, if you’re a triathlete, despite the nice weather, November marks the beginning of the off-season.  Here’s what you should be doing:

1. Take some time off! This is the MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do during the off-season.  Without extended periods of rest, your body simply can’t recover from the extended periods of hard training you put your body through during the summer.  Recovery happens on a micro (day-to-day) scale, macro (week-to-week) scale, super-macro (month-to-month) scale, and super-duper-ultra-macro (year-to-year) scale.  So take some super duper ultra time off and enjoy the holidays. Note that taking time off doesn’t mean that you have to stop training altogether.  I recommend a 40-50% reduction in volume, and a huge reduction in intensity, from your peak training week.  So, if you hit 20 hours in your biggest week, you should be training no more than 10-12hours/week during the offseason.  This will help to maintain fitness and keep your weight in check.
2. Take stock of what you accomplished this season. Did you reach your goals?  Did you increase your fitness?  What did you learn from your training and racing experiences?  Write all of this stuff down for future reference in your training log.
3. Set some goals for next season. These goals should be specific, measurable and attainable (with hard work and dedication).  They should build off what you accomplished this season, and improve upon it.  ”Get faster” is not a good goal.  ”Finish Miami Man in under 6 hours” is a good goal.  So is “Ride the 40k TT on May 15 in under 61 minutes.”  Focus on your “limiters,” the aspects of your racing you could most improve.
4. Closely related to #3 is: choose your important races for the upcoming season. You don’t need to choose every race you’re going to do, but outline the important races, of which there should be three at most.  These are your “A” priority races, for which you’ll focus your training specifically.
5. Working backward from your “A” races, schedule your training periods. Most athletes benefit from “periodization” of workouts, or putting your body through different training stresses depending on where you are in relation to your target races.  (Specific periodization techniques are the topic of another post).

Avoid the temptation to hammer your off-season training rides, runs and swims.  I can’t stress this enough!  Best case is you’ll be in great shape for that Christmas triathlon that doesn’t exist.  Worst case is you’ll injure yourself and be out of commission completely for an extended period of time.

Lastly, the off-season is a great time to remind ourselves why we enjoy doing this endurance sport stuff.  Go for a nice easy ride and enjoy the scenery!  Go for a late afternoon run and watch the kids playing in the park!  Go for a relaxing swim to blow off steam after work!   After a long, hard season of grinding out one tough workout after another, you deserve it.

If you wanted to improve your balance beam technique, would you include 30 miles per week of running in your workout schedule?

If you wanted to be a better golfer, would it help to take batting practice a few times a month?

If you wanted to improve your swimming, cycling and running, would you attend a class in “muscle activation” once per week?

Most would answer “no” to the first three questions, but change their tune when it comes to triathlon. Evidently many triathletes feel that strength training is a vital component of their training programs. Why? I’m not sure.

To be fair, for some triathletes, strength training is extremely important. Older athletes lose muscle mass as they continue to age, and regular strength training helps maintain strength and minimize muscle loss. Athletes recovering from injuries would also do well to utilize strength training on a regular basis, to rehabilitate the injured muscles in a controlled environment before returning to sport-specific training.

But for most triathletes, the best way to get better at swimming, biking and running is to do lots of–you guessed it–swimming, biking and running!

The principal of specificity is one that many of us, particularly those of us that are still young and healthy, should consider before devoting our precious training time to attending strength sessions.

1. Comfort.  You won’t want to be chafing a few miles into the bike or run.
2. Aerodynamics.  Any clothing choice should be tight-fitting, to minimize drag on the swim and bike.
3. Pockets.  In longer races, you’ll probably want pockets to hold the miscellaneous stuff you’ll need to carry.
4. Color.  This is usually personal preference, but lighter colors tend to be cooler than darker colors (and may be more “revealing,” if you know what I mean).

Once you’ve thought about these factors, you can start to look at your specific options:

1. Tri shorts and a tri top.  This is the most common option for triathletes.  It’s comfortable in all three disciplines, aerodynamic on the bike, and often come with pockets for the run.  The shorts have a minimalist pad for some comfort on the bike without getting in the way on the run.  Most triathlon clubs sell their tri kit in this form, and often it’s a cheap and simple option for new racers.  Remember to leave your tri top in transition before the swim, and put it on in T1.
2. Trisuit.  This garment is similar to the above, except it has a one-piece construction.  These have the advantage of slimming your midsection if you’re carrying a little extra in that region (who isn’t).  Check the neckline if you’re buying one–a high neckline will be more hydrodynamic while a low neckline will “scoop” in the water.  Many of these suits do not have pockets, which can be an advantage or disadvantage, depending on the race distance.  I do all of my races in trisuits, mostly because I have one that makes me look kinda like Superman.
3. Sport-specific attire for each sport.  Especially in longer races, you may find that wearing a swimsuit for the swim, bike clothes on the bike, and run clothes on the run is more comfortable and efficient.  You lose time in transition performing a complete clothes change (and in some races, nudity regulations prohibit this), but you may gain time in the end because you won’t be chafing or adjusting your clothes at all.
4. Miscellaneous combinations.  Some wear tri shorts and a looser-fitting bike jersey with sleeves.  Some can tolerate bike shorts on the run.  Some wear just a speedo for the whole race (you had better be good looking to pull that one off)!!

Your best bet is to leave yourself with several options on race day.  Conditions may dictate your choice of attire–for example, a wetsuit swim means you can leave your tri-top on under your wetsuit, while a non-wetsuit swim means you couldn’t wear your bike jersey on the swim.

Most importantly–when you’re done, wash your clothes as soon as you can.  Your domestic partner or roomate(s) will thank you.  Trust me.