I Can Swim!! - by Lynn B.

I can't believe it has been a year since my very first triathlon. Last March, after going through a divorce, I needed some goals and direction in my life. Being a former athlete and since many of my patients (I oversee 3 physical therapy clinics) were competing in this small triathlon in Naperville, I decided to take the plunge and try a triathlon. Never mind the fact that I could hardly swim out of my turtle pool. After training (yeah, right) for several months and floundering, I decided to sign up for a triathlon class at LTF-Romeoville. Unfortunately, the class was canceled due to low turnout. However, divine intervention occurred and I met Coach Joe. He invited me to see what triathlons were all about and reassured me that I would be able to finish the race in June. For the 3 weeks of training with Joe prior to the race, never once did he imply that I couldn't do this (even though I couldn't swim, only side stroke). He gave me confidence every day.

So, come race day, I was pretty calm up until I approached the beach and almost puked!! Again, Joe was right there, saying, "You can do this. Enjoy the moment." There I was, participating in my first organized race EVER, doing a half-mile swim as side stroke. It was only two weeks ago that Coach Patty told me, "Girl, you had amazing guts for swimming your first tri doing side stroke." Ignorance really is bliss!! Or I just fell off the bike and suffered MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury!). Patty, thank you for sharing those words a year later!!

During this past year, I have been working incessantly with Coach Joe learning how to swim and getting confidence in the water. I am proud to say that I just completed the 2007 Women's Subaru swim doing freestyle!!! I had some moments early on where I got jostled and panicked a little bit, but quickly regained composure and off I went.

I can't tell you what this past year and training with Coach Joe has meant to me. I have never encountered an individual with more passion and commitment to his clients than Coach Joe. "Experience Triathlon" could not be a more fitting name for his vision. Joe just doesn't talk it, he lives it!!

I hope this inspires anyone who thinks they can't do a triathlon because they can't swim, or bike, or run. The ET team is there to train and encourage you so you truly can "Experience Triathlons." Thanks, Coach Joe...we did it!!!

Why am I here? - by Marsha H.

Ever wonder what triathletes think about during a long, tough race? Here's a peek into our world as Marsha fights the demons and completes her first Olympic triathlon at Pleasant Prairie. Congrats on a great race and beating the demons, Marsha! - Coach Joe

Marsha (left) and Suzy at ET Summer Camp

Coach Joe always says I am too quiet. There is nothing quiet about what I am thinking during a Triathlon...

I wake up at 3:50am to bolts of lightning and winds and downpour. It is ugly outside. I stayed up in Wisconsin with Sue (tri buddy). We giggle and think about going back to sleep but don't want to look like wimps in front of the ET family that are waiting for us in the lobby. We go downstairs and find everyone dressed and ready to go. I think there must be something wrong with us as we venture out in the cold rain to set up transition. I get to transition and am now wet, muddy, cold and scared of the roads to bike on. People are leaving and bailing out of the race in numbers. I look around to see if anyone I know is doing the same. No... of course not. Now I think there is something definitely wrong with us all.

The race officials open the rec complex due to the dangerous weather and we huddle in there and wait. The announcer at 6:30am says, "Now that we only have the strong left and the weak have gone home, we are going to start the race in 30 minutes." Blah blah blah about how dangerous the road conditions are and that our brakes won't work well and.... I feel sick and I want to throw up. Why am I here and why am I going to do this? I look around for someone else looking ill and everyone else is packing up their stuff and heading out for transition. Coach Joe sees me and does his magic pep talk and I head out the door.

It's cold, wet and, ok, good... a little humid. That will help me feel warmer. Great- I look out in transition and everyone has wetsuits. Nice. My sure thing swim now just got compromised because everyone now is a better swimmer because they have wetsuits and I don't. Have to stop being a baby and move forward. I am in heat 5 and am standing there ready to go. I go in the middle of my heat because I am not the stronger swimmer today. I want to cry and run. The gun thing goes off. Am I really running? Why, yes, I am on autopilot and just dove into the water. It's warm and perfect and quiet. I love the water. I feel safe in it and it is crowded and, this sucks... there are too many people here in the middle. Screw drafting... I swim to the outside where I am alone and I get into my rhythm and just swim the way I love too. What? The end? Ok, kick and get my legs going because as soon as I grab sand in my hand I have to stand up and run like fire and get myself on the bike. No more slow transitions for me. Got the sand... I am running as hard as I can up the sand hill into transition. I yell at Patty as I see her leaving w/ her bike. I am short of breath and can't breathe and am shaking-no time to think about that, just get on the bike and clip in without falling... ok, I'm in and away I go.

The roads are typical Wisconsin country roads with bumps and potholes everywhere. Great- standing water puddles. Slow on the turns, no falling allowed. The bike ride was very cautious. Time to dismount- don't fall... I didn't. Great, my feet are numb (were my shoes to tight?) Socks suck to put on when they are wet. Make mental note to consider running w/o socks. Shoes on- grab watch, hat, race number- GO!!! GO!!! Run and get all this junk on. Can't breathe again. Can't feel my feet. Is that my sock bunched up in my shoe? Can't stop- just deal. My legs are lead. Took me 1 1/2 miles before I got feeling to my feet. Yep, sock is bunched and it's going to hurt- just deal. In my rhythm by mile 2 and finally feel great. Bob passes me; he smiles and boosts my spirits. Say Hi to more people I know. Every familiar face is giving me more and more energy and confidence. It's great to be in the ET family. This is fun. It's great to be alive. Did I really not want to do this? Make a mental note to never ever back out of a race again. OOh -ouch -pain- what is this? My side is cramping, I can't run, I have to keep moving. Why does this hurt? 1/2 mile of pain, I belly breathe, burp.. Yeah! It's gone. Air bubble. Make a mental note to learn to hydrate on the bike without taking in air. Joe is passing me. I thank him for not letting me bail out, but he is cruising.

I can hear the announcer and the crowd welcoming the first finishers. I can see the crowd and the finish area... pick up pace. I feel great, tired, yes, but happy. See the finish line and sprint with everything I have left. Try to look decent because the photographer is taking pictures. Smile and run...smile and run. Screw it, I can't do both at the same time. Run through the finish, get my chip off, grab a Gatorade and my people and share in this great day of another great achievement!!

What a crazy weather weekend at Pleasant Prairie. Certainly a great day of mental toughness training. Stay tuned for more stories from this wild and wet weekend! All the fun photos can be viewed at experiencetriathlon.com. - Coach Joe

Being Consistent

While it's been a long season for most of us and we do need to disconnect both physically and mentally to recharge our batteries, it's also time to plan for the upcoming year.  Often times athletes will put off both the planning and training for the following season until after the holidays.  This approach will make achieving higher fitness and racing goals very difficult if not impossible.  Research has shown that significant decreases in fitness start to occur within as little as three weeks of no training.¹  This is the training principle of reversibility.  Basically we build fitness by applying just the right amount of workload (stress) to the body at the right time along with properly timed recovery to ensure growth.  Well, if we don't apply workload and stress to the body, fitness declines. Certainly you can rebuild the lost fitness and maybe do enough training to get a personal record (PR) next season, but why take the chance and why lose your hard earned fitness levels in the first place?  When I look across the team athletes, those that are the most consistent in their year round training and execute better than 95% of the workouts in their plan are the ones that are injury free and have the most success in training, racing and life.  As my coach once told me, "Ironman comes to the smart and steady athlete, Joe."  Being consistent IS the path to growth.

For this reason, after the race season, I recommend that athletes only take a short transition period of 1 to 3 weeks of unstructured training.  This can include swim, bike and run workouts along with other activities but they are done without attention to intensity, duration and frequency.  Unstructured training provides a much needed rest from the week after week year long regimen of highly structured triathlon training.  It's also a great period to reflect on the season.  To identify areas of your training and racing that went well and those that need improvement.  Goals for next season should also be developed so that your coach can properly create your annual plan and monthly training objectives.

Once the goals are set and the transition period is over, it's time to enter into the off-season base training period.  Much of next season's success will be dependent on the design and execution of base period training.  The major goals of the base period are to build aerobic fitness, build strength and improve efficiency (technique) in each triathlon segment.  We often talk about the base period building the needed infrastructure or foundation for the body to perform at higher workload levels down the road.  Increasing the capillaries, allowing more blood flow and therefore the movement of more oxygen through our systems is why we can go faster with the same amount of effort as last season.  Bottom line, we can just get more work done with less effort and this means having a higher chance of getting that next season PR that we all hope for.  Another way to see this is in reverse: don't build the foundation, don't build the extra capillary action, don't build the infrastructure and then try to go out and race hard without the ability to flow more oxygen to the muscles.  Well, it's like a house of cards on a weak foundation.  The smallest of forces will bring the house (and you) down.

So how do we build the right base and ensure success?  ET coaches work closely with athletes in the base period through a custom training plan designed with the right progression of workouts to meet each athlete's needs.  Doing the right workout at the right time while having someone hold you accountable over the upcoming holiday periods and long cold winter months are some of the biggest benefits of having a coach.  Additionally, our group training programs such as ET CardioRun, ET Masters swimming, ET Power (strength training) and ET Computrainer (bike power), provide a fun, social and systematic way to move your fitness forward over the winter months.  Stay tuned for details on those programs in future editions of ET News.

After the longer base period we move into a shorter build period of more race specific and race intensity workouts.  These build period workouts will be noticeably stronger for the athlete that developed a solid, high quality base over the winter.  The infrastructure or highway is built and the oxygen can flow and more workload can be done.  It's at this point that we see athletes reporting speeds that are 1-3 mph faster on the bike, 30 seconds per mile faster paces on the run, and getting out of the water fresher and with improved stroke mechanics and better aerobic base.

In summary, while it might be tempting to take some time off from training after the race season, it can have a significant impact on your fitness levels and goals.  It's much better to continue a steady, consistent lifestyle of daily fitness than it is to try and get back into a routine down the road after months of minimal training.  Success in training, racing and life goes to the smart, steady and consistent.

¹ Wilber RL, Moffatt RJ. Physiological and biochemical consequences of detraining in aerobically trained individuals.  J Strength Cond Res 1994;8(2):110-124.

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Joe LoPresto is the Founder and Head Coach of Experience Triathlon LLC.   As leaders in the endurance coaching industry, Coach Joe and the Experience Triathlon coaching team help athletes of all ages and abilities achieve success in training, racing and life.  Learn more about Coach Joe and Experience Triathlon at experiencetriathlon.com and ET-Youth.com.