To Shave or Not To Shave

I’ve had this topic on my to do list for a while, so when I read Jessie Thomas’ article Secrets of the Wind Tunnel in the July issue of Triathlete magazine, I knew the timing was right. To shave or not to shave, that is the question. Now for many of you this is a…

Race Day Swim Anxiety

I want to focus on something that is more common than a lot of people might think, a triathletes anxiety/fear on race day morning before and during the swim.  And I’m not talking about just pre-race butterflies, did I bring all the right gear, or the normal jitters. I’m talking about multiple trips to the porta-potty, increased…

Bilateral Breathing, Why is This Debatable?

I’m not superstitious in any way, but when things happen in threes I start to take notice. A while back I read the first article I had ever seen that responded to an athlete’s question if it was necessary for them to learn to bilateral breathe, and the first response was NO. The author then…

How Much Fluid do You Need on the Bike?

This is one of the more common questions of people racing triathlons, beginners and experienced triathletes alike, how much should you drink during the bike ride? And to be clear and keep it simple, I’m keeping the conversation to “fluid”, which includes water or water plus electrolytes. Adding calories to the picture complicates things, which…

When to Ride Hard During a Race

This is a repost from the SB Tri Club Coach’s Corner blog, April 2013, in case it looks familiar to anyone… I just re-read parts of Joe Friel’s latest book, Power Meter Training, which got me thinking. As athletes gear up for the next set of early season races, I wanted to present some data…

Relax and Go Faster

Propelling ourselves through water and over land requires our muscles to contract and relax, again and again and again. Without specific training our ability to do this is limited to our own natural ability, which can last minutes or days, depending on the intensity of the exercise. This is why we go out and train…

Is Your Equipment Ready To Go Racing?

As the season is unfolding in front of us, some people already having put in one or two races, if you haven’t done your first race of the year, now’s the time to think about checking out your equipment. I posted an Equipment Checklist awhile back, so if you’re not sure what you should be…

Why I Swim With a Masters Group

I’ve said it before and it was said last night by local coach Matt Trost at the SB Tri Club monthly meeting, if you want to become a faster swimmer you need to swim with the faster swimmers. I believe that in most cases this means swimming with a Masters Swim group. Improving your swim…