Team News Update 04/01/02

Editors comments

This spring sure has been different from the last two in that we usually have had a chance to get in some nice warm long runs and some long rides. The fact that we continue to be under another barrage of snow in the local area up here has been more than frustrating for training. This is where variety is important and quality cross training comes in. Hard to believe is that the first triathlon of the year is now less than two weeks away and most of us have not been able to get in any outside bike workouts of note yet.

We have had a couple of openings come up for the Blazn Fast Team relay and anyone interested should get in tough with me A.S.A.P. 

Take care out there and remember to think Blazn Fast!

Feature Article

Running shoe usage. One of the most common mistake is the overuse of your running shoes. Not only do old shoes give a greater beating to your body and increase injury risk they drastically affect your recovery time between runs. You need to make sure that your shoes you use for your longer runs are in excellent condition, and as the shoes viability decreases you move to short runs with that pair. Cycle your shoes and I am a strong advocate of have at least two pairs in use at all times. This way you can compare your shoes to each other to really know when a pair is finished. In the end it costs you the same because you get the same miles out the shoes but you would have them for a longer period of time because you use different shoes for each run. The other benefit of alternating which shoes you use is that your body reacts differently to different models of shoes and you would not strain the same thing each run by switching shoes from run to run. Here is a chart of my shoe usage plan

Race Reports

paraphrased report "... the swim was started in the dark and the rain was not overly noticeable while swimming and after a comfortable and strong swim (1:10) the athletes made their way to the tents. I couldn't have had a better position in transition as my bike was just outside the tent door. 

We started the bike in a light rain but relatively low wind conditions and I rode amongst the main group on the first lap keeping a low heart rate and finished loop 1 in under 3 hours ( editors note: Wow ). Just near the beginning of the start of the second loop as we went back out of town I was directed by an official to take a turn and while turning aggressive I went down hard on the road. Fortunately I was up and away fairly quickly with no damage to self or bike, just took me about 15 minutes to settle back into a rhythm. On the second loop of the bike the wind started to pick up and also the rain would periodically get worse and then better. With the tougher conditions, mostly the wind, the second loop was slower at about 3:30 for a total time of around 6:45 including transitions.

Going out onto the run it really started to rain and the first quarter of the run was quick anyways opening the first 10.5 k or so in about 55-56 minutes. I started walking and eating a lot in the transitions and experience the Ironman stiffness on and off through the rest of the middle of the run before I realized I would have to pick it up if I wanted to break 13 hours.

As I came down the last section and into the chute I was waving and going side to side and accepting cheers by the spectators and saw the clock near the 13 hour mark and despite some last pickup was just over at 13:00:17...

Thanks for the report Bernie and I hope I got the details right

This weeks Training

Volume Week is back. This week during volume week remember to alternate the easy days with hard days even though it is volume week. In your easy days along with shorter runs get in the bike (indoor) and in the water for your time but leave the longer runs for the alternating days. 

Use the new members log area to track your training and lets see how the progress goes.

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