Bike Fit

Getting the proper bike fit is critical to maximizing your potential. However, getting a bike fit is one of those things that people just don't have time to get done. After all, when you leave the fit you don't really have anything in your hands. However, not everything that has value can be held in your hand. A proper bike fit will not only make you a faster triathlete/cyclist. It will make you a more comfortable one and a healthier one and as a result a happier one. A proper bike fit takes into consideration your anatomical limits, flexibility, and skeletal make-up. You want the bike to fit your body not the other way around. This is why a dynamic bike fit is so important. Getting the proper seat heigth, seat angle, arm-rest drop, flex angle in the knee, hip and shoulder are all critical to fitting your bike to your body. Fitting the bike, riding the bike and making small adjustments are necessary in fine tuning the fit. Also, the human body is continuously changing and as a result a bike fit should be performed once per year in order to adjust for these changes. A good time to get a bikek fit is in the off season prior to intensive training. Making changes in mid-season is not a good idea though....unless things are obviously amiss.

400 Meter Workout

This workout is for mid distance sprinters who desire to run the 400 of their life. Anyone who has run the 400 knows that this race is the ultimate in strength, power, speed-endurance, and flat out guts. Breaking 50 seconds has always been the gold standard while running it below 45 seconds puts you in an elite classification. I only wish I came across this workout 20 years ago. http://speedendurance.com/2008/07/29/400-meter-training-2-x-300m-or-2x40-second-workout/

This workout is meant for those high school, college, and masters runners who still love the thrill that only the 400 can deliver and find themselves dreaming of this race years after they have competed in it. Myself included.

Lactate Threshold Testing & Vo2 Max Testing

Use of a metabolic analyzer allows for testing of Vo2 Max, Lactate Threshold, and Resting Metabolic Rate. This gives you insight to your personal Training Zones which help you train smarter, and race not only wiser but faster. It is common to determine lactate threshold heart rate zones by completing a 30 minute time trial or field test and taking the average heart rate for the last 20 minutes to extrapulate training zones. While this method is much better than nothing at all, it is far from accurate due to the fact that heart rates can be wildly inaccurate due to factors such as dehydration, fatigue/stress, illness, etc.... . A metabolic analyzer measures oxygen uptake and Co2 emmitted while on an ergometer (treadmill or bike trainer) during an 8-12 minute protocol. Lactate threshold is determined at the point where Co2 emmissions sky rocket and fat utilization as energy bottoms out sending you into an anaerobic state. The benefit of being tested with a metabolic analyzer is the ability to dial in your heart rate training zones in coordination with your power and your body's metabolic response to exercise. On top of that, you only have to test twice per year to determine zones and progress rather than completing those annoying time trial field tests every 3 weeks.

Running Shoes

Will your next running shoe look like this? It has been suggested that buying a new pair of running shoes every 3 months is a good idea if you are a competitive runner. What should you do if you are a world class ethopian runner who doesn't train in shoes? There seems to be a contradiction here in that some of the best runners in the world have at one time or another done a great deal of barefoot running. If you notice most world class runners do not have shoes that are overly padded in the heel? They seem to be running in racing flats? Why is this? This flies in the face of what most running shoe companies are saying. I believe you will find future running shoes to have less padding in the heal and a more minamalist design. This gives credance to learning and practicing proper running form, completing speed skill drills once a week, and having a well balanced training plan that stresses a gradual (10%) increase in volume each week, along with a rest/recovery week every 4th week for those under 40 years of age, and every 3rd week for those over 40. A new pair of running shoes every month may still be a good idea but it is not a reason to neglect the afore mentioned training principles. In the end it isn't the shoes that make the runner.

It's Not Your Equipment. It's Your Training.

How many of us have gone out and bought the latest and greatest bicycle/wetsuite/running shoes only to find that we still get dropped at the local group ride or come out of T1 down by 10 minutes. You are not alone. We have all fallen victim to this. The fact is, your equipment can only take you so far. Defining your limiters and improving on them while also maintaining your strengths is key to making those improvements you know you can make. Technique and economy on the bike, run, or swim is really where it is at. Some like to call this "free speed". But I understand,,,, you need to look cool also. So enjoy your new bike, but remember, there is no substitute for purposeful training in the right training/power zones.