Tri Alliance E News

Welcome to the seventh addition of Tri-Alliance e-news!

Hi avid triathlete's the season is nearly upon us again after a long and cold winter off season. Down south anyway!

Read on for great tips, news and reviews. We will be having race reports in the future brought to you from our partners at First Off the Bike.

please contact us at news@tri-alliance.com.au, or for an answer requiring a quick response, go to http://www.triathlon-forum.com/

Enjoy!

SWIM

If you're endlessly trying to improve your swimming times, but aren't having any luck, then maybe you should be thinking about two of the most important things to concentrate on when swimming....head position and body roll.

The ideal head position for freestyle swimming has the swimmer looking forward at about a 30-40 degree angle from the 'face down looking directly at the bottom' position. Many swimmers hold their chin and head up in an attempt to remain afloat and plane across the water, but in fact end up with an arched back, sinking feet with a desire to over kick, and a large scissor kick on breathing strokes. By keeping the head down a little, the hips and feet naturally come up nearer the surface and the body becomes more streamlined.

To improve you r body roll, an athlete should get aboard the core strength and conditioning phenomenon. A swimmer is much more streamlined when one hip and shoulder are rolled down and the entire shoulder of the recovering arm is clear of the water. But this all requires core strength, hence why a strength and core program specific to swimming may be necessary for improvements in swimming times. Secondly, choose drills that focus on incorporating body roll. One armed freestyle with the other arm outstretched, for example, emphasises a flat body position. By putting the non working arm beside your body, you emphasise the need to roll. Thirdly, do some really slow swimming to over emphasise the roll - usually the faster you swim, the less you roll. Finally, think about initiating your body roll from the hips, lifting the shoulder of the recovering arm as high as possible, and actually sweeping your forearm parallel to your trunk from the belly button to your hip as you roll back towards the side to complete your stroke. With correct body roll, you won't have to turn you head far for a breath.

BIKE

How do I fix a flat?

• If it’s your rear wheel make sure to drop down into the smallest cog. That will make it easier to get the chain back on again.
• Place 2 plastic tire irons about 3-4 inches apart between the tire and rim being careful not to pinch the tube. Slowly force the tire out over the rim.Take one iron and place it in the opening you just made and carve your way around the rim removing the tire as you go.
• Use your fingers to pluck the tire out and pull the remainder out .Before you forget, feel the inside of the tire for the offending object that caused the flat. Look at the outside of the tire for the same.
• Blow up the tire with your mouth and rotate it near your skin to feel the air escaping.
• Determine if the spoke on the inside pinched it. If so either get a new liner or inflate your tires up more.
• Patch the tire or use new tire. Patching involves roughing up the tire with the sandpaper or file provided, spreading glue and blowing on it to dry and then applying the patch. Be sure to rub it firmly to insure a tight seal. Now the tire is fixed!
• If you use the long skinny valve, open it and either blow a little air into it or use your pump to round it out for inserting back into tire.
• Put the valve in first and fit both sides of the tire around the valve first, this will make putting the remainder of the tire on the rim easier.
• Slowly work the tube inside the tire and then slowly force the tire edge back inside the rim. Use your thumbs to slide the remainder of the tire over the rim. Don’t use your tire irons to force the tire back on or you risk pinching the tire. You can’t over inflate with a hand pump so don’t worry about blowing the tire out but do make sure it's very firm when you press down on the outside of the tire. Weed the wheel through the maze of chain and bicycle frame until the chain rests on the bottom cog that you left it. Viola!

RUN

While it is tempting for some triathlete's to attempt to do endless amounts of running training in a bid to improve their times, it is not always the most logical or safest way to gain a pb time. Too much running can result in injuries and prolonged muscle soreness as you may not have allowed your muscles to recover from a previous session. It is also an easy way to lead to overtraining and as such, prolonged fatigue which is very hard to recover from.

So here's our method to improving your run times without extra time hitting the pavement.......pilates.

Pilates is a system of physical conditioning designed to re-educate the body in how to use muscles in a correct and controlled manner, preventing imbalance and injury. The techniques and exercises are designed to develop torso/pelvis stability and alignment, termed core control, and are addresses through a progressive increase in complexity of the exercises.

Often overlooked during training is the role of the core muscles and stabilizers that fix one end of the limb lever so that the transit of it's other end through space results in locomotion. If one end is not stabilized effectively some of the force will be lost in application.

If you begin a regular pilate's program, the results will be to improve efficiency in running (even swimming and riding), through a less strenuous activity that is not likely to lead to overtraining.

So take the easy way, and get involved in a pilates or core strength class. You will soon be noticing the differences in strength and efficiency during running, as well as injury prevention.

Low Carbohydrate Diets and Performance

The importance of carbohydrates as a high energy fuel was realised in the 1960's, and has been reinforced by many studies since then, Low carbohydrate diets decrease endurance.

Scores of studies have shown that diets high in fat and low in carbohydrate cause a marked decrease in time to fatigue in running, cycling, rowing, climbing, and swimming. Also, carbohydrate loading - eating extra carbs before a target competition - increases muscle and liver glycogen (stored carbohydrate) and promotes endurance.

However, body composition is also an important element in athletic success, particularly in weight training. Low-carbohydrate diets are the best way to lose fat in a short time.

While low carb diets may impair endurance performance, they may help you lose body fat, which improves performance. The trick is to know when to use low carb diets and when not to.

Heart Rate Monitors

Heart Rate monitors are a very useful tool for triathlete's, especially when you need to know what training zone, or effort to be training at.

There is a wide range of variety available to a keen buyer these days, so a fair bit of thought and research may have to be put into it, with styles ranging from very basic to extremely advanced....not the kind of tool that should be bought by the technologically challenged!

Prices range from $80 through to $500, but i'm sure that you would be able to find one that breaks the $500 barrier. So basically, it's how much you are willing to pay. A very reliable heart rate monitor would probably be in the $100-150 range.

The CBD program will now have a brand new timetable with 2 swims, 2 bikes, 2 runs.The new timetable is:
--Monday Swim 6.30pm
--Tuesday indoor wind trainer session 6.30pm
--Wednesday swim 6.30pm
--Thursday run 6.30pm
--Friday based on numbers and if the program goes well, possibility of a swim at 6.30
--Saturday long ride with squad
--Sunday long run to either start from the corner of Pickles and Beach Road, or alternatively, if feedback provides, MSAC  

MSAC Multi-Sport now offers a new comprehensive multi-sport program at Melbourne€™s MSAC

L1 Casual: The Tuesday Swim-Spin sessions are available for
RunRideRun.Com competing level members to join in. Entry fee: $10 cash or cc paid on the night. See us on the night to join.

L2 MSAC Multi-Sport Mini Program: The mini program is the perfect multi-sport program for individuals either starting out or just wanting to train socially.
With this you will get the choice to participate any 3 Multi sports full sessions including entry to any of the MSAC sessions.
Entry fee: 50 VTX through www.RunRideRun.Com which
will cover the first 3 weeks of participation. You will then be contacted by Tri-Alliance to arrange your $25 pw Direct Debit which will commence at the end of week 3 of the program.  This program is ongoing.

L3 Full MSAC Multi-Sport Program: The full program is the perfect multi-sport program for athletes of all levels from beginner to advanced. Entry fee: 50 VTX through www.RunRideRun.Com which will cover the first 3 weeks of participation. You will then be contacted by Tri-Alliance to arrange your $35 pw Direct Debit which will commence at the end of week 3 of the program. JOIN NOW

If you have any further question about this please let me know.

In the mean time please feel free to join up with RUNRIDERUN.COM for Free.  Follow the instructions below.

For all the latest Tri Alliance cycling gear including jersey's, bib and brace and shorts as shown below.

For more information contact CBD Cycles on (03) 9639 2299 shop 1 top of Bourke St or (03) 9642 8766 at shop 2 bottom of Bourke St Melbourne.

Email, sales@cbdcycles.com.au