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April 2008

TOP 5 TRAINING MYTHS FOR ENDURANCE ATHLETES: THE ALTERNATIVE TRUTHS BY: FIONA LOCKHART, CTS

An abundance of information exists for endurance athletes; sometimes too much. It can become quite difficult to figure out exactly what you should and shouldn’t do in training because many sources have conflicting information. Below are some of the myths that seem to be perpetuated over and over again, even though the scientific research doesn’t back it up.

1. There’s no point in doing high-intensity workouts if you’re training for a long-distance event, like a marathon, since you’ll never be going that hard during the event. No matter what the event you are training for, it’s useful to change up the intensity of your workouts to make sure you work all your physiological systems, as well as to prevent physical and mental staleness. Research has shown that athletes who perform sprint workouts were able to improve their longer-term endurance performance. That doesn’t mean that you do high-intensity intervals, like sprints or hill repeats, all the time, but adding them to your total training mix will make you a better athlete. 2. If you want to lose weight, go out and ride or run for long periods of time without eating. If you train in the morning, don’t eat beforehand. No, no, no, no, no. Your body needs fuel in order to perform at its best. If you try to train without sufficient fuel stores, not only will you wear yourself out in the long run, but your immediate workout will have only a fraction of the quality it should have. Consume gels, sports drinks and/or bars to maintain a steady supply of carbohydrate during your workout. Make sure you also take advantage of recovery nutrition, like the POWERBAR® Recovery shake, within 30 minutes of the end of your training bout; this will maximize those glycogen stores so you can come back and train hard the next day. If you train in the morning, have something to eat before you start out. Your body burns through glycogen while you are sleeping;

and your training will suffer from reduced fuel stores in the morning if you don’t refuel. If your body doesn’t tolerate solid foods before early-morning workouts, try a POWERBAR® Endurance sport drink. If you are trying to lose weight, think about cutting calories at times away from your training, not near to or during it.3. Losing weight will always improve your performance. While a light, lean body is certainly a benefit for endurance events, don’t overdo it. Just because someone else can perform effectively at a given weight doesn’t mean you should be at that same weight. If you’re trying to lose weight, do it slowly and gradually so that you can continue to fuel your body sufficiently to support your training. If your weight is going down, but your power output and performance are diminishing as well, you may very well be too lean for your own good. 4. When doing strength training, always do lots of repetitions so that you don’t bulk up. In order to reap the most gains from a strength training program, you need to lift a significant amount of weight in a relatively short period of time. After you have done a few weeks of light weight, moderate repetitions (i.e. 12-15 reps) to allow your tendons, ligaments, and muscles to adapt to the rigors of strength training, you will need to raise the amount of weight and lower the number of repetitions in order to maximize your strength gains. Don’t worry; unless you’re spending 5 days a week, 4+ hours in the gym (and you shouldn’t be, if you’re an endurance athlete), you won’t get “muscle-bound”! 5. To really be competitive, you need to train more than 15 hours a week. If this were the case, there would be very few competitive athletes over the age of 30. Let’s face it, with work, family, and other obligations we contend with as we get older, it can be difficult to find many hours of training time during the week. But that’s okay, because you can still train effectively with limited time.

Join in the fun! Register for the Tri Fusion Tri-

Forum online at www.tri-fusion.com

RR: Oceanside,

page 5

Raise the Bar,

page 2

Getting There,

page 3

Tri Fusion Kids Club Launch,

page 4

RR: Snake River Sprint

page 6 BoD, Calendar, Sponsors,

page 8RR: Spring Thaw #1

page 7

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Raising the Barby The Goals Guywww.goalsguy.com

"Unless you try to do something beyond what youhave already mastered, you will never grow."~Ralph Waldo Emerson

It began as a test of military readiness. To prepare soldiers for service, someone put a bar between two poles and commanded the troops to jump over it.

Soon it turned to sport. More than likely it was at the ancient Greek Olympics that the first competitive high jump took place.

The first recorded high jump competition was in the early 19th century, and that unknown jumper cleared a height of 5'6".

By 1895 the World Record stood at 6' 5 1/2". To get to that height, jumpers used a method known as the "scissors kick."

Approaching the bar backwards, jumpers would kick one leg up and then another, in a scissors fashion, to get over the bar.

But that technique had its limits as there was only so high you could go. So when the bar was raised, a new technique had to be developed.

Around the turn of the century, the "Western Roll" became the way to go. The jumper made a forward-facing approach, kicked his inside leg up, and then rolled over the bar belly first.

With the Western Roll, the World Record went up to 6' 7". But it too had its limits.

So when it was found that the bar had been raised once more, innovative jumpers modified the Western Roll by adding a bit of speed and developed what was known as the "Straddle Technique."

By doing so, by 1957 the World Record was quickly raised to 7'. Valeriy Brumel of the old Soviet Union was the master of the straddle. But it too had its limits.

There was only so high one could go using that particular technique. And the bar kept being raised.

So in 1967 an American named Dick Fosbury developed a most unusual, but very effective method of clearing the bar that has come to be called-quite appropriately-the "Fosbury Flop."

Running toward the bar, the jumper twists his body and arches his back as he goes over the bar.

Using the Flop, the World Record has been raised several times, and is currently held by Cuba's Javier Sotomayor. In 1993, he cleared an amazing 8' 1/2".

The history of the high jump shows an interesting trend. Every time the bar was raised, a new technique to get over it had to be developed.

It's Time to Raise the Bar

I am sharing this message with you not because I want you to know the history of a sporting event, but because it speaks directly to you and everything about your life, career, family and legacy.

We are each called to "raise the bar" in our own lives.

No, let me rephrase that. With all my heart, I believe that events in our world have already raised the bar and that we are called to jump higher than it ever has before.

You know as well as I that in the last few years our world has changed like never before. The stakes are so much higher today than they were yesterday. All you need to do is listen to the evening news or read the morning paper to know that is true.

We are individually and collectively called to raise our expectations, to become better people, parents, managers, leaders, and citizens.

But it seems clear that so often we try to meet those challenges and increased expectations in the same ways we have in the past. We're using the Straddle and not making the height.

If we are to answer the call, if we are to clear the bar, then finding new techniques to get over it will be essential.

Implement Your Fosbury Flop.

Raise your training and race season expectations, innovate your swimming, biking and/or running techniques. Update your nutrition plan, maybe seek expert help. Ask more of your body, mind and spirit.

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Getting There: Open houses slated on bike planCity planners to revisit master plan for bicycles.by Thomas ClouseStaff writerApril 7, 2008

State and local planners want residents to start thinking outside the car.

Spokane has not had a major overhaul of its Master Bike Plan since the 1960s. In those past decades, bike trails were built and other plans sat idle, said city planner Louis Meuler. Thus, the city will host three open houses this month to get a sense of the community's collective will as planners face ever-growing environmental and legal demands to reduce both emissions and miles traveled by cars.

"With what money we have, how do you want it spent?" Meuler asked. "We've looked at the old plan and studied what we have not yet done. We are trying to get a reality-based plan."

The city has scheduled the meetings April 22, 24 and 29. The state Department of Transportation will join the April 24 open house at the West Central Community Center, 1603 N. Belt, to get input on the state's Bicycle and Pedestrian Walkways Plan.

For instance, the old Spokane Master Bike Plan may call for a bike lane on a road that runs beside basalt cliffs. If the public decides it wants the city to spend the money to complete that costly portion of the project, it could come at the expense of a longer stretch of bike lane elsewhere, Meuler said.

"One new idea is to make bike boulevards. In those cases, you take non-arterial streets that parallel arterials and make them more bike friendly," he said. "Cars would still be allowed to travel on them, but bikes would have the right of way."

The Master Bike Plan dates to the 1960s. It's been updated a few times, "but we haven't gone into this level of detail since then," Meuler said.

The project has been led by city planner Ken Pelton and Joel Soden, a graduate student at Eastern Washington University interning with the city.

"As a city, we want to encourage alternative modes of transportation," Pelton said in a news release. "So making it easier for cyclists to get around just makes sense."

Gov. Chris Gregoire last month signed a bill into law that sets a goal of reducing the miles driven by commuters by 18 percent in 2020, 30 percent in 2035 and 50 percent by 2050, Meuler said.

"This is really going to require a shift in spending to make (walking, biking and public transit) more feasible," he said.

Paula Reeves, who works for WSDOT, said a state survey shows that biking and walking account for about 6 percent

of trips in the state. Another 6 percent involved mass transit. "It's very inexpensive to put in a stretch of sidewalk to get kids safely to school or to put in a new bike lane," she said. "The plan we are working on makes a statewide assessment for need and safety and filling in those gaps."

While climate change continues to make residents think differently about many things, it has not yet translated into a major concern in regard to commuting, she said.

"Less than 1 percent (of the people in the survey) made the connection to climate change. Most respondents wanted to walk or bike for their own health or to save gas money," Reeves said.

Spokane City officials will host three open houses later this month to get public ideas and comments as it works to update the Master Bike Plan. The first open house will be from 6 to 8 p.m. April 22 at the Southside Activity Center, 3151 E. 27th Ave. The next open house will be from 7 to 9 p.m. on April 24 at the West Central Community Center, 1603 N. Belt St., and the final open house will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Northeast Community Center at 4001 N. Cook St.

The Washington State Department of Transportation also is seeking public comment on its Washington State Bicycle Facilities and Pedestrian Walkways Plan. A draft of the plan is available for review at www.wsdot.wa.gov/bike/bike_plan.htm

As part of that effort, state officials want residents to give feedback during the 60-day public comment period, which runs through the end of May. Comments can be submitted through the Web site or by calling this toll-free number: 1-866-375-6729. State officials also will join the city’s open house on April 24 at the West Central Community Center.

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As was anticipated, our Kids Club launch happened on Wednesday, April 9th at Brentwood Elementary School and was an immediate success!

The evening began with a warm welcome and short introduction of Kids Club committee members from Roger Thompson and Natalie Gallagher. From there, Mark Hodgson took over as MC and presented our young athletes with a hilarious and riveting skit highlighting the importance of outstanding conduct at our meetings and events.

After an enthusiastic beginning, age-grouped athletes were given the opportunity to visit three different triathlon sessions: training/every day nutrition; triathlon training education & planning; and an exercise/obstacle course clinic. Each of the three age groups represented were able to visit all three sessions throughout the evening.

Highlights of each session included=>

• Nutrition with Leni & Phaedra:

Athletes were able to play a “good

food vs. bad food choices” game which

also involved choosing the correct

nutrition category for certain foods;

and a healthy snack with take-home

recipe!

The Tri Fusion Kids Club Official Launch

by Natalie Gallagher

• Exercise with Jake, Katey & Mark:Our youngsters completed a warm-up

before running through an obstacle

course and ended the session with

stretching and lots of accolades from

fellow age-groupers and coaches!

• Triathlon training plans/

schedules with Jen, Trish & Tiffany:

Depending on the age group in each

session, athletes were treated to an

overview of the three sports in triathlon,

recommendations for training

schedules and a training plan

engineered for each age group!

The exciting evening closed with an

all group meeting to sing our fight song,

“Swim and bike and run a lot

Just keep movin’

Always give it all you’ve got

We’re Kids Tri Fusion!”

All of our young athletes also

received individual SWAG bags with

team swim caps, team tattoos, Erin Baker

breakfast cookies, toothbrushes from

Toillion dentistry, and a list of upcoming

kids’ triathlon races.

It’s not too late to join! To

register your child for the Tri

Fusion Kids Club, contact Tiffany

Byrd at TByrd@mead.k12.wa.us

• Next meeting: July 9, 2008

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Race Review: Oceansideby Phaedra Cote

I landed in Orange County Wednesday afternoon and drove to San Diego to hook up with the girls plus Steven (Shelby's brother). Put my bike together and got settled in. I was glad to be there.

On Thursday, I got my first open water swim of the season in the Bay. It was fun to be in the water with the girls. It wasn't terribly cold but we swam for all of about 14 minutes and decided that was good enough. Later on, we went to the expo where we picked up our race packets and visited with some folks. We headed over to 2xu where I picked up my new race suit and visor. Pretty. Love the new color.

Friday was a relaxing, fun day. We went for a short ride and run in the morning and then came back and got all ready for the race. That night, we went out for one of the best dinners I have ever had. And of course, laughed a lot (after Haley dislodged a rice stick from her throat-that was kind of scary). We got into bed at around 10 but I just couldn't fall asleep. I have to mention that Shelby let Haley and I sleep in her bed and she slept on the floor-the whole time. The sacrifices she makes for us.

After a mostly sleepless night, we woke up at 4am and started to get ready. Steven came out of his room all dressed and said he was coming to the race with us because we were so loud he couldn't sleep :). He made some promises about holding up obnoxious signs but never followed thru with that. FOOF! I must say, he was super helpful and even went to get coffees for me & Shelby and was right there to watch Haley go off on the swim and come back. He hung in until the very end.

SWIMAnd we're off! The water didn't feel too terribly cold but I'm pretty sure it was in the low 50's.I had to swim through a few people but decided not to go nuts at the start. I built into it and went a little conservative on the way out.

At the turn around I asked myself "are you really going as hard as you can?". Um, no. So I picked it up for the second half. It was a little choppy once we got out of the harbor but nothing crazy. I will say, I stayed on course. The funny part is, I stayed SO on course, I actually ran into 3 or 4 buoys, I had to laugh. "A" for effort but let's work on swimming towards the buoys, not necessarily into them. Out of about 2000 people, I was 887th (ouch) on the swim. Yes, I'm going to be working on my swim.Swim time: 37:08

BIKEI had a very smooth transition and took off a minute from last year. Got onto the bike and headed out. Thank god I'm done with the swim. Now the fun part. Now that I have an SRM power meter on my bike, I had specific power ranges for this race which was nice. It was pretty windy but I just focused and my numbers and rode VERY conservatively, I recall feeling somewhat bored at one point. Half irons are not intense in that way. The last 10 miles I caught up to what looked like the 40-44 men that caught me on the swim but maybe went a little hard on the bike. There was quite a head wind and I felt kind of stuck behind this fairly large group of guys. I decided that I needed to push a little harder the rest of the way and pass them-there were a lot of them. Which is what I did and I felt really good. I knew then I had raced smart on the bike. Last year at this race, the last 10 miles was brutal. I was cooked. I felt confident that my run was going to go really well. So much for that.Bike time: 2:55:07

RUNI had another great transition and headed out on the run. As I approached the first aid station, there was chalk writing on the street.....is that my name? It is, but it's spelled wrong. What the? It was spelled "Phadra". Later, Shelby explained that she couldn't decide if she was going to write Padre or Phaedra so she mixed them together on accident. That's my girl! "A" for effort, and that 's the first time I've seen my name on a course so I didn't care if it was spelled wrong.

I had a well thought out plan for the run as far as heart rate zones and effort. I started the first 4.5 miles at a conservative heart rate and was right where I needed to be. My heart rate was in line with my intended starting pace which was encouraging. At mile 4.5, I increased my heart rate as planned and started to pick up my pace......again, all going as planned. And then my legs just weren't going. I was slowing down with every mile and by mile 11 I just wanted to be done. I suffered through those last miles as I have before in a half iron but this was one of my slowest run times ever, a whole 3:30 slower than my first ever half iron. It was all so confusing because my run has been going well in the early season and I was so conservative on the bike. I can list a ton of excuses for why my run was still slow but I won't. I'm motivated to redeem myself and solve my run mystery. I know there's an answer, I'm just not the most patient person and I really thought I would have performed better. Chalk it up to early season and learn from it.Run Time: 1:55:51

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Race Review: Snake River Sprint Triathlonby Tiffany Byrd

This marks my one year anniversary of my first triathlon. What a difference a year makes! First of all, it was pretty incredible to feel more excited than nervous about this race. I have been working really hard and I was pumped to be able to compare last year Tiffany to this year Tiffany.

As Katey and I packed her car to head to Lewiston, it was absolutely freezing in Spokane with some scattered snow. I was finding it pretty hard to pump myself up for riding and running outside the next day.

I was the most nervous for the swim. Because it is my best of the three sports that make up triathlon, I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well. I know that it is the place where I can gain the most time so I have to do my best. The second we drove up to the aquatic center, I could feel my nerves kick in. My hands were literally shaking. It was really great to see so many people from Tri Fusion there, though. It's always nice to see some familiar faces and to be able to encourage one another. I'm pretty lucky that I have never had to race without so much support from so many people!

I warmed up with Jessi and felt pretty good. My goal was to not start so hard that I would end up flailing at the end. This is a big challenge for me since I can literally feel the adrenaline pulse through every vein the second I start the swim. My saving grace was Jessi. She called out all of my splits for me so that I could control my pace. I felt so strong the entire time - thank goodness for all of those Mornings with Martin swims! I ended up swimming my 500 yards in 7:16. Since my goal was 7:30, I was absolutely thrilled! I shaved over a minute off of last year's swim!

After one of the worst nights of sleep I had ever had, I got up at 7:00 to get ready for the rest of the race. Of course, I was nervous again. I did feel better after looking out the window and seeing dry roads and a pretty clear sky - not at all what I was expecting! We got to the race site 2 hours before the race started and got some great spots to rack our bikes. After that, we drove the course and found things like manure on the road to let us know we were just about to mile 4. :) Up next, I took my bike out for a spin just to be sure everything felt good.

Once the race started, my jitters were gone. I'm thrilled to say that I had an awesome bike ride. The difference between this year and last year was huge! I felt really strong and it wasn't nearly as bad this year as it was last year. I didn't get passed by as many people and I actually did some passing myself! I also spent a significant amount of time in my aerobars which was awesome because I'm not incredibly confident in myself using them just yet.

The first half is a gradual incline and my goal was to focus on pushing AND pulling. I think I did a really great job. On the way back, I did not want to coast at all downhill. Since there was a pretty serious head wind, this wasn't really an issue for me. At one point, I was riding in sideways blowing snow. Pretty hard core, huh?

Up next was the run. It was a tough one for me. I had some water on the way out and my stomach got really tight immediately afterward. Not to mention the fact that I couldn't have my iPod which is always crushing for me. I HATE listening to myself breathe when I'm running! The first mile went pretty well as my stomach started to relax a bit.Once I hit the turn around, I decided to kick it into high gear. I took advantage of some of the downhills, knowing full well that my shins were going to pay for it later. Oh well!

I'm not going to lie, I thought I was going to die sprinting to the finish. I succeeded in getting my heart rate up to 200! I wonder what my heart looks like when it's pumping that fast?! I finished the race in 1:04:08. Since my time last year was 1:16:44, I was ecstatic. It felt darn good to see all of my hard work pay off!

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Race Review: Spring Thaw Du #1

by Steve Anderson

Recently I raced in the Spring Thaw duathlon: 2.2 miles run/10 miles bike/2.2 miles run. The weather was perfect, so it was a great day to get out and race. I really didn’t know exactly how the race would go, but I knew that I was going to push myself. The first two loops felt good, I averaged 6:28/mile which is dang fast for me. As I headed into transition my legs were feeling good and T1 went smoothly.

So off I go on the bike. Last year I was passed by about 10 people and was definitely not happy about that. This year I think I cut that down to about 5 people and I think I even passed 2 or 3. My legs were feeling pretty good even after the long ride yesterday. It was awesome to see my teammate, Phaedra, pass me on the bike. She is such a strong rider and her words of encouragement really helped me push to the end.

On to T2. In my first race this season my legs felt pretty good coming off the bike, something that never happened last year. As soon as I got off the bike I knew my legs were ready to run. After a quick transition, I was off to try and catch as many people as possible. The first loop was good but I think I could have run it a bit faster. As I stated when I started the day, I was going to push myself. The second loop was a bit of a struggle but I just kept pushing. In my second two loops I was able to average 6:46/mile, which is something I am very pleased about. I finished in 25th overall and 5th in my age group but most importantly I was able to shave 6 minutes off my last year’s time.

After a weekend of riding 40 miles and doing a race you would think a person would call it a day and head home to enjoy the great weather. As we were sitting down relaxing after the race a few of my fellow Tri-Fusionites asked if I would like to join them for an additional workout? What should a boy do? Do it, of course!

HARD WORK!

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Board of Directors

• Kathi Best - Social Director• Kevin Best - Vice President• Kim Ellis - Treasurer• Greg Gallagher - Philanthropist• Natalie Gallagher - Newsletter Director• Ben Greenfield - Website Director• Mark Hodgson - Team Event Director• Sam Picicci - Uniform Director• Jim Powers - Membership Director• Jessi Thompson - Secretary• Roger Thompson - President• Scott Ward - Marketing Director• Kirk Wood-Gaines - Mentor

Director

We would like to extend a

generous thank you to our

truly amazing sponsors!

The Board of Directors, Sponsorsand The Calendar of Upcoming Events...

April/May CalendarTraining Opportunities:

North Spokane --

Monday - Friday @ 5:30-7 am: Masters Swim at Whitworth College $75/month

Friday evenings: Varying times/events/places to workout. Watch the Tri Forum for details!

Saturdays @ time TBA: Probable outside bike ride meeting location & time posted weekly on the Tri-Forum.

Sundays @ 8 am: Mornings with Martin, Planned group swim workout @ Oz North. Starbucks afterwards!

Races/Runs:

• April 27: Lilac Century Ride, 100, 50 or 15 miles, Spokane, WA

• Spring Dash 5 miler, NIC @ Cd’A, ID

• April 30: Lonestar Half IM, Galveston, TX

• May 3: Wildflower Triathlons, Monteray County, CA

• Lilac Bloomsday 12K, Spokane, WA

• May 18: Spring Thaw Duathlon #2, Nine Mile Falls, WA

• Florida Ironman, Orlando, FL

Upcoming Events: Clinics - • Ironspeed Cd’A Camp: Saturday, May

10-Wednesday, May 14 at various locations in Spokane & Cd’A. Please visit the Tri-Forum for details.

Next Membership Meeting:May 21st, 2008 @ 6:30 p.m.: General membership meeting at location TBA.

Next Tri Fusion Kids Club Meeting: Wednesday, July 9th @ Brentwood Elementary from 6:15-7:45 p.m.