Long-awaited update

Hey kids,

I'm sure everyone's been chomping at the bit for a website update. I honestly haven't had the energy or desire to do much of anything tri-related in a while... so it goes.

But I wanted to use this first update in a while to congratulate Caltech Triclub member Steve Vass on a successful outing at the Alcatraz triathlon last week: 109/174 of overall and 1/2 in his age group. The man is a stud.

Peace

Scott

Capo Sizing

Under bibs/shorts, the second line should read "waist," not "chest." Bottom line, these fit just like every other european-style cycling brand (pearl izumi, castelli, hincapie, bergamo, etc).

New Cycling Kit!

Here's the design for the 2009-2010 Caltech Cycling kit. It's pretty amazing, and clearly ripped off from the Cervelo test team. Thanks to Jeff for making this incredible kit design a reality. Buy him a beer or beers.

LA Tri

Hey friends,
We had a couple of triclub members competing in the LA triathlon this weekend. Swim conditions were unbelievably difficult, with a 3-4ft swell in the water and some solid 15kt onshore winds kicking up a lot of chop. Age groupers and pros alike had a tough time getting out to the first buoy, and sighting the next buoy was nearly impossible through all the chop. Lots of saltwater was swallowed, and the lifeguards stayed busy.

Steve Vass posted a 2:58:01 - good enough for 2/7 in the M60-64 division. Nice!

My coach and I thought it was time for me to race with the big boys, so I entered in the Elite division. I was fully prepared to be humbled by the competition, but it turns out that my butt-kicking came from my old friend the ocean. Swim: 29:37 (21/24), Bike: 1:01:29 (1/24), Run: 37:40 (8/24), overall: 2:12:30 (14/24). I'm still a crappy swimmer compared to my run and bike, but the conditions really threw me into a crappier-than-usual day. At least I know what I need to work on in the offseason.

That wraps up the season for most of us. Jeff and I have one more stop at 70.3 world championships in Clearwater, FL on Nov. 14th. Wish us luck.

Bikes and BBQ!

Join the Caltech Triathlon Club, Caltech Cycling Club, and JPL Cycling Club for a celebration of all things bike related. Whether you prefer fixed-gears, single speeds, doubles, triples, or whatever, this is a chance to get out, meet some fellow cyclists and have a great time. A love of spandex and lycra is a must (not really), but if you show up in said attire, I promise great things will happen. All members of the Caltech Graduate Student community are welcome to attend as we hope to promote interest in the benefits of bicycles. Food and drinks will be provided. August 25, 6pm until whenever. South Cats Rec Room.

Breath of Life Ventura Triathlon

I know we've had people out racing all season, but I've just been slow to post results and to be frank, I don't know who all has been racing! We've had so many new members and there is so much going on that I've lost track. If anyone wants their results posted, just email me and I'll get them up.



With that said, there were several Techers out at the Breath of Life Ventura races this past weekend. The event features both sprint (400m swim/20.4k bike/5k run) and olympic (1.5k swim/40k bike/10k run) courses that are flat and fast (if not windy). I would highly recommend the event because it is very well organized (at least this year it was!) and your race fee is donated to a great cause. Aside from lots of cramping and very little sleep, this is what happened this weekend:


Sprint:
John Doyle 1:07:32, 2nd M55-59, 33rd Overall despite battling a teetering bike saddle
Oliver Buccicone 1:02:39, 1st M25-29, 10th Overall and a blistering swim


Olympic:
Steve Vass 2:34:17, 5th M60-64
Jeff Hanna (me!) 2:08:44, 7th M25-29, 30th Overall
Alberto Stochino 2:22:47, 17th M25-29

More results and splits by following this link. Note that transition times are included in the bike split.

Zuma Beach ocean swim is on too!

The swim at Malibu's Zuma Beach has started up in addition to the Manhattan Beach swim.

Meet Sundays, at Lifeguard station 14 about 10 minutes prior to 8am. Wear a bright swim cap (not white). More info can be found on the LATC training calendar or directly through this link.

Click for more info on Zuma Beach water conditions. No swim if the water temp is under 57 F!

Congratulations to all those racing in the LA Tri Series at Bonelli Park

The season has come upon us very quickly and I know several members have already finished one or more races. I am just now getting over recovery mode from the marathon but already managed to wear myself out building up base volume.

All that aside, I wanted to send out a "Congratulations!" to all those racing in the LA Tri Series at Bonelli Park. Races 1 and 2 have already come and gone. Any interested parties can find results by clicking here. If you have pics from the race, email them to me and we'll get them up.

Manhattan Beach ocean swim with LATC is on!

LATC has started up the Manhattan Beach ocean swim for 2009. Any and all are invited. You obviously need to be able to swim in a pool before trying to swim in the ocean, but all levels are welcome. This is a great and fun opportunity to get out, meet people, and get experience swimming in open water with a group. Feel free to send an email to the triclub list if you are interested in carpooling.

Meet Sundays, at the Manhattan Beach pier at 8am. More info can be found on the LATC training calendar or directly through this link.

Click for more info on Manhattan Beach water conditions.

Great Job Jeff!

Congratulations to Jeff Hanna for a great finish at the Boston Marathon. He finished in 2:58.37, averaging 6:49 miles. You can look at his splits here, but it was a very evenly run race averaging just over 21:00 5K pace.

Flo Swimming

Hello all,
This website is great for videos, workouts and just good stuff about swimming. It focuses mostly on the collegiate level, but the videos show some good sets and the blogs have great ideas about training tools and sets as well.

www.floswimming.org

enjoy

Pacing and your Anaerobic Threshold

Hey all, sorry for the long lapse between swimming posts. Today's post is going to be concerning pacing in your training and how to shape your sets.

This color-coded pacing chart (which can also be found under the Links section of this blog) is a tool that can be used to pick out the times that you should be holding on various types of sets. In order to use the set though, you need to conduct an anaerobic threshold test set similar to the one below:

20 x 100 on 20 to 30 sr
up to
30 x 100 on 20 to 30 sr
(note that sr=seconds rest)

The goal is to hold the same time over the course of the set, but it should be a challenging pace. More than likely you will crash on the last two or three 100's of the set, and thats ok. The time that you were able to average over the course of the set is going to be your Anaerobic Threshold pace. This time will correllate to left most column of the pacing chart (also the Red column).

Once you have this time established you can use the chart to build sets for yourself based on the pacing listed. For us as triathletes, the goal is to optimize the 100 split we are able to hold over a 20-30 minute period. In an ideal world this pace will come close to the Red pace, but will most likely fall around your pink pace or just faster. Utilize the information at the top of the chart to help build your set. The rest listed is per 100 swum. As always, please feel free to email me or let me know if there are any questions.

Free Intro to Triathlon Clinic

Tuesday, Feb. 3rd, 7:30pm
Central Cats Rec Room
(Presented by the Caltech Triathlon Club and the GSC)

Ever think about doing a triathlon?
Come see this information session, where local elite triathlete Craig Pansing will tell you the basics of triathlon -- gear, training, race strategy, nutrition... everything you need to know to be successful in your first multisport event.

The event will have a relaxed vibe and some healthy snacks.

Look for our flyers around campus and around the Cats!

Swim Stuff

Hello All, Diana and I wanted to start sharing some knowledge in respect to swimming. So we'll put up different items each week so that you can all try some different items. We'll put up sets, drills, or whole workouts depending on feedback and interest.

This week we'll put up a drill progression called the Minnesota stroke drill (mainly because I love Minnesota). For those of you who were at the rainy day fun swim, some of the drills have already been covered. The progression consists of three drills and "perfect freestyle" evenly distributed over the course of the chosen distance. The drills are below:

CATCH UP -- Touch your thumbs at the front of your freestyle stroke. Focus on a good solid catch and then pull underneath your body. Ensure that you are not crossing over or sliding your hand outside your body. If your hips are dropping, look directly at the bottom of the pool and increase your kicking. The point of this drill is to emphasize a solid catch and quality body roll.

FINGERTIP DRAG -- Drag your fingertip in the water during your recovery (from the rear of your pull all the way to your entry). Ensure that you lift your hand out of the water at the end of your stroke right below your suitline (for the guys) and about one hand below your suitline (for the ladies). Doing this correctly will cause your hips to fully roll to each side. Be careful that your hand is not slipping to the outside at the beginning of your stroke and your catch is made directly in front of your body. The point of this drill is to force body roll and teach a clean recovery.

ARMPIT TOUCH -- During your recovery, touch your armpit with your thumb, then enter as normal. Ensure that you are still making a solid catch and pulling underneath your body. This drill will re-enforce the feeling from Fingertip Drag. Be sure to enter directly in front, some people tend to enter wide on this drill so really focus. If you feel this drill is causing your recovery to turn screwy, let me know and I'll give you a different drill to do.

Finish with "Perfect Freestyle" -- re-enforcing a solid, elbow high, catch; hip roll; and pulling directly underneath your body. If you can, breathe every third stroke in order to balance your stroke and work on breath control.

Sample Sets:
4 x 200 (1 x 50 each drill to reach a 200) 10 seconds rest
or
4 x 100 (1 x 25 each drill to reach a 100) 5 seconds rest
You get the point.

Ensure you follow up the drill set with 300 or more of freestyle (not necessarily straight, e.g. 6x50) in order to re-enforce the technique emphasized in the set. Hopefully this is clear, if not, let me know. I will post more next week.

Diana Smirnova, you are an Ironman!

Congratulations on a phenomenal race! You are amazing.



Swim: 2.4mi, 57:30, 1:30/100m (Age Grp. place 5/Overall place 136)
T1: 4:37
Bike: 112mi, 5:43:15, 19.58 mph (6/443)
T2: 4:00
Run: 26.2mi, 3:50:16, 8:47/mi (3/295/27 Overall female)
Total: 10:39:38

Inaugural Kaiser Permanente Pasadena Marathon is canceled

This email went out just before 4am:

We regret to inform you that we have been compelled to cancel today's Kaiser Permanente Pasadena Marathon as a result of the significant wildfires in the Los Angeles area and resulting unsafe air quality. Pasadena Forward's decision was made in consultation with the Kaiser Permanente Medical Team and the City of Pasadena.

Please know that it was extremely difficult to arrive at this decision, and we know that this is a disappointing outcome for all of us who have worked so hard for this inaugural event. However, the only appropriate response to this emergent situation, given that the safety and well-being of our participants is at the forefront of our concerns, was to cancel.

Over the next several days, we will hold discussions to determine appropriate next steps. Once concrete plans have been developed, updates will be posted at www.pasadenamarathon.org. All registered participants will also be notified via email of all important updates.

Thank you for your support and patience as we work through this challenge. We hope you are safe and well.

Israel Estrada
Executive Director, Pasadena Forward

Caltech cycling and triathlon club official team apparel: Get yours now!

The 2009 edition of the team apparel is here! We will be using Sports Base Online for all ordering in conjunction with the cycling club, so please $click here$ to place your order. Click to see designs of the cycling jersey and shorts, and the triathlon uniforms. The website will be accepting orders through Friday, November 7th, and we expect delivery by the end of January. The clothing will come from Hincapie, so sizing will be the same as last year's cycling apparel. As far as triathlon apparel sizing, Emily McDowell has requested sizing samples and she will send out more info when the kit arrives.

Three quick notes:
1. If you are an alum, please click on the alum tab and add $5 per item of clothing you purchase to help support the teams.
2. PLEASE READ! If you want your items shipped to an off campus address, the cost will be a flat rate of $10, and you MUST pay this on SBO if you want us to ship your items. We will also need your mailing address. On campus/JPL shipping is free (although I would strongly recommend picking them up either on campus or at JPL as we lost an item going to JPL last year) but you MUST provide us with your campus address. So, make sure you read the shipping options and fill in the required information.
3. The cycling club still has a bunch of socks from the past years, so if you want any of those, contact John McKeen (jcmckeen.at.caltech.edu) to work it out.

Thanks again, and don’t hesitate to contact me with questions (jhanna.at.caltech.edu).

Renegade Sprint Adventure Race

Photo by Jamie Sheasby.
Ever heard of a sprint adventure race? Well, you are not alone. This past weekend was only the second ever race of this type, and it happened right over in Bonelli Park (Is it just me, or have we pretty much done all our racing in Bonelli Park this year? Maybe they should name part of it after us. Just throwing it out there). And it also happened to be won by a team of Caltech Triclub members, including John "Max Power" Meier and Lenny Lucas of team PTCuL8r. For more information, check out this article. Don't miss the links for race photos and athlete interviews near the bottom of the article, just above the results.

More team success at "The BOD"

Despite the fact that Scott, John M, and myself are all feeling the effects of a long season and compounded hours of training (even though for one of us, it was a lack of training that was the culprit), we all fared well at the Bonelli Olympic Distance race today. Scott finished 1st AG (M20-24) and 6th OA, I (Jeff) finished 2nd AG (M25-29) and 10th OA, and John M finished 3rd Clydesdale. It was definitely one of the toughest days for all of us mentally. But it's nice to have a bad day of racing and still finish well.

I think it might be useful for me to put together a list of results for this season because we've had a lot of podium finishes as well as some points series awards. This has been a very good year so far for the Caltech Triathlon Club. With successful races and new personal achievements, I bid you all a well-deserved congratulations! Keep up the hard work.

A great success!

Congratulations are in order for John Meier, the newest County Scroll Winner of the Clydesdale division in the LA Tri Series at Bonelli Park. Mr. Meier has probably run out of shelf room with all the Clydesdale medals and awards he has raked in this year. In his words, "Being fat is awesome."


Congratulations are also in order for Diana Smirnova, who finished 2nd overall, and 1st age group in the Playa del Run Points Series. Race #6 happened this morning, and Diana smashed the women to take 1st overall and move her up the points series rankings. Oliver Buccicone also had a great race, finishing 7th overall (followed very closely by Diana!) and 1st age group. I finished 19th overall and 2nd age group behind Oliver. The same trio raced in PdR #3 earlier this year and all qualified for the Aquathlon World Championships.