My name is Frank Cardia, and I have been competing in triathlons for about 2 years now. When I first got into the sport I was a little intimidated, but soon realized that even as a beginner that were really wasn’t much to it. I have since done over 15 triathlons, from sprints which are the shortest distance to 3 full Ironman distance. So let me give you a little quick triathlon 101 and hope to see you out there racing.

Different people have different ways of losing weight – while some go for diet pills others opt for certain restrictions in the diet. But, running is perhaps one of the safest ways to get those extra pounds off your body. And if you want to pursue running as a professional does, nothing works for you as well as triathlon running does.

Most starters obviously have the drawback of not having any prior training but all professionals would tell you that they have had to go through rigorous training to ensure perfection in the sport.

Apart from some primary training, starters also need to see to it that some basic aspects are taken care of including the proper fit of the running shoes, avoiding running on concrete or any extra-hard surface (running on concrete or asphalt increases the chances and actual occurrences of injuries), creating a warm up session comprising five minutes of walking and stretching (this ensures proper flow of blood to the muscles which, again means injuries will occur less) etc. But that is not all. An amateur runner also needs to formulate a correct cool- down routine so that the body gets ample time to recover after heavy workout.

For everyone who has now got interested in triathlons, here is a quick take on what triathlon events are all about. While participating in a triathlon event you will have to do three things at one go- swim, cycle and also run. There are certain standard distances measured at triathlons- Enticer: where you need to swim 250 meters, run 2.5 kilometers and cycle for another 10 kilometers; Sprint: Where you need to swim 500 meters, run 5 kilometers and cycle for 10 kilometers.

Apart from this, you will have a tougher time with Olympic, Half- Ironman and Ironman events where you need to do all three activities, each for a longer distance. From this you can get a clear picture of what you need to do before being a part of such an event.

Most professionals are of the opinion that swimming is actually the hardest part in an entire triathlon event. And it is in this aspect that people from cycling and running backgrounds have a drawback. But the good news for starters is that if you are technically sound in swimming after the initial fifteen minutes the challenge will seem to be a lesser burden.

During the training period a beginner needs to perform really well in the sphere of swimming, which means if he is supposed to appear for a 500 meter race, in the training session he has to perform with the intensity of a 1000 meter competition. Cycling is comparatively easy for everyone but in this case, too, beginners need to gear up right from the start of the training session.

Running is quite difficult for most people in a triathlon event because it comes at the end, after you have swum and cycled for long. You tend to have a feeling that your legs are giving away and the best way to ensure that you stay ahead is to create a style of your own and follow certain techniques.

Well I hope this has been helpful — again I’m Frank Cardia, thanks for reading my blog.. — Remember even the best triathlete was once the newest and the worst and some point in his life — so just take your time and most importantly —-HAVE FUN

Frank Cardia

That’s right…..100 miles — and no, not on a bike !!!!!!! Orange Park, Fl. 3/1/08

My plane landed in JacksonvilleAirport around 5pm on Friday February 29th. I got my rental car and made my way towards

Orange
Park where the race and my hotel were. Made a quick run to Publix to pick up some last minute food for the race and then grabbed some pasta for dinner. To the room and off to bed. Tomorrow is a long day !!

I couldn’t really sleep that well so I was up at 3:30 am pacing back in forth in my room. I began making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the race ( about 7 of them ). Got all my little snack goodies in my camelback backpack ,,, filled it with Gatorade and off to the race site.

Registration took 5 minutes and before you know it we were all lined up at 6am ready to rock and roll.. Now there were 3 different races that day- there was a 50 miler… a 100k ( 62.5 miles )which is what I originally went down there to do….. and then there was the 100 miler.. So here we are, its pitch black and your staring down this tree covered path. Most of the runners had either flash lights in their hands or they had on this flash light head gear – that almost looked like they were coal miners.. I had no light I was basically depending on the light from all the other runners… AND WERE OFF !!!

At about mile 2 or so I met up with this guy Joe form Chicago( he and his wife were doing the 50 mile run ) and we were running at the exact same pace… so we started talking and hit it off pretty well. Next thing you know we’re at mile 10 and we are still talking… So we decided to make sure to push each other and run the first 50 together. Which was a huge benefit for me…because running 50 miles all by yourself can be so so boring and that’s when you start asking your self questions like “ why am I doing this “?

Now somewhere around mile 40 or so, Joe and I kept joking around saying that I might as well just do the 100 today… whats the sense of me doing only 62.5 ???? Just do the other 38 miles and bang out the 100 today !!!! And as I said my plan was only to do the 100k ,,, but then I started really thinking about it… and I really did feel good at mile 40– so I decided when I got in at mile 50, I would make my decision for 62.5 or 100 miles.

We crossed the 50 mile mark around 11hrs and 10 minutes and Joe had completed his first 50 mile run….. and what a great time too. So I kinda took inventory of how I felt and realized today was my day… I GOTTA DO THE 100. So I grabbed Chris, the race director, and told him I’m Frank Cardia and that I was out for the 100k and put me down as a 100 miler. They explained to me that if I didn’t finish the 100 miles they wouldn’t give me a 100k belt buckle award but I would get a DNF ( did not finish ) because I was no longer a 100k runner but a 100 miler.. I said “ I understand” and filled my camelback with Gatorade and peanut butter and jelly and took off back to the run…

Mile 50 to 75 wasn’t actually as bad as I thought it would be.. It was the first time that I didn’t have anyone to talk to while running – but I did have the IPOD and that 25 miles seemed to fly by… I get into the mile 75 aid station at around 10:30pm – I have been running since 6am– that’s a looooooong day. But surprisingly I was still very optimistic about finishing the race within the 24 hrs they give you…

Now mile 75 to 87.5…… that was a bitch !!!!!!! You had to be at 87.5 by 2am or they would take you off the course.. Its about 1:13am and I was near mile 85– and I really started to go into a severe depression.. They had given me flashlight headgear that went dead on me… so here I am in the middle of the night, been running for nearly 20 hrs, my feet are bleeding from my toenails,,,and its pitch black out… My IPOD battery had died as well…I had thrown up 2X – Had Gatorade and peanut butter puke all over me…. NOT A GOOD MOMENT IN MY LIFE… So I had been speaking with friends and family members during the run all day, on my cell phone– I decided to call my buddy Matt.. He was still up and told me keep calling him, so I did… and he really got me through a run couple of minutes, cause I was convinced that I was never gonna make it to the 87.5 aid station by 2am… Got off the phone with Matt and began running again.. got there at 1:45am or so…

Mile 87.5 to 100 ……. I would be sitting here to long typing if I really tried to describe just exactly how brutal that12.5 miles could actually be… Every other runner had a pacer there with them ( basically a friend who will run with you in the early morning hours to keep you positive and motivated ) I had no intentions of running for 24hrs that day, so I did not bring a friend…. I WAS ALL ALONE !!!!…. But having that voice there while your running at 4am really really is a huge help… So I decided to do the next best thing and call my sister and brother in law.. They live in Las Vegas which luckily is 3 hrs behind us…. So I harassed them a bit at like 4am to hear some encouraging words…

I finally crossed the 100 mile mark at 23hrs and 22 minutes…. It was still completely pitch black out….. There was still peoples hanging out at the finish line… they all congratulated me and said they never thought I would finish in the allotted 24hrs… considering how 80% of people don’t complete their first 100 in the 24 hours.. so I was extremely happy and proud that I had finished – they gave me my belt buckle and I just fell to the floor… I literally couldn’t get up to get food or a drink – they had to come over and pretty much help me drink and take my shoes off.. I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE FELT THAT TYPE OF PAIN – THAT FELT SO GOOD !!!!

Made my way back to the hotel, it was about 6am… showered, packed my bag….hit Denny’s for a quick breakfast — and then off to the airport and back to NJ.. Looking forward to some real sleep.. That was the longest 24hrs of my life !!!!!!!!!

BUT I LIVE TO RACE ANOTHER DAY !!!!!!!!

Training for a marathon is a great excuse to start eating more nutritious food, which is what you’ve always wanted, right? The good part is, because you’re going to be burning so many more calories, you may actually find that you’re able to eat more than you usually do. PLUS, you get to eat a lot of carbohydrates (take that, Dr. Atkins!) You’ll still need to pay attention to making lower fat choices, but you’ll get to focus on items such as pasta, bread, and potatoes in order to fuel your workouts

After you’ve been running for a while you may actually start to crave healthy foods. Before long you’ll be munching on carrot sticks instead of going out for ice cream. OK, maybe you’ll still want ice cream… but it’ll be carrot-flavored ice cream.

The basic things to remember are:

• Eat meals that are high in carbohydrates and low in fat. Don’t forget the lean proteins (chicken, fish, legumes).
• Eat fruits and vegetables, but be sure not to have too many the day before the race (potential digestive disaster while you’re running – let’s not go there).
• Drink plenty of water, even on days that you’re not running. During your training period, you’ll need to consume 3-4 liters of water a day at a minimum. And we’re sure you know the old “check your urine-color” test. Not exactly dinner table conversation, but the darker yellow your urine is, the more water you need to consume.
• It’s a good idea to eat a small snack and have a glass of water about a half-hour before you run. Carbohydrates are usually the best choice, with dairy being the worst. Definitely avoid alcohol and caffinated beverages (coffee, tea, cola) as they are diuretics and will quickly dehydrate you.
• It will take a bit of experimenting to discover which foods work best for you before your workouts (that is, which foods won’t have you doubled over with stomach cramps midway through the run).
• “Carbo loading” (more fun marathon lingo) is reserved for the day or two before an actual race. It refers to eating more carbohydrates (pasta, bagels, etc.) than proteins or fats. This is because your body converts carbohydrates to energy faster than it does with other foods. Therefore, it is common for marathoners to eat a big bowl of pasta the night before the race. Quick note of caution – it is generally not a good idea to carbo load on a regular basis, particularly if you are concerned with weight maintenance.

Keep running and live to race another day,

Here it is, the event you have been waiting and training for. The last 6 months have all been geared to this day; your training has been perfectly orchestrated and planned so that you can be as ready as possible for the Ironman. But what exactly happens on race day? The following will be a guide using Ironman Florida as an example.

While you can go to the Ironman website and read all the rules and schedules, I wanted to give you a broad picture of what to expect and highlight some key points.
(To read the IM rules and schedules, go to http://www.ironmanflorida.com/info.html then click on ‘rules’ on the page that comes up – an Acrobat file will give you lots of details and you should read it!)

The race actually starts two days prior, as you must arrive and check in/register two days before the event – Ironman rules.

Bring with you:
An official photo ID
USAT card
Confirmation number (if you signed up on the Net).

At registration you will:

• Confirm your athlete number
• Show your USAT card
• Weigh in (just tell them what you weigh- this is for medical reasons, as they may weigh you during the race to check your hydration status)
• Pick up your registration packet that contains your race numbers (one for each of the following: the front of your helmet, your bike frame , the back of your bike shirt, and the front of your run shirt), your swim cap, your timing chip, safety pins, bike ties for the bike number, and stickers for your gear bags.
• Get your gear bags and other goody bags.

The day before the race there will be a mandatory Pre-race meeting. This is very informative, and as I stated, is mandatory!

This is also the day that you drop off your bike and gear bags (not special needs or dry clothes bags—those you drop on race day).

What are these “Gear bags?”
You are not allowed to leave anything by your bike, so all your gear is in bags that you will pick up when you need them at each transition. The bags are stored in boxes.

You get 5 bags for the following:

• Swim to bike transition:
  Put everything in here you need for T1 helmet, glasses, shoes and socks, gloves, food, and anything else you need for the bike section. Are you wearing your biking gear under your wetsuit? If not, put it in the T1 bag.
• Bike to run transition:
  Put everything in here you need for T2: hat, glasses (if different from your biking glasses), shoes and socks, different shirt if necessary, food, etc.
• Bike special needs:
  Nutrients and anything else you think you might need during the ride—Vaseline, frozen sports drink bottle, gel flask just in case, etc. You pick this up about midway through the ride.
• Run special needs:
  Maybe a change of socks, Vaseline, salt tabs, pain killers (but not NSAIDS), special food, a long sleeved sweater in case it is cold when you run in the dark (tie it around your waist, so you have it). This will be available about half way through the run.
• Dry clothes bag:
  For what you can change into after you finish.

Do not put anything you ever want to see again in these bags as it is highly unlikely you will get them back.

On race day, if the gear collection area is not congested, a volunteer will actually hand you your gear bags, but if it is busy you will have to get them yourself, so know where your bag is!

The day before the race.

1. Affix all your stickers and tags to everything. Figure out where your gear bag is located, where your bike is and where you should leave your special needs and dry gear bags on race day.
2. You need to have reflective tape on your run gear (you can get it at Inside Out Sports): a piece on the toe and heel of each shoe, a piece on the right and left of both front and back of shirt and shorts! Do this before you even leave home!
3. Lastly, label all your gear, including shoes before you leave home.

What are you wearing for each portion of the race? Some people actually wear two pairs of shorts for the bike: one compression pair (that double as running shorts-Sugoi and DeSoto have some) and one bike pair. Both can be worn under the wetsuit, or you can add the biking pair in the change tent. Make sure that the compression shorts have no seams in the crotch! Once in T2, you can just remove the bike shorts.

The day before the race, it is a good idea to do a pre-race brick: 30 minute bike ride and 15 minute run – all at race pace. A good idea would be to ride some of the run course.

I would also take advantage of the open water swims in the mornings leading up to race day.

Race Day

NOTE: absolutely no assistance of any kind is allowed from spectators and friends and family – this includes running, biking or driving with you, giving technical support, and/or handing you any food or anything else. You will be disqualified.

Remember to race within yourself and follow your pacing plan. Do not be tempted to run anyone else’s race. Use your HR to guide you, if you have been training with a monitor. Whatever happens, use your mind as well as your body to deal with it, as a race this long is not won, or finished, by just being fit enough. Mental training should be as much a part of race prep and race execution as all your other training.

Get up in plenty of time to eat the breakfast you always eat before your long training sessions, and do whatever mental preparation you have been training with. Remember, you are trained and ready for this event!

Gates to the transition area are open at 5:30 and close at 6:30 am

• Bring your swim cap, wetsuit, special needs and dry gear bags, timing chip. If you have a friend there, you can bring your pump too and give it to them after you have finished pumping your tires. Please note, there will be bike assistance people there to pump up your tires, so it is not necessary for you to bring yours.
• Stow your special needs and dry clothes bags, go to the body marking area and then go and put on your wetsuit. If you pumped your own tires, hand off your pump to your friends.
• Go down to the water to wait for the race to start.
  Note: I do not think there are any porta-potties on the bike course, but there are toilets available for the run. Of course, there are plenty of porta-potties at the transition area.

Swim

• Out on the swim course, there will be race crew to help you with directions.
• The swim course for IM Florida is actually 2 laps, in the middle of which you get out and back on the beach. At this point, some people eat a Gel pack that was stowed in the sleeve of their wetsuit. You should be offered some water here too. Practice with this before hand so you know you won’t choke!
• The swim course closes after 2 hours and 20 minutes. If you are still out there after this time, you will be DQ’d and not allowed to continue.

T1

• Once out of the water, you will be directed through timing chutes that lead you up and through the wetsuit strip area and showers. There are special wet suit strippers there to help you get out of your suit—let them do the work!
• Then head up to the gear racks and into the change tents. There are volunteers in there who will give you anything you ask for: Vaseline, sunblock, etc. Do not be afraid to ask for assistance—use the volunteers!
• Make sure you are fully clothed and ready to get on your bike before you head out to the bike storage racks. Get on your bike and go!

Bike

• You must have your race numbers on. You can wear it on your race belt – in the back for the bike and in the front for the run.
• When you first get on the bike, take in some plain water and, as soon as you feel able, start taking in nutrients. Follow your pre-designed and well practice hydration and nutrition plan to the letter through out the ride. Set your watch alarms for every 20 minutes, and eat and drink as you have done in practice.
• Initially, try to keep your HR in Z1-2 so you can settle into the bike. No matter how good you feel, do not let your HR out of Z2 for the first 30 miles!

Keep the intensity/ HR and cadence you have been training with. During the middle of the bike, it would be OK if your HR crept up to the low end of Z3, but preferably you will stay in Z2 for the duration. It will be hard at times to resist the urge to go faster. But remember, you have to conserve energy and try to use fats for energy, and this is only possible if you are totally aerobic. Go faster and you start using up your glycogen stores, you build up lactic acid, and bonking becomes much more of a possibility. Today is about finishing, not speed. So, do NOT be concerned with your speed on the bike—just HR and cadence, just like in training.

• Bike aid stations are every 10 miles or so. They will have: water (in white bottles), Gatorade (in Gatorade bottles), Twinlab IM bars, Gu, fruit and cookies. Call out what you want and slow appropriately to safely get it.
• There will be technical vans out on the course to assist you. BUT, you should know how to deal with minor problems-flats, etc. So maybe take a beginner course in bike maintenance? Ensure you have had your bike thoroughly checked over before you leave home.
• There will also be medical vans out on the course and at aid stations. Getting medical assistance does not automatically mean your race is over.
• Bike course closes 10:30 hours after the race start and if you are still on the course you will be DQ’d.

T2
Again, there will be volunteers to assist you in the change tents. Full medical facilities are available there.

Run

• You must have your run number and reflective tape. You can wear your number on your race belt—in the back for the bike and in the front for the run.
• Aid stations are located about every mile and will have the following: water, Gatorade, Cola, Twinlab IM bars, Gu, fruit and cookies and chicken broth.
• Once again, follow your hydration and nutrition plan to the letter!
• The special needs bag will be available about half way through the run – take out your long-sleeved sweater and tie it around you waist so you have it just in case.
• Self-illuminating light sticks are available at the aid stations, and after dusk you are required to have one.
• The run course closes at midnight, but you may finish if you want. If you do not want to continue, you will be brought back to the transition area.

Post race

• Finisher t-shirts and medals will be awarded at the finish line!
• Drink up! But not plain water—some form of carb drink is best. And eat what you can. Remember, to assist in recovery, a 4-1 ratio of carbs to protein in best within 30 minutes of finishing.
• Keep walking so that you do not cramp up, change into some dry clothes and then go and get a massage!

Have fun and live to race another day

Frank Cardia

Central Park 60K

It was a shivering 42 degrees when I woke race day morning at 6am.. Not your ideal weather to go run 37.5 miles in. But me and my buddy Matt headed into NY City anyway. Now luckily this race didnt start till 8:30 am , so by that time it had warmed up a few degrees already. Normally a Central Park race can attract thousands… BUT not this one.. Not many people looking to torure themselves for 37.5 miles, there was maybe 40 people at this race.

The gun fires and we are off to the races. The race starts with a 1.5 mile out and back, and then you do a 4 mile loop 9X. So we got the first 15 miles or so down with just about no problems… but both of us can feel fatigue is going to start setting in. Matt had just done NYC Marathon 2 weeks prior,, and I had just set my personal best at Ironman Florida 2 weeks prior also… So we were both still a little beaten up.

We get the first 20 under our belt and our time was still on pace to where we wanted it to be. Matt has been experiencing shin splints pretty bad and they just get the best of you when you do something of this magnitude.. So after the 6th loop ( mile 25.5 or so ) he had to call it a day. So now I am stuck doing the last 3 loops ( 12 miles ) all by myself.. Well I can tell you this – THAT WAS NOT FUN AT ALL !!!!!

But I made it through and finished the race in 7 hrs and 47 minutes – I was in alot of pain for the next couple of days.. But another race under my belt.

And I live to race another day

Frank Cardia

Different people have different ways of losing weight – while some go for diet pills others opt for certain restrictions in the diet. But, running is perhaps one of the safest ways to get those extra pounds off your body. And if you want to pursue running as a professional does, nothing works for you as well as triathlon running does.

Most starters obviously have the drawback of not having any prior training but all professionals would tell you that they have had to go through rigorous training to ensure perfection in the sport.

Apart from some primary training, starters also need to see to it that some basic aspects are taken care of including the proper fit of the running shoes, avoiding running on concrete or any extra-hard surface (running on concrete or asphalt increases the chances and actual occurrences of injuries), creating a warm up session comprising five minutes of walking and stretching (this ensures proper flow of blood to the muscles which, again means injuries will occur less) etc. But that is not all. An amateur runner also needs to formulate a correct cool- down routine so that the body gets ample time to recover after heavy workout.

For everyone who has now got interested in triathlons, here is a quick take on what triathlon events are all about. While participating in a triathlon event you will have to do three things at one go- swim, cycle and also run. There are certain standard distances measured at triathlons- Enticer: where you need to swim 250 meters, run 2.5 kilometers and cycle for another 10 kilometers; Sprint: Where you need to swim 500 meters, run 5 kilometers and cycle for 10 kilometers.

Apart from this, you will have a tougher time with Olympic, Half- Ironman and Ironman events where you need to do all three activities, each for a longer distance. From this you can get a clear picture of what you need to do before being a part of such an event.

Most professionals are of the opinion that swimming is actually the hardest part in an entire triathlon event. And it is in this aspect that people from cycling and running backgrounds have a drawback. But the good news for starters is that if you are technically sound in swimming after the initial fifteen minutes the challenge will seem to be a lesser burden.

During the training period a beginner needs to perform really well in the sphere of swimming, which means if he is supposed to appear for a 500 meter race, in the training session he has to perform with the intensity of a 1000 meter competition. Cycling is comparatively easy for everyone but in this case, too, beginners need to gear up right from the start of the training session.

Running is quite difficult for most people in a triathlon event because it comes at the end, after you have swum and cycled for long. You tend to have a feeling that your legs are giving away and the best way to ensure that you stay ahead is to create a style of your own and follow certain techniques.

The use of compression clothing such as stretchable shorts and vests has been in vogue for some time now and is preferred by many athletes. Even sports enthusiasts, today invest in compression clothing but it must be noted that different people have different reasons for use of compression clothing. For example, one athlete may be concerned about saving himself from unnecessary injury while another may be more worried about his style quotient.

Whatever the reasons are, compression clothing serves all kinds of athletes. Early studies in this regard suggested that compression clothing actually has the power to help athletes avoid problems and conditions like venous thrombosis. This problem was taken care by compression clothing due to its property of channelizing the blood flow to the lower part of the body.

In the past few years, several studies have been conducted to find out how compression clothing can influence the final performance of an athlete and it has been found that in various sports, the use of compression clothing has enhanced performance levels. Though optimization of output has little to do with compression clothing directly, runners have been observed to resist tiredness more effectively while wearing compression clothing.

More recent studies have strived to find out how compression clothing affects the output of sprinters and it has been discovered that such clothing facilitates easier hip angle changes and enhances hip movement which results in more frequency of strides. The overall positive change resulting from wearing compression clothing is that the runners perform more effectively when the clothing keeps the body firm.

Apart from the advantages mentioned above, other researches have also proved the fact that athletes can actually recover faster wearing compression clothing. Elastic clothing also helps in greater lactate removal at any given point of time. In a certain study, a few untrained women were asked to wear a compression sleeve while undergoing strength training.

After the session it was inferred that women who wore compression clothing had suffered lesser swelling (caused due to the strain of the workout) compared to those who had not. Wearing compression clothing athletes, in general, suffer least muscle damage which means that they are rendered less susceptible to injuries.

Compression clothing also decreases oxygen costs by a considerable amount. Moreover, athletes using compression clothing are seen to perform better during exercise sessions since this type of clothing reduces the effect of humidity on their bodies.

Any kind of rigorous training exerts immense strain on athletes and each one is seen to respond differently to fatigue and injuries while each has his/her characteristic energy reserve. However strenuous a certain sport is, the area of focus should always be to restore the original metabolic balance to an athlete and see to it that the process of recovery begins as soon as the period of workout is over.

In such cases, compression clothing seems to be the most practical alternative of easy recovery after strenuous training or performance. It must be mentioned though, that recovery is accelerated only when compression clothing is combined with a different recovery method.

For an athlete to perform to the best of his abilities, it is essential that a couple of areas are concentrated upon – firstly, a cent percent fitness level and secondly, training that taps and brings out the hidden potential of the athlete.

Many runners are often known to lose out in a race despite being at their healthiest best. So what might be the reason behind this? The most probable explanation to this phenomenon could be that these runners do not have the advantage of good and planned training that can turn the probability of winning into reality.

As a rule it is known in sporting circles that without acceleration, a sportsman stands the minimum chances of winning. In most sports, acceleration is regarded to be an aspect that one needs to fall back on, so that a peak performance can be achieved under any circumstances.

There are various training methods to achieve perfection in this aspect. Most runners make the mistake of treating the top speed as a problem area. While deciding upon suitable training methods, it is important to formulate a plan which will help the athlete attain top speed and quick acceleration before the competition does. Attaining top speed before the rest of the competitors is definitely an area that demands attention and any trainer should make sure that this aspect is the centre of focus while training.

It was always the case that greater acceleration demanded a greater number of foot- ground contacts. In fact, the more the number is, the more are the chances of winning for any athlete. But in a recent study it has been shown that perfection in acceleration is actually achieved by faster foot ground contacts and not really the number of times they occur.

Different trainers have different ways of handling this aspect though. While some are of the opinion that the back should be moved in a certain way allowing the runner to fulfill his acceleration requirements, some others advocate that the entire body should be used equally to achieve top speed.

BEFORE YOUR FIRST TRIATHLON

• When training for your swim, make sure you go a little farther then your needed distance. You will definitely have confidence then. Swimming can be scary – especially if one can’t touch or see the ground.
• Remember, you can resort to your ‘easy’ swim stroke if need be such as the side or the breast stroke.
• Do some open-water training if possible. At least 1-2 times prior to racing. Open water swimming will be more challenging. Just make sure you have somebody looking out for you if you get into trouble.
• Like the swim, do a few bike or runs over the distance needed. Confidence again. Try racing a duathlon (even though it is a lesser challenge…I know I know…haha!!!) OR race a 5 or 10K run.
• Make sure to do a few ‘brick’ workouts several weeks before your first tri. These will help you immensely for the bike to run (T2) transition.
• Try to get familiarized with the course. If you can, obtain a map of the course days beforehand. Optimally, train on the different parts of the course before the event. Don’t do all the events on the same day, but separately. If you can’t train on the course before the tri, then at least drive and walk most of it. Just being familiar with the course will rid you of a lot of butterflies.
• Either at home or at the course, try to mentally visualize your set-up at the transition areas and how your sequence of doing things in each transition area. This is key or you will blunder through the transitions losing unnecessary minutes. Write your transition steps down on paper will help you.
• Don’t train hard the last two weeks before the race. It’s too late for improvement. Get plenty of sleep several nights before. (You should always be doing this though)
• Do not change your diet before your first triathlon. Keep things exactly the way they were during training. Some people ask me if they should carbo-load a few days before. NO! Eat like you always do. Do not try to pull a change-up to your system. You are doing a Sprint or Olympic distance triathlon. You should have plenty of energy reserves so long as you haven’t been starving yourself. When you move up to Half or Full Ironman, then you might consider a pre-race diet.
• Check out the USAT rule book. Very detailed, probably a lot won’t pertain to the beginner BUT has some good ideas. Probably would be a good idea to get a rule book for your particular triathlon (if not a USAT sanctioned event)
• Above all, REMEMBER: If it is not broke, do not try to fix it.

HAVE FUN !!!!!!!!!

Frank Cardia

It is a known fact, especially in today’s world, that while most run for fun, some do not. The sport of running is their profession and at every stage, they try to excel and be better than their competitors. While the level of personal fitness counts to a great extent, the value of sport specific training cannot be undermined.

In fact, it is proper training that gives a competitive runner a special edge over others performing at the same game. Now that the area of competitive running has gained more significance than before, training is taking off from the traditional kind to the more practical and unconventional kind, because trainers now understand the importance of giving each athlete something in terms of training that will serve to heighten the level of performance during an actual event.

But conjecturing about the best ways to train an athlete will not help in any way. Such a course of training needs to be formulated that serve to improve overall fitness initially, consequently giving rise to greater potential to perform in any given athlete.

If observed properly, most runners are seen to be doing the wrong kind of training altogether. What is required to propel the body to achieve the best results during a real event is to train body parts in such a way, that they move to their fullest potential.

Thus during training replicating body movements suited for an actual performance is absolutely necessary. It is also to be noted that training can bring out the best from an athlete only when the program is created matching his specific needs. Most athletes are seen to be misguided by what they hear from colleagues or read in health magazines.

Creating a sole yardstick for everyone will not help as every individual has a different set of requirements. While most runners take to gymming at the very first instance, experts of the day are of the opinion that the former should focus on specific body part training initially and when perfection is achieved over this aspect they can proceed towards strength training.

An important thing that athletes do not consider to be so important is finding out what kind of training suits their respective body types the most. As a result, a majority of runners tend to fall back on common exercises to maintain fitness levels.

But in the process of following a common set of exercises, athletes lose more than they gain. For example, most runners think that squat exercises are perfect to gain knee-extension power. On the contrary, such common exercises are absolutely low on perfection where runners are concerned as the way they work their quadriceps muscles is much different from how non-runners use theirs.

In other words, an athlete running during an event suffers more strain than a common man going about his daily chores! The key to a great level of fitness and great performance is the utilization of all parts of the body required to run, in tandem with one another.