Swim Bike Run

The majority of the athletes that are participating in triathlons actually have a fair bit of reservation when it comes to the race’s swimming portion. Even good swimmers still have reservations regarding the swimming leg of the triathlon event, and it would be crazy not to be a little worried about the requirements of this particular part of the race.

The swim happens to be a real challenge for a number of different reasons, including the fact that the swimming portion of the race is going to dictate how the remainder of the race is going to go for you. If you end up having a rather lousy swim, then you are likely also going to have troubles when it comes to getting back mentally into your original race plan. If you end up having a good swimming portion on the other hand, then what you are going to be doing is setting yourself up for a really good race.

No matter how well you end up doing on your swim, you are still going to have to contend with what are known as pre race jitters. You are also going to have to deal with the contact during the start of the swim as well, and the sheer amount of exhaustion that comes with the territory of this race. So what can you do in order to improve? Here are some tips that you may want to consider.

• First, become confident regarding your swimming ability. You should get a swimming coach that can look after your swimming form, offering you feedback. The approach that you take here should be focusing on improvement in one or two of your greatest flaws so that you can refine your stroke. If you have access to an underwater swimming camera then you can fine tune your stroke even more by watching your performance and tweaking your swimming.
• Practice your start. After you take a bit of a short warm up in your pool or any place else, you should allow your heart rate to return to normal and then go really hard for around 100 to 200 yards before you settle into the pace that you use for racing. This is going to allow you to get more accustomed with racing because you are normally going to go hard at first before you settle into your pace.
• Try swimming blind. This is a good drill, involving practicing with your eyes closed. Do not try this in any place where there are other swimmers because you are likely to go off course a bit when swimming blind. This is going to help you become more in tune with your body while swimming since there is nothing to distract you.

Photo Credits: matt coats

Originally posted 2009-12-10 03:41:53. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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A good part of understanding your triathlon training and performance is having a grasp on the lingo. Here is a guide to cycling terms that you should know in order to get the most out of your experience.

Aero Bar – An aero bar is a type of handlebar that juts forward to increase aerodynamics by allowing the rider to assume a lower profile.

Attack - An attack is a tactic to pass another rider, or a group of riders with an abrupt burst of speed, it can also be used as a verb, meaning to try to make an attack.

Biff - In cycling terms, the word biff is used in order to describe a crash.

Block - Blocking is a method of breaking up a chase through slowing down the cadence of the pace line. This can be performed by a single ride or by a group of riders working together. This action is generally used as a way to protect the position of a teammate that is in the lead.

Bonk - The term bonk refers to the state of exhaustion that can be caused by a lack of food while doing a particularly long stretch worth of bike riding.

Break Away – A break away is when a rider makes a successful attack and pulls ahead of the main group.

Bridge - Bridging is the action of leaving one group of riders to catch up to another group of riders farther ahead.

Bunny-Hop - Bunny-hopping refers to jumping over an obstacle with the bike without dismounting.

Cadence – Cadence is the rate at which a cyclist is pedaling, this is measured in revolutions per minute (RPM) of one of the two cyclist’s feet.

Chain suck - Chain suck is the unfortunate occurrence when the bike chain manages to get jammed in between the chain stay and the rear wheel.

Chase - A chase is an effort, most often by a group of cyclists, to catch up with another group of riders that is ahead of them. Often, the group being chased is making a breakaway.

Chasers - Chasers are cyclists that are actively involved in a chase or chases.

Circuit – Like a lap in track racing, a circuit is one trip around a track that will be run through more than one time during a road race.

Circuit race - A circuit race is a race with multiple laps, known as circuits, in which the course is at least two miles long.

Cleat - A cleat is an attachment on the soles of specialized cycling shoes that connect the shoes to the pedals using an opening in the pedal.

Criterium - A criterium is a race held on a track of a mile or less in length with multiple laps.

Cross Country – A cross-country bike race is a type of mountain bike race that crosses over jeep roads, trails and other types of difficult terrain, requiring that the bicyclists competing have a certain level of skill in order to participate.

Photo Credits: /charlene

Originally posted 2009-10-26 03:16:48. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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