Swim paddles are advertised and promoted as swim-aids building power and strength. They’re also alleged to lengthen the simmer’s stroke at the front end: the paddle’s large surface area causing a long glide, or feeling of glide, commonly quantified as Distance per Stroke (DPS).

Over the last 20 years, the reengineering and development of the modern-day paddle has resulted in an architecture with significantly larger surface areas and varying shapes, each design touting its own benefits. We’ve reached a stage now where paddles are either large, very large or super-sized. In assessing the benefits of such paddles, remember they’re created and developed by national level swim coaches, to train their national level athletes.

In my view, most of these large paddles do not benefit triathletes or non-elite swimmers.

Almost all triathletes and non-elite swimmers lack the strength, power, and specific muscular endurance to drive large paddles through the water. Most will compensate by dropping their elbows quickly or otherwise resorting to an improper stroke. These incorrect repeated movements only serve to imprint poor mechanics. The swimmer may feel he or she is training harder but there is almost never any real gain technically.

They also slow stroke rate, the number of swim strokes per minute, which is already a limiter for many triathletes. Low stroke rates equal slow swimming; lower stroke rates, even slower swimming. A separate post will address stroke rate as it deserves its own discussion.

For these athletes and swimmers, these larger paddle types are harmful.

I recall one swim workout with a well-known pro triathlete, a front-of-pack swimmer, who was using a then newly introduced paddle, a behemoth in mass and shaped like a stealth bomber. His stroke breakdown was immediately obvious to me, his elbows collapsing to his ribcage. I tried to point out that these giant paddles were not working for him and, in fact, were actively undermining his training. In retrospect, I should have minded my own business: he would have no part of my advice and fervently believed that the manufacturer’s claims worked for him. He knew he was swimming faster – which he was, with the paddles. Without them, he would be left with no extra benefits and a wrecked technique. Like most triathletes and non-elite swimmers, he would have been much better off – ultimately building more speed, strength and specific endurance – by abandoning these ‘trash can lid’ paddles and simply using pull buoys and an ankle strap.

Naturally, in an article this short, I’m generalizing. Some paddles do have their place in the training schedule. If you want to try paddles, find a design that works for your particular mechanics, and one that fits your hand. Generally, smaller is better.

Disclaimer: My notes are written for the general swim and triathlon audience. Some statements are quite broad while others are specific. Every athlete, every swimmer is different. Learn to recognize what applies particularly to you so that you can make the decisions that enable you to train and compete most effectively.

Gerry Rodrigues has been coaching triathletes since 1983, and presently coaches “Tower 26” www.tower26.com. He’s a US Masters coach of the year; a world and national masters champion; coach and advisor to world champion open water swimmers, triathletes, and Olympians; former owner of SWIM Magazine and publisher of Swimming World and Swimming Technique Magazines. He says: “I do not have a monopoly on information, rather continue to learn from athletes and other coaches, loving every day of it.”

Now that the triathlon season is winding down, most of us are already planning next season’s events and looking forward to improving upon this year’s performances. If your really want to make a dramatic difference in your triathlon training, you have to focus your efforts on your limiters – or what sports are your worst! The sport of triathlon is very complex: planning your training, equipment choices, and even race selection, play a big part in having a successful season of racing. LA Tri Coaches Ian Murray and Jamie Silber have been coaching triathletes for over 20 years and know how critical it is to correctly plan and train for a triathlon. Together with top Hollywood professionals, they have produced the most comprehensive and informative triathlon training DVDs ever made.

LATC Member receive a special 20% discount on all DVD products: Use this link to go to the LATC discount page to get the 20% off discount Code. http://www.latriclub.com/members/discounts

Five Mistakes That Lead to Injury

Running the long run too fast
Most of the injury reports from the thousands of marathoners and half marathoners who contact me each year are directly tied to the pace of the long run. A safe pace for most runners, at 60 degrees, is two minutes per mile slower than current marathon race pace (or 2.5 min/mi slower than half-marathon race pace). Even when slowing down to four or five minutes per mile slower, the endurance benefit is the same as when you’re running at a faster pace. It’s also important to slow down 30 seconds a mile for every five degrees Fahrenheit above 60. An adjustment in run-walk-run frequency should be made based upon the pace that you currently run.

Galloway’s Run-Walk-Run Segments
8 min/mi: run 4 minutes/walk 30 seconds
9 min/mi: run 4 minutes/walk 1 minute
10 min/mi: run 3 minutes/walk 1 minute
11 min/mi: run 2:30/walk 1 minute
12 min/mi: run 2 minutes/walk 1 minute
13 min/mi: run 1 minute/walk 1 minute
14 min/mi: run 30 seconds/walk 30 seconds
15 min/mi: run 30 seconds/walk 45 seconds
16 min/mi: run 20 seconds/walk 40 seconds

Stride length too long
Studies on runners have shown that the top running-form mistake is having a stride that is too long. Other studies show that as runners get faster, the stride length tends to shorten. The mechanical key to running faster is through quicker turnover. In my training groups, retreats and individual consultations, I’ve found a simple cadence drill can improve the turnover of feet and legs, which improves efficiency.

Stretching a tight tendon or muscle
Fatigue-induced tightness is a natural part of running. Trying to stretch out this tightness will often lead to the tearing of muscle and tendon fibers – and injury. Massage is a better way to help these areas recover. A successful warm up starts with a three-to-five-minute walk followed by a gentle introduction to running: run a minute/walk a minute for four to six minutes, then run two minutes/walk a minute for six to nine minutes. Massage can bring blood flow to these areas after a tough workout, speeding up recovery. If you have stretches that work for you, and don’t produce injury or longer recovery, then use them if you wish. But be careful.

Too much speedwork, too soon
Speedwork increases injury risk. When you ramp up the quantity of speedwork too quickly, or run too fast several times a week, the risk is dramatic. If you plan to do realistic speedwork, start with a few repetitions, rest adequately between each, and gradually increase the quantity. It’s best to rest from running (or any calf muscle exercise) the day before a speed workout and the day after. If you feel pain or any signs of injury, stop the workout right away.

Switching from a worn-out shoe to a new one
It’s never a good idea to run in a shoe until it is totally worn out. When you find a shoe that works for you, go to a technical running store and buy an identical shoe. If the shoe has already been revised by the time you visit the store, knowledgeable staff members can identify several shoes that are very similar to the one you like. Once a week, run in the old shoe for most of the run and then put on the new pair during the last half mile or so. This gradually breaks in the new one, and helps you determine when the old one is worn out

Over a million runners have purchased Jeff Galloway’s books or attended his running schools, retreats at Tahoe or the beach or Galloway training programs. Send questions or sign up for his free newsletter at www.RunInjuryFree.com.

This story was taken from Competitor Magazine online.

Following the LA Tri Club's tradition of bringing the greatest personalities in triathlon to the center stage to regale the LA Triathlon community with tales of training, racing, and triathlon life, we are pleased to announce an Evening with XTERRA 3x World Champions: Conrad Stoltz and Melanie McQuaid. LA Tri Club meetings are open to the public. Please join us! Tickets at the door are $35 (cash, check, Mastercard or Visa).

WHEN >>
Tuesday, May 13 - Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
DETAILS >>
Ticket price includes entry to the Expo, a buffet Dinner and presentation by guest speakers: Conrad Stoltz & Melanie McQuaid! WHERE >>
The Proud Bird: 11022 Aviation Blvd., L.A. 90045 (Near LAX. Free Parking.)
TICKETS >>
All are welcome. Members & Non-Members. Tickets at the DOOR are $35. Pre-sale tickets are now closed. See you tonight!

Konrad’s 2008 Friday A.M. swim workouts

Presented by Triathletix

I’m going to post these more or less weekly in reverse chronological order. Tweak the send-offs and distances as needed.

The Goal: Keep in mind, your swimming work should match your race goals. If you are doing an Ironman, you should swim more yardage with longer sets. If you are doing sprints, you might consider less yardage and more sprinting. In other news, grass is green, the sky is blue, water is wet.

BUT...though this stuff sounds obvious, too many people train for Malibu as if they are going to Kona. My goals are sprints and Olympic distance races. As such, there is more speed and power work and less total yardage.

Final Caveat: If your stroke isn't efficient, none of this applies. Stop hammering out yardage and (altogether now) TAKE A LESSON. Stop reinforcing bad habits and make 2008 the year you learn to swim smoothly and efficiently!

5/2/08

Ok, I usually don’t do 500’s but I was feeling motivated. I tried to give each of the three 500’s a different focus to keep it fresh.

w/u - 200 swim, 100 kick, 200 pull, 100 kick, 200 swim

10 x 100 @ 1:30. Focus was pace control. I wanted to every single 100 on the same time.

100 kick

3 x 500 @ 6:30

o #1 – Negative split (second half faster than the first half)

o #2 – 1^st, 3^rd, and last 100 hard, 2^nd and 4^th medium

o #3 – First 200 yards build, middle 100 hard, final 200 ez

100 kick warm down

4000 total yards in just over an hour.

4/26/08

Here's last week's Friday swim workout. Do this and I literally guarantee you'll qualify for Beijing. Or Kona. Or possibly Strawberry Fields.

w/u - 200 swim, 100 kick, 200 pull, 100 kick, 200 swim

5 x 100 pull @ 1:30

100 kick

9 x 150 @ 2:15. Here's how it breaks out:

o #1 - 150 easy

o #2 - 150 build (meaning "go a bit harder each length until you're going fast by the end")

o #3 - 150 super hard

Do this progression three times for a total of nine.

100 kick

5 x 50 @ :50 - really fast

2 x cup of coffee 1 x bowl of cream of wheat @ 1 hour 15 mins.

About 3000 yards in just under an hour (excluding coffee.)

4/19/08

w/u ("warm up") - 200 swim, 100 kick (no kickboard. on my back, arms extended), 200 pull, 100 kick, 200 swim

first set - 5 x 100 pull @ 1:30. I wanted to have no less than 20 secs rest so I was aiming to finish each in about 1:10 or so.

100 kick, then a couple minutes of stretching.

main set - 5 x 200 swim @ 2:45. I wanted to have no less than 30 secs rest so I was aiming to finish each in about 2:15 or so.

100 kick, then kill some time talking with friends.

6 x 50 @ :50, 1 breath down, 2 breaths back, no more than 14 strokes per length.

200 ez cool down.

About 3000 yards in just under an hour.

It's about this time of year that the internal fire of endurance athletes gets stoked. Managing that desire and planning out a "long burn" will result in the greatest successes.
The key areas in which to focus are: goal setting, race selection and planning.

There are all sorts of goals and the critical ones are long term goals and short term goals. A long term goal might be result based…"I want to finish in the top ten of my age group at this certain race..top 5….win". Another long term goal might be related to a new distance… "I want to finish that half or full Ironman". No matter the goal, it's important to keep in mind that every foot fall of every run this year can be a step in the right direction for that long term goal. Short term goals can act as the motivators that keep you consistent in your training. Those goals can be basic…."I want to run 4 times this week" or can have specificity "I want to swim 100m using only 140 strokes in less than one minute and forty five seconds". Regardless of what the goal is it has to be something that you truly want and it has to be something over which you have control. Make the goal both challenging AND obtainable. Those are the elements that will keep you yearning and burning for the long haul.

This time of year is the right time to start your race selection. Pick out two or three "key" races where you want to be at your best and register for them NOW. Then select other events as training races or fun races that fall into the calendar at times appropriate to your key events. Once you plan out your training some of those fun/training races might fall during a recovery week - where you can still go but you have to hold back a bit. Those races might fall during a very heavy training week - where you can still go but you might have to cross the finish line and run another 10k.

Speaking of planning….this is the most powerful thing you can do to improve your performances this season. Open up your calendar and look at the number of weeks you have to get from today to your key race. Plan your training so that every two to three weeks of training you lighten up a bit - shorter mileage, fewer workouts, less intensity so that there are five or six days where you give your body a chance to rest and adapt to the previous twenty days of effort. This concept is called periodization and is simple and logical. It's based on the principal that the human body can and will adapt to the stresses you place on it IF it has a chance to rest. Periodization can help avoid burnout and reduce the risk of injury too.

Taking just a few minutes to think through your season now can lead to all new heights in the coming months.

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Ian Murray is the Head Coach of LA Tri Club and Founder/President of Triathletix

The LA Tri Club (LATC), located, luckily, in Los Angeles, California (or the club would need a different name), is the largest Triathlon club in the United States. With a membership of 1500, and growing, the LATC offers it’s membership some of the best, and most picturesque, training sites and opportunities, in the country. Along with many of the club’s national and local sponsors.   But what the club offers even more so, is the support the members receive from each other.  This club supports it’s members, as much as it’s members support the club.

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Flickr - an LA Tri Club Member User's Guide

Overview

Knowing that many LA Tri Club members take photos at our events, and that only a small number of them make it on the Club's website, we have introduced an efficient solution for sharing photos with other members. The answer is a website called Flickr (www.Flickr.com). Some of you may know about Flickr, but I'm sure many of you are not as familiar. When you get to the home page, type "LATriClub" into the search box, click show thumbnails to make the images easier to view, and check out some recent photos of LA Tri Clubbers doing what we do – Swimming, Biking, Running, or Playing! View by most recent,most relevant, or most interesting.

What is Flickr?

Flickr is an online photo sharing website. Unlike so called "first generation” photo websites like Kodak Gallery, Shutterfly, Snapfish, and others, Flickr allows for the uploading of photos that can be "tagged" and easily shared with the world. There are privacy options to restrict the sharing of your photos to just you and / or your friends and family, but the big kicker is being able to share photos to many people, even those who you don't know, without having to notify them that you have submitted photos. In their own words: "Flickr gives you a window into things that you might otherwise never see, from the perspective of people that you might otherwise never encounter." Here's an example from the recent riots in Paris: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hughes_leglise/116848269/Â

What is "tagging?"

Tagging is a way of associating a word or phrase with your photos on Flickr. So, if you have photos from a recent triathlon, say the Strawberry Fields Triathlon, you may want to give those photos the tag "strawberry fields tri". That way, when someone types "Strawberry Fields Tri" in the search box on Flickr, they will see all photos from that event. You can look to the right of a photo on Flickr to see what tags were applied to that photo.

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However, if a non-LA Tri Club member submitted photos with the “Strawberry Fields Tri” tag, theirs would show up too. So you might want to do an advanced search and search for photos that contain both of the following tags: "latriclub" and "strawberryfieldstri". That will filter out the LA Tri Club tagged Strawberry Fields Tri photos from the non-LA Tri Club tagged photos. Make sense? Applying relevant tags is key...if you upload photos that aren't tagged, then people will only be able to find your photos if they just so happen to stumble upon them. More on creating relevant tags below…

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Why is this better than Ofoto / Kodak Gallery, Snapfish, Shutterfly, Yahoo Photos, etc.?

Those sites are great. I've got a couple hundred albums in Ofoto / Kodak Gallery. However, the difference is, if I want to share photos from those sites, I would need to designate specifically to who I want to share those photos. If I want to share my photos to the entire LA Tri Club, then I'd have to choose to share my designated album with elist@latriclub.com and give access to members that way. The problem is, every other person who has photos on one of those sites will have to do the same, meaning we'll get N emails for every N members who want to share their pictures. That is not cool. If we all upload our photos to Flickr, we'll be able to go to one spot and search for LA Tri Club related photos. That is cool!

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You can't think of Flickr the same as you think of, say, Kodak Gallery. You may not want to share all of your photos with the world, you may be more inclined to share some of them only with people who you designate -- the old fashioned way! That's cool -- keep doing that! But, if you want to make sure certain of your photos are visible to many, even those who you don't know, Flickr is the way to go! If you use Yahoo Photos, you probably already know that they are soon releasing an update that integrates the features of Flickr with the features of the current Yahoo Photos, so you'll get the best of both worlds by uploading to one photo site.

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Why is sharing my photos with the world cool?

Because it's fun! It also makes the internet more useful, and fun, when photos taken by people like you and I are made publicly available. Check out how user photos from Flickr are integrated into the bottom of this feature on Tiger Woods: http://news.yahoo.com/60minutes or into this travel guide for San Francisco: http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-191501889-action-pictures-phototype-user-san_francisco_vacations-i;_ylt=AlW8HoVasikerQRgmaKCz3RBFmoL Imagine the photo coverage if every member submitted their photos from Wildflower, Ironman Hawaii, or First Thursdays -- in this case, more is better!

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I'm not convinced, what else?

What is really cool about having member's photos in one centralized online repository is that will allow us to eventually programmatically pull photos to the LA Tri Club website. Flickr makes it relatively easy to pull photos to other websites -- for example, we'll one day pull photos from people's Flickr accounts to their LA Tri Club member page. Or we can pull pictures from many member's flickr accounts and create composite albums on our website from many members. Trust me, this will be cool! The coolness factor increases exponentially as the number of members contributing photos increases. Our website will continue to evolve in this direction through time...and funds!

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Sold! How do I get started?

It's easy, and free! Simply open up an account. If you are already a Yahoo! user, you can create an account with your existing Yahoo! account info (Yahoo! bought Flickr last year…). If not, you can create an account directly with Flickr. You can click on the link that says "upload", but that limits you to uploading 5 pictures at a time. If you want to easily upload many pictures, you can do so by downloading a cool little Flickr Uploader: http://www.flickr.com/tools/ I HIGHLY RECOMMEND DOWNLOADING THE FLICKR UPLOADER!Â

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From there, you simply click on the "add photos" link and pull from your hard drive, or just drag from another window. After that you can create a "set" which is essentially an album. So you may want a set for Strawberry Fields, another set for Wildflower, etc. The important thing is to add appropriate tags to ensure that your sets are searchable. So, if they are LA Tri Club related photos, then be sure to add "LA Tri Club" as a tag. If the photos are from Wildflower, make sure that "Wildflower" is a tag...maybe get more specific with "Wildflower 2006" to distinguish from any Wildflower photos from 2005. You can test your tags by trying to search on them -- type in Wildflower and see if yours show up. Don't worry, you can add tags to entire sets at once...you don't need to add tags to individual photos one at a time (but you can, if you want to get specific about the content of a given picture).Â

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Organizing Your Photos

Clicking on the “Organize” button will allow you to do all sorts of fun things to your photos. You can organize all of your photos into “sets.” To do that, simply drag your photos to the middle of the screen and click the “add to set” link.Â

If your photos are already organized as a “set,” you can change the lead photo for that set by clicking on “Your Sets,” opening up a photo set, and dragging the desired photo to the top of the album that appears on the left.

Most importantly, to add new tags to a set of photos, select your desired photo set, and click “Batch Edit,” and then click “Add Tags.” That will allow you to add a new tag “LATriClub,” for example, to a bunch of photos at once.

Common LATriClub Flickr Tags

Do you want your Flickr photos to be included so that they appear in a link from the LA Tri Club’s “Photos” (http://www.latriclub.com/photos/) page? To do that, everyone needs to use a common “tag” for the photos for a given event. Here’s the tagging scheme that we’ve adopted for events:

        LATriClub_EventName_DistinguishingDate

Here are some examples:

        LATriClub_PlayaDelRun_June_22_2006

        LATriClub_FirstThursday_Pasadena_May2006

        LATriClub_Wildflower_2006 (another tag that might be included with this is “Olympic” or “Half” to distinguish the individual races)

        LATriClub_DesertTriathlon_2006

        LATriClub_Meeting_June2006

Note that, if the given event happens more than once in a year (Meetings, First Thursdays, etc.) the distinguishing date must contain more information than just the year. Wildflower, since it only happens once / year only needs “2006” to distinguish it from all the other occurrences of Wildflower.

Note also that you can add multiple tags can be added to your photos. Here are some tags, in addition to the main event tag, above, that we suggest adding to your photos sets on Flickr:

• “Triathlon” so that people searching for “Triathlon” will find your photos
• “LATriClub” so that people searching for “LATriClub” will find your photos
• “LA Tri Club” …ditto above..

Again, you can add as many tags as you’d like to your photos…to add new tags to your photos, see “Organizing Your Photos” above.

If you notice a Flickr photo pool is already being linked to from the LA Tri Club’s photo page, simply scroll your mouse pointer over the link and look at the link that appears at the bottom of your browser. That should show which link is being “pulled” from Flickr, in case you have some photos that you’d like to add to that pool.

Flickr No-Nos

Keep in mind that the LA Tri Club’s adoption of Flickr is to enable members to share their LA Tri Club related photos with other LA Tri Club members through the use of common tags. To the extent that pictures are tagged with “LATriClub,” or any derivation thereof, the presumption is that members will view those LATriClub-tagged photos with the expectation of seeing LA Tri Club members engaged in LA Tri Club activities -- Swimming, Biking, Running, or Playing! Though we can’t strictly enforce how members apply tags to their photos on Flickr, know that the following are some activities that are severely frowned upon with respect to any LATriClub-tagged photos:

1. The posting of non-triathlon related photos - i.e. photos of your sister’s wedding. Your Flickr account may have photos of all of your personal activities, but please don’t tag them with LA Tri Club tags!! Members may find those pictures, to the extent that they are publicly available from your home page on Flickr, which is great since it helps members get to know one another more, but please just don’t tag those photos with the LATriClub tag!Â

2. The posting of commercial imagery, including commercial watermarks or other blatant commercial promotion. Please don’t use the LA Tri Club’s popularity for the purpose of promoting your product, or service (i.e., training service, sport / social club, nutrition product, etc.). That is not cool.Â

Flickr Fun StuffÂ

There’s lots of interesting photos to be found on Flickr.  That’s a large part of its appeal. Check out the following page to see some of the more interesting (non-triathlon related) photos on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/explore. Or do a search for “triathlon” and then click the link that says view by “most interesting.”

A Couple Other Things…

To the extent that you want your photos to be publicly viewable, make sure to indicate as such on your privacy settings. Also, to the extent that you allow other members the option to purchase prints, be sure to indicate as such on your "your account" page.Â

Also, to get the most out of Flickr, you may want to check out this page: http://www.flickr.com/get_the_most.gne#secure which contains all sorts of info on how to incorporate Flickr into your personal blog, how to use RSS feeds with Flickr, etc.

That's more than enough...if you've made it this far, thanks for reading! We think that Flickr is a fun way to share our respective LA Tri Club selves...and heck, to the extent that you have non-LA Tri Club photos publicly available on your Flickr site, your non-LA Tri Club self will be open for exploration too! It's all about building the LA Tri Club community!

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Thanks for tuning in, and thanks for sharing your LA Tri Club pictures!

The LA Tri Club Board >> Paul, Brian, Liz, Larry, Gary, and Mike

Swim. Bike. Run. Play!

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There has been a lot of confusion about lactic acid and what it means to the performance athlete and their training.

The confusion seems to be born from two facts. First, science certainly does not have all the answers when it comes to exercise training and the limiting factors in performance. Example: For years scientists thought lactic acid caused fatigue. Now it’s understood that in itself it does not cause fatigue but at the point where it collects in the muscle cell, fatigue is quick to follow.

Secondly, what is known is often taken out of scientific context and expected to be a stand-alone truth. Example: Lactic acid is a terrible thing because training programs are designed to reduce its production. Lactic acid is a natural by-product of anaerobic exercise and, no, it’s not all bad – but we still want to limit it’s production at certain times in the training cycle.

The truth in these statements is only evident with a complete understanding of muscle physiology and the goals of endurance training programs. First, a review of exercise physiology is helpful. In the continuum of exercise intensities there are two definite domains. At the lower intensities the majority of muscle energy is generated by aerobic metabolism of FATS as a food substrate. To metabolize fats, which are virtually unlimited even in the thinnest of athletes, the muscle cells need an adequate supply of oxygen. As exercise intensities increase the muscles begin to work so hard that they outpace the body’s ability to deliver oxygen. Metabolism then shifts into the anaerobic domain. Here the muscle cell must metabolize CARBOHYDRATES to produce muscle energy with the by-product of lactic acid. At first this is no problem as the lactic acid is produced at a rate which can be used by the aerobic muscle fibers as a fuel, buffered by the chemicals released in the cell or cleared from the cell and taken away by the blood vessels. Prolonged exercise at this intensity, however, creates problems as it consumes all available carbohydrates and the body cannot re-synthesize enough to maintain this exercise intensity (the bonk). At this point the athlete is forced to slow down or stop exercise all together as the finite amount of carbohydrate (glycogen) stored in the muscles and liver is totally exhausted.

If exercise intensity increases even more, lactic acid accumulates in the cell to a point where cellular metabolism is slowed and fatigue progresses to muscle failure. Although it’s not clear if lactic acid itself creates changes in the cell that cause fatigue or other unknown events occur simultaneously to cause fatigue - it really matters little to the athlete.

The physiology of the aerobic and anaerobic muscle function identifies a clear path to improved performances in endurance sports. The aerobic metabolism of fats yields the highest return of muscle energy (ATP) and produces the least amount of by- products (no lactic acid) while it spares precious carbohydrate stores. Furthermore, proper training can create improvements in aerobic metabolism up to 12-14% whereas, anaerobic energy production, through higher intensity exercise and intervals, improves only 2-6%. The objective of training endurance athletes is clearly to increase the contribution of aerobic metabolism to the overall energy requirements of a given task. To improve the aerobic fitness of an athlete we must first examine the physiological limitations of aerobic energy production.

As discussed earlier the body’s inability to deliver adequate quantities of oxygen to the muscle cell to burn fats is what shifts muscle metabolism to the anaerobic domain. When studying the critical path here, research has shown it is not heart and lung function that is the limiting factor. These organs strengthen quickly. Instead the vascular network of capillaries which ultimately deliver the oxygen to the working muscle is what needs to be better developed. Furthermore, once the oxygen is delivered in abundant quantities the muscle cell will build the internal aerobic machinery (mitochondria) to metabolize fats and power the muscle. The only way to create a better capillary network and improve mitochondria density in the muscle (aerobic infrastructure) is when workouts create a great demand for oxygen. The body will then respond or adapt to meet those demands. Indications for training: long, slow workouts create a demand for oxygen and the body will respond by creating the aerobic infrastructure necessary to meet these demands. Harder intensity workouts simply cause the body to shift to anaerobic energy production and relieve the demand for oxygen and therefore stimulate no improvements in aerobic infrastructure.

Question:What are the Signs of Inadequate Base?

Answer:The most common sign of inadequate aerobic base is inconsistent performances in training and racing. Other signs are frequent illness or injury once the hard work begins.

Q:How Low is Low Intensity?

A:To know accurately how low the intensity of exercise needs to be to build your aerobic engine one must test lactate levels in the blood while performing a ramped exercise test. Lactic acid that cannot be buffered in the muscle cell or used by the aerobic muscle cells as a fuel is cleared from the muscle and swept away by the capillaries. In the blood this is called lactate. When a progressive exercise test is performed and the intensity of exercise is increased at regular intervals there is a point where lactate concentration approximately doubles its’ resting levels. This is at the lactate threshold and indicates (in heart rate or power wattage) the upper limits of an athlete’s current aerobic ability. To improve this system all exercise must be done below this intensity to create a great demand for oxygen and stimulate bodily adaptations to meet this demand. This is the best return for time spent training with the greatest rewards in performance.
The blood lactate test is the only way to determine this upper limit of your purely aerobic functioning. VO2 testing will determine the anaerobic threshold where metabolism is predominantly anaerobic but gives no indication at lactate threshold to indicate at what level base work should be done. Neither do field tests.

Q:How Much is Enough Base?

A:This depends on your event, past history of training and years training your aerobic system. But most cyclists need to perform around 1,000 mile of base training to maximize their fitness gains and performances. Only retesting can accurately determine adequate improvements in aerobic function.

Q:Can I do any High Intensity Exercise During the Base Building or Aerobic Development Phase?
A:Higher intensity efforts will shift metabolism to the anaerobic energy system and diminish the demand for oxygen and relieve the body of its need to develop the aerobic infrastructure needed. According to one of America’s premier cycling coaches and author, Joe Friel (personal communication), only brief high intensity efforts shorter than 15 seconds where no lactic acid (known as alactic training) are permitted during base training. Many athletes who train as hard as possible all the time have developed a bodily preference to anaerobic energy production. The goal of their training should be to atrophy this energy pathway with long slow distances that develop the more efficient aerobic pathway.

Q:What Are the Other Benefits of Aerobic Training?
A:Aerobic muscle fitness benefits the athlete by meeting a greater percentage of energy needs with a clean burning and abundant fuel source (fats) but it also helps the athlete in anaerobic efforts. Since the anaerobic muscle fibers use lactic acid as an alternative fuel source a well-developed aerobic system helps clear lactic acid produced during harder efforts.

Q:If I’m Already Racing is it too Late to Gain Additional Aerobic Base?
A:No, it’s never too late in the season to improve aerobic base but it’s more difficult once you have begun anaerobic training. The key here is to do the aerobic work at very low intensities once you know your lactate threshold. As Chris Carmichael says ‘cyclist’s hard workouts are too easy (due to accumulated fatigue) and easy workouts are too hard (due to ego).’

Q:What are the Other Benefits of Blood Lactate Testing?
A:Blood lactate testing will demonstrate an athletes’ full fitness profile indicating which energy systems are fit and those that are in need of improvement. From this data a coach can design a training program including accurate heart rate training zones for intervals training.

Although I don't usually wear wetsuits for ocean swimming, I seem to get asked a lot of questions about them so I thought I would put my advice in one place.

Do you NEED a wetsuit? My answer is "no." My first season and the last two seasons I did the vast majority of my races without a wetsuit and I never felt one was necessary. However, you may not have the same tolerance for cold (or the built in wetsuit) that I have. For new ocean swimmers the wetsuit will give you more confidence. And for fresh water swimming, those of us used to the buoyancy of salt water could be miserable without a wetsuit. One or more wetsuits (I have two) is a good idea for most triathletes.

Wetsuits will make you faster and (for almost all swimmers) a full wetsuit will make you faster than a sleeveless wetsuit. (The reasons are that sleeveless suits allow drag around the armholes and a fullsuit provides full body coverage that has less drag than skin.) You may want both for different temperature conditions, but if you can afford only one, get a full suit.

Surfing wetsuits are not designed for swimming and may actually slow you down. You should explore all the triathlon-specific wetsuits (Orca, Ironman, Quintana Roo, Aquaman, De Soto, etc.) (I own one Orca--a Predator sleeveless--and a Quintana Roo Superfull--but that is just my preference) and pick the one that fits you best and is easiest for you to get in and out of. The more up to date suits use more flexible materials--you will notice this as you try the suits on. (They will cost more and they may or may not be worth it.) You should try the suit on before buying it. It should be a bit uncomfortably tight when dry. The club's sponsor Pacific Tri and Running in Encino and other places like Triathlete Zombies (Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach) Triathlon Lab (Manhattan Beach) and Nytro (Encinitas) have good selections.

A wetsuit will help you deal with the shock of cold water that stops your breathing. But so will an insulated cap. (I like Barracuda Hotheads--in stock at High Point Swim--get an ORANGE one please.) A wetsuit will make it harder to get under the surf. In general it is probably better to get your wetsuit at the beginning of the season and well before any races so that you can get used to it.

The best thing about a wetsuit is that it permits you to continue to swim in the ocean almost the whole year so that you can minimize your time in cement boxes. Most races have water temperatures of 65 or higher, making wetsuits more of a luxury than a need for racing. But as temperatures go lower, wetsuits do become a necessity for ocean swimming. Moreover, everyone's tolerance for cold varies, so for almost all triathletes, a wetsuit is probably the first big equipment purchase they should make after a bike and a helmet. Tom Long