We're in Cohasset!

Team Perry is gathering in Cohasset. Janet, Bill, Tom, and Kathy arrived yesterday (Thursday). Eileen and her family will arrive later today. Meghan lives an hour away and will be coming and going. Julia is the team Cohasset resident and host for the big race on Sunday. Julia, Janet, Bill and Tom tested the water shortly after arriving on Thursday and much to our surprise, found it warmer than expected. The short work out was encouraging! We then drove the bike course, and found it to be a tad bumpy with all the road/utility work going on; and as such, one might consider it a bit technically challenging. We'll ride it today and see first hand. The race venue is charmingly picturesque and almost a distraction for all the local beauty!

That's about it for now. Let the fun and games begin!

Tom

It's Almost Time!

Our race packets arrived via e-mail today! Print them off. Things start getting exciting now! Not surprisingly with the chilly spring in Boston, the water is cold and they are advising swimmers double up on caps, or invest in a neoprene cap to be worn under race cap. I can already feel the cold water taking my breath away. Tip: Before you begin the swim, stand in the water and put your face in breathing 10 times from each side to take away some of the initial shock and hyperventilating.

Checklist

Below is my checklist for a cold water sprint triathlon such as Cohasset. You may modify it as you see best for your own purposes. It helps to have lists and routines. Be consistent and minimize the number of things you have to think about. You'll have situations and surprises to think about as it is. Let me know if you think I left out any significant items.

Sprint Tri List:

Air pump
Bike
Bike gloves (x)
Bike shoes
Body Glide
Bucket/seat (if you want to sit in transition) (x)
Spare bike tubes
Tire change tools
CO2 tire inflator and spare CO2
Coin bag for E-caps (x)
Duct tape (for whatever)
EnduroLite caps (electrolytes)(x)
Flashlight/Headlight (for pre-race set-up; if dark before start)
Fleece top (if chilly)
Water bottle for bike (w/water or sport beverage)
Glasses and case
Hammer gels
Helmet
Parking permit (if applicable)
Registration papers & USAT card
Running shoes
Sandals (for before/after race)
Clothes for after race
Socks (x)
Sun screen
Sunglasses
Race Swim cap
Swim goggles
Tools
Towels (2)
TP in baggy
Tri bag (for gear)
Tri belt for race #
Tri run cap (x)
Tri short
Tri top
Water bottles
Disposable aluminum pan with water (Dip sandy feet in T-1)
Wet suit

(x) indicates you probably don’t need item.

Bold indicates very important!

Things to do:

Tune/check bike week before
Practice T-1 (& options)
Make sure bike bar ends are plugged!
Ring with spouse
Set cycle computer and watch
Set gears (low for quick start)
Warm up for swim and bike
2 gels and 8 oz. water 5 – 10 minutes before start (x)
Lick and set goggles before start
Be positive, calm, and confident
Focus. Live in the moment.
Solve problems as they arise.

Tom and Kathy at Expo 10K Race

Tom and Kathy did the Expo 10K race in Knoxville, yesterday. Kathy took second in age group, while Tom finished fourth in age group. It was a satisfying race with about 500 in the 10K. I know Julia and Eileen are/were racing this weekend. Results and feelings? Others, anything to report?

Back to the bike and swim tomorrow. Off today.

--Tom

Wetsuit Strippers?

Julia, can you find out if there will be wetsuit strippers after the swim? OK, now, they don't strip, but assist you in stripping off your wet suit. It should go w/o saying, but I'll say it anyway, you do want to be dressed underneath your wetsuit, preferably with what you intend to wear for the bike and run portions of the race. One other thing, you may want to try going w/o socks to see if you will be OK on race day. It will save you time to go w/o. --Tom

Odds and Ends

This is Tom and sister Janet before the start of last year's Olympic distance Turtle Crawl Triathlon at Jekyll Island, Georgia. We will be needing the long sleeve wetsuits at Cohasset.

I checked the water temp at Melton Hill Lake this morning before swimming. It was 58 degrees. I put on two caps and pulled them down over my eyebrows. That made a difference as far as warding off yesterday's forehead cold ache. I was also faster today, with fewer stops. Cold water is taking me a little bit of time for acclimatizing. However, I absolutely love my new long sleeved wetsuit. My feet, hands, and face get cold, but the rest of me is very comfortable. My confidence is way up, though, knowing now that the water has been at 58 degrees, while Cohasset water is expected to be around 62!

Next week may be about right for starting the once-a-week-for-4-weeks-Power Burst swim practices for anybody not named Meghan or Zip! (Utterly un-necessary for a Robinson swimmer.) I discussed it in an earlier posting, see April 19.

I'll post a checklist in the next few days.

You may want to try a few bricks in the next few weeks. Important to get legs accustomed to changing from bike muscles to run muscles. Also, start simulating your transitions: T-1 and T-2. Find a comfortable routine and stick with it, laying out your gear and repeating the sequence of transition steps each time. They should become almost second nature and be very familiar to you on race day.

OK, for those team members that may be trying to stay under the radar, Kathy and I have begun doing a little internet snooping. We found, for example, that Meghan has worked a duathlon into her training this spring. On April 19, she went run (3-mi), bike (11-mi), run (2-mi) at 25:10, 44:30, 15:20 with T-1 at 1:01 and T-2 at 0:56. Good job Meghan!!!

Looking for more training reports and images to post. Go team!!!

That's about it for this posting. Now get out there and train!

--Tom

Eileen's First Open Water Swim - No Snakes!

I have to post Eileen's first open water swim account. She is absolutely right about bilateral breathing, too. She wrote:

"Hey!! I just got back from my first experience at open water swimming!! I was not looking forward to it ...... Jim [husband] was telling me about all the snakes that are out etc..... yuk!! however I found a great place at Lake Granbury and the area is roped off so the snakes know not to go in there! hee hee! Anyway it went much better than I thought. I went for 30 min. Julia, I remember a note that you said someone told to you to learn to breath both sides .... well I didn't understand why at the time but I did practice that in the pool. But today I can definately see the advantage as it helps spot yourself better. I would take 3 strokes turn right, 3 strokes turn left and I could get a good sense of where I was and where I was going. I have my next 5k Mon. - it looks like a good one. It's called American Hero's and seems to have a lot of military people involved so I guess I will be very humbled in many ways and will be covered in the dust I'm sure!"

Good swim, Eileen!

I also went open water this morning for about 20 minutes. The water was about ten degrees colder than last week. We have had several nights in the upper 30s and a lot of rain. The water was almost painful to my forehead, but after about ten minutes I got my rhythm and felt reasonably good! I know I will need to "warm" up for about ten minutes to be able to race with rhythem, and keep up with the sisters! [TRY]

Way to go Eileen! You are doing great!!!

Tom

Julia Strikes a Pose Before Heading Out!

Here is Julia (avid Cohasset competitor) ready for a cycling work out. Finally we have an image of one of the team! I need shots of Meghan, Bill and my other sisters, Eileen, Janet and Zip. Give me your best Tri shots and we'll show you off!!! I know, I know, I need to get one of me on the blog, too.

By the way, it seems that Meghan, Janet, and Bill are training under the radar. How about a status on your progress? I know you may be playing it close to the vest, but come on!

Pictures people!!!

Why aren't you out training?!

Tom

Julia and Eileen on the Run!!!

Julia DeWaal in Cohasset called all excited last evening. She had her first age-group win in a 5 K race in Scituate this weekend! She also took her first ride on a good road bike and experienced a dramatically improved ride and a taste of speed! I think the old mountain bike won't make it out of the garage this race season. Julia is totally pumped for the Cohasset Triathlon race.

Speaking of pumped, word is that Eileen Haley in Texas has gone gaga over racing. She is competing in road and trail runs this spring and loving it. She's also shredding her PRs.

Watch these two cunning racers! They have an eye out for each other and will be fun to watch at Cohasset in June!

Go Team!!!

Zip and New Natioanal Relay Swim Records!!!

This just in. Our sister Zip (Beth) Robinson from Texas has just been part of two national swim relay team records for age group 55 - 60 AND she is still competing today!!! The national 200-yard freestyle relay record was 2:02:97. Zip and her relay team won the race in record time of 1:57.53! The national 200-yard medley record was 2:19.50. Zip and her relay team smashed the record with a time of 2:13 .28!!!

The race is the 2009 USMS National Short Course Championship in Fresno, CA. Video and results can be viewed at flowswim.org .

Way to go, Zip! Fantastic effort and results!! You'll be out of the water at Cohasset before I'm half way through the swim. In fact, I'd say there won't be many bikes gone when you reach T-1.

Good luck in the remaining events today!


Tom

Consistency and Routines

I tried the new wetsuit this morning with the first open water swim of the season. I took a thermometer along and was surprised to find the lake water already at 70 degrees. The wetsuit felt good and performed well. I still had trouble catching my breath with the water being about 13 degrees cooler than the pool and with me again getting use to the wetsuit confinement. All was well after about 10 minutes of swimming, which leads me into consistency and routines.

I talked to Julia last week and she was all excited about meeting and listening to Olympic triathlete, Jarrod Shoemaker, in Cohasset a couple of weeks ago. One of th things she came away with was the importance of keeping to routines on race day and NEVER trying anything new during the race, or the final days leading up to it, for that matter. The time to try your race drinks and gels is during training. Likewise, your eating habits before training should be developed during training weeks, and then go with tried and true meals the night before and morning of the race. Or, it may be that you are best to start out skipping a morning meal and having a gel pack and water 5 or 10 minutes before the race.

You should also lock in your equipment and go with the familiar on race day. For example, don't try adding aero bars to your bike a day or two before the race. If you think you may want to go aero, be doing it now, so you become accustomed to the bars and safely confident going aero.

Be consistent in training. Practice good techniques. Keep to your plan and schedule as well as you can. Start practicing some transitions. Do exactly what you plan to do on race day when practicing. It may help to write it out. Get familiar with your routines so they become second nature. You will have a lot of things to think about. Having routines down pat will leave you in a better position to deal with those unexpected events that always seem to "complicate" your race. Be ready for calm problem solving as the race unfolds. Take problems in stride and just deal with them. Your consistency and routines will make problems less likely and your ability to resolve them easier.

So, this mornings swim was good for me. I learned that I need to find a colder lake to practice in and that I should plan one of my three swims each week needs to be in the open water to get ever more comfortable with the wetsuit, cool open water, and BREATHING.

By the way, I took a bottle of hot tap water along and poured it down my wetsuit as I waded into the lake. That was a first, and may have taken away a little of the initial cold water shock as lake water entered the wet suit. I think I liked it!

Have you been training yet today?

Tom

Wet Suit Arrived!

It was Christmas in April today. My new wet suit arrived and it fits like a glove! I tried it out and I immediately remembered how much I dislike the constricted feeling around my neck. As before, I need to get into the lake and get accustomed to the feel and try to get somewhat comfortable with breathing. I'm thinking about 4 or 5 swims will do it - increasing distance with each swim. The first time trying out a triathlon wet suit, I nearly panicked and only swam about 50 yards. It does take some getting use to, so give it a shot first chance you get. Also, avoid chlorinated water.

Tomorrow, or soon, I'll discuss consistency and routines. The other night, Julia brought up the importance of not changing anything on race day. More to come on that.

Any action images to post?

Hows the training coming? Be consistent.

67 days 'til Cohasset

Tom

Cold Water Tips

I found a thread on Active.com Tri forum dealing with cold water. I summarized some of the cold water tips that may be helpful for Cohasset. I don’t know for sure the average water temp for that time of year, but I’m guessing low 60s.

Remember your head! Most of your heat escapes there. Wear a silicone swim cap if you can... or at least another cap underneath the race cap that you will receive. The silicone will help keep the heat in your body better than latex will. Neoprene is the best for keeping the heat in, but it will cost you $$$.

Jog for a while before the start, maybe 5 – 10 minutes slow and even, then pull on the wetsuit, and keep moving. If the air temp is already quite warm, delay putting on the wet suit. Three minutes before the start get in & swim, easy, but with full attention to form. Let the water get into your wetsuit & warm up. Then hit that first 100 yards pretty steady, but not too hard to get your body temp up, and hang on. Getting the water inside the suit warm is the purpose of the wetsuit, so do anything you can to get it in & heated up before the gun off. A more comfortable way to get water into the wetsuit and warm is to take a thermos of very warm water and pour it into your wetsuit before getting into the water. If you're in a wave start that has you waiting a while, pour more warm water into your wetsuit as you wait.

If the air temp is cool when you get out, put on a heavy insulated hooded jacket and keep moving to keep your body warm. Wear old socks until getting into the water for the start, and ditch them at the waters edge.

Whether the water is cold or not, remember to BREATHE! This may be the most important tip. Be sure and completely exhale on your breathing. Cold water makes your body naturally want to hold on to oxygen. If you don't expel all of the air in your lungs, you will be taking shorter breaths during each stroke, causing you to become more oxygen deprived and thus causing hypothermia symptoms. Be sure to take full breaths in, and then completely exhale in the water.

Lastly, take it easy. Your heart rate will naturally be higher automatically given the water temperature. Slow down and relax. Have a good swim!

Swim Work-out Ideas

Another from Active Tri Weekly... All I have been doing so far are 500 to 1000-meter swims. The following gives me some swim training ideas for my weakest leg of the tri.

Active.com > Triathlon > 4 Weeks to Increased Power in the Water
4 Weeks to Increased Power in the Water

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By Colin Izzard and Jim Rutberg Triathlete magazine
After a winter of diligently staring at the black line at the bottom of the pool, you're finally getting ready to break out of the natatorium and get into competition.
But do you have any speed, or are you just a slow and steady diesel engine this early in the year? Even though you might not be peaking for your first event of the season, we can guarantee it'll be a lot more fun if you have a bit of sprinting power.
Sometimes in races you need to be able to produce a good burst of speed. It's necessary for getting a good start as hundreds of bodies surge into the water, and then later in the swim leg when you have to get around a slower swimmer or move out of a cluster of flailing arms and legs.
Fortunately, you can develop the speed and power you need without disrupting your long-range training progression, and as an added bonus, incorporating the following workouts into your program can actually lead to faster pace-per-hundred performance (a common measure of maximum sustainable swimming pace).
How It Works
Intensity is the key to making the Power Burst workout effective. Many triathletes are accustomed to swimming at a quick yet sustainable pace, but not at an all-out, gut-busting, lung-scorching intensity. However, that's what it's going to take to inject a significant amount of speed into your swimming with a relatively small number of workouts.
At the same time, you have to be careful not to forsake the foundations of a solid swim leg for some added power. This workout should not be an additional session in the water but, rather, should replace an existing one. If you're swimming twice a week, be sure to focus on doing drill work during your warm-up and cool-down, and your other session in the water should include an endurance/pace set focused on building your aerobic engine and maximum sustainable swimming pace.
If you swim three times a week, it's important to take the intensity of the power-burst workout into consideration. Consequently, your third swim of the week should be a very light workout that incorporates drills and recovery swimming.
The Power Burst Workout
Warm-up for all weeks
200 to 400 yards warm-upMix this up with 50 percent drilling and 50 percent swimming
Week 1
8 x 25 yards all-outRest is equal to the time it takes you to swim the 25 yards100 yards easy as 25 drill/25 swim

Week 2
4 x 50 yards all-outRest is equal to the time it takes you to swim the 50 yards100 yards easy as 25 drill/25 swim

Week 3
2 x 100 yards all-outRest is equal to the time it takes you to swim the 100 yards100 yards easy as 25 drill/25 swim

Week 4
2 x 100 yards all-outRest is equal to the time it takes you to swim the 100 yards100 yards easy as 25 drill/25 swim
4 x 50 yards all-outRest is equal to the time it takes you to swim the 50 yards100 yards easy as 25 drill/25 swim
8 x 25 yards all-outRest is equal to the time it takes you to swim the 25 yards100 yards easy as 25 drill/25 swim

Depending on your level of experience/fitness go back up the ladder.So, the entire main set would consist of: 2 x 100, 4 x 50, 8 x 25, 4 x 50, 2 x 100
Cool-down for all workouts
200 to 400 yards cool-down, easy swimming

Make It a Double
When it comes to integrating the Power Burst workout into your overall training program, it's a good idea to schedule it for the same day as a hard running or cycling workout. One of the challenges triathletes face is finding enough time for recovery between hard efforts—a problem that is complicated by adding more intensity.

However, we've found that even though the Power Burst workout is strenuous, athletes are typically able to complete a high-quality running or cycling workout—including intervals at and even above their maximum sustainable pace or lactate threshold—on the same day. Combining these workout tasks should open up space in your schedule for more complete rest or active recovery the following day.

The final question that needs to be answered is when to start incorporating this four-week progression of workouts into your training schedule. The kind of swimming speed and power you're building develops relatively quickly. But at the beginning of the competition season, most triathletes lack the deep fitness necessary to support it for more than a few weeks.
In other words, these four swim sessions will give you a boost, but it will be short-lived, so you'd better use it while it lasts. Start the power-burst workout progression five weeks out from an event you'd like to have some added speed for, leaving one week for recovery before your race.

Training Tips and the "Plan"

From Active Tri Wekly:


8 Tri-Training Tips to Help Plan Your Season

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By Gale Bernhardt For Active.com
Have you been daydreaming, looking forward to the summer racing season? If you are a new triathlete, you might be asking, "How can I get in shape for a triathlon?"
If you raced last season, your dreamy thoughts may ask: "What should I do different this season? How can I get faster? How can I go farther?"
If these questions are on your mind, know that the same training principles guide the plans for addressing either question, whether you're a beginner or seasoned triathlete.
The deeper we look into a training plan for an individual sport, we'll find further refinements of the training principles. For example, the details of the plan for an athlete doing his or her first triathlon are different from the details of the plan for an experienced athlete trying to get faster.
The plan for a beginning triathlete is different if the athlete is fit, compared to the plan used by a currently hibernating athlete. Of course, the training plan for an Ironman-distance event is different than for an Olympic-distance event.
The old saying "The devil is in the details" holds true for training plans. When working with the devil in your training plan, keep in mind the following training principles:
1. Individual and progressive overload must be applied to achieve physiological improvement and bring about a training change. A widely accepted rule of thumb is to increase annual training hours or annual volume by 10 percent or less.
2. Training volume can be defined as the combination of frequency and duration. When assembling your training plan, annual training volume is one piece of the puzzle. Broken down, the monthly, weekly and daily training volumes are as important as annual volume. Establishing your personal training volume based on what "the pros do" is faulty logic. Your personal training volume, to bring about physiological improvement for you, should be based on your personal profile, past training volume, current lifestyle, goals, the number of weeks you have to train before your key event, and your response to training.
3. The duration of your longest workout may or may not be the length of your goal race. It is common for beginning and intermediate sprint and Olympic-distance triathletes to include a bike ride in their training that totals the length of time estimated for them to complete their event. This is seldom the case for Ironman-distance athletes.
4. Depending on your current fitness, race goals and available training time, the frequency of workouts scheduled will vary. Some athletes will work out only once per day while others workout twice or more times per day. Frequency also applies to the number of workouts per week. Not only is workout frequency important, but so is frequency of rest.
5. Individual response to training does vary. Given the same training plan, individuals using that plan can make improvements at different rates and can have varying gains in overall fitness. This means there is not a single magic-bullet training plan that is right for everyone.
6. The duration and frequency of workouts vary with each particular training block and with the intensity of individual workouts. Intensity can be measured as heart rate, pace per 100 yards, pace per mile, miles per hour, power output and rating of perceived exertion, to name a few methods. The appropriate training intensity minimizes the risk of injury while achieving the goal pace on race day.
7. The mode of training becomes more important as race day approaches. For athletes utilizing a year-round approach to training for triathlon, aerobic cross-training in the early training blocks is appropriate. For example, northern-latitude triathletes often use cross-country skiing workouts to bolster endurance. As the athlete approaches triathlon race day, training that is specific to the triathlon (swimming, cycling and running) becomes more important than generalized training. In other words, the specificity of training becomes more important.
8. Goal-oriented triathletes must consider rest and recovery as critical training components. Performance gains are made when the body has a chance to repair and absorb the training workload.
Whether you are looking to do your first triathlon or improve your results from last season, if you haven't mapped your plan for success, now is a good time to get rolling.
In your design, consider the training principles outlined in this column. Haphazard training brings hit and miss results.
While a carefully thought-out and executed training plan does not guarantee a personal best this season, the chances for a well-timed peak performance are much better with a plan than without.
Gale Bernhardt was the 2003 USA Triathlon Pan American Games and 2004 USA Triathlon Olympic coach for both the men's and women's teams. Her first Olympic experience was as a personal cycling coach at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Thousands of athletes have had successful training and racing experiences using Gale's pre-built, easy-to-follow training plans. For more information, click here. Let Gale and Active Trainer help you succeed.
Related Articles:
10 Easy Steps to Designing a Training Plan
Get Ready to Race: Tips for that First Race of the Year
More Early-Season Triathlon Training Articles

Kathy's Half Marathon!

Kathy ran the Knoxville Half Marathon today and met all of her goals! She finished in about 2:51. We are awaitng final results to be posted. I ran with her and we crossed the finish line together, hand-in-hand, at the 50-yard line in Neyland Stadium. Great experience. Kathy was thrilled. Lots of fun along the way with bands playing and lots of people. That was my training for the day.

March 18 - Look Who's Looking!

One comment on yesterday's posting was from Bill Burnett, founder and race director of the Cohasset Triathlon! Glad you found us, Bill, and thanks for the comment. We all are excited about getting into the race this year and can hardly wait for race day. Two of my sisters are coming up from Texas, one of my sisters and her husband are coming up from Atlanta, one of my sisters, Julia DeWaal, lives there in Cohasset, and our niece Meghan lives in Arlington, MA. I live in Knoxville, Tennessee. Hope to meet you up there, Bill. By all accounts you and your team do a fantastic job with the Cohasset Triathlon! --Tom Perry

March 17 - Zip's In!

Well, sister Zip has been flushed out and is now officially on the team. Seems she had secretly registered for the race, not deciding to commit to it until recently being nudged over the edge. Having now been nudged into the open, I have edited the lead in post above to publicly include her on the team. Despite our competetive blood, none of us should be feeling pressure by "competing"/participating in this sprint triathlon. Goal number one is to finish with a smile and have fun doing it; not to mention fun and satisfaction preparing for it in the weeks ahead! Now, pressure aside, why are you wasting time reading this, and not out training?! Go team!!! --Tom

Happy St. Patricks Day

March 15 First Round of "Tom's Tri Tips"

Tom’s Tri Tips – March 15


At this point you should still be building base endurance. Your goal should be to reach a point where you are at least comfortable with the distance for each race part, or even better, twice the distance of each race part (for a sprint triathlon). If you are not at these (or following) distances yet, build gradually, adding not more than 10% - 15 % per week. You gotta avoid injuries!

At about 12 weeks out, you should be adding intensity to some of your work outs.

You should have at least three runs per week. One run for basic endurance – 3 to 6 miles at a comfortable pace. Don’t push it. A second run should be something like intervals – maybe starting out with three or four 440s at a little faster than goal race pace. Make sure you warm up for at least a mile and cool down afterwards with another mile. A tempo run should be your third weekly run at – Maybe 2 or 3 miles at a tad slower than desired race pace. A word of caution might be to avoid consecutive run days. You are most vulnerable to injury and/or illness with the run work outs.

Similarly with swims: 2x race distance for endurance, one day; intervals another day; and maybe a tempo swim the third day.

Hard to advise on the bike. Get it out three times a week and ride 15 – 30 miles once or twice a week. Push the pace some, at least one day a week. Maybe on the third day do some bike intervals and/or hills, carefully. Maybe after 30 to 45 minutes, you do a brick – get off the bike and try a comfortable mile or two run. The bricks can wait ‘til about six weeks out but will be an important component of training.

Recovery could be the most important part of your training and could be the key to keeping you in the race! Again, recovery is most important after run workouts. Swims and easy bike days can be good “recovery workouts.”

Schedule one day off per week. The body needs it. Consider every fourth week an easier week. Cut back a little on time and intensity for that week.

You will be amazed at how good you feel and ready to crank it back up.

When in doubt leave it out. If you feel run down or sore and doubtful about a workout, better to skip it and resume the next day.

Have you set any race goals? Write them down, but keep them to yourself so as not to add undo pressure on race day.

Write a day by day plan like Janet sent out. It will help you stay on track with training and goals.

More to come later on transition tips, technique and form, equipment, nutrition and hydration, and race day checklists (it actually gets hectic trying to keep up with all the race day details for all the things you will do from rising until finishing the race).

Tom

March 15 - The Team is Set

Hi, I'm Tom. Our team is made up of me; newly minted triathlete sister, Janet; her husband, Bill; sisters, Julia and Eileen; and sister Zip's daughter (our niece) Meghan. Meghan is our secret weapon with youth and talent going for her/us.

Like it or not, I'll be throwing out tips for preparing. Lots of the tips will be from lots of tri race mistakes since 1999. Tips start with next posting.

Now, why aren't you out training, team?! Let's get going!!!

Tom