Occupy Alii Drive? Come on People, Snap Out of It.

By tjfry | December 12, 2011

The Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii was on tv this past weekend. In typical fashion, the triathlon world is quick to review the show. What we liked, what we didn’t, what they missed, what they spent too much time on. I’m no different. I thought the women’s race was more exciting than they depicted. I also could have done without the bracelet and car infomercials built into the coverage. Like the others dedicated to the sport, I prefer to see the purity of the race and can do without the fluff. But here’s a little known fact. The Ironman pays NBC to cover the race. This isn’t college football folks. There’s a reason the show is always aired on the only weekend that no college football is scheduled. So if you are going to shell out a bunch of cash to produce a show, chances are you are going to try and appeal to the masses and stroke your sponsors.

Without a hitch, I start reading about about people complaining about Ironman and the World Triathlon Corporation.  People bitch about the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) and all their corporate greed by raising prices on the entry fees. And never would they want to get an Ironman “M Dot” tattoo because it’s a corporate logo and no different than putting a McDonald’s or Shell Oil logo on. Really? Reallllllly?

The anti business hippies out there might hate it, but WTC has been absolutely great for the sport. It’s the freemarket working as it should. Because of “Ironman”, our sport has exploded. Everyone wants to be an “Ironman” now. Ironman has tried hard to control the brand and experience, and because of their success, they’ve raised prices. This has pushed the ceiling up and allowed other race directors to raise their rates and yet still be considered a bargain. REV3 has Ironman to thank for its success. Ironman brought in the participants, and created a gap in the market for a well run race at a more reasonable cost. If I were REV3 I would be sending WTC a bottle of Dom Perignon every Christmas.Those raised prices allow more directors to make money and more races to show up on the calendar. Thanks to WTC’s explosion in participation those smaller races get filled.

With more athletes and more races, there are more products for us to choose from. Look at any product category 6 years ago and the selection is very thin. Now, you can choose from 10 disc wheel makers and dozens of trispecific bikes. In fact, this year Specialized decided to give the UCI the middle finger and develop a tribike that’s not UCI legal. I expect to see more of that, as we as a sport can now support a move like that where before we couldn’t. Some mentioned that the little guys get pushed out, but everything I’ve seen is just the opposite. This year they put Ironman Texas  in my backyard and I can’t even count the number of events, camps, coaches, etc, that have popped up around here. And all this stuff is pretty much selling out.

Some don’t like like the whole corporate logo thing and I understand the sentiment that “Ironman” is the public’s term, not some corporation. The same can be said of the Olympics. Created in a public forum a very long time ago, and now a tightly regulated corporate brand in the modern era. The reality though, is that people desire to be an Olympian even more now than ever. One good event there and you are potentially set for life. Bruce Jenner anyone? (And I wonder if these same people are poo-pooing someone getting an Olympic tattoo because it’s some corporate logo?) Same could be said of Ironman on a smaller scale. Look at the insane demand to get into Kona. The demand and growth were created because it was tightly guarded, not because a bunch of drunk military buddies came up with the idea in a bar back in ’77.

Am I personally going to race IM branded races exclusively? Heck no. But Ironman made the race pool bigger, so now I have more races to choose from when I want a great race at a decent price.

And no…I don’t have a tattoo. Been on the fence now since ’97 when I did my first, and I think now I’m just a chicken.

I know that not everyone agrees with me and that’s fine. I appreciate you reading. Now you can head back to protesting corporate greed while you talk on your  iPhone and drink your Starbucks.

 

 

 

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Product Review: Nike tri shorts

By tjfry | November 8, 2011

It seemed to me that this should have been an obvious fit for at least 2 decades now, but until recently, Nike has not had any apparel for the sport of triathlon. Swimming, yes. Cycling, pretty much (mostly to support Lance), and running, of course.  But for some reason, triathlon focused apparel was absent from the mix. Until now. This past summer, Nike entered the triathlon market. If you ask me they made just the right variety for a market entry. A tri-top , a tri-short, and a one piece, all in a few colors for both men and women. Knowing Nike’s history for performance wear I was eager to test ‘em out. Especially the shorts. The tri short is made of their Swift performance fabric. The same fabric Nike uses in their performance swimsuits and track and field competition products. Based on sizing recommendations, the fit is snug, which is how a good pair of shorts should fit. I’ve tried on a number of leading brands over the years, and am often surprised at how loose their size recommendations are. Compression should compress, so when I put on lycra or (other stretch fabric) and it doesn’t stretch once it’s on, then I know that it’s been sized wrong. For the men and women, the shorts are 9 inches in length, providing good coverage and nice compression. For the guys shorts, the pad was the biggest seller for me (no, I didn’t try on the girls shorts so don’t ask). The Nike tri shorts come with a brushed microfiber, dual density pad that is perforated to dry quickly once you get out of the water. As I’ve mentioned before, most tri pads are slim and narrow as they should be, but sometimes so narrow that the stitching ends up on the pressure points of the saddle. So the balance can be a bit of a trick. Too wide or thick and you feel it running, too narrow and the pad sets wrong on the saddle. Well, Nike nailed it. The guy’s pad is wide enough that even the ISM Adamo saddle riders will feel very comfortable (and as an ISM user, that’s a huge plus). Get off the bike and run and you don’t even know it’s there.

Additionally, the shorts have 2 small, well designed pockets that are big enough to fit a gel or two, and sleek enough that you forget they’re there if you don’t need em. All in all, a great pair of shorts. So great, in fact, that I wore them for Ironman Hawaii with great success. Not a single rub or problem (which may be a first for me in an Ironman distance race).

With this being Nike’s first attempt at a tri short in over 20 years, I’m excited to see what year 2 will bring from them. Welcome to the triathlon party, Nike. Glad you’re finally here.

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Bilateral Breathing

By tjfry | November 2, 2011

After spending some time helping some people with their stroke, I wanted to chime in on the importance of bilateral breathing. Most would agree that it’s an important thing to learn, although there are people out there that think it’s a waste of time and argue the restricted breathing that it creates. That’s what’s so fun about the internet. You can get someone who took a weekend clinic about swimming and come Monday they are experts in technique. It’s worth stopping by internet forums for this reason alone. I can always find something there to make me smile. But I digress…

For those new to swimming or unfamiliar with the term, bilateral breathing means to breathe to both the right and left side while you swim. Simple enough concept. Sorta like dribbling with your right and left hand when you play basketball. The problem is that quite a few new swimmers (and let’s face it, a lot of swimmers who’ve been at it for a while) shy away from it because it feels awkward and can take a while to adjust to. Added to that that, if you’re struggling with swimming to begin with, and then you must hold your breath for 2 strokes (if you’re breathing every 3) then you’re going to get winded in a hurry. But just because it’s difficult shouldn’t mean you gloss over the idea. The benefits associated with it are many. In fact, as you might have guessed, I’m going to go over a few of them here.

Sighting – For triathletes this is the most obvious argument that is made, and perhaps, one of the least important. In any given open water swim, you are bound to get the sun in your face at some point. So if you are breathing to your right side and the sun is in your face, then the ability to breathe to your left is a great help in navigating your way through the course. The reason I say that this might be the least important is that you can also just close your eyes when you breathe and lift your head to sight in front of you to get around this problem. Not a great solution, but it will do the trick.

Symmetrical Technique – This one’s a biggie. Almost without exception, swimmers will have a strong side and a weak side. Right handed? Then your right arm/pull is typically stronger than your left. To make matters worse, swimmers will cater to the strong side by breathing to the strong side. A the domino effect begins..In order to breathe just to one side (we’ll use the right for this discussion)  they start swimming with the left shoulder lower in the water to make for an easier breath.  This makes one arm pull deeper than the other. To compensate for that they begin to reach a little further with the right arm to get a bigger pull with the strong arm. This soon turns into an overreach, and now there is a slight wiggle in their stroke. In order to compensate for the wiggle, the swimmer adds one really large kick with his right foot to get the body to rotate back over. Now he has a scissor kick and can’t swim in a straight line. What started out as favoring one side of breathing a little has turned into a bit of a messy stroke. This isn’t an exaggeration either. I have corrected a stroke just like this on numerous occasions by simply forcing them to breathe every 3rd stroke to make the pull symmetrically. There are other examples I could give such as dropping the elbow and breaking form when you breathe, but this is a blog, not a book.
Notice the asymmetrical strokes in the following videos. Strong swimmers, but the uneven stroke is costing them efficiency.

Rotation – Good body rotation is a big focus in learning how to swim well. Grab any book on the subject of swimming and rotation is mentioned early and often. When you choose to breathe on just one side though, you only develop half of that rotation. Because you’re favoring (as I mentioned above) one side, you will not rotate fully back to the other side. This is also at trap when people breathe just to the right for a length and then just to the left for a length. It’s a typical workaround for those who just hate breathing every 3rd stroke. So by favoring one side you rotate well in one direction and then finish rotating on the other side completely flat on their stomach. By not continually alternating your breathing you don’t learn proper rotation, you just learn how to drop a shoulder.

Swimming Straight – This is also a play off of the technique issue (isn’t everything a play off of technique with swimming?). An imbalance in your stroke leads to swimming crooked. It’s quite simple really. If one arm has a bigger reach/stroke than another, even if by a tiny amount, then the stronger arm/bigger stroke will control the direction. Never an issue in the pool as you have a black line and your hands naturally adjust pitch to steer in a straight line. Get in open water however, and you you’ll find yourself swimming all over the place. Happens to everyone. When I breathe to my left I tend to steer right just a little. Still working on that.

Now, I know the first thing some of you are thinking. “Well I watched (Insert Name Here) race in the Olympics/Ironman/World Cup, and they breathed to the same side the whole race. If they don’t do it why should I think it’s important? Answer is pretty simple really. When you race, technique needs to almost be automatic and getting enough air needs to be the focus. In training, you are focusing on technique so that it becomes automatic, so that needs to be the focus. In other words, when the effort is big (training or racing) get your air, but the rest of the time dial in that stroke.

If nothing else, watch the best swimmers do it. If you think it’s tough and they make it look easy…maybe, just maybe, there’s something to it.

Now go breathe right…..and left.

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Thank You

By tjfry | October 31, 2011

Every once in a while I check into the stats of this site. This morning was one of those days. As I was checking it out I noticed that this site has had over 31,000 unique visitors from 118 countries. Surprised me a little. Anyway, I just want to give a quick thanks. I appreciate it.

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