Death in the Triathlon

We've talked about this a bit in the past, but ESPN just posted a pretty good article on the subject: Trouble Beneath the Surface by Bonnie Ford.

Yes, people occasionally, rarely, die during triathlons. And yes, it's almost always during the swim leg.

I'm of two minds about this topic. First thought, the numbers of people dying in the triathlon, percentage-wise, are extremely low. We all take risks in our lives every single day, in hundreds of different ways. Racing in a triathlon is a risk. Is it an acceptable risk to you? Only you can answer that. Just like only you can answer if smoking is an acceptable risk, or driving, or flying, or running in a marathon... Everything carries a risk. It's completely up to you whether to accept the risk, or not. Second thought, there has absolutely not been enough done in the sport of triathlon to minimize the risks during the swim leg. It's one thing to accept the risk, but if the organizers can make it safer, why wouldn't they?

And there has been some progress in rule changes in the past year for the swim leg. Wave starts instead of mass starts. Self-seeding at the start. Better course marking. Better rules on cold temperature swimming.

Here in the Northwest, I can't emphasize enough how easy it is to avoid most of this danger: if you're new to the sport or a poor swimmer, do a few indoor swim triathlons to get some experience! They're everywhere these days, and a tri swim in a pool is just a different animal. Calm, structured, warm, and never more than a few feet from life-saving help from the organizers. I've been swimming competitively, either on swim teams or in triathlons, pretty much my entire life and I love swimming in open water - LOVE it. That said, I've been in a couple mass starts at open water swim triathlons where I've wondered, "what am I doing here? These freaking people are insane - they're trying to drown me!"

You know what kind of swimmer you are. And you know what kind of risk-taker you are. Make the correct choices.

Play safe out there.

Will You Die During a Triathlon Swim?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: if you're going to die during a triathlon, yeah, it will probably be during the swim.

Why? Well, that isn't really known at this time.

In 2011, 12 athletes died during USAT triathlon events, and 9 of those deaths occurred in the swim leg. Of course, there were nearly 500,000 total athletes participating in those events, so the total chance of such a thing happening is pretty low.

Here's a quick look at the numbers, and lack of conclusive evidence on the blame end, from Inside Triathlon.

Here's Scientific American's look at the subject.

And the Washington Post takes a cut at figuring it out as well.

And finally, Slowtwitch looks at the problem.

In my own, completely uninformed, opinion, too many triathletes blow off proper swim training, usually because it's the least favorite leg for most racers. I think if more people took their swim preparation as seriously as they do the prep for the bike and run, there would be significantly fewer deaths during the swim.

Swim on, mighty Triheads!

Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon

So they held the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon last weekend...yes, last weekend. With an open water swim, in the San Francisco Bay, water temperature around 55 degrees.

To absolutely no one's surprise, the swim conditions were brutal...and one competitor died. Story from Slowtwitch here. Another race article here.

Sure, it's easy to say in hindsight, but come on, who thought that swimming in the Bay in early March would go well? They moved the race from its usual date in June because of a conflict with the America's Cup, but really, was there no other warm-weather weekend available?

Here's a photo gallery of the race from Slowtwitch so you can see the conditions for yourself.

The whole thing is sad. A needless death and a needless black eye for the sport of triathlon.

Running and Triathlon Links - Anxiety and Panic at the Triathlon Start Line

Haven't had a links post in a while - need to get back into it. Some good stuff here, especially if you're a nervous swimmer and triathlete.

Anxiety and panic at the triathlon start line - it happens to the best of us, although good swimmers fare better

How to blow your nose during a run - no, really

Review of the action at the Ironman 70.3 Championships in Vegas - the heat was absolutely brutal

Ryan Hall still injured and may get a coach - at first, I thought it said "couch," which also made sense

Racers who didn't have a good day at 70.3 Vegas - Oregon's Jesse Thomas was among them

Dathan Ritzenhein prepares to run Philly Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon - and is looking to run sub-60

Finally, here's the race report from the Vegas 70.3 from awesome blogger Frayed Laces - from the trenches, so to speak

The Boston Marathon 2013 rolling registration has now opened - if you're really, really fast, you can sign up now

Javier Gomez wins the big money at the Hy-Vee Triathlon - Hunter Kemper takes second

Answers to your questions about elite runners - you had questions, right?

And Lisa Norden wins the big bucks on the women's side at Hy-Vee - Sarah Haskins grabs second, giving the US the almost-big money for both men and women

Vin Lananna out (up?) at Oregon - Robert Johnson in

Oregon's Jesse Thomas Comes Up 23 Seconds Short at Rev3 Portland - and Other Tri and Running Links

Richie Cunningham Edges Out Jesse Thomas at Rev3 Portland - Angela Naeth wins the women's race

How to put in proper speed work over the summer - and run your fastest races this Fall

Lance Armstrong fights back against USADA - I'm so tired of drugged athletes, yet I'm also tired of the fight against long-since retired athletes

Can a sip of Gatorade help you in a 10k...or even a 5k? - amazingly, it looks like the answer is "probably"

Wetsuit reviews to check out before your next tri - I'd recommend getting the cheap wetsuit and spending the rest on swim coaching

How to run on the beach, correctly - just in time for your Summer vacation

Some pro tips on how to swim faster - it's the tri leg that most people hate...so work on it

Where should the US Track and Field Olympic Trials be in 2016? - Not everyone loves Eugene

Profile on US Olympic Tri Team member Manny Huerta - only two guys on the US team this year

Is this the year the US comes back into its own in Olympic distance events? - there are some strong runners on the team this year

Another view of the US Track Team - I can't wait for the Olympics to get here!

And let's end it with triathletes in swimsuits - why not, right?

Photo from Competitor.com

Basic Swim Technique and Instruction

Hey, it's March. That means it's nearly Spring. And that means...that's right, it's nearly Triathlon Season!

And as always, the one thing that seems to scare people away from signing up for their first triathlon is the swim. People hate the swim. Personally, I love the swim, but I realize I'm in a very tiny minority.

So who better to offer up some swimming tips than a former Olympic swimmer and the best swimmer on the Pro Tri Circuit? That's right, Andy Potts.

Check out this short video here of Andy showing you the way to hit the water.

Good stuff.

Then get out there and swim. Tri season is just around the corner!

170

The Dreaded Flip Turn

(Cue Theme from Jaws)

Yes, it's winter - the time of year that treadmills, stationary bikes and indoor pools start to look pretty attractive.

But don't go to sleep on the training here! Tri season is just around the corner. In fact, one of the first triathlons of the year here in the Northwest is right here at OSU: the Beaver Freezer on April 2nd!

Unfortunately, over and over, the main reason I hear for people not giving triathlon a try is the swim. And when it comes to racing triathlons in Oregon, especially in the early part of the season, you're going to be in a pool.

Which is good in a lot of cases, because pools don't usually scare people away like open water swims. Ah, but pool swimming brings up something open water swimmers never have to worry about: the flip turn.

Let's face it, master the flip turn and you'll shave a substantial amount of time off your swim. And it pretty much comes down to practice. Get in the pool and work on those flip turns, no matter how much you'd rather hang on the edge and grab a breath.

Here's a very good instructional video for Flip Turns from the nice people at Triathlete Magazine. Check it out.

Schmooove Your Butt Off the Center Line!

So is there anything more evil than the pool lane hog?

Yeah, I know you can see me. I'm right here. Standing at the end of the lane. Staring at you.

Staring at you swimming down the middle of the lane. Trying to do your flip turns as fast as you can so you can pretend you don't see me standing here.

For the love of cheese! Is it that bad to share a lane?!? I'm not asking you to circle-swim...there are only two of us! Just freaking move over and stay on your side of the lane! I mean, in two years of swimming at Dixon, I've had to circle-swim maybe twice, so it's not like anyone here is sick and tired of fighting for lane space.

Next time...cannonball...right on your head.

Softride Bike for Sale!

Since I've already decided that this is my running year, and I'm not going to be doing any triathlons this year, I'm putting the hallowed Softride up for sale!

Sniff, sniff...I love that bike...

But, life goes on. When I come back to triathlons next year, I'll be on a new bike. It's time!

And you? You deserve a new bike!

Check out the Softride here.

Oh, and check out the old Wetsuit. It's on the auction block as well!

You Can Have My Wetsuit...

When You Pry It From My Cold, Dead Hands!

Ok, Ok, don't get all Tea-Party Loony on me. There's some misinformation running around out there about the new Wetsuit Rules announced by Ironman. Triathletes are left thinking they just blew $500 on something they're not even going to get to wear outside of the bedroom (rimshot!).

It's not true. You've got nothing to worry about.

Probably.

Let's look a little more closely:

-First, these changes are for full Ironman and 70.3 races. A lot of races were already using these rules, so they're just falling in line. I imagine the USAT will fall in line eventually.

-The new rule slightly changes the temperatures of the water that will make wearing wetsuits legal, but nothing significant.

-It sets a limit at 5 millimeters thick, but most wetsuits are already under that, so you're probably good.

-Swimskins, yes, Swimskins, not wetsuits, must be made of textile material, not rubberized material. No big deal there.

So, in the end...nothing much will change for most triathletes. And frankly, as someone that actually gains ground in the swim leg, I say any rule making the swim tougher for the rest of the crowd is all good with me.

Website Find of the Week!

Here's a cool one for you:

FindRunningPartners.com

What's it for, you ask? Ummm, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say, "it's for finding a running partner."

I know what you're thinking: do we really need another "social" data collection website. Does this site do something that Strands won't do...or Athlinks won't do...or Facebook won't do?

I don't know. What are you asking me for? I'm not a paid sponsor or anything. I do like how you can search for partners for swimming and biking and every other sport you can think of. I don't really like how they charge money to receive full functionality of the site (you can get on for free, but not everything will work).

So if you've tried the website, let me know what you think.

Sweet Water of Life!

Well, chlorinated water, of course.

OK, if you're under 40 years old, you might as well quit reading now...I've got nothing to say to you here (actually, I do - "GET OFF MY LAWN!")

If you're over 40, listen up, because this is really for you.

For some reason, when I really got into the marathon training a few months back, I slowly fell off from the swimming and biking and increased the running. After a while, I wasn't swimming at all, biking maybe once a week and running the other four or five days with one or two days off. Yeah, basically I forgot I was an old man.

Mistake.

Now I've got a touchy quad and the quality of my runs seems to have gone downhill lately. I needed something to turn it around...and fast. And I think I found it - yeah, swimming.

The past couple weeks, I've been following up my running days with a nice, long, easy swim. And I'm feeling so much better. I'm feeling stronger, less muscle soreness, more energy. Why did I ever stop? I love the water!

The quad's still a little touchy...can you run a marathon on nothing but swim training?

I may yet find out.

It's dry...ok, it's dry...IT'S DRY!

A truly great invention to appear in the last decade or so is the swimsuit dryer. I know, creative name, right? But you know what I'm talking about - the little square machine. You lift the lid and throw your suit in the basket, it shakes and rattles and rolls and ten seconds or so later, your suit is relatively dry. All good, right?

You'd think. But you'd be wrong.

I actually go swimming tonight. I've got a long run tomorrow, so I figure I'll take a nice, easy swim and rest my legs for the run tomorrow. I finish, go shower up, and head to the "spinner." Only one guy in front of me. No problem, he's already spinning his suit, I'll be up in seconds.

Nope. Still spinning.

And spinning.

And spinning.

No joke. You know how you have to hold down the lid to make it work? This guy was practically taking a nap laying on the thing!

About two minutes later, his suit was probably on fire from the friction, he finally stops the spinner and pulls out his suit.

Thank the lord.

And then he shoves another suit from his other hand into the machine and starts all over again.

Oh for the love of Pete!

Nothing like a nice relaxing swim...

Behind

Yes, I know...I'm a little behind on the race calendar. It's not the way for the guy that's number one in your hearts to act, believe you me.

This is one of the bigger weeks I've seen in a while - there are races everywhere! Actually, this week just has an insane amount of races...twenty-seven and counting!

So without further ado...let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 8th TO SEPTEMBER 13th

September 12th / Olympia Black Hills Triathlon and Duathlon / Olympia, WA

September 12th / Xtra Mile 11k run / Vancouver, WA

September 12th / Palouse Sprint Triathlon / Moscow, ID

September 12th / Endurance Festival Half-Marathon, 10k and 5k Trail Runs / Pocatello, ID

September 12th / Glendive Badlander 10k Run / Glendive, MT

September 12th / Health, Heart, Home: Habitat 8k Run / Corvallis, OR

September 12th / Dayton Fiesta 10k and 5k Runs / Dayton, OR

September 12th / MAC Dash Sprint Triathlon / Madras, OR

September 12th / Walk 'n' Roll 8k Run / Portland, OR

September 12th / Ramble for Recovery 10k and 5k / Roseburg, OR

September 12th / Fairhaven Runners Waterfront 15k / Bellingham, WA

September 12th / Army Half-Marathon and 5k / Fort Lewis, WA

September 12th / Lake Stevens Olympic and Sprint Triathlons / Lake Stevens, WA ("Dude, be a man and go RETRO!")

September 12th / Columbia Crossing 1.5 mile swim / Pasco, WA

September 12th / Swim Across America 2 and .5 mile swims / Seattle, WA

September 12th / Uncle Joe 50k / Newport, WA

September 12th / All American Sprint Triathlon and Duathlon / Vancouver, WA

September 12th / Iron Girl Women's 10k and 5k / Seattle, WA

September 13th / Pints to Pasta 10k / Portland, OR

September 13th / XTERRA Trail Running National Championships Half-Marathon, 10k and 5k / Bend, OR

September 13th / Bank to Bay 10k and 5k / Tacoma, WA

September 13th / Tri Turtle Tri Sprint Tri / Seaback, WA

September 13th / Anchorman Sprint Triathlon / Seattle, WA

September 13th / Red Hills Wine Country Classic 10k and 5k / Dundee, OR

September 13th / Skagit Flats Marathon and Half-Marathon / Burlington, WA (the old Stomping Grounds!)

September 13th / Ridge Run Half-Marathon and Tater 5k / Ridgefield, WA

September 13th / Spokane Olympic Triathlon / Spokane, WA

Is this the new math?

OK, what?

I mean, just...what?

So we got an e-mail from the Portland Triathlon yesterday, stating that they had split us up into our waves for the swim leg. Cool beans, right? So I check it out. Hmmmm...they split the Olympic Tri Swim into two waves. OK, that's over 100 per wave, seems like a lot of people in the River, but whatever. Then I look more closely. They've got us split up into two waves alright: men and women. Hmmmm...OK, that's not so good. That means the women's wave will have 69 swimmers (good, good) and the men's wave will have (wait for it) 144 swimmers! Wait...what?

Come on...that's really the best they could come up with? 144 guys - in the Willamette River - starting at the same time - beating and smacking each other for the first 500 meters...I'm not real happy about that.


The Willamette River temperature is up to 72. I'm happy about that! I might just do it without a wet suit.

Get your meter out of my yard...

...and stay off the lawn, you stinkin' kids!

Now what was I talking about? That's right - I swam my first "test" time trial for the Heart of the Valley Triathlon yesterday: 12:23 for 750 meters. Not bad, although I'm hoping to swim it around 11:30 in the actual tri.

Anyhoo...meters? As you may recall, or not depending on your drink of choice, I grew up swimming meters. But trying to think back, I can't recall swimming in a single 50-meter pool since I swam my last year on the Wapato Swim Team (gulp...24 years ago!). Let's see:

-Dixon? Yards.
-Osborne Aquatic Center? Well, apparently it can be meters, but they always have the barrier (they call it the "bulkhead") in the middle of the pool, so I think it's usually about 25 yards.
-Arne Hanna Aquatic Center (Bellingham)? Yards.
-Bellingham Athletic Center? This is a good one - feet! I think it was 50 feet...in a dark, little cave...five good strokes and you were done with the lap.

I don't know, I'm sure there's more, but the point is every pool I've been in since high school has been yards, not meters. So to prepare for the HOTV, which has a 750 meter swim, I figured I'd have to swim about 30 laps in the Dixon pool. I mean, yards...meters...what's the difference?

Quite a bit, actually. After heading to one of those fancy online conversion calculators, I realized I'd have to swim about 33 laps at Dixon to get to 750 meters! Yowza.

So don't skimp on the swim practice. If you're doing the HOTV, if the extra 250 yards don't get you, the meters will.

The map of countries that DON'T use the metric system is from Mr. Malley through wikimedia. Thanks.

They're all laps to me...

I'm wondering if it's just me - there seems to be nothing harder than trying to explain how far you're swimming in a workout or a race (if you're swimming in a lake or ocean, it's pretty easy, "you swim until you get to the big, inflatable buoy, then you turn around and come back."). But in a pool, it's inevitable that the conversation will go like this:

"We're swimming 500 yards."
"How many laps is that?"
"Twenty laps. It's a 25-yard pool."
"So it's twenty lengths? Ten laps."
"Twenty laps!"

Yeah, so maybe it's just me. See, I grew up in a small town called Wapato in Washington. About 3000 people. And it had a 50 meter pool. Yes, a FIFTY METER pool. Don't ask me how, because I don't know, but it's still there - you can go to Wapato and check it out yourself, although the town can barely afford to open it up in the summer now.

Anyhoo, I grew up swimming in a 50 meter pool. When you said you were going to swim a lap, you swam from one end to the other and got out. That was a lap. I don't think I've ever said "I'm going to swim 10 lengths" in my entire life. It's 10 laps!

And now that I'm swimming regularly in a 25-yard pool? Yeah, they're still laps...I don't care what you say.

RACES FOR WEEK OF MARCH 16th TO MARCH 22nd

March 21st / Lucky Clover 10k and 5k / Springfield, OR

March 21st / Scot Trot 5k / Shoreline, WA

March 21st / Chuckanut Mountain 50k / Bellingham, WA

March 22nd / Mercer Island Rotary Half-Marathon, 10k and 5k / Mercer Island, WA

March 22nd / Big Climb - 69 flights up the Columbia Center / Seattle, WA

March 22nd / Vancouver Marine Park 5 mile / Vancouver, WA

Hey, if you need a sign, go see Bill!

Sigh...

I see a lot, a LOT, of swimming in my future. The ankle that I just slightly tweaked while running at Chip Ross Park is now majorly tweaked. I stepped on a rock while running on West Wapato Rd. and turned it but good. Now it's swollen, tender, hurtful...it's an Elvis song on the end of my leg.

So Corvallis pool, here I come. I see a good 3 to 4 weeks of swimming for this one.

Sigh...

Flippers? I mean, come on, filppers!?!

To get ready for triathlons, it's always a good idea to get out into the open water and do some lake swimming or some river swimming or, God forbid here in the NW, some ocean swimming. Even so, you're going to be in the pool more often than not. It's just the way it is. Hundreds and hundreds of hours of pool laps will always be the norm with a couple hours of open water swimming mixed in.

And let me tell you, there's nothing more boring than swimming laps in your normal 25 yard/meter pool.

So how do you spice up the laps? Well, much like sneaking a look at the guy on the treadmill next to you and nodding knowingly when you realize he's running 0.1 mph slower than you are, in the pool, I have to race the person in the next lane whether they know it or not. Anything to pass the time, right?

So what is the only thing that can ruin my fun? Yeah...flippers. C'mon! Why are you swimming laps with flippers on? How am I supposed to feel superior when the 80 year old grandma beside me, with the HUGE flippers, is keeping up with me?

It's just not right.


Thanks to Bahama Rentals for the photo. Next time you're in the Bahamas, be sure to look them up.