Team Evotri Update #3: Open Water This Week!

Hi triathletes!

Great job at the bricks this weekend! HUGE thanks to Coach Eric and Coach Aimee for leading the bricks while I was in Madison, Wisconsin training with Team Evotri on the Ironman Wisconsin course. And congratulations to Coach Eric for taking 1st place in his division and Coach Aimee for taking 3rd place in her division this weekend at the Meadeville, PA Olympic-Distance triathlon! Way to go, guys!!

Our next workout this week will be WEDNESDAY NIGHT at 6pm at Columbia Beach in Bay Village for an OPEN WATER SWIM! Be sure you bring your waiver, photo release form, some water, a towel, a swim cap if you have one, and some goggles. Also, bring your running shoes and some socks in case the waves are too high or the weather is not cooperating, so we can go for a little run and discuss TRANSITIONS in triathlons. A transition is when you go from one sport to another--swim to bike (T1) or bike to run (T2). There are lots of ways to practice transitions and shave off a few seconds--or even minutes!--in your race. Columbia Beach is located at the intersection of Lake and Columbia Roads. Park in the church parking lot, carefully cross the street, and meet at the top of the stairs for our swim!

Friday morning is our next BRICK workout at RRHS Stadium at 8am. Bring your bike, helmet, and water or sports drink! See you then!

Have you registered for the race yet? It's time to make it official--you WILL be a triathlete! Go to this website, fill out the registration form, and you're ready to go! Remember--just bring a copy of your registration to a workout to get your Team Evotri Visor! I will have them with me on Wednesday and Friday's workouts! https://www.ncnracing.com/registration/raceHTD/raceHTD.shtml

Here are this week's goals:

SWIMMING:

--if you are already a swimmer: you should be getting in the pool 2-3 times a week and swimming 1500-2000 yards or so a session. Warm up and cool down with a steady 4-500 yards. Then, try 2-4 400s and descend on each.

--if you are not primarily a swimmer: You should be gradually increasing your distance a bit each session, and swimming 3 times a week. It's better to get in the pool often and swim a little less each time if you are pressed for time. Swimming is 99% technique, so the more you get used to the water, the better! One lap to the other end of the pool is 25 yards. Try to swim 200 yards without stopping! Race distance is 400 yards so you want to build up to that.

BIKING:

--Take advantage of the Wednesday morning spin classes at the Ride and Workout! www.rideandworkout.com Or, be sure to ride your bike at least twice this week for 45-50 minutes each time. Don't forget: most of the race is on your bike, so you want to feel very comfortable on it, and also you want to have enough energy to have a good run!

RUNNING:

--if you are already a runner: You should be building up a nice little base by now, and should include a run of at least 4-5 miles this week. Remember, the race is a 5K, so you want your body to be used to going farther than that. However, to avoid injury, don't increase your mileage more than 10% a week!

--if you are not primarily a runner: You should be running 2-3 times this week and gradually increasing your time. For example, if last week you ran or ran/walked 25 minutes as your long run, this week try to go for 30 minutes. The race is 3.1 miles so you want to work up to that distance in training.

NUTRITION:

--Recovery is very important! After a hard workout, you need to refuel your muscles to be ready for the next day. Did you know you don't have to spend crazy amounts of money on fancy recovery drinks? Studies have shown repeatedly that CHOCOLATE MILK is just as good as those fancy expensive drinks at refueling your muscles! It has the optimal balance of carbs to protein. So after a hard workout, have a glass of chocolate milk! But be sure to do it within 20 minutes or so of your workout to get the most benefit!

See you WEDNESDAY at 6PM for our OPEN WATER SWIM!

As always, check here for updates and don't forget to make your workouts COUNT by logging them in at www.plus3network.com and earning money for your favorite charity!

BV Saturday Brick

Saturday morning was another beautiful day for a brick workout. Madison was our lone tri-newbie for a nice ride with Coaches Eric and Aimee. We rode the bikes for 30 minutes resulting in 6.25 miles on part of the actual race course. Hoping off the bikes we ran for 15 minutes and talked about the run course for the triathlon.

Madison asked some great questions. If people ask the same questions I may just have her answer them for me.

Let's get out there and ride those bikes and run some miles. Wednesday is an open water swim in Lake Erie, it is really nice in the lake.

Look for an update from Coach Sara.

WOW....it's almost July.

Game On.

Friday Brick is in the books

What a difference a week makes weather wise here in Cleveland. Last week's morning storm really put a kabosh on the brick. Last night's storm was severe but only left behind some fallen branches and leaves. This morning was warm and clear for a brick.

Maddie, Patty and Elise (sorry if I'm spelling name wrong) showed up at RRHS for the morning brick. Patty and Maddie were wide awake and ready to go. Elise....well....Maddie had to give her a little wake up call.

Once we got going it was very nice out. A couple of tree limbs covered the Metropark path but otherwise we just had to get around the various walkers. Climbing up the path before the turn-around at Custard Hill the girls soccer team passed us on their bikes.

Wait a minute.....if they are on their bikes....and are soccer players, WHO RUN.....why aren't they riding with us? Go get 'em girls. See if they are interested in tri-ing. The more the merrier.

Maddie, great ride. But next time don't be so nice. Head out on your run as soon as you get back to the school. I do admire your thoughtfulness though.

Patty, I'm glad you pushed it on your bike on the way back to the school. NO.MORE.SLACKING. If you are not pedaling, you are taking it too easy. I can tell you have it in you.

Elise, How does the bike feel with the seat higher? You will be able to get more power from your legs. Don't forget to use the shifters....they are your friends. And those friends helped you get up Detroit Road hill with no problems.

Everybody should think about my comments to the three above, they apply to everyone.

The transition from bike to run should be done quickly

Push yourselves a little. You may surprise yourself.

Remember the gears and use them. We can talk about this more later.

I will make sure we look at everybodies bikes and make sure you are comfortable on them.

Saturday is another brick at Huntington Beach...park near the Playhouse. Bring the waivers.

Game On.

Coach Eric

Week Two Goals and Updates!

Hello again!

It's finally acting like SUMMER here in Cleveland, so it's time to hit training hard! Hopefully last week you did a brick workout on your own, since we were thundered-out Friday morning. There are TWO OPPORTUNITIES for bricks this weekend! There will be a brick Friday morning for the Rocky River Girls Cross Country team (and anyone else is welcome) that I will not be able to lead, as I am traveling to Wisconsin with my team for a weekend of training on the Ironman Wisconsin course. Coach Brabant will be there just to start you off, but if this is your first brick and you are NOT on the River Girls CC team, I encourage you to attend Saturday's Brick in Bay Village! This will be at 8am at Huntington Park on Lake Road. This brick will be led by experienced triathletes Eric Gibb and Aimee Millward. Meet ACROSS FROM THE LAKE at Huntington Playhouse.

For both bricks, remember, you MUST HAVE A HELMET. No exceptions! Don't forget to bring a signed waiver and photo release form, too. They are attached to the email for this week.

Finally, Open Water Swimming will begin NEXT WEEK, July 1st, at 6pm at Columbia Beach, Bay Village. Since we have had a chilly June, we wanted to be sure the water was warm enough, so we will begin next week. That gives you more time to get ready in the pool! :)

Here are this week's goals:

SWIMMING:

--if you are already a swimmer: you should be getting in the pool 2-3 times a week and swimming 1500 yards or so a session. Warm up and cool down with a steady 3-400 yards, and make sure you add in 4-6 100s at race pace in the middle of your workouts to really wake up your arms!

--if you are not primarily a swimmer: You should be gradually increasing your distance a bit each session, and swimming 3 times a week. It's better to get in the pool often and swim a little less each time if you are pressed for time. Swimming is 99% technique, so the more you get used to the water, the better! One lap to the other end of the pool is 25 yards. Try to swim 100 yards without stopping! Race distance is 400 yards so you want to build up to that.

BIKING:

--Take advantage of the Wednesday morning spin classes at the Ride and Workout! www.rideandworkout.com Or, be sure to ride your bike at least twice this week for 40 minutes each time. Don't forget: most of the race is on your bike, so you want to feel very comfortable on it, and also you want to have enough energy to have a good run!

RUNNING:

--if you are already a runner: You should be building up a nice little base by now, and should include a run of at least 3-4 miles this week. Remember, the race is a 5K, so you want your body to be used to going farther than that. However, to avoid injury, don't increase your mileage more than 10% a week!

--if you are not primarily a runner: You should be running 2-3 times this week and gradually increasing your time. For example, if last week you ran or ran/walked 20 minutes as your long run, this week try to go for 25 minutes. The race is 3.1 miles so you want to work up to that distance in training.

NUTRITION:

--Are you hydrating before and after workouts? It is especially important to do this as the weather gets hot! Be sure to consume fluids before, during, and after all workouts--even biking and swimming! Although you may not feel like you are sweating much, you are...and if you do not rehydrate you'll feel sluggish the next day and have a poor workout.

We'll see you at one of the bricks this weekend! Happy training, and don't forget--Open Water Swimming starts NEXT WEEK! Get excited! :)

As always, check here often for updates and don't forget to make your workouts COUNT by logging them in at www.plus3network.com and earning money for your favorite charity!

Mrs. Z and Team Evotri

Not Today

When you wake up and see the local radar looking like this........you know you live in Cleveland.

What a bummer that the first brick is canceled due to rain. But safety prevails.

As aspiring triathletes you will learn to go with the flow and take what comes your way be it on race day or during training. Times like this will be met with a little bit of disappointment and then acceptance of the circumstances. There really is nothing you can do about it except more forward.

Triathlon.....life.....yeah, there are some similarities and lessons to be learned.

But don't let the weekend go to waste. Saturday morning is looking pretty good. Do the brick Coach Sara suggested. There is also a 5k run in Sheffield Sunday morning. I'll be there, leave a comment if you may go. http://www.ncnracing.com

And don't forget Dad's Day on Sunday.

Have fun and get your Game On.

Coach Eric

6/19 BRICK CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER

Unfortunately, today's brick is cancelled due to weather. I just checked the radar and it's not lookin' good! Waking up to the thunder was my first hint...

This doesn't mean you can't BRICK on your own! This weekend, try your first brick. Ride for a half an hour, and then put on your running shoes and run or run/walk for 10 minutes. Notice how your legs feel funny the first few minutes you run, but then loosen up? Yeah, that's normal. That's why a brick is a great workout--it gets you ready to run on tired legs! You'll notice each time you brick that you get stronger.

Don't forget to get in the pool at least 2-3 times this week!

Check back soon for more updates!

First BRICK Friday!

Tomorrow is our first BRICK WORKOUT! Meet at 8am at the RRHS Stadium. Don't forget: you MUST HAVE A HELMET, a WATER BOTTLE, and the photo release and Team Evotri release forms. See the email from this week or post a comment here with your email address if you need any of those to be resent.

Have you been swimming this week? Remember, you should try to get in the pool as often as you can, but at least 2-3 times per week. Try to increase your distance each time you swim. For example, if you can only swim 2 laps without stopping today, go for 3 tomorrow. Or, if you're an experienced swimmer, gradually work up to sets of 3-400 yards at a build pace. Try to increase your overall yardage each session!

Be sure to sign up at the Plus3 Network to make your workouts count and track your miles!

See you Friday morning!