Terry VanderWert, Author at Senior Triathletes • Page 15 of 32

Triathlon Across the USA: State #11 – Florida

Terry VanderWert on March 24, 2020

Crabby Bills Restaurant across the street from Clearwater Beach where the TriRock Triathlon transition area was located.

Clearwater, Florida; November 11, 2012—TriRock Clearwater Triathlon

Joy and I used the timing of this triathlon to schedule a Florida vacation of a little over a week. The trip, in honor of our 39th wedding anniversary, provided opportunity to spend time with friends (Lyle & Diane in Deerfield Beach; Don & Sue in The Villages) and relax at the Holiday Inn in Highland Beach, one of our few romantic getaways.

Getting to the Florida Triathlon

We flew with my bike from Minnesota to West Palm Beach, Florida on Friday, November 2^nd. Following a short drive south, we reached the Holiday Inn in Highland Beach, our base for a weekend visit with friends in nearby Deerfield Beach.

On Monday morning, we drove to The Villages, about one hour northwest of Orlando, where we spent the night with friends Don and Sue in the house they had rented. The next morning, we moved to a house in The Villages we had rented for four nights as part of a get-to-know-the-area package.

Through the rest of the week, I ran and cycled with a group of 60- and 70-year-olds. Joy and I also played golf with Don and Sue, took in a movie, went dancing every night, shopped, ate out, etc. In short, we had a blast.

On Saturday, we drove from The Villages to Clearwater Beach, the venue for the triathlon the next day. Before picking up the race packet, we enjoyed a fresh seafood lunch at Crabby Bill’s situated directly across the street from Pier 60, location of the transition area. After picking up the race packet and before driving to our hotel, we walked around the expo that was part of the triathlon.

1^st TriRock Clearwater Triathlon

About 150 male and female triathletes from thirty-two states and five countries met for the inaugural TriRock Clearwater Triathlon on what was a near-perfect morning for a triathlon. Skies were blue with a few wispy clouds. The air temperature was comfortable, though cool, especially with a light breeze coming off the water.

Distances for the individual legs of this USAT-sanctioned sprint triathlon were:

Swim: 0.34 mile (550 m)
Bike: 13.4 mile (21 km)
Run: 3.1 mile (5 km)

Swim

The water in the Gulf of Mexico was unexpectedly cold, around 65ºF. This meant that according to USA Triathlon rules, wetsuits were not only allowed but encouraged.

Swimmers started in waves based on age groups. The water was calm, making for a comfortable swim once I absorbed the initial shock of the cold water. Upon exiting the water, we ran to the grassy transition area across the beach with its mixture of sand and small shells.

Bike

The distinctive feature of this race’s bicycle leg was the ride up and over three bridges spanning inner coastal portions of water. The climb up and ride down from these bridges led to a challenging and, occasionally, fast (over 30 miles per hour) ride.

When not on a bridge, we snaked our way through neighborhoods in Clearwater, Belleair Beach, and Clearwater Beach, finishing the ride on Gulf Boulevard and Coronado Drive.

Run

The initial section of the run was along the causeway (bridge) that was also part of the bike course. On the way to the turnaround, we passed the first of several bands providing live music along the run course, another of the signature features of this race.

About one-mile into the run, we turned around and headed back in the direction of the park. At the roundabout across from the transition area, we continued on the completely flat running path along South Gulfview Boulevard, the street running parallel to Clearwater Beach. Here we encountered the next series of bands.

Following a second turnaround, we headed toward the finish line.

Results

Who says that ‘old people’ don’t take these races seriously? Maybe young people, but not those of us racing in the higher age groups.

This race again showed the competitiveness of older triathletes. The race for the second, third, and fourth places for the Males 55-59 Age Group was close; only 19 seconds separated the second and fourth place finishers.

I finished third in my age group, 8 seconds behind the second-place finisher and 11 seconds ahead of the fourth place finisher.

After the Florida Triathlon

Before traveling back to Minnesota, we made one more overnight stop in The Villages. With this visit, we could see our friends once more, enjoy more dancing at Lake Sumter Landing, and pack my bike for the airline ride home.

Race Firsts

First triathlon performed with a vacation to celebrate our wedding anniversary.
First triathlon with the swim portion in the Gulf of Mexico.

Leave Your Questions and Comments Below

What type swim do you prefer? ocean? lake? pool? Why?

Have you combined a race and vacation? If so, what has been your favorite?

Please share your comments below.

“Atomic Habits” for Triathletes

Terry VanderWert on March 19, 2020

“Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones” by James Clear is for those, including triathletes, who wish to create new, performance-enhancing habits. It is also for those who want to eliminate destructive habits.

In the introduction to the book, Mr. Clear shares a powerful case study involving the British Cycling team. By applying the principles in this book, the team went from a perennial loser on the world stage during the 20th and early 21st centuries to the dominant competitor from 2007 to 2017.

During this ten-year period, British cyclists earned 178 world championships and sixty-six Olympic or Paralympic gold medals. They also won five Tour de France races.

This is the first example of many that highlights how so-called atomic habits have been used to improve fitness training, running, and personal and professional development efforts.

Following are my takeaways from the book, from the perspective of a triathlete.

What are ‘Atomic Habits’?

Atomic habits are regular activities or routines that, while small (hence the word ‘atomic’) and easy to do, provide significant impact (also related to ‘atomic’) on a process. Repeating these over time (as a habit) leads to a compounding effect.

According to James Clear, “Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them.”¹

Developing the habit of consistent, regular, and structured training is an example of an atomic habit related to triathlon.

How to Develop Positive ‘Atomic Habits’

“Atomic Habits” summarizes the approach to developing new, performance-enhancing habits in a two-step process:

Determine the person you want to be and how you want to be defined.
Take small actions that prove that you are this person. Repeat these actions.

In How to Build a New Habit: This is Your Strategy Guide, James Clear clarifies what he means by ‘small’ relative to new actions.

One of the actionable pieces of advice from this book is “Start with a small habit”. Or, to say it another way, begin with an activity to which you cannot say ‘No’ because it is so easy to do.

This can, for example, mean combining walking and running until your fitness reaches the point that you can run for an entire session. It can also mean breaking up a larger activity into smaller ones. An example of this principle is swimming 10 minutes separated by a rest rather than swimming 20 minutes right away.

Before you know it, you are running the entire distance or swimming for 20 minutes (or more) without a break.

Focus On Who You Want To Become

Rather than focusing on the action you want to achieve (such as to complete an Olympic-distance triathlon), the approach described in “Atomic Habits” starts with defining yourself in terms of the person who will achieve the goal.

In the triathlon example, the person makes the subtle but important change to define him/herself as an Olympic triathlete. From here, the triathlete develops a training plan, eating habits, sleep behaviors, and so on (the process) consistent with an Olympic-distance triathlete.

The new habits develop through a four-step process detailed in the book and described in the first column of the table below.

Step	Makes an object of a good habit	Makes an object of a bad habit
Cue	Obvious	Invisible
Craving	Attractive	Unattractive
Response	Easy	Difficult
Reward	Satisfying	Unsatisfying

James Clear also describes ways to make sure the new habit sticks. These include habit stacking (combining an existing positive habit with the desired new habit), changing the environment, and reframing a habit (from “I have to go for a run” to “I get to go out into the fresh air and improve my heart health”).

You will also learn about the Diderot Effect and the Goldilocks Rule and how these can support building new habits.

Be Patient, New Habits Require Time

It often takes time to make new habits part of our new-normal routine. Mr. Clear cautions us to be wary of how we interpret the results as we work to develop new habits.

The tendency is to expect linear results. For example, in my training, I expect to see consistent (linear) reductions in my 5k time as I restart running after a break. However, this is not the way results typically come.

The graph of Results vs. Time below shows Mr. Clear’s representation of our expectations and experience as we build new habits.

Figure 1: Plateau of Latent Potential from page 22 of “Atomic Habits” by James Clear.

While we expect linear results, actual results are non-linear. The gap between the expected and actual results creates what Clear calls a “Valley of Disappointment”.

Seeing this graph for the first time created an ‘Aha-moment’. My experiences in run training definitely follow this, one reason that patience is so important. When impatience wins, I will try to speed up the results by training harder or longer. The result is usually injury and longer recovery time.

Summary

Our beliefs and the views of ourself can be engaged to drive processes that help us achieve our goals. Focusing on becoming the person we want to be can lead to greater performance than if we had focused on the goal. Atomic habits help us become who we want to be and perform at a higher level.

For More Information About “Atomic Habits”

“Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones” is available in print and audio versions at Amazon.com by clicking the link or picture below.

Throughout the book, James Clear refers to resources on his website for creating atomic habits. Please checkout the website at https://jamesclear.com/.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

Clear, James, “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones”, Avery, 1st edition (October 16, 2018), p. 17.)

Affiliate disclosure

Share Your Questions and Comments Below

What has helped you develop new habits related to triathlon? Let me know what you think about the ideas presented here.

This post, originally published in March 2020, was updated on February 23, 2022.

Why Should Seniors Use A Triathlon Coach?

Terry VanderWert on February 7, 2020

Dr. Jeff Sankoff, the Tri Doc, triathlete and triathlon coach for seniors

Why would a senior triathlete hire a coach for triathlon training? Triathlon coach, Dr. Jeff Sankoff, also known as The Tri Doc, shares his thoughts.

Meet the Tri Doc

I became acquainted with senior triathlete Dr. Jeff Sankoff during the January 23, 2020 episode of the Tri Swim Coach podcast. In that conversation, Jeff shared five common myths of triathlon, including the myth that we must get slower as we get older.

Since then, I have also listened to several episodes of the Tri Doc podcast which Jeff produces. Jeff is an Ironman University certified triathlon coach and finisher of over 50 triathlons of various distances. He is also a husband, father, and emergency physician living in Denver, Colorado.

Jeff possesses a unique ability to communicate information from his medical training in a manner that I can easily understand.

After listening to Jeff, I asked him to make a case for triathletes age 50 and over to hire a coach for their triathlon training. I came away from our conversation with a new perspective which I have organized into three reasons for seniors to hire a triathlon coach.

Before Starting Triathlon Training

Jeff recommends that anyone with risk factors for heart disease should be cleared for training by a medical doctor before beginning training. You may have heard of deaths that have occurred during triathlons, rare as they are. Check out the Tri Doc podcast from July 22, 2019 for more on this subject.

The Tri Doc’s Three Reasons for Hiring A Triathlon Coach for Seniors

Many older athletes are intimidated by the thought of doing a triathlon, often because of its three sports, one which may be especially challenging to an individual. For many this is swimming. This was also the case for Jeff.

Triathlon is an underappreciated sport for older athletes.
Dr. Jeff Sankoff, The Tri Doc

The reality, according to Jeff, is that triathlon is excellent for older athletes precisely because it does involve three sports. Training for the three sports of triathlon leads to a broader range of fitness and reduces the risk of overuse injuries common in older athletes.

So, now that you are convinced of the merits of triathlon, consider the reasons you should hire a coach to guide your training.

Reason#1: Realistic Goal Setting

Goals are useful for new and experienced triathletes alike. They provide clarity for defining and for evaluating the results of a training plan. For this reason, goal setting is one of the first benefits of hiring a coach.

For the beginner triathlete, one who ‘doesn’t know what he doesn’t know’, this can be especially valuable. The triathlon coach will work with the athlete to identify his/her goals. The coach can also provide a ‘sanity-check’ on the individual’s goals, helping the triathlete set achievable ones and prioritize triathlon gear purchases.

To illustrate, let me share how a triathlon coach would have helped me with my first triathlon.

To be clear, I did not have a coach. However, before my first triathlon, I read almost everything on triathlon that I could find and trained diligently in swimming, biking, and running. My daughter and I held a mock triathlon, including the transitions, a week before the race. I felt prepared.

However, days before the race, my thoughts ranged from ‘just finishing’ to ‘winning my age group’. I really had no clue of what the race would be like.

On race day, I saw my first tri-bikes, initially in the transition area and then as they sped past my hybrid bike and me as if I was leisurely riding in the park with my youngest grandchild.

I finished with relative ease but also learned that there are some very fit ‘old people’. There were many other lessons from that day, all learned while I fell in love with the sport.

In hindsight, a coach would have helped me set realistic goals beyond finishing the race.

Reason #2: Smarter Triathlon Training

Are you looking to compete in a longer distance triathlon? Or do you have your heart set on standing on the podium at the awards ceremony of a major triathlon? If you and your coach agree that your goals are realistic, the coach will provide a roadmap for realizing them.

A coach typically begins with an assessment of the athlete’s current fitness and capability in the three sports. Jeff usually requests videos of the athlete swimming, biking, and running. He studies these videos to identify changes to the swim stroke, bike fit, and running form that will improve performance and reduce the possibility for injury.

With focused goals for the training, the coach will develop a customized training plan for the triathlete. The customized plan often includes advice for recovery and nutrition and a strategy for race day.

Through periodic communication, the coach and triathlete will review progress against the plan and make any adjustments, keeping in mind the athlete-specific goals and the reality that our bodies are less forgiving of training errors as we age.

Reason #3: Minimizing Injury

As we age, we become more prone to overuse injuries. For this reason, all Tri Doc training plans incorporate strength training.

Most people misunderstand strength training as part of triathlon training. For example, many of us have visions of bulging biceps and broad shoulders when we think of strength training. However, bulk is not the aim in triathlon training.

Example of a strength training plan by Jeff Sankoff Tri Doc, triathlon coach for seniors — Strength training is an essential part of triathlon training according to Tri Doc, Dr. Jeff Sankoff. Pictured is an example of a personalized plan. Picture courtesy of The Tri Doc.

Instead, the goal of strength training is to maintain the muscle that we have and strengthen muscles around joints to prevent injury. Strength training is especially important for older athletes since muscle loss occurs at an increasing rate as we age.

Should injuries occur, the triathlon coach will ‘tweak’ the training schedule so the athlete continues to increase their fitness and endurance while the injury heals.

Not everyone needs a coach but everyone can find a reason to hire a coach.
Dr. Jeff Sankoff, The Tri Doc

One More Benefit of a Triathlon Coach for Seniors

Most triathletes in their 50s, 60s, and 70s are highly motivated and competitive. However, as we become less energetic or suffer injury, the motivation to train can wane. A coach will encourage the older athlete to continue training and racing, helping him/her recover from injury and even reach new levels of performance.

What Does It Cost to Hire a Triathlon Training Coach?

Jeff described two approaches for amateur triathletes to involve a triathlon coach in their training:

Purchase a ‘canned’ training plan – For somewhere around $30/month, one can purchase a training plan based on a specified triathlon distance (e.g. sprint, Olympic, Half-Ironman, Ironman). Most plans are not age-specific, a major concern to this audience.
Personalized coaching – This approach provides the triathlete regular access, usually by phone, text message, and email, to a triathlon coach. The goal setting, video analysis, and personalized training plans referred to above are included. The cost, which typically ranges from $150/month to up to $600/month for elite athletes, depends mostly on the frequency of interaction between the athlete and coach. Jeff’s average monthly fee is around $200.

One caveat. Many, but not all, triathlon coaches are certified by organizations such as USA Triathlon or Ironman University. Some experienced triathletes are also coaches, even though they have not taken time to become certified. Do the research, putting your relevant life skills to work.

For More Information

Email Dr. Jeff Sankoff, The Tri Doc, at tri_doc@icloud.com with questions and for more information about his coaching services.

Leave Your Questions and Comments Below

What has been your experience with triathlon coaches?

How have they helped you with training and racing?

Please share your comments below.

Triathlon Across the USA: State #21 – Michigan

Terry VanderWert on January 23, 2020

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan has many ski resorts used in the summer for hiking, mountain biking, and weddings.

Iron Mountain, Michigan; June 29, 2014—Northern Lights YMCA UP Northwoods Triathlon, Lake Antoine County Park

Thanks to an 1835-36 dispute over a narrow strip of land in what is now northern Ohio, our trip to the Michigan triathlon was much shorter than it could have been.

Before you leave, let me explain.

The dispute, known as the Toledo War, led to the eventual granting of the Upper Peninsula, or UP, to Michigan instead of Wisconsin.

The result? We could race on the western side of Lake Michigan while still being in the state of Michigan, most of which is on the eastern side.

Getting to the Michigan Triathlon

Since we were traveling to northern Michigan for the triathlon, we decided to visit Joy’s cousin, Linda and her husband, Tom, outside Ironwood, Michigan. We arrived late Friday afternoon following a leisurely drive along the southern end of Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin.

After breakfast in Ironwood the next morning, Tom and Linda took us to some of their favorites sites. This included the Copper Peak ski flying jump and Black River Harbor, where, as forecast, swarms of black flies chased us.

Later that morning, we made the journey to Iron Mountain, continuing to soak in the laid back feeling of the area.

After a late lunch and a drive through this town of a little over 7,000 residents, we checked into our hotel. Before picking up the race packet at Lake Antoine Park later in the afternoon, we drove the bike course, one of our typical pre-race rituals.

4^th Annual UP Northwoods Triathlon

About 70 triathletes gathered at Lake Antoine Park for the Northern Lights YMCA UP Northwoods Sprint Triathlon.

Distances for the individual legs of this sprint triathlon were:

Swim: 0.31 mile (500 m)
Bike: 17 mile (27 km)
Run: 3.1 mile (5 km)

Swim

The 500 meter swim for this triathlon occurred in Lake Antoine, a clean, shallow lake with a silty bottom perfect for the park, campground, and cabins that surround it. The water was also cool enough to make me glad to be wearing a wetsuit.

I was assigned to the first wave of ten swimmers. With a fast start, I found myself alone and apparently leading the wave.

The previous months of swim training were paying off. I was entering a whole new level in my triathlon racing and could even see myself first out of the water.

About that time, a young lady on a stand-up paddleboard woke me from my dream. She yelled down to tell me I was off-course. Instead of keeping ‘the buoys on my left’, I was swimming on the left side of the buoys.

Now back in the real-world, I rejoined the wave realizing that I was not in the lead.

One good thing about triathlon is that it keeps one humble.

Bike

Fortunately, the light rain had stopped by the time I came out of the water. The roads were essentially dry as we headed onto the bike course.

We exited the park to the left following Lake Antoine along its southern edge, eventually merging onto Lake Antoine Road.

At the split, where Lake Antoine Road turns into the park, we continued straight, onto Upper Pine Creek Drive and the first hills of the course.

An example of the rolling hills on the bike course at the Northern Lights YMCA UP Northwoods Triathlon, our Michigan triathlon. — The bike course at the Northern Lights YMCA UP Northwoods Triathlon was full of rolling hills lined by trees and the occasional deer. Picture courtesy of Northwoods YMCA.

Somewhere within the next 2-3 miles, I experienced another ‘Race First’ – braking for a couple of deer crossing the road in front of me.

I was never close enough to collide with the curious, young animals. However, that could have changed had they been spooked and decided to return to their original side of the road. Better safe than sorry.

After another mile or two, this road made a right angle turn. We were now on an even more hilly portion (see the picture above). We turned onto US Highway 2, traveling on its shoulder for 1-2 miles before exiting onto Lake Antoine Road. From here, we headed back to the transition area.

Run

A portion of the ‘out-and-back’ run course included roads within the campground of Lake Antoine Park. Several campers enjoyed their morning coffee while cheering on the triathletes.

The run eventually exited the park to the south following the same road around Lake Antoine we had biked earlier. At the midpoint of the 5 km run, we turned around and returned to the finish line along the same path.

After the Michigan Triathlon

We had plans for dinner at our Minnesota home with family that evening so left almost immediately after the race. Following a shower at the hotel, we set out on our six-hour trip home.

Race First’s

First race in which I braked for deer crossing the road.
I wore my race number belt under my wetsuit for the first time in this race. This saved me a few seconds in transition since I did not need to put the race number belt on before climbing onto the bike.

Leave Your Questions and Comments Below

What has been a lesson for triathlon training or racing that you recently learned?

Have you encountered any animals (like deer in this story) during a triathlon?

Please share your comments below.

Author: Terry VanderWert

Triathlon Across the USA: State #11 – Florida

Getting to the Florida Triathlon

1^st TriRock Clearwater Triathlon

Swim

Bike