Tri Zones Training

Tri Hard, Live Easy Newsletter -- April 3

Tri Zones Training would like to welcome you to the Tri Hard, Live Easy Newsletter! You will receive this newsletter every week during the spring triathlon season, between now and Danskin (June 8). Here you will find news and information about training, details about upcoming events and workshops, and a Training Tip of the Week. Through this newsletter, we hope to inform you of the many resources available to you while you train for spring triathlons including Danskin, Skeese Greets Women’s Tri, The Rookie, and CapTexTri. For more information about training resources, visit our web site at www.trizones.com. And feel free to forward this newsletter to any of your friends who are training for triathlons this spring!

This Week:
1. Seminar on hydration and electrolytes
2. Austin Autism Awareness Bike Ride
3. Question of the Week - "Do I have enough time to get ready for a triathlon?"
4. Upcoming training events and workshops
5. Training Tip of the Week – What are the benefits of a training group?

1. Seminar on hydration and electrolytes
It’s starting to warm up outside, and proper hydration is key. Meredith Terranova, R.D., will be offering the following seminar:

Electrolytes: The KEY to Endurance Hydration
Learn:
- What are Electrolytes and Why do Athletes Need Them
- Available Products
- How to Use them to Maximize the Benefit
- And much more

April 5th at 11:30
Location: Rogue Equipment
500 San Marcos St. #104
Austin, TX 78702.
Phone: 512-493-0920
$10/person
Email Meredith to reserve your spot: meredithbn@yahoo.com

2. Austin Autism Awareness Bike Ride
Their motto is, “Know someone with autism? You will soon.” Autism now affects 1 in every 150 American children, and almost 1 in 94 boys. Enjoy a spring bike ride to help promote autism awareness on beautiful country roads through picturesque Williamson County, followed by a delicious lunch. Routes of approximately 2.5, 9, 20, and 41 miles with start and finish at the Berry Springs County Park and Preserve. All routes pedal through moderately flat terrain interspersed with rolling hills on the eastern side of Williamson County. www.pfullypflugerville.com/austinautismbikeride.htm

3. Question of the Week - "Do I have enough time to get ready for a triathlon?"
Now is a good time to get started for the spring triathlons. Eight to ten weeks is an adequate amount of time for training for a sprint-distance triathlon. It’s important to ease into the training gradually and to establish a solid base level of fitness. Once you have set up the foundation, you can begin to add key workouts (including speed workouts, resistance training, longer distances), as long as you’re including adequate recovery. You’ll eventually want to build up so that you can do the race distance of each sport comfortably. The most important thing in your training is to not do too much too soon! That’s why eight to ten weeks is a good amount of time to safely ramp up your distances in each sport.

4. Upcoming training events and workshops
Free Bike Wash, Flat Tire, & Transition Clinic
April 5, 11:00 – 3:00, Jack and Adam’s
The Webb Middle School Band is hosting a bike wash at Jack & Adam's on Saturday, April 5th from 11 AM to 3 PM. The bike wash is free, but donations are gladly accepted. There will be snacks and live music from the kids and other local musicians. Also, members of the Jack & Adam's triathlon team will be on hand to give some free advice on transitions and flat tire repair.

Get Your Rear in Gear 5K Run/Walk and Kids’ Half Mile Fun Run
April 6, 8:30am, Austin Endoscopy Center
It has a funny name, but it benefits a great cause. Funds go towards the Colon Cancer Coalition; colorectal cancer is the 2nd-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the US. Participants will receive a technical shirt, goody bag, and lots of food and fun for the whole family. http://www.getyourrearingear.com/events/gyrig_austin_2008.htm

Austin Autism Awareness Bike Ride
April 7, 9:00am, Berry Sprigs County Park and Preserve
Enjoy a spring bike ride to help promote autism awareness on beautiful country roads through picturesque Williamson County, followed by a delicious lunch. Routes of approximately 2.5, 9, 20, and 41. All routes pedal through moderately flat terrain interspersed with rolling hills on the eastern side of Williamson County. www.pfullypflugerville.com/austinautismbikeride.htm

Women: You'll never know until you TRI!
April 7, 7:00 – 8:30pm, REI Gateway, FREE!
Is that a triathlete you see in the mirror? Have you heard that the Danskin Women's Triathlon is a life-changing experience and you wonder if you can do it? Learn about what it's like to train for a tri and what to expect at your first all-women's triathlon. Gain the confidence that YOU CAN DO IT whether your goal is the Skeese Greets Women's Tri or the Danskin Women's Triathlon!

Schlotsky’s Bun Run
April 13, 8:00am, Auditorium Shores
The Schlotzsky's 5K Bun Run race is an annual Austin tradition started in 1982 to give the community a chance to run in support of the Austin Sunshine Camps. www.bunrun.com

5. Training Tip of the Week – What are the benefits of a training group?
Most training groups offer the following features: a coach, a training calendar, and weekly workouts with the group. But besides the tangible items that you’d receive from such a program, there are many intangible benefits to training with a training group.

A quality training program will be led by coaches who have years of experience – their feedback and advice is invaluable. Hearing tricks of the trade along the way will help you learn more than you could ever learn from a book or magazine article. Coaches will also give input about your form and mechanics. Better form can translate to more efficiency, speedier times, and fewer injuries.

Most training groups provide a training calendar that builds towards race day. The training program should allow for a gradual build-up, preventing beginners from doing too much too soon. Good training plans will establish a safe base level of fitness and then will add key workouts at the appropriate times, and will also include adequate recovery. Often, it is so much easier to follow a workout plan than to try to have to come up with workouts on your own.

But besides having a coach and a training calendar, working out in a training group can be a lot of fun because you get to work out with other people! You find out that others are in the same boat as you, and you are not alone! You’re not the only one who is anxious about the swim, or nervous to ride a bike on the roads. You’ll see all kinds of ages and body shapes and realize that triathletes don’t have to have a super-buff body.

Another benefit to working out in a group is the unspoken “peer pressure” to show up to the workouts. Often people will come to the group workout knowing that their teammates will wonder where they are if they don’t. Sometimes that’s all the motivation they need to help get off the couch and out the door!

Also, some people find that making a financial commitment will help motivate them to follow through with the training.

Another benefit to training with a group is that it is great to feel like part of a TEAM on race day! Many training groups wear team jerseys, set up a group tent, and have spectators who will cheer for anyone wearing the team colors.

And the best reason of all for training with a group is that it is a TON of FUN!! You will make new friends, and the camaraderie that develops over the course of the training program just can’t be beat!

---

If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter, please visit us at www.trizones.com, or you can send email to newsletter-subscribe@lists.trizones.com.

If you have questions about triathlons, submit them on the discussion forum at www.trizones.com. Happy training!