If there is a difficult time of the year to watch your diet, it’s now. You might still be munching on Halloween candy, the big Thanksgiving meal is still hanging out in you lower GI and the holiday parties that abound in December begin this weekend. Couple that with a slowdown in training and we might just find ourselves five or ten pounds heavier. So, here’s a little damage control. It’s still over 13 weeks till Firebird Triathlon in Chandler and 15 weeks till Lake Havasu Tri March 20th. Spend the next four weeks making informed choices with your diet and putting in some base training. You’ll burn those fat stores for energy and those five to ten pounds won’t seem like such a problem at the start of your 12 week cycle of training for a spring triathlon.
Additionally, put the holidays in perspective. It’s 4-6 weeks out of 52 in a year or about 10% of the year. It’s what you do the other 90% that significantly affects your health and performance. Since we all know the holidays can be a battle ground for the diet conscious, have a plan to stay on a healthy course, e.g., eat salads, fruits and vegetables before digging into the chips, cheeses and heavy casserole dishes. Think ahead and make healthy choices. Do not skip meals in anticipation of a party or large meal. You will be more apt to overeat- this is a bad habit to get into. Continue with at least 3 meals per day plus healthy snacks. Drink plenty of water between meals. This keeps you hydrated, aids in digestion and elimination of waste products. Also, thirst can also be confused with hunger and cause you to drink too much of a high calorie liquid. Eggnog, for example, has about the same number of calories as a piece of pie. Spend your calories carefully. If you are really looking forward to having something that only comes around once per year have it, but avoid something else that may be high in calories and is more common, something you can get anytime. Step away from the food table to visit. It is very easy to keep eating when socializing and thoughtlessly take in too many calories. Find a place away from the food to visit and play games. Get active. Gathering with family, friends and co-workers doesn’t have to be all about food. Try taking a walk or drive around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights; play Twister; wrestle with the kids; organize a comedy club night instead of a large dinner party. Maintain base training from now until the end of the year- don’t wait until January 1st. Incorporate a new food into holiday meals. Try a new recipe this season. Try a new fresh vegetable or fruit salad; add in brussel sprouts, squash, mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes, cut some of the sugar and marshmallows out of the sweet potatoes, make a low fat cheesecake and substitute Splenda in place of sugar. Remember the standards as well: Be Satisfied with small amounts of food. Avoid concentrated sweets and sugar. Appreciate food quality, not quantity. Take your time eating. Chew your food well (approximately 20 times for each bite) before swallowing. Stop eating at the first sign of fullness. Remember to avoid “mindless eating” and make informed decisions. Now is the time to take control of your diet so that you can go into the new-year one step ahead.
Brandon Nichols, RD, CSSD
(Registered Dietitian, Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics) specializednutrition@gmail.com
520-249-1599 for a consultation.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Ironman!
GEC had a big day this year at Ironman Arizona. Big breakthroughs!
Tucsonans Cheryl Palen, Michael McClure, Sylvain Lebreton, and Joe McNally all became IRONMEN after training on GEC plans and guidance.
Then GEC full-time athletes finished and all raced to new Personal Records at Ironman!
- Scott LaRoche finished Ironman #2 with a breakthrough finish. Scott just returned from Afghanistan (US Air Force Fighter Pilot) where his only cycling was on the rollers, his swimming was on stretch cords, and his running consisted of a single, monotonous road. We spoke before the race about how this was not necessarily going to be his year to PR. He decided to prove me wrong and went 10:40 for a 20-minute PR. I was floored. Impressive.
- Owen Paulus came off a nagging running injury and a severe bout with the piggy fly to run sub-4:00 for the first time and come in at 10:29. Wow.
- Polita Paulus als had some running setbacks late season and was worried going into the race that things weren't going well. She held tough and we built a taper plan to get in some late running, and she performed great on race day! 11:07
- Joe McNally PR'd by one hour! His plan was to break 13:00, so he and Bill put together a plan. Joe was successful and went 12:52! Well done.
Brad Hendron stole the show, however. Brad and I have worked together for a number of years, and have lately really worked hard to get under 10 at IM and get him to Kona. When we started, Brad was a 13:30 IM and a 5:30 Half IM racer. Cycling was his weakness and was making his run suffer, so we put together a long-term plan to change that. He was always mentally tough--a great thing.
He had a great season last year with some breakthrough results at Olympic and Half IM distances, including an age group win at the Trisports.com HalfMax National Championships and an impressive 4:19 at Soma Half IM. But the IM was still eluding us.
We doubled our efforts, get him on PowerTap to really nail his cycling, and away we went. With a tough, high-volume plan and a small run injury to deal with, Brad held tough through some dark training sessions--both physically before the sun came up and mentally tough.
But he did it.
It's bitter-sweet, however. Although a breakthrough race both mentally and physcially, a 1:30 PR, a 9:33 finish with a PR in all three disciplines, and near flawless race execution, that time did not gain him a Kona slot. I couldn't believe it. Still can't. You can't plan on who else will show up and who will have a great day, too, but in any case, Brad had a great race and is already looking forward to taking time off in 2010. Next year, Brad.
Congratulations to all Ironmen out there. Well done.
Tucsonans Cheryl Palen, Michael McClure, Sylvain Lebreton, and Joe McNally all became IRONMEN after training on GEC plans and guidance.
Then GEC full-time athletes finished and all raced to new Personal Records at Ironman!
- Scott LaRoche finished Ironman #2 with a breakthrough finish. Scott just returned from Afghanistan (US Air Force Fighter Pilot) where his only cycling was on the rollers, his swimming was on stretch cords, and his running consisted of a single, monotonous road. We spoke before the race about how this was not necessarily going to be his year to PR. He decided to prove me wrong and went 10:40 for a 20-minute PR. I was floored. Impressive.
- Owen Paulus came off a nagging running injury and a severe bout with the piggy fly to run sub-4:00 for the first time and come in at 10:29. Wow.
- Polita Paulus als had some running setbacks late season and was worried going into the race that things weren't going well. She held tough and we built a taper plan to get in some late running, and she performed great on race day! 11:07
- Joe McNally PR'd by one hour! His plan was to break 13:00, so he and Bill put together a plan. Joe was successful and went 12:52! Well done.
Brad Hendron stole the show, however. Brad and I have worked together for a number of years, and have lately really worked hard to get under 10 at IM and get him to Kona. When we started, Brad was a 13:30 IM and a 5:30 Half IM racer. Cycling was his weakness and was making his run suffer, so we put together a long-term plan to change that. He was always mentally tough--a great thing.
He had a great season last year with some breakthrough results at Olympic and Half IM distances, including an age group win at the Trisports.com HalfMax National Championships and an impressive 4:19 at Soma Half IM. But the IM was still eluding us.
We doubled our efforts, get him on PowerTap to really nail his cycling, and away we went. With a tough, high-volume plan and a small run injury to deal with, Brad held tough through some dark training sessions--both physically before the sun came up and mentally tough.
But he did it.
It's bitter-sweet, however. Although a breakthrough race both mentally and physcially, a 1:30 PR, a 9:33 finish with a PR in all three disciplines, and near flawless race execution, that time did not gain him a Kona slot. I couldn't believe it. Still can't. You can't plan on who else will show up and who will have a great day, too, but in any case, Brad had a great race and is already looking forward to taking time off in 2010. Next year, Brad.
Congratulations to all Ironmen out there. Well done.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Late Season Racing!
Updates from the late season:
Clearwater 70.3 World Champs--
Kathy Rakel killed it at Cleawater. Although she was 11th in her age group, she was 20th overall amateur! Tough age group! And her time of 4:25 placed her in teh top half of the pro field! Kathy will be moving up to the pro field for the 2010 season.
Scott Perrine had a stellar day as well. Scott was training for Ironman Arizona the following week, so went into Clearwater as a "training race." He killed it for a 20 minute PR with a time of 4:26, feeling relaxed the entire time!
Well done in Clearwater, guys!
Soma Half Ironman--
Kathy killed it here, too. SHe took 4th amateur overall, 2nd in her age group. 4:44.
Rebecca Tschider ran to a huge PR of 5:03 for 2nd in her age group as well! This was a great race for Bec and a huge breakthrough! Congrats!
Austin 70.3--
Jim Williamson completed his first Half Iron race! Not a bad time at all, but more a breakthrough in the distance than anything. Huge kudos to Jim!
Blue Water--
Leo Carrillo continued a great season with a 2nd overall at Blue Water!
On another note, 3 good friends took spills in races and weekend of Soma and Austin. Be careful out there. For John, AJ, and Kel: heal up quickly and get back out there!
Brian
Clearwater 70.3 World Champs--
Kathy Rakel killed it at Cleawater. Although she was 11th in her age group, she was 20th overall amateur! Tough age group! And her time of 4:25 placed her in teh top half of the pro field! Kathy will be moving up to the pro field for the 2010 season.
Scott Perrine had a stellar day as well. Scott was training for Ironman Arizona the following week, so went into Clearwater as a "training race." He killed it for a 20 minute PR with a time of 4:26, feeling relaxed the entire time!
Well done in Clearwater, guys!
Soma Half Ironman--
Kathy killed it here, too. SHe took 4th amateur overall, 2nd in her age group. 4:44.
Rebecca Tschider ran to a huge PR of 5:03 for 2nd in her age group as well! This was a great race for Bec and a huge breakthrough! Congrats!
Austin 70.3--
Jim Williamson completed his first Half Iron race! Not a bad time at all, but more a breakthrough in the distance than anything. Huge kudos to Jim!
Blue Water--
Leo Carrillo continued a great season with a 2nd overall at Blue Water!
On another note, 3 good friends took spills in races and weekend of Soma and Austin. Be careful out there. For John, AJ, and Kel: heal up quickly and get back out there!
Brian
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Virginia
I’m in Virginia for a USAF conference. The conference was not why the day was cool, mind you. After the conference I rushed to the hotel, changed out of my uniform and thanked God for my phone-embedded GPS mapping. I just drove. I’ve never been to VA—all over the Pacific rim, but never to VA. Being somewhat a history buff this is a good place to just drive.
So I rambled upon some pretty cool history. Yorktown is most famous as the site of the surrender of General Cornwallis to General George Washington in 1781. The Yorktown battlefield is a spacious expanse complete with the redoubts and encampment areas from 230 years ago. You can almost see the battles, hear the conversations between Washington and his men, and smell the gunpowder.
Later, during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War (1861–1865), Yorktown was captured from the Confederacy and then used as the base for the Union Army of the Potomac under General George B. McClellan. And as the capitol of the Confederacy, more Civil War battles were fought in VA than any other state. I’ll check those out tomorrow. Just up the road are Jamestown and Williamsburg, among the first permanent settlements on the new continent.
And now, some of the newest and most capable military equipment in the world: Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Air Station Oceana are home to the Atlantic fleet of Naval aircraft carriers, destroyers and submarines and half the US Naval Aircraft; Marine Corps Base Quantico is everything “schoolhouse” to the Marine Corps; Langley AFB is home to the 1st Air Force and the F-22 Raptor, and of course, the “5-sided Puzzle Palace” is here (fighter pilots can’t say the word “Pentagon”). There’s a lot here. In fact, this area is the largest concentration of military bases of any metro area in the world.
So I rambled upon some pretty cool history. Yorktown is most famous as the site of the surrender of General Cornwallis to General George Washington in 1781. The Yorktown battlefield is a spacious expanse complete with the redoubts and encampment areas from 230 years ago. You can almost see the battles, hear the conversations between Washington and his men, and smell the gunpowder.
Later, during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War (1861–1865), Yorktown was captured from the Confederacy and then used as the base for the Union Army of the Potomac under General George B. McClellan. And as the capitol of the Confederacy, more Civil War battles were fought in VA than any other state. I’ll check those out tomorrow. Just up the road are Jamestown and Williamsburg, among the first permanent settlements on the new continent.
And now, some of the newest and most capable military equipment in the world: Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Air Station Oceana are home to the Atlantic fleet of Naval aircraft carriers, destroyers and submarines and half the US Naval Aircraft; Marine Corps Base Quantico is everything “schoolhouse” to the Marine Corps; Langley AFB is home to the 1st Air Force and the F-22 Raptor, and of course, the “5-sided Puzzle Palace” is here (fighter pilots can’t say the word “Pentagon”). There’s a lot here. In fact, this area is the largest concentration of military bases of any metro area in the world.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Interbike
If you can imagine a chocoholic spending a week in Hershey, PA, that was my experience at Interbike. (Actually, Hershey could be a good trip for me, too. Watch for a blog on that someday.) Not only is Interbike a great opportunity to network, speak with potential sponsors, and catch up with current sponsors, it’s a great place to drool and gawk. And I did my share of all of it.
I flew up on Tuesday with the Trisports.com crew and went straight to the Outdoor Demo. This is where Hershey lines up everything they make and you get to taste it. (Man, I really need to get to PA.) I brought my MTB shoes and helmet and got in a good workout on some of the latest bikes yet to hit the market, including 29er hardtails, 5” travel trail bikes, and most everything in between. I got to join up and ride with good friend and fellow coach Trevor Glavin. I could finally beat Trevor up the climb on our last circuit. Ok, he was on a 9” travel, 40+ pound DH bike, but I didn’t hold that against him. Bootleg Canyon is a great place to ride.
Wednesday was the start of the actual Interbike show at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas. This is where vendors showed off all the new 2010 stuff and the changes in their lines. Lots of new stuff out there: Zipp’s new Super-9 disk yields aerodynamic and stiffness increases over their standard and sub-9 disks. Check out the CycleOps Joule computer that works with PowerTap. Hammer Nutrition is coming out with a new gel flavor—Montana Huckleberry. Wow! Get your hands on some. Litespeed has carbon now! SRAM’s new XX mountain groupset leaves everything else out there in the dust, quite literally. And TYR now has a wetsuit to add to its unbelievable Sayonara speedsuit.
Genuine Innovations, GEC’s camp sag sponsor for CO2, was there celebrating 20yrs in the industry. Marty, the head cheese there, is not only a super-fast cyclist and triathlete, but is genuinely one of the nicest guys in the world. That they make the best inflation products in the world is a bonus.
Jill flew in on Thursday and we finished the week in vacation mode. I needed the vacation after that week, and we had a great time.
Brian
I flew up on Tuesday with the Trisports.com crew and went straight to the Outdoor Demo. This is where Hershey lines up everything they make and you get to taste it. (Man, I really need to get to PA.) I brought my MTB shoes and helmet and got in a good workout on some of the latest bikes yet to hit the market, including 29er hardtails, 5” travel trail bikes, and most everything in between. I got to join up and ride with good friend and fellow coach Trevor Glavin. I could finally beat Trevor up the climb on our last circuit. Ok, he was on a 9” travel, 40+ pound DH bike, but I didn’t hold that against him. Bootleg Canyon is a great place to ride.
Wednesday was the start of the actual Interbike show at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas. This is where vendors showed off all the new 2010 stuff and the changes in their lines. Lots of new stuff out there: Zipp’s new Super-9 disk yields aerodynamic and stiffness increases over their standard and sub-9 disks. Check out the CycleOps Joule computer that works with PowerTap. Hammer Nutrition is coming out with a new gel flavor—Montana Huckleberry. Wow! Get your hands on some. Litespeed has carbon now! SRAM’s new XX mountain groupset leaves everything else out there in the dust, quite literally. And TYR now has a wetsuit to add to its unbelievable Sayonara speedsuit.
Genuine Innovations, GEC’s camp sag sponsor for CO2, was there celebrating 20yrs in the industry. Marty, the head cheese there, is not only a super-fast cyclist and triathlete, but is genuinely one of the nicest guys in the world. That they make the best inflation products in the world is a bonus.
Jill flew in on Thursday and we finished the week in vacation mode. I needed the vacation after that week, and we had a great time.
Brian
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
USAT Level One Coaching Clinic
By Bill Daniell: Associate Coach, Grasky Endurance Coaching
One of the challenges we face in the coaching world is staying in touch with the latest and greatest in the endurance sports coaching world. Science is constantly reminding us that we are still learning a lot about the human body and how to train it effectively. This is especially true in the sport of Triathlon due to the fact that the sport is so young. Fortunately there are a lot of great educational opportunities for endurance coaches and at Grasky Endurance we are constantly looking at ways to improve our knowledge in an effort to help our athletes. Recently, Coach Brian Nath and I attended the USAT Level One coaching certification clinic in Santa Monica and both walked away with a lot of tools that we know will be beneficial to all the current and future athletes working with Grasky Endurance.
The USAT Level One clinic is a three day seminar that involves approximately 12 different sessions which covers topics such as nutritional strategies, strength training for endurance athletes, mental training, and program development for endurance athletes. We were truly blessed at the Santa Monica clinic because we had several presenters who are considered the leaders in endurance coaching and are current members of the USAT National Team coaching staff and members of the United States Olympic Team coaching staff. As a coach with a very strong swimming background I was even impressed by the amount I was able to take away from the presenter on instructing swim techniques. It was just another reminder about how much we can continue to learn, regardless of how much we may already know. Brian and I were both very impressed by Bobby McGee who gave great talks on mental training for endurance athletes as well as a phenomenal session on proper running techniques. We cannot wait to bring this information back and share it with our athletes. In between all the training sessions Brian and I were able to squeeze in a nice ocean swim (the water was nice and toasty but I think the kelp got the best of Brian!!). We were also able to sneak in a couple of runs and got to experience Venice beach from an up close and personal perspective. Let’s just say that there are some things you can only see in LA!!!
Overall this past weekend was a tremendous learning and networking experience for Brian and I. I am already looking forward to our next educational seminar and even more so I am looking forward to working with our coached athletes and our GEC camps for 2010 where we can take this new found information and share it. As I mentioned before, these seminars make me realize how much great information there is that can be found, and I really think that one of the great benefits of working with the coaching staff at Grasky Endurance is the fact that we all are open minded and looking for new ways to learn from our coaching peers. This not only helps us become better coaches but also makes our athletes better which ultimately is our goal at Grasky Endurance Coaching.
One of the challenges we face in the coaching world is staying in touch with the latest and greatest in the endurance sports coaching world. Science is constantly reminding us that we are still learning a lot about the human body and how to train it effectively. This is especially true in the sport of Triathlon due to the fact that the sport is so young. Fortunately there are a lot of great educational opportunities for endurance coaches and at Grasky Endurance we are constantly looking at ways to improve our knowledge in an effort to help our athletes. Recently, Coach Brian Nath and I attended the USAT Level One coaching certification clinic in Santa Monica and both walked away with a lot of tools that we know will be beneficial to all the current and future athletes working with Grasky Endurance.
The USAT Level One clinic is a three day seminar that involves approximately 12 different sessions which covers topics such as nutritional strategies, strength training for endurance athletes, mental training, and program development for endurance athletes. We were truly blessed at the Santa Monica clinic because we had several presenters who are considered the leaders in endurance coaching and are current members of the USAT National Team coaching staff and members of the United States Olympic Team coaching staff. As a coach with a very strong swimming background I was even impressed by the amount I was able to take away from the presenter on instructing swim techniques. It was just another reminder about how much we can continue to learn, regardless of how much we may already know. Brian and I were both very impressed by Bobby McGee who gave great talks on mental training for endurance athletes as well as a phenomenal session on proper running techniques. We cannot wait to bring this information back and share it with our athletes. In between all the training sessions Brian and I were able to squeeze in a nice ocean swim (the water was nice and toasty but I think the kelp got the best of Brian!!). We were also able to sneak in a couple of runs and got to experience Venice beach from an up close and personal perspective. Let’s just say that there are some things you can only see in LA!!!
Overall this past weekend was a tremendous learning and networking experience for Brian and I. I am already looking forward to our next educational seminar and even more so I am looking forward to working with our coached athletes and our GEC camps for 2010 where we can take this new found information and share it. As I mentioned before, these seminars make me realize how much great information there is that can be found, and I really think that one of the great benefits of working with the coaching staff at Grasky Endurance is the fact that we all are open minded and looking for new ways to learn from our coaching peers. This not only helps us become better coaches but also makes our athletes better which ultimately is our goal at Grasky Endurance Coaching.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Flagstaff Training Weekend
Grasky Endurance Coaching just got back from a training weekend in Flagstaff AZ. Those who went had a great weekend of training, altitude, and good food; those who did not go missed out.
Friday was when most of us showed up. Jill and I were late for traffic and other stuff, so everyone was already sitting at Oregano’s when we showed up. It was good to see everyone again—all were either GEC athletes or good friends (or both).
We joined the Pay and Take ride on Saturday. The group was large and fit, and filled with a fair mix of both triathletes and cyclists—most of whom welcomed the other. Every group has its guy who jumps to the front complaining about the “twitchy triathletes”…why is it that that guy is always the worst at holding a line and is the most apt to cause a crash? GEC athletes held on and did well, but with flat tires, dropped bottles, and seeing old friends we got split up, then rejoined, then made it to the turn-around in one short train of green and black. Sweet. There’s not much better than being at 7000’ and 80 degrees on beautiful roads overlooking the mountains. It’s even better when it’s 105 at home! That afternoon the group was sprinkled on by rain on a 6 mile run (while Jill and I had our first experience o a Wii) and got in a nice open water swim in Lake Mary. Big juicy steaks at a great cowboy steak house in the middle of nowhere topped the day.
Brian, Taco Bell is not recovery nutrition
We drove out to Wupatki National Monument on Sunday to ride big climbs with no traffic. There was fresh road construction, but it was still good riding. This ride is tough—descend until you can breath, then climb back into the nosebleed area again. We wanted to do a short brick run, so turned around at 45 minutes and a 3000 feet descent. The climb back was fun. And tough. Brad pushed the pace and did well, and we finished in 2:15 after a total 3.5k’ of climbing. Then a short run and we headed back to camp for grilled burgers and pasta salad by world class outdoor chef yours truly. Ok, world class is a bit of a stretch. Well, so it chef. Or even cook. It was all good until Kathy issued an open challenge on the ping pong table and Brian Nath though he could school me in Foosball. Who says triathletes aren’t well-rounded!?!
If it weren’t for a 90 minute dead stop on I-10 on the way back to town it would have been a glorious weekend! Next time I’m flying!
Brian
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Time 2 Tri Program
Some of you may or may not know that Grasky Endurance Coaching is a sponsor of the Tucson Triathlon Club here in Tucson, Arizona. The TTC has started a new program called the Time2Tri program, which is directed at folks that have had a desire to do a triathlon but needed a little direction. The club started signing up athletes in March at TriFest and received a lot of interest in the program. TTC accepted 20 individuals into the program with many more hoping to get in next year. The program will consist of kickoff meeting, run clinic, bike clinic, swim clinic, a 12-week training program, and group workouts. The ultimate goal is to compete in the Tinfoilman Triathlon at the University of Arizona.
On July 5th the program kicked off at the Firecracker Triathlon here in Tucson. Participants in the program attended the race as spectators so they could see first hand what they are getting into. The participants checked out the transition, swim, bike, and run as GEC coaches Brian Grasky and myself along with mentors from TTC answered questions for the participants. Watching the event got the participants pretty excited to be training and ultimately racing in their first triathlon!
The next day we met as a group at TriSports.com retail store for the official kickoff meeting. The kickoff meeting was used to introduce the participants to all the essential gear for training and ultimately competing in a triathlon. It was a great start to the program.
The past few weeks we have had a running, biking, and swimming clinics. The run clinic was held at Fleet Feet where Jeanne Snell spoke to the group. She discussed everything from selecting the proper running shoe to injury prevention and everything in between.
The bike clinic was held at TriSports.com retail store. Since most of the participants are new to cycling we had a lot to cover! We talked about basic bike needs, group riding etiquette, rules of the road, basic bike maintenance, and how to change a flat. I am pretty good at changing flats but when you put me in front of a crowd it got a little more difficult! By the time I was done most of them were ready to buy a can of pit stop…lol.
Day one of a two-day swim clinic was held last Sunday with Geoff Glaser of Dolphins of the Desert. For most of the participants this was the first time any of them received formal swim instruction so there was a lot of excitement throughout the clinic and are all looking forward to day two this Sunday.
Over the course of the program I will be blogging about the experience so check back for updates on how participants are doing!
Brian Nath
Grasky Endurance Coach
On July 5th the program kicked off at the Firecracker Triathlon here in Tucson. Participants in the program attended the race as spectators so they could see first hand what they are getting into. The participants checked out the transition, swim, bike, and run as GEC coaches Brian Grasky and myself along with mentors from TTC answered questions for the participants. Watching the event got the participants pretty excited to be training and ultimately racing in their first triathlon!
The next day we met as a group at TriSports.com retail store for the official kickoff meeting. The kickoff meeting was used to introduce the participants to all the essential gear for training and ultimately competing in a triathlon. It was a great start to the program.
The past few weeks we have had a running, biking, and swimming clinics. The run clinic was held at Fleet Feet where Jeanne Snell spoke to the group. She discussed everything from selecting the proper running shoe to injury prevention and everything in between.
The bike clinic was held at TriSports.com retail store. Since most of the participants are new to cycling we had a lot to cover! We talked about basic bike needs, group riding etiquette, rules of the road, basic bike maintenance, and how to change a flat. I am pretty good at changing flats but when you put me in front of a crowd it got a little more difficult! By the time I was done most of them were ready to buy a can of pit stop…lol.
Day one of a two-day swim clinic was held last Sunday with Geoff Glaser of Dolphins of the Desert. For most of the participants this was the first time any of them received formal swim instruction so there was a lot of excitement throughout the clinic and are all looking forward to day two this Sunday.
Over the course of the program I will be blogging about the experience so check back for updates on how participants are doing!
Brian Nath
Grasky Endurance Coach
Monday, July 20, 2009
GEC Breakthrough!
Funny that GEC really grew after my crash 2 years ago, but this weekend (after Jill's crash) GEC had a significant breakthrough in our coaching with both the men's and women's overall wins in a race...
From GEC Coach Brian Nath:
Grasky Endurance was well represented this weekend at the 25th running of the Mountain Man Triathlon in Flagstaff, AZ. The race takes place at 7000 feet at Lake Mary just outside of Flagstaff. In the Olympic distance Leo Carrillo and Kathy Rakel both won 1st overall male and female. This was Leo’s second win in two weeks and he is on track to have a terrific race in Tuscaloosa at USAT Age Group Nationals in a few weeks. Kathy continues to add to her trophy case and will also be racing the the win at Age Group Nationals. Beth Andresen took home second place in her age group in the Olympic--Beth has now placed in her last two races. Jarreu Jones who is a recent addition to GEC competed in his first Olympic distance race and will be competing in his first 1/2 Ironman at SOMA in October. Brian Nath PR’d his Olympic distance time by six minutes, Caryn Nath was 2nd in her AG.
Brian G's note: Leo's SMOKIN time of 58:low was the fastest I've seen on that course in a long time aside from top pros, and Kathy crushed it in a last minute decision to race after a move and new job. I'm impressed!
Congratulations to everyone!
From GEC Coach Brian Nath:
Grasky Endurance was well represented this weekend at the 25th running of the Mountain Man Triathlon in Flagstaff, AZ. The race takes place at 7000 feet at Lake Mary just outside of Flagstaff. In the Olympic distance Leo Carrillo and Kathy Rakel both won 1st overall male and female. This was Leo’s second win in two weeks and he is on track to have a terrific race in Tuscaloosa at USAT Age Group Nationals in a few weeks. Kathy continues to add to her trophy case and will also be racing the the win at Age Group Nationals. Beth Andresen took home second place in her age group in the Olympic--Beth has now placed in her last two races. Jarreu Jones who is a recent addition to GEC competed in his first Olympic distance race and will be competing in his first 1/2 Ironman at SOMA in October. Brian Nath PR’d his Olympic distance time by six minutes, Caryn Nath was 2nd in her AG.
Brian G's note: Leo's SMOKIN time of 58:low was the fastest I've seen on that course in a long time aside from top pros, and Kathy crushed it in a last minute decision to race after a move and new job. I'm impressed!
Congratulations to everyone!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Exploring San Diego by bike…sort of
We spent the first few days in San Diego playing (working) on Coronado and riding down the strand. Then on Sunday we moved up north to Miramar, from where we were able to ride to and up on the coast highway, through La Jolla and the Torrey Pines area. Beautiful areas and great riding!
On Tuesday after my flight, Jill and I were riding along the coast highway in Carlsbad. I’d ridden from the base while Jill had met me up the road. We were having a great ride and enjoying the perfect afternoon weather (while back home in Tucson it was 110 degrees!). All of a sudden I heard a yelp and looked over to see Jill flying sideways through the air while her bike was diving into the pavement. Not good.
**As you recall, two years ago I was in SoCal when I attempted to separate my foot form my leg. Apparently, SoCal is not the place for the Graskys to take their bikes.
It turns out that Jill’s front wheel had gotten caught in a rut between the pavement and the gutter, and as she pulled it out it over-corrected and turned hard right. The bike dove and she fell and twisted. The problem was the electrical junction box and water valve that were in line with her direction of travel. She hit them both, stopping her cold. A 911 call, 2 lifeguards, an army of paramedics, and an ambulance ride later we find she’d broken 2 ribs, lacerated her spleen and punctured her lung. Owwie.
Meanwhile I have the added worry about the several mortgage payments worth of bikes I’d just left with a lifeguard to throw in the back of his pickup, and not knowing how I was going to get them or my truck. Hmm. Back to the task at hand.
When they found the spleen damage, they decide Jill needed better care, so she got a ride in a helicopter to Scripps Trauma Center. Now I’m jealous. Sort of.
Turns out they didn’t need to operate, thankfully, but she won 3 nights in the hospital and a lot of attention with more blood draws, x-rays and CT scans than I could count. I was able to miss the rest of the week of work and stay with her there. On Friday she was able to go home, and we left San Diego on Saturday.
She’s doing better now, but is quite a bit beat up and sore. This one will take a while to heal, and she’ll be sore for weeks. The worst part will be trying to keep her off her bike until the docs allow it.
Thanks to all of you who prayed and continue to pray for her healing, comfort, and quick recovery.
Oh, and I got the bikes. Not a scratch! Wish I could say that for Jill.
Brian
On Tuesday after my flight, Jill and I were riding along the coast highway in Carlsbad. I’d ridden from the base while Jill had met me up the road. We were having a great ride and enjoying the perfect afternoon weather (while back home in Tucson it was 110 degrees!). All of a sudden I heard a yelp and looked over to see Jill flying sideways through the air while her bike was diving into the pavement. Not good.
**As you recall, two years ago I was in SoCal when I attempted to separate my foot form my leg. Apparently, SoCal is not the place for the Graskys to take their bikes.
It turns out that Jill’s front wheel had gotten caught in a rut between the pavement and the gutter, and as she pulled it out it over-corrected and turned hard right. The bike dove and she fell and twisted. The problem was the electrical junction box and water valve that were in line with her direction of travel. She hit them both, stopping her cold. A 911 call, 2 lifeguards, an army of paramedics, and an ambulance ride later we find she’d broken 2 ribs, lacerated her spleen and punctured her lung. Owwie.
Meanwhile I have the added worry about the several mortgage payments worth of bikes I’d just left with a lifeguard to throw in the back of his pickup, and not knowing how I was going to get them or my truck. Hmm. Back to the task at hand.
When they found the spleen damage, they decide Jill needed better care, so she got a ride in a helicopter to Scripps Trauma Center. Now I’m jealous. Sort of.
Turns out they didn’t need to operate, thankfully, but she won 3 nights in the hospital and a lot of attention with more blood draws, x-rays and CT scans than I could count. I was able to miss the rest of the week of work and stay with her there. On Friday she was able to go home, and we left San Diego on Saturday.
She’s doing better now, but is quite a bit beat up and sore. This one will take a while to heal, and she’ll be sore for weeks. The worst part will be trying to keep her off her bike until the docs allow it.
Thanks to all of you who prayed and continue to pray for her healing, comfort, and quick recovery.
Oh, and I got the bikes. Not a scratch! Wish I could say that for Jill.
Brian
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