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February 2010

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Wetsuits & Ironman,

page 9

Brooks’ Green SilenceWritten by: Jeroen van GeelenDate: Mon Feb 01 2010found on www.slowtwitch.com

This new eco-friendly racing flat is a special looking shoe. And that’s rare for Brooks, whose red Beast is about as liberally cosmetic as it gets up and down this company’s tech running lineup. And the Green Silence is special not only in its appearance.

The shoe is built to be eco-friendly through the use of recycled materials. On the one hand, kudos to Brooks for its consideration of the environment. On the other, it is a racing flat, so, the numbers sold will not be that high (so, here’s to an eco-friendly Adrenaline!). Nevertheless, it’s a nice gesture Brooks is making.

This is a racing flat with a semi-mono-tongue construction which I've always appreciated in a shoe. For triathletes this can mean a very easy entrance and a tongue that almost instantly falls in place. The shoe is soft on the inside and very easy to race without socks (my preference). Only four lace-loops make it simple and quick with Yanksz! or any other fast lacing system.

The midsole seems a bit soft at first feel and I’m not sure how responsive it will be. The sample pair I had felt fine when I put them on. They are extra light at 6.9 oz and should only be worn by those blessed with good mechanics and a neutral running gait.

There is very little rubber on the outsole, so, don’t expect this shoe to last a long time. If you are already wearing Brooks’ T6 racer, you can make a fashion statement wearing this shoe. I’m anxious to note whether we see the Green Silence on Chrissie’s feet once she recovers from her injuries and again takes to the field of play (and if so, over which race distances).

Thumbs up for Brooks making an eco-friendly shoe and now hope that they continue this trend on their more popular training models.

Race

Report, X-C

Nat’l

page 4

Stop

Wasting Your

Time

page 7

Be Specific,

pages 5-6

Swimming

Tips,

pages 2-3

BoD, Sponsors, Calendar,

page 10

Apolo Ohno,

page 8

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Quick Swimming TipsFrom PowerBar.com by Candy Angle

Swim Technique

Swim technique is a popular word when we think of swimming and just about every swimmer can improve on their technique in some area. Being around swim groups over the years introduces you to many common drills that are designed to improve technique. Catch up, one arm, fists, side kick drills, and the list goes on and on. I have seen swimmers spend hours on drills doing them correctly yet when they return to normal swimming they either look like they are still doing drills or their form goes back to what it was. Don't get me wrong , drills are very important but the main issue with swimming is to know why your doing the drills and how to apply them to your swimming. The main aim of swimming is to move forward through the water, neatly (keeping your body inline from front to back), rolling from side to side, I like to say "side, forward to side" (meaning the momentum of each arm stroke sends you forward not laterally as you pass from side to side). Add a strong kick with long legs (no knee bending) should take care of some major technique issues. Keeping these points in mind should help you to combine your drills and swimming.

Being Streamlined Off the Wall

Pushing off the wall is a good way to see how streamlined you are. It also leads to the position your body is in before your first arm stroke. Being streamlined means your body slips through the water without wasting energy.The correct way to push off the wall is ducking under water, then pushing off starting on your side, with arms stretched out above your head with your hands locked together and your elbows pushing on your ears. In this position you become long at the front and you cut through the water as you surface to begin your first arm stroke in a streamlined position.For those swimmers that push off the wall either with their head up or their arms apart or flat on their stomach or a combination of these things are teaching themselves how not to be streamlined when they swim. It feels normal for them this way and they won't be able to have a guide or feeling for when they swim what streamlined feels like.The more you practice being streamlined the more you will notice when you are not streamlined whilst swimming. A good swimmer starts the swim off correctly at the wall and then holds this inline sleek body position during swimming.

Kick SetsWays to kick effectively:Flippers or Fins are used by swimmers who don't kick well. If you were to look at a flipper close up you would see it is the same shape and size of a foot except the toe area is longer (and webbed). What this suggests is that kick propulsion comes from the toe area of your foot. In pure kick sets if done properly your toes could feel like they are being smacked against a hard surface. If you keep in mind the pressure should be felt in the toe area with a fast slapping motion, and your legs long, avoiding bent knees, all that is left is to practice and build stamina.Kick sets like 50 kick, 50 swim or 25 kick, 50 swim (done 5-10 times) are excellent ways to combine your kicking and swimming. By swimming immediately after kicking, the kick becomes automatic and you could even intentionally stop kicking or bend your knees during the 50 swim to see what that does to your speed.If you think about it, you’re using a small area (your toes) to push your body through the water, so keep your body as streamlined as possible when you kick and with that fast slapping motion of your toes,

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Swimming (cont’d)

Underwater swim stroke

I would like to point out a few ways to improve underwater technique. By far the biggest problem swimmers face is a dropped elbow. It can be tricky to figure out how to go from the arm being stretched out in front after the arm enters the water, to the elbow riding high above the hand after the catch phase. One way to engage the correct muscles at home is to hold a glass or cup (or anything really) in your hand with your harm stretched out in front of you (just below horizontal), then twist your arm from the shoulder to empty the glass. The hand should now have the glass upside down and the elbow and shoulder should be higher than the hand. If you were to pull back on the hand now the elbow should ride high above the hand and your underarm should open allowing the big muscles of your back to engage. This can also be done by placing your hand on the back of a chair with the arm stretched out then by stepping forward, raise the elbow high above your hand with the armpit opening again. If you angle the hand toward your body this mimics the underwater phase of swimming using the correct muscles as you pull your body past your hand. Using a rubber stretch cord at home the correct way is another good way of strengthening your swim muscles.

The Importance of Dynamic Flexibility Drills

BY MIKE MEJIA//Correspondent for USA SwimmingDepending on how you go about it, stretching prior to getting in the water might actually make you slower. Numerous studies have shown that static stretching – the type where you hold a stretch for 20-30 seconds at time – actually

decreases peak force and explosive power during subsequent athletic activity. A much more effective way of warming up is engaging in dynamic flexibility drills, where you progressively move a muscle through its full range of motion. Give it a try. The next time you’re getting ready to swim, opt for simple drills like leg swings, arm circles and even jumping jacks

and take pass on the static stretching.

Arm Recovery

What does the arm do during the recovery phase of swimming? When teaching swimming I always tell my Athletes to have a high shoulder and high elbow. Keeping the shoulder and elbow high also help to facilitate good body position in the water by keeping you on your side. When either the shoulder or elbow drops during arm recovery, it causes you to be flat on your stomach. The finger tip drag is a good drill to teach keeping the shoulder and elbow high in the water. When doing this drill be relaxed and drag your fingers right along the top of the water. The drill can be done during normal swimming or as a one arm focus.

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Race Report: Risk vs. Reward,U.S. National Cross Country Championshipby Josh Hadway

Where there is risk, also lies reward. The higher the risk, the higher the chance of reward. As athletes we take a risk every time we compete. I was reminded of this as I sat at home watching the winter Olympic games. Watching the women’s mogul competition I watched as a young Canadian athlete standing at the top of her run, in front of her home-crowd had a choice. She could ski it "safe" and probably walk away with a silver or bronze medal, or she could go after the course with everything she had in hopes of capturing the gold, in doing so risk walking away with nothing. The first half of her run, flawless! Her hopes of gold came down to the last jump, and as her skis left the snow, perfection rested on this one moment. With her nation watching, failure suddenly struck. She smacked the ground hard and was thrown like a rag doll down the moguls.

As athletes this is our risk, our fear. One word, failure. Not just failure, but failing for everyone to see. In school when you fail a test you often tuck it quickly into your binder so that no one else can see it. But in sports and athletics there is no place to hide. You are testing yourself in front of your family, friends, home-town, and for some even their nation or the world. If you fail everyone will know. I don't think nerves come because we are afraid of the task we are about to complete, or the distance of the race. Those butterflies in your stomach, that knot in your throat, the anxiety before the gun goes off? We feel these thoughts for the most part because we fear failure, and not reaching our goals. I never really get nervous performing in practice. But performing the same activity in front of others, I find sometimes that my nerves are on edge. Nevertheless, if you want big rewards you have to take great risks, and not be afraid of what others think. Last weekend I decided to race in the USA Cross Country national championships. The reason I decided to run? I guess I could not pass up the opportunity to race against Olympic athletes such as Dathan Ritzenhein, in my home-town.

The race was a 12k cross country race which I knew would be long and tough. As I looked at the race course that I would be competing on I realized something. The race was divided into six very short laps, and with the competition I was racing, and not knowing where my fitness was there was a good chance (in my mind) of getting lapped. That thought of failure was looming over my shoulder. But I decided it did not matter. Failure is part of the game, and if you always avoid it (never take risks) you will never experience great results.

My plan for the race was to try something new. I decided to start my race slow and build from my starting pace. I knew this would be hard for me since I love to get sucked up in the pack and run fast from the start. After the gun went off I had to tell myself to let everyone go. I just kept a smooth, relaxed stride and watched as the lead pack slowly pulled away. About 700 meters into the race I turned around and noticed that there were only about 10 athletes behind me! This was something new for me. I could see the back end of the race! At that point I wanted to put in a monster surge and run my way back up to the pack, but I knew that would not be a part of my plan. As I passed the first mile, the race volunteer yelled 5:40! OK, I now need to pick it up! This pace was no where near my planned race pace. The next two laps I just worked on moving through the crowd. Slowly picking people off, and gaining positions. I would be lying if I said the race was not tough. Running on grass, and for sections marshy, muddy grass. My legs quickly become fatigued. It is a very different feeling from running on the road. The last two laps I found myself hanging onto athletes that were slowly going by me, trying to stick with their pace. I had no idea what to expect for a finishing time, and as I came to the finish I saw 39:08.

It was at this moment that I was very happy that I did not let the fear of the race keep me from competing. In all reality my fears of being lapped were only something I had created in my head.

I had averaged 5:14's for a 12k (Bloomsday distance), placed 48th at the US National cross country championships, and set a new PR for the 12k distance. I think the thing that was most amazing about this race was having it in my home-town. I have never been in a race quite like this one. There was no point on the course where I didn't feel like I had someone cheering for me. I am super thankful for everyone that cheered or yelled my name out there, and I really do appreciate your support.

For now my training focus will change a little. I feel like I have lots of fitness still to gain in my running before this summer’s triathlon season, but it is time to get focused on my bike. I will keep doing what I am doing for my run training, but now I will gradually add more and more cycling to the weekly schedule. The 2010 triathlon season will be here before we know it and there is no time to waste :).

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Specificity of Trainingfrom Joe Friel’s blog

I consider specificity the most important principle of training. And I tie specificity in with periodization to create training plans for the athletes I coach. So what is it? Basically, the specificity principle says that if you want to become good at something you need to do that thing. Sounds pretty simple, huh?

According to the specificity principle to ultimately become good at bicycle racing you should ride a bike – not run. That seems fairly obvious, but it’s remarkable how many cyclists, when short of time, will resort to a run workout. That may be OK early in the base period. But in the build period (3-11 weeks before the A race) there is very limited value.

So how about this one… If your goal is to run a 7-minute pace you need to do a lot of 7-minute-paced running. Not 8 minutes and not 6 minutes. There is this thing called “economy” which relates to the principle of specificity. If you spend a lot of time running 6 or 8-minute pace you will not be as economical at 7 minutes as you could have been otherwise. Economy has to do with how much energy you use (or waste) at a given pace.

One issue I deal with a lot has to do with triathletes and bike races… Many multisport athletes believe that bike road racing is good training for triathlon. It’s not. Bike races are, indeed, aerobic events, as are triathlons. But that’s where the similarity ends. The outcomes of bike races are determined by two-minute episodes when all hell breaks loose. They are anything but steady state aerobic. Bike racing has a huge anaerobic component that is critical to success. No one in his/her right mind races a triathlon that way. Triathlons are steady and anaerobic intensity is avoided. A bike race done by a triathlete is largely a wasted workout day. It’s even worse than that, because the recovery after one of these delays when the next, truly specific triathlon workout can be done.

(A brief aside… I know many triathletes may be upset about what I just said. I’m sure I will get comments about pros who do this and how successful they are. But I think they’d be better if they stayed focused on triathlon. Some will comment on the “fun” factor of doing bike races. I have no problem with that. I used to do that myself and coach athletes who also participate in both sports. Everyone needs to decide what it is they want from sport. In other words, what is “fun” for you? You can be a generalist who is pretty good at a lot of different things, or you can be a specialist who is very good at one thing. I have no qualms about either. Either can be "fun." The purpose of this post, however, is to describe how to be very good at one sport. Now back to specificity.)

Here’s an even less obvious example… If training for a criterium, you need to spend a lot of time in the drops or hooks of your handlebars – not on the brake hoods or tops. Why? Because crit. racing demands you be in that position almost all of the race and pedaling economy is different when in the drops versus being on the hoods. Slightly different muscles are used.

You’re probably getting the idea now, but here’s a final one, similar to the above, that is often overlooked by road cyclists… If you want to race well in time trials you need to train on a TT bike. Again, different muscles are used in an extreme aero position than when on a road bike, even in the drops. In the build period I have riders do muscular endurance intervals on their TT bike weekly.

This specificity principle is applied to periodization by ensuring that your weekly key workouts become increasingly like your next A race, the closer in time you get to that race. So let’s examine “key” workouts.

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Specificity (cont’d) A key workout is one that I have called a “breakthrough” workout in my Training Bible books. It’s a workout intended to push the limits of your fitness. I’ve recently started defining them with a “Training Stress Score” (TSS). I determine very early in the season what the approximate TSS of the A race will be. Then I design workouts based on that stress.

Essentially, a key workout is a hard session. Serious athletes typically do two to four of these in a week during the build period. If you want to race faster, determining the details of these workouts, when to do them relative to each other, and the rate at which they become increasingly like the A race is what serious training is all about. Missing a key workout is bad, but you can recover from it fairly easily. Missing a bunch of them is disastrous to performance.

The bottom line is that these key workouts must be specific to the demands of the A race for which you are training. Specificity isn’t so critical for the non-key workouts in your week. But some is still required. How much is difficult to say. But I’d recommend that a cyclist do them on a bike. That’s probably beneficial, but hard to measure.

It’s a little trickier for triathletes. They probably need to do each of the three sports at least three times a week. That means three key workouts and six “others” every week. Very competitive triathletes do far more than that. In fact, some would probably progress better if they cut back on some of the “filler” workouts.

You can make some exceptions to the specificity principle when it comes to recovery workouts. Triathletes are probably better off recovering on a bike or in the pool rather than by doing an easy run. If you’re going to develop an overuse injury it’s most likely in running. Saving the legs for the key runs is generally a good idea. I still want the triathletes I coach to run at least three times a week. So one of those “other” runs may be to improve skills or as a short run after a key bike ride to prepare the body for the “unusual” stress of running after riding.***********************************************************************************************************

Try one or both of these bike workouts for specific training:

Cardio Builder Stack Speed Builder Stack

- 15 minute warm-up w/ 3 x 30 sec. accelerations - 15 minute warm-up w/ 3 x 30 sec. accelerations- 3 x 10 minute time trials (105%) of threshold power - 3 x accelerations ladders as: or as hard as you can maintain for the duration at 5 sec. hard/5 sec. easy cadence of 90-100 rpm w/ 15 sec. sprint finish 10 sec. hard/10 sec. easy- 3 minute easy spin recovery between efforts 20 sec. hard/20 sec. easy- 8 x 20 sec. all out - cadence 90-100/10 sec. rec. 30 sec. hard/30 sec. easy- 10 minute cool-down accelerate as fast as you can in a hard gear at a high cadence of 120-140Total time: 64 minutes - 3 minute rec. between sets - 3 x stomp sets as: 10 x 10 sec. seated sprints/20 sec. recovery - 3 minute rec. between sets - 10 minute cool-down Total time: 64 minutes

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Why You’re Wasting Your Time Doing Only Long, Slow Aerobic

Workoutsby Ben Greenfield, PresidentHuman Wellness Solutions

In many of the programs that I write out for my clients who are pursuing fatloss, I include a weekly or bi-weekly long slow fat burning session. Thisis chance for an individual to train their body how to oxidize and utilizefat efficiently during exercise, and is a good opportunity to still burncalories and burn fat, without breaking down the body in the same way as ahard session would.

After all, if you go hard all the time, every day, you’re just going to gethurt or burn yourself out. But some people, and especially longer distance endurance athletes such astriathletes, get stuck in a rut, performing a long slow fat burning session for nearly every workout - completely avoiding intensity or just not doing intense workouts or intervals because it takes them outside their comfort zone.

There are even trainers, athletes and coaches who would argue that long slowdistance training is the ultimate way to get fit, since it turns the bodyinto an aerobic machine and allows for superior development of the“slow-twitch” muscle fibers, which take a longer time to fatigue andprimarily utilize fat as a fuel.

But this really isn’t true. As a matter of fact, you’re wasting your timeand getting sub-par results if all you’re doing are long, slow aerobicworkouts.

It’s a myth that LSD is the best way to train. And this holds true foreveryone from the 50 year old woman trying to shed a few pounds of fat tothe triathlete attempting to qualify for the Ironman World Championships inKona.

Data from animals provides some insight into this issue. In a studypublished in the Journal of Applied Physiology in 1982, researches Dudley,Abraham and Terjung observed that peak oxidative capacity of muscle fibers occurred when training sessions were performed at 94% of VO2 max intensity, which is far more difficult than the “long slow fat burning” zone.

To really get you fit FOR ENDURANCE OR FOR FAT BURNING, try the following workout, which was suggested by Stephen McGregor at the 2010 USAT Art & Science of Triathlon Coaching Symposium and is based on a 1998 study in the Journal of Applied Physiology, which noted that 30 second efforts led to incredibly significant increases in power output, peak power and VO2 (VO2 is your maximum oxygen consumption during exercise, and the “gold standard” measurement of performance potential in something like triathlon).

You’d probably expect the increases in power and VO2 mentioned above, butthe interesting part is that the study also found significant increases inthe oxidative process of mitochondrial enzymes, which basically means thatthe body’s cells became more highly equipped for efficiency during aerobicactivity - the type of activity you need during a triathlon, or for burningfat.

• 30 second all out “sprints”• Start @ 4 x 30 sec all out w/2-4 min

rest (3 x week)• Increase to 10 x 30 sec all out w/2.5

min (3 x week)• Do for 7 weeks (6.5-15 min/week)

Some people will also argue that hard exercise doesn’t increase capillarydensity in the same was as long slow distance workouts, which means that the body wouldn’t actually be able to feed sugar and oxygen to muscles quite as well if somebody were doing “interval” style training, instead of lowintensity, steady-state aerobic training.

But data suggests this isn’t true either. A study in the Journal of Physiology in 1977 showed that high intensity training, around 80% VO2 max,increases capillary density to a greater extent than low intensity training.In this study, participants did the hard efforts 40 minutes per day, 4x/weekfor 8 weeks.

Another study in the Journal of Physiology in 2004 found that high intensity training increased capillary density by 20%! Both studies suggest that high intensity exercise is significantly effective at increasing both capillary density and capillary growth factor release (growth factor being another highly important fitness training response).

Obviously, some of these studies are old and some of them were done onanimals, but the take away message is this:

> Don’t let anyone convince you that long, slow aerobic training is the best way to get fit, even for something like a triathlon. Sure, it should certainly beONE component, but high intensity interval training will get you more bang for your buck, especially if you’re pressed for time.

I¹d love to hear your comments. Do you agree? Disagree? I’m especiallyinterested if any of you are going to begin incorporating the “7 weeks of 30second intervals” workout suggested above. Maybe you can even get together some of your Tri-Fusion teammates for an interval session!

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I ’m a Runnerby Nancy Averettfrom www.runnersworld.com

The speed skater, Apolo Ohno, tells how running helped him go from being nicknamed "Chunky" at the Olympic Training Center to winning two Olympic gold medals.By Nancy AverettImage by Tom Bear

From the March 2010 issue of Runner's World

Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Short-Track Speed Skating, 27, Salt Lake City, Utah

When did you first start running and did you like it?I first started using running for cross-training when I was 14 while training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York.I was a terrible runner. I hated running out of all the off-ice training. I was probably the worst runner on the team. Eventually, I realized it was something that I could use to help my skating and that changed everything. The next summer, I really concentrated on increasing my running, pumping up the volume, and I became one of the top runners on the team.

I read that when you were first training in Lake Placid and you went out on runs with the team that you often snuck away to eat pizza. Can you share that story?(Laughs) We would leave the training center in Lake Placid and I would always be running next to a friend of mine. Neither of us was a very good runner. We would lag toward the back of the pack. The team would always run a loop around the lake and come back. On the way out, we would pass a pizza place and my friend and I would just hang in the back and duck in there and eat some pizza, and then when the team came back that way, we would jump in near the back of the pack My coach told me that he never knew we were doing that until years later.

I heard that at the end of that year, the coach measured each member of the team's body-fat index and that you had the highest.Oh, no doubt. You know my nickname back then was "Chunky."

A few years later—after you failed to make the 1998 Olympic team—your dad dropped you off at a cottage in the wilderness in Washington state to spend a week by yourself because he wanted you to really think about whether you could dedicate yourself fully to skating. You ran a lot during that week and even had an epiphany about skating while on a run. Can you talk about that?

I was there for a little over a week and there was no ice so there wasn't any skating. The only other option I had besides dry-land training was to run. I ran quite a bit. I hated it, hated every minute of it. I was at my lowest point physically and mentally. One day, in the middle of a rainy, cold run, I stopped and asked myself how much I wanted to be a speed skater. If I was going to fulfill my dream, I knew that I needed to finish my run, no matter how many blisters I had or how bad I felt. That was the turning point for me.

What is your running routine now?I run almost every day and love it. My regimen depends on what I'm trying to do with my skating. Right now I'm doing more interval training, more high-intensity and less volume. This means a lot of hill sprints. But last summer I was running anywhere from 50 minutes to two hours at a time. Running is crucial for me. I need to stay light and lean for my sport. I tend to build bulk and muscle easily, and running seems to make sure I stay kind of stringy, if that makes sense.

Do you run with other people or on your own?I usually run on my own. A lot of times some of my best ideas happen when I'm running. That's when I do my best thinking. About three weeks ago, I was struggling with an equipment issue and I couldn't figure out what I needed to change. Then, 70 minutes into my run, it came to me, and the next day I felt like a different person on the ice. I wouldn't have come to the same conclusion in the sauna or on the bike. I don't know what it is about running that does that—everything seems to flow so easily. It's almost a spiritual thing for me.

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Ironman is Wetsuit LegalWritten by: Dan Empfieldfound on www.slowtwitch.comDate: Tue Feb 09 2010

After a flurry of hand-ringing posts on the Slowtwitch reader forum in response to new rules posted on the Oceanside 70.3 website, Ironman has dropped its prohibition of wetsuits and swimskins that appeared overnight on the Ironman California portal.

Wetsuits that exceed 5mm in thickness will be legal at Ironman events that are wetsuit-legal, as will so-called fastskins or swimskins at all Ironman events.

Ironman's Steve Meckfessel stressed that there is no ban in place on either style of garment, and, no date when any such ban is currently contemplated. Any rule changes will depend on the discussions on rule dispensations between Ironman and USA Triathlon.

Recently, the Ironman California website had updated its rules to contain these two new swim-specific directives:Swim Course Rules and Instructions7. Wetsuits must be 5mm thick or less.8. Swimwear must be 100% textile material, which is defined as materials consisting of natural and/or synthetic, individual and non-consolidated yarns used to constitute a fabric by weaving, knitting, and/or braiding. Simply put, this would generally refer to suits made only from nylon or Lycra that do not have any rubberized material such as polyurethane or neoprene. Swimwear may not cover the neck, extend past the shoulder, nor extend past the knees. Swimwear may contain a zipper. A race kit may be worn underneath swimwear.

Concerns were several. Most obvious were dozens or hundreds of competitors registered at wetsuit-legal Ironman events that had invested six-hundred dollars or more in De Soto's Water Rover, a wetsuit that featured panels exceeding the 5mm max rule thickness.

On the subject of swimskins, according to two manufacturers who spoke to Slowtwitch, the intent of Ironman in its rule (8) above, was to parallel FINA's rules on such racing apparel. But this new Ironman rule seemed to mirror FINA's rules on pool swimming, not the World swimming governing body's more relaxed rules on open-water swimming. Further, FINA's rules contain a sunset period, typical whenever a governing body in any sport intends to ban a previously legal class of equipment.

The other concern, voiced by two executives at USAT, is whether Ironman had followed its own stated policy—and USAT's requirement—to apply for and be granted a dispensation from USAT's rules. USA Triathlon has no rule prohibiting wetsuit thickness or against the use of swimskins in swim events, so, for Ironman to ban such apparel should require a dispensation.

Ironman has not yet submitted any of its rule dispensation requests for 2010 to USAT, but, Meckfessel maintains that most or all dispensation topics have been discussed for months, going back to the Clearwater event in November, and Ironman and USAT have a verbal understanding on many or most of the rule variances. The submission of this list of dispensations to USAT by Ironman is imminent.

Might this prohibition on these two garment classes return? Perhaps, depending on what dispensations have been requested of USAT. In any case, neither class of garment will be prohibited until, at the earliest, September 1 of 2010, the commencement of Ironman's qualifying season, according to Meckfessel.

Asked if January 1, 2011 is another, potential, and logical, date of implementation, Meckfessel agreed.

The decision to allow both wetsuits and swimskins gives Ironman an opportunity to fine tune the crafting of these new rules, assuming such dispensations are granted. Is a 5mm wetsuit one that has any panel exceeding 5mm? Or rubber coverage that, on average, does not exceed 5mm? What about 5mm seams? Or rubber that is 5mm nominally but, during the bun-slicing process at a rubber manufacturer, has panels that vary from 4.8 to 5.5mm?

The swimskin rule is likewise still unclear. It appears that FINA is disallowing polyurethane or SCS or other swimskin-type material from both pool and open water events, but is not enacting the coverage prohibitions in the Ironman rule (8) above.

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Board of Directors• Steve Anderson - Membership Director • Tiffany Byrd - Uniform Director• Trish Cudney - Social Director• Greg Gallagher - Event Director• Natalie Gallagher - Newsletter Director• Ben Greenfield - Website Director• Mark Hodgson - Mentor Director• Jim Powers - Vice President• Tim Swanson - Treasurer• Jessi Thompson - Secretary• Roger Thompson - President

• Kathy Worden & Jen Polello - Kids Club Co-Directors

We would like to extend a

generous thank you to our

truly amazing sponsors!

The Board of Directors, Sponsorsand The Calendar of Upcoming Events...

Feb.-March CalendarTraining Opportunities:• OZ (Northside) Masters swimming:

Tues> @ 6-7:30 pm, Fri. @ 4-5:30 pm & Sun. @ 8-9:30 am. Come join the fun!

• Throughout the winter => check the Tri Forum @ Training for indoor trainer/outdoor group rides, and/or runs.

• Whitworth Masters Swim: on Mon-Wed-Fri @ 8:30-10 pm and Sat. @ 5:30-7 am. Contact KevinWang@spokanewaves.org

• Swim Clinics at Masters Swim Oz North on Sunday, Feb. 21 & 28 @ 8-9:30 am. Please RSVP on the Tri Fusion Forum.

Races/Runs:• Mar. 6th: Snake River Canyon

Half Marathon @ Pullman, WA

• Mar. 6th: Leprechaun Scurry 3 mile run @ Lake City High School @ CDA, ID

• Mar. 14th: St. Paddy’s 5 miler @ SCC @ Spokane, WA @ 10 am

• Tri Fusion Kids’ Tri: Tentatively on June 20th, 2010. TBA!

• Tri Fusion hosted swim for Snake River’s sprint triathlon: Swim at the north side YMCA on April 16th from 5-8 pm. 200 participant limit, so sign up early!

Upcoming Events:

• Kids’ Swim Clinic: Sunday, February 21st @ 8:00 am @ YMCA on Newport Hwy. Kids ages 4-12, all swimming abilities, $5/per child! Find the registration form @ www.tri-fusion.com

• Fitness Fanatics Night: Tri Fusion Members Only shop @ FF on Wednesday, February 24th @ 6 pm. Enjoy snacks, discounts, wine drinking and socializing with your teammates!

Next Membership Meeting:• March date TBA @ 6:30 p.m.: General

membership meeting at the north side Twigs.