TriFusion Newsletter - Sept.'07

Come on, Eileen! by Teri Orr & Katie Hemenway

This is not about the popular melody by Dexy’s

Midnight Runners, the one-hit-wonder band. This is about

what “triathlon” means to each of us and how this sport

touches and motivates us every day.

It started off as a leisure trip to Ironman Canada

for the Hemenways and Orrs. We were there to cheer on

our fellow Tri Fusion members, check out the event and sign

up Ed and Teri for next year’s race.

If you were there in Canada, did you wonder what

or who the red signs posted throughout the Ironman course

saying, “Come on, Eileen” were? You know the ones that

looked just like our famous Tri Fusion signs from behind.

After an early morning start and a very long day of

cheering and spectating, and midnight was starting to

become reality, we had had enough as spectators for the

day. We were exhausted and all of the athletes we came to

watch were long since done. As we made our way to the car

to head back to the campground, we noticed a woman in the

distance on the run course making her way slowly toward

the finish line. We took a look at our watches and knew it

was going to be close for her. This last athlete had two

miles to run with eighteen minutes until the cutoff.

Immediately, Ed and Dave took off running toward her in

the dark. How can this woman do it alone?

The Ironman crew allowed the three of them to

make the journey as Teri and Katie watched from a distance.

Our voices were hoarse from yelling “Come on, Eileen --

You can do it!” It was all about her now...the spectators,

volunteers and participants were focused on her every

breath and stride. The four of us ran with her for the last

200 yards. The determination on her face and the amount

of pain she was fighting was clearly noticeable. The crowd

chanted “Come on Eileen, Come on Eileen!” The energy

was incredibly intense and the noise from the crowd was

booming loud. Eileen did not make the cutoff coming in at

17:01:57, but the crowd and announcer welcomed her in as if

she had made it...”Eileen, you are an IRONMAN!”

This is why we love this sport. Eileen achieved a

goal she set for herself long ago. We were so impacted by

her courageous finish that we all cried big tears of joy as she

crossed the finish line. Only minutes later, we witnessed the

spectacular fireworks display signifying a close to this

amazing event that we will all put in our memory banks. It

was a magical experience that caused us to more fully

understand the giant undertaking that just completing

Ironman truly is.

FEATURES:

* Race Review: I’m Going to Disneyland .... page 2

• Breakfast Recipe Idea..............................page 2

* 7 Studies for Endurance Athletes... pages 3 & 4

* Race Review: Ironman France.. ................page 5

* Race Review: Ironman Canada..........pages 6 & 7

* Member Info, Calendar, Sponsors.......... page 8

ELEVENTH EDITION SEPTEMBER 2007

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Race Review: Disneyland Half Marathon by Tim Swanson

At six a.m. Monday, September 3rd, ten thou-sand or more runners and walkers began the sec-ond annual race billed as “the happi- est race on earth.” This is a desti-nation race to be sure and a ton of fun! The highlight of this race is the course, which gives athletes a unique opportunity to run through both Disneyland and Disney’s California Adven-ture theme parks (with even some secret “backstage” sec-tions), as well as taking a lap on the field through the Ana-heim Angels baseball stadium. This isn’t the most competi-tive race out there; while the course is relatively flat (the biggest hill is the overpass for I-5), it’s not the fastest course either. This is due to lots of tight twists and turns in the three parks. But really, the point of this race is to have fun.

Within the first four miles, runners wind their way through the two theme parks, and yes, even at six in the morning there are Disney characters out on the course! Many athletes run with cameras and stop often to get their pictures taken with their favorites. Then it’s out onto the streets of Anaheim, which aren’t terribly picturesque, but there are tons of groups out cheering, from high school bands and cheerleaders to mariachi bands and the most cub scouts I have ever seen in one place. At ten miles, athletes enter Angels Stadium and run a lap around the field, where you get to see yourself on the jumbo-tron screen and hear your name announced over the loudspeaker...pretty cool! The finishing stretch takes runners through the downtown Disney shopping area to the finish line at the Disneyland Hotel.

Overall, I would highly recommend this race to all athletes, regardless of how fast you run. Race organizers cater to the slower crowd by keeping the course open at least three and a half hours and by having awesome support on the course well into the late morning. For faster runners, it’s a great opportunity to secure a high overall and age group placing. At the end of the day, even if you don’t have the best race time ever, it’s okay because hey, you get to go to Disneyland!

Walnut & Blueberry Bran Pancakes submitted by Natalie Gallagher

What you will need:

1.5 cups whole milk 3/4 C blueberries 2 T honey

1 C instant oats 1/2 C chopped walnuts 1 t salt

3/4 C sifted blend of white & whole wheat flours 1/4 C oat bran 2 eggs. beaten

1/2 C sugar 1 T baking powder

Directions:

Pour milk over oats and sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Lightly stir eggs into oats mixture. Add dry ingredients and honey, stirring until combined. When the batter is thoroughly mixed, stir in the blueberries and walnuts. Ladle batches of the batter onto a preheated greased or nonstick griddle or frying pan and cook until tops are bubbly and edges look golden. Turn over and finish cooking the other side. Makes about 10 pancakes.

Top with non-fat yogurt, and/or fresh blueberries and a dash of powdered sugar!


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Seven Ground-breaking Studies for Endurance Athletesby Ben Greenfield

As a coach and advisor to scores of endurance athletes, I constantly pour through the latest research to find key stud-ies that provide valuable training and lifestyle information for performance success. Here are seven of the latest research studies that could directly affect your training and performance.

1) The Effect of Creatine Loading on Weight and Temperature Regulation Creatine has long been recognized as an effective ergogenic aid for both endurance athletes and power athletes and this study indicated how creatine loading affects “thermoregulation”. It has been suggested that the water gain associated with creatine actually enhances the body’s ability to cool, since the body relies on adequate hydration as a cooling mechanism. Conversely, dehydration is associated with greater heat storage and reduced ability to tolerate heat strain. In this study, cre-atine loading consisted of twenty grams/day for six days. Subjects gained an average of 2.86 pounds of intramuscular water weight when supplementing with creatine. but while sprint performance improved, there was no effect on the body’s cooling mechanism. Is the potential decrease in power:weight ratio caused by the increase in water weight worth the improved per-formance for endurance athletes? In a lean athlete who seriously needs to enhance power and force production, I would argue that creatine supplementation can be effective. Additionally, certain types of creatine cause less water weight gain with equal improvements in performance. Look for lipophillic creatine. I use Kreacepts from Millennium Sports. 2) The Effect of Protease Supplementation on Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness Delayed onset muscle soreness is the dull pain that you feel typically 24-48 hours after a training session. It is typically caused by muscle fiber micro-tearing, swelling and disruption of muscle fiber “tubes,” inflammation and damage to other intra and extra cellular components of the muscle. Oral enzymes might reduce inflammation by improving return of blood flow from the muscle, thus reducing swelling and decreasing production of pain molecules called prostaglandin and elcoasnoids that oc-cur after muscle injury. Protease is one of these enzymes that has been suggested for muscle soreness control. In this study, protease aided in the recovery of strength, but did not decrease perception of pain or blood markers of muscle damage. Therefore, in an athlete who needs to return to activity immediately after a difficult training session, protease may assist with force production by the sore muscles.

3) Carbohydrate-Protein Gel vs. Carbohydrate Gel It has been proven that consumption of a beverage that contains some amount of protein mixed with carbohydrate can provide better recovery and enhanced performance for endur-ance athletes, when compared with a beverage that contains carbohydrate only. This study examined a similar scenario using gels and endurance cyclists. The carbohydrate-protein ratio was 5:1 in the gel, so if a gel had 100 calories of carbohydrate, it would contain 20 calories of protein. Creatine kinase, a marker of muscle damage, was significantly higher in the carbohydrate-only gel group. In addition, subjects were able to ride 13% longer when training at 75% of maximum (the ride was about two hours long). There is no denying the ergonic bene-fits of protein supplementation “during” a training session. I use a protein-carbohydrate bev-erage supplement called Perpetuem (made by Hammer Nutrition) during my long rides, and will be keeping my eyes open for new protein-carbohydrate gels on the market after the emer-

gence of this study.


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Seven Ground-breaking... (cont’d) 4) Static Stretching and Hamstring Force Production Previous studies have found that static stretching, which is traditional stretching in which a muscle is held in the stretched position, actually decreases force production of a muscle. This makes sense because a band with greater elasticity, while less prone to tearing, will produce less force. These studies primarily investigated stretching sessions that last 120 sec-onds to one hour. This particular study; however, investigated a stretching session of 30-60 seconds and actually found no negative effect on muscle force production (in the hamstring). I’d be interested to see the application of such a study in run-ning speed for a 5K or 10K, or cycling for a 40K, rather than a simple seated hamstring contraction. I personally perform static stretching every day (incorporating primarily yoga exercises), but prior to any race I do not stretch. Instead, I perform dy-namic movements like arm swings, leg swings and kicks, squats and push-ups. These are far more effective at preparing a mus-cle for the rigors of competition when compared to static stretching.

5) Foot Strike Patterns of Elite Runners As most endurance athletes are aware, the trend in running is toward a mid to front foot strike and a forward lean while running - as opposed to a heel strike pattern, which actually applies a braking effect to the body. But no studies (up to this point) have investigated runners’ foot strike mechanics during an actual event. In this study, the foot strike mechanics of 415 runners, most of them elite international competitors, were filmed during a half-marathon. As you may suspect, the runners who displayed a heel strike had increased ground contact time and slower speeds. The more a runner’s foot strike advanced toward the front of the foot, the less the ground contact time and the faster the run. Interestingly, the fastest runners were also observed to have inverted (toe in) feet at foot strike. It is not clear whether this inversion is a biomechanical gait adapta-tion, or simply the way that faster runners are genetically built. Regardless, it would be highly beneficial to engage in running drills or hire a running coach to teach you how to run with a forward center of gravity and a foot strike closer to the front of the shoe.

6) Training Intensity and Endurance Athlete Performance The purpose of this study was to compare two different training programs for endurance athletes. The first training program employed 80% of training as low intensity aerobic training that did not exceed the athlete’s anaerobic or lactate threshold. An additional 12% of the training included intensity at heart rate values close to threshold. In the second training program, only 65% of the training was at low intensities, with 27% at close to maximum heart rate. After five months, the group that spent more time in the low intensity training improved their 10K running performance by 36 seconds more than the higher intensity training group! This study magnifies the importance of an endurance athlete limiting long periods of time spent above threshold intensity and instead focusing on a larger amount of aerobic training. This is because the high intensity training re-duces the body’s sensitivity to catecholamines and sympathetic nervous system response and also increases risk for chronic over-stimulation and exhaustive stress. I personally spend very little time training at high intensities, but instead stay below threshold for the majority of my training and save the high intensity efforts for the race. If you do not know your lactate or anaerobic threshold, it is one of the most important measurements to ascertain!

7) Hot-Cold Treatments for Muscle Soreness Contrast water therapy has been suggested as a means of controlling the muscle soreness and stiffness, swelling, ten-derness and aching associated with strenuous exercise. In this therapy, an athlete periodically alternates between cold and hot water immersion directly after the exercise bout. This is supposed to cause a “pumping action” as the blood vessels dilate and constrict in response to the temperature alterations. This particular study used 60 seconds of cold water immersion fol-lowed by 120 seconds of hot water immersion, alternating between these two treatments for 15 minutes. The contrast water therapy was proven to restore strength and power and improve the recovery of functional deficiencies associated with training. Is 15 minutes of hot and cold water immersion truly practical for the endurance athlete? Probably not in most cases. I person-ally stand in the shower for 3-5 minutes after an exercise session and alternate between cold and hot water in 15-30 second increments. The cold water can be a shocker, but this is effective! Until next time, train smart.


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Race Review: Ironman FranceA Day at the Back of the Pack

by Keats McGonigal Heart rates ran high as the gun sounded and athletes plunged into

the turquoise waters of the Mediter-ranean Sea initiating Ironman France 2007. After the immediate mayhem

of thrashing bodies the rhythm of the rotational swim stroke cleared my

mind. Sighting off one solitary buoy straight out to sea made for naviga-

tional miscalculations, but thus is swimming in open water off the coast of Nice. Feelings of joy made me rec-ognize my heart rate as I looked at my

watch exiting the swim in a PR! This excitement led me out onto the bike

course with anticipation and high hopes. How quickly expectations

change.

Two miles into the bike, I veered to my left to avoid a swerving cyclist and “thud” went my back wheel as I hit a pothole, like we all do from time to

time. Simultaneously I heard and felt the “whoomp, whoomp, whoomp” of my rear wheel. Stopping to diagnose the issue, I realized that I had a bro-ken spoke. My initial thought was, “I need a wrench to straighten this and get going.” So I flagged down a mo-torcycle to get assistance. I was told

someone was coming and to wait where I was. I waited as no one, an-

other motorcycle, still no one, a third and fourth motorcycle, and still no

help. My emotions ran high and low as I waited. Finally, the race organiz-

ers sent the sweep crew to gather athletes dropping out. They wanted to know if I was quitting the race. “I didn’t come all this way to France to

quit the race” I responded. A specta-tor standing nearby watched my

mood changed over time and when

the sweep crew came he offered his rear wheel. This resulted in an ex-

tended radio conversation about my eligibility to continue while taking

“outside assistance.” Eventually they concluded that I was so far behind, it

would not matter.

Being the very last person in an Ironman race means you get a motor-cycle escort. When the driver realized my pace, he went in front and led me

through every intersection pulling ahead to stop traffic. I pictured my-self leading the race, even though I

was dead last.

Once riding again, some challenges lay ahead of me. The bike course contained mountain passes which make Mt. Spokane look like a speed bump and the bike cutoff was looming. Never in my worst nightmares did the thought of facing bike cutoff times occur. I rode hard and scared. Coming back into transi-tion at about the time I had hoped to finish the race, I cleared the cutoff by a mere ten minutes.

The four loop out and back marathon run seemed to take forever as I witnessed masses of participants crossing the finish line. This race had changed in a moment with my expectations shattered and a new one cre-ated. Now I sought the finish line, which hours earlier I though I might not reach today. I am more proud of my 13:24 than any other Ironman because this one I fought for the right to FINISH.

The lessons of this race have reshaped my perspective. I now know what it is to truly fear cutoff times. I now know the feeling of desir-ing to cross the finish line, regardless of time. I experienced the community assisting athletes in reaching their goals. This new perspective in the race showed me a different side of the sport and led me to respect all athletes pushing themselves to their limits without thought to overall plac-ing. Racing at the back of the pack makes me appreciate all that triath-lons have to offer, but mostly the community of resilient athletes push-ing themselves to the limits emotion-ally as well as physically.


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“The Race...Well, Part of It”

by Roger Thompson

Our trip to Ironman Canada

began on Tuesday, arriving in the

evening in Penticton to stay until the

following Monday morning. After

almost two days of relaxation, taper

training and vacation, I woke up

Thursday morning with a bad stomach

ache. It felt similar to when you spend

a little too long at the bars the night

before, where I couldn’t really stand

up straight.

As I got closer to race day,

my stomach cramps lessened, but the

distress to my digestive system was

still lingering by Saturday evening. I

was still cramping and quite gassy and

I began to worry less about the actual

stomach pain and more about

nutrition absorption.

Race morning came at 4:30.

After Scott and I got ready, I went

down to the race and stood in line to

get my body marked which took way

too long. Next, I went to my bike and

made some necessary changes to my

fueling and added a couple of things

to my transition bags. Other than

that, I was ready to go. After putting

on my wetsuit, my stomach started

cramping so I made one last stop to

the bathroom. When I was finished I

walked down to a spot that I thought

would be an ideal place in the front to

start the swim. As I was standing

there, I saw Sam Piccicci just a couple

of people over from me, making it a

nice beginning to see a familiar face in

such a huge race, especially since this

was going to be the largest mass swim

start in Ironman history at about

2800 people. Once the cannon went

off I took off fast and eventually

settled in to focus on my form and

made it in from the swim in good time

at 56:17. I think I finished the swim in

44th overall place including pros, so I

was anxious to see where I was as an

age grouper.

After T1, I took off on my

bike and was happy to be on it. I

noticed my heart rate (HR) was a bit

high and it normally is after coming

out of the water. But I kept a wattage

that was well below my lactate

threshold. So even though my heart

rate was high, I was maintaining a

wattage that was well below my LT

and therefore I should see a drop in

my HR in a short bit. However, as

time clicked by, my HR was not

dropping. I decided to trust the watts

instead of the HR, which is a pretty

aggressive decision, but it seemed like

a good one.

I was flying by people,

catching all but one or two female

pros before I arrived on Richter Pass,

but I wasn’t sure if this was a good

sign or not considering they had

started 15 minutes before us age

groupers. I was maintaining the same

wattage on the climb, staying on top

of my nutrition, but my HR was still

not stabilizing where I thought it

should be. After the 11K rolling climb

up Richter Pass, I started to notice my

stomach was cramping, again. I

hoped that during the long descent

down the other side of Richter I could

ease up and soft pedal to get some

relief. Nope, wasn’t able to do that

since there were some severe

headwinds, so I stayed focused and

continued on.

After I got to about the 60

miles mark, things went from

uncomfortable to bad. I started

taking in gels and then immediately

throwing them back up. I knew at this

point that I was in a bit of trouble.

Low on energy, no fuel, cramping

stomach, about 50 miles to go with a

relentless headwind. Not good!

About now I did see Jessi, Emma,

Kathi, Kevin, Natalie, Greg and

Jennifer which was nice to see.

At the aid stations, nothing

sounded even remotely good, so I

went with the old standby, bananas. I

was able to keep the bananas in and

muster my way up Yellow Lake

(another major climb) and then

started the descent into Penticton.

Normally this downhill is a nice, high

speed descent for about 15K and

serves as a good rest before

beginning the marathon run. As luck

would have it this year, it was once

more a headwind all the way down.

Even with my 808 wheels, I was feeling

quite a bit of turbulence, but I

managed to enter the T2 tent in 31st

place including all pros.


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Ironman Canada (cont’d)

Not too bad really, but when I got off

my bike I could hardly stand up. My

stomach was so cramped that I

walked hunched over to my T2 bag

and sat in the tent. It was at that

point that I needed to evaluate what

was going on with me. As I was being

aided by a volunteer, while he

dumped out all my gear and began

organizing it for me, I told him that I

thought I was probably done. I asked

him if he would get my dry clothes bag

and amongst waiting, I was able to see

Scott Ward and Martin Scates in

transition, but that was it. I was

hoping they would all have great

races (Scott, Martin, Sam, Vicki,

Keats, Dori and Mark), but I knew my

race was at its end.

After I got my dry clothes

bag I was able to call Jessi. The crew

was stuck in traffic but were on their

way back to town from the bike

course. While I was in transit, Emma

called and left a message for me on

my phone that basically said that she

hoped I was okay and that my tummy

was getting better and that

they were on their way. It

made me cry to think that I

would not have the chance

to carry her across the

finish line this year. I really

did not know how to

explain this to her and if I

could figure that out,

would she understand? It

was hard enough for me to

drop out of a race (first

one ever), but even harder to think

that it might have disappointed her

day as well.

I eventually had to do the

“walk of shame” out of the transition

area and out of the race. It’s pretty

hard to get outside of the “arena” of

the race, because once you are in it

you pretty much have to come across

the finish line. So, I went to Mike

Reilly (the voice of Ironman) and he

opened the gate to let me out. I’m

was just glad he didn’t say, “Roger

Thompson, you are NOT an

Ironman!”

Shortly later, I was able to

hook up with the cheer crew so I

could go out on the course and cheer

on everyone that were still out there

racing. As we stood at the 22 miles

mark of the marathon, I found it

difficult to watch those people who

were finishing in the tops of their age

groups come by... the same folks that

I was substantially ahead of going

into T2.

Throughout the remainder

of the day, we were able to watch our

fellow Tri Fusion friends and

teammates finish the race, had a

relaxing dinner out, fellowship with

friends and family, and the chance to

reflect on all I’d been through and

learned today. The benefit from

racing is that you always glean

something from it. No matter what

happens, you walk away with a new

knowledge about yourself. Some

good, some bad. It’s what you decide

to do with that knowledge that

advances you forward, or potentially

keeps you from reaching your goals.

So, although this race was

not necessarily a success, I learned

far more than if I would have PR’d it.

A lot about me and those around me.

It’s the mental aspect of all this that is

tough to train. And that is what was

tested for me on that particular

Sunday.

I hope you always come

away from each race you do with

something new learned about

yourself beyond what place or time

you earned. Sometimes you have

to reach deep and other times it is

right there in front of you. And

often it is the people right there in

front of you that you learn the

most about, like my support crew,

especially my wife Jessi who

encouraged me to make the right

decision for my physical self that

day.


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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

• Kathi Best - Social Director

• Kevin Best - Vice President

• Kim Ellis - Treasurer

• Greg Gallagher - Photographer

• Natalie Gallagher - Newsletter

• Ben Greenfield - Website Director

• Mark Hodgson - Team Event Director

• Sam Picicci - Uniform Director

• Jim Powers - Membership Director

• Jessi Thompson - Secretary

• Roger Thompson - President

• Scott Ward - Marketing Director

• Kirk Wood-Gaines - Mentor Director

From Competitor Northwest

magazine, on Perspective:

“So you think your age

group is pretty tough... in a 10,000

meter track race in late May in the

Netherlands, a Kenyan ran 27:58,

which is 4:29 per mile. Wow! The rest

of the story: he finished 19th in a field

of 19, and the first seven finishers

lapped him! The winner ran a 26:48,

which is 4:18 per mile.”

Written by Craig Snapp

July 2007, p. 8

A Genuine Thank You to all of Our Generous Sponsors:

Hammer Nutrition

September CalendarTraining Opportunities:

North Spokane --

Tuesdays & Thursdays @ 5-6 am: Spin class @ OZ North.

Tuesday evenings: BLTs @ 5:15 & 6:15 pm @ KJW-G’s house. Bike loop repeats, come for 1, 2, or 3 loops.

Saturdays: Outdoor ride, meeting location & time posted weekly on the Tri-Forum.

Liberty Lake --

Mondays & Wednesdays: Meet @ 5:15 pm: Swims from Sanders’ beach.

Races:

Sept. 22: Black Diamond Weekend of Races, 1/2 Ironman at Enumclaw, WA

Sept. 23: Black Diamond Weekend of Races, Spring and Olympic Triathlons at Enumclaw, WA

Sept. 29: 2007 Livestrong Cycling Challenge at Portland, OR

Sept 30: Gateway to the Pacific Marathon & Festival of Races at Elma, WA

Oct. 7: Portland Marathon at Portland, OR

Boise Marathon at Boise, ID

Fallen Leaf Run for SIDS at Spokane, WA

Oct. 13: Ironman World Championship at Kona, HI!!! Best wishes to Ben, Jeff and Roger!

Upcoming Events:

Next Member Meeting: TBA. BoD meeting @ 5:30 pm, followed by General Members @ 6:30 pm.

Greenbluff Pumpkin Patch: Family friendly event at Greenbluff on Sunday, October 21st @ 1 p.m.

Tri Fusion Christmas Party: Friday, December 7th at 6:30-10:30 p.m.at the Bozarth Mansion. Get your tickets at a membership meeting starting in September!


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