Anne is a 27 year old Torontonian who’s been recently and absolutely hooked by the Tri-Bug. She began running triathlons just last year and found success with minimal training.

“I competed in my first triathlon last year, and completed 3 by the end of 2015 however I  never really trained for any of them. I exercised in all 3 disciplines, but I had no idea what to do besides the basic swim, bike and run.”

“My placement in age group categories was usually around 5th-7th for the 25-29 category, which my friends told me was really good for not having done much training.”

It’s clear that Anne, who has been an athlete most of her life, is both athletic and talented. Her high placement despite limited knowledge of the sport and minimal training is a testament to her athleticism. But lack of knowledge didn’t stop her from falling in love with the sport.

“I enjoyed the sport and the community and it wasn’t until after my final race, Multisport Canada’s Wasaga Beach on August 27th, that I felt a huge void opening up! I had no more races on my horizon and it was not a fun feeling! I longed for another race. At this point, I knew I wanted to take on the sport and be competitive.”

Growing up, Anne played soccer and hockey but stopped once she got to university.

“I was often told I was talented and would make it very far in either soccer or hockey, if I committed to either of them. I never did commit fully to either sport however, and I now know it is because I lacked confidence in myself and I wasn’t able to withstand the pressure I was also putting on myself to perform.”

Pressure and self-confidence is something we all struggle with. As an athlete, we’re called upon to face some immense pressure. Luckily, with the help of the triathlon community and her coach, Anne has found way to break through it.

“One of the major things I have learned after acquiring a coach from Loaring Personal Coaching is to not care about competitors or placing’s and to focus more on my race. My race is what I have control over, and beyond that nothing else matters.”

With the help of her coach, our featured triathlete this week has gotten into her groove and found a process that works for her. It’s a process that keeps her raising the bar bit-by-bit and certainly shows in the form of recent success.

“I work 9-5 and have been balancing a heavy training schedule with morning and night workouts. I love the lifestyle, and I am obsessed with getting better. So far, my process is working. I have placed 1st in my age group in my two races so far this year, as well as one being 2nd female overall. Most important though, I have been constantly improving, so I am just trying to inch my way up to my full potential.”

It’s clear that Anne is certainly passionate about triathlons and multisport. But for her, it’s about much more than a sport and placements; it’s about community.

“I’m focusing on raising my bar but I am also happy to be so involved in the triathlon community thus far. I am an ambassador for the Multisport Canada Recharge with Milk Campaign and I have highly enjoyed my work with them in terms of spreading the joy that triathlon brings me, and I hope can bring to others. I have also become captivated by the elite women’s ITU World Triathlon Series (WTS)and I actually just re-watched the London Olympics race for fun this past week! There are so many inspirational female athletes out on the circuit!”

Anne will be attending Ottawa Triathlon this July 23-24. You too can race in the Ottawa Triathlon and swim, bike and run alongside Anne this July. You can keep following Anne’s story through her blog (http://triannethlon.blogspot.ca/) or you can follow her on Twitter (@TriAnnethlon), Instragram (@TriAnnethlon) or on Facebook.

The post Triathlete Of The Week first appeared on Ottawa Triathlon Clubs.

Time is running out on some of Ottawa Triathlon’s awesome lodging deals!

A number of Ottawa area partners have kindly offered Ottawa Triathlon and it’s participants some exclusive deals on hotel and accommodations. We have deals for those looking to book individually and those looking to book their team.

Book Your Team!

Marriott Hotel Ottawa (just $135 + HST/night)

Booking code: Ottawa Triathlon

• 100 Kent Street, Ottawa, ON
• Contact: Mark Carvell 613-238-1122

Marriott Hotel features a welcoming and accommodating staff with excellent food and facilities. The Hotel is close to the charming Byward Market in downtown Ottawa where you can enjoy a relaxing walk by day and partake in the exciting Ottawa nightlife.  

Marriott also offers a fitness centre to keep you in shape for your upcoming race!

• Breakfast not included
• Parking $24/day with in and out privileges

Book Individually!

Carleton University

• 1125 Colonel By Drive, 172 Residence Commons, Ottawa, ON
• Contact: summer.reservations@carleton.ca or (613) 520-5609

If you’re looking to book just for yourself, Carleton University might be the best choice for you and is offering accommodations for Ottawa Triathletes which included breakfast!

Room choices for individuals include:

• Single Room: One single bed which shares a washroom with the adjoining room
  • 1 person = $50.11 + HST/night
• Double Room: Two single beds which share a washroom with the adjoining room
  • 2 person = $79.00 + HST/night

Lunch and Dinner is available pay as you go with offers including:

• Lunch $11.37 + HST (11:00 – 2:00)
• Dinner $13.52 + HST (4:30 – 6:30)
• The Cafeteria is new and the food looks great – they say it is even better in the summer months.

The post Time Is Running Out On Our Lodging Deals – June 30th! first appeared on Ottawa Triathlon Clubs.

As with investing money our ‘training investment” needs to follow some triathlete training guidelines or rules in order for it to pay the best dividends.   I use the following set of rules as a coach and athlete.

1.  CCD (Consistency, Compromise, Doubts)

   Train with consistency. You can training everyday or 3x per week but be consistent and train without compromise. If you train properly you’ll have no doubt about performance on race day.  Proper race execution begins every morning when you wake up, not just on the day of the race.

2. Do the FREAKING Work (DFW).

   DFW= Just “Do the Freaking Work”. Sometimes it’s just doing the work, not over thinking it, not analyzing it, not questioning it. Just put your head down and DFW.

3. You don’t overtrain, you UNDER recover.

   Repeat this everyday. YOU DONT OVERTRAIN, YOU UNDER RECOVER . Recovery is what allows your body to repair and build so you can keep on training, and it’s during recovery from sessions where you adapt and improve. Plan recovery with the same diligence as you plan training.

4. Follow the Plan

   Hope is not a PLAN. Have a plan. A good strategy is to define your end goal. You can do this by visualizing your preferred race time and then reverse engineering how you’re going to get there.

5. The 72 hour rule

   Consider your training in relation to what you did yesterday, what your doing today and what you have to do tomorrow. In other words, think in 72 hour increments.  Plan for consistency day by day, week by week, month by month

6. TUF – Technique Under Fatigue

   Victory goes to the one who’s slowed down the least, not the fastest. Think about the little things like “Key Words” and trigger words. Practice your technique during practice especially during the harder sets.

7. Training Specificity

   Train to meet the specific demands of your sport. I have never met a triathlete who has won a race swimming in a pool or running on a track.  Know what courses you race, what training you need to do and be as specific as possible

8. When things are going well, be smart.

   If you’re having a great day / week / month of training, don’t be tempted to do more and/or harder training. Stick to the plan (see rule 4) and be consistent. Single training sessions don’t make champions – consistency does.

9. Metabolic vs. Structural conditioning.

   If your metabolic fitness (ie, aerobic capacity) exceeds your structural fitness (ie, muscles, bones, tendons, etc) then be careful to only train as hard as the weakest aspect can cope with, so you don’t break down.

10. Know your sport, Know yourself.

    Learn about your sport, it’s history, the events, equipment, training methodologies, other athletes. Know yourself, your strengths, limiters and goals. The greater your understanding of the sport and it’s intricacies the better your grasp on how YOU can best prepare for and race.

11. Be yourself, be your best.

    Be honest and humble, treat every session as an opportunity to improve and learn more about yourself and the sport. Don’t make excuses, don’t let yourself off the hook, don’t give less than your best.

12. Quality vs Quantity.

    Train with an objective. You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing, or you think they are doing FOCUS on the quality of your training, your needs what works for you.

13. There is no answer, There is no end.

    Sport is an on-going journey of learning about yourself. No one has the best answer for you. You are a work in progress and the more you know about yourself the better. You’ll be able to decide what is best for you. We encourage your to keep on experimenting, experiencing and learning. Enough failures in practice will lead you to a victory when it counts, no one wins without the hard earned lessons of failure.

These are but a few “rules” you can certainly make up some of your own but for me and the athletes I coach these are the guidelines I preach everyday and every session.

Set some guidelines for your self and see if it helps keep you on task.

If you’d like to learn about how to improve your Swim Technique, click the link.

The post Triathlete Training And Some Rules To Follow first appeared on Ottawa Triathlon Clubs.

When we teach swimming techniques, we develop the skills in this order;

BREATHING

– Proper breathing creates rhythm and flow. You don’t hold your breath under water but instead breath out.  Breathing too early or late in the stroke breaks that rhythm. Proper breathing technique allows you to build fitness and speed on a solid foundation of smooth swimming.

BODY POSITION

– Always be looking straight down. Good swimming posture means long neck, straight spine and hips high in the water. If your head is up, your hips are most likely down. Your body needs to be “stable” (core engaged) when you perform a task ie: breathing and initiating “the catch”, which we’ll explain a little further on. Remember to kick from the hips, keeping your legs behind you. Always remember that kicking is for stabilizing; not to add propulsion.

ROTATION

– Rotation starts with your hips. Link  your hips and your lats; this keeps your body swimming on it’s side and keeps your body rotating around your head. Your head should remain stable and should not move with every arm swing. You begin rotation at the beginning of “the catch” (link hand and hips).

THE CATCH

– Your shoulder should rotate internally to allow for your to keep your elbow high as your hand enters the water in front of shoulder. Arm positioning includes:

1) finger tips point the way

2) wrist follows

3) elbow is high and enters next

4) shoulder is stable.

Think of pulling your body over your elbow as opposed to moving your hand through the water.

Triathlon swimming requires a “pull dominant” approach. Most events will be a minimum of 500m previous to biking and running. Kicking yourself through the water not only requires more energy and tires out the “tools” you need to complete the next 2/3rds of the event but it’s also much less efficient and limits your capacity to swim at higher velocities. As a triathlete, if your not training to pull yourself through the water you are limiting your performance ability. That’s why it is so important to develop these skills to improve on your swimming technique.

Swim Like A Pro For Your Next Triathlon

If swimming is your weak link or your progress isn’t what your want here are some ideas to help kick start your swimming technique and performance.

• Stroke Rate (SR) over Stroke length (SL)

  – For any triathlete, training at higher SR’s has many benefits. Higher SR swimming develops swim fitness and better overall conditioning (which helps on the bike and the run). Start with short pieces of work at higher stroke rates (25’s and 50’s). Use a Tempo Trainer like the one from FinisInc.com. Tempo Trainers allow your to hone in on your swim technique.

• Fewer Drills more Swimming

  – learn breathing, balance, rotation and catch then swim. You don’t learn how to swim long distances by demonstrations and drills. Swim longer and swim more.

• Swim Longer Sets

  – Make the main set 2000m plus. These can be broken into harder faster repeats (50’s to 200’s) or longer “tempo” repeats 300- 400’s+. But add distance and intensity (in a responsible progression) to your sets. Main sets should be twice the race distance.

• Learn how to use your kick

  – As mentioned above, kicking is to stabilize not push you through the water. Learn how to kick efficiently and effectively, you’ve done the job. Kick sets for speed are a waste of your swim time.

• Swim Specific Strength

  – Pull buoys, paddles and bands, to add resistance. Use them alone, in pairs or as a group (pull or band or pull/band or paddle/pull/band). Every triathlete should have these as part of their gear. Learn to pull yourself through the water. Bands also help develop good balance in the water (overtime). Nothing works better to develop a sense of high hips when your legs are tied and they are dragging through the water. Head down and chest down = hips up!

• Learn to Love the UNCOMFORTABLE –

  20-50×50 at your race pace works wonders. With good rest it allows you to maintain form under fatigue, you get used to being “uncomfortable”. It also allows you to feel what swimming fast is like. Just remember you need to be aware of the feeling.

• Don’t Be a Drone –

  Improvement is first and foremost a product of awareness. Awareness of what your body is doing (spatial awareness) as well as mental awareness ( what are you thinking). Practice thinking about each stroke not thinking about what’s next or just finishing this set. Be engaged with the process.

So these are some open water swim tips you can employ to help improve your next triathlon. Learn to love swimming, enjoy the early mornings or late evening swims and embrace the smell of well earned chlorine sweat.

The post How To Improve Your Swimming Technique first appeared on Ottawa Triathlon Clubs.