Details..

The saying “The devil is in the details” struck true for me this week.

I misplaced my foot pod this spring and have been dragging my feet (no pun intended) to replace it. It is 100 bucks, and it has to show up eventually right? Besides, I worked so hard on improving my cadence this winter, I should be OK. Yea, well, not really. I had a sub par run on Sunday. Nothing terrible, but definitely felt heavy footed.

I borrowed Jim Vance’s foot pod yesterday am to just observe where I was. It was shocking. I slipped back to 84-86 rpm. I forced myself on a flat course to not make a change to see the mile split. After that mile I allowed myself to go to work on shortening my stride, leaning forward, relaxing the hips, etc. The result was 89 rpm and about 30 seconds per mile faster. Point taken, I am buying a new foot pod!

Stay on top of the details in your training.

Tri Dynamic Launches Series of Triathlon Camps with Joe Friel

Tri Dynamic, a new triathlon training company in the United Kingdom has been launched. Tri Dynamic will be offering a series of training camps and coaching seminars with coaching legend and bestselling author Joe Friel. The Triathlon Camps will take place all over Europe and in the United States. They will also be working with other top coaches including TrainingBible Elite Coaches Jim Vance and USA Triathlon Developmental Coach of the Year, Adam Zucco.

Tri Dynamic aims to offer 'more than just a training camp'. They would like their customers to have a fun experience while learning from the very best coaches out there including Joe Friel, Jim Vance and Adam Zucco. "We'd like you to come away from our camps a smarter athlete knowing that you can improve on many levels, not just through more training." To do so they have also selected some of the best training venues, facilities and hotels so not to compromise on comfort and luxury just because you're on a training camp.

The first training event offering will be in Europe with the Jim Vance Swim Seminars which will take place at Hampton outdoor pool in London on September 11-12, 2010. This clinic is designed for triathletes and coaches as an opportunity to learn and understand the principles of triathlon swimming and apply this directly to athletes. Participants will have their swim technique analyzed on video for immediate feedback.

The second event on the calendar will be in the USA, Joe Friel Laying the Foundations Testing Camp in Scottsdale, Arizona. The training camp dates will be October 22-29, 2010. This camp will be strictly limited to 20 participants and is designed specifically for triathletes to get the most out of their Winter Training. Joe will be assisted by Adam Zucco on this camp.

"This is not your standard swim-bike-run camp. It focuses on exactly what I do with the athletes I coach at the start of their winter training." states Joe Friel "Each athlete is tested for VO2max and other important physiological metrics. Each also has a physical assessment by a physical therapist who looks for potential injuries and areas where strength, range of motion or other interventions could improve performance. I also have a bike fit done for them by a professional fitter. By the time the camp is done I always feel as if we are a great deal closer to achieving the athlete's goals. I think you'll feel that way, also."


Other triathlon training camp offerings by Tri Dynamic in 2011 include:
• Joe Friel Tenerife Winter Triathlon Camp, January 22-29, 2011. On the beautiful Canary island of Tenerife, the camp is aimed at triathletes of all abilities who are interested in a week in the sun under expert eye of Joe Friel.
• Joe Friel Women Only Barcelona Triathlon Camp, April 8-15, 2011. The camp will take place in the beautiful Spanish seaside town of Calella north of Barcelona and is aimed specifically at female triathletes of all abilities.
• Joe Friel Switzerland Middle & Long Distance Preparation Triathlon Camp, June 10-17, 2011. The camp is aimed at triathletes who are planning to take on a summer half iron or iron distance event and will be based in Rapperswil which is just south of Zurich.

Other training camps which will be announced in the near future, so keep an eye on the website for updates and additional information at: www.tridynamic.co.uk

About Tri Dynamic
Tri Dynamic is delighted to be able to offer a series of camps and seminars with a coach of the calibre of Joe Friel. Many triathletes will have a well thumbed copy of The Triathlete's Training Bible or Going Long on their bookshelves. We are really excited to be working together to put on some special camps for our customers. Joe will be assisted on the camps by fellow TrainingBible Elite Coaches Jim Vance and Adam Zucco, who are both world class coaches in their own right.

Tri Dynamic are also proud to have teamed up with some of the best brands in the sport as our Official Partners including PowerBar, blueseventy, Blue Competition Cycles and Skinfit. Working closely with them we will be able to add real value to the camps offering our customers exclusive product testing, trials and advice.

For more information on Joe Friel visit www.trainingbible.com. Follow Joe Friel's blog here www.joefrielsblog.com, Jim Vance's blog here coachvance.blogspot.com and Adam Zucco's blog here: adamzucco.blogspot.com

Last race before Kona.

The summer is flying by. I get so excited to race and see athletes race, but hate that I wish the summer away.

Let’s see. 2 weeks ago was Racine 70.3. I love doing this race because usually a huge group goes up there and the local cheers are always awesome to hear. It adds another level of pressure however to have a good day.

The race was bought by Ironman and therefore was a lot more organized and ensured an accurate course. These are good things. Bad thing however is we are all relegated to the waves they set out in front of us. In years past it was nice to be able to race in the amateur elite wave. This year I was in the LAST wave. It was pretty dangerous, hotter and was hard to race the guys in the 25-29 AG who are very fast regardless, but add to that they got a 90 min head start, ughh…

I felt really good, first race on my new Speed Concept. It was AWESOME! I went 2:11 and felt like it was no problem at all. My run was good I thought but was disappointed to be 1:32. Looking at the results looks like it was a slow run day for all. Lindsay said that the temps were in upper 90’s so I am sure that had an effect. In addition to that my right foot was killing me half way through the run. I have to find better or different shoes for the Ironman. Total time was 4:17, good for 15th overall. I was pretty happy with that, but wanted to find another 70.3 to run better.

What was the best part of the race was my clients mark and Sue both had Massive PR’s. Both were over 15 min faster, both got a Clearwater spot.

I decided to do Steelhead because of proximity and was going to go anyway to watch several athletes racing the event. I finally had a race where everything clicked this season. The swim was actually not too spectacular, but I am not worried about correcting that. The bike went awesome, I love this new bike. 2:09 was within 90 seconds of all the pros on the bike for 6th fastest overall bike. More importantly the run was clicking. I had to stop to go to the bathroom once, but felt like I was running aggressively the entire run. I hit a new PR on an accurate course. 4:08:05.

Again, I had 2 athletes do their first ever 70.3 races. Jim and Mike both went 4:47 and 5:39 respectively and felt awesome. Joe Lotus a good friend of mine set a goal of 4:40, and went 4:38. It was really awesome to see. What an awesome day.