Proposal for Race Directors: Seed Your Swim Starts!

Proposal for race directors: seed your swim start waves instead of grouping them by age. It is safer, makes for a more fair/honest race, and would yield no additional costs.  The current system of sending athletes off based on age-groups makes absolutely no sense, and even less so when the categories with [statically speaking] the fastest athletes go off last (e.g., starting the male 30-34 and 25-29 age-groups after sending off 60-64 women). This always creates a situation of high traffic, collisions, and athletes who are already likely to be the most uncomfortable in the water (e.g., the slowest swimmers) being in a position to get swum over.

Safer: Grouping waves best on expected swim times and starting the fastest waves first would lead to less traffic throughout the swim, and where there would still be inevitable traffic (e.g., toward the start) it would at least be more appropriate traffic given swimmers of a similar speed would be together.  The less people being knocked into and swum over, the more everyone enjoys the race; from the beginner who might have a panic attack when all of a sudden someone is on top of them, to the athlete going for the win that is frustrated by needing to constantly fight through people.

More Fair: Fighting through crowded waters slows you down.  If an athlete has the 'bad luck' of being in a later wave, a fast swimmer's time is going to almost always be slower than if they started earlier.  There is no positive drafting effect since packs generally form early and within a wave. 

No Additional Costs: At first I thought that perhaps some races start statistically slower age groups first in an effort to have the race finish earlier, and thus reduce permit, EMS, etc., costs.  But then I looked into this a bit more, and it seems like there is almost always an athlete in every age-group that pushes the overall race time-limit.  So, even if you are more likely to have 6 athletes in a 75-79 age group on the course for 8 hours, if you have just one 'bucket-list' athlete in the 25-29 age group go 8 hours, then the course stays open the same amount of time. Given these are not real-time decisions, I presume contracts/permits are signed ahead of time anyways, so starting slower waves first can't have anything to do with an attempt to reduce costs (which is why I am always befuddled when fast age-groups start last).

How it Would Work: During race-registration, simply ask athletes for a projected swim time (with some preamble about how one might do this).  Take the distribution, and create waves based on this.  Is self-reported data ever going to be truly accurate?  Of course not!  BUT, it will be a lot better than what we have today, and certainly addresses the biggest issue of safety since it will undoubtedly separate swimmers where there are big ability [and thus likely comfort] gaps.  I would take this a step further and guess that swimmers more apt to 'deflate' their times are competitive (maybe they want a draft effect) so from a safety standpoint, I would be less concerned about having someone that swims 32 minutes start with the 28 guys if it prevents a 40 minute swimmer from being toppled 10 times.  I am not arguing this system would be perfect, but it would be directionally correct and far better than what is currently in place. 

Added Benefit: If anything, this would lead to a *faster overall race* since presumably, swim-start waves could be separated by less time since the faster swimmers would be going off first, creating a natural separation throughout the field. 

I could certainly be missing something, but to me, this seems like a no-brainer. 

My Theory on the Lance Armstrong Confession

Sharing here because I haven't heard this theory on Lance Armstrong's potential confession with conditions anywhere else yet, and it makes sense to me.  Disclaimer, I'm not a psychologist or cycling insider, and put these thoughts together in the middle swimming with an ankle band on (pure misery), so take em for what they are worth...

1) Lance Armstrong Understands the Evidence is Too Much to Overcome: Self explanatory. The case against him is so strong, and will only get stronger over time as more cyclists/doctors/friends need to rid themselves of having the weight on their chest. Lance doped, and we don't need him to tell us.

2) Lance Armstrong (LA) Liked being a Public Hero: Hard to be a public hero, let along be out in public, given his denial in the context of the mounting evidence mentioned in #1.

3) For Lance, It's Not Enough to Apologize and Walk Away: A "confession" (in quotes since we all already know what he is speculating telling us which makes the whole thing a bit odd to me) and true, heart-felt, very well written apology may enable LA to show his face in public, but I don't think he would have hero status; certainly not in the minds of the people, and probably not even in his own mind, which matters a lot to a guy who loved nothing more than being the man.

4) Confession with Conditions Ripe for Redemption: All the reports thus far say that LA is considering speaking with authorities if there is potential for his lifetime band from competition to be reduced...this is the golden nugget in my opinion, and gives Lance a chance to continue his fight even after admitting he doped.  The story will change slightly from "I never cheated" toward "Everyone was doing it and  I am really the best against a level playing field," but the point is it allows LA a big huge "but" each time he says "I cheated."  More details on what I mean by this in the next points...

5) Hey, I was Pretty Good at this Triathlon Thing: Say what you want, but when LA entered the sport of triathlon, he showed potential promise at racing long-course events; enough to draw Macca and Crowie back to Kona (in their own words).  I can't stay definitively  but I highly doubt Lance was doping during his recent return to triathlon; it would have been downright stupid given the level of scrutiny and testing.  If he was not in fact doping during the return, then one could say Lance was a FOP professional triathlete clean.

6) Confession that Lets LA Race Triathlon Gives LA a Chance At Redemption, At Least in His Own Mind: I would bet that LA's thought process may go something like this: "Well, I'm certainly damned right now, but c'mon, everyone in the peleton was doing it.  I can tell the public that everyone was doing it and I was the best against that level playing field, and then train my ass off and try and win/place highly at Kona to be able to show the public that I am the best against a clean -- God, I [Brad, the author] hope so anyways -- playing field too."  This at least allows LA to be a hero in his own mind, and will help him sleep at night because he can still tell himself he is the best before his head its the pillow.

A lot of folks have said that LA wants the conditions because he loves racing and seeing himself ranked against others, but I think it is actually because he think he has a legitimate chance of winning in triathlon and using that as his "but" after he has to say he cheated.

Potential Problems: Aside from everything logistically and legally (e.g., civil suits against him, etc.) there are a few other problems with the above theory.

• Personally, I think it is a long-shot that LA can really compete with the top dogs at Kona.  Triathlon is not a 112 mile time-trial, and running a marathon after biking for 112 miles is different than running a hard tempo run after 56 miles (the latter, something LA showed us all that he was pretty good at). 
• Even if Lance were to do something so crazy as win at Kona, what about the compounding effects of his doping?  Again, I'm not an expert, but I bet some experts will say that what he was able to do while doped up in training years ago triggered physiological adaptations that still help him today in a clean state.
• Finally, while this may give him a chance to be the best in his own mind, I think those that have closely followed the sport and subsequently this saga will have a hard time taking any confession seriously when LA did things like this on Twitter after the evidence was made public

Thoughts on WTC's Decision to Shorten the Muncie Half Ironman Triathlon

It seems like the triathlon world has been going through a period of pretty intense and frequent controversy over the past few weeks.  First, after the tragic death of an athlete at Ironman Coeur D'alene, a very heated debate followed surrounding the safety of mass swim starts.  Then, increasingly [bad] news continued to come out around the Lance Armstrong situation.  And, if those two things weren't enough to shake the triathlon community, last weekend, WTC shortened the Muncie 70.3 race (Half Ironman distance), basically cutting it in half, due to extreme temperatures in the area. I have followed this last event quite closely, and would like to offer a few thoughts on the situation.

First, for a bit more context: the race at Muncie was changed from a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run to a 1 mile swim, 30 mile bike, and 6.2 mile run.  Reports state that water temperature was well above 80 degrees, and ambient temperatures were expected to rise north of 105 degrees. Needless to say, the heat was absolutely extreme. Against that backdrop, a day before the race, the race director and WTC announced that the race would be shortened as a matter of safety.  This upset many athletes for [as far as I can tell] two predominant reasons:

1) Those that were well-prepared and had training plans set up to peak around this race and particular distance lost the opportunity to do so
2) Many thought it was ridicules that they paid such a high fee for what turned out to be a much shorter distance race than they thought they were entering

Although point #1 could not be remedied, while I am not sure of the exact details, I do know that WTC attempted to remunerate athletes by offering discounted entry into future races.  So, painted with a broad and brief brush, hopefully the above gives you at least the general flavor of the circumstances.   

Next, I want to share a response published on Xtri and then offer my reaction to it:

The softening of our sport continues. When I first got into endurance sports, I often worried whether or not I would finish, but I never worried about the cancellation or shortening of an event due to heat. Until now. I got into this lifestyle because it was a challenge, because it took effort, because it was HARD. I wanted to see if I had what it took to get into real shape, toe the line, suffer, and finish something that few people could.

Now marathons are being cancelled because it's too hot. Triathlons are being shortened due to the heat. Swims are being stopped because the water's too cold or there's too much wind. WTF?! Nut up, people. If you want easy, shuffle your way through a county fair fun run. If you want to be a marathoner, a triathlete, an Ironman, then do the work. Yeah, it hurts. It's supposed to. It's not for everyone. It wasn't meant to be. You want perfect weather? Bowling is great, I hear. And you can do it all year long, indoors where you'll be safe and pain-free. Hell yeah, I'm pissed. I don't train hard to show up on race day and find out the race was cancelled or shortened because the RD was worried about some pansy throwing down a lawsuit that blames the universe for his/her own laziness.

Years ago I did a tri where the weather was so hot, the road tar stuck to my racing flats. My head felt like it was going to explode on the run. I toughed it out and finished… everyone did. It was hot, REALLY hot. So what?! The whole idea is to conquer your demons and prove that you are tough; tough enough and in shape enough to kick the race's butt AT YOUR OWN RISK. That race, once an Ironman qualifier, was cancelled years later due to some lawsuit-happy jerks.

Have some pride, people. Bust your tail and get into shape. Deal with whatever Mother Nature throws at you. IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE HARD. If you're only in it for the finisher's shirt and bag of swag, buy a T off eBay and brag to someone who cares. The rest of us will earn it…in any conditions. I've run in -30 degrees and 100+. One was cold, the other was hot. Nothing more, nothing less.

Hot, cold, rain, drought… it's weather. Deal with it. Read the waiver, sign it, shut your yap and compete. 

The author's tone and the fact that he directed his apparent anger at participants for "not hardening up" is misguided.  The "you" in the article ought to be directed at WTC and the race director. Participants had nothing to do with the shortening of this event, so 1) don't blame them and 2) if you are going to offer your opinion in a public forum, there are certainly more constructive ways to do so without speaking down to other individuals.

All of that said, I really could not agree more with the overall theme of this article, assuming that the "overall theme" is that the event should not have been shortened, nor should future events in similar conditions. I am afraid that the sport is catering to the lowest common denominator at these races, but at the expense (figuratively and literally) of the opposite end of the field. I would much rather see WTC offer folks that do not feel prepared for the event a refund, versus shortening the course for everyone. 

To say that this event is dangerous because of the heat is kind of funny, since swimming 1.2 miles, biking 56, and running 13.1 miles is quite dangerous regardless of temperatures for someone that is unprepared; be it physically, or for what often turns out to be even more of a risk, in terms of bike handling skills. It is absurd to penalize those that are well prepared to protect the bottom half of the field. There must be some personal responsibility on the part of the participant, WTC can't simply protect everyone; it is up to an adult (entrants must be over 18 or have guardian sign off to participate) to make a desicion about their capabilities, and suffer the consequences of that desicion.  

Local gyms don't ban treadmills, yet it is pretty easy for anyone to hop on a treadmill and seriously injure themselves if they are unprepared for the speed and incline they set the machine to. They simply sign a waiver that explains the risks using exercise equipment, much like the WTC requires before all of the its triathlons. 

Top 5 Posts of 2011

With the new year here, I decided to do a quick recap and easy navigation to the top 5 posts of 2011, as decided by you all, readers of the blog. If you missed any of these during the year, check em out by simply clicking on the bold-font below for the links:

5. Body as a Machine: A bit science, a lot philosophy, explores the body, the mind, and their connectedness

4. Reflecting on Mentorship in Triathlon: A look at the importance of mentorship as a foundation of the triathlon community

3. Triathlon in a Job Interview, and an Interesting Turn to Divorce Rates in Triathlon: We always expect the chance to talk about goal setting, drive, and the accountability inherent in our sport, but divorce rates...this threw me off guard to say the least...

2. Balancing Training with Other Things in Life, and the follow-up, Making Training Work: Thoughts from Near-Elites that are Pro at Something Other than Multisport: Sequence examining how to integrate multisport into the rest of life; first an editorial, and then some powerful bits of wisdom from a bunch of great athletes.

1. Focus on What You Can Control, Don't Waste Energy on the Things you Cannot: Getting the right mental state dialed in for the approach to and on race-day

And finally, I want to wish everyone the best in 2012. Take some serious time to reflect on the past year, identify your limiters (whether they be power on the bike, having fun at races, or lifestyle considerations), develop reasonable plans to address them, and get at it!

For me personally, 2011 was a very positive year. I trained smarter and thus more consistently (missing no time to due to injury) and as a result, raced Duathlons at a high performance level, earning All American Honorable Mention, and representing Team USA at the World Championships in Spain. I started working with a new coach who I felt really aligned with my personality and style, and I couldn't be happier with the decision! I continued to learn a lot more about the sport, and have really enjoyed the opportunity to share my thoughts through writing here on the blog and on a few other multisport websites. I also got great support from my partners, and look forward to only strengthening these relationships for years to come.

In 2012, I am making the full-on switch to Triathlon, and will be focusing on the 70.3 distance, with a goal of qualifying for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. I'll need to focus a ton on my swim (and am already underwater in the process), as well as building durability and more strength on the bike, while maintaining if not improving my current abilty to run fast at longer distances off the bike. And more broadly speaking, while in 2011 I "managed" the long-course races I did, in 2012, I want to "race" for 4+ hours. As for the schedule, I still plan on racing a few early season and higher-profile duathlons, but come June, the race-plan exclusively shifts to triathlon.

So there you have it! Have a wonderful NYE, and only good things to come in 2012!!!

The Face of Triathlon Coaching

Triathlon is growing at all levels. Fueled by an increasing popularity of the sport (e.g., specials on CNN, Articles in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, etc), there has been a recent and large influx of newbies competing for the first time. In addition this growth in sheer numbers, there has also been a rampant growth within the sport; races are getting faster every year, and age-group competition is more fierce than ever. Finishing is no longer good enough, but rather, more tenured athletes are focused on things like winning their division, rising to a spot on the overall podium, and for some, earning elite status or their pro-card. It only makes sense that, in parallel to this heightened intensity in triathlon participation, there has also been vast expansion in the business of triathlon coaching.Whereas not too long ago most age-groupers were self-coached, or may have followed a full-season book or online plan, nowadays, it seems that more and more amateur athletes are seeking out (and finding) individuals that offer personalized coaching, which begs the question; where are these coaches coming from? It seems that while a few may have formal training in exercise physiology, many coaches are simply pros or aspiring pro triathletes hoping to use the knowledge they have accumulated from an intimate relationship with the sport(s) to help others progress, and, to create a revenue stream to help support their own training and racing. Rather than focus on the debate around the pros and cons of this (which will be the stand-alone subject of my next piece) or posit my own opinions, I figured the best way to get inside the new face of triathlon coaching would be to ask my own coach, Wesley Johnson, a few challenging questions.

Wes, first off, thanks so much for doing this. How long have you been competing in triathlon?5 years with a background in competitive swimming. I swam for the University of Utah.

How would you classify yourself as an athlete; e.g., pro, semi-pro, elite, age-grouper, etc? Elite

When did you first get the idea to start coaching, how long have you been coaching for, and how many athletes do you coach today?

I have always [since my teen years] privately taught and coached swimmers. I started getting the idea to coach triathletes when many triathletes came to me to help them improve their swim technique. I have now been coaching triathletes full time for 4 years.

One of the nice things about having a job completely unrelated to triathlon is that it makes it easy to separate the sport from other components of life. How do you (or do you) find balance between your training, coaching, and then life outside of the sport?
I must admit, it can be hard to separate life, my own racing, and my coaching. However, I believe I have figured out how to balance my life and the sport of triathlon pretty well. How do I do that? I got married! I have noticed that since my marriage, my life is much more balanced and I am not always focused on myself and my job. I have someone else to care for which has really helped me find balance in my life. The two loves of my life are my wife and triathlon - whereas before it was mainly just triathlon. As long as I put my family first and then keep any additional hobbies or responsibilities (such as church or keeping up with friends outside of the sport), I have been able to balance my life pretty well. What can get hard is coaching and fitting in my own training. The nice part is that I am my own boss and I can fit in training where I want and need to fit it. The challenging part is that this job has become a 24 hour one with emails, calls, and text messages from my athletes at all hours of the day. Luckily for me, I love this sport and I love my job! I never get sick or tired of the triathlon-related questions. In terms of a breakdown, I'd say that 85% of my day is setting up training plans, group workouts, answering emails and texts, answering calls, and then getting in my own training. People ask me, "Don't you get sick of it?" I say "Never!" This job is not for everyone and I realize that. I feel blessed that I have found my passion and I believe I am pretty good at it!

We all know what it feels like to be completely spent at the end of a long and hard training day when the only thing imaginable and seemingly possible is the couch; yet you have told me that as a coach, you are constantly "on call" with your athletes. How do you force yourself to give 100% in coaching always?I guess I kind of answered this question above. The [only] way that I can always give 100% to my athletes is for my intense love of the sport and of my athletes. To me my athletes are so far from just clients that pay me money. I deeply care about each one and I sincerely want them to train, race, and be happy to obtain peak performance.

Do you think that you'll ever have to choose between coaching and really going for it as a pro? I mean the top triathletes aren't coaching anyone, and I assume this is because to compete at that level, training, nutrition, and recovery become a full time job. So, lay it all out there in an attempt to become a top pro, or build the coaching portfolio?

My priority is coaching. I would like to become Pro in the next couple of years. However, my number one objective is to build my coaching and provide for my family. Becoming a full time professional triathlete is just too risky for me right now in my life. I do believe that I will become a professional triathlete sometime in my early 30's. However, this will never take the place of my coaching or family. I have the utmost respect for professional triathletes, and I am friends with many of them. I think it is so amazing to live your dreams and realize your goals. If I do become a professional, I may cut back just a bit of my group coaching (e.g., running swim clinics) and other big time commitments to reach my peak performance. Nevertheless, I will always return to coaching [more broadly] and will absolutely remain coaching the athletes I have grown to love and care for. I want each athlete to do their very best, be happy, and never stop improving.

Do you have any formal training in exercise physiology, nutrition, or movement science? Where do you draw upon for most of your knowledge and subsequent approach to tailor-making your athletes' season plans.
Although my degree is in international business, I have since taken classes and trainings in exercise physiology and nutrition. Much of my knowledge and experience comes from USA Triathlon ("USAT"). I am frequently taking courses in physiology, nutrition, and other trainings through USAT and at the university level. I am a USAT Level 1 coach and will be upgrading to a level 2 status in the next couple of months. I plan on obtaining a Masters Degree in exercise physiology in the next few years as well. I am also a certified USA Swimming coach and I frequently attend trainings through their organization as well as USA Cycling, and USA Track and Field. There are many coaches out there who say they are a triathlon coach without certification from the body of our sport which is USAT. There are also many who think they don't need the certification or to continuously be learning the modern science of the sport due to their own knowledge and what they have learned through their own racing. This is a huge problem in our sport because doing well in this sport is very individual and you really have to understand the athlete and why their body is reacting to the training in a positive or a negative way. USAT is frequently involved with research and other new modern methods to help the individual succeed. There is no general or "cookie cutter" program that will work for a group of athletes. Each training plan should be individualized for the athlete and may be changed week to week based upon the athlete and his/her lifestyle and how their workouts went the previous week. There are many coaches out there who use a "cookie cutter" approach and base their knowledge upon their own experiences which is a problem.

More than a few influential people in the sport say it's a real problem that so many pros and aspiring pros without the formal pedigree and background are coaching. How would you respond to that?Professional triathletes, no doubt, have obtained lots of knowledge from their racing careers. However, like I said before many of them think that as long as they coach the way they learned and how they trained [and raced] their whole life themselves, they will be successful coaches. I believe that a former or current professional triathlete can be an amazing coach...as long as they do acquire the knowledge and continue learning through modern research, education, and also learn how to individualize around each athlete based upon their age, lifestyle, and other commitments.Most people can imagine the "good things" that athletes do in the athlete/coach relationship, but what is the one habit you may have noticed among your athletes that you simply can't stand?

Hahaha. This is a great question. The hardest thing for me to deal with is when athletes are over trained because they are adding their own workouts to the schedule since they think they aren't doing enough. Communication and trust between the athlete and coach is very important. It is important that the coach knows how the workouts are going and that the athlete is not overdoing it. Workouts should be monitored and adjusted week by week to make sure the athlete is not over training. Even if an athlete has the same amount of training as the previous week, but his work and family life has become very stressful, this athlete may be over training. Thus, communication between athlete and coach is of critical importance. If the athlete is doing extra workouts that the coach does not know about, that is what can and will lead to over training. So I guess that is what I can't stand!

Anything else I may have missed that you want to share?

Have I said that I love my job?!


Wes Johnson is a USAT Level 1 coach in Salt Lake City, Utah with GPP Endurance. He has coached athletes of all levels - from the Ironman World Championships in Kona to completing a sprint triathlon. He coaches athletes from all over the world and frequently puts on training camps all over the nation for varying levels of athletes. Contact him at wesjohn50@hotmail.com.