February
21 Update
In
this issue...
Swim drill of the week - The long stroke
drill
Need a wetsuit? - Win one in the Nineteen "I need
a wetsuit" contest
Do NOT try this at home - the WRONG way to test your reaction
time
YTri weekly schedule
Swim drill
of the week - The long stroke drill
Many swim coaches and instructional books emphasize the
roles of effective body length and body rotation in freestyle
technique, and for good reason. Any boatbuilder will tell
you that the longer the vessel, the faster it goes. And
by rotating, you can both access your powerful lats for
propulsion as well as increase your effective body length
even more (don't believe me? try facing a wall and reaching
as high as you can. Then turn sideways - you can reach
even higher). For this reason, good swimmers spend the
majority of their time on their sides rather than their
front.
The long stroke drill is a fantastic way to help develop
a long body position and balance in a rotated position.
In this drill, you push off the wall and roll on your
side with the lower arm stretched out in the direction
you are going and your upper arm at your side. Applying
pressure down on your armpit to maintain a good position,
kick 10 times and then take one powerful stroke as you
roll to the other side. Breathe as necessary, but for
best results your face will be under the water most of
the time looking to the side. As you progress you can
work your way up to a 6 beat kick between strokes and
approach a normal looking freestyle stroke.
As a swim coach, I see few drills that work as well for
both beginners and more accomplished swimmers as this
one does. It might not be that fun at first, but it does
a great job at developing length and balance in the water.
For more help with this and other drills, come out to
the YTri Wednesday swim from 6:00-7:30am. All levels of
swimmers are welcome for this workout which combines technique
development, fitness and fun!
Need a wetsuit?
- Win one in the Nineteen "I need a wetsuit"
contest
As a sponsor of the Subaru Triathlon Series, Nineteen
Wetsuits are on the lookout for desperate triathletes
in dire need of wetsuits. Are you such a person? Plead
you case to them and you might get lucky this spring.
Here are the details:
Nineteen "I Need a Wetsuit" Contest
Nineteen, along with the Subaru Triathlon Series, is
giving away wetsuits to four lucky athletes who really
need them. All you have to do is send us an email convincing
us that you need a wetsuit -- it is that easy! If you
have never owned a triathlon wetsuit before, this is your
chance to win one of three Nineteen Pipeline fullsuits.
Do you need a new, high performance wetsuit? We are also
giving away a brand new, redesigned Riptide fullsuit.
Do you feel like a popsicle every time you go for an open
water swim in June? Are your friends making fun of your
neon wetsuit? Tell us about it and you could win. Is a
faster wetsuit all that is holding you back from making
the next Olympics? Tell us your story! To enter, simply
plead your case to jfraser@skylinc.net
along with your name, email and phone number. Contest
entries will be accepted until June 15, 2005. Winners
will be announced at Victoria's, Milton, Muskoka and Guelph
I races. Enter early for the best chance to win! For more
information please visit http://www.nineteentriathlon.com/subaru
Do NOT try this at home
- the WRONG way to test your reaction time
YTri member Steve Waytowich has written in to ask an important
question and relate his experience with the answer. This
one is a must read, and reminds us that some of us need
helmets even when riding indoors!
What is your reaction time?
You see it all the time. People reacting
to situations with cat like reflexes and graceful maneuvers.
Some people inherently have this ability to quickly respond
to what life dishes out. I do not.
Let me set the stage. I have (as you know)
recently started using an indoor bike trainer. For those
who don't know this is a piece of equipment that you bolt
a regular bike to a flywheel so you can ride your bike
indoors. I have two, one that is stationary and one that
is "portable". Ideally I would like to use the
stationary trainer and set it up in front of the TV so
that I could watch the news, sports, or the odd movie
or two while blissfully riding away on my trainer. The
problem is my wife views this as an unsightly lump of
metal that clutters up "her" living room. I
have solved this problem by using the "portable"
trainer and using the garage or laundry room depending
on the weather and my wife's mood.
So. On Monday I was off because of Heritage
Day. My wife on the other hand, was not. Inside the trainer
went. A quick 25km and a good sweat later, and it was
left for another day. That day was yesterday (Wednesday).
My wife uses this night to scrapbook, which involves finely
cut pieces of paper arranged just so which are then glued
around a picture resulting in a piece of heirloom art
that can be passed down to another generation. Since a
wind trainer generates "wind", said pieces of
paper usually end up strewn around the room from one end
to the other. This usually results in me moving more than
my wind trainer into the garage.
So, after bathing our two girls, I setup
in the garage for a 45 minute ride. I had my music, my
water bottle, and my brand new clips and shoes. Off I
went. Being clipped in is great. It gives maximum efficiency
to almost any leg movement. Almost. About ten minutes
into the ride I was into the Aero position and pedaling
away in a higher gear. I had a good cadence going and
the last time I looked at my Speedo it was registering
31km/hr. Then it happened. In my rush to get going I forgot
to tighten the clamps all the way down.
My garage is 18 feet long. My stereo is
at one end. I do not set up at the door because there
is a draft. I usually set up about the middle. 9 feet.
I don't know what the actual time to impact was, but I
am sure someone (Mike, Dad, Rich?) with a math background
could figure it out. Needless to say, I learned the following
lessons:
1. Clip less Pedals are damn near impossible
to get out of upside down.
2. A 180lb man riding an out of control
bike has a poor chance to win a collision with a wall.
3. There are lock down nuts on "portable"
trainers for a reason.
4. A bike traveling 31km/hr leaving a trainer
will leave a noticeable skid mark on a concrete floor
(similar to planes landing)
5. Drywall is harder than it looks.
6. Helmets should be used indoors.
7. It takes about 5 seconds to fully comprehend
slamming violently into a wall while being clipped into
a bike.
I hurt only my pride and actually reset
and finished my ride.
So, the next time you get on your trainer,
tighten your bolts, leave reaction room (the runway as
I call it now), and do up your chin strap.
Sincerely,
Steve Waytowich
EDITOR'S NOTE: Steve, at 31km/hr it would have taken you
0.319 seconds to travel 9 feet. According to the St. Petersburg
Times (http://www.sptimes.com/2004/08/20/Olympics/Start_anxiety.shtml),
it takes between 0.1 and 0.15 seconds for Olympic Sprinters
to react to the starting gun and begin running. You had
more than twice that long! Looks like you need to practice
this maneuver more.
YTri weekly schedule
Wednesday Swim
6:00-7:30am
YMCA Pool
All abilities welcome, come for all or part of the session
Friday Brick (spin/run/core)
6:30-8:30pm
YMCA Spin Studio
Bikes and trainers encouraged, spin bikes available
Sunday Cycle/Core
8:15-10:15am
YMCA Spin Studio
Bikes and trainers encouraged, spin bikes available
See you there!!
