USAT Pacific Northwest Region Winter Triathlon Championship Results

Brutal. Hardest thing I’ve ever done. Harder than an Ironman. Yes, the puppies were indeed howling on Sunday.

Summarizing the race, competitors tossed out a few juicy expletives in transition and at the finish line, too.

Hills, ice, varying course and snow conditions, especially along the “soft” bike course, challenged racers all morning long.

At the finish, all were happy to have endured, to LIVE ON, remembering ”YOU ARE A POWDER HOUND!”

Welcome to the emerging world of winter triathlon, Montana-style.

Congratulations to the USAT Pacific Northwest Region Winter Triathlon Champions. Well done, indeed.

#1 Female — Laurie Thatcher

#1 Male — Alex Lussier

The Bozeman Triathlon Club and Homestake Lodge thank all racers, dog pound supporters, USAT, the USAT PNW Region, and our sponsors for supporting the Championship and Powder Hound Winter Triathlon. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to the Powder Hound in 2011! Growl on.

Triton News – HOT Triton Tidbits!

BOZEMAN TRIATHLON CLUB
NEWS SUMMARY

Latest Triton News Available Right Here on the Club Blog – Subscribe Today!

Triton Winter Camp – This weekend, 1/29-31. Snow continues to fly at Homestake Lodge! Coach Mandy says ski conditions are “sweet.” Should be a great weekend of skiing and racing. Skate skiing galore. Serious Rudy Project swag for Triton campers, too. Only three reservations remain. Contact Coach Mandy for details, reservations. mandy@homestakelodge.com.

USAT Pacific Northwest Region Winter Triathlon Championship – This Sunday, 1/31. Unleash the hounds!  We’re still receiving entries, and have already exceeded the number of racers over last year. Over thirty, as of yesterday. Beginners are absolutely welcome. The winter triathlon format itself is just beginning, emerging. So, just join in the fun. Put on your Powder Hound game face, the camera crew is ready! Hope to see you on Sunday at Homestake Lodge. Register at www.active.com.

Triton Indoor Cycling – MultiRider program SOLD OUT. Free use of the Triton CompuTrainer remains available to all Tritons. Schedule via the new Triton Scheduling Platform here – http://bit.ly/6pTOy9. This link will always be available on the Training Ahead section of the Triton blog, too.

Triton Annual Meeting – The Club is planning to meet at the end of February, say on a Friday, to primarily develop and organize spring and summer program(s). Meeting venue and date ideas are welcome. Additionally, if you are interested in volunteering to serve as a Club coach, director, or in some other capacity, please bring it on, and let us know soon. Greatly appreciated. Other suggestions welcome. Email Laurie lthatcher@lycos.com  or Art art.thompson@yahoo.com .

Opt In, Triton News – Free, easy email subscriptions are now available. Please sign up via the Email Subscription widget in the upper right hand corner of the Club blog. thanks!

For complete Triton news and information, always click on the Tritons blog @ www.bozemantritons.org.

Follow the Tritons for the latest news! Tweets available at http://twitter.com/BozemanTritons.

QUOTABLES
DO WHAT YOU CAN AT THE MOMENT – Dave Scott
TRAIN WITH A PURPOSE – Michelle Blessing
NEVER JUST GO THROUGH THE MOTIONS – Jason Lezak
TRAIN ON – )

Powder Hound Winter Triathlon & Camp

Hey everyone! A last reminder about the early bird deadline for the Powder Hound Winter Tri. Grab some friends and do it as a team, or go solo. It should be loads of fun and a good time all around – racing, music, food, beer, and (hopefully) sunshine! Early bird deadline is today, January 16. Print off a form on www.homestakelodge.com/events or sign up on www.active.com.

Also, we have a great weekend planned for the Triton winter tri camp. We’ll be doing lessons and wax clinics. There will be lots of time for free skiing, or game playing and hanging out by the fire in the lodge. Don’t forget to sign up!

Hope to see you the last weekend in January.

Snow and Ski conditions at Homestake Lodge: We have good skiing right now. Its been warm and we haven’t received a lot of snow yet this year, but the conditions are surprisingly good. There are some thin spots out there, but other than that the skate skiing is super.

Powder Hound Coverage in USA Triathlon Life Magazine

The winter edition of USA Triathlon Life Magazine was published yesterday, including some nice coverage of the Club’s Powder Hound Winter Triathlon.  See article below. Post press, the USA Triathlon Pacific Northwest Region selected the Powder Hound as the home for the 2010 Winter Triathlon Region Championship. For more information on the Powder Hound, the linked Tritons Winter Camp, and the Championship, please see the 11/4, 12/9 and 12/22 blog posts. Thanks to USA Triathlon, USA Triathlon Life Magazine, the USAT Pacific Northwest Region, Pacific Northwest Council Chair Ann Gilbert, and Managing Editor Jayme Ramson for the following Powder Hound Winter Triathlon article. Republished here with permission. Join us on January 31 for a day of snowy triathlon fun.

Powder Hound Awarded Championship!

USA TRIATHLON
PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION
WINTER TRIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIP

The Powder Hound Winter Triathlon received an early holiday gift yesterday, when USA Triathlon selected the event to serve as the 2010 Pacific Northwest Region Winter Triathlon Championship. The USAT Pacific Northwest Region includes Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Washington.

The Championship will be held on Sunday, January 31 at Homestake Lodge, Butte, Montana. The race consists of a 5K run, 10K mountain bike, and 5K Nordic ski.

Triathletes, skiers, cyclists, runners, multisport enthusiasts, including beginners, individuals, pairs, and teams of three racers, are all welcome to participate.

Registration includes the race, lunch and a trail pass for a full day of Nordic skiing at Homestake Lodge, Montana’s best new Nordic skiing venue.

Championship prizes include a $500 Rudy Project shopping spree for the #1 male & female finisher and a $300 CrossFit 4800 3-month membership for the #2 male & female finisher.

Registration is available at www.active.com. A discounted, early bird entry fee is available until January 16, 2010.

The Bozeman Triathlon Club and Homestake Lodge partner to deliver the Powder Hound — the first winter triathlon in the state of Montana and the northern Rockies.

USA Triathlon serves as the national governing body for triathlon – the fastest growing sport in the world. USAT represents more than 130,000 members, making it the largest multisport organization in the world.

Additional information, including a mail-in entry form, is available at www.homestakelodge.com or the www.bozemantritons.org blog (click on the File Box widget on the lower right hand margin of this page), or contact Race Director Chris Axelson at 406-585-8052 and chris@homestakelodge.com.

2nd Annual Triton Winter Camp! Homestake Lodge, 1/29-31

HERE’S A HEALTHY, HOLIDAY GIFT IDEA
More Fuel for the MultiSport LifeStyle.

2010 TRITON WINTER CAMP!
Powder Hound Winter Triathlon Weekend.

Click Here for Cool Program Info -
2010 Triton Winter Camp

Only 20 Slots Available.
For Reservations, Email Mandy @ mandy@homestakelodge.com

TRAINING — NORDIC SKIING IMPROVES TRIATHLON EFFICIENCY
Triathlete Magazine – January 2009, By Jimmy Archer
“As athletes mature, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain a steady rate of improvement. However, introducing new and different activities into your training offers new challenges to help you break out of your physical and psychological rut. One of the best options for triathletes looking for a new challenge during the off-season is Nordic skiing. Generally known as skate skiing (although there are both skate and classic forms), Nordic skiing is an ideal cross-training option for triathletes and offers numerous benefits, including excellent aerobic development due to full body demand; core body stability and strengthening; improved balance and coordination; injury prevention; and increase triathlon-specific efficiency.”

Click here for Entire Article – Nordic Skiing Improves Triathlon Efficiency
Article used with the permission of Triathlete Magazine.

2010 Powder Hound Winter Triathlon

2nd ANNUAL POWDER HOUND WINTER TRIATHLON
5K Run, 10K Mountain Bike, 5K Nordic Ski
10:00 AM Sunday, January 31, 2010 ● Homestake Lodge, Butte, Montana, USA

Homestake Lodge and the Bozeman Triathlon Club are partnering to deliver the POWDER HOUND — the first winter triathlon in the State of Montana and the northern Rockies.

Bark, growl, unleash your inner snow dog, and have a howlin’ good time, while running, mountain biking, and Nordic skiing on the groomed ski trails of Homestake Lodge, high atop the Continental Divide. Get out of your comfort zone, stretch your boundaries, and have another kind of racing fun!

The Powder Hound offers athletes – including triathletes, Nordic and downhill skiers, mountain bikers, cyclocross riders, cyclists, runners, swimmers, off-road enthusiasts, and many others — a terrific opportunity to expand their multisport skills, vary mid-winter training, improve fitness, and compete.

Rudy Project, Triton team sponsor and world renowned Italian manufacturer of sunglasses and helmets (www.e-rudy.com) , will be providing two $500 MSRP shopping spree packages for the first male and first female winner. The winners could score shades worn by Tour de France King of the Mountain Franco Pellizzotti and the world’s fastest new time trial helmet for their victories.

Registration for the Powder Hound Winter Triathlon is available on www.active.com. Participants may race as individuals, in pairs, or in teams of three. Registration includes the race, lunch, and a full day of Nordic skiing at Homestake Lodge, Montana’s best new Nordic skiing venue.

Race support volunteers are welcome. Various positions in the DOG POUND – at registration, in transition, timing or out-on the course — are available. Cheer the racers on! Volunteers enjoy a lunch and a full day of skiing at Homestake Lodge, too.

Come on out to Homestake Lodge, race or volunteer, and enjoy the entire day. Growling, howling and other basic powder hound communication skills are mandatory. Non-propulsive, snow canine accoutrements are welcome.

Come on! Discover the fun and competition of a winter triathlon. Be a POWDERHOUND.

For additional information, check out www.homestakelodge.com , www.bozemantritons.org blog, or contact Mandy at mandy@homestakelodge.com

Functional Threshold Test

Good morning, Tritons!  Great job yesterday to those who rode at CrossFit 4800 and did their threshold test.  As promised, I wanted to further explain how you can calculate your power zones (similar to your heart rate zones) for training purposes.  But first, I will explain the test and some things you want to consider when you take the test next time.

Warm-up:  Approx 30 minutes (15 min easy spin, 5 min hard – but not all out, 5 min easy spin, 3 min hard, 1 min easy spin).  You want to always do the same warmup for your tests.  Keep everything as consistent as you can.  If you ride at 6 pm, then ride at 6 pm for all your same tests.  By keeping all aspects consistent, you are ensuring that you are getting good and accurate results of where your fitness level is at.  Don’t forget to also get the same amount of rest before each test.

Main set:  20 minutes of as hard as you can go.  Remember, in order to get faster on the bike, you need to not only get stronger but also get more efficient on the bike.  While everyone should always strive to improve their power on the bike, they should first consider their efficiency first before they concern themselves with their average wattage.  If you are on a triathlon bike, ride the bike as you would in a race – get into your aerobars.  You are not very efficient by sitting up and “mashing” the pedals. 

Functional Threshold Power (FTP) is your average wattage for the 20-minute test minus 5%.  This gives a more precise estimate for your FTP, which usually encompasses a 60-minute test.

Cool-down:  5 minutes of easy spinning.

Power zones (from Training and Racing with a Power Meter by Hunter Allen and Andrew Coggan)

Active Recovery             <55% of FTP

Endurance                         56-75% of FTP

Tempo                                 76-90% of FTP

Lactate Threshold          91-105% of FTP

VO2 Max                             106-120% of FTP

Note:  From my personal experience (both training and coaching), don’t get yourselves wrapped up in numbers.  I know that some of us are very analytical, and love to crunch numbers and get everything dialed in, which is GOOD…if applied properly.  If you are this type of person, channel most of that energy into your race-day nutrition (especially you long-course athletes).  As far as exercising and workouts go, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.  Most, if not all, elite-level athletes do train with a purpose…but they train also by how they feel.  DON’T BE A SLAVE TO THE NUMBERS!!  Monitor your heart rate first, then make note of your wattage.

Hope this helps.  Happy training everyone.

Aubrey

Wetsuit Deal

Hi folks!

Hope the computrainer ride went well the other night.  I recently had an opportunity come up for deals on wetsuits.  XTERRA Wetsuits contacted me and offered some killer deals on their wetsuits.  Right now, you can save 50% on most of their suits.  The current rate is good until the end of January!  They will still have discounted rate after this month as well.  If anybody is interested in this deal, please contact me, and I can give you the information.  They offer a 2 year warranty along with 30 day refund, and 30 day size exchange.

This can be another great option aside from the wetsuits that Tony at Fleet Feet offer.

Thanks much!  See you on the trails!

matthewbryanparks@gmail.com

406 580 7987

Happy Holidays

Hello fellow triathletes!

I hope everyone is doing well with the wintertime so far in the Bozone.  Snowshoeing and nordic skiing are high on my list of activities during winter.  Very wet up in Hyalite today, but had a great snowshoe up past History Rock.  Had great views of the Gallatin Valley up at the top.  Make sure to get out as often as you can!

With the start of the computrainer rides at Crossfit, I wanted to remind everyone that I can help you with advice on basic bike fits as well as specific exercise testing of your lactate threshold.  Lactate threshold testing can assist in making your indoor training rides more effective by knowing what your exact training zones should be.  Testing on regular intervals also demonstrates how much your fitness/performance can increase.

If you have questions about this or other triathlon related questions (programming, training and conditioning, recovery, etc.), please let me know.  Happy Holidays to you and your family!

Matt. 580 7987 matthewbryanparks@gmail.com

IMPORTANT East Gallatin Recreation Area Survey!

Hey Tritons! Please take two minutes to complete this quick, six question survey. Your response is IMPORTANT to our triathlon training and open water swimming future at the Pond! I have added a few survey suggestions for members to consider below. If you would like, please feel free to copy and paste the suggestions, AND please feel free to have family members and friends respond, too. Hopefully, we can get a major league, viral-like response. Thanks, and have a terrific holiday weekend, train on, Art

To respond to the survey, click here — www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=5u7PNiE_2b4puwKMtGvIBvvw_3d_3d
Additional information, or if the above link does not work, click here – www.bozemansunriserotary.org

Question 4.
From the list of activities below, please select the one in which you would most likely participate.
Suggestion: Check OTHER, and add “Triathlon Training, Triathlons, Open Water Swimming, and Open Water Swimming Competitions”.

Question 5.
From the list below of possible “minor” improvements to the park, please rank them in order of importance to you.
Suggestion: Check OTHER, and add “Priority #1 – Permanent open water swim buoys for the pond, planned and placed in a manner to provide a wide variety of precisely measured, long distance triathlon swim and open water swim courses. Priority #2 – Lifeguards.”

Question 6.
From the list below of possible “major” improvements to the park, please rank them in order of importance to you.
Suggestion: Check OTHER, and add “Priority #1 — Two or more, LARGE floating docks, placed mid-pond, separated by a precisely measured, long open water swim distance of approximately 200 meters-plus (as long as possible, depending on what distance is reasonably available) and connected by lane rope(s) or floating cable(s). Swimmers can swim between the docks and get coached/gather/rest/sun/etc at the platforms.”