Part 1 Analysis of Sun Yang's Stroke - Head Position

Part 1, Swim Analysis, Sun Yang, Head Position

It's a very common problem I see when coaching, is critical to the speed of the stroke. Analysis of head position, including spine alignment, breathing, head angle.https://t.co/nfwlbsnauW#swimming #triathlon #ironman #ows pic.twitter.com/dv3Y7LnXfE

— Coach Iron Pete Triathlon Endurance (@ironpete_ultra) December 21, 2019

The Anatomy of a Perfect Endurance Freestyle Stroke - Preview

Olympic 1500m swimmer Sun Yang's freestyle is so efficient & perfect, triathletes should take a look. I posted a video; will analyze it, including: head position, arm entry, breathing pattern, and leg kick.https://t.co/v0zCWwG7he #triathlon #ironman #swimming #gofarthersports pic.twitter.com/SYR3U9Yu0f

— Coach Iron Pete Triathlon Endurance (@ironpete_ultra) December 18, 2019

Saucony Responds to Nike's New Technology!

Looks like Saucony has responded to Nike's full carbon plate brand of shoes with its own line!

Endorphin Speed, the lightweight racer.

You can access the Slowtwitch article here.

This is the very definition of competition, and it's a win-win for all of us runners and triathletes. Any type of banning would be very bad for the sports of running and triathlon and would run counter to the innovating trend of the shoe companies.

In addition, a ban on running shoes with full carbon plates doesn't make sense. Yes, there seems to be a big energy return on each step, but this is YOUR energy, energy that is put in when each foot hits the ground, not energy from outside assistance. In other words, the shoes basically increase the efficiency of your running. There's nothing wrong with that!
If the price is reasonable I might pick up some of these Saucony shoes in the near future.

Endorphin Shift, the trainer version of the line.

Ruth Purbrook - Works 60 Hours Per Week, Still Has Time To Train, Does Ironman in 9.5 hours!

"I don't have time to train." 

Sorry, your excuse is blown out of the water. Purbrook works 60 hrs per week, trains, & finishes Ironman in 9.5 hrs.

Make fitness a priority. It helps support work and family in incredible ways.


Meet Ruth Purbrook, the Ironman athlete that trains in her shed and works 60 hours each week in the City

#triathlon #saturdaymotivation #ironman

100 Tri Workouts in 100 Days in 2020!

Hmmm, quite interesting!

Slowtwitch is putting forward a "100 runs in 100 days" challenge that started on December 1. You can take a look at the link:

https://forum.slowtwitch.com/…/100_Challenge_Thread_P70875…/

You can join up now, if you want; if you have days off between December 1 and now, you can easily catch up with two runs in a day. We're all endurance athletes, so it shouldn't be a problem at all!

I was thinking of a similar challenge staring on January 1 for all athletes, not just those that I'm training. It will involve swimming and cycling as well. The reward for completing at least a 30 minute swim, bike, or run on each of the first 100 days of 2020 would be a good, solid base throughout the winter as spring approaches.

Heck, I'm signing up for this challenge myself!

It's a great incentive as this would be a great motivator! It should also give them a leg up on the competition when the challenge ends in April when it finally gets warmer out.

Let me know if you're interested in this kind of challenge! 😁

Confirmed for Ironman Maryland!

It's nice to be goal oriented. Now I have a goal to orient myself with next year.

The race is listed here on my 2020 schedule also (listed on the right). Expect more races to appear there soon.

This partiocular race is on September 19. Let's get cracking.


#ironman #immd #ironmanmaryland #triathlon

Ironman Arizona? Or Ironman Maryland?

First thing's first...
 
My personal training services are an expansion in an already successful effort through triathlon to promote fitness and health to those interested. The services will be listed on my website tomorrow, so stay tuned. I'll keep you updated on the details. 

On a more personal note, I'll be racing Ironman next year. The big decision was to be made today, as Ironman Arizona registration opened up and was expected to fill within hours. The other option was Ironman Maryland in September. Arizona required a plane trip, I can drive to Maryland from NYC. I think the decision is clear...


#IMMD #Ironman #triathlon #gofarthersports #mondaymotivations

Squatchy Leftovers 10K!

This is perhaps the last race of the year for me. Next event that I'll be doing (not a race) will probably be the Super Secret Hash in South Brunswick, NJ in January.

I had a decent day today, finishing 13th at the Squatchy Leftovers 10K at South Mountain Reservation, going 53:33. The hills in the back end were tough. Here I was running with the renowned Wizard, Phil Pagdanganan, at the beginning of the race.

This is perhaps the last race of the year for me. Next event that I'll be doing (not a race) will probably be the Super Secret Hash in South Brunswick, NJ in January.

#sassquad #trailrunning #running

Mark Your Calendars! Indoor Triathlon on Feb 29!

Looks like we'll be running an indoor triathlon out of the Staten Island JCC on the night of February 29!

It will be a 10 minute swim in the pool, a 30 minute ride on the spin bike, and 20 minutes of running on the treadmill. There will be a 10 minute break at "T1" and a 5 minute break at "T2."

There will also be a series of classes that will prepare everyone for the event, so any athlete from beginners to vets are welcome to join. It's tentative but the classes will involve Tuesday morning swims and bricks on Wednesday nights. This will also prepare athletes for the triathlon 2020 season also.

Once we hammer out the details I will publicly post the ad here to get the ball rolling!

Stay tuned! 😁👍

Congrats Lisa Lubarsky on the Philly Marathon!!!

Congrats to Go Farther Sports athlete Lisa Lubarsky, with an amazing 4:33:38 yesterday, smashing her 2014 marathon result by 22 mins (4:55:09)! Hard work pays off this year with an amazing #Ironman finish & the Philly #Marathon!#gofarthersports #running #mondaymotivation pic.twitter.com/xlIUJaIlrM

— Coach Iron Pete Triathlon Endurance (@ironpete_ultra) November 25, 2019

Other benefits of Fitness - 82 Year old Woman Fends Off Intruders.

There's something to be said about staying fit; case in point, when an 82 year old woman bodybuilder successfully destroys a home intruder.

Here is the Tweet and the Video:

“I’m alone and I’m old, but guess what? I’m tough.”

Willie Murphy is 82. She's a powerlifter. When a 28-yr-old man tried to break into her house - she says she took him DOWN. pic.twitter.com/MFXyrG1um0

— Seth Palmer (@sethpalmer3) November 22, 2019

Keep running and stay strong, my friends.

Good Luck at Philly Marathon and Ironman Arizona!

I want to wish the best of luck to everyone racing this weekend, especially:

#Ironman Arizona
Philadelphia #Marathon

May the wind always be at your back!

 #IMAZ #triathlon #PhillyMarathon #running #runningmotivation #fridaymotivation

The 100x100 on 100 Swim Challenge!!!

Next month, on December 30, my last workout of the year, I'll be looking to do the 100x100 on 100 (seconds) swim challenge. This has been a tradition in some Masters swims and one that I always wanted to try to see if I can do.
This year I said to myself, what the heck, let's give it a try! 😁👍

Most people do this in a 25 yard pool, but my pool is slightly longer at 25 meters, making it a little more of a challenge. I've been swimming quite strong lately, so I think I can manage a comfortable pace of 1:30 every 100. That leaves me just 10 seconds to rest before setting out on the next 100.

This will be done in the South Shore Y at 5AM. If you're interested in trying this out (or doing 50x100, or doing this at a more relaxed interval, etc), let me know and I'll try to get you into the pool there.

All in all, for me, this is going to take close to 3 hours to do, and it is over 6 miles of swimming. So I'll have to bring some energy gels and water in so that I can maintain this over the long haul.

It'll be a great way to end the year for me. Wish me luck!!!

The November Butterfly Challenge!

So now triathletes are challenging each other to a "butterfly challenge" this month on Slowtwitch. 😆

https://forum.slowtwitch.com/…/November_butterfly_challeng…/
We just don't know how to rest now, do we? LOL

The Butterfly stroke is the hardest stroke to master of all the swim strokes. There are plenty of triathletes who still don't know how to do a butterfly.

I've been swimming since my years in high school (1980s) and still I can hold a good butterfly for maybe 100 meters tops. After that, the stroke starts falling apart.

Yet, here we are, in the middle of the month, with people already claiming to swim 3000 yards of butterfly this month. Either they're very strong, very persistent, or they're outright lying. 🤣

All this aside, it's a great challenge to have in the middle of the offseason. Sometimes one loses track of the goals during this time, and this provides the necessary focus needed to keep training through the winter.

So will you challenge yourself this way? Or will you look at other strange ways to challenge yourself? Go for it!

The Bike Course is Back! Ironman Canada Interview With New RD

The new, um, old Ironman Canada venue. Interview with the RD. Yes, the original iconic bike course is back!

One of the biggest questions of the 2020 Ironman Penticton race is, "is the bike course the same?" To those who are new to the course, the old Ironman bike course is quite legendary for the hills, with Richter Pass being the legendary climb of the course. The huge rolling hills after Richter Pass also define the course, as well as the screaming 12 mile downhill back into town.

 Climbing Richter Pass has always been a rite of passage for anyone who finished in the old days of Ironman Canada.

The bike course is back!

Ironman in recent years has been trending towards looped courses and a lot of people were worried that this legendary course would be scrapped for a boring looped course. That's not to be the case here!

The run course is still up in the air, but would most likely be looped. That's fine though, since the old out and back run in the early days was just rolling hills and such; nothing really stood out on that course as much as the ride.

Here is a podcast about the new RD of that race. To all those who are lucky enough to get in next year's race, you're in for a treat! To all those on the fence or waiting till 2021 (including me), trust me, you won't go wrong with choosing this race

Here is the link:  www.fitspeek.com



#ironmancanada #imc #imc2020 #triathlon #trichat #gofarthersports

Mary Cain, Alberto Salazar, Nike. What Can Happen At The Top Level of Sport

I’m sure everyone has seen runner Mary Cain’s allegations against Nike coach Alberto Salazar. Some of you have also seen Alberto Salazar denying those allegations. Kara Goucher and others have also spoke out against Alberto Salazar, so a lot of these claims can be pretty legitimate.

The topic of this article is not to assign any type of blame (who is saying the truth, and who isn’t) because we honestly don't know where the truth lies in this case.

But everyone who does reads this needs to understand what can potentially happen at the higher level of sport. The public needs to know so that we can shed a light on this and make sure that our elite athletes are being looked after in terms of overall mental and physical well being. The potential for abuse is very high at the top level of sport.

99% of athletes are at the lower age group and recreational levels. Most of these recreational and age group athletes are there for the enjoyment of the sport and of fitness.

When one gets to the level of the professional athletes and the Olympics, things are drastically different. There is a “win at all costs” attitude that prevails at these high levels. This might be in the form of performance enhancing drugs, in which the sport of cycling has been plagued with in the past. Or, in this case, the riskiness of diet, weight, and supplementation that is alleged with Mary Cain, Alberto Salazar, and the Nike Oregon Project.
  

 This is the mindset at the top level of every sport and can come with many controversial and questionable methods of coaching. Please be warned.

Coaching, on the recreational level, involves a little risk taking. There’s always the risk of an injury here and there. At this level of coaching, it’s easy to prescribe rest, allow the injury to heal, and then resume the training from there.

When it comes to the competitive level, this risk does go up. Remember that at this level, performance starts to take priority over enjoyment. With tougher workouts comes the higher chance of injury. Every coach knows this. And if an injury does happen, instead of rest, coaches will try to train around the injury. In running, that might mean riding the bike instead for the lower levels of this level, or, on the higher level, coaches take more of a risk and try to “train through” the injury, knowing that there is a big risk of the body totally breaking down.

The question is, where is the ethical line crossed?

For coaches, this line is crossed when the overall physical and/or mental well being of the athlete is at risk.

At the highest level of sport (Olympics and such), coaches and their staff are pressured to satisfy their sponsors by prescribing questionable standards to get athletes to perform at the top part of their levels. Mary Cain is accusing Salazar of some of these questionable methods, including dropping weight beyond what is healthy, to the point that women were missing their periods. Mary Cain said that losing weight included birth control pills and diuretics, which is shocking to a lot of people who listened to her story.

Remember that these athletes are performing at the edge of human potential. If what Mary Cain says is true, I wouldn’t be surprised at all. At various levels, this is what happens at the top level of all sports. Running, gymnastics, swimming, weightlifting, etc. When pushing the boundaries of human potential, Olympic coaches are faced with taking huge risks with their athletes in order to “win at all costs.” There is a lot of pressure in this country, and in others, to see our athletes win on the world stage. With winning comes fame, and endorsements, and money.

We as a society are consumed with seeing our athletes winning in the Olympics and other world stages. Hopefully this will shed light on those athletes we want to win. We have to realize that these athletes we’re rooting to win are human beings and that they might be suffering in silence under pressure through their sporting programs in order to achieve this success.

Each of us coaches also have to draw the line on this risk taking also. How far do we take athletes to the point in which they risk permanently damaging their mental and physical health? It comes down to a question of ethics most of the time. A major sponsor wants results on the Olympic stage, needs coaches that produce those results at any cost. Unfortunately, there are a few coaches that will step forward that will throw ethics and the athletes’ well being aside to produce those results.

If you’re in a family of a very gifted athlete, please be vigilant and make sure that your athlete family member is happy and healthy. He or she might not tell it to you straight, but you can most likely see telltale signs if he or she is suffering, like depression, mood swings, or even physical signs (i.e. cutting or missed periods).

If you’re a coach, please be very mindful that this is a human being that you are training, not a robot. Ethics dictate that you take his or her overall well being into consideration when training the athlete. Although we coaches always want to see results, it never should be at the cost of the athlete’s healthiness and happiness. Not ever.

Coach “Iron” Pete Priolo

USA Triathlon Certified Coach

NASM Certified Personal Trainer
Go Farther Sports

www.gofarthersports.com

Registered for USATF National XC Championships

Registered! I have an affinity for National Championship races. Any why not? Nationals are the best races to compete against the best. I know some people are intimidated by this, but I've ALWAYS brought out my best in National Championship races.

 

Last time I attended Nats was #USAT #Triathlon in Cleveland this yr.

 

Last time I ran #USATF Nats was at the 100 mile Nationals at Rocky Raccoon in Texas 2 years ago (2nd place in AG with a time of 22 hour and 26 minutes).

This will be 10K, so I have to go fast! #running #xc #rvrr

 

 

 

Keeping The Speed in the Offseason - Local Races

It's pretty vital to keep the speed up during the offseason; doing several small local races is key to making that happen. Since I like to contribute to the teams of my local running club, Raritan Valley Road Runners, I will be running in the Ashenfelter 8K on Thanksgiving morning for the #USATFNJ Grand Prix Champs.

There will be more local races to follow...like the Squatchy Leftovers 5K and the USATF National Cross Country Championships in Bethlehem, PA in December.

Three Successful Finishers I Helped Coach Who Crushed NYC Marathon!

Congratulations to all who finished the #NYCMarathon yesterday. I want to especially acknowledge three individuals that rocked the race!

Lisa Lubarsky

Lisa Lubarsky - Ironman and marathon runner, she recovered from a bad accident on her bike last year to complete her first Ironman at Mont Tremblant last August, then did great yesterday at her first straight-up marathon yesterday with a time of 5:06! Congrats on coming completely back to crush this race!

Karen Snyder Soren

Karen Snyder Soren - Finished her first back-to-back marathons in as many weeks. She finished the Marine Corps Marathon last week in very stormy weather. She did a good recovery which involved swimming last week to come back strong at NYC yesterday, finishing with Lisa with a time of 5:06!

Kevin Nedza

Kevin Nedza - He's in the middle of an epic breakout season, setting a high PR of 3:45! He'll be in a short recovery period with his mind set on getting his first 50 miler done at the San Diego 50 this winter. Good luck!!!

NYC Marathon - I Will Be At The Start!

I will be either cycling or running to the corner of McClean Avenue and Lily Pond Ave (picture below, at the red dot), which should be the main entrance into the staging area of the marathon. Either look for a guy on a bike (if I'm cycling) or a Tilley hat (if I'm running) at that corner. I will be there until around 9:30AM.

Remember that there is a time change the night before the race; that might give you an extra hour to prepare...or to bite more of your nails in nervousness.

I want to wish everyone the best of luck in the big race!

NYC marathon and Halloween Candy = No!

If you're tapering for the #NYC #Marathon this Sunday, please, please, PLEASE don't eat the Halloween candy! #runchat #NYCMarathon #NYRR #gofarthersports #running

#runchat #NYCMarathon #NYRR #gofarthersports #running

Check out Great Britain's Track Bike for 2020 Olympics!

Oh Lordy! This is the bike that Great Britain is going to use in the track #cycling event in the 2020 Summer Olympics. Every inch of this bike screams "fast!" 

 Shouldn't be too long until this spills into #triathlon. 😁

Link is here: https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/olympics/british-cycling-reveals-incredible-lotus-hope-track-bike-2020-olympic-games-441456

Congrats to those who finished Marine Corps Marathon!

I'll keep this short today.

Here's a picture floating around the internet of the Marine Corps Marathon. I know several people, including one I coached, who did the marathon and the 50K race in these conditions. Congrats to Karen Snyder Soren for braving these elements to finish her marathon!

And you thought the East Brunswick 12K race was bad yesterday. 😆
As for the NYC Marathon this Sunday: High of 52 degrees, lots of sun. Let's hope it stays that way.

I know it's early, but this looks promising for the NYC Marathon.

East Brunswick 12K Race!

I must admit, I had flashbacks of Ironman Ireland in the race this morning, with the heavy rain at the East Brunswick 12K race.

Luckily, temps were in the 70s this time, not the 40s. It's a bit of a difference.
I kept it reasonable today, opting not to try for an all out assault on the course. It turned out to be a tempo run at a 7:10 pace (officially they have me at 7:26 pace, but my GPS found the course to be 0.2 miles long).

Ran with Mark Hinkeldey also for the entire race; he was having fun. He's doing a 24 hour race at One Day in two weeks, so he's well into his taper. My prediction is that he will get 100 miles in and get that belt buckle.
Oops, better make that 101 miles. That belt buckle says so. That extra lap is going to suck. Sorry Mark. 🤣

Congratulations to the RDs and the volunteers at #RVRR for successfully organizing the race. Willing to run this again next year.

Hopefully without the rain. 🤠

Good luck at Narine Corps Marathon Tomorrow Karen!!!

I want to wish all running the Marine Corps #Marathon tomorrow the best of luck, including Karen Soren from #StatenIsland (whom I'm coaching).

This will be the first of her double, with #NYCMarathon next Sunday being the second. Temps are warm but a light rain might cool it down a little. Run like the wind

#running #saturdaymotivation

Congrats to Maggie Gutterl for Winning Bi's Backyard Ultra!

I want to congratulate Maggie Gutterl on her victory in outlasting all the others in this grueling race, Big's Backyard Ultra. It took her 60 laps, or 250 miles, to be the last person standing!

All of us Trail WhippAss Trail Runners back in the East where she lived (Pennsylvania) were pretty much glued to our computer screens to see whether she can prevail. And that she did!

I'll go out on a limb here and give her the odds on favorite to defend her title again next year.

2019 Big's Ultra!

The Race: Big Dog's Backyard Ultra

Distance: 4.16667 mile loop

Goal: To finish the loop under 1 hour and get to the starting corral again to start the next loop. If the runner doesn't make it to the starting corral, he or she is out. The race continues every hour until there is one person left standing.

It's a very simple, but very cruel concept. It's quite easy to run a 14 minute mile to complete the loop in under an hour. But spread it out over 60+ hours, and that's where the cruelty comes in. Ouch!

Last year's winner: Johan Steene outlasted Courtney Dauwalter after 67 laps (280 miles!).

The 2019 race is happening now; as of this post, the runners are on their 29th lap, or 29th hour. It'll be interesting to see who the last person standing will be this year.

You can follow the results at the link here: https://my5.raceresult.com/139372/?fbclid=IwAR2z011sQZc1y1eu7uNkrM0QmkDQy-TKo3vp2hVJlPoLO7z1I-GMaPJxyCA#0_B3DC1F

"Performance Enhancing" Shoes? Nope. Just More Effficient on Energy Return. So What's the Controversy?

I like to address the "gray area" of performance enhancing equipment. And why there is a controversy when I really think there isn't one.

Last weekend, we had some big things happening in marathon and triathlon. We had Kipchoge break the elusive 2 hour barrier in the marathon. We had Jan Frodeno break the Ironman Hawaii record in hot, windy conditions. And we had Brigid Kosgei break the women's world record at the Chicago Marathon.

I'm not sure about Brigid Kosgei, but the other 2 have achieved their feats with "performance enhancing" shoes with carbon plates in them that are designed to bounce back, adding a spring-like return on the push-off.Here is an article about the shoes Kipchoge wore in his sub 2 hour marathon: 'It feels like running on trampolines' - Kipchoge & Kosgei's marathon trainers

As this article suggests, there seems to be some controversy about these products. And I remember some of the governing bodies banning some of them from their competition (remember Spiro shoes and USATF?).

The problem with calling this "cheating" is that endurance sports have been providing technological advances in products since the dawn of time. We now have very light carbon bikes in triathlon and there seems to be no complaints. The swimming pools are now engineered to eliminate waves the swimmers make, making them all faster. That's not to mention the new hydrophobic swim skins that the swimmers wear themselves. Heck, even the tech shirts all of us runners wear nowadays is a huge step up from the old moisture-absorbing cotton shirts that we wore in the 80s, giving us all a "performance boost" in races.

To all those who consider the shoes that Kipchoge and Frodeno wore "cheating", where do you draw the line? Do we go back to the heavy steel bikes and cotton shirts again?

In my opinion, there really is no controversy. All of these products are considered "performance enhancing", but the energy still comes from the athletes themselves! These products just make it more efficient to deliver that energy to where it's needed.

There's no outside force that's propelling these athletes to new highs. So I see nothing wrong with the shoes these athletes wore at all.

The only controversy that I might see regarding this subject is if the cost of the new technology is outside the reach of 90% of the public. For instance, if a shoe delivered, say, a 20% increase in times yet it would cost $30,000 to obtain the shoe, then I can understand that argument. But most of these products are within a fair price range of the public.

Anyway, I would love to hear your take on this. As one popular host says, change my mind. 😁

Ironman hawaii!

Time for Ironman World Champs in Hawaii!  

https://facebook.com/IRONMANnow/videos/469849723871935/?notif_id=1570890296494503&notif_t=live_video  

#ironmanworldchampionship #ironman #triathlon #trichat #saturdaymotivation

London Marathon Lottery - Nope!

Oh darn.

I didn't get into London Marathon next year. I'm gonna cry!

To be honest, I totally forgot about this and registered for the St. Anthony's Triathlon in Florida the very same weekend. Florida has nicer weather in April anyway. 😁

Congrats to those few that did get into London.

My Formal Invite to 2020 USAT Nationals

Thanks for the invite! I'll definitely be registering soon.

#nationalchamps #usatriathlon #triathlon #twentytwenty #pursueexcellence #usatnationals

Preliminary Analysis of Strength Training on Competitive Aerobic Activities Such as Cycling and Running.

This is quite interesting. My weekly cycling and running mileage has been down for at least a month into the off-season. I have, however, been upping my core strength training...A LOT...both inside and outside the gym, for at least 3 times per week.

Lateral Bounding

Yesterday I went to Warinanco Park for a 20 mile time trial on my bike, about 11 laps of a 1.9 mile loop that has a small hill on it. Again, I have only been pushing around 50 miles of cycling per week after August.

I wound up doing 20.03 miles in 53:17, averaging 22.55 MPH on the bike. This is about the same as around my peak training period. And I felt much more stable on my bike, and also felt like I can push at least another 10 miles at this speed.
I'm very sure the stability at this speed is attributable to a much stronger core.
Amazing at what some weights, a slosh pipe, and even some simple squats and planks can do.

I really think that I can even push 25MPH on the bike next year at Olympic Distance Triathlons, including the one I just registered in Florida and the National Champs in Milwaukee. And if I assume this will translate into running too, if I can push close to 40 minutes in the 10K of that race, I will come awfully close to that 2 hour mark in those races.

Of course, a lot can happen between now and then, but this is concrete evidence that there is improvement here.

I'm pretty excited to see what happens in the coming weeks.

#triathlon #pursueexcellence #twentytwenty