We've concluded our triathlon and duathlon events for the 2023 season! Thank you to all who participated and volunteered to make each of our events a success!

Continue to check our Facebook Group for any additional get-togethers that may be happening.

Please join us again next year! Membership is annual, beginning in March. Next year's membership begins on March 1, 2024!

Also check our Facebook Group for locals who are training in town or down at Lake Mead. Post your workouts!

Thanks everyone!

The New Triathlete

Halloween, The Quintessential Triathlon Holiday!

No other holiday suits Triathletes better than Halloween. Sure, there’s a good argument for Christmas being better for us, but be realistic – what are your chances of seeing a new $9,000 bike under the Christmas tree? Halloween is our holiday.

Why? To start with, we’ve got the best costumes. From black rubber body suits to skin-tight racing kits, we beat that Frankenstein outfit and the bedsheet ghost costume hands-down. And we can also go incognito if we so desire: Show up at a Halloween party looking like a drowned rat in a wetsuit, swim goggles and swim cap and see how many people recognize you. I once introduced myself to a fellow triathlete and asked her what her name was. Having never seen her in a swim cap, wetsuit and goggles, I didn’t realize that she was a good friend – I thought she was going to hit me…

Another reason Halloween is our holiday is the whole “Trick or Treat” thing. Triathlon gives you both in abundant supply. I once rode from the M resort to Jean with a slight tailwind, then, upon turning around, had the wind change direction and push me all the way back home. Quite the unexpected treat! My first age-group win came when a couple of faster rivals failed to show up – quite the treat as well. Crossing the finish line is always a treat, and crossing the finish line with a good friend beside you is a very special and unexpected treat that is even better than getting your favorite candy bar on Halloween. 

I’ve also had my share of ‘tricks.’ I’ve done the same M to Jean route with a headwind in both directions, and I’ve had a flat tire coming out of T-1. Heck, I’ve even ENTERED T-2 and not been able to find my bike, taking a few minutes to realize that I was holding it in my hands… Yes, triathlon is full of tricks as well as the obvious treats. 

So, my friends, consider that Halloween is a metaphor for your racing and training -- you’ll never know whether you’re going to get a trick or a treat. But those puffed rice cakes and mini bottles of hand sanitizer will help you to appreciate the Heath bars and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups when you do get them. And allow yourself to smile when you get either one.

~ Bob Gamble

Coach's Corner:

Unlocking the Off-Season: Tricks and Treats for Triathletes

Hello, fellow athletes! As we prepare for cooler weather and Halloween approaches, we find ourselves at the end of our race season. While a few races still loom on the horizon, many of us have already completed our challenges for the year. Now, with some precious time on our hands before the next training cycle, it’s time to embrace the “trick and treat” of the off-season.

First, let’s explore the “tricks” of the off-season. This is the period where we can address those weaknesses that held us back during the racing season. Whether it’s shedding a few extra pounds, refining our swim strokes, increasing our power on the bike, or simply finding that extra speed in our running stride, this is the time to focus. But before you dive headfirst into intense training, remember the essential trick of the off-season: recovery and relaxation. The first few weeks of your off-season should be about sleeping in, ignoring early alarms, taking leisurely walks, spending quality time with your loved ones, and perhaps enjoying the occasional casual swim, bike ride, or run. Keep the effort level low; it’s a time to work, but not too hard. Gauge your effort based on perceived exertion, not power or heart rate – you want to recharge.

Now, let’s talk about the “treat” of the off-season. When you return to serious training in preparation for the upcoming race season, you’ll find that you’ve gained a renewed hunger for competition. You won’t suffer from burnout because you took time to reset during the off-season. It’s during this time that you can focus on your goals in swimming, biking, and running without the pressure of impacting your training. Think of it as the sweet reward for your dedication to the “tricks” of the off-season.

So, this October, as you contemplate the “trick or treat” season, embrace the off-season as an opportunity to both challenge your limits and savor the rewards of rest and rejuvenation. This balanced approach will ensure you’re ready to tackle the next race season with renewed enthusiasm and energy.

Wishing you a spooktacular off-season and a thrilling return to training!

~Hilary Mauch

Have you met these Coaches?

Triathlon race season is here. Do you have a coach? Are you looking for one? Well, the Las Vegas Triathlon Club is going to try to help make some connections.

Earlier this year, we sent out a google form to try to capture our local coaching expertise. We had a number of coaches (all are members of Las Vegas Triathlon Club) respond and we have featured them on this webpage: https://lvtriclub.com/coaches/

We are going to continue to highlight coaches on our web page – if you would like to be part of that, please fill out the form: https://forms.gle/yEbcByPPVfHCb7A67

The Pro Perspective:

Trick or Treat: Halloween Candy to Fuel Training?

For this month I figured I’d share my thoughts on a lighter topic - should you eat Halloween candy while training?! After pedaling all day during some long cycling days, no expensive Gel or fancy nutrition product has ever saved me from a hard Bonk quite like a Snickers bar and a Red Bull have! While eating candy isn’t the healthiest snacking option outside of training, carbs are essential to fuel the long and hard training days. As long as your stomach can handle it, simple sugars (CANDY!) are one of the best and fastest ways to keep your energy levels high and your engine humming. Recently, Sam Long (Top 10 World Ranked Triathlete) ate THREE 3 Musketeers bars during the bike leg of Ironman Maryland. (I don't really recommend this... but he's also a lot faster than me, so maybe I'm missing a secret.)

A few general rules I like to follow with candy:

Treats:

• For exercise lasting <1 hour, you generally don’t need too much “fuel" outside of your normal meals. But a single Reese's cup or mini-size candy bar just before the workout in place of a banana, especially if it’s a harder effort workout, certainly won't hurt you.

• For exercise 1-2 hours at low to medium intensity (aerobic, zone 2), I like to fuel with 30-60g of carbs per hour. That is 1-2 snickers bars in place of a gel or Gatorade!

• For exercise >2 hours (long rides), I like to aim for 60-90g of carbs per hour to ensure you aren’t falling into a deficit for the next day. Swap out those Clif bars and GU gels for your favorite chocolate bar.

Tricks:

• Racing: I don’t recommend trying to digest fats and proteins at high intensity / threshold, like on race day or race day simulations. While Snickers mostly has carbs, the 14g of fat and 4g of protein don’t provide much energy benefit when you’re going all out and can cause GI discomfort. For short distance races, I like to stick to pure carb sources with a 2:1 maltodextrin to fructose ratio, using NeverSecond or Maurten gels. Pro tip: you can actually make your own drink powder on a budget using just 3 ingredients: maltodextrin, fructose, and electrolyte capsules. If I need some solid food to settle the stomach during a 70.3, I’ll stick with the name brands with as FEW ingredients as possible. The NeverSecond and Maurten solid bars do the trick very well. During a full distance race, I definitely suggest adding in a little bit of solid carbs so you don’t get a slushy gut from pure liquids and gels.

• Hard, long threshold workouts and runs: generally, running hard + eating solid foods leads to higher rates of GI issues than biking hard with solid foods. For that reason, I stick to purely liquids and liquid gels (precision, SIS, NeverSecond, or Maurten) during hard run workouts, and rarely eat solid foods. Avoid the candy on your hardest workouts and non-full distance races!

So enjoy all that Halloween candy - keep it in your pain cave, and use it as a good excuse to train longer and more often so you can burn it off!

~Justin Riele

Prez Corner:

Trick or Treat

So many good memories around the trick or treat tradition of Halloween.

As a kid, I remember planning out the trick or treat route with friends so we could maximize our candy loot … and enjoy doing a few harmless ‘tricks’ along the way. Yes … we soaped a few windows, had shaving cream battles in the streets … just some real sophomoric tricks!

As a parent, I also have fond memories of taking the kids out (for the treats … not the tricks!) … and then helping the kids sort through (and eat) the candy! Of course, always fun to put together a fun Halloween costume and to see other costumes … what a strange and fun holiday!

How do you approach triathlon? Are you forming nostalgic-type triathlon memories? 

So many of us spend so much time training, planning, analyzing, maintaining gear, … sometimes, the ‘fun’ of the sport escapes us. It is easy to get lost in the details of the sport … logging swim yards, bike miles, run milage, strength workouts, adjusting nutrition, and so forth.

Is triathlon playing a ‘trick’ on you or do you look at the sport as a ‘treat’? I can tell you that during some irondistance events I’ve had, in those ‘dark’ miles where it is easy to let negative thoughts take over, I have questioned my triathlon decisions! It often sounds so much of a ‘treat’ to register a long-course event … but those dark miles can be a trick for sure.

It is so important that triathlon adds value to your lifestyle … that training and racing brings treats to you and your family/friends. Triathlon should strengthen relationships – not be a burden or trick that breaks down relationships.

As we enter this holiday season, this is a great time to take a step back and make sure that you are getting the treat part of triathlon and not the trick! 😊

#thatsthevegasway

#enjoythejourney

#thrive

#timetothrive

#LVtrifamily 

~John Mercer

Past President

Halloween Memories

I never have been super into Halloween and the shenanigans, but I get it. Sometimes life gets a little fast and rough, so pretending to be someone else for the night for escapism sounds alluring. I have a few Halloween moments that I will always treasure.

Moment #1- My son, who is now 20, was dressed as Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. My husband and I decided to just take him to the neighbors on our street since he could barely walk. We went to our next door neighbor’s house. We explained they were going to open the door and for him to say, “Trick or Treat”. He had his part down so we went over and knocked on the door. They were delighted when they saw who it was and decided he was too small to grab too much candy, so they would let him reach into the bucket to pull out his favorite candy. Much to their surprise, he had a pretty big hand and grabbed about half of their bowl. He then saw one of their dogs and just started walking right into their house. We did not anticipate that! We all got a good laugh and a story to tell for years to come.

Memory #2- For Ironman Silverman 70.3, which was an Ironman Championship that year, I was the captain for run aid station #2. I decided it would be Halloween themed, because the race was in October. I put skeletons out swimming, biking and running. The swimming one looked ominous with dry ice. I played Halloween music to put everyone into the mood and the volunteers came dressed up in costumes. My biggest role of the day was toward the end. A dear friend was racing and wanted to propose to his girlfriend. As a triathlete you can’t receive outside help or anything outside of race support. The friend decided to give the ring to me to hold onto. I was 1 mile from the finish line and I was support staff, so technically I could give him the ring without disqualifying him. As he rounded the corner I gave him a big hug, an encouragement speech, and sent him to fulfill his destiny. For closure, she said, “Yes”.

I still have a lot of gloves left over from Covid, so I found these cute Halloween ideas. You can fill glove bags with candy or if you have powder free gloves you can freeze water to make hand shaped ice for Halloween punch. (Glove bags are from Pinterest and Hand Ice is from the Better Homes and Gardens website.) 

This year I hope you all enjoy your Halloween memories. Be safe out there!

~Shawna Glasser

LVTC Member Spotlight

Get to know our club members as our President sits down with the following members to talk about tris and life.

·       Beth Rosenbluum

https://youtu.be/zobNrwuUs5I

·       The Gamboa Family!

https://youtu.be/sDIbCQdwux8

The Evidence-Based Triathlete

·       Budget

https://youtu.be/OsNjIFLcHYk

·       Running Shoes

https://youtu.be/96ETvcbiXCE

·       Race Ready

https://youtu.be/S4VE-XU-bJs

·       Tapering … again

https://youtu.be/EEB8rT079q0

Where in the World Has Our TRI Club Raced?

Check out the map below to see where our athletes have raced!