LVTC Happenings!
A monthly report of events and resources for our passionate, growing local multisport community.
Reboot Triathlon 2021: Multi-Sports
 
This month, we also held a swim-run test event at Lake Las Vegas. This consisted of up to three loops of swim (~200 yards) – run (2 Km) segments. Some athletes did one loop, some two loops, and some did all three loops. Really neat change-up to our events … and clearly still is in the category of multi-sport. We look to bring the swim-run event into our regular rotation of events starting in 2022. We are also looking to hold a gravel bike-run test event … which we also plan to add into our event rotation. This builds the multi-sport option of the aqua-bike that we started last year (but know that anyone can opt for an aquabike at any of our triathlon events).
 
Triathlon is the foundation of our club – but it is great to explore expanding our events into the multi-sport world. By trying different combinations and styles of swim, bike, and run, we will ultimately improve as triathletes.
Club Membership

Club Memberships Now Available:
  • Single Membership Only $65.00
  • Family Membership Only $85.00
  • Student Membership is $40.00
Please visit our membership page and sign up to take advantage of all the Club Training Events down at Lake Mead and Lake Las Vegas.
Socials/Training Events/Education
8-28-21: Club Triathlon at Lake Mead Boulder Beach.

More Swim Run Events coming this fall!
We are so grateful to our wonderful volunteers (Tony and Alexis are featured above) that make these events happen. If you would like to volunteer at our next event, please email membership@lvtriclub.com
Coaches Corner:

Triathlon is clearly back. 
 
And now joining it is our local race scene taking form of BBSC endurance events taking place at the infamous Boulder Beach of Lake Mead. For some, these races are the grand stage itself for the new competitor feeling out the unfamiliar edges of multisport. For others, these shorter close to home events are a mental and physical touchstone practice for the larger IM events landing in Fall. 
 
No matter the case, any experienced local racer can safely declare our home game Mead events for everyone...are HARD!  Not just by way of unruly waters with no lane lines and fellow swimmers having zero qualms with also making it full contact. But, Boulder Beach and Lakeshore/Northshore/RMT can deliver a unique symphony of hill hell.  
 
And prep for facing Hades requires dabbling in such an environment!
 
Further, a heavy resistance on the trainer or punishing treadmill incline will indeed improve fitness. However, in truly providing a worthy local race simulation, the sun and increasing heat are a must-have for all a smart albeit masochistic participant. The combination of such course features will drastically changes heart rate, fueling needs, and perceived exertion to start. Thus can also drastically change the outcome of a race finish. 
 
When race reality fast approaches, preparation is key. Get in the open water and learn efficient transitions etc. However, when LOCAL LV race reality approaches, a healthy respect is key. For its no mystery why LV breeds the toughest racers- we have the toughest courses!!

~Nancy Jones
Safety Corner

Rest & Recovery
LVTC Safety Corner - August 2021

Endurance athletes love to test the limits of our bodies. While many athletes feel guilty about taking time off from their workout schedule, rest and recovery are essential for adapting to high-intensity training and becoming more fit. Without recovery, athletes run the risk of overtraining, injury, and illness.

What is Rest? What is Recovery?
Rest should be a time with no exercise that follows high-intensity training days.
Recovery, however, includes certain things that help to speed up the body’s adaptive process. This can be called Active Recovery, and can include light, low-intensity workouts that put very little stress on the body (i.e., Yoga, stretching, walking).

What are the benefits of Recovery?
Recovery offers a chance for relaxation to the body and mind. It helps to create an easier balance between home, work, and fitness goals. It reduces the chances of overtraining and risk of injury. Muscle strength and endurance improve. Your body allows for better oxygen delivery. Recovery also restores glycogen to allow for more difficult workouts in the future.

What does Recovery look like in a training plan?
Each training plan usually has two-to-three-week building blocks of slowly increasing intensity. Following those weeks is a recovery week with approximately 30% less intensity as the final week in your building block. Recovery week workouts include low zone, almost “too easy” workouts. After your recovery week, you resume with another two-to-three-week building block of increasing intensity.
This continues until right before a race when you taper (more rest and recovery) after reaching ideal race fitness. After your race, you add in more rest and recovery (usually 7-10 days) before attempting to return your normal workout plan.
Each week in a training plan should also include one-to-two rest days in which you do not work out.

How do I know if I need more recovery time?
First, it is important to listen to your body. Look for signs of extreme fatigue and stress.
Check sleep for poor quality or sessions that are too short. Appetite can reduce when you need more recovery. You can become grumpy and irritable. Your waking pulse can be elevated, and your heart rate variability can drop.
If you start to notice these types of symptoms, consider adding more rest & recovery time to your training.

What are some things that you can do to help with Rest & Recovery?
  • Continue to eat healthy food to fuel your body.
  • Get a massage.
  • Take extra time to use a foam roller and stretch.
  • Wear compression garments following a workout.
  • Stay hydrated.
  • Go to bed earlier and wake up without an alarm.

Hope this week’s Safety Corner is helpful and STAY SAFE tri friends!

Amanda Wolpink
LVTC Member Spotlight

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

Alex Simon

Laura Mercer

LeeAnn Lomax

Leigh Eckley

Conor Hulett
 
Evidence Based Triathlete

Tapering

The healthy triathlete – Part 1

The healthy triathlete – Part 2

Run tips
Prez Corner:

Celebrate your accomplishments
How often do you celebrate crossing a finish line of a race? I mean truly celebrate … fist in the air type of celebration.

The journey to prepare for a triathlon or other multisport event can be quite long. 12 week training programs are easy to find for a sprint or Olympic distance race … maybe a 20+ week training plan for a half or full iron distance event. But many times, the journey is much longer than that specific training plan.

It is very common for athletes to train for multiple years before attempting a 70.3 or Iron distance event. Some of you have been training for decades!

To be successful in triathlon over a long period of time, it is so important to celebrate accomplishments. The celebration does not need to be brash, loud, ‘look at me’ type of celebration. But it is important to celebrate – even quietly.

Celebrate that you got to the start line … you have already accomplished so much through a training program that has lasted weeks, months, or even years. Give yourself a pat-on-the-back … really … celebrate the start.
You may also celebrate the victories during a race … getting out of the swim in one piece! Getting through the bike with no mechanicals (whew!). Or being able to run the run. Find those achievements that are worth celebrating … even a quiet, internal ‘great job you did it’ thought is important.

Far too often, I see athletes cross a finish line looking disappointed – or maybe a better word is ‘not satisfied’. I see athletes looking back on a race thinking they should have gone faster … “… if only I [insert time saving statement here] …’. Yes … we all want to improve. But you will continue to improve when you learn how to congratulate yourself … give yourself credit for taking the risk of doing a triathlon. 

After all, isn’t it the celebration what we are looking for? The celebration of taking on a challenge and meeting that challenge is part of that driving force that gets us out the door, on the trainer, in the pool to prepare for an event.

The next race … make it a goal to celebrate!

~John Mercer
The Las Vegas Triathlon Club Gear Store

We have a limited stock of the Ghost Kits that benefit our Legacy Scholarship Fund. Please visit our store to order online.
Past President
 
Change in Altitude
Just a triathlete in a pair of hiking shoes
By: Shawna Glasser
 
As the Covid pandemic hit, many of us scrambled for consistency and the routine of our workouts. While many of my friends did virtual triathlons, I adapted and found solace in hiking. I’m type A, most of us in triathlon are. I have a short term plan and plans up to 5 years. When Covid hit, pools were closed, many of my biking routes closed, it was not safe to meet with friends, so I pushed my two year goal up. That goal was to do the Las Vegas Mountaineer’s 50 Classic Peaks. Now the word “mountaineer” made me nervous as I thought that meant that I would be hanging off of the side of a mountain with ropes, chained to others, lots of exposure, and an ice pick, but not so. My family has a long history of amazing hikers, my Aunt Susie being the third female to complete this hiking list. She does not like exposure and is a very safe and sane hiker, so I knew I should be able to complete this list. 
 
Triathlon has the same components hiking does. Nutrition, both everyday and on hiking days. In fact, after recently battling some altitude sickness on a hike I reverted to my old Ironman nutrition. Timed eating, small portions, bland foods, and the softer the better. In my opinion, climbing peaks puts as much stress on my gut as running, so I have to treat it as such. Training is important. While you may feel like just walking in the wilderness shouldn’t require training, it does. Just like you would periodize races, you do the same with your peaks. You have to train for the distance, the elevation, the weight in your pack, using the equipment in your pack, navigating, and logistics. As much as triathletes tend to avoid strength training, I’m guilty of this, it is crucial for hiking too. Problem solving on the fly is another commonality. For hiking you have to calculate the amount of daylight left, if you have enough supplies, the severity of your altitude sickness and do you press on, injuries, etc. 
 
Where hiking and triathlon differ is being able to see the course before the big day. Many races you can drive the whole bike course or train on sections of it. With mountains there are no previews. There are website that you can get the statistics of the hikes, but you’ll never really know what the terrain is like until you are there. I frequently use other’s opinions. Fortunately, I’ve found a few hikers who’ve done the entire list and who I’ve now hiked with, so I use that as my guide. I can base my time estimate on if they are slower or faster than me and knowing their likes and dislikes I can pretty accurately predict my performance based on their reviews.
 
I have currently summited 43 peaks. 14 in the month of October 2020. The majority of the peaks are in Nevada, but 5 are in California, 5 in Utah, and 5 in Arizona. The tallest and longest is Mount Whitney, in California which is 14,373 feet and I came from the backside so it was 30+ miles. The shortest was Mount Logan which was .6 miles each way, fairly flat, and in Arizona. It was speculated that Logan was selected for the view and you could bunch three up and call them BLT. (Bangs, Logan, and Trumbull). That was the hardest, nastiest drive I’ve had to date. Friends will ask about the drive to a peak and I will rate it on the BLT scale. 
 
One thing to keep in mind is you have to pick your 50th peak very carefully. It is a big celebration of this amazing accomplishment, that takes years to achieve, so you have to choose the right peak. I have selected Mount Wilson for my 50th. It is in the valley, friends that are not really into peak bagging should be able to physically do it, it is my husband’s favorite mountain and it will be on his birthday. Most of the hikers who complete this list do so for decades. I gave myself a year and a half. I was told it couldn’t be done in under 3 years. Well, we’ll see about that. My clock started July 4, 2020 and I plan on being done October 16, 2021. Weather, permits, life’s hurdles and injuries definitely are huge determining factors, but flexibility and the willingness to try again are on my side.
 
What I love about both triathlon and hiking is putting together the puzzle pieces and watching it all come together. I use the same skills I have honed for triathlon in another facet. That’s why I consider myself just a triathlete in a pair of hiking shoes. 
My summit for Mount Charleston and Griffith Peak. Notice my running shoes on my pack in case my hiking shoes didn’t work out. Of course, with my LV Tri shirt on and spandex pants. You can’t take the triathlete out of the girl! 
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