Every Tuesday we’ll feature a different coach’s workout you can complete in 60 mins (or less!).

This week’s functional strength workout comes from USAT coach Kyle Herrig, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and owner of Triplex Training in Tempe, Ariz. His one-hour workout, focused on working the whole body in all planes of motion, can be done anywhere without equipment, or you can add weight (even a water bottle or jug) if you want to increase the difficulty.

RELATED – Med Tent: Take Care Of Your Kinetic Chain

Warmup

1–2 mile easy jog
5–10 minutes of dynamic stretching

Main set

Three-way squat: In a single-leg stance, squat down and reach hands to three vector positions: 45-degree angle left, straight ahead, 45-degree angle right. Stand all the way up between each position. Do 3×12 each side.

Alternate push-ups: Get in a regular shoulder-width push-up position but with staggered hands, offset by about 10 inches. Do 3×20 in each position (can also be done kneeling).

Three-way deadlift: In a single-leg stance, bend at the waist to touch three vector positions: 45-degree angle left, straight ahead, 45-degree angle right. Lift up the back leg and reach unless needed for balance. All movement starts at the hip, which will isolate glutes and hamstrings. Do 3×12 on each side.

Side plank hip raise: Get in a side plank position, either on knees or straight leg position on feet. Drop hip down to the floor and return to start position all while keeping body in a straight line. Do 3×15 on each side.

Mountain climbers: Get in a push-up position, with one leg straight and the opposite leg bent to about 90 degrees. Both feet leave the ground as you switch to the opposite position continuously. Do 4×20 reps.

Forward lunge to overhead: Lunge forward with your right leg, left knee will nearly touch the ground. Reach with left hand out in front of right foot, then return to upright position while you press left hand overhead. Do 3×12 on each side.

One-arm plank rotation: While in a side plank position (on elbow), reach free hand under your torso and through. Then return to straight up position. Allow your body to rotate around the stabilized shoulder that is being leaned on. Do 3×12 on each side.

Speed skaters: Do a lateral jump and reach your opposite hand to the outside of plant foot. Do 3×30 on each side.

RELATED: Do-Anywhere Strength Circuit

More one-hour workouts.

The three-time Wildflower champion and dad-to-be will halt his season to recover from navicular stress fracture surgery.

At the Wildflower Long Course Triathlon on May 4, defending champion Jesse Thomas came down the first steep downhill of the challenging 13.1-mile run course and thought, “Oh God, my foot does not feel very good.” Despite all of the adrenaline and excitement of capturing his third consecutive title, he was in significant pain, which he took as a pretty bad sign.

He spent the following week getting X-rays to discover a navicular stress fracture in his foot, an injury that first showed up more than 10 years ago at the end of his college running years at Stanford. “It turns out [the fracture] is the same one from college that never healed,” Thomas says. “It’s been bugging me since I started training for triathlon about three years ago, but I’ve just modulated my training to deal with it. It flared up really bad on the Wildflower run, so I finally got a scan on it, and sure enough, still broken.”

Because he started riding, went to grad school, and generally focused on other non-running activities after college, the fracture wasn’t much of an issue for years. Even early on in his triathlon career, he was more concentrated on getting his other two sports up to speed, and running was naturally a lower priority. As he’s become a stronger all-around athlete, his coach Matt Dixon has helped him modify his run training to accommodate pain flare-ups. (Before at least four of his races last year, he took some time off running, and he rarely runs more than 20 miles a week.) For longevity in the sport, he says, surgery is the only real solution.

PHOTOS: 2013 Wildflower Long Course Triathlon

Thomas consulted with his doctor, Dixon and wife, Lauren Fleshman, and decided to undergo surgery this afternoon in Palo Alto, Calif. His doctor, who has performed the same procedure on many elite runners, told Thomas it would be better to deal with the fracture now instead of finishing the season and potentially allowing it to fully break, which would be much harder to bounce back from.

Thankfully, Thomas actually sees this as opportune timing. “It’s serendipitous that I have my first kid coming at basically any time, and it’s kind of like—well, if there’s a time to take a few month break in the middle of my career, this might be the best time possible to do it. It’s weird, I’m not a spiritual person, but to a certain extent I feel like my body and foot held out through out Wildflower and then said, ‘alright, it’s time to chill out dude.’”

The further silver lining is that once he recovers from the surgery, he’ll hopefully be able to train effectively on the run for the first time in his career. “In order to continue my career at the level I want to—especially with the possibility of doing an Ironman in the future—there’s no way 20 miles a week of running would cut it,” Thomas says. “It’s kind of exciting for me to have the possibility to see what that could lead to.”

If all goes smoothly, Thomas will be back swimming and riding on the trainer within 2–3 weeks, riding outside within 6–10 weeks and running at three months. He hopes to be back racing by October or November.

Get the full story on Thomas’ surgery on his blog: www.leapdaysports.com

VIDEO: Jesse Thomas On Third Wildflower Victory

For Thomas’ perspective on the sport, read his “Triathlife” column every month in Triathlete magazine.

Want to blow by your competition? Learn how to tackle the downhill.

If you’ve ever woken up with burning quads the day after a hilly race, you can probably blame all the downhill pounding. Although running uphill may feel more difficult from a cardio perspective, going downhill well is challenging—and a lot harder on your body.

Here’s why: Muscles contract in two ways—concentrically (muscle shortens: think picking something up) and eccentrically (muscle lengthens while contracting: think putting that something back down). “Eccentric contractions are much more costly from an energy and wear and tear perspective,” says Dr. Ivo Waerlop, D.C. “Running downhill requires lots of eccentric contraction, especially in the quadriceps and lower leg muscles.” Mastering the downhill with proper form will put less stress on your legs and can help you make up time in your next race.

RELATED – One Hour Workout: Downhill Running

Form tips for going fast downhill

Lean forward from the hips, not the shoulders. Gravity naturally pulls you downhill. Avoid the urge to lean back and focus on keeping your body perpendicular to the ground. “As you increase speed, move your center of gravity forward with you; not enough and your feet are sliding out from under you, too much and you’re on your face,” Waerlop says.

Use your arms for balance. When running downhill, we don’t need the forward-back arm movement for power like we do on flats and uphills. Although it may look ridiculous in race photos, Xterra world champion Lesley Paterson recommends flailing your arms out to the side for balance. “It can help give your body the control it might need if speed takes over or a sudden change in direction is needed,” she says.

Engage your core. Think of your abs, glutes and back as your stable base that your limbs work around.

“Circle” your stride. Because you don’t need as much power from the knee drive (thanks, gravity!), keep the feet under the body and don’t overstride. “I often do an almost circular motion—especially if on steep terrain—rather than driving the knee straight through in front of the body,” Paterson says. “It allows more extension out the back and a chance to relax some of the muscles in the follow-through.”

Look down the hill, not at your feet. Waerlop says when you look at your shoes, it induces neck forward flexion and actually facilitates your flexor muscles, which “turns off” the hip extensor muscles (glutes, hamstrings, back muscles)—the ones which help keep you upright and neutral— increasing your risk of falling forward.

Imagine hot coals under your feet. Keep contact time as minimal as possible. “I like to feel as though I am ‘dancing’ over the ground, just lightly touching it with my mid-/forefoot and springing right off again,” Paterson says. This is even more important for off-road running, when you need to be more versatile with where you plant your foot and for how long.

Perfect Foot Position

Think of your foot as a tripod, with the three points being the heads of the big and little toes (at the ball line) and the heel. This tripod needs to be level for the foot to function optimally. If you are too much on your heel, your shins need to slow the descent of the foot, which can lead to shin splints. If you land too much on your forefoot, your calves have to work harder to lower your heel and will exaggerate any forefoot abnormality you have in your gait; this will place additional stress on your knees. —The Gait Guys, Drs. Ivo Waerlop and Shawn Allen

Quick Tip

New (or suck) at running downhill? Descend with your feet turned sideways. As you gain skill, point your feet more progressively downhill.

RELATED: Hill Repeats You’re Not Sick Of 

As the only triathlete in the invite-only field, Dibens is ready to ‘let her rip’ and see what happens tomorrow.

Joining a select field of 14 female pro cyclists at tomorrow’s Amgen Tour of California Women’s Time Trial is triathlon’s very own Julie Dibens. The Brit known for her bike splits hasn’t raced since the 2011 Ironman World Championship after back-to-back foot and knee surgeries kept her off the starting line last year, so she’s been fired up about her new goal the last two months.

“To be able to have a focus and something to train toward was the biggest thing for me, and I’m excited to see how I can do against the best time trialists in the world,” Dibens says. “It’s been very different than training for 70.3 or Ironman, but it’s fun to just go out and bike as hard as you can.”

Early on, Dibens visited the Los Angeles Velodrome for some aerodynamic testing with her go-to bike fit specialist Mat Steinmetz (watch a recap of their process here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhBKWkG74t8). Based on testing various helmets and body positions—along with adhering to specific UCI requirements—they shifted her position pretty drastically on her custom Trek Speed Concept to accommodate for the time trial.

Her training for tomorrow’s 19.6-mile race in San José, Calif., was also significantly different than her normal long-course triathlon training. With some input from Adam Zucco of Training Bible Coaching and Ironman legend Dave Scott, she upped the intensity and integrated workouts that would simulate the course, which climbs more than 2,000 feet in under 20 miles.

“This course is definitely challenging—there’s a hill straight up the back and some long descents, with the last 3K averaging over 10 percent, so we tried to replicate that on roads in Boulder,” Dibens says. “I’d finish with 5–10 minutes on a climb, and do a lot of threshold and above and VO₂ max work. For the most part, triathletes doing half-Ironman and Ironman do a lot of steady stuff and below threshold, so that was the biggest difference.”

RELATED – Dispatch: Julie Dibens Takes On A New Challenge

For the first month of training, Dibens said things were going really well, with some solid results at a few time trials in the Denver area. But in the last few weeks she admits the intensity may have caught up with her. “I think I ended up putting myself in a bit of a box,” she says. “My body’s not used to doing that much hard work, so I’ve been struggling a little bit health-wise, so there’s been a lot of rest. Because I hadn’t raced in so long and I was so fired up, I knew it was always easy for me to get carried away. It’s always the athlete’s responsibility to keep everything in check. We have to listen to our bodies—sometimes the hardest part is to back off and rest. If anything, I was neglecting that. The training had been going great but I may have overcooked it at bit.”

But with much less pressure than normal high-stakes triathlons—and the fact that starting after 12 p.m. is out of her normal crack-of-dawn routine—Dibens says she’s not nervous…yet. She admits that she has no clue how she’ll stack up against her competitors (she hasn’t met any of them, with the exception of a brief introduction to Alison Powers last night), but she says that’s what makes it exciting. “I’m coming into an arena where I don’t know any of the other girls, and I’m sure they don’t know who the heck I am,” she says. “Hopefully I can be competitive and show them that triathletes can actually ride a bike halfway decently.”

Even though the last couple of weeks have required more rest than she would’ve liked, Dibens is still excited for what she sees as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “You have to keep it all in perspective—I just have to soak it up and enjoy it,” she says. “When you go to Kona and all the big races, you can get caught up and you forget that you’re doing this because you love it. The last couple days I have just been reminded of that, and that’s helped keep my mindset to just be to go out there and let her rip. It’s just an awesome experience and I’m going to soak it up as much as I can.”

RELATED – Julie Dibens: “It’s Been A Hard Year”

As for her plans post-TT, Dibens is not setting hard goals or deadlines yet, but she definitely wants to get back to racing. Her knee recovery has taken longer than expected, so because of that and her time trial focus, she’s only been running three times a week for 30 minutes at a time. Her hope for 2013 is to validate her spot for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Las Vegas at the Boulder 70.3 later this year.

Check out Amgentourofcalifornia.com for details on tomorrow’s time trial, which starts at 12:45 p.m. PDT.

PHOTOS: Julie Dibens On The Bike

American Heather Jackson is having the year of her career with Escape from Alcatraz, Ironman 70.3 California and Wildflower Long Course Triathlon victories already in the bag. Recap her Wildflower win with this post-race interview.

RELATED:
- Pro Bike: Heather Jackson’s Cannondale Slice
- Thomas Three-Peats, Jackson Repeats
- Photos: 2013 Wildflower Long Course Triathlon

Every Tuesday we’ll feature a different coach’s workout you can complete in 60 minutes (or less!).

This week’s brick workout comes from USAT Level I coach Andrew Dollar of Nashville-based FTP Coaching (Ftpcoaching.com). The back-and-forth nature of this triple brick makes for a great opportunity to nail your transitions. “The goal of the workout is to have descending times on your run,” Dollar says. “The first one should be aggressive but sustainable.”

(Note: ‘ = minutes; “ = seconds)

Brick Workout.  Bike – Run – Bike – Run – Bike – Run

Bike #1: 10’ building to Zone 2 effort
5′ as 30″ Zone 4 (95–100%), 30″ Zone 1 (55–65%)
Run #1: 1 mile at 80% effort

Bike #2: 10′ as 30″ Zone 4 (95–100%), 30″ Zone 1 (55–65%)
Run #2: 1 mile at 90% effort

Bike #3: 10′ as 30″ Zone 4 (95–100%), 30″ Zone 1 (55–65%)
Run #3: 1 mile at 95% effort

Keep transitions less than 30″.

RELATED:
- Hour Of Power Triathlon Brick Workout
- A Better Triathlon Brick Workout
- How Often Should You Run After Riding?
- Quick Brick Tricks
- Another Reason To Brick

Triathlete contributor and swimming all-star Sara McLarty has a blog with more than 500 creative workouts used in her Masters swim program in Clermont, Fla. We’ll feature a workout every Friday so you have new ideas to take to the pool. On her blog (Mastersswimworkoutsbysaramclarty.blogspot.com), you can pick a Monday set for a long distance focus, a Wednesday set for sprint training, or Friday for creative open water skills.

A:
900 warm-up (3×200 swim/100 kick)
4×300 on 4:30 (100 free/100 IM/100 free)
8×200 pull on 3:00 (descend time 1–4, 5–8)
4×50 kick on 1:10 (25 Tombstone/25 easy)
4×50 drill on :60 (Catch-up With Stick or Kickboard)
4×50 swim on :50 FAST! (start 2 yards off wall)
200 cool-down
*4,500 Total*

B:
900 warm-up (3×200 swim/100 kick)
3×300 on 6:00 (2×100 free/50 non-free)
6×150 pull on 3:00 (descend time 1–3, 4–6)
4×50 kick on 1:20 (25 Tombstone/25 easy)
4×50 drill on 1:10 (Catch-up With Stick or Kickboard)
4×50 swim on :60 FAST! (start 2 yards off wall)
200 cool-down
*3,500 Total*

C:
600 warm-up (2×200 swim/100 kick)
3×300 with 30 sec rest (2×100 free/50 non-free)
4×150 pull with 20 sec rest (descend time 1–4)
8×50 with 10 sec rest (descend stroke count 1–4, 5–8)
100 cool-down
*2,600 Total*

Drills

Catch-up With Stick: As you take a stroke with your right arm, keep your left arm extended forward in the water, holding on to a sideways kickboard or stick. Complete the stroke with your right arm and after it enters the water above your head, tap your left hand. This signals the start of the stroke with your left arm. Repeat on other side.

Tombstone: Hold a kickboard upright in the water and push it forward. The more of the board you hold under the water, the harder this drill is!

RELATED: Why It’s Important To Conquer The Swim Kick

More swim workouts.

Every Tuesday we’ll feature a different coach’s workout you can complete in 60 minutes (or less!).

This week’s run and strength workout comes from USAT Level I coach Jessica Dollar of Nashville-based FTP Coaching (ftpcoaching.com). This quick boot-camp-style workout makes for an easy session when you’re strapped for time or on the road.

RELATED – Med Tent: Take Care Of Your Kinetic Chain

Run and Strength Boot Camp For One

Easy 2-mile run, followed immediately by:

60″ each of plank, sit-ups, push-ups, plank
45″ each of plank, sit-ups, push-ups, plank
30″ each of plank, sit-ups, push-ups, plank
15″ each of plank, sit-ups, push-ups, plank

1-mile run at a moderate pace (Zone 3), followed immediately by:

60” each of plank, side plank on left, side plank on right
45″ each of plank, side plank on left, side plank on right
30″ each of plank, side plank on left, side plank on right
15″ each of plank, side plank on left, side plank on right

1-mile easy jog, then hold a plank for as long as possible.

More one-hour workouts.

Both defending champions took home wins at the Wildflower Long Course Triathlon today, with a history-making three consecutive wins for Jesse Thomas and a repeat for course record holder Heather Jackson.

Men’s Race
A non-wetsuit swim started off the race, with Clayton Fettell and John Dahlz leading out of the water. Thomas exited with Joe Gambles and Leon Griffin a little over two minutes behind the leaders. Fettell held his bike lead throughout the 56 miles, at one point opening the gap up to 2:45 ahead of the chase pack of nine, which included Paul Ambrose, Gambles, Griffin and Thomas. With 20 miles to go, Thomas put in some effort off the front of the chase group. By the time they reached Wildflower’s infamous “Nasty Grade” around mile 34, Thomas had gained on Fettell to close the gap to 1:15 at the top. With 10 miles to go, the chase pack had lessened the gap to 75 seconds and by T2 they had narrowed in on Fettell.

Shortly into the run, Griffin and Thomas passed Fettell and started the battle that kept them running shoulder-to-shoulder for most of the half marathon. Around mile 10, Thomas started to pull ahead and cruised down Lynch Hill and into the finishing chute to take home his third Wildflower victory. Griffin followed and Gambles held onto third.

Photos: Thomas, Jackson Repeat At Lake Nacimiento

Women’s Race
Tenille Hoogland and Kristen Peterson led out of the swim closely followed by Laurel Wassner (the only woman not wearing a swim skin). Returning defender Jackson came out in sixth, about 1:30 down from the main trio. By the halfway point of the bike, Aussie Kat Baker was dominating the bike course in the lead with the women spread out behind her. She kept Jackson about four minutes behind her, and held that gap into T2. Baker has battled injury for the last five years and said she was unsure of how she would run today, and around mile six, Jackson—who ran a fast 1:21 on the hilly course last year—caught her. Jackson continued to extend her lead going into the finish and crossed the line in 4:43:47. Baker followed, and mother of two Elizabeth Lyles came in third.

Photos: 2013 Wildflower Long Course Triathlon

Wildflower Long Course Triathlon
Lake San Antonio, Calif. – May 4, 2013
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run

Men
1. Jesse Thomas 4:02:19
2. Leon Griffin 4:03:36
3. Joe Gambles 4:04:44
4. Jeff Symonds 4:07:59
5. Josiah Middaugh 4:14:04

Women
1. Heather Jackson 4:43:47
2. Kat Baker 4:45:16
3. Liz Lyles 4:48:00
4. Jennifer Tetrick 4:50:33
5. Tenille Hoogland 4:50:51

Top Wildflower Pros Talk About Their Races

Jesse Thomas

“It was way different two years ago. There’s a lot more people who know my name and are cheering for me. This year was even significantly different from last year. last year I felt a ton of pressure internally to legitimize the first win—to prove that I wasn’t a one-hit wonder. So I didn’t feel that pressure this year. I wanted to win very badly, but it honestly didn’t’ mean as much to me as it did this year. I feel legitamized as an athlete. What meant a lot to me was beating the field that showed up on the day that we had here which was a tough day for me with a tough non-wetsuit swim—that definitely puts me more at a disadvantage than the other guys—and then I’ve never beaten Joe Gambles and I’ve just barely beaten Leon once and Jeff Symonds…so all those guys were on my radar and I knew it was going to be a tough day.”

Leon Griffin

“It’s a hard game, this triathlon game. Maybe I was getting a bit ahead of myself thinking I could just back in to where I left off, but last year was a bit of a building year. I came here really fit, I did a couple Ironmans early in the year to build up some big miles. Second today, I just didn’t have that speed. I have to find that speed and I’ve got four weeks before the next race to find a minute. I definitely had a good race in Geelong [in a half-iron distance in February], I ran a 1:12 half marathon, and that was pretty on par. Jesse, myself and Joe ran side by side for five miles. Up a steep hill we got a lead on Joe and we ran together…I knew he’s a surging kind of athlete so I just kept waiting for him to surge. Then he surged downhill—I’ve got short legs and he’s got long legs and he kept on gapping me own those hills. At 9 miles he put in a gap I couldn’t match. It’s my third time here, and second place is fantastic, but hopefully I’ll come on better next year.”

Joe Gambles

“It was six weeks [since Ironman Melbourne] so there was no fatigue in the legs. I had a couple weeks off after Ironman, traveled back from Australia and settled into Boulder for a few weeks of training.  I haven’t had a chance to do any real intensity or change of speed in my running, and that’s where those guys ran away from me. They were in and out of the corners around the lake and I just couldn’t accelerate. They just kept getting a bunch of seconds and before I knew it, they were just out of sight. I’m really happy—I’ve had four pretty bad races with 12^th in Vegas, a DNF in Kona, 12^th in Auckland with a flat tire and a DNF in Ironman Melbourne, and I’ve been training harder than ever and doing all the right things, but it just hasn’t been coming together for me. It’s a good result and I can build on this.”

Heather Jackson

“I was in third for a while with no one in sight. I kept hearing ‘three minutes’—I actually didn’t know it was Kat or who she was, so my plan was to attack the hills and I thought I would bring some time back there…but I was losing time and started freaking out a bit. I think it was up to four minutes by T2, so I just headed out hoping she couldn’t run. A few miles out I started hearing ‘about a minute’ so I knew I was bringing back time. I got her about mile four on a big hill, the same place I got Linsey Corbin last year. I do a lot of hill repeats so I just thought to myself, ‘okay, one hill repeat,’ and I pushed it up the hill pretty hard and got a bit of a gap and settled in for the rest of it.

This is huge. It was a tough decision for me to come here versus St. George, but the heritage here, the history…to be able to defend, I was just so happy.”

Kat Baker

“I haven’t raced in the U.S. since 2009. I didn’t know what to expect but I wanted to be first off the bike. The run isn’t my strength so I need a lead if I’m going to challenge. I keep getting running injuries so I keep going back to cycling just because I enjoy it and I’m good at it. I came [to Wildflower] in 2008 and got 10^th, and really enjoyed it, so I really wanted to come back. I wasn’t sure how far I had off the bike but when she got me I kind of expected it.”

RELATED:
- Jesse Thomas’ Triathlete Magazine Triathlife Columns
- Pro Bike: Heather Jackson’s Cannondale Slice

Triathlete contributor and swimming all-star Sara McLarty has a blog with more than 500 creative workouts used in her Masters swim program in Clermont, Fla. We’ll feature a workout every Friday so you have new ideas to take to the pool. On her blog (Mastersswimworkoutsbysaramclarty.blogspot.com), you can pick a Monday set for a long distance focus, a Wednesday set for sprint training, or Friday for creative open water skills.

A:
500 choice warm-up
6×50 on :60 (kick)
6×50 on :50 (IM Switch)
6×50 on :60 (25 FAST No Breath/25 easy)
14×100 swim (1 on 1:15, 1 on 1:30, 2 on 1:15, 1 on 1:30, 3 on 1:15, 1 on 1:30, 4 on 1:15, 1 on 1:30)
4×300 (200 pull on 2:40, 100 IM on 1:40)
16×25 on :30 (2 non-free, 2 free drill)
*4400 Total*

B:
500 choice warm-up
6×50 on 1:15 (kick)
6×50 on :60 (free/non-free by 25)
6×50 on 1:10 (25 FAST No Breath/25 easy)
9×100 swim (2 on 1:45, 1 on 2:15, repeat)
4×200 (150 pull on 2:45, 50 swim FAST on :60)
16×25 on :40 (2 non-free, 2 free drill)
*3500 Total*

C:
400 choice warm-up
6×50 w/ :15 rest (kick)
6×50 w/ :15 rest (free/non-free by 25)
6×50 w/ :15 rest (25 FAST/25 easy)
9×100 w/ :20 rest (2 swim, 1 pull, repeat)
8×25 w/ :10 rest (2 non-free, 2 free drill)
*2400 Total*

More swim workouts.

Every Tuesday we’ll feature a different coach’s workout you can complete in 60 mins (or less!).

This week’s brick workout comes from USAT Elite Coach Mike Ricci, the head coach for the University of Colorado Triathlon Team, who just won their fourth consecutive National Championship title. He is also the owner and operator of Boulder-based D3 Multisport (D3multisport.com). He says this workout makes for a great sprint race simulation. “Your legs will be absolutely smoked on the run, just like in the race,” Ricci says. “Do this for 4–5 weeks leading up to your race and it will benefit you a ton.”

RELATED: Quick Brick Tricks

“Hour of Power” Brick

Warm-up: Bike 10 minutes easy

Main set:

Starting in the 53×15 (big ring in front and middle in the back), ride 3×90 sec absolutely all out. Recovery is 90 sec.

Follow that with 53×13 (harder gear) for 90 secs all out again, 90 sec recovery.

Last, ride in your smallest gear in back (hardest gear), still 3×90 sec all out, 90 sec recovery. Finish by riding very easy to your car or home, ideally 3–5 minutes.

Transition Run:

Quickly change into your run gear—shoes, hat, etc.—and run 3 miles at your best effort, aiming for a negative split (run the second 1.5 miles faster than the first).

Cool-down: Easy walk!

RELATED: How Often Should You Run After Riding?

More one-hour workouts.

The quiet roads, serene lakes and endless running trails make St. George, Utah, a hot spot for a weekend of training or racing.

This article was originally published in the March/April 2013 issue of Inside Triathlon magazine.

Take on the challenge of the full-turned-Ironman 70.3 St. George course (May 4, Ironman.com). The scenic red bluffs throughout Snow Canyon State Park might take your mind off the 2,500-plus feet of climbing you’ll tackle in 56 miles.

Prefer the shorter stuff? Two sister events, the SG Tri on May 18 and Kokopelli on Sept. 14, offer sprint, Olympic and even kids’ distances also held at Sand Hollow State Park (Bbsctri.com).

Reward your efforts with one of the creative menu options at the Bear Paw Café (Bearpawcafe.com)—the Bear Paw French Toast is stuffed with spiced apples, vanilla or chocolate brûleé cream, and the Forgotten Baked Apple combines Granny Smith apples with vanilla, brown sugar, granola, cranberries and ice cream.

If you’re in town for a training weekend, test out the 70.3 bike course, suggests professional triathlete Heather Wurtele, who parks her and her husband Trevor’s RV in St. George for four months of the year. “We love the quiet roads around Sand Hollow Reservoir, and the ride up to Kolob Reservoir in Zion National Park is fantastic for those who want even more climbing,” she says.

Grab a cup of joe at River Rock Roasting Company (Riverrockroasters.com) if you’re headed toward Zion, or try the local Perks Espresso and Smoothies (1515 W. Sunset Blvd.).

For dinner plans—with the exception of your pre-race meal—try Benja’s Thai Garden (Benjathai.com), where Wurtele says the Musaman curry and chicken pad thai are must-orders. For all-you-can-eat sushi, she says Ichiban Japanese Seafood Buffet (Ichibanjapaneseseafoodbuffet.com) is hard to beat.

Run for hours on compact sand and red dirt by heading out Warner Valley Road from Washington Fields toward the Grand Canyon. There are also plenty of trails in Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, Snow Canyon and other local state parks (Sgcity.org/parks).

Recover with a yoga class, climb the rock wall or swim laps at Utah’s largest aquatic center at the Washington City Community Center ($6 aquatic/$7 full facility, Washingtoncity.org/communitycenter).

RELATED – Editors’ Picks: The United States’ Best Triathlons

PHOTOS: Ironman St. George

USAT has high hopes for intense, compact race format.

The April 24 Fearless Pro triathlon was a night of high-intensity speed featuring top ITU athletes going head-to-head in a super sprint format in San Diego’s Mission Bay. But beyond the sheer excitement and unique draft-legal distance—375-meter swim, 6K bike and 1.5K run, twice through—the event could be a very important piece of U.S. triathlon’s future.

Andy Schmitz, USA Triathlon’s High Performance General Manager, says this type of racing will be integral to the sport for a few reasons, particularly skill development. With a five-loop, technical bike course, the race has a criterium feel that takes confident handling skills to tackle. He also believes the “grand prix” style is perfect for developing strong junior athletes who may not have the volume capabilities for an Olympic-distance event. Plus, because the mixed relay is being considered for the 2016 Olympics (which would entail a team of four all racing a swim-bike-run sprint), USAT is eager to breed potential racers for future teams.

“From our standpoint, we want to see our U.S. athletes here to prove that they belong on our team,” Schmitz says. “Our intention is to use this race format as a talent ID and a talent confirmation, really, for our U.S. team to select athletes for the mixed team relay.”

American Sarah Groff, who won Wednesday’s women’s race, thinks the events could help identify top talent that might not stand out at a typical ITU race. “The athletes who are good at this might not be identified in the Olympic-distance racing because this is pretty anaerobic, really technical kind of stuff, where you might bypass somebody who could just really shine at this distance,” she says.

PHOTOS: Aaron Royle Beats Out Olympians At Fearless Pro

Other countries regularly hold races of this nature, and in the late ‘90s, some of the sport’s most legendary athletes (Greg Welch, Craig Alexander, Chris McCormack, Greg Bennett) were brought up through the “grand prix” style in Australia. Proof of that carry-through may be in yesterday’s men’s winner, Australian U23 world champion Aaron Royle, who has experience racing this style back home.

“The Australians love this sort of thing—it’s part of their development, where their teenagers are thrown into this and they become much better technical athletes and become so much better about race tactics,” says Groff. “If we get more of this going, I think we’d really upscale our developing athletes, far more than if we have them doing Olympic-distance racing.”

Wednesday’s race, directed by Lars Finanger, was only publicly announced six weeks prior, and it served as a test run for future super sprint events. Organizers wanted to take advantage of having world-class talent in town for the April 19–20 ITU WTS event, so they slated the race for a weekday to catch athletes before they left town the following weekend. It worked, as fields included Olympians such as London bronze medalist Erin Densham, Andrea Hewitt, Gwen Jorgensen, Laurent Vidal and Ivan Vasiliev. After a request for proposal process, USAT subsidized the prize purse of $20,000. They hope to grow draft-legal races and super sprints in 2014 and beyond.

Outside of identifying Olympian potential, USAT sees it as a huge opportunity to attract new triathlon fans who may not have the attention span to watch an Olympic-distance race.

“You stand in one place and see the entire race unfold, and I think that can attract both television and spectatorship,” Schmitz says. “I think it’s a well-packaged, well-produced, spectator-friendly format that’s easy to follow. The Olympic distance is exciting, but you’re not going to get uneducated triathlon consumers to set aside two hours of their day to watch it. If an athlete watches this, they’ll be blown away by the speed, agility and quickness of these athletes.”

USAT CEO Rob Urbach agrees that the super sprint has long-term benefits for the exposure of the sport. “These events are really easy to televise and make for compelling, fast-action content,” he says. “In some respects, it will hopefully draw in someone who is channel surfing and has never seen a triathlon before, and will see it and think, ‘wow, that’s exciting—I thought triathlon was this all-day endurance event.’ It could really drive sponsorship and more exposure for the sport.”

Future events are already planned for September in Las Vegas (around the Interbike trade show), which will be televised on Universal Sports, and another one the last week in October following the Life Time Fitness Oceanside Tri in San Diego.

PHOTOS: Sarah Groff Impresses At Fearless Pro Triathlon

Triathlete contributor and swimming all-star Sara McLarty has a blog with more than 500 creative workouts used in her Masters swim program in Clermont, Fla. We’ll feature a workout every Friday so you have new ideas to take to the pool. On her blog (Mastersswimworkoutsbysaramclarty.blogspot.com), you can pick a Monday set for a long distance focus, a Wednesday set for sprint training, or Friday for creative open water skills.

A:
500 choice warm-up
8×50 on :60 (kick hard on wall between intervals)
9×150 pull on 2:05 (descend 1-3, 4-6, 7-9)
8×50 on :60 (vertical kick between intervals)
9×100 pull (3 on 1:25, 3 on 1:20, 3 on 1:15)
8×50 on :50 (IM Switch)
300 cool-down (50 kick/100 swim, repeat)
*4200 Total*

B:
500 choice warm-up
6×50 on 1:10 (kick hard on wall between intervals)
6×150 pull on 2:40 (descend 1-3, 4-6)
6×50 on 1:10 (vertical kick between intervals)
6×100 pull (3 on 1:50, 3 on 1:40)
6×50 on :60 (non-free/free by 25)
300 cool-down (50 kick/100 swim, repeat)
*3200 Total*

C:
400 choice warm-up
6×50 w/ fins w/ :10 rest (25 kick/25 swim)
6×150 pull w/ :20 rest (descend 1-3, 4-6)
6×50 w/ fins w/ :10 rest (25 kick/25 swim)
6×50 pull w/ :15 rest (2 FAST!, 1 easy)
200 cool-down
*2400 Total*

More swim workouts from Sara McLarty.

RELATED: Can You Kick It?

Ironman head referee and triathlon coach Jimmy Riccitello shares tips on how to steer clear of the dreaded drafting penalty.

Q: What’s the most common mistake that athletes make on the bike course?

A: Entering the draft zone of another athlete and then backing out instead of passing. Once athletes enter the draft zone, they’re deemed “passers” and are required to complete a pass in the allotted time. Based on how often I see this happen, I think a lot of athletes simply don’t understand this part of the drafting rules. Granted, it’s not drafting in the traditional sense, but allowing athletes to ride right up to the back wheel of the athlete in front of them and then back out, repeatedly, would give the athlete behind an unfair advantage.

Riding to the left while not passing is also a fairly common mistake and may result in a penalty—plus it causes issues for the athletes trying to pass that person. Similar to this, I see a lot of athletes who move to the left when they are unable to pass the person in time, thinking that this will prevent a drafting penalty, but it won’t. Upon entering another athlete’s draft zone, if you don’t pass—even if you’re riding to the left and not directly behind a person—you’re in violation of the position/drafting rules.

Q:  What’s your advice for the following two scenarios?

“I’m a good swimmer but I always get caught by big groups.”

A: Stick to your principles and trust that the draft marshals will do their job. I realize that the draft marshals will not catch everyone, but I push them to have as much of a presence as possible so that it’s easier for athletes to make the right choice.

RELATED: How To Pace Your Race

“I get out of the water behind everyone and have to weave through people.”

A: The best word of advice I can think of is patience. If you’re dealing with slower cyclists ahead of you, do your best to make steady progress through the group without passing on the right or crossing the centerline.

Q: What’s a good way to ensure you don’t get stuck with a penalty on a constantly undulating course?

A: On courses with rolling hills, athletes can get into trouble when the person in front of them slows because they hit the hill before the trailing athlete who is still riding down the hill. Because of this, planning a pass at the transition from downhill to uphill may be a good idea because you get a little “slingshot” effect. But if you’re not paying attention, you may find yourself in the draft zone and unable to pass. Most draft marshals understand this scenario, but athletes must remember that the onus is always on the passing athlete and even at the start of an uphill, you’re at risk if you enter the draft zone without passing.

Q: How do you not let a penalty affect the rest of your race?

A: You need to accept it, process it and move on. The most successful athletes are able to push negative thoughts to the back of their mind until after the race. There have been a few athletes who have won big races despite a four-minute stop in the penalty tent, and that’s because they were able to quickly reconcile the situation and refocus on the task at hand. After the race, you can always find the head referee if you need to vent. We’re here for you!

RELATED: Getting To The Start Line Of Your First Tri

Every Tuesday we’ll feature a different coach’s workout you can complete in 60 mins (or less!).

This week’s downhill running workout comes from Jonathan Cane of New York City-based City Coach Multisport (Citycoach.org). He finds that many athletes treat descents as a time to recover, both mentally and physically. “In fact, downhills can be a great way to make up time on the competition—remember, the awards are given at the finish line, not at the top of a hill,” Cane says.

He warns that going into a downhill race unprepared can trash your already-tired quads and ultimately cost you more time than you’ll gain. Work on your downhill form by incorporating this workout into your run training.

One-Hour Downhill Running Workout

Warm-up:
10 minutes easy

Main Set:
5 minutes of short, fast pickups, to prepare for the workout ahead

On a 4–5 mile circuit* with rolling hills (preferably 2–4 percent grade), run the climbs and flats at marathon effort, and the descents at 10K effort. Be particularly aware of descents that come directly out of climbs. Others tend to crest the hill and let up, but you should immediately “shift gears” to your faster pace.

Cool-down:
10 minutes easy—get in a thorough recovery

Notes:

• On descents, gravity is your friend. Overstriding is not. Think of a cycling movement for your legs, with your foot landing gently beneath you rather than way out in front of your center of gravity.
• Lean into the hill, but don’t round your shoulders or look down at your feet.
• Engage your core, and bring your elbows out wide in order to keep from letting your torso twist excessively.

*We typically run this workout as three laps on Central Park’s Harlem Hill loop, a rolling 1.41-mile circuit with a couple of significant descents, and little flat ground, but it can be adapted to a variety of courses.

More one-hour workouts.

RELATED: The Secrets To Running Downhill Fast

Ready to take her performance to the next level, the Olympian has made some changes that—so far—are really paying off.

If her win at ITU WTS San Diego last Friday was any indication of what’s to come, American Gwen Jorgensen has a promising year ahead. Considering she earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team less than two years into her career, Jorgensen’s raw talent has produced some early success. But after her Olympic campaign didn’t go as planned—a bike mechanical took her out of medal contention pretty early—the almost-27-year-old decided she would need to step up her game and make some significant changes in order to medal in Rio in 2016.

Quick recap of Jorgensen’s short multisport career: She got her start through USA Triathlon’s Collegiate Recruitment Program in 2010, a result of her impressive swimming, track and field and cross-country prowess at the University of Wisconsin. She earned her elite card in her first triathlon, was named USAT Rookie of the Year in 2010 and, after some success on the ITU circuit in 2011, she secured one of the first Olympic team spots a year before the Games.

Fast-forward to life after the Olympics, and Jorgensen’s perspective has changed on what needs to happen before another Olympic campaign. Late last year she started working with coach Jamie Turner, who heads a 10-person squad that splits training time between Wollongong, Australia, and Vitoria, Spain (she was formerly coached, mostly remotely, by Wisconsin-based Cindi Bannink). In January, Jorgensen and her boyfriend, Pat Lamieux, moved to Wollongong to focus strictly on her training in a group setting.

Jorgensen was drawn to Turner’s coaching style and approach based on observing his interactions with other athletes. She decided to make the switch after racing the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Auckland, New Zealand, where she finished second. “I needed to change something, and thought this would get me to the next step—to have someone one-on-one at every workout to see what I’m doing wrong, and to have training partners to push me,” Jorgensen says.

Turner and his squad of mostly Under-23 ITU athletes provide the daily challenge Jorgensen was lacking. “The main thing Gwen was looking for was an environment,” Turner says. “She needed to be in a daily performance environment instead of at home by herself doing workouts.”

Plenty of Jorgensen’s competitors have reaped the benefits of immersing themselves in a group environment—including fellow American Sarah Groff, who spent much of the year in Switzerland training in Darren Smith’s competitive squad and ended up taking fourth in the Olympics.

“You’ve got cases of some outstanding performances from athletes who work more in isolation,” Turner says. “Or you have an athlete like Gwen who will progress faster in an environment where she’s exposed to her peers. If she’s deficient in something and she’s training by herself, no one is really highlighting that for her. She’s just training and doing exercise prescriptions and not being confronted every day by her opposition, it’s difficult to make a change. I like my athletes rubbing shoulders with their opposition.”

PHOTOS: Gwen Jorgensen Wins In San Diego

Jorgensen says the squad is really encouraging and motivating, and that the dynamic of training alongside younger girls has given her the “well if they can do that, I can too” mindset when it comes to things like motor pacing or handling skills on the bike.

“She’s happy to be confronted by the other girls in a daily environment,” Turner says. “They all have their strengths and weaknesses. She’s certainly not the fastest swimmer or fastest bike rider, and 99 times out of 100 she beats them on the run, but when Gwen’s having a bad day they love to put it into her. She’s really fortunate that the running is so natural to her. She says herself that she’s gifted. But that subsequent run performance will only be a product of what happened an hour and a half before it. So what are we working on? We’re working on the hour and a half before the run.”

The pair has spent a few months focusing on the swim, taking it back to stroke basics and technique—Turner believes “speed is a product of economy”— sometimes doing double-swim days. “Before I was just going through the motions in everything,” Jorgensen says. “Now when I’m swimming and biking I’m always thinking about something I can improve upon. Jamie is known for his swimming and that’s something that, although I grew up swimming, I feel like I’m one of the weaker swimmers—I’ll come out in the back of the front pack and I want to be at the front of the front pack out of the water.”

Last Friday in San Diego, Jorgensen came out of the water in the top 10, and she was visibly more comfortable on the bike, staying at or near the front of the second pack the whole leg. She confidently ran her way through top contenders like Australian Emma Moffatt to take her podium spot.

“A good analogy for Gwen is that it’s like taking a muffin to a cake icing competition,” Turner says. “You can put the sprinkles and all the fancy stuff and everything on top and it will look alright. And Gwen’s alright sometimes, but unfortunately she’s always been a muffin and not a cake. We have to build a cake and create a highly resilient product of human that can withstand the demands, and then we can put the icing on. But while she’s a muffin, she’ll never win a cake icing competition.”

Both Jorgensen and Turner will readily admit that the move to Australia (and the upcoming move to Spain) would’ve been a difficult one without her boyfriend moving along with her.

“I didn’t really know Gwen before, but I’d seen a resistance of not wanting to immerse herself,” Turner says. “I think there was a level of complacency. The biggest asset she’s got is not me, it’s Pat. For her to pack up and move to Australia for three months, that’s a big thing for Gwen. In the Midwest they really value family, so it was potentially daunting in the past, but having Pat along—he’s making things happen for Gwen and gives her a lot of stability to make these investments.”

Turner believes she has a lot more clarity now on what goes into competing on a world stage. “Early success, instant gratification on a little bit of work—those things are hard to deal with … Hard work only beats talent that doesn’t work hard,” he says. “Gwen was probably a talent that wasn’t working to her capacity. Now Gwen knows that she has to be talent to work hard to win.”

RELATED – Video: Gwen Jorgensen’s Triathlete Magazine Cover Shoot

To celebrate Earth Day, here are five running products you can feel good about using.

Brooks Green Silence Running Shoe, $90
Brooksrunning.com

With a biodegradable midsole made of 75 percent post-consumer recycled materials, the Green Silence lightweight racing shoe was created with “about half” as many parts as similar shoes, according to Brooks.

RELATED: Triathlete’s Guide to Going Green

Ironman 70.3 New Orleans hasn’t had good luck with weather in recent years, with high winds causing organizers to swap the swim for a two-mile run last year and in 2011. Thankfully this year saw highs in the 70s and low winds, allowing for a solid day of racing, highlighted by a men’s sprint finish and surprise female standout performance.

American Brandon Marsh and German Andreas Raelert led the men out of the swim with the same time of 23:34, trailed two minutes back by Canadian Trevor Wurtele, who won the race last year as a duathlon. Wurtele’s race-best bike split of 2:05:54 put him closer to Raelert, and he stayed steady running to try to close the gap. According to online reports, around the eight-mile mark the two athletes were running side-by-side with a three-minute gap on third place. The race came down to an exciting sprint finish, where Raelert edged out Wurtele by five seconds. On their shared Twitter feed, wife Heather said of Wurtele’s performance, “So proud! … He didn’t win last year just because it was a duathlon!”

The women’s race held a bit more of a surprise with American first-year pro (and still-working auditor) Haley Chura taking the win against more experienced athletes. Chura put her swimming background at the University of Georgia to use with a 23:50 swim leg—faster than any of her competitors by more than two minutes and right up there with the men’s times—which started out her day strong. She ultimately held her lead to finish in 4:18:20. Second-place Marsh posted a 4:20:39 followed by Kristin Andrews at 4:22:59.

Ironman 70.3 New Orleans
New Orleans, La. – April 21, 2013
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run

Men
1. Andreas Raelert (GER) 3:46:54
2. Trevor Wurtlete (CAN) 3:46:59
3. Santiago Ascenco (BRA) 3:50:38
4. Brandon Marsh (USA) 3:51:44
5. Mitchell Robins (AUS) 3:52:25

Women
1. Haley Chura (USA) 4:18:20
2. Amy Marsh (USA) 4:20:39
3. Kristin Andrews (4:22:59)
4. Joanna Lawn (NZL) 4:23:12
5. Kimberly Schwabenbauer (USA) 4:23:42

Complete results.

The older Brownlee brother will race Javier Gomez on Saturday; track meet next week.

At this time last year, Olympic gold medalist Alistair Brownlee was nursing an Achilles tear in advance of the London Games, giving his brother Jonathan the opportunity to dominate the ITU World Triathlon San Diego course. This year, roles are reversed for the second running of the event, and Alistair will be the one toeing the line against his long-time rival and Olympic silver medalist Javier Gomez.

Brownlee spoke about battling an injury eight months out from London at yesterday’s press conference in San Diego. “A million things were going through my mind, from the moment I got diagnosed with a tear in my Achilles, it doesn’t get much worse, to then actually having it laid out as spending three weeks in a cast,” Brownlee says. “I never gave myself the choice of whether I was going to do it or not…just get on with it and train as hard as I can.”

Thankfully Brownlee came back in brilliant form to take the top podium spot in his home country, a moment he fondly calls “very special.” “I think one of the special things about the Olympics is, obviously triathlon is a fantastic sport, [but] it is only a niche sport in Britain, and the Olympics catapulted triathlon out of that niche category… Meeting The Queen was fantastic. Going to Buckingham Palace was as you expect it to be, lot of chandeliers, lots of paintings, and people in funny suits, I enjoyed it a lot, it was a great experience all round.”

Saturday’s race will put the top Olympic podium finishers head to head once again.

“I’m not in the shape from London but I can’t spend my life trying to be in that shape all the time,” Brownlee says. “I have six to eight weeks of training, but I have a massive few months gap from last year to now, so I am just happy to be here and looking forward to racing to see what I have got. I have spent the last few years racing when fit and on form, so this will be nice to see how I go.”

Brownlee also alluded to some potentially exciting news—next week he may be racing 10,000 meters on the track at the Stanford Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational (official start lists are not yet released). “I’ve been doing triathlon since I was eight years old and along the way done some swimming races and cycling races,” he says. “But the last four years have been very focused on that Olympic medal in London, and rightly so—you only get that chance once to race in your home Olympics and that’s what I wanted to do and achieve. But to carry on the next few years it’s just fantastic to have the opportunity to try different things. I’m looking forward to doing [the 10K] next week.”

RELATED: A First-Timer’s Guide To Watching An ITU Race