*Hello Gators,* EDITOR’S NOTE: Everything in this week’s Gator News is truthful. We all love triathlons, but there is one fear that many of us have that causes our heart rates to immediately jump to at least Zone 3 just thinking about it… Open Water Swimming. Personally, I was on my back at some point during my first one plus seasons of triathlon (2012, early 2013). Amazingly, I’ve made enough progress that the swim leg was my favorite part of both Ironman Syracuse 70.3 and Ironman Lake Placid last year. I still have a long way to go to become a good swimmer… many, many technique flaws… but I’ve become very comfortable in open water. So, how did I get from there to here?... Experience. There is nothing that beats getting some experience. And while we cannot offer Tri Club sponsored open water training, we’re going to do what we can to enable you also to feel at least reasonably comfortable in the open water. Here’s what’s in the works… - *Tri Club swim workout OWS simulation:* This past Monday, Brian ran a GREAT open water simulation in the pool during our regular Monday night Tri Swim class. It included siting on two in-pool buoys, mass starts, dock starts, and a bunch of 200 yard swims without ever touching a wall. Additionally, we learned a better way to execute a buoy turn and how to deal with aggressive as well as slow swimmers. And one of our swimmers even tested out her wetsuit, so that’s an option as well. *Brian will be offering another such session this coming Monday night, April 11, 8:30pm-9:30pm.* I strongly encourage all of you to attend, even if you are running in the Love Run on Sunday, as we’ll be swimming less yardage than usual (and we’ll consider figuring out how to handle 70+ swimmers as a good problem). - *Indoor Open Water Swim seminar/clinic:* We’re in the process of arranging an open water swim seminar/clinic sometime in May to teach some techniques for dealing with open water. - *Outdoor Open Water Swim clinic: *We’re discussing options for an outdoor Open Water Swim clinic to take place through a third party sometime in May. More details coming soon! - *John Kenny Tri Open Water Series: *Club sponsor, John Kenny Tri, also offers a weekly Open Water Swim series as well as swim events over the summer and we have some great club incentives that we’ll pass on to our members to take advantage of these opportunities. Many of our members have participated in these events in the past and have enthusiastically promoted them. Stay tuned for more details coming soon! And you can learn more here… http://www.johnkennytri.com/coaching/open-water-swims.php So we think this should get you well on your way to a relaxed and comfortable season of open water swimming… Now it’s up to you to take advantage of it. This week's news topics include... - *Accomplishments… *Gators take on the East Coast and the Southwest!!! - *Who’s Next?... *This weekend we’re staying local and Love-ing it!!! - *About A Gator… *Trainer in Training!!! - *Recommended… *Podcast interviews with Rudy, Ironman in Training, and Possible Paralympians!!! - *Workouts Update… *Let me out!!! - *Mark Your Calendars… *How are you fueling? Don’t miss next Tuesday’s “Nutrition for Triathletes” seminar being delivered by club sponsor BodyMetrix!!! *Happy Birthday**! *Best wishes to *Patty Trainer* who celebrated a birthday this past Tuesday, April 5! *Accomplishments**: *We spent last weekend running and riding… Congrats to the following Gators and one of our club sponsors on their successful race completions! - *Saturday, April 2:* - *Savannah Women’s Half Marathon (Savannah, GA): Heather Irwin* - *EX2 Rendezvous Ride & Run (Upper Marlboro, MD): Don Morrison* (club sponsor; Chester County Running Store) - *Sunday, April 3:* - *Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run (Washington, DC): Jen Ruiz* - *Austin 1020 10 Mile Run (Austin, TX): Ruth Subach* *Who’s Next**?: *Best wishes to the following who will all be racing this weekend for safe and successful results! - *Saturday, April 9:* - *Garden Spot Village Marathon (Lancaster, PA): Ellen Friend* - *Sunday, April 10:* - *Delaware Valley Duathlon (Doylestown, PA): John Kenny *(club sponsor, John Kenny Tri) - *Love Run Half Marathon (Philadelphia, PA):* - *Individual: Steph Babiec, Tina Belles, Jason Brannen, Kerri Brannen, Mike Connelly, Sonny Dayrit, Susan Flavin, Gregg Heimer, Michelle Leonard, Diane Lynch, Dean Milligan, Frank Moffa, Susan Ryan, Michelle Sipe, Byron Solvason, Brent Voynar, and Logan Washburn* - *3 Person Relay: Suzanne Angelaccio/Kristin Kozera/Allison Wesler* *About A Gator**: *Learn about one of our athletes that comes from a running background, has successfully transitioned to triathlon, and is in training for her first Half Ironman distance event. This week’s “About A Gator” profiles *Patty Trainer*! *Recommended**: *This week’s recommendations are three recent podcast interviews that can help you pass the time during an upcoming run or bike trainer workout… - *Sean Astin* (Marathon Training Academy): Sean is famous for his roles in Rudy, The Lord of the Rings series, and The Goonies. He’s now become a marathoner (10 completed marathons including the Boston Marathon and the Disney World Dopey Challenge) and more recently an Ironman, having completed Ironman Hawaii last October. In this interview, Sean discusses a little bit about his Boston Marathon experience and a lot about his preparation for Ironman Hawaii. It’s a very entertaining interview!... http://marathontrainingacademy.com/sean-astin-2 - *Paralympic Duo Competing for Spot in 2016 Rio Paralympics* (Endurance Hour): Amy Dixon, who is 98% blind and her guide, Susanne Davis, are in contention for a spot on the 2016 US Paralympic team. This podcast includes individual interviews with each of them and gives some amazing insight into how they prepare for and execute their events… http://www.endurancehour.com/2016/04/endurance-hour-158-amy-dixon-susanne-davis-u-s-paralympic-triathlon-team/ - *Ironman In Training* (Triathlon Training): The podcast made famous thanks to Tiff’s interview is back with another edition that includes a pre-race and post-race interview with an athlete who was training for his first 70.3, which he participated in this past weekend (Ironman Oceanside 70.3). And he’s also training for Ironman Arizona later this year, which would be his first Ironman distance event. Some good tips for our group that is training for their first 70.3 or Full Ironman distance event!... http://triathletetraining.com/tt071-oceanside-70-3-as-first-half-ironman/ *Workouts Update**: *We still haven’t made it outdoors for an official Tri Club workout, and the weather is again keeping us inside for this Saturday’s cycling/running workout, but we will eventually get outside for our Tuesday evening and Saturday morning rides/runs. Following are a couple of reminders relative to outdoor workouts… - *Emergency Contact Info:* Please send yours to gatorstri@gmail.com if you have not already done so. The start of our workouts will be delayed to collect this info from anyone that has not already provided it, so please be proactive and provide it in advance. - *Bike Lights:* It is mandatory for you to have a front and/or rear light on your bike for all club rides regardless of time of day of the ride. Most of our rides take place during bright daylight hours, but the light still helps to make us more visible and increase the overall safety. *Mark Your Calendars**: *Upcoming events include… - *April Seminars:* - *Tuesday, April 12, 7pm-7:45pm, YMCA Corporate Conference Room: Nutrition for Triathletes *conducted by club sponsor, Bodymetrix. Topics will include… Day to Day Sports Fueling, Carbohydrate and Protein Timing for Practice and Race Days, and Recovery Nutrition and Hydration. See Facebook event for more details! - *Wednesday, April 20, 7pm, YMCA Corporate Conference Room: Running Clinic *conducted by our club sponsor, Chester County Running Store. Topics covered will include… Considerations when selecting a shoe for training and racing, proper shoe fit, injury prevention, training and recovery. Stay tuned for more details coming soon! - *April Club Events:* - *Sunday, April 10: Love Run half marathon… *20 Gators are running (and we have our own port-a-potty!)… http://www.cgiracing.com/theloverun - *Saturday, April 23: Schuylkill River Trail 50K Relay… *We have two full 6 runner teams in this 31 mile relay running event that includes an out and back between Phoenixville and the Conshohocken Brewery (you guys know where that is!). Each runner will complete a 5-6 mile leg. If there is additional interest, we can still field additional teams or just come out to cheer us on, drink some Sly Fox “SRT Ale”, and enjoy some food trucks and music at the finish line festival. For more info… http://www.schuylkillriverrelay.com - *May Club Events:* - *Sunday May 1: Devilman Triathlon (Cumerland County, NJ)… *14 Gators are participating in our annual kickoff triathlon that includes sprint and “half-lite” options as well as duathlons… It’s not too late to join… http://www.piranha-sports.com/Race344.aspx - *Saturday, May 7: Million Dollar Ride (Philadelphia, PA)... *Registration fee is $25 if you plan to fundraise and $60 if you do not fundraise. The $60 fee is only good until April 1… After that it increases to $80… Here’s a link to more info and the registration site (note that as of now some club members are doing the Medium/33 mi ride and others are doing the Long/73 mile ride; the fee is independent of distance and you can change your distance after registration)… http://www.milliondollarbikeride.org/mdbr-2015/ - *Tuesday, May 17: Tuesdays In the Park 5K (Pottstown, PA)… *Our sponsor, Chester County Running Store, race director for the “Tuesdays In the Park 5K” series, has graciously offered FREE registration to this event. See the Facebook event with more details including the discount code!... https://www.runccrs.com/event/pottstowns-tuesday-in-the-park-5k-series-and-kids-fun-run/ - *Saturday, May 21: ToughKids Philly Youth Triathlon (French Creek Park, Elverson, PA):* This event is part of the ToughKids event series and is being directed by club sponsor John Kenny Tri. More details including discount code coming soon!... http://johnkennytri.com/events/toughkidsphilly/ - *Sunday, May 22: French Creek Triathlon (French Creek Park, Elverson, PA): *Make it a full weekend by having the kids race on Saturday and you can race in a sprint or Olympic distance event on Sunday! Stay tuned for club discount code coming soon… http://johnkennytri.com/events/frenchcreek/ Go Gators! *Don M*