Triathlon Training Clinic

I did a triathlon training clinic at Inside Out Sports in Cary, NC March 4th, 2006. It was a great day and I met lots of nice people. I wish I had exchanged email addresses with them.

I did a 29 mile bike ride with a group and experienced drafting for the first time….really makes a difference in effort. I rode next to a woman named Shields for a while. She was going into her second tri season like me. I enjoyed chatting with her. I also rode next to a guy whose riding pace was a bit faster than mine, so it was a good workout for me to keep up with him. I enjoyed talking with him, too! That’s us in the photo…I’m in the yellow jacket with light blue sleeves.

I ate lunch with the entire group at Stonewood Grill and Tavern in Cary ( www.stonewoodgrill.com ) and had the Salmon. Yummy. I sat with a guy named John who just moved here from Pennsylvania and was training for his first tri. He’s a marathoner, so I’m sure he’ll do great. I also sat with a young woman and her dad. (I can’t remember their names!). The woman has been doing tris for a couple years and was training for her first half ironman, and the Dad was training for his first sprint tri. They were both doing White Lake, so I’ll probably see them there, since that is my first race (the sprint one!)

Michael and Amanda Lovato, pro triathletes, did a talk after lunch. Michael told a story about his first tri where he was inspired by a guy in a speedo riding a pink bike with aero bars and who had road rash all down his leg. Cool. Amanda told how she gained weight after college and did a triathlon to get back into shape. I could relate to that story, tho I wish I had done that 15 years ago, then maybe I’d be a pro triathlete too!

I had my body fat measured and was pleasantly surprised to learn that I am at 17% , which is lean. I thought I had 10 more pounds to lose, but I don’t. I could lose maybe 5 more pounds to get down to 12% body fat. It’s really hard losing those last few pounds, tho!

I had a swim stroke analysis (ouch – that really hurt my bum shoulder!) …I learned that my stroke is pretty darn good: high hips, high elbows, good rotation, and good kick. They said my right arm was going too deep (might be because of that bad shouldeR) and while my kick is good, I could make it smaller (less amplitute).

I had a bike fit. They asked me if I’d been having any pain, and I said I’d been having some knee pain under my kneecaps after riding. They did a great job measuring me, checking the angles of my body, and knee position, etc. They moved my seat up about 3/4 of an inch. They said my knee pain was probably due to that. They also said I looked a bit stretched out and a shorter stem might be worth looking into. That’s the same thing they (diff bike shop) told me when I bought the bike. That’s me in the photo getting a bike fit.

I went to the chiropractor booth and they got rid of this nagging hip pain I’ve had since December. It was like magic…I walked into the booth with the pain, and walked out without the pain. He did alot of mumbo jumbo with my shoulder, but nothing helpful. He said my shoulder needed more work and I’d have to go see him. Hmmmm.