Recent Results and upcoming events…

by The Coaches on May 14, 2013

The last few weeks opened up the racing here in the northeast. During the first weekend in May, athletes were treated to some ideal weather and raced at he Jersey Shore (NJ half Marathon and the Bassman triathlon) while Pete Beskal tackled the Wildflower 1/2 IM course in California. Friends of Start-tri.com and former athletes had great races down at Bassman with Jim Sonneborn, Joe Vandyke and Mickey Syrop all finished very high. At the NJ 1/2 marathon both Scott Johnson and Barbara Reuven had good days. Pete Beskal had a tough day at Wildflower, but refused to DNF and gutted out a tough finish.

This past weekend, Lori Morris celebrated Mother’s Day weekend with some hardware from the Chester 5K. Way to go!

Upcoming, this weekend will feature Jerseyman Triathlon on Saturday followed by King of the Hill off-road Xterra Triathlon and Superhero 1/2 marathon on Sunday. Good luck to all athletes racing. If you are interested in joining us for our annual Triathon Camp in Lake Placid, we still have several spots left for you. Email mickey@start-tri.com

Train hard, race smart…

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Welcome Spring! Welcome Racing Season!

by The Coaches on April 29, 2013

For those that live in the Northeast, we all witnessed “true” spring weather this past weekend. With that, athletes came out of the woodwork in droves. As I logged quite a few road miles, I was reminded of “rider etiquette” on the roads. For those new to the sport of cycling, please join a group, shop ride, etc…and learn proper etiquette. Ask questions! Observe! We have so many eager riders who come out at this time of year and forget what it is like to be on roads and tune out the cars that are on the road. Please be safe and please do not take up the whole road (amongst other poor decisions) as riders have enough drivers that despise the nuissance on road!!!

Also with this weather and date comes the opening to racing season!!! Good luck to athletes racing this coming weekend at Bassman Triathlon in NJ and Wildflower 1/2 IM in CA!!! Congrats to Coach Kristin and Pete Beskal who PR’d at the half marathon distance. Congrats to Amy Campbell-Leftkowitz and Karen Gould for great half marathons the last two weeks.

Train smart, Race smart and Have Fun!

The coaches

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Well, it finally snowed a fair enough amount to keep me off the roads today. I have had many questions about using power with cycling recently, so I have included a short snipet on power calculations for those that may be interested (or have currently purchased a power tap, cranks, etc…). Enjoy the training!

Calculating power range

“The first thing you have to do is go and test,” says Hunter Allen, a cycling coach and co-developer, with Andy Coggin, Ph.D., of Cycling Peaks power training software. The simplest test you can use to determine your power training intensity levels is the 20-minute max test.

After a thorough warm up, ride for 20 minutes as hard as you can. Be sure to pace yourself so that you’re not fading in the final minutes of the test. After cooling down, find your power average for the 20-minute maximum effort.

Next, use this number, a calculator, and the table below to calculate your target power range for each of seven training intensity levels. The table is adapted from the Training Peaks Web site. The right-hand column provides an example based on a hypothetical athlete who averages 260 watts in the 20-minute max test. Note that power is not needed as a guide to training at Level 7 (neuromuscular power) intensity because it corresponds to absolute maximum pedaling efforts that one can maintain for only a few seconds.

Power Based Training Levels

Level

Name

Target Power Range (as % of avg.   watts in
20:00 max test)

Example (based on 260   watts avg. power in 20:00 max test)


1

Active Recovery

<55%

<143

2

Endurance

56-75%

144-195

3

Tempo

76-90%

196-234

4

Lactate Threshold

91-105%

235-273

5

VO2max

106-120%

274-312

6

Anaerobic Capacity

>121%

>313%

7

Neuromuscular Power

N/A

Once you’ve worked out your target power ranges, use them during all of your cycling workouts, each of which (as mentioned above) should aim at one or two specific intensity levels. Don’t be a slave to the numbers, however. If the target range is too hard on a given day, go a little easier, and if it’s too easy, go a little harder.

As you gain fitness, you’ll begin to find your target ranges consistently too easy and will therefore need to adjust them upward. You can make this adjustment in one of two ways: by informally tweaking the numbers at each intensity level to fit the “feel” of that intensity, or by repeating the 20-minute max test and recalculating the power zones based on the new result.

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2013…Welcome New Year!!!

January 1, 2013

Happy New Year to all of our past, current and potential athletes. January is typically a time to reflect on the last year and to set goals for the new year. What are your goals for the year? Is your goal to finish your first triathlon or to qualify for a national or world championship? [...]

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Lake Placid 2013 Triathlon Training Camp

November 5, 2012

We recently update details for our 2013 Lake Placid Triathlon Training Camp. Spread over four days, the camp is a total immersion triathlon training opportunity for those considering or already entered into a half or full ironman race. With sag wagon support, full bed and board, training seminars and great course specific insights from multi-finisher [...]

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Upcoming…

October 19, 2012

Good luck to Stefan Petses this weekend at B2B Ironman and Peter Beskal next weekend at Miami Man 70.3. Brew Pub Ride this Saturday 9AM-11AM. 9 AM leaving my house and at Meyersville Circle at 9:15. Drinks at Stirling Hotel afterwards at noon!!! Who wants in??? Or just drinks if you don’t want to ride:(

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Triathlon…at its roots.

October 8, 2012

Well, the triathlon season has come to an end here in the northeast as the weather takes a change toward autumn. As I ended my season at the Atlantic City Triathlon several weeks back then volunteered at the Buckman Triathlon the next day I was reminded of the true spirit of our sport. While many [...]

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Big September weekend for Start-tri…

September 18, 2012

Well, September marks almost the end of Northeast Triathlon Racing:( Start-tri was well represented at the Atlantic City Sprint/International Triathlon, the Buckman Triathlon and over on the west coast at the Malibu Triathlon. There lies a great story of CNN Fit Nation/Start-tri athlete Denise Castelli in her journey to finish her first triathlon!!! Denise has [...]

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Weekend Race Updates (short version…)

August 12, 2012

Another GREAT weekend of Triathlon racing for Start-tri athletes, paramounters, training partners and friends. Congrats to all finishers at IMNYC. Special congrats to Laurie Beland, Dan Simonetti, Ira Goldberg and Wayne Levitt…all fresh Ironman finishers. Also, Lori Freeland Morris placed again in her AG at the the 2 mile cable swim championships in Lake Placid, [...]

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Start-tri athletes continue to impress…

August 1, 2012

July has come and gone as we head into the “Dog Days of Summer” and Start-tri athletes are continuing to rip it up on the Triathlon Circuit. Early in July saw Lori Freeland-Morris take on a very strong field at Randolph Triathlon. Lori won her age group and was able to hold off speedy runner [...]

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