Miles 1-5: Starting Gun Jams
Footloose
Rebirth of Slick
Beautiful Day
Dancing With Myself
Rump Shaker

Go to Miles 6-10:  Getting into the Groove
Sons and Daughters
Black Betty
Yeah
Build Me Up Buttercup
Purple Haze

Miles 11-15: Yes, I Can
Life is a Highway
O Valencia!  
Finished Symphony  
99 Luftbaloons
Summer of '69

Wet suit manufacturer Blueseventy, is hosting a raffle contest to triathletes competing in four iron distance triathlons.

Any athlete who demos a Blueseventy wetsuit at Ironman Wisconsin will automatically be entered to win two round trip tickets to Kona for the Ford World Championship Ironman on October 10, 2009. The winner will also receive three nights' accommodations at Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort from Friday, October 9 to Monday, October 12. Additionally, any triathlete who purchases a Blueseventy wet suit at any of these events will receive six additional raffle tickets.

The great triathlon and cycling coach (and TrainingBible Coaching founder) Joe Friel once told me that there are only 3 ways to get faster: improve economy, improve lactate threshold, and increase VO2max.

Of these 3, VO2max is primarily (and unfortunately) determined by genetics. However, there is room to raise this physiological ceiling.

But frequently testing VO2max in a lab environment can then become expensive and inconvenient. The following is a VO2max self-test that can be done on a track or closed course, and can be added as part of a regular run workout.

After a deep warmup, perform a running 1.5 mile time trail, run as fast as you can for 1.5 miles. Based on that time, you can estimate your VO2max.

7:30 and under is a VO2 of 75
7:31-8:00 is 72
8:01-8:30 is 67
8:31 to 9:00 is 62
9:01-9:30 is 58
9:31-10:00 is 55
10:01-10:30 is 52
10:31-11:00 is 49

This test obviously does not factor in weight, which the real test VO2max test does, since it is based on liters of oxygen per minute per kilogram of body weight. So this test will never be as accurate as a real test, but it is a little bit cheaper and more convenient. The real benefit of this workout is to benchmark your progress and gain some confidence as you see that 1.5 mile time trial get faster.

We have the scoop on the new triathlon reality show that has so many of you buzzing on the forums about.

We were able to track down  the producers of the show and get as much information out of them as possible about the show and what they are looking for.

The show, which they would not share the name will involve 20 age groupers of all different skills and experience levels and will be shot this Summer to start airing in the Fall.
The shooting will last 3 weeks with a final challenge that will leave one athlete victorious, showered with tons of great triathlon related gifts.   

When we asked if a slot to an IM race was one of the gift, they wouldn’t confirm or deny, but told us that “it is a possibility, along with new everything!”
I for one could use a “new everything!”

"Each athlete will be allowed to bring their own gear, but will also have access to new bikes, trainers, shoes, wetsuits, goggles, clothes, nutrition, massages, sun glasses and more.  “Our athletes will walk away with some of the best gear in the industry, win or lose, they will be tricked out with gear.”

They would not share the names of the pros that they are talking to for the show, but assured us that they are household names, that everyone will know.

“We are thrilled to be a part of this great sport and helping to make it grow, we know this is the first show of it’s kind for our sport and we want to do it right.”

They told us that speed, age, experience level doesn’t matter to the producers, just heart and the willingness to go for it all.
If you are interested in being considered they ask that you send your picture and a little about you as a person as well as an athlete to their casting director, from there, final casting decisions will be made by the middle of May and then who knows, you could end up on TV!
Send all casting applications and questions to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Good Luck!

Intervals are unquestionably an effective way to improve performance. While intervals are most commonly performed to improve the anaerobic system, they can also be effectively implemented to develop a strong aerobic base.

When running a 10k, for example, very few athletes can maintain a pace above their lactate threshold for the 40+ minutes it takes the average age grouper to complete, particularly coming off of the bike in a triathlon. That is why training for sub-lactate, high-aerobic intensities can help your overall speed in a 10k.

While most interval training limits the number of intervals to under 10, (and usually only up to 5 intervals for run training) interval training with a higher number of repeats but a lower interval duration works well on building highly aerobic abilities.

For this interval workout, perform twenty 400-meter repeats with only 10-15 seconds rest in between repeats. The time it takes each 400-meter interval to complete depends on your 10k goals. Use the chart below to determine the pace of your 400-meter repeats.

46:00        2:00
43:00        1:52
40:00        1:45
37:00        1:37
34:00        1:30

For example, if your goal is to run a 40:00 10k, perform 20 400-meter repeats in 1:45 with only 15 seconds rest between each repeat. With that workout, you would spend a full 35 minutes at a 7-minute pace, broken up over 20 intervals. Although that pace is slower than the actual pace required to run a 40:00 10k, it allows the athlete to train at moderately high intensities without the risk of overtraining. Plus, with an appropriate taper the athlete should expect to shave off significant time during a race-effort 10k.

It is important that the first interval and the twentieth interval be done at the same pace. The first time this workout is done, the tendency is to fade during the last 5-10 intervals. It is best to perform this first workout by choosing a pace that matches your current best 10k, and reducing the time it takes to complete each interval by about 1 second each subsequent week the workout is done until goal pace is met.

This is an excellent workout to perform if using a device, such as a Garmin 305 or 405, which will allow you to program a workout that matches this workout structure.