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Want to Swim Faster? Better be Buoyant
Plus: Hilly race but you have no mountains? We have the solution. And are cold plunges legit?
Good morning everyone,
It’s a bit of a leaner edition today as I’ll be racing later this afternoon in Miami! Looking forward to kicking off what will be a great 2023 season. I hope you have a great weekend of training, racing, or just relaxing.
In today’s edition:
Better buoyancy for faster, more efficient swimming 🏊♀️
Live somewhere flat, but have a hilly race? Here’s how to train for it 🚵
Cold plunges are a hot trend, but are they actually beneficial? 🥶
Thank you for being here.
-Matt Sharpe, newsletter editor
Have a triathlete in your life who can't stop swimming, biking, or running? Fire this off to them. Forwarded from a friend? Sign-up for free.
NEWS
Clash Endurance
⚔️ Early season Clash: The first major pro race of the year in North America kicks off today with Clash Miami. Athletes will rip around NASCAR’s Homestead-Miami Speedway in search of an early season trip down victory lane.
For the women, Sara Perez Sala (ESP) will be a heavy favorite for the win, and will no doubt use her swimming pedigree to jump out to an early lead.
In the men’s race, it will be a battle of the legs with Sam Long (USA) and Lionel Sanders (CAN) hoping to lay down some serious rubber on the track. But Daniel Bækkegård (DEN) has a strong swim that could have him taking laps out of the chasers.
👏 Carfrae retires: Three-time Ironman World Champion and absolute legend of the sport Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) recently announced her retirement from elite racing. Carfrae, a fierce competitor, always had a devastating run leg that would propel her to victory. To this day, she still holds the Ironman World Championship run record, without the benefit of carbon-plated super shoes. Congrats Rinny! [Triathlon Australia]
🦀 Ironman Marylandapalooza: On March 20th at 6 pm a community listening session will be held at Cambridge City Council Chambers to discuss the possible combination of Ironman and 70.3 Maryland into one super triathlon weekend. This combo could have benefits, but it may reduce the economic impact and strain local resources. A small town strained by a large triathlon weekend, have we seen this before? [My Eastern Shore]
⚓ All hands on deck: The U.S. Naval Academy will become the 13th NCAA Division 1 Triathlon program. They are slated to begin varsity competition this fall under the watchful eye of coach Billy Edwards. Women’s NCAA Triathlon continues to grow and is on track to become a fully managed NCAA Championship sport, similar to college basketball and gymnastics. [Team USA]
🏆 Euro awards: The European Triathlon Union celebrated a successful 2022 season at its annual award ceremony held this year in Slovakia. Leo Bergere (FRA) and Nina Eim (GER) were awarded male and female athlete of the year. And Olympian Non Stanford received an executive board award for her contribution to the sport as an elite athlete. [Tri247]
TRAINING THOUGHT
Tempo Rewind: Better Buoyancy for a Best Time
This training thought was published in an earlier newsletter. We added videos to help add context.
Buoyancy, or the ability to float in the water, is the foundation for fast swimming. Here are a few things to consider to keep that body position on point. The videos below help illustrate these key points!
🏄 Keep it horizontal:
Like a surfboard, horizontal is good; vertical is no bueno.
Usually, the hips are the first to drop, so do your best to keep them high in the water.
👀 Eyes down:
An easy way to stay buoyant is to look towards the bottom of the pool/lake/river/ocean/bathtub.
Not directly down, more like 4-5 feet in front.
😮💨 Just breathe:
Exhaling through the stroke will keep you relaxed so you can bring tension to the right areas.
Make sure to exhale lightly in between breaths!
Enter to win a pair of racing shoes
Race season is almost here, and our team at The Tempo wants you to be ready.
We’re giving away a pair of racing shoes to a lucky triathlete or Ironman athlete.
Entering is easy. Just head over to our contest page, sign-up, and refer at least one friend to The Tempo.
Enter the contest today. The more people you refer, the greater your chances!
FROM THE ARCHIVE
The four most-common nutrition mistakes triathletes make
1) Following fad diets
Maybe it’s intermittent fasting, going keto, or any other restrictive eating pattern, but none of them work on a long-term basis. Sure, you likely follow an athlete on social media who is doing crazy training sessions while following some fad diet, but if it is true, they’re an outlier.
For the majority of endurance athletes, restrictive eating of any kind will only lead to decreased performance, injury, or worse. Training for triathlon puts a lot of strain on your body, so you need to provide your body with the building blocks it needs to repair and strengthen itself, which means food.
To optimize performance and long-term health, focus on the basics;
🏋️ Healthy protein (animal or plant, or both!),
🥦 Lots of vegetables and starch at each meal,
Eating healthy doesn’t need to be complicated; it’s like training; consistency pays off!
FAVOURITES
⛰️ Hills pay the bills: We don’t all live beside Alpe d-Huez. So if you’ve signed up for a hilly race but you live in a non-hilly location, what the heck do you do? Thankfully, 220 Triathlon has put together some helpful advice and key sessions to help build strength and confidence heading into a hilly event! [Triathlon 220]
📈 Trending truth: Cutting alcohol, eliminating caffeine, and cold plunges. The three trending musketeers of health and performance. Author/coach Brad Stulberg does an excellent job cutting through the noise and delivering the facts about whether these trends are worth the hype. The truth of cold plunges definitely caught our eye. [Brad Stulberg]
🎧 ProTriNews podcast: The PTN gang recaps the action at WTCS Abu Dhabi, the DQ drama at Ironman South Africa, and of course, a few 🌶️ takes.
EXCLUSIVE TEMPO EXPERT ANALYSIS + INTERVIEWS
How Kaylee manages her pro triathlon career, studies, and on top of it all, her YouTube channel
The process, challenges, and triumphs of developing a new ranking system with Renee Kiley
Rod Mackinnon takes us through a typical day where he does his best to manage work, training, and life
Scott Tindal on eating properly for Ironman training.
Simple strength training for a breakthrough Ironman.
Are you an expert and would like your thoughts to be featured in The Tempo? Fill out this form and we will be in touch shortly!
LATEST EDITIONS
Drama at WTCS Abu Dhabi, and is there a perfect run technique?
Ironman releases massive broadcast schedule, and do more carbs equal faster recovery?
Sanders surprises at Arena Games, and how does alcohol affect your sleep?
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