–By Andy Guelzo, Team OAM NOW cyclist

When I first started on my adventure into the adventurous sport of cycling I had some wonderful people to teach me and show me the do’s and don’ts. The small tricks to cycling that most people don’t find out until it’s too late are the things that can make the most difference. Sharing those tips to the beginner cyclist is what needs to be done so that everyone can feel joy of riding to its highest level. The 3 biggest tips I can share are eating properly, getting a correct fitting bike, and finding someone or some people to get guidance from. These tricks can be used from anyone beginning to ride to someone that had been in the sport for a while and wanting to hone in their riding.

1.  Eating

When I began in my cycling career eating while riding was an outside concept to me. I never thought that eating would work and not upset my stomach.  Eating allows your body to keep up energy levels and keep your body from “bonking”. Bonking is when your liver can’t keep up with your blood glucose levels and the brain and nervous system run low on fuel. This in turn causes muscles to not have adequate supply of energy. When eating during a ride, it is best to start early when going for a ride longer than an hour.  After about an hour is when your body starts needing to replace its fuel stores.  Eating early will allow your body to keep up with digestion and supply the body with useable nutrients. Use fuel in the form of  gels for the simple carbohydrates that are metabolized into glucose within the body for use in cells. Also, I carry bars for rides over 90 minutes for their assortment of carbohydrates and proteins. Having the proper nutrition will allow your body to perform the best possible.

2. Bike Fit

It doesn’t matter how fit or strong an athlete is, if you cannot put the most force possible into your bike you will not go as fast as possible. Having a bike that fits properly will also allow you to be more comfortable and be able to ride longer without causing damage to your joints.  Just like any other machine, if the person working it cannot use it comfortably it will not be used with maximum efficiency. Most local bike shops have some kind of fitting service, 3rd coast cycles in Hudsonville for example has everything you need to be fitted properly. They can fit the bike to your exact body specifications. I cannot stress the importance of a bike fit because I believe that it is the single most important “upgrade” you do to your bike to go faster.

3. Don’t do it Alone

It doesn’t matter if you want to just ride for fitness or if you want to race, group riding is one of the best training tools out there. Other people will be able to push you to go faster and go further than you normally would if you were on your own.  Riding in a group will make it easier to meet new people. Most groups have at least one person that has been riding for quite a long time. These people have a special heart for the sport of cycling and want to share as much knowledge as possible.  These types of people I find are not looking for a reward of payment. What they want is to see their love for the sport move into someone else who is just starting out in feeling that same passion. A mentor like this can usually do more than any other person you will meet. For me, Athletic Mentors coach, Team tech guru, and all around fantastic road trip driver Terry Ritter has been this person for me. The friendship and bond created will be one that will go on forever. His passion for the sport and the growth of up and coming riders leads too much more than just doing well in races. It leads to a life time attraction to wanting to ride a bike. To take this further, getting in contact with a personal coach to work with you on a training plan to reach your goals is even better. Having a coach will give direction and make reaching goals more possible.

The post Cycling Tips From Andy appeared first on Team Athletic Mentors.

– By Collin Snyder, Team OAM NOW cyclist

This year has been a roller coaster of ups and downs. When the season was in its early strides, I was already showing sings it was going to be a good year. I put the time in over the winter and dividends were coming in. Then right when it started, it ended. On a training ride, I broke my kneecap (non-displaced patella for you medical people), putting the brakes on all plans for the year. Seven weeks later I was on the bike, but nowhere close to where I started. In fact, my first week back, it was hard to do a ride over a 20 minutes

I re-adjusted my expectations, and decided to just roll with the punches and enjoy the summer racing. Due to the still weak knee, I decided to do Lumberjack on a geared bike. This is so unheard of for me, I actually had to buy a rear MTB wheel that wasn’t single speed dedicated. I raced and struggled. The results were similar on the road. I showed up, put my all into it, but it just wasn’t there. To make matters worse, not longer after Lumberjack, I broke a rib in another crash. This just wasn’t my year.

In mid-August, I took a little break from the road to race a bucket list race; the Breck Epic, a 6 day MTB stage race in Breckenridge Colorado. My rib was healed, I had some training under my belt, but I really didn’t know what to expect. The race ended up living up the hype. Being from Michigan, I just wanted to finish. I raced smart everyday, always metered my efforts with the altitude always at the back of my mind and bottom of my lungs. In the end, I finished 16th in my age group for the six days, and had a top 10 on the last day.

When I came back, I wanted to use my re-found fitness while it was still around. With shifting of some of the races this year, Labor Day weekend was free for me to head out of state to race Shenandoah Mountain 100. This is a race that I’ve raced five times prior, with my last experience in 2013 soured by the remnants of a hurricane which dumped heavy rain for a majority of the race. This year, I was just going to have fun.

When the race kicked off, as always it started fast, but this year, I decided not to kill myself and watched my single speed competition struggle to hold onto the likes of Jeremiah Bishop’s wheel while spinning at 190 RPM. This is a big change for me. Normally at these NUE races, I kill myself at the beginning, get in a good position, then slowly fade and then struggle to stop the bleeding as fresher competitors pass like I’m standing still.

I rode my pace up climb 1 and 2 of six without seeing another single speeder. When I reached the bottom of the second descent, I saw a racer begging for a tube. I figured I was just riding my bike and I had a tube on me and another about 10 miles up the road at the next aid station, so why not stop and help him. Good karma right? Helped him out, took a nature break, and was on my way.

Going up the fifth climb, also affectionately known as “The Death Climb” due to the fact its about 18 miles long, I rode my pace. Slowly, one by one, I started passing people. Most were geared, but four were my single speed “classmates”. As I reached the top and started going down, I pass a guy messing with his bike who then realizes I’m a single speeder also. Panic sets in (for him), and he puts it in high pursuit, bombing down the 5 mile, super rocky, 2500 ft decent. He passes me like I’m standing still.  Although I’m a good descender, I’m still a flat lander, so I ease off knowing I want to live to see another day. Midway down the trail, there’s a short climb which the SSer comes back into view, and he’s walking up it. I manage to scale it without walking. With one more 25 minute climb to come in the closing miles, I know I’ll have him.

I make it down to the bottom safely, reach the last aid station, take a NASCAR style stop, and I’m in hot pursuit. When I get to the start of the last climb, he’s out of sight, but I do a steady tempo, never becoming impatient. Although slow, it was faster than I’ve ever gone up that climb in the 5 other editions. I actually had gas left in the tank, what a concept! Midway up the climb, I see him, and he had nothing left. The grade was too much for his blown up legs. I put a poker face on and stand up to “dance on the pedals” as he hiked next to his rig. As I pass, he says he’s got nothing left and congratulates me on my effort. I ride safely up and down the last mountain, and roll in nearly 25 minutes faster than my personal best. I place third in the Single Speed Class, beating my previous best by 8 places.

This race really mirrors my recovery. I re-adjusted my expectations, aimed for fun over results, and sure enough, I managed to accomplish both. Sometimes it’s a bunch of crappy setbacks that makes you step back and realize why you’re in this sport to begin with. This mindset will continue into cyclocross season where another training disruption is imminent. My wife and I are expecting our first child, about a month before Iceman.

The post Slow and Steady. appeared first on Team Athletic Mentors.

–By Michelle Dalton, Team OAM NOW triathlete

“My husband and I are Triathletes”. This statement is usually met with blank stares or at best polite nods. Sometimes an explanation is required. “We race in events that require us to swim, bike and then run.”

James and Michelle Dalton have been competing in triathlon for over a decade!

We have been competing for over a decade in this sport, both here and in our native Australia. We were introduced by a friend whilst training for a half marathon in Sydney. She was a Grandmother – and I thought well if she can do this, I would like to give it a go. And I did. And then James did. And we have been hooked ever since.

It’s not easy having two endurance athletes in the family, especially with two small children, jobs and lives. We have to balance very carefully training with work and family. And it has worked well. Mostly.

This year we are both training for our first Ironman in Cozumel Mexico in November. An Ironman is a 2.4 miles swim followed by a 112 mile bike and then a 26.2 mile run. It’s a huge event and requires many hours of training – in our family that means Ironman volume training times two. After people get over the shock that you are actually thinking of attempting such an event on purpose, they often ask us the question of how we manage to both do the work and have time leftover for everything else.

The answer is that sometimes we do and sometimes we don’t. The key is to have priorities. Family is always first. We have explained to our children that this year is a lot of training and time away from them to try to fit in long bike rides and runs. And when we are done, it’s their time.  And at 9 & 11 they sort of understand this. I also think the opportunity to watch mum and dad work very hard for something that they want and are passionate about but are not going to win is very enriching for them. They get that it is important to work towards your dreams. To try your very best no matter what. I believe that in watching us train toward our first Ironman, they are learning some valuable lessons in dreams and hard work.

In terms of training – we have to be on a schedule. We talk at the beginning of the week about who has to do what and when. And we try to stick to it as much as possible in fairness to the other person and the girls. We don’t always get this formula right and sometimes this means missing something but you have to have balance. But at the end of the day, we want each other to succeed so we do whatever we can do help each other out.

The challenge of balancing training, family, and everything else life demands!

Our household isn’t prefect! But what we have learnt about training and racing together has enabled us to be more structured in our approach to training, more flexible when things go wrong and more patient with the other when you things get tough. Its also helped us to teach our kids some valuable lessons along the way.  Determination, perseverance, commitment, healthy choices and doing something that you love.

This is a challenging year but when we cross the finish line in November, it’s all going to be worth it. And to have the other one racing beside you, makes the finish line look even better.

The post Balancing Ironman Training and Life (x2!) appeared first on Team Athletic Mentors.

–By Kathy Braginton, Team OAM NOW triathlete

As August rolls around, there is an abundant list of great local races. So many, in fact, you could race every weekend in August, both Saturday and Sunday on some weekends. I like having so many options, but how do you choose? One long standing local race is Shermanator. The Shermanator Triathlon is a fund raising event for the Community Scholarship Program of the Sherman Lake YMCA in Augusta, Michigan. With the saturation of local triathlons to choose from, Shermanator has seen the race participation decline over the years. But as the participation has declined, this race venue has only gotten better. At one time, this venue had the weediest lake I have ever had the opportunity to swim. With the weeds so thick in places, you could grab them and use them to pull your way through the water. The country roads on the bike course had been patched and re-patched numerous times. With the possibility that some holes hadn’t been patched at all, riders had to use extreme caution on the bike. Over the last few years, there have been numerous changes on the swim and bike legs of the race. With a weed abatement program that has been put in place in the lake, I never saw or felt a single weed! The bumpy roads have all been repaved making it a super fast course for a Sprint Tri. Shermanator is also an unsanctioned event; therefore, it is always wet suit legal.

Kathy prepares to dismount during the Shermanator triathlon

After focusing on long distance races the first half of the season, I shifted my training focus on building speed for the Sprint races at the end of the season. I have had several top finishes at Shermanator over the years, but an overall win has eluded me at this race. One advantage to racing local is you know your competition well going into the race. I knew I needed to keep the swim close, make up as much time on the bike as I could, and hope it didn’t come down to a foot race on the run. Unfortunately, that is how it played out and I had a 30 second deficit as I started the run leg. While I gradually reduced the deficit on the run, it wasn’t quite enough and I missed the win by 16 seconds.

So, still in search of the big W this season, I made the last minute decision to race Three Rivers Tri. This race played out similar to Shermanator and, sadly, I was not able to keep the swim close enough. I made up the deficit on the bike and was able to exit T2 in the lead. However, the lead did not last long and I was quickly over taken on the run. I wound up second overall to a woman visiting from Pennsylvania. She was racing Three Rivers as a warm up for the Full Ironman at MiTi the following day.

While I was not able to walk away from the 2016 Tri Season with a win, I was, unexpectedly, able to walk away with so much more. During the awards ceremony at Three Rivers, my sister pointed out a 13 year old finisher that had been racing alongside her. We listened as they called her 15 year old sister to the top position on the podium. We expected to hear the younger sister’s name called next, but no more Age Group names were announced. We watched as the young girl walked away with a look of disappointment. It turns out Age Group awards were only given to 14 and older participants. While she had actually finished ahead of her older sister, she would not be receiving an award. That weighed on me as I walked away from the awards presentation. I ran into the 2 young girls in transition as we were picking up our gear, and it hit me as to what I needed to do. Three Rivers marked my 55th triathlon. I have a basement full of medals and trophies and this young girl did not deserve to walk away empty handed. She was a winner and ought to be recognized! I walked over to her, took my medal from around my neck, and told her I wanted her to have it. She initially said no, but I didn’t give her much choice in the matter, and placed the medal around her neck. She told me this was her very first triathlon and I told her I wanted her love the sport as much as I did.

Kathy claiming second place in the 3 Rivers Triathlon

As I drove home, I felt a totally different sense of victory. A win doesn’t always mean finishing in first place. Sometimes coming home with no medal at all, can be the biggest win of them all.

The post Wrapping up the 2016 Season appeared first on Team Athletic Mentors.

–By Todd Anthes, Team OAM NOW triathlete

Many a triathlete, including some more seasoned than others, have probably thought about how to choose the right race distance. The typical races are usually a close variant of one of the following:

1. Sprint (0.5mi swim, 12.4mi bike, 3.1mi run)
2. Olympic (0.93mi swim, 24.8mi bike, 6.2mi run)
3. Half Ironman (1.2mi swim, 56mi bike, 13.1mi run)
4. Ironman (2.4mi swim, 112mi bike, 26.2mi run)
5. Ultra (anything longer than Iron distance)

I can’t speak to the ultra-distance, as I don’t have that much patience, or training time, but I can speak to everything from Iron distance on down.

The first “rule” is that you don’t start with an Iron distance race. A proper build-up to competently undertaking an Iron distance event is likely a multi-year build of training intensity and volume. There are probably a few exceptions to the rule, but they are not you. Athletes come to triathlon for many reasons including the pursuit of  variety in training; an injury in one of the disciplines in which the athlete concentrates (i.e., mandated cross-training); a friend or family member introduced the athlete to the sport, potentially through a triathlon relay; or simply the challenge. A smart move is for an athlete start with a sprint or Olympic distance event, most likely a sprint. Even if the athlete is a seasoned participant in one of the three disciplines, putting all three events is a challenge . . . especially if you are new(er) to one of the three. The sprint distance is a great way to break the seal of triathlon and become introduced to transitions, pacing, and nutrition. Maybe a first year triathlete could race 3-5 sprints distance events over a first triathlon season culminating in an Olympic distance event.

Another consideration, if not a recommendation, is where to race. Some athletes find great comfort racing close to home for a sense of familiarity, including being able to sleep at home. Other more adventurous types might prefer the buildup to a destination event. And female athletes might even like to start with and all female event.

Building a “Olympic” season might not mean you are done with the Sprint distance. A strong recommendation is to race multiple distances in a season when you are starting out for different kinds of efforts, as well as to see what distances suit you. So, if your second or third season finds you branching out to finding success at the Olympic distance, your race and training schedules should not ignore the harder, shorter efforts found in the Sprint distance.

The jump from racing Olympic distance to Half Iron is a big one. I suggest a season dedicated to a build where you start with a solid training plan, and ending with your Half Iron event. A lot changes when you increase your longest race distance by 100%. Such a jump in distance requires, more precise training and recovery, nutrition, support at home, sleep, and a number of other things.

If you take the jump from ½ Iron to Iron, it makes sense to do this over a number of seasons. The quickest “proper” or measured jump to Iron might be a four or five-year span, with the last two years racing multiple ½ Iron events in a season. I know the die-hard athletes to whom rules don’t apply will ignore such advice, but even a runner will tell you that if you are a 5K runner and want to try a marathon, if you want to be able to progress beyond the goal of finishing (a notable goal in itself) and  truly race the distance,  a training plan that allows your body to adapt to the longer stresses is advisable.

Not everyone feels the need to climb the ladder of triathlon distances, but if you do, give your body and mind the proper base before climbing to fast. And do yourself a favor, do a ton of research on the topic, or better yet, consult a qualified coach.

The post Picking the Right Triathlon Distance appeared first on Team Athletic Mentors.

–By Elaine Sheikh, Team OAM NOW Multi-sport athlete

When I went to write this blog, I spoke out loud in exasperation: “What the heck am I supposed to say? I did a thing, it didn’t go the way I wanted, it was a huge disappointment?” So here I sit, in the car on the long drive home from Nebraska to Michigan, contemplating what actually happened this weekend.

Leading into the weekend I was tapered and feeling fast – probably the best that I had felt going into a race this year. My training has been solid and although I was nervous, I was ready to see it pay out for me in a big way against the most competitive field I had been in this season. I was doing everything the way you should – divide the drive there between two days, relax, eat enough food and high carb intake, and plenty of positive thinking. We pre-drove the entire course and rode part of it, ran part of it, and swam in the thick, murky green waters of Carter Lake. I tried my best to focus on the positives, controlling the controllables, and putting my faith in my training.

Saturday morning started at 4:40 am. snack, pack, drive to the race site. Park, practice mindfulness, setup transition, breakfast. Then settle down to wait for three hours before my wave started. My wave started at 10:30 am, which meant I was running at noon. I made it through the green murky swim and had a decent (although much tougher than I expected) bike split, but drinking warm infinit in my bottle (despite having frozen half of it the night before!) didn’t set me up for a great experience in the run. Even though I was confident I would nail the run, I ended up having my slowest run in a triathlon in a very long time. I was doubled over in pain crying on the run course, and all I could think was that this was the race I had trained for. This was the one that mattered. And I was blowing it as I ended up finishing the run 6-7 minutes slower than I was capable of. And despite the fact that I have worked very hard to improve my mental strength in the past few months, I was shattered. I cried almost the whole day. I would get myself under control, and then someone would ask about my race or I would look on social media and see something about the race and I would lose my composure again. I was beyond disappointed in myself, and my confidence was gone. And I had to race the next day.

Sunday morning started just a few minutes later than the day before. I was overwhelmed with the outpouring of support that people had given me after my heartbreak and subsequent meltdown the day before. The best advice I got was from a fellow triathlete: “Pick 2 things you can improve on (concrete things like equipment choice or transition mechanics) and 2 things you are proud of from today. Keep those in your head for tomorrow.” That comment really helped to ground me and bring me back from my personal crisis point. The other thing that helped? The faith that other people had in me. Knowing that other people believed in me made it so that I didn’t have to try to convince myself to believe in myself. I just had to believe in the people I trust. In the end, my race on Sunday wasn’t stellar, but I managed to snap my head back into the game to put up competitive splits and have a respectable race.

Maybe national champion wasn’t in the cards for me this year. A) there is always next year and B) there is now a fire lit beneath me for worlds in five weeks. Onward and upward! Hopefully with a lot of work and a little luck, you’ll be reading a victory post soon!

The post 2016 Triathlon Nationals Reflection appeared first on Team Athletic Mentors.

–By Richard Landgraff, Team OAM NOW Masters Cyclist

The weather looked ominous the morning of the 1st annual Corktown Criterium.  Set in the shadow of the old Central Train station in Detroit, the course was just shy of a kilometer and had 7 turns, some of them tighter than 90 degrees.  As the field was beginning to warm up, the rain began to fall and continued at an accelerated pace as about 40 of the combined 45/55 Masters rolled to the line for the start of the race.

 I knew that a good start and staying at the front of the pack was going to be necessary in order to finish well in the timed 45 minute event.  At about 1 minute per lap, the first 20 laps were all about staying upright in the pouring rain and holding the wheels at the front of the field.  A few attacks took place as well as a few primes in which I bided my time waiting for a good moment to make a move on the field.  With about 20 laps remaining, I decided to make an acceleration out of the first corner.  I know that if I could get a gap, that I could take the corners faster than the rest of the pack…and I was right.  Chris Donnelley from Team O2 jumped on my wheel and we worked well together each taking a turn at the front each lap.  As the laps continued to tick down our lead grew from about 8 seconds to over 30 and I knew that we would be able to stay away.  

With two laps to go, I was making a plan of how to beat Chris for the victory as he is a pretty fast sprinter.  Coming through with one lap to go I was on his wheel, but as he slowed down out of corner #2 I attacked him knowing that hopefully I could get another gap through the last 5 turns.  As he tried to get on my wheel through one of the tight corners, I heard him go down on the wet pavement…so much for having to sprint…I soft pedaled a bit to make sure that I stayed upright and soloed in for the win!  Fortunately for Chris he was not injured and because we had such a big lead, he was able to come across for 2nd.  Also in the field was Pete O’Brien for Team OAM NOW who was able to secure 2nd place in the 55+ field behind the old pro .

The post Landgraff Grabs a Win at Inaugural Corktown Crit appeared first on Team Athletic Mentors.

By: Brian Reynol​​ds, Team OAM NOW triathlete

During the Fall of 2015 I decided to pursue one of my ultimate goals which was to quality for the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.  The Hawaii Ironman is the most prestigious race in the Triathlon World.  In fact this race inspired me to get into triathlons.  I remember during high school watching the NBC documentary coverage of the race and thinking to myself “I want to do this race someday.”  That someday could be October 14th, 2017 if everything goes according to plan.

To qualify for Kona I will be doing the 2016 Wisconsin Ironman which will be my first Ironman distance.  There are 50 Kona slots available at Wisconsin. In my age group (25-29) it has historically been the top 3 that have qualified.  Last year’s 3rd place overall time was 9:41 hours which is a very doable time for me if training goes well.

Achieving a Kona slot will take hard work, dedication, and more importantly a smart training plan.  When my coach Mark Olson and I sat down to review the game plan it was obvious that I needed to work on my biking.  The bike leg of the triathlon has always been my weaker discipline.  In the Ironman distance the bike leg will make up over 50% or roughly 5 hours of the race so it’s very important to be a strong cyclist.  

The game plan was to dedicate more time to biking early in the season which meant significantly reducing my running mileage.  During the late fall and winter I was putting in 10+ hour weeks on the bike which was the most I’ve ever done.  My biking improved significantly; however, my running was getting worst.  I was only doing 10-15 miles per week which is very low.  This low mileage was making me lose running fitness.  Being a runner my entire career I was not used to being out of running shape.  However, my coach had confidence that once I started to pick up the running miles in the late winter my running would come back.  I had to remind myself that the goal was not to run fast during the winter but rather be the best triathlete I could be at the Wisconsin Ironman.  

Brian claimed second overall in the Seahorse Olympic Tri during his early season prep for his first Ironman

My first triathlon of the season was the Seahorse Olympic distance.  The Seahorse would be the first true test to see if the bike training was paying off.  At the race I had my best power average for the bike split by over 30 watts.  The game plan was working!  In addition, my running was quickly improving and I was looking forward to my next race which was the Grand Rapids Triathlon.

The Half Iron distance at the Grand Rapids Triathlon was my first “A” race of the year.  I did this race last year so it would be a good comparison to measure my improvements.  At this year’s race we had perfect weather conditions.  Besides my swim being a little slower than last year I set a new Half Iron PR of 4:09:33.  I was very happy with my bike split which was the 11th best bike split in the field whereas last year I was 23rd.  My power average was 40 watts better than last year which was a significant improvement.  In addition, I was able to pull off a personal best run split in the half-marathon split by a few seconds.

After the Grand Rapids Triathlon I have more confidence in my biking and am looking forward to the Wisconsin Ironman.  So far this season has shown me that in order to become a better triathlete you need to try different things.  However, trying different things may mean some areas  being sacrificed temporarily.  In my case that was sacrificing my running fitness to improve my biking.  Working on your weaknesses is best utilized early in the training season so there is time to refocus on the other two disciplines before race season. Right now I have 5 weeks to go until the Wisconsin Ironman.  My training is more balanced to ensure I have good fitness in all three disciplines on race day.  Keep in mind that I still need swim for 2.4 miles and run a marathon which makes up roughly 4 hours of the race. Hopefully everything comes together on race day and I’ll be sure to post a blog on my results.

Brian celebrates with coach Mark Olsen and teammates James and Michelle Dalton after the Grand Rapids Tri

The post Pursuing the Ultimate Goal appeared first on Team Athletic Mentors.