Posted: June 20, 2004

Triathlon: Fisher and Cleveland teach long-distance to Halfmax triathletes

INNSBROOK, Mo. (June 19, 2004) – After the HalfMax Triathlon pre-race dinner at the upscale, woodsy Innsbrook’s conference center, professional triathletes and multisport coaches Andrea Fisher (USA) and Jamie Cleveland (CAN) presented their be-prepared, stay-positive philosophy for long-distance triathlon training and racing to this weekend’s participants, who ranged from entry-level to highly-trained amateurs.

Providing broad strokes and bullet points in an audio-visual presentation, they discussed topics like periodization training and base fitness and strength components, nutrition, bike fit, technique, goal setting, pre-race preparation and rehearsal, how to handle the ups and downs of a long-distance race, and race recovery. Cleveland and Fisher made it all easy to follow by impressing and reinforcing three main themes for the amateur athletes – developing a solid foundation, staying positive and rewarding yourself.

Fisher, the feature athlete at tomorrow morning’s HalfMax Triathlon (1.2 mi swim/56 mi bike/13.1 mi run) and a 10-times top-five-overall Ironman finisher, discussed more of the physical aspects of training. Here are some of the key points she made:
· Limit the build phase to maintain focus on the reward – your race
· Train your weaknesses but don’t neglect your strengths
· Find a nutrition plan that works for you and practice it; have contingency plans for race day
· Know the course; drive it, identify key areas and trends such as curves or hills
· For recovery, time off – at least a week – is essential. If you don’t recover, you won’t get the fitness boost you should from the effort you made on race day. Stretching, massage, light workouts, and even yoga will provide some relief from the after-effects.

Fisher and Cleveland’s message on equipment and bike fit was simple: “Comfort is the golden rule,” he said, and added that finding an experienced, trusted bike shop or coach and letting them know the type of racing you do is imperative.

For training and racing, Fisher reminded the triathletes to “be good to yourself. If you can keep that attitude, you’re going to do fine.”

Cleveland, the 2000 Ironman Florida champion and former Canadian national champion, said, “you want to be flexible on race day to handle the curveballs (like flat tires or lost nutrition), but you also want to have confidence in the decisions you made before the race.” As most amateurs have very personal goals when participating in long-distance triathlon, he cautioned them to still “stick to your game plan and don’t respond to how other athletes are racing.”

Cleveland also reminded the amateurs why many of them sign up for the long-distance endurance tests and what they will go through on race day: “You will have highs and lows, but think positive! Don’t worry too much about things. Remember that this is our lifestyle. This is what we do for recreation. Don’t lose sight of why we do it.”

While the weather is expected to be comfortably warm and sunny with low humidity, the forested, hilly and curvy course will be technically and physically challenging to even the most experienced triathletes. According to race director Mark Livesay, an accomplished long- and ultra-distance triathlete, “success on this HalfMax course would be a sign to anyone, beginners and elite alike, that he or she can be successful on any normal course.” If they follow the Cleveland-Fisher philosophy, tomorrow’s participants may already be there.

The Halfmax Triathlon is hosted by the Missouri Lions Eye Research Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to sight preservation and restoration. One hundred percent of the race proceeds go towards benefiting sight programs, such as the Amblyopia Prevention Program, which screens Missouri children for vision impairments. For more information about the Halfmax Triathlon weekend, visit www.ultramaxtri.com or call Tiffany Esterline at 573-424-7029.

For more information on Cleveland and Fisher’s Texas Iron Training coaching, visit www.texasiron.net.

From: Steve “Hammy” Handwerker, 312.375.9500 (USA) or .