The Triathlon Season is under way in some states and is fast approaching in other parts of the country. We are offering a $150.00 Coupon "T150" on the Kestrel Talon Tri Bike with a full Shimano 105 Groupo. This is a true Tri – bike that features Kestrel's legendary carbon fiber frames. In addition to the $150 off, this bike also will receive free shipping. The coupon is good until May 31st.

$150 Off the Kestrel Talon Tri Bike – Full Carbon Fiber. Coupon Code: T150

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Tyler takes her training outdoors on a sunny day in Northern California.

Growing up in Connecticut, triathlon was the furthest thing from Tyler Stewart’s mind. In fact, with an intense fear of the water, she was quite happy to stay on dry land doing a variety of sports from track to equestrian. In 2003, she did a triathlon as a dare and has never looked back.

Tyler burst onto the amateur scene, winning back-to-back Overall Female Amateur titles at the 2005 and 2006 Ironman World Championships, breaking the course record each year. She was also named Inside Triathlon’s 2006 Amateur Triathlete of the Year. When Tyler turned pro in 2007, her goal was simple: finish every race with a smile. Her rookie season included a second place finish at Ironman Lake Placid, an overall win at Cancun 70.3 and a third place finish at Ironman Florida, where she recorded the fastest Ironman bike split of all time. At the end of that first year, she was named 2007’s USAT Rookie of the Year for her efforts.

In 2008, she joined the LUNA Pro Team and continued to establish herself as one of America’s brightest stars in the sport of triathlon, finishing near the top of every race she entered. After some time off due to an illness, Tyler emerged back onto the scene in 2009 with a victory at Ironman Coeur d’Alene, setting a new course record in the process, and securing a top 10 finish at the Ironman World Championships in Kona.

Today, Tyler’s life is a constant juggling act. She and her husband, Johnny, are the owners of a thriving dog grooming business in the San Francisco Bay Area called WAGS. She somehow manages to fit in training to compete against the best in the world in between running her business, teaching indoor cycling classes at Velo Collective and TRX clinics at Fitness Anywhere. So how does Tyler do it? Preparation. Here, Tyler shares her top 10 tips for success when preparing for an event.

1. Plan ahead. If you want to do a triathlon, sign up and then go through all of your gear. Replace worn or damaged items and make a list of what gear you’ll need to borrow or purchase. This will help get you in the right frame of mind for training.
2. Get a partner in crime. Misery loves company, and you will be held accountable to your friend if you bail on a workout.
3. Get outside. Spring is a great time of year, so enjoy being outside, and the vitamin D will do you good as well.
4. Don’t give up your winter strength training. You have to keep up your resistance work throughout the entire year if you want to continue to benefit from it.
5. Be consistent! Even if you can’t do your planned workout every day, get out and do something. Consistency is the key to success.
6. Be efficient. We all lack time, so use your workout time wisely. Instead of going for a two hour ride, maybe do an hour at a higher intensity or use the TRX for 15 minutes instead of training for an hour in the gym.
7. Be a whole athlete. Even if you are just training for a marathon, make sure you cross train. Different exercises train your body in different ways. The more diverse you are as an athlete, the more it will help you with your chosen sport.
8. Schedule time for rest. Make sure you get plenty of sleep and recovery time. If you don’t rest, your training will not make you stronger, it will just make you more tired.
9. Consider your nutrition and hydration. Start using what you plan to use on race day. Pick a healthy alternative to whole foods, like Luna or Clif bar products, which are mostly organic and made from real foods. Practice with them so you’re not surprising your body on race day.
10. Have fun. Pick something you have always wanted to do and do it. If you don’t love the activity you’re doing, you won’t stick with it.

For more on Tyler Stewart, visit her website (www.tyler-stewart.com).

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Ironman Triathlon championships are something that we are all aware of. It includes three sports back to back, viz. swimming, biking, and a marathon to sum it up. Timex that manufactures watches sprouted with a new plan of improving sales. They felt that adding a sports-tinge to the watch could lead to better reception among the crowd. This idea worked and that gave rise to our esteemed Timex Ironman Triathlon watch.

Since the time that it was released in the market until now, the demand has never weakened in any manner. The reason why this particular variant of sports watches became famous was because of the affordable rates that endeared them to one and all irrespective of their financial status. There are different price ranges of these watches. Depending upon the number of features, the price shoots up. For example, the high tech models of Ironman triathlon watches consist of additional features such as GPS, lap recorder (which is essential to keep track of your lap timings), heart rate monitor, etc.

These watches have become highly famous amongst celebrities, businessmen, lawyers, and so on. The water resistant feature was initially for depths of 100 meters. However, recent models have better water resistance as well as some cosmetic changes that go along well with the current generation. Also, there are watches made exclusively for women. The only modifications done to the watches are reduced size and different color pattern (or say girly colors such as baby pink, violet, etc).

In the year 1992, the first major upgrade was made to these Ironman triathlon watches. It was nothing but the inclusion of INDIGLO. This technology received good response from the customers and soon it was evident that this turned out to be the best feature of the watch which was why people started purchasing them enthusiastically.

At the press of a button, the whole dial lit up giving it the appearance of full moon. This particular feature also came with dramatic colors. In addition to it, the power consumption of this technology was fairly negligible. Hence, it soon became the hottest selling running watch all over the world.

Even today, Timex Ironman Triathlon watch has not lost its value. In fact, there are well advanced watches that come with hi-fi features that make them ideal for expert athletes and serious trainers. For people who enjoy sports goods, triathlon watches are must-have collectibles.

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After my last article, which brought to you some background on the Super-Sprint and Sprint events, I'm back to continue where we left off. We'll be taking a look at the Olympic event, and then, in future articles the Half-Iron and then the ultimate triathlon challenge, the Iron-Man event.

Olympic

This is, as the name suggests, the event that is agreed upon and sanctioned by the Olympic Committee, to be an event in the Olympic Games. Often referred to as the 'Standard distance, it's still not as popular as the Sprint events.

With Triathlon being a relatively new sport, the first Olympic triathlon didn't take place until the 2000 Olympics. If you want to compete in the Olympic distance, you will need to swim 0.9 miles (1500m), ride 24.9 miles(40km) and finish it all off with a 6.2 mile (10km) run. It's going to take some time to get ready for such an event, 20 weeks or so should be enough with consistent training. If you're out of shape, at least 6 months is probably the way to proceed.

An elite triathlete will be completing this event in well under 90 minutes. If you're pretty fit and well trained, between 2 and 3 hours is the right sort of ballpark figure, many take 4 hours to finish.

This event does call for some pacing, you can't just go out there 'hell for leather' as you 'may be able to do in the short events. You've got to bear in mind that there is no 'sprint distance' in this event, sprint too soon and you'll be hitting the wall pretty damn quickly. You need to particularly make sure that you have energy left for the run, so pace yourself on the swim and bike sections. You are definitely going to need to hydrate throughout the event and to refuel with some sports gels or similar .

If you have a fair bit of experience in endurance events, you've ridden long distances or been a good swimmer or runner, then it's acceptable to make the Olympic Triathlon Event your first triathlon. You need to d o some serious inward analysis, don't try to kid yourself that you' re up to it if you aren't.

In later articles I'll be going through training schedules for each of the events so hang on in there.

Next article takes a brief look at the Half-Iron event. We're heading into the serious endurance events now and culminating in a look at the Iron-Man, the pinnacle of sporting accomplishment for many triathletes. See you next time.

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Look around at any triathlon race and you will see that most triathletes are not afraid to spend money on their sport.  If we think a piece of equipment will make us faster and give us an edge on our competitors, most of us will probably buy it.  Bikes the price of a used car, the most cutting edge running shoes, the most buoyant wetsuits money can buy, all to shave a few seconds or minutes off our race times. 

There are new technological advancements being made in the sport every day.  Bikes are lighter and more aerodynamic than they have ever been.  Wetsuits are more buoyant and friction resistant, and shoes are lighter and perform better.  One could spend a small fortune trying to have the best equipment out there, and some do. 

Even though some equipment out there is amazing and can definitely shave time off your races, you may not be getting as much return on investment as you could by spending your money elsewhere, such as with coaching or a good training plan.

For a good cyclist, a nice bike could shave minutes off bike times, but for novice to average cyclists, the performance improvement is not as dramatic.  The advantage in aerodynamics and weight is most dramatic for cyclists pushing the boundaries of human performance.  For the average Joe, the gains in performance may not be worth the cost.

Buying a high-end bike when you are still a beginner is like spending a ton of money on the best wetsuit if you are not a good swimmer.  Yes, more expensive wetsuits are more buoyant and create less friction in the water, but performance gains are really only noticeable for swimmers that already have their technique and speed down and just need that extra edge.  If you are just an average swimmer, an entry-level wetsuit will be perfect.  I recently bought a brand new Xterra wetsuit for $99 on sale and I love it.  Just look for the deals and don’t feel like you need to drop over $500 on the next best thing.

Basically what I’m saying is to look for how much you are getting for how much you are paying, or “return on investment.”  Is $5,000 for the new triathlon bike worth the few minutes you might save?  What if you invested a little money in some coaching to raise the efficiency of your pedal stroke, a good bike fit to squeeze some extra power out of your legs, and/or a good training plan to make you a better cyclist.  What about taking the hundreds of dollars you save by not buying a cutting edge wetsuit and invest it in some swim coaching, or maybe some good video analysis, to really cut minutes away from your swim time.  I guarantee that for an average or below average swimmer, just a few swim coaching lessons will make you much faster than a top wetsuit will over an entry level wetsuit.

Don’t just throw money at your weaknesses; you need to tackle them head on.  So many times people see our endless pool and get scared when they see the mirror at the bottom of the pool, or our underwater camera.  Many are terrified to see themselves swim, which makes no sense to me.  If you know you have bad technique, you should do everything you can to fix it, not spend $700 on a wetsuit or a small fortune on a bike and hope it goes away. Most of the time, its only one or two little technique tweaks that make a HUGE difference in a personas swim stroke. 

If money is no option and you can afford all the best equipment and good coaching, then do both.  But if your funds are limited, and you have to choose between that new carbon fiber bike, or some good quality coaching and a training plan to bring up your weak points, you will get more return on your investment with good coaching and training every time.

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We internally fear being judged by our failures, and crave to be accepted for delivering on our promises.

1)Here's how to use this principle for triathlon motivation: the next time you're waffling on a workout, go to Facebook, go to Twitter, go to your blog, or call your best friend or spouse and tell them, "I'm just about to go to workout ______ (you fill in the blanks) Should be fun!". This tiny social expression will instantly give you a powerful urge to deliver on your promises. It also works well if you're on the fence about signing up for a race for which you're unsure you will have fitness. Tell the world you're going to sign-up, and the extrinsic motivation of not wanting to let the world down will make you far more likely to do it.

2) Re-Train Your Brain. There is a big difference between wanting something and being prepared to receive it. In other words, it's not enough to have triathlon motivation goals and want to achieve them. Instead, you must actually train your subconscious to realistically see yourself achieving your goals. Want to know exactly how to re-train your brain? Do 2 things: 1) Read Ben Greenfield's comprehensive article in the February 2010 issue of Triathlete magazine; 2)

Visit the Rock Star Triathlete Academy at where you will find an online triathlon school that features weekly handpicked articles on triathlon motivation and lifestyle.

Memorize these mind tricks and add them to your triathlon motivation arsenal, and you'll be the person everyone is talking about when they say, "They're like the Energizer bunny! They keep going, and going, and going…".

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The second transition is between the biking and the running legs of the race. During this transition, make sure you take the time to change your socks again. Chances are that your first pair of socks is starting to reach the point of maximum absorbency due to extreme amount of sweat you will produce from biking. By putting on a new pair of socks you will help prevent blisters from forming during the running segment of your race.

Completing a triathlon is an amazing feat but there are definitely little tips and tricks that will help you get through it more safely and efficiently. Taking your time during the transitions to take care of your feet well can make all the difference in the outcome of your triathlon.

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In the sport of triathlon, there is no question which sport most people have problems with. Out of swimming, cycling and running, the swim causes people the most problems by far. Whether it is terrible form, anxiety in the water, or poor upper body strength, any weakness in the swim is multiplied three-fold. If you have poor running form, you can still get by; even more so with cycling. If you are a terrible swimmer, this will cause you to fight against the resistance of the water much more than you have to. It is not uncommon to see super athletes that knock out marathons with ease unable to swim two laps in the pool without stopping.

Besides getting some swim coaching to help correct your form, there may be something else you can do that will make the difference between quitting half way through the swim, or finishing strong with energy to spare for the next two events of the race.

If you are a poor swimmer or a beginner to triathlon, listen to this…You MUST get a wetsuit if you plan on racing. A good wetsuit will allow full range of motion in the shoulders, chest, and legs while providing maximum buoyancy. When you float higher in the water, you will go faster and save energy, period.

So now you know you need a wetsuit, but what type, what brand, when should you wear it, and how much should you spend?

The USAT guidelines state that everyone may wear a wetsuit if the water temperature is 78 degrees or below. You are welcome to wear a wetsuit if the temperature is 79 degrees to 84 degrees but you won’t be eligible for awards. Anything 85 degrees or over, no wetsuits are allowed.

Therefore, if the water is 78 or below, wear a wetsuit – even a short sprint distance race. You will be much quicker in a wetsuit and save energy. Of course, you also have to deal with taking it off in transition-1 to the bike, but if you’re well practiced, you’ll more than make up for the additional time in transition.

For those that aren’t strong swimmers, wetsuits can (and should) give you more confidence. Have you ever tried swimming underwater in your wetsuit? If not, try it sometime. You’ll pop back up like a cork! This is great for someone that has a fear of drowning.

Second, make sure you have a triathlon wetsuit. It’s amusing to see people wearing their body boarding, surfing or even their SCUBA wetsuits. These aren’t made for our sport. So don’t rummage through the garage to find your old surf wetsuit, that won’t work. These are much too thick and will limit your mobility and speed in the water.

Third, it really doesn’t matter what brand you get. The main concern is whether it fits or not. You can spend all the money in the world on the best wetsuit, but if it doesn’t fit correctly, it will slow you down. It should be snug but shouldn’t limit your breathing or choke you around the neck. Too loose and water will get in and slow you down. If you try one brand and it doesn’t fit just right, try another. With so many choices you’ll find one that fits.

Fourth, I like the full-arms style of wetsuits. I used to have a long-john style, which means it had full-length legs, but no sleeves. I thought the long sleeves would limit my stroke, but they don’t. In fact, according to the manufacturer (Quintana Roo), the long sleeves actually help you go faster because it increases the water your arm “catches” as you pull through. It’s really up to you which kind you get. Just try some out and see what you like best.

Finally, triathlon is a very mental sport. If that carbon fiber frame makes you think you’re going faster, you do. If your new running shoes make you think you’re going faster, you do. And if your wetsuit makes you think you’re going faster, you do.

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What can seem a huge hurdle to overcome is, in fact, a catalyst to so much more. Crossing your first triathlon finish line not only makes you a triathlete but it also provides an immediate level of merit that few of us can walk away from.

Make completing your priority

Before we can run we must walk. If you have never completed a triathlon, don't worry – everything is possible. Completing is your priority, so leave competing for prizes for another day. This 'complete-it' attitude does one of two things:

1 In training you have no unrealistic expectations or pressures to beat a certain time. Enjoy training in the knowledge that you can crack the distance but you don't get overly focused on training to a predicted race pace.

2 On race day, enjoy the experience rather than clock-watch the whole time. And, as you have no triathlons to your name and no previous best to beat, it's going to be a personal best (PB) anyway.

Successful transitions

To complete any triathlon you not only need to be capable of the individual distances but also able to 'transition' between the events. This is daunting to a beginner, but with practice and planning it is not to be feared. Triathion is just a swim, then a bike and then a run. With training and a shorter distance 'sprint' event, you complete the challenge. As long as your first triathlon is one of the shorter distances and you feel it's attainable, completion is possible.

Learning is a long-term process

Even after years of triathlon training and racing, there is still a lot for us to learn as well as many new technological changes to adapt to, so be patient because becoming a fully competent triathlete takes time. Learning about new events and even longer distances takes you through the completion-conquer and compete phases. It takes time to move through each phase – no one can be an expert until they have done something several times. That's the fun that continues to motivate many athletes one, two or even three decades after their first triathlon.

Top Tip

Triathlons are so popular you often need to enter months in advance. In some cases, they fill up in a matter of hours or days. Even small pool- based events fill up quickly. Be ahead of the game by knowing your goal event(s) and enter as soon as the entry forms are available.

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