1. April 2008
Join in the fun! Register
for the Tri Fusion Tri-
Forum online at www.tri-
fusion.com
RR: Snake
Raise the Bar, Tri Fusion
River Sprint
Kids Club
page 2 BoD,
Launch, page 6
Calendar,
page 4 Sponsors,
Getting RR: RR: Spring page 8
There, Oceanside, Thaw #1
page 3 page 5 page 7
TOP 5 TRAINING MYTHS FOR ENDURANCE ATHLETES: THE ALTERNATIVE TRUTHS BY: FIONA LOCKHART, CTS
An abundance of information exists for endurance athletes; and your training will suffer from reduced fuel stores in the morning
sometimes too much. It can become quite difficult to figure out if you don’t refuel. If your body doesn’t tolerate solid foods before
exactly what you should and shouldn’t do in training because many early-morning workouts, try a POWERBAR® Endurance sport drink.
sources have conflicting information. Below are some of the myths If you are trying to lose weight, think about cutting calories at times
that seem to be perpetuated over and over again, even though the away from your training, not near to or during it.
scientific research doesn’t back it up. 3. Losing weight will always improve your performance.
While a light, lean body is certainly a benefit for endurance
1. There’s no point in doing high-intensity workouts if you’re events, don’t overdo it. Just because someone else can perform
training for a long-distance event, like a marathon, since you’ll never effectively at a given weight doesn’t mean you should be at that same
be going that hard during the event. weight. If you’re trying to lose weight, do it slowly and gradually so
No matter what the event you are training for, it’s useful to that you can continue to fuel your body sufficiently to support your
change up the intensity of your workouts to make sure you work all training. If your weight is going down, but your power output and
your physiological systems, as well as to prevent physical and mental performance are diminishing as well, you may very well be too lean
staleness. Research has shown that athletes who perform sprint for your own good.
workouts were able to improve their longer-term endurance 4. When doing strength training, always do lots of repetitions so
performance. That doesn’t mean that you do high-intensity intervals, that you don’t bulk up.
like sprints or hill repeats, all the time, but adding them to your total In order to reap the most gains from a strength training program,
training mix will make you a better athlete. you need to lift a significant amount of weight in a relatively short
2. If you want to lose weight, go out and ride or run for long periods period of time. After you have done a few weeks of light weight,
of time without eating. If you train in the morning, don’t eat moderate repetitions (i.e. 12- reps) to allow your tendons,
15
beforehand. ligaments, and muscles to adapt to the rigors of strength training,
No, no, no, no, no. Your body needs fuel in order to perform at its you will need to raise the amount of weight and lower the number of
best. If you try to train without sufficient fuel stores, not only will repetitions in order to maximize your strength gains. Don’t worry;
you wear yourself out in the long run, but your immediate workout unless you’re spending 5 days a week, 4+ hours in the gym (and you
will have only a fraction of the quality it should have. Consume gels, shouldn’t be, if you’re an endurance athlete), you won’t get “muscle-
sports drinks and/or bars to maintain a steady supply of bound”!
carbohydrate during your workout. Make sure you also take 5. To really be competitive, you need to train more than 15 hours a
advantage of recovery nutrition, like the POWERBAR® Recovery week.
shake, within 30 minutes of the end of your training bout; this will If this were the case, there would be very few competitive athletes
maximize those glycogen stores so you can come back and train hard over the age of 30. Let’s face it, with work, family, and other
the next day. obligations we contend with as we get older, it can be difficult to find
If you train in the morning, have something to eat before you many hours of training time during the week. But that’s okay,
start out. Your body burns through glycogen while you are sleeping; because you can still train effectively with limited time.
[1]

2. Raising the Bar
by The Goals Guy So when it was found that the bar It's Time to Raise the Bar
www.goalsguy.com had been raised once more,
innovative jumpers modified the I am sharing this message with you
"Unless you try to do something Western Roll by adding a bit of not because I want you to know the
beyond what you speed and developed what was history of a sporting event, but
have already mastered, you will known as the "Straddle Technique." because it speaks directly to you
never grow." and everything about your life,
~Ralph Waldo Emerson By doing so, by 1957 the World career, family and legacy.
Record was quickly raised to 7'.
It began as a test of military Valeriy Brumel of the old Soviet We are each called to "raise the
readiness. To prepare soldiers for Union was the master of the bar" in our own lives.
service, someone put a bar straddle. But it too had its limits.
between two poles and No, let me rephrase that. With all
commanded the troops to jump There was only so high one could my heart, I believe that events in
over it. go using that particular technique. our world have already raised the
And the bar kept being raised. bar and that we are called to jump
Soon it turned to sport. More than higher than it ever has before.
likely it was at the ancient Greek So in 1967 an American named
Olympics that the first competitive Dick Fosbury developed a most You know as well as I that in the
high jump took place. unusual, but very effective method last few years our world has
of clearing the bar that has come changed like never before. The
The first recorded high jump to be called-quite appropriately- stakes are so much higher today
competition was in the early 19th the "Fosbury Flop." than they were yesterday. All you
century, and that unknown jumper need to do is listen to the evening
cleared a height of 5'6". Running toward the bar, the news or read the morning paper to
jumper twists his body and arches know that is true.
By 1895 the World Record stood at his back as he goes over the bar.
6' 5 1/2". To get to that height, We are individually and collectively
jumpers used a method known as Using the Flop, the World Record called to raise our expectations, to
the "scissors kick." has been raised several times, and become better people, parents,
is currently held by Cuba's Javier managers, leaders, and citizens.
Approaching the bar backwards, Sotomayor. In 1993, he cleared an
jumpers would kick one leg up and amazing 8' 1/2". But it seems clear that so often we
then another, in a scissors fashion, try to meet those challenges and
to get over the bar. increased expectations in the same
ways we have in the past. We're
But that technique had its limits as using the Straddle and not making
there was only so high you could the height.
go. So when the bar was raised, a
new technique had to be If we are to answer the call, if we
developed. are to clear the bar, then finding
new techniques to get over it will
Around the turn of the century, the be essential.
"Western Roll" became the way to
go. The jumper made a forward- Implement Your Fosbury Flop.
facing approach, kicked his inside
leg up, and then rolled over the bar Raise your training and race season
belly first. expectations, innovate your
swimming, biking and/or running
With the Western Roll, the World The history of the high jump shows techniques. Update your nutrition
Record went up to 6' 7". But it too an interesting trend. Every time the plan, maybe seek expert help. Ask
had its limits. bar was raised, a new technique to more of your body, mind and spirit.
get over it had to be developed.
[2]

3. Getting There: Open houses slated on bike plan of trips in the state. Another 6 percent involved mass
transit. "It's very inexpensive to put in a stretch of sidewalk
City planners to revisit master plan for bicycles. to get kids safely to school or to put in a new bike lane,"
by Thomas Clouse
Staff writer she said. "The plan we are working on makes a statewide
April 7 2008
, assessment for need and safety and filling in those gaps."
State and local planners want residents to start thinking While climate change continues to make residents think
outside the car. differently about many things, it has not yet translated into
a major concern in regard to commuting, she said.
Spokane has not had a major overhaul of its Master Bike
Plan since the 1960s. In those past decades, bike trails "Less than 1 percent (of the people in the survey) made the
were built and other plans sat idle, said city planner Louis connection to climate change. Most respondents wanted to
Meuler. Thus, the city will host three open houses this walk or bike for their own health or to save gas money,"
month to get a sense of the community's collective will as Reeves said.
planners face ever-growing environmental and legal
demands to reduce both emissions and miles traveled by Spokane City officials will host three open houses later this
cars. month to get public ideas and comments as it works to
update the Master Bike Plan. The first open house will be
"With what money we have, how do you want it spent?" from 6 to 8 p.m. April 22 at the Southside Activity Center,
Meuler asked. "We've looked at the old plan and studied 3151 E. 27th Ave. The next open house will be from 7 to 9
what we have not yet done. We are trying to get a reality- p.m. on April 24 at the West Central Community Center,
based plan." 1603 N. Belt St., and the final open house will be from 6 to
8 p.m. at the Northeast Community Center at 4001 N. Cook
The city has scheduled the meetings April 22, 24 and 29. St.
The state Department of Transportation will join the April
24 open house at the West Central Community Center, The Washington State Department of Transportation also is
1603 N. Belt, to get input on the state's Bicycle and seeking public comment on its Washington State Bicycle
Pedestrian Walkways Plan. Facilities and Pedestrian Walkways Plan. A draft of the plan
is available for review at www.wsdot.wa.gov/bike/
For instance, the old Spokane Master Bike Plan may call for bike_plan.htm
a bike lane on a road that runs beside basalt cliffs. If the
public decides it wants the city to spend the money to As part of that effort, state officials want residents to give
complete that costly portion of the project, it could come at feedback during the 60-day public comment period, which
the expense of a longer stretch of bike lane elsewhere, runs through the end of May. Comments can be submitted
Meuler said. through the Web site or by calling this toll-free number:
1-866-375-6729. State officials also will join the city’s
"One new idea is to make bike boulevards. In those cases, open house on April 24 at the West Central Community
you take non-arterial streets that parallel arterials and Center.
make them more bike friendly," he said. "Cars would still be
allowed to travel on them, but bikes would have the right
of way."
The Master Bike Plan dates to the 1960s. It's been updated
a few times, "but we haven't gone into this level of detail
since then," Meuler said.
The project has been led by city planner Ken Pelton and
Joel Soden, a graduate student at Eastern Washington
University interning with the city.
"As a city, we want to encourage alternative modes of
transportation," Pelton said in a news release. "So making it
easier for cyclists to get around just makes sense."
Gov. Chris Gregoire last month signed a bill into law that
sets a goal of reducing the miles driven by commuters by
18 percent in 2020, 30 percent in 2035 and 50 percent by
2050, Meuler said.
"This is really going to require a shift in spending to make
(walking, biking and public transit) more feasible," he said.
Paula Reeves, who works for WSDOT, said a state survey
shows that biking and walking account for about 6 percent
[3]

4. The Tri Fusion Kids Club
As was anticipated, our Kids Club launch
Official Launch
happened on Wednesday, April 9th at by Natalie Gallagher
Brentwood Elementary School and was an
immediate success!
The evening began with a warm welcome
and short introduction of Kids Club
committee members from Roger
Thompson and Natalie Gallagher. From
there, Mark Hodgson took over as MC
and presented our young athletes with a
hilarious and riveting skit highlighting
the importance of outstanding conduct
at our meetings and events.
After an enthusiastic beginning, age- Exercise with Jake, Katey & Mark: The exciting evening closed with an
•
grouped athletes were given the Our youngsters completed a warm-up all group meeting to sing our fight song,
opportunity to visit three different
before running through an obstacle “Swim and bike and run a lot
triathlon sessions: training/every day
nutrition; triathlon training education & course and ended the session with Just keep movin’
planning; and an exercise/obstacle stretching and lots of accolades from Always give it all you’ve got
course clinic. Each of the three age
fellow age-groupers and coaches! We’re Kids Tri Fusion!”
groups represented were able to visit all
three sessions throughout the evening. All of our young athletes also
• Triathlon training plans/ received individual SWAG bags with
Highlights of each session included=> schedules with Jen, Trish & Tiffany: team swim caps, team tattoos, Erin Baker
• Nutrition with Leni & Phaedra: Depending on the age group in each breakfast cookies, toothbrushes from
Athletes were able to play a “good session, athletes were treated to an Toillion dentistry, and a list of upcoming
food vs. bad food choices” game which overview of the three sports in triathlon, kids’ triathlon races.
also involved choosing the correct recommendations for training
nutrition category for certain foods; schedules and a training plan
and a healthy snack with take-home engineered for each age group!
recipe!
It’s not too late to join! To
register your child for the Tri
Fusion Kids Club, contact Tiffany
Byrd at TByrd@mead.k12.wa.us
• Next meeting: July 9, 2008
[4]

5. Race Review: Oceanside At the turn around I asked myself "are you really going as
by Phaedra Cote hard as you can?". Um, no. So I picked it up for the second
half. It was a little choppy once we got out of the harbor
but nothing crazy. I will say, I stayed on course. The funny
part is, I stayed SO on course, I actually ran into 3 or 4
buoys, I had to laugh. "A" for effort but let's work on
swimming towards the buoys, not necessarily into them.
Out of about 2000 people, I was 887th (ouch) on the swim.
Yes, I'm going to be working on my swim.
Swim time: 37:08
BIKE
I had a very smooth transition and took off a minute from
last year. Got onto the bike and headed out. Thank god I'm
done with the swim. Now the fun part. Now that I have an
SRM power meter on my bike, I had specific power ranges
for this race which was nice. It was pretty windy but I just
focused and my numbers and rode VERY conservatively, I
recall feeling somewhat bored at one point. Half irons are
not intense in that way. The last 10 miles I caught up to
what looked like the 40-44 men that caught me on the
swim but maybe went a little hard on the bike. There was
quite a head wind and I felt kind of stuck behind this fairly
large group of guys. I decided that I needed to push a little
I landed in Orange County Wednesday afternoon and drove
harder the rest of the way and pass them-there were a lot
to San Diego to hook up with the girls plus Steven (Shelby's
of them. Which is what I did and I felt really good. I knew
brother). Put my bike together and got settled in. I was glad
then I had raced smart on the bike. Last year at this race,
to be there.
the last 10 miles was brutal. I was cooked. I felt confident
that my run was going to go really well. So much for that.
On Thursday, I got my first open water swim of the season
Bike time: 2:55:07
in the Bay. It was fun to be in the water with the girls. It
wasn't terribly cold but we swam for all of about 14
RUN
minutes and decided that was good enough. Later on, we
I had another great transition and headed out on the run.
went to the expo where we picked up our race packets and
As I approached the first aid station, there was chalk
visited with some folks. We headed over to 2xu where I
writing on the street.....is that my name? It is, but it's
picked up my new race suit and visor. Pretty. Love the new
spelled wrong. What the? It was spelled "Phadra". Later,
color.
Shelby explained that she couldn't decide if she was going
to write Padre or Phaedra so she mixed them together on
Friday was a relaxing, fun day. We went for a short ride and
accident. That's my girl! "A" for effort, and that 's the first
run in the morning and then came back and got all ready
time I've seen my name on a course so I didn't care if it was
for the race. That night, we went out for one of the best
spelled wrong.
dinners I have ever had. And of course, laughed a lot (after
Haley dislodged a rice stick from her throat-that was kind
I had a well thought out plan for the run as far as heart rate
of scary). We got into bed at around 10 but I just couldn't
zones and effort. I started the first 4.5 miles at a
fall asleep. I have to mention that Shelby let Haley and I
conservative heart rate and was right where I needed to be.
sleep in her bed and she slept on the floor-the whole time.
My heart rate was in line with my intended starting pace
The sacrifices she makes for us.
which was encouraging. At mile 4.5, I increased my heart
rate as planned and started to pick up my pace......again,
After a mostly sleepless night, we woke up at 4am and
all going as planned. And then my legs just weren't going. I
started to get ready. Steven came out of his room all
was slowing down with every mile and by mile 11 I just
dressed and said he was coming to the race with us
wanted to be done. I suffered through those last miles as I
because we were so loud he couldn't sleep :). He made
have before in a half iron but this was one of my slowest
some promises about holding up obnoxious signs but
run times ever, a whole 3:30 slower than my first ever half
never followed thru with that. FOOF! I must say, he was
iron. It was all so confusing because my run has been
super helpful and even went to get coffees for me & Shelby
going well in the early season and I was so conservative on
and was right there to watch Haley go off on the swim and
the bike. I can list a ton of excuses for why my run was still
come back. He hung in until the very end.
slow but I won't. I'm motivated to redeem myself and solve
my run mystery. I know there's an answer, I'm just not the
SWIM
most patient person and I really thought I would have
And we're off! The water didn't feel too terribly cold but I'm
performed better. Chalk it up to early season and learn
pretty sure it was in the low 50's.
from it.
I had to swim through a few people but decided not to go
Run Time: 1:55:51
nuts at the start. I built into it and went a little conservative
on the way out.
[5]

6. Race Review: Snake River Sprint Triathlon
by Tiffany Byrd
This marks my one year anniversary of my first triathlon. What a difference a year makes! First of all, it was pretty incredible to feel
more excited than nervous about this race. I have been working really hard and I was pumped to be able to compare last year Tiffany to
this year Tiffany.
As Katey and I packed her car to head to Lewiston, it was absolutely freezing in Spokane with some scattered snow. I was finding it
pretty hard to pump myself up for riding and running outside the next day.
I was the most nervous for the swim. Because it is my best of the three sports that make up triathlon, I put a lot of pressure on myself
to do well. I know that it is the place where I can gain the most time so I have to do my best. The second we drove up to the aquatic
center, I could feel my nerves kick in. My hands were literally shaking. It was really great to see so many people from Tri Fusion there,
though. It's always nice to see some familiar faces and to be able to encourage one another. I'm pretty lucky that I have never had to
race without so much support from so many people!
I warmed up with Jessi and felt pretty good. My goal was to not start so hard that I would end up flailing at the end. This is a big
challenge for me since I can literally feel the adrenaline pulse through every vein the second I start the swim. My saving grace was
Jessi. She called out all of my splits for me so that I could control my
pace. I felt so strong the entire time - thank goodness for all of those
Mornings with Martin swims! I ended up swimming my 500 yards in 7:16.
Since my goal was 7:30, I was absolutely thrilled! I shaved over a
minute off of last year's swim!
After one of the worst nights of sleep I had ever had, I got up at 7:00
to get ready for the rest of the race. Of course, I was nervous again.
I did feel better after looking out the window and seeing dry roads and
a pretty clear sky - not at all what I was expecting! We got to the race
site 2 hours before the race started and got some great spots to rack our
bikes. After that, we drove the course and found things like manure
on the road to let us know we were just about to mile 4. :) Up next, I
took my bike out for a spin just to be sure everything felt good.
Once the race started, my jitters were gone. I'm thrilled to say that I had an awesome bike ride. The difference between this year and
last year was huge! I felt really strong and it wasn't nearly as bad this year as it was last year. I didn't get passed by as many people
and I actually did some passing myself! I also spent a significant amount of time in my aerobars which was awesome because I'm not
incredibly confident in myself using them just yet.
The first half is a gradual incline and my goal was to focus on pushing AND pulling. I think I did a really great job. On the way back, I
did not want to coast at all downhill. Since there was a pretty serious head wind, this wasn't really an issue for me. At one point, I was
riding in sideways blowing snow. Pretty hard core, huh?
Up next was the run. It was a tough one for me. I had some water on the way out and my stomach got really tight immediately
afterward. Not to mention the fact that I couldn't have my iPod which is always crushing for me. I HATE listening to myself breathe
when I'm running! The first mile went pretty well as my stomach started to relax a bit.
Once I hit the turn around, I decided to kick it into high gear. I took advantage of some of the downhills, knowing full well that my shins
were going to pay for it later. Oh well!
I'm not going to lie, I thought I was going to die sprinting to the finish. I succeeded in getting my heart rate up to 200! I wonder what
my heart looks like when it's pumping that fast?! I finished the race in 1:04:08. Since my time last year was 1:16:44, I was ecstatic. It
felt darn good to see all of my hard work pay off!
[6]

7. Race Review: Spring Thaw Du #1 On to T2. In my first race this
season my legs felt pretty good
by Steve Anderson coming off the bike, something that
Recently I raced in the Spring Thaw
never happened last year. As soon
as I got off the bike I knew my legs
HARD WORK!
duathlon: 2.2 miles run/10 miles were ready to run. After a quick
bike/2.2 miles run. The weather was transition, I was off to try and catch
perfect, so it was a great day to get as many people as possible. The
out and race. I really didn’t know first loop was good but I think I
exactly how the race would go, but I could have run it a bit faster. As I
knew that I was going to push stated when I started the day, I was
myself. The first two loops felt going to push myself. The second
good, I averaged 6:28/mile which is loop was a bit of a struggle but I
dang fast for me. As I headed into just kept pushing. In my second two
transition my legs were feeling good loops I was able to average 6:46/
and T1 went smoothly. mile, which is something I am very
pleased about. I finished in 25th
So off I go on the bike. Last year I overall and 5th in my age group but
was passed by about 10 people and most importantly I was able to shave
was definitely not happy about that. 6 minutes off my last year’s time.
This year I think I cut that down to
about 5 people and I think I even After a weekend of riding 40 miles
passed 2 or 3. My legs were feeling and doing a race you would think a
pretty good even after the long ride person would call it a day and head
yesterday. It was awesome to see home to enjoy the great weather. As
my teammate, Phaedra, pass me on we were sitting down relaxing after
the bike. She is such a strong rider the race a few of my fellow Tri-
and her words of encouragement Fusionites asked if I would like to
really helped me push to the end. join them for an additional workout?
What should a boy do? Do it, of
course!
[7]

8. The Board of Directors, Sponsors
and The Calendar of Upcoming Events...
Board of Directors We would like to extend a
generous thank you to our
• Kathi Best - Social Director
truly amazing sponsors!
• Kevin Best - Vice President
• Kim Ellis - Treasurer
• Greg Gallagher - Philanthropist
• Natalie Gallagher - Newsletter Director
• Ben Greenfield - Website Director
• Mark Hodgson - Team Event Director
• Sam Picicci - Uniform Director
• Jim Powers - Membership Director
• Jessi Thompson - Secretary
• Roger Thompson - President
• Scott Ward - Marketing Director
• Kirk Wood-Gaines - Mentor
Director
April/May Calendar Races/Runs: Upcoming Events:
Clinics -
Training Opportunities: • April 27: Lilac Century Ride, 100, 50 • Ironspeed Cd’A Camp: Saturday, May
or 15 miles, Spokane, WA 10-Wednesday, May 14 at various
• Spring Dash 5 miler, NIC @ Cd’A, locations in Spokane & Cd’A. Please
North Spokane -- ID visit the Tri-Forum for details.
Monday - Friday @ 5:30- am: Masters
7 • April 30: Lonestar Half IM,
Swim at Whitworth College $75/month Galveston, TX Next Membership Meeting:
Friday evenings: Varying times/events/ • May 3: Wildflower Triathlons, May 21st, 2008 @ 6:30 p.m.:
places to workout. Watch the Tri Forum Monteray County, CA General membership meeting at
for details! location TBA.
• Lilac Bloomsday 12K, Spokane,
Saturdays @ time TBA: Probable outside WA
bike ride meeting location & time
posted weekly on the Tri-Forum. • May 18: Spring Thaw Duathlon #2, Next Tri Fusion Kids Club
Nine Mile Falls, WA
Sundays @ 8 am: Mornings with Meeting:
Martin, Planned group swim workout @ • Florida Ironman, Orlando, FL
Wednesday, July 9th @ Brentwood
Oz North. Starbucks afterwards! Elementary from 6:15-7:45 p.m.
[8]