I wanted to address a recent swimming article published by a local coaching group that provides what I believe is erroneous counsel on swimming technique.  In the article, the author contends that the proper “finish” to the freestyle pull (pull defined as the underwater portion of the stroke) is “extending the arm back towards the feet”.  The author then explicitly advises not to finish at the hips.  By teaching the swimmer to “push back” all the way through to the feet, the author advocates for a linear pulling technique, and in doing so counsels athletes to pull extremely inefficiently, the cost being precious heart beats we can use for the bike and run.

The misconception of the “pull back” technique lies in its linear nature, the subsequent large fluctuation in power output with that technique and the excess muscle fatigue placed on the tricep at no material gain of speed.  If you were to plot out a power curve for a freestyle pull (using watts or distance per second on the “Y”-axis and time on the “X”-axis), what you would see on a “pull back” swimmer is two spikes.  The first, and most dramatic, would be at the beginning of the stroke, occurring after the “catch” phase of the pull when the swimmer “catches” the water in front of the body (and better so, as far in front as possible without sacrificing the structural integrity or rigidity of the swimmer’s core).  Assuming the swimmer maintains a high elbow position, the first several inches of the pull after the “catch” phase will create a spike in power.  As the hand pulls back past the chest (note: fingers ALWAYS pointed towards the bottom of the pool NOT toward the sides of the pool), power decelerates towards the hips.  And here is where the two philosophies, hip exit v. pull back, diverge.

In the “pull back” technique, the swimmer pushes all the way through past their hips until their finger tips extend towards their feet, palms facing up.  Again, referencing the power curve, by accelerating the finger tips towards the feet, we notice a spike in power after the deceleration coming off of the initial post-catch movement.  What is not necessarily quantifiable by a mere power graph, though, is that this speed is mitigated by the large surface area the swimmer reveals to the water surface as the hand AND forearm exit in the same parallel line as they begin the “recovery” phase of the stroke.  In simplest terms, the more surface area, the more drag.  The more drag, the more immediate loss of power.  Moreover, this technique creates a liner pull-recovery relationship.  When the hand is extended all the way back, creating a straight line between shoulder and finger tips, it requires much more energy by the swimmer to then “recover” the arm forward back out of the water towards the front of the body.  Indeed, it’s not recovery.

We know from cycling and running, lines are not efficient propulsive movements.  We don’t teach cyclists to push in lines up and down – commonly known as mashing.  The technique is more circular in nature, minimizing spikes in power, and in doing so, allowing more efficiency in power output as measured by speed and heart rate.  Likewise, in running, we don’t’ advocate for kicking back with the heels, effectively creating a line from hip to heel.  The linear nature of the movement, while powerful , is extremely inefficient and untenable for distances, especially after a preceding swim and bike.

The more efficient technique for the finish of the pull is to exit at the hip, elbow leading the vertical forearm out of the water.  On the power cruve, there is only one spike (after the catch).  However, the power that is retained on the finish of the “hip exit” is significantly more than that of the “pull back” technique.  By finishing the stroke at the hip, the swimmer lifts the elbow first out of the water to initiate the recovery (technically speaking, a shoulder shrug initiates the recovery).  The forearm and hand are effectively hidden UNDERNEATH the elbow/triceps thereby minimizing the surface area of the arm that will exit the water on the recovery.  Remember the surface area presented to the surface of during the “push back” technique?  Cut it in half during a hip exit.  Again, less surface area, less drag, less loss of power.  Most importantly, the hip exit is a circular motion.  It’s more efficient at holding on to the energy that is created during the pull and literally recycling as much of it as possible back to the front of the stroke until the post-catch phase can begin again to establish more power.  Additionally, because of its circular nature, it’s easier to manipulate cadence, critical to open water swimming and the variable forces at play in open water (currents, swells, chop, etc).  Ultimately, the metabolic costs of a “hip exit” are significantly less.  We can now allocate those heart beats saved towards the bike and the run where we need them most.

But what about the straight arm recoveries we sometimes see in elite level swimmers (i.e., Janet Evans)?  Look closely to their finishes.  They finish at their hips, hide the forearm and hand and THEN extend the line straight arm afterwards.  While I was coaching at Stanford in the late 90s, we experimented with straight-arm recovery techniques with our sprint freestylers, Jenny Thompson included, and found no discernible difference in speed.  The critical factor that linked the two recovery techniques, however, was the “hip exit”.

Unfortunately the “pull back” technique is commonly taught by coaches and swimmers who haven’t been involved in higher level coaching or swimming in 10-12 years.  It seems to make sense to these advocates, especially when you engage in this technique and can “feel the burn in the triceps” from extending back towards the feet.  If it burns, it must be right, no?  Think again.  I tend to go with circles over lines when it comes to propulsive actions and the only way to create a circle in the pull-recovery motion is through a hip exit.

**To see a PDF version of this article that includes Power Profile illustrations, CLICK HERE**

It’s been a while since our last NewsLink and lots and lots of news since then.  The race season has more than begun.  The Green have been to Oceanside, California, raced several times down in Florida (South Beach Nautica, St. Anthony’s, Florida 70.3)), kicked off our local scene (John Tanner, Peachtree City) and have more than represented in our larger regional races (Rev3 – Knoxville).  We’ve seen a multitude of PRs and have come home with hardware at almost all of these races.  Congrats to all of you on getting our season started off right and representing the DynaNation with such class.

New Service Offering – Lactate Testing

We are proud to announce that we are now offering blood lactate testing.  In partnership with Chris Hauth and Craig Upton of Performance Labs HC, we now have the ability to offer expert, elite-level testing to help athletes determine specific training zones, prescribe appropriate training, and provide longitudinal baselines to gauge fitness and training adaptations.  Craig and Chris are providing the analysis on the data Coach Matthew obtains from local athletes.  An ex-professional cyclist, Craig is a full-time coach in the Bay Area.  His athletes include Olympic Gold Medalist, Kristin Armstrong, as well as several Pro Tour cyclists and professional triathletes.  Chris is an ex-Olympic swimmer and professional triathlete whose roster of triathletes is equally as deep and impressive.  In partnership with these two elite level coaches, we are proud to offer area triathletes the best in expert analysis and training recommendations on an on-going basis.  Cost for Coached Athletes is $125 and $200 for all others.  To learn more about testing and to schedule a test, please contact Coach Matthew directly.

New Partner & Special Offer – Element Endurance Energy Bars

Coach Matthew has partnered with Element Bars and their Element Endurance products, the only customizable energy bar around!  Element Endurance bars empower endurance athletes with the ability to create fully custom energy bars based on their activity and nutritional needs.  Made with all natural ingredients, Element Endurance exemplifies the next generation of nutritional customization and athlete specificity, two critical attributes in training and race performance.  We are proud to be affiliated formally with Element Endurance and for a limited time Element has provided the DynaNation a special 15% discount code.  Type in coupon code: DYNAMO at checkout to get your 15% off.  Please feel free to pass this code along to family and friends and try out EE’s fantastic products and customization.

Race Reflection – Rev3

I wanted to quickly take a moment to reflect on our team race at Rev3 – Knoxville.  All-in-all we had 17 athletes wearing the green and competing at Rev3.  The vibe there was incredibly supportive, between athletes, family and friends (including a guest appearance by Super Fan, SpecialK, Kathryn Honderd), as well as uber-sponsors All3Sports (Morgan, Alex and Andrew), we were the loudest, most visible TEAM of athletes at the race.  While our uniforms may have questionable stylistic taste, there is no mistaking the yellow bands on our bright green shorts and the smiles of the athletes wearing them.  At one point during the HalfRev (in which I was racing), a competitor came by me on the bike and said, “man, there sure are a LOT of you out here!”  And from talking to other athletes who competed as well as family and friends there in support, there was quite the buzz around the transition area and finish chute about the GREEN.  And as if our participation and team camaraderie wasn’t impressive enough, the results were even more so.  13 athletes made it to the podium, including several Age Group wins – Mary Pick (W55-59), Hilton Kort (M60-64) in the Olympic; Matthew Rose (M35-39), Drew Marlar (M40-44) and Casey Hannan (M50-54) in the Half Rev; and Betty Janelle in the AquaBike (Female Overall).   In addition to these wins  and Podium finishes (Linda Anderson, HalfRev W50-54, Ernie Janelle and Micki Donegan, AquaBike), we had several race PRs and  inter-race PRs (fastest run personal swim and run splits).  For an incredibly challenging bike course, we had a lot of team speed in Knoxville.

Special Kudos

Speaking of Knoxville and Rev3, our own Haley Chura (“Frosh”) finished 3rd Overall in the amateur race in the featured Olympic distance at Rev3.  In doing so, Haley met one of six USAT professional application qualification standards.  Haley is now eligible to turn professional is she so chooses to apply to USAT for her professional license.  Congrats to Haley for becoming the first member of the GREEN to be pro eligible.  And not to be outdone, Kathryn Honderd (“Speacial K”) became Dynamo’s first Ironman 70.3 World Championship qualifier, via her 3rd place finish W25-29 at the New Orleans 70.3 in April.  Kathryn used a blazing 1′38 run split to literally tear through the field and secure her spot in Clearwater.   If you see either Haley or Kathryn on deck or in PowerCycle class, be sure to give them kudos.

Thanks to Our Partners

As always, we’d like to thank our partners who support the GREEN.  Many thanks to All3Sports.com, CycleOps Power, GU , Athletic Edge Sports Massage and Element Bars for their support.

We’re almost 2 full months into 2010 and we’ve been moving forward into this year with purpose and resolve.  Race season is drawing near.  The Charles Harris 10k is on the horizon for the first team event of 2010.  As we get into the race season, we have a lot of announcements and exciting news.

Official Team Registration

After a lot of preparation and pretext we are ready to announce official club team registration for 2010.   As we enter into race season, the timing is spot on, and we look forward to this next milestone in the evolution of Dynamo Multisport.  Unlike 2009, there will be an annual club membership fee for 2010.  The annual fee will be $75 per athlete and run from January 1, 2010 (post-dated) through December 31, 2010.  Why a fee and what does the club do for me?  In short, the fee is to create more athlete self-ownership into YOUR team.  By literally investing into the club, we hope that our athletes become more involved with the club, its direction and its growth.  Membership into the club team provides athletes access to an officially sanctioned USAT club, our partner discounts and partner specials, team apparel, clinics and group training (open water swims and track workouts).   The dues will cover such things as the operating costs of the open water swims, provide funds for discretionary capital projects (e.g., a team tent) as well as act as  principal balances for apparel orders.  We feel like the value provided by membership far exceeds the roughly $6/month fee, and we hope that this new structure doesn’t discourage our athletes from officially joining.

To join the club officially, we ask all athletes to sign a Acknowledgment and Liability Release waiver electronically and complete a registration form.  Next, we ask that all athletes pay the $75 registration fee.  Please make out a check to “Dynamo Swimming Club” in the amount of $75. In the Memo line, please state “USAT Reg Fee”. You may present the check to Maria Thrash, Matthew Rose, or drop it in the ‘drop box’ at Chamblee or mail it to the following: Dynamo Swimming Club / RE: Dynamo Multisport USAT Registration / 3119 Shallowford Rd, Atlanta, GA 30319.

To register now, please click HERE

PowerCycle Series 2 Now Enrolling!

Series 2 of our PowerCycle Indoor Cycling class is now enrolling for available spots in our night class.  Our incumbent athletes have completed pre-registration and unfortunately there are no morning spots available.  Our Wednesday 7:15pm class has limited availability, so act quickly and please register HERE.  Series 2 will run from March 1st through April 29th.  There will be a one-week break from March 22nd through March 28th.  As the race season begins our intensity mix  will increase while we maintain a portion of the program on skill development.  For more information about our PowerCycle classes, please click HERE.

PowerCycle Heads to Alpharetta!

After more than a year of classes in Chamblee, we’ll be testing our PowerCycle classes in the Alpharetta location.  The classes will run for 2 weeks from February 22 – March 4th and be taught by our own Adrienne Anderson and Maria Thrash.  There will be two classes per week, Tuesday and Thursday, each class running from 10:15am – 11:30am.  All classes are FREE.  As we try out these classes, we ask all athletes to bring their own trainers and bikes.  Adrienne and Maria will provide the music, workout and a healthy dose of pain, urrrg, we mean fun.

City to Sea Benefit Ride

Dynamo Multisport is proud to sponsor the Living Room’s City to Sea benefit ride this April 8th-11th.  DMS’ own Drew Marlar has been a leader within the wonderful Living Room organization for several years, and we are honored to be a part of this event.  Covering 300 miles in 3-days, the event will provide athletes a wonderful training opportunity with a great group of people.  Best of all, your participation benefits are great local cause.  Please take the time to learn more about Living Room and how it benefits our community.  To learn more details about the event, please click HERE.

GU for You!

http://www.gusports.com

For the second year in a row, we are proud to announce that GU will be a sponsor for Dynamo Multisport and its athletes.  DMS athletes have access to the GU family of products at their Pro-deal pricing, the lowest pricing available to their athlete community (unless your name is Craig Alexander).  With a special form you have the ability to order GU products at this price level which is roughly 45% off MSRP.   For the form, please contact Coach Matthew.  As with all of our partner relationships, we ask that you PLEASE keep this form ‘in the family’.  The form is for DMS athletes only – no friends or family on this, please.

Thanks to Our Partners

As always, we’d like to thank our partners who support the GREEN.  Many thanks to All3Sports.com, CycleOps Power, GU and Athletic Edge Sports Massage for their support.

Power Clinic & Team Dinner This Thursday, January 21 – 6:30 PM

We will be having a Power Clinic (training/racing with a cycling power meter) on 1/21 hosted by our friends up at All3Sports.com.  This is free for all DMSers.  If you are interested in training/racing with power, this will provide you a great starting point to make some decisions on buy/hold.  For coached athletes, this will also be an opportunity to learn more aboutthe options available through our Saris/CycleOps sponsorship.  As part of the sponsorship all coached athletes will receive a huge discount off MSRP fulfilled through A3S.com.  This is a unique sponsorship of which we’re very proud.

All3Sports.com: 8601 Dunwoody Place, Suite 450, Atlanta, GA 30350 in the Northridge Business Park (THIS IS A BIG OFFICE PARK – TURN INTO THE PART ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE GAS STATION AND WE’RE AROUND THE BACK OF THE 400 BUILDING)

AGENDA:
(1) 6:30-6:50 – Short meet & greet and overview on training and racing with power – DMSers & A3S.com staff, Coach Matthew
(2) 6:50-7:20 – Power Meter Equipment Overview – Alex Poon
(3) 7:20-7:45 – Q&A
(4) Let’s go find some dinner close by

PLEASE RESERVE YOUR SPOT HERE: http://espowerclinic.eventbrite.com/

Cycling Apparel Re-Order

We’re re-ordering additional cycling apparel, and this is another chance to either get an item you may have missed on the first order or purchase for the first time.   We’ve pushed back the re-order date to this Tuesday, 1/19, so email Coach Matthew with your specs as soon as possible.

2010 Tentative Team Races

June

Dynamo’s Ryan Landy to Hold Olympic Distance Race in Georgia

Our own Ryan Landy and his 11global triathlon series – Eleven – will be holding an Olympic-distance race at the Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation on May 22nd followed by a kids aquathlon on May 23.  This will be the inaugural race for the Eleven franchise both here in Georgia AND the United States.  As a team, we want to support Ryan and Eleven in any way possible, be it through competing (individually or on relays) or volunteering.  We want to have as many of the GREEN down at the Ritz that day, so please mark your calendars for this particular event.  It’s time to rally around one of our own in this important event.  A discount coupon will be distributed next month when registration opens. For more information on the event, please visit Eleven’s race site HERE.

Thanks to our Partners

As always, we want to thank our partners for supporting the GREEN!  All3Sports.com, GU, CycleOps, 11Global

It’s time to gear up for 2010, and we’re now enrolling for PowerCycle Series 1.  Note the name change in deference to our new partner, CycleOps!  Class will be structured on a Monday / Wednesday / Friday format for the mornings and a Wednesday-only format for the evenings.  Because of demand after we opened the class to our Coached Athletes and current incumbents, we have added a Friday AND a Saturday class.  Series 1 will run 8-weeks, from  January 5th through February 26th.  Overviews of each session are included below:

(1) Monday AM Sessions: Base Skill & Strength – these workouts will incorporate skill drills to create more efficiency in our pedaling technique.  We will complement our drill work with strength work such as low RPM, high muscle tension intervals.  The intensity for the Monday session will be more aerobic in nature.

(2) Wednesday AM Sessions: Base Intensity – these workouts will incorporate a mixture of tempo, threshold and maximum effort intervals.  Because most athletes will still be in the early portions of their race season, the focus will be on tempo and max intervals.  As the race season progresses, we will shift the focus appropriately to threshold work efforts.

(3) Wednesday PM Session: Base Mix – this session will take portions of skill, strength and intensity intervals and combine them in a single workout.  At the coach’s discretion, the emphasis may be on one particular aspect of the training mix.

(4) Friday AM Session: Base Mix – This session will offer athletes the opportunity to choose either the Skill or Intensity Session from our earlier sessions in that week.

(5) Saturday AM Session: Base Mix – this session will be at the coach’s discretion and incorporate a variety of intensities.  NOTE: This class will run 4 Saturdays only.

Pricing will be $15 per class at 8 total classes in the session or $120 per day per session ($240 for 2 days/week).  Drop-ins are welcome and will be charged $20 per session.

In advance of open enrollment, we apologize for the number of available slots.  Between our Coached Athletes and incumbents, there was staggering demand.  We believe it’s a testament to the methodology and community we are building at Dynamo Multisport.  We are continuing to look into ways to expand the current set-up in our location.  If you are interested in a waiting list slot, please contact Coach Matthew as soon as possible.

To register, please either cut and paste the following into your browser or click on the below links.  You must register for each class individually.  Please confirm your enrollment by checking your inbox for a confirmation email:

Monday 5:30am-7am Base Skill & Strength – http://pcs1m530.eventbrite.com

Monday 7:05am – 8:20am Base Skill & Strength – http://pcs1m7.eventbrite.com

Wednesday 5:30am-7am Base Intensity – http://pcs1w530.eventbrite.com

Wednesday 7:05am – 8:20am Base Intensity – http://pcs1w7.eventbrite.com

Wednesday 7:15pm-8:30pm Base Mix – http://pcs1w715.eventbrite.com

Friday 5:30am – 7:00am Base Mix – http://pcs1f530.eventbrite.com

Saturday 6:00am-7:15am Base Mix – http://pcs1s6.eventbrite.com **Runs 4 Saturdays beginning January 9th, Excluding January 16th

2010 Tri Race Sizing Kits Are In

We will be racing in Louis Garneau’s brand new TriTek Elite tops and bottoms this year. The kits fit a bit differently than last year, so we suggest you try them on to confirm your sizing. As for the design, it will stay mostly the same, save for small color changes on the side panels and the addition of our great new partners (see more below). Because LG’s minimum order requirements are large, this will likely be the ONLY order for next year. Please make time to come by Chamblee between now and Monday, 12/21 to try on the kits. Maria will have the kits available and a sign-up sheet. Please place your top and bottom orders on the sheet (kits must be ordered as a top AND a bottom). Lastly, we anticipate the kits to cost $150-$160 depending on art/design costs and shipping.

Holiday Party on the Horizon

Our 2009 Holiday Party is right around the corner, December 19th at 4:30 to be exact. We’re looking forward to celebrating the tri and holiday season with you all. The party will be potluck and ask that everybody bring a dish that serves 6-8 people. To RSVP for the party, please go to the Evite HERE.

Welcome to the Family!

We are absolutely thrilled to welcome our new partners, All3Sports and CycleOps, to the Dynamo Multisport family. Morgan and Alex at All3 have been great supporters of our program, and we are excited to be working with the premiere triathlon retailer not just in Atlanta metro but the entire globe. All3 has a list of current members at the store to reference, so mention you are a DMS athlete to receive a generous discount on product and service. We will have more details about this partnership soon.

All3 will also be fulfilling our new relationship with CycleOps of the Saris Group. CycleOps is the manufacturer of the PowerTap and PowerBeam Pro, industry-leading power meter products in the cycling market. We feel fortunate to have been selected for sponsorship by them and look forward to this new relationship in conjunction with All3. Terms are being finalized, but DMS members will receive a very, very generous discount on CycleOps’ fantastic products.

And You Thought the Swim Workouts were Rough

It’s with great pleasure that we formally announce that our own Maria Thrash is one of our new Multisport Coaches. A triathlete past and present herself, Maria will be taking on new clients for the 2010 season. The best Masters coach in the area will undoubtedly be an exceptional triathlon coach, and we are excited to have Maria acting in this capacity. For more information about coaching, please email Maria directly.

Power Cycle Series 1 Coming Soon

Registration for the first series of indoor cycling, PowerCycle Series 1, will be coming soon. With the new relationship with CycleOps, we thought the name change would be more appropriate. The new Series will begin on January 5^th, 2010 and run for 8 weeks. Sign-up will be open to our Founders and Coached clients first, followed by current incumbents and then open to the general public. Most of our classes are currently full and we anticipate demand to continue into the New Year. As soon as registration opens, please sign-up immediately. If you are not able to register for a class, please contact Coach Matthew to be placed on a waiting list.

In closing it has been a true treat to be part of the GREEN family this year. Thank you to Maria and Allen for leading the way this year. Most importantly, thank you to you, the athletes, for making the Dynamo Multisport family the great community that it is and continues to be. 2010 is looking bright already, and we can’t wait to enjoy it with you.

GO GREEN!

Throughout the week, the three athletes and their support crew (fellow DMSers Ernie Janelle, Toby Anderson and Micki Donegan) wore our Dynamo shirts and visors everywhere we went – the entire time, morning and night.  Not only were we sporting our GREEN wear, we did so in unison, coordinating our apparel selection so that wherever we were, we appeared to athletes, spectators and race staff/volunteers as a true team.  Walking around Dig Me Beach, eating at Lava Java, attending athlete meetings, even the Awards Ceremony where Betty Mills Janelle sported THE GREEN on stage in front of thousands, all of us wore our DMS gear with our heads held high swelling with pride.  Outside of the professional team CommerzBank, I can easily say that Dynamo Multisport was the most recognizable team at the race.  Wherever we went, heads turned and folks took notice.  On Sunday night after the Awards dinner, 6-time Kona Champion Dave Scott asked us if we were the same Dynamo as the USA Swimming team in Atlanta!  Seriously, how incredibly is that?!!?

But the moment where I was overcome by how much we, as Dynamo Multisport, had accomplished in less than 12 full months was last Wednesday, as I joined Adrienne, Haley and Betty on their last long ride, a reconnaissance workout up to Hawi on the famed highway 270.  Abutted by the Pacific on my left, the sweeping green foothills on my right and a cloudless blue bird Hawaiian sky above me, I pedaled a good 15 meters behind our athletes on this sacred stretch of road.  I watched each one of these powerful, efficient, amazing athletes and was overcome by the irrefutable reality that Dynamo Multisport had gone from an amorphous idea to three incredibly talented, generous and caring athletes composing a team, yes a true team, here on the Big Island at the biggest venue for our sport in less than a year.  My thoughts then immediately turned to ALL of our athletes and coaches and the true team, the true community we have grown in that same period of time.  More important than performances, more important than races, we have built a community of sincere, honest and genuinely caring athletes who help one another out of the shared passion for multisport.  As Richard Quick, my mentor from my Standford days  used to say, we are a team above others, but above all, we are a team.  Mahalo and thanks to all of you, the athletes who make up our community, for making year 1 of Dynamo Multisport such a success.

The GREEN Shines at Augusta 70.3

DMS had a large contingency of athletes down in Augusta last week participating in the inaugural 70.3 event.  Braving the largest WTC field in the U.S. (more than 2,500 participants), THE GREEN had numerous standout performances and personal bests.  Barbara Chandler posted an impressive sub-5 hour race (4:54) in route to an Age Group victory for W45-59.  Other Podium performances include Nathan Pramik (8th, M30-34) and Coach Matthew (4th, M35-39).  PRs as well as first-time 70.3 participants included Kerri Fuller (1 st 70.3), Ernie Janelle (PR), Kathryn Honderd (1 st 70.3), Mary Pick (1 st 70.3), Daniel Schultheiss (1 st 70.3), Ann Schwartz (PR) and Rob Wellon (PR).  Other DMSers, Dynamo Masters swimmers and DMS CompuTrainer athletes participating included: Andrea Anase, Steve Barth, Jimmy Baugnon, Kris Carpenter, Kara Finley, Mike Gaw, Wendy Price, Brent Pease and Brian Scheel.  We likely missed several of you in this list and apologize if we did.  Great job to everybody out there last week who represented Dynamo and Atlanta so well.

DMS Cycling Kits Coming Soon!

We have put in a preliminary order for a full cadre of Dynamo Multisport cycling gear to get ready for the “Bridge Season”, commonly referred to as triathlon’s “off-season”.  The kits will all be Dynamo-branded and follow a similar design as our LG racing kits from this past season.  Available for purchase on an item-by-item basis, the full catalog includes the following:

• Men’s Cycling Jersey / Women’s Cycling Jersey – $77
• Men’s Cycling Bib / Women’s Cycling Shorts – $90
• Unisex Wind Jacket – $91
• Unisex Wind Vest – $67
• Arm Warmers – $22
• Leg Warmers – $35

Our fit kits will be arriving this week.  Kathryn Honderd and Coach Maria will have the kits at the pool so you can try them on and determine exact sizing.  Please try on anything your interested in ordering and email Kathryn directly to place your order.  We want to get our order in by October 14th in order to get the kits back by the end of November.

CompuTrainer Series 4 Coming Soon

We will be announcing enrollment for CompuTrainer Series 4 next week.  Enrollment will be available first to our current athletes as well as coached athletes.  We will message everybody about open enrollment via email, Twitter, Google Groups and Facebook.  The Bridge Season series will focus on skill development as well as have a speed play and strength component to the sessions.

From Atlanta, the directions are as follows:
(1) North on GA 400 for 43 miles (past I-285) to the North GA Premium Outlet on the left and Home Depot on the right
(2) Continue past the Outlet Mall to the next light where there will be a McDonald’s on the left corner – this is the intersection of GA 53 – NOTE YOUR MILEAGE AT THIS POINT.
(3) Continue north on 400 for 4 miles (this is 1 mile past the NEXT light at GA 136) to the entrance of Chestatee subdivision
(4) After the yellow street sign for “Nightfire Rd” on the right side of 400, get in the RIGHT turn lane.  Two large stone entrance columns with the Chestatee mark the entrance.  TURN RIGHT into the subdivision.
(5) After you turn into the subdivision go to the 2nd stop sign and turn LEFT onto Dogwood Way.
(6) Go approximately 1/4 of a mile to Waterfront Park Lane (there will be a tennis court on your LEFT).  Turn LEFT and go approximately 100 meters and park in the lot adjacent to the pavilion.

Please be aware that Maria, Matthew and/or Allen will be in a water vehicle in an informal supervisory capacity.  We ask that everybody who does show up on Sunday to sign a Acknowledgment of Waiver of Liability Release form releasing Dynamo Masters, Dynamo Multisport and agents thereof of any liability during this swim.  We also ask that you use your best judgment in attending this swim.  If you are not yet comfortable in the pool, you should not be attending this swim.  Maria does an excellent job in private instruction, and that is a more appropriate forum for honing your skills before getting in open water.

Please arrive to the Pavilion by 7:15 AM, so we can get in the water and get going as close to 7:30 AM as possible.  You will be asked to have a “swim buddy”, so partner up when you arrive.

If you expect to attend, we ask that you RSVP at the Google Group forum.

Like the swim, rides and runs will be informally pieced together afterward, so please communicate with each other in advance via our Google Group  to coordinate training partners for anything after the swim.

Thanks -

Matthew

I wanted to share two nice stories from the Richard B Russell Tri the Parks race this weekend because both exemplify the community we’re building at Dynamo and the wonderful people who are building that community.  Traveling north up I-85 around 4:45am on race day, one of our DMS athletes, Steve Barth, witnessed a horrible two-car crash.  Steve was running a bit behind schedule getting to the race.  In the decisive moment after seeing the accident, he pulled over to the side of the road to see how he could help.  Steve shepherded a family of 6, including an infant, to the side of the road.  Fortunately he did so, as another car traveling northbound careened into the crashed vehicles.  Had he not seen the danger of leaving the passengers in the crash area, there might have been fatalities in the incident.  As triathletes, race days are special days where we get to test ourselves against the field and the clock.  We often are so focused on the opportunity that we lose sight of priorities, simple stuff like helping others out in times of need.  Steve re-prioritized his day in a single moment that may have well saved lives.  And on a side note, after police and ambulances had arrived and took control of the situation, Steve made it to the race AND finished second in his age group – unbelievable.

DynaMafia at Russell - Steve Barth in Grey and Maria in Pink

Albeit not as dramatic as the former, the next story shows some of the teamwork that drives the DMS engine.  Tri newbie, David Chapman, is a lifeguard at the Dynamo-Chamblee facility when he’s not studying at Georgia State where he also runs cross-country.  Exiting the swim on Saturday, David ran up to his bike to find a flat rear tire.  Not having a pump with him, David searched frantically for another inflation tool.  Recognizing a DMSer in need, Nate Pramik, one of our Select Team stalwarts who was acting in cheerleader mode that day, stepped in as DMS pit crew chief to help David on his way.  Nate grabbed a floor pump, hit the rear wheel with 115 psi of air, and David set off on the bike.  Nate’s assist not only helped David finish the race, but also aided in a David’s 1st place age group finish.

And finally, because it needs to be repeated in case you haven’t heard the story, Head Masters Swimming Coach, Maria Thrash, came out of a decade-plus retirement to race this weekend.  Ransacking the competition in the swim and the bike, Maria set off on the 10k run…with a stress fracture in her right foot.  Pounding through the fierce pain, Maria completed the race with a smile on her face.  Oh, and it’s worth mentioning that she also placed 3rd in her Age Group.

If you see Steve, Nate or Maria around town be sure to take a second and thank/congratulate them.  Their actions were truly above and beyond.

GO GREEN!

Matthew