SportsGeezer

The Triathlete's Trilemma: Which Sport to Invest In

Let's say, for the sake of the argument presented in this piece in the Times by Gina Kolata, that it really is not possible to excel in running, swimming and biking, the three legs of most triathlons. Let's say that most amateur athletes have to pick one sport to rock in, one to perform well in, and one to get by in. What would you do? Kolata gives us the wisdom of  Joe Friel, a coach and author of  10 books, including “The Triathlete’s Training Bible” (VeloPress, 2004), who warns that if you want to run faster you have to give up swimming and cycling. And then there's Gary S. Krahenbuhl, an exercise physiologist and emeritus professor at Arizona State, who tells Kolata that the physical and biochemical changes in muscle cells and in nerve-firing patterns required for improvement are very sport-specific. Kolata reminds us that there are benefits to doing more than one sport, and she quotes physiologists who advocate cross training for all recreational athletes, and especially middle-age athletes who are more easily injured and slower to recover than younger people. Know anyone like that?
Read more about the triathlete's trilemma from Gina Kolata.

Sound Systems for Distance Swimmers

Once upon a time, distance swimmers imagined moving through the water to the strains of their favorite music. Geezer, who imagined himself to be a distance (relative term) swimmer, was certain that the first person to invent a waterproof MP3 player would drown in cash money. Now he's thinking that maybe the fourteenth or fifteenth person to invent a waterproof MP3 player might make enough money to build an indoor pool. Maybe not. There are many waterproof MP3 players on the market, and one way to start deciding which one to buy is to watch this slide show put together by the New York Times. The Times persuaded Katie McClelland, who has broken two FINA world records for amateur adults in breast stroke, to test-swim four waterproof players and one case-headphone combo, ranging in price from $36.99 to $144.99. Read McClelland's verdict in the New York Times.

Training Tips from an Olympic Swimmer

If there is such a thing as the three most important training tips from Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, they are probably the subheds used in this piece in the New York Times: Grab the Kickboard; Building Muscle; and Bring in On, meaning keep competing, even if the competition is your own best time. Lochte's own best time for the 100 meter freestyle, is 49.04. But then he swims three to five miles of day, sometimes twice a day. Read more about how Ryan Lochte trains in the New York Times.

Chlorine, Hair, Unfortunate Colors and What To Do About It

The good news, reported by New York Times' Anahad O'Connor, is that the best and brightest of scientists and hairdressers have found no evidence that swimming in chlorinated water causes hair loss. The bad news, he says, is that every fools knows that swimming in chlorinated water can alter the color of hair to hues never found in nature. What can you do about it? Go Ask Alice offers this advice and more.

• Wear a rubber bathing cap. Although it doesn't keep all of the water out, it helps. Sports stores that sell swimmers' equipment should have caps in a wide range of sizes.
• Before putting the bathing cap on, put conditioner in your hair.
• After swimming, rinse hair with tap water, preferably using shampoo.

Two Words on Matching Body Type to Sport: Forget It

If you're small, you should run, and if you're tall, you should swim. So goes the common wisdom about what kind of bodies perform better at what kind of sports. In this somewhat conflicted piece in the New York Times, Gina Kolata explains the physiological and physical reasons why tall swimmers do generally swim faster than short swimmers and why small, thin runners generally run faster than tall, heavily-built runners.
She points out that, among other things, tall swimmers also have an advantage because when bodies are horizontal in the water, long bodies have an automatic edge. Distance running, says Kolata, prefers another kind of body. Because running requires that you lift your body off the ground with each step, propelling yourself forward, the lighter you are, the easier the lift, and the faster you go.
Having said all that, Kolata reminds us that unless we plan to compete in the next Olympics, and Geezer does not, it matters less what we excel at than what we enjoy.
Read more in the New York Times.

The Beginners' Guide to Beginning Triathlons

It's still true that triathlons are not for everyone, but according to this piece in the Boston Globe, the mini-versions at least, are attracting more amateur athletes each year.  In fact, one marathon trainer tells the Globe that the sheer number of contestants can be the one of the most intimidating aspects of the race, particularly the swimming leg of the competition. Read this short piece, with a few tips on mini-triathlon training, in the Boston Globe.
For more advice--actually, a lot more advice, check out Triathanewbie.com.

Speedo's New Suit is Breaking Records

The Washington Post reports that in the six months since its release, Speedo's new Fastskin FS-Pro has swimsuit already impacted dozens of national and international swimming records. Made from a new fabric conceptualized by Speedo, the FS-Pro offers a combination once believed to be impossible: It weighs less than half as much as most standard swimsuits yet maintains the muscle compression of a heavy body wrap. Swimmers will wear it and likely break more records this week at the national championships in Indianapolis.
Wait, there's more: At the lastest world championships, 76 percent of all athletes who wore the FS-Pro swam a personal-best time. Only 18 percent of swimmers who wore anything else managed to do the same.
Read more in the Washington Post.

For River Swimmers: Where the Clean Water Is

Little is easy and nothing is up to date in the EPA's National Assessment Database for the quality of water in U.S. rivers, lakes and estuaries, but persistent researchers can learn if many rivers are safe to swim without updating a tetanus vaccination. Or at least, if the EPA says they are safe to swim. Geezer is sticking with lakes, which are not included in the database.

Swimming Leg of Triathlons Is Looking Deadly

Is swimming that much more stressful than running or biking? Geezer has no answers, just a tragic report of three deaths this year that happened to occur during the swimming leg of three triathlons. The Boston Globe is the messenger here, reporting that the death of a 38-year-old man at the inaugural Cohasset Triathlon on Sunday was the third death in the nation this year at an event sanctioned by USA Triathlon. Triathlon services director Kathy Matejka told the Globe that one participant died in Tampa in April, and another died three weeks ago in Missouri.  Both occurred on the swim course, as did Sunday's fatality in Cohasset. Matejka said two deaths occurred in 2006, also on the swim course.

Swimming Across Rivers: the fear, the glory, the meaning

"If you accept the idea that swimming can cultivate an erotic bond, surely it can establish other ties as well. And just as a river can take you from one place to another, so too can it deliver you to a sense of purpose."
That's one, of a great many intriguing thoughts, in this essay by Akiko Busch, whose book "Nine Ways to Cross a River: Midstream Reflections on Swimming and Getting There From Here,” will be published in July by Bloomsbury USA. This excerpt is published in the New York Times Magazine.