Part I -The Art of the Shavedown:

DearClub Kids,

I have been meaning to wirte about this for quite a long time now and thought with the lack of smack going on right now I would open up a topic that needs to be addressed as I feel it could cause many problems for our club down the road. It is a topic not touched by most as no one seems to be able to delve into the topics complex web. I thought I would take it upon myself to expound a bit into the reasons, methods, and unspoken rules of shaving.

THE REASONS:
Unlike most folks in our fold I do not try to make up contrived reasons to shave down. As a swimmer most 12-14 year old boys want nothing more than their leg hair to grow out so they can shave it off for the big meet of the year. "Shaving down," as it is called in the swimming world is a rite of passage, it means your are fast enough to think the tenths of a second that is saved by having no hair on your legs, arms, back etc. will make a difference in the race. This is true as some races are decided by hundredths of seconds. I once had a friend shave his eyebrows which grew back as an eybrow and a little crooked. Also, Friday nights at State meet were always marked by shave down parties at the hotel at which you were staying. This was your opportunity to get shaved by girls from your team as well as other out of town teams. What a way to break the ice with a lady. Put on a speedo and have her shave your legs up to your crotch. In a word AWESOME.

As I joined the triathlete world I was thrown back to the shaving world. This time it was maksed by the idea that IF you wreck on your bike, you will be happy because it makes it easier to pick stones out of you road rash. All this info was espoused to me as we walked out of the Spinning room at the YMCA where noboby was getting a rash of the road variety but maybe the too large of a bike seat rash. I have wrecked and had some road rash and all I did was not shave around it. Maybe I need to wreck better and get some more gravel stuck in me, but so far this argument is kinda lame.

THE TRUTH IS THAT WE ARE DIFFERENT THAN THE NON TRIATHLETES WE KNOW. WHAT BETTER WAY TO FURTHER FREAK OUT THE REST OF THE WORLD THAN BY SHAVING SOME OR ALL OF OUR BODIES. The other truth of the matter, at least for me, is that shaving down makes you feel fast. Every time you hit the water you feel fast. Ladies to test this theory don't shave for a week or two and swim, go home and shave and swim the next day. You'll feel fast as a mackerel. The last secret truth as that no matter what the argument you get from a guy the truth is they just plain like it. Triathlon is just their crutch.

THE LAST TRUTH IS THAT I JUST PLAIN LIKE IT!!!!

THE METHODS
For those new to the triathlon world here are a few do's and don'ts for the unintiated.

1. Find you some lube. Shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, and even shaving cream will make your work go a lot more smoothly. Also use a new razor. Dispoable is fine, just make sure it is new and change it out appropriately.
2. For guys, get a trimmer of some sort to take off the first layer. You will save in blade cost and it won't take two hours to shave your legs. You can get a cheap one at the Wal Mart for like $10.
3. Nair and other chemical removal systems. Best stay away from these. Ask W for a personal recount of what happend to him. Kentucky Fried Chicken Skin anyone?
4. Stay away from all gimic like lotions, salves, hair pullers etc. They are more likely to do more damage than good.

Part II - Speedo Nation

Because of some crap traffic issue rocketboy's Saturday morning big ring circus had to be postponed until later this afternoon. I'll re-post the time. Until then I had two choices, work or spend time working on my quest for the oh so coveted Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction. I can't decide if a forum post would count as an article, expose, non-fiction short or what. Truly the Pulitzer people will be able to see my work for it's greatness and place me in the correct category (maybe multiple wins??). I hope they don't count spelling or punctuation against me. I got the profanity covered under the veil of the First Amendment even the Moss Forum Gestapo can't stop me. (SIDE NOTE: Susan, you can get this thing to clean up my mouth but you can't get it to SPELL CHECK????)

This is the latest in a three part series for the new members section (I refuse to use that word you call new members as it sounds foolish). As you have seen, Part I dealt with the trials and tribulations of one mans quest to understand the "art" of body shaving also known as Rocketboy and the Razor. Part II is a little ditty I have titled Speedo Nation or Lycra and You: How Hydrodynamics Works. I think I'll go with Speedo Nation (until I get sued) as I had a hard enough time spelling hydrodynamics (twice) let alone learning how to explain it to you all in layman's terms. As I like to say, let the games begin.

The only topic older than Roadie vs. Tri guy in my book has to be to Speedo or not to Speedo. Most know my stance sits squarely on the Pro Speedo side. This is less from my exhibitionist nature, than from a truly logical side. We spend hours riding, running, and swimming, not to mention transition practice (yes, you are supposed to practice those too) trying to shave off minutes and second from our times. We spend thousands of dollars on shiny bikes and carbon fiber gadgets to get those elusive seconds only to suit up on race day in a speed suit or tri top with a pocket on the back. You may as well run with a parachute behind you or let one of your fellow competitors hook their finger onto your shorts and let you drag them. I think you get it.

Drag is not just a way of life and dress. It is the force you are fighting the whole time you are in the water. I don't have the time or the knowledge to tell you the exact drag a pocket will have against you during an 800 b/c I am not going to waste my time doing 2 800s one with a Speedo and one with a tri suit, but I would be willing to bet that a tri suit slows you down 3-5 second per 100 yards. Ever lose placing 3rd in your age group by 40 seconds. I have. The problem with the aforementioned speed suit is that it is not skin tight. There is too much of a difference between body types for companies to make an affordable (if you consider 80-150 affordable) correctly sized speed suit, just ask Chunckie G. In addition mesh, pockets, diapers, and zippers are not fast. Even if you cut off the pocket the thing is blousy (don't get to use that word often!). To test the effects of drag. Swim a 100 in a swimsuit and then swim a 100 with a pair of running shorts over said swimsuit. FEEL THE DIFFERENCE.?

Training Tips
by Bruce & Christina Thomas

Keep it all simple:
It is not rocket science......success comes from the amount of effort, determination, perseverance and commitment you put into something. You need to keep it simple....work on your weakness and persevere. There is definitely a time and a place for complex and technical training however, you need to ask yourself.....am I doing the simple things to the best of my ability and will the more complex training save me the time I need or can smarter more simpler training?

Training has to be individual:
Thank goodness we are not all the same...it makes life far more enjoyable! So many factors should go into successful training - background, medical and injury history, time availability, lifestyle, geographics etc. One of the most important factors that will influence your ability as an athlete is your physical make-up and genetics. These areas play a massive role in your performance capabilities, tolerances, repair and recovery process just to name just a few. As coaches part of our role is to monitor and evaluate these areas in order to come up with an individual plan. We can assure you as professional and experienced coaches that there are many reasons why your programme may be different to someone else's even though you have the same race goals.

Fact…The Moroccan athletics team, which includes El Guerrouge, has a process their National Team of athletes are involved in. The process is very systematic and they work in a group of 30. However there is an understanding amongst the athletes and their Coaches to respect individualism. It is a compulsory behaviour line for the group. An example: They run by time 20, 30, 40minutes, but Sulah Hissou never runs more than 1 hour of continuous running, and Khalid Skah runs very often over 1:15 - 1:20min, same event, same level of performance, different loads.

The sport of triathlon has three simple disciplines—you swim, you bike, you run. But you need a few key pieces of equipment to get yourself from the start line along the water’s edge to the finish line. And despite what you see at races–all the lightweight this and carbon fiber that–you don’t have to break the bank to get from point A to point B. Here’s a list of the bare essentials you really need to be ready for training and race day.

Bike
Duh. Hard to do a triathlon without a bike. What kind do you need? If you’re just getting into the sport and doing your local sprint race, it can be your beach cruiser or mountain bike. If you’re diving in with an Olympic-distance race, we think Dad’s old 10-speed will do the trick. If the tri bug bites you, then you can start thinking about getting a more appropriate bike, maybe with clip-on aerobars. But for now, any bike will do. Be sure to take it to your local shop to be sure everything’s tight and safe, that the tires are aired up and that the chain is lubed (nothing like hearing squeak squeak squeak for 10 miles). Don’t worry about feeling fast just yet—that’ll come later.