The Magical Sweet Potato

By Coach Dorette Franks

First impressions are lasting impressions which may be why many of us shy away from befriending that ever so nutrient rich sweet potato. Sweet potato memories of childhood Thanksgiving feasts are hearing my mother say "try a little of everything," and so I would scrape the crisp golden brown melted marshmallows from atop pineapple laced mushy sweet potatoes as if this counted as a sweet potato serving. It wasn't until taking a committed interest in my well-being that I realized the true potential of these brightly colored soil dwelling tubers.

The magic within a sweet potato begins within its color. They come in a variety of colors from bright orange to deep purple. Moreover, they are packed with anti-oxidants (including vitamin A, C, and B6) which help reduce free radical damage, promote healthy vision and reduce inflammation--now that's a plus for endurance athletes! They are even an excellent source of unrefined and unprocessed carbohydrate rich in dietary fiber and are loaded with potassium.

Begin your day with some magic! Instead of instant oatmeal, try steaming a few sweet potato slices then smashing them up with a fork or in a food processor, add a hint of cinnamon and paprika and there you have it--a healthy unrefined breakfast. For dinner, give them an ethnic spin and bake them with a few other root vegetables along with a dash of clove or nutmeg, sea salt and then toss in some pistachios for added crunch!

As for your nutritional performance, sweet potatoes are a fantastic alternative fuel source of carbohydrate - try it out on your next long run or ride. Remember, those small changes in your diet add up to a whole lot of health!

Athlete Spotlight: Mike Tatham

At first it was about the puck, the hockey puck that is, then the whale boat rowing, and then it became all about the bike, but eventually, it became about the tri, as in triathlon. Fifty-eight year old Trifiniti coached Mike Tatham, was seeking a greater challenge in athletics and we think he's finally found it! Mike became invested into living a multi-sport lifestyle just over two years ago. As coaches, we've witnessed Mike enter the sport of triathlon, improve upon his finish times and goal distances, and find enjoyment and challenge from the training process; Mike is able to maintain a healthy balance in living a multi-sport lifestyle and focus on the other important aspects in his life--namely, his family. And for this reason, Trifiniti coaches Duane, Dorette and Nate felt Mike Tatham was the right athlete to highlight in this month's "Athlete Spotlight".

Mike shares his biggest obstacle inside of triathlon. "I grew up on the Jersey shore and spent all day in and out of the water. I found out when I took up tri's that everything I did in swimming was wrong." At his first triathlon, the Marin County Sprint Triathlon, Mike rushed into the water at the front of the pack only to be kicked around causing him to lose his breath and become winded. Sound familiar? Yet, Mike's perseverance prevailed as he built his endurance, strength and speed graduating from his first sprint distance triathlon to racing in the big league at Boise Ironman 70.3. For Mike, it's the challenge and excitement that keeps him wanting to race.

 Competing in multi-sport events can be a selfish endeavor. Training long hours during the week and weekends can sometimes impact time with family and friends. But Mike figured out that if he wanted to train right and create balance in his life he needed a structured plan and so he hired Trifiniti Coach, Nate Helming.

Mike has experienced the benefits of having a structured plan means greater efficiency of training, allowing more time with his family. I recall an evening when I was coaching track for the Golden Gate Triathlon Club at Kezar Stadium. Mike showed up as always, but this time with his two pre-teen nephews in tow! And much to my surprise they relished the challenge of running intervals as much as their Uncle. It appears the benefits of training have a trickle-down effect. His wife reports that she finally has him eating salads for lunch. It's a win-win for Mike and his family.

When asked about his 2012 race goals, Mike tells us, "I just want to continue being a racing fool. Running, triathlon and even the occasional swim race-they all keep me motivated and having fun."

This is the inevitable challenge of being an endurance athlete: being able to live a balanced lifestyle, avoid injury, spend time with loved ones, complete all your training workouts, improve performance, and above all, have fun. And that is just what Mike Tatham has done, he's reached this balance, a balance that defines the Trifiniti philosophy.

So, next time you find yourself in a mass swim start with this former hockey player, you better think twice about getting too aggressive or else you may find yourself being kept in check.

Athlete Spotlight: Kona and Beyond

By Duane Franks

Check out Coach Duane's Race Week Tips for Kona Athletes here on Training Peaks

Most of us triathlon loving athletes may never know what it’s like to toe the line of a world championship.  And that’s fine because that alone may not be the goal for many of us.  We find enough challenge trying to fit in a daily dose of training into an already very busy life.  However I do believe that most of us are still intrigued by the thought of Kona or the ITU Worlds and may be wondering what it’s like to mix it up with the best in the world.   So on that thought, I would like to send out a huge congratulations to our Trifiniti athletes who have made a world championship the goal and in doing so, put in the work to produce the results to get there.  Let’s learn more about these outstanding athletes.

Kona Bound

Kathy Winkler: It’s no surprise we are starting with Kathy.  She holds the honor of being a Trifiniti coached athlete longer than anyone else.  Since joining Trifiniti in 2001, Kathy has qualified for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii seven times.  She has been to that podium all but once, and has stood on the very top step twice in 2001 and 2004. Yes she is a two-time age group world champion. Kathy ages up this year and will be competing in the 45-49 division for the first time.  Kathy earned her slot by finishing first at the Hawaii 70.3 event in June.  She may not have much time to rest after because this year, Kathy is double dipping championships.  If you haven’t heard, the ITU Worlds Long Course is taking place on American desert soil near Las Vegas on November 5.  The long course is a few miles shy of Ironman distance but the hilly bike will make it just as challenging.  Kathy claimed this slot last October at the USAT Nationals in Myrtle Beach. 


Sandrine Micoleau: Sandrine qualified for Kona in her second Ironman event.  Although it was never a stated goal, I knew that she had the talent. The only conversation we ever had on that topic was my advice to attend the roll down the day after Ironman Canada. She took that advice and is literally on her way to Kona as this article is being written.  But the world championship story actually started a few months earlier at Wildflower where Sandrine earned a slot to the ITU Worlds long course for finishing with the leaders.  Sandrine was thrilled and excited to be going to Vegas so you can imagine how she felt when she found out that she would join Kathy in a world championship double header.


Stefan Irion: Just like Sandrine, Stefan also earned his Kona slot in his second Ironman, qualifying at St George, Utah in May.  I doubt anyone was surprised given that his IM debut resulted in a 9:40 something in Switzerland last year. His preparation seems to be right on target with age group wins at Alcatraz and Big Kahuna.  This may be his first dance in Kona but you can bet it won’t be his last. 


Peter McIntosh: Peter is a long time friend of Trifiniti and Kathy’s number one fan and supporter. Okay so he’s more than that; he’s her finance.  They planned to be married in December only a few feet from the Ironman run course.  Peter is a living example that poetic justice lives in the spirit of Hawaii. I was with him at the 2010 Ironman Coeur d’Alene roll down when he missed it by one place. Peter finished 7^th and knew it would likely be the only time he would be able to put in the necessary hours to qualify for Kona.  We are happy to report that last year’s effort was rewarded a year late with a lottery slot. Peter will be completing his own version of a double dipper by competing in the Xterra Championship.

ITU World’s Long Course

Dorette Franks:  Whether you know her as Dorette, Coach D2 or in my case, “yes dear”, Dorette will soon be known as a Team USA athlete at the starting line at the ITU Long Course world championship.  Dorette proudly earned her slot at the USAT long course nationals in Myrtle Beach.  Coach Nate has been laying out a fine training plan for Dorette. Hey, coaches need coaches too.

Ironman 70.3 World Championship – Las Vegas 

Virgilio Pigilucci:  Virgilio solely represented us at the Ironman 70.3 championship last month.  Virgilio had a solid performance despite high desert temperatures and an extremely competitive field.  Virgilio is another beneficiary of Coach Nate’s high performance coaching.  The challenging hilly course is very similar to this year’s ITU Worlds course so perhaps he has some advice for the three who are heading there in November. 


ITU Worlds Olympic & Sprint – New Zealand 2012

We would like to congratulate four stellar athletes who made the trip to Vermont for this year’s USAT Olympic and sprint distance Nationals, and returned home with an invitation to join Team USA at ITU Worlds in New Zealand next year.

Sunny & Mark Mckee: What can I say about these two shining examples that the couple who train together, remain together and have also qualified for Worlds Olympic distance. Sunny is an accomplished athlete who always has a shot at the podium when she races. Mark is a meticulous planner who knows what it takes for a top performance when you need it most. Congratulations on your outstanding achievement.

Sarah Squiers:  Make no bones about it. Sarah knew what she wanted early in the season so we laid out a plan to give her the best chance at it.  The result earned her way to New Zealand for a well deserved family vacation sandwiched around the ITU Worlds sprint championship.  You want to know what it’s like to race sprint distance? Try holding your breath, then swimming, cycling and running as fast as you can for an hour.

Archie Walker: Here’s a new name with Trifiniti. In fact, he is so new to Trifiniti that he probably doesn’t realize he’s on our list.  I did a swim video lesson with Archie earlier this summer as he was preparing for the Treasure Island Sprint. I knew he was special so I encouraged him to consider going to Vermont and making a run for a Worlds slot.  He took me up on that offer, won his age group as its sole member, and punched his ticket for New Zealand next year.  He later contacted me and asked to help him train for it.  I gladly accepted. By the way, did I mention that Mr. Walker is in his EIGHTIES! 

Xterra World Championship – Maui Hawaii

We wish the very best of dirt and trails to two athletes who will be competing at this year’s Xterra World Championships in late October.  John Felts and Peter McIntosh are no strangers to the rocky and challenging terrain that this course offers. Peter has been racing here for the past several years. John participated in the very first one when it was called Aquaterra. 

Good luck to all these athletes, You can follow those in Kona on Saturday, October 8 at www.Ironman.com – athlete tracker.

Coach Duane Franks

Trifiniti Endurance Coach & Founder

Move Better (one purpose of strength training)

By Coach Nate

Whether you train individually or as part of a group, the goal of gym work is not simply brute strength or 'core' conditioning – it’s for improved athletic performance. To make ourselves better athletes, we need to be better and more conscientious movers in everything we do. To borrow from San Francisco Crossfit and gymnastics Coach Carl Paoli, we need to address:

1. (body) Position

2. Movement

3. Purpose

For a fantastic tutorial on the more subtle but important aspects of the pushup, check out Coach Carl's daily video blog on all cool things gymnastic related. 

 For us runners and triathletes, this means identifying and then holding the ideal body position to move in our sport with the purpose of expressing the greatest power and efficiency from start to finish line. What this means is that we want to enjoy (insert sport or activity here) without our (insert body part here) wearing and tearing away. 

Thus, practicing pushups or squats provides an opportunity to address our body position (read: posture), and the quality and range of motion of our movement of our hips, knees, and shoulders in a controlled environment. If we see movement this way, we can more effectively transfer the practiced skills from the gym to movements within our sport. 

Thus far the two most significant areas of improvement we as endurance athletes need are:

1.  Body Position (improved posture, hollow body or a powerful neutral body position). 

As soon as this optimal body position breaks down we start throwing power away. You don't want to race with your brake on right?  We can also trash our back, hips, knees, etc as once we lose body position; we cannot regain it under load.  In fact, running (whether long or fast) is the ability to maintain good posture, fall forward, and lift our heels up underneath us.

Symptoms of lost posture or position while running:

- Scuffing or heavy footfall or hot spots under the feet (from said scuffing)

- Tight and tired hip flexors (resulted from lifting knees forward opposed to pulling heels up under the butt)

-Slowed cadence

-Scuff marks on your calves (due to your heels hitting your own calves)

-Tight and tired achilles tendons (from pushing off too much)

2.      Flexibility (especially in the hips and hip flexors)

I see many runners unable to maintain the above body position because their hips and hip flexors are so tight that they're pulled into an over extended position. No Good! This also contributes to the inability to fire your glutes which leads to further problems up and down the kinetic chain. 

As for the shoulders, they are so tight and internally rotated that swimmers and triathletes can no longer safely lift anything overhead or engage their big powerful lat muscles while swimming. Also no good!

So, keep practicing all your movements. Pick the wall or couch stretch and hit your quads and hip flexors! Five minutes a day of self care goes a long way!

And lastly...squeeze your butt!  Or I'll poke you.

Coach Nate Helming
Trifiniti Endurance Coach
San Francisco Crossfit Coach

Crossfit with Trifiniti Endurance, Coach Nate Helming

Crossfit for Endurance Athletes

with

SF Crossfit and Trifiniti Coach Nate Helming

The Vision: To make better endurance athletes with Crossfit strength & conditioning.

The class: Coach Nate will lead small groups of ~ 5 people through workouts that combine Crossfit’s functional movements (www.crossfit.com), run technique, and Crossfit endurance (www.crossfitendurance.com) inspired workouts. Together, the class will identify goals, address limiters, learn proper movement and mechanics in order to increase general physical capacity.

Where & When: @ SF Crossfit on Monday and Wednesdays at 6pm. Start TBA. Contact me if interested!www.sanfranciscocrossfit.com

Who is this for:

--The aching and chronically sub-acute injured athlete.

--The “stuck on a plateau/looking for something different” athlete.

--The athlete looking to reach his or her potential by increasing strength and improving biomechanics.

A general lack of strength often contributes to the sub-acute aches and injuries endurance athletes face. Training stops and starts as a result of a nagging this or an aching that. Sometimes physical therapy works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, frustration abounds.

Others manage to train with a level of success, only for performances to stubbornly plateau. Nothing done seems to make a difference for improvement. Too often training feels stale and less enjoyable.

Still other endurance athletes perform well but want to look under every rock to reach their true potential and to perform at their best.

Either way, all athletes are looking for some type of breakthrough to get to the next level: injury-free training, tackling a new event, Boston and Kona qualification, or reaching the podium. A constantly varied training stimulus keeps athletes motivated, invigorated, and improving in their training.

Crossfit is a “constantly varied, functional movement” program, often filling a gaping hole in many athletes’ training schedules. Under the eyes of an experienced and competent coach, functional movements such as the squat, the pushup, and the deadlift serve as excellent screening tools to see and address weakness and imbalances in the body, potentially stopping sub-acute injuries before they become a problem. For the non-injury prone, eliminating inefficiencies and increasing strength, stamina and flexibility translates more directly to improved performance. Sure enough, a Crossfit-based strength and conditioning program will rebalance and strengthen you and re-invigorate your training.

Best Buddies Outreach with Rabobank



Team Rabobank/TrifinitiTrifiniti  
 Ambassadors from right to left: Tom Koundajian, Kathy Winkler,
Lori Capshaw, Ann Weinstock, Coach Dorette, Fred Mendez, Peter McIntosh (guest ambassador), Coach Duane and Daniel Scarsbery



Trifiniti would like to thank the Fred Mendez (Trifiniti ambassador) and the support of Rabobank for being a part of our first community out-reach project benefitting the Best Buddies Foundation. Together with your help, Team Rabobank/Trifiniti raised $20,000!

On Saturday, September 9th, fundraising for the Best Buddies Challenge began with a special Team Rabobank/Trifiniti BBQ, ride and raffle hosted along the Silverado Trail in one of the world’s most famous wine regions, the Napa Valley. Riders could choose between a 40, 56 and 90 mile ride option and were fully supported on the course by an array of swag luxuries from VEGA Sport, O.N.E. Coconut Water, Hammer Nutrition, and ZinClear SPF 30 by Dermaquest Skin Therapy. Back at BBQ headquarters, riders were treated to a first class meal followed by raffles and prizes – some of which included riding in Team Rabobank support car during the Tour of California, official Team Rabobank professional cycling kits, a case of Bialla Vineyards wine, VEGA Sport Gift Pack as well as gift certificates for massages, dinners and more.



Daneil and Tom lead behind the pace car
driven by Olympian Carl Lewis



Then on Saturday, September 11, Team Rabobank/Trifiniti road down the Big Sur Coast for the Best Buddies Challenge in celebration of meeting our goal! Together our ambassadors rode from Carmel through Big Sur finishing in San Simeon to top-notch port-o-showers, buffet lunch, massage, and more swag from the Best Buddies Challenge. Back at the Hearst Castle Ranch, fundraisers topped off the evening with a five station buffet (ranging from Hawaiian to Ranch style cuisine) and an open bar followed by a tribute to 911 – we watched in pride as a parachutist descended the skies trailing a 30+ foot American Flag. Upon night fall, the stage came alive with a concert hosted by Natasha Bedingfield. As one party wound down, another was just beginning to wind up at the Neptune VIP Pool Party.

Natasha Bedingfield

Being a part of the Best Buddies Challenge was a memorable event in and of itself, but moreover, the support, participation and results for Trifiniti’s first community outreach program was AWSOME!


What's next for Trifiniti?  Trifinit's cycling in Tuscany trip - group departs September 15, 2010 - it can only get better.

'Join us in Napa and Win'

'Join us in Napa and Win'Location: Rabobank / Napa Community Bank


700 Trancas Street
Napa, CA 94558 US

When: Sunday, September 5, 8:00AM Add to my Outlook Calendar

WHEN: Sunday, September 5, 2010: 8am start for 91 mile ride; 10am start for 40 and 55 mile rides (all ride routes are relatively flat); 1 - 3pm BBQ and Raffle. RSVP by August 30.

DONATION: $60 per person / $40 per person for couples and families payable the morning of the ride (a tax receipt will be provided at the event)

DETAILS: A ride along Napa's historic Silverado Trail with a BBQ waiting for you at the finish, a 100% tax deductible donation to Best Buddies, and a chance to win Rabobank gear and VIP finish line passes at the 2011 Tour of California ... it doesn't get better than this!

Rabobank is recruiting and training a team to join Anthony Shriver in an exclusive ride along the Pacific Coast Highway between Carmel and Hearst Castle on September 11 to benefit Best Buddies, an organization that grew out of Special Olympics to connect intellectually disabled individuals with local school programs, mentors and a circle of friends they can count on every day. This September 5 event is a recruitment, training and fundraising event for Best Buddies.

Get the word out, share this invitation, bring family and friends, and give some thought as to whether you'd like to do more than support the event by proudly wearing the Orange and Blue jersey that will identify each member of Team Rabobank on September 11.( Visit www.hcchallenge2010.org to sign up for Team Rabobank, please use promotion code RABOBANK to reduce your fundraising goal from $1800 to $1350).