Training Group Spotlight : Austin T3

The Austin T3 Team is excited to partner with Red Licorice for the Sweet & Twisted and Dude Girl Triathlon races summer! We will be offering official training programs for these women-only events and look forward to helping local women of all ages and experience levels accomplish their triathlon goals. No matter if this is your first race or if you are a seasoned veteran, T3's USAT Certified Coaches will make sure you cross the finish line with a smile on your face!

Group training programs with Austin T3 include unlimited access to any/all of the 20+ coached workouts each week (swim/bike/run/core) in addition to weekend and social events with the team. All T3 training programs maintain a heavy emphasis on technique and efficiency and are managed to include all levels of athletes - to teach the beginner, motivate the intermediate and challenge the advanced athletes within the same practice. Enjoy the positive benefits of group triathlon training by starting with the T3 Team today!

Recommended start dates for Sweet & Twisted and Dude Girl Tri are listed below; however training programs can be joined at any time. All levels welcome - beginner friendly!

Sweet & Twisted Triathlon (Race date: August 16)
Help the T3 Women defend the TEAM Award and "Best Team Spirit" again this year at the Sweet & Twisted Women's Triathlon! This Sprint distance triathlon is perfect for beginners and provides a friendly race atmosphere with a feminine touch! T3 Training Programs for Sweet & Twisted begin Monday, June 29.

Dude Girl Triathlon (Race date: September 20)
We are encouraging participating in the RELAY option for this Olympic distance event! This is a fantastic opportunity to partner with other women in T3 and to work on your strengths and weaknesses within the three triathlon disciplines. Contact the T3 Coaches at info@austint3.com if you would like to participate on a T3 Relay Team. T3 Training Programs for the Dude Girl Tri begin Monday, June 29.

Beginner Women's Triathlon Clinic @ PaceBendPark (July 26)

Want to practice for either of these events? The T3 Coaches are teaming up with Red Licorice Events to host a Beginner Women's Triathlon Clinic at PaceBendPark on Saturday, July 26 (8-10am). We will cover each portion of the course and provide important tips for race-day. Participants will have the opportunity to practice on each segment of the course under the supervision of T3's USAT Certified Coaches. This will be a low-key event open to all women - beginners encouraged. Food and free give-aways provided! Clinic Cost $25 T3 Member, $40 Non-Member (Cost includes $8 park entry fee). Register here! Registration Closes July 19.

Ready to sign up? To get started with Austin T3 or for more information regarding the team training programs, please contact our coaches at info@austint3.com or visit the T3 website. We look forward to hearing from you!

Partner Spotlight : KGS Bikes - Why Do Bike Fits Vary From Shop to Shop?

Why Do Bike Fits Vary From Shop to Shop?

Kevin Saunders.
President, KGS Bikes

The hottest topic in bicycle retail is bike fit. Every shop recognizes the need to properly size a bicycle to the customer, or get the customer to adapt to the bike. It seems that almost every shop now has an expert "fitter" and they advertise perfection to all their clients.

Bicycle fitting is one of the most misunderstood concepts in the industry. Since most of it relies on the experience and style of the fitter, or a set of equations defined by a fitting system, the results can vary drastically from shop to shop and from bike brand to bike brand.

Another reason that bike fits are so varied across the country is, bicycle fitting is not easy! It takes a very good knowledge of anatomy, kinesiology, physics, geometry and the ability to relate in 3D a person trying their best to adapt to a bike that they want to a manufactured product with many dimensional limitations.

The "Holy Grail" of bicycle retail is to get a fitting system that will work for all customers with equal accuracy as well as be usable by all employees. The major systems out in the universe as far as volume include the Serotta Fit system, Specialized fit system, WobbleNaught, Fit Kit, KGS Bikes and others. Various devices are used to capture the data or the motion or to measure people so calculations can be made and the "perfect" bike is chosen. Dartfish, RETUL, a plumb line and measuring tape, cross hair lasers, video, setup bikes, etc. are all tools to help the fitter do the best job possible.


Besides the difficulty of a even an experienced and proficient fitter to do a great job on a bike fit, there are different schools of thought regarding the fitting of a bicycle. WobbleNaught, for instance, applies an equation on a specific bicycle and your physical measurements to allow one to adapt as well as possible to any bike. If the bike is the wrong size, no matter. The system will produce a set of dimensions that should be attainable on almost any bike to some degree. The equation is based on a young professional bike racer profile.

Serotta's fit system uses Knee Over Pedal Spindle to establish fore-aft positioning. KGS Bikes uses a balance point to achieve the optimum position, but due to differences in philosophy and end result, those positions will be totally different for the most part. RETUL is a motion capture device (not a fit system) that allows one to accurately determine angles such as knee angle, hip angle, etc. The capture device is incredibly accurate but is dependent on the external bony landmarks that sometimes do and sometimes do not correspond with the actual joint fulcrum point. This can cause variability.

Other reasons for variability are the bike shop's inventory combined with a customer's desire to get a bike when an emotional connection is made in the bike shop. People want "their" bike to fit because they want that bike. Sometimes they don't really care how well it fits as long as the coolness factor is good enough. Also, the bike shop wants to help the customer adapt to a bike so they can make a sale and provide instant gratification for the customer.

There are also untold numbers of bikes that are entry level and less sophisticated fitting techniques are used, like standing over the bike to see if the top tube clears your crotch. My personal favorite system is what I tell people with a wry grin, "The perfect bike fit for most bike shops in the world is the one where the credit card clears!"

Because of the variability of expertise and philosophies in bike fitting, I offer one thought. If you "take ownership" of your bike position and make the bike fit you rather than the other way around, you then get to really enjoy the sport of bicycling. Don't be afraid to listen to your body, either. You shouldn't have saddle problems, sore back, neck, shoulders or numb hands. You should be able to take your hands off the handlebars on a road bike and not feel like you are diving forward.

This is easier said than done. I believe that most people who say they are ok with their bike position have never experienced a truly comfortable bike position. The analogy would be similar to a first grader who couldn't see the board because she needed glasses, but didn't know the rest of her classmates could see, so didn't think there was a problem!

Remember this when you think about the relationship between you, your bike, and your bike shop. Once you spend your money, you have to ride the bike. You can educate yourself for free and be an informed consumer and you may be amazed at how much better your cycling experience can be.



KGS Bikes is known as the world's premiere bicycle fitting studio and boutique. For over 25 years, Kevin Saunders, President, has studied bicycle fitting and sold high end bicycles. KGS Bikes sells bicycles from Co-Motion Parlee, Serotta, Zinn, and Guru, in addition to fitting services. For more information visit the KGS Bikes blog, and the KGS Bikes website.

Partner Spotlight - Genesis Boost

Genesis BOOST™ is part of Genesis Today™, which is headquartered in Austin, Texas. Genesis BOOST was launched in 2008 to introduce supplement and juice products with the highest quality superfruits to an increasingly health-conscious consumer.

The folks at Genesis BOOST consider themselves to be pioneers in the world of superfruits-and with their line of 100% all natural Genesis BOOST™ Juices, it's easy to see why. Their products seem to have an organic reason for being, and they pride themselves on offering the most efficacious superfruit supplements and juices based on their incredibly high standards and commitment to quality.

Genesis BOOST Juices are made with only the highest quality Superfuits-Goji berries, Açaí berries, Mangosteen fruit, Noni fruit, and Pomegranate fruit. In fact, the company is so passionate about the quality of their superfruits; they are grown on wild-harvested farms in the Amazon rainforest, French Polynesia, Southeast Asia, and other pristine regions around the world. They are picked and harvested in the most natural and traditional way to support the land and soil in an ethical manner, and all of their superfruits are 100% natural with absolutely no herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, larvicides, or any other toxic or unhealthy chemicals whatsoever.

Each Genesis BOOST Juice is blended with great-tasting 100% natural fruit juices to make a flavorful and refreshing ready-to-drink beverage. Genesis BOOST Juices are loaded with antioxidants and contain 10,000 - 24,000 mg. of pure, active superfruits per bottle, with a high ORAC (oxygen radical absorption capacity) rating. Every bottle of Genesis BOOST Juices is loaded with antioxidants, protein and trace minerals.
The vitamins, nutrients and trace minerals of modern-day food sources have been depleted rapidly over the years. Trace minerals are essential for supporting healthy and are especially critical for the development of healthy bones and joints and the average person does not get enough of these essential trace minerals from their diet. Genesis BOOST Juices are an excellent source for supplementing these critical and much-needed trace minerals into our daily diets.

Try all four fantastic Genesis BOOST Juices flavors: Beauty BOOST™ (Acai), Happy BOOST™ (Goji), Youth BOOST™ (Mangosteen) and Inner BOOST™ (Noni).

Genesis Boost beverages are available at Whole Foods Market, Central Market, H-E-B, Super Target, and other fine retail stores across the country, as well as online!

Tips From the Pros - Jamie Cleveland

Getting the Most out of Your Race Day Performances
Jamie Cleveland
Ironman Champion and 14:50 5km runner
Owner, Hill Country Running Company
Head Coach, Texas Iron

People begin running races for a number of reasons. Regardless of why they start, sooner or later they all want to get better. In the interest of helping people improve their performance and achieve personal best times, I have compiled a list of strategies they can adopt to ensure success on race day.

Warm-up prior to the start
Most running events require that you run strong right from the gun. Always make sure your core body temperature is elevated by running 10-20 minutes and that your muscles and tendons are loose and ready to go. Performing several strides before the gun goes off is helpful because it allows you to elevate your heart rate and ready your body for the effort to come.

Pace yourself accordingly
A properly paced race sees you cross the finish line at full speed with little or nothing left in the tank. This means going out strong enough so that you are surrounded by people, running your goal pace, without blowing up. Deciphering the signals your body is sending you is part of the skill that allows you to know what effort level is sustainable. This should be emphasized in all your workouts. Speed sessions are designed to work on this as much as improving your fitness.

Line up in the right spot
Position yourself so that your path to the finish line is as unobstructed as possible. Courses vary tremendously but one fact remains the same, if you have to weave past a large group of competitors you are going to be slowed down and waste energy.

Use others to push yourself
On race day, find someone you can see and challenge yourself to compete against them. This might mean working to keep an individual in sight or picking off other athletes as you work your way to finish line. Regardless of how it plays out, use your inherent competitive instincts to get more out of your race day performance.

Mentally rehearse the race
Racing entails a lot of internal conversations and questions. Remove a lot of these by mentally rehearsing the race prior to race day. As you approach race day, take time to walk through the entire event prior to toeing the line. Prepare yourself for various scenarios and for the discomfort you will experience as you strive for speed. Acknowledge that it is going to be OK to be hurting and that it is part of the process. Pain and discomfort don't mean that you are not ready but rather are signs that you are taping into your new potential.

Preview the course
As part of your mental preparation for race day, make sure you preview the course so you know what you will facing on race day. Knowledge of specific hills or other challenging aspects of the course will help you better pace yourself on the day and will also allow you to know where you are in the race. In the absence of mile markers this may be the only information you have about how far you have come and how far you yet have to go.

Finish strong
The race isn't over until you cross the line. Make sure that you practice finishing intervals all the way to the end. You want your body to be programmed to run strong all the way through the finish line. All too often people get passed in the final meters simply because they mentally checked out at the sight of the finish.

Running fast doesn't happen by accident. Regardless of how effortless a performance looks, rest assured that it is a result of planning, hard work and strategic moves on race day. You've already done the hard work so it only makes sense to do a little planning in order to maximize your strategy and achieve the results you want.

Jamie Cleveland is an Ironman Champion and 14:50 5km runner. He is owner of Austin's newest running specialty store, Hill Country Running Company (www.hillcountryrunningcompany.com) and head coach for Texas Iron (www.texasiron.net). He can be reached at Jamie@hillcountryrunningcompany.com