Heading into our first season, Gemini Multisport athletes will kick off the first race of the season at Ironman Arizona. It has been a cold but windy winter without much snow. Full winter battle gear was needed to keep the cold at bay here in Colorado, and we’re hoping that it pays off in the upcoming races with the extra endurance. Best of luck to our athletes across the country and overseas in April!
Our list of sponsors this year just keep growing, with the likes of Northern Exposure Media, Infinit, Blue Seventy, Rudy Project, Salt Stick, and Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. We are currently working with additional potential sponsors, to bring a well-rounded array of products which deal with every aspect of triathlon. Stay tuned for new news on upcoming “Latest News” tab.
Off Season planning: While ’08 has barely begun, it is not too early to start planning for ’09. Early bird gets the worm. If you plan on getting into an Ironman brand race, you will need to plan on signing up the day after the 2008 version takes place. Take a look at your finances, family and work schedule, and your motivation to steer towards something as daunting as an Ironman now. The resources needed to prepare are immense, and an off season plan is key to keeping the fitness you worked all year for. Often athletes stop cold turkey for a few months, or longer, and start up the next year’s program in November or December. This could be the time you make the biggest leaps and bounds, and should alter your view of the off season. There is no “off” season, only a reduced season. Leave the heart rate monitor, and power meter at home during said off season, and use a simple wristwatch. The only structure needed for a few months (where you normally would be sitting around gaining weight), is consistency and fun. Take up cross country skiing, or learn the basics, do some drills in the pool to refine technique, or head out on some group fun runs in the cold November rain. Either way, there is no reason mentally or physically to really take an extended off season. Recovery can come by cross training, helping out with youth groups such as a junior high cross country team, swim team, or hiking in the woods. To ensure you are keeping up the “basics” during this time, sit down with your coach and map out the “off season” with essentials that are fun yet related to improving your weaknesses before formal training begins. It could be the difference between achieving your 2009 goals or not.
Tech Talk/2009 Components: It is interesting to watch the competition between the big hitters (Campy, Shimano, and SRAM) push each other to new levels. The performance for SRAM Red is really a notch above Dura Ace. The shifting is excellent, the components are lighter than Shimano. Word in the cycling internet world is that Shimano will challenge SRAMs Red group with not one, but TWO new top end groups for 2009. Some are calling it Shimano Dura Ace Electric and the other Shimano 7900. The photos shown of prototype parts look refined, and near production quality. I will be having a full report and recommendations hopefully after Interbike 2008 this fall, after having a chance to test ride the new groups. No doubt SRAM and Campy will counter with something lighter, quicker and sleeker as the three companies continue to do battle in an effort to gain world superiority. Many of you have asked about the best this or that for training/racing equipment, and I always try to experiment with everything I can to provide a list of the best equipment out there. I think the 2009 Groups from the industry leaders will have some ground breaking products to show at Interbike.
Gemini Visors by Headsweats! If you haven’t checked out our “Store” tab, check it out before all the visors are gone. We have four different colors with two different designs (SuperVisor and Velocity). One is a Velcro closure and the other has an elastic band. As we move towards the latter part of the race season, into the winter, there will be more products added to the store so you can add to your training and racing gear in style. All products will be able to be purchased online using secure online payment methods.
Inside Triathlon & Gemini Multisport: Coach KK has been writing mission-critical information for triathlon as a contributor for Inside Triathlon. Check out their site at www.insidetri.com to read the latest. Articles included so far are winter triathlon training and racing secrets, tapering during race week, and tapering during the final month before the season’s A-Race. Coach KK draws on his 20 years of race experience and coaching to bring things down to a basic level of explanation so that tri-newbies can take advantage of information without all the techno-talk of veteran athletes. Look in the coming months for new articles on IT’s website.
Race Uniforms for 2009? Having race uniforms for coaching companies seems to be a trend these days. Sure you want to have nifty outfits and be part of a gang that looks cool and intimidating right? Our philosophy has differed in that, not everyone likes the uniforms of a group they are involved with, for one reason or another. Maybe they are ugly (but the head coach doesn’t think so), or maybe they are uncomfortable and retain odor, or maybe an athlete is on a team (such as the Degree or Amino Vital teams that cropped up in years past), yet is coached by this one particular coach’s service. There is a conflict in that an athlete should never have to sacrifice their comfort (be it style or other), or break the contract they have with a Multisport team for the sake of wearing their coaching company’s uniform. I have personally encountered these same situations before starting Gemini Multisport, and have always felt that it is up to the athlete’s personal situation to decide on what they will race in. I am currently exploring the POSSIBLITY of race uniforms which would be available for purchase in 2009 at the earliest. The issues of course would be finding a company that provides an ultra high quality uniform, with sublimation for a cool design, and of course, be affordable. Athletes will always retain the right to wear their own choice of clothes for racing.
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