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Triathlete T shirt

The Catfish Triathlon was held on July 19th on City Island in Harrisburg, PA, and it is nearly a repeat of the NAI/CIR Harrisburg Triathlon that I raced in June.  The big difference was the on the run we went south after the bridge instead of north, but mostly I think the Catfish Triathlon was not as well organized.  Maybe this was due to the fact that it was NOT USA Triathlon sanctioned, but it’s hard to be sure.  Also the Catfish Triathlon cost more, but had less post race food, and other amenities.  Overall I would participate in this race again, but if I had to choose between the two races, I would race the Harrisburg Triathlon instead (put on by multisport maniacs).  Enough commentary, on to the my race report.

Thankfully they started my wave first, because I hate having to pass too many people, but this time around the river was much slower.  Last year swimming in the Susquehanna River in August at the Harrisburg Triathlon was tough because it was slow and very shallow.  I even had to stand up and run in some spots!  This year however the swim at the Harrisburg Tri was deep, but super fast back in June.  In July the swim was just right; not too fast and not too shallow, so this was a big plus for me.  It also gave me an opportunity to gain ground on my fellow triathletes who are not as good at swimming.

I went out pretty hard and then fell into a good rhythm about 200 yards into the swim.  Drafting during the swim of a triathlon is legal, but today I couldn’t find anyone who was a good match for my speed so I ended up about 10 yards behind the lead group of very fast swimmers.  The biggest problem I ran into while swimming was the sun rise burning into

Catfish Triathlon Open Water Swim

my eyeballs every time I tried to breath to my left.  Since I’m good at bilateral breathing I found this annoying because I like to switch sides every 50 yards or so.  The water was a very comfortable 75 degrees and I like to swim without a wetsuit in anything over 70, but I know they make you faster, so I might invest in one again some day.  The course was well marked with buoys, but the rising sun in my eyes made it hard to navigate the course.  With the current much slower at this triathlon I had a slower swim, but this was to be expected and my 17:16 was very respectable.

I quickly exited the water and headed up the boat ramp to the Transition area.  This time around I didn’t waste time drying my head and face, so my transition time was a blazing 44 seconds.  Easily among the fastest compared to other triathletes for T1.

Triathlon Bike with Triathlete T Shirt Stickers

Soon I found myself out on the bike and I used my flying mount technique along with putting my shoes on after getting moving to get a good lead on several riders.  There was no real wind on the bike course, unlike the Harrisburg Triathlon last month which had a nasty headwind going out on the bike.  The lack of wind and a very flat course allowed me to really hammer on the pedals and take advantage of my aerodynamic position and helmet.  I was trying to maintain my speed at about 22 mph and in the end I think I averaged close to 21 which is my fastest bike split for this course.  The extra bike training that I did with my cousin leading up to this race really helped.  He is doing his first triathlon in August with me and he shows a great deal of natural talent for triathlon.  My final split was 40:37 which was great, but might have left me a little flat for the run.

My second transition was a little slower than T1 at 57 seconds, because I put on socks with my shoes and I felt a couple of cramps in my calves starting out.  Once I got about 1/2 mile into the run I started to get into a good rhythm and settled into a fast, flat run.  The Catfish Triathlon took us south along the river after the

Triathlon Run

bridge and it was cool to here the crowd cheering other triathletes from across the river.  Another small complaint I had about this race was that the water station was at the turn around which gave you only one chance to get a drink.  Most triathlons will place a single station halfway to the turn around so that you get two chances to get water, but you still only need one or two volunteers.  My only mistake was in taking only one cup of water, and dumping almost all of it on my head.  I definitely needed to cool down, so it wasn’t wasted, but I wished they had some gatorade or something.  I ran mostly by myself, and didn’t get passed by anyone in my age group.  Over the last half mile there was another triathlete who had been behind me slowly gaining for about two miles and he finally got by me, but I out sprinted him in the last 200 meters.  My final time for the run was 23:19 which was about 30 seconds slower than last month.

Triathlon T shirt and Triathlon Bike

Overall I was very happy with this triathlon and my final time of 1:22:53 was enough to get me 5th in my Age-Group and 37th over all.  There were some mighty fast triathletes that showed up to this race, but I’ve been really surprised by some of the talent at these triathlons in Pennsylvania.  My time was also good compared to the Harrisburg Triathlon because, the river current made my swim time artificially fast, but at the Catfish Triathlon it was more reasonable.  As always I want to thank my wife and kids for supporting me at this race and cheering me on to a strong finish, it really makes racing a triathlon worth it in the end.

by Joel Getty

Copyright 2009 Cataclysm Sports LLC

Triathlon Swim

The time passes quickly before a race and I soon I had my transition area setup and headed to the north end of City Island for the swim start. Last year the Susquehanna River was low and slow and the swim was very challenging, but this year it was much deeper and swift. Most of the other triathletes were holding on to the swim barrier rope just to stay in one place.  I did a little warm-up swimming into the current and found it challenging just to stay in one place!

Before I knew it they were calling us up to the starting line and the gun went off.  The swim is my best part of the triathlon so I was feeling confident and

Triathlon Swim Start

quickly found my rythmn at the front of the second pack.  I like to draft behind someone usually, but found that there was no one matching my speed today, and everyone in the lead group was a seasoned triathlete with impressive swim speed, so there was no catching up.  I came out of the water in an impressive 11:32 for 0.8 miles swim, even though it was with the current, it was one of my best swims ever during a triathlon.

Running out of the water I felt good, and headed into the transition area only a little shaky while I got my land legs back.  Quickly I threw on my sunglasses and helmet, unracked my bike and headed out onto the bike

triathlon bike with triathlete t shirts dot com stickers on the side

portion.  I, like most of the fastest triathletes, use a running barefoot start onto the bike while keeping my shoes clipped into the pedals.  It helps to have triathlon specific shoes for this, and plenty of practice.  By swinging my leg up over the seat and landing on the inside of my thigh, I avoid racking myself on the seat during the flying mount.  Once on the bike I pedal on top of the shoes first, then slip my feet into the shoes then tighten the straps.  I use plenty of vegetable shortening (Crisco)  around the openings of my shoes to make this easier.

I’m also wearing my new triathlon TT aero helmet, which is awesome and I think really helped my bike time this year.  Heading out on the bike there were some crazy crosswinds going across the bridge to downtown Harrisburg from City Island and riding north along the river was all into the wind.  Luckily my triathlon bike is pretty aerodynamic and I’ve worked hard to tweak my position.  The only thing that might also help me would be some nice aero racing wheels, but you know, we all can dream right?

Coming back on the bike was like a dream and I was hitting 27 mph on the flat course with a tailwind (finally).  After 14 miles in the aero position I was

Triathlon bike and Triathlon Helmet

getting a little crampy and the bike seat was starting to chaffe because I forgot my Beudreaux’s Butt-Paste.  Other than that, I felt pretty good on the bike, took small sips out of my aero tri bottle mounted inside my aerobars, and started to back off a little coming into transition in order to recover my legs a little before running.  Because the women went out in the first wave of the swim, I found myself passing a lot of women on the bike portion.  A few of the fastest 40+ men passed me during the bike, but I don’t mind because they’re not in my Age-group and most endurance athletes get better with age (up to 45 or 50) especially in triathlon.

Shoes off, Triathlete T-shirts stickers on triathlon bike and helment

I like to take my shoes off just before finishing the bike so that I can have the fastest transition possible.  I also do a flying dismount by swinging my right leg off of the pedal, over the seat and behind my lead leg.  I keep some speed coming in and then get off the pedals and start running just before the dismount line.  This allows me to keep speed coming into the second transition and this is the technique used in the really fast pro triathlons that you may have seen on TV.  Once I got to my rack inside the transition area I quickly racked my bike, and took off my helmet.

Harrisburg Triathlon Run Start

The run is my worst part of the triathlon, so I’ll take any advantage that I can get.  Today I decided to wear socks with my running flats to prevent blisters, and I had applied more shortening to the rims and insides so that I could slip them on easily.  I also used the Yankz elastic shoe laces so I wouldn’t need to tie them.  With my running shoes now on, I quickly grabbed my race number belt and visor then headed out of transition for the 3 mile run.

Getting off the bike and running during a triathlon is always a little weird (the triathlete shuffle), but I like to keep a quick short stride at first, then settle

Out on the triathlon run

into a good rythmn as I speed up a little.  Today this worked perfectly and after about a 1/2 mile I felt my self really hit a solid stride.  The doesn’t mean that it was easy, but that I was at an appropriately fast pace; any faster and I’ll redline, any slower and I’m out of rythmn.  I found that a few more people passed me during the run, and because I’m a relatively slow runner, I only passed a few people, but this happens at every triathlon I’m in, so I’ve come to expect it.  For this reason, I always check out the calf of the person passing me, where they have their age marked.  If they are between 30 and 34, and not moving too fast, I’d better catch them or risk losing places in the standings.

Sprint Finish at the Harrisburg Triathlon

The Harrisburg Triathlon Run leg is mostly flat and follows along the Susquehanna River closely.  There were some more strong crosswinds going over the footbridge, and headwinds running north along the river, but when I reached the turn around I saw that I was making good time, so I bumped it up a notch and ran a little harder with the tailwind.  Coming back across the footbridge I still felt good so I wanted to finish the run really hard.  Anytime I finish a triathlon I like to sprint to the finish line from about 100 - 200 yards out, because “if you didn’t puke, or pass out, you could have gone harder.”

In the end I had a flawless race even though I didn’t win anything, I raced hard, and had no hang-ups.  Basically, I couldn’t have done any better without just being in better shape, and that always feels good.  This was my first triathlon of the season, so I hope to improve upon all my times as the summer goes on.  Check back soon, for more triathlon race reports, racing, and training tips from triathlete t shirts .com.

Triathlon Design for Kids

Triathlon Designs for Kids

Every parent wants to show off their triathlon prowess by clothing their unsuspecting kids with triathlete T-shirts and Onesies that declare how great they are. But I didn’t want to create the typical “My Mom/Dad is faster than your Mom/Dad” designs that are so cliche’d, so I took it a step further. With this kids design I wanted something more objective that kids could brag about their triathlete parents. “Faster” could mean any number of things, and might not necessarily be accurate. However, aerodynamics are measurable and easily verified.

For the graphic I really wanted a triathlon bike that looked like a proud kid had drawn it themselves with a crayon. It took some tweaking, but the crayon tool on CorelDraw finally did the trick and I love the simplistic aerobars, rear disc wheel, and carbon front wheel. I know I drew this myself, but I think it turned out great.

One of my greatest moments in triathlon came last year (2008) at the Savageman Half Iron Triathlon in Deep Creek Lake, MD. It is a relenting course with inclines up to 31% and almost 6000 vertical feet of ascents during the bike leg. The run is equally punishing with multiple hills and 13 miles of pain were just too much for me. I had to walk a good portion of the run and by the end of the race (nearly 8 hrs) I was cooked. But the really special thing that kept me going was seeing my kids at the aid station at the top of fire tower road. Seeing them in their little triathlon t-shirts and cheering me on was one of the main things keeping me going. At the end of the race my 2 year old even ran with me through the finish line which was awesome. In the future I hope to share more triathlon experiences with them and maybe they’ll even want to race. But in the mean time it’s enough to see them wearing the t-shirts I made for them.

The Kids Triathlon Designs are available on multiple products including T-shirts, Onesies, bibs, Teddy Bears, and more! Check out all my Triathlete T-shirt designs at the Triathlete T-Shirts Triathlon Homepage.

Triathlon Never Easier TriathleteTshirts.com

I can’t remember if this is a quote from some one or if I just made it up on my own, but in all my Triathlon training and racing, I’ve found this to be true. I might have come up with it when my wife asked, if racing ever gets easier after all the triathlon training I had done one summer. My answer to her inspired this design.

The more I thought about the more I realized that it was true. Whether swimming, biking, or running, you never really get a break. The more training you do the better triathlete you become. Your new level of fitness only serves to give you greater speed at the same effort, but you’d never slow down in a triathlon, just because you were matching your latest performance and wanted to take it easy!

It’s true that the more experience you have racing triathlons makes you a better triathlete with more confidence, and so the nerves, race-day morning bathroom visits, packing the transition bag, setting up transition, pulling off your wetsuit, etc. all get a little bit easier each time. But, the effort that you put out in a triathlon, should always hurt the same, or more if you can handle it. The better shape you get yourself into, only makes you faster, it never makes it easier.

The Triathlon Never Gets Easier Design is available in a variety of products includin T-shirts, mugs, posters, and more. Check out all my triathlon related designs at the Triathlete T shirts Triathlon Store.

Triathlon Never Gets Easier Copyright 2009 Cataclysm Sports LLC

TriElement Triathlon Lifestyle Design for Triathlete

I created this TriElement Triathlon design almost by accident when I was just doodling in CorelDraw.  I was trying to create a design that took into account the three events of triathlon, but I was tired of the traditional triangle logos and stickmen.  I started playing with the idea of a chemical symbol like a carbon ring, then I started thinking about elements.  This reminded me of my favorite movie of all time “The Fifth Element” in which the elements of earth, wind, water, fire, combine to create the fifth element Love.  All spoilers aside, go and watch the movie, a sci-fi classic.

All that random thought brought me to the three elements of a triathlon:   Swim- Easily represented by the Water element.  Bike- A little of a stretch to get Wind, but since much of the bike leg of a triathlon is about Aerodynamics, I felt like this was acceptable.  Run- The last leg of the triathlon represented in this design by Earth, because running is the most basic of the elements.

Since a triathlon only has three events I left it at that, but I could have included the Fire, which is your heart, but then having four elements would have defeated the purpose and fire is a little abstract anyway.  Either way, I’m always looking to tweak the design, maybe add Nutrition and the Transitions, but I liked the original design in its simplicity.

Lastly I didn’t want people to just look at the design and go “huh”, so I added the upside down and backwards Triathlon with the Swim, Bike, and Run, underneath the other elements as if mirrored.   The mirror is the true spirit of the design and the effect is quite cool and works on more than one level.  I also found that when looking at other Triathlon T-shirt designs, most were campy and either simple text or obvious rippoffs of simple stickmen.  So I created the TriElement Triathlon design to be more of a lifestyle item that you could where to a party and people would say “Cool, I get it, that’s really sweet,”  instead of just, “Oh, you’re a triathlete, thanks for letting me know.”

The TriElement Triathlon Design is available for purchase on a number of products including T-shirts, mugs, posters, and more.  Please take your time to browse all of my designs at the Triathlete T-shirts Triathlon Store.

Copyright 2009 Cataclysm Sports LLC

Tri Harder Triathlon

In a triathlon or any sporting event you have to give everything you have. When I was a youth, long before I started racing in triathlons, my dad told me about his days of running and racing. He has never done a triathlon, but would occasionally race in a 5k or 10k run. I think he might have even been on the track team in High School, but I don’t remember. This design was inspired by some words of wisdom he had for me about running. He said, “If you didn’t puke or pass out, you could have gone harder.”

Since I became a triathlete I’ve tried to apply that concept to every triathlon I’ve ever run. I’ve ended many triathlons with the dry heaves, but I can’t say that I’ve ever passed out. After any triathlon I finish without puking I think to myself, “Did I really push it? No. Could I have run harder, biked harder, or swam faster? Yes.”

The idea is that when you push your body to the absolute limit, you create oxygen debt so deep, and lactic acid builds up so strongly in your blood that your body revolts. The build up of lactic acid is actually poisioning your body and puking is the body’s natural way of ridding itself of toxins. If you push even beyond that, your over taxed muscles are so starved for oxygen that they steal it from you brain, which shuts down in order to save itself. That’s when you pass out.

The idea of mind over matter is nothing new to triathletes and other endurance athletes. Your brain is a powerful tool and when focused properly can make your body do extraordinary things. When the Ironman Triathlon began, no one even thought it was possible, but now thousands of aspiring triathletes complete this grueling 2.4 mile swim, 125 mile bike and 26.2 mile running event every year in cities across the globe.

It’s important to listen to your body and quit before you injure yourself, but many times pushing through the pain of anaerobic exhaustion is the only way to reach your full potential. How will you know if you’ve pushed hard enough? Well as the design says….

If you didn’t Puke or Pass Out…. You could have Gone Harder. Triathlon.

This Tri Harder Triathlon design is available on a multitude of triathlon friendly products and gifts like t-shirts, mugs, posters, and more at the TriathleteTshirts.com Store