Tips:  items of interest- a swim workout suggestion for the beginner, suggested bike workouts on trainers in the doldrums of winter, equipment ideas that have worked for us, injury prevention notes, etc. 

News/Info

1. Tip #1. Lace Locks
2. Tip #2. Blister blaster
3. Tip #3. Out the door...
4. Tip #4. Slip on your dancn' shoes
5. Tip #5. Transition Smooth as a Baby
6. Tip #6.  Low Calorie Pam-for easy wetsuit dressing
7. Tip #7.  Snarled Hair
8. Tip #8.  Chafing under a wet bathing suit.
9. Tip # 9.  Panty hose and wetsuits
10. Tip #10.  Practice takin' it off  in/around the pool

Tip #1: Valerie Ellsworth: racing shoes, use lace locks and tie the loose ends of the laces around the top rung of the laced shoes. That'll get the loose lace ends out of the way and offer an "arc" of lace available to pull down lace lock to tighten shoes during transition

Tip #2: Paula Larsen: I'll continue with suggestions for running shoes. Go without socks if you can. Its much faster. If you have problems with blisters put vasoline on the inside of the shoes where a blister may occur. Also duct tape placed on the foot in a blister area also works. Duct tape stays on quite well in water.

Tip #3: Kirby Adams: Having been in the health and fitness "world" forever, it's easy to forget what it feels like to just get started. I am constantly asked how to get a parent or sedentary friend off the couch. I tell them --convince them to walk out the front door for five minutes. They will have to walk back 5 minutes to get home. And now look they have gotten 10 minutes of fitness into their day. Of course you expand on that. But what a great way to get ANYONE heading in the right direction! 

Tip #4: Transition Shoe Tip-use a shoe horn in each of your shoes (cycling first, then running) for easy slip on without wrestling wet sticky feet with uncoordinated fingers.

Tip #5: Transition Smooth as a Baby's----- use baby powder or cornstarch to keep feet drier and less apt to produce blisters.  If you use socks, crumpled up the socks in the same fashion as you do with pantyhose when you want to slip them over your toes. Once scrunched down to the toes, pour powder in the toe of the sock and put the scrunched up sock in your cycling./running shoe. When you place your toe into the toe box fo the sock, just pull the sock over your heel. No more fumbling around with sock donning.

Tip #6: Low Calorie Pam-for easy wetsuit dressing, spray PAM over your wrists and ankles (butter flavor is less offensive than the garlic...but it is a personal choice). This enhances the slip factor of wet skin and rubber when taking the wetsuit off. DO NOT use Vaseline-Vaseline has the properties that will eat a hole in you wetsuit after a time.

Tip #7: Snarled Hair- put baby powder or cornstarch on the inside of your bathing cap for easy on/off without tugging and for storage without sticking together.

Tip#8: No more chafing...Jennifer writes: Those are great tips.  I would add one for people who are prone to inner-thigh chafing from hopping on the bike while wet - rub a little Vaseline or similar substance on the sides of your seat.  I really like Body Butt'r - it's less sticky.

Tip #9: "Up here in the NW wetsuits are worn for most of the races with water temps from 54-70 degrees.  Put a pair of knee-hi or panty hose nylons on before putting on your wetsuit. Not only does it make it easier to get on but it helps tremendously with getting the legs off especially if you pull straight up with your leg while standing on part of the wet suit with the other leg. Sounds really corny but it works!

Tip #10:  Before my 1st race of the season or one that's so cold I'm wearing booties, surgical gloves etc. I go to the pool & put everything on before I begin my workout. I then start my watch, swim say a 500 with it all on, hit the lap button on the watch as I exit at the opposite end of the pool & ""run"" as I remove all the stuff. Stopping at the same place each time. I stop the watch & see how how it took. I do this 3-5 times over a 10 day period. I have seen some pretty significant drops the time it takes by doing this. Which builds confidence as well. I then continue on with my regular workout.