Eat To Win
This nutrition tip and recipe idea are courtesy of Rochelle Gilman, Hy-Vee corporate dietitian:
“Snack often. Snack well. During intense training, your metabolism is in overdrive and it is important to keep fueling your body. Be prepared with healthy snacks that include carbohydrate, protein and healthy fats. Smart choices include an apple with peanut butter, trail mix, Kind Bars or a Larabar.”

Berry Lover's Trail Mix
Serves 10 (1/2-cup serving)

• 2 cups Hy-Vee dried mixed berry blend fruit – cranberry, blueberry, cherry blend
• 1 cup natural almonds
• 1 cup shelled pistachios
• 1 cup Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal

1. Mix all ingredients and store in a plastic baggie.

Nutrition per serving: 250 calories, 11g fat, 1g saturated fat, 30 mg sodium, 36g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, 5g protein.

Train Right

Matt Zepeda, head coach, Zoom Performance

Triathletes agree that success often hinges on how well they perform on the swim leg. A good bike or a great run can be wasted if you flounder in the water. That’s why it’s critical to get your swim training in now, with the focus on technique. The best way to relax your breathing is to grab a kick board and learn the proper technique. You will need a kick board and fins:

• Grab the board on each side about halfway from the front.
• Hold the board in front of you, arms straight.
• Kick from the hips and your core with a very slight bend at the knees. Point your toes straight back and keep the kicks small and tight.
• Keep the water just below your lower lip and blow long, slow bubbles on the surface.
• Kick for volume, not speed.

This exercise will teach your brain proper body position and keep your chest down in the water.
The reason why most triathletes have trouble with the swim is because they waste energy trying to churn through the water instead of moving the body forward.

Zoom's Workout
Warm Up:
300-yard kick with fins. Point your toes and keep the kick small
100 yards using a pull buoy.
100-yard swim; no fins.
Focus: kick pointing your toes and keep the kick small

Practice:
8 x 50-yard “catch drills” with fins.
Focus: Go slow, breath on both sides of every stroke, counting “one-thousand-one” as one hand catches up to the other.

Main Set:
10 x 50-yard swim.
Focus: Medium to hard effort, no fins. Take 8 to 10 deep recovery breaths between each.

Cool Down:
100 yard swim
Focus: Easy, long strokes.

Until next time: Reach the Next Level!
Coach Matt

Matt Zepeda is a USAT and USAC certified coach. Zoom Performance is a professional endurance coaching company that works with athletes from beginner triathletes to Ironman World Championship athletes. Certified coaches provide customized programs along with metabolic testing, bike fit, one-on-one analysis, clinics, and sports nutrition programs to allow athletes to reach the next level. Find out more information at www.getzoomperformance.com.

And You Are?
A look at some of the athletes who will challenge themselves at the 2011 Hy-Vee Triathlon

Gavin Anderson

I am a 32-year-old systems engineer for AT&T who is in his first year as a professional triathlete. I live in Louisville, CO.
When not training or racing, I’m enjoying the outdoors with my two daughters, ages 5 and 8. I enjoy snowboarding, cross country skiing, kayaking, and hiking during the off season.
I got involved in triathlon three years ago, but this is my first year racing in the pro division.
Before I was a triathlete, I was a swimmer. I swam competitively from the time I was 8 years old through college. I was an Illinois state champion my senior year in high school.
My pre-race meal must contain a peanut butter bagel and Erin Baker's breakfast cookie.
When it comes to training, my life is a delicate balance between family time, training time and work. Everything must be in check to excel in any of the three. It is always an exercise in time management.
My most memorable finish was winning the 2010 Kansas 70.3 amateur race by over 15 minutes. I knew then that I would be going pro.
My best leg is the swim, for sure.
As for the Hy-Vee event, I am racing pro, so I need to qualify in the points race for 5150. I predict one of the best and fastest Hy-Vee amateur races for both male and female we have seen in years.
I would advise anyone to take the time to find and research a quality coach to help you excel as much as possible. You will not be disappointed. My coach is Eric Kenney out of Boulder CO, http://ekendurancecoaching.com/

IronKids profile

An entire family of IronKids—Malia, Hannah and Brandon Ellington of Cornelius, N.C.—has qualified for the national championships in West Des Moines on Sept. 17.
      All three earned a spot in the championships thanks to their performances at IronKids Orlando in May.
      Malia, 14, and Hannah, 12, qualified in the senior division; their little brother, Brandon, 10, will race in the intermediate division.
      Hannah, who likes the swim leg of the race best, got started in the sport after she saw how much fun Malia had when she began racing in three years ago. It didn’t take long for Brandon, whose life goal is to beat his sisters, to throw his competitive hat into the ring.
      “I love sports,” says Brandon, a member of the local YMCA swim team who plays basketball and soccer and has a green belt in karate.
      He and Hannah train with the Xtreme Kids Tri team, which “likes to compete and win but never loses sight of the fact that this should be fun,” while their older sister is on her school’s track and cross country teams.
      All three Ellingtons hope to improve on their times from last year’s IronKids national championship in St. Petersburg, Fla., and place in the top five in West Des Moines.