CONGRATULATIONS 3S FOR OUR 1ST YEAR ANNIVERSARY

More photos from the party!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21906931@N00/

Hello guys,

I want to congratulate you all for a great 1st year specially to Juan Meza for the great job he has done and to all our sponsors, without them all this would not have been possible.

Thanks to Swim, Bike and Run for the great party on Saturday, also to Ricardo and his band Manik (great Pink Floyd sound BTW). Thank you very much to our sponsor Accelerade and all of you that brought food.

Great job to everybody that participated in a race this year and to our top 3 on the 2006 rankings: Boris Fernandez, Juan Meza and Sandro del Bosco.

Congratulations to the 2007 board:
President: Juan Meza
Vice President: Rod Lauredo
Secretary: Ricardo Camacho
Treasure: Tak Osawa
Training Coordinator: Venus Vega
Marketing and communications: Joaquin Duro

To all let’s keep training to have even a better year on 2007.

Un abrazo,

Joaquin Duro
Marketing and Media Director

You laugh because I am different, I laugh because you are all the same …

I read this on a bumper sticker yesterday while riding my bike in Virginia Key. It struck me as a good answer to give to people when they question your belief system or way of life. Triathletes are often accused of being mad or insane for all of the training they do and their tendencies not to drink or socialize that much. Lately, one of the questions that I have been facing is the “Are you sick?” or “You look so skinny!” This is very good for triathletes and runners but to other people in the USA it is a sign of not being a big, strapping American. In my opinion, the majority of people in America are overweight, (and by the way, it is not just my opinion) so losing some weight will benefit you not only in your sports but also in your life.

I was talking the other day to a really good runner, who is now in his forties. He told me how he used to run so fast in college because he weighed 125 pounds and was 5’11” tall. “ Now I am one-hundred sixty, too heavy for faster cadence of the legs.” When I asked him what happened, he told me, “too much junk food.” For me it was sad because this athlete really enjoys being out there and competing, and at the same time he felt hopeless about his situation. The extra weight really puts a lot of pressure on his cardiovascular system and joints. Imagine running while carrying seven extra five-pound sacks of potatoes! So what can he do? The advice that I gave him is the same that I will give you.

There is so much junk food out there. So you eat a little today, some tomorrow and after a while it starts to add up. By the end of the year you have added a pound or two if you are lucky (some people add more) and after ten years … well you do the math. So you get used to this new, larger you accepting it as the way it should be. You know as you age you are supposed to gain weight and be less active, right? I don’t think so. I have seen many people become healthier in their forties than when they were in their twenties. I am in better shape now weighing 158 pounds than when I was twenty-five and weighed in at a whopping, muscle-bound 180 pounds. My friend, Omar, certainly is a lot fitter now than when we started running together six years ago. He has lost twenty pounds and now weighs 132 pounds, running a 5:30 mile like it is nothing. Omar today follows a raw food diet that is really paying dividends for him. I am not at his level yet, but I certainly watch very closely what I eat. I eat foods that are very high in water content like vegetables and fruits. I also eat lots of grains like quinoa (very high in protein) and all kinds of beans. I started controlling my food choices. There was a time back in those 180 lb. days that I could not go through a day without eating ice cream! Eating healthier has a domino effect. The healthier you eat, the easier it is to make that choice. You are actually programming your body to want healthy food instead of junk. Now that I am in the off-season I am choosing to go down in my weight instead of up, like most people do. I am choosing to commit and be disciplined. You have the same choice. A few quick facts before you eat that next bowl of ice cream: about 60% of America is now overweight with high cholesterol and people that maintain the same healthy weight for long periods of time live healthier lives than those who do not. Now it is up to you… dare to be different. Dare to be more fit and healthy.

Boris Fernandez

Enduring the Triathlon Season

The triathlon season is a very long season and getting prepared for it takes years of training. Many athletes have asked why I train so much for short distance events like the Olympic distances and the sprint distances. My answer to them is it helps me to be able to endure the triathlon season, to be able to compete more, and to avoid setbacks due to injury or illness. However, the most important reason for all of that training is to build to a new level of fitness in the long term.

The season starts in April and ends in October. In order to compete consistently well throughout the season you have to have a very strong foundation of training hours. The more training hours you have, the better you recuperate from one effort to the next. It also allows you to compete more frequently. For example, I have done eight races in the last eleven weeks. In 2002, I could barely race once a month without getting sick or fatigued. Right now my body is a little tired but nowhere near as fatigued as it was back then.

Another benefit of cumulative training hours is in avoiding setbacks. If you train well and develop all of your energy systems it will be easier for your body to compete, train, and withstand the heat and humidity of Florida. That is why I start the preparation for my season at the beginning of November. I do very long easy rides and runs to get my body ready for the season. How do you think that the Tour de France athlete can compete twenty-one days in a row without getting injured or sick? They train a lot and they make it to the Tour after many years of preparation. I do four to five hour rides on Sundays even though my bike leg in the triathlon clocks in at only thirty minutes to one hour. These rides are like putting money in the bank. Racing is like making a withdrawal. The more long rides you accumulate throughout the year, the longer you will compete successfully and the less chance of injury or illness you will have.

See your training as long term. That is the best approach. Build, build, and build your mileage year after year. You will reach a point where you will jump to a different level. Olympic athletes do not become champions from one day to the next. It took Deena Kastor six years to prepare for her Olympic bronze medal in Athens. She went from training fifty miles a week to one hundred and twenty miles a week. Plan your training and within your limitations of time and work gradually increase your total training hours. It will help you to improve and stay at that level for longer periods of time. You have to be very organized because you, like me, do not have all the conditions that Olympic athletes have, so with limited time we have to optimize to the best of our ability.

Remember I said build your mileage “year after year” not from today to tomorrow. A gradual increase over time will get you there. It is not recommended to increase total mileage by more than ten-percent per week for any given sport and you are doing three different sports so the increases will be extremely minute and incremental. Your body and your family need time to adjust to the added stress or you could suffer from burnout or over training that we will discuss in my next article. Until then, keep the long-term perspective in mind and enjoy whatever your triathlon experience is today!

Boris Fernandez

South Beach Family Fitness Weekend

The South Beach Publix Family race was full of good results for the best team in South Florida. Tri-Strong had Boris Fernandez, and Ramiro Osorio leading the Elite pack out of the water. Boris took a commanding lead with firefighter Evan Evans on the bike portion to take first place overall, a very important win for him since it gave him the lead in the series. Osorio had a strong run coming back from fourth place to finish second overall. In the women side, Monica Rossi had an impressive win in the 35-39 age-group. Also very impressive was Sandro Del Bosco 5th place in the 40-44 male, a very good result since he was recovering from a knee injury. Juan Meza kept his consistency good performances, and after very impressive results in the last trilogy and Huntington, he closed the season with a 13 place in the male 35-39 the strongest age-group of the field. Miguel Molina had a very good race to finish 10th in the 25-29 age-group. Also racing for 3S, we had Jose Rocha and Takashi (Tak) Osawa finishing in 16th and 17th place on the 40-44 age-group. On the Duatlhon, we had Carlos Mendez finishing in 4th on the 30-34 age-group.

Boris Fernandez



Race Results
http://www.familyfitnessweekend.com/FFW-2006/Results/MiamiBeach/Miami-TriDu.pdf

http://www.familyfitnessweekend.com/FFW-2006/Results/MiamiBeach/Miami-TriDu.pdf

My Favorite Water Sport, 8 Locals Share Theirs

Joaquin Duro
Day Job: Writer for Univision.com in Miami
My Favorite Water Sport: Swimming in Triathlons
Why: Getting better.

It was so dark that even though I was standing three feet from the shore of Crandon Beach I could not see the water. I knew the sea was in front of me because the roar was so loud that I wasn't able to process my fear of what 1 was going to do.
Seven thirty carne around and the start of the Huntington's Disease Triathlon was inevitable. And with it, my lack of training and technique in the swimming discipline would be clear to me and everybody present.
The result was a painfully embarrassing 18 plus minutes to swim 0.4 miles of dirty and smelly ocean. I needed to do something if I wanted to continue competing in this sport.
Later I visited Swim, Bike and Run, a South Miami triathlon store owned by my friend Wilber. He recommended that I sign up for Tri-Strong, a new triathlon club. Tri-Strong's motto captivated me on the spot: ""Get better together." "That's exactly what you need," Wilber told me. "A team where you can learn from other members and improve in all three sports, but especially in the swimming."
Tri-Strong's president, Juan Meza, said, "The time you spend on the swim­ming is only 8 percent of the total time of the race. Although it's not that much, it is very important to finish the swimming part fresh and with no lac­tic acid accumulated in your body to be able to perform the best way you can on the bike and the running."
He recommended that I start training with his swimming coach, Jose "Pepe" Fernandez, a former coach of the Cuban national swimming team. He's now in charge of the Rockway Swimming Team in Miami.
I called Pepe the next morning and hours later I was swimming under his supervision.
"Swimming is the most complete sport, he said. "You work all the muscles, it develops your cardiovascular system, your endurance and strength. With no stress on the body, your joints and bones don't suffer unlike running or biking."
A month later, The Coca Cola Classic in South Beach showed that all my training paid off'. I improved my time by five minutes.

My Favorite Water Sport, 8 Locals Share Theirs
Article extracted from South Florida Adventures Magazine, August/September 2006, Page 45

Overtraining for Triathletes

Triathletes are mostly type A personalities, with a subconscious thought that more is better. They also have to handle three sports that overlap themselves with a competitive season of more than six months. The propensity to overtrain is high, but there are a few things that we can do to avoid it. I am going to use Jack Daniels’s (the running coach, not the whiskey) definition of overtraining because his is the one that more simply and clearly defines it. Overtraining is “training more than what is actually needed to perform at a level that can be attained with less training”.

Overtraining has devastating consequences for athletes, like feeling mood changes, increased cortisol (stress hormone) levels in the body, decreased testosterone levels, and altered immune status. All these changes will plateau performance or decrease performance.

So, how can we avoid this state? The first thing that all good coaches recommend is to rest and recover after big efforts. Improvement happens during the resting part of training. During rest the body has the time to adapt to the stimulus it has just received. If you do not give the body rest time, the next time you apply another stimulus the body will not be ready for it and you will not assimilate it. Remember this simple rule: one hard day, two easy days. You will be safe and will gradually improve if you follow this principle.

Another piece of advice from the top is to keep a training log. There you can monitor volume, intensity, resting heart rate, weight, general health, how a workout felt and any other variable that will give you feedback on your progression. A very important variable is sleeping patterns. If you start having restless sleep check how your workouts are feeling. If that is giving you another red flag then back off you training because something is out of balance.

Another important strategy that you can use to avoid overtraining is periodization. (some periods where you back off and some where you tax yourself more) By changing the systems of the body that you are stressing, you dramatically reduce your chances of overtraining and injuries. Aerobic development involves lots of time running, swimming or biking at low intensities. With this type of training if the athlete overdoes it stress injuries are going to knock on your door. Anaerobic training is based on strong efforts with little rest in between each set. If you overdo these the hormone cortisol, is going to run all over your body disrupting your sleep, altering your heart rate, and changing your mood, not a fun state! So periodization, and being conservative are the words of wisdom here. There is a saying in the athletic community that it is better to undertrain than to over train. There are also plenty of medical studies that show that for twenty-one days a decrease in volume at the same intensity will not reduce performance.

Finally, remember that ultimately we do training to be healthy and happy and to improve our performance. Overtraining is a state of the ego. Avoid it because it is a waste of your valuable time and effort.


Boris Fernandez

3S takes on the callenge at Ft. Desoto

The Tri-Strong members took the challenge and travel the distance to the Ft. Desoto Coca-Cola sprint event. According to Adam Parks, the conditions where beautiful -- ”While I was walking out to the start I saw a couple of dolphins swimming around. The water so warm, like a bath tub, and almost no wind made for calm flat water [for the swim].”

The 3S racers made a great effort since some had just completed the Huntington Olympic Distance Triathlon the weekend before, but the extra effort was all worth it. Boris Fernandez though tired from a strong effort at the Huntington’s race settled on the bike to take a 1:30 lead for the 5K run after an un-stellar swim. Boris said his leg did not respond that day and he finished 2nd overall, good enough to take the lead in the Elite series point standing.

Sandro del Bosco had a break-through race. He had an amazing swim for the 800m distance to get out of the water in 13 minutes, very good for his weakest link. He had one of the fastest bike-split of the day to finish in a well deserved 16th in the 40-45 age group against a very strong field. Adam Parks finish the day in a great note. He had the fastest bike split of the Fat tire division to finish 3rd in that category.

Ft. Desoto race results can be found at http://www.familyfitnessweekend.com/FFW-2006/Results/FtDesoto/FtDesotoTriDuSplits.pdf

Boris.

Great 3S Turnout at the Mack Cycle Triathlon Trilogy #3

The team had a fantastic performance at the last event of the trilogy and the series over all. For overall results follow the link to http://www.multirace.com/triathlon/ and the series results are at http://www.multirace.com/triathlon/2006TrilogyPoints.aspx

Here you can find a more pictures of the race http://www.flickr.com/groups/trisofl/

3S Dominates at the 15th Annual Huntington's Disease Triathlon

The 3S team force was felt on August 6, 2006 at the 15th Annual Huntington’s Disease Triathlon in both the Sprint and Olympic distance formats. It was a tough race day, as our very own Boris Fernandez puts it “Conditions were the worse I have ever seen since I have done this race and I am talking all the way back to 1999.”

Even with the choppy seas, windy bike ride and hot run, Boris took 1st over all with a 2:11:43, Juan Meza brought a 3rd on the 35-39 age group with a 2:35:55 and Sandro Dal Bosco secured a 7th on the 40-44 age group with a 2:47:22 in the Olympic distance event.

In the Sprint format, Caitlin Rembly delivered an impressive 1st over all with a 1:16:08 and James Dugan 1st in the 40-44 age group and 9th over all with a 1:11:35. Even after winning, James said it was his “worst swim in a few years, but a decent bike and run.”

On the fat tire division, Adam Parks took 2nd over all finishing with a 1:37:26.

As I said before, it is clear the 3S dominance was felt on the event.

Congratulations to all!


Juan

Race results are at: http://sommersports.com/results/2006/hdt/
Event pictures are at: http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventthumbs?event=0374006E

Cathy Parbst Wins the Championship and qualifies for the World Championships.

Cathy won the Regional Duathlon Championships on July 4th at Tradewinds Park and qualified to compete in the World Championships in Gyor, Hungary in 2007.

She turned pro after winning the Powerman Alabama Duathlon and realizing she was a very good runner and cyclist. She got started in multisport while living in Clermont, FL where she won the triathlon sprint series in 1998.

Cathy raced as a professional Duathlete in 1998 and 1999, where she was the first American and placing 12th at the 1998 Word Championships in Germany.

In the spring of 2005, she moved to Miami, where she now resides and has become an integral part of the team. She is still undecided about Hungary, but she says if she can find some sponsors, she will go.

Weather she goes or not, does not really matter, she is still a winner in and an example to follow for all of us.

Congratulation Cathy!

Juan

You can find more about Cathy at http://www.accursochiro.com/pt

Fantastic preformance by the 3S team on the Mack Cycle Triathlon Trilogy #2

A great day on Crandon Park made possible another excellent performance by the 3S team on the Mack Cycle Triathlon Trilogy #2, in Crandon Park, Key Biscayne, FL.

We had around 80 degrees with partial sunny skies; the water temperature was great, and just the perfect nice breeze that gave the day optimal race conditions.

Again the first one to cross the finish line is our own Tri-Strong’s Boris Fernandez who finished with a fantastic time of 50:08. Also, a great job by Sandro Dal Bosco who placed 4th in his age group (40-44) with a time of 1:01:33.

Team members Juan Meza, Bernie Brijbag, Joaquin Duro, Adam Parks, Tak Osawa, Miguel Molina, Pepe Rocha, Oscar Sosa, Lou Silva, Patricio Hernandez did great and improved their times as they keep climbing the charts. Our team secret? We are getting better together.

We want to thank our sponsor Swim Bike Run for assisting with emergency repairs, and to all the ones who passed by to cheer for our team. For overall results follow the link: http://www.multirace.com/triathlon/triathlonResults.aspx?Race=115
Here you can find a few of pictures I took after the race

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21906931@N00/?saved=1

Joaco

Strong field of Athletes show up at the Deerfield Beach Coca-Cola Classic Triathlon.

We were blessed with a beautiful fresh day and the atmosphere among athletes was friendly and fun. The Tri-Strong team delivered impressive performance that left the rest of the field dazed and confused. On the open division, Boris Fernandez finish runner-up with a time of 0:42:12. In the 35-39 age group, Juan Meza keeps climbing the charts with an impressive time of 0:49:25 to finish in 7th place, and Sandro Dal Bosco blew away the competition in the 40-44 age group with a time of 0:49:31 finishing in 1st in his age group.

When the others athletes approached us to ask about our training, we told them that the secret of our success was our Sunday mornings Rocky training camp.

Boris Fernandez


On the picture, from right to left are: Boris Fernandez, Sandro Dal Bosco, Manny Huerta and Juan Meza.

Check the race results at http://www.familyfitnessweekend.com/FFW-2006/results.asp

Tour of the Gables 5K run.

I want to congratulate a couple of Tri-Strong members for their effort in today's Tour of the Gables 5K run.The day was gorgeous and it was a pleasure to run through the Coral Gables streets and around the golf course. The leader of the club today was Bernie Brijbag who finished with a splendid time of 21:03 taking a 7th place out of 48 runners in his age group. The “Courage Award” went to my friend and running partner Silvio Marulanda, who stopped the clock at 22:16 taking 4th place in his age group. Her friend Claudia Segrera earned the “Debut Award” after finishing 12th in her age group with an impressive time of 26:20 on her first ever race. And finally the “Most Improved Award” went to Joaquin Duro who finished 17th with a mark of 28:29. I know, I know, I was the last one but someone had to carry the Tri-Strong flag and besides I did 2 minutes less than the Coconut Grove race a month ago.

To all, Congratulations for your great effort and keep training!!!!

Check the results here http://www.footworksmiami.com/results/results.asp

Un abrazo a todos,

Joaco

Congratulations to all the participants of the Runner's High Triathlon.

It was a great day in Key Biscayne and I think everyone had a great time. We had a lot of people participating and everyone did a great job! Racing the sprint distance, in an amazing third place on the 40-44 Age group with a time of 1:09:49, we had Sandro Dal Bosco (see picture). In the same age group we also had Takashi Osawa, with a time of 1:32:29 finishing in a fantastic 23rd place. In the 30-34 age group we had Leandro Nesi finishing on 18th place with a strong 1:25:00 and in the 35-39 age group, we had Juan Meza on 4th place with a time of 1:09:16. In relay we had two relay teams, the team Tri-Strong Relay (see picture) finished second with a time of 1:25:24 and the Swim Bike & Run relay finishing first with a time of 1:07:51.

On the Olympic distance course, a special mention goes to Boris Fernandez who won 1st place overall with a time of 2:03:53 coming in 0:08:03 ahead of second place and acquiring rock-star status at the event. In 4th place over all, we had Bolco De Pawlikowski with a 2:13:31 and Joyuanki Victore in 7th over all with a time of 2:15:07.

Congratulations to all!

Juan Meza


Please upload your event pictures so we can all see them at http://www.flickr.com/groups/trisofl/

Last but not least, everyone get ready for the next team event on May 20, 2006 in Derfield Beach (Coca Cola Classic/Publix Family Fitness Series)

Thursday morning practice at the Gerry Curtis Park.

Here is a picture of the crew after the morning training session at the Gerry Curtis track. It was a tough workout day -- like most workouts -- thanks to Boris, our Super Trainer. In the picture, from right to left, they are Juan Meza, Dr. Bernhard Brijbag, Sandro Dal Bosco, Joaquin Duro, Boris Fernandez and Joyuanki Victore.

Juan Meza

Race Calendar

7-May-2006 Runner's High TRI Miami Olympic and Sprint Triathlon
20-May-2006 Derfield Beach (Coca Cola Classic/Publix Family Fitness Series)
25-Jun-2006 Mack Cycle Key Biscayne Triathlon Trilogy #1, Crandon Park, Key Biscayne
15-Jul-2006 Ft Lauderdale (Coca Cola Classic/Publix Family Fitness Series)
23-Jul-2006 Mack Cycle Key Biscayne Triathlon Trilogy #2, Crandon Park, Key Biscayne
9-Aug-2006 Huntington (Olympic Distance)
27-Aug-2006 Mack Cycle Key Biscayne Triathlon Trilogy #3 - SFTS #5, Crandon Park, Key Biscayne
23-Sep-2006 Miami Beach (Coca Cola Classic/Publix Family Fitness Series)
7-Oct-2006 Cypress Gardens (Coca Cola Classic/Publix Family Fitness Series)
12-Nov-2006 2006 Miami Man International Triathlon - SFTS #8, Larry & Penny Thompson Park/Miami Metro zoo

Congratulations to everyone that participated in the Coconut Grove 5K/10K run.

We had in the 5K Boris taking 2nd over all (0:17:0), and Nahirobiht (0:23:49), Juliana (0:23:16) and Carlos Mendez (0:21:17) taking 2nd in their age groups. For the 10K, we had in third place age group Israel Sosa (0:44:40) and a special mention to Sandro Dal Bosco as he finished 13 over all in the 5K with a time of 0:19:33.

Once again, congratulations to everyone!!!