The Tri Town Times: 2/7/22

Posted on 7 February 2022
By Antonio Gonzalez
Posted in the tri town times
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Image: Gravel riding with Veronica Vazhnik.

This week: Mark Sortino's open water swim clinic; study on DOMS and workout quality; Vittoria tire white paper; quote from Jiro Ono on perfecting one's craft and loving what you do.

Hi all,

Here is your weekly Tri Town Times newsletter:

Events I'm looking forward to:

Mark Sortino, local endurance coach, has held a clinic the last 6 years that has helped hundred of athletes build their skill and comfort in the open water. This year's clinic is Saturday, June 18th at Quinn's Pond. Learn more and register for this free event here.

Training thoughts and updates:

Some studies have shown a poor correlation between delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and the actual quality of the workout session. Often we are most sore when we use our body in a novel way: whether it be a new movement pattern or intensity we are not prepared for. A common scenario is an athlete is feeling sore from a prior workout and are unsure if you should take a rest day, easy day, or conduct the workout as planned. Here is my advice on how to navigate this situation:

Always show up for the workout (prove you're committed).
Conduct the warmup as planned. If you feel worse after the warmup, cancel the remainder of the workout and live to fight another day.
If you feel fine after the warmup, conduct the remainder of the workout as planned.
If you still feel sore/tire after the warmup, cut the mainset in half and limit the intensity to Zone 2 or Zone 1 (on a 5 Zone intensity model).

The trick for the motivated athlete is to make decision #2 and #4 without guilt. That is a sign of a mature athlete who knows themselves well.

Gear that caught my attention:

Vittoria is one of the great tire manufacturers of our industry. Founded in Italy, they have been at the forefront of tire manufacturing for almost 70 years. Vittoria recently published a 'white paper' that the curious cyclist will find interesting. The paper covers a broad scope of tire and wheel construction methods and their ideal application.

Quote that struck a chord:

One of my favorite films is Jiro Dreams of Sushi. This documentary is a thoughtful meditation on work, family, and the pursuit of perfection. During the film we are immersed in the life and work of Jiro Ono, an 85 year old Japanese man who has devoted his life to perfecting the craft of making sushi. One of the many things that stand out to me while watching the film are the characteristics that help make Jiro successful in his craft can be applied to anything, especially sports. These characteristics are:

Take your work seriously, and consistently perform at your highest level
Show up every day, ready to work
Always aspire to improve your skill (be humble, there is always more to learn)
Learn from anyone, everyone, and everything
Be impatient (a bias to taking action)
Be passionate

“All I want to do is make sushi better. I do the same thing over and over, improving bit by bit. There is always a yearning to achieve more. I’ll continue to climb, trying to reach the top, but no one knows where the top is. Even at my age, after decades of work, I don’t think I achieved perfection. But i feel ecstatic all day, I love making sushi. That’s the spirit of the shokunin.” -Jiro Ono

Have a great week!

Antonio Gonzalez

Tri Town Bicycles

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