RecPlex Triathlon Training Blog

Drop-in Triathlon Workout for May 20

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:26:00 +0000

Workout will be lake swim and a run, at Silver Lake Park [ Directions || Map ]

Open water swim: swimming in a wet suit, sighting, water entry & exit
Run on road around the park (1-1/2 mile loop, hilly). If the water conditions are not suitable, or if you don’t have a wet suit and don’t want to swim, you can just do the run.

Sunday, May 20, meet at the beach at 7:00-7:15am.

Please note you MUST register at the RecPlex Guest Services Desk in advance and bring receipt to the workout. There is no registration at Silver Lake. $10 RecPlex member / $15 non-member.

Drop-In Tri Workout for May 13

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:27:00 +0000

Drop-In Tri Workout for Pleasant Prairie Triathlon, Sundays 7-9am @ RecPlex. $10/$15 per session.

May 13 session is swim/run brick: Aqua Arena + running path. Meet in Aqua Arena at 7:10 ready to swim.

Note: You must register at the RecPlex Guest Services Desk in advance and bring receipt to the workout.

Wisconsin Half Marathon Training Class 4/28

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 22:00:00 +0000

We'll be going over items for race day, plus a short, easy run if time permits. 7:00 in the Yoga Studio

Kenosha long run update

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 11:33:00 +0000

55 cloudy and a small sprinkle just went by. I am set up in the island park on the running path after you go past the beach and turn north. Bathrooms in the park are not open FYI.

Updates for the weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 01:37:00 +0000

I'll be posting updates Saturday and Sunday mornings for classes and Tri Club members regarding the Kenosha long run and RecPlex bike ride. Please check in the morning.

Coach Ken

Pleasant Prairie Triathlon Training begins this weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 03:44:00 +0000

This 10-week course will prepare new & experienced triathletes for the Pleasant Prairie Sprint and International Triathlon, and Duathlon, held on Sun, June 24 at the RecPlex. Class includes Conquer the Open Water Clinic with Pro Triathlete Lauren Jensen on June 10; $35 if taken separately.

Participants receive:

Weekly group workouts in a fun and supportive environment with race participants
Written training plans and informative lectures
Coaching by USA Triathlon certified coach Ken Johnson, triathlon coach at the RecPlex since 2004
Train on the actual race course: open water swims in Lake Andrea, rides on the bike course, and runs on the run course
Non-members of the RecPlex will have full access to RecPlex and Lake Andrea facilities during class sessions

Sundays, 7-9am, April 15 to June 17, 7-9am
No class April 22 due to Indoor/Outdoor Triathlon
$99.00 RecPlex Member / $159.00 Non-member

Registration

Wisconsin Half Marathon Training Starts on Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:40:00 +0000

Half Marathon Training - Wisconsin Half Marathon

Class begins this Saturday, Feb 25, 7-8am at the RecPlex. We will meet in the Yoga Studio on the second floor.

(There's some confusion on the class time, since it is incorrect in the Winter Play-by-Play. However, the correct time - 7:00am to 8:00am - is listed in the registration system.)

Saturdays, 7-8am
Feb 28 thru Apr 28
$69 RecPlex members / $79 Non-members
Register Here

Racine Iron Girl Triathlon cancelled

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:15:00 +0000

Well, back to the training class schedule...

Organizers of the Iron Girl triathlon series have cancelled the event scheduled for Racine on July 29. The race was held at North Beach in both 2010 and 2011.

Iron Girl and local organizers Real Racine cited low participation as the reason for the cancellation. The race had around 300 participants in 2010 and 450 last year. Iron Girl and Real Racine wanted numbers closer to 1000.

Iron Girl cancels Racine women’s triathlon

Running Water Class Begins Tomorrow

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 03:51:00 +0000

Running Water: Take you running shoes off & jump in the pool. Great for runners who need to take a break from the pavement or are recovering from an injury. The class aims to aid runners and athletes by offering a low impact cardiovascular and strength workout to enhance their current programs. Saturdays, 7-8am January Session Jan 7 - 28 $39 RecPlex members / $49 Non-members; Registration

Winter Cycling: Dress for Success

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:49:00 +0000

If bicycling is on your resolutions list, there’s no real need to wait until summer. You can ride during the winter, of course, taking safety into account. But a good workout means you need to be comfortable doing it. So here’s some winter cycling dress rules, from South Shore Cyclery in Cudahy, WI

Winter cycling: dress for success - Milwaukee Triathlon | Examiner.com

RecPlex Running Club

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 21:10:00 +0000

The RecPlex has asked me to, at least temporarily, take over the running of the Running Club with John’s leaving.

For October, I’ve scheduled the following:

Thursday, October 20, 6:00-6:45pm

October Meeting – I’m interesting to learning what you expect of the Running Club and what you’d like to see in the next several months. Meet at the Fitness Desk or check there for a room location.

Saturday, October 22 at 9:15am

Informal group run (after the 5K Run Training class). Meet at the couches in the Fitness Center.

Tuesday, October 25, 6:30-7:15pm

Trainer-led workout – Abs routine. Meet at the Fitness Desk. Please RSVP to me via e-mail by Monday evening.

Thursday, October 17, 7-8pm

Trainer-led workout with the Tri Cycle class, in the Spin Studio.

Saturday, October 29 at 9:15am

Informal group run (after the 5K Run Training class). Meet at the couches in the Fitness Center.

Lake Andrea closed until 9:30am Sat morning

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 13:15:00 +0000

Lake Andrea is not opening until 9:30 this morning. I will check on the hours for Sunday and see if there is a possibility of opening earlier.

Ken

Last Week for Lake Andrea Swims

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:40:00 +0000

This is the final week for the swims across Lake Andrea:

Tuesday, Aug 30, @ 6pm
Thursday, Sep 1, @6pm

$10 register at RecPlex; $15 drop-in payment at Beach. If you pay at the RecPlex the day of the swim, please bring your receipt to the beach.

Lake Andrea closes for the season on Sunday.

Lake Andrea swims continue tonight

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:42:00 +0000

Swims across Lake Andrea in Pleasant Prairie continue tonight at 6pm. $10 register in advance at the RecPlex, $15 drop-in pay at the lake. We swim from the beach to the RecPlex, following the Trek & Danskin swim courses (1/2 mile), and those interested can swim back, for a total of approximately one mile.

Final swims of the season are next week:

Tuesday, Aug 30, 6pm
Thursday, Sep 1, 6pm

Danskin Triathlon Update & Info

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 02:57:00 +0000

No surprising news, though it does appear that the number of athletes will be a bit larger than the Trek Triathlon. They’re expecting about 1600. There are currently 16 waves scheduled; elite wave at 7:00, second wave at 7:01, last wave at 7:53.

If you did the Trek Triathlon in July, the Danskin race is exactly the same.

Weather – should be a great day. Partly cloudy, high of 76. Saturday evening low around 60.

Race Course

· On the swim, there will be buoys across the lake marking a “lane.” The lane will be wider than it was at the Trek race.

· Two large buoys will mark the swim exit.

· Transition in the RecPlex parking lot. It will be situated in the corner of the parking lot closest to the RecPlex and closest to the road. So you will have a bit of a run/walk from the swim exit to your bike.

· Swim Out at the small beach; Bike In and Out will be the main entrance to the RecPlex (by the building), and Run Out will be the south parking lot exit where the gates are.

· Bike Course – what we’ve been practicing in the classes; going west, across I-94. Remember, cue sheet can be downloaded here.

o The roads east of the interstate are not completely closed to traffic. The intersections are controlled, and through traffic discouraged, but you may very well have traffic in the opposite lane from where you are riding.

o This is why it is important to stay on your side of the road and not cross the yellow line (which is a rules violation & penalty per USAT rules).

· Run Course – out of transition on the road, turn on the road to go down to the beach, continue on road up to about Hwy H, then reverse and run back on the path.

o There will be water where you exit transition, a water table on the road near the boat landing (which you pass twice – once on the road and once on the path), and there will be a sprayer at the turnaround.

· Finish line – a bit past the flagpoles, across from the softball field parking.

Saturday

· Registration & packet pickup - 10am to 3pm @ RecPlex. They don’t open early, and everyone comes right at 10am, so if you come after 11:00 or so you typically don’t have to stand in line and can go right through.

· You’ll need photo ID.

· If you’re doing a team, all team members must be together to pick up packets.

· Parking is in Prairie Springs Park; RecPlex members can usually park in the RecPlex parking lot not fenced off for transition, or in the Ice Arena parking lot. Otherwise, parking is in the softball fields, and when that is full, they typically park people on the road over to the beach

· Course Overviews: 10:30am & 12:30pm / Race Day Previews: 11:30am & 1:15pm

o If you’ve been in my classes, you probably know all of this, but it never hurts to hear it again

Bike Racking on Saturday

· You can rack your bike on Saturday or Sunday morning.

· There is security in transition all night, so don’t worry about leaving your bike overnight.

· The “advantage” on racking on Saturday is that you can get a better spot on the bike rack (remember, generally you want to be closest to the bike exit to minimize the distance you have to run with the bike, so this would means closest to the RecPlex building).

· You MUST go through registration first, before racking your bike, since you must have your race number on the frame of the bike to enter transition.

· Transition is open 10am until 4:00pm.

· Only athletes with race numbers allowed in transition Saturday and Sunday. No kids, husbands, significant others, etc. This is a very strict rule.

· Do not leave anything other than your bike on Saturday.

· You can get body marked Saturday or Sunday.

Bike Racking on Sunday

· Park at the Outlet Mall and ride your bike in. Transition is open 4:30-6:30am, so plan to arrive with plenty of time to ride down Hwy 165 to the RecPlex, with your gear, rack your bike, and set up transition.

· Remember transition closes at 6:30, so this is your deadline, NOT your wave time. Regardless of when you start, everyone has to be out of transition at 6:30.

· After the race, they are not going to let you exit transition and ride back to the Outlet Mall until almost everyone is off the bike course.

Parking on Sunday

· Main parking will be at “The Shoppes at Prairie Ridge” on Hwy 50. This is the shopping center with Target, JC Penny, Famous Dave’s, etc.

· If driving, exit I-94 at Hwy 50 and go east.

· Bus transportation available 4am until 1pm, but bikes are NOT allowed on the buses. If you park here and have your bike, you have to ride it down Hwy H to the RecPlex.

· Athletes have priority on the buses over spectators.

· Outlet Mall parking is an option on Sunday. Typically this is for people who are riding their bikes to the race that morning. There is no bus transportation in the morning; if you don’t have your bike or have folks with you, they’ll have to walk the 1.5 miles down to the RecPlex.

After the race

Hwy 165 and Terwall Terrace (the road inside the park) are expected to open to traffic about 11:30am.

If you park at Prairie Ridge on Hwy 50:

Ride your bike back to your car, riding north on Hwy H (and sharing the road with the buses)

Take the bus back to your car, drive back to the RecPlex, pick up your bike, and head home. BUT you’re not going to be able to do this until after the roads are opened.

If you park at the Outlet Mall:

Ride your bike back to your car, and take off. But, as noted above, they’re not going to let you do this until most if not all the participants are off the bike course and on the run.

Good luck to everyone racing. I’ll be seeing you at the swim start.

Coach Ken

Additional Lake Swims added!

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:41:00 +0000

Additional Cross-Lake Swims Added:

Thursday, Aug 25, 6pm
Tuesday, Aug 30, 6pm
Thursday, Sep 1, 6pm

Because of the unexpected closure of the Aqua Arena through Labor Day, we've added three additional lake swims for those who want to swim longer distances or who are preparing for later triathlons like Lake Geneva, Ironman Wisconsin, or Devil's Challenge.

$10 pre-registration at RecPlex Guest Services Desk
$15 drop-in, pay at the lake

Details

Lake Andrea cross-lake swim tonight, 6pm

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:56:00 +0000

The penultimate Thursday cross-lake swim tonight, 6pm, at the Lake Andrea beach.

$10 register at the RecPlex Guest Services Desk (please bring your receipt to the beach), $15 pay at the beach.

Danskin Tri Training Class for Saturday, August 16 - 8am to 10am

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:44:00 +0000

Saturday’s class will meet at 8am to 10am.

This will hopefully give us a bit cooler temperatures than we’ve had the last two Saturdays.

Schedule is a full race simulation; this is the final race preparation, so you should think about doing it as you will actually do the race. This means at whatever intensity you plan to race, practicing your race day hydration & nutrition, etc.

The Workout will be:

Swim 3 or more laps
Bike 2 (or 3) laps around the park
Run (1) down to the boat launch and back, or (2) around the lake. To mimic part of the race, I’d suggest to start running on the road, so you get a sense of what that is like – remember, during the race you’ll run the road up to Hwy H, then double-back and enter the path at the boat launch. At that point you’ll go onto the path and to the finish line.

See you Saturday.

Coach Ken

REMINDER: no classes/workouts Sunday in Pleasant Prairie

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:57:00 +0000

A reminder that there will not be the Trek to Danskin Triathlete class and the Drop-In Triathlon Workout at 7am this Sunday (8/7) in Pleasant Prairie at Lake Andrea. Those interested can attend the we.CAN.tri Triathlon in Woodstock, IL and do the bike course with me.

Final Drop-In Workout will be Sunday, August 14 - race simulation.

Danskin Tri Training Class for Saturday, August 6

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:23:00 +0000

Optional: Cross-lake swim, 7:00am

Optional: OW Swim Workout make-up class, 8:30-9:30am

Class @10am - Race Simulation. Bring all race gear for swim, T1, bike, T2, and run.

Make-up Dates for 8/2 Danskin Tri OW Swim Workout session

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:49:00 +0000

Make-up dates and times for last Tuesday's class, which was stormed out:

#1 – Saturday, Aug 6, 8:30-9:30am

#2 – Thursday, Aug 11, 5:15-5:45pm

~~#3 – Saturday, Aug 13, 8:00-9:00am~~ cancelled

Danskin Triathlon Open Water Swim Workout

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Join us TONIGHT for open water swimming at Lake Andrea the three Tuesdays before the Danskin Women's Triathlon on August 21. Each session with include triathlon open water swim skills followed by a swim workout in the lap lane.

Tuesdays, Aug 2, Aug 9, & Aug 16
6:00-7:00pm
Registration #22359-DANSKIN
$25 RecPlex Members / $35 non-members

Register online or at the Guest Services Desk at the RecPlex - please register before coming to class this evening.

Danskin Tri Training Class for Saturday, July 30

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 03:22:00 +0000

Workout on Saturday is a brick – ride of the Danskin course and a run following. We may do a slightly longer route to avoid Hwy 165. Meet at the beach at 10am. If anyone wants to swim prior, I will try to be there about 9:30.

Coach Ken

Sunday: Trek to Danskin & Tri Workout drop-in, Iron Girl Ride

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 21:32:00 +0000

Sunday, July 24 Classes:

Trek to Danskin Class, 7-9am at Lake Andrea Beach
Tri Workout Drop-in, 7-9am at Lake Andrea Beach (swim & run workouts)

Iron Girl Triathlon Training Ride:

For those interested, meet at North Beach Park in Racine:
9:30am - swim / check out swim course
10:00am - ride of bike course [course map here]

UPDATE: Danskin Tri Training Class for Saturday, July 23

noreply@blogger.com (Coach Ken Johnson) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 02:47:00 +0000

No class at 10am. Plan to attend the 7am lake swim and/or the 8:30am 5K run.

See you tomorrow.