Training

Triathlon status symbols allow community members to gain prestige. The accrual of paraphernalia, such as race apparel and bumper stickers, provide individuals with a means to display their accomplishments for non-participants, too. Ethnographic fieldwork, questionnaires and interviews provided insight into a variety of experiences. The individual nature of the sport is reflected by a participant's decision to display status markers. Car signs (e.g., bumper stickers and license plate frames) are displayed by a quarter of race participants. They come in a variety of forms allowing the car's driver to communicate with triathletes and non-triathletes while driving on the road. The most prestigious triathlon is the Ironman. The M Dot Ironman logo appears as a decal on vehicles and as a mark of permanence on the body. Tattoos act as a formal communication system in a similar manner to car signs. Triathletes display status symbols to garner respect from their peers and separate themselves from the larger society.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of cadence on time trial performance in novice female cyclists. Ten novice female cyclists volunteered to participate in this study. Participants performed 3 sessions: one VO2 peak and two time trials (TT). Cadence was randomly selected and fixed for each TT (60 or 100 rpm) while power output (PO) was adjusted by the participant, as tolerated. Finish time, HR, blood lactate, PO, VO2, and RPE were measured throughout the time trials. The major finding of this study was the significantly faster (p<0.05) finish time (minutes) during the 60 rpm condition (34:23) versus the 100 rpm condition (37:34). Also the 60 rpm TT resulted in significant (p<0.05) differences for HR (155.9 vs 161.2 bpm), gross efficiency (21.1% vs 17.7%), and PO (147 vs 129 watts). These results indicate that novice female cyclists benefit from adopting a low cadence during an 8k TT.