FEATURES
How to Approach Your First Race of the Season...
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Saturday, 02 May 2015 00:10
HEY EVERYONE: Chain of Lakes (RESULTS) and Cinco Du Mayo (RESULTS) happened this morning. Words and images on COLT will appear tomorrow. Cinco stuff will post on Monday.
Set realistic performance goals before you jump in for your first 2015 race effort.
By Bethany Rutledge (triathlon.competitor.com)
Unless you’ve been racing or training with a lot of structure through the winter, you probably don’t have a confident sense of how to pace your early-season race efforts. Here are some guidelines to help determine appropriate pacing.
Test your baseline and progress.
If you’ve been training in a structured way, you’ve likely already set and trained to your zones. According to Brian Stover, owner of Accelerate 3 Coaching in Tucson, Ariz., you should test regularly every 4–6 weeks to see trends toward improvement.
“Athletes should have one set they repeat and record their times,” he says. “For swimming, it could be an 800 time trial or a series of 300, 400, 500 repeats recording the average pace per 100 through the set. For cycling, it could be a 20K or a series of 10-minute intervals recording the average watts per interval. For the run, do a 5K or a series of 1–2K repeats recording the average time. Over time, you’d hope to (should) see a trend toward faster times.” ...
Stuff About Habits...
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Friday, 01 May 2015 00:10
By Jessica Rossing (jrossfitness.com)
-What habits do you have now that are helping you to be the best you can be? What habits do you have that are preventing you from being your optimal self?
This breaks down into your actions (what you do and do not do), your mindset & thoughts (positive/negative), time management (How do you spend your time?).
-Ask yourself what do you want out of life? For health/fitness/wellness? Your career? Relationships?
Specifically define those questions into goals and intentions. From here you can start to figure out where you need to hack your habits and tie it into the answers to the question above.
-Then ask yourself how are you going to accomplish those things?
Bring in what you've discovered from the first two questions and tie it into the answer to this question. Write down each step. Each process. Cutting out things that no longer serve those goals, and adding the things that do. Changing your self talk and thoughts? Is it going to bed earlier? Less time on social media? Meal prepping? Saying no? Saying yes? Calling more and texting less? You will figure out what works for you as your brain storm more...
CY's Mediterranean Sojourn...
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Monday, 27 April 2015 00:10
ED. Coverage of last weekend's races will post on Tuesday and Wednesday.
By Cathy Yndestad (trigirlcathy.blogspot.com)
I'd heard of Mallorca as a top cycling destination, so for a Christmas gift to KY, I purchased a trip (for two) to the Mallorca Trek’s Travel Camp. Thankfully I was his +1 and off we went the last weekend of Feb. We knew a few other people signed up that weekend, so it was the perfect reason to make it happen.
DAY 1 - Remembering how to ride!
We flew out from Zurich Thursday morning and arrived in Mallorca midday. After an easy taxi to Read’s hotel in Santa Maria we were quickly set up on our camp issued Trek bikes and off we went on the first ride. LOVED the simplicity of camp issues bikes!! It was just KY and I for this initial ride since we arrived later than the others. Weather was less than ideal, but it sure felt amazing to move the legs outside. I’m embarrassed to admit, but I think this 37km ride was the longest ride since Ironman AZ last November! ...
Multisports for Ordinary Mortals...
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Sunday, 26 April 2015 00:10
By Steve Jonas (usatriathlon.org)
n many parts of the country we are still waiting for spring to arrive, although in certain other parts, summer seems to be here already. But whatever part we live in, as tri/duathletes, whatever we have done or not done over the winter, we are now getting back into regular exercise. We know that to be a successful tri- or duathlete at any level, we have to train/exercise regularly throughout the season. Many years ago, toward the beginning of my 30-plus years in multisport racing and as a writer on the subject I put together what I call the "Basic Eight of Regular Exercise." They certainly have helped me to keep on truckin', and given some thought, they might help you too.
1. The hard part of regular exercise is the regular, not the exercise. Believe me, I know, and live this principle very well. There are surely those mornings (and I work out in the morning) when man, I just don’t feel like getting out there. But I do know just how important getting out there is. While I do take a very occasional day off (like I did just this morning), most of the time I do get out there, and then guess what? Ten minutes into the workout I’m very glad that I did.
2. The best exercise routine for you is the exercise routine that is best for you. There are numerous choices. One size does not fit all. This applies to multisport racing as well as to training for it. There are so many articles that say “do it this way, and you are sure to ...” Well, maybe, and, as I have said so many times, it all depends what your goals are, and they may very well not be the goals of that particular writer.
Snacks Get a Bad Rap...
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Saturday, 25 April 2015 00:10
By Susan Kitchen (usatriathlon.org)
What comes to mind when you think of a snack? A glass of milk and a cookie, a bowl of ice cream, a handful of pretzels, a piece of fruit or a small bag of chips? Maybe instead of food, you count on an afternoon coffee to get you through the workday, or you reach for a sports bar to fuel your after-work workout.
Snacks are intended to be mini meals that provide valuable nutrients and help maintain blood sugars when meals are more than four hours apart. When you go more than four hours without eating, your blood sugars drop, and you get hungry. You might also feel headachy, dizzy, lightheaded, weak or grumpy....
