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Showing posts from July 14, 2013

Garden-friendly dinner: Fueled by plants

Do you live a busy lifestyle? Do you stay active morning 'til night? Do you have more on your plate than your mind can handle? Do you need more hours in the day to tackle your never-ending to-do list? Do you hate getting sick? Do you love traveling? Do you love pushing your body for fitness gains? Do you love to compete in athletic events? Do you love to use your brain? Do you want to reduce your risk for disease/illness to live a quality-filled life? Do you enjoy being spontaneous with your life? Do you love your life, your family, your job, your friends, your children, your furry ones? The only way you can function well in life is by having a functioning body and mind. You only have one place to live for the rest of your life and your body is your home so you have to take care of it. It is up to you to keep the foundation strong and to constantly tune-it-up to keep it in top-notch condition. You can ease up every now and then for what you do most of the time matters more than w

Instagram Giveaway

Less than two weeks til the @Oakleywomen #madeformore giveaway from @Jennykalmbach! Post a photo of you doing your favorite activity on Instagram and be entered into the contest for free! #oakleypbc Instagram Giveaway

GYMBOSS Interval Timer: Product Review

I love intervals for workouts. For anything to break up the monotony of a timed-workout keeps me motivated and excited for each and every upcoming workout. My mind never gets bored and I am forced to be mentally and physically "in the moment" for every set. Although I see nothing wrong with swim, bike, run for x-minutes (as I rarely go by miles with my training or my athletes training), I find the best way to train for quality is to have a purpose for each workout. You warm-up and cool down as needed and the focal point is the main set....the intervals. When athletes or fitness enthusiasts think intervals they generally think hard, leg burning, sweaty and intense. But intervals can range from steady and long to short and intense...and everything in between. Here are a few of my favorite, recent Ironman-focused swim, bike, run workouts: Key IM bike workout IM focused long brick Breakthrough IM swim Run intervals But in addition to using intervals for cardio workou

Overcoming open water swimming fears: TIPS

A few pictures taken by my official photographer (Dad) at the 2011 Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.  A few weeks ago I was approached by Caitlin from Healthy Tipping Point (via Erin D from Twitter) who was looking for a triathlon coach for her very first half Ironman. Gotta love social media for connecting passionate athletes who share similar lifestyles. I'm excited that another coach-athlete relationship was born! Since I am filled with one-on-one coaching athletes for the year due to the time it takes to review training files, modify workouts on Training Peaks and get my athletes race ready with race/nutrition plans, Caitlin is using one of my pre-built 12-week Half Ironman plans (a new service that I have not yet promoted via my website) where I can help her with determining training zones and providing feedback on a monthly basis, along with tips along the way. In exchange, Caitlin is using her social media outlets to provide information to other

Hard work works

There are those who love hard work and then those who don't. Most likely, it's obvious to the eye as to who is most determined and dedicated to reaching a goal. There isn't much moving forward for the person who feels the task at hand is too difficult to achieve. Sometimes, there is even moving backward for the person who is not willing to accept difficulty before something becomes easy. But then there are those who are passionate about learning news skills, habits and traits in order to make a change, for a change.  Hard work works for everyone, regardless of talent. Whether you think you "got it" in you or not in order to achieve, there's nothing natural or gifting about working hard for something that you don't have now. Medical doctors who treat cancer patients are not born as natural healers. They work hard to find answers. Teachers are not naturally talented to educate but instead, passionate about helping others. You can be anything you wan

Hello Ironman TAPER!

Taper is a beautiful thing. You reduce the volume before a race and maintain the intensity and see the fruits of your labor begin to ripen. Your life becomes a bit more normal as you find yourself with a bit more time on your hands....but for those who don't get "it", you have trouble with your new normal as you aren't quite sure what to do with your extra time. Clean, chores, errands, watching TV....not as fun as a 5+ hour workout.  Over the past few years, Karel and I have really spent a lot of time understanding tapering for endurance athletes. Between Karel and myself, cyclist and triathlete, we have both learned how to nail a taper and it is great when it pays off.  One of the best things about taper is going into it without needing it. No fear-based training the last week before taper, no worries about gaining weight by reducing volume and no hoping that an injury or burnout will go away in 10-14 days.  It's really neat to see the body chang