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Showing posts from October 9, 2016

2016 Season Recap

How do you define success? Is success a feeling or an action? Is success a time or placement or from something more internal? In looking back at our 2016 racing season (starting from December 2015), we would define 2016 as a successful racing season.  Perhaps the most successful racing season for both of us (in my 10 years of endurance racing and in Karel's short 4-years since he started triathlon training). While the wins, podiums and PR's can define success, our 2016 success wasn't defined simply by our end results. A few things come to mind when it comes to defining "success" in 2016.  - Consistency - despite a major setback with Karel in late May with a MRI diagnosis of a hip labral tear, followed by SI joint/back issues, which followed 11 months of overcoming a plantar tear, Karel was still able to train somewhat consistently to absorb a lot of training stress throughout the season. These injuries required a lot of help from PT's, massag

A healthy commitment to training

A certain level of obsession is needed when it comes to dreaming big and working hard for goals.  With the Ironman World Championship event now behind us, alongside the Olympics and many notable road running races and other athletic events, there's a good chance that you may aspire to achieve something incredible with your body in the next few years. While this big dream of yours may excite the heck out of you, you also know it will require a lot of sacrifices, investments and hard work.....but that doesn't scare you. Whereas some athletes choose words like "determination and passion" when speaking about their love for their sport, chasing a goal requires a high level of commitment and sometimes you may even feel addicted. In the October 2016 issue of Triathlete magazine (pg 62.), Gloria Petruzzelli (who also happens to be my best friend and one outstanding clinical sports psychologist) says "Addiction in this sense can be defined as en

2016 IM Kona race report

After 30 minutes or so of visualization/music around 8pm, Karel was was out for his last sleep before race day. His pre-race dinner consisted of chicken and rice, which is typical and pretty simple. Oh, and of course something sweet, which was a big bite of a cranberry scone from Lava Java. Race morning started with an alarm at 4am and Karel got out of bed to start the coffee. Karel didn't show any signs of nervousness, just the typical anxiousness of having to wait a few hours before the race start and the unknowns of race day. Karel felt extremely prepared for this race as he knew every part of the course. This gave him a lot more confidence in terms of execution compared to last year in Kona. Also, no part of the course scared him, not even the marathon course. He wasn't afraid to "race" it but then again, he really respects the course and its elements, so managing effort and proper execution were critically important. After digesting his favorite