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Showing posts from April 14, 2019

IM 70.3 FL - Race Recap (Karel)

Race recap:  As an early season race, I went into this knowing that I haven't done any race specific training so I saw this an opportunity to go through the motions again of racing. There was a lot of tough competition, which I don't mind as that's what racing is all about - racing whoever shows up on the day. The nice thing about this race is having a pool to warm-up in. As a non-competitive swimmer, I always need to warmup in the water before the start of the race. This helps me avoid the "panic" feeling of swimming hard right from the gun. I swam about 700 yards in my warm-up and also jogged about 10 minutes to continue my warm-up before the start of my race. The swim was non-wetsuit and AG wave start. The swim was very congested (especially with 6 turns) but I was happy with how I was able to swim, feeling strong and pushing all the way to the finish. The time was slow but it wasn't too bad for me as a non-wetsuit lake swim. My age group had two wave

Are you at risk for an injury, sickness or performance decline?

Many athletes believe that by reducing caloric/carb/fat intake and increasing training intensity/volume, performance will improve. But sadly, the opposite occurs. Sport performance declines, the risk for injury increases, hormones get out of whack, metabolism suffers and the body becomes overly stressed. Consider these tips to help keep your body in good health as you train to improve performance. 1) When training volume/intensity increases, your energy consumption must also increase.  An extreme jump in training volume/intensity does not make you a faster, stronger or fitter athlete. 2)  Stay on the path of your own developmental journey instead of jumping on the path of another athlete.  3) Loss of menstruation is not a normal part of training.  4) You do not have to achieve an ideal/specific body type to improve your performance or to experience success in sport. 5) Sport nutrition products are designed to help you adapt better to training. By us

IM 70.3 Florida Race Report

Pre-race Going into the first race of the season, I had the typical phantom niggles (that make you believe you are injured) but thankfully, I didn't feel stale. With over nine hours of scheduled training from Mon-Saturday, each workout helped me sharpen-up for race day (Sunday). We stayed one mile from the race venue at  Balmoral Resort  and I would absolutely stay there again for this race. The location was perfect as we could jog, bike or drive to the venue through the back gate and could quickly access Publix grocery store for food. Although we didn't use all of the amenities at the resort, the house made for a relaxing stay leading up to the race. Having Campy with us also made our trip feel a bit more like home as he kept me on a routine and I always had something to look forward to throughout the day. Campy enjoyed all the new sights and smells and had plenty of butt rubs from our athletes. We shared the house with 4 of our athletes and the rest of our a

IM 70.3 FL - quick recap

The nerves were low for this race. I was bottled up with excitement to kick off the 2019 triathlon racing season. I remember my very first half Ironman (in Disney) back in 2006 and I was filled with thoughts of the unknown. But this beginner's mindset opened my mind to possibilities instead of being paralyzed by results. Over the past decade-plus of endurance triathlon racing, it's easy to compare race to race, often wanting to validate improvements by times and paces. However, I've wanted to do things differently this year - starting with my mindset. Instead of seeing improvements as pass or fail based on paces and times, I want to do things well when I race. Karel always has this mindset when he races whereas I often put a lot of pressure on myself to be better, faster or stronger. While this has worked for me at times, it also creates a lot of mental stress that can easily take away the fun of racing. This season is the first time ever that I've had a coach -