"Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success."
Napoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill
I can't believe one year ago I was packing for the 2011 Ironman World Championships. I will be blogging soon about my recap of my 2011-2012 season, reflected by my decision to not do an Ironman this year. But in the mean time, just a few pictures from last year to remind me of the amazing opportunity I had to be an Ironman World Championship qualifier and finisher, two times earned.
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| Quick pic before Karel discovers the mountains of Kona on his bike |
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| Thankful for Ironman Finish #5. Successfully starting and finishing every Ironman I have signed-up for. |
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| Pre race warm-up |
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| Karel making sure I have proper hydration n my bike |
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| Can't ask for a better place to warm-up for a race |
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| Karel fully enjoyed his vacation. Sometime, hopefully we will both be racing in Kona. |
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| The calm before the storm. 140.6 miles awaits us all. |
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| No race is complete without a "love my life" thumbs-up photo. |
TRAINING TIP:
Nearing the off-season for many seasoned triathletes, it's easy to jump into early or late season races with an untrained or unmotivated body and mind, respectively. Participating in an endurance event requires an efficiently trained aerobic system as well as exceptional muscular, mental, respiratory and cardiovascular strength. To perform optimally on race day and reduce risk for injury throughout the season (ex. muscular injuries, chronic inflammation and stress fractures, etc), skills/technique, flexibility, strength training and muscular imbalances/weakness are often overlooked as the most critical components of off-season "training". My advice is to avoid taking a 3+ month break from training and then jump into hard training. Give your body a needed break to become a little "unfit" (aka rested, not "fat and lazy" like many athletes say during a 2-3 month break from all activity) before you get back into things. At minimum, allow at least 1-3 months to build a base prior to training "hard", after a needed "off season" 3-4 week break from structured training. Allow your body to adapt gradually for a few months in order to have the best season thus far. What physiological adaptations can you expect?
-lowered heart rate, increased stroke volume, increased cardiac output, increased heat dissipation (increased surface area of capillaries), increased glycogen storing and use of fat stores, increased myoglobin and increased mitochondria size and number
Questions about training or nutrition in the off-season or worried about staying motivated with exercise in the winter? Send me an email and we can chat about your fitness/body composition/racing goals
Trimarnicoaching@gmail..com