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Showing posts from January 20, 2013

Carbo loading, TREK tri night and TV segment

\ Dr. Seuss makes it sound so simple and easy. Although at times, I am sure we all feel like the following... Source As an athlete, I always tell myself I am teetering on the edge: the edge of injury, burnout, exhaustion, over-commitment, stress, anxiety, etc. etc. etc. the list goes on and on and on. We (as athletes and fitness enthusiasts) are very comfortable with a lot on our plate and while some people may struggle with one or two daily tasks, we love to see how much we can handle until we break. Of course, we never expect to break, right? Really no point in the beginning of this blog post except to continuously remind yourself as to the best balance in your personal life so that every night you go to bed feeling satisfied with the day and excited for tomorrow. Find that right balance between diet and exercise so that your days aren't wasted but rather used with a purpose. As you reflect on your daily routine, here are a few recent media links of mine, that I w...

A few plant-strong creations

On Monday evening I had the opportunity to teach the  Baptist HeartWise  nutrition class to a room full of 20 passionate, energetic and open-minded women who want to improve their cardiovascular health.  I don't feel as if a meat-free, vegetarian-style diet is the best diet for everyone but there is a tremendous amount of research that a diet strong in plants will provide the necessary vitamins and minerals to help keep the body well. You can't prevent disease but you can certainly minimize the risk.  I feel our society needs a little kick in the butt when it comes to de-emphasizing the processed, convenient food and emphasizing a more wholesome diet. When I speak to people about eating a more plant-strong diet, I avoid telling people what not to eat but instead, speak in a way as if you have no idea what you are missing in consuming a more real food diet.  But with this great attention placed on eating more wholesome food, this can also be a do...

Fearing the possible

Fear-based training. I have mentioned it in the past and it is something that is very familiar to athletes who are training for individual-sporting events. I think of it like a college student with a big exam on the radar. Two months to prepare seems like an eternity so it is unlikely that one would start studying that far in advance. Plenty of time, right? So instead of studying a little bit every day in order to retain information, days slip by and the student begins to get more fearful of the big day. One month away and the motivation is there but it is a bit sub par - the book is open but there is more goofing around and scratching the surface than really accepting the challenge ahead and that time is running out. Two weeks left and it is crunch time. Eek! Long hours, exhaustion in both mind and body but there is not other choice at this point. Try to squeeze in 60 days worth of studying into 14 days and the only thought is "I wish I would have started s...

Long slow distance - base building

Are you in the beginning phase of your season training? Likely you have been told that your training should be long and slow. Especially if you are an endurance athlete, in order to build aerobic capacity, you should be training at a very low heart rate, teaching the body to metabolize fat for fuel and should teaching your body how to get more comfortable being aerobic in order to prepare for your upcoming next phase of training. Unless you are a very new athlete to the sport of triathlons  and are learning how to get more comfortable on the bike or in the pool, the focus right now in this "base" phase should not be 100% long, slow distance.  (I don't believe in "slow" running if it comes with poor form due to purposely trying to run slow as that can be damaging to the body. Keep in mind, the word slow is relative..what is slow for you may be fast to others.) If anything, steady is a better word and slow should be removed from your training vocabulary. Also -...