I think it's safe to say that most endurance athletes love physical activity. Certainly it would be difficult to train for a long-distance event if there wasn't a strong passion for working out. But with great enthusiasm to exercise comes a caveat - just because you are exercising, this doesn't mean you are becoming race ready. Exercise (or physical activity) is commonly defined as anything that requires you to move your body and burn calories. Training is viewed as working toward adequate levels of strength, endurance, speed and/or power for successful participation (and completion) of an athletic event. To make the difference easier to understand, exercising satisfies an immediate need and is done for the effect is produces today. Exercise is done for its own sake - either during or immediately after. But when you have a specific performance objective in mind (ex. preparing for an event), you must change your physiology to prepare for the demands of your even...
3x Author, Board Certified Sports Dietitian, Master of Science in Exercise Physiology, 2017 IM CHOO Amateur Female Champion, 19xIronman finisher including 6xIM World Championship finisher, Triathlon Coach, 30-year Vegetarian.Trimarnicoach.com