Honolulu Sun
Ahhh, here we are opening the chapter of 2016. The year is full of promise and so many athletes gear up to change their habits, their training, their mindset and more. I for one am included in that group, but what do I want to change: I want to change my career. For those of you that know me well, I have worn many hats and I wear many hats and I want one more…I aspire to be the candle namer at Bath and Body Works. WHAT?? That’s crazy, but it isn’t!
The person that has that job is brilliant. They are one of the best motivators that I know, one of the most creative minds, and one of the most innovative thinkers in their field by establishing a connection with you that makes you want to try new things to improve your home and surroundings.
But wait, I don’t need to change my career, that sounds just like the coach that I aspire to be. I often spend time evaluating how I want to change and improve and I want to be a “candle namer” in a sea of coaches. I aspire to motivate you through challenging workouts, proper periodization of training which enables you to see improvement in yourself, nutrition information for a healthy body and by providing up to date information on how to prevent injury and stay healthy. I want to have a creative mind that is constantly taking new material and applying it my athletes. I want to be creative in my approach of each and every athlete, so that each and every athlete has the plan that is best suited for them and will allow them to achieve success. I want to be an innovative thinker and constantly question how and why, when and what. I want to learn and grow as a coach, so that I am able to provide you with the best knowledge available. There are one billion candles and there are one billion ways to coach. I want to tap into your energy and your mind and find out what makes you succeed and improve. YOU are the HOME and Without Limits is the SURROUNDING.
Many of you have goals for the upcoming season and this is the time to begin planning the season. I ask you:
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What is your dream for 2016?
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How will you get there?
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What is your plan?
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Will you make it?
The only way to know is to try! Or “Tri” in triathlete terms. 🙂 The “candle namer”…I like it, but for now I’m dreaming with my newest purchase from Bath and Body Works (see below!) Who else is in?
An Attitude of Gratitude
It seems impossible to not blog about Thanksgiving at this time of year and why not? It is, in fact, my favorite holiday because it truly makes us acknowledge what we are thankful for in our lives. As triathletes and runners we have an amazing support system, through spouses, family, significant others, friends and more. Honestly, we couldn’t do what we do without them – it’s very simple. People often say triathlon is a solo event, but no way! I know it takes a village and I appreciate that village. Besides our support system, we are thankful for our health and the ability to do what we do at no matter what speed…right? (We notice this especially when we are forced to become creative in our training attempts); we are thankful for the freedom to be able to train and race and so much more.
Snoopy is my favorite and he says it all.
- I am grateful for everything!
- I am grateful for perfect weather conditions on race day! It doesn’t come often, but when it does, WOW!
- I am grateful for light winds on the bike and tailwind on the way home.
- I am grateful for waters just cold enough for a wetsuit, but not too warm to overheat. Wetsuit legal is an awesome term.
- I am grateful for tri shorts that are the perfect fit. No chafing, and no rubber grip to make the “sausagelook” around the legs.
- I am grateful for Tri Slide, Body Glide, Vasoline and especially those volunteers that hand out Vasoline on the run course of an Ironman. Good grief, what a job and those volunteers are awesome.
- I am grateful for my muscular legs because honestly they make me a strong cyclist and I love to ride!
- I am grateful for water bottles that fit securely in the cages on my bike!
- I am grateful for Caffé Latex…if you’ve never tried it, it’s a must and it saved my IMFL 2014 and probably more cycling adventures than I can count.
- I am grateful for a smooth bike course on race day and no bumpy roads to rattle everything on my bike.
- I am grateful for the volunteers at each and every Ironman and especially the one at Kona that put a cool towel on my head in transition and helped me put on my socks when my feet were so swollen. Thank you!
- I am grateful for goggles that don’t leak or fog!
- I am grateful for my training buddies that are ready to tackle any adventure. (This does fall in thefriends category, but it’s a must).
- I am grateful for hand warmers and those of you that know me know this is a must.
- I am grateful for the ability to stomach almost any gel, drink, etc…offered on the course. (that isn’t for everyone)
- I am grateful for my bike mechanic, my coach, my blog poster, my athletes, my team, my mind, mytrainer and so much more.
Finally, I am grateful to you for taking the time to read about my crazy thoughts. May you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving and take time to enjoy the day and reflect on how lucky we are.
Celebrate family, friends, and the food that nourishes our bodies. May you have an amazing day!
Prep for the Prep Season
It’s all semantics, but typically every coach or coaching group has a different word for the time of year between the ending of tri season and the first triathlon. Unless you live in Australia (which we don’t), that is usually November-ish through March-ish depending on specific races that you have chosen. I don’t really think there is an off-season, but instead a period of time to take a mental break from the structure of training and mental stress of training, but continue to prep the body and the mind for success in your next season.
I don’t cook, but I like to equate the The Tri season with cooking:
MAKE YOUR GROCERY LIST = write your dreams and goals for next season! Dream Big!
YOU ORGANIZE THE FOOD & EQUIPMENT NEEDED = Plan the race the schedule and look at your schedule of life and want you can realistically accomplish with all of your other life commitments
PREP THE MEAL = Getting ready to start the “true” training by prepping the body, mind and soul through recovery and less mental stress of a specific training plan.
COOK THE MEAL = Base building, speed endurance or other preparation block of training.
EAT THE DINNER = Race specific training plan block
EAT THE DESSERT = RACE!
Here are the top 10 ways to PREP YOUR MEAL:
- Work with your coach to establish both short term and long term goals. So often we are just training for the next race or the next 6 months, but I bet most of us Type A personalities have BIG GOALS! It’s OK to think about them now and make a roadmap for success.
- Commit to technical improvements in swim, bike and run. This is the chance to bring down the volume and focus on the swim stroke, or learn how to handle your bike in a curve, or head to the Computrainer, not just for a workout, but to focus on pedal form, running drills for improved efficiency and so much more.
- Think about equipment changes now and not during the middle of the season. Are you moving to a triathlon bike, looking at new running shoes, or trying to find those perfect tri shorts…this is the time to experiment.
- Numerous triathletes decide to run “winter” marathons, but understand this is not necessary for the overall development of you as an athlete. It is okay to set up the body for the next season through strengthening of the musculoskeletal system though shorter runs and carefully applied stress within the run.
- Swim more and be swim fit! We don’t have to be fast, but we have to be strong and fit to bike and run after the swim. Focus on technical work. Find a buddy and commit to enjoying the pool. Make it social, but get it done and get swim strong!
- Strength and conditioning work. We’ve covered that multiple times and be specific in your choice. Find the weaknesses and become stronger. This is a long term benefit for you in life! Take it from personal experience…recovering from surgery is no joke and thank goodness, I can do a squat!
- Focus on fueling and where you feel you can make improvements. Make it a goal to improve your daily nutrition whether it is eat healthier or eat more or eat right. Small improvement will pay huge dividends.
- Focus on recovery. We are recovering in this time right? If you’re running long get in the habit of refueling within that 30 min window. Take the time to stretch after the bike sessions. Commit to the small improvements and they will become big improvements.
- Start a dream list…Wish list for the events you want to conquer. Challenge yourself and dream big!
- Lucky #10!! HAVE FUN! We should be having fun all the time, but it is so easy to get lost in the training plan and making the training sessions a job. Be different, stay fit, plan for next year and HAVE FUN!
