Being really good at something really tests whether I've got the stuff. It's never a walk in the park....and occasionally it's a bit like whistling past the graveyard. In coaching triathletes, I can honestly only expect from someone no more effort than I'm willing to exert myself. So this great article in Triathlon Magazine by Ben Griffin pretty well lays out the simple … [Read more...]
THE JACKRABBIT (because faster, stronger, living longer)
Lifting heavier weights, for both men and women, ....has been shown to be the most effective way for people trying to lose weight, as opposed to longer bouts of aerobic activity such as jogging, walking, etc. Will improve your racing performance, if that's your bag (it’s mine, besides staying alive for a lot longer!). And here are some other, really … [Read more...]
YOUR NEGATIVE FREELOADERS ARE HOLDING YOU BACK
It's as old as the hills: "Just say NO to your negative thoughts." How obvious, yawn. But these little nattering, negativities actually seem to take up space in the living room of your mind. I've lived a pretty long, healthy life so far, with the usual amount of naysayers living … [Read more...]
One Thing That Improved My Run Speed
I saw this article about run speed, aging, and muscle reactions in the New York Times. What do they know about this stuff, anyway? I want to run faster so I jumped into the article. Ok; summary. A NIH publication in the '80s lead to a study at Wake Forest and US Army regarding aging, muscle kinetics, running, and strength. Using runners from their '20s up through the late … [Read more...]
Pickle Juice: The Pain and The Brain
It reduces CRAMPS in 15 seconds. That's it. Period. Unless it doesn't. Picture from bodybuilding.com is a reminder of how muscle cramps feel. Been there, right? This whole pickle juice thing is old news to some but here's the story anyway. … [Read more...]
Improving My Open Water Swim Training
Make your open water swim easier, make it better. You need to have a PLAN when you do your open water swim training. Too often I just get in, swim a kind of "long time", planless and clueless, and then get out of the water. I do this because usually I follow my coach's highly structured pool workout, which, … [Read more...]
Run Training Made Simple
I’d read an article by Jason Karp that reminded me that I like to think of three types of run workouts: Slow, Tempo, and Anerobic. And often self-trained athletes (sometimes even coached athletes) will run these assignments either too slow or too fast. What difference, you say…? Well, you can, of course, get ‘better’ by just going out and running but tuning the engine at … [Read more...]
It’s Easier to Say “Just Stand Up”
A Facebook post by a friend about Richard Branson's story is a good reality check for everyone. Branson's success is based on somthing similar to "not knowing anything about what you're about to do". He just got an idea and went into it swinging; some of the time it worked. Not that it worked IMMEDIATELY, but after the on-the-job learning curve the idea pretty … [Read more...]