What’s your Big Why?

What’s Your Big Why?  Do you know?

Knowing the answer to this simple question can make everything in life a little easier.
So many times we get lost in the day to day activities; going through the grind with no goals, no purpose no focus and wondering where the day went, how time flies and you haven’t gotten anything done.  Nothing is as you want it to be.

Next, you start to get cranky and ask yourself why am I even doing this?
  • Why did I sign up for this Ironman®?
  • Why do I want to become a triathlete?
  • Why am I doing my 1st triathlon?
  • Why do I want to get in shape, lose weight, get healthy?
If you don’t have an answer to these questions, it’s not likely for you to stick to a plan or program or schedule. But, when you do know the answer, you spring out of bed ready for the day’s training and find ways to fit it all into your day.  It becomes a healthy priority 2nd or 3rd to other items in life but still in the top 5.  It can be tough sometimes, especially when we get knocked out of our routines.  This is a completely normal part of life to have to make adjustments to get back on track.  But get back on we must!

A few of my current athletes are struggling with this as we speak and I am just reminding them to take some quiet time to go within and ask yourself what your big why is again.  Your kids, your partner, your parents, a deceased loved one’s, a friend, brother or sister.  Everyone has a why, you just have to find it!

Last weekend, my 9 year old daughter Kaia was doing her 8th triathlon after not racing at all for over a year.  She has 2 parents who love and live triathlon so it’s hard for her not to be involved and want to do triathlons, but I don’t push her.  The morning of the race she was having major anxiety about racing; Would she be as good as she was before?  Would she be last? All the same issues we all think about at some time before a race.  So, I started asking her if she wanted to race, and she said yes but all these other feelings were taking over so I asked her to think about a few things, like maybe doing it for someone else, so it wasn’t about her and her outcome, but more about just getting out there because someone else couldn’t.  The other thing I reminded her of was how great it felt when she had crossed the finish line of her last race.  She was all a glow, cheering for friends and happy just to be out there.  We looked at some of her race photos and she was reminded of those post-race feelings of success and accomplishment.  Although she struggled right up to the start, she did the race with a huge smile on her face and even saying at one point “This is the best day of my life!”

Another example of a good why, is being a part of Team Thumbs Up.  We were asked to be included and help Brett Anderson who has Cerebral Palsy complete a sprint triathlon.  I was so proud of my team for stepping up and giving this man the experience of flying through a triathlon as fast as we could carry him. He was ecstatic and so thankful!

These are just 2 examples of a why and I have a bunch more I turn to when I am finding myself out of my focus.  All I know is when I am committed and training regularly, everything else in my life is better.  I commit to more sleep, eat healthier, work harder and with more focus and really plan my fun stuff as the reward for all the hard work!  Although the race is always the reward for me!

Of course, I can’t leave without mentioning that if you have your why and still no energy to train it could be a nutrition lifestyle issue and of course I have a program for that!  So, now its my turn to ask you; “What is your big Why?” Id love to hear about it and how it motivates you to get out there and TRI!!!

Are you SHIFTING me?

By Coach Erinne Guthrie

I meet with a lot of cyclists on a weekly basis, some during one on one sessions and some during our weekly group rides, and I am always surprised by how little new and even experienced cyclists shift their gears. The gears on the bike are meant to be used and shifted quite often during your rides. They are what allow you to keep pedaling with a smooth consistent pedal stroke whether you are drafting in a group, riding alone or climbing the bridges. By shifting your gears you can keep a given cadence or rpm (revolution per minute) so you can be more efficient (90 rpm) on a long ride or create resistance with a lower RPM (50-70) for a given interval to build leg strength while on the bike.  On your next ride I highly recommend playing around with shifting the gears on your bike.  Which gears help you get faster? Slower? More efficient? Tired?  etc. there is a time to use all the gears on your bike, start shifting today!

Turn Down the Volume

What’s up Runners and Triathletes?

Have you signed up for your next 5k, 10k, 13.1 or 26.2?  It’s Running season!
Most of the programs you are following right now teach you absolutely nothing about HOW to run. Instead, they have you turning up the volume of running, week after week despite your lack of energy and niggling injuries. This is a sure recipe for disaster!

Can you imagine training all those weeks only to come up lame on race day because you only trained based on volume?

Running more does not always make you a better runner, especially if you have poor posture and have any imbalances in your core muscle strength and limited flexibility.  Who doesn’t have imbalances?  No one is perfectly balanced or symmetrical. 

After years of study and analysis it is becoming apparent that there is a better and smarter way to train for your next running race.

I invite you to join us on Sunday, October 11, 2015 for Run Essentials – We’ll meet at Coral Reef Park in Miami.  Click this LINK for details and registration – LEARN how you can avoid the status quo and do things differently this year!

Wishing you well!

 

 

Flip Turns – Summer Review

Flip Turns – Summer Review

Although open water swimming and triathlons do not require the use of flip-turns, it is important to use them in the pool setting for a couple of reasons.
  1. Flip-turns add a challenging aerobic component to a workout. It’s like getting two workouts, for the price of one! Each flip-turn is its own mini-workout, aiding you in increasing lung capacity.
  2. Flip-turns minimize the amount of time spent on the wall between laps. The quicker the transition, the more similar it is to swimming in a long distance open water/triathlon swim.
  3. Lastly, flip-turns are fun! Really!!!! Doing flip-turns throughout the entire swim workout increases core strength, something that is essential to proper swimming form/technique. So get out there and flip-turn away! A great way to add them gradually is to commit to a flip every 4th lap as a beginner method. Then commit to every 3rd lap until you are feeling comfortable. Keep adding turns as your lung capacity and comfort improves.
Must SEE Links!
Flip-turn progression:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yjfsaWj7G4

Basic concepts of the flip-turn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EL3v1saCQw
Workouts
Total Yardage= 2,050
Focus: Flip-turns
 
3 x 150 FREE :30 rest (flip-turns!!)
50 Free breathing 3, 5, 7
50 catch-up drill & fingertip drag drill together
50 Free breathing 3, 5, 7
 
3 x 100 FREE  :35 rest
75 free, 25 swim of “6 strokes, then flip” drill (see video)
 
4 x 25 kick :15 rest
FREE kick for 10 seconds, then 1 butterfly kick (repeat until done)
* Think: I must do 1 buttterfly kick before I do a flip-turn.
 
6 x 100 FREE  :40 rest (flip-turns!!)
            #1,3,5….50 sprint, 50 easy
#2,4,6….75 moderate, 25 sprint
 
2 x 200 FREE w/ buoy & ankle band :15 rest
 
200 EZ
 
Dryland (abs/core)=
1-     15 V-ups
2-     30 trunk twists (flat hands on each touch)
3-     :30 sec Superman
4-     15 Left/15 Right threading the needle
5-     30 crunches
 
 
Total Yardage= 1,950
Focus: Open water swimming
 
Associated video links:
 
4 x 100 FREE :15 rest
75 FREE, 25 Backstroke kick w/ streamline
 
1:00 vertical kick drill
 
2 x 200 FREE  :45 rest (no flip-turns, no touching walls)
*Go through x 2 to complete 200 FREE
– 25 FREE swim
– 25 Tarzan drill (freestyle with head out of water)
– 25 FREE swim (spotting/looking up every 7 strokes)
– 25 Tarzan drill
 
4 x 50 FREE kick :20 rest
* w/ no kickboard, hands straight ahead and shoulder-width apart, use sculling to breathe (see video link)
5 x 50 FREE w/ fins :30 rest (flip-turns!!)
            * SPRINT all of them!
2 x 200 Free w/ buoy, ankle band & paddles
4 x 25 underwater
200 EZ
 
Dryland=
1-     15 dips
2-     30 sit-ups
3-     15 push-ups
4-     :30 sec Superman
5-     15 squats
6-     :30 flutter kick
 
 
Total Yardage= 1,900
Focus: Open water swimming
 
4 x 200 :20 rest
#1, 3…
100 FREE kick, 100 FREE swim
#2, 4….
(75 FREE swim, 25 swim “5 strokes FREE, 5 strokes BACKSTROKE” drill) x 2
 
4 x 100 FREE :25 rest
– 50 swim, 50 kick (no board, kick in streamline position, turn onto back to breathe)
 
3 x 100 :30 rest (no flip-turns, no touching walls)
            #1,3…7 strokes FREE swim, 2 BREASTSTROKE arms/kick
#2…FREE catch-up drill & fingertip drag drill together
 
4 x 50 FREE kick w/ fins :35 rest
            * SPRINT ALL OF THEM!
 
1:00 vertical kick drill
 
200 EZ
 
Dryland=
1-     :30 sec 8-point plank
2-     30 trunk twists (flat hands on each touch)
3-     :30 sec Superman
4-     15 Left/15 Right threading the needle
5-     :30 flutter kick
 
 
Total Yardage= 1,875
Focus: Speeeed!!
 
Associated video links:
 
3 x 100 FREE swim :20 rest
            #1…w/ fins
            #2…w/ fins & paddles
            #3…w/ fins, paddles, pull buoy & ankle band
 
2 x 200 FREE :20 rest
50 swim, 50 kick w/ no kickboard, hands straight ahead and shoulder-width apart, use sculling to breathe (see video link)
 
3 x 100 FREE :25 rest
            (25 moderate, 25 sprint) x 2
 
3 x 75 moderate pace swim :25 rest
            50 FREE, 25 STROKE (your choice)
 
2 x 100 FREE :25 rest
            #1…50 moderate, 25 easy, 25 sprint
            #2….50 moderate, 25 sprint, 25 easy
 
2 x 75 FREE SPRINT :30 rest
50 swim, 25 kick w/ no kickboard, hands straight ahead and shoulder-width apart, use sculling to breathe (see video link)
 
4 x 25 FREE w/ fins :35 rest
            * SPRINT all of them
           
200 EZ
 
Dryland (some soccer moves to improve hip strength)
1-     15 burpees
2-     30 knee touches
(stand and lift one leg up at a time for knee to touch on palm of hand located just below chest height)
3-     15 Left/15 Right threading the needle
4-     30 toe touches (straight ahead, in front of body, alternating legs)