Ok - I’m a mega-busy guy. I need more time in the day, but can’t cut anything out. So - here are some things I’m doing to make more time:

- Get up earlier. I used to get up at 5 when I first started. Then, I moved to KC, started making my own hours, and sleeping way too much. So, I’m out of bed by 6:30 every morning. Since my office hours are flexible this gives me two advantages: 1)I can get off earlier if I choose to, and 2)I can focus some time in the office to ‘my’ projects, leaving me the evenings for training and relaxation.

Note: I can add almost 8 hours to my week by getting to the office 1.5 hours earlier. That rocks.

- Manage time better. I downloaded a timer and set deadlines for tasks at work. That way, I stay on task much better. More done during the day = less to do at night = more time for fun.

- Realistic expectations. I’m not a big time triathlete or marathoner - I can get away with 30-45 minute training sessions most days. My main goal is fitness, and that is enough to achieve that. I may never place well in a race, but I will still have fun!

- Get downtime. One thing I’m awful about is not being focused, and therefore working way too many hours, or ending up exhausted and laying on the couch. From now on, the night time work is being kept to a minimum - less than 1 hour to start out. I will allow myself 4 hours on a weekend to work, but that is it. I have to take time to recharge.

[tags]Time Managment, Triathlon Training, Work/Life/Training Balance[/tags]

So - I finally got a new theme out here, and for some reason, users can’t post a comment unless they log in. Since I don’t plan on letting a few thousand people get access to my backend (web backend, you pervs), I have to figure out how to go forward. I want everyone to be able to offer feedback on here, but I’m not exactly sure the avenue I’m going to take yet. Perhaps a new theme, perhaps something even cooler, like a forum or something.

We shall see.

Also - I went home this weekend, got no training done, but did get to play 36 holes of golf. I also gained three pounds in 3 days. Thanks mom, that was delicious!

[tags]Triathlon, Comment Problems, Home Cookin’[/tags]

That’s right folks - I upgraded my blog software, got some spam trapping going on, and now you can comment freely!

I hope you like the new look - feel free to comment away about it!

[tags]Triathlon, My site kicks ass[/tags]

Thanks to some networking, I’ve had the chance to communicate with some top coaches over the last week. I’m thrilled to announce that we are going to be featuring some tips, tricks, interviews, and new articles soon from folks who know a lot more about triathlon training than I do.

I’ve got folks like Paige Dunn and the Guys from Trismarter.com coming up in the near future!

I’m excited to get to know these people some, and offer up some pro-quality info!

The swim portion of the Triathlon is the most daunting for many beginners. Getting into the pool the first time was difficult for me, and I was a lifeguard for 4 years! Swimming competitively is a whole new world though - and nothing will make you more comfortable in the water than…you guessed, being in the water.

You can always tell you’re getting better as you increase your overall distance and speed, but there are some more discreet ways to tell you’re becoming a more skilled triathlon swimmer:

* Swim a distance in a lower number of strokes in the same time; this is increased efficiency, getting more distance from each stroke:
o Day 1: 25m swim in 25 strokes with a time of 45s
o Day 14: 25m swim in 23 strokes with a time of 45s

* Swim a distance in the same number of strokes in a lower time; this is increased tempo, taking each stroke more frequently:
o Day 1: 25m swim in 25 strokes with a time of 45s
o Day 14: 25m swim in 25 strokes with a time of 42s

Efficiency and Form are as important as fitness. So, try the above drills and see how it goes!

Triathlon Swimming, Swim Training

So - I got a little inspired at work today. So inspired that I cut out an hour early, and headed home to take advantage of this amazing weather we’re having. Instead of the usual 2 to 3.1 mile loop that I run, I hit up the trail behind my house. Why? It’s down in a valley, which makes it miserable to run in during the summer - so I’m running out of time to enjoy it.

Plus - I wanted to run today to enjoy it. Not for time, nor to get myself “in shape” - I wanted to run to experience the actual act of pounding my feet on the pavement (and, grass, at some points). I wanted to just get lost in the trip without thinking about times or pacing or whether or not I’ll do ok during the run portion in Lawrence.

The Result? 2 miles in about 22 minutes. That’s pretty awesome for me. Very little walking as well.

On another note, I found an article in an old Men’s Health about how to run (as far as positioning, stride, foot striking, etc..). I’ll see if I can dig that up…I took the advice - and it really seemed to work.

Triathlon Running, Fun Run, Running Mechanics

So - since I just sort of feel my way around here when it comes to training…I’m looking for some people that really know what they are talking about to help us out. Perhaps in exchange for some free promotion, I can talk some of the amazing triathlon coaches out there into submitting an article or two.

That would be cool. If you know a thing or two about training, just leave a comment, and I’ll get back to you via email.

Triathlon Training Coaches

So - This week has been crazy hectic. I’m still getting some training in, but not as much as I’d like. Happily, with the exception of a luncheon on Tuesday, and dinner after a golf tournament, my diet has been stellar.

I’m almost two months out from my first race in Lawrence. I have to admit, I’m nervous, but it’s a good nervous. I’ll post more later, for now, I have to get back to work!

Busy Life, Triathlon Training

Ok - I’m not a morning person. But, I pried my sorry but out of bed at 7am (I LOVE having flexible work hours, hehe) to go for a run. I hit a portion of the 3.2 mile track, which was 1.6 miles. the first .8 was mostly downhill. From this information you should be able to extrapolate what the final .8 miles was.

It was good for me to be running uphill when I was kind of tired though, it will make me a stronger runner. I knocked out the 1.6 in about 25 minutes - still not good, and too much walking….but I didn’t walk as much as last time, and I’ll walk even less next time.

I’m going to shop for some running shoes this weekend, so I’ll probably cover what to look for in getting fitted for them (important!).

I came home, had my bowl of Kashi GoLean with blueberries (and soy milk - getting skim from now on) - and ran out to work. One sugar free Red Bull later, and I’m in good shape!

So - when I first started this, I thought getting ready for the swim would be easy - I mean, I used to be a lifeguard, right? I was SO wrong.

We jumped in the pool, and figured if we could swim the distance of our first race (500m) then we would be good to go, and we would just get faster. So, why did I never really get much faster in the water?

Intervals!

I swam at the same pace all the time, which did help me build up some endurance in the water - but I never got faster. Now that I’ve done a fair amount of research, it seems that the way to go is with interval training in the water.

For a great swim workout - try some of these:
12×25m’s
8×50m’s
16×25m’s
4×100m’s

Really, you can do as many of the sets as you like, but try swimming 25, 50, and 100m intervals, and see if you don’t get faster.