Getting back into the ring

As some of you know I took a break from serious training this summer. It was kind of unplanned but with nagging injuries and no real goal in sight I just took my sweet time with training.Well....... it's that time to get moving again. Here is how I went about getting motivated to actually train again.The first thing is, I found a goal. For me and many other people training without a goal is very difficult. If there is no light at the end of the tunnel then why am I in the tunnel in the first place? So I found my goal. I plan on racing a 50k trial race in January. So the goal is set. Now I need a plan.

Once I figured I needed a plan I started getting a little excited about training again. With that excitement came some motivation and with the motivation came me actually writing myself a training plan for this race. I took in the factors of how long I needed, what other races would help me reach my goal and that fact that I am out of shape. I first started with writing out a weekly training program for myself. It includes plenty of running but I first have get back into shape. Just running isn't going to help me as much as I would like it to. So I scheduled 2 Corefit sessions a week, a spin class and some actual swimming. Thank goodness T3 has all of this or I would be a mess right now. Next I found a couple of races that would help me prepare for my goal race. The Dirty Du @ Rocky Hill Ranch is @ a perfect time and the Double Decker is a hilly race where I can test my overall fitness. It's like training for an IM and doing a 1/2 IM about 45 days away from the big event.

Once I have my training schedule done and my training races in place I add in my personal time. Like working Longhorn and my annual trip back to Maine in November. With that done I start to feel confident that if my body holds up I can actually do this race.

The final touch is dragging my butt out of bed and doing the training. Right now it's a bit tough because I haven't been getting up all that early but when motivation is on your side the early mornings aren't so early. I am also a bit out of shape so I scheduled my actual race training to start in Oct so it would give me about 3 weeks to get my legs and lungs into working order.

So with all this said..... having a plan for any training is a smart idea. It'll pay benefits down the line and it's keeps you motivated until race day. One very cool thing about getting to race is the post race..... "what do I do now?" The answer is start a plan for another race and keep chugging along.

Hope this helps.

Coach Logan

Hits the trails....

A few weeks after I got back from CDA I started to run on the greenbelt to help with my recovery and to change things up. I quickly realized how good trail running is for my form, my fitness and my mental state. It’s defiantly a great addition to your weekly routine to add some variety to your workouts.

I start at the entrance by Taco Deli and run for about an hour, thirty minutes out and back. There are so many trees that the shade helps keep it cooler than running on the road or even town lake trail. I find that I can run at 5pm without much of a problem.

There are a lot of benefits with trail running. One is that trails are much softer than paved roads and sidewalks, your feet and legs will take less pounding. This is great if you are looking for a recovery run or if you are coming back after an injury. If you wanted too, you could do your long runs on a trail, your body won’t take the wear and tear and you are able to recovery a little more quickly.

Trails are great for improving ankle strength. Since, most trails have an uneven surface they force the tendons around your leg to “stabilize” during foot fall. This is also good with your form. You are almost forced to run on the balls of your feet. Or I should say you quickly learn to run on the balls of your feet to avoid twisting your ankle; which I have on a couple of occasions. You will also need to pay very close attention to where your foot lands to make sure you do not trip on a rock, branch, or something else on the trail.

One of the things I like is that since the trail in uneven you don’t get into a steady pace. You speed up, slow down, I even walk around boulders, which I think is great for your conditioning and it works a lot more of your muscles.

I would make sure you get a supportive shoe. Race flats are not a good ides. The rocks, holes, branches, and crawly things your feet come in contact with you need a little extra support and help protect your feet and ankles. Cross trainers are good, but you really need a trail running shoe.

I would take a couple of precautions. First, make sure you carry water; there is no place on the greenbelt to drink. Secondly, look a map and don’t get lost! Unfortunately, there are not a lot of people on the greenbelt so if you run, don’t run alone. There have been several women over the years attacked. So be careful and use common sense, i.e. no iPods, etc…

So take a break from your normal routine and enjoy the beauty of running in the woods. It’s peaceful and it’s a great benefit to you.

Coach C.

Say 'hello' to my little friend

One of the many things that can be said about Austin, TX is that there is no short supply of great hills to run and ride. You have Wilke, Jester, Spicewood Springs, Cat Mountain, Mt Bonnell and countless others. Well, I visited one of my old workouts last week and it took me to Ladera Norte. It's not one of the more famous ones but this badboy does not disappoint.
Ladera Norte (or as I like to call it La Sacre a Norte) is located off of Far West. Just take Mopac to Far West and go as far as Far West will take you. Take a right at the very end and you'll drive up this hill that doesn't seem to end. Once at the top, park you car, say a prayer or 2 and easily make your way down the hill. You are now going down what you will be climbing back up.
Take notice that this hill really doesn't offer any recovery through it's .64 mile distance and when you think it's bad it gets worse. Much worse because the last 100 yards is a 20% plus grade uphill to the top. But don't let that scare you. Be more concerned with why it's taking you more time to go down the hill than run up! The grade at that point is so steep and long that you actually have to walk some of the downhill or you're going to end up doing a nose dive. I actually jog backwards on parts of the downhill so that I can save my quads.
Just to give you an idea of what you are getting into.
Wilke: .19 miles with about 700 feet of climbing. That's short and steep.
Ladera Norte: .62 miles with just over 1000 feet of climbing.
This hill has beaten me many times but I keep coming back because hills build power in your legs and power will build speed. Avoiding hills does nothing to help your run so go out and find some nasty hills and make yourself work. I am always glad when I do this run because I know it has beaten me many times but each time I come out a stronger runner.
btw..... The most I have ever done was 5 repeats last fall and my fastest one was 6:05.
Last Thursday I did 3 with my fastest being 6:30...... oh and it was about 103 outside. :)

Happy running!!!!!!

You are a runner! Especially, an endurance runner!

Have you ever thought about what it takes to run? I do not think most people realize how much of their body is designed just for running. We have a lot of muscles, tendons, and bones that are not needed for walking but are essential for running. Some of those are leg and foot tendons and ligaments that act like springs, foot and toe structure that allows efficient use of the feet to push off, shoulders that rotate independently of the head and neck to allow better balance, and skeletal and muscle features that make the human body stronger, more stable and able to run more efficiently without overheating. It was not until about two or three million years ago before we started developing those muscles, ligaments, bones and the body structure that makes us one of the best endurance species on the planet.

We have some key features that help us in running. We have a ligament that runs from the back of the skull and neck down to the thoracic vertebrae; this ligament acts as a shock absorber and helps the arms and shoulders counterbalance the head during running. The low and wide shoulders of modern humans are almost disconnected from our skulls. This allows us to run more efficiently, but has nothing to do with walking. Our short forearms make it easier for the upper body to counterbalance the lower body during running. They also reduce the amount of muscle power needed to keep the arms flexed when running.

Our vertebrae and disks are larger in diameter relative to body mass than those in other animals. So are the surfaces areas of our hips, knee and ankle joints. These larger bones allow for improved shock absorption during running by spreading out the force of when a runner makes contact with the ground.

The Achilles tendon acts like springs that stores and releases mechanical energy during running. These tough, strong bands of tissue anchor our calf muscles to the heel bone. We also have an enlarged heel bone for better shock absorption, as well as shorter toes and a big toe that is fully drawn in toward the other toes. This arrangement of bones in the foot creates a stable or stiff arch that makes the whole foot more rigid, so the runner can push off the ground more efficiently. During a run, all of these tendons and bones work together to contract then uncoil to help push a runner ahead.

When it comes to sprinting, compared to other species on the planet, we are horrible. So if we stretch out that distance a little bit then we do a lot better. Horses, for example, are a lot faster than humans in short distances, but in foot-to-hoof competitions, humans usually catch horses between the 20 and 25 mile mark, particularly in warm weather. Dogs are excellent distance runners when it’s cold, but run with Fido in July and he doesn’t do that well. Evan a chimp can out sprint us for a very short distance.

Our skull has features that help prevent overheating during running. As sweat evaporates from the scalp, forehead and face, the evaporation cools blood draining from the head. Veins carrying that cooled blood pass near the carotid arteries, thus helping cool blood flowing through the carotids to the brain. Our lengthy human body—with a narrow trunk, waist and pelvis—creates more skin surface for our size, permitting greater cooling during running. The fact we are not covered with a fur coat also helps in the summer heat.

All of these characteristics make it so when you shift from a modest walk to a modest run; you can double your speed with only a 40 percent increase in energy output. Even our brains release endorphins that make us feel good when we run, ‘runner’s high’. All this is just to remind you that you can run, you should run, millions of years of evolution has made that way.

Coach C

First Time TRI

This year's CapTex race brought back so many memories for me -- mostly doing CapTex as my very first triathlon in 2001! It was really fun to think back about where I started and how far I've come since that first race. For some reason, I've noticed that I've been asked about this story a lot lately, so I thought I'd share it with you below. Don't laugh!! (ok, you can laugh, but keep in mind I was only 19 and didn't know a single thing about triathlons..)

I was home from college during the summer of 2001, coaching the neighborhood swim team as my summer job. One of the dad's was telling me that he was training for a triathon and went on and on about how fun it was. I was like, "what's a triathlon??" He told me that it involved swimming, biking and running -- all in a row. At that point, I was playing water polo on the UT Club Team, had just finished running competitively in high school, and everyone can ride a bike -- so why not try it! While I was home for the summer, my friends and I would always do these super long workouts together for fun, always a combo of riding bikes, rollerblading (again, don't laugh!), swimming, lifting weights, tennis, running, etc. We would go for hours, although not super serious and always incorporating snow cones or something fun. Anyway, I decided that I should try out this "triathlon thing" and started to incorporate more swimming, biking and running into my fun workouts. I looked online that week and found a race called Capital of Texas in Austin. The Olympic distance looked like something I could handle (not sure why I didn't start with a sprint?!?) and signed up right away. I found a training plan in some book and set up some loose guidelines for all three sports. For training, I don't think I ever did a long ride, more like just riding for an hour around the neighborhood on my mountain bike. Swimming I could handle - I think I did workouts ~2000m at the local rec center. And running I just continued to run ~4-6 miles around the neighborhood. I continued to "train" for about 6 weeks and then headed to Austin (with my parents) for my first race!

At the time, Capital of Texas was held up in Georgetown rather than downtown. The swim was in Lake Georgetown and the course was actually fairly hilly. I showed up that morning with a big water jug (the kind you used at soccer games growing up), my school backpack, and (get this) animal crackers to eat in the transition area. My attire included a speedo for the swim, bike shorts to put on over my speedo for the bike, and (stop laughing) wind shorts to put over my speedo for the run. Why not!?! I didn't have a clue what I was doing, and I didn't know anyone at the race except my parents who came to cheer.

The race itself actually went pretty well, except for the fact that the bike portion took me 2.5 hours -- about what it takes NOW for me to finish the whole race! I remember people just flying by me on the bike like I was sitting still, even though I was pedaling so hard that I couldn't feel anything below the waist. I guess a mountain bike in the hills was not the most efficient equipment -- I thought I might fall over at mile 12! The swim was actually good, despite swimming waaay off course. And the run came together pretty well -- I guess my rollerblading/weight lifting bricks had paid off :) After the race, I don't think I could move for about 4 days, and I think I slept the whole way back to Houston with my parents. Not sure if I had ever been THAT tired before.

After that, I was HOOKED. Luckily, being young, my dad bought me a bike after that race (my purple trek tri bike, the only tri bike in Clear Lake small enough to fit me) and the rest is history! I did a few more races that summer and then slowly learned (very slowly actually) what to wear, what to eat, how to train, etc.

It is really fun for me to look back now and see how far I've come. How many friends I've made along the way. How much my training has improved. How it has shaped my life and my lifestyle. And how much FUN this sport can be! So if you are a rookie triathlete now or a beginner with more questions than you can imagine, take comfort in the fact that we all have to start somewhere! And if it makes you feel better, I'm sure you are 10 steps ahead of where I started with animal crackers in the transition area. Stick with it and get ready to LOVE the journey ahead!

Coach Suzanne

Taking a trip for tri’s.

So here I sit thinking about my next tri and it got me thinking about how I always forget something when I travel for a triathlon. No matter how many lists I make and how many times I check over what I have packed I always forget something. I then end up buying one at an expo or if I am lucky, at a local bike shop.
Sometimes it’s not even part of the race that holds me up. Coming back from IMCDA last week I found out the hard way that my Texas state ID was expired……. By over 6 months!! That just caused more of a delay and all I wanted to do was get home and sleep in my own bed. But I did learn that you can fly with an expired ID as long as it’s not over 1 year expired. Or you can go the Chrissie and Joe route and use your Costco ID. Not sure how that was considered a federal ID but hey…. it worked.
I also learned yesterday that if you’re lucky and take your bike on the plane with you in a bike box and the person at the counter is not paying attention then not only do they not charge you for the bike on the way out that you also get the bike brought back for free because the ticket counter person is totally not paying attention. Wow…. I think this the longest sentence ever!
So here are some basic tips to make your tri travels a little less worrisome.
- Have a plan before you take off. Don’t fly by the seat of your pants.
- Don’t pack your helmet in your luggage. Put it in your carry on.
- Don’t forget the little things. Tubes, chamois butter, sun block, park tool and other such things.
- Stay hydrated. Airplanes such the hydration right out of you.
- Try and stay away from the bad food at the airport and stay clear of the beers before the race. After the race is a different story.
- Don’t forget your USAT card.

Have safe travels.

"A" race done....now what???

The process of becoming a better athlete and improving ourselves via the sport of triathlon is most often best supported by the setting and achieving of goals. Most of us do this on a regular basis -- setting race goals, training goals, nutrition goals, mental goals -- the list can be long; specific; general; and dynamic.  The most important thing, in my opinion, is that it is "never-ending". 

The setting and achieving of goals should be an on-going process. One that evolves depending on what you've achieved in the past, what is going on in the current, and where you would like to see yourself in the future. If you have a "stale" goal list...it will most likely be reflected in your training and day-to-day. 

One of the biggest hurdles comes after completing an "A" race. You've put hours and hours of focus into one race for months. You race the race...and then the question becomes "now what?". This can be a sticky spot. Most of us can feel tired and ready for a break after an A-race...because so much effort and focus was put into it. So, if we don't make an effort to look beyond, we will find ourselves sitting on the couch for weeks after the race and we'll wake up a month later and wish we hadn't let that much time slip! 

Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't take a break. Enjoy some time off from training after completing your "A" race -- it is important for the longevity of your triathlon lifestyle. BUT -- have a good idea of when the "time off" should come to an end or when you want to start building back into things. Have a game plan. Set these post-race goals. (and my advice...set these post A-race goals before your A-race. I know...I know...we've got to focus on the task at hand and not be distracted by what comes after it. But, at the same time, having an idea or a sense of what will come after your race can be empowering and calming as you head into your race). 

Some suggestions on how to incorporate rest and variety into post A-race life...while holding onto the great fitness that you spent so much time and energy building:

• Take a full week or two off. You won't get "out of shape" that quickly!
• Switch the focus from feeling like you have to achieve certain times or paces at your workouts to focusing completely on technique and skill. Take some of the 'pressure' off.
• Spend a majority of your workouts training your favorite sport. OR, conversely, spend the time training your worst sport. For example: my worst sport out of the three is the running....so I would run 4-5 short runs each week and then just bike or swim when I feel like it. 
• Add some "non-triathlon" training into your weekly routine -- yoga, rock climbing, weight lifting, kayaking -- try some other things that will still allow you to stay fit!
• Have a 2-week cycle -- spend 2 weeks working on swimming; 2 weeks working on cycling; 2 weeks working on running. -- this sort of variety will seem very refreshing and allow for a simple focus.

And, at the end of the day, my goal for all my athletes is that they embrace triathlon as a "lifestyle"....not just something they do so they can finish a race. You will get the most out of what triathlon has to offer if you think of it this way.

Happy Training!

~Coach Chrissie