Category Archives: running

first triathlon, Fitness, running, triathlon

Give FTT a thumbs up on facebook

February 6, 2015 my1sttrirace Leave a comment

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS A HUGE AMOUNT OF SELF PROMOTION!

The First Time Triathlete facebook is now live!

I know, hold you excitement. Why does this matter to you? Good question. Along with the great information and inspiration posted on this blog. I share well curated articles from other sources relating to triathlon and endurance sports. I know your facebook wall is already barraged with memes and cat videos. I promise to only share high quality useful information. (If I get a cat riding a tri bike video, it will be shared.)

Are you sold yet? Click here to like the FTT facebook page.

Ok, enough of the used car approach, here’s the real reason for First Time Triathlon and the facebook page. One of my greatest passions is endurance sports. I love the sense of adventure and achievement of training for and completing a race. You get to know your true self when you push your limits for a goal. A goal you are not sure if you can complete when you start training. The feeling of euphoria and pride when crossing the finish line is what I want to share with anyone who willing to sign up for their first race.

I need your help to reach these new triathletes. If you are a seasoned triathlete or training for your first race, you are inspiring someone else. They may not tell you directly, but they respect you for pursuing a big positive goal. Some of these people are your facebook friends, and may want to start their own triathlon journey. These are the people I would love to assist in seeking their own goals.

Thanks for being awesome, and liking the FTT Face book page!

cycling, first triathlon, Fitness, funny, lastminute, mantra, motivation, running

Monday Mantra – Best Day of My Life

January 19, 2015 my1sttrirace Leave a comment

Merry Monday! Let’s do this! We all could use a bit of motivation to get rolling on Monday. On Mondays, I like to share a Mantra or short inspirational message. If the message resonates with you, use to motivate yourself in training or life. Do you have your own awesome Mantra? Please share it below in the comments.

Today’s Mantra:

“Best day of my life”

This is one of my personal favorites. If you say this to yourself, and really mean it, you can’t help but feel better. This works fantastic in races. When you are really suffering, open up a big smile, and say “this is the best day of my life.” You may feel silly saying this as snot is running down your face, and you feel like road kill. If you are healthy enough to be out doing what you love, it is the best day of your life. Can each new day be your best day? I think so, if you want it to be.

cycling, mantra, motivation, running, triathlon

Monday Mantra – “This is What I DO!”

January 12, 2015 my1sttrirace 2 Comments

Happy Monday! Let’s do this! We all could use a bit of motivation to get rolling on Monday. On Mondays, I like to share a Mantra or short inspirational message. If the message resonates with you, use to motivate yourself in training or life. Do you have your own awesome Mantra? Please share it below in the comments.

This week’s Mantra:

“This is What I DO!”

I heard this mantra on a podcast over the weekend, and it resonated with me. When racing or training gets really difficult, and you want to quit, remind yourself, “This is what I do!” You decided to take on this challenge, because it’s who you are. The pursuit of this goal is part of your identity, and this is where you are supposed to be right now. It’s a great mantra to bring you back to the present, and trust your training.

Some Examples:

You’re out for a 10 mile run, and it starts pouring rain two miles in. You could turn around or you can finish the run, because “This is What You DO”

Life throws a sick child, extra work, and terrible weather at you, but you still get in your weekly training, because “This is What You DO!”

At your “A” race of the season, you are on PR pace, but starting to fade. You can slow down or you can power though. Remember all of the training and effort you put into this race. You are crushing this race, because “This is What You Do”

I run, because “This is What I Do”.

I ride, because “This is What I Do”.

I swim, because “This is What I Do”.

I succeed, because “This is What I Do”.

Fitness, running, triathlon

Are You Bored doing Same Run Workouts? Try these Group Run Games.

October 23, 2014 my1sttrirace Leave a comment

Is running that same five mile loop with your friend getting a bit boring? Do your interval workouts become unfocused because there’s no one there to hold you accountable? Is your training just becoming straight up boring?

Do I have the solution for you. Group run games. (Infomercial voice off). Group run workouts offer some healthy competition, while making sure everyone sticks to their training goals. NO more slacking off, because your buddy will take great pleasure in pointing out your lack of effort. If your partner runs like a gazelle, and you run more like elk, don’t worry. These workouts are structured so runners of varying abilities can do them together.

Now grab your friend or friends (look at you Mr./Mrs. popular) and try out these workouts.

1. You run, I rest / I run, You rest.

From the title you probably get the idea. Go to the track, or pick a loop course. This works best with distances of 200-800M. Your partner runs a lap while you rest, and while you run your partner rests. You get a varied rest interval based on your partner’s lap. If you are not feeling great, you might give your partner a hard time, hoping they will slow down. If you are feeling frisky, you can speed up and take some of their rest. Overall the goal here to is to keep both runners engaged, get some good work in, all while having fun.

2. Stalk your prey.

This workout is a run (race) handicapped by your predicted finish times. Start with a predetermined course. (3 – 5k is a good distance). Each runner picks their finish times based on past performances. The slow runners starts first, and gets a head start based upon the difference of the finish times.

Example: If I say I will run 25 min, and Frank says he is going to running 21 minutes, I get a 4 minute head start. His goal is to try and chase me down. My goal is to hold him off. To make this work, all runners need to be honest with their times. NO SANDBAGGING. The only prize on the line here is pride. There’s no pride in cheating.

3. Run Golf

The goal in golf is to get a low score. It’s the same in run golf. Pick a one mile course, and place a watch or have a time keeper at the finish. Have each runner predict their mile finish time. The idea is to come as close to possible to that time without using a watch. How many seconds you are off of that time (fast or slow) is your score for that lap. If I say I will run a 7:28, and I run 7:39 my score is 11. Repeat the laps three times, and the runner with the lowest score wins. Like in golf having a side bet will make this more interesting. (Maybe a round of post workout beers?)

This workout is great to work on pacing. Having to keep pace without the watch, forces you to use perceived effort to keep pace. If you run with a GPS watch most of the time, this workout might be a challenge.

If you give one of these workouts a try, leave a comment to tell us how it went.

cycling, ebery gels, energy gels, first triathlon, Fitness, nutrition, running, triathlon

Tired of the Sticky Mess? – 5 Tasty Alternatives to Energy Gels

October 16, 2014 my1sttrirace 2 Comments

Energy gels are great. They provide quick energy in a easily digestible form, all in a nice little package. If you do endurance training they are your best friend at first. Then they kind of turn into that cousin that you really don’t like, but you have to see at family functions. Consuming too many gels will make you tire of the flavor, leave you a sticky mess, and make your stomach do back flips.

Below are five tasty alternatives to energy gels for long workouts.:

1. Black Strap Molasses – Molasses is the OG energy gel. For one serving, it has 80 calories, 21g of Carbohyrates, 10mg of sodium, and more potassium than five bananas. That’s a perfect mix of calories, carbs, and electrolytes, and it also tastes fantastic. Molasses can be kind of a mess to eat on the fly. It’s best to eat pre-workout, or bring it along in a flask. If you’re from the south you have probably sopped some molasses with a biscuit. That method is probably not practical or healthy during exercise.

2. Sweet Potato – I have to admit, I am a sweet potato addict. Sweet potatoes are delicious, and full of simple and complex carbs to fuel for workout. They’re also cheap and easy to prepare. Throw a couple in the oven the night before, cut into quarters length wise, lightly salt, and wrap in foil. Their messiness factor is low, and they are relatively easy to eat on the go.

3. Almond butter – If you like peanut, then you’ll love almond butter. Almond butter has all of that great nutty taste without the the bad omega 6s. It has 80 cals per serving and is lower in carbs and sugars than gels. If you are watching your carb intake this is a great choice. Look for small packets, like these from Justin’s. They are mess free, and super convenient.

4. Raisins (Dried Fruit) – I know this is an obvious one, but it has to be on the list. Raisins are easy to carry, keep for a long time, and full of unprocessed carbs. Raisins have saved me from a bonk in the middle of nowhere multiple times. If you are working on dropping some weight be careful with raisins and dried fruit. They are pretty much fruit candy, and it is easy to over indulge.

FeedZonePortables_webres_BlueberryChocolateCoconut_RiceCakes-280x421 — Source

5. Rice Balls – Dr. Allen Lim made these popular by serving them to the Radio Shack riders during the Tour a few years ago. They are essentially sushi rice with other ingredients throw in. My favorite are the the Blueberry Chocolate variety. To prepare the rice balls you need to channel our inner baker and get in the kitchen. The extra effort is worth it. The rice balls are tasty, easy to carry and will keep for a few days refrigerated. If you want to be the most liked rider at you local ride, whip up a batch, and hand them out before the ride. The others riders will be so thankful, you won’t even have to pull through.

Recipe for Blueberry Chocolate Rice Cakes

first triathlon, mantra, motivation, running, triathlon

Monday Mantra – Common Things

September 22, 2014 my1sttrirace Leave a comment

Happy Monday! We all could use a bit of motivation to get rolling on Monday. On Mondays, I like to share a Mantra or short inspirational message. If the message resonates with you, use to motivate yourself in training or life. Do you have your own awesome Mantra? Please share it below in the comments.

This week’s Mantra –

“Do common things, uncommonly well”

Greatness lies in doing common things, uncommonly well. Common things refer to the fundamentals of any skill. To achieve greatness in any pursuit, you must first master the basics. As you progress to greater levels of mastery, you must still go back and reinforce the basics.

In our current fast paced society, we want everything right now. We are looking for the shortcut or the hack to more success. There’s nothing wrong with hacks, if they are used to accelerate learning something new. If you decide you really want to master that skill, you will need to go back and concentrate on the basics.

Let’s tie this into athletics, since this is a triathlon blog. Take running as an example. After finishing their first race, what do most runners want to do? Get faster. They seek out a plan to make them faster that includes more intensity than they are ready for. Then one of two things happens, they either get injured or plateau. They failed to build the fundamentals first. The injury was a result of improper form. Their form also held them back from going any faster. Now in order to keeping progressing, he/she needs to go back and work on the fundamentals of proper form. When they master that, results will come much faster.

In anything we do, concentrating on the common things, is the difference between average and great.

cycling, first triathlon, Iron Man, motivation, running, swimming

Fantastic Finish Photo Friday – First Triathlon, an Ironman? No Problem.

September 19, 2014 my1sttrirace Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of Fantastic Finish Photo Friday. We want to bask in the awesomeness of your finish photos. A finish photo captures a moment in time, where you overcame the challenges of the race and training, and reached your goal. The feeling of elation as you cross the line is what keeps us pushing our own limits. Please consider sharing your own photo to inspire others who are working toward their own finish.

This week’s Fantastic Finish Photo is from Richie Gardiner:

Continue reading Fantastic Finish Photo Friday – First Triathlon, an Ironman? No Problem. →

first triathlon, Fitness, running, triathlon

Workout Wednesday – 5 Tips for Better Long Runs

September 10, 2014 my1sttrirace 5 Comments

Happy Wednesday! Welcome to another edition of Workout Wednesday. Every Wednesday I will post a new Triathlon specific workout. If you like the workout, fit it into your training plan for the week. If you don’t like the workout you’re crazy, all of my workouts are brilliant pieces programming. (HAHA)

Long runs are the bedrock of all running programs. Long runs help you to build endurance through time on your feet. Also, through low instensity training, your body learns to use more fat as fuel. Even though long runs are included in most training plans, many athletes perform these workouts incorrectly. They focus too much on the challenge of a new distance or speed, and turn a lower intensity effort into a death march.

Continue reading Workout Wednesday – 5 Tips for Better Long Runs →

first triathlon, Fitness, running

Workout Wednesday – Hill Repeats

September 3, 2014 my1sttrirace Leave a comment

Today’s Workout – Hill Repeats

Hill repeats are one of the best bang for your buck workouts. They can be done in a short amount of time, and the pay back is strong speedy legs. Also, you have less chance of injury, because the uphill grade will lessen the impact.

Things to focus on during hill repeats:

Use your best running form. The repeats will be short, so focus on holding the best from possible.
Focus on quick turnover. Push yourself to really pump your legs quickly.
Give an all out effort. Push yourself hard on each repeat. When you feel you effort level dropping, rest until you can put in full effort again.

Hill Repeats

Warm up – 10- 15 minutes
4 hill repeats – All out on the way up/ Recover on the way down
Rest 2 – 4 minute
4 hill repeats – All out on the way up/ Recover on the way down
Cool Down

Ideally this workout should be done on a hill that takes 20- 40 secs to climb. Take your time coming down as that is your rest. If you are doing this workout on a treadmill, be sure to use plenty of incline. Also use a 1:2 work to rest ratio. If your repeat is 30 secs, take a minute of rest.

If you decide to try this workout, let us know how it went in the comments.

Happy running!

first triathlon, Fitness, running, triathlon, Uncategorized

Workout Wednesday – Run Intervals

August 20, 2014 my1sttrirace Leave a comment

Today’s Workout – Run Intervals

If long steady runs are the bread of your training, Intervals are the butter. If you want to run faster, sometimes you have to run faster. Makes sense right? The danger comes from trying to run every run faster. The added stress of those faster runs impacts your ability to recover and you get injured. The better way to run faster is Intervals. Periods of hard effort followed by rest, and repeat.

Intervals

Warm up ~10 min
5 X 2 mins fast/ 1 min easy
Cool down

* Pacing – If your normal pace is 10 min/mile, then start the first interval at 9 min/mile and progress from there. Resist the urge to go at an all out sprint. If the first couple seem easy that is OK. Increase the speed for the last intervals. Focus on staying relaxed, breathing, and moving your feet quickly.

Sounds simple? This is a beginner interval session meant for athletes who are new to running. Interval workouts should be done no more than once a week for new runners.

If you give this workout a try, leave a comment below and let us know how it went.

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