Category Archives: triathlon

Fitness, motivation, running, triathlon

Motivation Monday – Hardest part of a workout

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Have a Marvelous 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.

Opened door

Last Sunday I had my last long run before the marathon. The schedule called for a 20 mile run with the last 10 miles at race pace. It’s a long workout, and I wanted to get done early, so I set my alarm for 5:00. I get up and dressed no problem. Then, as I am getting ready to leave my mind starts making excuses not to do the workout. I’m thinking, its too cold 22F, maybe I should only do 16, I could go later. After 15 minutes of whining and stalling, I finally get out the door. Once I am running I feel great. It was one of my best runs in this training cycle.

I know it sounds cliche, but getting out the door or showing up is the hardest part of working out. It’s a constant battle with your inner laziness to get moving. When you win the battle you feel great. The more times you don’t give in to the voice telling you to stay home, the more power you have to make progress.

Here a couple of tips to making showing up easier:

1. If you doing an early morning workout, lay out your clothes the night before.

2. Find a workout friend. You are way less likely to skip the workout, if someone else is counting on you to show up.

3. If you don’t feel like running, just go and run one mile. After a mile, if you still feel like stopping, quit. If not, finish out your workout.

4. Have a plan B. If you plan to run in the morning, but you wake up  to a monsoon. Have an alternate plan to run on a treadmill, or do some cross training.

Do you have any tips that make getting out the door easier? Please share in the comments.

mantra, motivation, triathlon

Monday Mantra – All Day Pace

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Have a Marvelous 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? Girl runningPlease share it below in the comments.

This week’s Mantra: All Day

Next time you are out for a long workout, and you doubt you can hold your pace, repeat to yourself, “I can do this all day”. My pace is my all day pace. When you start to feel tired, and want to slow down, you are at 50% of your true capacity. It’s your mind telling you to slow down, and not your body. Tell you mind to get comfortable, being uncomfortable, and I am holding this pace all day.

The All Day mantra brings you into the present. Instead on focusing on how much longer you have to go, you concentrate on the now. I use this mantra often. When I’m out for a 15 mile run, and at 10 miles, I start to doubt if I can finish those last five mile. I tell myself that I can go at this pace all day. My mind quiets down, and I stop obsessing over the remaining miles, and just keep working.

first triathlon, Fitness, motivation, triathlon

Fantastic Finish Foto Friday – DIY Tri, Red Beard, and a Kilt

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Welcome to 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 photo is from David PowersDr. David Powers:

David:

Doing a triathlon has been an item on my bucket list for years, but I kept putting it off. Last week I finally did it. I basically, said, “Screw it!” and hosted my own. If I’m the host, I have to do it, right? My goal was to take an entire group of people who’d never done a tri before, and give them a low stress chance to do something awesome. We all completed, including three kids ages 7, 10, and 12.
Awesome David. You made your own path the triathlon, and brought the next generation with you. Very inspiring.
To read more about David’s DIY triathlon, check out his blog:
Please consider sharing your own photo to inspire others who are working toward their own finish. It doesn’t have to be from a triathlon, just any race that has special meaning to you. If you are interested in sharing, please send a message to firsttimetri@gmail.com.
first triathlon, Fitness, mantra, marathon, motivation, triathlon

Kick in the Butt Monday – Easy Days

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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.

Easy Day

 

The workouts that seem hard now, will soon be easy, if you keep training.  Maybe you can’t run a mile without stopping, or swim a 100M without be winded. Don’t give up, keep training, and soon your will be amazed by your progress.

I’m currently training for my fifth marathon. When I look back to the training for my first, it’s a night and day difference. My first 18 mile run ended in disaster. I had never run that far, and at mile 14 both of my calves seized, and my wife had to come pick me up.  That was a hard day for me. In my current training plan I have three 20 milers. I can complete them with little struggle. I still bring my phone, in case of disaster.

What workouts used to be difficult for you, that you can now complete with ease?

first triathlon, Fitness, motivation, nutrition, running, triathlon

The Definitive 10 Tips For New Triathletes

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Are you ready to take on a triathlon? Fantastic, let’s get you started. Below are top ten tips to have a great first race. Check out the links embedded in the tips to dig deeper into each topic. Happy training, and I hope you have great first triathlon.

1. To get started, Sign up for a race

Close up of sign up form

Signing up to the race sounds kind of obvious, but  is very important. First, signing up tells your brain it’s go time.With that race day looming in the near future you will be more committed to train. . Second, choose a race that gives you the proper amount of time to train, but not lose your motivation. A training cycle of 8-12 weeks works well for new triathletes. Lastly, after you sign up, tell your family and friends. They will know you are serious about your new goal, and be your support system.

7 Tips for Selecting Your First Triathlon

Continue reading The Definitive 10 Tips For New Triathletes →

first triathlon, funny, Iron Man, motivation, triathlon

Motivation Monday – Teddy Roosevelt an IM?

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Happy President’s day 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.

Rooselvelt Tri guy

It’s hard to fail, but it is worse never to have started –

T. Roosevelt

I sure Teddy Roosevelt would have been an Ironman, if the races existed in his time. He was a true hard man. As a child he was sickly from asthma, and instead of accepting his fate, he trained to get stronger. He eventually became very physically fit, and a celebrated boxer. His physical accomplishments were made from pure power of will as he was not physically gifted.

What I admire most about TR is his tenacity and fearlessness. When TR decided he was going to accomplish a goal, he went after 100%, and no man could deny him. That same will is required to take on big challenges like IM.

marathon, motivation, running, triathlon

Fantastic Finish Foto Friday – Fat Girl to IM

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Welcome to 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 photo is from Tamsyn Smith:

diary photo MK marathon

Tamsyn:

Here’s a photo from the end of my first ever marathon in April 2012. It was cold, wet and windy and the course was flooded and rerouted, so I had to run an extra half mile, but I did it 🙂 Since then I’ve run another 4 marathons and have started doing triathlons.

I blog about my experience at http://fatgirltoironman.co.uk
What a great smile on what looks like a tough day. Way to persevere toward your goal. Check out Tamsyn’s blog, she is very entertaining, and gives great info from her point of view.

Like Tamsyns photo, here’s some more: Fantastic Finish Foto

Please consider sharing your own photo to inspire others who are working toward their own finish. It doesn’t have to be from a triathlon, just any race that has special meaning to you. If you are interested in sharing, please send a message to firstimetri@gmail.com.
first triathlon, Fitness, running, triathlon

Give FTT a thumbs up on facebook

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

FTT facebook

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.

facebook_like_button

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!

facebook_like_button

first triathlon, Fitness, swimming, triathlon

Three Steps to Overcoming Swim Fears.

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pool

The number one fear of new triathletes is swimming. Unless you learned to swim as a child and have been around water your entire life, learning to swim as an adult can be daunting. It is perfectly rational to have this fear. As humans we can survive in water, but its not our natural habitat. Did you know the average dolphin is 80% efficient moving through the water, and an world class swimmer is only 12%.

The key to learning to swim and overcoming your fear is to become more comfortable in the water. If you can learn to relax and not fight the water, you ability to swim will increase quickly.

Here three steps to get you more comfortable in the water, and eventually swimming. You have to get comfortable first to make progress in your swimming:

Continue reading Three Steps to Overcoming Swim Fears. →

first triathlon, Fitness, mantra, motivation, triathlon

Monday Motivation – Don’t Just Think Act!

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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.

FullSizeRender

Don’t just think, act!

I am personally guilty of not following this mantra. I will anylize and over think what I really want until it doesn’t happen. This self sabotage is counter productive and borders on insanity. I don’t know if its fear of success or failure that causes this indecision. When I break this pattern and get into action, I feel better, and my life improves. I am in a constant battle with this resistance.

I know I’m not the only one. What thing in your life are you putting off, and over thinking? I’m not talking about putting off the laundry or getting your car inspected. What is it you really want, that you can act on now! Fear hates action. Take that first step toward what you want now, and the path will open. You have to take action right now, or the resistance will pull you back into indecision.

Let’s tie this into triathlon. If you goal is to complete your first race. Sign up for a race now. Are you an terrible swimmer? Sign up for a swim lesson. Don’t have a bike. Ask a couple friends, if they have one to lend. Most problems are caused by lack of resourcefulness, not lack of resources. Fight the resistance, act now, and take that first step.