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 –
“I am an Athlete”
Welcome to another edition of Fantastic Finish Photo Friday. We want to bask in your awesomeness from 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 Lisa Freeman:
From Bodiam Castle Tri
Lisa: I was so nervous for my first tri but I needn’t have been. The atmosphere was great, the people were supportive & friendly. I had an epic feeling of fun the whole time. My lasting thought?..that was amazing, when can I do it again?
Awesome job Lisa! How many times do you get to swim in a moat?
Do you have a photo you would like to share? Don’t be shy, send it to firsttimetri@gmail.com, Please add a quick paragraph of what the photo means to you. Please share and be an inspiration to others.
Welcome to a special edition of Fantastic Finish Photo Friday. We want to bask in your awesomeness from 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 Danni Buddenhagen (My Wonderful Wife):
Danni: Back in February Shawn suggested that I complete in an upcoming Triathlon scheduled for August. Now, if you know anything about me, then you would know that I do not have an athletic bone in my body. But, being who I am I was up for the challenge. So, with August in my not so distant future, I began going to the gym and practicing on the bike. The swimming is an entirely different story.
Before I knew it, it was the big day. Of course, I was nervous, but one thing still sticks in my mind. While getting my number written on all kinds of body parts, the guy says to me, “Oh, next year you will be in a different category”. (Um-Yes, he was referring to the age category.) At that time, I was thinking, yeah right- next year! But, he was absolutely right. I managed not to drown during my first triathlon and make it to the finish line. Having my family cheer me on and hand out water at the 2 mile marker was definitely a motivator to keep me going until the end. I survived, I crossed the finish line and I can’t wait to get even better for next year!
Danni like many first time triathletes did not have an athletic background before the race. She raced a few 5ks, and did some spin classes. She had not swam any distance and needed develop a freestyle stroke. With that in mind, I wrote up a 8 week training plan for her, and by race day she was well prepared.
There’s no need to wait for proficiency in all three disciplines before signing up for your first race. Find a race you want to try, and build on what you can already do. If you can run or cycle a bit already. Build on those strengths, and work on the weaker sports.
Do you have a photo you would like to share? Don’t be shy, send it to firsttimetri@gmail.com, Please add a quick paragraph of what the photo means to you. Please share and be an inspiration to others.
Welcome to another edition of Fantastic Finish Photo Friday. We want to bask in your awesomeness from 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.
The photo is week is from Jamie Dewdney:
“All those gruesome hill climbs, choppy swims and wet and windy runs are worth it when crossing the finish line of my first triathlon, bring on the next one!”
Nice work Jamie! Training is the hard part. The race and the finish are the pay off. Best of luck to you in your new triathlon journey.
Do you have a photo you would like to share? Don’t be shy, send it to firsttimetri@gmail.com, Please add a quick paragraph of what the photo means to you. Please share and be an inspiration to others.
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. (kidding)
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
* 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.
“Breathe and make relentless forward progress.”
Welcome to Fantastic Finish Photo Friday!
The saying goes a picture is worth 1000 words. This is true, but doesn’t tell the entire story. A finish line photo is the snap shot of your achievement, but we want to hear the story as well. How did you feel at that moment? What struggle did you overcome? Did you just complete something you thought was impossible?
This where I need your help. If you have a fantastic finish photo, please consider sharing it. Actually the photo quality might not be great, but it brings back all of the feelings of that moment when you see it. Along with your photo, add a paragraph or two that explains how you felt as to crossed that line. Not a full race report, just what this photo represents to you. The more emotion the better.
My plan to is feature at least one of your photos every Friday. Let’s celebrate that sense of achievement as you crossed the finish line. Your story will inspire and uplift others that are working toward their own finish. Also, we are hard on ourselves most day. We should take a moment to look back and remember our own greatness.
If you would like to share your greatness, leave a comment below, or email me @ firsttimetri@gmail.com.
I’ll start things off:
Photo above was taken with my two girls at the Beach 2 Battleship IM, my first IM finish.
Finally, I arrived at the final downhill ( Das upper thigh crusher), and started toward the finish. As I came down the final 500 yards, I could hear the cheering from people in the restaurants, and a live band rocking past the finish. I saw the bright lights illuminating the finish area, and I picked up the pace. I felt the culmination of all that training and sacrifice, as I crossed the line and looked up to see my family. The volunteers handed me a WWF belt buckle (medal), and a hat. I stood there for a moment, exhausted, but elated and completely at peace. What an awesome experience.
Welcome to the first edition of Workout Wednesday. Just as the name implies, I’ll post a triathlon specific workout every Wednesday. These workouts will be geared toward new triathletes. If you are a more advanced athlete you can scale the workout up, with more reps or intensity. I’ll try to keep things interesting with workouts that provide the most benefit for your time.
Let’s get to it:
Cycling Intervals
Bike intervals are the best bang for your buck workouts for gaining cycling fitness. For best results each interval should be performed with intensity. Work hard on the intervals and recover as much as possible on the rests. I recommend doing this workout on a spin bike or trainer with a fan blowing in your face. Also, crank up some music that gets you pumped up.
Here’s the workout:
Workout time – ~ 31 minutes
Perform each hard interval with intensity. Use the rest to bring down your heart rate, and flush out your legs. If you need an extra minute or two between sets, take it. On the trainer or spin bike set the tension so you are working hard, but keeping your RPMS in the 80-100 range.
In the first post on the added benefits of triathlon, I talked about looking sexy in lycra, and sweet tan lines. There are so many additional benefits I didn’t list, that I decided to make a Part II. There may be some people on the fence about triathlon, and the a collection of distance stickers wasn’t enough to get them to dive in. So here are some more “tidbits of awesome” about triathlon.
1. Get up super early – You feel guilty when you don’t get up before the sun. Everyone knows that pool swims only count when they are finished before 6:30am. You have a four hour ride planned for Saturday, and your significant other is complaining about you training too much.. What do you do? Leave at 5 am and hope to make it back before they get up.
2. The world is your buffet – At the Mexican restaurant you order the Mucho Loco Burrito with an extra side of guacamole. The others at the table look in horror as you demolish the entree meant for three people. You look up and say, “It’s cool, I’m in the peak of my training cycle”, and then wipe the cheese from your chin.
3. Energy Gel Sommelier – The average palette can’t discern the slight nuisances of the Powergel orange from the Gu mandarin, but you can. Your heightened awareness of these differences comes from years of consumption of these slimy delicacies. You would rather bonk than slam down that wrong brand being offered on the course.
4. Ability to time illness one week out from your “A” race – You never get sick. You are healthy as a horse. People in the office are going home weak with the flu, but you superior immune system is kryptonite to viruses. That is until the taper period of your most important race of the season. A week out from the race you are in bed sore and aching, wondering how you are supposed to race in 5 days.
5. Calf Sleeves – I may offend some here, but calf sleeves are nerdy. They are essentially tall socks with no feet. From the amount of people wearing them, you would think there was an epidemic of calf muscles exploding before their invention. Triathlon is no fashion show. If you really need the super calf support, buy the brightest neon ones you can find, and rock that kit.
6. Get clipped – There are two types of cyclists; those who have fallen over in the parking lot while still clipped in to the pedals, and those who will. It happens to everyone. You get those brand new clipless pedals and shoes, pull in to the parking lot at the end of the ride, slow down, and proceed to fall over like a tipped cow. Don’t be embarrassed. Laugh it off, as everyone else on that ride has done the same thing at least once. Welcome to the club!
7. A bike more expensive than your car – After years of hard training, you will decide that training is too time consuming and difficult. Forget training on the bike, go and buy some speed. You walk into the bike shop, and there it is. A beautiful carbon fibre rocket ship of a bike. Once you astride this piece is speed sculpture, PR’s will fall, and the road will submit to your will. On the way home from the shop you look at your ’03 Subaru, and realize the blue book value of your car, is less than that new bike purchase.
* The car will seek revenge. On the way home from a race, you pull into the driveway headed for the garage, and forget your bike is on the roof rack. The car will let you drive into the garage, while your bike is smashed against the top of the garage.
photo credit: ezra1311 via photopin cc
photo credit: jeffreyw via photopin cc
Photo Credit: http://salsacycles.com/files/blog/DD10-3.jpg
Mental toughness is the ability to withstand discomfort with a focus on your goal. All of the situations and struggles in life develop your mental strength. You are defined by how you react to different situations. In racing, the battles lies between your body and thoughts. When a race gets tough, the mind will always give in before the body. The challenge is to control your thoughts, and get your mind and body to work together to achieve your goals.
Preparation
The key to mental toughness is preparation. Training for your race will increase mental toughness. When you show up the the start line, you should be confident in your abilities. You confidence comes from adequate training, and preparation. That confidence kicks in when the race gets hard and you want to stop. If in training you have already had these feelings, you know you can push through.
Be Present
When a race or workout gets hard, the brain wants you to stop. Your mind will play every trick it has to get you to stop or slow down. That little voice in your head will say “go ahead, just walk for awhile” or “Today is just not your day, slow down a bit”. Everyone has these thoughts, even elite athletes. When you can push through and not give into these thoughts, that is when breakthroughs happen.
To combat this voice, you need to be present and focus on the now. The mind may trick you into thinking you can’t run another mile, but it’s hard to convince you can’t run two more lamp posts. Focus on what you can do right at this moment to push you toward your goal. Accept the situation, adapt, and overcome.
Find Your Happy Place
To pull yourself out a funk during your race, go to your happy place. I know this sounds a bit new age, but it works. When all of your focus is on the hurting, you need to shift your focus. Turning those negative thoughts, into a positive feeling is powerful. Those positive thoughts can get you into a rhythm and carry you through the difficult times in a race.
Try this: Force yourself to smile for the next two minutes. After the feeling silly for the first 30 secs, your mood will actually start to improve. You actions can impact your mood and attitude.
Here are some ways to find your happy place during a race:
I hope these suggestions help next time you are in the pain cave during a race. If you have any strategies that work for you, please share in the comments.
First Time Triathlete 
