This ‘tip’ comes to us from an Elite and Age Group coach, Paulo Sousa.
—- In Greek mythology, sirens were bird-women, portrayed as seductresses, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.
In endurance circles, we have our version of the sirens. Their song tells us there is an easier, faster way to be successful. You can train less, recover more and be more successful than your peers. You can have balance in your life and still be on top of those that relentlessly pursue the same goals you have.
Especially sensible to the song are those that are looking for the shortcut, those that think there is a secret, easier way to achieve their goals. Those that constantly doubt themselves and their path and look for clues to achieve success. “This is hard, there HAS to be an easier way!”
Invariably, these athletes end up shipwrecked, by simply lacking the necessary consistency in training to be successful. Invariably, these athletes are beaten by those that have kept their head down, stayed on the path and went through the process. Invariably, listening to the song of the sirens gets you further away from your goals.
Cycling is a great way to tone up, stay fit and see the countryside. It is fun to do alone or with groups of friends or family. There are many cycle routes you can look up, some with cycle friendly concrete paths and others with dirt tracks for the more adventurous bikers.
Before you begin a cycle ride, be sure to look up your route so you know what to expect, how long it is and the intensity level. It doesn’t take long to do, so during a lunch break or after a game of partypoker , check out some routes and become familiar with them. Adventurous cyclist might enjoy off-road dirt tracks which allows them to cycle between the trees, ride over plants and tree roots and perform little jumps over ditches or race through puddles. It can be dangerous, but if you are used to these conditions and your tyres are sturdy, you should be fine.
Other cyclist might prefer the special tracks, designed for easy riding. They are normally gravel or concrete which makes it smoother to ride across. Easier routes tend to be flat paths, whereas a challenging route will take you uphill a lot.
It is always important to keep hydrated during your ride, so a bottle of water in your rucksack is recommended. Also, before you begin, it is important to have energy supplies with you. The best type of food for this includes bananas and energy bars. The night before you go cycling, try to have a big pasta dinner. Overnight this will digest and become fuel, ready for you to burn in the morning.
Today’s tip is brought to you by the letters C and V. As in Coach Chuckie V.
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Here’s one of my favorite exercises to do in the gym or at home. They’re called side steps. I’ve always tried to describe these in the written form but always struggled to do so. No more of that nonsense!
A few things regarding these…
1) Resistance is determined by the weight in each hand or by the height of the platform., or by both. You might even work up to wearing ten-pound ankle weights while carrying a giraffe on your back, for more resistance. I suggest sparing us all from the bravado and starting with just the movement at first, with the platform at a mid-shin level. Your knees may not take to these straight away (i.e., you’re weak).
Today’s tip is brought to you by a registered massage therepist, Adrienne Stedford. She runs her practice, Hungry Triathlete, out of Penticton BC and is a therapist for various training camps. If you’re a planning a training trip on the Ironman Canada course – you know who to call.
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Training puts HUGE stress on all of the soft tissues in our bodies. When muscles work hard, they develop microscopic tears which your body has to repair. Massage is great way to aid in repair of muscle tissue- breaking up scar tissue where it has formed and realigning fibers in their most functional directions. There is nothing like going to a well-trained Massage Therapist to find your trouble areas and work them out. Your body can use this type of care after every hard workout, though for most of us time and money limits that luxury. So here is the hard part – inflicting self therapy on your own body.
For this tip we’ re going to send you over to Gordo Byrn. It’s a great tip and worth reading the whole thing. Here’s an excerpt to wet your appetite – pun intended.
Your fastest race weight will always be slightly higher than you think optimal. When you are [...]
Today’s post comes to you from Chris Brown and Sara Gross. If you’ve thought about, but have yet to try a training camp, here’s some motivation to make it happen.
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Why Camp?
For many of us, it’s that time of year when we are putting in some miles on the three T’s; trainer, treadmill and track. I recently spent 3 ½ weeks in Calgary, Canada… burr…. I have to admit, I have become soft when it comes to cold weather. I forgot what its like to have your lungs burn on a long run when it’s -25! Enter the perfect solution: the warm weather training camp.
Taking part in a warm weather training camp is not only fun, but can help us get a competitive edge for the season. Here’s my list of top 5 reasons for attending a training camp:
5. Coaching: A good camp should have a variety of good coaches on hand to help you improve technically in all 3 sports… So much can be accomplished in a week dedicated solely to training.
About this site:
These triathlon and endurance sport related tips have been compiled by Heather and Trevor Wurtele over the years of their progression from working age-groupers to full time professional triathletes. Heather is now a 4 time Ironman Champion and top 10 World Championship finisher. Trevor has an Ironman PR of 8:22 and a 2:51 Ironman marathon.
In Greek mythology, sirens were bird-women, portrayed as seductresses, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.
