But Wait! Tomorrow's PF Chang's!

M's running the half marathon tomorrow.  As a first timer, she wanted to know WHAT she should be eating and drinking before her race tomorrow.

I'm a big fan of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook and here is what Ms. Clark has to say about that.

*  On the day before the event, you might want to eat your biggest meal at lunchtime so that the food will have more time to digest and pass through your system.  Later, enjoy a normal-sized dinner and a bed-time snack.

*  Drink about four to eight extra glasses of water and juices during the two days before the event.  You should have to urinate frequently.

*  Limit dehydrating fluids such as alcoholic and caffeinated beverages.

*  On race morning, drink at least three glasses of water up to two hours before the event, one to two cups 5-10 minutes before race time.

*  On the morning of the event, eat a breakfast that you know will settle well.  Food you're familiar with will prevent hunger and help maintain a normal blood sugar level.  Don't try anything new.

See How They Run

Picture this:  arms bent at the elbow as if beginning to run.  Legs in running stance with one knee bent to 85 degrees, then slightly lifted to 87 degrees, then 88, 89 and finally 90.

When Jessi Stensland explained how she moved from slow (well, slower) to fast, she simply lifted her knee to those angles as she discussed the mechanics of running.  These slight movements she executed while stationary gave me a visual that is ingrained in my mind.

She explained it like this, "Here's an eight minute mile, a seven minute mile, a six minute mile," all while raising her knee to a higher degree.

If you want to go faster, use that image of higher knees to get you there.  Sprinting at the end a marathon or passing another runner during a race involves higher knees and more spring in your step - even if you are a shuffler.  To "kick it up a notch," channel your mind to lift your leg a bit higher, quicker, and lighter.  Become the runner you are in your mind.   Let your mind tell your legs what to do.   Channel your inner Jessi.  And let your competition watch you run away with the victory.

Solid Advice From The Incredible Shrinking Woman

My aunt has been slimming down and getting fit over the past year.  Her story is simple yet profound.
I asked her to share what has worked for her in her weight loss journey.  She'll share her story, but NOT her before and after photos.  Take it away, Val!

I found myself in my mid-fifties with high blood pressure, kidney stones, and about 60 extra pounds.  I had always been able to say before “Oh, I’m overweight but my blood pressure and cholesterol are ok”—then suddenly they weren’t!  Arthritis was also becoming a problem.  Who wants to live that way?  Not me!  So I went back to Weight Watchers and got on track with healthy eating, and started to get active.

Every day I walk, do Wii-Fit, and/or go to the gym—I’m addicted!  I try to exercise for about 40-50 minutes a day.  I have signed up for several 3-5k walk/runs—and find myself running part of them!  I hate running—I thought! In less than a year, I have lost and kept off 60 pounds, and significantly increased my fitness level.  I feel great, and people tell me I look great.  My doctor wants to use me as a poster child for following doctor’s orders (you know, eat right, exercise, yadda yadda yadda).  So if you think it’s impossible to get fit and feel better, just ask me.  Being healthy is what it’s all about!  I may not be an Ironwoman, but it feels pretty good to know that I can enjoy life and accomplish my goals.

One thing I have discovered is that it’s all about habits.  If I give in to fast food/junk food, I start craving it again.  The longer I avoid those bad boys, the easier it is to enjoy the sweet taste of fresh veggies and lean protein.  Additionally, if I start missing a day here or there of activity, suddenly it becomes a burden instead of fun.  And it’s all about fun!  Good luck to all of you out there who are struggling to change to a healthy  lifestyle, and congrats to all you marathoners/ironpeople/milers/swimmers—you guys are awesome!

--Val

Three Discoveries And One Hard Fact

Ahhhmerica's Finest City, San Diego.  I spent the weekend in this delightful Southern California town with good friends, partaking in good food and good times.  I'll spare the details about the reunion with college buddies and all the laughter THAT entails.  This is, after all, a blog about triathlon training.  But here are a few of my favorite finds a la San Diego.

Torrey Pines State Reserve - A gorgeous state park that is bustling with cyclists, walkers, hikers and runners, mark this spot as a definite must next time you are in town.  The reserve is a beautiful location to enjoy a steep road bike climb or a challenging hill workout.  At the top of the cliff's peaks, you can turn west and make your way down the sandy trails to the ocean's edge.  Dip your toes in the Pacific and watch the surfers catch a frothy wave.  How excellent is that?

Lululemon - I was dead set against this pricey athletic apparel.  The sticker shock for yoga pants was, well, sticker shock!  But San Diegans have embraced this clothing line as I repeatedly noticed the little Lululemon logo on all the really cute sporty clothing I passed throughout the day.

You want to know what sold me on this brand?  TALL!  Yes, Lulu pants come in tall sizes with an inseam of 35 inches.  That gives breathing room to even an Amazon like me.  Plus the fabrics are deliciously soft, lightweight, breatheable and plenty long to cover mid-life muffin tops.  I'm sold, Lulu.

Second Sister Jewelry - I know, I know.  Tri training.  But I'm still a GIRL!  My friend April has the most unique jewerly for sale on Etsy.  She let us invade her home and see her creations and --- we did partake.  Beautiful stuff here.  And her mind is moving in a different direction which means more styles, more pretty stuff on its way.  Even if you are in spandex and cotton all day, you might like a little bauble with your ensemble.

I love a girl's trip.  Plenty of late night chit chats and fabulous memories.  It makes that one HARD FACT all the more easy to deal with -- weekend laundry.

Bike For Sale

*Cannondale Synapse (carbon)

*Size 50

*Shimano 105 throughout

*Selle Italia Trans Am Seat

*Mavic Aksium Race Wheels

*Armadillo elite Tires

*Specilized S-Works shallow bend carbon 143mm Handle Bar

Contact seller at bernie@azhealthquest.com

Price: $1,200.00

Training Tips from Elite Coach Luis Vargas

Luis Vargas is the partnering coach with Mark Allen.  I have contacted him MANY times when I had a question about triathlons or coaching.  Within minutes he responds with a helpful answer.  I really admire this guy.  Here is one of his recent articles at MarkAllen Online.

Here are my top tips-

1. Many beginners have a sport that they come from and this is their strength. Do not train your strong sport the same way you did before triathlon. You can cut volume and still do very well and sometimes even better due to all the additional fitness gains in the other two sports. Train your weakness not your strength.

2. When training for the swim and the bike it is important to learn to go long and steady. On the swim this means a set of 1000's or 1500's to learn how to pace these. Remember that on race day it is unwise to give 100% on the swim. You still have to bike and run! On the bike do not always ride with a group and draft the whole training ride. The bike in a triathlon is a long steady time trial. Learn to deal mentally with this steady unassisted grind, and experiment with different effort levels that will give you the best overall time at the end of the day. Going super hard to the top of a hill like cyclists might do to drop everyone will just drop you from your pace on race day.

3. Do short bricks. Long bricks can be very tough and require huge amounts of recovery. But if you even run around the block after most of your rides you will learn two valuable lessons. One is dealing with the special feeling of running on tired cycling muscles. But perhaps more important will be that the workout does not end at the end of the ride. You still have to run. This will make you think twice about sprinting your guts out to win the day's ride with your cycling buddies when you know you will be doing a run right after as they put their legs up and watch some TV.

4. The bike is the sport that you can use to develop mental and metabolic endurance to handle many hours of triathlon racing. For example, if your goal is to do your first Olympic distance race and you think it will take you three hours, it would be wise to do some steady training sessions that last three hours at the very least. Doing them on the swim or the run would be pretty tough and may get you hurt. But you can easily do these on the bike and still recover with minimal risk of any injury.

Triathlon is a single sport with three disciplines. Keep this in mind as you train and race. Remember, the best swimmer, biker and runner does not always win. The best triathlete does!

How To Train In Utah

I'm in Park City, Utah today and it's 10 below.  The ski lift outside is fairly empty for New Year's Day.  If those skiers are anything like me, swooshing downhill in such frigid temperatures does not spell F-U-N.

On Tuesday, I made the mistake while downhill skiing of wearing rings under my gloves.  The metal around my fingers froze up like icy bands of pain. Who knew?

As a contemplate these frightful days, I try and imagine how the athletes from the great state of Utah train for triathlons. How does one run when the air burns the lungs while trudging uphill?  How does one get in hours on the bike while on a trainer looking at a blank wall?  And swimming!  Let's not even go there.

I come from this:

Endless sunshine and warm temperatures.  Conditions are not always ideal, but they are nothing like this:

What I HAVE discovered is that Utahns and cold-weather athletes have made the most of the snow that abounds.  They slip and slide and hike and walk over the snowdrifts surrounding their neighborhoods.  And I went along for the ride this week.

Yesterday I tried CROSS COUNTRY SKIING.  Finally a sport I could do in negative 11 degrees.  It didn't even matter.  I was huffing and puffing within the first 5 minutes.  My frozen fingers quickly warmed up to hot, clammy hands inside my gloves.

Cross country skis are long and lightweight.  You set your skis inside tracks that meander up and down the hills of the course.  The movement is linear and beautiful.  And according to some reports, you can burn up to 1100 calories per hour.  Cha ching!

Still to conquer: Skate skiing and snow shoeing.  But one thing at a time.  Today was great.  Tomorrow might be better.  I'm loving it here and my tri training will survive, after all.