MF'n Triathlon Coaching

Something must be said for God’s ability to time events just right. Usually, it makes a lot of sense to me. Yet other times, I wonder just what He was thinking. For instance, this past week my new K-Swiss K-Ona S shoes and Timex Run Trainer GPS and heart rate monitor arrived in the mail. For the last two weeks I’ve needed new running shoes after realizing just how much I’ve worn down all three pairs I’ve rotated through this past year. The new Timex is my motivation to start figuring out my heart rate zones in an attempt to make my training that much more efficient. So why haven’t I tried them out yet? God said it was time for a break. He knows me well enough that it takes something big, something insurmountable, to slow me down for a good while. He made me sick. In all reality, I figured it was about time to finally be wiped out. A long race season, continuing my hard training efforts with the stress of school and finals makes me wonder how it didn’t happen sooner. Nonetheless,

Four months ago, swimming above that big blue line on the bottom of the pool felt more like a disciplinary sentence than an enjoyable form of morning exercise. My last triathlon at the end of August served as my starting line for a race designed to improve my swimming technique. It’s been anything but a race. After a couple of weeks of delving into the YouTube world of swimming videos, I realized I could watch every single one of them and come away with what I SHOULD do, but have no idea of what I was doing. A friend recommended I visit Annie Warner, a professional triathlete who knows a considerable amount about swimming (among other things!), to start my off-season swim training out on a better foot (or should I say a better stroke?) She tore my stroke apart. I had no idea you enter the water thumb-side down and come out pinky-finger up, a single part of the freestyle stroke that one can break down into about 20 different components! Enter here, bend your wrist, now your elb

When the opportunity presents itself to run a turkey trot the morning of Thanksgiving, most of the people I know would gladly run 3 to 6 miles in order to create some kind of calorie deficit to make up for what we athletes call a true "feast." In addition, I find these runs or races allow for conversation and time spent with friends and family in an atmosphere filled with warm bodies, ridiculous costumes, and warm drinks afterward. For as long as I can remember, the Manito Turkey trot organized by the Bloomsday Road Runners Club served as my turkey trot to spend time running with my dad. We'd drive up to Manito park and wait in our well-heated car until just about 15 minutes before the start because stepping out into the sub-freezing temperatures served as the greatest challenge of the run itself. Once the run began, we warmed up quickly and often ran the 5k course twice through (we're big eaters at our Thanksgiving table). This year, I had the chance to get awa