MF'n Triathlon Coaching

Photo by Greg Gallagher. Pictured from left: Craig Thorsen, Dave Erickson, Nate Duncan, Natalie Gallagher, Jarod Crooks, Matt Siegel, Meghan Faulkenberry, Erica Zeimer, and Merissa Duncan. Saturday morning arrived sooner than I had anticipated after having just begun recuperating after a long finals week. I was to meet Craig Thorsen and Erica Zeimer at “O’dark thirty” to arrive in Lewiston by 8:30am. Despite an early-morning wake up call, 6:30am didn’t appear that dark at all. Craig didn’t even have a donut in his hand, which he attributed as, “Race fuel, baby!” Erica wouldn’t have approved, I’m sure. Nonetheless, we were on the road by 6:40, following the Gallaghers and Duncans as they had made it out of town before we had. We followed the winding roads through Spangle, Colfax, and Colton before scaling the grade down into Lewiston. The sun hadn’t quite burst through the clouds yet, and the temperatures still hovered around 34 degrees. Yet we remained hopeful. Warmer

I awoke at 6 am to the sound of rain hitting the driveway outside my window. Shrouded in complete darkness, I headed to the bathroom. Ever since I was little, I've come to learn that if I can hear rain hitting the bathroom fan, it's not just raining...It's pouring. As I write this, the same window I looked out of this morning to see steady rain hitting a huge puddle in the driveway is now bright with sunshine. Go figure. This morning looked much different, and I take pride in the fact that I got off my bed and followed through with my decision to participate. The clothes I set out the night before looked pretty scant when considering what the rain and wind planned on throwing at me. Being a St. Paddy's race, I thought it might be fitting to wear something green. Yet it turns out I don't own any green running gear whatsoever. Unless you call the neon jacket I borrowed from my dad an example of green running attire, the only piece of green I had on was a pair of und

For those of you who have raced the Snake River half marathon or spoken with anyone who has, you know the biggest concern about this race isn’t, “What direction will the wind be blowing this year?” It’s, “How many times will it change directions, and at what point will I have to die trying to keep with the group or tough it out on my own?” Making our way down the grade, it was all we could do to try and catch our first glimpse of the water. The last time I raced Snake River I had the help of a tail wind to carry my sorry butt to the finish after slogging through a headwind to the turn-around point. This year…well, in the words of Tony Dibartolo (as we’re driving down the Wawawai grade) “Look at that water! Completely calm,” only lasted for about 7 miles, and then the winds decided to get even. These days, it’s hard for me to go into a race with the notion I’m just going to take it easy . I wasn’t even out of the car before people said they expected at 1:26 finish. Hones

My training these past few months are about to be tested, as my first race of the season is upon me. Tomorrow’s Snake River Half Marathon sounds like the perfect opportunity to see where my fitness level stands coming off a successful 2011 season and 2012 winter training fest. Since last fall, I’ve made what I consider to be a significant number of changes with the way I approach each day with regard for my workouts and training. I included a picture of the four biggest components that will affect the way I race tomorrow, all of them somewhat new to my racing mindset. The Timex Run Trainer has probably afforded me the biggest training improvements I’ve witnessed in the past few months. Before I ruined my Garmin Forerunner by swimming in Bear Lake, I used it primarily for tracking my progress by feet and my effort by pace. The Timex has introduced to me a third way to evaluate my progress: heart rate. While it has served as a great indicator of my effort, it has also posed a