Always fun with local races

Back in June I did a short sprint in Woodinville. It took me under 30 minutes to drive there. It was small but well organized. A perfect race for both beginners and experienced athletes. The short race report is, swim was bad due to lack of swim, bike OK, run OK. Second overall and I won my age group :-)

Training in Maui + I am now a Fearless Racer

Few things are better to get away for some days and recharge. Also, when the get away place is Maui you have no reason to complain. I was so lucky last week. A good friend of mine invited us to her wedding at Maui and my wife and I said yes.


First stop at Maui is always the store, and another reminder of where we was. The local coffee is nice.



As always I have big plans for all the workouts I will do. But luckily for me and my wife I was there to relax. I got some really nice runs in. But I also got a chance to just relax, read, walk around, eat great food and attend a wedding.





I am now also a member of Fearless Racing Team presented by XLR8 SportsMed under the head viking Lars Finanger. Lars is a stand up guy in the triathlon community and I feel lucky being part of the team.



http://valhallasportsgroup.com/

100 hours of training

Time is flying and it is mid March already. I can feel spring is in the air, I have allergy and the next months will be loud and interesting. On days with a lot of pollen I run or bike indoor to make sure I can get the workout done properly. But I am use to having allergy so this is my normal :-)

Training is going OK. Of course I wish that I could have done more, but to be honest I am happy with what I have done so far this year. I just passed 100 hours of training.



 

As you can see my training is polarized.



 

I feel that I am getting better, stronger and fitter. Not only because of my polarized training, but also that I now have several years of consistent training behind me.



 

With the weather getting better I can get some longer bike rides in, but I will try to maintain focus on running. Running is the best training for the endurance engine.

Are triathletes stupid customers?

The definition of a stupid customer is a person that buy everything in hope that it will solve a problem. A typical customer will buy some item that solve no problem, but it looked like a really good buy 3.30 at night on TV after too many beers, or even worse, anything from the Skymall catalog.

What about a fat burning creme.....



Then, what about triathletes. Are triathletes stupid customers? To use a line from the movie Singles, "Sometimes". How can I say that? I can say that after watching triathletes in action. But here you have some products that have been in the triathlon spotlight over the last years, compression socks, Vibram fivefingers, mid/front foot shoes, no gluten, no carbohydrates, ice baths, solid food on the bike, magic bracelets etc. These are just some of the fabs the last years.

But one thing is true about the sport of triathlon. It is a first adapter sport. Nothing gets untested. But not all things should be tested at all and that is my point.

For anything related to the body, trust science. If the product has claims, how can the claims be proven. Do not trust anyone saying; test it and find out. You can say that science does not know everything, and that is true. If science knew everything it could stop. But claims should be backed up by verifiable facts, not stories.

There are no shortcuts or secrets to success. No magic blue pill (doping is cheating, remember), no hidden secret that will make you to a speed machine. A good example is the result of the fictional book Born to run. Many got caught in the wave of minimalistic shoes and had to find out that they were not 10 years old, 80 pounds Kenyans running to schools. Sorry, the running without cushioning is just stupid.

But on thing actual can improve your training and make you go faster. It is also free. Get more sleep :-)



 

 

Why I am happy with my coach Tony DeBoom

The sport of triathlon  have more coaches than athletes. You can find advertising for coaches in print magazines and online. In my area several coaches have teams with their athletes, and if you search online you can find everything from fixed program to a high end customized program with a high end prize. So in this maze, how did I end up with my coach Tony DeBoom?



No not that Tony, this Tony



First I have to say something about my view of what is a good coach for me. My ideal coach will try to transfer knowledge, make me understand why I do what I do. If I get more knowledge I should be able to not only start a dialog about the training, but also give better feedback, and better feedback should give a better program.

I am 42, I am married, I have a kid, a job and triathlon is only one part of my life. I need a coach that understand how it is to be an age grouper with ambition to be a good dad also (not just to get an ironman tattoo).

I need a coach, not a dictator. I personally have never understood athletes being happy with a yelling coach, but on the other hand I am not a team sport of a guy......



So why Tony?

I had/have on goal, Norseman. I knew that it would be more practical to have an American coach, but it could be harder to find one who understood what Norseman is all about and also was a good fit for me. After I saw this interview with Tim DeBoom about his and Tony's experience at Norseman 2011 I knew I had to contact them regarding coaching.



Tony has made no promises other than that hard work is paying off, that ambitions should match what to put in, that the journey is as important as the race, that triathlon is suppose to be fun and that life will throw you curve balls.

He has given me the tools to make Norseman an epic journey. He has made me swim faster, bike longer and run happier. I have gotten a deeper understanding of how to structure triathlon training and also how to have fun.