I get MAD on the trainer!
It has a busy month. I haven’t had time to sit down let alone keep up to date on my blog. I started the month in Tempe, AZ with coach Ryan Riell where we ran a USAT Youth and Juniors Triathlon Skills Camp. This was a great experience. It was nice to hang with young athletes who were so excited to learn about the great sport of triathlon. So many adult athletes think they have every answer. The kids at the camp wanted to learn and came away from the week with some great improvement in their skills, a new take on how to train for triathlon, and, hopefully, a new found exitement for the sport.
When I got back to Santa Monica, the training for 2012 commenced and it has been a doozie. I won’t bore you with details, but while training I was studying for the NASM Certified Personal Trainer Certification. I wanted to gain this Cert. not only to be able to train strength clients, but to also give me more ammo when preparing my triathletes for their season/races. What this studying did was give me a new outlook on how to design a season for my athletes. I have always believed in periodization, but by combining the NASM model with the models I already knew, I think my athletes will be better preparred to CRUSH any race they take on.
Training-wise, I have been living on the trainer. I ride outside Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday with group rides and I ride the trainer every other day of the week. This equals a ton of sweat, but I can feel my body adapting with every workout. I have been slowly building my base in the pool and this morning, January 24th, I believe I swam the hardest workout of my life. I pushed harder than ever before. It really hurt, but this is how gains are made, right? My hamstring is feeling better so I have also been slowly building my run milage. I hit 40 miles last week and I will top that this week. Although I took off from running for a few weeks, my speed is still there. I ran 7 x 1K this morning right after the swim and I averaged 3:20/K.
Riding in Beautiful Mammoth
That’s the boring stuff. What I have really been honing in on is my strength work. I have been blasting my core with a HUGE amount of stability work and builing my strength/power exercises week over week. I feel so balanced and connected. This, accompanied with my focus on increased flexibiltiy will, hopefully, give me the tools I need to get on the podium with consistency this season.
Red Performance Multisport is rolling. We have a good number of athletes working harder than ever. It is going to be a successful season for these dedicated athletes. I should be getting my F.I.S.T.(Bike Fit) Certification soon, so stay tuned. I will be better at keeping this blog up-to-date so there is less to catch you up on. Oh yeah, I am now a frequent contributer to Men’s Fitness.com which is really exciting. RACE HARD!
The view from the top of the "Rock Store Climb" in the SM Mountains
