Triathlons

It's triathlon season!  Yay!  Do you have any races planned?  Any first-time triathletes out there?  I absolutely LOVE triathlons because the sport has shown me how far I can go... if I just 'tri' (hardy har har - had to do it). During my first triathlon, I had a hardcore freakout in the lake and [...]

It’s baaaaack! Winter is coming to a close; spring is right around the corner (even if it doesn’t feel like it yet!).  And spring and summer means TRIATHLON SEASON.  Woo to the hoo! I love Ironman March because it helps me get back into the habit of swimming, biking, and running every week, and it [...]

All summer, I tried to get my butt in a lake. There are quite a few organized open water swims in Charlotte, but they always fell on a Saturday that we were out of town, entertaining guests, or I was sick.  I wish I had tried harder to do more open water swims, but to [...]

A few weeks ago, I got this email from a reader named Kim…   I decided to sign up for my first triathlon! It's a sprint. Just started training yesterday. The event is October 20. I can't wait! Anyway, my biggest anxieties are about the logistics of the event... Like, how early should I arrive? [...]

Two posts! One day! *throws computer-shaped confetti in the air* I somehow managed to talk the ol’ nether region a lot.  And before I write every such post, I think, “There is no way that people are going to care about this.”  But I’m proven wrong every single time.  See this post, this post, this [...]

Is it possible to fall in love with two wheels and a carbon frame? If so, then I am SMITTEN. When Coach Marni heard that I was planning to train and race on my old, beat-up Giant, she said, “You really, really need to think about getting a new bike.” At first, I kind of [...]

This is one of those “do I say, not as I do” posts because I sure make these swimming mistakes, too! But I’m trying hard to completely nix them from my time in the pool.  Because these errors can cost you time, effort, and sanity during the swim leg of the triathlon.   Mistake #1: [...]

I’ve had a few questions in the comments section about how to balance strength training with the rest of your cardio schedule. Others wondered why it’s so important to strength train while working towards a larger goal like a triathlon. I asked Coach Marni to weigh in….   Oh, by the way, Marni (and her [...]

I’ve gotten a lot of e-mails recently about the swim portion of the triathlon.  I used to be so scared of swimming and had a major panic attack during my first triathlon, resulting in me needing lifeguard assistance and my one and only DQ (disqualification).  It took me a handful of races before I was [...]

One of my favorite things about swimming is how the quiet of the water allows me to think.  I tend to zone out to music while running and concentrate hard on my surroundings when cycling, so I really enjoy the peace of the pool. I usually think about work things, but whenever a race is [...]

A few weeks after posting my Should You Buy a USA Triathlon Membership? post, I received my USAT welcome pack in the mail.  One of the goodies that I received was a mini rule book for triathlons, and I’ve been flipping through it whenever I have some down time.   I discovered a few rules [...]

My first triathlon of the season is a pool tri.  I used to shy away from pool tris because I thought they weren’t as ‘hardcore’ as lake tris, but then I did one and realized that POOL TRIS ARE AMAZING!  They are just as challenging and fun, and you don’t smell like lake water during [...]

I am feeling really good about training lately.  Ironman March is motivating me to seriously mix up my workouts, so I always look forward to exercise.  My muscles hurt in so many new ways, too!  I took yesterday off (Sunday’s back-to-back run and swim did me in), and today, I went to spin class. While [...]