Posts tagged as:

triathlon

What is 70.3 Training?

by Natalie on April 26, 2010

Training is all about preparing for race day but it also means adjusting life to support the training.

The short answer: a lifestyle change.

Change, adjustment, choice–call it what you will but half Ironman training is a significant commitment and one that requires dedication and focus. I’m starting week 9 of my 20 week training plan and somehow only just recently realized that my decision to train for 70.3 miles is truly no joke. This is serious stuff and one that really has been a lifestyle change. This realization came to me on a Friday night when I was happily getting ready for bed at 9:30 p.m. [click to continue…]

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Half Ironman (70.3) Training: Why?

by Natalie on April 18, 2010

When I tell people I am training for a 1/2 Ironman most often the first question is, “what’s that?” When I answer that it’s a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run, usually the next question is, “WHY?” And sometimes, “how long does that take?”

Most people I know lump me in the ‘crazy’ category for doing this and I know the overall percentage of people who do these events is small. If marathoners are 1% of the population I’m sure 1/2 Ironmen are a close second (though the 70.3 event has been quickly grown in popularity since its introduction in 2006). I’m ok with ‘crazy’ being part of my answer to ‘why?’ but I do have my reasons. [click to continue…]

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Triathlon Training: March Madness Weekend

March 22, 2010

I signed up for a March Madness training weekend with the Annapolis Triathlon Club, fondly known as Iron Crabs, and when I looked at the itinerary thought I might well be ‘mad’ for what I was getting myself into. Two members of the team had coordinated with various area coaches and facilities so that we [...]

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Big Fun at the Big Lick Triathlon

October 6, 2009

The Big Lick Triathlon in Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, was my first Olympic triathlon. I learned about the race from my sister-in-law and her husband who have done the race before and we had a full crew of six of us ready for race day. We also had a full crew of family ready to [...]

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Training, Races, and Life

September 25, 2009

This weekend I am going to be doing my first Olympic triathlon in Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. It’s the Big Lick. It’s also going to be a big milestone marking the end of many months of training and what I think is safe to call a significant obsession with triathlon training. Every week I have [...]

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First Triathlon, First Impressions

August 12, 2009

In late April I set my mind on doing my first triathlon. My sister and her husband had moved to upstate New York last fall and her husband signed up for the Cazenovia Sprint Triathlon which was August 9th. I thought signing up as well would be a great way to tie in a visit [...]

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Interval Awareness

July 27, 2009

Until recently, the last time I ran intervals was during track and field practice in high school. I’ve read plenty of articles about interval runs and there are some great folks on Twitter to learn from whose focus is interval training. The last few weeks of my triathlon training plan have included threshold interval work-outs. [...]

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The Crooked Swim

July 15, 2009

My first open water swim that I would consider as part of my triathlon training was in crystal clear waters in a protected swim area in Jamaica. The second two have been off the beach at Chesapeake Bay Foundation and I hope there are at least two more open water swim practices in my future [...]

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My New Ride: The Bike, The Shoes, The Ride

July 13, 2009

Recently I wrote about the process of buying a new road bike. At the time I had tons of questions. My husband and I were buying road bikes together and it turned out that his bike was delivered to the store a week before mine. I watched as he got an orientation to his bike, [...]

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Breaking Consistency

July 8, 2009

I have been running 9-minute miles for as long as I can remember. Every now and then there is a little variation with my slower time hovering around 9:12 which I usually see on runs of 10 miles or longer and my lower end averages 8:54 on my shorter runs. And for as long as [...]

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