I’m going to to ahead and confess to some wetsuit avoidance. I find wetsuits intimidating for two reasons cost and fit. Wetsuits have some fairly serious sticker shock. The other more important issue was my belief that wetsuit manufacturers probably did not make a wetsuit I could actually wear. Frankly athletic clothing makers never foresaw …
Recently I had the opportunity to travel to Greenville, SC, with my wife and daughter (Team Al) for the 2nd annual St. Paddy’s Day Dash & Bash 5K and 10K. There is nothing like starting off your running season with a St. Paddy’s day event. As I lined up at the 5K start on this …
With mid-May and the Sevierville Sprint Triathlon looming ever nearer, I decided to get my act together and get training while there was still time to train properly. First I picked out a training plan from Triathlete Magazine’s Essential Week-by-Week Training Guide. The plan called for two workouts in each discipline each week. After giving it …
Having made good progress on my swim and run in recent weeks, I decided to get started on addressing my biggest weakness the bike leg. So I packed up my two thousand something aluminum frame, Masi Vincere, triple chainring, road bike that I purchased used last summer and headed for West Bicycles in Knoxville for …
I have a love/hate relationship with swimming. OK I lied. Swimming and I have had a troubled relationship from the beginning. Partially because I am an adult onset swimmer. I learned to swim in college and then went back for lessons in the mid 1990s when I decided to try my luck at triathlons. As …
Yes I’m predicting the title of Deepak Chopra’s next book. Actually I’m acknowledging that this particular post is all over the parking lot. Basically we have a book review, some new resources for the two-month focus on mindfulness, a training update and some thoughts about nutrition. Spoiler alert, carbs are not your friend. Can’t Swim, …
We’ll start 2013 looking at the mental side of endurance sports, specifically mindfulness meditation. That is meditation that emphasizes being aware of the mind, body and environment. Why? Because it was the topic that got the most votes in the blog’s year-end poll. If you’d like to voice your opinion scroll down and visit the …
“Through running we all can learn to climb the mountain of our life in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. And, with practice, we can learn that by not thinking ahead, each footstep, each run, each day isn’t just a means to an end but a unique event in itself,” – John “The Penguin” Bingham. …
We have reached that time of year where we look back on last year’s training, races and results to evaluate how it went and decide on ways to improve for the coming running, triathlon or trail running season. The process can be daunting and at the same time magical. Like you, I am looking to …
In October, my family and I headed east to Hollister, NC, for Medoc Trail races, specifically the Medoc 10 Miler, www.medoctrailmarathon.com. I had been training for the Medoc Trail Marathon but a series of injuries sidelined me. Then I noticed a Facebook post by the race organizers showing the finisher medals for the 10 miler. …
