Merry Christmas!!!!

Twas the day before Christmas, and Jenn was at home
Beginning vacation by writing this poem
Still in her pajamas and typing away
She tried to think of the right words to say

The gals on this blog are a strong group of women
Who spend their time run/walking, biking, and swimmin'
So what can she say that hasn't been said?
What can she type that hasn't been read?

Donna went solo, our brave pioneer
It's gonna be great to Tri with her this year!

Lynn walked the walk, though her knee, it resisted
Yet with a smile, through the pain she persisted

As Lesli cried "MOMMY!!!!" we laughed and we cried
Her joy, and her parents', was quite hard to hide

There's more than one reason Alana was glowing
A triple triathlete without even knowing!

Every step Courtney took felt like walking on nails
But she came with a mission, and she refused to fail

Jenn smiled as the memories came flooding back,
And can't wait for Austin -- TriDivas Attack!!!!

So she screamed from the rooftops for all y'all to hear,
Merry Christmas, TriDivas! Let's kick ass this year! :)

How Many Miles Per Gallon Does Your Body Get?

Interesting!

http://www.thecarconnection.com/mpg-quiz/

Got Time? The Balancing Act

Got Time? The Balancing Act
Few of us have the luxury of training for triathlon on a full time basis. Most of us must learn to balance our training and racing with our daily responsibilities.

Gail Leveque - AZ Coaching

Got Time?

It’s a fact..........spending your hard-earned cash and hiring a qualified coach who writes you a technologically advanced, scientifically proven training program, is going to do nothing to improve your race times if you don’t have the time to do the workouts.

While a few lucky people may have the time and flexibility to train at high volume, it is much more common to find triathletes of all levels scrounging to fit the bare minimum of workouts into a crazy schedule. Life does get in the way!

Worrying about the lack of available training time does nothing about it.........finding ways to maximize the productivity of the time you do have does.

What I suggest to my athletes is that they first sit down and take a realistic look at their weekly schedule.........work, family obligations, sleep, and the like. From there, make decisions about how much time you have to spend training. Be sure to take into consideration travel and shower time and the like. Be creative about ways to sneak a workout in........look outside the box, so to speak. There is often much more time available than may appear at first glance. Only when you have a realistic idea of how much time you have, can you even start to think about designing an appropriate training schedule.

Once you have a weekly schedule of available training time, then it is time to build a plan that fits. If you have 8 hours a week, then write workouts that total 8 hours a week! Seems obvious, but one of the quickest ways to get discouraged about your training is to consistently fall short of your training goals. Better to plan 2 workouts a week in each discipline and actually do them, than to plan for 3 and beat yourself up because you can’t get them done..

So you have a plan now, what’s next ? Follow it! It is preferable to have a 6 workout per week plan and follow it, than the 10 or 12 workout plan that never gets done. You can make steady progress on 2 sessions a week in each sport if you are dedicated about getting those workouts in. If you are able to throw in an additional workout in your weakest link..........so much the better.

One good way to maximize limited training time is to work on a basic 2x per week schedule with a rotating extra workout every week. For example, week 1 you do 2x swim, 2x bike and 3x run, week #2 you do 2x swim, 2x run and 3x bike, and week #3 would be 2x bike, 2x run and 3x swim. I find that this is great for athletes who are fairly balanced in all disciplines..

If you are not so balanced, it is important to train your weaknesses. It is all too easy for someone with limited training time, or anyone for that matter, to get seduced into spending large chunks of time on the sport they are best at...........and generally enjoy the most. Much better to invest time, especially in the early season, in the areas that have the opportunity for the most improvement. You’re not going to improve your slug-like swim split if you don’t get yourself to the pool as often as possible!

Ok, so now you have designed a plan that fits the time you have available, does it match your goals? Nothing wrong with lofty goals, we all have them, but it’s also a good idea to have some less challenging goals that are in synch with your training level. Not saying you need to accept less than your "best", just that what constitutes your "best" needs to take into account just how much training you are able to do.

While everyone has to deal with issue of missed workouts occasionally, it is best to make an honest effort to get those workouts in. The fewer workouts on your schedule, the more critical each workout becomes. The best way to triathlon success with limited training time is to do every workout with purpose..........there are no workouts to waste. Communicate with family and friends about your training schedule in advance to lessen the chance of avoidable conflict. Every workout you complete successfully brings you one step closer to meeting your goals.

While training more may often be a good thing, training smarter is always better! Do your research........or find someone to do it for you. Finding out the methods and training principles that work best for you, your goals and your situation and then using them to make the time you spend training as focused and productive as possible will pay huge dividends come race day. Make every minute count

and you will be well on your way to a successful season!

Gail Leveque is a member of AZ Coaching out of Scottsdale, AZ www.azcoaching.com Gail is a 9 year veteran of multi-sport training and racing. She is a two-time USAT All American, USAT Southwest Regional W45-49 Champion in '02 & '03 and is the current USAT Southeast Regional Masters Champion. She also placed Top Ten in her age group at the 2004 Ironman Triathlon World Championships.

How to Use a Triathlon Training Program to Lose Weight

How to Use a Triathlon Training Program to Lose Weight
By Bob Cotter

Many people who wish to lose weight don't realize that a triathlon training program is one of the best ways to help themselves with that.

If you enter a triathlon, you will need to compete in a back-to-back-to-back swim, bicycle, and run. As you might imagine, to get in shape for this amazing athletic event requires a very intense and extensive triathlon training program. It requires that you use all muscle groups, and thus train all muscle groups. The upper body, the tops of the legs, and the back of the legs all must be thoroughly worked out and made strong and efficient, and the cardiovascular system has to be made very strong.

All of these factors add up to a tremendous weight loss program. Clearly, making your muscles this strong and efficient means they are burning up more calories even at rest than the average person's muscles are. The only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you take in--if you don't do this, you cannot lose weight no matter what you do. So a workout regimen that causes your muscles to become super efficient caloric burners and causes your metabolism to rise with your increased cardiovascular power is a workout that is ideal for losing weight.

But the weight loss advantages of a triathlon training program go beyond those basic qualities.

A triathlon training program requires that you eat foods that will give you a great deal of energy. This energy has to last a long time, too. And, you'll need to eat foods that help you rebuild your sore, taxed muscles. It so happens that all such kinds of foods are the kind that don't put on a lot of extra weight. Although you might eat a lot of carbohydrates such as pasta, you'll be burning off those calories from those carbs--that's why you're eating that kind of food in the first place. But "empty calories" like white breads will not be eaten that much; they don't provide you with enough energy. You will also end up cutting out a great deal of refined sugars as part of your triathlon training.

Refined sugars fool the body into believing that it has more energy than it actually does; so, you really won't want them. As you cut them out to further your training, you will naturally start losing your taste for sugary foods. You'll find yourself wanting more substantial sweet foods like fruits. And, you'll find yourself wanting to eat more protein. The more you fill up on protein, the less room you'll have in your appetite for things like jelly doughnuts!

Of course, all of these dietary changes are exactly the kind that so many people try to "force themselves" into and can't sustain. For those people who desire to lose weight, there need to be stronger incentives to keep the dieting and exercising going. These things need to be more fun and more interesting than they usually are for people. A triathlon training program fits the bill perfectly.