Congrats on making it to the "The Big Island"!

      Congratulations to several of our local Charlotteans for making it to The Hawaii World Championships this year!  What a great privilege and reward for hard work! When you make it to the Big Dance something comes alive in you. The excitement, the nervousness, the planning, the tapering... where do you begin and where does it stop?? Entering Kona perfectly prepared requires careful planning, a calm day to day wit, and a willingness to stick to "YOUR" plan. Truth of the matter is, there are 100 ways to peak for Hawaii, just ask 100 different people :)!  Pre Race week is filled with athletes flexing their shaved legs, comparing training logs, and filling your ear with how many long rides they put in.... ho hum...  Attention Athletes! Best approach is a humble attitude about what will happen for you on race day. That means throwing time predictions out the window.  Trust me, The Big Island has a way of deciding what's best for you!  Whether that means a 30 mph headwind or welcomed cloud cover during the marathon, take it All in stride! Every Racer will experience the same, but You will handle it better by not having expectations. (in a finish time) . Keep that quiet confidence in how you prepared yourself and take that and only that to the start line! 
       All this being said, preparation/training is your best chance to success in finishing Hawaii in front of your competitior!  how then??  Well, that depends on who you are. Are you a Weekend Warrior, 20 yrs old, 60 yrs old, Single, Married, Unemployed,  a Workaholic???  If your answer is yes, then the answer is "Use your time wisely!"  That means, long rides, long runs, strength work (my favorite), rest, and nutrition... maybe a little swimming too would be good!  The Mileage for each person will differ but max it out 4 weeks from Race day! This particular week should become your peak week, 100 % of what you were able to put in, with 28 days to go.... 3 weeks out 75 % of mileage, 2 weeks 50% of mileage, and Race week.. close to 25%.  However keep in mind, these last 4 weeks don't get any easier in my book!  Depends on what's easy to you, because Intensity (not easy to me) does climb as you put the icing on the cake. You'll move yourself to the front of the pack!  These last 4 weeks used properly either "Breaks your Race" or "Makes your Race".... and that finish time you're not thinking about :)   Be Wise!  Don't push the mileage envelop too close to Oct 8th!  Strength and Speed in the final weeks will make giant steps in the economy of your swim stroke, pedal stroke, and stride!  All the best!  Later, I'll try to share my thoughts on Race Day and some things to keep in mind... hopefully it will help for what it's worth....   Jamey

Be a Weight Lifter??

Sports Specific training, Cross training, resistance training, nutrition, mental preparation, massage, stretching.... where does the list end with trying to improve performance??  #1 rule is Sports Specific Training. Want to be a great Runner... then run farther and faster each week... Never add more than 10% to weekly mileage and keep speed work to a maximun of 15% of weekly mileage... If you've been injury free for more than 6 months, then you can push that to 30% of weekly mileage... holding it there for no more than 1 month and typically before your Summer "A" race!  Swimming and Cycling, same concept!  Riding 100 miles per week? Then 15 will be speed/hard/anaerobic work. Again, no need to push beyond 15% as Aerobic work(other 85%) will build the size of the engine! (You'll be a V8 instead of a 4 cylinder).  Next Step!  Resistance Training for Power(Speed) and Endurance(sustainable Speed).  Lives are busy... work/family/kids.... Get the most bang for your buck(TIME) in the weight room!  SQUATS!  Athletes can live by Squats alone :)  Feet Wide, Toes flared out, Go all the way to catchers position!  All the weight and power is generated through the heels... Get off the toes!  Core/ Hip flexors/Glutes... there's your hidden speed.. Triathletes! Take that aggressive TRi Bike and Lower that seat an 1/8 inch and raise the nose the same... you'll slide back a hair and find your power. Squats will develop your inner thighs, hamstrings and Glutes and you'll feel your knees get closer to the Top Tube and your inner Thighs will Turn over a 53/14ish at 90 RPM's, with a comfortable HR... Big factor when racing 1/2 IM's or IM!  Second most beneficial exercise... LEG PRESS... Again and most important... push through the heels!  Give these two weight training exercises a go, twice a week for 1 month!  See what happens. Beware... First go round do 1/2 the # of reps you think you can do!  Reason, you'll be very sore and won't be able to get your second lift in later in the week.  Go a little heavier by the fourth session when your muscles and tendons have had two weeks to adapt!  Adaptation , that's what training is... stressing the muscles beyond their comfort zone then resting and recoverying before stressing them to a new level!  Slow progression :)  Next Blog, How do you recover??  Hmmm. good question!  Happy training!  www.facebook.com/triyonperformance

1st Time Blogger!

First it was cell phones.. "I'll never get one of those"  then it was emailing... I was in the hot sun paving parking lots all day and my friends we're emailing back and forth from their desk all day.. I said "Email Smeemail"  What's wrong with a phone!  Then the lastest for me was "Are you on Facebook?"  Facebook, crazy people talking about themselves all day!  Not for this guy... well, now here I am sitting on my couch BLOGGING! I have a Blackberry, on Twitter, on FB, and now blogging. Man what you have to do be competitive in business these days.. Maybe this bolg could be my journaling to God!  No, I don't think so... that's between God and me :)  Here's the real plan for this Blogging, I hope... Now that I'm leading/coaching athletes to accomplish their goals and coaching high school runners as they figure out life, I plan to write something only when I feel that I have something valuable to share.  Thanks!  Coach Yon