Womens Triathlon Blog

The Real Appeal of the Triathlon

admin — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:00:34 +0000

Remember when you were little, on those perfect summer days. Maybe you were on vacation, maybe you had access to everything in your neighborhood. Those days you went to the pool or the beach and splashed and swam and played. Then you rode your bike home or to a friends or just up and down the street. Then you ran and played chasing games. At some base level, the thought and the act of doing a triathlon relives that kind of joyful play. I know that’s what first attracted me. “Hey I love to swim and I love to bike. Running’s OK but it’s fun with my friend.” Part of the triathlon is that summer day of your childhood. Think about that next time you’re on the 3rd K of your 10K run and smile!

Technorati Tags: triathlon, triathlons

When you’re ready to quit.

admin — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:01:46 +0000

Are there time when you are competing in a triathlon, or even during a grueling training session, when you think “OK, I’m done. I don’t need this” ? I know these times come to me. But triathletes get through these thoughts. We ignore them, muddle through them, shout them down, whatever it takes.

I love this quote by champion triathlete Natascha Badmann of Switzerland. She has won the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Hawaii in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005. Badmann, who by the way, is a married social worker with a daughter, trains up to 35 hours a week. Three times a year she goes to the Canary Islands to train where she has to deal with the heat and fatigue to prepare herself for Hawaii.

“Everyone who does a triathlon comes to that place where the inner voice says, Why don’t you stop? You’re tired,” says Badmann. “If you realize it’s all in your mind, then you can try to manage it. I wasn’t born that way I work at it every day.”

If you’ve ever seen her race, you can see she has a positive, friendly attitude. But it helps me to know that even top triathletes work on the mindset too.

Technorati Tags: Natascha Badmann, women triathlete, Womens Triathlon

A few good triathlon training plans online

admin — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:14:27 +0000

f you are getting a little bored with your current training regimen, check out some of these sites for more training plans.

www.tri247.com - some nice age group (meaning non-elite) training plans
www.swim4fitness.com - has triathlon swim dedicated plans
www.runnersworld.co.uk - dedicated plans for 5k and 10k runs
www.coolrunning.com - more great running plans
www.beginnertriathlete.com - lots of plans, free and for-price versions
www.220triathlon.com - check out the forums

Technorati Tags: Triathlon Schedules, Triathlon Training, triathlon training schedule, Womens Triathlon

Kids Are Back to School - Better for your workout?

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:42:01 +0000

I love that old OfficeMax commercial for school supplies, where the Dad is sailing happily back and forth through the aisles of the store on the back of a shopping cart to the tune “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”. Two obviously depresssed children trudge slowly behind him.

That’s me. Doing a happy dance as I drop my kids off today for the first day of school. And in more ways than one. Not just because I will get some quiet work time or my little girl gets to talk some kids’ ears off instead of just mine. No, I love the schedule. My whole house is back on a schedule: school hours, teams, afterschool activities, etc. And I get to blame school. See, family it’s not just me being dictator for your own good, we need to be organized so school goes well!

Seriously, with more structured schedules we with families must create in the fall, this is a good opportunity to schedule your workout time in there too. Many women with kids start schedules fresh and anew in September. If you have been working out, make sure your times are working with the new schedules. If you have not seriously started your workout plan yet, start now by blocking in at least 4 sessions for yourself. Because this is now off-season for many in the US and Canada, you can pare down the number of workout sessions, at least for a few months, without damage to your overall triathlon training plan. If you can only work with 4 sessions a week, start there.

Make your workout time a priority–to you and your family–as much as football practice and girls scouts. For now, I’m fitting a couple of runs in during daughter’s soccer practice, weights during son’s swim practice, and swim early in the morning 2 days and bike or spinning on the weekend.

And if you don’t have kids–take advantage too! If you workout out at neighborhood centers or YMCAs, take advantage of those times kids aren’t there (as they were for summer camps).

Technorati Tags: back to school, Triathlon Schedules, Triathlon Training, triathlon training schedule, Womens Triathlon

The Womens Triathlon

admin — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:20:59 +0000

Triathlons can seem a bit intimidating. Look at those pictures! Tone and experienced athletes jostling in the water. Tons of gear. But as a women, if you are interested in trying a triathlon, don’t let uncertainty stop you! You can do a triathlon! In fact, you can make your experience a more welcome one if you compete in a womens triathlon.

First understand, women’s triathlon events are not easier than any other! It is competitive in that you still have to swim, bike and run the given distances. The difference is how you are competing. Newcomers to triathlon are extremely welcome, especially because more women find the sport daunting. You’ll find support getting through the ins-and-outs of the triathlon and usually won’t feel much pressure of competition. For those who have raced before, womens triathlons still provide a competitive platform for those who want a challenge and the camaraderie of women (and sponsors) who face the same issues you face in this sport.

A womens triathlon is all about being strong and athletic, as a woman. I love the logo that the Iron Girl event uses–Grace, the grace that makes women heroic, charming and limitless.

We even train a little differently. Womens triathlon training is typical training, but we have special issues to manage. With gear, we need to go through the effort finding a properly sized bike and quality sports bras. With health, women contend with issues like training through periods, lower iron, and pregnancy. And socially, women more often have to find time to train while holding down many activities in addition to the job such ascaring for kids or parents and a household.

Triathlons are an exciting journey. For your first triathlon, it’s all about “can I do this?” and getting ready to finish your first race. Once you have your first race under your belt, you’re on a quest to get better–improve your time here, improve your technique there, you know you can do the next one a little faster. Wherever you are in your tri experience, a womens triathlon is a great place to find your grace.

Technorati Tags: Triathlon Training, triathlons for women, Womens Triathlon