Triathlon for Military members everywhere

For those of you that don't know that some of our own Navy Tridents are pretty decent at triathlon.  Three of our members, Shawn, Emilie and Beth have all made the Military CISM developmental triathlon team.  I met up with Shawn over lunch to go over my triathlon season for 2017 and garner any tips and tricks to improve my running. I have not been swimming enough each week but hoping to get back to 3 times a week.  I have been using trainer road that I can hop on the bike after the girls go to bed. Feeling better about swimming and a lot stronger on the bike. I needed help with running and loosing 15 lbs. Shawn graciously agreed and we met at the Stadacona track.  I recently showed him this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSIDRHUWlVo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSIDRHUWlVo He explained that this video was one of the best running break down videos he ever saw. He also mentioned that there is not one way to run.  Depending on how you run, ...

I met Syd at the #2XUcamp in Toronto, Ontario in November.  We instantly clicked because we were runners or at least I was 1/3 of a runner. I definitely have a lot to learn from her and her blog www.gosydgo.com, check it out or IG feed; it is always full of wonderful action shots and proof that she is not afraid to put the miles in.  Thanks so much for this thoughtful blog. Let me know if you like it and comment on mine or Syd's blog if you feel like it. We really appreciate it.  Training for a race can be time consuming. I can certainly say this was the case for me when I trained for my fall marathon over the summer. I needed to plan out to eat the night before training, what and when to eat breakfast, and what to fuel with during training. Then you have the actual training, doing whatever activity it is that you are going to compete in, but let’s not forget about cross-training, stretching and recovery. There are a lot of aspects to consider when training for ...

Why hello there,  It has been a while hasn't it.  Well I blog for a couple of reasons.  One of them is too keep myself motivated.  I have had an un-motivating fall.  I really needed something to pick up my spirits.  That call was from Sportchek and 2XU(pronounced Two times you).  I love to enter into contests and rather than say "I never win or I am so unlucky", it is more rewarding to put the positive vibes out there that tell the Universe "I will win".  I saw this advertisement to win an incredible athletic/olympian experience in Toronto, Ontario through joint sponsorships with 2XU, Sportchek and the Canadian Sports Institute of Canada. You had to tag yourself on instagram with the hashtag #2xucamp. I only put in one entry and was chosen to represent the military and the sport of triathlon at the camp.  I was introduced to 2XU from a friend when complaining of DOMS and muscle soreness after races and circuit training.  He suggested I...

This will be hard.  I know I have not blogged in a little while.  Actually the last post was drafted quite a few weeks ago but had a busy, sad month. Recently my family and friends lost someone very young in a cycling collision.  His name was Kevin Hurley, and he was the best kind of guy I know.  The last few weeks we have celebrated his work, education, sport and life accomplishments.  There is actually too many to describe on this post. He was a social rockstar and was very caring when he conversed with you.  He always tried to live each day as though it was his last; he was notorious for squeezing so much stuff into one day that he could nap on demand to recharge when the opportunity presented itself. He was always the first one to pass out at a party then wake up to be the life again 30 minutes later. Actually Kevin introduced my brother, Matt to cycling which years later my brother convinced me to start.  We actually have the same bike.  Ke...

Improvement in physical fitness will usually increase success with time.  The rate of that success depends on numerous factors and not being physically injured is the secret to getting there. Success is the tell-tale test of how an athlete is progressing. Whether you shave 10 seconds off swimming 100m or setting PBs on a 5k run or longest bike ride ever . When we have a weakness, we work to get better at it and set goals to work towards an improvement. Now physical effort requires a tank of energy and throughout the swimming, biking and running, we work off that energy. Then refuel and repeat. It is a quick cycle and as long as we can stay injury free, and follow prescribed training plans, we will always see success in some form or another. The basics of improving physical fitness is readily available on the interweb and remarkable improvements can be made very quickly and of course it is quite rewarding when you get there. You just have to put in the effort.  A physical inju...

Recently spent two weeks away from my bikes, home pool and comfortable running routes.  I know what you are thinking, stop your whining.  It was definitely a first for me as an amateur triathlete.  First off, I wasn't cooking for myself so eating healthy at military dining facilities was difficult.  I really miss my wife's cooking as she really goes all out mixing delicious and healthy meals for our family.  At first, I ate extremely healthy but then I found that I was truly missing out. I started eating less healthy and figured I would make it up in work outs like most triathletes do.  See my previous post about being a fat triathlete. The other hard hard part was I was on a course with other engineers who I have not seen in a while and let's say that some drinks were had.  I definitely need to write a post about triathletes that still have a good time with alcohol because everything I read says it is terrible for triathletes. I cannot seem to find ...

Booking the ‘dam’ race There is a lot of factors that may lead you to booking your first race.  For me, it is step one as it ensures that I will train because I am out money for something that will occur in the future.  I am a results oriented guy so I require ultimatum’s.   Booking a race turned my easy 30 min lane swims at lunch to 1-1.5 hr Navy Trident practices with a real coach Stevie Beave ( this was my nickname in University). Again I forgot to ask him if he minded if I blog about him. I would bet he wouldn’t care but for now we will keep him anonymous.   He is a great volunteer swim coach and we only pay him when he works past free o’clock so thanks Stevie. Anyways he always told me to book the race and join the triathlon club Facebook group and the rest was history.   Now obviously this requires money but think of it as an investment. Usually races go up in price over time, so booking races early actually saves you money.  Therefore...