Whats In A Year?

I remember my grandfather telling me, "It goes by faster than you think." As I sit here, eleven days from another year come and gone, it's pretty easy to realize my grandfather was right. I guess the year's end brings personal reflection...facing another year gone with considerable accomplishments, or another year gone with the questionable regret of "Where did the year go?"

So what's in a year? Twelve months? Fifty-two weeks? Three hundred and sixty-five days? Ups and downs, good and bad, joy and sorrow? It's all inescapable aspects of life. So as we tie up yet another year, try this one on for size. If you are reading this you're still here...you're still alive. That means another chance at another day with a different outcome than the one before.

In the past year, I have laughed hard enough to cry. Cried hard enough to wish I was laughing. Worked hard enough to give myself a headache. Played hard enough to give myself a headache. I've spent time with family and friends, made new friends and said goodbye to old ones. I struggled with my kids, with my work, and my significant other. I've also found moments of extreme joy, happiness, and love in all of these same things, and created memories that will extend beyond this physical life. Through all of this one thing comes shining through. I'm blessed with every moment...for it's the culmination of these things that make life worth living.

What's in a year for you?

Basic Tips for Faster Triathlon Times

Most all of us who enjoy triathlon try to achieve faster split times, transition times, and overall finishing times. Over the years I have found a number of basic things a triathlete can do to help improve their times. Here are three basic tips you can follow that should make you a bit faster.

Swim a Straight Line - Yeah it sounds easy, but for most it is harder to do than it sounds. Swimming a straight line takes practice and you can practice doing this in a pool and/or open water. Keep in mind that you will have a tendency to swim "off-line" in the direction of the dominant side of your body. So if you are right handed, more than likely you will swim "'off-line" to the right side of your body. One basic way to improve swimming a straight line is to use guided imagery. In a pool, begin this drill by swimming a couple of laps and being mindful of the lane line on the bottom of the pool. As you begin to feel comfortable, close you eyes and visualize this big, black, straight line in you mind. Visualize the line extending from the top of your head to the distant wall. Try to image that you are connected to the wall by this line and focus on having this line "pull" or "draw" you into the distant wall. Take about 10 strokes with your eyes closed then open your eyes and determine if have have veered to the left of ride side of the lane line. Continue to work this drill until you can take 10 strokes with your eyes closed while not veering off the lane line by more than half the width of your body. In open water swimming (OWS), begin by swimming towards an object, like a buoy, boat dock, island, or an object on dry land (like a house, car, big rock...etc). Look up at the object, then drop your head in the water and either try to imagine the pool lane line, or a gigantic rope that is attached to your head and the marker towards which you're swimming. Keep your head submerged (without looking up at the marker) for about 15-20 strokes. Then look up at the marker and determine to which side you have gone "off-line." Rest, readjust, refocus, and repeat the drill. Get to where you can complete 15-20 strokes in OWS without veering too far left or right of the marker.

Load Your Bike - Make sure that prior to the start of the event you load your bike with what you will need for the bike portion of the event. Take your helmet and sunglasses and place them on the aerobars. Place your helmet upside down, and place your sunglasses inside your helmet. when you approach your bike, put your glasses on, then simply grab your helmet and place it on your head. Don't forget to strap it on! Make sure you already have your shoes clipped into the pedals. If you're not comfortable doing this, practice it. It's not that hard to do, but it does take some practice. If you decide you don't like this option, that is fine, just simply put your shoes on first when you enter T1. No socks! This makes it much easier and faster! Also make sure you have already loaded your bike with the food and fluids that you will need for the bike portion of the event. Pack it, but realize less is more. Take only what you're going to need.

Get Rid of the Laces - Stop trying to tie your shoes! Get some elastic speed laces. These are much easier and more convenient. Some articles out there suggest that having speed laces can save you up to 15 seconds. I say they can even save you more than that because if the old nylon laces come untied, you're gonna have to stop and tie them, and that is going to take even more time! There are a number of different types of speed laces out there, but I highly recommend EZ Laces, http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/EZU100/. They can be found at this link and most running specialty stores will also carry them. These types of laces also move with your foot, which is something that nylon laces will not do.

So there ya go. If you're not already using this tips, try them. What do you have to lose? In fact, they might actually help you win!     

                        

Keeping Fit on the Road

By Mike Manning

In a perfect world, you'd be able to perfectly arrange the 24 hours in a day, the seven sets of them in a week, and the 52 sets of weeks in a year to fit your exercise regimen. You'd be able to perfectly fin in your workout at lunch or during the down time you inevitably find at some point on your schedule. But life has a certain affinity for disrupting plans. Sometimes we can't foresee what we're going to be doing in the later part of our fitness schedule. Or, for that case, where' we're going to be.

This is why you need to be prepared for the inevitability of performing your fitness routine while traveling. That's not to speak literally of course. No one's expecting you to do crunches while you're sitting on a plane. But say you have to travel for work or you have the funds for an unexpected vacation. How are you going to keep your fitness routine intact while you're traveling all over the place? Here are a few tips on how to do just that.

1) Don't Settle for Junk:

More likely than not, there isn't going to be enough time to prepare a delicious home-made meal while you're traveling. With the prevalence of fast food locations, it may seem like you're doomed to fail. However, this isn't so. You can opt to eat healthier options instead of those loaded with grease and fats. It may seem difficult at first, but it is feasible.

2) Make the Right Hotel Choice:

People all over the nation are starting up on a fitness regimen. Hotel owners are noticing that which can be aptly described as a new fitness boom. Many hotels are more than happy to cater to their guests in the form of a workout space or hotel gym. Many are well furnished and some hotels even have morning runs. Make sure to do some research before booking a hotel in order to take advantage of this trend. On a trip to San Francisco I used a travel reviews site to find all of the best hotels in San Francisco and was able to search reviews on their fitness amenities.

3) Take Advantage of the New Fitness Trends:

There are a number of fitness trends arising in the hospitality industry. Hotels are starting to carry locations for meditation and yoga. The San Francisco airport is offering rooms for people to practice yoga in between flights, and there are more of such programs springing up all the time. Contact the airport you intend to fly out of and see if you can take advantage of any similar programs. 

Tour De Toad

Today was a super 50 miles at the Tour De Toad in lovely Conway, AR. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Conway, it is in south central Arkansas about 25 minutes west of Little Rock. Every year we have this great little festival (I say little, but it brings in about 20-30,000 people) called Toad Suck Days.

The festival is filled with events, one which is the Tour De Toad. Today was a great day for the event. We pushed out about 50 miles through the beautiful country side. It was a cool start to the ride, but we had blue skies and a light breeze most of the way. Nate, Kevin, and I rode most of the route together. Nate was hit with a flat early in the ride, at about fifteen miles. Being the old veteran of the trio, I hopped off and helped with the repairs and we were back on the road in about twenty minutes.

Despite a slower pace than usual for me, today really reminded me why I got into this sport so many years ago. It's simply because it makes me feel free. You see God's work clearly...like a perfect painted portrait of a beautiful world. I think to myself, "Heaven must be really good, because this place is pretty hard to beat!" I feel alive! Wind in my hair, air filling my lungs, muscles orchestrating a focused effort...up and down, slow and fast I go. Where I truly end, God only knows. So if you are one of those who "use to ride" or maybe you've considered the sport. Try it! Get back into it! See what you've forgotten, or what you're missing. I promise if you take a look at yourself and find your freedom, the bike and the road will call your name.

Happy riding....