New York City Triathlon Race Report
Racing the NYC Triathlon was quite an experience, as is anything in New York. Everything there is big and that included my race nerves. Although I was comfortable with my training (thank you Coach Kathy and TriDot), I was not comfortable with the logistics of moving around New York. This race required me not only to get to New York from Gainesville (Florida), but to drive into the city itself (a first in my 32 years of driving). I also had to ride my bike from Midtown to Transition on the West Side and back again. Luckily, this was an incredibly well organized event AND I had my NY guide and generous friend, Jonah, to lead me to transition and…
How to Motivate for Triathlon Training
When you’re not “in it,” finding the motivation to train is a difficult hurdle to climb. The desire to train doesn’t usually spark out of thin air. It’s developed by positioning yourself within the right mental and physical circumstances. So if you’re having trouble staying motivated in your triathlon training then here’s some advice on how to buck that trend. Create Goals Training just to train is a difficult task to take on. When there’s no urgency or event on the horizon it’s easy to ask yourself why you’re even doing anything triathlon related in the first place. Therefore, a triathlete always needs a goal to be shooting for. The misconception, however, is that this goal always needs to be…
Misconceptions about Carb Loading in Triathlon
At some point over the past four decades or so athletes created a picture in their mind of what carb loading looks like. And that image became a big bowl of pasta the night before a race. In reality, effective carb loading for any endurance event, much less triathlon, is much more involved than this. First of all, why do we “load” carbs prior to a race? The reason is because of glycogen. Glycogen is the most accessible store of energy in the body. Glycogen is what you’ll be burning as fuel during a triathlon. When you eat something like pizza, most of the carbohydrates from that pizza get stored as glycogen in your body. Thus, eat pizza the day…
What do New Running-Watch Metrics Really Mean to Triathletes? (Part 2)
Last time we started a post-series talking about running-watch running dynamics and what part cadence plays as a metric for triathletes. Today we’ll be covering two other metrics that new running-watches are capable of tracking and discuss why you should be paying attention to them. Ground Contact Time In all honesty, the remaining metrics are really only derivatives to that of run cadence. However, these are still great data values to track and are very representative of where you are in your running form. Ground contact time (GCT) is literally the amount of time your foot is in contact with the ground upon each step. This metric is measured in milliseconds. Naturally, as speed increases your ground contact time decreases.…
What do New Running-Watch Metrics Really Mean to Triathletes? (Part I)
“Metrics” has been one of the fancier new buzzwords to grace the triathlon scene in recent years. Athletes want proof that the payment in suffering they’ve footed will recoup dividends in return. And why shouldn’t they? Visual evidence of improvement is a confidence booster and a predictive tool of what to expect come race day. For the triathlete focusing on his or her run training, an advanced running watch capable of providing advanced metrics makes a lot of sense. This is direct feedback related to the triathlete’s running form and provides confirmation as to whether or not the athlete is improving in technique or declining. But what do those metrics really mean? Over the next two posts we’ll look at…
Madden on Excellence: From Adversity to Excellence
As I child growing up in a dysfunctional home in an inner-city area, I learned about the realities of adversity. Adversity was all around me and overcoming challenges both at school and at home were a major part of my everyday world. To manage these uncertainties, I learned the importance of persistence and always striving to do my best in all endeavors no matter how bad things appeared. Athletics was the place that seemed to be my niche and where I was in my element. During practice and competition, my desire to reach a high level of performance became one of the character traits that allowed me to embrace “excellence.” Performing at a high level in the competitive arena was…
Stop Running Junk Miles in your Triathlon Training
If you’ve ever said, “I would never train for my triathlon by running miles that don’t have a purpose,” then you might need to do some honest evaluation of your training history. For instance, have you ever logged a workout, running or otherwise, for the sole purpose of adding volume to your triathlon training plan? Or have you ever gone out for a run and simply played whatever kind of run workout you would partake in by ear? In either case, if you’ve committed such an error – and most likely you have – then you’re guilty of running junk miles. If you’re running miles for the sake of running miles then you need to rethink what you’re doing. Every…
TriDot Check-In: Yu Hsiao - Part Two
What attracted you to TriDot? How did you first hear about it? I appreciated TriDot’s scientific approach to training. None of the training is left to guessing. I first heard about it through my coach, Nicholas Thompson, whose impressive career I’ve followed over the years. When I heard he was coaching for TriDot I contacted him. What is the uniqueness of TriDot from other training systems and technologies? No other coaching platform has the comprehensive software engine that generates a training plan based on countless data compiled over the years. TriDot’s training is driven by data and science, and is then adjusted by experienced coaches which I think makes for a perfect combination for high performance sports. How has TriDot…