Sunday, October 23, 2011

Coaching Certification & Training Adventures in Huntsville

It has been awhile since I have blogged. It hasn’t been due to the fact that nothing is going on, but more due to the fact that so much has been going on! Quick summary: I was second female 25-29 at the World Ironman 70.3 Championships, got a Shimano sponsorship and a National Bank sponsorship and have been training super hard for the upcoming Miami Ironman 70.3 on October 30th!!!

Anyway, I finally have a chance to sit down (while Rikki drives!) after a whirlwind weekend in Huntsville. The purpose of the trip was for me to become a certified triathlon coach by attending a weekend workshop in Huntsville (and get my bike tuned up in Parry Sound, and fit in a quality 20 minute 5km run workout!).

Highlights of the trip include:

Talking about Muscle biochemistry and weightlifting with Rikki
A 5km run (within a 13km run) in 20’35 in the pitch black morning
Finding Monte Antico Red Wine in an LCBO in Huntsville (can’t even find this wine in Toronto!)
Getting my bike tuned up by Dave Bialkowski (the only bike mechanic I trust)
Talking about getting a Cervelo P5 Road Bike and Rikki not arguing (yet!)
FREE breakfast buffet at the hotel
Finding a copy of the Bhagavagita in the hotel
Getting to drive on winding Muskoka Rd 3 way too fast
BULK BARN Caramel Popcorn
Shasta Cola
Finding a $1 cork screw, breaking corkscrew, watching Rikki open wine with this broken cork screw
Realizing I either order chicken or salmon whenever I go out for dinner...and deciding that next time Rikki should order my food for me so I don’t do this again

Top 3 things I learned about triathlon training that I didn’t know before:

Don’t underestimate the importance of transitions! These should be practiced and scheduled into training like bike, run and swim workouts are
Deliberate practice is important. Don’t do things in practice that you wouldn’t do in a race.
Training is most ieffective when there is a social component (riding/training with others), a self-direction component (technique of freestyle stroke), a success related component (a timed swim) and a sensory component (scenery while riding a bike).

Hope to blog again soon! Happy training :)

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