The countdown begins. There is less than 8 weeks until the Nautica South Beach Triathlon. Are you signed up yet? I hope so, as it’s filling up fast. Register today at nauticasobetri.com!
I am just back home from the 2012 ING Miami Marathon. During past events, I was so overly focused on my performance and my times that I was oblivious to my surroundings. This past weekend my priority was to enjoy every minute of the process. If I caught myself falling back to my performance I would pause and take a breath and look around. When you stop and take in the scenery it’s amazing what you notice – like the guy who was running with his key chain full of 10 keys slamming against his lower back or the girl running barefoot. Yes, I did run a wee bit slower, but I enjoyed it so much more. It was exhilarating. I floated across the finish line. I could have kept going. It was over too quickly.
At the Nautica South Beach Triathlon, my goal is to combine a great performance with enjoying the process. I’m going to focus my core and float with my body. That, I believe is where the mind, heart, and soul merge as one.
How is your training going? These next two weeks of training are all about consistency and getting the most out of your training time. I want nothing to get in the way of you doing your personal best. Here are 5 training suggestions for these next few weeks:
1) Make absolutely sure you are training with the equipment now that you will be using on game day. That includes shoes; make sure you have logged in some mileage before using them. If traveling, make sure they are in your carry on, in case your luggage is lost. Better safe than sorry.
2) The two weeks prior, starting March 19th, you want to cut your training in half. Cramming doesn’t work when it comes to exercise. You do NOT want to be sore or tired on race day.
3) Now is NOT the time to experiment with nutrition. We don’t want to wreck havoc on your system. Experiment after April 1st.
4) Have you been practicing the transition from biking to running? This is the time to begin doing so.
5) I am a big believer in quiet time. Yes, complete silence for 20 minutes every day. Set a timer to keep time. During this relaxation time, allow yourself to visualize a perfect performance. Then do 5 minutes of deep breathing. Followed by floating (let your mind go wherever it needs to). Don’t try to control it. Once you finish, take out a piece of paper and make a list of all the things that could go wrong. Now come up with all the solutions. You don’t want anything to throw your mental game off. You want to be prepared to handle each one with ease. (ex: Swallowing water, flat tire, blisters)
*** These next 2 weeks you should be running and swimming 2-3x per week and biking 1-2x. Swim 30-45 minutes, bike 60-80 minutes (take a spin class!), run 45-60 minutes.
Swimming is the most important to feel comfortable with, because it’s first in the race and you’re not able to stop, whereas in running, you can scale back and walk if necessary. Practice floating in the pool – you can always float during the race to calm your mind and refocus.
Let’s focus AND float together.
JH
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