The off-season is here! After a few days of doing little to no exercise after my last race, I start itching to get a little structure and routine back. The key is to keep a mix of things going that are light and fun, yet still active and rejuvenating. Here are a few ways I recommend getting that blend:

1) Sign up for a fitness class- for me, that is Pilates. It’s something I don’t get to fit in as much during my season. It’s hard work and uses all sorts of muscles. I feel great when I’m finished but never overworked. You could also try Orange Theory, Switch Playground, or other fitness programs you have near you. Plus, it’s a great way to meet new people.

2) Get into a healthy meal-prep routine. During the season, I find it hard to do all the meal prep I want to do. I always think I will have time but it rarely happens. For the off-season, I am taking some of that extra time to roast a bunch of veggies for the week. This week it was a head of broccoli, an entire cabbage cut in half and roasted, chick peas, carrots and onions. I will eat that for lunch and dinners throughout the week with some brown rice. The off season is a good time to take a break from all the carbs I usually eat to sustain my training.

3) Go on friend-dates. Schedule in some time to see friends who you don’t get to see as much during the season. I am making plans to see my friend and her new baby and to check out another friend’s art studio. Stepping out of your zone and being enriched by others is so rejuvenating.

4) Take some time for yourself. Go to the movies (there are so many great movies out this time of year), organize your closet (that’s what I will be doing!), make a spa appointment…and focus a little on you. During the season, I find I do a great job of focusing on myself for swim/bike/run but everything else gets pushed off. Now is a great time to recharge, and set things up for next year.

5) plan for next season. While you are recharging, relaxing, eating healthy and exercising for fun, make sure to keep your goals in mind. It’s a good time to explore options for new races, different coaching or training, new equipment or any other changes you have been thinking about.

Enjoy the off-season and see you on a starting line next spring!

Justin Hughes – Amateur Triathlete

I’ll preface this race report with a few thoughts…

• This was my first ever attempt at a full-distance Ironman. 
• The goal was to just HAVE FUN. If I finished in 17:01, but I had fun, then I’d say the day was a success. If I happened to finish in under 17 hours, that’d be an added bonus.
• I’ve done my fair share of 70.3’s over the last few years, but a full had been on my bucket list for a few years and IronMan Maryland fit the calendar for 2019. 
• I’ll try to make this entertaining, but if you’re looking for a real knee-slapper, check out Josh Amberger’s Kona Recap. If triathlon doesn’t work out for him, stand-up comedy should be his next endeavor.

Saturday morning the alarm went off at 3:00am. I typically don’t sleep well before races, but surprisingly, I slept rather well given the nerves and circumstances. I threw the final preparations into the car and scarfed down the usual pre-race breakfast (toasted everything bagel with peanut butter).  From where we were staying, was a good hour drive to Cambridge. Once we arrived, we parked in the pre-paid parking area right at transition (PRO TIP: highly recommend doing this option as parking is very slim in the neighborhood surrounding transition). Dropped off special needs bags, topped off the tires with air, and loaded my nutrition onto the bike. My fueling strategy for the day was the following:

• Swim – 1 XRCEL Peach Tea bottle just prior to swim start
•  T1 – 1 XRCEL Peach Tea bottle
• Bike
  • First 60 miles…
    • 3 XRCEL Orange bottle
    • 2 small PB&J sandwiches
  • Special needs bag…
    • 2 XRCEL Peach Tea
    • 1 small PB&J sandwich
•  T2 – 1 XRCEL Peach Tea bottle
• Run – 4 XRCEL Orange bottles (throughout)

I put my wetsuit on, grabbed my trendy aqua eyewear and walked over to the swim start. I lined up in the 1:40-1:50 group, again, looking to just cruise the swim and conserve as much energy as possible knowing I have conservatively another 11+ hours ahead of me. Threw back 1 XRCEL Peach Tea just prior to the gun going off. Took a deep breathe and waded out into the water. Now the fun starts…

For anyone that’s done Eagleman or IMMD, you’re familiar with the Choptank River. For those that haven’t, lets just say it’s called the Choptank for a reason, key word here is ‘chop’. For the first 400m you really don’t feel the current, but once you make the first turn, you quickly find yourself in a brackish washing machine on max spin mode. The current however wasn’t the star of this year’s race. 

Due to the warmer than usually water temps, coupled with no rain fall in the weeks leading up to race day, the swim course was full of jellyfish. My first loop they weren’t too bad, a few stings here and there, but the second loop, those little buggers were ruthless! I’m assuming all the fast swimmers pushed them out of the way on the first lap, and then the second lap the jellies came back with a vengeance against the back of the packers like me. Once I made the final turn and neared the swim exit, I was excited to be back on dry land and away from the jellies the rest of the day. 

Swim: 1:32…

I took my time in T1, ensuring to not miss anything. Doused my arms and feet in vinegar to ease the jellyfish stings before lathering on the sunscreen. 

Having done Eagleman many times in years past, I knew what I was getting myself into with the bike course…

• • The scenery – while absolutely breathtaking through the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, it makes for a very lonely ride (i.e. spectator-less). 
• • Flat as a pancake – no hills means constant pedaling and zero coasting. 
• • Wind – hands down the biggest defense this course has. Most sections are very exposed meaning no break from the seemingly always present headwind no matter what part of the course you’re on. The longer you’re out on the bike course into the early afternoon, the stronger the wind gets. 

Not too many highlights on the first hour or so of the bike. My power was right where I wanted it to be and my stomach was agreeing with my nutrition strategy. I was in the groove and humming right along to Lizzo’s newest summer hit (not the song I would have chosen, but the only one that would come to mind).  

At what seemed like the blink of an eye, I cruised into special needs at mile 63 feeling surprisingly well, and so far everything was going to plan (excluding the jellyfish). Grabbed my 2^nd bottle of 2 Peach Teas that I froze and placed in my T2 bag, along with the next round of PB&J. I remember thinking to myself “my legs feel good”, but knew the wind was only bound to get stronger.         

In the early goings, the miles were flying by. Once I hit the 85ish mile mark though, that’s when my mind started to wander. Each 5 mile ‘beep’ of the Garmin seemed like an eternity. The wind was really starting to blow at that point and I told myself just put your head down and keep pedaling, no matter what the power meter read. I cruised back into T2 and was met by some familiar faces (family and friends) who had been waiting anxiously for my pedal-fest to finally come to an end. 

Bike: 6:47…

In full transparency, I had never run a marathon in my life prior to this race, let alone after having just rode 112 miles. When I got off the bike, my legs still felt surprisingly ok. Tired yes, but not absolutely deflated. Again, I took my time in T2, ensuring to grab everything and load up on the sunscreen as it was really starting to heat up. I took it out really easy the first few miles, just focused on keeping the heart rate low and getting into a rhythm. 

Fast forward to miles 8-13 and that was my first “dark” moment. Due to the looped layout of the run course, you actually pass the finish line 5 times before you get to run down the red carpet. The first time through was exciting to experience the crowd cheering on the elites as they were finishing, but during the 2^nd time, it really hit home how much longer I had ahead of me. I also felt I was getting a bit low on liquids and was slowed to a walk. I took in some extra fluids at the next aid station and let the body “recover”. Within a few minutes, I was able to increase the pace back to a light jog and get back into the groove. 

I honestly don’t remember much between miles 13-23. Just keep telling myself to put one foot in front of the other, because as long as I kept moving forward, no matter what the pace, I would make the 17 hour cutoff. Fast forward to the last 3 miles and was completely shocked as I found myself still running after nearly 14 hours. At mile 25 I made my 5^th and final pass by the finish line before I would enter the finish line chute.   

Run: 5:45

If I had to summarize the advice I received from folks I spoke with in the days/weeks/months leading up to the race, they all said some variation of … “slow down once you get to the red carpet and soak it all in, you’ll always remember your first time.” While the lady in front of me crossing the finish line may have slowed down a little too much, to the point where my finish line pictures are of her not me, those 15 or so seconds coming down the finish line chute is a moment I will never forget. It was the culmination of countless hours of training … the realization of a pipe dream … the celebration of many sacrifices. Ironman Maryland was my victory lap. 

Overall 14:27

In closing, I want to give a big shout out to the entire XRCEL team. Thank you for continuing to support me throughout this journey. I couldn’t have done it without you!

Training for a long distance Triathlon (half ironman to ironman) can be exhausting at times and requires a reasonable level of commitment to make the event an enjoyable experience. Looking back over years of racing and training, and also now coaching athletes who are training for multiple distances, I believe there are 3 main areas where you can hone your skills which will help you in your quest for success at your next event.

1. Time

Be realistic with how much time you have to train, and then base your goals off that. Consider all things outside of training (work, family, friends, regular commitments etc) that will impact your schedule and then be honest with yourself with how much you are able to train outside of that, including some time in there for recovery. Then set yourself a timeline (a coach can help you with this), and start training with purpose. You can do any distance you set your mind to – but always remember the best way to get fitter and stronger faster is to be consistent. A training schedule that is manageable with life balance will be your key to success and in remaining injury free.Nutrition

2. Nutrition

Learn to eat for better training and recovery. The best times to fuel your workouts are before, during, and immediately after. For workouts 1hr or less, if we have properly managed our glycogen reserve, we don’t need to consume many (if any) calories, but over that we need to start to pay attention. And, if we fuel ourselves correctly during the workout, we tend to eat less later which helps when trying to maintain a leaner body weight. Anywhere from 30-60g carb/hr is a good guideline for longer workouts (over 2hrs) in combination with your choice of electrolyte. I choose 1-2 XRCEL per hour plus water or electrolyte for longer sessions. Promote recovery after key sessions by eating a carbohydrate and protein mix as soon as possible. If you don’t have your next meal waiting for you soon after you finish your workout, have an XRCEL.  Because it’s made with glucose, it is super-efficient at replenishing depleted glycogen for faster recovery.

 Drink or snack within 15-30 mins of exercise, and then continue on with your nutrition plan. 

3. Training

Make your easy days EASY! Stringing together moderate/high intensity sessions without low intensity, aerobic, strength building days will only end in burnout, injury, fatigue and a performance plateau (which are all part of burnout) because you will never give your body and mind a rest in order to push to new limits. All of the best athletes follow the stress and rest principle. They alternate between cycles of stress and rest. Rest days don’t have to mean a complete day off. They can be easy training and active recovery, so long as whatever workout you do is EASY. Spinning on your bike, shuffle during your run and even walk the hills, use pull gear while swimming. Whatever you have to do to keep your heart rate as low as possible.

After almost 15 years of Triathlon training and racing I will be honest and say I still make mistakes in these areas, but being aware has definitely improved my overall health and longevity in the sport. Being smart while you are putting in the training day after day will result in a consistent training program and from that I guarantee you will see the results in your progress and racing performance.

By Laurel Wassner- Pro Triathlete

It’s January and if you are like me, you are probably coming off a month of well-deserved holiday parties, chocolate eating and wine drinking.  A break from training when the weather gets colder is easy to do and it’s natural.  Your body needs the time to recover and to indulge.

But, how do you get the training cranking again?

1) Take your time.  There’s no real benefit to slamming the training in January, and there are only downsides, like getting injured.  Ease into it.  One or two sessions a day for the first couple weeks is enough.  Think about low intensity base miles.  Now is the time for that.  You want to set your training PRs closer to your races, not 4 months before a race.

2) Sign up for two races.  I tend only to really motivate to train hard if I have a race on the schedule.  I like to sign up for one early season – for example, a half marathon in March and one late season, Ironman Cozumel.  I may not be in top shape by March but that’s not the point.  I’ll be in great shape by the end of the year!

3) Set challenges.  Sometimes that race in March can seem so far away.  I like to set challenges for the week or for the month.  For example, my challenge this month is to do 100 push-ups and 200 sit ups every day (you can spread them throughout the day).  Also, I like to do the same long run every Sunday and gauge my improvements week by week.  

4) Get your general nutrition plan back on track.  Take the extra time on Sunday to do some meal prep for the week.  You don’t have to stick to it perfectly, but it helps to have a guideline.  I also have made switch from ice cream and chocolate for dessert to yogurt and fruit.  You can look for healthy recipes on athletefood.com to help get you started.

Also, it is really important to get your workout nutrition dialed in.  You don’t want to finish training starving, or bonk halfway through. I always have one XRCEL before a session and one an hour into the workout so I know I am staying on top of my energy levels.

5) Get social. It can be really hard to motivate cold, dark days. Make a plan with a training partner to force you out the door.  It may seem like a drag at first but I promise you’ll come home satisfied.

Now get off your computer and go for a run!!

Laurel