FEATURES

Five Phases of Swim Training...

sea-hiker-training-squad.gifProfessional triathlete and swim coach Sara McLarty explains why it’s important to vary your training throughout the year.

By Sara McLarty (triathlon.competitor.com)

Are your swim splits always the same? Perhaps it’s because your swim training is always the same. Swim practice should change multiple times during the year. There are five phases of swim training: endurance, strength, speed, taper and recovery. For the best results on race day, spend some time focusing on each phase.

How much time is a question that can only be answered on an individual basis and must also consider the triathlete’s ability level and the competition’s distance. A year-round..

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Confession of a Former Carnivore

arbys.gifBy Heather Lendway (heatherlendway.com)

I have a confession. I don’t cook. It’s not that I don’t know how to cook of course; it’s just that I really don’t have time before my stomach decides it needs food now or we’ll enter the hanger zone. After a long day of work and workouts I’ll typically just go for whatever is readily available in the refridgerator or cupboard.

Something most people probably don’t know about me is that I’m vegetarian, just over 11 years now. No, I don’t miss eating meat, haven’t ever really craved it since I quit meat, although I did dream about eating slices of prosciutto the other night, strange. If I did go back and eat meat I’d get an Arby’s Beef n’ Cheddar (photo)...

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BEST IN THE WORLD...

GWENN-LONDON.gifUsatriathlon.org - American Gwen Jorgensen was featured in today’s Wall Street Journal. Read an excerpt from the story here and click the link below for the full feature.

Gwen Jorgensen was working as an Ernst & Young accountant when she received an unusual recruiting pitch: Why not try triathlon?

The pitch came from credible quarters—USA Triathlon, the sport’s governing body in America. But Jorgensen felt as if the organization must have mistaken her for someone else. She’d never done a triathlon. She wasn’t a cyclist. During her swimming and running career at the University of Wisconsin, she had never won gold, silver or bronze at the NCAA championships....

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RAAM Odyssey...

RAM-Medal.gifED. We got this email last weej from Dan Gruhlke:

Dear MTN Guys,
.... I wanted to pass along some tidbits about a local boy (well, young man), Luke Kocher, who’s preparing for the MN RAAM ride July 25th. I know it’s not a tri, but his story speaks to those who are in it for health, with a competition kicker.


I first met Luke as a kindergarten student of mine. Well, now he’s grown (in his mid-20’s), and has competed in the MN RAAM 120 (2013) and is presently preparing for the MN RAAM 400 that may qualify him for the big Kahuna itself (RAAM 2016). ....


In the meantime, here’s some background info. that I asked Luke for my own edification:  ...

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A Great Book & a Cool Scientific Study...

melanie-book.gifED. MELANIE is one of our region's tri/du pioneers. We've known of her for more than three decades and met and instantly befriended her in 1998. We love her to pieces. She's won a ton of tris and dus in Minnesota and is well known and liked by our state's multisport veterans. We've just finished reading her book, and it's wonderful. We recommend it with ever fiber of our being.

FYI, she'll be racing at Chisago on Sunday.

Amazon.com - Melanie Carvell is a gifted athlete who grew up in a small town in southwestern North Dakota in the 1970s. This beautiful memoir tells the story of Melanie’s remarkable journey, from the agricultural village of Mott (population 732) to world duathlon and triathlon competitions, then a splendid career as a physical therapist, director of the Sanford Women’s Health Center in Bismarck, North Dakota, and a widely sought-after motivational speaker.

Melanie learned to run on the northern Great Plains where the winters are long and harsh and the wind tests the human spirit. She attributes her national and international success to her agrarian roots and the challenge of biking, running, and swimming in one of the most formidable landscapes of America. Her motivational philosophy is, “If I can do these things, given the modesty of my upbringing and the harshness of the Dakota climate, so can you.” Running with the Antelope inspire readers to begin a program of athletic training, weight loss, or general self-improvement....

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