Life of an Age-Grouper

The significance of tapering The focal point of a taper period or tapering is to ready the body, mind and spirit for a peak performance on race day.  This period of training fits roughly between your last Build period and race day.  The significance of tapering is to freshen your body, mind and spirit by ridding it of accumulated fatigue.  As fatigue vacates the body one should start to feel rejuvenated, energetic, sharp, snappy and excited to race. If one does not understand the significance of tapering, like most new endurance athletes, then ones athletic performance could be handicapped. Most new athletes or those making endurance sports more than just a hobby have a difficult time benefiting from tapering.  I believe that the major obstacle preventing athletes from benefiting from a taper is the way in which they view their fitness.  More often than not athletes associate their fitness levels with how hard they train or the level of fatigue they hav...

I believe, if I remember correctly, that the first time we met, roughly 5 years ago, was on a group ride on Long Island. We were headed out to Briermere Farms for a 50 mile ride, which happened to be my first group ride as well as my first 50 mile ride. We also embarked on a Timberman 70.3 adventure together as well. Since then we have kept in contact and cheered each other on through social media as we have attempted to tackle the world of triathlon and endurance sports. A lot has happened over the years so I'm glad we can finally catch up. Why don't we start of with something simple,    What lead you off Long Island to New Jersey? Back in 2010 I got a phone call from my friend (now boss) that they had a faculty position open in the Athletic Training Department at Seton Hall University and they wanted me to apply.  Once I got offered the position it was a "no brainer" for me because I had so many friends that lived in NYC and NJ, and I also worked at Seton Ha...

Princeton was my last triathlon of the year and I wanted to go out with a bang.  Besides a month of barely running, I would say that I had my best lead up to a race and was extremely confident in my fitness.  Between Eagleman 70.3  in June and my taper for this race I squeezed every last drop of fitness from my body. The only thing left to do was to execute on race day. Having a later swim start, 7:56, there was no need to get up extremely early.  I set my alarm for 4:40 a.m. and wanted to be out the door by 5:45 a.m.  I had a great night sleep and awoke feeling fresh and rested.  I started taking in calories at 5:00 a.m.  First I had a smoothie (bananas, spinach, kale and blueberries - 200 calories). I then made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with my toothbrush since I forgot to pack a knife. The PB&J was left untouched until 5:30 a.m. (200 calories).  I also had a pint glass of lemon-lime Nuun (zero calories), to top of the electrolyte...

Reflection on my first Riverhead Rocks Olympic Distance Triathlon This race was put on my calendar to keep the accumulation of race rust to a minimum between Eagleman 70.3 and Princeton 70.3. I had two goals for this race.  First, have a high quality swim. A high quality swim for me was to swim 1:30/100 or faster.  Secondly, I wanted to run for the entire race. I have been dealing with a more than annoying foot issue since Eagleman and have only been able to " run" a few times.  If I could make it through the run with out any major hiccups it would be a huge confidence booster in my prep for Princeton. The bike racks in transition were packed! There were too many bikes sandwhiched together which more than a few people commented on.  There was more than enough room in transition for a few more racks and I don't believe the event sold sold so I'm not sure why this had to be an issue. Despite the often debated topic of swimming in Riverhead we were assured that...

Eagleman 70.3 - Race Report The last few years have been characterized by sporadic success and major setbacks.  Every time I would begin to build momentum and consistency with my training I would inevitably encounter a major roadblock.  One road blood came in the form of a blood disease another came in the form of being struck by a motorist on a training ride.  These setbacks severely handicapped my ability to traverse the path towards figuring out my potential as a multisport athlete.  There is a silver lining attached to the past few years and that has come through reflection. With a frustrating amount of down time I have had ample time to reflect on how I, as a puzzle piece, fit into the larger picture of triathlon.  I have come to realize what this sport means to me, how I want to be a part of it and how I can be successful at it. Leading into Eagleman I had entered 3 races (10k, 1/2 Marathon, Olympic Triathlon) and set a PR for each.  My training...

Eagleman: Tips for a first timer This past weekend was my first 70.3 of the season, Ironman Eagleman 70.3.  Eagleman is located in Cambridge, Maryland and was a solid 5 hour drive from my home on Long Island. Instead of boring you with intricacies of my race I figured I would provide "tips" to others thinking about toeing the line at Eagleman. Everyone thinking about racing or participating at Eagleman should be cognizant of the conditions.  This course is flat.  It is the only race on the Ironman 70.3 circuit that does not provide an elevation profile. In addition the weather is notoriously hot and humid, typical East Coast weather, so prepare accordingly. Although the lodging in Cambridge sells out immediately there are plenty of hotels in the surrounding towns.  I was initially nervous about staying in Easton do to its relative distance from the start of the race however those fears were put to rest. I stayed at the Econlodge which is 15 miles to the race si...

A personal goal of mine, as it relates to the 70.3 distance, is to be able to race the distance...currently I pace this distance.  From my perspective there is a significant difference between racing and pacing. I define racing as doing what it takes, legally, to finish ahead of your competition.  If the competition and I are racing to finish on the podium then all I need to do is finish one second faster than 4th place.  When racing;  pace,splits,power,speed are irrelevant  just as long as the cumulative time is better than the competition. Therefore when truly racing there is no need for any fancy technology. The only necessary tool or skill required is race instincts; calculating what needs to be done physically and mentally to better the competition.  Each year I take another step closer to achieving this goal. Hopefully with intelligent, hard work I will be able to race 70.3 miles. Taking a big step back into reality, I continue to pace my races. ...