Tri-ing for Life India

Huge Congrats to Madhurjya Borah... Madhu finished his first 70.3 IM this weekend in Subic Bay, Philippines with 3rd place in the Asian Elite Category. Way to go man...proud of you.

What is everyone's goals over the next few months? Which races will you run?

Hey you all, wanted to throw out a question. What is the biggest fear you have as you have been training for your Marathons?

Congratulations Madhu Borah on your 1st Place finish at Hyderabad Triathlon...way to go!!!

Here is a little blog I wrote about strength training and adding it in the off season. In India you are all in the middle of your season and strength training is still just as important.

How many of you have had injuries to the hips or the knees or the feet during your run or bike training? As there are so many reasons we get hurt in our training, one of the biggest reasons is a strength imbalance and primarily through the glutes.

Add in strength training to your training plan today and start your pre-hab so you won't have to go into re-hab. If you don't have a training plan today, Tri-ing For Life can help get you started.

http://tri-ingforlife.com/TFLroot/adding-strength-training-into-your-off-season/

Adding strength training into your off season | Tri-ing for Life We've talked for a few weeks now about the importance of recovery in the off season. In addition to recovery it is important to use this period to really focus on your strength. One of the biggest reasons for injuries during training and racing is muscular imbalances and muscular weakness. As a ce…

A great article on vegetarianism and endurance sports on www. USATriathlon.org - http://www.usatriathlon.org/about-multisport/multisport-zone/fuel-station/articles/vegetarianism-and-athletes-020110.aspx

Vegetarianism and Athletes Be a part of our 550,000 member community of multisport athletes. Membership benefits include a subscription to the quarterly USA Triathlon magazine, discounts from USA Triathlon partners, inclusion in the national rankings, excess accident insurance at events, and savings at races. To see why you s…

Sleep, eating right, strength training, taking days off and having fun are some of the best practices that you need to build into your half/full marathon training plan. These components will lead to better and faster recovery, which will lead to better and faster running. As you work with your coach or choose a training program off the internet, consider the time you will be spending on these important components that will not only help you have an enjoyable experience but also ensure that you stay out of injuries and burnout.

• Sleep
You have to sleep while training for a marathon. If you are not sleeping, you are not recovering. The 12 – 16 week marathon program requires you to recover for you to give your best in each workout. This does not mean that you need to sacrifice your social life entirely. Limit it to once a week prior to your rest/recovery day. Get between 6 to 8 hours of sleep. Some tips for sleeping well are switching your cellphone off, reading a few pages of a book, following a sleep schedule and avoiding heavy meals in the evening.

• Eating Right
A common notion is that people want to train for a marathon and cut calories at the same time. In most cases, it is not a good thing. You need the right mix of protein, vitamins and carbohydrates for recovery. Long endurance runs, speed and tempo work means that you are breaking down muscle and if you need to get stronger and better, you will have to fuel. Stick to the basics like chapatti, brown rice, dal, sambar, fruits and vegetables and avoid packaged food, junk food, excessive sweet and carbonated soft drinks. In short, follow a diet that is a part of the local culture and heritage. Expensive salad dressings, pasta etc. is not required for you to get more efficient or faster.
Enjoy your beer/wine on the night before your rest/recovery so that you recover well from that deathly hangover and continue to give your best on your training runs.

• Strength Training
You will need to focus on core exercises, exercise for your legs and exercise for your back. If you notice amateur long distance runners, you will often see that they exhibit a poor posture towards the last few miles of the race. This means that they are being inefficient translating to increased effort and slower pace. Strength training helps you with maintaining your form.
You can strength train even without signing up for a gym – buy some free weights at home and focus on core work. Yoga and suyranamaskars can do wonders.

• Takes days off
Research disproves that taking days off impacts fitness negatively. Infact, the opposite is true. Rest days prevent injuries and mental burnout. If this is your first marathon, restrict your program to a maximum of 3 runs a week, 2 sessions of strength/cross training and 2 days of rest. Rest will help your muscles recover and build back. Follow your sleep and diet schedule even on days off. Restrain from binging on junk food and alcohol.

• Have fun
No doubt running is a form of exercise which when starting off can be stressful. However, as your body understands the movement and internalizes the pain, you start enjoying the process. This is true especially during long runs where you end up having the best runversations. Training for your first race is just the beginning of a fabulous and a fit lifestyle.

The right way to swim in a triathlon by coach Steve Trew - (a) Head down (b) Rotation - Move shoulders into the head (c) Head stays intact (d) Kick starts from the glutes (e) Longer the stroke, the better the acceleration (f) A good strong catch by dropping the thumb

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuUV-8Ay5_M

Triathlon: Training for the swim Triathlon: Training for the swim Subscribe to the Guardian HERE: http://bitly.com/UvkFpD A triathlon event typically consists of a swim followed by a cycle a...

The running movement in North America and Europe began in the 1960’s. One of the reasons for marathons to become popular was because it was considered inclusive. Creative events were organized all over introducing runners to the local culture – these events became a source of civic pride. Running was seen as a social movement and mode of “touring” which became popular with the rise of the Yippie movement. In India, the first marathons were organized in the metros – Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. Up until 2010, these races were pathetically organized – delayed starts, lack of medical support, no availability of water, mobs attacking runners for blocking traffic etc.

As marathons became popular across the globe, more and more people want to be a part of the sport. However, running a marathon without sufficient running experience and background will almost definitely result in injury leading to a overall negative experience.

Beginner runners should give themselves atleast a year’s time to build upto the marathon distance. You should include shorter races like a 5k, 10k, half marathon and run a few 30kms practice runs before you jump into the full marathon distance. These other races will help give you a better experience for running the full marathon distance.

Some of the steps that you need to follow as a beginner are –

a) Checks with your physician – Most doctors do not understand the concept of amateur long distance running. Ask your local running club for doctors/physicians who are runners themselves. Dr. Kannan Pughzendi in Chennai, Gladson Johnson in Bangalore and Dr. Rajat Chauhan in Delhi are all physicians who are runners themselves.

b) Recovery - Thom says "The name of the game in the post season is RECOVERY and in my coaching experience this tends to be a four letter word to the A-type personalities that dominate the endurance sport worlds. Training periods of greater workload, like mileage increases or speed work, should be followed by periods of reduced workload, often referred to as a "cut back" week, where mileage is reduced and speed work less intense. Recovery is so crucial to your body for numerous reasons such as allowing your body absorb all the awesome and hard training that you've put it through weeks of hard training."

c) Nutrition: There are many other factors to educate yourself on too, like hydration and nutrition. As we are all structured uniquely and have different levels of metabolism, different foods and fluids work well on us. There are some general principles to follow and you need to give your body sufficient time to understand what works best for you. Work around foods that you know and that is available as a part of the local culture and geography.

d) Shoes and other equipment - Obtaining the proper equipment, like shoes, is really important especially when training for a marathon. Have your current shoes checked out at your local running store by a shoe fit specialist. Go for running specific brands such as Asics, Brooks, Mizuno etc

Take the time. Respect the marathon distance. Stay injury free and enjoy running for life.