LocoRunner

09/26/2026

Super excited about my Swim workout today.

I did my first ever 50 yd in 40 seconds today. It was with a pull buoy, but I'm still happy with the time. I don't come from a swimming background. For years I have been trying to improve my Swim technique with short spurts of coaching here and there, joining a masters Swim class and watching YouTube. For the last couple of swims, something has "clicked" and my 50 yd interval times have been improving. My arm pull has gotten better. I think the key was the longer rest period which allowed me to maintain the proper technique throughout the intervals.

In running or swimming, the perfect interval session to get faster by improving your form/technique is not the amount of intervals or speed/pace, it's the rest period been the intervals. If you want to get fast, the key is to increase the rest period. A longer rest allows your body to fully recover between intervals, which allows you to keep the proper form/technique throughout your interval session.Too short of a rest period will allow your tired body to default to its bad form/ technique, if you haven't yet integrated that good form into muscle memory.

Note: As you improve your speed/pace, shorter rest periods can be used to improve speed endurance.

Bottom line:
Longer rest periods to improve speed.
Shorter rest periods to improve speed endurance (once you have the speed).

Reach out to me if you're interested in coaching. Although, I'm very selective on who i coach. With less clients i have more time for each person i coach.
LocoRunner

09/19/2026

Hypoalgesia, I never knew there was such a thing. Interesting.

I've read articles that say triathletes can endure more pain than most other athletes. Pain tolerance is high in triathletes.

09/16/2026

Here's what my AI coach Tony says about Normatec:

For someone doing the amount of endurance training you do, here's the practical breakdown:

Recovery soreness: Probably the most useful benefit. Studies generally find a small reduction in perceived muscle soreness and fatigue after hard exercise.

Blood flow: Yes. The intermittent pressure temporarily increases venous return and circulation when the cuffs inflate/deflate.
Performance recovery: There is some evidence that it can help you feel recovered and may modestly improve subsequent exercise performance, but it's not a dramatic effect.

Lactate clearance: It may increase clearance somewhat, but that's not particularly important by itself. Lactate isn't what causes most next-day soreness.

Inflammation/muscle damage: Evidence is mixed. I wouldn't count on Normatec to substantially accelerate tissue repair.

Long-term fitness: No meaningful direct effect. It doesn't replace sleep, nutrition, hydration, or appropriately managing training load.

For you specifically

After a long bike/run or a hard brick, I'd consider 20–30 minutes of compression a reasonable recovery tool. It's particularly attractive when your legs feel heavy even though you aren't necessarily injured.

And there's an important distinction:
Normatec = recovery aid, not a performance enhancer.

If you like how your legs feel afterward, that's a perfectly legitimate reason to use it. You're unlikely to get some huge physiological benefit, but you're also not wasting your time if it makes your legs feel fresher.

One thing I wouldn't do is crank the pressure way up thinking more compression = more recovery. More isn't necessarily better.

08/29/2026

Signed up for the Rezen recovery room at LAFitness and started using red light/NIR therapy for my arthritis and muscle recovery. The research is legit and proven to have a benefit. I do the cryo too but the verdict is still out on proven benefits from this. It's more of a challenge thing than anything else.

08/04/2026

So I look at my Garmin cycling training plan the day before and it recommends sprints. I get excited and look forward to the sprints. Then I wake up in the morning and look at my plan and it's recommending a base ride due to sleep. I figured the AI feature would figure out that I survive on 6 1/2 to 7 hours of sleep. Had to override it and created a sprint workout for today.

06/28/2026

I did quite a bit of research before I decided on my new Ribble bike. It ranked #4 on a list I was watching for value and quality for your money. Of course Canyon was #1.

I selected the Ribble All Road SLR Pro with Ultegra components and Di2 electronic shifting and a power meter. Ribble is a British company that has been making quality bikes for a long time with very little money spent on advertising.

The All Road SLR can also do light gravel with its 32 mm tires.

I was looking for something with comfort for the long rides. It's definitely going to require me getting used to riding in that road bike position after riding Time Trial triathlon bikes for almost 2 decades.

After doing a short first ride, I can definitely tell it's a lot more comfortable. Rolling resistance on the tires is much better than my other bike. I just have to get my position down first. Feels like I'm reaching too far for the bars. May just be a TT thing.

Looking forward to some long rides on this bike. Maybe some light gravel.

05/27/2026

03/12/2026

Love recovery weeks.

03/08/2026

It truly is amazing what the human body is capable of doing when you ask it to do something that you thought was not possible.

There's a lot of research in the field of Endurance sports. In his book "Endure" by Alexander Hutchison, he presents the research in the area of body limitations, including the the "Central Governor Theory" made popular by Tim Noakes. It's a very good read.

I've always wondered why during the middle of an Ultra event, we say we can't go any further, we start walking, we contemplate quitting , but we don't. We keep going. Then we muster enough energy at the end of an Ultra to sprint to the finish.

Yesterday, as I stood at the finish line watching the runners finish the 50k, there was not a single runner who finished walking. All finished running.

The human body is amazing!


LocoRunner

02/24/2026

Coaching is much more than just sending out a schedule and expecting your trainee to complete the schedule as written. It's constantly checking in on your athlete to see how their body is feeling and making adjustments to the schedule based on athlete feedback.

One of the biggest parts of coaching is building up a trainees confidence level and providing motivation to walk out the door to get those hard workouts done.

Communication is key in coaching. One of my favorite quotes is from Dirk Friel, son of the infamous Joe Friel (author of "The Triathletes Training Bible". Dirk says: "... you (the trainee) are the CEO of your running company, and I, as your coach, am just a consultant to your company". It benefits you to do what your consultant is telling you to do, but you don't have to do everything he or she says.

I have to give a shout out to one my athletes I am currently coaching, Richelle. She has developed and strengthed her confidence in her running abilities and always has a great attitude. She has obtained personal bests in the half marathon,10k and 5K.