Caffeine can be a great tool for athletes of all abilities used to enhance performance. However, when abused (or not used as a tool), it can be a detriment to your training and racing.

A few weekends ago I had the opportunity to coach 116 athletes at the Austin half marathon. For these athletes their why is a concrete one. To find a cure for an illness they are all in one way or another impacted by. I had the honor and privilege to speak as the charities inspirational speaker the night before the race where I talked about the importance of having a why. Having an intention for our training and racing can mentally be that extra 1% that pushes us just a little harder. Our whys can change race to race and its important to go back to them on a regular basis.

“What’s your A race?” This is a pretty common question among triathletes heading into a new season. For many of us, we have just one race a season that is most important to us. For others it might be two. You may want to be able to treat every race in a season as the most important race, but the fact of the matter is that for most triathletes, it’s simply not possible to truly peak more than once or twice a year.

February is National Heart Month so when better to think about heart rate training! This Q will help you learn more about HOW to utilize heart rate in your training. Below, I have responded to the most commonly asked questions.

One of the most significant life changing moments for me was when I became a Mom. The added responsibility of taking care of another human being has been extremely overwhelming, and the sacrifices along the way have been endless. The days of just worrying about myself have come and gone. Today it is all about balance and finding that happy medium, which does exist…if you let it.

I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with a variety of athletes, their abilities ranging from beginner triathletes participating in their first event to experienced, elite age group athletes. Regardless of their experience or ability level, the common thread for all is their pursuit of a personal goal. Being integral to helping athletes achieve their personal athletic successes is highly rewarding. What makes it such a positive challenge is the fact that every athlete is different. Each athlete has different means and availability for training, differing levels of motivation, and individual attributes that make them respond to training stimulus differently. What is consistent, however, are a number of factors I believe will result in individual success. Outlined below are what I consider these top eleven factors to be. Why eleven? Because we know that #11 always misses out on the top 10 list.

Rest in peace old friend…I know nothing of the man, other than what was available, to me, on Wikipedia. He was an author, and he died in 1936. I didn’t get much further than that. Having said that, he helped me to, in a single line, sum up what coaching is really all about. At least to me, and all of us at QT2 Systems, OutRival Racing, The Run Formula, and The Cycling Formula.

Being in sport, especially triathlon, requires much from the body. We do what we can to recover well, rest, prehab before we rehab, foam roll, stretch; but sometimes, injury creeps up, and BAAM, the season has been diverted or finished before due time. Our grandeur thoughts and visualizations of an epic race season do not come to culmination, and will most likely NOT happen. It will happen to anyone in sport. I guarantee it. A setback or injury will sideline us from either a short term, or the long-term goal.

Winter can be depressing for many runners, cyclists and triathletes. It can often mean more time on the “dreadmill”, the indoor trainer and/or bundled up for slippery runs. I’m not going to lie I spent many years doing that- hours upon hours on the trainer in the winter, running on the dreadmill several times a week when conditions were nasty outside. However too much of this indoor training over time can eventually burn you out. If it hasn’t happened already consider yourself lucky. If you live in an area that sees a fair amount of snow there are other options you can build in to supplement your base training that will not only offset the boredom factor of indoor training and be a lot more fun, but also can build significant fitness! Wherever possible I try to build adventure into my own training and the athletes I coach.

I’ve spent half of my life in endurance sports, from Cross Country Running, to Road cycling, to all distance of triathlon, and everything (well, most things) in between. In all facets of these sports, we often get caught up in the results – our outcome-based goals – and try to force our way through training in order to get to that desired result. Beyond the training, however, there are a few other key characteristics and traits that we need to possess for us to truly approach the desired outcome. These are things that folks at all levels require – from spin-class enthusiast to IRONMAN athlete – in order to properly tackle their fitness dreams.