Interview with Jessi Stensland this Tuesday!

We have a special treat this Tuesday in Boulder - A personal interview with pro triathlete and adventure sport athlete Jessi Stensland! She will be putting me through some of her Movement U. program and will answer plenty of questions.

Want in on the fun? Drop a question into the comments and we will cover it during our meetup.

ZenTri in Boulder, CO. Next week!

The ZenTri gang will be in Boulder next week, so if you want to meet up, let me know!  Just post in the comments and we'll arrange a gathering somewhere cool.  I am bringing all kinds of workout gear, so we can easily fit in an oxygen deprived swim, bike, or run.

Podcast - California Dreamin'

Hey there, Tri-studs and studettes!  This episode of ZenTri is coming to you from San Diego with the likes of pro triathlete John Hirsch, Ultraman Rich Roll, open ocean swimming at La Jolla, a tour of H2O Audio's headquarters, and even an interview with a Soto Zen practitioner.  It's a truly epic show, so listen in! 

Shownotes:

• Voicemail from John and Christine at Lake Placid Ironman.
• Grocery shopping with Rich Roll, looking for protein powders.
• Attack parrots and Nepalese sherpas.
• The secret to Zen is… 
• Bee pollen is bee poop.
• The Zen way to argue.
• How to conquer the desire for unnecessary stuff.
• Lance's crashes reflect something deeper.
• How Google handles mistakes.
• How you handle highs and lows while going long makes all the difference.
• Washing your workout clothes in the shower.
• "I'm not a druggie. I'm vegan!"
• Freezing my ass off during an open ocean swim.
• Meeting Jessi Stensland.
• Dawn gets Performance of the Week.
• You can't get fit while being codependent.
• Using the run/walk method.
• Effects of cold water on the body.
• How to quit struggling and make music with your workouts.
• H20 Audio headquarters tour and interview with Dana.
• Dana's dolphin attack storty.
• Interview with a Soto Zen Buddhist.
• How to give yourself space.
• Heat is all relative.
• Four hour bike ride.
• Dawn gets double Performance of the Week.
• Forty-six running miles for the week.
• How to change a waterproof watch battery.

Click here to listen

Giving It Your All

This photo of John Hirsch says it better than words ever could. Giving your best effort is extremely satisfying.

I laughed out loud when I saw this picture because it reminded me of myself Sunday. I finished a long hot bike ride and collapsed face first on the living room floor. My wife said I looked terrible, but I was feeling great. I had given my all during that ride, and it was extremely satisfying.

One important factor in being able to give your all is nutrition. You have to be fueled correctly with healthy choices to get the max out of your body. I don't think that it's only a coincidence that John set a PR after a year with Chrisine Lynch, a holistic health guru.

In the end, it's about putting it all together.  Not just one thing, but it ALL.  Have patience, do it right, and your time will come.  Just look at that grin.  :)

How to Fly like Phelps

I was partially into a set of butterfly intervals this morning when it hit me: Fly is more about shoulder flexibility than anything else.

I was doing 100s on a timed interval, so any change in form that resulted in a change in speed was easily detectable.  If something I tried was faster, I would know it instantly because I would finish that interval sooner.

I tried focusing my energy on tucking my head down and bringing my arms together like a dart and gliding on every stroke, greatly using flexibility in my shoulders instead of using brute force to power across the pool.  Doing so resulted in completing each 100 two seconds faster and also being not as winded.  

Michael Phelps is not just fast.  He's double-jointed.  This flexibility advantage  gives him the ability to easily do what I was trying, probably without even thinking about it. 

The point is this: Swimming is the act of getting from point A to point B through a very thick liquid.  The time you invest in getting yourself flexible enough to get a clean form as possible is easily just as important as how hard you are trying.  Putting in less effort and going faster during my workout today was a great example of how fighting the fluid negatively impacts speed.

So get narrow, get those feet up and together, get streamlined and get faster.  It works!