The Easiest Way to Keep Getting Faster

Have a few "indicator" tests spread out over the week where you measure speed over the same exact distance (uphill climbs are good for this).  Once you can't beat your last time, any more work you do is not helpful.  Go very easy or don't train at all until you're more rested and feel like you're ready to attack and beat the challenge again.   Plan your mileage and easy/hard workouts around that schedule and you'll always improve.

How to Make Your Own Energy Bars

Dates and nuts! Just squeeze them together and have fun with it. Enjoy!

On Speedwork

You can't get faster unless you train harder.

You can't train harder unless you "create space" to do so.

You can't create space unless you rest.

To go harder, go easier until it's time to do your speedwork.  You get better quality out of it.

Podcast - Rocky Raccoon 50 mile Trail Race and Interview with Ian Sharman

Click Here to Listen to the Show! 

 

Join in for the fun as we turn ultra-running protocol on it's head!  I complete the world famous Rocky Raccoon 50 mile trail race in less than 10 hours, finishing in the top 13%, with my longest training run being only 16 miles.

How did I do it?  Speedwork!  Tune in to the podcast to learn the techniques I used to break my old PR by 1.5 hours with far less time on my feet.

To add fuel to the fire, I also have an interview with last year's 100 mile race champion, Ian Sharman.  He set the course record by running 100 miles at a 7:48 min/mile pace!  And what did he say was the secret?  Speedwork!

And don't forget, I can make you faster, too!  I now coach with D3 Multisport!  So send me an email at Zentriathlon at gmail.com and let's get started.  

Click here to download or listen

The Pro Experience

John, Jessie, and some of the campers at this year's ZenTri Camp

Some friends and I call hanging out with pro triathlete John Hirsch the "John Hirsch Experience."  It really is amazing to see how a pro grabs life by the horns to get in all the training necessary to be successful.  At ZenTri Base and Nutrition Camp, it's a total immersion program where you get to see some great athletes making it all work every day.  It is an opportunity to learn a lot.

John biked between locations instead of driving a car.  That's pretty cool, especially because the mileage that adds up is substantial.  San Diego is great for this because there's bike lanes everywhere.  

He also got up and moving with incredible efficiency in the mornings.  I was sleeping in the same room as John at our camp, and was surprised how fast he got going.  There was definitely no hitting the snooze button.  His alarm went off, he got up, and his training day began right then.  In comparison, I was trying to motivate myself to get up and get moving while he was already downstairs and making a pre-run snack.

John's early rises have a lot to do with his bedtime.  I get made fun of for having an alarm on my phone that reminds me to go to sleep at 9:00 PM.  Well, when my alarm went off, John had already been in bed for half an hour.  Wow.

Jessi Stensland was at camp, too.  She's an age-grouper now, but she was a world-class pro for many years.  Her approach to food was great; she treated it as fuel for the day and didn't get caught up in any kind of emotional eating.  Eat right and train well was what it all boiled down to.   The greatest part was that she eats so focused, but doesn't seem to work at it at all.

I love coming home from camp and putting into practice what I saw around me.   No matter how much somebody tries to tell you how to get it all done, nothing is quite like seeing it in action.

Here's to a great start to the year and hopefully seeing you at next year's camp!