Minimalist Mind, Powerful Triathlete

It's hard to gain a clear mind, even just a clear goal, when your thoughts are everywhere.  Most triathletes work out in a zombie-like state.  Go to gym, get on bike, pedal for two hours at 80% of threshold, eat brains...

You think like a zombie because your thoughts are scattered all over the place.  You're thinking about dinner later, what your boss said to you last week, that car wreck three years ago.  You have thousands of thoughts a day, 90% of them repeats of previous ones.  Not very useful, huh?  Notice all those are thoughts about the past or future.  Things that you can't change or may never happen.

All this extra mental baggage doesn't help you work out.  The ZenTri approach is to cut all the excess crap out.  If you don't need it, ditch it.  And if you do need it, use it until you don't need it anymore.

I recently posted on Twitter that workout software is overrated.  Notice that I didn't say, "It doesn't work."  It does work.  It works great.  But it takes extra time, time you could be working out, and those workouts could make you better than the software did.  Once the software gets you training better, get back on the real stuff.  Move on.  Let go.

I am here to tell you that there is a fun, self-empowering side to triathlon.  It's the part where you learn to be a better you.  One of the first steps is discarding what you don't need.  You don't need six bikes.  You don't need tubular tires.  You don't need the latest wetsuit.  You do need a supporting environment and some clarity.

This will be a multi-part post.  Next week I will describe how to start going minimalist to clear up the mind and make some real progress in your training. 

Funny Tour de France Pranks

Funny Tour De France Prank - Watch more Funny Videos

Podcast - On the Move!

Click Here to Listen!

Howdy, Tri-Freeks!  This entire show was recorded while on the move during two back-to-back 20 hour workout weeks.

We cover lots of training issues while rolling along, and you even get to join me while I bike commute to work.  It's a great show, so listen in!

Click Here to Listen!

Great Cycling Comic - Yehuda Moon

Yehuda Moon has all the pieces to make a great cycling comic:Commuting, racing, nature, fixies, bike shops, and unobtanium. It'salso updated daily and has a huge backlog. Make sure you check out thecomments to take part in the conversation.

Don't run LSD. Run LED instead.

Many experienced coaches will tell you that all running long and slow
will do will make you really good at running long and slow. Do you
want to be slow? Not me!

LSD (Long Slow Distance) running is good in theory. It trains you to
be able to cover large distances. The problem is the word "slow".

When you hear that word and you train that way, you focus on going
slow and not much else.

Throw out the slow and replace it with something actually useful: "Efficient".

If you go out for a three hour LED run, you will be thinking about
efficiency. Specifically, what's the fastest speed you can achieve
while still keeping a low heart rate?

When you do this, you pay a lot more attention to your foot strike,
hip movement, arm swing, and posture. Not only that, but you also pay
more attention to your gear and nutrition.

You can apply this by trying different techniques while recording your
average HR. Compare your runs. Which ones had the faster speed with
the same or lower HR?

Most of all, just scrap the LSD mindset and go with efficiency
instead. LED all the way. :)