Rugged Individualist. Certified USA Triathlon Coach & NASM Personal Trainer, Men's Self Improvement Coach. President of Go Farther Sports. National Ranked Triathlete & 100 Mile Grand Slam Ultrarunner, only the fourth New Yorker to finish four of the oldest and most prestigious 100 mile ultramarathons in the U.S. in only 10 weeks.

Monday, January 2, 2017

January 2 - 2017 Notes and Reflections

Greetings athletes!

Hope you've had great New Year's celebrations and are ready to embark on great things in 2017. I'm hoping for great things for myself too, and for my athletes.

One of the things I would like to do is be a bit more interactive in the new year. Hopefully I can get out to do some group runs in NY and NJ and do them a lot more often. I'm also restarting this blog to keep everyone updated weekly on training throughout the year.

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Winter Training. Some people love it. Some hate it. But winter is a reality and all of us have to train in it.

Training Outside

As for training outside, forget about swimming. If you still consider that an option, you can contact the local Polar Bear chapter near you. As a matter of fact a lot of them will have Polar Bear Plunges around the New Year, so check around!

Cycling is also very tough when the weather gets frigid, but it can be done. You need special clothes that seal your body away from the outside air to make it work. Covering the extremities is very, very important, and they have items and methods to keep your digits warm. Here is a short, concise article on what to wear at certain temperatures. http://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/beginners/winter-layering-done-right-how-dress-cycling-cold-weather

Some people do opt for the treadmill when the temperature plunges, but running outside is by far the easiest to dress up in those cold winter days since you are not going as fast as cycling. It's best to have something that keeps the heat in but can dissipate the sweat. Layering and covering up the extremities are also important here. Here's another good article on running in the winter: http://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/beginners/winter-layering-done-right-how-dress-cycling-cold-weather

Training Indoors

If you decide to remain indoors, especially when those huge winter storms hit, you do have options.

Swimming indoors is a given. You should have already signed up with a gym with a pool. Thankfully there are a good number of pools in the area that you can sign into, with the YMCA being the best bet.

Cycling involves an indoor trainer, or rollers. The two most expensive options are the Computrainer or the Peloton. The machines cost at least over $1000, but they do provide the best way to cycling indoors. You can plot various courses on these machines and allow the machine to increase or decrease the tension as you “climb” and “descend” the simulated hills respectively. It definitely helps break the monotony of riding in place for an hour or two.

If you want to go cheaper, CycleOps has fluid and magnetic trainers available for several hundred dollars. But here you'll need to be a bit creative and design interval-style workouts that will increase your bike fitness during the winter months. One of the best resources for interval workouts is online, of course. Another very good source is this book full of great workouts designed to target both your aerobic and anaerobic systems: https://www.amazon.com/Workouts-Binder-Indoor-Cycling-Hobson/dp/1931382751

For indoor running, there's the treadmill. If you're fortunate enough to sign up with a pool that has a gym, you have one available there. Just set up the pace and off you go! You can also run intervals on the machine as well.



Goings On


On Staten Island

Thursdays, January 12 and 26 at 6AM: Boardwalk Runs – We'll start these off this year. We'll meet at the South Fin Grill on the Boardwalk (you can use the Park and Ride lot to park your car). We can do anywhere from 4-6 miles along the Boardwalk to the Midland Beach Promenade and Miller Field. I'll aim to get these done every Thursday in the possible future!

Other runs, like runs in the Greenbelt and around the Conference House, will be scheduled from week to week whenever I discover I have free time. If you want to lead a run, let me know and I'll post it here!


In New Jersey

The Directors, Ken Vercammen and the Rumson Hash House Harriers are organizing yet another Hash run around the South Bruswick neighborhood on January 7. Wear your rattiest clothes and come on down!




Upcoming races (next 2 weeks)

January 7 - 15

Triathlons and Multisport

January 8 - Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathlon – various locations. http://www.indoortri.com . 10 minute swim in the pool, 30 minute bike, 20 minute run. Only $30 to enter. Very good min-winter training idea!

Pete