The power of intermediate goals!

If your ultimate goal seems a bit too far, it's best to set several more realistic intermediate goals to get you there.

Setting big goals in the fitness world should be the norm. Whether it's losing 50 pounds, getting into the Hawaii Ironman Championships, or getting qualified for the Boston Marathon, these are all good goals even if you feel they are not attainable at present.

If you feel setting lofty goals might be a tad too far, that's still fine! What you need to do is set two or more intermediate goals to get you in a position to attain that ultimate goal. These are more realistic goals at present that you know you can attain through several months of hard work.

After months, or maybe a year or two of gaining those intermediate goals, you now have a great chance at attaining that goal that was so lofty when you began.

For example, maybe you want to BQ the Boston Marathon with a time of 3:25. Your fastest marathon at this point is 3:50. Cutting 25 minutes of your time (or close to a minute per mile pace!) sounds like fantasy at this point.

And it is.

 But, let's see if we can set up some intermediate goals to have a better chance at getting there.


Okay, you're currently 190 pounds. Maybe we can start by trimming down to 180 pounds. Weight has a huge effect on running and so running around with 10 less pounds should get you faster. That means a slight modification to your diet (cut out some carbs, intermediate fasting on 3-4 days out of the week, etc). The slight change should help you keep to the routine and get you down to that 180 pound goal.

Once there, you can maybe try for a goal half marathon time of 1:40 as the next intermediate goals. The lost weight should help you faster already, now all you need to do is to up your training a little to get that time.

Once you attain that goal, you can maybe figure the next intermediate step would get the weight down to 175, then maybe you're ready to tackle that 3:25 time in the marathon for your goal! At this point, you worked your butt off to now make change to achieve that final goal more realistic!

The final word? Set that big goal! But do so knowingly that it might take a year or more to achieve; set some realistic intermediate goals as stepping stones to help you get a good shot at that big goal. It'll help you stay motivated on those realistic goals and will eventually change you from saying "I can't" to "I can" on that big goal!

#gofarthersports #triathlon #fitness #marathon #

Open Water Swim to Hoffman Island Sept 29!

Good morning all

Escape to Quarantine Island!

Sunday September 29th

With members of Kayak Staten Island providing swim support, there will be a swim to Hoffman Island (the closer of the two former quarantine Islands, the other is Swinbourne). It's about a 3 mile round trip swim.

Kick off at 2 pm from Fort Wadsworth beach at border with South Beach. Parking in lot at Ocean Ave at Drury Ave.

Please bring your swim bouys. Water temperatures are still delightful mid 70s.

See you Sunday!

Two New Toys for Core Strength Training for Runners and Triathetes

I'll be adding some new props to the strength and agility regimen for me and my athletes. Here are the two new toys that I ordered:

Speed Ladder

This baby is the gold standard in agility training for runners and especially trail runners and athletes. Trail runners need to respond quick to varying terrain; increased agility will help in that response quicker and more efficiently. For triathetes, agility is definitely needed the most in the bike portion, as they need to make sure their responses are quick (traffic, quickly approaching potholes, etc). Road runners can stand to benefit from agility too; aside from being more balanced in their running, should traffic suddenly come upon them or they land on a stray rock, at least their quicker response will help them avoid trouble and possible injury.

I'll be bring this ladder to Tuesday's track workout when I receive it later this week.

Weighted Bar (10 pounds)

So many exercises that one can do with this bar! Aside from helping strengthen the upper body, primarily my shoulders, this tool can also assist with squats and twists, lending great strength to the core muscles. I experimented with this bar yesterday and I broke a good sweat!

In the coming days I'll probably get more of these bars at different weights to add to my collection of pain.

Having Self Doubt Is A Good Thing

"I'm not sure I belong in an Ironman triathlon."

"A hundred miles? Am I really capable of running this?"

"I don't know about this race. Everyone looks more experienced than me."

Self-doubt. It's healthy to have it. I admit that I still have a lot of self doubt with my abilities also, as a coach and an athlete. There are other coaches out there that have gone faster than I have, so sometimes self-doubt creeps in when I don't know all the answers.

Here's a video that talks about self-doubt. It's perfectly okay to have it. It's a healthy feeling to have and one most people have on their way to success, whether it's with sports or work or family.

Remember this when you are looking at goals for next year. Remember that, yes, you are capable of achieving those goals, provided that you work to attain them.

Low Carb, High Fat Diet in Endurance Races? I Would Try It.

A diet is a big part of your fitness, bigger than you think. This article does advocate on a low carb high fat diet for endurance athletes.

Several well known athletes have adopted this diet and have won some big races recently.

It's not to say that you cut out carbs completely from the active diet, but I think limiting carbs will have a tremendous benefit to a vast majority of endurance athletes in running and multisport circles.

The Ketogenic Quandry:
https://trailrunnermag.com/nutrition/the-ketogenic-quandary.html?fbclid=IwAR3ZmVnzwKOs1iylUEi1hclTN9hcCwlvfSj65O2uK9teLKe3u3Sk-uInLLc

#triathlon #ultrarunning #runchat #ultrachat

Upping Your Storming Game on Area 51

For those who are out there ready to storm Area 51, I wish you the best of luck.
If it doesn't go as successful this year, if somehow you're still alive, the reason is that you might have to run a bit faster.

I'm here to help, just in case you want to try this little bit of insanity next year. You might get a bit farther in toward the base. Who knows, with you and your friends capable of running faster and longer, you might claim your alien prizes.
I would probably still bet against you, of course. But I definitely will give you A for chutzpah.

Of course, if you do get fit, there are better things to do with it than try to storm a top secret base in the middle of nowhere. I'm sure there are races that involve running and triathlon that you can enter. And the best part is that you can get to your goal, the finish line, without trying to outrun a hail of bullets.

You can also dress up like this guy above too.

Anyway, good luck with your storming. And let me know you're still alive tomorrow so I can help!

#stormarea51 #gofarthersports #runchat #running #fridaythoughts

When It Comes To Fitness - You Have to Put in the Work!

Fitness results are all in your hands.

If you don't make your body and your fitness a priority in your day to day tasks, you will never achieve optimal fitness.

If you make excuses not to set time to take care of yourself, you will never achieve optimal fitness.

If you blame "life getting in the way", you'll never achieve optimal fitness.
Understand that it's "all you" when it comes to your fitness. Nobody else can do it for you. People can definitely assist, but it's ultimately you that has to do the work. If you work hard, you get the best results. It's as simple as that.

As fitness goes, so does the rest of your life. Don't make excuses; whatever goal you choose to pursue in life, you'll need to go after it yourself. It will never come to you if you just wait for it to happen.

Always actively pursue excellence and MAKE good things happen!