If we don’t have the capacity of laughing about ourselves then the journey gets boring. We have been noticing how our social life is getting “restricted” because we are tired due to the daily training and due to getting up early in the morning! Are we “mentally disabled?” Not at all! We just love what other people find too extreme or insane!

This video pretty much reveals how a lot of people think of you when you are dedicated to this Triathlon “thing”. We found it hilarious! specially since we realize that putting it on perspective, it actually looks like we are insane. But if we learned to love it, then we are sure anyone can learn to love it too. Just give it a chance and TRI for a healthier life.

“I pay $700 to register, then I have to buy a plane ticket and fly there, and spend money to ship my bike there, and spend money for a hotel…but it is worth it. I will be an Ironman.” – The Ironman Wannabe

Calli- Jose was feeling bad so he had to take it easy today. I, however, really pushed it in the pool! I wanted to
make sure that there was no water sliding through my fingers. I pulled
everything as strong as I could. I have never been weaker in my arms. I am glad
that I worked so hard because I know that I need to continue to push it like
that. Just because I have good form doesn’t mean I am a great racer. I need to
continue to reach for the next step in becoming elite, and then means reaching
with everything I have. Push it people!

“Don’t fear moving slowly forward…fear standing still.” -Kathleen Harris at KUTS 2003

Calli: It was easier to clip on and off from the pedals today. I still have some work to do with it though. The work out was good, and I am feeling a lot stronger on the spinning bikes. However, I am a bit worried that we don’t have a lot of experience on road bikes. I wish that there was a place here where we could rent bikes. Let me know if you know of any. It’s so important that we practice with road bikes. Have a good day!

Jose: The biking was good today. I’m getting the hang of it again. For a few weeks I was having trouble liking the bike, but maybe it was because I was very tired. Having the opportunity to practice with the biking shoes also motivates me a whole lot. For today I made sure that the clips were very tight and it was completely different and easier to clip off the bike. We biked for an hour alternating movements every 15 minutes. No more bike until next weekend. So let’s focus on running and swimming a lot.

I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.  ~Pablo Picasso

Calli: This day was a very productive one. After the gym this morning we ran all sorts of errands. I feel happy that we made the best of our day, and it feels even better that we are getting more accustomed to the bike. The shoes were awesome with the bike today. However, we realized quick that the clips need to be tighter, and it’s going to take us time to get used to getting in and out of the pedals. It’s harder than it looks, and I am glad we are getting started now.  Think about what you need to do to prepare for the triathlon in your future!

Jose: Today we got to use our brand new Pearl Izumi Tri Fly III bike shoes. We actually bought them a few days ago, but we were looking for the clips that would fit the spinning pedals at the gym. I can say I’m very glad that we are starting to use the pedals with a stationary bike, because I’m sure I would have fallen on my face if I would have tried on a regular bike. Releasing the shoes is an art by itself! After that, we quickly moved to the treadmill. I’m getting used to putting my running shoes on quickly with my race laces, and then run comfortably. Since I had the chance to use the treadmill I went all the way up to a speed of 16.1 km/hr. I managed to keep that speed on 2 minute intervals until the 20 running minutes were gone. It’s good, but I need that speed continually for the whole 20 minutes.

“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Calli- Today was Jose’s rest day, and I went to the pool for a very nice swim. Just as before I was focusing on the same techniques. A steady 3 beat kick with a strong pull that allows for a long glide time. I will start timing myself to see where I am with stroke per distance. I am not a sprinter, so I am not trying to move as fast as can, but instead I am trying to focus my energy into a long, elegant, and strong form. This weekend we are going to bike for the first time with our new shoes! I am so eager to try them out! Have fun out there everyone!

“Experience is what allows us to repeat our mistakes, only with more finesse.” -Derwood Fincher

Calli- Hello fellow triathletes! I hope you had a successful day training just like me. I went on my 30 min run this morning before work, and it felt great. This time around my knee wasn’t tweaking and I got to run the whole time. I focused a lot on the placement and push off of my feet, and how they were angled. I realize now that I was probably landing too much on the right side of my foot. I let my foot naturally fall the other way and I felt much better. If you have any advice or similar stories then feel free to leave a comment.

Jose- The last two running days have been kind of bad for me. I don’t know why, but I’m running out of air too easily. My legs are all right though. Not like perfectly new, but I feel like I can go farther. I thought it could be hydration like I said on Monday, but today I was a more hydrated and I went through the same feeling of tiredness. I’m thinking 200 days in the future and the fact that I still need to reduce my time by at least one minute per km. I think I have to start including a little bit of treadmill at least to get the “feeling” of that pace, and then go practice outside.

“Everyone had a ‘risk muscle.’ You keep it in shape by trying new things. If you don’t, it atrophies. Make a point of using it at least once a day.” -Roger Von Oech

We can’t actually believe how fast are the days passing by. I guess time flies when you are having a great time. Today we were going to go swimming in the early morning but we were a little bit extra tired and we decided to go at night. Unfortunately, Calii couldn’t make it because she got stuck at work, so I had to go alone for just around 30 minutes.
The water was at an amazing temperature of 80 degrees F. This reminds me of the unfortunate times when we had to go swim to the previous pool at 60 degrees F or lower. All this is part of what makes us think that time is flying. That was more than two months ago. We still have more than 200 days to go, which makes me feel more comfortable and confident about my future performance. Whatever we are struggling with right now, will be corrected in the next 200 days to assure the best possible race day.

“Confidence is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Hellen Keller

Calli: The run today was great! I had to run on my own again and it was around 2pm when I had the time. It is nice to have a job that has flexible hours so I can use the day to my advantage. So, when I started running I realized that I needed sunglasses to protect from the wind and the sand that it carries. It is very important to be able to see where you are going when you are running. especially on a busy road.However, I managed to run farther than I have before, but because we haven’t had time to do strength training my knee had lost it’s strength. I had to walk the last ten minutes home because I was afraid I would permanently injure myself. After the walk, I felt much better. Remember to do strength training, and wear your sunglasses. 

Jose: The running for me was an early morning run. As usual, that’s the only moment I have all the energy to do my exercise or else I have to workout at night after an 8 hours work shift and it’s not that fun anymore. The lack of appropriate hydration made me loose a whole minute this morning. I was feeling tired after just 10 minutes of being out and I lost the pace several times. The moral of the story: HYDRATE!!!! I have been drinking a lot of liquids during the day and I hope to get back in track on Thursday. For tonight I made another quick run… to the flowers store! I wanted to give Calli a small present for Valentine’s. Good thing she loved them! Aren’t they nice?

“Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking together in the same direction.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Since we dedicated a couple of days to describe a little bit of biking technique, we would like to write down also a few of the main things to keep always in mind during swim training.

Of course it’s no surprise that we took the article from Active.com and we are presenting now 10 Steps to Improving Your Triathlon Technique.

1- Start with Hand Entry and make sure to use rotation to at the same time to male it more efficient.
2- The Head Position should always be the one that makes a straight line with your body while looking downwards.
3- The Pull should go all the way back, past your hips
4- Keep your kick at a minimum to save energy and learn to improve balance
5- Keep good track of your training intensity by using a HR monitor.
6- Technique should come before ALL else, so make time to be perfect!
7- Keep your arm from crossing over. That goes especially for me (Jose)
8- Train the swimming as much as you need to, especially when this is toughest sport.
9- Practice your breathing every 3-5-7-9 strokes to strengthen your lungs
10- Work hard on your form weaknesses

We finally would like to add number 11, which would be: While swimming: HAVE FUN! Make sure you follow this one all the time!

“As long as I’m having fun, I’m not quitting.” – Sue Johanson

It’s always good to have on your mind all the necessary tips for a good form. It’s not always about learning new things, but also to make sure that the basic becomes part of your daily training.

Even though we have been paying attention to the basic form, being reminded of all the details, makes you examine your everyday form and make the necessary changes to not only improve but also to be injury free for the longest time possible.

We found a well written article by Ben Greenfield at Training Peaks with Five Tips on Proper Cycling Form that we want to remind you today so that you can examine yourself too. A little bit of auto-criticism can help you gain a lot once you hit the road next time.

Remember: 1- Pedal in squares (make sure to pull as hard as you push), 2- Keep your knees straight during the whole cycle (try not to bring them in or out), 3- Watch you aero position (push the butt back, rotate the hips forward, and don’t let the spine “slouch” in the saddle) 4- Relax your arms and hands (do not grab the handlebars using a lot of pressure), 5- FOCUS! if you don’t loose concentration you will have all these details in mind and will work to make sure you are developing a good form.

“Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can
immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a
single area of our lives.” – Tony Robbins