Below Kurt recaps his experience competing in his second triathlon:

It was an interesting morning.  It poured rain for the entire event. They didn’t have chips – when I asked they said “it’s a little more laid back here” – I was pissed about that. You couldn’t even see the marker buoy for the swim.  I do know that I did the swim in 16 minutes in pretty heavy currents and felt that my transition (getting out of my wetsuit) went faster than I thought – I guess using a half a stick of body glide works wonders.  To the bike – this is where I was focused on making up time.  I really pushed myself as hard as I could, realizing that I would be able to survive the run.  Did I mention it was raining?

About 10 miles in, when riding through a residential neighborhood, I “missed” a hard left downhill turn, hit a curb and went flying over my handlebars.  Fortunately, it was onto a nicely manicured lawn – it is Greenwich after all – and my bike wasn’t damaged at all.  I’m a bit bruised and sore, but at the time, the adrenaline boost got me back on the bike and by the end, I passed the guy I had just passed before the wreck.

The run went fine probably about the same time as my last tri.  Overall, this was 11 minutes quicker than my first.  I wish they were better organized and there was better weather, but it was a blast to accomplish!

Congratulations to Kurt on this great achievement!

In the article, Sara talks about how she believes that it is OK for mothers-to-be to train for triathlons, but that they should hold off from actual competition until their baby is born.

You can read the entire article by clicking here.

Mikael is a certified Level 1 USA Triathlon coach, a Level 2 USA Cycling coach and a Schwinn indoor cycling instructor.  He is working towards completing his USA Track and Field certification.  n 2002 and 2004, he was the New York Flyers (NYC’s largest running club) multi-sport athlete of the year.Prior to Physical Equilibrium, Mikael worked as a banker in New York City.

Mike will initially help Sara  coach this year’s Gilda’s Club New York City Marathon team.  For more information about Mikael, or to schedule a session with him, please contact us at 917-744-6627.

Physical Equilibrium personal trainer and marathon/triathlon coach Michele Solomon recently completed two races in remarkable time.  Last month, she finished third place of the female division of the 2010 Jerseyman Sprint Triathlon.  The race took place at the Spruce Run Recreation Area in Clinton, NJ. It included a 6 mile swim, a 19.5 mile bike ride and a 5K run. 

As if that wasn’t good enough. last weekend Michele conquered the Rhode Island 70.3 Half Ironman competition.  Michele placed sixth in her age group, finishing with a time of 1 hour, 43 minutes and 5 seconds. This race consisted of a 1.2 mi. swim, a 56 mi. bike ride and a 13.1 mile run. 

Congratulations to Michele on all of her recent success!

Now I have to say – this watch is basically a small computer so don’t expect to simply strap the heart rate monitor on and go out for a run.  It took me some time to read through the entire manual and to set up the accessories and my preferences online, which differ for each sport (run, bike etc.). As those of you that know me are aware, I’m not the most computer savvy, so others might have an easier time with the setup process than I did.  Nonetheless, I grade the product with an A-/B+ for its “user friendly” appearance.

Once setup, I quickly noticed how awesome this device is.  I initially used it in my apartment for a 90 min bike ride and it was great with measuring all my most important statistics (cadence, speed, heart rate, pace, total miles, even gave me updates of my mile splits!)

The first time I used the GPS was during a skiing day trip to the Pocono’s Camelback Resort. I had no worries that the 20 hour battery life would outlast my endurance on the slopes. When I returned home, I easily uploaded the data to the Garmin website and sent the results to my coach via the Training Peaks software I use for triathlon coaching and my training. In the end, I totaled 10.3 miles across varying terrain in just over 3 hours while burning almost 500 calories (I thought skiing burned more…). My boyfriend, who has never seen  data readouts before on a device like this, pointed out that my heart rate spiked towards the end of the day when a snowboarder almost took me out!

My initial conclusion is that the 310xt is a great training tool to help athletes understand and analyze workouts. It’s not cheap – but well worth the money if you are a serious athlete who wants to look at, log and analyze data from training and racing. In the end, I believe that this device will make me a better athlete.

My runs are also getting stronger. I’ve now completed the entire Central Park loop twice, with the second time feeling much better than the first.  As for the bike – all I can say is, “thank goodness for the Olympics and DVR!” I’ve recorded hours of Olympic events and have lots of motivational races and competitions to watch as I cycle in my tiny living room.  I particularly love to watch skiing, speed skating and snowboarding.

Today is my day off from training and I just received a great massage and soft tissue work done by my friend and physical therapist, Sarah Emmanuel from Midtown PT. My IT Band, Quadratus Lumborum and Soleus are all feeling much better.  I’m looking forward to a good night sleep so I can stride through a 50 minute run tomorrow.

-Sara

The race is roughly three months away and its time for me to get serious about my training! Being familiar with the course, I’m striving to beat my time from 2007. This triathlon consists of:

• 1.5 mile swim in the ice cold, shark infested Pacific Ocean
• 18 mile bike ride through an extremely hilly and technically challenging course
• 8 mile steep run that includes a set of sandy stairs near the end

Yesterday, I got back into the pool and completed a 2250 yard swim (my longest swim in two years).  Today, I ran for 50 minutes at a steady pace so my training has certainly begun.  I’m excited and I typically feel great this time of year, having just taken time to relax for the holiday season.  Stay tuned for updates on my training progress and of course, a report from the race itself.

-Sara

Interested in training for a triathlon but not sure how to get started?  No problem.  Join MovementU this weekend for a full day of instruction, movement sessions, lectures, Q&A and more. It’s a swim, bike and run 101! 

MovementU was created to provide a practical, integrated education about the body and the fundamental elements it requires to be capable of moving efficiently and performing to its potential.

This weekend’s workshops take place on:

• Saturday Oct 24th Fairfield, NJ
• Sunday Oct 25th Stamford, CT

The cost is $199 and classes run from 8am to 5pm.  To register or for more information, visit here.