Redemption in Geneva

by Coach Jim I’ve learned a couple of things in my 10 years of competitive racing, because no matter what happens there are always things to learn from a race. [...]

Trusting our Cockpit

by Coach Sarah So much of our focus when training on the bike falls to the lower half of the body. Understandably so, as our legs/hips (and all muscles that [...]

The Five Contact Points on the Bike

by Coach Sarah For the most solid and stable “platform” possible while riding a bike, it’s extremely helpful to literally “become one” with your bike.  One of the most practical [...]

An Unlikely Breakthrough Performance at Muncie

Forgiveness

by Coach Sarah “I will not be broken.  You will not break me.  I will not be broken.  You will not break me.” I was this close to being 100% mentally [...]

The Push/Pull Continuum of Cycling

By Coach Sarah Sometimes I experience such a big “ah-ha” moment in the world of coaching, that it sticks in my mind permanently, and it imprints how I find myself [...]

Nutrition and Hydration for IM Wisconsin ET Cheer Crew

By Laurie Schubert, PhD RD LDN, Team Dietitian So, it’s the big day!  Your friend or significant other is about to embark on 140.6 miles and you get to be [...]

When Three’s a Crowd

by Coach Judie Remember that off-season article you just read? The one that said you should get into a master’s program over the winter to improve your swim? Yeah, that [...]

Ahhhhh, the offseason, time to…..

by Coach Judie It’s the beginning of October and tri season has wound to a close in the Midwest with the arrival of fall temperatures and shorter daylight hours. For [...]

The Big Comeback….One Day at a Time

by Coach Judie If your trips to the gym are colored with “I remember when I could…,” you aren’t alone. Many of us have had to take a big time-out. [...]

Goal Setting 201

by Coach Judie I’m sure you’ve heard it before (we are big fans of goal setting at Experience Triathlon), planning your goals for the upcoming race season is very important! [...]

Maintaining Balance in Triathlon

by Coach Jim Levesque Triathlon is a sport that attracts driven and motivated people. We love the challenge, camaraderie, and the ability to test our limits as we look to [...]

Finding myself in Arizona

Beating the Demons - Chapter 8 by Coach Joe Life. It’s funny. Sometimes we can’t figure it out and sometimes we think we got it nailed. Most of us spend our [...]

28 Weeks to Turn Back Time

By Coach Vicky Do you want to improve your splits this off season? Consider doing a strength training program this winter. There's no better time to hit the weight room [...]

The Edge

Beating the Demons – Chapter 7 by Coach Joe Today I did not think I could run. I really didn't want to. Too tired, too stressed out, eight days to producing [...]

Running in Circles

by Coach Cathy Track workouts! When I say these words, some people cringe with negative emotions and others are happy with excitement. I will admit I am one of those [...]

Taking the Stress out of Race Day

by Coach Judie Summer is right around the corner and with it comes the start of the outdoor triathlon season. It’s like Christmas in… well… June! You’ve trained, you have [...]

Functional Strength Training for The Endurance Athlete

by Coach Vicky Being an endurance athlete requires a strong core. Here's the rub: swimming, biking and running do little to develop one. If you invest some time to improve [...]

The Marathon “Wall”: Myth or Reality?

by Coach Jim. Any of us that have done any long distance running have heard of “hitting the wall” from our teammates and friends. Those that have done marathons have [...]

Organized Rides and the Triathlete

by Coach Vicky Have you ever considered adding an organized ride into your race season? A well-timed ride can give added incentive to spend time on the bike. June 21st [...]

Kick Your Way to More Efficient Triathlon Swimming!

by Coach Sue As a swim coach at Experience Triathlon, I am constantly bombarded at our ET Masters Swim workouts by questions about why triathletes need to develop a good [...]

When Do I Shift?

by Coach Cathy One of the more common questions by new athletes is, “When do I shift?” This is not an easy question to answer since there isn’t really a [...]

The “I Just Want a Menu” Diet Plan

By Laurie Schubert, PhD RD LDN, Team Dietitian A significant percentage of the people I talk to want to lose weight.  Some want to achieve a better race weight, some [...]

Setting Goals

by Coach Bob What is your goal for the coming year? Is it to qualify for Age Group Nationals or The Boston Marathon? Is it to make it through the [...]

Our Kinetic Chain: Putting it to work for better performance!

by Coach Sarah There is a constant among us all, sprint triathlete to marathon runner to Ironman alike – we all have a structural chain within us that connects each [...]

All You Have To Do Is Choose

by Coach Suzy A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. -Confucius Well, here I sit nearly three weeks post-Ironman (How did THAT happen?!), and I’m finally putting pen [...]

Controlling the Uncontrollable through Drill Work and Recovery Workouts

by Coach Sarah We can’t always control what happens to us, but we CAN control our reactions, both mentally and physically!   As endurance athletes, we know that things happen on [...]

Becoming 140.6 Mile Suzy

by Coach Suzy Two weeks from today, after many months of training through blood, sweat and tears, I will toe up to the starting line at Ironman Wisconsin.  This is [...]

What A Ride

by Coach Suzy What a ride this training adventure has been! Right after I signed up for Ironman Wisconsin, Coach Joe told me that this was going to be, "the year [...]

The Hard Is What Makes It Great

by Coach Suzy One of my favorite scenes from the movie, A League Of Their Own, came when Dottie (Geena Davis) quit the team right before the world series.  The [...]

Using Periodization and a Coach to Succeed

by Coach Jim Are you achieving your fitness and performance goals?  If not, you should consider using a periodized training plan and professional coach.  Periodization is how coaches break down [...]

The Pain and Pleasure of Time Trialing

by Coach Sarah Time Trialing. The sequence of thoughts seems to consistently go like this, no matter if the race is indoors, or outdoors: First quarter in, “Wow! This is SO [...]

4,223 Yards…Oh My!!

by Coach Suzy My alarm went off at 4 AM yesterday. After fumbling to hit the snooze button, I said, “Oh my God, what day is it?” He answered, “It [...]

Ah-Ha Moments on the Pool Deck

by Coach Judie As we close out the current race season and welcome the off-season, it's natural to reflect on the year past and think about our breakthrough moments, or [...]

8 months and 8 days

by Coach Suzy It’s New Year's day, and this is the year of my Ironman. This is my first entry in my blog about my journey going from “3 Mile [...]

The Art of Time Management

by Coach Cathy Do you ever wonder how athletes who juggle their career, family, school and other responsibilities are still able to get all their workouts completed in a week?  [...]

Become a Better Swimmer

by Coach Cathy Fall is approaching and the triathlon season is winding down for most of us.  You’ve worked hard this summer at completing your required swim workouts just to [...]

What is Your Number?

by Coach Judie If you look around you after your next race, you will see or maybe be a part of a group of athletes studying their watches and talking [...]

How to keep your momentum and speed while turning

by Coach Sarah Here’s a quick tip that might help you tackle all the turns & corners in the cycling leg of your next race with as much efficiency as [...]

Sticking up for the little guy – watt production and speed in cycling

by Coach Sarah There are a lot of ways to skin a cat... or so I’ve heard.  Just like there are lots of ways to produce a watt on the [...]

Massage – One of the most effective tools out there!

by Coach Sarah I recall one of my early instructors during our first Anatomy Lab class at Clinical Massage Therapy school saying that our muscles are “dumb” and easily trainable [...]

The Four C’s of Optimal Performance

by Coach Cathy As athletes, we all want to do our best.  We strive to perfect our performances and to be faster and more efficient.  We hope we’ve trained hard [...]

There is No “I” in Team

by Coach Judie It’s 4:30 in the morning when my alarm goes off.  Maybe it’s 6am on Saturday or Sunday.  Either way it’s an ungodly hour to be getting out [...]

Can We Cry While We Swim?

by Coach Sarah Can we cry while we swim?  I wouldn’t have thought so, prior to tonight.  But I did.  Tonight I swam for the 3rd time after my nasty [...]

The Perfect Storm – Ironman Florida 2011

by Coach Joe “Give me one moment in time when I'm more than I thought I could be. When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away and the answers [...]

Relax! It’s good for you.

by Coach Judie You hear it all the time, I bet, and probably from your friends and family who don't share your passion for competition.  “You just need to relax!”  [...]

It’s all about the form!

by Coach Judie If you've ever spent time in our Masters Swimming programs, you know how much time we spend working on form in the pool, drilling in good technique [...]

Reinventing our Cycling Style to make way for improved performance

by Coach Sarah One of the best parts of cycling is that we never truly reach perfection.  If we are lucky, we might experience one race where we feel like [...]

Breakthrough Performance – Embracing The Pain

Beating the Demons - Chapter 6 by Coach Joe Why do we repeatedly throw ourselves into painful training sessions and races?  The answer to this question in one of the [...]

Not Offensive and Fine to Drink

By Laurie Schubert, PhD RD LDN, Team Dietitian Experience Triathlon athletes are used to drinking.  I almost never see them without a water bottle full of water or a sports [...]

Is Your Training Optimized?

As a coach, I’m often approached by self coached athletes wanting to discuss their training, training plan and performance results.  Many times there are issues and concerns.  Things like [...]

Triathlon: A celebration of Life

by Coach Sarah Does this happen to you?  A full day passes you by, you finally lay down to sleep at night, and you barely remember what you did….actually, what [...]

There Is Always More To Learn

On Sunday morning I waited mid-pack for the start of my fifth marathon.  I had gone over my whole race plan with Coach Joe on Thursday and kept reviewing [...]

Biking For Family Fun And Fitness

With spring having officially sprung and National Bike Month (May) right around the corner, it’s a great time to suit up the family and get rolling!  After all, what [...]

A Little Healthy Competition

For those of you who have hit my Experience Triathlon masters swim classes at Central Park Lisle on Monday evening and Friday morning (shameless plug!), you’ll know that I [...]

The Power of Momentum

We all have that one thing that is looming out there on the horizon, that one thing that you tell yourself you really need to do, one day, it’s [...]

Core Training and Recovery

There’s a visual picture I’ve found myself using lately during my indoor trainer rides… it’s a little odd, but it helps get the job done.  It’s a visualization of [...]

Myths and Mysteries of the Flutter Kick

Our leg muscles are arguably the largest muscles in our body. Yours are probably rock solid from all that running and biking you’re doing. Why, then, don’t they work [...]

What do I do now, Coach?

Welcome to winter!  We are fully immersed, at least those of us in the Midwest, in that gray and chilly time of year that sometimes is snowy, sometimes isn't, [...]

Bringing Awareness to your Swim Workout

by Coach Karli Almost everyone I’ve met over the years has said something like this upon learning about my swimming background: “Oh, you’re a swimmer? You know swimming is such [...]

Staying Cycling-Fit Through the Winter Months – Part 1

by Coach Sarah I’ve heard many times from athletes how winter running is something they look forward to, and is pivotal to their annual run training program.  The cool temperatures [...]

Transitions – Plan and Practice

by Coach Joe Can there be such a thing as Free Speed in triathlon?  Yes, and it can be found in the transition from swim to bike and again in [...]

Running on Empty

By Laurie Schubert, PhD RD LDN, Team Dietitian As a sports dietitian, I frequently encounter people who want to talk to me - just not right now.  They want to [...]

Why I Love Running

by Coach Suzy Running.  A sport that can be done anywhere and the only required equipment is a determined mindset, a good pair of running shoes and some comfortable moisture-wicking [...]

Act as if…

Beating the Demons – Chapter 5 Act as if you can… and become! Acting as if you can is one of the most powerful ways to Beat the Demons.  In [...]

Getting Back to the Basics: Healthy Eating

By Laurie Schubert, PhD RD LDN, Team Dietitian It’s the new year, and all of last year’s dietary transgressions must be overcome!  Sound familiar?  It’s so easy to let the [...]

Someday

Beating the Demons - Chapter 4 Today, November 16, 2009, I’ve been thinking a lot about Someday.  Today, many of us attended the memorial service for our dear running club [...]

Holiday Healthy Eating Tips

by Coach Suzy Ahhhh, the holidays.  It’s hard to believe, but they are almost upon us again! One of my roles as an endurance coach is to educate athletes on healthy [...]

Being Consistent

by Coach Joe While it’s been a long season for most of us and we do need to disconnect both physically and mentally to recharge our batteries, it’s also time [...]

Front Row, Back Row

Beating the Demons - Chapter 3   “Life is played on the field, not in the grand stands.”  - Anonymous I just love this quote.  Like the quotes in Chapters 1 and [...]

Anything is Possible!

Beating the Demons - Chapter 2   In Chapter 1, we talked about Beating the Demons with proper goal setting.  With proper goals, stress is reduced and success is more likely [...]

Don’t Tell Them, Show Them!

By Coach Suzy Involving Children in Triathlon Standing in the Experience Triathlon booth at a local triathlon last weekend, I noticed a familiar face in the crowd.  It was my friend, [...]

Beating the Demons

Chapter 1 What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? How many times in your life have you missed your goals and been frustrated? If you’re [...]