Key components of a race plan

Racing season is here. Some of you may have already been to Arizona, California or Texas to test out your springtime fitness. Did you follow your plan?

Below is a form I use to reference my race plan. I fill it out about 6-8 weeks from an important race, during my build/race specific training phase. That time frame gives me plenty of training sessions to practice my pacing, mental and nutrition strategies I plan to use for my event. Writing it down, I can reference my race plan outline which often eases any anxiety I may have. Having a plan reminds me of all the preparation I have done, helps me confirm or reassess my SMART goal I made the previous months. I am ready for a fun experience come race day.

Key components of a race plan
Reviewing your personal goals for your race is the first step in formulating your race plan. Goals should follow the SMART goal acronym.
With your overall race time goal established, you can now establish your time goals for each segment of the race based times achieved in training or recent performance You and/or your coach should work to create realistic yet challenging race pace goals.

Next you should develop your personal race day nutrition strategy, even if this is your first event. This means deciding what you will eat and drink before, during and after your event based both on science and practice. A good coach or sports nutritionist can help you with this. Race fuel is a highly individual matter. As a result, it is vital that you create a plan that works for you and practice it.
Finally, you need to plan out the mental approach and specific strategies that you want to have with you during this race. After some reflection, you should be able to generate a list of mental traits that have been successful for you before. You can use this list to create a concrete mental strategy for the various parts of your race day.

You should be practicing your race plan in your training rides and runs to make it second nature. If you have a great plan for the race AND HAVE PRACTICED IT WELL, then you will keep your emotions in check more easily and do what is best for you on race day.

Guess Which Snack Food Is Full Of Antioxidants?

Submitted by Cindy Dallow on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:57pm

Quick: which food has the most antioxidants:

apples
whole wheat bread
popcorn
broccoli

If you said popcorn, you were right! Recent research by Dr. Joe Vinson reveals that popcorn has more "polyphenols" than most fruits or vegetables.

Polyphenols are known for their role in preventing many degenerative diseases, especially cardiovascular disease and some cancers. They may also reduce some of the oxidative damage caused by strenuous exercise, which aids the recovery process.
Dr. Vinson's research shows that popcorn contains up to 300 mg of polyphenols per serving compared to 160 for one serving of most fruits. Sweet corn has only 114 mg per serving, making popcorn a high antioxidant food.

And there's more good news: popcorn is the only snack food in the American diet that is 100% unprocessed whole grain. All the other grains are processed and contain additional ingredients. A single serving of popcorn will provide >70% of the daily requirement for whole grain. Most people get about half a serving of whole grain each day so popcorn could fill that void quite easily.

Of course, if you slather it with butter and salt, you put a major dent in the nutritional value of popcorn. But eating it air-popped or microwaved is a good way to go. Microwave popcorn has more calories than air-popped but the amount of polyphenols is the same.

So next time you need a quick, healthy snack, reach for the popcorn and enjoy!

Meet Cindy Dallow, PhD, RD, CSSD, marathoner and 2-time Ironman Finisher:

“I’ve been helping people of all sizes and shapes change their eating habits for 25 years. Being an endurance athlete myself, I know all too well the benefit of good nutrition on peak performance. Being a working parent, I also know how difficult it is to balance family, work, training, and life in general. Let me do some of the work for you – based on your goals and budget, I can create an individualized nutrition plan that works for you!”

What goes into a consultation

I often tell others coaching is more than just a training plan. Tanya from GOTRIbal defined the difference between coaching and training plans as follows "A training plan is based on a consult with a coach. Then it's up to you to figure out how to modify as you continue forward towards race day. Coaching is the extra love that helps you figure out exactly what or how to modify the plan to you specific needs along the way and gets you OUT of my own way so you can be as successful as possible"

When planning and preparing to coach someone or create a training plan first we set up a consultation. The athlete fills out a detailed questionnaire then we meet in person or discuss their answers and questions over the phone.

During a consultation we discuss the following points:
• Previous experience or seasonal summary
• Goals and Objectives
• Competition Plans
• Financial Plans
• Training Plans
. Coaching Plans


Experience or Seasonal Summary
It is important to understand the athletes strengths and weaknesses. What they have done in the best to formulate a realistic goal for their upcoming season. The seasonal summary is a series questions regarding previous training and races, daily and weekly time commitment to training. The questions are meant to help an athlete understand how well they did or didn't do and see if they might understand how to improve there outcomes for the next season.

Goals and Objectives
Next we create SMART Goals, discussing the difference between Out Come vs. Performance Based goals and how to gauge if your previous goals were realistic or not and work towards creating goals by using the SMARTacronym as a guide. I also review how to set training objectives or short team goals to achieve your long term performance goals.

Gear Needs
This part of a consolation is mostly for the first timer. I discuss basic gear to get though a triathlon. Bike, running shoes, swim suit, cap, goggles. If swimming open water I advice them on a wetsuit, purchase or rental. We also review t1 and t2 when discussing gear

Competition Plans
What races are you going to participate in? You need to write down the Name of the event, how long the race will take to complete, the date it will be held, and what priority you are going to put on the race or event. An "A" priority is your top priority and usually riders/racers will only have 1-3 of these in a season. A "B" priority event is one where you want to do really well for but its not your top concern. Finally the "C" priority events and there can be many of these will be your back up race or the new race or event you might want to try out but have no goals or objectives for this race or event.

Financial Plans refer to my article on racing on a budget

Training Plans and Coaching
Finally we discuss training plans and coaching. All of the above equates to an investment in time, energy, emotion and finances. If you are a new multisport athlete who wants to race for the first time then a consultation with general training suggestions and outline is all you need. You won't be sorry.

If you have some experience or a couple of years under your belt you may have developed some SMART goals based on your previous experience and want to get fitter, stronger and faster. There is more than just showing up to an event and giving it your all. Proper periodized plan will lead you on the path to achieving your performance goals. If you train hard and are not getting the results you want with just following a training program then you may want to invest in some coaching.

Contact wendy@t2coaching.com for more information

Training Plans

Not ready to work directly with a coach or need as much accountability that coaching offers?

Not ready or want the expense of having a custom plan developed for you?

Maybe you are an athlete that just wants to become faster and stronger and finish. Placing in your age group is not a goal. If you are wanting an 8-12 week base plan or 8-12 week build, taper and peak plan I can do that for you.

For those that want a training plan we start with a consultation to discuss a plan to get you fitter, stronger, faster. $150 covers the cost of the consultion and training plan. I upload the plan into your basic training peaks account. You make adjustments to this training plan as needed to fit your schedule when life happens.

If you are someone that wants daily, weekly, more accountability then refer to this link for more information about Coaching.

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Triathlon Challenge Groups

Need some accountabilty to workout? Have you been slacking with your triathlon training?

Post your training, depending on the group, at least 5 days a week 60 days. I will offer motivation and guidance.

For each challenge:

1. Sign up for a FREE or Paid Team BeachBody account with me, click here.
2. Post everyday in a closed facebook accountability group with 4 others.
3. I will provide and guide based on your goals, strengths and weaknesses
4. Those that post everyday will win a prize for that challenge

Challenge 1
Increase your swim training and commit to swimming at least 5 days a week for 60 days or 12000 meters/yards each week.

Challenge 2
Increase your bike training and commit to biking at least 5 days a week or at least 150 bike miles each week for 60 days.

Challenge 3
Increase your run training and commit to running at least 5 days a week or running at least 40 mile per week for 60 days.

Challenge 4
Post any type of training 7 days a week for 60 days.

Day 1 starts when you sign up, must sign up by April 22th, challenge ends June 20th

Questions? Email wendy@t2coaching.com

April Challenge Groups Now Forming.

For each challenge:

1. Sign up for a FREE or Paid Team BeachBody account with me, click here.
2. Post everyday in a closed facebook accountability group with 4 others.
3. I will provide and guide based on your goals, strengths and weaknesses
4. Those that post everyday will win a prize for that challenge

Challenge 1
Looking for new workout? I am starting a Tai Cheng challenge group. Master 18 non impact moves combining them into one sequence to strengthen you core, improve you balance. Ideal for athletes wanting to rehabilitate their aches and pains. http://www.teambeachbody.com/showcase/-/bcp/1513855864001/73715?referringRepId=73715

Challenge 2
Need nutritional help? Post your nutritional intake everyday for 60 days. I will provide and guide you offer tips on pre, during and post workout. Win a bag of Shakeology, the healthiest meal of the day, if you post everday for 60 days.

Challenge 3
Need some accountabilty to workout? Post your choice of training/workout everyday for 60 days, I will offer motivation and guidance. Win a BeachBody program of your choice, just for posting your workout each day