Have fun with your triathlon training and racing!

At the 2008 AVDA 5K run/walk in Delray Beach on October 11, 2008, there was a mixture of weekend warriors, dedicated athletes, and high school kids. The high school kids appeared to be part of a fund raising activity... maybe something through their school to raise money for the ADVA.

It was cool to see the kids run the race. They did a few things that I noticed.

They ran in groups and talked with eachother.

They laughed and joked during the race.

Jokingly, they trash talked one another.

They encouraged their friends to run faster.

They smiled!

What a stark contrast to many of the overly serious local triathletes that show up to these races. While I certainly encourage approaching your training with seriousness, I really dislike triathletes that take themselves too seriously.

These are the guys and ladies who don't wave when they pass you on the bike. The people that run with an ipod, GPS monitor, watch, and heart rate monitor, and they check them every 5 seconds. The triathletes that ride with their $2000 Zipp wheels for a saturday recovery ride. The triathletes that wear a full body racing suit and facemask style goggles to the masters swim practice. Basically, the triathletes who race with their face crumpled into a grimace instead of shining with a smile.

Have fun! Talk with your buddies during a race. Trash talk them, laugh, run in a group. You're slow anyway, so why not run the race with your buddy who's coming in 30 seconds slower than you?


Tip of the Week:

This tip is an exerpt from Dan John's recent post on t-nation.com titled 3 Simple Tips That Work

If you want to show off your abs... or core... or whatever you call it, go on the Velocity Diet and call me in 28 days.

As a reminder: Dan John before, and Dan John 23 pounds after.

Someday, each of you is going to pay for the 10,000 crunches that you were sure would build a six-pack. Instead, it built a bad lower back. Ab work does absolutely "nothing" for you. Just ask any long-time strength trainer.