Weekly Training Tip - Don't try anything new

Maybe this weekly tip goes without saying, but sometimes it just takes reinforcing.  Even for those who have been training for a few years.  There isn't anything wrong with trying something new, depending on when you try it.

The best time, or in my eyes, the only time to really try something new (anything major at least) is during the off-season.  During this time, there's not to much concern if you screw things up.  Trying something new, whether it's a new running technique, new bike position, whatever, is likely to cause some type of backfire, at least for a short amount of time.  Even if it is going to improve you over time, there may be an adjustment period.  So it's best to do it during the off-season so you can slowly transition and not worry to much about getting injured.

If you happen to try something new during a racing season, just be very cautious before you begin, and do your research.  Find a way to ease into it, and back off at the first sign of injury.  But it at all possible, keep all new things until the off-season.  It's much better to complete a healthy season than to get injured trying to improve something ever-so-slightly.  Save that for when there's not a race on the line.

The treadmill with a catch

Lately I've been getting a lot of my running done on a treadmill.  This isn't necessarily by choice, it's just the most time-efficient way for me to get it done.  What I mean is, I can get in a run at work, or while on vacation without taking away a significant amount of time from my family.

Recently, I had the pleasure of running on a special treadmill.  The Wife and I were running next to each other.  From the first look at it, it looked like a decent enough treadmill.  It was a few years old, but no big deal.  The Wife was on a far older treadmill, so I thought I wouldn't have anything to worry about.  I began with a short 2 minute walk, followed by an increase of speed to a 6.0.  As I sped up, the belt on the treadmill seemed to catch a few times.  I though, no big deal.  Maybe there was something weird going on, or maybe the treadmill hadn't been used in a while and all of the cobwebs were being torn apart!  After the running interval was over, we slowed down and walked for a few minutes before speeding back up.  This time, when I sped back up, the same thing happened.  This time, it was with almost every step!  The treadmill seemed to be getting stuck on something, causing a slight hesitation with each step.  It's a pretty odd feeling to be running and having an unknown hesitation with almost every step.

Unfortunately, there wasn't any other treadmills to choose from, so I just stuck with it.  I began to view it as an obstacle that I was overcoming and would somehow make me better.  In all reality, it probably could have injured me had I fallen down.  But I didn't, so it's all good!  The other odd thing that happened was as The Wife and I were running, there was an older man who was on a stationary bike.  When he was finished, he got up to leave the room and turned off the lights!  What the heck!  Neither The Wife nor I wanted to do anything about it though and just continued to run in a semi-lit workout room.

Other than that, it was a pretty successful run.  The Wife was able to run at a faster pace than she normally does, and I think she actually found out that she likes treadmill running (but will never actually admit it).  So we might be in the market for a decent home treadmill soon!

New tri clothes

It's been a while since I've purchased new triathlon clothing.  I've been lucky enough to have been selected for Team Marathon for the last two seasons, which comes with the great benefit of receiving some pretty nice racing apparel.  Unfortunately, that gear is more run/cycling specific.  I do have a pretty sweet Team Marathon tri top that I will be wearing for this year's Ironman Arizona, but my current selection of tri shorts have seen better days.

It wasn't until last week that I actually came to own a few pairs of new tri shorts, and an awesome TYR one-piece tri suit.  I purchased a Schwaggle coupon for TYR.com which allowed me to buy a $72 pair of tri shorts for $40.  Then a few days later, I found a smokin' deal on a pair of Pearl Izumi tri shorts.  Then another day later, my in-laws were at a triathlon in Colorado and came across a clearance table of sorts.  This table was selling everything, and I mean everything, for $5 each.  They were kind enough to hook me up with that TYR tri suit that I mentioned earlier, along with an awesome Ironman cycling jersey and an equally awesome running/tech shirt.

I had forgotten how nice a new pair of tri shorts felt, until I put on the stuff that I recently came to own.  And not only that, all of my previous tri shorts were basically bottom of the barrel.  This stuff that I own now is actually really nice stuff!  It's amazing the difference that exists between the cheaper apparel and the more expensive stuff.

Now, unfortunately, technology is not being a friend of mine at the moment, so I don't have any pictures to share.  But, as soon as I get my devices all working together, I will post some pictures of my new clothing.