Articles

Kona 2014

By Kortney Haag USAT Level I Coach

As I am sitting here contemplating foam rolling the thought of it terrifies me…I am not too sore in the legs but my body is sore from the beat up on took on my fall on the bike Saturday. Getting to Kona was a dream I have had since the first time I decided to do an Ironman. READ FULL ARTICLE

Head Games

By Kris Swarthout USAT Level II Coach

As a coach I learned a long time ago never to take credit for an athletes accomplishments because then you must take responsibility for their failures. Training someone to be at his or her peak fitness for a race is most of the times the easy part. Making sure they are mentally primed is the big X factor. Blocking out pain and negative thoughts has long been seen as a key to breaking through personal barriers and achieving goals. READ FULL ARTICLE

Powering Up

By Kris Swarthout USAT Level II Coach

Power, for the last couple years it has become the buzz word in cycling. Simply stated, power is the measurable amount of force created as you peddle your bike. Terms like watts, critical power, power to weight ratio, force and spin scan are being thrown around these days left and right. Unfortunately most people don’t fully understand what they mean or better yet how they can be used to take an athletes cycling fitness to the next level. READ FULL ARTICLE

Punching and Kicking

By Kris Swarthout USAT Level II Coach

We last saw our heroes tentatively toeing the shoreline of their first triathlon of the season. Since then, they have spent numerous hours staring at an endless black line on the bottom of their local pool. Occasionally, they brave the weeds of their local swimming hole (with a wetsuit on, of course). The missing item to their training has been the preparation for the inevitable contact that traditionally comes from a triathlon swim. READ FULL ARTICLE

Practice Makes Perfect

By Kris Swarthout USAT Level II Coach

I can still hear it now, way back in the cobwebs of my brain, all those adults who told me as a kid “practice makes perfect.”  Whether it was my squirt hockey coach or my mom, they were always drilling this theory into my head.  I didn’t want any part of it at the time, but now, looking back, I think they were absolutely correct. READ FULL ARTICLE