Triathlon - Holistic Athlete

How Quarantine Has Changed Exercise

Luke Powell — Sun, 07 Jun 2020 12:03:03 +0000

Depending on where you are, your life looks different than it did 8-10 weeks ago. Here in the United States, it was mid-March that things started to shut down and we were told to stay home. In order to prevent the COVID-19 virus from spreading too quickly and overwhelming our hospitals, we shut down all non-essential businesses. This meant not only no access to gyms and pools, but also most people working from home.

So what impact did all of this have on exercise? Did people give up completely on their routine since there was no access to treadmills, ellipticals, weights, spin class or the pool? Would people find something else to do since they could not go to Pure Barre, Orangetheory or their local CrossFit Box?

While it's impossible to gather all of the data to determine how exercise habits changed over the last two and a half months, Garmin compiled data from it's users and came up with some pretty interesting results. For those of you not familiar with Garmin, they produce activity trackers and sports watches, aimed at activities such as running, watersports, golf, cycling and swimming with sensors such as heart rate and GPS. Most users upload their workouts to the Garmin website or app, giving the company access to the activity of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

Here are some of the more interesting statistics from the Garmin report:

Total steps worldwide decreased 12% in the month of April - but some countries saw a sharper drop-off than others. This is likely due to how strict the lockdowns were. While some countries stay at home orders meant that it was hard to leave the house for any reason, others allowed people more freedom to get out. The map below shows how people's step counts differed from the same time period one year earlier. If you look back to data from March, step counts in the United States dropped almost 13% from March 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020.

But what is really interesting is that while people were not moving as much with normal activity (steps normally accrued by just walking to get to work and while at work), people made up for it by being more intentional about getting their steps in through exercise. Steps from a logged activity such as taking a walk, hiking or even running were up 24% in April 2020 compared to April 2019. This is very encouraging and I know that my family began taking more walks than we had in the past just to get out of the house.

So aside from walking, how have other exercise routines changed? Getting back to my original question, did people use this quarantine time to start exercising more or did they throw in the towel and decide that it was too much work to try and figure out a way to get their workout in at home?

The answer is that is really depends on what people's preferred method of exercise was/is. The biggest decrease has been in swimming (down 88%). This is not a surprise since pools have been closed. The biggest increase has been indoor cycling. Virtual cycling activity jumped an incredible 64% in the second half of the month of March and continued to climb through April. This is normally the time of year when people in the northern hemisphere start going outside to ride, but I think what you are seeing is more a result of new people picking up the sport. The stationary bike company Peloton announced that first quarter 2020 revenue soared 66% and paid digital subscribers jumped 64% after the Covid-19 pandemic spurred thousands of people to workout at home. Bike shops have also seen a huge increase in road bike sales over the last few months as well.

Another method of exercise that has seen an increase worldwide is indoor workouts with fitness equipment. In China, Mexico, South Africa and a handful of other countries, fitness equipment workouts increased more than any other activity. People were able to shift from gym-structured workouts to home-based workouts. Good luck trying to buy a Kettle Bell or Dumbell Set right now! People also turned to bodyweight only workouts and found that they could be just as effective.

Offering further reassurance on the dual physical and emotional health front is the positive trend for yoga. Garmin wearable device data showed an 11% increase in yoga in March.

Along with Swimming, Multisport (triathlon) training, hiking and golf also ranked as the activities with the largest decreases in multiple countries. But according to Garmin, athletes that focused on these sports have been finding alternatives. In South Africa, for example, 20% of the users who were golfing in April 2019 turned to indoor fitness workouts in April 2020, while another 11% began indoor cycling.

After analyzing the activity trend data for two months, Garmin is using the phrase “fitness is finding a way”. I am encouraged, but not surprised that hard-core athletes have not stopped training, but are just adapting and finding other ways to exercise. My hope is that the casual exerciser or even those that did not exercise before have started a new routine and will continue to walk, ride, run or even do yoga after things open back up!

Be sure and visit all of my sponsor’s websites. I sought out these companies because they provide great products and services.

Wishing you optimal health and peak performance,

The post How Quarantine Has Changed Exercise first appeared on Holistic Athlete.

The post How Quarantine Has Changed Exercise appeared first on Holistic Athlete.

Why Do Long-Established Races End?

Luke Powell — Sat, 15 Jun 2019 01:17:15 +0000

Some bad news hit the local road racing community this week. After 35 straight years, the Louisville Triple Crown of Running will not take place in 2020. The series consisted of a 5K, a 10K and a 10 Miler each spring. At the beginning of the series, it included a half marathon before that became a stand-alone event at the 5K was added in its place.

Thousands of runners would race at least one of the races, and many would do all three, which took place over a four to five week stretch. Training for these races would be the start of the race season for many runners and for others a reason to get moving after the holidays. I personally participated in one or more of these races eleven times and eight of the last ten years. It had become a tradition for me as well.

With the news this week came a lot of questions. The official reason the race organizers gave for cancelling the race series was "steady decline in participation, available sponsorship dollars and rising operating costs.” They went on to say that they "could not continue to create the type of experience that would meet their standards and measure up to the quality events they have nurtured for nearly four decades."

People speculated as to how the races that continued to draw around 4,000 participants per race could have trouble with costs. With race entry fees of $25-$35 per race (depending on when you registered), how could they not be making enough money to keep the series going?

While I have never attempted to organize a race, I have worked closely with people and organizations that have put on road races and triathlons. I can tell you that for the most part, when it’s a local race and not put on by global corporation like Ironman®, race organizers are not making much money. They put on races for the love of it and to support the local community. It’s not an easy job. A race director or committee has to worry about the safety and satisfaction of hundreds or thousands of participants and volunteers. It’s a big responsibility!

In the last few years, fundraising for a charitable organization has become an objective of most races. If this is the case, it creates an added stress of the balance between offering a quality race for the participants and raising as much money as possible for the beneficiaries. As for the Louisville Triple Crown, according to their website all net proceeds from the 3 events went to the Crusade for Children and they have contributed $1.8 million to the charity in the last 17 years, which averages out to over $100,000 per year. So where they just not willing to continue the races if this amount was going to be less going forward?

There are numerous variables that impact what a race may cost and how much money can be raised for a charity or earned by the race director. These usually include:

The number of participants registered
The race experience and “professionalism” you want the participants to feel.
The venue where the event is being held (cost of road closures, permit fees, etc.)
The swag participants get (t-shirt, food, entertainment, timing, medals, etc.)
The race beneficiary (if for charity) and how much it is expecting to receive

According to a few sources and a little research, a typical race budget looks something like this:

20% - Miscellaneous and charity donations

20% - Race equipment rental (sound system, port-o-pots, trucks, tents, start and finish lines, etc.)

15% - Management fees & Insurance (USATF or USAT Sanctions)

10% - Police coverage (blocking roads, directing traffic, etc.).

10% - Advertising, marketing, and promotions (social media, print, email, flyers for other race goodie bags, booth at race expos)

10% - Participant and volunteer t-shirts, medals and awards.

10% - Timing equipment (race bibs, timing mats, computers)

5% - Medical coverage (Having EMS on the course and at the finish line).

When you break it down like this, it’s easy to see how you can blow throw a $25 per person race entry fee pretty quickly. There are few places where you can cut corners, but would people continue to do the race if you went with a non-technical shirt or a chintzy finishers medal? Or is it worth all the planning and work if you only end up being able to donate a few thousand dollars to your charity?

Getting sponsors to cover some of the race expenses is pretty common for bigger races. A corporate sponsor could even have the race named after them. The Louisville Triple Crown races were most recently called the “Anthem” 5K, the “Rodes” City Run and the “Papa John’s” 10 Miler. While I do not know how much the sponsors paid to have the naming rights, I would suspect that it was not inexpensive. Not to mention the many sponsors the contributed less, but still got their logo on the race shirt and their banners at the start and finish lines. According to their website, the Louisville Triple Crown had over 20 sponsors.

I feel like the Louisville Triple Crown could continue with a few changes, but I am not privy to all of the information the committee had before making their decision. While raising money and awareness for children with special needs holds a special place in my heart, having local races that encourage and motivate people to stay active is important to me as well.

The American College of Sports Medicine published a Fitness Index this past May. It evaluated the cities on 33 indicators, including health behaviors; health outcomes, from obesity to pedestrian fatalities; and various community and environmental factors. Louisville ranked 95^th out of 100. Our city is not healthy. These races provided a reason for a lot of people in this city to get off the couch in January and start running. I fear that their absence will lead to an absence of exercise for many people in this community.

Be sure and visit all of my sponsor’s websites. I sought out these companies because they provide great products and services.

Wishing you optimal health and peak performance,

The post Why Do Long-Established Races End? first appeared on Holistic Athlete.

The post Why Do Long-Established Races End? appeared first on Holistic Athlete.

You Get Out What You Put In

Luke Powell — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 00:15:09 +0000

For the last nine years, I’ve “trained” for triathlons. Usually starting in late December or early January, I come up with a plan based on what races I have for the upcoming season. Some years that means I’m building my training for a full (Ironman) distance triathlon. Other years, I might do a half distance or just a few Olympic distance races. No matter what the race calendar looks like, I have always trained religiously six days a week. That usually consists of three runs, three bikes and one or two swims per week. So by the time the spring and summer triathlons come around, I’m in pretty good shape.

After completing Ironman Louisville in October of last year, I decided to take a break. My body was telling me to rest…so I did. After the race ended, I sat on my butt for two weeks. Then I did a few easy trainer rides and runs. I ate foods that I wouldn’t normally eat. I quickly put on 15 pounds to get back to my “normal”, non-race, weight. None of this is out of the ordinary for me once I do my last race of the season.

But something different happened this time around. The end of December came, and I still didn’t feel motivated to get back into hard training. January came and went…still not motived. I knew that I wanted to do some different kind of races in 2018, so I had signed up for an obstacle race and planned to do some cycling races. The triple crown road races are always on my schedule, so I did them. Not really feeling like pushing myself. Needless to say, I didn’t set any PR’s.

April was over and I still didn’t feel like doing any hard trainer rides. Or going to the track for some sprints. Or doing hill repeats. Or going to the pool to swim. I didn’t feel like doing these workouts that had been a staple to my training for years. I didn’t feel like doing them, so I didn’t. Back in January I told myself that I would “just do what I felt like” in 2018. I was definitely sticking to my word.

There were mornings that my alarm when off and I decided to just turn it off and get another hour of sleep instead of working out. 2017 Luke would never do that. Every workout was important to me in previous years and I was honestly excited to get up each morning and crush it. Not this year.

So when I showed up this past Sunday morning for Tri Louisville, I was excited, but uncertain what to expect. It was an Olympic distance triathlon. This consists of a 1500 meter swim, a 40K (24.8 miles) bike and a 10K (6.2 mile) run. I knew that the swim would be a struggle since I had literally only swam three times since last October! I hadn’t pushed myself hard on the bike in months, so how was I going to red-line it for an hour? The only thing I had been doing was running, but it was usually at a comfortable pace with a low heart rate. A race would be anything but a comfortable pace!

PC: Josh Couture

For the last seven or eight years, I’ve been fortunate enough to usually place pretty high in my Age Group. I’ve end managed to have some top three overall finishes and even win a race here or there. So when I get out there on race day, I expect to do well. By the time I got to the run on Sunday, I instantly knew that my lack of training was going to result in a poor performance. And it was a tough pill to swallow.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I’m a competitive person. I want to succeed in every aspect of my life. Winning feels good. Accomplishing big goals by putting in hard work is very rewarding. I told myself that 2018 would be a year to “just do what I feel like”, and I just haven’t felt like pushing myself to train for anything. I’m letting my body dictate what I do instead of my pre-determined training plan. I know that it’s good for my long-term health, but as I tried to push myself on the race course and my body just didn’t respond, I was pissed. Is this really what I want? To be out here racing, but not even be competitive?

PC: Josh Couture

I tell people all the time that you get out what you put in. I haven’t put in the training, so what I got out was my slowest Olympic distance race in five years and a ninth-place finish in my Age Group.

I’ve done some soul searching since Sunday and while I was not happy (and even embarrassed) by my race, I’m ok with it. After coming home and venting to my very understanding wife, she told me what I already knew. If I wanted to do better on race day, I have to put in the training. I know that I have to take time to reboot physically and mentally, so I’m going to continue to do that…regardless of how it makes me look and feel on race day!

Be sure and visit all of my sponsor’s websites. I sought out these companies because they provide great products and services.

Wishing you optimal health and peak performance,

The post You Get Out What You Put In first appeared on Holistic Athlete.

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Why I Lift Weights, And So Should You

Luke Powell — Sat, 03 Mar 2018 00:38:01 +0000

If you look at the type of sports I’ve competed in over the last 10 years, you would say that my main focus has been endurance events. I think anyone that completes Ironman triathlons, much less a stand-alone marathon would have trouble convincing anyone that they were not an “endurance athlete”. But prior to starting swimming, biking and running, I lifted weights. I was a gym rat. I always had a gym membership and I would only do “cardio” as a warm-up for my lifting sessions. I lifted heavy stuff. Often. I was focused on increasing my bench and squat and not my bike FTP. Once I got hooked on triathlons, I quit paying the gym memberships, but never took weight lifting out of my training routine. I changed how often and how much I lifted, but it’s never gone away. Why do I think weight lifting is so important? Keep reading to learn why.

REASON #1: BODY COMPOSITION

Being completely honest, I like the way I look with some muscles (and my wife does too!). I can’t ever imagine myself bring a bone rack like some elite triathletes or marathoners. I got down to the leanest I’ve ever been for Ironman Louisville last October, and I lost some muscle in the process. I was lean and fast, but I didn’t like the way I looked. I’ve enjoyed putting muscle back on since then through simple kettle bell and sandbag workouts in my basement. I haven’t had a gym membership in over seven years and I can work every muscle group and put on lean muscle with just a 30 pound kettle bell and a 60 pound sandbag.

No need to join a gym. Buy a couple of weights or just find heavy stuff around the house!

REASON #2: INJURY PREVENTION

Endurance athletes have historically believed that strength training will bulk them up and slow them down. All tissues have the capacity to handle a certain level of work before fatigue. Load is the amount of stress you put on your body through training. Load limits determine how resilient your tissues are. When those limits are low, the odds for injury go up and performance can go down. This is where strength training comes in. If you build strength, your body can handle more stress from running, cycling and swimming (and just daily life). If you don’t make time to lift weights, you will eventually make time to sit out your training due to an injury. I suffered from IT Band Syndrome in 2011 thanks to weak hips. I’ve incorporated hip strengthening into my weight lifting ever since then and the injury has not returned despite logging more miles on the road.

REASON #3: HORMONE BALANCE

The most important hormones for muscle growth are testosterone and growth hormone. In fact, high testosterone level is what makes men more muscular than women. So, ladies, no need to worry about getting swole, you don’t have enough testosterone to support a muscular physique. In fact, improving your body's natural production of testosterone is a safe way to address perimenopausal symptoms. Studies have shown that strength training boosts these testorsterone and growth hormones in both young and old people. Research also shows that strength training lowers cortisol and estrogen levels – hormones which hinder weight loss. So men, if your doc tells you that you have “low T”, try lifting some weights to increase it naturally before taking an injection or rubbing on some cream.

REASON #4: BONE HEALTH

Strength training forces the bones to become denser and stronger because it puts pressure on them. This reduces risk of injuries and bone fractures. As we grow older (I’m about to turn 40), bones start to weaken. Strength training will keep bones and joints strong at old age. Muscle weakness in combination with brittle bone structure is a recipe for falls that can result in a crippling disability.

REASON #5: OVERALL HEALTH

Research confirms that exercise can help prevent many common ailments and chronic diseases, psychiatric disorders, pain, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. People often equate exercise with cardio. But a big part of exercise is weight lifting. Strength training is overlooked by many for a number of different reasons. But no matter what your age or sex, you will benefit from strength training. Working your muscles will help you shed excess fat, maintain healthy bone mass and prevent age-related muscle loss.

Even if you have never lifted weights or strength trained, it’s never too late to start. Part of my first Holistic Hundred involved just doing body-weight exercises. If that’s too strenuous, you could even just do seated balance and coordination exercises. Kids are never too young to start doing strength training. Simple push-ups, lunges and squats can be beneficial to children as they grow. If you are an athlete that is interested in incorporating strength training into yourtraining schedule, I have a whole section (15 pages) of my book, The Balanced Approach, dedicated to the strength movements that I have used to be healthy and injury free for the last seven years while training for endurance events.

Now stop making excusese. Pick up that full paint can out in the garage or your five year old and start getting stronger!

Be sure and visit all of my sponsor’s websites. I sought out these companies because they provide great products and services.

Wishing you optimal health and peak performance,

The post Why I Lift Weights, And So Should You first appeared on Holistic Athlete.

The post Why I Lift Weights, And So Should You appeared first on Holistic Athlete.

Ironman Louisville 2017 Race Report

Luke Powell — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 00:08:11 +0000

As I thought about what I was going to say in this race report, I knew that I wanted to approach it from a different direction than those that I’ve done in the past. I felt that this race required more from me mentally than any race I’ve done up to this point. This may sound ridiculous, but I honestly feel like accomplishing the goals I had set in this race ended up being 75% mental and only 25% physical.

As with the Ironman races that I raced in 2013 and 2015, I followed the plan outlined in The Balanced Approach for the 36 weeks leading up to Ironman Louisville 2017. To my surprise, when I went back to Training Peaks and looked at my average training week, it was only 6 hours and 8 minutes this year…which is lower than in the past (it’s been right under 7 hours previously). I can’t imagine that there’s anyone else out there that completed the race in the time I did on less hours of training per week. This even more solidifies my thought that the mental side of racing an Ironman is just as, if not more critical, than the physical side.

So in my race preview I outlined my three goals. They were to set a personal record (PR), which would be anything under 11:32:58, complete the bike leg in under 6 hours and to just finish the race. With these goals in mind, I spent the days leading up to the race preparing myself mentally. I visualized every aspect of the race. Everything from picking up my race packet, to preparing my gear and special needs bags, to where I would park race morning. I intentionally thought about every detail that I could control (the weather is not one of them). What time would I wake up? What time would I leave the house? Where would I put myself in the self-seeding swim start line? What would I drink as I waited in line? Literally EVERY detail.

I also visualized the race. What did I want to think about during the swim (not crossing over, keeping a smooth stroke, drafting when possible, etc.)? What did I need to do in the transition tents? What order would I do things in transition to be as efficient as possible? You get the idea. This probably seems like overkill to most, but I have learned that I can eliminate almost all of the stress associated with race morning if I have everything planned out. I also have a much better chance of executing a good race if I have thought through as much of it as possible.

SWIM

Back to race morning. I knew that in order to set a PR, I would need to start off with a strong swim time. This was going to be a tall task considering I didn't get to swim with a Masters Team or a group this season. I felt like I was in a good rhythm during the swim, but I really didn’t know what pace I was on. I lined up in the 1:00:00 to 1:10:00 swim wave, and I had hoped to come out of the water somewhere between 1:05:00 and 1:10:00. In my mind, anything over 1:10 would set me behind for the rest of the day. I swam at a pace just slightly above easy, which I thought would be good enough to reach my goal. My sighting was good despite the croppy water. Needless to say, I was very excited to see 1:03 and some change on my watch when I stood up on the steps leading out of the Ohio River. This was the first big hurdle in the mental game that played out during the race.

2.4 Mile Swim

1:03:58 (1:39 / 100m pace)

There was an immediate shift in my psyche as I ran to transition from the water. I knew that this fast swim had set me up to meet my goals for the day. I went through transition as planned and got my bike. As I ran down the sidewalk toward the bike-mount line, I was carrying my bike shoes in my left hand and was guiding my bike with my right hand on the saddle. This works great as long as you keep moving forward. Unfortunately for me, someone cut right in front of me and I had to stop, causing my front wheel to turn to the left…immediately bringing my bike to a stop. I tripped over my frame and with my shoes in my hand, was not able to catch myself. My bike and I hit the ground hard. I got up and did a quick check on my bike. It was good. I was ok too. Dodged a bullet! I propped my bike up on the fence that lined the sidewalk and went ahead and put my bike shoes on. I ran the 20 feet or so left to the bike-mount line and started the 112 mile bike ride. It was at that point that I realized my top and bottom lip were bleeding. I think I hit my mouth on my bike as I went down.

BIKE

My positive mental state took a bit of a hit with the fall, but I quickly tried to regroup and spent the first few miles of the bike going over my plan for the ride. I would hold my power between 180 and 190 watts, being very careful not to let it spike above 290 or so on the hills. I had my Garmin set to auto-lap every 5 miles. So I was able to see total bike time, 3 second average power and cadence on my screen without constantly focusing on speed. I knew that if my time for each 5 mile split was around 15 minutes, that would put me at 20 miles per hour. I also knew that in order to break 6 hours, I needed to average 18.7 mph or better. My first few splits (with a nice tailwind) were 14:35 and 13:34, woo hoo! But once I made the right hand turn and the wind was no longer at my back, my splits were all over the place. I focused on riding my power, but the wind was relentless and I kept thinking about how tough that ride back into the wind was going to be during that last 30 miles. I also had a bit of a snafu regarding my nutrition. I had a 5-serving pack of almond butter that I had planned to take a “shot” of every hour on the bike. This had worked perfectly during my training ride. However, when I went to take the first hit, I realized that it was all oil. The butter had separated from the oil (typical for natural nut butters). I tried to knead the pouch as I rode, but the butter was a solid rock at the bottom and the oil was on top. There was no mixing the two at this point. I guess buying this 6 months ago and having it sit was not the best idea. Fortunately, after losing my nutrition at 70.3 Ohio, I had a back-up plan in place for this race. I had a single-serving almond butter in my bike bento box and I had put three more in my special needs bag just in case I somehow lost the 5-serving pouch. So while I fell a little behind on my calories early on, I was able to get them almost all back.

The last part of the bike was very hard mentally. Once I turned left onto US-42 to head back toward town, I knew I would be in for a battle with the wind. I decided to break the ride into segments. The first would be the 10 miles from Sligo to 393. I knew that I would have to try and stay down in my aero bars to negate the headwind as much as possible. The wind was coming from the northwest and was almost non-stop. The weather report for that time of day shows 20 mph sustained winds with gusts of 40 mph! It was crazy. I made it to 393 and told myself the next segment would be about another 10 miles to get me to the right turn off of 42 on to River Road. By this time, my lower back and neck were getting tight and I just wanted OFF THE BIKE! I made if to River Road and then the wind really picked up and it started raining a little bit. I was hit by a few flying branches off of trees and felt the wind blowing mist off of the river as I rode beside it. Seriously?! At this point, I had to break it down into even smaller segments in order to get myself to stay in aero and keep peddling hard. I really wanted to get it over with! The next segment was just 2 miles to Wolf Pen Branch Road. Then the 5 miles to Zorn Avenue. Then the final 3 or so miles to transition. With a few miles to go, I noticed that my goal of breaking 6 hours was possible, so this provided a little extra motivation to keep my cadence high and head down. Despite the head wind, I averaged 19.5 mph during the last 10 miles, which is why I was able to sneak in under 6 hours.

112 Mile Bike

5:57:26 (18.8 mph)

Nominal Power = 171 Watts

Avg Heart Rate = 115 bpm

Avg. Cadence = 77 rpm

RUN

I was feeling good about my overall race as I excited T2. With a new swim and bike PR, I knew that a solid run would put me in position to really do something special on this day. I had played the run over in my mind several times. Keep my cadence above 176 and my heart rate below 145. That was the plan. Don’t worry about pace. I knew that if I kept my cadence up, my pace would take care of itself. The first four miles went great. I was right on track.

The one issue was with my nutrition. I had my mix in two bottles on my fuel belt. I had practiced with this mix and digested it well. But for the first time ever in an Ironman race, I was having digestion issues. The first swig that I took at mile two almost came right back up! I spent the next few minutes belching and I knew that continuing to try and drink what I had on board was not an option. So I began to think about alternatives that were available at the aid stations. If you follow my blog or know me, you know that I don’t do artificial drinks or gels. So Gatorade, Coke, Gels, and Red Bull were not good ideas (I can only image how my gut would have reacted to any of those!). So at mile 5, I tried some water with a small bite of banana. I let it turn to mush in my mouth before swallowing it. But I knew quickly that “solid” food was not going to work. By miles 7, 8 and 9, my cadence had slowed to 174 and I was having trouble getting it back up. This is when my mental state started to go negative. I was telling myself that without my nutrition, there’s no way I could sustain my pace for a marathon. The negative thoughts were creeping in the more I ran. I had resorted to drinking water and sucking the juice from orange slices at each aid station.

My cadence slowed to 172 by mile 14 and I was struggling. My mile splits were progressively getting slower. I would get a little motivation from friends and family out on the course (my wife and kids, my parents, the BC Mafia, Louisville Landsharks, TriLoco's, and everyone else cheering along the course giving me encouragement), but I was already thinking that my goal of a race PR was lost. By mile 18, I was breaking down both physically and mentally. My cadence had dropped into the 160’s and every step hurt. My heart rate was dropping and my legs were toast. I was still running, but it was slow and ugly.

I passed my family at mile 22 and my middle son, who is 4, told me that I need to run faster. I laughed (as did other runners around me), but that little spark from my boy flipped a switch in my mind. Was this really as hard as I could push myself? What were all the early morning workouts for? Why did I go the last 100 days without sugar, grains or vegetable oils? Why all the sacrifices? This was it! Now was the time! This was the damn race! There was no coming back and trying again. It was all for right now! I went to a place in my mind where I hadn’t been before. I blocked out the pain from my body. I overroad the message my body was sending to my brain telling it that it was time to quit. I became laser-focused on the task at hand. Find something deep-down that would enable me to “run faster”. My cadence jumped back up into the low 170’s and my pace started to creep back down under 10 minute miles. My watch had been set just to show heart rate and cadence with the auto-lap on every mile. At the 23 mile mark, I scrolled over to see that my overall race time was just under 11 hours. What a minute? Was this right? Despite the crap-fest that was miles 18 through 22, I still had a chance, a GOOD chance, to set a PR! This was all I needed mentally to take things to the next level. I suddenly found another gear and ran the last three miles in 9:45, 9:27 and 8:40. The last 0.2 miles were at a 8:32 pace! I completely blocked out the pain and my surroundings as I pushed to the finish line. I bypassed the aid stations and everything went quiet. When I turned the last corner and saw the finish shoot, my senses came back to life. I heard the announcer calling out finishers names, I heard the music bumping from the finish line speakers. I heard the crowd at Fourth Street Live cheering wildly! I got cold chills all over my body. I had done it!

26.2 Mile Run

4:07:40 (9:27 min/mile)

Avg Heart Rate = 122 bpm

Avg. Cadence = 176 spm

There are lots of reasons for me to be proud of my performance on this day. I realize that 11 hours and 25 minutes isn’t fast compared to some and others might see it as inconceivably quick. The time isn’t what I’m most proud of. It’s the way I was able to push myself through some really hard spots during the bike and run. I’ve done this race four times now. I’ve raced when the temps were in the mid 90’s with high humidity. I raced when I thought there was wind (that was nothing compared to this year). But I’ve never had to go to the place mentally that it took for me to get to the finish line this time. I will use this race in the future when I need to push myself to do something uncomfortable. When I don’t think I’m capable of something, I will remind myself of what I’m capable of when I get my mind right. I’m constantly amazed by what the human body can accomplish, and this is yet another example of what can be done when you put mind over matter!

Total Time

11:25:42

75th out of 287 in 35-39 Age Group

450th Overall out of 2750

Nutrition Used:

Pre-Race - (1) Medium Sweet Potato and (1) packet of Justin's Almond Butter

Bike- 3 scoops Phat Fibre mix with 3/4 bottle coconut water mixed in (2) 20oz bottles

Justin's Almond Butter packets (4 total)

New Bottle of clear water at each aid station

Run - Water and oranges at Aid stations

Gear used:

TYR Hurricane 5 wetsuit

Aqua Sphere Kayenne goggles

Argon 18 E-112 Triathlon bike with Zipp wheel set (404 front, 808 back)

Bike Javelin aero helmet

Adidas Boost running shoes with Swiftwick socks

Be sure and visit all of my sponsor’s websites. I sought out these companies because they provide great products and services.

Wishing you optimal health and peak performance,

The post Ironman Louisville 2017 Race Report first appeared on Holistic Athlete.

The post Ironman Louisville 2017 Race Report appeared first on Holistic Athlete.

2017 Ironman Louisville Pro Race Preview

Luke Powell — Fri, 13 Oct 2017 18:25:18 +0000

The pros are back! For the first time since 2014, Louisville Ironman will have a professional field.

Several years ago, Ironman Corporation decided to scale back the number of races each year that would have a prize purse and a pro field. Louisville has been an age-group only race for the last two years, but for 2017, the pro men and women will be back toeing the line with the age-groupers.

Along with a $40,000 prize purse ($8,000 for 1st, $4,000 for 2nd, $3,000 for 3rd, $2,500 for 4th, $1,500 for 5th and $1,000 for 6th place), there are Kona points on line. If you follow the world of Ironman, you know that in order to get to the World Championship (Kona) as a pro, you have to earn points in other Ironman brand races throughout the year. This year, IMLOU will offer 2000 qualifying points to 1st place. You get points all the way down the line if you finish, but really only 1st through 3rd earn enough to make it worth the effort if your goal is to qualify for Kona in 2018.

So what pros are going to be racing this year?

The most exciting name for me on the men's side is Andrew Starykowicz. "Starkey" is a 10-time Ironman Champion that holds bike split records all over the world. He was hit by a truck in August of 2016 while riding and has been on the comeback trail ever since. He rode an incredible 4:01:14 at Ironman Texas earlier this year in his first race back. I'd say that he's the odds-on favorite. Other male pros include Paul Ambrose from Australia who won here in 2010 and won Ironman Australia in 2015. Other names that could reach the podium include Jozef Major from Hungary who has yet to break the tape in an Ironman, but has multiple top 5 finishes under his belt. Another exciting guy to watch is American Thomas Gerlach. He's been to Louisville to race before. He was 3rd in 2012 and 2013 and 2nd in 2014 (16 seconds behind the winner). British triathlete Joe Skipper is undoubtedly coming here to try and secure those 2000 Kona points that go to the winner. He had planned to race Kona this year, but some early season disappointments meant that he wasn't going to have enough points. I'm sure he would like to get a jump on 2018 qualifying with a win here on Sunday.

Starkey days after being hit by a truck in 2016.

I think that it's going to be tough for anyone to catch Starkey off the bike. I expect him to have at least a 10-15 minute lead and with the run course being flat, I just don't think anyone will be able to catch him. My top three are Starykowicz, Skipper and Gerlach.

As for the women, the field is full of triathletes from right here in the USA. Dede Griesbauer has three top-10 Kona fiinishes in here career ('07, '08 & '09), but don't assume that this 46 year old is past her prime . She won Ironman Taiwan in 2015. After battling multiple injuries and taking 14 months off from racing, she finished 3rd at Eagleman 70.3 in June of this year and appears hungry to prove she still has what it takes at the full 140.6 distance. I think Jessie Donavan is the favorite though. She finished 3rd at Ironman Chattanooga back in September and if she has recovered from that race, she should win here. Plus, she's a mom of three, so she gets bonus points from me! Nicole Valentine is another name to look for as she has put together a good 2017 season so far (6th at Ironman 70.3 Puerto Rico, 5th Ironman 70.3 Peru, 3rd at Ironman France and 5th at Ironman 70.3 Augusta). She's only been a pro since 2016, but she's been pretty impressive as a pro. I also want to mention Lesley Smith. She's had some great luck with 70.3's this season (two 2nd place finishes) and with her ability to chase down the field on the run, she could easily see the podium. After a 3rd place finish in Ironman Mont-Tremblant back in August, I think that Jennie Hansen could also make a play for a top 3 here in Louisville.

Jessica Donavan on the podium (far right) after finishing 3rd at IM Chattanooga.

My picks for the women are Donavan, Valentine and Smith.

It's exciting to have the pros back here for the race and I look forward to seeing them go past me in the other direction on the bike and run! You can find a complete list of pros that are scheduled to start here. Good luck to everyone (pros and age-groupers) out there on Sunday. Make it an epic day!

Be sure and visit all of my sponsor’s websites. I sought out these companies because they provide great products and services.

Wishing you optimal health and peak performance,

The post 2017 Ironman Louisville Pro Race Preview first appeared on Holistic Athlete.

The post 2017 Ironman Louisville Pro Race Preview appeared first on Holistic Athlete.

2017 Ironman Louisville Race Preview

Luke Powell — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 10:27:50 +0000

If all goes as planned, exactly a week from when I’m typing this, I will be starting the run portion of Ironman Louisville 2017. This will be my fourth time toeing the line of my hometown long-course triathlon. The question has come up more this season than in any of the previous three…”why”. Why do a fourth? Why continue to do Ironmans? What's the motivation?

These are all legitimate questions and ones that I’ve even asked myself a few times over the last 9 months. My Ironman-specific training is a 36 week (9 month) plan that started back on February 6^th. Some simple reasons as to why I’m doing it again are that I have four children and I want to have done an Ironman when each was alive (my youngest was born last August). I also want to see what I'm physically capable of. I love to test this body that I've been put in charge of and see what it's limits are. I've turned down sweets at parties, beers at the game, drinks with dinner and scrutinized everything I've eaten for the last 3 months so that I know when I finish this race, I can honestly say that this is the best I could have done. Another reason is that I’ve done this race every other year since 2011 (so, I gotta stick with tradition, right?).

Another good reason is that I would love to prove to people once again that my unconventional approach to long-course triathlon training actually works. As in the races I completed in 2013 and 2015, my average training plan was less than 7 hours a week this time around. I followed the training plan, recovery techniques, dietary considerations, supplements and other wellness practices that I describe in detail in my book The Balanced Approach. My hope is that after another injury-free season and coming into the race in great shape and health, I will be able to convince even more people that they can do a full-distance triathlon without sacrificing their family, career or health.

I also like to try new things every time I race an Ironman. I’ve raced by heart rate, pace and power. I’ve also tried new things each time in regards to nutrition. In 2011, I fueled with Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem, Clif Shot Blocks and Gels (this is typical for most athletes). In 2013, I switched to a custom mix from Infinit, but still added in some gels. For 2015, I wanted to try and fuel myself during the race the same way that I eat the rest of the time. Which meant no sugar or artificial sweeteners. That meant no off-the-shelf drink mix and certainly no gels. So after working for 18 months to become fat adapted, I was able to complete the race sugar-free by using UCAN Superstarch, Coconut Water and Justin’s Almond butter packets. The plan for this year is to try something called Phat Fibre for my drink mix and use a new Almond butter blend that contains some flax seeds sea salts as well. Still planning to go no sugar again!

While I’ve been pretty strick about my diet in the weeks/months leading up to the race in the past, this year I decided to eliminate all sugars, grains and vegetable oils for the 100 days preceding the race. It’s been challenging at times, but I feel stronger and more fit because of it. I’m also likely going to be 5-7 pounds lighter on race day than I have ever been, so we’ll see how dragging a lighter body around translates on the course.

2011

2011 Results

2013

2013 Results

2015

2015 Results

As 2017 progressed, I never wavered from my desire to do the race, but this year was much harder than any of the previous three. The workouts were the same, but the external stressors were much more than I’ve ever had to deal with. Unexpected anxiety at work came early and lasted through the beginning of the summer. Then there was the stress of dealing with some serious health issues in the family (both extended and immediate) that put all of our lives in turmoil for most of the Spring and Summer. All this on top of having a baby that had me up 2-3 times every night. I had never had this many stressors weighing on me at once and my body started expressing it through patches of Seborrheic Dermatitis on my upper legs and digestion issues. I was able to get it under control with the help of Chinese Herbs, but it never went away because the stress never completely went away either. I’m aware that my workouts were adding stress (albeit a different kind of stress) to my body, but I also needed the alone time each morning to gather my thoughts and seek wisdom from God on how to handle the situations I found myself in. While I was still able to complete almost all of my scheduled workouts, I had to alter some of them in order to stay closer to home. So my runs consisted of short, 1-2 mile loops through my neighborhood. I did my 200, 400 and 800 meter sprints around the block instead of at the track. I had to do my one long bike ride and run during the week because I couldn’t be away from home for multiple hours on the weekend. Thankfully, my training style didn’t call for these long training events every or every other weekend - otherwise, they just wouldn’t have happened. Yet another reason I’m thankful that I came up with an alternative training style to the normal 15-20 hours a week most people train.

All that being said, I’m just as excited this year as any of the previous three Ironman Louisville (IMLOU) races. One of the keystones to my training plan is that I only have 10 different workouts for each disciple (swim, bike and run). And one of each is an endurance workout that is only completed 1-2 times. So doing the same workouts every few weeks allows me to track my progress and increases in fitness throughout the 36 weeks leading up to the race. Here are a few of my key workouts and how I have improved this season:

Swim Workout #3 – 5 x 500 with 30 second rests

Feb 16 – average 500 meter time = 9:47

May 3 – average 500 meter time = 9:38

July 6 – average 500 meter time = 9:33

Aug 20 – average 500 meter time = 9:30

Swim workout #8 – 10 x 200 descending with 20 second rests

April 27 – 3:52 slowest -> 3:42 fastest 200 meters

July 15 – 3:48 -> 3:33

Sept 14 – 3:43 -> 3:28

Sept 29 – 3:50 -> 3:22

Bike Workout #7 – 3 x 20 minutes hard/steady effort after warm-up

Feb 18 - average 20 minute interval – 226 Watts / 143 bpm Heart Rate

April 22 – average 20 minute interval – 233 Watts / 145 bpm Heart Rate

July 8 – average 20 minute interval – 248 Watts / 139 bpm Heart Rate

Setp 15 – average 20 minter intervals – 261 Watts / 142 bpm Heart Rate

Bike Workout #9 - 10 x 1 min. sprints with 1 min. recoveries

Feb 6 – average 1 minute interval – 330W / max HR = 165 bpm

Mar 23 - average 1 minute interval – 333W / max HR = 156 bpm

April 12 - average 1 minute interval – 348W / max HR = 162 bpm

June 1 - average 1 minute interval – 362W / max HR = 166 bpm

Aug 14 - average 1 minute interval – 365W / max HR = 165 bpm

Run Workout #2 – Progression Run (increase effort with each mile)

April 13 – 6 miles (8:15 -> 7:17)

May 12 – 8 miles (8:23 -> 7:22)

June 18 – 10 miles (8:19 -> 7:14)

Aug 31 – 8 miles (8:29 -> 6:57)

Sept 14 – 10 miles (8:25 -> 6:52)

Run Workout #3 – Long Hill Repeats (6-8 times)

April 18 – 6 repeats, average time 3:07 / 158 bpm Heart Rate

May 31 – 6 repeats, average time 3:04 / 156 bpm Heart Rate

June 30 – 8 repeats, average time 3:07 / 158 bpm Heart Rate

Sept 24 – 8 repeats, average time 3:05 / 156 bpm Heart Rate

So as this race week progresses, my workouts will become even shorter than normal, but the high intensity will remain. I’ll spend some extra time on the foam roller this week as well. The plan is to try and get to sleep 30 to 60 minutes earlier than usual each night too. I’ve already stated to write down checklists for things I need to do this week and what I need to put in each gear bag once I pick them up on Thursday.

I’m getting excited for another (and likely final) Ironman! My goals this year are pretty simple. To push myself and find out just how fast I can do an Ironman on my style of training. The “A” goal is to set a PR, which would be anything under 11 hours and 32 minutes. My “B” goal is to set a PR on the run, which would be anything under 4:03. My “C” goal is to just finish the damn race! I sure as hell don’t want to go out with a DNF (Did Not Finish).

I’ll check in later this week with some videos and pictures, so stay tuned and good luck to everyone that will be out there with me next Sunday!

Be sure and visit all of my sponsor’s websites. I sought out these companies because they provide great products and services.

Wishing you optimal health and peak performance,

The post 2017 Ironman Louisville Race Preview first appeared on Holistic Athlete.

The post 2017 Ironman Louisville Race Preview appeared first on Holistic Athlete.

Louisville Landsharks Triathlon Race Report

Luke Powell — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 13:38:53 +0000

I've raced this Olympic Distance triathlon course at Taylorsville Lake many times in the past. It's a familiar course and one that I actually love to race because there's no advantage for someone that is very strong in just one of the three disciplines. The swim is in a very calm lake and with it being only 1500 meters, it's not long enough for someone with a swimming background to get more than a few minutes on most other racers. The bike is barrage of hills and could give someone that's a strong rider a few minutes on those not as efficient on hills, but then the run will make you pay if you pushed too hard on the 40K bike (24.8 mile). Starting off with a steep climb and featuring one rolling hill after another, even strong runners will definitely feel some pain on this 10K (6.2 mile) course.

Another reason that I always look forward to races at Taylorsville Lake is that I know it's going to be a race put on by Headfirst Performance. I've been doing their races since I started in this sport back in 2008 and I always look forward to seeing Todd, Cynthia and Chase early on a Saturday or Sunday morning!

In my mind, there are different classifications for us age-group athletes. There are those that are competitive at a LOCAL level. Which means that they can compete for overall podium spots at smaller, local races and will likely place in the top 3 of their age group on a regular basis. Then there are people at that are competitive at a REGIONAL level. These athletes are able to fight for top 10 finishes and age-group podiums on larger races that have several hundred competitors are draw racers from several surrounding states. The next level are those that can go to a NATIONAL competition and finish in the top of their age-group at National Championship races. After that of course are the athletes that can compete on the WORLD stage and fight it out for world champion status. These are the elite group of athletes that have the option to make a career of their chosen sport. Given the day and race, I would consider myself somewhere between LOCAL and REGIONAL.

I say all of this to tell you that the Landsharks Triathlon is definitely a local race and I had hopes of competing for a top-3 spot in my Age Group (this is my last year in the 35- 39 group!). Maybe being the young-pup in the 40-45 group next year will give me an advantage??

Race morning began for me like all others do. Up early and one of the first to the race site. I racked my bike, picked up my packet and got body-marked. I like to take my time in transition and set things up slowly while talking with other athletes and helping out people that have questions or need assistance. Triathlon is an individual sport, but we definitely are a group that cares about our fellow athletes!

The swim was wetsuit-legal, so most of us were sporting the neoprene. My buddy Jeremy was nice enough to lend me is super-sweet TYR suit. My suit is 7 years old and has lots of holes. It's time for me to retire it and I'm debating about what I will buy next. The swim was two loops and I did my best to get out trouble at the start by swimming hard from the gun. Mass starts always mean lots of feet and arms flying around. I was kicked and hit a few times in the first few minutes, but nothing unexpected. I found some clean water and got in a good rhythm quickly. I felt good the whole swim and was happy with my time considering I wasn't able to swim with any groups or Master's teams this year. Swimming with others always makes me faster, but it just didn't work out to join a group this spring/summer.

1500 Meter Swim

23:58.7 (1:36 / 100m)

2nd out of 10 in Age Group

8th out of 57 Overall

I declined the help of the wetsuit strippers at the swim exit and worked on getting my arms out and pulling it down as I ran up the hill to transition. I had some trouble getting it down my legs and getting my feet out once at transition. This cost me a few seconds in T1, but overall my transition was pretty efficient and quick.

1:34.5

2nd out of 10 in Age Group

6th out of 57 Overall

I got my feet in my bike shoes after the mounting line and started up the climb leading us away from the lake. I had no idea what place I was in at that point and with the Sprint Distance racers mixed in (they started a few minutes after us). I knew that I would have to wait until the bike turn-around to find out my position. I was pushing pretty hard on the bike while being careful not to spike my power or heart rate on the hills. Then I dropped the hammer on the down hills until I ran out of gear. This strategy has worked well for me on hilly courses and while it leads to a lot of yo-yo racing where I get passed on the climbs and then re-pass the same people on the downhill, it ultimately saves my legs. I was in fourth place at the turn-around. but first and second place were pretty far ahead of the rest of us. The third place guy and I were going back and forth over the last 8-10 miles of the bike. I decided to push things and try and put a little gap between us once we entered the park. I finished the bike a few seconds ahead of him in third place overall.

40K (24.8 mile) Bike

1:10:30.2 (21.2 mph)

1st out of 10 in Age Group

5th out of 57 Overall

Transition from bike to run was pretty fast. I sat down, but on my socks and shoes, grabbed my hat and race belt and ran out.

0:57.2

2nd out of 10 in Age Group

8th out of 57 Overall

I had a great brick (bike then run) workout the weekend before the race, so I was pretty confident in my run of the bike. The mental side of triathlon is much bigger than most people think. If I had had a crappy run on the brick workout, I know that it would have effected my run negatively in this race. But with the strong workout in the forefront of my mind, I was expecting a good run. I was passed by third place on the first big climb, but I decided to hold back and let him go. I focused on my cadence and managed to keep him in close. About half a mile in, I was passed by a guy that was flying! He looked strong as he passed me and I knew that there was no keeping up (he ended up with a 39:32 run split!). I was in fifth at that point, but I still had fourth place in site up ahead. I kept my pace steady and caught him about a mile and a half in. My mile splits were a little faster than I expected, but I felt strong and saw no reason to slow down. As first, second and then third place came past me on the out and back course, I knew that a top three overall was not going to happen on this day. I saw that I had a little gap over fifth place, but there was a big group of guys about 20-30 seconds behind him and I had no idea how fast they were running. I kept the hammer down the whole way and fought the urge to look back and see if anyone was catching me. I just ran as hard as I could and ended up with my fastest ever 10K on this course!

10K (6.2 miles) Run

43:28.7 (7:00 / mile)

1st of of 10 in Age Group

5th out of 57 Overall

While a top three overall seemed possible during different parts of the race, I ended up solidly in fourth place (3 min., 26 seconds behind 3rd place and 4 min, 22 seconds ahead of 5th place). This was a new PR for me on this course and the result has me feeling really good heading into Ironman Louisville in three weeks!

Overall Time

2:20:29.6

1st in Age Group

4th out of 57 Overall

Nutrition Used:

Pre-Race - (1) Medium Sweet Potato and (1) packet of Justin's Almond Butter

Bike- 3 scoops Phat Fibre mix with 3/4 bottle coconut water mixed in a 20oz bottle

1 bottle of clear water

Run - Water at Aid stations

Gear used:

TYR Hurricane 5 wetsuit

Aqua Sphere Kayenne goggles

Argon 18 E-112 Triathlon bike with Zipp wheel set (404 front, 808 back)

Bike Javelin aero helmet

Adidas Boost running shoes with Swiftwick socks

Be sure and visit all of my sponsor’s websites. I sought out these companies because they provide great products and services.

Wishing you optimal health and peak performance,

The post Louisville Landsharks Triathlon Race Report first appeared on Holistic Athlete.

The post Louisville Landsharks Triathlon Race Report appeared first on Holistic Athlete.

Ironman 70.3 Ohio Race Report

Luke Powell — Thu, 03 Aug 2017 17:46:16 +0000

1.2 Mile Swim

36:18 (1:52 / 100m pace)

33rd out of 192 in Age Group

266th out of 1862 Overall

2:52

56 Mile Bike

2:27:32 (22.77 mph)

Normalized Power = 208W

21st out of 192 in Age Group

106th out of 1862 Overall

2:23

13.1 Mile Run

1:56:34 (8:53 / mile pace)

57th out of 192 in Age Group

268th out of 1862 Overall

Total Time

5:05:39

30th out of 192 in Age Group

140th out of 1862 Overall

Nutrition Used:

Pre-Race - (1) Medium Sweet Potato and (1) packet of Justin's Almond Butter

Bike- 3 scoops Phat Fibre mix with 3/4 bottle coconut water mixed in a 20oz bottle [Total for the bike - 340 calories, 27g fat, 29g carbs, 20g sugar]

4 bottle of clear water (started with 2 and swaped them out at aid stations once empty)

Run - 1 scoop Phat Fibre mix with 1/4 bottle of coconut water [Total for the Run - 110 calories, 10g Carbs]

Gear used:

2XU C:2 wetsuit

Aqua Sphere Kayenne goggles

Argon 18 E-112 Triathlon bike with Zipp wheel set (404 front, 808 back)

Bike Javelin aero helmet

Adidas Boost running shoes with Swiftwick socks

Solid Steps Radio

Luke Powell — Mon, 08 May 2017 11:17:35 +0000

A few weeks ago I received a message on Facebook from an old friend. He co-hosts a weekly radio show / podcast and he wanted to know if I would be a guest on his show. He was putting together a show to encourage men to start exercising. I jumped at the chance as I’m always looking for new avenues and opportunities to help people in their journey to improve their lives through nutrition and fitness.

The hour-long radio show is called Solid Steps Radio and can be found on your FM dial at 94.7 WFIA every Saturday morning at 10am and Sunday at noon. They also record the show and put into into a podcast format (I was frankly surprised that they actually still put it out over the radio waves). The podcast for this and previous episodes can be downloaded on iTunes or through Soundcloud. Solid Steps Radio is a show designed to engage, encourage and equip men to ask tough questions of themselves, and to live out their destiny as men, by God’s design. But of course, the information often pertains to women as well.

This wasn’t my first experience behind the microphone as I recorded a monthly segment for Pure Fit Radio back in 2010-2011. I reported on the race calendar for the state of Kentucky. I recorded a 5-minute audio file and uploaded it to their website. They had a correspondent for each state and visitors to their website could search for their state and get an update through the short audio file. They also had a nationally broadcast radio show and a podcast. Those recordings that I did were just done through a cheap microphone connected to my laptop. The Solid Steps Radio recording was done in a real studio, with expensive equipment and fancy hand signals and radio terminology. I had to hold back from doing my Casey Kasem voice. I tuned in to listed to a put of the show on Saturday morning and my kids thought it was hilarious to hear Daddy on the radio. I was a little nervous about how I would sound (your own voice always sounds weird when you hear it), but I was surprised that it wasn’t that bad.

The hosts of the show are Kurt Sauder and Chad Russell. I was part of three-person a “health and fitness” panel and was joined by Jason Hawkins (world-ranked speed golfer) and Matthew Pryor (a personal trainer and author).

It was a fun group and we talked about what playing a round of golf in 45 minutes looks like, how to get started in triathlons and some easy ways to just get yourself moving if you can’t seem to get motivated to get off the couch. We also talked about what just a few minutes of exercise each day can do to improve your relationships and performance at work. The podcast contains a bonus segment where we took a dive into nutrition and how to make some easy changes to you diet to help improve the way you feel and ultimately how you treat those around you. I had a great time and all but begged Chad to invite me back sometime!

Here are the links to the podcast.

Solid Steps Radio on SoundCloud

Solid Steps Radio on iTunes

Be sure and visit all of my sponsor’s websites. I sought out these companies because they provide great products and services.

Wishing you optimal health and peak performance,

The post Solid Steps Radio first appeared on Holistic Athlete.

The post Solid Steps Radio appeared first on Holistic Athlete.