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Showing posts from May 3, 2009

Cramping

It's hot here in Florida!! We've been in the 90's all week and I can't even walk outside without sweating. I've got a zillion tan lines on my back and my legs are beginning to look like a zebra from my socks, cycling shorts and running shorts. Although I am not doing IM FL 70.3 (my first time not doing it for the past 3 years!!) I will be sweating in Macon GA for the Rock n' Roll Half Ironman on May 30th (day before my b-day!!). Cramping is a concern for a lot of athletes and unfortunately, there is no clear reason or answer for cramping. Although most athletes think that electrolytes, sodium and water are the trick to prevent cramps, I believe the daily diet has a lot to do with cramping. Most athletes complain of cramping from a hot race or during an intense workout/race. In the second case, anytime you push your body at a high intensity, you are relying on your muscles to relax after contracting. For this to happen, there must be a steady influx of electrolyt

Are you ready?

I wrote this article with all of my newbies in mind. However, no matter if you are doing your first tri or 100th tri, I think we can all use a little reminder of how to prepare for a race. Enjoy! *Subscribe to the FREE Iron Girl newsletter. This month has a lot of great articles! Are you Ready? By Marni Rakes, M.S., CISSN One down, nine to go! Over the next six months, the Aflac Iron Girl Women's Event Series will make its way all over the U.S. Perhaps you've already signed up for an event or maybe you even completed the Clearwater 10K/5K! Regardless of the event you choose, your preparation requires a balance of consistent training, good overall nutrition, adequate sleep and stress management. After months of training, your Iron Girl race week will draw closer and you will feel the overflow of excitement and nervousness. Regardless of if this is your first or 20th event, it is likely that you will feel a little overwhelmed on the days leading in. Before you know it, you will b

1300 miles and lots of excitement

We're back! If you don't want to read this blog, you can skip to the pics. What a great 3-day trip! I thought I would have time to update my blog when we were gone but if we weren't in the car driving, I was training or watching Karel race. Friday: I started the morning with 6.5 miles of intervals on a the treadmill, followed by a super hard 3900 swim. At 11am Karel, Campy and I headed off to Spartanburg, S.C. I haven't been to SC in a long time so I was excited for our 6 hour trip. Karel's race was at 8pm and thankfully they started on time. After Karel got warmed up, it was time for the race start. There were over 150 riders and the field was strong. The crowd was great and the town was super cute and those two factors always make for a great race. Karel loved the course with 4 corners and a slight uphill after corner 3. What crit wouldn't be complete without crashes so of course, this race had a number of crashes. Once again, Karel was safe but he got stuck b