Raised £105 for The Cure Parkinson's Trust from my London Triathlon!
http://www.justgiving.com/ian-london-tri-2009/
http://www.justgiving.com/ian-london-tri-2009/
Balance is one of those things that I think a lot of people go through life without. It applies to just about everything and can be hard to achieve. In fact, we often forget to look for the balance in every situation.
Here are some examples:1) Horseback Riding - The rider must balance their weight on the saddle. Lean too far right or left and you risk falling off. Lean too far forward descending a steep hill and you risk tumbling forward, horse and all. Constantly maintaining balance in the saddle is the key to happy horses and happy riders. 2) Triathlons - During a triathlon, the triathlete is balancing speed with energy exertion, meaning that you want to finish in the fastest time possible but still have energy left to make it across the finish line. Fail at fueling your body correctly or pushing yourself too hard and your performance will show it. Balance the speed and energy to be a successful triathlete. 3) Swimming - The key to moving through the water is perfect balance, which creates minimal drag. Michael Phelps (sorry, you can't talk about swimming and not mention him) is somewhat of a scrawny guy, but his success comes from finding the most streamlined position and movements in the water. Phelps does not need power when he is not losing speed to drag; he just needs enough to maintain. Balance makes you a happy, efficient swimmer. 4) Nutrition - Eating lots of one thing, really doesn't work for the human body. In fact, the phrase concerning moderation is right on. Eating a balance of vegetables, fruits, proteins, and fats is the key to feeling great and losing weight. 5) Personal and Professional Life - Working too much can lead to burn out. Not working enough can lead to bankruptcy and foreclosure. Not having enough fun can lead to depression. Not exercising enough and eating too much can lead to obesity. I think you know where I am going with this. Life balance is about getting paid to do something you enjoy, hanging out with the people that make you laugh, going to the symphony, and even sweating a lot playing basketball or running through the neighborhood. Finding balance in life can be difficult and many die never having it. As you are reading this, ask yourself, Where is the balance in this moment? Is the lighting just right? Is your chair comfortable? What can you do to bring balance to the moment? When you get up tomorrow, keep balance in mind all day. Observe your world and find the places that you may have forgotten where balance exists or needs to exist. DON'T FORGET IT!
5 Steps to Improving your Triathlon Swim Swimming is a sport that can be extremely technical, and as a result, determining how you can concentrate on improving your triathlon swimming capabilities is often difficult. Here are five steps that you should be taking in order to improve your swimming capabilities for an upcoming triathlon. There is no...
Should You Get Swimming Fins? [caption id="attachment_276" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Fins: Are they right for you?"][/caption]Anyone who has a hefty amount of swimming experience knows the kind of work involved with training - human beings aren't naturally fit with a lot of webbing to catch and displace water, so we have to use plenty of muscles...
What to Do Before Taking Swim Lessons [caption id="attachment_113" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="A swim lesson."][/caption] If you're like me, you're already set on the idea that swimming is a life-skill. You don't have to fear water your whole life if you have a plethora of experience with it, in both artificial pools and natural bodies of water. After...
The Triathlon Swim: How to Train as Part of a Whole [caption id="attachment_244" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Triathlon Swimmer "][/caption]For triathlon swimmers, the type of training that you want to undergo is different from pure swimmers. Because your triathlon will involve other events like running and biking, you'll have to emphasize endurance, strength, and especially mental discipline. So how do you train for...
Planning and Preparing for your Swimming Triathlon Make sure that you plan long ahead of time by making a list of the materials that you are going to need in order to participate in the swimming portion of your triathlon. Here is a list of basic supplies that you are going to need for your training regimen...
Swimming for your First Triathlon Beginners to the triathlon tend not to worry so much about the running and bicycling legs of the race, although they require thought and preparation on their own. Running and bicycling for beginners, however, are familiar childhood activities, and are not as foreign as swimming. Swimming has always been limited...
Open vs. Indoor Water: Pros and Cons [caption id="attachment_383" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Indoor or Outdoor?"][/caption]Whether you're a swimming athlete who needs to find out the best way to train, a future iron man, or simply someone who enjoys swimming, you'll probably come across a simple question: should you swim in open or indoor water? What's the best for...
Overnight Train Delhi to Varanasi This was not the deluxe train I'd expected. The carriage was probably 40 or 50 years old. Everything was the same shade of pale green one sees in the below-ground corridors of hospitals and governmental buildings around the world. I suspect that somewhere on this planet, perhaps here in India...
6 Tips for Getting Your Lawn Ready for Winter Even though you may be done with mowing for the year, that doesn’t mean that your lawn doesn’t need more attention before winter strikes. Whether you live in a warm climate or a cold one, by taking the time to take care of your lawn before winter comes, you can...
What a day it has been. I want more! I'm on a break. Well, from work at least. Today is Day-1 and I've loved every minute I spent, albeit on my own. It was valueable me-time and I found the day to be a very liberating one as well. Well if you care to read about my day,...
'So Close!' Edition of Green Fairways Carnival Welcome to the 'so close!' edition of green fairways carnival. Much thanks to those bloggers who submitted for this second edition. If you have a golf blog and want to submit posts to the next carnival edition we would love to have you. Green Fairways Carnival is also looking...
Professions in the dump If you arenât familiar with the auditing profession youâll have to bear with me here for a minute. A couple of days ago, in discussing a project, one of my co-workers offered to give a one-day crash course in auditing to some junior staff so that these non-auditors could help...It's so amusing when, during lap swim hours at OSU, somebody tries to intimidate me from getting in their lane. You know the tricks - swimming down the middle, abruptly switching to butterfly... whatever. It's especially amusing when the person is on the men's varsity squad. What's priceless is imagining Mr. Varsity's interior monologue as I jump in his lane and (sort of) keep up with him.
The open-water season has gone the way of my tomato plants, and a nagging shoulder injury is mostly healed. Here are some (aggressive) goals for next spring:
100 Back: under :58A great start to the weekend.
200 warm-up, 400 IM (kick/drill), 600 pull, 800 IM (drill/swim), 1000 free, 900 (3x300 IM), 700 pull, 500 free, 300 (3x100 IM), 100 IM fast. 30 seconds between each. 200 warm-down.
11:52 on the 1000 (1:11 pace), 1:08 on the 100 IM. Tired now. Kudos to Coach Renee and lanemate David.