Athletic-Minded Traveler

Carrie Jesse, a USAT certified Triathlon coach & US Masters Swimming coach, contributed this article.  Carrie specializes in helping beginner athletes conquer the open swim. 

I admit it. When the outside temperature rests in single digits for multiple days in a row, the last thing I want to do is jump into a pool. Even when the pool is inside, heated, and a hot tub is readily available, I can’t quite commit to leaving my warm bed for an early morning swim. 

It started innocently: one day the Bikram Yoga room felt a little cool and I had come to get my sweat on! C’mon. What was going on here? This is Bikram Yoga. You know, the “torture chamber.” Here I was, being tortured by a cool breeze and goose bumps.

What to do? Add clothing. Problem solved.

If you are like me, getting in a good workout is like lubricating a joint or oiling a hinge: it's necessary and it makes everything else around it work that much better.

Experienced runners will tell you that the two most important workouts for marathon training are the weekly Long Run and the weekly Track Workout. We've discussed Long Runs in other Blogs, but here, we discuss Track Workouts.

Track running serves two purposes.

First, it provides an exact measurable distance for you to time yourself and set timing goals. And, if you write your times down from week to week you can track your progression.