COACH CYNDEE

Last weekend I went to California to compete in the Strawberry Fields Olympic Triathlon.  It is in Oxnard,CA just North of LA.  We left Saturday with the race being on Sunday.  I did this race last year and loved the flat, fast course.  I wanted to beat my last year time of 2:22.  This is not one of my "A" races this year so I did not put a lot of pressure on myself.  The weather and water conditions were going to be great.  Last year the ocean was a little rough and the water was really cold.  This year 1 foot swells was all that we had and water temp. was great.  Just a little wind for the bike and that was it.  This bike course is super flat and only 24 miles.  Last year I did the bike course in 1:01 and this year I did it in 58 minutes!  I got caught up in competing with two others on the race course.  Let me be clear......this is usually not something ANYONE should do.  You need to always race your own...

I must admit I am a person who trains a lot by myself when I am training for a long event like an Ironman.  Some people seem to prefer to train with other triathletes in a group.  I have always thought whatever works for you is best.  Everyone is different when it comes to what motivates you.  But when you hit a plateau you need to make some changes.  I recently felt this way with my swimming.  I am a good swimmer and love swimming long intervals.  I hate doing anything fast. I do incorporate some speed work into my training but I am not getting any faster.  I even swim with other triathletes to motivate me and push myself.  Last week I decided to go swim with Viva Las Vegas Masters.  This group is made up of some really great swimmers (not just triathletes).  We did a variety of strokes and I really pushed myself in the pool.  I thought I was getting quality swims until I went to swim with them.  We did a variety o...