COACH CYNDEE

Small changes in your lifestyle habits can lead to big results.  It takes patience when beginning a new routine but eventually it will get easier and become something you just do and don't even have to think about it.  Here are a few changes that you can make to lead to a healthier lifestyle.   It is proven that people who exercise in the morning are more likely to stick to an exercise routine.  It's usually the first few weeks of getting up early that is the hardest.  If you can start with 2 early workouts a week this might be easier to get into a routine.  This way you give yourself a few days a week to sleep in a little later and thats something to look forward to.  Eventually you can add more early morning days if you want but starting with 2 is a great goal and a good way to make it stick and become a habit.  Get things ready the night before to make it easier to get up and get out the door.  Get an exercise partner - this will hel...

It's that time of year when its hard to stay motivated to workout.  If you race during the year it's likely during the next few months not a lot is going on and you may not have any races.  While it's nice not to have a strict training schedule you should have some off-season goals and focus on those.   It's a great time to get in an extra day of strength/functional training.  It's sometimes hard to find time for your strength workouts during a heavier load of training.  This is a great time to build some strength for your upcoming season.  Another thing I like to do is focus on my recovery by doing yoga.  I like to do this all year around but during my heavy training I don't get as much in as I 'd like to.  During these next few months I try and go a little more often.  Maybe swimming is something you struggle at.  Join a masters group or take a few lessons from a coach and add an extra day of swimming to your weekly plan.  These d...

If you're like me every year you are looking for the latest and greatest thing to buy for your fitness minded friends.  Gift certificates are always great but if you want to put a little more thought into something here are some suggestions.   Hydroflask Here are 10 gifts you can give the health conscious person. Hydroflask - these are great to carry your water so you can make sure you stay hydrated.  Hydroflask Website Fitness tracker - There are so many varieties of these gadgets. They are great motivation for the person who needs it. Heres a link to one site that reviews a few of them  5 best fitness trackers Essential oil diffuser - these are great to have in the house and provide a healthy natural aroma. Make sure you buy high quality essential oils when you diffuse. The Miracle Body Buffer - I personally have one of these and I love it! It's great for people who are active and can be used to warm up the body before a workout or used to help recove...

As the season comes to an end many athletes reflect on what went really great and areas they can improve upon.  Going into the year the races I had planned were the Boston Marathon, Ironman Maryland, and Mountain Man Half and Olympic distance triathlons.  I wanted to do a marathon in January but I wanted to do it with my dogs so it wasn't something I was doing for time just for fun.  My A races were Boston and IM Maryland.  I did end up doing a few local Olympic distance triathlons as well.  I don't like to over schedule races because I think it can lead to stress and too much pressure and  its important  to remember that we do this for FUN!   Now that its the end of the season is a great time to work on building some strength and maybe doing strength training if you've been neglecting it.  If your a triathlete its a great time to work on improving the discipline that you might struggle in.  If you're a bad swimmer then in the off s...

I decided to go back to Ironman Maryland for a 3rd time this year. I wanted to do it again because the first time I had my best race of any Ironman I've done, the second time the swim was canceled and it was horrible conditions with a flooded bike and run course.  I was hoping to repeat the great experience I had the first time and finish with an 11 hour Ironman.  I finished with a respectable time of 12:10 but not even close to the 11 hour race I would have liked. The swim was pretty uneventful other than getting kicked in the leg at the end.   I hobbled out of the water and had to shake that off because I had 112 miles to ride.  The swim is not an easy swim because the water is a bit choppy hence the Choptank River.  I came out of the water in 1:11 which is almost the exact time that I did it in 2014. The funny thing is back in 2014 I was in the best swim shape of my life clocking my fastest times in the pool and swimming 4 days a week.  I typically onl...

This year I decided to sign up for Ironman Maryland for the third time.  I had a great race the first time and the second time I did it the swim was canceled, bike course was shortened and weather was horrendous.  Needless to say I'm hoping the third time is a charm!  I decided to do a few shorter races leading up to the Ironman in September.  Last weekend we did a half ironman in Flagstaff, AZ.  I've done this race before and the month prior we did an Olympic distance on the same course.  It's a beautiful place to race and great to get out of the heat in Vegas during the summer months.  We packed up the pups and drove up on Friday for the race that was on Sunday.  Anytime I do a race as a training day its really great because I don't put any pressure on myself.  I just go out and plan on a good training day.  The prior month doing the Olympic I must have started too fast in the swim.  A combination of that and the higher altitude...

I wanted to touch on fueling for an event but I am not going to go into detail about how many calories and what type of calories or sports drinks you should be consuming.  There are so many articles out there about what to take and how much to take during a race.  As a coach I always tell my clients to practice what they are going to fuel with during their training leading up to the event.  I give them suggestions and tell them to try a few different sports drinks because each person is different and what works for me may not necessarily work for someone else.  Once I give them a few suggestions I make sure to tell them to practice with what they are using during their long workouts.  I'll ask them how their fueling went during training and often they say great.  Then as we get closer to the race often they tell me they are going to try something else because someone told them about a different product.  I don't suggest anyone change what they are do...

One of the hardest parts of training for a race is balancing it all.  Balancing training, work and family can sometimes be tough.  I try and make sure people know what they are getting into when they say they want to sign up for a race.  As a coach I want everyone to go into a race as prepared as they can. When people struggle to get all the workouts done I understand its hard but the reality is they signed up for the race.   I try and lay in all out there up front so there is no surprises when they see their training schedule.  Inevitably it becomes hard for many people to manage it all.  Before you sign up for any event ask yourself some questions: How much time can I reasonably dedicate to training per week?   Is that enough time for the event you're signing up for?  If your answer is 7 hours a week then its probably not likely you should sign up for an Ironman.  How well do I want to perform at this event?  Just finish? ...

Last year I ran the Comrades Ultra Marathon in South Africa.  That race required a qualifying marathon to be completed by the end of April.  My boyfriend and I decided to run the Revel Mount Charleston race because we didn’t want to travel and we got into i t at the last minute.  I didn’t plan to qualify for the Boston Marathon but I did and I did with 15 minutes to spare.  I was pretty excited since I hadn’t done Boston and it’s a bucket list race for most runners.  I was looking forward to the Boston Marathon even though I wasn’t 100% prepared.  I knew I could do the distance but hadn’t done much speed work so I didn’t expect to have my fastest time.  I wanted to enjoy my time in Boston and enjoy the race.  I was looking forward to experiencing all the iconic things I had heard about like Heartbreak Hill, Newton Hills, and the Wellesley Girls.   A few weeks before the race, I was honored to become a part of a team representin...

We Did It……and it was so much FUN! I must admit I haven’t been doing anything serious as far as working out since June of last year when I completed the Comrades marathon.   I have not been a couch potato and have ben doing some exercise daily just nothing extreme like I am usually doing.   I took time to let my body recover and I rested my hip so the tendonitis would go away.   In October I started increasing my running and completed a half marathon with my dog at the end of November.   I’ve done lots of big races such as Ironman races and Ultra Marathons but this little half marathon with my dog was one of the most rewarding.   She is a rescue and it was the year anniversary of the day that I adopted her.   She did amazing and I was so proud of her and how much progress she has made recovering from an abusive past. Half Marathon I decided that I wanted to run a 30K with her, she is young and seems like she can run forever.   I signed u...