COACH CYNDEE

This was very my very slow longest run a month after getting sick It's been about 6 weeks since I did Ironman Des Moines and it's been really tough getting back to training.  I had a rough race and didn't plan to rush back into training because I didn't have anything scheduled after this race.  If you read my last blog post about my race recap then you know I got a little sick a few weeks before the race.  It wasn't COVID just a mild cold and I felt like I recovered pretty good.  I hadn't been sick for many years leading up to this cold and I never even got COVID!  Coming back from the race my boyfriend went to Peru the day after we got back.  He was only gone a few days but apparently he had COVID.  I had a very brief interaction with him for only a few seconds and apparently that was enough to give me COVID.  He was only sick a few days with COVID but I was in bed for about 5 days and felt terrible.  I didn't have much of a cough but boy th...

I can't believe I have done 14 Ironman races!!!  I have said many times this will be my last one but this time I am sure it will be my last.  I did not have enough time to train like I needed to train for this race.  I also had few medical procedures close to the race that kept me out of the pool for a few weeks close to the race.  For the first time I went into an Ironman race under prepared and boy did I feel it.  As a coach and competitive athlete I take training for these races very seriously and rarely miss a planned workout.  I know the importance of being properly prepared for this magnitude of a race.  I did get some long rides and runs in and had some long training days but I did miss a few long rides, a few long runs, and was out of the pool for almost 6 weeks leading up to the race.  I also got sick two weeks before the race. It had been nearly 3 years (before COVID) since I had been sick.  I never got COVID and luckily I didn't ha...

Cupping  dates back to ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern cultures. One of the oldest medical textbooks in the world  describes how the ancient Egyptians used cupping therapy in 1,550 B.C.   Cupping therapy supporters believe that cupping removes harmful substances and toxins from the body to promote healing. But that’s not proven . The many people, specifically athletes who do choose to undergo cupping therapy will often do so before participating in their sport, as well as after. Most have a goal of addressing specific aches and pains within their body, as they want to heal these areas as much as they possibly can before participating in their chosen sport. For athletes who have been diagnosed with a specific injury or have had to undergo a surgical process, cupping therapy can be used to help their body heal faster. Cupping can even be used to help decrease an athlete’s recovery time after they have undergone strenuous training.  Athletes can expec...

In the past I have chose not to do Ironman Oceanside 70.3 because of the cold weather (usually) and cold water (always). After a bad experience at Ironman Utah many years ago I am especially sensitive to cold conditions and I try to avoid those races.  This year Oceanside was the perfect time to get in a half before I do Ironman Des Moines in June.  Against my better judgement I signed up and decided to do it.  Leading up to the race I was busier than ever at work so my training was not exceptional.  I've had some issues with swimmers elbow so I have not been swimming a lot and when I do swim it is easy.  Swimming hard  seems to aggravate it more.  I knew my performance was not going to be great and I just wanted to get to the finish feeling good.   The dogs came with us for the trip and boy did they enjoy all the great smells that the ocean had to offer!  We arrived on Thursday and the race was on Saturday.   Friday we rode ou...

People who know me as Coach Cyndee do not realize before my coaching years I worked almost 20 years in the supplement industry.  I have several supplements I take regularly and some I add in when I'm training more.  Since I am mostly Vegan I look for supplements that are vegan and thankfully it's become much easier to find them! I take a general multiple vitamin  called Vegan Vitality.  You can purchase it on Amazon  Vegan Vitality There are many multiple vitamins you can choose from.  I chose this one because I didn't want to have to take a lot of pills and I wanted a simple vitamin that covered all the basis without adding stuff I really didn't need.  This one was also Vegan and that is what I was looking for. I take NOW brand of PQQ Energy formula. This product provides PQQ,  Acetyl L-Carnatine, B-12, and CoQ10,  This product is good for energy and provides antioxidant benefits.   PQQ Energy Phosphatidyl Serine is another supplem...

I decided to do Ironman Indiana because I needed to defer my May Ironman Tulsa race to a race later in the year and Indiana was available.   Indiana was advertised as a flat bike and rolling hill run but I would call it a rolling hill bike and rolling hill run.   I have done flat courses like Ironman Maryland and Indiana was not flat like that.   It did have some elevation change (not much) but it certainly wasn’t flat like Maryland.   I went into the race a little concerned about the colder temperatures.   I have been hypothermic at a few races and I don’t do well in the cold.   The water temperature was in the high 60’s and air temperature in the morning was in the 50’s.   It was also supposed to rain the day of the race.   I typically would change clothes after the swim and bike because of the cold but they didn’t have a changing tent because of COVID.   I decided to race in my tri suit and leave it on for the entire race.   I put a t...

Having a healthy immune system will help you minimize your risk of getting sick.  There are a lot of natural ways and lifestyle habits that can help you maintain a healthy immune system.  Diet and exercise are two things that will have a positive impact on your immune system.  When it comes to exercise moderate exercise will have a positive impact on your immune system.  If you overdue it then it could have the opposite effect and you can get run down. It's important to find a healthy balance and spend time working on cardiovascular health, strength training,  and flexibility.   With regard to diet, eating less processed foods and incorporating more vegetables can be essential to maintaining a healthy immune system.  There's a lot of natural foods that will assist in building a healthy immune system.  Some of those foods include:   brocoli  ginger garlic berries (acai and elderberry)  and citrus fruit  mushrooms ...