TEAM PRACTICE - SAT. JUNE 1ST - LOCATION CHANGE

Practice Tomorrow, June 1st, will now be held at Lake Josephine Park in Roseville, MN.  The park has a large parking lot that we will be able to leverage for our Bike/Run Transition Practice.

The change is a result of an event taking place at Lake Nokomis tomorrow.

Call me with questions.  612-202-9202

Coach Nick!

Route for Tomorrow

Hey Team- Here is the route that we will be riding / rode in Burnsville: 1 Loop for Sprinters, 2 Loops for Oly, 3 Loops for Half Iron.

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide

Team Ride Tomorrow - Meet at Civic Center Park in Burnsville, MN

Hey Team! Reminder that we have practice in Burnsville at 8 AM tomorrow. Bring your bikes for an out and back ride for 1.5 to 2 hrs and your shoes for a quick transition run afterwards. Hope all is well! Call with any questions. 612-202-9202 ~Coach Nick

SATURDAY RIDE NOW A RUN - Minnehaha Park

Hey TEAM! Due to the fantastic weather, we are going to switch our workout tomorrow and do the Team Workout as the Long Run from the schedule. We are also going to change locations from Carver Lake Park to Minnehaha Park. Meeting time is still 8:00 am. Minnehaha Park for some fun running in the rain! -Nick and Karl

Team Social - Thursday, May 9th

Team Social: Thursday May 9th. 
Potluck Dinner
Arrive 6-7pm
Potluck style dinner social for team.  This is a non-training day.
Friends and family welcome (2 and 4 foot variety included)

Meet at Wabun Picnic Area in Minneapolis - Adjacent to Minnehaha Falls
Click here for the map.

Sign up to bring something by updating the Google Doc. 
Click here for the Potluck-Sign-Up.

Wednesday, May 1st run

Mother Nature really wants us to work a little harder I think. Every group training day there seems to be a Snow-icane! May is no different! Here is the running route for tonights workout:

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/201404052

Team Ride Tomorrow - Baker Park Reserve! Route Maps Included

Hey Team- As a reminder, we have a Team Ride tomorrow at 8:00 AM out in Maple Plain, MN at Baker Park Reserve. I have included maps for 5 potential routes tomorrow. The main route will be marked tomorrow and Karl and I will provide directions in addition to on course support. Here's a link to one map where you should be able to access all of them below:

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide

Here are the specific route maps: ROUTE A: 12 miles - Out and Back

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide

ROUTE B: 16 miles - Short Loop

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide

ROUTE C: 18 miles - Big Loop

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide

ROUTE D: 27 miles - Big Loop + Out and Back

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide

ROUTE E: 35 miles - Two Big Loops

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide

Weather should be fantastic tomorrow! See you then! ~Coach Nick and Coach Karl

Big Climb Success!

Nice job all Big Climb participants!! What a great time (and workout) we had on Saturday morning. Breakfast was also delicious! Who is still feeling those quad muscles today?

Team RUN Tonight! Lone Lake Park in Hopkins, MN

Hey Team!

Team Run Tonight at Lone Lake Park in Hopkins, MN.

Be there and ready to run by 6:30.

Here's a map of the route:

One lap for Sprinters, Two for everyone else!  Running rain or shine!

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide

ATTENTION: Team Ride Tomorrow is now a TEAM RUN!

It's official, due to the snow-icane of 2013, we will adjust and have the TEAM Workout tomorrow be a team run.

Meet at the Maplewood Community Center at 8:00 AM!

-Nick

Team Swim Tonight!

Hey Team!

Get your gills ready!  We are swimming at Brooklyn Center in the Big Pool again tonight!

7:45 - 8:45 for the Developing (Cowboys) and Fitness (Ninjas) Athletes
8:45 - 9:45 for the Fitness (Ninjas) and Competitive (Bears) Athletes

Arrive 15 minutes before your start time to change, talk about training to date, discuss the Mission, and get ready to swim!

~Coach Nick

Saturday's Team Ride Route

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide

Wednesday, Funday!

This Wednesday, April 3rd, we will be having a social after our run at Harriet Island.

We will be meeting at Joseph's Grill located at 140 Wabasha Street South once everyone is done! We hope you can all join us! 

Thanks Denise for the suggestions! You can check out the place here: http://www.josephsgrill.com/

Get ready for outside fun!

It's time to get those chains lubed, tires inflated, and bikes tuned up and ready for the road! We will be heading outside starting April 6th.

This also means that our schedule is changing!

Mondays: Still TEAM Swim - now at Brooklyn Center Community Pool, which is 50 meters. Only 2 sessions 7:30-8:30 & 8:30-9:30

Wednesdays: Run - locations vary each week. Be ready for HILLS!

Saturdays: Bike & eventually Brick workouts. After bike rides, some folks usually head out for a little run - sometimes optional, sometimes part of the workout. This is a great habit to get into. Coming off the bike, especially after long rides, those legs are usually wobbly. More practice = more success on race day!

(Brick Workout: training on two disciplines during the same workout, one after the other with minimal or no interruption in between - i.e. Biking & Running, Swimming & Biking, Swimming & Running, etc.)

Team SPIN, Gear Clinic and Social! TONIGHT!

Hey TEAM!

This is a friendly reminder that Coach Karl, the training captains, the mentors and I have a ton of activities for you all tonight!  Team SPIN will be held in only TWO sessions tonight from either 6:45 - 7:45 or 7:45 - 8:45.  Sign-up through the google doc to ensure your slot.  If you cannot attend, make sure you remove your name to open it up for others.  Here's the link (we are on Week 4):

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApVapcBoID2KdDFjS1Uxc2toeGVPcmVIb296Ykc0LUE&usp=sharing

In addition to the SPIN tonight, Karl and I will be hosting a Gear Clinic from either 7:00 - 7:45 OR 7:45 - 8:30.  We will review the Tri Gear List we sent early in the year and have also attached to the email sent about this, discuss what and why you need certain equipment, and field any questions you may have related to Gear.  The clinic is completely optional, but will be available tonight, and we will continue to discuss gear throughout the year.

Lastly, we will be having a Social get together at Cowboy Jack's in Bloomington following the last SPIN session.  If you want to get a jump start on the team and head there early, go for it.  The majority of folks will start to arrive around 9 pm but there will always be a few who get there early after session one, or who might just skip practice all together to ride the bull instead (Note, Randall, Karl and I will be hosting a 'Ride the Bull' style SPIN session tonight to get you ready).

Here's the address:

Cowboy Jack's Bloomington, 2801 Southtown Drive, Bloomington, MN 55431

Hope all is well and Happy Training!

~Coach Nick

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, Off To Build a CORE We Go!

Okay folks, I am getting back to this whole blogging thing in addition to asking Karl, the mentors, and training captains to chime in once in a while.

Back in week 1, we talked about a little core work and the benefits that it can provide not only to your triathlon training, but also your everyday life.  I also discussed introducing Core Work at trainings once the weather gets a bit better outside.  As a review, here's that great Core Session courtesy of Tri Coch Jen Harrison out of Chicago that we went over.

Try to do this once a week now because once we get outside, we will start to do the whole sequence as a Team.

(Circuit 1)
-Plank for 10 - 60 seconds
-Move immediately to PushUps (Knee PushUps Okay) 5 - 20 reps
-Move to Reverse Bridge (Feet Extended, Butt Towards Ground, Hands Lifting Butt off ground) 10 - 60 seconds
-Move immediately to Dips (Bend elbows to lower butt to ground, you'll feel it in triceps) 5 - 20 reps
-Move to Straight Arm Plank for 10 - 30 seconds
-Move to Hovered Push-up for 5 - 15 seconds
Take 1 minute REST and REPEAT up to 4 times.

(Circuit 2)
-Right Side Plank (Elbow down OR Straight Arm) for 10 - 60 seconds
-Right Side Dip (Lower Hip to mat using side abs) for 5 - 20 reps
-Left Side Plank for 10 - 60 seconds
-Left Side Dip for 5 - 20 reps
-Move to Plank for 10 - 30 seconds
-Move to Plank with Right Foot Lifted for 10 - 30 seconds
-Move to Plank with Left Foot Lifted for 10 - 30 seconds
Take 1 minute REST and REPEAR up to 4 times

Happy Training!

-Nick

Weeks 1 and 2: Establishing a Routine and Setting Goals

The first few weeks of any training program are about two things: Establishing a routine and setting goals.  With the triathlon 4 to 5 months away, you have to plan the training into your daily lives to ultimately permit you success at the event.

Triathlon training works best if you start easy and build gradually: 20 minutes on your feet builds to over an two hours of running, 10 miles on the bike grows to over 60, and a few laps in the pool turns into thousands of yards in a session.  The mileage may seem easy at this time, but it will grow.  The most critical thing is to make sure you carve out the time each week to permit you to continue down the road to achieving your goals.

The early portion of a training program is also the time to establish your goals and to keep them at the forefront of your mind as you frame out your training each week.  Whether your goals are to just finish or to finish in a specific time, write down your goals and work with your coaches to set up your training to go after them.

After you establish your personal routine and determine your goals, everything else will fall in place.  Before you know it, you will be walking across the finish line as a ‘Triathlete!’

~Coach Nick

Welcome to the 2013 Summer TNT Triathlon Team!

It's official, the Twin Cities TEAM in Training Triathlon Teams will be kicking tomorrow at Olson Middle School in Bloomington, MN for the first official team practice.  We have an exciting season in store and as one of the head coaches for the Lifetime and Door County Teams this summer, I hope to stay connected with you all through our weekly trainings, email, random twitter messages and this blog.

Congratulations and Thank You for those who having taken the first step towards a better you and a better world for those who are fighting against Leukemia and Lymphoma.  I cannot wait to get to meet you all in the coming days!

Let's get it started!