Dear Athlete,

This month's edition of "THE EXTRA MILE" covers "Something to think about" by Coach Mat Steinmetz.

Check out the Athlete of the Month: Kirk MacDonald - he has had a great year of consistent training and impressive showing at Ironman Germany.

Good Luck to the D3 Athletes who will be racing at the Oktoberfest Triathlon on September 20th, 2009 in Longmont CO

Enjoy this month's edition of "THE EXTRA MILE"!

Something to Think About

written by Coach Mat Steinmetz

When you are training with a group, do you slow down to train at your own pace? Do the faster teammates wait on you…how does that work? I would think that self-imposed "peer-pressure" for you to speed up would be hard to wrestle with in your own mind, like you'd feel bad for holding them up.

continue reading online »

Close Encounters – My Experience with Supraventricular AV re-entry Tachycardia

written by Jen Stern

I have been an endurance athlete for almost ten years, but I am 1 year new to the sport of triathlon. Switching from road cycling to triathlon was the best decision I have made as an athlete and as a graduate student. The balance and satisfaction I obtain from training and racing has not only opened my eyes to a fantastic new sport, but it has also taught me new life lessons and skills. There are many skills I have learned from the sport of triathlon and from Coach Mike; the value of patience, discipline, the ability to suffer...

continue reading online »

D3 Athlete of the Month for September: Kirk MacDonald

How did you get into triathlons?
As part of a fitness program to lose weight.

How long have you been involved in the sport?
Took up triathlon in July 2004 and just completed fourth full year of age group races.

Who is your coach?
Amy Kuitse

How has Amy and D3 helped you with your goals?
Tailoring training to my family and work schedule, setting realistic goals (i.e. measuring success against my own PRs/potential and not be unrealistic/frustrated about what I am not able to achieve), preventing overtraining/injuries and building training schedules from her base of understanding of being a top long distance AG athlete herself.

Which is your favorite of the three sports?
Enjoy all three but miss running the most when not able to run due to schedule, rest days or nagging injuries that force layoffs.

If you could spend a day training with anyone, who would it be?
Reinhold Humboldt, two time Kona AG champion in 55-59 and 60-64 age groups.

What is your favorite race and why?
Ironman Germany (so far). Energy derived from popularity of sport in Europe, huge crowds (500,000 this year) that push your pace and fast, technical bike course.

Person you would most like to meet and why?
Reinhold Humboldt. I would ask him how he mentally sustains 15-20 hour training week with a heavy professional workload and secrets of his success in competing well into middle age (which, at 53, I would like to do as well) at the highest level.

Favorite junk food?
I guess fried egg sandwiches with mayo would qualify along with fat free chocolate pudding combined with big scoops of peanut butter.

Book?
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. Recently released. Beautifully written about why the Taramuharan indians are the best endurance runners in the world with added benefit of psychology of how to sustain long distance events.

Advice you would give a newbie?
Understanding that it will take several years to maximize your potential in triathlon by building a big endurance base and learning the technical/psychologically aspect of races. Respect the sport and its history. Read www.dailytriathlon.com to get a sense of what is happening in the sport daily, pick up training/racing insights/inspiration and be part of a triathlon social network of more than 2000 athletes.

Read the interview with Kirk online »

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Training Plan Testimonial

"...I am very comfortable endorsing the training plan for anyone who is self-motivated and needs some structure and guidance to get them there. I also think you did a great job of customizing it to meet my needs (emphasizing the run early on in training, and carving "mini tapers" for the other two events I did leading up to the IM). And given how much I've ended up spending on equipment, race entry fees, etc., the cost of the training plan was truly a bargain considering what I got out of it."