In the southern hemisphere we’re about to start laying the foundations for our season. It’s a time to choose goals and plan to achieve them.
When a new athlete comes to me I always ask what we’re working toward achieving. It’s suprising how often they really don’t know exactly what they’re aiming at. They have a few ideas of what they’d like. It’s more of a wish list than a set of goals.
Goals for the season don’t have to be times, they don’t have to be positions in categories.
The goals for the season can be
* To …

Have you ever met anyone who has never experienced failure? If you have, he was probably a spoilt little boy who has been sheltered from life’s knocks. He’ll probably need propping up all through his life.
When my son didn’t make it into the first eight in his high school rowing team, my wife was devastated, she was so sad for him. It was his goal since he started rowing. Mothers feel the pain of the offspring as though it was their own pain.
I was happy for him. Of course his mother …

Vegetables – 60-70% of your diet should be vegetables – fresh, steamed, stir fried
The best way to get the carbs in your diet necessary for energy to train well is through vegetables. Not only are they supplying the carbs, they supply you with fibre (really important for health of the digestive system),  vitamins and minerals (vit/min supplements are only to fill the gaps in the diet, most of our needs should come from veges)
 
Protein – training and working breaks down muscle tissue, protein supplies the raw materials to rebuild it. …

Consistancy is no doubt the most important part of an Ironman training program. It often involves a lot of rather boring work, which simply “has to be done”.
One of the greatest challenges for an Ironman coach is to present a program which delivers consistancy over a long term without becoming boring. It’s mentally very difficult to hold a goal for a whole year, or for several years. The long term goal has to be split up into several intermediate goals so the athlete can see the “goal posts” within striking …