This week was a little anti-climactic. I was hoping to have one last week of hard training before
Wilkes Barre, my first Olympic distance race of the season, but I am still struggling with a few nagging injuries. Between some serious calf issues that have been holding me back all season and the shoulder issues that have flared up recently, I ended up missing my swim workouts and cutting a run workout short.
Overall, I still feel…
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Added by Sam Horowitz on July 27, 2009 at 9:23am —
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I raced the Randolph Triathlon this weekend, and as usual, the event was terrific. Paramount Adventure does a really nice job setting it up and getting everything organized. The course is great and while there's some stiff competition, it still feels like the local race that it is.
I had a great race and felt strong the whole way through. The swim course is a big clockwise rectangle in Randolph Lake. I matched my time from last year and felt good getting out of the water.
The bike course isn't…
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Added by Sam Horowitz on July 13, 2009 at 8:29am —
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Congrats to everybody that did the Wyckoff race. As usual, there was some stiff competition out there.
The weather was kind to us on Saturday and we had a great morning to race. My goal for the race was to crack the top 30 so I could race with the elites next year. I had a strong swim, I got a little faster on the bike, and dropped a full two minutes off my run from two years ago. I finished in 1:37:18, which was good enough for 19th overall and 5th in my age group. I was very pleased with my r…
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Added by Sam Horowitz on June 22, 2009 at 9:26am —
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I took the old Bianchi out to my in-laws so I won't have to cart a bike back and forth. It's a lugged steel Columbus TSX/UL frame and while it rides nicely, it weights a ton! Pulling it up and down the hills of northeast PA was a challenge.
Overall, it was a good week of training. Wyckoff is less than 2 weeks from today and I'm feeling good! Check out my week in detail
here.
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Added by Sam Horowitz on June 7, 2009 at 12:22pm —
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While I was pleased with my 10K from last week, it took me the better part of this week for my legs to feel right. I wasn't even walking normally until Wednesday afternoon. The first part of this week was spent recovering on the bike and getting a few quality swims under my belt. By Saturday I was feeling better and managed to get a 43 mile ride and a quick 1.5 mile run in.
If you're interested in seeing the weekly details, please visit my regular training…
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Added by Sam Horowitz on May 31, 2009 at 9:43pm —
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I wanted to PR the 10K at Ridgewood pretty badly so I had a pretty easy week of training. After a pretty tough previous weekend I did a few short workouts with a few high-intensity intervals thrown in. I ended up running a 43:05, beating my previous best at the 10K by more than four minutes! I was thrilled with my results and it's a great omen for the upcoming tri season.
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Added by Sam Horowitz on May 26, 2009 at 8:47pm —
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A bit of a bumpy week, but looking back, I am seeing the payoff from all of the work I've been doing. I had the start of some shoulder issues this week in the pool and immediately went to see my ART guy, Dr. Michael Dworkin. Big props... He got me straightened out immediately and the day after treatment I had one of my biggest days in the pool this year!
I also cranked out a very fast 3 miles after my long ride this week. Pace was 6:40min/mile. That was after a 43 mile ride and a long run the d…
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Added by Sam Horowitz on May 17, 2009 at 8:35pm —
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I just wrote a Top Ten Ways to tell you're a triathlete on my main
blog, but figured I would repost the list here. (I think it's funny...)
1. It’s pouring but your go for a run rather than hit the pool because it’s a “run day.”
2. You know exactly (down to the ounce) how much water you need to drink to replace what you sweated out during your run.
3. That charming "cologne" you wear to work is chlorine.
4. A “Brick” has nothing to do with constr…
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Added by Sam Horowitz on April 11, 2009 at 9:50am —
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My swim has been getting quite a bit stronger over the past few weeks. I love seeing the progress that I'm making. It's evidence that a structured approach and drilling really does make you a stronger swimmer. (I know drills are boring, but getting good form builds speed unbelievably quickly.) If you're interested in learning some great drills, just Google "Freestyle Swim Drills" and you'll get more videos and descriptions than you can possibly use.
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Added by Sam Horowitz on March 14, 2009 at 3:33pm —
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I have no affiliation with this
race beyond the fact that I enjoy racing it each year. The registration just opened, so if you're looking for a fun local race in northern NJ, check it out!
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Added by Sam Horowitz on February 25, 2009 at 11:56am —
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I've been adding more and more base miles and aerobic capacity during the past month. Unfortunately, there's nothing particularly sexy about base training, but I've been plugging away.
I had a great run on Sunday out at my in-laws in PA. It was snowing lightly, the air was crisp, and I got to do a bunch of the miles on trails rather than the roads I usually run on. Of course, this time of year I'm limited to the rollers with the bike, but they're great. I enjoy the challenge as opposed to the t…
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Added by Sam Horowitz on February 23, 2009 at 9:59pm —
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I met up with my buddy Alex and a bunch of guys from Excel this morning at the duck pond. Good run, but boy was it cold! At least my hands got so numb that I couldn't feel them any more. The pace is torrid and frankly if I hung with the group the whole way it would have been a LT workout rather than a long run. It was so cold that my polar footpod was frozen in the "off" position. I had no idea how fast we were going or how far.
Coffee afterwords at Starbucks was an appropriately relaxed affair…
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Added by Sam Horowitz on January 25, 2009 at 1:24pm —
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I read articles in Triathlete Magazine, on blogs, etc, encouraging a focus on base training. I know we all enjoy on racing and no one likes delaying gratification, so staying motivated to go long and slow is a struggle. I want to present my case study in defense of base training.
I'm really excited about the huge gains I've made in my base training over the past few months. I've spent a lot of time doing "easy" work with some high intensity work sprinkled in to improve sport specific strength.…
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Added by Sam Horowitz on January 23, 2009 at 12:01pm —
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I broke out an old workout that I had filed away in the deep recesses of my brain. Back in college we used to do a workout on the rollers watching Monday Night Football. We'd pick a team and sustain tempo/threshold when they were on offense and then recover/spin when they were on defense. It was an interesting way to break up the monotony of riding inside and it created random intervals, depending on how the game was progressing.
While it's too early in the season for that kind of tempo work, I…
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Added by Sam Horowitz on January 12, 2009 at 11:33am —
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After a few months off from any consistent swimming, I'm finally back in the pool 2-3 times a week. Those first few workouts were brutal... I totally lost the feel for the water and felt like I was just thrashing around the lane.
This morning I finally felt like I was swimming again. My stroke count came down, my intervals were stronger, and I held a steady pace throughout the set. Phew! I was getting a little nervous that I had forgotten how to swim.
To everyone on Opentri, enjoy the holidays…
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Added by Sam Horowitz on December 22, 2008 at 10:30am —
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I can't believe I slept through my alarm this morning. I was so pissed. I was really looking forward to a session in the pool but instead I had to get out of bed and get to work. Argh.
So now I'm looking forward to hitting the pool tomorrow morning. And I'm putting my alarm clock across the room where I can't turn it off in my sleep!
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Added by Sam Horowitz on December 15, 2008 at 9:14pm —
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From a time management perspective, I don't usually have the luxury of working out with others. I have to squeeze in my swims when I can and I usually end up running or riding early in the morning. (That's why I'm always curious to see how other people manage it). But today I had the opportunity to run with a friend for a change. We headed out at around 7:30 and ticked off a brisk 9 miles. It was great to have some company on a cold day and it made the miles go by much more quickly. Having a tra…
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Added by Sam Horowitz on December 13, 2008 at 8:54pm —
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From looking at the members of OpenTri, I think it's safe to assume that most are triathletes and something else, too. (Parent, spouse, employee/employer, student, etc.) I'm impressed with the level of dedication and commitment shown by everybody that manages to balance their time and obligations while also training at a high level. I was wondering what suggestions and tricks people have found successful when trying to balance the various parts of their life.
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Added by Sam Horowitz on December 10, 2008 at 4:55pm —
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I had a full day of family stuff but wanted to get a run in, so I got up early and hit the road. 5:30 is pretty rough, even without the 20d temps. About 15 minutes into the run I was questioning my sanity, regretting not just grinding it out the on the treadmill, and seriously considering bagging the run all together.
I stuck with it, and around 6:40, I turned east and crested a hill. The sun was coming up and the sky was beautiful... Purples, oranges, yellows, and blues fading into the gray da…
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Added by Sam Horowitz on December 6, 2008 at 7:38pm —
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Quick introduction... I'm entering my fourth season as a triathlete. I started a few years ago with the Wyckoff race and loved it. I signed up for a few more short races that season and had a blast. I tackled Timberman in 2007, which was a great experience. I enjoyed even more success last season with a some top 10's in local races and a couple of AG podiums. I'm looking forward to building on my success and continuing to race.
During last summer I really found that the multisport lifestyle is…
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Added by Sam Horowitz on December 5, 2008 at 6:27am —
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