COACH CYNDEE

Many people seem to fall into the winter blues around this time of year.  This applies to competitive athletes and people working out to maintain general fitness.  It can be hard to stay focused on your health when you have a lot of temptations around you.  It can be hard staying on track with your exercise routine when you have shopping to do and parties to attend.  Maybe you don't have as much time but you still have some time, so use it wisely and make sure you make an effort to fit it all in. It may be taking a walk on your lunch break or getting up a 1/2 hour early to fit in some form of exercise.  Either way it is important to get it done on a regular basis. Don't fall into the habit of eating things you normally would not eat just because it is the holiday season.  Stay away and maybe give your self one or two indulges a week instead of partaking in the office cookies daily.   If you are a competitive athlete such as a triathlete then make sure you maintain  your fi

The hardest part of training is finding time for it.  When planning your season it is important to think about what will be going on in your life at the time of each race you plan to do.  I recently started massage school and I am still working so my schedule is very full or the next 6 months.  I usually do an early season race but with my schedule I have opted not to race at all while I am in school.  I have figured out a way to get 60-90 minutes of quality exercise at least 6 times a week. I will maintain my swim, bike, run fitness but will not race.  I know it will be far too difficult and stressful to work, race and go to school.  If you are planning your season consider major events that will happen in your life and how they will impact your training for a race.  Save yourself some money and do this before you sign up for the races. Will you be able to train without any interruptions such as family vacations or family reunions? I have a very busy schedule now but am able to stil

  It’s getting to be that time of year to start thinking about your race schedule for next year!  Of course for my Ironman athletes this conversation takes place a year before their race because you typically have to sign up for your Ironman a year before the race.  It never fails I am always the bad guy (or girl in this case) telling them they have too many things on their schedule.  I begin cutting out racing or suggesting this one go or that one go.  They never like to hear it.  I have never been a fan of racing to race because your friends are doing it or whatever reason you may have. I pick key races that will help me build my performance for my A races.  This is not to say I have never fallen in the web of racing to race because others are doing a particular race.  In the end I have paid the price with a sub par performance in a race or poor recovery after a race.  As a coach and an experienced athlete I am telling you that filling your schedule with t

Rainy swim start I recently had the privilege to race at the 70.3 Championships for the 2 nd year and it was the last year it would be in my hometown of Las Vegas.  This year has been a long year of racing starting in March with San Juan 70.3, which was where I qualified for the WC.  April I did Ironman South Africa and a few weeks later I did 70.3 St. George.  I completed my second Ironman for the year in June at IM Couer D Alene in Idaho.  By the time Worlds came around I was ready to get the race done and have a little down time.  I had a few setbacks after IM CDA leading up to Worlds.  Two weeks after CDA, I came down with Shingles.  This set me back some however I was lucky to have a mild case of it.  A few weeks after shingles went away I came down with a chest infection.  I missed more workouts from the chest infection than I did with shingles.  3 weeks prior to Worlds I was feeling back to normal. I had some great workouts and my run was really coming al

As triathletes many of us workout to eat more.  I sometimes see people who train a lot gorging on unhealthy food after a long workout.  Lets face it I have fallen victim to this on occasion.  I don't think it's going to kill you once in a while to reward yourself with something tasty but if that once in a while becomes a daily occurrence you might have a problem. It is important to remember the better you eat, the better your performance will be, and the better your recovery will be.  Fueling your body right, can be the difference between an ok season of racing and a great season of racing!   Fueling right requires very little work! People don't eat healthy because they are lazy.  They will spend a lot of time working out but not save a few minutes to prepare something healthy.  Here are some key components to improving your nutrition choices: Incorporate healthy carbohydrates in your diet from non-processes sources.  Carbs like oatmeal, brown rice, and quino

It doesn't matter if your completing a Half Marathon, Sprint Triathlon or Ironman everyone has made mistakes when racing.  If you have never made a mistake then racing then just wait you will at some point.  When I started doing triathlons about 10 years ago they were not nearly as popular as they are now. I did not know anyone who had done one and I didn't even know there was such a thing as a coach that could help me prepare for the race. Needless to say my first race was pretty slow.  My second and third one were much better but I still made mistakes during them as well.  Some of the mistakes I made during my first few triathlons were: Turning the wrong way on the bike course. Putting my wetsuit on inside out - I actually won this race believe it or not! Not getting into open water before the race - at all!  I had to swim the entire race without goggles because mine kept leaking. Not fueling enough and almost passing out at the end of the race. Not checking my bike whe

I would love to say that triathlons are my main passion.  While I do enjoy training and racing, there are things I enjoy more.  It took me a long time to follow my passion but once I did I wondered why I waited so long to do it. My paw print tattoo is an example of my passion for dogs! I have two examples I want to share with you on how I took the steps to follow my passion.  The first is my passion for dogs.  I have three awesome dogs and for many years I wanted to help other dogs in some way. I didn't really know how or what I would do but I knew I wanted to do something. I completed a 50 mile run and raised money for the Nevada SPCA.  I had heard about a running group that ran dogs from a shelter in another city.  I figured I could try this in Las Vegas.  Although the running group didn't really pan out I began running and walking dogs at the Nevada SPCA.  The first few visits were tough because it was hard to see the dogs in the kennels.  Then I began to look forwar

My 8 Ironman medals! Sunday June 23 rd I completed my 8 th Ironman in Couer d’Alene, Idaho.  We arrived Thursday to a high of 48 with rain for most of the day.  Cold weather races are not my favorite thing so this was not a good sign.  Fortunately Sundays forecast was looking a little better in the 70's Cold and Raining we arrived hoping it would get better.  This was my second Ironman this year and we are only halfway into the year.  Needless to say I was glad to get it over and take a much-needed break for a while.  I had done Ironman CDA in 2007 and finished in 12:25 so I was hoping to have a better time than 2007.  Since this was the second Ironman in a few months I didn’t have the same excitement that I normally do before a race. I actually told my boyfriend the night before the race that I didn’t feel like I was doing an Ironman the next day.  I did however feel really fit and confident I could do the race. My only concern was the cold water