Behold, The Maven Green Juice Recipe...

Too bad I don't have a patent on this, BUT, out of the kindness of my generous heart, I've listed the elements of this concocted "Maven Green Juice".  Notice how the green hue strangely matches the green in our Maven logo...discuss this amongst yourselves....

My first recommendation- Get the Blendtec or Vitamix blender. Totally worth the investment.  Honestly, not sure how well this mix will taste with a traditional blender.  Blending these veggies has been really beneficial for my general health, fitness, and endurance performance (down to ~10% BF range and race weight of 152 lbs).  

I drink this twice a day along with the MAVENSHAKE after my workouts, and I'm ready to conquer the day...

2 leaves Kale

1 cucumber

1 celery stalk

handful of baby carrots

1 collard green leaf (optional)

1/2 cup almond milk

handful of sliced apples

handful parsley

1 scoop raw honey

3 cups water

Try it out and send feedback or ask questions!

Pose Running- using the pool to understand how to "fall" during pose

So, there I was, recovering from a fresh groin injury while fielding a few softballs with my 7 year old last week, wondering how the heck I was going to compete in the upcoming Brooklyn "Bun" (Bike-Run). Obviously, I knew I would have to relatively rest the area (gotta practice what I preach). Thankfully, I have access to a pool, and having some gravity eliminated would be a better alternative to terrestrial running with this injury. I headed over to the Y to review some of the Pose Method running drills I had been incorporating into my triathlon training over the past few months...and what a great experience it was to bring land-based training into the water.

The concept of "falling", which is a central tenet to the Pose method, felt foreign/awkward to me as I was learning the method. The way to advance the body in space using the Pose Method is to "fall" forward (with the whole body) while picking up the feet at a given cadence depending on the desired speed.

So, I went to the shallow end of the pool, and did a few warm-up drills in place and against the wall. First observation, I noticed quickly whenever I overengaged my hip flexors or my hamstrings (neither is good), since the water provided me with immediate, tangible feedback. I was also able to "slo-mo" my running in the water to get better feel for the impact of my ball-of-foot-to-heel on the pool bottom. Now, for the fall...

In the water, I was able to easily position my body in the correct posture for falling, as I was being "pushed back" in a controlled, steady fashion by the resistance of a fluid medium. I then progressed the running drills to the deep end using the buoy belt and also became that much more aware of falling forward since the only way to properly advance in the deep end was also a forward lean of the entire body.

The transfer of performance from water to land worked well for me as I raced last Sunday and placed 20th/~200 contenders...not too shabby for a season opener training race. I can only imagine what the rest of the multi-sport season will be like especially as we increase the frequency of the MAVENACTION workouts.

Anyway, for those of you Pose newbies (like myself) who are struggling with the "falling" forward concept, try the Pose drills in shallow water and then progress to the deep end with the buoy belt. You'll be surprised by the transfer of your running technique when you get back on land.

Happy running!

Open Water Training Tip: Blind Swimming in the Pool

Ahh, the dreaded swim for my terrestrial dominant triathletes...

I'm definitely no elite or pro class triathlete (well, at least not yet), but swimming a straight line in an open water swim is a challenging feat, in and of itself...then, add 50-100 people into the mix during your wave in a tri, and you've increased the challenge exponentially.

But, is there a way I can practice maintaining a relatively straight line during my pool swims? One really important training tip I've practiced over the years and has helped me tremendously is to get into the pool and swim with your eyes closed.

Say what?!

Yes, swimming with your eyes closed creates an entirely different swimming experience. Obviously, don't try this during a masters' swim practice or during peak pool times, lest you be thrashed or splashed (and rightfully so) by your fellow poolmates.

The benefits of blind swimming?

1) Improves your feel for the water- Your proprioception (body awareness or sense of space/environment) is enhanced during this activity, so you can feel for the way and degree to which your body rolls, your head and body position, your hand entry, pull, and recovery...even that elusive "holding still water" concept becomes a bit more real to you.

In open water swims, most of the propulsive activity of your stroke should occur below the water surface any way, so it would behoove you to be more aware of what your arms and body are doing underwater.

2) Stroke equalization- you will notice very quickly if you tend to pull harder on one side or the other since you'll invariably snag one of the lane ropes if you have this tendency.

In an open water situation where you may have chops or swells, being able to swim with an equal stroke certainly minimizes the waywardness that we all experience from time to time during the swim.

3) Fear management- Let's face it. there are no lanes, no straight black lines in an open water swim. Heck, sometimes, I can't even see my own hand in some of the waters in which I've swum. Since you can't see what lies beneath the surface, the darkness and depth can be unnerving at times (watch Shark Week on the Discovery channel...or any Friday the 13th classic...).

So, why not acclimate to your fear of the unknown in the comfort of your own pool?? Getting your eyes closed helps you to get used to not being able to see the bottom, which helps you relax better in open water, and focus on sighting or dodging those other swimmers who didn't read this blog on the benefits of blind swimming!

Tri race checklist!

SWIM:
Wetsuit
Body glide
Goggles
Swim cap- provided by race
Sunscreen
Watch

BIKE:
Bike shoes
Bike gloves
Helmet
Sunglasses
Race Belt
Bike jersey/tri-shorts
Water bottle with Nuun
Fuel (Oly distance: Gu, electrolyte blocks, powerbar)
Spare tube with CO2

RUN:
Sneakers/Socks
Hat/visor

TRANSITION:
Helium balloon
Bucket/water
Big towel
Small towels (for T1 and post-race)
Water bottle to rinse during T1

RECOVERY (post-race)
Coconut water
Bananas
Nuts
Recovery drink

Navigation/EZ-Pass
Printed directions
Fresh clothes, clean towel
Race registration confirmation email (just in case)

you know when you're a tri-junkie when...

From Rob Schultz's website. Any empathizers?
http://www.robschultz.com/endurance/2008/03/another-funny-y.html

No aerobars!!

After a long discussion with my bike mechanic, Steve Mancuso, who also happens to be a cat 1, cyclocross guru, I made the decision to remove my aerobars from my road bike for my first oly next Sunday!

I have been a little hesistant, as you might have read in other blogs I've posted (www.mavenpt.com, tri-holics.tumblr.com), but I'm just going to trust that it's the better decision. Certainly, there was an immediate and noticeable difference in the bike weight and feel upon removing the bars. Steve's argument- "Dude, you have a road bike, not a tri bike...and the distance is only 25 miles for the oly. You're not gonna get a whole lot of advantage." This remains to be seen...

"For a half IM or a full IM, however, the aerodynamic bars can be of an advantage as far as energy economy during the race."

I'm excited to participate in CGI Racing's NJ State Oly Tri next weekend because the race is so flat that you can actually get a pretty good time trial "feel", from what I understand (check out cgiracing.com).

Goal time: 2:20 minutes!

NJ State Olympic tri- coming soon. July 24.

So, I'm excited to compete in my first olympic distance triathlon. The training for a longer distance triathlon obviously requires different demands on your system, which I'm currently experiencing. Official "oly" triathlon distances for each even (in miles) are as following:


SWIM: 0.93 mi (1.5k)


BIKE: 24.86 mi (40k)


RUN: 6.2 mi (10k)

Training distances are a bit longer for each of the events, recovery times are a bit different, and of course, the overall strategy is going to be different as well. This is not a race where one can just go all out for each event...well, at least not for me.

My goal time is under 2:20 minutes, which would place me in the top 20 for the race overall (based on 2010 rankings). The goal is lofty, since it's my first oly, but hey, I'll be happy if I can get my time under 2:35.

My goal splits: 24 min swim (1:36/100 m), 1:05 bike (23.3 mph), 46 min (7:30 mi).

I have two concerns before me:
1) After my Wyckoff run catastrophe (read previous blog), my infamous cramps on the run haunt me (yes, I am always well-hydrated and electrolyte-balanced). I'm hoping Wyckoff will always be my one fluke race, so that I can get all the cramps out of the way.

2) My next concern is the swim. Most likely, no wetsuit for the race based on the high water temperature...though, in a way, I'm looking forward to swimming without the suit, because I'll be able to see how I really fare as an open water swimmer.

I'll be incorporating a lot of CFE (CrossFit Endurance) principles and generally higher intensity, lower volume of training strategies . More on training for the race coming soon...