What I never thought I could do

Post by Randi Strunk

It’s over. So strange to think that the thing we’ve been training for the last 4 to 5 months has come and gone, but Jenny and I successfully finished the St. Croix Valley Triathlon on Saturday, September 5. I was a mixture of nervous and excited leading up to the race, but knew we had done most of it before so I tried to treat it as much like a normal training day as possible, so by the time we were lining up to start I was more focused than nervous.

The part I’m most proud of is the swim. If you’ve been reading this blog since the beginning you know my swimming experience was very little and I remember the feeling of dread when I could barely make it down and back in the pool without wanting to die. Pete and Jenny kept telling me it would get better, but a mile seemed like such a long way it was hard to believe them sometimes. However, with the coaching of Pete and our open water swims on Tuesday evenings I was able to complete the swim portion in 44 minutes. I think I gained the most confidence from this portion of my training, and it was definitely the part I had to work the hardest to accomplish.

The bike went really well too, I feel like we gave it everything we had and with good results. Twenty five miles went by more quickly than I ever thought it could. I really enjoy biking and am going to keep training through the winter, continuing to take spin classes and riding our tandem on the bike trainer we have in the basement. I certainly didn’t go into this thinking at the end I’d have purchased my own tandem bike, but that’s what happened and I’m very excited to keep improving on the bike. I’m going to reach out to other blind riders and triathletes to ask about techniques for hills etc. there’s got to be a better way to not lose all your momentum. We stayed seated on the bike the entire time while traditionally you are able to stand and push harder on the up hill climbs. Something I want to learn more about in the off-season.


Finally, there’s the run portion, where I broke the cardinal rule of racing, “Nothing new on race day.” I had some Gatorade at the first water station and my stomach revolted from there. I’m not sure if it was the Gatorade, dehydration, or a combination of the two, but I’m pretty sure we walked more than we ran of those six miles. It was frustrating because I felt like my legs could do more but the rest of my body wasn’t having any of it. Jenny kept reminding me that we were still moving and that we had accomplished our goal to finish regardless of the tough run.


Overall, the training and the race itself were fantastic. I’ve learned so much about the sport and about my own physical capabilities. It’s strange, I’m a bit sad it’s over… having a single race as a goal results in an abrupt end to what your focus has been on for the last five months, but it also means I can move on to something different for a while. I’m anxious to keep up my skills over the fall and winter and to get back into lifting.


I’d like to thank Jenny and Pete for being such great teachers and training partners throughout this journey. Also a big shout out to everyone who came to support us on race day. We had a whole team of supporters and it was a fun day.


Now the question, “Would you do another one?” The answer is a resounding Yes! I have a baseline time now I have learned a ton thus far, but know there is so much more to learn about the sport and about how others train. I’m also super competitive and I want to beat my time, particularly in the run. I hope Jenny had as good of a time in this journey as I did and I have to say we make one hell of a team!!!


Until next time…

It's not courage, it's my life.

Post by Randi Strunk

I'm always a bit hesitant when approached with a pitch for any sort of media, particularly where I'm in the spotlight (it’s not like that happens every day, but it’s happened occasionally). First, because I'm not very comfortable in that position, but secondly and more importantly I'm always worried about how I will be portrayed in the story. I never want to be a part of a story that extolls my courage for even getting out of bed in the morning, because it just must be so hard being blind, and sadly those types of stories are more common than I'd like to admit. I'm also a bit wary about the "inspiration" angle, because to me what I do isn't inspiring at all, it's normal, it's my life, and it’s all I’ve ever known.

On the other hand I feel like I need to get over that for a couple of reasons, and when Jenny approached me with the opportunity to have a piece done on our triathlon training by local station KARE11 I wanted to do it in hopes that it would not paint me as being inspiring as an individual, but it might inspire somebody who didn’t think they could do physical activities to give it a try. Everybody knows about the staggering statistics of obesity in our country, but not everybody knows that those numbers increase even more among our nation’s disabled population.

Statistics from an article published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, July 2013 issue state that nearly 42% of American adults with disabilities are obese and 9% are extremely obese. In comparison, about 29% of adults without disabilities were found to be obese and 3.9% were identified as extremely obese. This is a statistically significant difference, one I attribute to expectations. I’ve heard countless stories of blind kids who weren’t allowed to participate in physical education classes in school due to “liability reasons.” When children aren’t allowed or encouraged to be physically active there’s a good chance they won’t grow into physically active adults.

I also agreed to the story to hopefully encourage more non-disabled athletes to consider being guides for disabled athletes. I literally could not do a triathlon, or snow ski, or a myriad of other physical activities without somebody to act as a guide for me. I can’t even explain how grateful I am that Jenny and others have given of their time to allow me to pursue my own athletic goals. It’s not only a time commitment for me to train, but it’s also a time commitment for guides, and I’d hope that every disabled athlete who relies on a guide in some capacity would agree that our appreciation for your selflessness and time is immeasurable and I’m forever trying to figure out a way to pay it forward… maybe this is the way, by encouraging people with disabilities to find a physical activity they’re passionate about and give it a go, or think about sharing your passion for your given sport with a disabled athlete.  

Watch the segment and tell us what you think!

Are you interested in becoming a guide for a disabled athlete? Email MAGNA at ask@magnausa.com for more information. 

Bricks and Breakthroughs

Post by Randi Strunk

As I mentioned in our last post, the first open water experience for me was a bit nerve racking. Luckily we have open water swims at a lake nearby on Tuesday nights. So last Tuesday Pete and I ventured out to practice. I asked him on the car ride over how far we were going to swim that night, he said we'd go about three quarters across the lake and turn around and come back, about 2/3 of a mile. I wasn't sure quite how that would go, but he said we have two hours, and we'll take our time. My goal was to just get into a steady rhythm and see how that felt.

Pete asked how I was feeling mentally before we began and I said I was nervous, but ready to get started. We started out and Pete stopped me after a bit to see how I was doing. I was good. I went slow and steady, and we stopped 3 times or so on the way to our halfway point.

Sometimes I'd stop when I felt like I was going way off course, or as much off course as a short tether would allow, but I quickly realized

I have absolutely no sense of direction in the middle of a lake. I have to trust that we're going straight... or straightish, and adjust whenever I feel myself getting too far away from my guide.

We reached the half way point and I was feeling pretty surprised that we got there so fast and that I was doing well cardiovascularly. We turned around and only stopped twice on the way back, the first time so Pete could show me one of the giant buoys they use on the course and once because we hit a patch of weeds, which threw me off a bit.

We ended up only taking around 32 minutes to complete the swim. I was really really excited about that. The kind of excited where you just can't stop smiling for a while. After my first open water experience I wasn't sure how it would go, but this was just the result I needed to keep going and to start to feel really good about this portion of the race. For the first time I really felt like the swim was going to be okay. There are still things to work on, but I feel like I'll be able to make it.

This past Sunday we ventured back out to Square Lake and completed a swim, again around 2/3 of a mile, and a 24 mile bike ride pretty much back to back, with a brief pause to get the bikes ready and to get a quick bit of food in between the two. After the bike however, we did a very brief "brick run" thusly named as your legs feel like absolute bricks. I'm pretty sure I muttered and cursed the entire run. I couldn't believe how terrible my legs felt, it hurt to move, my legs felt so tight and sore. It's like nothing I've ever felt before, and something I'm going to have to work on after every spin class or bike ride. Bottom line, brick runs are horrible, terrible, no good, very bad things... that are probably very good for me.

And The Wetsuit Award Goes To...

Having mastered the pool over the last few months, Randi and I were anxious to get into open water. Anyone that’s ever done a triathlon will likely agree that the sooner you can start open water training, the more comfortable you’ll be on race day. Swimming in open water is nothing like swimming in a pool.

One of my favorite areas to swim and ride is Square Lake, MN, not far from Stillwater. It’s absolutely stunning up there. The lake itself is amazing, super clean and clear, used often by divers and swimmers for training of all kinds. The bike course that we ride is the same one that the Square Lake Half Iron Man uses for it’s race. It gets us out of the city and on to roads where we can open up and haul ass. Of course I’ve never “hauled ass” on a tandem, or with somebody else’s life in my hands. But, whatever.

Randi explains, "This was a series of firsts, the first time I have ever worn a wet suit, and frankly people just deserve an award for getting those things on at all. It felt restrictive at first, but once we got in the water I didn't notice it much anymore. The water was cold, and that combined with the wet suit, the tether, and the fact I wasn't in a pool anymore led to me instantly forgetting everything about swimming. After taking the first couple of strokes we stopped and I could no longer touch the bottom, not going to lie I panicked a bit. I tried to get my mind under control and from then on we swam along the beach where I could stand when we stopped swimming.

I appreciated the tether in the open water it gave me a sense of comfort knowing somebody else was

right there with me. I thought about making the tether longer, but I think after our experience in the water a shorter tether will allow for us to stay closer together and it decreases the chances of people swimming in between us. It increases the chances we’ll clock each other while swimming, but as the taller one of the pair I feel like the positives outweigh the negatives, seriously though I try hard not to give Jenny a concussion. We didn't get much of a swimming workout, but I consider yesterday's ventures into the lake to be a victory because I never got out and it will never be the "first time" again. Swimming is still my weakest of the three disciplines but I'll be doing open water work a couple of times a week now, so hopefully there will be nothing but progress from here." 

What Randi didn't mention about the swim was that we were almost eaten alive by a giant snapping turtle. We were swimming along and I saw this head poking out of the water. He looked right at me. I grabbed Randi and yanked her in the opposite direction. Pete of course approached the turtle with absolute fearlessness, looked under water and determined that he was probably a good 15-20 inches long and probably 30-40lbs. Would have eaten us. True story.

After our swim we headed out to ride the bike course. Again, this tandem thing scares the sh*t out of me. We can get moving at a pretty serious clip, and boy, did we! The first turn out of the parking lot is down a decent sized hill, within seconds I realized we were topping out at about 27 mph – and we were coasting. This is not a speed that I’d hit on my own little bike just coasting. We were moving. Randi says to me "Wow, it's really windy out." I laughed. "No, it's not, that's us going really fast!"

Riding this hilly course was an excellent lesson in communication, for both of us. I'd have to tell her every time I shifting, up or down. I've really had no idea how often I shifted until now, it’s second nature at this point for me. But not any more. I need to be fully aware of every move I’m about to make. The shoulder was wide and relatively even, so that made riding next to the two-lane highway less of a worry. Cars and trucks out there are always respectful of riders despite whizzing by us at 60 mph. So down hill, we hit our top speed quickly and are forced not to peddle because we'd easily over rotate. 

Uphill is where we need to work. I’m so accustomed to having my feet locked to the peddles, that I struggled not to pull up. My feet bounced around the pedals a bit and we never figured out if we could stand up going up hill, I was afraid to try. That’s for another day. In the meantime, we muscled through the hills at a slow 10-13 mph pace which felt like mud. This we will fix. We both have strong legs and while we might be driving a tank, we can still put some power behind it. Pete is kind enough to put my clipless pedals on the bike today so that I can lock me feet in. That will immediately give us more efficiency. I think I’ll also put cages on Randi’s pedals to give her some more efficiency too.

Randi said "Yesterday was also our first time out on the bike riding in a hilly area. I'm starting to feel more comfortable and we're continuing to work on our communication. Jenny would tell me when we were shifting to another gear, but yesterday I suggested she start calling out either "easier" or "harder" to indicate which way she was shifting rather than just calling out "shifting." This helped me a lot because I knew what to expect and I could adjust my peddling accordingly. We did 20 miles the first week out on relatively flat trails and 19 with a bunch of hills. I feel like our time was good and we
were working together well. I think we'll be totally fine for this portion of the triathlon especially since we have 10 weeks of training left."

All said and done, it was a really strong workout. I was stoked to get home and download the data from my Garmin. But of course I downloaded it wrong and lost all of the data. ARGH! I love the Garmin because it will give me distance; speed, elevation, all kinds of great data to geek out about and I wanted to share it here. Oh well, next time. All in all we are both feeling stronger and more confident.

The Stoker and the Captain

Post by Randi Strunk

First and foremost, riding a tandem bike, particularly in the stoker's seat (the back) is completely different than riding a traditional bike. I said in my earlier post if you're supposed to be able to go years without riding and then pick it right back up again I wasn't worried about the biking portion of the triathlon. However, whoever coined that saying "it's like riding a bike" wasn't going from riding a bike to riding a tandem bike. That's not to say it is hard, but it is very different.

Jenny and I are fortunate enough to be able to borrow a tandem from a lovely couple she knows and I was pumped to start riding. I had my shiny new helmet and was ready to go. We found a large, mostly vacant parking lot to get a feel for things before taking the bike on the road. Jenny took a spin on her own first, to get a feel for the bike, the turning radius, etc. Then it was time to begin. We were able to balance quite quickly and the push-off wasn't very difficult to coordinate. We had to establish a procedure for stopping, always an important thing to get right, and we chose to lean to the left when stopping. So whenever Jenny tells me we're slowing down to stop we get our left legs ready because we'll lean to the left before getting off the bike.

The most important thing to note when learning to ride a tandem with somebody is communication. The person in the front, the captain, is responsible for communicating the course ahead. Turns, peddling or stopping peddling, and potentially changes in terrain are all things that need to be communicated to the stoker. You have to work together as a team. You start and stop together, you have to coordinate leans into the turns, and you need to coordinate peddling for maximum efficiency and speed.

I think we were both pretty nervous to get going. I was particularly worried about moving around too much, how that would effect Jenny’s ability to steer and how it would translate into the turns. I think the best piece of advice I got from the folks we’re borrowing the bike from was that the stoker should essentially stay sitting straight up in the turns. If you focus on this, it will counteract your natural instinct to lean away from the turn. I could definitely feel myself wanting to lean the opposite direction we were turning.

For me, the lack of control during the turns was very unnerving. The handlebars on the back of the bike is locked in with no movement at all, and it’s really strange to feel yourself turning and to have absolutely no control over that turn. It’s an exercise in trust for sure. Draw your own conclusions from the fact that I had a death grip on my handlebars most of that first ride. I think I have the easy part though. I just sit back and provide half of the muscle.

I was happy with the first ride, just getting on the bike for the first time was good to get under our belts. I think my previous bike riding experience helped a lot, particularly with balance on the bike and understanding the mechanics of the turns. We’ll see what happens when we get out on the road. We were barely peddling in that parking lot and could pick up speed without even trying so I’m excited to see how things progress as we get more comfortable riding together.

Big thanks to Drew and Janell Frakes for the tandem bike loaner! Drew also works at Gear West Bike and Triathlon in Long Lake, MN - the best triathlon store anywhere. These folks are excellent at outfitting everyone from the novice to professional athlete.

Don't Panic in the Pool

It was about six years ago that I did my first triathlon, and six years feels like a really long time ago. For me I thought that the swim would be the easy part of training, but I learned all too quickly that having grown up swimming in lakes and open water was a heck of a lot different than swimming in a pool. My first swim in an indoor pool was a total disaster. I had a panic attack. Swim cap, goggles, walls in the pool, chlorine, no way out! I thought I was going to die. It took a lot of practice for me to get comfortable in a pool and couldn't wait to get outside and into open water. I do realize that I'm in the minority of triathletes that feel this way.

Pete working on stroke entry with Randi

For Randi and I, the challenge would be different. The little vision she has is limited shadows and color, limited vision means in what and in what terms? Would she be able to see the lines at the bottom of the pool? I had no idea. Would she be able to distinguish the end of the swim lane? Who knows?! Just navigating the maze that is the downtown YWCA locker room was going to be hilarious. Then we were to get in the pool and figure out how to swim knowing that we'd eventually be tethered in some way? Screw that?! I mean, hell yeah! But for someone like me, her tether - what does that mean? It means nothing! I'm not blind. I have absolutely no concept of what she's experiencing.

While Randi said she could be tossed in a pool and not drown, she gave little credit to herself as to  how much she could actually swim. The first attempt was going to tell me everything. We started simple, down and back with the kick-board. It went great. No one died. Keep in mind that I'm not a swim instructor. What I learned about swimming was from an expert, but how teach swimming is not my forte. But as a personal trainer I can break down the motions into basics, and since Randi and I have run together, why couldn't we swim together?

Before we got into the logistics of how we'd tether ourselves together, she just needed to get from one end of the pool to the other, and be able to repeat that a million times. So twice a week for the next few weeks and her stroke-form and efficiency skyrocketed.  And no one drowned. What she was able to command her body to do in the pool had taken me months all those years ago. Her body awareness is that of any athlete, excellent, once she knew what queues to take. However, the very unexpected struggle she's had has been endurance. Swimming takes charge of the whole body as a system, unlike any other sport. Our swims have been shorter and her endurance is catching up. The strength is there. Her form improves every time we get in the pool. And thank goodness she's patient.

The issue of how we'd connect to each other during the race has been the big question. Think about this: we swimming about a mile in open water with a hundred other people, they don't know that we're tied together. We've
done some laps where I would swim in front and she'd tap my feet with each stroke. That seemed reasonable, but we still needed a string or some mechanism to connect us. The open water chaos of a triathlon swim means we MUST be connected or we WILL lose each other. The toe-tap technique was fine, but it limited our ability to actually get our workout completed. For the time being we're swimming back and forth independently, warmup, kick board, pull buoy, sprints, the whole 9 (or rather 50) yards. The great part is, Randi has never panicked, not once. Panicking in the water really sucks. She's trusted that I woke let her drown or at least trusts that the lifeguard at the YW won't her drown.

I think that our first attempt at a tether might be around the ankle. That's right. The ankle. But this seems to make the most sense. This week, our work will be to swim side by side and get our rhythm down, before we tether. We've got about 14-weeks, we'll figure it out.... right?

Who Me? An Athlete?

Post by Randi Strunk

I’ve always been interested in sports, maybe even borderline obsessive over my favorite team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, but I never considered myself an athlete. Sure I spent summers as a kid riding my bike on the 3/4 mile stretch of gravel road between our house and my grandparent’s house. My younger brother and I played whatever was in season baseball, basketball, football. However, my pursuit of athletics never got far past the front yard. I’ve been blind since birth with a little bit of residual vision so when I tried sports that were available in my small town school such as volleyball, basketball, and track I was terrible at them, so I just figured I wasn’t an athlete, no big deal some people just don’t have that sort of talent, right?

 Fast forward to 2012 when a friend of mine said she had started running and she knew a lady who taught Learn to Run workshops. She thought we should take a class together. So four of us got together and contacted Magna Health & Fitness owner Jenny Halstead. We weren’t sure how she would react to the thought of teaching four blind people how to run, or if she’d even consider the idea. There was no hesitation from her though. She said an enthusiastic "yes!", found us volunteer guide runners, and brought lengths of rope we could use as our first running tethers.

When you’re used to a world full of "watch out!", "be careful", and "you can’t", the class and Jenny’s attitude were truly a refreshing experience. Throughout the class Jenny would make comments about my running form, how it was really good, and how I should run a marathon someday. Naturally I thought she was nuts and after a lifetime of thinking I was a terrible athlete I didn’t really believe her, I thought she was probably just being nice.

Randi and Dr. Tara running the TC10 October 2014

Then about six months later I got the urge to train for a marathon. Of course, Jenny was all for the idea. I didn’t end up finishing the marathon due to injury but I did run the TC 10 mile last year. I liked training for a goal. I enjoyed the energy of race day, and the thrill of accomplishment when it was all over. For the first time I set out on a quest for an athletic goal and I achieved it. Over a couple of months training with Jenny, she mentioned how she did triathlons and she bet I would enjoy them as well. Again, I thought she was OUT OF HER MIND. It’s not like running, you’d have to have somebody to guide in the swim portion, you’d need a tandem bike, and then a guide for the run. On top of that, I still wasn’t quite sure I could ever be fit or strong enough to do a triathlon, people don’t just do those on a whim. Somewhere in the back of my mind though, there was a little spark, a tiny thought that I could even when 99% of my brain said it would never happen. Over time training with Jenny she’d make comments about how I was an athlete. Every time that happened, I felt like I’d just aced a test or won an award. Slowly I began to believe her.

It’s a humbling experience to have somebody believe in you enough and with such conviction that you start to believe in yourself. I think great teachers, mentors, and great coaches can inspire that in an individual and I’ve felt that in my time training with everyone at Magna. On a random evening in February I texted Jenny “So when are we going to start training for a triathlon” I also included a winking smiley face so maybe she’d think I was kidding because I was enthusiastic and terrified at the prospect. Naturally, she didn’t think I was joking and responded with a resounding “Hell yeah!” and here we are training for a triathlon. We’re not going for the short sprint distance either, it’s Olympic or bust. I felt good about the running part, and figured if picking up on something you haven’t done in a while is “like riding a bike” I could pick that up again pretty quickly. The swimming part however, was going to be my biggest challenge.

I could save myself should I be thrown in water, but beyond that I had no technique to speak of and breathing properly was something I’d never done...

Swimming in the Blind

"I know how to not drown." That's what I heard Randi say. Taking what I knew to be an already athletic person and turning her into a swimmer was going to be a new challenge for me, especially since I really only learned proper swim strokes about six years ago. In no way am I an expert swimmer. But I am a great coach, but swimming was a different beast that I was excited to take on. Of course that was with the help of my able-bodied partner Pete who swam in high school, college  and has completed countless triathlons and some distance swimming in Lake Superior. He knows his sh*t and is a great coach himself. My swimming experience was from pool to triathlon and back again. Nothing fancier than that.

We don't need another bulls*t inspirational story of how some kick ass blind chick overcame obstacles and trained for a triathlon, what we need is HOW she did it. Completing a triathlon is inspiring on it's own, no matter who accomplishes it. When Randi decided, in her freakish state of overachievement that she wanted to do a triathlon, my only response was, "Ok." 

The research began. Unfortunately, the our resources were limited. The wide world of the internet didn't lend itself to much guidance, for both her, the blind athlete and me, the guide. Being that we're both type-A pains in the asses, we just decided to figure this out on our own. And dog-gone-it we're going to document it so that maybe someone else can benefit from our experience/mistakes/wins/f*ups and more.

What's in a name?

Here we go! Time to start thinking about a business name. I've done some brainstorming and will likely do more. But all of the creative energy in my brain fizzles out completely when it comes to coming up with a business name that isn't dumb. My thought was to run a contest. Who ever comes up with the best name get X-number of training sessions. Is that a good idea? I'm taking suggestions folks!

Taking it to the Street!

I suppose its been a long time coming, but as of this summer I will be a Certified Personal Trainer. I'm leaving Modern Survey, my home of nearly six years, to pursue this dream. To my amazement, I have received nothing but the most genuine and encouraging support from my co-workers, friends, family and most of all my Pete. They are sad to see me go but excited for me as I jump into this new opportunity. I've been in school for about twenty hours a week for the last several months and as of next week will be dropping down to part-time hours with Modern Survey to being the transition. I wanted to announce this great news on my blog so that all of the wonderful people that read this can know that I'm taking this passion of mine to the street!

Deciding to become a Health and Fitness Coach is will be a dream come true.



Below is a little clip of me doing pull-ups. Please note that I have a weight belt around my waste.

The Benefits of Post Workout Nutrition

A largely overlooked area of fitness is the post workout shake or meal. Simply gorging yourself after a workout is not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is the importance of refueling your body with the essentials, especially after long or strenuous activity. Taking in the right kind of nutrition will not only impact the quality and rate of recovery, but also combat fatigue, help you to avoid the "crappy" workouts, and avoid prolonged soreness.

Research continues to show that taking in the right nutrition right after your workout, within 90 minutes or earlier if you can, will dramatically improve recovery time. If I'm good about getting my recovery drink in immediately following my workout I find that I'm not nearly as hungry later on. Personally I like to use Muscle Milk's powered protein, which is a whey isolate. It absorbs quickly and doesn't taste like @*^#*!$.







 So what are some great recovery nutrition ideas? Since everyone has different tastes and tolerances for post workout meals. The best recovery nutrition would be a drink that contains a combination of carbs and protein. Since you just depleted your system you must replenish it. I recommend having a beverage as opposed to a solid food because its most quickly absorbed into you system and you'll gain the benefits of re-hydration at the same time. Having a big ole steak immediately following your workout won't really do you much good in terms of immediate recovery benefits. Luckily, changes are you have the makings for the perfect recovery drink in your house already. The best, most popular and least expensive recovery drink is a glass of chocolate milk!

Stronger Faster Better

Stretch people stretch! I can't tell you how many people I know that simply don't stretch. Whether your someone that sits at a desk for eight hours a day, you run six days a week or you carry kids back and forth from soccer to daycare. Stretch whenever you can, it doesn't take a ton of time and believe-you-me, you'll be happier for it.

First thing in the morning, when you're in the shower, go through several gentle slow neck stretches. Bring your chin down to you chest. Then look side to side, then ear to shoulder and then look up. With the hot water of the shower coming down on your neck you'll feel more refreshed and less likely to strain your neck later in the day. That's simple enough right? Can you manage that?

If you're someone that sits at their desk for hours on end, only getting up only to pee or to get more Mt. Dew, try some dynamic stretching on your way to the WC. Kick your knees up nice and tight a couple of times, sing your arms back and forth, shake things out a bit. Suddenly your muscles will wake up and you won't feel quiet so pooped. Maybe get enough blood flow to your limbs and you'll forgo that Mt. Dew altogether!

When you should you stretch? I would say "always" but you would never want to stretch a pulled muscle. But aside from that, stretch anytime you can, every muscle that you can. While stretching takes a little time and in some cases motivation, the benefits are endless. Why do you think that yoga is so popular? It feels great and it is actually a workout!

If your muscles are already warm from a run or a bike ride, or even from spending the last hour shoveling snow off your driveway, take advantage of this for static stretching. These are long slow movements, no jerks or bouncing, hold the stretch for 20 second or so, then move to another muscle. There's no part of your body that won't benefit from this kind of stretching and the more often you incorporate this into your daily life, the more flexible you'll become.

People don't become less flexible with age, they become less mobile and therefore less flexible. As a kid you ran around jumping off of things, twisting and tweaking every which way, you were flexible. But as you got older and your butt started to mold to the shape of a chair throughout high school, college, work, your couch, the muscles stopped getting used and stopped getting stretched.

One of the best ways to stretch is called PNF stretching (or proprioceptive muscular facilitation), this is one of the most effective forms of stretching and can be the most efficient flexibility training for increasing range of motion. Have you ever noticed that pro-athletes, like baseball players, get stretched out by someone else? This is PNF stretching. When someone else can stretch you out, this is of great benefit to you. PNF stretching allows a muscle to be isolated, you put no effort and exert no force on any other part of your body. This particularly effective with hamstring and quads. To learn more about PNF stretching, check out the Sport and Fitness Advisor site.

Your muscles will always benefit from stretching if you take the time to do it right and do the right stretches at the right time. Form and posture are important elements to keep in mind, you don't want to hurt yourself stretching. Its nice to put a little effort into your stretch so that the pull feels good, but remember that a stretch should never be painful. If you feel pain, stop! If you're uncertain of how to stretch, ask someone that you know, talk to a trainer at the gym or geez louise people, check out a yoga class. One of the best yoga classes that I've been to is at 37th & Grand in Minneapolis called TaraNa. The first time I went in I simply told them that I had no idea what I was doing, I was not only treated with the utmost respect, but also was guided through the session, making it a really kick-ass experience!


Fell free to leave a comment about your own stretching techniques or even leave a question. Out of all the fitness hoopla, this is an important one, and one that will make you stronger, faster and better.

Shifting Gears in a New Season

I remember that at about this time last year my motivation somehow shifted. Getting through winter feels like an accomplishment. But we're quickly reminded that winter is over quite yet. The news reported this morning that we'll have rain in the coming days that will likely turn to snow. The temperature jumps from 50-degrees to 20-degrees and back again. As much as I'd love to jump on my bike and ride outside, ultimately I'm a wimp. It will undoubtedly be cold and damp. I haven't moved to running outside because I'm still afraid of getting assaulted by pot holes and rogue patches of ice. I've confined myself to the safety of the gym for so many months  at this point, that facing the world seems more like summitting Mt. Washington and less like a typical day of working out. I do know that in another month or so I will have forgotten this feeling all-together and there will be nothing that can keep me inside.

As far as training and working out goes, I'm pretty happy with my results as of late. I stopped by TC Running for the first time on Friday evening. I'm at the point where I'm ready to put these feet in to new running shoes. Normally this is a something that I look forward to, but with my foot still looking more like road-kill, I was leery to buy a new pair of shoes. TC Running is a great store, tucked away in Eden Prairie, far from the safety of my Minneapolis, but well worth the drive. I was greeted by smiling faces, both employees and customer's alike. I immediately felt like plopping myself down and hanging out with what felt like old friends. The selection of running shoes was far greater than that of any other running store I've been to and the knowledge of the sales staff was, well, unparalleled. But this isn't an add for TC Running. I left with a pair of Saucony's- a huge deviation from my Asics-loyal feet. I figured I'd run on them a couple of times and see how my feet do.

Saturday morning was greeted by a nice six-mile run in my shiny  new kicks. Grant it I was on a treadmill, but non-the less a solid six miles. My feet felt good. I think I'll give these shoes another run to make sure they work, but I must give kudos to the dude (aka store owner) that recommended them.

Saturday was a killer day of running. To push it just a little bit more I put myself through one hell of a lower body workout. I'm including the actual workout in this blog piece because I will no doubt do it again, and I certainly recommend it!

• Split squats (3 sets of 15 reps on each leg)
• Lateral step-ups, step down into a lateral lunge, 5lb weight on each ankle (3 sets of 12 on each leg)
• Front step-up onto Bosu, step down into squat, 5lb weight on each ankle (3 sets of 12 on each leg)
• Squats against a stability ball on the wall, 6lb medicine ball between knees, 10lb dumbbell curls during the downward squat (3 sets of 15)
• Theraband walk-out (3 sets of 15)
• Single-leg press, (60lbs, 3 sets of 12)
• Standing calf raises (20bls, 3 sets of 12 on each leg)
• Total time: about 1 hour with about :30 rest between sets.

I will no doubt be doing that lower body workout again. Two days later my legs still hurt.

Reasonable Expectations

I've spent the last couple of months thinking or rather feeling like I was in better shape than I really am. Don't get me wrong, my strength far exceeds what it used to be, but my endurance however, is in the tank right now. If you look back into older blog posts you'll see me mention going down to the river with Molly to workout. The great thing about those workouts was that it always kicked my ass, but I could do them. I could keep up and I always felt great after. These workouts consisted of a lot of step-ups, some running, lunges, squats, running up steps sideways, stuff like that. Things that got my heart rate up, made me sweat and were different from the every day swim, bike, run routine. Last night I attempted to a similar workout. The difference was that fifteen minutes into it I was bright red, gasping for air, sweating like a pig and just about ready to puke. That doesn't sound like the Jenny you know, does it? It sure doesn't sound like the Jenny that I know.

It was a huge wake-up call. I'm glad that over the last several months I've been able to focus on strength training, the kind of training that I never had time for before. Now I need to rebuild, from the ground up, my endurance. The run that I did on Saturday was great, but it was nothing compared to what I expect my body to be able to do. Last night freaked me out, to be quite honest. In a matter of months I went from being as strong as a horse to, well... not. I need to increase my endurance training and somehow decrease or augment my strength training. Getting back into the pool will have to be a big part of that. Time to evaluate where I am, take a good hard look at what I need to accomplish and do my best getting there.

If at first you don't succeed, jump on the treadmill

My intention was to get in a nice long cardio workout before my strength training routine yesterday. I was all set to slip into the big class room, jump on a spin bike and hide out for as much time as my partner would allow. As it turns out, there was a class going on. Crap, I still need the cardio. Reluctantly I moseyed over to a treadmill. I looked at it, it looked back at me (long pause) and I thought back to the last time our paths crossed. I lasted ten minutes and spent the next week or more paying for it with my foot aching for days. Limping should never be considered a reward. So yesterday, as I looked down the barrel of this treadmill I thought, "Its me or you buddy, I'm sick of this bullshit." I started off at a nice walking pace and deduced that I would do intervals of one minute walking and five minutes running for thirty minutes, or for as long as my lil legs would take me. I cranked up the speed to 5.0 (10 min mile) this was good. Five minutes into it I didn't feel like walking. I kept going. My 5:1s were now going to be 7:1s. But when I got to seven minutes I felt great. I didn't feel winded, my legs didn't ache, my foot wasn't screaming out in sheer pain! This is good. I took the speed up to 6.0 (9 min mile) and held it there for the next twenty minutes. I kept repeating to myself that I felt great. I'd adjust my posture accordingly, loosened up my hips, watched my breathing (not that one can actually watch their own breathing, but you know what I mean). And as I finished out 3 miles at a speed of 7.0,  somewhere around 30 minutes I was beaming. This is NOT a stellar time by any stretch, but for me, having not run any real distance since last October, this was remarkable. That treadmill was mine.

Quinoa with Broccoli and Carrots

Holy mother of yummy!

1 1/2 cup Quinoa (rinse well before cooking)
1 can of chicken broth (low sodium)
1 cup water
3 carrots chopped
2 cups broccoli
pinch of Kosher salt
1 tsp of olive oil
Fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup (or less) fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Bring water and broth to a boil. Toss in the rinsed Quinoa and cover. Let this cook for about 10 minutes or until Quinoa is tender (not mushy). Once cooked strain. Put Quinoa back in casserole dish.
Steam carrots and broccoli separately. Add steamed carrots and broccoli to crock pot and fold in with Qunioa. Add a pinch of Kosher salt, pinch of fresh ground pepper, splash of olive oil. Fold in Parmesan cheese. Cover and let stand. Serve warm.

Strength of Speed?

Its becoming more and more evident to me that while I may not be able to run right now, I can certainly build strength. Over the last couple of months I've been focusing on strength training. Getting into the gym for hardcore circuits, core work and muscle building. Now I don't want to be a no-neck, I do know that my muscles could definitely be stronger. A good measure of this strength has been pull-ups. First of all, I learned that there is a huge difference between a chin-up and a pull-up. HUGE difference. A chin-up targets the shoulder muscles, with help from the elbow flexors including biceps, which in my mind makes this far easier than a pull-up. Because the hands are pronated, facing away from you, the muscles targeted are largely your back muscles, making this far more difficult.

When I first began this strength training regime I was barely able to do one pull-up. Yesterday I completed two sets of six pull ups. The nice thing is that my muscles are strong and lean, I'm not getting bulky from this work. What I am getting is a feeling of being much much stronger. I feel that when I am able to go back to running, biking and swimming at a comfortable pace, I'll be doing it with a much stronger body. Pretty damn cool if you ask me. I should put some before and after pictures up!

The Pyramid is Dead!

On January 31, 2011 the US Department of Agriculture released the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. Maybe this 112-page document isn't a real page-turner, but it tells us should be no surprise. In the press release issued on the same day, the USDA acknowledges that two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese. Stop and think about that number. Two out of every three Americans! Do you know what it takes to become obese? There are five agreed upon classifications for Body Fat Percentages, and they are different for men and women, as would be expected. A women's body fat needs to be more than 30% to be considered obese, and 1/3 of Americans are just that! If you weight 190lbs, and your percentage of body fat is 30% this means that you are more than 57% fat.

There are various ways to measure body fat on each person. The least expensive way would be to have a Skinfold test done. This is a simple technique where a trained professional walks around to various parts of your body, and using calipers, measures the thickness of skinsfolds at various points. Sounds like fun doesn't it?! While this might not the best method, it is certainly the most cost effective approach and does yield results that can be measured over time.

So, back to food and the latest guide issued by the USDA. What's the big difference between this guide and the good ole food pyramid? Take a look at the image below. Notice that the majority of our food intake was supposed to be breads, cereal, pasta and rice; six to eleven servings a day! What is amazing still is that grains ranked higher than fruits and vegetables. Really?

One of the most important messages that this new guide is telling us is to eat foods that we can identify, meaning, not processed and simply eat less of it. One of the fastest ways to lose weight and to keep it off is by monitoring calories in vs. calories out. How many calories are  you eating on a daily basis and where are those calories coming from? Are they empty calories that leave you unsatisfied and even more hungry? Or are they calories that are packed with nutrients that your body needs to sustain itself?

Lose a pound a week!

There are 3,500 calories in one pound of body fat. That's right! 3,500. If you decreased your calorie intake by 500 calories a day, just 500, that would result an approximate loss of one pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories). Now combine that with a little exercise. On average, 30 minutes of cardio activity will burn 250 calories. Start doing the math and you've created a simple, sustainable weight-loss plan. It does help to have help, support and guidance along the way, but its not impossible to create a healthy lifestyle without going overboard. Take a look at the latest USDA guidelines, couple that with a little un-commonsense (because, let's face it, there is no such thing as commonsense) and dog-gone-it you might see some great changes!

Helpful? Not helpful? Do you disagree?

Food Diary

How telling is your diet? If you were asked to write down everything you ate for one week, and be completely honest, how do you think you'd feel about the results? Well, that's what I'm about to do. My relationship with food is challenged at best. I know that my perceptions of what I eat are not accurate. I know that I think  that I eat healthier that I do. But what I think and what I actually do  are two different things. Not only am I going to write down everything that I eat, but I'm going to write down the time that I eat it, and the amount I consume to the best of my ability. At the end of the week, I'm going to post it for all the world to see, analyze, scrutinize and pick apart. I'm hoping that I learn a thing or two about what I'm doing right and where I can make improvements.

What's Your Body Type?

There are three distinct body types out there and whether you know it or not, you're one of them. Whichever one you are, you're stuck with it. That's right. What you're born with, you're stuck with. No matter how hard you battle genetics, at the end of the day you are either an Ectomorph, Mesomorph or an Endomorph. What (*&@%^& did you call me?!

 

We all know Ectomorphs. These are the long skinny folks that no matter what they do, they couldn't gain weight to save their lives. This doesn't necessarily mean that they are healthy. There are plenty of skinny-fat people out there, but these people just carry it differently. An Ectomorph is not naturally powerful and no matter how much they try they will always have to work very hard for every ounce of muscle, every bit of strength. That's not to say that it can't be done. In fact if you think about distance runners, the best in the world are Ectomorphs. You don't often see really stocky marathon runners breaking world records. So what are some of the great traits of an Ectopmorph? Flat chest, lean, small shoulders, thin, and in some cases could be considered fragile.

Could you be a Mesomorph? These are the folks that seem to have the best of both worlds. Immediately described as athletic (bonus!), hard body (heck yeah), great posture (hello!), and of course these folks gain muscle more easily than their cousins the Ectomorphs. The majority of Mr. Universe winners were actually Mesomorphs. Downside? Most of the population would actually fall into this middle category, but with our nation's greatest past time consisting of extremely sedentary lifestyles, this muscle quickly turns to fat, the posture slowly slumps forwards and what should be a nice cubicle shaped face is now a round "cute face." On another note, these particular body types tan well... what does that have to do with anything? Nothing, just though I'd throw it in there.

Finally we have the Endomorph, this soft bodied, round physiqued person has a very difficult time gaining muscle. They are not lean and no matter what they do, they will never be the sleek long legged marathon runner. Interestingly the arms and feet of an Endomorph are comparatively small and they have large heads and round faces. 

So why the hell would you care which body type you were? Well, for one thing, setting reasonable expectations and goals for what your body is capable of achieving is one thing. If I'm a 107lb Ectomorph is it reasonable for me to want to be a body builder? Probably not. I'd struggle day after day to put on big bulging muscles only to be left disappointed and possibly turn to steroids, which by the way is never a solution. That's not to say that there aren't plenty of Endomorph's that successfully compete in triathlons, the difference is that they simply have to work harder than an Ectomorph that is in comparable health. 

Wanting to be healthier, have a great body, awesome physique is a completely reasonable goal no matter what your body type is. You are going to find the greatest success and ultimately satisfaction in your efforts if you understand what it is your body is capable of and set reasonable goals working those particular strengths. Never underestimate the power of setting goals, attaining those goals and then patting yourself on the back!