training plans

wendy / August 20, 2020

Strength Training for Triathletes

Many athletes wait till they are 'out of season' to engage in a strength training program. They may be confused with what movements, sets and reps to do which …

wendy / July 7, 2020

Attention triathletes: When you swim, use your kick for balance, not propulsion.

Do triathletes need to strengthen their kick to become a better swimmer? I discuss How to swim without kicking on the Endurance Hour YouTube channel. When I …

wendy / June 12, 2020

Triathlon Then and Now

I remember my first race like it was yesterday. The summer after my freshman year in college, my teammate asked me to do the swim part of the Great Lakes …

wendy / March 3, 2019

Recovery Nutrition 101

Submitted by Cindy Dallow, t2coach, Ph.D, RD. If you’ve been working out for any length of time, you’ve undoubtedly heard about recovery drinks and snacks. But …

wendy / November 25, 2016

10 Reasons Triathletes Should Learn the “other 3” Competitive Swim Stroke

While watching the NY city marathon an athlete I coach texted me “I love watching the marathon majors, I may be a bit weird that I can watch start to finish and …

wendy / November 16, 2016

The Triathlon Talk Show with Scientific Triathlon

If you're just getting started in triathlon, you just have to check out yesterday's That Triathlon Show interview with coach Wendy Mader. We talk about how …

The training went really well and I was very prepared for the event. Thank you so much!

Adrienne

Beginner Olympic

Good afternoon Wendy, I wanted to send you an update on my recent marathon. I used your beginner marathon training plan, and was able to successfully complete my first marathon. I had never run a road race before my marathon in Phoenix, Arizona this past weekend. Nonetheless, I followed your plan to a tee and finished the Marathon in 4 hours and 34 minutes. I really enjoyed the training, and the way it was set up. The marathon was by no means easy. I came out charging probably too fast, and the first half of the marathon went by at a great pace, and I was really enjoying myself. With that being said, I hit a wall at 15 and it was all downhill from there. Not in a good way though! The last 8 miles were some of the hardest/most painful moments of my life, but I got through them. Only suggestion I would make for the training is that the strength training exercise demos were hard/impossible to find at some points. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this introduction into the world of running, and hope to pursue more marathons in my future. Thanks, Wendy!!! Best Regards,

Will

Marathoner

Dave and Wendy, Thank you so much for taking the time to analyze and put together my personalized run and swim analysis! I'm so appreciative of this and feel extremely fortunate to have found your channel and websites. The tips make sense and are very helpful. I will be working on the tips you prioritized in the next few months and I will be taking a closer look at your training plans. Thanks again and take care!

Pam

Swimmer

I was following your program nicely but then got plantar fasciitis and had to stop training for a few months. I was not able to finish the program unfortunately. Hoping to try again another time as I was enjoying the variety of workouts to keep it interesting

Heidi

Couch to 70.3

Hey Wendy: I thought your program was great. For the first timer, it was helpful as your videos covered really great information. Training was going well until a bulging disc in my neck forced me to stop training in September so I missed the IM in October. Needless to say I was very bummed. On the upside, I do feel the training helped me along the way and I'm glad I purchased it. It was nice to have the plan and simply follow it. Very busy with work and the plan made the training easier to manage. With the exception of missing the IM, I have no dislikes of your program or the experience. Seeing a surgeon soon and planning to get back at it. Thank you for reaching out. -Eric

Beginner Ironman

Eric

I completely Galveston 70.3 I love all your videos and these workouts are great. The workouts were hard and awesome!!

Craig

Beginner 70.3

I am very happy with the training build up and proudest of the 22 mile run I did on large parts of the course a few weeks ago. I am also proud of Eric H, I never imagined he could beat me as he started so much later in life and he really knocked it out of the park in my opinion.

Eric

Marathoner

Amazing experience…. The Maui gods were looking down kindly today… Water conditions were perfect… Practically no surf, and just a bit of current. Just a pity I’m such a crap swimmer as I think I finished in my swim place!!! Race was great from start to finish… I probably took it a bit too easy at the start of the bike, but I wasn’t sure what to expect. It wasn’t as technical as I expected… Lots of climbing at the start, great downhills on the second half. Also my t1 could have been faster… But I took my time a bit… Wanted to be sure I had everything together before I headed out. My right knee hurt towards the and of the bike… And a lot on the run… But the faster I ran the less pain i felt… So it was good motivation to push on! The run course was great… I’d love to have run it when I wasn’t so tired… 23rd isn’t exactly an amazing result… But I’m super happy… It was are really good race for me… Nutrition was perfect… 4 gels on the bike, hydration pack with 2 high-5 tablets and 2 bottles of water/ Gatorade from the aid stations. 1 gel on the run… Plus lots of water/ Gatorade at each station. Only complaint was my socks kept bunching up in my shoes… Note to self… Either run without socks, or buy new ones for trails! Thank you so much for all your support!!! I really would never have made it without your superb coaching!!

Xterra Worlds - Martine

Triathlete

I followed you during your IM Hawaii race and listened to your podcasts leading up to your race. Very inspirational! Thanks again, Rick

Rick

Triathlete

Hi Wendy, I did it!! I completed my first 70.3 in NC! I felt great on the swim, wish I could have gone harder on the bike (flat courses are tricky with headwinds), but had fresh legs until about mile 10 on the run. I finished with a smile and lots of gratitude. Thank you for the plan. Can’t wait to start planning next year.

Christina

Beginner 70.3

2022 Chattanooga 70. 3 Report from Sean

Triathlete

Triathlon Report, 5/22/2022 70.3 Ironman, Chattanooga TN, W60-64: 42 Circumstances of the day felt very warm and humid. Because I was slow getting into the water (an hour after the start) it was even warmer. Temp @ Start 75F, Finish 90F, water 73. The water felt very warm and I was overheated once on the bike it was better. The run was brutally hot. Results Finish: 6:45:41 / 18th:42 finishers in 60-64 (Time/place) Splits: Swim (1.4ml): 39:53 /16 T1: 8:21 Bike: 3:27 / 23 T2: 8:24 Run: 2:22:05 /8 Gear Swim Gear: Roka Maverick long wetsuit, tri suit, Speedo goggles. Bike Speed Concept 7.5, torpedo bottle, seat bag, Shimano shoes w/ XT clips, POC race day helmet Run Shoes Hoka Rincon 3, toe socks Changes for next event: Backpack/duffel for my staging, 2x bottle cage. Check into the event earlier if possible. I had a 1:00 check-in on Saturday. What did I learn: I would like a bottle cage to be able to hold bottles given at aid stations. I was glad I had brought my own gel cubes. What worked well: My bike, my kit, my nutrition, What are you proud of: I finished strong. I felt I was the only one running the last several miles. What didn't go well: The bottle on my bike with a straw was funky and I couldn't refill it without Stopping. I am still really slow at transitioning. How well did you respond? I thought I responded well. The rain held off and it was just really not and humid. I took ice and walked each aid station for water and sometimes nutrition. What are areas for growth? I definitely could speed up my transitions. I need to work on open water swims and okina What were your thoughts and feelings during the race? I thought it was tun and how much I enjoy events like this. I wanted to be conservative so I could finish successfully What was or was not effective about your mental game? I think my mental game Is good. How did your pre-race planning help or hinder you? I did my best to follow my program and likely will not travel for a month leading up to an event, it worked out fine but it was not ideal. I definitley like a hotel room the night before and after to stretch out. What was your fueling and hydration strategy? Did it work? I ate a big bowl of oatmeal and granola when I got up with a banana and coffee so I was able to do my morning business. I filled my bike bottle with skraitch in the am and once on the bike I finished that before my first aid station at mile 15 there I took a water bottle and drank most of it keeping it in my back pocket. I also ate a banana, mile 30 I took a fig bar ad half banana and a bottle of Gatorade at full strength which was way too sweet. I ate my gels and the at mile 45 took a water bottle and fig bar which I did not eat the fig bar nor drank much of the water. At the transition I emptied my pockets and during the run took water and sometimes Gatorade mixed. I had coke at two stops and an orange and bananas. I stopped to pee just after mile 10 which reinforced I was hydrated. All in all I am pretty happy. A little sunburned this am. Thank you Wendy!

Chattanooga 70.3 Kathy

triathlete

Hi Wendy! I’m ahead of schedule, training for a Sept 27 Ironman 70.3. Just did a brick workout, prepping for a June 13 sprint tri, my first triathlon ever (400m swim, 15k bike, 5k run). See results attached. I feel good and strong, ready to keep training and working towards my goals. Thanks for your help and guidance thru the FB group and the videos. Brian

Brian D.

Triathlete

Sunday 4:30 am headed out to the race. It was raining, gloomy and foggy but what ‘cha gonna do? You can’t pick the weather on race day, right? Off to the race we go…. Set up transition, got my game face on then headed for the water. It started raining harder and harder but thank goodness no lightening or thunder! Swim- The water was ROUGH! The race announcer said to everyone “IF YOU HAVE NOT PRACTICED IN OPEN WATER TODAY IS NOT THE DAY TO START. DO NOT GET IN THE WATER IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN IN OPEN WATER”. He wasn’t kidding! Actually it was kind of fun swimming in the rough water. I don’t know if it was because I finally feel confident in the water or if I just felt so relaxed. Either way, I was ok in the water. We had to climb on a ladder to get out of the water, that was cool! My swim time was the slowest of the year but I was not the least bit bothered because I knew I swam as hard as I could in the rough conditions. As a matter of fact, I don’t think anyone swam super fast. The first place winner in my age group only swam like 8 minutes faster than me. ~ 45 ‘ in the water T1- faster than usual but still needs to be faster J I got to be able to get my wetsuit of faster. Bike- Well the roads were frigging wet and flooded in some spots. The rain was coming down so hard at times it was like little pellets hitting me. It kind of hurt! I still raced as fast as I could in those conditions. We had some hard turns where we had to slow almost to a stop. The route was rolling hills the entire ride. It was really pretty and fun. I enjoyed the ride very much despite the rain and slippery roads. As I rode I started looking at women’s legs to see their age (LOL!). I starting knocking off the 50+ women one by one. I knocked what I thought was the 2nd or 3rd place gal off at about mile 50. I felt strong on the bike and I know I could have rode harder if not for the rain. I was very pleased with my bike ride- 19.3 mph, 145 watts J right on target with what we discussed my power should be. I took in 3 bottles of nutrition on the ride. I was not going to have another nutrition fail! I think my bike time was ~ 2:54 T2 – time was slow but that is because I had to use the bathroom AND the silly volunteers let me run a good 100 yards in the wrong direction before they sent me in the right direction (ARGH!) Run- was feeling great on the run. I paced a 8:45 mile for the first 7 miles then my right leg cramped hard. I was able to work through the cramp and continue to run. At about mile 9 I started to feel very dizzy. I couldn’t see straight, my eyes were super blurry. I thought maybe it was the rain but I knew something was not right. I saw my family at mile 9 and told them I didn’t know if I could finish. They encouraged me to walk the rest and finish. I carried on running 2 minutes then walking 1 minute. Finally made it to mile 12.5 then kicked ass to the finish. SO GLAD TO BE FINISHED. That was without a doubt the worst running route ever! The sidewalks were slanted, yes slanted and slippery. We ran on wet, muddy grass. It was like a slip and slide contest, lol! I imagine the run would have been just fine if we hadn’t had so much rain and it was what it was. Suck it up buttercup, right? I think my run time ended up being ` 2:10? Can’t remember. Just know it was slower than I wanted but was so glad to finish because I was feeling really bad. Finish line- My goal was 6 hours. I thought since I had to walk / run the last 4 miles I would come in around 6:10. When I came down the hill to the finish line and saw 5:57 on the timing clock I about lost it. I literally burst into tears! I knew there were only 2 50+ women in front of me so not only did I make my goal of under 6 but I knew I had placed at least 3rd! I wobbled across the finish line where I received a medal and surrendered my timing chip then promptly did a face plant into the grass…. Yep, I passed out. Last I heard was some women say “She is going down, catch her”. My BFF saw me wobble across the finish line, knew something was wrong. She raced to come get me and got there just as I passed out. I fell into her legs. It was a weird experience. I could hear people talking. The paramedics were flipping my body like a pretzel. I came to then they loaded me on a golf cart and took me to an ambulance. Took my vitals… heart rate and blood pressure was good, sugar level was 59, OUCH! I had to take in some gross sugar crap and get my sugar level up to 80 before they let me leave (about 15 minutes). Once I got my sugar level up I was like a spring chicken! I was just fine! I need to figure out why this happened. Never happened before. I don’t really eat a lot of sugar, don’t want to start eating sugar either. I didn’t change anything on my nutrition plan. May need to talk to my doctor about this? BEST PART OF THE DAY, 3rd place! YAY! Wendy, it has been such a fantastic year training with you. I accomplished all of my goals and then some this year. You are simply an amazing coach, friend and inspiration. Thank you so much for pushing me to be my best, for inspiring me to try harder and for listening to me when I needed a friend to hear me out. I am looking forward to training with you again next year. Kona is the goal and I know you will create the plan to get me there and I know I will do the work. Thank you for just being so amazing.

Boulder Ironman Vicki

his has been one hell of a year – a lot of lows and a lot of highs. I have one heck of an amazing coach, thank you for dealing with ALL the lows Wendy! Stoked for next year with where I have come physically and mentally this year! The one thing I wanted this year was to 3peat as the series champ at the Racing Underground series. It was a small goal, but one that after the first race I wasn’t sure I could get. I got 3rd but had been 10 minutes slower than I ever had on that course! The second race, well I fell short of getting a podium by a minute or so. Super humbling and something I think was long overdue and needed to happen! I went into this last race feeling stronger than I had all season but knew this feeling was the way I should have felt at my first race, not my last. Best swim in 2 years but still need work!

Jennifer

triathlete

Wendy Mader thank you for being such a great coach! I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am without your guidance The first race of the year and a 3rd place finish. I was leading off the bike with the 2nd overall AG bike split and then I got run down. What a great way to start off the season!

BJ - Colorado Triathlon 2019

Athlete

Hi Wendy, Wow, this swim analysis so helpful. Thank you very much! Shelley

Shelly

Athlete

Hi Wendy! This is great!! I have never had a full analysis done on my running! I have had my PT try and teach me to “run from my glutes”. I tend to go to the track to work on my form. Its funny because your video makes me feel overwhelmed with running mechanics like people do about swimming. Haha The treadmill was set at 6.0 (10:00 miles) I have been doing a lot of strength training.

Vicki B

Athlete

The swimming is becoming easier as my stroke has become more efficient. Your videos are very helpful and the swim drills are paying off. I'll never be a great swimmer but I would like to be more efficient so my bike and run are better.

Dean P.

Athlete

PDF is excellent and so are the videos. working my way through them now.

Karen W

Athlete

You know you have a great coach when, after a big race & taking some time off you realize how much you miss your sport(s)! I had a great run last night and I can't wait for the next one.... Huge props to coach Wendy Mader!! Looking forward to more of this in 2019!

Sarah

I know I am only a few days in, but I am really liking the Swim Faster in 30 Day workouts. Great program!

Stacy

My three main goals leading up to the race were to visualize the perfect race which I think I heard from one your podcasts, someone else told me to enjoy every moment, and lastly, to trust my training. Best advice ever! I had the best possible outcome and I really wouldn't change a thing. Sure, when I plan my next one I'll consider possible changes, but at this moment there is little I would change. I'm riding the Ironman high! Thanks for all your support and advice.

Kathy

Athlete

Big thanks to Wendy Mader for getting me ready for IM Texas. Obviously working. Thank You

Karen

Athlete

I used my legs less and keep them together. Under the water, this helped both keep my position and I got less tired. I could understand more after I see your underwater swimming video

Swim Video Analysis

It is fantastic to see improvement by only changing my hand entry. No shoulder pain, no high effort. Such an efficient way to swim stronger. Thanks for the tips that you have given me. It was never that easy to swim 200's at that speed. Neco

Swim Analysis

Athlete

I admire your motivation, hard work and determination...my hero!!! Because of your enthusiasm and smile, you make it look easy!!!

Connie

Thank you, Wendy Mader, for the most incredible training experience this year. You are an amazing coach, friend and supporter. 3 PR's, 1 podium finish and a lot of tears (LOL!). You truly are amazing. Thank you <3

Beginner Ironman Plan. Went right to plan, your programmer is excellent. P.M.

Phillipe M.

Thank you for a fun season!

Stephanie

Athlete

Advanced Ironman Training Plan I feel great! My training has gone very well and am in a better place than Boulder thanks to your plan. Body is in great shape and ready to race. My goal is under 13:00 but some days I feel like I can put up a 12:00. I know the final 13 miles will determine my time, the better I can run and manage pain the faster I will go. Thanks for all the help and training plan, its been tough but worth it. Thanks again!

Brad

Athlete

Thanks, Wendy. I really appreciate your FB site, podcasts and videos on youtube. It's been an interesting year using your sprint training program and then transitioning to your 70.3 ironman program. I was concerned that I wouldn't have a good baseline but the Sprint training and the racing were actually quite beneficial for me and my wife. We were both working 50+ hours so we were constantly rearranging the training days. My wife's an ER nurse and she prefers the action that the night shifts provide and bc we try to train together our training schedule requires some changes. Again thanks for all your support ...we have already signed up for Florida 70.3 in April. We are going to use your 70.3 Thanks again and Semper fi, Dean

Dean P

athlete

I ran cross country and track in college and after graduation wanted to try out duathlons. I knew very little about cycling training, so I started working with Wendy. Her training programs were perfect for me as I entered the world of competitive multisport by focusing on continuing to improve my strength (running) while balancing improving my novice ability in cycling. Her programs are also very flexible to adapt to how your feeling and when life interferes with training. Overall I would recommend t2coaching to anyone, at any ability level, interested in multisport coaching!

Derek W

Athlete

"I have gotten in good enough shape that is I was to race a half ironman this weekend, I would be ok...that says a lot of good things about your training program

Tim C.

athlete

Hey Wendy, I put together a few thoughts on the race... please see attached. In general, I’m happy with how things went... definitely room for improvement and lots of work to be done... most importantly though I feel like I’m back in the saddle and super charged to stay there! Thanks so much for all your support and fabulous coaching!!! -M.N.

Martine N

athlete

Thanks Coach!!! I am still trying to process everything! Everyone is saying that the weather was worse than Ironman 2008. Between the lightning and being terrified of riding the Keene descent in the rain and being SO cold and wet, I would say it's the hardest Ironman I have ever done! My riding was so sporadic... I was pushing hard to stay warm, then shaking so much from the cold that I couldn't push. AND I couldn't see my bike computer in the rain! I started singing out loud to myself to stay sane :) I just kept remembering the quote you posted on my wall, and saying it over and over again! "You may not be able to control every situation and its outcome but you can control your attitude and how you deal with it" I knew you set me up to finish strong, even with the wild weather! Even though I stopped at like every aid station from Mile 18 to the Finish Line trying to get rid of the cramps, I ran as fast as I could bear to between them! When I couldn't sprint to the finish line, I knew that I'd left it all out there, and that's what I hoped for! Thank you SOOO much for seeing the potential in me - I still can't believe I did the Boston Marathon and IMLP only 3 months apart! I couldn't have done it without you!

Sara M

athlete

Thanks for all you do with Dave on your podcast. You always have a lot of great information and I love tuning in.

Jarad

Thank you for a wonderful 2017, let's do it again in 2018!

2018 Gold All World Athlete

Hi Wendy & Dave, Just wanted to say thanks for providing a excellent product weekly. I'm new to the sport and really enjoyed listening to your podcast when out training (of course with only one earbud in and on quiet roads). You guys have helped me achieve my personal goal for this year completing a Olympic distance (about 3 weeks ago) and a 70.3 - Western Sydney last weekend. I plan on doing some club races in the near future when working and time permits. I will contact you, Wendy probably in the next year for a swim plan as hope there are some good gains (start of this year had never swum more than a lap of a pool but can now swim 3.5 K but just slowww) and no real coaching in town. Now to keep the balance (wife and kids happy/attention), jobs to complete the home, then back into it next year. Once again thanks. Nick

Nick

I wanted to send you a quick note to say Thank you for all the assistance and training advice you've given me. As I mentioned I am probably in the best shape I have ever been in including just before special forces selection.

Rob

We would both look forward to partnering with you on a coaching plan to get us ready for that race and possibly some off-season base building drills etc., if you had availability. Your ability to work with athletes and get them race ready is clearly awesome!

Brian

Reminders that day-I love this sport and the people in it. Most importantly, I have the will to overcome. I was scared getting in the water without warming up, but kept calm and focused on strokes. I was tired and hot on the run, enough to want to stop moving, but kept that easy jog. What a beautiful experience in AZ! Finish-6.48. Thank you for the coaching plan (I never swam that much for my Full Ironman training, yikes!), your thoughtful feedback, and inspiration! You provided so much education.

Lisa

Wendy just to say thank you for your youtube clip on body rotation and balance.I have spent years ploughing up and down swimming too flat and "grabbing the water" and have spent years watching endless technique advice on the net. I had a light bulb moment watching your piece on extending deeper and how that helps rotation, balance and catch and within 3000m can really feel the stroke for the first time and see the progress (times wise).Simple, practical, genius!! Thanks Rob :)

Swim Progress

Wendy just to say thank you for your youtube clip on body rotation and balance.I have spent years plowing up and down swimming too flat and "grabbing the water" and have spent years watching endless technique advice on the net. I had a light bulb moment watching your piece on extending deeper and how that helps rotation, balance and catch and within 3000m can really feel the stroke for the first time and see the progress (times wise).Simple, practical, genius!! Thanks, Rob :)

Rob

Athlete

You have no idea how happy I am to have you as a coach again!! I am smiling!!

Gina

Athlete

"You know what...I am happy that I finished because it was rough. So many things out of my control today and so many issues. My mind is so clear though right now and I'm going to do something I don't normally...I am gonna post thoughts on FB and then I'm going to write you a kickass race report. But here are a few: waviest water I have ever swam in (very happy with swim time); power meter did not work (took to get looked at yesterday, they changed battery and it worked last night BUT not today. So I went by HR.; wind from hell on the bike...considering the pros were 30 min slower than normal, I feel pretty damn good about the bike; nutrition was off--with the hills and wind, I couldn't manage it well (my bad); suffered on the run because I went out too fast...then the nutrition caught up with me and I puked...so I walked 2 miles. Hardest run in an IM I've done. Garmin do report 1000 in gain...hard to do when you feel beat up ;) Lastly, I know for a fact that had you not been my coach, supported me the way you did for this race...I would NOT have done as well as I did. Mentally I would have been shit...and I admit, I was shit for a while but then I my mind became so clear...and I'm happy with how I did. I'll get to Kona one day, some way or another and the only reason I would expect that is because you are my coach."

Nicki L

Ironman Athlete

Just wanted to say thank you so so much to my amazing coach lady Wendy Mader for dealing w my crazy and getting me to Boulder with barely 3 months of training! I had one goal today really - race healthy! And that I did I'm not sure I told you, but the week leading up to this I felt like I had this! This first time in any half I felt like "I can do this and smash it!" And then I got sick! Kansas or steelhead I didn't not feel this way and Boulder, I did! I felt strong and like heck yeah! Getting sick messed me up not mentally but physically! Mentally I didn't let it affect me and I'm way proud of that! 2 minute PR in my run from the other halves! Only one minute short of my stand alone half time! 2:04 and change! I'm really starting to like this half distance A LOT! I've never smiled so much on the bike and enjoyed a race more than I did this half! For me, hands down the hardest, but the best! And happy that I stopped on the bike to help a guy and stopped on the run to give a guy salt who was hurting! Wouldn't change it for the world! I can't wait to race it again next year and kill it and can't wait to get stronger to see how I tackle a full next year!!! Ahhhh talking about it again gets me super excited! I haven't felt like this in ages! It's great! Thanks again for all you do. You are seriously the best ever!!! JG

Boulder 70.3 Jennifer

Triathlete

Swim: 43:47 Bike: 3:46.21 Run: 3:23.17 Overall I felt strong all day, happy and no issues with stomach or feeling lightheaded. I’m disappointed with my times- and definitely felt like I was going faster than I did, especially on the bike and swim. I didn’t wear a wetsuit- just Tri suit and Roku wetsuit shorts. Water was perfect temp and I wasn’t cold at all. I was in the last heat of the whole race and water was very sloshy and had a few bumping issues with people along the way. Passed people in age group ahead. Need to do more open swims since this was my first. I don’t think I’ll be happy with my swim until I get 39 minutes and I know I can do it. I felt really good on the bike and it was a beautiful ride and nice mix of steep hills and flat. I think maybe it’s just that I haven’t been outdoors on bike as much as should have between rain and work and scheduling but I need to make it a priority. My bike from Florida 70.3 was 20 minutes or more faster and although I know it was an easier course, I definitely need to shave time off- was slower than my ride last weekend too? Maybe I was looking around too much?! Regardless I’m okay with it because I had no flats or issues and felt great the whole time so I’ll take it! Run was well, disappointing but I also know my body in the heat and I just feel that I can’t really run or push myself when it is that hot and the sun that strong with no shade. The loop was rough- knowing that people were on their last loop and I was just starting my first was hard mentally. But I just tried to keep a good walking pace and ran the little downhill sections and the last lap really tried to pick it up and slowly jog/fast walk. If not for the sun, I do think I could have ran more. My body and legs were not an issue- just my head getting too hot/face. Wore a hat and put ice in and that helped. Nutrition wise I took two salt pills every hour starting on the bike. Had some potato chips on bike, package of gu chomps, 2 gels, bottle of Gatorade and 3 bottles of water. On run, had one gel, lots of coke and ice cubes and a few orange slices and pretzels, water. Thanks for everything Wendy!!”

Boulder 70.3 Kristi

triathlete

What a surprise! My first ironman was Florianopolis, may 28th. My final time was 11:05. With a 3:45 marathon. I tried to follow your plan every week with all the videos and race tips, specially the nutrition plan. It was very usefull. I also studied from Joel Friel's Going Long. Unfortunatly the weather the day of the race was awfull. Full rain in the bike leg and in the last part of the marathon. I was afraid of a crash all the time in the bike. I thought that the brakes wont work in downhills. Fortunately all did well. I will like to thank you, Dave and all your team for your excellent program. Training for a full distance rece, with all those week hours is very tough. You have to negociate work (I'm a surgeon), and family commitments. It almost cost my marriage... But anyway it was an experience. I think that it want be posible to me to prepare more than 1 race per year. My next race will be a 70.3. I don't have a date yet but for sure I'll pick the Advance Training Program for 70.3. Best regards

Dear Wendy, It's been really fun and productive since Feb 2017 to be training for this half ironman. I already want to do another one after the berlin marathon early 2018. I owe you a big thank you for keeping this journey fun and me motivated. Thank you. I will reflect more on this whole experience after the race. Thanks

Can

Congrats on your race this last weekend! I just wanted to thank you for all you do!!! You're the best!!!!

Kaira

athlete / EH

Vicki

I have been watching the video of me swimming without any sound until this morning. I heard your comments and I can see everything you are saying! I am so excited to go swimming and work on all of the things you talked about. Anyway, thank you so much for watching my video. I will keep you updated on my progress! Thank you

Wendy

Wendy Mader of t2coaching helped me to improve my IM time by 3 hours. She simply is the best! She listens to you, asks a ton of questions so she gets your plan right and works with you to ensure you get the results you are looking for.

Vicki

testimonial

"The half iron plan and supporting materials have been very helpful. My 1st half is a week from this coming Saturday. I raced the boulder sunrise tri on Sunday and felt really good. "

70.3 Plan for Beginners - Karen P.

i am LOVING your 70.3 plan. I think I am going to get your ironman plan for my next ironman, which may be ironman texas next i love that structure and flow. i also love that its simple and the workouts can be done by two people who are at different levels together (tammy and i)."

70.3 Plan for Beginners

athlete

"It is great -videos to easily watch and follow so you can see exactly what to do and then follow up with workouts based on those. If you need help with swimming, highly recommend. Swimming is easy for me but was still great reminders and things to be thinking about along with the workouts."

Swim Faster in 30 Days - Kristi C

Athlete

Oktoberfest

You just are the best Wendy! I really do appreciate you so much! This is the first time I'm not freaking out and realizing it'll all get better! Stressing doesn't help one bit! This is the time for this to be happening and id rather it happen now! really excited for what this year will bring! Strength is really helping

Jennifer

Hi Wendy I first would like to thank you for everything. When I first decided to make a full IM race 9 months ago it was a scary idea. Thanks to you week by week I started to believe in myself. The 70.3 st polten was a good race to see all my strengths and weaknesses. I clearly saw that I improved each week after st. Polten. However, I still had doubts about finishing the full IM. Although I did almost all the trainings I was afraid about many things which may go wrong. Physically, physiologically or mechanically. I did the swim part very comfortably. I planned 1:15h i did 1:16. There was no time to warm up in the water so I run for 5 minutes in the grass which was very useful. I need to bring a bottle of water before the swim start. Both to drink an to clear the googles. I used from someone. The lake was perfect, clear like the sea. But the last 1000m was in a channel which was very crowded and muddy. Visibility in the water dropped to zero. The good thing was there were thousands if spectators on both side which I could see and hear while swimming in the channel. At the end of swim 2 volunteers pulled me from the water. In T1 I double checked everything and attached my HR stipe as well. I pushed hard on the bike I gave all I had and actually enjoyed it. I ate a gel every 30 mins and drank water. I ate more then my training long rides. But that was correct planning. I could not eat any bars but I ate 2 half bananas from aid stations. 1 bottle was isotonic the other was water. I finished the isotonic and half of water. But I also took a few times water from aid stations took a sip and threw it. The second half of bike I was more comfortable because I knew where i could stay more on aero position. I passed around 100 people during the bike. The scenery was amazing. We circled the lake passed from small villages. Especially during the climbs the spectators made me feel like a Tour de France rider. They gave me a great motivation. I finished the bike very strong. In T2 I attached my gel belt with 8 gels. The plastic clip broke down so I had to make a knot while running. The run overall felt very long. I had a pace of 6 / 6:30. This is slower then my long runs. But the fear if unknown made me run slower. I kept on repeating that I am doing well. I ate a gel every 30 mins. I passed from all cold water pouring hoses. I used the cold sponges to cool my head and neck. I drank at every second aid station which was closed to 30 mins. Each time I walked a few seconds while drinking then resumed the run. Sometimes I took a small water sip at 15 min station. At 26 km my garmin battery died. That annoyed me a bit. Then i tried to turn it to positive. I decided to eat my 2 remaining gels at km 28 and 36 and drink at first aid station after the gel. That worked well. However, I slowed down a bit without knowing my pace. At km 36 thought that i did not hit the wall and kept running. Even at km 40 I did not try to speed up and kept my regular pace. During the run there were 3-4 friends among the spectators. To see them really gave me extra strength. Finally I passed the finish line. That was an unbelievable great feeling. I am very happy with my score. We later celebrated with great Austrian beers:)) I thank you again for preparing me to this big challenge. As of now I think I will not do a Full IM next year. I am planning to enter to a 70.3 in early June. Once I made up my mind I will let you know. During the summer I can not easily bike in the place we go. So I will mostly swim and run. Thanks again for everything:)

Ironman Austria - Jeff

Triathlete

On Sunday, 8.9.15 I completed my first sprint triathlon, Atlantic City Tri! Here is my race report. I arrived the day before in Atlantic City to check in my bike and pick up my race packet. The vibe was strange. There was not this atmosphere of excitement but almost felt business like, which was disappointing. My first tri was scheduled in July weeks prior but was cancelled due to thunderstorms, but I was so pumped up just to pick up my packet the day before. The music had been blaring and people were friendly and chatty. That made me excited to race. Now I was a bit nervous. However, race day it was different. There was excitement along with some nerves for us newbies. Some members of my tri team were there, and it was great to have some support. Weather was perfect, temps in the mid 70’s at race start. Water temperature had dropped overnight, and race was declared wetsuit legal. I figured swim is relatively short, so decided to go without. The swim was a single file, “jump of the dock when you are ready” start. Being a decent swimmer, I situated myself towards the middle-front of the pack. I had a conversation with a woman near me and asked her time…she was clearly going to be faster than me, so I moved a few people back. I found out this was a mistake very quickly and that many of the racers overestimate how fast they swim. From the start I had to swim WAY outside of the buoys just to pass people the entire swim. Likely these cost me extra distance and time, but live and learn! Being my first race, I am new to transition, and my time reflected this (3.46). Again, live and learn. For some reason, my helmet would not fit over my hair even though I made sure it was adjusted properly, but maybe my hair expanded due to being wet???. Not sure. Out of T1 and off on the bike. I felt good, and was giving a good effort. Checking on my speed, I was a bit freaked out but excited that I was able to go at a good clip (for me). Was nervous about the USAT drafting rule, but to my surprise I found myself passing people the entire time. I also told myself “you are not going to have anything left for the run, better slow it down”, but then figured, its my first time, just go all out and will know how to pace better next time. I stopped way ahead of the dismount line out of nerves but oh well! camey bike T2 was better. Forgot to put my glasses strap on my prescription “shades” so after a minute of them sliding, just held them for the run. Got out of T2 and onto the run course. Now I am not a runner, and my legs felt heavy but pushed on. Mile markers could not come fast enough for me. I attempted to hang with a woman who started out at the same time, but at halfway point, she picked up her pace and I could not stay with her so focused on catching up to another woman and attempting to either pass or stay with her. Could not pass, but kept up with her pace. Again I figured, just go all out and do my best. Did not finish strong but finished. Woohoo!!! race_1518_photo_23625245 Met up with some teammates also competing who had the app that reported splits and place. Fastest 5K ever (26.03) and bike ended up 27.5 ave mph and was thrilled! Best surprise was that I got third in my age group, and 15th of 476 females! Although a relatively short race I feel I gained a ton of experience and learned that I am more prepared and stronger than I thought. Bring on the Oly in September!

Atlantic City-Camey Springer

triathlete

if you didn't already know how much I know two lessons have more than paid off, I swam today, feeling super tired and unmotivated but pushed myself just a little bit more than an easy swim.... what happened? Oh.... only 8-10 seconds/lap off my original time before my lessons with you! I mean, WHAT?!?!? Seriously! It wasn't without effort, but it wasn't full throttle either. I know i originally learned to swim from you but it's about 4 or so years since then that I came back for tweaking and YOU caught things no one else in that time did! Thanks to you!!! Anyway, I just wanted to tell you your help has given me so much! Hope, excitement, motivation. I'm not even doing speed work yet! All I'm doing is focusing on my form/technique and quickening my stroke. I just can't thank you enough!! Hope you're having a great day! Thank you so much!!!!

Angie

Sitem

Yessss I am very happy, THANK YOU very much. You are the best coach ever. Our next goal is to finish 70.3 under 5 hours. I will send you a detailed analysis of the race.

Emin- Gloria 70.3

Thank you for everything You are a great coach!

Melih

Thanks for training me very well as the difference is very visible by everyone.

Berry N

Wendy, I appreciate all of your work with us. I consider you a very good friend and would recommend you highly to anyone in Colorado. It is just tough to be so far away. Liz and I are taking a bunch of time off and will recover, ski, etc. for a few months. I think if you keep working with Nicki that she will be in Kona very soon. She crushed me at Tahoe and is improving all the time. My only advice on her is to watch overtraining…she pushes too hard some times. Love you and and thank you for all of your help.

Liz L

can not say enough good things about the 3 Day Refresh! Everyone who has completed this program with me this month has done incredible! Losing between 5 - 7.5 lbs in 3 days and then either keeping it off or losing more if that is what their goal was! Here are my personal results. 6.1 lbs down in the 3 days and then I went to my 25 year class reunion. I gained 2 of them back. When I got home I used a combo of the 21 Day Fix container system and the guidelines from the 3 Day Refresh to lose the 2, plus another pound. I'm now less than 8 lbs away from my pre-medical mayhem weight and where I feel the best. This is the FIRST thing that has worked for me to break through the stress-induced plateau I have been on for months! The Challenge Pack Here is the directlink:http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/BCP3D160?referringRepId=73715

Wendy

can't thank you enough for your support and guidance this year. I had big plans and unfortunately it didn't go the way I'd hoped. I look forward to cheering you on as your continue to pursue your athletic and personal goals.

Melissa E

I don't think it was the swimming that made it worse but just the fact that my job is manual labor and any other exercise just seemed to really make my elbow worse. It's been like this for years and I should have taken care of it a while ago. Thanks for the concern, your a great coach and hope to work with you again soon.

Zeb

Thanks for the swim lesson today, Im super encouraged. Thank You SOOOOOO MUch

Amy

I think T25 would be a great addition to your workout collection. My cardiovascular strength has greatly increased. I've lost about 7 inches & a few pounds. I'm currently in the additional gamma round & loving it!! I don't think you can go wrong with this.

Christine

I have really loved T25. I am doing the extra program of gamma right now and I am still losing however during alpha and beta I lost just over 10 lbs.

Carrie

Wendy, Thanks for working with Seth. He has hit a couple of rough spots with school recently but your sessions have kept him going to the gym or for a run outside which burns off the anxiety. High school is such a dreadful time in one's life but the coping through exercise skills that he is learning from you will always serve him well even in easier times. Even if he never runs a triathlon--working with you has paid off. Thanks for all that you do--I appreciate it!

Catherine

Wendy, I think the power meter helped. This was my best half ever, including the one I did in 1997 with a 31 minute swim (down river.)

Judy

Ok... Now all what you just said makes sense! I can't ever articulate my thoughts like that and Dan picked my races so I'm not used to figuring mine out - and wo fail knee kicked in right around 4 miles... Blah! I actually thought tonight was gonna be the night it was better :/ booo! But I remain positive that if when it happens I take a deep breath and relax and focus on form it will get better... Along w me staying consistent in the gym w strength! Annnnd - swim kinda kicked in tonight in a good way! I could feel my arms "pulling" me through the water! I think I got sloppy bc that isn't muscle memory I'm used to and my arms aren't strong yet but are def getting there... YAY! This happened last year where I just felt good all of a sudden and hopefully that's tonight... Ok, well I know I am supposed to put in TP so will do that too ;) You rock! I really am grateful for you! So thank you!

Jenny

Felt more confident towards the end. Swam awhile in the swim beach and felt like I made some progress. I realized I am not breathing right so will work on that in the pool and try to get to a swim beach as often as I can. Will be gone for the next open clinic but hope to make the last one and will swim out to the bouy and farther. Thanks for everything Wendy!!

Cathy D

And watching you out there on Sunday was so awesome and inspiring and am just so thankful I made that switch in March to you!!! As always thank you for everything that you do!!!

Jen G

That was a long time in coming; 3rd attempt was the charm. But I really think it was the goggles!! :) And it felt like an eternity in the water too. But I am very please and happy with my progression. Thanks again!! You are awesome!!

Greg

"Thank you, Wendy :-) (and thank you for suggesting that I reconsider the 5K last Thursday... quite thankful I did not do that) You're a GREAT coach! :-)" 500 yard swim, 13.3 mile bike, 3.5 mile run. A LOT of hills. We survived. Probably the most difficult race I've ever done in my life. EVER. Wiped out on my bike, too. But kept going! Brent's time 2:12:05. Beat his time from 2010 by apprx 28-ish minutes. My time 1:56:23. More later....

Laura B

Wendy Mader you motivated me to swim 3000 this am. Thanks. I have not been in the water for a few weeks!

Cathy

Think my body is ready for a bit of a break. Thanks for the extra bit of coaching, those were fun workouts. Get back to you later this fall, to set up next yr. Thanks for all your hard work Brian

Brian

Before I ate a lot of meat, every single meal had some type of meat in it. I thought my body needed all the animal based protein. I always loved fruits and veggies but I wouldn't skip the meat. I gave up meat over a month ago don't miss it at all. I still eat some dairy and eggs, but not all that much, never a big milk person so giving that up not a big deal. I am eating more beans and tofu and just enjoying veggies and fruit more than ever. I would say my carbohydrate intake has went up drastically and I was worried I would start gaining weight however that is not the case. Just from giving up meat I dropped 5 lbs in a couple of weeks. I was worried I would feel weak or sluggish but actually I feel energized and focused more than I have ever been before. My weight doesn't fluctuate either, before I would have about a 3-5 lbs difference in my weight from day to day now I don't have that, also I can weigh myself first thing in the morning and again around lunch and be pretty close to the same weight. Also before on average there would be a couple days a week that I would feel bloated and my stomach just wouldn't feel right. Well that is all gone, I know that people say you will get bloated from eating a lot of veggies but I haven't had that problem at all. I am actually enjoying the flavor of food and I find myself using less salt. I am not regretting making this life style change, and I don't see myself going back.

Miranda

Thanks wendy. In running intervals i'm fealing really good and fast. I know that because of the weather and wind the time result can change easyly. I can say that i'm really happy of my physical improwment after the first block. I think our system is working very well... Best regards

Barlas

Thank you! Nothing compared to you though!! Thanks for how you lead by example – makes all the difference in the world to me!!

Thanks coach, I am just applying your workouts. And it's nice to get the good results of your training program.

Berry N

Hi Wendy, Good news... My legs held up! The last few days of resting really paid off. Today's race was hard... Hilly and hot. The running course was almost a trail run. My swim was not good.... The first lap I panicked a bit.... The second lap was much better. I'm really happy that I did it and I definitely need to do lots more open water swimming. Bike was ok... I'm still slow... But at least I felt consistent. Run was good. I got second women.. the prize money was a nice bonus!!!

Martine

So I'm totally noticing a difference! Man I sure love you!!! Never have 50's been easier and by that I just mean I don't feel like I'm swinging around everywhere and thinking about my stroke! I def got tired w the form after about 10 but was still able to maintain a 59-1:00 and for the first 10 or so it was 57! I'm super happy about that! My shoulders didn't get tired, what the what! I felt my lats and other stuff from the pull! Last three were slow cuz the left calf started to cramp so jumped out after the 50's cuz the calf was cramping at that point! Pretty sure it's only from the run before! I'm feeling super positive about the swim now! And I got here and got it done and Mel isn't even here! I'm so proud of me this year! Big things, I hope!"

Jennifer G

Hi Wendy, I did a marvelous time 4:48 today and ranked 3rd in my age group and 6th overall. Bike was great, and run was strategic. Thanks for the support. I'm becoming a good rider and a runner.

Ates

Triathlete

I Lost 12lb and two inches from my waist with BodyBeast

David K

BeachBody customer

Thank you W! I just felt like running through the puddles of water and mud. I felt very different when I lined up at the start line this morning... I felt confident, my mind was in the right place and I felt stronger than I have felt ever. You are doing so much for me in so many different ways... confidence, strength and mind/matter. THANK YOU! I am getting so geared up to push even harder. Today gave me a new level of "just do it" attitude and confidence.

Vicki D

TriAthlete

“I will post a full report soon on FB! My swim was a big mess- fighting with huge men all around me- did a lot of swimming around people. I won’t make that mistake again- felt like I was passing more than getting passed so next time would start closer to the front. One of my goals this fall and winter is to really try and improve my swimming. I am certain I can shed 15-20 minutes off my time if I get in better swimming shape and not skip swim workouts! My official time was 1:33. My garmin said I swam 2.8 miles. If so, that would be a way better pace than what Ironman said! My transition was pretty easy but took the time to make sure my feet were dried off since I don’t wear socks on the bike. I felt good after the swim- not dizzy and only took in a couple of gulps of lake water. I really concentrated on going slow on the bike start. I kept my focus on fact that my goal was to finish the race and not to push so hard I would blow up. I didn’t wear my hr strap- didn’t want to deal with it and didn’t look at my watch once during entire bike. I felt really really good on the first loop of the bike- no issues at all- just enjoyed it. Took in a gel every 45 min to an hour and had at least 24 oz gatorade and water each hour. Poured water over body at each stop but didn’t stop til the bike special needs. Drank a bottle of coke and had a couple of chips and kept going. Probably not best idea to have drank the coke- felt quesy shortly after and almost puked on bike but that didn’t last long and felt good again after a few miles. I felt strong. People going by me where asking me what was next and complaining about the ride and hills. I’m really glad I had done HWY52 and lookout/final 20 mile loop in training because I knew what to expect and it didn’t seem bad- in fact really enjoyed that last loop. Saw my husband and son at bike to run transition so that gave me a boost. When I got off the bike my left foot was sore but otherwise I felt really really good. No issues. Took my sweet time, probably too much time in T2, used bathroom. Started out the run walking until I saw all the people then jogged the first 3.0. Felt really good. Mentally was a little overwhelmed at how far I still had to go but with all my Ehouse teammates on the course and cheering- it made it go by faster. I thought about the day during the run and was so very thankful for the cloud coverage on the bike and run- I’m certain I would not have felt so good if it had been sunny. I was amazed that the weather was so perfect for me. I also wore a bike cover up on arms and it kept me cooler too and no sunburn! So…there were a few moments during the run where I felt dizzy and a little light headed but thankfully didn’t last too long. I used base salt licks on bike- probably every 10 miles, 3 licks and on run around 2 licks every or every other aid station. I do think that is what kept me feeling good all day. During training I only used salt capsules which worked too but I bought the salt right before race and am glad I did. Probably not best thing to try something different during the race but the idea of taking that many capsules wasn’t appealing. I also forced myself to take into two gels during run and grabbed ice, water and mostly coke and chicken broth during run. Really just concentrated on going from aid station to aid station. I walked quite a bit and tried to jog on the flats and downhills. So although I didn’t stick to a 3 min run, 1 min walk etc..I did jog/walk. My time was 6:56. My LA marathon time was 6:50?! Almost the same. So ..I know I can go faster! All in all I am incredibly thankful to have finished when I saw so many people having issues and I was feeling very good nearly the entire day- actually had fun and really enjoyed the crowds- they were amazing. Makes me wonder what I could do or how many hours I could improve if I didn’t miss so many workouts!! Thank you again Wendy!!!!”

Ironman Boulder - Kristi

triathlete

You were recommended by Scott Janicola as a great coach! I don’t know Scott but posted in the Facebook Boulder Ironman group stating that I was looking for a coach. He took the time to personally message me so I thought you must be pretty awesome.

Jamie L.

I’m really excited about my swim today and wanted to tell you that even though I only swam 20 laps, I really concentrated on what I was doing. It sped up my lap time to a consistent 55 seconds! I’m usually 58-62 seconds/lap so that’s a big deal to me.

:) I could really feel the catch and pull & I’m totally going to be sore, but wow! What a difference! I couldn’t do this on my own-your coaching ROCKS!!!! Thank you!!! Hope you’re having a great day!

Angie, swim

This has been one hell of a year – a lot of lows and a lot of highs. I have one heck of an amazing coach, thank you for dealing with ALL the lows Wendy! Stoked for next year with where I have come physically and mentally this year!

The one thing I wanted this year was to 3peat as the series champ at the Racing Underground series. It was a small goal, but one that after the first race I wasn’t sure I could get. I got 3rd but had been 10 minutes slower than I ever had on that course! The second race, well I fell short of getting a podium by a minute or so. Super humbling and something I think was long overdue and needed to happen!

I went into this last race feeling stronger than I had all season but knew this feeling was the way I should have felt at my first race, not my last. Best swim in 2 years but still need work!

3rd out of the water (heck yeah), 1st off the bike AG (first time that’s ever happened I’m happy 7th overall women), lost it on the run and was third (1:00 slower than last year). But the time held enough to get me 2nd! I really wanted that first and worked but she beat me by 1:30! However I PR’d that course by like 3 mins! I ended up winning the series like I wanted and by far this was the most rewarding of the three that I’ve won. Knowing I started from scratch, got strep, wasn’t sure I even wanted to race and then to end up here I couldn’t be happier! I got to be pissed about my race a few weeks ago and if I hadn’t then I would have questioned what I was doing. I was pissed bc I’m driven and at that moment it was the worst thing for ME! But today was awesome! Thank you to my friend Maurice aka Mo taking his time out to come and see me! It meant the world to me! Also, thank you Patricia for the goggles and being the best volunteer!

Jennifer G.

I swam today, and in general I felt like a very different swimmer. I believe in a good way. I was slower but I think i am making changes that will take me where I want to go. The most significant change was the entry and how I felt i was able to go deeper, and then grab water where I hadn’t been before. Even though I was trying to focus on the pull it was the entry that had the most change today. But I can see how when I get the pull down the whole thing will come together.

I think it would make a lot of sense to do a follow up session.

Amy L.

I feel spectacular. My ‘slow and easy’ pace often is nowadays at 5:00 max. My current slow pace is my former fast pace.

This program has been very beneficial so far.

Mert S

Swam the Horsetooth 2.4 this morning. Shout out to Wendy Mader for her coaching. It was my fastest EVER by 15+ seconds/100yrd. - Wendy (after 2 lessons)

Congrats! Wendy is the best! – Kristi (triathlon coaching)

Wendy Mader is awesome heart emoticon She helped improve my IMB swim time by 8 minutes!! It is funny you say you hear Wendy's voice when you swim, I do too and I visualize her swimming movements when I am swimming (1 lesson and 9 months of triathlon coaching)

Congrats - Wendy Mader rocks – she helped me get my 6 min swim PR at IMB (after 1 lesson)

Swim Lesson Students, Improvement in 2.4 mile open water swims

Hello and thanks for the email. I am excited for the race this weekend and I feel prepared. The brick workouts that you included in the training plan have been helpful because they weren’t the same old brick workouts that I typically dread. And, I plan to follow the plan and take things easier this week, although that is tough with pre-race energy.

Thanks for checking in. I hope you are well.

Jill B.

You are the best Wendy – I will take you up on that offer (it is super nice of you). I feel like an IM is a must for me. (And its a bit of a battle to face the failure of this one (and this training year generally)).

I will be in touch.

Thanks again. In the words of my wife “best coach ever.”

Roman

Wendy is awesome. You will not regret hiring her “Whatever your goals are, Wendy will get you there”.

Nicki C.

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for coaching, friendship and patience. This year’s training season was riddled with uncontrollable incidents (death, divorce, broken rib, sports induced asthma). You taught me not to worry about the things out of my control and make the best of the things I can control. This helped me so much. You gave me the confidence to try harder and to succeed. Your positive charisma was, and still is, contagious. Thank you, Wendy!

Looking forward to training with you again (like in a couple of weeks, LOL!).

Vicki D.

Challenge Poznan 43.7 … A total of 1,200 athletes compete in the Organization 35-39 age group among the 230 athletes 1. as I completed the race. This that can make my friends Abdullah Kadam, Yasin c. Barton, Kelly Kay, Semih Altunel, Didem Aksoy, Beijing and Harun Aidoo a; My Giant sponsor Turkey, I want to thank Gloria Sports Arena and Outrunner. Apart from this, the first year I started this sport four years ago of Aix En Provence in the race by making the podium in the age group of 70.3 and gave me advice as opposed to some people, which is a source of inspiration with empty talk Ponkshe real athletes doing business instead of Esbalat I would also like to thank to Atilla. And special thanks to my coach Wendy Mader who never quit on me even though we were not working together. I waited more than a year for tagging each on a podium picture …:))

Barlas K.

The L2L went very well! Thank you again for the help. I know I couldn’t have done it with out your help.

Joe

I’m so glad that “____” coach didn’t work out and that we ended up together. You struck a good balance of encouragement and education without forcing your ways on me. I know that if I had followed your plan, I’d be much better prepared than I am today. But a good coach adapts to his/her athletes. You realized early on that socialization, group interaction, and variety were important to me at this phase of my life. A friend of mine hired that “___” guy as his coach and he has hated it. He is prepared well, but he says it sucked all the fun out of it for him. I think I’d of been the same way. So thank you for understanding the personality type you were dealing with and adjusting to it.

On another note, a friend told her coach about me and he just emailed me telling me I’ll have a hard time with the Ironman since I’ve been on the light side of training. Great. That’s exactly what i want to hear 4 weeks before the biggest race of my life! Anyway, i mention this because this is why I recommend you! Never once have you discouraged me or anyone I know who’s gone to you. Just telling you this to thank you for taking me, and all others, from where they’re at to be successful with their goals. That is a really big deal to me, so thank you for it. Hope you have a wonderful day Wendy, and truly, thank you for everything!!!!

Angie

Awesome–under my goal of 2:40! Thanks–and thanks for all the encouragement–I need it and it helps!

4.8 Open Water – Sarah K.

I know you helped me a lot. I have been swimming a couple times now and today I was able to go about 900 meters with out stopping! It was in the epic pool but I did not stop. I have been focusing on both breathing and trying to keep form. I am noticing quite a difference and I have been trying to make myself slow down and rotate with my strokes. Thank you for the help and I am still training.

Joe S.

You know—I have never been this strong–couldn’t have done even what I did today without your help/workouts–thanks! Love what I am doing and learning from all of this!

Sarah K.

Wendy Mader is definitely amazing as a coach!! I had been on a swimming hiatus for about a month. Got in the pool today and swam a mile EASY… before Wendy this would not have been possible.

Miranda M.

I want to thank you for inspiring me. I started running 4 years ago at age 50. Since then I’ve run 2 full marathons, 7 or so half marathons, countless 5k’s and this year I’ll run 3 halves. I’m slow, but I don’t give up. Thank you for boosting me up and encouraging me. p.s. I’ve had fibromyalgia for 25 years.

Irene J.

I have to thank you for the training and feedback. I am running and swimming less in quantity from last year but it is amazing that I am getting faster. Some of the latest training workouts I have been doing personal records.

I think especially the indoor bike workouts with powermeter were very useful in general to increase the general endurance as well as leg power. That also I believe effect my running as well.

Jeff I.

The power of clean eating and walking. I had my annual physical today. There was my doctor looking at my bloodwork and vitals from this year as compared to last year, and saying, "This looks like two completely different people. I've rarely seen her speechless. I saw it today."

John

I am officially down 4.25 inches off of my waist and my chest. I’m actually looking forward to swimsuit season for the first time in a decade. Thank you Wendy Mader!!

Keeli

I have had good results with shakeology and the 21 day fix. I’ve already lost albs (week 1).

Ashley P.

Thanks Coach!!! I am still trying to process everything! Everyone is saying that the weather was worse than Ironman 2008. Between the lightning and being terrified of riding the Keene descent in the rain and being SO cold and wet, I would say it’s the hardest Ironman I have ever done! My riding was so sporadic… I was pushing hard to stay warm, then shaking so much from the cold that I couldn’t push. AND I couldn’t see my bike computer in the rain! I started singing out loud to myself to stay sane image: https://mlncutoeck8j.i.optimole.com/w:auto/h:auto/q:mauto/ig:avif/https://t2coaching.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/simple-smile.png :) I just kept remembering the quote you posted on my wall, and saying it over and over again! “You may not be able to control every situation and its outcome but you can control your attitude and how you deal with it” I knew you set me up to finish strong, even with the wild weather! Even though I stopped at like every aid station from Mile 18 to the Finish Line trying to get rid of the cramps, I ran as fast as I could bear to between them! When I couldn’t sprint to the finish line, I knew that I’d left it all out there, and that’s what I hoped for! Thank you SOOO much for seeing the potential in me – I still can’t believe I did the Boston Marathon and IMLP only 3 months apart! I couldn’t have done it without you!

Sara M.

Thank you Wendy for your guidance and support through the August Challenge! I completed the first 30 days of P90X3 (Mass). I did miss 5 days but they were rest days. I ate clean, had my daily dose of shakeology and drank a ton of water. I only lost 2 pounds but I believe this is because I was transitioning form fat to muscle because I did gain in strength and size. Overall I’m pleased with the 30 day result and will continue the journey of a healthier lifestyle.

John S.

One week left until I’ve completed my FIRST round of PiYo! I can’t say enough great things about this program. It’s truly life changing in so many ways. I’m more flexible now and it has also improved my running. I ran a 5k on Saturday night (a Glow Run) and my time surprised me and I didn’t even feel too winded at the end and finished strong. I’m currently down 10 pounds (not sure how many inches as I won’t measure until next week when I’m done with the program). this morning and my resting heart rate was 53 (the low 50’s is ATHLETE status!!!) and blood pressure was 107/70! A huge improvement from when I first visited the dentist/doctor about a month ago. Thank you PiYo!

Sheryl B.

Training for what should have been this year’s race really helped me on the running side!!! And I have you to thank for all my PRs before the infamous butt incident!!! THANK YOU!!!

Melody W.

I can not say enough good things about the 3 Day Refresh! Here are my personal results. 6.1 lbs down in the 3 days and then I went to my 25 year class reunion. I gained 2 of them back. When I got home I used a combo of the 21 Day Fix container system and the guidelines from the 3 Day Refresh to lose the 2, plus another pound. I’m now less than 8 lbs away from my pre-medical mayhem weight and where I feel the best. This is the FIRST thing that has worked for me to break through the stress-induced plateau I have been on for months!

Trisha S.

I’m excited, that’s for sure. Like I said, I have a good feeling that I’m going to surprise myself at what I can do. I used to think about the overall distance (Ironman) and wonder how I could finish it, but lately, it all seems much more manageable. Thanks in large part to your coaching :)

Dan F.

I believe my limits are not changing just physically but are changing also mentally…

When my legs are burning in a session or I’m tired for consecutive days I know that it is normal and it’s part of daily life, daily life of that I have chosen to live…

I think I’m starting to handle better hard training periods and I know that this is the part that will make difference in something…

Thank for guiding me in this journey…

B.K.

Thanks for working with Seth. He has hit a couple of rough spots with school recently but your sessions have kept him going to the gym or for a run outside which burns off the anxiety. High school is such a dreadful time in one’s life but the coping through exercise skills that he is learning from you will always serve him well even in easier times. Even if he never runs a triathlon–working with you has paid off. Thanks for all that you do–I appreciate it!

Katherine P.

I appreciate all of your work with us. I consider you a very good friend and would recommend you highly.

Love you and and thank you for all of your help.

Jay L.

Thank you for intro ducting me to Shakeology. I have lost 18 pounds since I started drinking it for breakfast 12 weeks go.

Krista M.

Just wanted to check in with you and say THANK YOU for setting me up for an awesome race yesterday! My quads are screaming today but nothing else hurts, which I think is remarkable! The 2014 boston marathon was an experience that I will treasure forever, and I couldn’t have done it without you! And I requalified for Boston 2015! I think I can run it faster now that I know what to expect… those rolling hills caught up to me and I thought my quads would give out around mile 23! But I feel like I nailed my nutrition and electrolyte intake … people around me were cramping up right and left and I beat friend of mine that always out run me… after training in the cold and ice and snow (even last week) it was almost comical that the sun finally showed up on race day and no one was conditioned to the heat (except for the runners who flew in from florida)! I am even a little sunburned! But it was worth it, and crossing the finish line with girls who didn’t get to because of the bombings last year was unreal! Thank you for a training plan that set me up to run with them Wendy! You rock Coach! :)

Sara M.

I cannot say how much you inspire me and the rest of the team. This is just another reinforcer that you are someone that goes strong even when it is unbearable. This is a lesson that I will take on as an athlete and person. Last year when I did my first triathlon all I could think about is what I had done to get there and how much I had improved over the school year because of your guidance. Even though the race will probably go down as the crappiest race in my life I am glad to say that I did it and after I crossed that finish line I was hooked on doing it again. You have taught me not only to be a better athlete physically but mentally. You taught me to push myself places that before I joined the club I thought I could never do and when I achieve something be humble about it. I would also like to say that at the homecoming 5k I PRed. I got a 26.06, which is over 2 minutes faster than last year. That increase in my speed came this year from the track workout 3 weeks ago. What this all means to me is you inspired me to do better every time I do something. You are true to your coaching. Even when you legs kill, your heads pounding, and you want to throw up. Keep going. But don’t get injured. Thanks for everything. And I am glad to say that my coach is the most bad ass coach ever.

Rob H.

Hey Wendy! I loved your race report, and checked out your time on the Ironman website last Sunday and ran up stairs to tell Johnny. You are an amazing, tenacious athlete–congratulations on your finish–you are on my podium! I am honored to have had you as my coach and inspiration.

Mary H.

Hi Wendy, I want to thank you for all of your expert coaching this year. I would do the same training plan again because it was perfect. I felt well prepared for the distance in all areas. Just thought I would let you know how much I appreciated the custom training plan and your reassurance throughout the experience. I kind of think I need to do it again some year to take an hour or more off the time!

Brenda L.

Thanks! I’m so glad to have your help! About one year ago, I moved to Colorado and decided to really ramp up my triathlon training. So, I joined Wendy at BecomeFit for the TRX class. This class has really helped me gain core strength and target my weak areas. TRX is great for functional training in season and out of season. It really helps you build and strengthen the muscles that are not used during the normal swimming, biking, or running activities. As a group exercise junkie, I enjoy the group aspect of TRX. It really helps keep me motivated and pushes me to become a stronger athlete.

Nicole C.

Thank you for the time, thought and effort that you put into your response. It was articulate, concise, detailed and thorough. I get the sense that you are very experienced and you know what you are doing.

Reynold L.

Yeah, I would have followed Scott’s plan for his half training plan, but I probably would not have been running yet since I have a fear of it from all the pain and injuries. And I probably wouldn’t have started training yet…. so you are awesome! Thank you again.

Patricia D.

I just wanted to say that I appreciate all you have done for me with the training. It has really motivated me beyond where I could have ever gotten on my own. Thanks for everything!

Jennifer H.

I gotta tell you that I’m pretty psyched. Thanks to your coaching and the technique tweaks you’ve prescribed Sincere thanks Wendy!!

Mike H.

Nice newsletter. I like your articles because they often say the opposite of what I usually read and sometimes think; i.e. triathlon bikes are unnecessary, Wendy can cry on a run, etc….

John M.

Great newsletter! Great info!

Cindy A.

Thanks for all you are doing for me. It’s changing not just my own athletic abilities, but it’s having deep meaningful connections to what I do, what I don’t do (and why), and what I believe I can do, in my professional life, as well.

Tanya M.

I just wanted to drop you a line and say thank you. My friend Julie and I attended one of your clinics at the Horsetooth Tri training sessions in July. We had completed the TriBella Tri in June and definitely needed some help with the open water. We just completed the Iron Girl at Cherry Creek on Saturday. My swim came in at 18:10; a three minute improvement over the TriBellas. Thanks again for your great guidance and tips, they obviously worked!

DawnMarie

You are the only reason I’m enjoying tri still. I was pretty burned out last year. You’ve made such a difference for me and challenged me in a very positive way. Mentally and physically.

Nicki L.

Thanks for everything this summer! I couldn’t have met my goal without your guidance.

Sarah L.

I just wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying training with you- really. I love your style- it feels great and I love your company. I am thrilled you are feeling so good and ready for your race! Thanks for everything!

Michelle C.

Have I told you lately how thankful I am to have met you at the Gatorade Camp! I truly appreciate all your advice and support. You really know how to put things into perspective and make a person feel good about herself again. So, thank you for being you.

Lisa P.

Thank you so much Wendy, you have been outstanding with your candid advice to me. With the amount of experience you have it is invaluable to hear everything you have to say.

Brian B.

On 9/12/15 in Shamong NJ (yes who ever heard of Shamong???) I participated in my first Oly tri, called Pine Barrens Tri. Having a sprint under my belt I was not nearly as nervous race morning. It was a bit chilly (60’s) to start and water temp was 72 degrees. I had my wetsuit with me, but opted to swim in my tri kit after wading into the water and judging it to be a temperature I could swim at. After seeing 95% of the participants putting on their wetsuits, I began to second-guess my decision. Too late, race was about to start. Three heats, and mine (all females) went last. Overall the race was a relatively small one, less than 200 people. As I consider myself a swimmer, I placed myself in the front of the row to start. Shortly after we began (about 200 meters) I thought to myself “holy cow these ladies all can swim” as I was struggling to keep up. Another 300 meters, much of the women’s field died and I found myself passing people in the other two heats. Into transition was glad I didn’t wear the wetsuit. Never felt cold during the swim at all! Off on the bike. Now this being my first Oly distance, I had no idea how to pace myself. Decided to push hard and see what would happen. Saw a woman up ahead and made the decision to try to keep up with her. Good decision for at least half of the bike. I felt strong. Course was fairly flat, when we hit a hill, I felt it in my legs and wondered if I was pushing too hard and would have dead legs on the run. I backed off slightly, and the woman went ZOOM. Told myself “just hold your own” and maintain. Made it to T2. Took my time and stretched a bit as I felt my hamstrings to be a bit tight. Now the run. This was a trail run, which I have no experience with. I have plenty of experience looking down when I run because I am usually on training runs before daylight and am paranoid about taking a wrong step and twisting an ankle. Fortunately the path was clean, narrow in some parts and alternated sand in spots and woodchips. Two loop course. I am not experienced enough to be able to judge how fast/slow I am running. On bricks, I feel sooooooooo slow. This was my experience here. The first mile and a half seemed to take forever to get to the turnaround. As I am not a runner, I was being passed and was courteous to move to the side when I heard footsteps “knocking at my door”. To my surprise, I found myself also passing a few people. After the halfway point, I felt stronger and told myself to just hang tough and finish. Best part of this run was the encouragement people offer each other along the way. I also learned from Wendy to smile whenever I saw a camera. So I did. Swim time was great, but the course was short so not really representative of a 1500m swim. I was happy with my bike time and pace (maybe biking is gong to be a strength??). Run needs some work, but was pleased. Thrilled to get fifth female overall and first in my age group.

Camey Springer First Olymmpic

triathlete

IM Boulder- Vicki D. I sent you a text the Sunday before the Boulder Ironman to thank you for your coaching and to let you know I gave everything I had to the training plan this year. I felt satisfied and strong (mentally and physically) going into the race. I still felt this way on Sunday morning when I awoke at 3:15am. I also felt very confident. 3:15am up at at’em. Slept about 5 hours, felt good. Ate eggs with rice on a double protein English muffin. Drank infinite with base salt and amino’ s. Headed out the door around 4am. I was feeling pretty calm and focused, listened to some good ole rock and roll on the way to the High School (Judaist Priest to be exact, Dad was not too impressed LOL). 5:00 am arrived at the Boulder High School. Excitement is in the air. I was still calm and relaxed… very focused. 5:30 am arrived at the Boulder Rez. Meet up with the EHouse team. Started to get nervous. Walked nutrition over to bike and threw a couple more items in my T1 bag. Once I was not around people on the team I felt more relaxed, I think I was just getting caught up in their nervousness. Found out the swim was not wet suit legal, made the decision to not wear my wetsuit (bad decision in hind sight but whodathunk I would earn an unofficial qualifying spot to Kona?) SWIM: The swim is without a doubt my biggest challenge. I took a deep breath and slowly walked into the water with a calm mind, remembering I trained for this and I will do it. The water was crazy as hell! At first I would go around people to get ahead of them but I soon learned if I wanted to get ahead I just needed to power through, over, under them… whatever it took. I found this to be very fun J I have never really encountered such closeness in the water before. It didn’t take me long to just relaxed and take it stroke by stroke. All of the conversations we have had and the videos I watched came to mind. As I entered the first turn I found myself taking long, easy strokes while pulling harder with every stroke. As I turned the second buoy I knew I was home free! I swam as fast as I could. I truly swam under, over and through people. I was courteous though J As I ran out of the water I knew I owned the rest of the day. IT WAS ALL MINE! My goal was 1:30 in the water, I swam 1:27. In my heart I was aiming for 1:20. Feeling very satisfied I made my way to T1. T1 in and out! BIKE: I rode totally by power on my bike. Remembering the great advise you gave me, go out slow, finish hard and fast. Knowing HWY 52 was a bitch at mile 90 and Look Out Rd was even a bigger bitch at mile 95 I rode a pace I thought would leave me enough strength to get me through 52 and Look Out Rd. It worked like magic. I cranked up both hills and my split time for the last leg of the race was 29 mph (oh yea baby!). I was very focused on biking efficiency… smooth pedaling. I took in nutrition exactly as planned and it worked like magic (funny how when you do things as planned they actually really do work!). The bike was my favorite part of the race. The BEST part of the bike ride was on Look Out road where a group of my girlfriends were sitting at the bottom of the hill with a big sign “GO VICKI 1113. Don’t listen to your legs”! They met me 4 times from Look Out Road to the finish. What a sweet surprise and blessing. I am so lucky to have such great people in my life. I honestly had to fight back the tears. The other thing I thought about is what you told me during training… even the pros like you feel pain in an IM. The end results is all in how you manage the pain. I told the pain to get lost! If I am being honest with you and myself I could have pushed it harder on the bike. There were several times on the bike I felt like I was just cruising. I guess that is good because I had all kinds of energy left for the run! My goal was 6:40 for the bike. I rode 5:55 (or something like that). In my heart I was hoping for under 6. I was very pleased with my bike ride!!! T2 in and out! RUN: OMG, I started the run actually running. NO CRAMPS of any sorts! It really is amazing how much dialing in on nutrition can improve a race J My hammy was killing me but I was not going to let it get in my way of a good run. Period. I stopped to stretch my hammy every mile. I saw my friends and family and friends 3 times on the run. Again, fighting to hold back the tears. Their support and love mean the world to me! It was awesome to see so many E House peeps on the run. I even saw Nicki, who gave me a big shout out. It was great to see her. She was smoking the run. She inspired me to go faster. There were 4 of us from E House all running within a couple of minutes of each other. We all encouraged each other and helped each other dig deep for that last burst of energy to get us across the finish line. At mile 24 my sister told me I was in 11th place in my AG. She told me to get my ass in gear and get myself in the top 10. I did just that. I passed 3 50 something peeps as I raced to the finish line, having my best pace for the entire run. And that is right in line with your coaching, start easy, finish strong J FINISH LINE: Boy O Boy was I surprised to see the timer when I came around the corner… it wasn’t 13 hours, it was 12 hours 41 minutes AND it was still daylight. What the hell? Was this really me coming across the finish line? Yep, it was. And I cried like a baby. My official finish time was 12:39 something. SUMMARY: You are the best coach ever. I learned so from you. I could have never ever had the experience I had at the IMB if not for you. Yes, I will take accountability and say I did do the work but you encouraged me. I beat all of my goals this year with the added bonus of unofficially earning a spot to Kona (nice surprise!): Thank you. The only problem is now I want more. I want to do better. I want to be on the podium. I want that official golden ticket to Kona. AND I know I can do it!

Ironman Boulder Vicki

triathlete

Race day for me went pretty well. I’m pleased with how things turned out and proud of my effort and how far I’ve come. My new knee was amazing and the other body challenges I’ve faced all year (back and other knee) didn’t flare up too badly on race day. Taper did its job! My swim went well for me. It started before I could even panic a whole lot – I was in the water at 6:34 when I was thinking it would be closer to 7:00. I was surprised that there wasn’t any warm up swim or chance to antifog my goggles, or even adjust my wet suit in the water, before we were off. I started nice and slow and had my most enjoyable swim start so far this year. With everyone hitting the water within the first five minutes, it wasn’t really the “rolling start” I expected and there were quite a bit of bodies bouncing off of each other but even that was making me smile. One thing I loved about this course was that the Buoys turned from yellow to orange at the half way point. I kept looking for that and then when I hit it, I told myself all I had to do now was swim back to shore. When I came out the water and saw that I had gone 1:31 I was super pleased. I had budgeted a time of about 1:45 for the swim. I was slow and meticulous in T1 as evidenced by the amount of time I spent there (almost 15 minutes!!). I did a complete change of clothes in bike gear and then hit the road. I started the bike very dehydrated for some reason. It took me about the first two hours of heavy hydration to get that under control but eventually it came around. I love the bike course but took longer on it than I thought I would. I was hoping for about 6:00 – 6:15, but ended up at 6:33. I was so slow on those hills on the last loop that people who were tracking me thought I flatted. My bike did great for me and I started thanking it about mile 100 for getting me thru the race with no mechanicals (one of my biggest fears). I made myself eat something every hour even though I didn’t feel like it. Oh, and was it just me, or did your GPS measure the course about two miles short?? T2 was also very slow and planned for me. Another 14 minutes, but I changed into a completely different run outfit, used the bathroom, and didn’t forget anything (sunscreen, Tylenol, etc.). The run went way better than I thought. We got so lucky with that cloud cover!! My plan was to run the flats and the downhill’s and walk the uphill’s. I was able to do it pretty much as planned and came away with a better time than I expected (I went 5:50 and thought I would be closer to 7:00). On the run, my legs weren’t the issue, but my stomach was. I got nauseous quite a few times after I left each aid station and started jogging again. I was fortunate in that it would usually settle down if I walked for a minute or two. I again forced myself to eat something at each aid station (loved the grapes!) even though I didn’t want to. After the race I felt okay. I got dizzy a few times when I tried to get up after sitting down, but that went away after a couple of hours. The day after the race, my weight was down 8 pounds. The following day I put 5 of that back on and then the day after that I put 4 more back on. I may have been a little bit more dehydrated than I thought. My skin is coming back around today too. I got sunburned on my face (even though I sun screened) and lips and then I’ve got a lot of sores where my glutes meet my hamstrings from the bike shorts. Finally today most of the peeling is done. All in all I have super memories of the day and am so proud of myself for doing it. Thank you Coach Mader (friend) for taking me on and see me to completion. Have loved getting to know you these last few years… Your bud, Ed

Ironman Boulder - Ed

triathlete

The race went pretty well on Sunday. It was at Lake Catamount, which unfortunately is full of seaweed, so they changed the course at the last minute to a long, narrow loop. The sprint did one loop and the Olympic did two. I felt good during the swim. I felt right on track to do a 15-16 min for 750 yards. But, my swim time was 22 minutes. Once I checked the full race results, I saw the fastest sprint swim was 15:45, which seems a bit slow for 750, and my time was in the top third of the sprint finishers. So, I have a feeling the course was longer than 750. Does that sort of thing happen or am I way off base? The bike went really well, although I got stopped by a train for 3 minutes. I completed the 12.6 mile bike in 45 minutes after subtracting my 3 minute train stop, ha. That time is exactly what I hoped to do, so I felt good. And the run, the first 2 miles were good, but last one was rough. It was hot, and I struggle to run in the heat. I usually run early in the morning too, so my body is not used to the heat. I came in with an 11 min/mile according to my Garmin, and my goal was 10:30. My Garmin also indicated the course was 3.3 miles instead of 3.1, but that sort of thing probably happens too, right? I had been running close to 10 min/miles before the race, but I know I am always a bit slower after the other two events. I wasn’t too upset. I am just glad I finished and enjoyed myself.

Streamboat Sprint-Jill B.

Just wanted to say thank you so so much to my amazing coach lady Wendy Mader for dealing w my crazy and getting me to Boulder with barely 3 months of training! I had one goal today really - race healthy! And that I did and that is also bc of an amazing PT who worked out every issue I had over a 6 month period! Thank you immensely to Lori Jones Duncan who also did her first Half today at Boulder - so proud of you!!! Also, wouldn't have been able to to do it wo my Base Salt! Thank you to all my amazing friends who are my extended family and if I miss you just tell me bc there are so many of you... Amy, Melissa, Robin, Jennie, Chris, Molly, Marshal, Kaira, Ali, Kristen, Debbie, Seth, Alan, Allison, Jim, Sharon (Jim had a beer for me and Sharon had donuts - score!), all my ‪#‎SOASsistas‬, Steve (your amazing tutelage was on point hehe) and I swear I'm forgetting people but they are making me turn my phone off! Ok, Jennifer thank you for my badass glasses! I will never wear anything else again! They effing rocked today! And also but not last my amazing family who I will tag when I get off my flight! Mommy Michelle thank you for EVERYTHING YOU DO! Daddy Christopher thank you also for always believing in me and pushing me! Love you tons! Shannin and family thank you for always dealing with me and my crazy ways but always supporting them anyway! Oh yeah strep this week and I got a 1 minute PR! Yeah buddy!

Boulder 70.3 Jennifer

Triathlete

Swim was only probably like a 5 cuz I almost threw up from the meds! So I think working on some sprints will help and timed stuff and not being sick! Oh and this one Damn girl every time I would try to get around her (she wasn't sighting) she'd swim left or if I swam right shed swim right and when I'd try to pass her someone would swim pass me and I wasn't feeling the best so said eff it and swam far outside! I was frustrated! Shoot - the bike is where I wanted to know the heart rate cuz it was feeling waaaaay too good and I was freaking myself out with "am I going to fast, should I slow it down" and know I can hammer it more so effort there was like a 5 for the first 45 and I think then I felt more like a 7 towRds the end! Fatigue. Also, going in I knew if I hammered the bike my run would suffer so I told myself on 119 I would not tear my legs up and push it bc there is that false flat so I kinda would spin them out there and take in more nutrition before the run and more fluids! Happy with that decision! Run: I don't know here what to say bc the heat got me! Def at least a 7 bc of the heat but I can tell you my number one goal was not to walk and I didn't! It was hard bc of the heat and not training in it at all but Damn if I didn't feel good otherwise! 2 1/2 months of barely running and this is my first half Marathon that I have ran the whole thing! I so stoked about that! Get that run down and I become competitive! 2:05:17 minus 15 mins get me at 1:50 (totes doable) and at a 5:23ish that's top 10! So a solid 7 bc of heat and being sick! I'm not sure I told you, but the week leading up to this I felt like I had this! This first time in any half I felt like "I can do this and smash it!" And then I got sick! Kansas or steelhead I didn't not feel this way and Boulder, I did! I felt strong and like heck yeah! Getting sick messed me up not mentally but physically! Mentally I didn't let it affect me and I'm way proud of that! 2 minute PR in my run from the other halves! Only one minute short of my stand alone half time! 2:04 and change! I'm really starting to like this half distance A LOT! I've never smiled so much on the bike and enjoyed a race more than I did this half! For me, hands down the hardest, but the best! And happy that I stopped on the bike to help a guy and stopped on the run to give a guy salt who was hurting! Wouldn't change it for the world! I can't wait to race it again next year and kill it and can't wait to get stronger to see how I tackle a full next year!!! Ahhhh talking about it again gets me super excited! I haven't felt like this in ages! It's great! Thanks again for all you do. You are seriously the best ever!!! JG

Boulder 70.3 Jennifer

triathlete

What an amazing day!! Thank you to everyone that came out to support me!!! I had a strong swim and a killer bike split but I fell apart on the run. I learned a lot today and all the hard work has definitely paid off. Finished 6 minutes ahead of my goal so I couldn't be happier!! I've got a really good coach!

Boulder 70.3 BJ

Ironman CDA - Nicki

triathlete

Strength Training for Triathletes

Attention triathletes: When you swim, use your kick for balance, not propulsion.

Triathlon Then and Now

Recovery Nutrition 101

10 Reasons Triathletes Should Learn the “other 3” Competitive Swim Stroke

The Triathlon Talk Show with Scientific Triathlon

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