"In JKD [Jeet Kune Do], one does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity." Bruce Lee. "Any effort that has self-glorification as its final endpoint is bound to end in disaster." by Robert M. Pirsig, from The Painter's Keys. "If you could wish for one athletic-enhancing gene it should be the one that ... Read more
A Good Man And His Cat And The Value Of Mental Imagery In Safe Exercise For Better Health
"Men are born soft and supple; dead, they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life. The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail." From the Tao te Ching by Lao-tzu, translated by Steven Mitchell. Hi ... Read more
Message To FitOldDog From His Ironman Coach: “You need to manage yourself OUTside of training better in order to have better training!”
Hi folks, If you decide to undertake endurance sports I strongly recommend that you find yourself an experienced coach. Chris Hauth of Advanced Ironman Protocol (AIMP) has been coaching me for some time now, and I have found him to be a man of few words. His main goal is the success of his athletes, but he doesn't do this by patting them on the back all the time, instead he points out where you are ... Read more
To Improve Triathlon Swim Times Focus On Conditioning And Consider Using A Sleeveless Wet Suit
Hi folks, Rick Fee, my local swim coach, has been telling me about his frustration with triathletes, who as a group seem to believe that they will pull up their swim times by focusing on technique. When Rick started coaching me, three months before the Eagleman Half Ironman 2012, I would have been lucky to hold 1:50 x 100 yard repeats. After some pretty solid swim sets 3x/week with Rick, my 10-20 x ... Read more
Building A New Engine Using High Volume Aerobic Ironman Training Allows You To Enjoy The Ride And Rescue A Turtle Or Two
Hi folks, There seem to be two main approaches to the training of endurance athletes, intensity or volume, and I've experienced coaches of both persuasions. I consider my coach, Chris Hauth, to be a volume guy, with intensity carefully added to the mix. He got me to the Boston Marathon. Chris also gave me two chances to go to Ironman Kona, but I messed those up by (a) failing to go to the roll down ... Read more
Enjoying The Aloneness Of Ironman Training With My Girly Triple
Hi folks, There is a big difference between loneliness and aloneness. I used to feel lonely a lot when I was younger, but that seems to have faded as time went by. Aloneness is another matter. I find that I really need alone time in order to recharge my batteries and deal with the complexity of people again. In this respect, Ironman training is perfect. You undertake these races on your own, with the ... Read more
The Human Body And Psyche Are Fragile Machines That Respond To Load
"Success is as dangerous as failure. Hope is as hollow as fear. What does it mean that success is as dangerous as failure? Whether you go up the ladder or down it, your position is shaky. When you stand with your two feet on the ground, you will always keep your balance. What does it mean that hope is as hollow as fear? Hope and fear are both phantoms that arise from thinking of the ... Read more
Using A Video Camera To Fix Your Swim Stroke – What’s Your Diagnosis?
Hi folks, As Rick Fee has improved my swim performance by focusing on conditioning, rather than technique, we noticed that my pull boy times are much better than when I swim without. The difference can be as much as 11 seconds over 100 yards, taking me from a 1:28 to 1:41. I hate that, and I wondered why it was happening. I feel the same, either way. But as we say in Feldenkrais, "Just because it feels ... Read more
Recent Comments