Triathlon Training

Not only do heart rate monitors now clean your house, do your dishes, flush the toilet and make your bed, but they can apparently tell you how many calories you've burnt. Many people simply accept this as a mysterious magical power created by companies like Polar and Suunto.

XTERRA world champion Melanie McQuaid offers her top 10 tips for XTERRA success.

Many athletes have been training all summer for your first triathlon, which is usually accompanied by anxiety and nervousness. That being said, we have created a pre-race checklist that covers just about everything that you will need for your first triathlon in addition to some tricks of the trade. Pre-Race:

I'm not a big fan of energy drinks. Heck, even just running under the Red Bull arch as I come out of the water at a triathlon annoys me just a bit. As a nutrition consultant, for the sake of my clients I have sometimes wished in the past that energy drinks did not exist. And here are the reasons why:

Alicia Kendig, Carmichael Training Systems Sports Dietitian, writes The athletic supplement business is a multi-million dollar industry with products promising big boosts in performance from pills, powders, or liquids. As a sports dietitian, I’m bombarded by questions nearly every day regarding the benefits of these manufactured nutrients.

You know the feeling. In the process of tapering for races, trying to check off your swimming, cycling and running workouts, and traveling to triathlons, you suddenly realize that you haven't been to the gym for a long time...a very long time.

By Neal Henderson MS CSCS, Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, Sport Science Director For years, well intentioned coaches and exercise physiologists have given endurance athletes very strong recommendations to ensure high carbohydrate intake during training and racing to optimize performance.

I’m not a fan of the word diet. Not that I think one shouldn’t watch what they eat, it’s the fact that the word diet usually means calorie restriction, hunger, avoiding your favorite foods and unpleasantness in general. So I use the term food choices.

Couer D' Alene Ironman commenced this past week. As a triathlon coach, I have a myriad of athletes competing in the race. Some did well. Others struggled. But with each athlete, a few days after the race (before post-race amnesia sits in) I sit down with a notepad, via phone, text, or face-to-face, and discuss the highs and lows of their long day.

Fast forward to Tuesday or Wednesday after your Ironman. It's very likely that you're sitting on the couch, with your shattered legs on the coffee table, scratching your sunburned head as you try to remember your dog's name--which you've forgotten--because all you've thought about for the past 6-9 months is Ironman.