Incredibly important but often overlooked, fueling can make or break your race, and ultimately your training leading into a race. In this three part webinar series, Core Diet Registered Dietician Beth Peterson provides invaluable nutrition guidance.

When working through injuries, I’ve often found myself drawing parallels between the lessons learned throughout the comeback process with the lessons I’ve learned from a decade of racing Ironmans (or any shorter races, IMs are just most relatable to me because of the concept of “the long haul”).

Looking to continue to improve your core strength? Join Coach Reem Jishi for the second workout in a three part Core Strength Progression Series.

In the first couple of blogs in this series, I focused on ways to (hopefully) still maintain some fitness and work through (and beyond) smaller, day-to-day aches and pains. But, sometimes, despite our best efforts, acute injuries happen (hi, bike crashes), or, for one (usually competitive training motive-related) reason or another, the overuse ones become serious enough to warrant a more extended shutdown. We all fear this happening for a reason-it, in a word, sucks. With the exception of the serious, truly awful bike accidents that result in permanent damage (which are beyond the scope of what’s discussed in this post), maybe, in the great scheme of medical problems, an orthopedic injury that will heal in a few months might not be at the top of the list of bad things that can happen to a body. But still-acutely broken bones, stress fractures, soft tissue tears, post-op recoveries-none of it is fun. We chose to pursue triathlon because, at some level, it brings some combination of enjoyment, satisfaction, connection, community, and a sense of accomplishment to their lives, and injury results in the temporary loss of that. So, what do we do when faced with a longer shutdown that keeps us more significantly out of training and competing?

After racing Ironman Finland in August, following a very front-loaded triathlon season, I felt like I really needed a break. So, when a friend told me about a gravel race half an hour from where I live, my first thought was “interesting”, which turned into “that could be fun”, and then “why not”??? And that is how I ended up signing up for my first gravel race – Big Sugar - less than two months before the race.

In the previous edition of this “dealing with injuries/pain” blog series, I discussed some guidelines for when an athlete might be able to train through some sort of injury or pain, vs when a hard stop might be indicated. But, even if an athlete is able to continue working through pain, that doesn’t mean that nothing should be done otherwise in order to try to address it, especially when pain levels fall into that “yellow zone” 3-5/10 range. Plus, even low levels of pain aren’t fun, so even though we might not want to stop training entirely, of course we still want to make it better, and get past any injuries in order to progress in the longer term! When niggles strike and maintaining fitness is important, some considerations can be made in order to decrease provocative stresses on the body, while still working towards goals.

Looking to improve your core strength? Join Coach Reem Jishi for the first in a three part Core Strength Progression Series.

Let’s face it - injuries happen in triathlon. QT2 Systems Coach, Physical Therapist and Certified Strength Conditioning Specialist Jennie Hansen walks through the factors to consider in deciding whether your injury is one you can or should train through. This is the first in a four part series.

QT2 Systems Coach, Physical Therapist and Certified Strength Conditioning Specialist Jennie Hansen takes you through mobility and stability exercises to improve posture. This routine will help you open up your chest muscles and strengthen your upper back and shoulder blade muscles.

Looking for a new challenge? Try this fun TRX Core workout with Coach Reem Jishi.