By Dawn Hinz Many athletes were excited when Ironman announced the Inaugural Half Iron Distance Triathlon in Traverse City. It’s a beautiful venue and popular tourist destination in Northern Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. However, Ironman already had a Half Iron Distance located in Michigan; Steelhead. Steelhead is held in the Southwest Corner of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Steelhead is scheduled in late June and Traverse City is held in late August. How would these events be similar and how would they differ? Could an athlete do both? Race Swim Swim Condition Bike Elevation Bike Road Condition Run Elevation Run Condition Steelhead Lake Michigan Possibly Rough 1,306 Feet Good/ Some Hills 203 Feet Full Sun 3 Big Hills Traverse City
By Erin Young 1.Cycling decreases stress Do not underestimate the power of nature and green spaces to change your mood and general health. The environment around you has a huge impact on how you perceive the world and how you feel on any given day. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city, you may feel overwhelmed, stressed and hurried. Once you hit the trails, and immerse yourself in a forest or natural landscape, studies have shown that stress levels are reduced, blood pressure decreases and your overall well-being increases. Don’t believe it? Compare your body’s reaction when biking in the city vs. biking through the forest. 2. Biking is easy on your joints If you have bad
By JoAnn Cranson I’m getting that overwhelming feeling and I can feel the chronic stress and anxiety flooding into my body. Then my brain feeds on the total lack of control I feel with the stress. All the self-talk that I do does not convince my brain to let go of it. Sometimes it just seems circumstances build up including the unexpected death of a loved one, separation/divorce, family problems, health issues, financial difficulties and job challenges to name a few. 2019 has been a rough year for me and I’m left with how can I handle this? It’s so easy to fall into a depression and lack of motivation when that is the last thing I should be doing!
By Brian Reynolds Have you ever wondered how to warm up for a triathlon race? I don’t know about you but when I first got into triathlons this is something I wondered about. I come from a running background and warming up for a race was pretty straight forward. My warm up was usually a 10 to 15 minute run followed by some form drills (i.e., high knees or butt kicks) and pick ups (i.e., strides or fartleks). However for a triathlon there are 3 sports. Do you run, bike, and swim for 10-15 min for each discipline? What order should you do the warm up? Should I bike first or should I run first? I’ll share with you what
By Kellen Caldwell I have a great passion for riding bikes no matter what discipline. I began mountain biking three years ago, and only started road biking a year ago. My first experience racing mountain bikes was in 2017, and my first road race was last year. The first member of Athletic Mentors I met after joining the team was Terry Ritter. Terry has been a huge help with team related questions and he has also provided me with a lot of opportunities to improve my skills. I met my teammate Dan Yankus last summer. I still remember the first ride we did through Kensington Metropark. During that ride, I learned a lot other cyclists as well as about Team
By Tammy Shuler This spring has been a rough one! My training for the Boston Marathon was going great, my speed was up, heart rate down. Then in mid February I woke up with a terrible pain in my upper back. I couldn’t roll over or push myself up with my arms. I thought it was just from sleeping wrong, except it didn’t go away. Weird thing was it stopped hurting when I would run or work out, but then it would come back with worse pain about 45 minutes later. An MRI showed a bulging disc at C7 and after a medrol dose pack (steroids) it was GONE! I was assured it wouldn’t come back. So far so good. Then
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