Triathlon Training Daddy: Facebook, marathons and crazy ultra-runners, oh my

Wednesday has snuck up on my like a Kung Fu Panda sneaking up on a dumpling. I know this because I have seen the movie like 20 times with our 3 year old. I can actually take that one as opposed to Nemo, Incredibles or Cars.

HEAR THIS! Thanks to Facebook updates my Kansas City Endurance Sports group will be archived and everyone in the group will be dumped. Don't fear! I still have my blog FB page for you to keep up to date with. Check out http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/FalkeeTriathlon/116394418382409 and like the page to keep up with Examiner and Blog posts!

TRAINING
Hit a 35 mile bike ride this morning. Snooze only caught me for 30 minutes which resulted in a distance penalty of 5 miles subtracted from my goal of 40 miles. Overall I don't feel too bad physically but the speed still eludes me. I'm sure it has nothing to do with 3 straight days of hard effort for runs and rides... or being sleep deprived.

My goal is to add more bike workouts, not just volume. I'm sure the added volume side effect will help but I need to get some more biking intensity going and just trying to add volume and killing myself isn't the answer. I'll probably add a 4th weekly ride of about 10 to 15 miles of pure sprints. Low volume, high intensity.

I also have some other tips and pointers sitting around in my email that I need to dust off.

Some BACK exercises to try.

TIPS FOR CLIMBING FASTER ON THE BIKE from Chris Carmichael - I've been using tip 1 and 2, but need to remember tip 3.

Tip #1: When your feet go slow, you go slow!
Keeping your cadence up on climbs keeps your power output high and gives you the ability to accelerate or respond to changes in pace or pitch. Keep your cadence above 80 if possible.
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Tip #2: Use your weight to your advantage
Your cadence will naturally fall as you stand up out of the saddle. To keep your momentum going you need to shift to a harder gear as you stand. By doing this you take advantage of the fact all your weight can be centered over the pedals. Whether you're a lightweight or a clydesdale, you should push a bigger gear at a lower cadence (60-75rpm) while standing up.
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Tip #3: Push out instead of pulling in
When you're out of the saddle the temptation is to pull hard on the brake hoods for leverage, but that's tiring - especially during long climbs. Instead of pulling with your right arm, try pushing out and forward with your left. The bike moves the same way as if you were pulling on the bars, and you move over the bike as you otherwise would, but you save energy.

EXAMINER
Latest on Dean Karnazes coming to KC this weekend to pump up The North Face Endurance Run.