ATTENTION! Free And Legal Supplement Now Available (In The From of MP3)

The Preamble(move to the next section for the real information):

Music is a large part of my life. Before the days of CDs, MP3s and iPods, I used to sit by the radio restlessly eager for my favorite song to come on the radio so I could record it on a blank cassette. Once my top tunes from the radio were recorded I could load up my Walkman cassette player, Zidane. Before hitting the soccer field I would listen to my cassette in preparation of the game.

put on my headphones and head to the backyard with my soccer ball. I would spend hours outside listening to music attempting to be the next

This method of athletic preparation was one that remained throughout my days as a soccer player. In college one of the first fitness tests each preseason was a two mile time trial under thirteen minutes. In retrospect this is a fairly easy test, but for a young college male whose brain hadn't fully developed in the planning and responsibility areas, the time trial was a milestone. While I wasn't afraid of making that specific time, my competitive drive wanted one of the best times. In order to ensure my goal, I set up a playlist to repeat the song Bleed It Out four times. With the playlist I would be able to gauge where I was and how to pace for my goal. To this day, my body begins to tingle when I hear the song.

Music and Sport:

Music continues to be my training partner and as a result I was curious if there was some form of scientific significance with the use of music and sport. I found a great article addressing my curiosity which I would like to share. For those of you who wish to read the full article follow the link, otherwise I will provide a simple overview of what it had to say. The following information comes from “Music in Sport and Exercise: An Update on Research and Applications”:

The article attempts to answer the following question:

Why is music so pivotal to runners and to sports people from a wide variety of disciplines?

Dissociation

Very simply, studies have shown that music makes training easier. More specifically, under low and moderate intensities, perceived effort is reduced by 10%. Further fancy words in the article mention music has the ability to take your mind off the pain, improve moods of happiness and reduce negative aspects of tension and anger.

Arousal Regulation

Most people wouldn't need an article to understand music aids in “psyching up” or “psyching down” one's mindset. It was pretty obvious in last year's Olympics that listening to music before an event with obnoxiously large headphones will set world records.

Phelps warming up with his obnoxious headphones.

Synchronization

Research has consistently shown, adding music to repetitive exercise increases work output. The tempo in music actually forces your body to be more efficient, a study showed that cyclist who cycled in time required 7% less oxygen than those who listened to music that did not fit their cadence.

Acquisition of Motor Skills

Choosing music purposefully can have a positive effect on sport. Music has the ability to create a visual analogue of effective movement, specific songs can reinforce specific movement further increasing the ability to master technique and form. Lyrics can have a strong effect on effort, providing motivational words throughout a training exercise.

Awesome picture I found on Google.

Attainment of Flow

Music has a way of helping the perception of flow. Studies have shown that personally selected tunes help with attaining a focussed mindset which makes a task seem more consistent by slowing down the process, allowing one to mentally go through the task at hand before it is performed.

Summary:

If you're not training with music, you're missing out on a completely free and legal supplement! Making a playlist that fits an interval workout, a tempo run, a long run, even a swim if you have the equipment, can make you a faster triathlete. Using these same tracks for a pre-race playlist is going to trigger mental cues of your past training sessions, putting your mind in the right mindset and cuing your body for what is to come.

As an avid electronic music listener I have attempted to be my own DJ by putting together sets of my own music that tailor to my workouts. For those of you who work with Jaime, you always look forward to “5x5” workouts. In order to get the best out of my interval session I thought I would share a small music set I put together. The tracks in the set are about five minutes long so I have a rough idea of how long I have been pushing without looking at my watch. ENJOY!

Workout:

Warmup

5x(5min hard, 5min recover)

Cooldown

In New Mexico Running Is More Than A Sport

For many of us running is an integral part of our lives; we do it to train and we do it to maintain our sanity. While the many benefits of running are understood, we often forget the significance running has had on our history. More importantly, running has played a crucial role in cultivating the New Mexico culture that I so much love today.

We are so diverse, we all have different ways of asking for a "coke", or a "soda", or a "pop",  or a ... you get the point. 

There is no doubt New Mexico is one of the most diverse places in this country(notice figure above).  Taking a trip to Santa Fe or Old Town in Albuquerque, it is easy to see the fusion of Spanish colonial influence amongst Native American culture, but the harmony we call New Mexican is a direct result of running.

The Indian Pueblo Revolt of 1680 was the first successful American revolution and was only made possible by the tradition of running.  As a result of oppression by Spanish land owners relying on Pueblo laborers and religious oppression of Native American practices by Franciscan missionaries, Pueblo leaders gathered at Red Willow (Taos Pueblo) to organize a revolt. 

North pueblo at Taos (The North American Indian; v.16) CREATOR Curtis, Edward S., 1868-1952. 

Po'pay, known as the leader of this revolt, organized pueblos as far west as Hopi (300 miles from Taos) and as far south as Isleta (150 miles from Taos) using runners. Each runner was sent with yucca cords containing an equal number of knots. Each day a knot on the cord would be untied signifying a countdown of when each pueblo was to grab hidden weapons and "burn the temples, break up the bells." As a result of the overwhelming numbers from the pueblos, the Spanish were successfully forced out of the region and the pueblos lived without the Spanish for 12 years following. 


In 1692, Diego de Vargas entered the region and reestablished a series of Spanish settlements, while the Franciscans once again implemented missions in Pueblo villages. Significant concessions by the Spanish had to be made in order for these settlements to remain successful. As a direct result of the organization led by Po'pay and facilitated by the runners, many modern Pueblo peoples credit the Pueblo Revolt with preserving their Native beliefs and cultural ways as they continue to exist even today.

Mission San Esteban Rey was built c.1641, photograph by Ansel Adams, c.1941

As an example, Acoma (just a few miles west of Albuquerque) people constructed a Spanish church in 1641, the church survived the rebellion and it remains in use, but a short walk takes visitors past ladders that lead to the rooftop entrances of kivas, where the old ways also endure.

Statue of Po’pay given by New Mexico for display in the National Statuary Hall Collection. 

To honor this act of rebellion against oppression which has led to the culture that we enjoy today, a statue of Po'pay represents New Mexico in the Statuary Hall in Washington D.C.

In summary, the beauty of our uniqueness is due to the efforts of a running tradition that is deeply rooted within our New Mexican culture. My profound respect for the Native American culture comes from it's ability to maintain it's cultural traditions over centuries of adversity. As a local, I am happy to say that running is not only apart of my lifestyle but in my blood.

For those of you running in the Albuquerque foothills, I encourage you to use your imaginations and take yourselves back to 1680. Try to put yourselves in the feet of a Pueblo messenger, imagine your purpose is to pass on a message, a message meant to preserve a culture. Happy training!

Encouraged reading on this subject:
Harvard University has a great online exhibit expressing the deep tradition of running amongst American Indians, including a list of Olympians and marathon records set by American Indians.

Triathlon Is A Team Sport!

Dinner at Risky Business with special guest Lauren Goss.

Spin/track workout on a brisk morning.

A great way of counting your blessing is by the company you keep and I am blessed. This past weekend I spent my time with wonderful individuals who taught me what it means to overcome, to be strong and to maintain. Tucson, AZ hosted the second annual SWTri winter camp. The weekend was fun filled with yoga, swimming, biking, running and recovery training. More importantly, I was surrounded by great people.  Much speculation comes into play when people hear about a triathlon camp, so the best thing about this weekend was training with all levels of athletes. 

Morning swim, robes included!

Triathlon is an individual sport that requires much of your time. As a result, one must stick to a schedule that may or may not coincide with another's. This can cause us to get lost in our busy lives and forget what it feels like to train with a buddy or a team. The camp reminded me of how important it is to build relationships. Not only is it helpful to find people who can push you and improve your times, but taking time to get to know others can help to put your life in perspective. The things I took away most from this years camp came from conversations I had with people over the weekend, here they are:

• Youth isn't eternal, take time to appreciate what you got and respect those who have been there.
• No matter how hard your life may seem, things could always be worse. Take control, there is always a way to make it work.
• Being fit and healthy does not require a competitive edge only a will to make it happen.

SWTri Camp Class of 2013

I am truly blessed to have had the opportunity to spend my time with inspirational people. SWTri camp class of 2013, you were awesome! 

A CHALLENGE FOR ALL TRIATHLETES: 

I want to challenge all of my fellow triathletes to step out of their individual sport mindset and meet someone new. Maybe at the next event talk to the person next to you in transition, join a spin class and talk your neighbor(before or after class please), or find a masters group to swim with. If the opportunity of conversation arises, attempt to talk about something other than training. You never know, you might meet your next inspiration.