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November 14-15: Mack Cycle Miami Man Half Iron and International Tri Expo and Pre-event clinic, Miami, FL. [info]

February 19-21: Fit Soul, Fit Body, Santa Cruz, CA [info]

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November, 2015


Coaching athletes is a unique responsibility and opportunity. Some will work with a coach on short term goals, but others, like professional Timothy O'Donnell, understand that to make the most of a coaching relationship takes time. It was extremely satisfying to see that the deeper roots we laid for him in 2014 and leading into his 2015 season allowed him to put together a fantastic race leading to a 3rd place podium finish at the IRONMAN Triathlon World Championships in Hawaii.



When spring races come around, it will be evident who is mentally refreshed and prepared and who put off their training. Which athlete do you want to be?

Below you will find my Tip from the Grip with a few suggestions for your off season. If you are looking for guidance and accountability, start with us now for a full year of training. We are still accepting applications for our 2016 Elite Team through November 15. 

There's still some great racing to be had in 2015. I'll be at the Miami Man Mack Cycle Triathlon November 14-15, reminding athletes they can turn defeat into victory. I'll have a few copies of The Art of Competition with me to sign and sell. Then on race day I look forward to greeting athletes as they cross the finish line!
   
TIP FROM THE GRIP

OFF SEASON TRAINING

Training for a triathlon has three pretty well-known phases that most athletes talk about: base building, the speed phase and tapering. But there is a fourth phase of training that few give a lot of thought to, and that is your off-season. This is the in between time of year when all the big events for your season have been completed and the next year is too far in the future to dive into another big block of serious volume and intensity. It's the rest and recovery phase that is so critical for setting the stage for an even better year to come. 

Off season training requires a significant drop in overall training volume from what you have become accustomed to doing in-season. This affords your body and your mind time to really regenerate the deep energy stores that you draw on throughout the racing season. Without taking this time to reduce your overall fitness and recover completely it is very tough to be able to build anything significant onto your fitness in the season that will eventually come in the future. 

You can think of it in terms of what is going on around you in the fall and winter months. The world of nature goes inside. Trees drop their leaves, the flowers disappear and fields lay dormant. The energy is going inward. But underneath the ground the roots of the trees are growing, broadening their base for the upcoming spring that will eventually come. Human beings are a mirror of this process. If you allow your fitness to drop by reducing your overall training volume and intensity, you will regenerate and build those roots to then take things to a new level the following year. 



Cadence and form. These are two areas you can develop in the off-season. Without needing to focus on pushing your pace like you would in-season it affords you more time in your sessions to really focus on form and cadence. Just because you might go slower than an in-season session doesn't mean that your cadence need be slow. Keep it at ideal of around 90 rpm on the bike and around the same foot strikes per minute counted on one side running. This patterns into your muscles the ability to hold pace in a race. Use the time in a pool the same by focusing on improving your mechanics rather than speed. Ultimately that will help in all three sports with efficiency and eventually give you more speed with less effort. 

Stationary bike work. This is the best way to develop awareness of which muscles are working to generate your power in the pedal stroke. Get set up, then do a session where part of the time you are in the aero position with your eyes closed. Figure out if you are using your quads or your glutes to generate your pedaling power. It should be glutes. If you only feel quads, try rotating your hips underneath you a bit (as opposed to pushing them back and arching your back). This will help engage them and enable you to use the glutes, which are a muscle that basically never fatigues. 



One-legged work for running. Stand on one leg with your eyes closed. Get your balance. Once you have that bend your knee and drop down just a few inches. Gain your balance in this position also with your eyes closed still on one leg. Once you have that, then push back up to straight legged, again with eyes closed. This will help develop the proprioceptors necessary to get on and off you feet quickly on the run. With eyes closed you take a big level of balance out and force your body to use your feet to help with the balance and eventually with efficiency. The final drill can be to run one foot to the next with your eyes closed, but stop every time you go from one foot to the next until you gain your balance. At first this will be wobbly, but eventually you will basically hit the ground with the next foot and be completely solid, again with the eyes closed. 

All of this is great work to do in your off season swim, bike and run workouts to build efficiency of movement that is tougher to do when you are also focused on going fast like you do in your regular seasonal training in the summers. For guidance on workouts that will afford you just enough training to maintain just the right amount of fitness in the off-season yet with sufficient recovery time, check out my Maintenance Programs that are the option a lot of athletes are choosing right now until they closer to their 20-week to race window for their first big triathlons coming in 2016. You will see the Maintenance Program option when you login to your account at MarkAllenCoaching.com then clicking on Programs from the app dashboard!

 ~ Mark Allen
Clinic and Book Signing at Mack Cycle Miami Man Triathlon
  

Join me at the Miami Man International and Half Iron distance events on Saturday November 14th at 1:00 pm. I'll share stories of turning defeat into victory and afterward will hold a book signing for The Art of Competition. A limited number of copies will be available for sale.



Looking forward to greeting athletes at the finish line and at the awards ceremonies!

FIT SOUL FIT BODY SEMINAR


 Santa Cruz, February 19-21, 2016

Join Shaman and Healer Brant Secunda and 6-Time Ironman World Champion Mark Allen for a weekend workshop that explores the themes of Sport and Spirit. Develop fitness and health from the inside out in ways that will help you improve athletic performance, lose weight, gain a positive outlook on life and build a positive vision for your most personal endeavors.
Join us in person for an info-packed, interactive, and empowering seminar to learn and practice our proven techniques and strategies. The Fit Soul Fit Body seminar can help you bring more satisfaction, happiness, and health to your life. Whether you're looking to successfully alleviate stress, establish a more positive outlook, tap a deeper spiritual side of yourself and the world, lose weight and shape up, or simply find that mythical balance in life, this program will teach valuable skills in a highly engaging and life-transformative setting.

The sessions offer a balanced blend of lecture and experiential exercises. Many of the exercises are done outdoors, giving you a chance to become familiar with the beautiful natural surroundings. Go home with a renewed sense of self and a set of tools that can help continue to uplift both body and soul.

YEAR OF COACHING SPECIAL WITH MarkAllenCoaching
INVEST NOW IN YOUR BEST RACE SEASON!
Train with MarkAllenCoaching. Your Future Self will thank you.

Now is the time of year to think ahead to the 2016 season. Get prepared with the MarkAllenCoaching Year of Coaching Special. Invest in a year of training for only $20 per week. The training credits never expire. You can use them at anytime.

The credits can be used to create both the Peak Performance Racing Programs as well as our newly launched off-season Maintenance Programs. The Maintenance plans are designed to help give you just enough training after your last races of the year to keep a good base of fitness but to also be able to recover enough so that you are charged up and ready when the next season rolls around. Included will be just enough tempo work to keep your body activated as well. 

Just create an account at MarkAllenCoaching.com then once you are signed in click on Credits on the dashboard. Once you have your credits you can create your next training program at any time. If you have any questions on how to blend the Maintenance and Peak Performance options throughout your upcoming months feel free to email me at [email protected] and I will help you out.

See how easy it is to create your training plan!
    
Included with all programs is the TriFAQ and unlimited email support for any questions you have or feedback you desire. 

Whether your goal is sustained and healthy enjoyment of the sport, personal bests, or podiums, MarkAllenCoaching can help you make the most of your training time. 
MEDIA 

Breakfast with Bob - Kona Week
Bob Babbitt called this his "favorite interview" (of nearly 100) with Mark Allen. 



Endurance Planet - Kona Week

Mark Allen and Timothy O'Donnell on Building a Podium Performance

Learn what went into Timothy's podium performance with Mark Allen as his coach, including what was needed to make a comeback after a disappointing day in 2014 to finish 3rd in 2015.

2016 ELITE TEAM APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED THROUGH NOVEMBER 15

We are still taking applications for the 2016 MarkAllenCoaching Elite Team. This small group of selected athletes (~20) will commit to a year of coaching, receive special discounts from partner companies, and enjoy monthly webinars / webchats with Coach Mark Allen to promote top performances and personal bests.

If you are interested in being considered for the MarkAllenCoaching Elite Team, email [email protected] by November 15, 2015 with the following information:

  1. Name 
  2. Gender 
  3. Race Division for 2016 
  4. Address
  5. Tell us why you would like to join the MarkAllenCoaching Elite Team.
  6. Are you currently coached by anyone? 
  7. Your 2015 triathlon results in tabular format including: 
    • Race name and date
    • Race distance 
    • Division 
    • Division place 
    • Overall place 
    • Finishing time 
  8. Preliminary 2016 race schedule
  9. A digital race photo that may be used on our website and marketing materials
  10. Your favorite motivational saying or quote

The MarkAllenCoaching Elite Team will be selected by December 1
MarkAllenCoaching ATHLETE CONGRATULATIONS


Timothy O'Donnell, 3rd at 2015 Hawaii IRONMAN World Championship


Iron Chef Leo Di Canio - 2nd place at Race 3 of the FD3 International Triathlon Series
& 2nd place overall series award Clydesdale 40+
NUTRITION

Turkey Sausage & Peppers with Braised Quinoa

Ingredients (serves 2):
  • 2 lean turkey sausages
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 1 small red, yellow & orange pepper
  • 1 1/2 cup fat free, low sodium chicken stock
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
  1. In a pot, bring 1 1/2 cup of chicken stock to a boil. Add 1 cup of quinoa. Lower heat & cover until chick stock is absorbed and quonoa is soft & fluffy. Approx: 15 min. Add 1 tbl spoon to quinoa & stir. Add salt & pepper to taste.
  2. Slice peppers & onions into strips.
  3. In a warm pan add1 tbl spoon of extra virgin olive oil & add peppers & onions and slowly cook on low heat until peppers are cooked but firm to thr bite. Add salt to taste. Set aside.
  4. Slice turkey sausage down the middle / butterfly and remove casing.
  5. In a hot pan, add 1 tspn & saute turkey sausage until fully cooked.
  6. In a plate or bowl scoop quinoa in center. Add sausage in center. Spoon pepper & onions on center on sausage & finish with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
Cross your finish line,
Chef Leo



Meet the Iron Chef

Leo Di Canio
grew up in a home where food was a passion. Years later, Leo would apprentice for 3 years in Italy where cooking Italian food became his specialty. He then went on to college where he received a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management, and then went on to graduate at the top of his class at the School of Culinary Arts in Atlanta Ga. In early 2010, he began running 5Ks and by December of that year completed his first Marathon in Las Vegas. That year he also completed his first sprint triathlon. 

In 2012, he teamed up with Mark Allen and began a journey to race every distance in triathlon including Ironman Florida 2013. In 2014 he finished his second Ironman and was awarded the HITS Endurance Athlete of the Year in his division and is currently training for his third full distance triathlon, Ironman Texas. Late last year he released a book about his incredible journey to becoming an Ironman titled, "I Will Be Iron" at IWillBeIron.com. His passions are his family, triathlon and to create delicious meals that are both nutritious and simple. Being a triathlete himself, Leo knows that triathletes are some of the busiest people around. His goal will be to create great meals that are full of flavor and nutrition, but easy to cook for yourself and your family.

 
 
SPECIAL OFFERS
Save 15% on Salming Running shoes
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Save 20% on First Endurance Products 
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Save 20% on Kiwami Apparel 
Coupon code: 20KIWAMI
   
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ABOUT MarkAllenCoaching

 

MarkAllenCoaching is a leading endurance sport coaching service, owned and operated by six-time Hawaii Ironman World Champion, Mark Allen. MarkAllenCoaching offers endurance athletes the ability to achieve their endurance sport goals through Mark's techniques developed through his 15-year professional triathlon career, and 20 years of experience coaching professional and age group triathletes to be "Always A Step Ahead." MarkAllenCoaching's partners include recognized category leaders and innovators in endurance sports - Salming Running, First Endurance, ROKA, ENVE and Kiwami. 

 

Mark Allen was named "The World's Fittest Man" by Outside magazine, voted "The Greatest Endurance Athlete of All Time" by ESPN, and selected as "The Greatest Triathlete Of All Time" by Triathlete magazine. He is a motivational speaker, coach, endurance sports product consultant, and award-winning author. The Art of Competition was the 2014 winner in the Sports category of the 11th annual USA Best Book  Awards. Fit Soul, Fit Body: 9 Keys to a Healthier, Happier You, co-authored with Brant Secunda, received the prestigious Nautilus Book Award in the category of Health, Healing and Energetic Medicine in 2010. He runs MarkAllenCoaching, training professional and age-group triathletes. 

 

For more information on MarkAllenCoaching, visit MarkAllenCoaching.com, the MarkAllenCoaching Facebook page, or follow him on Twitter  @CoachingMark