Mark H. Wilson is a highly-accomplished triathlete and coach with more than 20 years of experience. As an athlete, Mark has achieved success as an Ironman 70.3 World Championship Finisher and was a seven-time finisher in the Ironman USA Lake Placid with a P.R. of 10:59:40. Other career highlights include eight-time finisher in the S.O.S (Survival of the Shawangunks), Escape from Alcatraz Qualifier – Westchester Triathlon and he was also a six-time USAT All-American.

Being a competitive runner since the age of 12, Mark was excited about the prospect of being as fit as the triathletes he had seen in national magazines. They seemed like the fittest people on the planet. Having already done several marathons, it seemed feasible to Mark to jump right into the half-distance triathlon; it went very well and lead to a lifelong interest/profession in the sport.

As a professional coach, Mark has performed countless triathlon training camps all over the United States as a USAT Level I and lI Certified Coach and thousands of hours of individual training with more than one thousand athletes. His coaching honors run the gamut and include Ironman Triathlon World Championship, Ironman 70.3 World Championship, ITU Olympic Triathlon World Championship, ITU Sprint Triathlon World Championship, Lifetime Fitness National Championship, USAT Age-Group All-Americans, ITU World Championship Qualifier – Athena Champion, and USAT Ironman National Championship – Athena Champion, as well as Hudson Valley Magazine 2008 Triathlon Coach of the Year, just to name a few.

Mark is also a Professional Life Coach and the Founder/President of the Hudson Valley Triathlon Club, which has more than 100 annual members. His contagious positive energy and passion for triathlon has made him one of the most beloved coaches in the sport. One of Mark’s coaching mantras perhaps sums it up best: Participating in the sport of triathlon and HVTC may cause radiant health and spiritual well-being.

Through his uncanny motivational and training skills, Mark has inspired hundreds of athletes to pursue their dreams and personal goals. It is this very reason why Tom Struzzieri, HITS, Inc. President & CEO, was moved to joined forces with Mark to introduce the all-new HITS Triathlon Series. The combination of Tom’s skills in the world event management and Mark’s endless knowledge of triathlon make them a perfect duo to bring forth a fresh, innovative concept that will engage existing athletes and help to inspire new ones to grow the sport.

From the minds of Tom Struzzieri and Mark H. Wilson, we are proud to introduce the HITS Triathlon Series: A distance for everyone!^TM

Natural, Free, and Easy

I think one of the biggest issues is; most people are using workouts as the test rather than the information for the test. What you learn from your workout is how you grow and develop both the physical, and mental knowledge to take and pass your test. And in our opinion the best way to do this is to relax, let the workout unfold, record the data and use it for moving forward.

First relax and build you aerobic base. During the process of base building, whether it be running, biking or swimming, the ability to develop will depend on how aerobically and bio-mechanically efficient you become. You can develop your efficiency by practicing your form. Your best form is a relaxed form! Yes there are certain basic physical postures you should be in for all three disciplines, but the key to making them work right for you is to relax, visualize and let it happen.

I once read that Butch Harmon, famed golf swing coach for Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson teaches them visualization of ball flight. He says if they are thinking of all the things they need to do right, one is sure to go wrong, and cause bad ball strike, flight and direction. So they stand behind the ball visualize the motion and flight and then hit away.

This is a practice that you as runners and triathletes should do. Picture yourself with great body position, relaxed form and easy breathing and then let it happen. As a runner listen and feel your feet. Are they light, fast, quite. As a cyclist listen to your wheels spin and feel your feet spinning in circles. As a swimmer picture yourself rolling and gliding naturally in the water taking smooth efficient breathes. Don’t under emphasize the importance of visualizing.

The other key to relaxing is take the stress out of your training by having a plan in place. If coaching is not option for you, do a little research and find a training plan that works best for you! We always tell our teammates let me do the thinking and you do the training. This means all they have to do is read the workout step out the door and go. The stress of developing a plan, and finding the time to execute it is added stress that will take some of the enjoyment out of your training.

So in essence, set a reachable goal. Get a plan that works best for you! Don’t over think your training. Learn the basics of good form, visualize and let it happen.  If it feels natural, pretty good chance it is natural. And as always….

Be Healthy, Train Smart, Have Fun

Coach Jeff and Diane

A great Monday night discussion on various training topics.

This week we talk about how to manage your training time with your goals and life schedule.

This week we discussed how to build a successful training plan. From base to speed. For runners and triathletes!

As a coach the first thing I do with every new client is join them on a very easy run. I do this so I can get a feel for the person and observe their form and technique. Based on these observations I can begin the process of tweaking their running form to make running easier and more efficient. Again, because we are all different some will make these adjustments faster than others, but the results are always the same, easier running, faster times and fewer injuries.

It would be impossible to address all of the actions that are involved with running in this book. So I am going to address the attributes that will have the greatest impact on you as a runner.

Tall and Quiet

The first is posture and form. Although this may seem like a simple thing to change, I can’t tell you how many times I have to make small reminders to even some of  my most experienced and successful clients. I often tell you in my training plans to run tall and quiet. This is the most important tip I can give you. For endurance runners keeping your head up, and back straight takes the weight off of your quads and significantly reduces the amount of pounding on your knees. Focus on lifting your knees and landing lightly. This allows you to strike with a lot less force and cuts back on the braking action of each stride. Finally, relax your shoulders, arms, hands and even your face. Hunching up and bunching up will make your runs tighter and less fluid. Always focus on being relaxed.

Fast Feet

The next thing I address constantly in your training is having fast, light feet. Fast feet are accomplished by reducing your stride length and increasing the number of foot strikes per minute you use while running. You should be striving to reach 18 to 25 left foot strikes every 15 seconds. In the beginning you may feel like you are taking baby steps, but as you become more comfortable, you will feel how much more economical it is to under stride than over stride. Long strides use more energy and cause more breaking action than shorter faster steps. Again, a high stride rate reduces the amount of force at impact and greatly reduces the risk of injury.

Light Feet

When I tell you run with light feet I am talking about reducing the force, impact and amount of time your feet spend on the ground. For decades endurance runners ran with the notion it is best to strike the ground with the heel of your foot and roll forward before pushing off for your next stride. More recent research tells us that this causes two actions you want to avoid as a runner. The first is a stiff impact as your heel pushes into the ground, and the second is the longer length of time your foot is on the ground. Both reduce efficiency and speed.

However, if you land on your midfoot or forefoot, your foot will rebound almost instantaneously to initiate your next stride. This immediate energy return comes from the energy stored in your muscles as they are quickly stretched and then allowed to quickly release this energy. Therefore, landing farther forward on your foot improves your velocity with no effort on your part. In fact, research has provided that many world class runners take advantage of this action. One study showed that of the fastest runners, 60 percent landed on their forefoot, 30 percent made contact at their midfoot and only 10 percent were heel strikers.

Keep in mind when you land on your heel, your foot must be well in front of your center of gravity. Whenever a support point is in front of your center of gravity your forward motion is slowed. Again, it’s like putting on the brakes with every step. Now you must increase your acceleration to counter the braking. This constant speeding up and slowing down uses a lot of energy therefore making you far less efficient and economical as a runner.

Lose Your Bounce

A huge energy waster is bouncing up and down with each step. That’s why converting your leg motion to the more horizontal pendulum swing from the vertical knee lift is so important. Fortunately increasing your foot turnover and reducing your stride length will naturally reduce you’re your bounce.

The best technique to help promote horizontal movement is leaning from your ankles.  There is no bending at the waist to achieve forward lean. This position will allow your forward foot strike to convert your movements in a more horizontal direction. Simply put, you bounce less.

Why is it important to bounce less? Here is a great example. In a 10K race if you are a 150 pound person and your center of gravity, (your hip, waist and pelvic region) bounces up and down 2 inches with every stride, you will have lifted the equivalent of 84 tons one foot high. However, if you reduce your bounce to one inch per step you cut your workload in half to 42 tons raised. That is a lot of saved energy.

Not only is energy saved by reducing your bouncing with a long stride, but your impact forces are greatly reduced over the course of the race. This of course reduces your risk of runner’s injury.

Be Healthy, Train Smart, Have Fun

Coach Jeff

Uphill and Downhill Running Made Easy from Jeff Kline on Vimeo.

Forefoot Running Drills from Jeff Kline on Vimeo.

Podcast on Natural Running/Forefoot Striking 6-16-10 from Jeff Kline on Vimeo.

Newton Natural Running Form with Danny Abshire from Jeff Kline on Vimeo.

Forefoot vs Heel Striking and Over-Pronation from Jeff Kline on Vimeo.

Training for Relays from Jeff Kline on Vimeo.

Runners and Triathletes are Special from Jeff Kline on Vimeo.

Building pace for marathons and triathlons from Jeff Kline on Vimeo.

Over-Pronation, Support and Good Form from Jeff Kline on Vimeo.

Running with Turnover from Jeff Kline on Vimeo.