On The Water

My goals for 2017 summarized in two sentences: I am racing my first marathon and I am aiming for a top place at the 2017 ITU long-course World Championships! After sitting down and assessing the 2016 season, Dave asked me the magic question: what do you want to do in 2017? I said, I felt I had a good race at the 2016 ITU long-course World Championships, but for some reason, I have an unfinished business out there. I did well but I did not feel I raced the race. So, we looked at the data and he decided that I lacked running training...he actually said that my 19mi run at the Worlds was not as bad as I thought to be taking into account my 20-25 mi weekly averages during my preparation. Dave said that the best way to put some volume on the run and let your body adapt to longer distances and that way be ready for speed work in spring/summer is to prepare for a marathon race. So, we divided the season into four chunks: 1. Pre-marathon volume build: Run : increase the weekly volume s...

If you are an endurance athlete and you have not tried the First Endurance products yet, let me clarify that what you will read below is a truthful opinion of my personal experience on collaborating with the company and on using their products. It is not biased  and it does not serve any kind of advertisement purposes. If you are an endurance athlete and you have tried the First Endurance products, you know that these products are made of high-quality ingredients and they actually work. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I joined the First Endurance Research Board back in the early 2013 and since then, I have been loving every moment of scientific, non-scientific, athletic and non-athletic interaction with the company. My role in First Endurance is to conduct research on various topics that span the nutritional science and deal with the dietary demands of the endurance athlete. I am part of a ...

For many triathletes who did not grow up swimming, swimming is often their weakest discipline. For that reason, most tend to spend too much time and money on private swim lessons, YouTube instruction videos, internet searches and the rest, hoping to magically improve their swimming for the next season often with very little time in the water actually swimming. However, there is one simple truth that a lot of us either fail to understand or it takes us some time to realize. If you did not grow up swimming, swimming improvement is a gradual process that takes time. Proper coaching with emphasis on the fundamentals will pay dividends that will speed up the process in both the short and the long term. Learning proper technique is fundamental but understanding the theory of proper technique and actually applying it consistently in your swims is the key to success. This is why a great coach can teach you and allow you to focus on one thing at a time and for a long period of t...

Suunto comes from the Nothern European country of Finland. It was born more than 75 years ago when Tuomas Vohlonen came up with a massive production method of the liquid-filled compass. I personally knew Suunto because of their awesome dive watches. However, Suunto has made its way to all sorts of adventure sports including triathlon. Nearly one year ago, I was given the Ambit3 Peak (sapphire) to test the heck out of it and talk openly about its pros and cons. This review does not intend to cover in depth the functions of the watch. It is more like a take-home-message after intensive daily training and racing usage. Enjoy and don't hesitate to chip in your opinion: Pros Amazing battery life! ~ 30 whole hours with 5sec GPS accuracy Heart rate during swimming - hurray! More Features than you'd ever need: compass, altitude, weather info, tens of pre-set sports Unscratchable surface (the sapphire version - totally worth it) Simple and clean easy-to-read display Baby-sof...

Η αγωνιστικη μου σεζον τελειωσε πριν δυο βδομαδες με ευχαριστο τονο. Τερματισα 12η στο Παγκοσμιο Πρωταθλημα της ITU μεγαλης αποστασης (απο 35 γυναικες που προκριθηκαν στην κατηγορια μου). Δεν ειμαι απολυτα ικανοποιημενη. Ωστοσο, κανοντας μια μικρη αναδρομη στο παρελθον και αναπολωντας τις δυσκολιες που καταφερα να ξεπερασω για να φτασω στο στημειο που βρισκομαι σημερα, μπορω να πω οτι ειμαι ευτυχισμενη και πανετοιμη για την καινουρια χρονια. Ας σας διηγηθω μια μικρη ιστορια για να σας δωσω να καταλαβετε απο που προερχομαι και που εχω φτασει σημερα. Στις αρχες του '90 και οταν ημουνα στις τελευταιες ταξεις του δημοτικου, η νεο-σχηματισμενη ομαδα αθλητισμου και τρεξιματος στην πολη, διοργανωνε ενα διημερο ασκησεων-τεστ αντοχης και δυναμης προκειμενου να επιλεξει τους καλυτερους νεους αθλητες. Ημουνα παντα ενα δραστηριο παιδακι με πολυ ενεργεια και παθος και ηθελα με ολη μου την καρδια να γινω και γω μελος αυτης της ομαδας. Εβαλα τα δυνατα μου και προσπαθησα με ολη μου την ψυχ...

My racing season has come to an end on a high note. I finished 12th (out of 35 qualified women in my category) at the 2016 ITU long course World Championships in Oklahoma City. I am not completely satisfied but reflecting back over the years, and seeing all the difficulties I had to overcome in order to get where I am at, I can say I am happy to close up the season and plan for the future.  Let me tell you a little story to give you a perspective. When I was in elementary school, back in the early '90s in Greece, there was a two-day camp to selec t "talented" kids for the newly formed track and field team of the city. I was very keen and active at the time and I wanted with all of my heart to be in that team. I did my very best and tried with all the power of my soul to perform in the tests. But, I did not make the cut-offs and I did not get selected. I was told I was not good enough.  When I moved on to high-school, I was a very good student, but I was not g...

I have heard controversial approaches about the age-group athlete and the approach to racing. Some believe that amateur athletes should really focus and taper for one race a year, others believe that athletes should rest plenty before every single race. Similarly, some coaches do not chose to race the athlete a lot, others believe that this approach takes away the fun and they chose to race the athlete as much as the athlete wants. There is no right or wrong approach to that but there are some physiological parameters that are true and there is also a fundamental question that needs to be addressed to the athlete before any decision made: "How long is your goal race? How much and how well do you want to perform at that one race? Are you ok with a good performance or you want to be at your absolute best?" I find that a lot of my fellow athletes are racing by wanting to do well at every single race. And this is great and if that satisfies them it is even greater! ...