I’ve practiced yoga on and off for 15 years, more regularly since turning 50, receiving countless valuable insights in the bargain. On May 1st, as a May Day observation, our teacher suggested an intention, based on the Celtic festival Beltane, to merge the “male and female nature” in ourselves. As Carrie explained, the male nature is Doing while the female nature is Receiving. Being habitually a Do-er, I decided to Do Less and Receive More during class.

Because I’d been traveling most of the previous two months, and had attended only two classes in that time, I felt a distinct lack of “yoga fitness.” Two days earlier I attended a similar class led by the same teacher. After 75 minutes I was whipped. But after focusing on Receiving, I felt fresh, indeed energized!

I may have done some triathlons, but by no means am I a swimmer.  Like many other age-group triathletes, I do not have the background of having grown up in a pool or swimming laps.  Before triathlon, I did not have experience in using goggles, masks or other swim products.  So, when it came time to swim, I tried cheaper goggles.   The only thing they taught me is my eyes are highly sensitive to chlorine, which is why I avoided the pool when I was younger.  Thus, as most triathletes without a swimming background, I ended up with a mask.  After all, what could seal better than a mask around your eyes and face?

The Basics

In comes the Blue Seventy Vision.   The goggles retail for about $19.95, about two-thirds the price of a mask.  I have the  blue lenses which are used for indoor conditions and cloudy, outdoor conditions.   They offer a range of lenses from clear to smoke for the brightest of conditions.  Blue Seventy claims their goggles will fit most faces.  Based on my past experience with goggles, I figured I was not most faces and they would leak, so I was skeptical to give up my mask to try these things out.  I kept my mask on the deck, just in case.

Faris Al-Sultan

Despite an insane training schedule which can include 450 miles of biking every week, 40 miles of running,
and then 10-15 miles in the pool.

Faris Al-Sultan took time to show his T-Dot pride and support by sending us this great picture.
Athlete's from around the world are rallying around the idea of T-Dot by sending us great pictures, e-mails and well wishes.

Thank You!!! Keep them coming.

With your well wishes and support we will change the T-Dot from being the unofficial/offical symbol of triathlon to the official symbol of triathlon.

Here's a great letter we wanted to share with all of you.

I would like apologize to everyone out there that I offended with my email to triathlete. I re-read my email and I was a complete jerk and I am so very sorry. My intention was not to belittle anyone that has completed an Ironman distance race. I truly do respect anyone that completes one.

I have only been able to do one myself and I am amazed by some of you out there that do them over and over again. I just feel that the Ironman is special and when I read it that someone working out in a gym or health club was the same thing as finishing the Ironman well I could not believe it and before I could collect my thoughts I fired off a stupid e-mail and put in there allot of thing I really don’t believe.

Dear Charlie Yu:

I am really sorry you feel the way you do, but how dare you make a claim about my Ironman performance without first checking your facts.  Not only have I 'finished' Kona 8x, but I believe my sub 9 hour performance from last year, fastest US amateur and 4th American overall allows me to claim to have 'finished Ironman'. 

I do not wear a tattoo of the Mdot on my body, but I applaud anybody that has finished or even attempted an Ironman distance.  If they want to put an Mdot tattoo on their body, so be it since they are part of what Ironman calls 'the family'. 

I am quite proud to be associated with ANY triathlete - whether a complete beginner attempting a Sprint or the Professional winning the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.  If you are insulted about how you perceive the title 'Ironman', then you are participating in this sport and endurance events for completely the wrong reasons.

This really has nothing to do with Triathlon, but it was too good not to share and as an added bonus for all you germ-a-phobes who are racing and might drop a Cliff Bar, you now have more time to get that baby back up and in your mouth.

Dropping a piece of food on the floor and then picking it up and dining on it is a germaphobe's nightmare.

Streptococcus. Staphylococcus. E. coli. Oh, my!  But how bad is it?

A college professor and her students have challenged the prevailing wisdom of the so-called 5-second rule, which for generations has governed how long little morsels can remain on floors uncontaminated.

Dave Party Line- Volunteer!

It’s 3:00 AM race day morning.  I am awake in my car - wife, dog, and everything packed headed North from Chicago to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin to the Bigfoot Triathlon.

A familiar race day anxiety is building in my stomach as we cut through the Wisconsin countryside.  The anxiety is not about the impending swim that normally flips me out (I am a swim panicker), the anxiety is about getting to the race location to begin the quick and crazy set up before the athlete’s show up.  Today, I am not Dave Wallach - writer, today, I am Dave Wallach - that volunteer guy and I have a lot to do.

For Begginertriathlete.com - Courtesy The Sport Factory

I often work with athletes who are new to triathlon or have just a single season under their belts. After realizing the disadvantage of competing on a traditional road bike, many understand that it is time to go aero. This can, unfortunately, be a painful process. For starters, the head, which was sitting more upright upon the shoulders (as it is designed to do), is now suspended out in front creating a lot of tension, fatigue, and soreness in the neck in shoulders. The muscles of the neck, trapezius, and mid-back now have to work overtime to support the head. This is further exacerbated by being tense in an unfamiliar position on a new bike that handles very strangely (where are those brakes!). To get comfort and relief the athlete often ends of spending most of their time in an upright position on the pursuit bars totally negating the aerodynamic advantage of their new bike.