From the early training days of Arthur Lydiard, runners have used miles to log their volume of workouts for a week. How many miles per week you ran were like badges of honor worn on your chest.

By increasing the length of your long run during training, you can extend your endurance for any race distance. If you run slowly enough, taking liberal walk breaks, you can continue to push back your “wall” almost indefinitely with virtually no risk of injury or excess fatigue. The most exciting part of this, for most runners, is that longer runs tend to translate into faster times.

Floating at the base of a 200-foot-high sheet of glacial ice, it’s hard not to be humbled in the presence of one of nature’s true wonders. Patagonia, Chile offers a unique opportunity to get up close to the glaciers of the southern ice fields.
Photos: Kevin Jackson

With the northern hemisphere right in the middle of summer, heat injuries are on the increase. Although heat injuries are one of the most common forms of sports injuries to effect athletes, they are totally preventable.
Photos: John Segesta

Riding a bicycle for 100 miles is a big deal. Maybe not for Lance, but for all the non-elite cyclists out there, riding a bicycle for 100 miles is a really big deal. Very doable, but BIG.

Hi! This is Mari Holden. I’ve been a professional cyclist for the past 16 years and I just retired last year. I’ve had a long endurance-sports career. Before cycling, I raced triathlons in the late 80’s. I switched to cycling in 1992. As a junior triathlete, I was awarded Junior Woman of the Year by Triathlete Magazine. In cycling, my best results came in 2000 when I won an Olympic Silver and World Championship in the Time Trial. Along the way, I won 6 National Championships (road and time trial) and set a national record in the 40K Time Trial. What I have learned about time trialing over the years can help you as you prepare for your next time trial or triathlon.

After a 35-year span of racing and riding all sorts of two wheelers, I can definitely say that I still can’t get enough of the thrill I get every time I throw my leg over a saddle. During the last 10 months, though, I have found new passion on two wheels. This passion is based on a bike that is simple, light, and easy to maintain. This bike has one gear choice; and that limited, narrowly defined choice is what has remade the bike into a truly new passion for me.

We’ve all heard the stories of an athlete who got injured but was still able to cross-train and then came back to give a great performance at a marathon, maybe even besting a personal record. Then there’s that new triathlete we all know who, despite running less now that she is dividing her time into three sports, is still setting personal records for her run times.

The following is a five-month Half Ironman training program to ramp up for a Half Ironman Triathlon. Shown below are mileage expectations for the build up period leading up to the race. Doing the mileage described probably won’t be enough to qualify you for Hawaii, but it will provide you with a solid foundation for a great racing experience. This is a general guideline. Depending on your skill sets, you will need to make some adjustments. For instance, if you are aquatically challenged, then you will need to do more yards than I have shown.

It’s difficult to put into words the feeling of reaching the summit of a 14,000-foot peak, but a common response when asked is, “It is something you have to do.”