When it comes to swimming for most triathletes, technique is the limiting factor. Incorporating drills into your swimming workout allows you to improve specific parts of your swimming stroke, leading to improved times with less effort. Three great drills for triathletes are Freestyle Kick with arms by side, 12/3/12, and stick freestyle. Try working these three drills into your warm up, cool down, or even long bouts of aerobic swimming. Looking for virtual swim coaching? Chat with Alex here 1. Freestyle Kick with arms by side The aim of this drill is to improve your body position i ..read more

How or why did you get into endurance sports? It started with little objectives. I wanted to ride my bike to a soccer game at the stadium one year, it was 20 miles from my house. I trained up to it and did it with my brother. Then my wife and I did the couch to 5k plan another year. Then when I got a house with a pool, I finally figured out how to swim for exercise and challenged my brother to a DIY triathlon at our local lake. That was such a different experience with sports for me. I wouldn’t have said I was hooked at that point, I had just the year before gone all-in on getting good at ten ..read more

How/why did you get into endurance sports? The structure of sports as a kid was always where I thrived. I loved the community a team brought to my life and I missed it a lot when I graduated college. While traveling in Nepal this past October, I did a 16-day group trek around the Himalayas. The mental and physical gains over the course of trekking were never something I considered possible for myself. When I came home from traveling, I felt lonelier than when I was abroad meeting all sorts of new people. This Zipper community is exactly what I’ve been looking for and the Ironman coac ..read more

How or why did you get into endurance sports? I played a lot of sports growing up and still enjoy playing basketball because I love the competition. While I do enjoy racing for that reason, I have always found that running and bike riding has been very calming and therapeutic as well. I have never finished a run or a ride and regretted doing it. I really only started getting back into running regularly about a year and a half ago and I have loved the self-improvement process. It is not about one big workout that changes everything, but the day after day consistency of just showing up and runn ..read more

How or why did you get into endurance sports? I started swimming when I really young and was fortunate enough to be able to swim in college so I guess I got into endurance sports then. I have always loved the whole process of training so when I stopped swimming I felt like something was missing. So of course I got into road running and triathlons! What do you do for work? Currently finishing up Physical Therapy School. Most likely will be working in the DC/Baltimore area after graduation. So if anyone nearby needs some injury help feel free to reach out. What can community members reach ou ..read more

How/why did you get into endurance sports? When I moved back to Los Angeles back in 2011 I had gotten into Crossfit and weightlifting. It was fun, but I never felt it was sustainable and I was missing the outdoors. After watching the “Free Solo” trailer, I decided to pick up hiking again. I’ve always liked big challenges and Mt Whitney had been on my list for a long long time. Training for Whitney started with hiking, then running. Running led to races. Eventually, my friend Mark planted the idea of triathlons in my head, and here we are! What do you do for work? I work in the laboratory at UC ..read more

How/why did you get into endurance sports? When I moved to MA, I had an old mountain bike. I would cycle a few miles over to the ocean and feel very proud of myself. I remember one January day where I cycled 6 miles round trip in a pair of old jeans with long underwear underneath. That year, for my birthday, my wife got me a road bike. From there, with my background in swimming and water polo, triathlon just kind of happened for me. Up til, and including, now, I have always signed up for races that I wasn’t sure I was ready for and just kind of went for it. What do you do for work? Patent Atto ..read more

How/why did you get into endurance sports?  I started running in 3rd grade as part of my local Girls on the Run chapter. I ran cross country all the way through junior high and high school and continued to run recreationally through college. Running is the thing that grounds, energizes, challenges, inspires, connects, and calms me. What do you do for work? I am a registered dietitian and certified culinary medicine specialist. I work for a culinary nutrition education company full-time and do some private nutrition and culinary consulting on the side. I have also been an assistant high ..read more

How/why did you get into endurance sports? I’ve always been somewhat active but never really trained seriously. I picked up ‘some’ running when doing some boxing training almost a decade ago, which then turned into OCR (Mud Race, Spartan, Tough Mudder) sprinkled with some cycling. It eventually evolved into Triathlon after an achilles tendon tear. I’ve set my sights on a full IM in 2026. What do you do for work? Business Analyst for Project and Portfolio Management tools in a Financial Institution. What can community members reach out to you about? Everything. I love gadgets. I like readi ..read more

How or why did you get into endurance sports? Growing up in Vermont, I had the mountains as my childhood playground and quickly became an avid skier. At first biking and running were only a required means of cross training for ski racing. I much more preferred team sports in the off the season; however, after a bad shoulder and a few too many head injuries, my coaches banned me from any contact sports. Since I went to a winter sports focused high school, not doing a off seasons sport was not an option and I picked up cross country running. Even since then, trail running in Vermont has been my ..read more