---February 20,2007---

Localize Your Training!

Welcome to the very first weekly Zendurance Blog!  We are finally enjoying a snowy winter wonderland here in Lake Placid.  When I was riding home on my "townie" bike from the gym in a blizzard this morning, some guy rolled down his window to tell me I was a crazy #$*&er.  Think about it!  Who's crazy?  Me, for piloting a 35-pound vehicle through the snow or him for piloting a 4,000-pound vehicle?

My greatest accomplishment last year?  It was not racking up another Ironman finish, or publishing my essays in triathlon publications for the first time.  Nor was it finishing my first UltraMan.  My greatest accomplishment of 2006 was limiting my motor vehicle mileage to 4,400 miles.  (Not the gas guzzling beast in the picture.)  I logged nearly half that mileage traveling twice to visit with family.

My training log book has many entries for 20-40 minute bike sessions.  These training sessions are trips to the gym to swim and lift, trips to the health food and grocery stores to shop.  These short sessions add up and furnish much of my Zone 1-2 bike training.  Why drive somewhere to train?  If possible (and safety permitting) keep your training local.  Bike and run from home, rather than driving.  Save the travel time for recovery naps and training.  Save the fuel money for a townie bike or a power meter.  Above all, save the air for breathing!

As multi-sport athletes, air is precious to us.  We don't need to add any more carbon to the air in the name of training.  (Racing perhaps.)  Our personal health is not independent of our planetary health, and health is our most precious asset as athletes.

As I age (with as much grace as I can muster), I find that the most rewarding and healthy practice I can undertake is to simplify my life.  It can be the most difficult as well, especially here in the consumer frenzy of the US.  Simplicity brings stillness and serenity.  Stillness and serenity bring mindfulness and complete awareness here and now.

Here's a motto for 2007:  Keep it simple!  Live simply so that others may simply live.

Thanks for being a part of our Zendurance vision, for transforming aerobic fitness into spiritual fitness!

Aloha!  -Shane

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