Registration Open for the Two Week Triathlon!

The Two-Week Triathlon begins in just two weeks on Monday, April 28th! We are so excited how many of you have expressed interest in joining us with this fun challenge!

The Two-Week Triathlon will run from April 28-May 12, 2014. You will have two full weeks to complete all the components of the ironman triathlon (or triathlon of your choosing- see below). Registration is free, but we'd love to have you register as we will be sending some information via email and cheer you on through social media - please use the hashtag #PTFtriathlon so everyone else can do the same!

Swim distances can be completed in a pool or in open water.  You will just want to make sure you know the length of the pool you are using so you can track your mileage. The pool that I'll be using is 25 yards with a lap (down and back) being 50 yards.  Approximately 36 full laps (down and back) equals 1 mile. Any stroke is acceptable and paddle board and other floatation devices are okay to use, just nothing motorized.

 If you're looking for a pool in your area, try here or here for an available listing. If you have a gym in your area with a pool, you can also usually get a guest pass to try it out for a few days to a week. Since we are doing this at our own pace, you can decide how you want to split up the mileage, but three days should be sufficient.

Bike distances can be completed on open road or on a stationary bike.  Check the weather and make sure you have an indoor location (stationary bike) as a backup.

Run distances can be completed on open road or on a treadmill. And the mileage can be completed either walking, running, or a mixture of both.

There are some great apps out there to help you track your running and biking distances and that help keep you motived by seeing your progression. Running apps now are great for tracking your route, pace, distance, etc. I've used all three of these and my personal favorite is Runkeeper.

1. Runkeeper (free)

2. Nike+ Running (free)

3. MapMyRun (free)

As for biking apps, I have yet to use one myself, but because we love our readers so much, we did the research for you! Here are a few great bike apps that will track your route and be your personal GPS.

1. Runtastic Road Bike (free)-- this will give you updates at each 1 mile intervals. Pretty cool!

2. Strava (free)

So now's your chance! Fill out this quick registration and you'll be ready to start in a couple weeks-- 2 weeks from today, in fact! We'll send a couple emails giving you tips and tricks along the way, including ways you can break up your mileage, a nice sheet to check off your mileage (which is kind of fun to do), and other fun stuff. Feel free to spread the word and have your friends join in! Email us or comment below with any questions.

2-Week Ironman Triathlon

Swimsuit season is right around the corner! I don't know about you, but all of us here at PTF are looking for a way to stay motivated, and push ourselves with a little challenge. So here we are inviting you to join us on our very first exercise challenge!!

There are many ways that you can join in, so please don't let us lose you with the first explanation... the important thing is that we are pushing ourselves to either try something we haven't tried, or challenging ourselves to a new level (that maybe we didn't even think was possible!). It's time to claim Spring and gain confidence about ourselves and our bodies as we head into Summer. :)

Have you ever heard of an Ironman? Don't worry - that's not our exercise challenge.... well, not exactly. We are going to do a 2-week Ironman! Instead of completing all the events in one day as with a typical Ironman, we will have 2 weeks to complete all of those same events on your timeline and schedule (as long as it's all within that 2 weeks). The challenge includes 26.2 miles running, 112 miles biking, and 2.4 miles swimming. Everyone will do everything in their own time, keep track of their totals, and cheer everyone on in the process. (And maybe a little celebration at the end? We'll have to see if any of you are up for that! Our guess is yes... this is a great achievement!) No timing, no racing, just challenging yourself to get out and get moving!

We are starting this 2-week challenge on Monday, April 28th - so you have 4 weeks to plan ahead, commit yourself to participating, and start planning out your activities. We are super excited about the challenge, and would love for you to join in with us! We will be following up with a blog post in a couple weeks with more information like tracking schedules, access to pools (if you don't have a membership to one), and more information in general. If there are specific questions you have, be sure to leave them in the comments so we can address them.

If you don't feel like you can commit to the whole Ironman for whatever reason, but you are still interested in challenging yourself to a new exercise goal, feel free to join us. Some other options might be 
Sprint, Olympic, or Half Ironman Triathlon (see distances for each above). 
Your challenge could be running the total length of a marathon (26.2 miles) or half marathon (13.1 miles). 
Any combination of running, swimming, and/or biking that sounds challenging but fits with your current life situation is welcome!
 
Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information.  If this already sounds like something you want to do, then let's do it! Comment below if you're joining us, and spread the word to your friends so they can join in on the fun. Use the hashtag #PTFtriathlon to follow along with people committing to the challenge and spreading the word!