10% discount All gear except new bikes
15% discount Fitness diagnostics, conditioning programs, and bike fits

Cadence Cycling was founded in 2004 by a Penn graduate, so I think what they’re doing for Penn is pretty cool. I got my road bike at Cadence and it’s sweet. They are the Lexus of bike dealers. They are all about the science of athletics. Go check them out, on Saturday’s (I think) they have free in-house coffee and sweets.

Some marketing copy about these guys: Cadence Cycling & Multisport is not a bike shop. Sure, the world’s most exclusive bike frames line the floor. But world-renowned coaches also train all levels of cyclists and triathletes on state-of-the-art CompuTrainers and Endless Pools®. And athletes with visions of Kona or the Tour undergo VO2 Max and lactate threshold tests. When you walk in, we’re not trying to sell you a bike. We’d rather talk to you about your goals and how we can help you achieve them. Whether that means a new Italian frame, a specialized fitting of your current bike, an individualized coaching program, an on-site strength and conditioning program or one of our other unique services, Cadence will help you evolve as an athlete.

Here’s the discount coupon…

Everyone wants a healthy lifestyle. There are new trends that help a healthy lifestyle fit into our day-to-day. I put together a list of what I think are THE leading-edge fitness trends; and just for fun I put them to the ABCs. I am involved in most of these trends, but not all (there are 7 that I’m not involved in). I will let you all postulate in the comments which of the ABCs I do not do.

A for Adventure races – like 10 Degrees!
B for Balance training (taichi, yoga and pilates)
C for Creatine
D for Dry-land training for swimmers, or the reverse
E for Eating breakfast – eating early makes you thin at night
F for Fixed-gear bicycles – brakes are for flakes
G for Google map your next run
H for Halfsizes – restaurant portions are twice the FDA recommendation
I for Intense workouts trumping long workouts
J for Juice bars
K for Ketone breath avoidance
L for Lactive threshold (LT) training
M for Mind/body exercise (yoga, tai chi, and qigong)
N for Navy Seal bootcamp-style training
O for Online videoconferencing allows group training at home
P for Power meters for bikes
Q for Quest-based adventures (7 Summits, et al)
R for Recovery drinks
S for Stability balls
T for Thule roof racks to bring your kit with you
U for Underwater MP3 players for swimming/surfing
V for Video analysis packages for bike fits like Dartfish
W for Wrist computers to track workouts
X for Xtreme sports
Y for Yoga
Z for Zucchini

1. Incorporate competition and goal-setting into your routine. You don’t necessarily have to sign up for races, but aim to reach the far wall a smidgen faster than you did the day before, or try to break a minute in the 100-meter freestyle, a good benchmark for speed.
2. Swim large distances. He swims 3-5 miles per day
3. Streamline your stroke. Ryan swims 15 meters underwater after each flip turn to focus on being hydrodynamic. “I work a lot on staying high in the water, not fighting the water, moving with the water,”
4. Incorporate dry-land exercises. Before every pool session, Lochte (below right) and his Florida teammates pass around the medicine ball, do multiple sets of push-ups and 500 abdominal crunches.

A related NYT article is here: Coach’s Corner

Exciting news, Adam is back from his recruiting trips in Seattle and Denver. The dude can’t stop raving about Denver. I’m just glad he’s back. While he was gone I was without a regular training partner. Now that he’s back the problem is solved, but… I’ll poke fun at him anyways.

I saw this video from Chris Prouse and it really made me laugh. I’m like Chris, in that my bicycle has been my training partner for the past days while Adam way away.

Hope your autumn training is going well out there. Enjoy the video, hope it makes you all laugh too.

Like I said in my previous post about open water swimming, most of our training these days is swimming. I prefer open water swimming. Long distances are easier in lakes than in the pools, and more beautiful. Here are some nice pictures of Mauch Chunk Lake in Jim Thorpe, PA. It’s about 90 minutes north of Philadelphia and in the Pocono foothills. The swimming is getting brisk now that’s it’s almost November. For some reason I can bare it as long as I have an insulated swim cap on. Here are some pictures of our latest swim trip

And my favorite picture. A picture of Jonathan Taqqu using me as a ladder to tie the rope for our leanto shelter.

Both Mauch and Marsh are very clear lakes without much seaweed. I gone to each lake twice in the last month, such fun! Go ahead and email me if you’d like to know the best places to start your swim. It’s possible to swim 2-5 miles in both lakes. Enjoy!