Many of us have taken up the Triathlete lifestyle because it enhances our health. The body and mind thrive on the training and being in the elements, and overcoming them.

That said, there are several downsides that must be taken into account and dealt with to keep health improving and prevent illness and injury.

Increased training means:

• increased oxidative stress
• increased exposure to air pollutants
• increased need for vits and minerals and antioxidants
• increased protein requirements
• increased immune system stress

by Cherie Gruenfeld IM Age Group World Champion

We've been talking about the ongoing quest to post faster race results and the necessity of setting goals and working a plan in order to accomplish this. Last month we focused on improving the swim over a 4- week period. This month let's talk about what happens after we get out of the water – The Bike.

The first thing to keep in mind is that we're not training for the Tour de France. We're training for an event where the fastest bike split of the day is not the goal. Have you ever heard a triathlete, after a race, bragging about his fast bike split, only to discover his run time was nearly the same as his bike time? This is not podium material. The bike goal for a triathlete involves efficiency as much as speed. It's counter productive to hammer the bike for every ounce of speed if it leaves you unable to put together a quality run. Therefore, a plan to post a faster bike time will involve the following:

We athletes are very good at denial. We'll deny a pain that may be the beginning of an injury and we're certain to deny getting older and slowing down. And, in both cases, it works for awhile. But in the latter case, Mother Nature is a powerful force and, at some point, we older athletes turn our attention to looking for the magic bullet that will let us continue our winning ways. Well, I've found mine.

MAP, as part of my training routine, allows me to maintain my training at a level that keeps me in the game. Consistency in training is critical and since using MAP, I've been able to maintain the same type of daily schedule that I kept years ago, when I was a younger athlete. Mother Nature may be powerful, but so is MAP.

Cherrie Gruenfeld, Ironman Age Group World Champion

Jacqueline Goode - Winner of the Triathlon at Pacific Grove

Although the regular brick workout on Sundays and track workouts on Mondays were making me faster, I was feeling sore and depleted for days afterward. Then, last summer, one of the other triathlon club members suggested I try MAP.

As the weeks went by, I felt stronger and stronger! Finally, all of my hard work paid off on September 11, 2004 when I WON my age group at the Triathlon at Pacific Grove! Our local newspaper even wrote about my story that week.

We have several programs through which you can earn free MAP.

MAP Winner's Circle -- Win your age group in a sanctioned event and win a free bottle of MAP.

Automatic Re-order Program -- When you sign up for our Auto Re-order program, every 12th bottle is free.

Affiliate Program -- Register as an Affiliate, then have the people you refer enter your name on their order form. Every time you have earned 12 credits, we will ship you a free bottle of MAP.