Necessity is the mother of all invention. Extraneous crap is typically a distraction. No toys in the pool means you have to do basic drills, or find new ways to make swimming freestyle fun. Heck, freestyle might become so boring you have to try a new stroke.

Running without headphones might just tune you into your body, your cadence, your breathing. Or help you avoid that car.

And riding your bike, just riding and not geeking, can be wicked fun and hard.

I am all for keeping things interesting, but before you add anything new, try taking something away. Your less might be more than you think.  from Patrick McCrann is one of a handful of elite triathlon and endurance sport coaches based in the US.