Cartman: Eh. I hate those things.
Kyle: Nobody hates rainbows.
Stan: Yeah. What's there to hate about rainbows?
Cartman: Well, you know. You'll just be sitting there, minding your own business, and they'll come marching in, and crawl up your leg, and start biting the inside of your ass, and you'll be all like, "Hey! Get out of my ass you stupid rainbows!"
Stan: Cartman, what the hell are you talking about?
Cartman: I'm talking about rainbows. I hate those friggin' things!
Kyle: Rainbows are those little arches of color that show up after a rainstorm.
Cartman: Oh. RainBOWS. Yeah, I like those. Those are cool.
Stan: What were you talking about?
Cartman: Huh? Oh nothing. Forget it.
Kyle: No. What marches in, crawls up your leg---
Cartman: Nothing.
Kyle: ---and starts biting the inside of your ass?
Cartman: Nothing!
I had to share this...it makes me laugh every time. I remembered it earlier today when at a light with a group of friends going out for a group ride. I pointed to the patch of rainbow covered pavement to illustrate the dangerous phenomena that occurs when the perfect storm of a pool of motor oil which has leaked out of a car onto the road combines with rain...the oil comes to the surface and acts as a frictionless launchpad for the unsuspecting. Been doing 25 mph into a 90 degree left turn, seen the rainbow of death and had the bike disappear out from beneath me and then felt the all too familiar warmth of friction as my ass acts as a brake on asphalt...thank God for second skin. Hmmm...I managed to work rainbows and my ass into the same paragraph...
I've really been enjoying the group training I've been doing lately. It has been so diverse and truly beneficial to everyone involved. This Wednesday I made up for the 'Threshold Thursday' ride I knew I wouldn't get in due to the Christmas day...I did 40' at threshold in the basement before heading to the store. It's amazing how much more difficult this is to do solo...not to mention indoors. I have certainly benefited as much from doing my threshold workout in a group as anyone else. For me, I simply cannot pussie out, as there are 5-8 others looking for me to lead the ride..the coach can't bail. We all settle into our places quickly after the first 5'. Some ride beside me for a while, pulling ahead at times, while others draft for the workout's entirety...a third group drops off and continues to push themselves in pursuit of our faster group...everyone gets what they need out of the ride...fantastic.
Christmas day was another group ride for me...Don, George, Dee and Donna headed out with me for 2.5 hrs. easily before family time...again, a great ride for all. George and I discussed our strategy for 2009 races...it looks like I'll ride with George in the Pro-123 field in the Spring series, as doing the 3-4 race after dominating it wholly last year offers little challenge for him...this isn't to say I won't be racing for myself as well, just that I will do so in the interest of helping George acquire wins. We encouraged Don to get his upgrade to Cat 3 to join us as his considerable strength will be a huge asset in our races. So, we'll have a squad fighting out for upgrade points in the 3-4 race so that they can join George and me. For Dee and Donna, it was solid base miles for these two super strong women on the comeback trail.
The day after Christmas was a 56 mile steady ride with bro Matt & the Kreb boys from Bellport. Chris J. and I caught up on the bike biz (even though Chris crashed on black ice!) while we noodled around the middle of the island. Almost 3 hrs. at 240W NP was perfect...got to chat with Jeff C. about his training a bit and how to structure his tapering and peaking a bit better with use of his PMC in Cyclingpeaks. He is a smart dude, having figured so much out on his own...I shudder to think how strong he will be once he starts finding his best legs on race day instead of 4 days after his goal race!
Today was the aforementioned group ride from Sayville. A cool 2 hrs. up the Head of the Harbor and back home...again 240W NP and perfect prior to my Trevor Ride tomorrow. Funny that...the best thing about these group rides is what we discuss post ride over a drink. Today's topic was how, while we always must enjoy what we are doing first, we also shouldn't waste a moment of our training time, as we have chosen to dedicate a portion of our finite time on this Earth to sport, so we may as well go as fast as possible!
Well, that's enough babble for this day...as Cartman might say 'I'm going home'.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The Walk
I get up every morning between 6:00 and 6:20, head to the can, weigh my sorry ass (my weight never fluctuates more than 3 lbs., despite my unhealthy obsession with it), hobble awkwardly with tin-man limberness down to the kitchen where my lovely wife, who has already heard the toilet flush, has poured my first cup of dark brown life blood. I take my first two or three gulps and slowly regain the ability to speak, not only in English, but with other human beings (one of which, unfortunately for her and for her family, possesses her father's AM disposition yet, has not become acquainted with my Columbian elixir) with genuine concern and curiosity regarding how they are handling life's/middle school's challenges. Their moods and body language are 'tells', as poker players would say...I know whether it's a quiz day, as opposed to a test day, whether things are going well with their friends, and if I really pay attention to the small details, if there is expected to be an opportunity to be seen by someone in particular...though, I would never dare mention it! I use these signs to gauge whether it's time do some character building or time to just hug 'em.
At some point, I head back up the stairs for one of about two different reasons and it is then that I know, with near certainty, whether my legs are 'ready' for the planned workout for the day. There are 'the days of grace' where I bound up them, knowing that there will be 'no chain' today. There are the days where I know that necessary will be a longer warm up, but that the legs will 'be good'...and I know the days that I'm glad it's a rest day or when an unscheduled one is necessary. I have often wished that I could literally walk up those stairs every day for every one of the athletes that I look after, so that I could make the very best decision for that individual each and every day. With most though, through listening to their voices, through reading their words very carefully, and ideally seeing their body language, I find that I do get to do the next best thing to taking 'the walk' with them.
There is a 'night and day' difference between an athlete burying himself to get through a session that he dragged himself out the door to do and one in which he was eager and he had to hold himself back from going too hard during. Templates don't take this into account...they cannot. It's funny to me that other 'coaches' take shots at my anal collecting of data, but then when we're alone, ask me questions about how I'm helping so-and-so get so much faster. I do try to explain, as I feel for them and their athletes and genuinely believe that the way coaches are perceived, as a whole, affects me too. What they fail to realize though, or refuse to commit themselves to, is that the numbers provide the 'GPS' of where we've been and that together with the record of how the body felt at different points along the way, during the daily 'walk' if you will, is the very blueprint of how to get an athlete to 'perform' at their very best when you want them to...when they want to.
At some point, I head back up the stairs for one of about two different reasons and it is then that I know, with near certainty, whether my legs are 'ready' for the planned workout for the day. There are 'the days of grace' where I bound up them, knowing that there will be 'no chain' today. There are the days where I know that necessary will be a longer warm up, but that the legs will 'be good'...and I know the days that I'm glad it's a rest day or when an unscheduled one is necessary. I have often wished that I could literally walk up those stairs every day for every one of the athletes that I look after, so that I could make the very best decision for that individual each and every day. With most though, through listening to their voices, through reading their words very carefully, and ideally seeing their body language, I find that I do get to do the next best thing to taking 'the walk' with them.
There is a 'night and day' difference between an athlete burying himself to get through a session that he dragged himself out the door to do and one in which he was eager and he had to hold himself back from going too hard during. Templates don't take this into account...they cannot. It's funny to me that other 'coaches' take shots at my anal collecting of data, but then when we're alone, ask me questions about how I'm helping so-and-so get so much faster. I do try to explain, as I feel for them and their athletes and genuinely believe that the way coaches are perceived, as a whole, affects me too. What they fail to realize though, or refuse to commit themselves to, is that the numbers provide the 'GPS' of where we've been and that together with the record of how the body felt at different points along the way, during the daily 'walk' if you will, is the very blueprint of how to get an athlete to 'perform' at their very best when you want them to...when they want to.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Altered States
Coaching endurance athletes is a never-ending education. The past nine months has been the most profound in terms of what I've learned regarding athletic performance, specifically in terms of how race day results can be above or below expectation simply as a result of the mental outlook of the athlete...and how as a coach I can help encourage the correct mental approach to help bring out the best performances on race day.
Before the reader is filled with fear that I'll be overly 'touchy-feel-ly', let me elaborate. The beginning of my nine month crash course began as I've detailed ad-nauseum, with a crash...with my being bashed up by a hit and run driver. So much of my training and racing over the last few seasons has become rather 'paint by numbers' and simply going through the motions. Sure, I was in great shape for me, but the real enthusiasm for competition, for getting up well before the crack of dawn to shit in the woods in the rain had gone. More importantly, the races had become barometers, tests if you will as to how I was doing...whether I was 'succeeding'... The interesting idea to note was that I realized that not only had racing taken upon a 'work-like' status, but that riding the bike had, too. As cliche' as it may sound, you don't know what you've got until it's gone. As I sat in the basement with one arm in a sling, I longed to ride outdoors once again. I found the joy I'd lost.
What I hadn't realized until some time later was that I was being primed for a lesson of such profound importance that it would reshape my understanding of human performance forever.
It wasn't until I was 'given' a few more clues that it really began to 'sink in' though. At this time, a gifted athlete with whom I'd worked for several years was going through a rough patch, in which we were faced with a fitness plateau and actually seemed to be taking a step backward in terms of race performance. After our athlete/coach relationship was terminated, I realized that I'd missed the signs of an overemphasis on the results instead of the joy we'd felt daily in our 'process'. The thrill of toeing the line, 'throwing down' and seeing how many top pros we could beat had been replaced with pressure that could only lead to fear, which always leads to disappointment. The workouts and the races had become the measuring stick instead of the pleasure they had been for so long. I realize now that you will never beat the opponent who has exactly the same genetic gifts as you, but is thoroughly enjoying what they're doing every day, whether the session goes well or not, whether they 'PR' a race or whether they improve a few places over last year. So, the question still remained, how to avoid this condition in which an athlete is trying to compete with their old self that was clearly enjoying the racing and hence, flourishing when they've now put so much pressure on themselves.
Fast forward to Lake Placid. A number of athletes were emailing back and forth via a yahoo group and were listing key words or phrases to express their hopes for the day. When I forwarded a few to one athlete, to the list of words like 'cool, overcast, calm, dry, perfect' this athlete added his own wishes for the day..."rain, misery, a Sunday in Hell...and simply, 'Game on'". When pressed for his reasons for such counter intuitive wishes he explained how despite being exhausted at times and even dreading certain training sessions that the 'journey' had been so much fun that the race was almost anticlimactic...only in 'the black hole' of misery and pain could he push himself enough to enjoy the experience. He got his wish and he exceeded our greatest expectations...and despite the misery, he smiled for the entire race.
This got me thinking more about athletes that perform below and more importantly, above expectation. Clearly, the ones who welcome the black hole, the opportunity to really feel something, who look to the pain as a peek into the abyss, a sense of really being alive, to face the possibility to fail, are ones that perform best...they are the ones that win. As I type this, I am thinking back to a story about Michael Jordan from his NC days. As an 18 year old freshman in college, with the national championship in the balance and only time for one last shot, his coach and his team passed him the ball...with all the weight of a nation looking down on him, he made the game winning shot. But as he later said, "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." The rest in history as they say.
I have tried to take these lessons in mind more and more recently, emphasizing to athletes that the result really is meaningless...that the experience is what matters...period. Of course, as we work together, the velocity and therefore race times get faster, but the fun must always stay as it was in the beginning.
I was faced with an opportunity to 'put up or shut up' last Sunday while driving to the Pete Senia memorial race in 50F temperatures and pouring rain. I thought of 'a Sunday in Hell' and of my ever-smiling triathlete in Placid and decided that today would be an epic, miserable struggle and totally a blast! Well, it was and the result was good...though completely irrelevant.
Before the reader is filled with fear that I'll be overly 'touchy-feel-ly', let me elaborate. The beginning of my nine month crash course began as I've detailed ad-nauseum, with a crash...with my being bashed up by a hit and run driver. So much of my training and racing over the last few seasons has become rather 'paint by numbers' and simply going through the motions. Sure, I was in great shape for me, but the real enthusiasm for competition, for getting up well before the crack of dawn to shit in the woods in the rain had gone. More importantly, the races had become barometers, tests if you will as to how I was doing...whether I was 'succeeding'... The interesting idea to note was that I realized that not only had racing taken upon a 'work-like' status, but that riding the bike had, too. As cliche' as it may sound, you don't know what you've got until it's gone. As I sat in the basement with one arm in a sling, I longed to ride outdoors once again. I found the joy I'd lost.
What I hadn't realized until some time later was that I was being primed for a lesson of such profound importance that it would reshape my understanding of human performance forever.
It wasn't until I was 'given' a few more clues that it really began to 'sink in' though. At this time, a gifted athlete with whom I'd worked for several years was going through a rough patch, in which we were faced with a fitness plateau and actually seemed to be taking a step backward in terms of race performance. After our athlete/coach relationship was terminated, I realized that I'd missed the signs of an overemphasis on the results instead of the joy we'd felt daily in our 'process'. The thrill of toeing the line, 'throwing down' and seeing how many top pros we could beat had been replaced with pressure that could only lead to fear, which always leads to disappointment. The workouts and the races had become the measuring stick instead of the pleasure they had been for so long. I realize now that you will never beat the opponent who has exactly the same genetic gifts as you, but is thoroughly enjoying what they're doing every day, whether the session goes well or not, whether they 'PR' a race or whether they improve a few places over last year. So, the question still remained, how to avoid this condition in which an athlete is trying to compete with their old self that was clearly enjoying the racing and hence, flourishing when they've now put so much pressure on themselves.
Fast forward to Lake Placid. A number of athletes were emailing back and forth via a yahoo group and were listing key words or phrases to express their hopes for the day. When I forwarded a few to one athlete, to the list of words like 'cool, overcast, calm, dry, perfect' this athlete added his own wishes for the day..."rain, misery, a Sunday in Hell...and simply, 'Game on'". When pressed for his reasons for such counter intuitive wishes he explained how despite being exhausted at times and even dreading certain training sessions that the 'journey' had been so much fun that the race was almost anticlimactic...only in 'the black hole' of misery and pain could he push himself enough to enjoy the experience. He got his wish and he exceeded our greatest expectations...and despite the misery, he smiled for the entire race.
This got me thinking more about athletes that perform below and more importantly, above expectation. Clearly, the ones who welcome the black hole, the opportunity to really feel something, who look to the pain as a peek into the abyss, a sense of really being alive, to face the possibility to fail, are ones that perform best...they are the ones that win. As I type this, I am thinking back to a story about Michael Jordan from his NC days. As an 18 year old freshman in college, with the national championship in the balance and only time for one last shot, his coach and his team passed him the ball...with all the weight of a nation looking down on him, he made the game winning shot. But as he later said, "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." The rest in history as they say.
I have tried to take these lessons in mind more and more recently, emphasizing to athletes that the result really is meaningless...that the experience is what matters...period. Of course, as we work together, the velocity and therefore race times get faster, but the fun must always stay as it was in the beginning.
I was faced with an opportunity to 'put up or shut up' last Sunday while driving to the Pete Senia memorial race in 50F temperatures and pouring rain. I thought of 'a Sunday in Hell' and of my ever-smiling triathlete in Placid and decided that today would be an epic, miserable struggle and totally a blast! Well, it was and the result was good...though completely irrelevant.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Harvey, Sam, Joe & Chrissy
As I drove home this morning from the 'Early Birds Ride', I found my exhausted self trying to put the pieces of what I have been reflecting on this past week in the form of a lesson I can add to my experiences as an athlete an a coach.
I was exhausted thanks to Joe Zaverdas. I showed up at this long-time staple of Long Island summer cycling not knowing what to expect. I knew the ride was attended by the likes of Joe Z, Brian Wolf, in addition to the Charlie Rey's, and the Jeff Cline's (read: hammers) of local cycling. What I didn't expect was 50+ riders intent on drilling the ride right out of the parking lot on this 53 mile loop around the beautiful Hamptons, down Dune Rd. and back through surprisingly rolling terrain of the east end. Oh, and the other thing I didn't expect was the flat exactly 2 minutes from the start of the ride.
As the fast moving group flew by, a few guys asked if I wanted them to stop, but I said 'no, thanks', not wanting to be 'that guy'. I was riding in a rather inconspicuous kit, yet a few dudes recognized me as a rider who could help keep the pace high and politely offered to wait. No one really wants to stop and help and then have to chase a group of 50+ for an acquaintance, so I told them all to go on...then I saw the always intimidating form of Joe coming back to get me. I thought, 'this is going to be so bad'. After we fumbled with the flat that required a boot to make the sliced tired hold, 5 minutes has elapsed. As I tucked the bad tube and the expelled CO2 into my jersey, Joe said 'we'll catch 'em'.
The hollow in the pit of my stomach was cavernous...I was now obliged to stay with him until we caught back on to the group. You see, first, I had no spare at this point and was completely lost...more importantly, the dude had stopped and waited for me...to beg for him to slow or to tell him to go on would mean I was a douche bag...I settled in for what was an act of sheer ferocity and a show of incredible strength on his part and for me, was an act of sheer unadulterated misery. 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 mph with zero let up for 30'...I did what I could...I had to offer to pull from time to time and would do my best, pulling for 45 seconds literally in the 'black hole' over 400W+ simply trying to match his pace and then suffering unspeakable agony trying not to get dropped off his wheel after he miraculously would seem to up the pace, refreshed from his minuscule respite.
In short, we caught the group that was scattering to the 4 winds on Dune Rd. as Joe made the final push over 30 mph into the stiff breeze...as we made contact, I looked for a larger draft to compose myself in and marveled as he went right to the front of the group to treat the rest to a taste of the agony they had forced upon us...as we crested the climb over the bridge off Dune Rd., he stood up, accelerated, sat back down and simply rode the last 7 of us off his wheel...every single one of us. When we met him at the designated regrouping spot, he quipped to us 'when you guys can stay on my wheel when I surge that that, you can win any race around here' (by the way, the average speed, on roads with stiff crosswinds, turns and a few stop signs requiring significant loss of momentum, the average speed after the 37' chase and 10' ride with the group was 24.8 mph) What Joe seems to have a difficult time understanding is that getting dropped by him isn't a choice any of us made...we simply could do no more.
When I sat down to type this, someone had sent me a link to a story about WC Chrissy Wellington winning the recent L'Alpe Duez triathlon...a 2.2K swim, a 115K bike and a 22K run...she had beaten the second place pro woman by nearly half an hour and beat all the male pros except one....she had come in second overall by a single minute. Interesting to add is that the same link contained an interview with her coach who swears she hasn't really pushed herself in a race yet...In other words, he claims she's cruising...he says her 2:59 marathon is nowhere near what she's capable of...holy shit, I said out loud. On a much grander scale, she is to triathlon what Joe Z is to the rest of us around here...simply in a different category.
Both these events made me think about simple individual physiology that Coach Sam Mussabini (from Chariots of Fire fame) was referring to when he said 'I cannot put in what God left out'.
Similarly, I remembered reading a quote by the great golf instructor Harvey Penick in answer to why he chose a career in teaching instead of tournament play. He said a single event destroyed any thought he had of ever playing the tour...he said "I heard the sound of Sam Snead striking a golf ball"...he adds "I knew at that moment, that the game was about to go to a level upon which I could never play".
I think the lessons of today have reminded me that most of us are simply playing at sport for our own personal competition with ourselves and that we need to understand what our limits are and to be pleased what we've accomplished in that context.
I was exhausted thanks to Joe Zaverdas. I showed up at this long-time staple of Long Island summer cycling not knowing what to expect. I knew the ride was attended by the likes of Joe Z, Brian Wolf, in addition to the Charlie Rey's, and the Jeff Cline's (read: hammers) of local cycling. What I didn't expect was 50+ riders intent on drilling the ride right out of the parking lot on this 53 mile loop around the beautiful Hamptons, down Dune Rd. and back through surprisingly rolling terrain of the east end. Oh, and the other thing I didn't expect was the flat exactly 2 minutes from the start of the ride.
As the fast moving group flew by, a few guys asked if I wanted them to stop, but I said 'no, thanks', not wanting to be 'that guy'. I was riding in a rather inconspicuous kit, yet a few dudes recognized me as a rider who could help keep the pace high and politely offered to wait. No one really wants to stop and help and then have to chase a group of 50+ for an acquaintance, so I told them all to go on...then I saw the always intimidating form of Joe coming back to get me. I thought, 'this is going to be so bad'. After we fumbled with the flat that required a boot to make the sliced tired hold, 5 minutes has elapsed. As I tucked the bad tube and the expelled CO2 into my jersey, Joe said 'we'll catch 'em'.
The hollow in the pit of my stomach was cavernous...I was now obliged to stay with him until we caught back on to the group. You see, first, I had no spare at this point and was completely lost...more importantly, the dude had stopped and waited for me...to beg for him to slow or to tell him to go on would mean I was a douche bag...I settled in for what was an act of sheer ferocity and a show of incredible strength on his part and for me, was an act of sheer unadulterated misery. 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 mph with zero let up for 30'...I did what I could...I had to offer to pull from time to time and would do my best, pulling for 45 seconds literally in the 'black hole' over 400W+ simply trying to match his pace and then suffering unspeakable agony trying not to get dropped off his wheel after he miraculously would seem to up the pace, refreshed from his minuscule respite.
In short, we caught the group that was scattering to the 4 winds on Dune Rd. as Joe made the final push over 30 mph into the stiff breeze...as we made contact, I looked for a larger draft to compose myself in and marveled as he went right to the front of the group to treat the rest to a taste of the agony they had forced upon us...as we crested the climb over the bridge off Dune Rd., he stood up, accelerated, sat back down and simply rode the last 7 of us off his wheel...every single one of us. When we met him at the designated regrouping spot, he quipped to us 'when you guys can stay on my wheel when I surge that that, you can win any race around here' (by the way, the average speed, on roads with stiff crosswinds, turns and a few stop signs requiring significant loss of momentum, the average speed after the 37' chase and 10' ride with the group was 24.8 mph) What Joe seems to have a difficult time understanding is that getting dropped by him isn't a choice any of us made...we simply could do no more.
When I sat down to type this, someone had sent me a link to a story about WC Chrissy Wellington winning the recent L'Alpe Duez triathlon...a 2.2K swim, a 115K bike and a 22K run...she had beaten the second place pro woman by nearly half an hour and beat all the male pros except one....she had come in second overall by a single minute. Interesting to add is that the same link contained an interview with her coach who swears she hasn't really pushed herself in a race yet...In other words, he claims she's cruising...he says her 2:59 marathon is nowhere near what she's capable of...holy shit, I said out loud. On a much grander scale, she is to triathlon what Joe Z is to the rest of us around here...simply in a different category.
Both these events made me think about simple individual physiology that Coach Sam Mussabini (from Chariots of Fire fame) was referring to when he said 'I cannot put in what God left out'.
Similarly, I remembered reading a quote by the great golf instructor Harvey Penick in answer to why he chose a career in teaching instead of tournament play. He said a single event destroyed any thought he had of ever playing the tour...he said "I heard the sound of Sam Snead striking a golf ball"...he adds "I knew at that moment, that the game was about to go to a level upon which I could never play".
I think the lessons of today have reminded me that most of us are simply playing at sport for our own personal competition with ourselves and that we need to understand what our limits are and to be pleased what we've accomplished in that context.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
A Lesson Learned From A Sunday In Hell
Ironman Lake Placid 2008 has come and gone and with a single exception, each athlete I was looking after either met or exceeded our expectations. As they say, we learn more from our failures than from our successes. The single exception was the result of torrential downpours throughout the day, an extremely lean and fit athlete, and the lack of a rain jacket that I overlooked instructing the athlete to wear.
In my wildest imagination, I never considered that it would rain all day and night from the middle of the swim until 10:00 PM. What I opened the athletes up for was a case of hypothermia...the opposite of what I feared throughout the preparatory phase for this mid-Summer Epic. This low single-digit body fat possessing athlete was forced to stop as a result of his core temperature dropping much too low. The human body (as Dr. Bob Otto would emphasize while discussing this incident) is better prepared to deal with excessive heat than cold. A simple rain jacket (or even a garbage bag) would likely have provided enough insulation to have allowed this athlete to have his breakthrough performance all of his fitness markers indicated he would have. From now on, even in the middle of Summer, every athlete will have a light waterproof jacket handy.
On the brighter side, the other seven athletes had great experiences. For the three first timers, smiles were the order of this "Biblically shitty weather" day. Excellent fitness and the proper amount of fear was the perfect recipe for an experience that each later described to me as phenomenal and nearly unbelievably rewarding. Of the other four, despite the horrific conditions, PR setting or equalling performances were the order of the day. The fastest finisher I looked after ran the 7th fastest marathon split of the day for females including the pro field, had a huge bike PR, and would have, no doubt, gone 20 minutes faster on the bike had the rain not scared her to death on the descents to Keene.
As a sidenote, the first training camp of what I believe will be many has been decided upon. I can think of no better location than my adopted second home of Boulder, Colorado. For the invited athletes, this will be the perfect boost to fitness for their fall Ironman race. With IM Kona, Florida and Arizona coming up, there is a great deal to be gained from this camp at this time of year. We are determined to make this first foray into Ironman training camps unparalleled. From the accommodations, to the support, to the guest coaches & speakers, to the dining, this camp will be second to none. This Rocky mountain altitude trip will include both American and Canadian athletes capable of staying with a fast moving group of cyclists. In the Winter camp, likely next February, there will two groups, be a second, slightly slower group on rides.
In my wildest imagination, I never considered that it would rain all day and night from the middle of the swim until 10:00 PM. What I opened the athletes up for was a case of hypothermia...the opposite of what I feared throughout the preparatory phase for this mid-Summer Epic. This low single-digit body fat possessing athlete was forced to stop as a result of his core temperature dropping much too low. The human body (as Dr. Bob Otto would emphasize while discussing this incident) is better prepared to deal with excessive heat than cold. A simple rain jacket (or even a garbage bag) would likely have provided enough insulation to have allowed this athlete to have his breakthrough performance all of his fitness markers indicated he would have. From now on, even in the middle of Summer, every athlete will have a light waterproof jacket handy.
On the brighter side, the other seven athletes had great experiences. For the three first timers, smiles were the order of this "Biblically shitty weather" day. Excellent fitness and the proper amount of fear was the perfect recipe for an experience that each later described to me as phenomenal and nearly unbelievably rewarding. Of the other four, despite the horrific conditions, PR setting or equalling performances were the order of the day. The fastest finisher I looked after ran the 7th fastest marathon split of the day for females including the pro field, had a huge bike PR, and would have, no doubt, gone 20 minutes faster on the bike had the rain not scared her to death on the descents to Keene.
As a sidenote, the first training camp of what I believe will be many has been decided upon. I can think of no better location than my adopted second home of Boulder, Colorado. For the invited athletes, this will be the perfect boost to fitness for their fall Ironman race. With IM Kona, Florida and Arizona coming up, there is a great deal to be gained from this camp at this time of year. We are determined to make this first foray into Ironman training camps unparalleled. From the accommodations, to the support, to the guest coaches & speakers, to the dining, this camp will be second to none. This Rocky mountain altitude trip will include both American and Canadian athletes capable of staying with a fast moving group of cyclists. In the Winter camp, likely next February, there will two groups, be a second, slightly slower group on rides.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
A Quick Update
In my effort to keep my promise to myself regarding posting every two weeks (or so), I'll give a quick report on the goings on in my little universe.
Personally, the body is continuing to heal well and I am playing a fair amount of golf with my kids, in addition to riding regularly with a number of athletes I am looking after (I loved it when Des Dickey said this...it's so much better in my mind than "MY ATHLETES") and both the bike shop and the coaching businesses are doing quite well.
Golf was my first addiction and as such, seems to be something I can pick up at almost any time and resume a respectable level of competance after only a few trips around the course. My rounds have been limited to mostly a time-efficient 9 holes, but over the last several weeks, I've quickly seen these rounds drop from the low 40's into the high 30's. I am getting indescribable pleasure though, from playing with Becca and Sarah. They are improving at such a quick rate and the time spent with them on the course is the most special of any I have ever spent. We talk about everything...even things I would rather not and every round is an opportunity for a gut-busting comment from one of them. The other day on the practice green Sarah asked "how long will it be before I beat you?" I replied, "you may never beat me" (hoping to appeal to her competitive nature). She quickly responeded "yes, I will...you will get old!".
The riding has been quite pleasurable, as well. It has been mostly limited to relatively easy, longer rides with athletes preparing for Lake Placid, but I am managing to stay resonably thin.
I am currently still 'looking after' 8 of these warriors. This is one more than in '07, as I've picked up a late comer in need of harnessing his talents for the long stuff just as I was relieved of my duties by another athlete.
I feel that all of them are on or ahead of schedule regarding their preparation and have realistic, yet challenging goals. I believe that this is a critical role for the coach to play...the assistance in establishing realistic short and long term goals. As for their training, each program is quite unique, but there are obviously some strong similarities at this point. They will all be getting in their more specific long IM race intensity efforts after having "raised the left" in the months previous, and will be recovering a bit more than most other athletes coached by others (from what I've heard) this week. I've found that we avoid 'digging too deep a hole" at this time and that we can avoid injury/over-training, while maintaining a great deal of quality simultaneously. This also allows a proper taper going forward, without the need for a total shut down that can be quite risky.
The business side of things is also quite good. With the races of Summer approaching, the dissolution of two bike shop competitors nearby and the soaring gas prices, as well as the continued support of our own Team Runners Edge and Team in Training athletes, we are keeping very busy at the shop. The coaching business is going very well, too. I have a business plan that was about to launch with a couple associates in which we could accommodate additional athletes looking for a program like that which I've outlined in previous posts, as well as, put together some training camps throughout the year, but this has been temporarily placed on "the back burner" while additional personnel is recruited. I will implement this plan, but only when I am confident it will be done with the same level of personal attention I try to give to every athlete.
Well, that's about it...be back in a couple weeks with tales of the taper!
Personally, the body is continuing to heal well and I am playing a fair amount of golf with my kids, in addition to riding regularly with a number of athletes I am looking after (I loved it when Des Dickey said this...it's so much better in my mind than "MY ATHLETES") and both the bike shop and the coaching businesses are doing quite well.
Golf was my first addiction and as such, seems to be something I can pick up at almost any time and resume a respectable level of competance after only a few trips around the course. My rounds have been limited to mostly a time-efficient 9 holes, but over the last several weeks, I've quickly seen these rounds drop from the low 40's into the high 30's. I am getting indescribable pleasure though, from playing with Becca and Sarah. They are improving at such a quick rate and the time spent with them on the course is the most special of any I have ever spent. We talk about everything...even things I would rather not and every round is an opportunity for a gut-busting comment from one of them. The other day on the practice green Sarah asked "how long will it be before I beat you?" I replied, "you may never beat me" (hoping to appeal to her competitive nature). She quickly responeded "yes, I will...you will get old!".
The riding has been quite pleasurable, as well. It has been mostly limited to relatively easy, longer rides with athletes preparing for Lake Placid, but I am managing to stay resonably thin.
I am currently still 'looking after' 8 of these warriors. This is one more than in '07, as I've picked up a late comer in need of harnessing his talents for the long stuff just as I was relieved of my duties by another athlete.
I feel that all of them are on or ahead of schedule regarding their preparation and have realistic, yet challenging goals. I believe that this is a critical role for the coach to play...the assistance in establishing realistic short and long term goals. As for their training, each program is quite unique, but there are obviously some strong similarities at this point. They will all be getting in their more specific long IM race intensity efforts after having "raised the left" in the months previous, and will be recovering a bit more than most other athletes coached by others (from what I've heard) this week. I've found that we avoid 'digging too deep a hole" at this time and that we can avoid injury/over-training, while maintaining a great deal of quality simultaneously. This also allows a proper taper going forward, without the need for a total shut down that can be quite risky.
The business side of things is also quite good. With the races of Summer approaching, the dissolution of two bike shop competitors nearby and the soaring gas prices, as well as the continued support of our own Team Runners Edge and Team in Training athletes, we are keeping very busy at the shop. The coaching business is going very well, too. I have a business plan that was about to launch with a couple associates in which we could accommodate additional athletes looking for a program like that which I've outlined in previous posts, as well as, put together some training camps throughout the year, but this has been temporarily placed on "the back burner" while additional personnel is recruited. I will implement this plan, but only when I am confident it will be done with the same level of personal attention I try to give to every athlete.
Well, that's about it...be back in a couple weeks with tales of the taper!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Simple Tenets
When I first started coaching about 7 years ago, a close friend advised me, before I began, to read everything I could find regarding the great coaches and their methods, about exercise physiology and exactly why these particular coaches had been successful. He told me plain and simple "Write down your philosophy and always stay true to it". Of course, he didn't mean to ignore what others advised nor did he mean that I shouldn't stay up to date with the latest research in the field...only that I should think long and think hard should I consider breaking one of my tenets. While the original wording has changed over time, the list remains almost exactly the same as I wrote it in my first of many marble notebooks. They are:
-An athlete that is 10% under-trained can have a great day, but one that is 1% over-trained never will.
-The principle of specificity must be honored as often as possible
-Training must be individual
-Training must be progressive...it takes about six weeks to adapt to a particular level of stress
-Every workout has a purpose
-An athlete is either capable of higher output from their body over a given time or (equivalently) they must be able to hold previous levels of output longer...otherwise, they are not training.
-The primary predictor of success in endurance sports is maximum sustainable (or Functional Threshold) pace/power
-Sessions at/near maximum sustainable effort are the backbone of endurance training.
-The adaptations from L2-L5 (Endurance through VO2) are identical...we merely trade volume for intensity.
-The shorter, hard(er) session(s) precede the longer, easier sessions after recovery
I'll try to keep on top of the blog and go through each in a bit of detail in coming entries.
Cheers.
-An athlete that is 10% under-trained can have a great day, but one that is 1% over-trained never will.
-The principle of specificity must be honored as often as possible
-Training must be individual
-Training must be progressive...it takes about six weeks to adapt to a particular level of stress
-Every workout has a purpose
-An athlete is either capable of higher output from their body over a given time or (equivalently) they must be able to hold previous levels of output longer...otherwise, they are not training.
-The primary predictor of success in endurance sports is maximum sustainable (or Functional Threshold) pace/power
-Sessions at/near maximum sustainable effort are the backbone of endurance training.
-The adaptations from L2-L5 (Endurance through VO2) are identical...we merely trade volume for intensity.
-The shorter, hard(er) session(s) precede the longer, easier sessions after recovery
I'll try to keep on top of the blog and go through each in a bit of detail in coming entries.
Cheers.
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