There are not many athletes who can honestly say that their performance is never affected by mental or psychological factors. Almost everyone who competes or attempts to do their best at some important aspect of life has experienced both mental boosts and hindrances. Doubts, confidence, anxiety, poise, courage and fears for example can have a significant impact on how well we perform (1).
In our minds we can create the most delightful scenes or our greatest nightmares, and reality will never be as we imagined it. The future is nothing but a fantasy or a daydream, also only occurring in our minds.
However with the Law of the Present Moment you could have avoided all those traps. When we are fully in the present moment our minds are focused on what we are doing and not frantically jumping from the past to the future.
When we are focused on the task at hand, we do things for the joy of doing them, and not because we expect anything in return for our action. When we do this, even small and seemingly insignificant things can become acts of joy and beauty. The more we understand the complex interrelationship between mind and body the more it becomes clear that in order to perform at our best physically we must properly prepare and use both body and mind (2).
You do not do things for the end result. You do things for the simple act of doing them. You do not wash the dishes so you will have a clean kitchen. You wash the dishes for the art of washing the dishes. When done in this way, the dishes aren’t something to be rushed through so you can go and do something else. It becomes a joyous event in itself. Your whole attitude changes, the dishes are no longer a chore but become a joy.
Research and experience have proven that structured scientific mental training can help us learn to prepare and use our mind to improve our competitive performance. A key psychological ingredient needed to consistently perform at our best is a winning attitude. In this context attitude is defined as those thoughts, beliefs, values, feelings and emotions associated with a specific situation or performance. For example the thoughts and feelings many alpine ski racers usually associate with a second run on a steep and icy slalom course is, for many of us, an overwhelming desire to finish the course! In general if we have doubts about our ability to finish we have trouble doing so (3).
On the other hand if we have confidence we tend to be much more likely to stay in the course and finish successfully. There is a scientific basis for the commonly accepted axiom that confidence in the starting gate leads to successful races. The muscles of the body involuntarily and instantaneously respond to thoughts, feelings and ideas. This phenomenon is referred to as Ideomotor Activity. In practical terms what this means is that negative thoughts and emotions tend to have a negative effect on our muscles while positive thoughts tend to have a positive effect. In almost every situation of equal or nearly equal ability and preparation the winning racer is usually the one who maintains the most consistently positive attitude and pattern of thought .
All athletic competitors can and should learn to shape their attitude and thought pattern into one of predominantly positive and confident thinking. The next article will tell you how to play positive mind games that will begin to shape your thoughts and emotions and help you create and maintain a more dynamic and effective winning attitude (4).
On Friday I literally ate and drank at every opportunity. By the night I was like a large penguin waddling around.
Waking up on Saturday I felt sluggish. This had less to do with my buffet eating from the day before and more from not recovering fully from this weeks training. At this point I wasn’t sure if the 5K race was going to happen. I really didn’t want to hurt something during a race, especially a meaningless one.
First up was the swim. I was pumped to see the workout, mid distance freestyle as opposed to long distance IM; blah. The set was 2x(50,100,150,200,250,300). Since I was trying to reserve my gas for the rest of the day, I got to play follow the leader. We had a good fast group. The kind of sets where your just holding on during the set but at the wall you thought this isn’t so bad.
At 9:30 I jumped out and skedadled to meet Amanda/Figs who would be driving me to the race. The race was an indoor track meet, a 5000m contest. A friend from out East, Chris Gairns, told be about it a couple of weeks ago. I thought it would be fun, having never done a 5K race on a track since grade 10.
After going to the wrong building (yes I know Amanda I should have listened to you), I had 20mins before the start. This gave me enough time to do a 1K warm-up, pee and some strides.
At 10:30 sharp we were off, 12.5 laps of threshold pain. So just to remind everyone reading this, the race was done indoors. Ottawa is lucky enough to own the only indoor 400m track in North America (not 100% sure if thats correct but I’ll go with it). The weather was actually good enough to do it outside but the snow may have added a new element to the race.
In the race there were 9 people taking part. Myself and Chris latched on to another guy who was doing about the same speed. Three “kids” were out in front with a 50m gap. At the 2K mark our guy dropped out which left me to pace as I had leap frogged Chris. Shortly after one of the kids dropped out as well. Damn track guys.
Around and around we went. I was keeping tabs on my laps, seeing that I was staying consistent. With a mile to go I moved into second. I really didn’t care about catching the lead guy. What I wanted was a good time!
A good time to me would have been sub 16:30. I came in at around 16:40ish. Close but no cigar. I think if I had made the effort right away to join the kids that my goal could have been accomplished. Oh well. Gairns had a good finish coming in at 17:00.
Afterwards it was eat time/sleep time. Usually I lay in bed for a few extra mins after my nap but it helped that it was a beautiful sunny day out. I got dressed up to go ride outside, the first time this year (in Ottawa)!
On tap was 4×20mins of timetrial (TT) pain followed by 8×3mins of hill climbs. The goal was to ride the TTs outside then go inside for the final part of the workout.
Riding outside didn’t really make the legs feel better but it made ME feel good. The wind had picked up which I knew was going to make this a challenge. The course I was on had me start with a slight tail wind and then the opposite.
The bike ride was nothing special other than a lot of leg pain. I tried different techniques of slow pedaling versus high cadence. What I found was if I dropped below 82RPM my legs did not respond well to going back to a high cadence (95RPM+). For a flat course and a short run this would probably be ok. But I think in most situations it’s better to pedal a smaller gear faster for longer than a big gear at a lower RPM.
At home I just had the 8×3min hill climbs left. I put my bike back on the trainer and just went for it. Tunes were blaring, my legs were screaming, it was a party inside my Ottawa home. Instead of sitting and pedaling I was forced to stand and climb for the whole duration. My legs were too fried to do anything else. I felt like a Tour rider who had to make the time cut off anyway he could. I could hear Phil Ligget saying “He just has to go at his own rhythm”.
Almost done. Just one last run. I got the dog and headed out. My body felt like it was being held together by glue. Figs ran well which made it a little easier for me to struggle through. “Pain is temporary” I kept repeating to myself.
Then it was over. The work was done. Just the satisfaction that you could write down some numbers and say “I did this”. It’s at this time I reflected that an Ironman race may be in the cards in the not so distant future.
But for now it’s about getting it done. Proof of the results comes during race time.
All of us have come to that point in a race where we turn to the aid stations for fluids. I’d say 99% of the time it’s Gatorade. You do a silent prayer that the person who mixed it followed the directions. If not you either get a syrup that makes your head spin or a discoloured water mix.
Rewind the day. What are you sipping on pre-race, during the race and after the race? Do you pay attention to what your drink provides you? Or do you just do it for the taste? Either way, here is a list of some drinks available on the market.
Gatorade Original- The drink that sticks out when I think of sport. The big “G” trademark is everywhere: football, hockey, soccer, running, you name it. But whats inside? Well for 240mL (8fl oz) you get 50 calories, basically all sugar (14gms). The electrolytes, or minerals lost during to sweat equal to 110mg of sodium, 30mg of potassium and 93 mg of chloride.
Bottom Line – What makes the original Gatorade so popular is its affordable and available. If your dying for thirst or hitting the wall out on a long ride, chances are you’ll find it on the shelves at a convenience store or gas station. That being said it does little to offer anything extra besides sugar.
Gatorade Elite Series – This is a product that SHOULD be marketed more. You won’t find Gatorade Elite Series in Canada which is a shame because it’s something I would buy (a lot) of. What makes it so good? Instead of the puny amount of sodium in the orginal series, they’ve added 200mgs to the Elite. This is to help aid cramping in the latter stages of any race. Gatorade sticks to the same calorie content (50cals/240mL) as the original series.
Bottom Line – This would be a great sports drink if it was available in Canada. My only knock is that it’s sugar content is so high (14gms/240mL). If Gatorade Elite could up the calories but keep the same or lower the sugar content this would be my recommendation for any endurance athlete.
Accelerade – This product is based on the 4:1 ratio: 4gms of carbs for every gm of protein. According to a study done on prolonged exercise consuming a carbohydrate-protein sports drink during exercise can minimize muscle breakdown. At 120 calories per 355mL (12oz) this is one loaded drink! The calories are made up from the 20gms of sugar and 5gms of protein (hence the 4:1). Accelerade also packs in 190 mg of sodium, 65mg of potassium and 100% of your daily value in Vitamins C/E. This can be found in a powder or premixed.
Bottom Line - My gut really Accelerade, especially the orange flavour. However, this stuff is not cheap. It’s double the cost of Gatorade. If you believe in the 4:1 ratio than this is a solid drink that will help prevent muscle breakdown.
Cytomax – Compared to Acclerade and Gatorade which had very strong tastes, Cytomax is easy on the taste buds. Boasting about it’s all natural ingredients this drink is somewhere in the middle as a supplement. The instructions tell you to make it weak, 1 scoop per 475mL (16oz) of water giving you only 90calories; 12gms of sugar. The electrolytes added are 40mg of chloride, 30mg of magnesium, 120mgs of sodium and 60mgs of potassium.
Bottom Line – Great for the athlete whose stomach prefers a drink that is easy on the pallet. Based on the price ($50 for 3lbs) For the calorie vs price I’d recommend buying one of the other options..
This is probably the best article I’ve read yet on how to improve your mental game. The website also has great information on power, training and cycling. Check it out here.
If you don’t read this whole clip at least take this in:
I once asked a champion cyclist how they went so fast for so long. They didn’t mention anything about training, nutrition or recovery. Their reply centred around, “I go as hard as I possibly can, until the pain becomes unbearable, then I back off half-a-turn until it subsides, and that’s the pace I know I can sustain. Because I know I can hurt more if I have to and I now know the pain isn’t as bad as it was; and that makes me happy.” A pro looks at pain as something to be embraced not something to be avoided.
Could I live the life of a pro cyclist? Let’s turn that question on its head. Could a cycling pro do your job? Whatever job you do today, with all its intricacies, nuances and traps that only you know about because you’ve learnt from years of experience that you won’t find documented in any procedures manual or handbook; could it possibly be done as well as you do it now, by someone practicing for a couple of hours, two nights a week and a bit of a longer session on a week-end morning? The answer is probably a resounding, emphatic, NO!
So, that nails that then. Re-align your expectations to match the efforts and sacrifices you can make. Please don’t think you can go out and buy the Lance Armstrong or Chris Boardman training manuals, follow them to the letter and make yourself a better cyclist. At best you’ll become overtrained; at worst you could make yourself seriously ill. Thinking you can do it and actually doing it are two completely different things. While you’re at work Lance was on his bike or sleeping, that’s the difference.
We’ll never be as fit, as fast, as strong, as durable, or as focussed as a professional cyclist because our next salary cheque doesn’t depend on it. But just as we can buy and ride the same equipment as the pro’s we can learn some mind techniques and tools to help address one of sports biggest factors that’s importance is often overlooked. The mindset.
Changing your mindset is free, it’s capacity to expand is unlimited, it’s something you can’t buy as it’s something you already have. The mindset is something only you can control. It’s the one thing that you can adopt from the pros that will make much, much more difference than duplicating their equipment, training regimens or nutrition strategies.
How a pro thinks
A pro never loses a race; they just ran out of time. “We’d have stayed away if the others had worked.” “We were catching them but we started the chase too late.” “I wasn’t going for the win, this is a preparation race.”
Someone else may win the race but a pro, never loses it. Although attributed to pros, these factors are highlighted in the main by team leaders. A team leader has that extra mental toughness. A pro thinks they’re super human; a team leader believes they are super human. That’s why they’re the team leader.
There may be riders as physically gifted in the team (the super domestiques for instance) but they don’t have that final killer instinct that sees them get stronger as the pressure mounts. I’m not the world’s greatest fan of Lance Armstrong but even the most hardened cynic has to admit his mental strength was beyond question.
Never mind cycling, what about other sports? Senna and Mansell, Schumacher and Hill in F1? Fergusson and Wenger in football? Australia and England at cricket? Sampras and anyone else at tennis? When all of these aforementioned people were on the top of their game the one thing that stood out was their mental strength and fortitude, despite any physical evidence to the contrary.
Even when the odds were stacked against them, they’d find a positive to cling to that they would use to lever open a tiny nick, from which they’d create a gaping hole in the confidence of the opposition. Once inside the head of their opponents it was as good as over.
Motivation
Is your motivation intrinsic or extrinsic? You may not realise the difference first off, but the answer has a massive influence on the success of your expected outcome.
Intrinsically motivated athletes, compete because they want to and because they enjoy the competitive element of pushing their body to its limits. Extrinsically motivated athletes compete because they have to and because they enjoy the external rewards of trophies and fame. Intrinsic athletes are capable of self-motivation, extrinsic athletes require external stimulus (the reward) to gain motivation.
For intrinsics, the prize was never the ultimate aim anyway; it was there as the icing on the cake. If it’s won, it’s won, if not at least they tried their best. Trying your best isn’t in a pro’s vocabulary. To reach your full potential it can’t be in yours.
Keep the persona and attributes of an intrinsic person, because invariably they are nicer people, but when training and preparing for an event flip your mindset to extrinsic. When you throw your leg over that bike you mustbecome extrinsically motivated. Learn the difference and learn to switch. You cannot begin to imagine how much difference it will make to your training, preparation and success. Extrinsics don’t “go for a ride” they train!
Effort & Intensity
Motivational drive is what gets you through the pain of sustaining race winning efforts and intensities during the non-reward phase of your competition preparations; or training as we call it!
Lance Armstrong always made a big deal out of the six-hour training rides he’d do in the rain, when everyone else was sitting indoors. Do you honestly think that the other pros don’t ride in the rain? It doesn’t matter whether it was true or not, Armstrong believed it. I’m out in the rain, Ullrich’s eating pies, here’s another success in the Tour. An equation that’s as simple as it was flawed. But it’s what kept Armstrong on the bike and it’s what kept him focussed on the prize.
It doesn’t matter what it is or how true or accurate it might be. Find something that you can latch on to that will get you through the effort and intensities you need to prepare for success.
We all have off days and sometimes think I’ll not go out because it’s raining, it’s going to rain, it’s cold, I’m tired etc, etc. Never decide if you’re going to go training until your in your kit and ready to go. Prepare your bike, get your bottles ready, get dressed, put your shoes on, then and only then decide if you really should go out.
Try to convince yourself to at least complete the warm up phase of your session before coming to a final decision. If you still don’t feel fully committed, then go home and use it as a recovery ride for preparation for your next big session! Turn the failed ride in to a positive ride!
Training and Competing
Make an absolute distinction between training and competing. Identify training races or events and use them as preparation for your big day. Don’t ride a series of races or sportives thinking you’re going to win them all. Because if you don’t you’ll enter the failure mindset.
Start your non-objective, preparation events with a preparation mindset. Ride them looking for weaknesses on which you can work to become a better, stronger, faster rider. Identifying a weakness, or under-developed strength(!), is a positive thing. Finding out your climbing could be better is a good thing because now you can develop a training plan to climb better.
Suffering Strategies
Pro’s don’t feel pain the way we do. That’s probably a lie, a better way to explain it is that pro’s don’t think about pain the way we do.
If a pro rider and a non-pro rider, without any external indicators like heart rate monitors or power meters, rode at 90% of their physical capacity, you’d get a different level of perceived effort from each one. The non-pro would indicate that they were flat out, 100%, and couldn’t possibly go any harder. The pro would tell you they were at 80% and could give more if they need to. Same effort, same suffering, different perception.
A pro rider trains very, very intensely or does a recovery ride. Non-pro’s often train in the “dead zone”. Where pro’s ride at 30 mph or 15 mph, non-pro’s almost always train around 20-22 mph. Non-pro’s don’t ride for sustained periods at the extreme levels of their pain threshold. Therefore when they do suffer, the suffering seems more intense.
Instead of going for a three hour, steady, flattish ride, go for a one hour ride screaming up short hills; do some high-intensity speed work, do some sprint intervals. As Dave Whitt says, “hurt in training, enjoy the race.”>
The same level of pain can have two completely different perceptions depending on how it’s being dished out. Consider you’re on the front of a 30-strong group, riding at 25 mph, with your heart coming through your chest, the sweat burning your eyes, the lactate screaming in your legs, a finishing sprint coming up, and the man behind you can’t hold your wheel and everyone is being strung out and getting dropped.
Now imagine all those sensations but you’re the last man of that 30 strong group. The same level of pain has a completely different feel depending on whether you’re dishing it out or having it dished out to you! And that, dear reader, is all to do with the brain.
The Message
Don’t just think differently, perceive differently.
As I said before this is a massive subject and one to which I can’t really do justice in one article. Start to believe in yourself and your abilities then adjust your objectives to the time, equipment and abilities you have available. Whether you’re trying to achieve an Island Games Medal or completing your first sportive, the effort may be different but the rewards and total satisfaction for an objective well met are exactly the same.
I know a lot of riders that have the physical attributes to be a winner in their category or discipline, they just don’t believe in themselves enough to close the gap between where they are and where they could be. To realize your potential, sometimes it really is as simple as changing your mindset.
Don’t let the Thought Police and your inner voice control your results. Thinking like a pro may not make you ride like a pro but it will make you a better, stronger, happier rider. And it’s a lot easier than an hour on a turbo!
This was a big day. Probably the hardest I’ve had since running the half marathon trail race in Sutton, Quebec (if you haven’t done it go try it!).
First thing in the morning was another 90min swim. I began my day like any other, eat, pack, and commute . The swim was again at the Commonwealth Center. I was greeted by our tester, James, who was going to be monitoring us later at the Pacific Institute of Sport Excellence (PISE). For the sweat test, which I’ll go over later, it required everyone taking part to swallow a thermometer disguised as a purple pill. You could almost feel it going down as it was quite hard to swallow. Magali Tisserye joked that it was a tracking beacon so the coaches would always know where we were.
The testing interested me so I started talking to James about what the test required. He said that we were to sit on our trainers for 3 hours and drink nothing but a liter of gatorade. He asked if that was reasonable. I told him that although I know this is a test, I can blow through 2000 calories depending on how hard the workout is. If were doing anything but soft pedaling I’m going to hit the wall in the third hour. My suggestion was that if we all were given the same gels, thus keeping the parameters the same, we might all survive. James and the coaches talked about it and they came to an agreement. One gel and 1L of gatorade per hour. Little victory.
We had to get through the swim first though. The warm up was a mix of 50s/100s and drills, totaling about 1000ms. The main set was 3×500, 50 easy and something else which I can’t quite remember. My lack of memory is probably due to how hard I pushed myself during the workout. I don’t think I’ve ever pushed so hard in a swim! At one point I actually couldn’t get my arms to turn over. The engine that is my body just stopped. Thankfully it was just for a second. My lats burned from pushing thorough the water.
Coach: Don’t glide so much at the front of your stroke. Me: I can’t move because my lats hurt so much. Coach: At least you doing it right. Get going. Me: Aye aye.
Thats basically my swim summary for the week. Go like crazy, try not to die, and keep going.
Afterwards I had a nice 90min break which gave me lots of time to get over to PISE. I took my time communting and when I got there, started cramming in food till the start of the test. I got to watch the men’s curling match (on TV) between Canada and Norge. Good game as we won but the Norge players stole the show with their flashy pants.
Test time. The point of the test was to measure our sodium loss during the workout. This was gathered by patches taped to our forearms. We were required to do a pre/post weight for hydration loss. Pee in a cup prior to the test and measure how much if you peed during the test. Lactate and heart rates were also taken at regular intervals as well. You remember that pill I had to swallow? Our body temperature was also measured throughout the test. We were a human science project.
So instead of a leisure ride, Lance Watson (previous coach of Simon Whitfield) had us work the entire workout in Zone 2 to low zone 3. We did long sets of 20mins in low gears then switch to high cadence then back down. This would be a semi hard workout on a normal day. If I could get through the calorie deficit then I knew I’d be ok. So on we pedaled.
The first hour went by. I was getting pricked and prodded throughout. Everyone was amazed at the puddle that started to gather underneath me. I’m a huge sweater, it’s kind of gross actually. Almost embarrassing.
What was interesting during the test was my temperature kept dropping. Not just a bit, but a whole 2 degrees by the time I was done! Based on the average person, I was on the verge of hypothermia at close to 35 degrees Celsius! Crazy as we were inside at room temperature.
So the whole Gatorade/1 gel thing really started to bug everyone in the last hour. The first mixture tasted like syrup. I’m sure a lot of you know what I mean when you take a drink of poorly mixed Gatorade and it makes your stomach turn. Well that’s all we had to sip…
During the test a photographer from Triathlete magazine came in, taking pictures of everyone. Even me! I told her to take a shot of my huge puddle. Hopefully it will make the cover.
Hour 3 ended and we all did our post weight. I was the “biggest loser”, sweating 4 pounds off. This while taking in a liter of fluid per hour. Work that out for an Ironman and I’ll lose over 10% of my body weight!
So thats it. We all slowly left the sweat room for our homestays. What better way to end the day then ride another 30mins home.
Thanks to everyone who followed along this week. I got a lot of encouraging emails which is great. My intention for writing this was more for the athletes who consider stepping up to the the top level; getting an inside perspective of what it’s like to train like a pro. If you think you have what it takes, try doing a stint out west.
Happy Trainin
Cliff
I know I haven’t included a lot of pictures but the truth is, I took mostly scenic shots (landscape, not athletes). But here is a good link which Dan Smith, Lifesport coach, took of the sweat test.
Hump day. This was my second last day at the camp and it was a busy one.
On this morning the weather was quite cool. After bundling up I commuted over for the 2 hour scheduled run. I must have been eager because I got there 20mins early. I don’t even arrive that early for work!
Luckily Amanda Stevens arrived shortly after me. I climbed into her mini van to keep warm till the rest of the athletes got there. We chatted for awhile about this and that. One thing that shocked me during our conversation was how many injuries that everyone had or has. It almost seemed that if you didn’t have a stress fracture you weren’t working hard enough! For me, I’ve always believed in taking a break before breaking your body. Guess it doesn’t hold true for everyone…
Our run route was one that is highly recommended when visiting Victoria. We started at Rithet Bog, working our way to Mt.Douglas Park. We started as a group but Brent, who usually does his base runs at 3:50/K, was getting antsy to go. Me, seeing this as another opportunity to trash my legs, followed suit and we quickly became lost.
Lost in a good way though. Brent assured me that he knew the way back. I mean he did this run once before. Two years ago! So off we ran, me in tow.
I’ve been fortunate to be doing Hammertime with Rick Hellard (heard of him by any chance?) so my legs are now accustomed to 2 hour runs. The trails in Mt.Douglas offer a variety of different paths. Most were quite steep and I had a hard time keeping up with Brent. This was suppose to be easy run, I kept thinking! On the down hills I quickly caught up; hoping silently he wouldn’t notice I was behind.
We went around for about 90mins talking about his race season. Last year he started concentrating on Ironman 70.3 distances, his best placing being 5th in Calgary. He talked about living in Forth Worth, Texas, and although not a triathlon hot bed, it still beats Canada’s winter. We also talked about how I could get better. I asked him how long it takes to be a pro? This question of course is different for everyone. Brent has been doing tris for the past 10 years. He use to be out in Victoria’s tri center training full time under the supervision of Lance Watson. For me to compare my meager 2 years in the sport I felt was an insult to him. So I decided to turn the conversation back to his training. Pick up any tips that I could.
On the way back Brent stopped for a nature break and I found the rest of the group running back to the beginning of the trail. The pace you could tell had picked up because there wasn’t much chatter. I pulled up along side Magali and we ran off together after Lance told me to go run with her.
Magali personifies what a pro triathlete should be: a hard worker who just loves what she does. If you don’t know her story, she basically came from out of nowhere last year and made enough money to buy a car (a used one but hey it’s a start). You may have seen her on the cover of triathlete magazine recently. She showed herself that with a lot of work, she can be a very successful triathlete. Now though, she feels she has to live up to a lot of peoples expectations which I think is unfair. I told her my two cents (an Ager from out east) about how the only thing she has to live up to is her own dreams. Hopefully she can blow us all away again this year. Go Canada.
So were coming to the end of the trail and were a tad early; 12mins exactly. Lance tells us to do another lap (3K). Yes sir coach. Out we go for an easy 4min/k jaunt (insert sarcasm). Upon finishing we did some stretches, had a little talk about what the rest of the day was: 90min swim workout and an ice bath.
Instead of waiting till after the swim, everyone decided to go to the ocean to ice bath. Cold is usually something I loathe but having a cold shower or bath after a hard workout is something I actually enjoy. At first I was happy to go along but once I got there time wasn’t on my side. I had my commute back to Clints, then to the pool. This left me only about 20mins to get some grub in/put my feet up.
Off I peddaled, ate, peddaled and then swam. It was another hard workout for me. Problem is since I wasn’t resting between, I go into the swims tired. If you think of your strength in triathlon, on a bad day, you can typically “fake” your way through the workout. However, we all have our weaknesses and when your not on, it can be a real struggle to get through.
But you know what? It really wasn’t that bad. Tired or not, you go out try your hardest and hopefully that is enough. I got some good advice from Magali after. She said “don’t worry about your times. Worry about finishing each set. Your going to get faster if you keep working at it”. Thanks Mags. What about all that water I drank, is that going to make me faster?
After swim practice it was just my usual commute home. Afterwards I was feeling pretty spent. Looking at tomorrows lineup I thought it was best to get some rest (plus the weather was rainy). A nap, some supper, some Olympics and I was ready to call it a day.
After crashing early (8:30pm!) from yesterdays track, swim and run day, I felt surprisingly well. A good night sleep has always been my secret to a great recovery.
On this day I got to relax in the morning. I still got up at 6:30am to use Clint Leins (Peak Performance) computer while he was out at swim lessons. Today’s schedule was a bike lactic threshold test (LT test) and an easy 45min run. This was to start around noon so I went out and did one of my favorite thing: shop for groceries.
The LT test was done at the Pacfic Institute of Sport Excellence (PISE). This is a place where I could really see myself working in the future. It’s a place where fitness and science are married together for the benefit of all variety of athletes. Soccer fields outside, huge indoor gym, weight center and of course testing labs inside. Their soon going to be adding a pool, which now has us multi-sporters covered.
If you’ve never done a LT test I suggest (if your serious about the sport) to get one done. It’s very helpful number to know. It also allows you to compare yourself to years previous.
After my 30min commute to PISE I got on a stationary bike for another half hour to make sure I was ready. I’m not going to lie, the LT test hurts. You start off at a very easy pace/wattage, this is based on your weight, and then every 3mins the amount of resistance goes up. At first I just gabbed with the students/employees there. We talked about what it was like to work there. What other crazy tests they had performed. Then the increase in resistance starts to hurt. It’s game time.
The bike I was riding was fully customizable. This is to ensure that you can get the best fit that balances your power output and being resonably comfortable. This bike also had a display showing your watts and the countdown till the next increment.
Before gonig into the LT test I was told that most people always wish they had pushed a little harder. Why? Because at some point your sitting in that seat pushing as hard as you can, not going anywhere, going till you give up. Giving up basically means a drop in cadence by about 10-20%. Think of going up a hill in your granny gear when all of a sudden it gets so steep, you can’t pedal. Thats what the end of the test feels like. Legs go boom.
You know what though? It’s just a number. It really has no bearing other than another bit of information to help you train. Watching some of the other experienced athletes go, they seem to get worked up over what the LT test produced. Amanda Stevens went before me and she had a bad test, at least in in her eyes. A bad test could really mean any number of things, over training, bad setup, not enough to eat or just a bad mental lapse. When your a pro, I guess you live and die by the numbers that you create.
Well anyone who has done this kind of test knows that you feel pretty spent after. I had reached 10 beats below my max heart rate, which on a bike is pretty amazing. For my recovery I decided to postpone my run and cycle around Victoria. I know I was disrespecting the “listen to your coach” rule (see yesterdays post) but it was sunny out. Damned if I was going to be in doors with my feet up.
I took in the sights along the ocean. Amazing views which reminds me a lot of Southern Califoria with the number of Ocean front houses. After a couple of hours I decided that was enough. Only a run left and I could call it a day.
Out on the run my guts started to do a familiar rumbling. It wasn’t the sound of hunger. It was the “I need the bathroom real fast” noise. I was in the ‘burbs with no gas station or convience store in sight. I started cramping.. not a good sign. I knew that my only choice was to go knock on someones door or….
Luckily a guy out washing his car let me in his house. He probably thought it was a little weird but looking at my size, he knew that I couldn’t steal much. Turns out I was less than a km from Clints house. Oh well. It made the jog a lot more comfortable!
In the PM I got a small taste of Victoria’s night life as we went out for music trivia. It was a good night as Clint ended up winning $10 (after he beat a 16 year old for fourth place). I ended up being the DD as our company got a little typsy!
So far so good I thought as I drove back to Clints place. What’s tomorrow going to bring?
Day 2 at the Lifesport Pro camp in Victoria afflicted pain very early on. On tap was an 8:30am track session of 6 x 1 mile at 10K race pace. A great way to kick off a Saturday morning!
My body was recovering well from the travel, training and commuting. I got up early to begin my ride to Magali Tisserye’s house. Having a car amongst pros makes you a very sought after individual. The track was at a high school near the ferry to Vancouver.
I mentioned in yesterdays post about how extracurricular activites or added mileage was frowned upon. In most aspects of life doing more work is typically a good thing. If you think about that guy in the office who is always staying late and coming in early usually gets the promotion. What I found in my experience is that every athlete follows their training plans to a T. If it says 1 hour, they put in 1 hour. Good weather outside but you have a swim, maybe next time! Clint Lein (my homestay in Victoria: Peak Performance) said it best. He told me that when Peter Reid won Kona he spent 9 months at Clint’s house. He said that when Reid wasn’t training he was watching mindless tv on his couch. Clint even cooked a lot of meals for him. Eat, train and recover. Thats it. Clint also mentioned that most Ironman winners adopt the same lifestyle. Which I don’t disagree with but for all of us that need to pay the bills thats a tough pill to swallow!
Back to the track. It was a typical winter morning in Victoria, light rain, windy and about 10 degrees. Beatiful compared to Ottawa as I got to run in a t-shirt (small victories!). The track thankfully is where I feel more comfortable then the pool. Lance Watson, previous coach of Simon Whitfield, was with us taking splits. One thing that really stuck with me was how serious he was. Running in circles meant more than just that, it was about focusing on yourself and pushing your body to its comfortable limits. All while keeping perfect form.
Running around was myself, Brent Poulsen, Magali Tisserye, Amanda Stevens and Lisa Mesnik. Brent showed that even without a lot of speed work he still had great form from Clearwater in the fall. I managed to hang with him for the last 2 but it was a real challenge! It was great to be out even if it was quite painful!
The day of course didn’t end there as we drove back to the city. I commuted home for a quick bite and then it was off to the pool for another killer session. In the pool Clint volunteered to do video analysis of the athletes at the camp. We each got tips about how to improve. I got a novel!
After the track and swim I was pretty spent. After riding home I hit the hay for a nice long nap. Maybe this is why you don’t do extra work?!
The last workout of the day was a 30min easy run. My legs felt like rocks as I headed out the door. I’m pretty sure my Grandmother who just broke her hip could have kept up with me. Oh well. Pain is temporairy. Plus, this sure beats the 8-5 life!
Hopefully, though, I could recover enough for the next day which would also be another huge challenge!
This is my rendition of a triathlon camp that I did out West. I’ll be posting a piece each day this week to give people an insight into the daily adventures of a pro-triathlete.
Alright, so I’ll give anyone who is reading this a little background if you don’t know me. If you think you do or don’t care and just want to read about the pro stuff, feel free to skip ahead. I’ve been doing tris for about 2 years. I started as a duathlete but converted over because I found duathlon didn’t get the recognition that triathlon does. Having never been a swimmer in my life, and having done none as a kid, this posed a big challenge. Sign me up!
In August of this year my mom and brother competed in Ironman Looville, which is where I was introduced to Lifesport. If you haven’t heard of them they are the “official coaches of Ironman”. You can check them out online. Their headquarters are in Victoria, which is also where my story will take place. I talked to Paul Regensburg, senior coach at Lifesport, in Looville about maybe seeing if the pro option was in the realm of possibility. He said that they would be putting on a camp in the winter and I should come out. So, without further ado.
A week ago Thursday my flight got into Victoria. I had my bike, running gear and swim stuff all stuffed into a hockey bag. A little tip – this saved me all the bike handling fees that Air Canada charges for . If you pack it right, it’s a very good (safe) way to travel (if anybody has questions about it email me).
Being a part of a Pro camp gave me the luxery of free room and board for the week. My “homestay” as they call it, was a guy named Clint Lein (checkout Peak Performance). Great guy who reminded me of Billy Bob Thorton if he was a triathlete. He was really sarcastic, a little impatient but knew his stuff. His day revolved around teaching swimming, writing movie scripts, sleeping and watching movies. Honestly, I never saw or heard of one person while I was there that actually had a real 8-5 job.
So Friday was my official first day of camp. On tap was:
AM – 2 hour ride easy on your own
OM – 1 hour swim – 2 x 800 TT
PM – 2 hour(I added this because I couldn’t stand to waste not having any snow on the ground!)
Victoria I found to be a good cycling community. Pavement was nice. Most roads had a good shoulder. Plus, no snow for almost the entire year. No wonder it’s the triathlon capital of Canada.
Having no car, I relied on my Cervelo commuter tri bike to get around. Everywhere I went, swim, run practice, bike practice, heck even recoveries all had to be commuted too! I was constantly asking Clint where stuff was (as I didn’t bring my computer). You could tell he was a cyclist as he gave me good routes with minimal traffic to all my destinations.
First up was my swim at the Commonwealth center, a swimmers wet dream with a 50 meter pool, two 25m pools and a kiddy play place. Very impressive. On deck I met my fellow campers. Magali Tisseyre, Brent Poulsen, Amanda Stevens, Lisa Mesnik and Brent McMahon. Go to any tri mag and you’ll see their names at the top or near the top at any race they’ve been too. Luckily I don’t get worked up over celebrities and found that everyone was (mostly) happy to be here. My goal for this camp was to learn as much as possible and hopefully take home a few pointers from them.
In the pool I learned quickly that my swimming needs a lot of work if I even want to come close to being in their draft. Thankfully, at the same time this swim was on, Lifesport teaches a masters swim which I participated in. It sucked that I couldn’t hang with the big boys/girls. I have to be honest with myself and realize that most have been doing it since they were 12. It still didn’t stop me from admiring how effortless they were from my lane. So smooth. So fast. Someday…
After I was done I returned home to Clints place, grabbed a quick snack, then hit the road for another 2 hours. To me coming from the frozen wasteland, it was awesome to be outside again. What I realized later though is that “extra” work is somewhat frowned upon. Why? Well you’ll have to read tomorrows entry.
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