Training Chatter

Training Chatter

The room is spare save for a circle of chairs. A motley group of individuals all

clad in spandex and lycra fidgit in their chairs. All are nervous and anxious, like

they are waiting for the starting gun to go off for a race. Finally, and older

individual stands, clears his throat, and starts to speak.

“Hello, my name is Dave and I have an issue with training chatter…”

“Hello Dave…”

There I said it. I hate training chatter. Ok?

Don’t get me wrong. I, like any other person who does triathlons, engages in a

certain amount of training conversation. It, in a way, is the nature of the beast.

What got to me though was the guy who could do nothing but talk training and

talk of nothing else. At first, it really didn’t bother me, but as my first racing

season unfolded I became more and more bothered by the incessant training

chatter. It literally began to drive me crazy, which in turn probably drove my

coach crazy as well. As I look back now I can divide this chatter into five different

categories.

#1 – The Bemoan-er

This is the guy that constantly bemoans his lack of training time and makes sure

you are aware of his plight. Interestingly enough, the guy seems to have a job

that allows him to go on several mid-week bike rides in the middle of the day for

several hours. He frets publically about how out of shape he is due to said lack

of training time. This training time always seems to equal about twice the

amount of training time you are able to shoe horn in either before or after working

hours.

#2 – The One Up-er

This is the guy who always asks you about your training first so he can make

sure you know his training is just a little bit harder and longer than what you are

doing. This person clearly rides and runs uphill both ways and always into a

headwind.

#3 – the Look at Me-er

This is the guy who shares every training moment on social media. This includes

split times, power meter readings, heart rate monitor read outs, with all the bells,

and whistles. I liken it to a very long day at the pool with a child that wants you to

watch them every time they go off the diving board.

#4 – The Bling-er

This is the guy who shares every purchase with you and the world, be it a new

bike, aero bars, helmet, wetsuit, or wind resistant jock strap. In the time you

have purchased one wetsuit, bike, or power meter, this guy has purchased three

of each. The revelation of each purchase is usually followed by a long discourse

on what would be purchased next. This seems to be an extremely vicious and

expensive cycle.

#5 – The Need to Know-er

At face value, this seems to be a very benign form of chatter. However, this one

is the most dangerous and under-handed. This is the guy who expresses

‘genuine’ interest in your training and wants to know all about what you’re doing

in great detail. It isn’t until much later that you discover this person is writing

down and duplicating your program. Some might say, “so what”, but for me, this

is a plan written for me by my coach. Lifting this plan in my mind is a form of

plagiarism and an affront to my coach and his ability to make a living.

As my racing season was coming to a head I couldn’t understand why this

chatter was bothering me so much. I came to two conclusions. The first was a

fear of disappointment and the other boiled down to something I would term, act

like you’ve been there.

My fear of disappointment came from not wanting to disappoint my coach. Now I

will be the first to say that my coach never put any pressure on me or ever

expressed disappointment - far from it in fact. He was supportive and constantly

provided encouragement. As a new athlete, I saw and heard the chatter as an

indictment of not training hard enough or long enough. What I failed to recognize

was that my coach had developed a training plan for me in order to be

successful. I was trying to compare myself to others when in reality all I needed

to do was follow the plan set out for me and not worry about what others were

doing or saying.

When I see an athlete preen after scoring a touchdown or hitting a three-pointer I

am reminded of Jerry Rice, who always stressed to “act like you’ve been there

before”. Jaime, my coach, provides a good example of what Jerry Rice practiced

and preached. As an accomplished triathlete and coach Jaime could be excused

if he participated in some of the chatter I have listed – and believe I have seen

and heard some coaches and athletes do just that. However, he truly acts like

he has been there before and that he will be there yet again. I began to realize

that the chatter was just another form of preening and I should just remember to

look to him as a role model. Jaime has taught me to live in and embrace the

moment, follow the plan before me, and to cut out the chatter.

It has been difficult but for the most part I have come to terms with the chatter.

There is still that guy who continues to chatter away and Jaime, at times, has had

to act as my sponsor, and point me back in the right direction. It involves being

strong, sticking to the plan, and not letting peer pressure get the best of me.

A new race season has begun and with it a new training program. It is one that I

will discuss, question, analyze, and revisit with Jaime. This year, rather than

falling into the art of second guessing myself and allowing some to practice mind

games I’ll put on the earphones, crank the tunes, focus on the plan, and cut the

chatter.