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.

Dress for Success

Clothes make the man.  Naked people have little or no influence on society.

                                                            Mark Twain

As triathletes we constantly are trying to simulate race conditions.  One thing that I feel sometimes gets lost in the gear, the nutrition, and training boils down to simply being dressed for the right racing conditions.  You’re spending a considerable amount of time in this clothing and if you’re miserable due to not preparing correctly it will make for a very bad race that will more than likely affect your time, and perhaps even your health.

This past weekend I had the chance to run in Portland.  I felt that this would be perfect preparation for a half-marathon I have coming up in Salem, about 45 minutes south of Portland.  It isn’t a given, but a race in the Willamette Valley during January usually means cool, rainy, and potentially blustery conditions.  The weather report for Portland was pretty straightforward for the weekend – rain with wind, followed by more rain, with a chance of wind and rain, oh yes, and more rain.  The conditions were perfect!  This would help me prepare for the worst-case race weather scenario and allow me to see if I had the proper clothing for the upcoming race.

Saturday morning dawned and as I looked out my hotel room window (through the streaks of water from the falling rain) I could see it was wet, cold, and blustery.  Had I been in my old home of Albuquerque, this would have been a day to crawl back in bed and get warm under the covers with my wife.  In Portland, this was just another day.  Heart monitor, tights, long sleeve base layer, race singlet, wind jacket, gloves, skullcap, wood socks, and shoes were all enlisted in the attempt to stave off the elements for an hour and half without needing medical or psychological attention. 

I set out on a path along the Willamette River that would take me through the city and into the fringes of Forest Park.  I was immediately struck by the sheer number of people that were out who were running, riding their bikes, or walking along the path.  Two weeks earlier I had run along the Bosque Trail on a sunny day in Albuquerque and the numbers didn’t even come close to what I was seeing in Portland.  Clearly, if you wait for a sunny day in the winter to go for a run or a ride in Portland you might never get out the door.

The wind and rain added a certain element to my run.  At first it was a concern, but eventually I simply forgot about the elements.  My team wind jacket (thank you Champion Systems) functioned perfectly.  It fended off the wind and rain and allowed me to run in comfort.  Interestingly enough, I have recently found that running in the elements can actually seem pleasant.  Don’t ask me why, but it seems to heighten my senses.  I truly feel alive – maybe it’s the endorphans, maybe it’s becoming an Oregonian.  My run felt great and it was fun greeting the runners I passed.  We would give each other a knowing smile or a pleasant “good morning”.  I even had a bike rider go by during a particularly blustery part, flash a smile, and give me a thumbs up.  Too quickly it seemed my run was done and I was shedding my wet clothes and warming up in a hot shower.   It was a confidence boost for me because I knew that with the clothes I had and the training I had done I was going to be able to complete the half marathon in any type of weather.

After several months of doing this triathlon thing I have come to the conclusion that I truly feel better when I have the chance to ‘experience’ something first so to speak.  Part of that may be due to the fact that I’m new to the sport.  Frankly, for me, a lot of it is just plain psychological.  I just know that when I was doing the Leadman I had to bike up Sparks Hill to give me the mental boost, same with the swim and the run.  Once I knew I can do something it immediately sets my mind at ease.  So too, was my weekend in Portland.  I knew that I had what I needed clothes-wise in order to run a successful race.

It’s important to practice racing in what you’ll be wearing.  I’ve already related the story about what happened when I jumped into the pool wearing a tri top that no longer fit.  Just last month I got a complete kit that I ordered through my coach.  In the past couple of weeks I’ve tried to find opportunities to wear everything.  The last thing I want to discover is that my race suit starts rubbing me the wrong way and makes me tender in certain places I don’t even want to describe after only a couple of hours on the trail or in the saddle. 

Just as important as comfort is making sure you’re prepared for every condition.  Growing up in the Rockies taught me about how quickly the weather can change.  The Cascades are no different.  Case in point, in 2012 the swim portion of the Pac Crest was shortened due to snow.  In 2013 temperatures soared into the mid 90’s.  Just this year I swam and biked a portion of the Leadman the day before the race in sunny and warm temperatures.  The next morning the swim began in temperatures below freezing.  Make sure you have everything you can possibility need.  It’s easy to discard something, much more difficult to create something out of thin air.

Another benefit of practicing in the clothes you’ll be racing in is to begin to understand what I call the ’20 minutes out effect’.  I began to appreciate this when I began to Nordic ski and snowshoe.  Invariably I would overdress due to the cold outside temperatures and within twenty minutes I would be sweating worse than Ned Beatty in Deliverance.  If you have the chance practice in different combinations and see what works best.  Certain things help retain the heat better and other wick the moisture away.  It’s all a matter of comfort and each of us determines that in very different ways.  Once you find a combination that works for a certain type of conditions stick with it. 

My past weekend in Portland boosted my confidence for my upcoming race but it was not without it’s own issues.  When I packed for the weekend I packed my rainy race stuff but I forgot to pack the Woollite.  After I got done with my first rainy training session I stripped down and piled my soggy clothes in the corner.  After my shower I went looking for a laundry room.  It was then I discovered the place where we were staying did not have a laundry room and there wasn’t a place nearby to purchase any Woollite.  Having no way to quickly wash everything like I do at home I simply hung everything up to dry and hoped for the best.  I realized that one of the parts of being prepared clothes-wise also means having enough training clothes for each day of training.

The next day I awoke to more rain.  It was just another winter’s day in Portland. I was confident that I was sufficiently ready for the elements and got everything back on for another wet run.  For the most part everything was dry.  My only concern that day had nothing to do with being comfortable.  It had more to do with my concern for those folks that were downwind of me as I ran by.

Conquering the Open Water Swim

It was my second time swimming in the open water so I didn’t think much of it. I was swimming

with a group of people who were practicing for the Pacific Crest triathlon at Wickiup Reservoir, just

south of Bend. It was a small group so the mayhem I had experienced the week before at the Blue

Lake triathlon would be minimal. This would be a piece of cake.

Our small group posed for pictures and then headed into the water. It was a nice and sunny day

but the water was absolutely frigid. I walked in until I was waist deep and dove on into the water.

The water at Blue Lake up in Portland had been chilly but not truly cold. The water at Wickiup, fed

from the snows of the Cascades was much different. The blast of cold water rocked me like a

vicious slap to the face. I started my stroke but could feel a sense of tightness coming over my

chest. What was happening? I started thrashing about and a sense of panic overcame me. What

was going on? Why wasn’t I moving? After a couple of minutes I realized that I needed to calm

myself. I flipped over on my back and let my wetsuit keep me afloat. I took deep breaths and

began to calm myself. After several minutes of deep breaths and relaxing I flipped back over and

continued my swim. I emerged, much as I had done at Blue Lake, a bit dizzy and disoriented. I

also emerged with a couple of questions that I felt needed answering.

Specifically, why had I panicked in the water? Why did I keep coming out of the water dizzy?

Since I had several open water swims I knew I’d need to find the answers quickly in order to be

able to successfully compete in the open water swim.

The answer to my panic in the water was rather interesting. Prior to the Deschutes Dash I met

Justin, another guy who was just getting into triathlons. We ended up becoming good friends. He

and I had a conversation about my panic in the water. Justin related how a plunge into very cold

water can cause the mammalian diving reflex to occur. This reflex shunts blood and available

oxygen to the heart and the brain. Essentially when the face is exposed to extremely cold-water

temperatures it can cause this reflex. This reflex in turn causes a shock to the system. The body

reacts by tightening around the lips and the chest in order to prevent taking in water. Justin told

me that he had a good friend in Special Ops who went through extensive training in cold-water

conditions. His friend recommended slowly submerging the mouth and then the face while blowing

air out of the mouth. This would counteract the mammalian diving reflex and allow the body to

adapt to the cold water without tensing up and becoming rigid.

On race day I entered the water a few minutes early. I began my routine by slowly submerging my

lips and blowing air out my mouth. With each breath I put my face further down into the cold water.

By the time the race was to begin I had fully submerged my entire head into the water and both my

body and mind were adjusted to the cold water. I was able to swim without panic, fear, or a tight

chest. Ever since then I have used the same technique and never worried once about my chest

tightening or having a panic attack. I found that this time in the water let me calm my nerves, relax,

and ready myself for the beginning of the race.

The answer to my dizziness came from my coach, Jaime Dispenza. In a later training swim in the

Deschutes River he offered me a pair of silicone ear plugs. He noted that cold water in the ear

canal could be the cause of dizziness. With the plugs in my ears I emerged from the water after

my practice session without the dizziness or disorientation I had felt before. Better still, in my next

race I emerged from the water level headed and I was able to run quickly to the transition area

without stumbling or feeling disoriented.

The open water swim is challenging enough as it is, what with the thrashing of bodies, and having

to look up in order to sight. Having one less thing, much less two, to worry about, proved to be the

tonic I needed in order to successfully and confidently complete swimming in the open water.

Sometimes it is best to discuss problems or concerns with other fellow athletes or your coach in

order to learn of possible solutions. Always be open to suggestions and ideas. If they don’t work,

fine, abandon them and move on. Every so often though one of these suggestions may be very

beneficial and help in your training or race day success.

It all boils down the old adage. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

New Year's Revolution

"Your highness, the peasants are revolting!" "You said it. They stink on ice.

Pull!"

Mel Brooks, History of the World, Part I.

New Year’s is a time for resolutions, or revolutions, if you believe the kid

on the AT&T commercial. Though I tend to not make resolutions I do set

goals for myself. This year is no different.

Last year at this time my wife and I skied up to Tumalo Falls. It was a

sunny but very cold day. There was a lot of snow and a lot of time to think.

Think about where I was, and where I was going. At the conclusion of our

trip I knew that I wanted to lose weight, become more active, and possibly

do a triathlon.

Fast forward to this year. Sunny, but this time with temps in the high 40’s

there was very little snow. It was the perfect day for a very long run. This

was good because that was what was exactly on my training docket.

Again, I had another New Year’s Day with a lot of time to think. As I ran

above Tumalo Creek I thought about what I accomplished in the past year.

I was successful in losing weight and I had competed in several triathlons,

including my first long course triathlon. I felt good and was running well. In

fact, in the past year I had been able to drop my pace by almost a minute

and half from the previous year. As I completed my run and walked up the

driveway I thought to myself. Ok, so where do I go from here?

I got my training information loaded into Training Peaks, grabbed my

recovery drink and headed upstairs. As I was stretching I decided to check

and see if my coach’s blog had been updated. Jaime, my coach, writes a

blog on being a triathlete for The Albuquerque Journal, where he used to

be photo editor. I like to follow the blog to see how his mind ticks and

glean some insight in addition to the guidance he provides me as a coach

and mentor. His new blog was up so I read through it while I stretched out

my quads.

In his blog post titled The Endurance Lifestyle, Jaime talked about how in

simpler times he just wanted to finish a sprint-distance triathlon. This

morphed into Olympic distance races, the half-ironman, and eventually the

full on ironman. He referenced how people came to him for guidance with

their training programs as they neared a race. He noted how his life had

become an ‘Endurance Lifestyle’. He related how he received an email

inviting him to go on a short ride with friends on a day he had planned a

run. I was one of those friends. It was my first ride outside in awhile. I felt

good, rode with confidence, and attacked the hills. As Jaime and I rode up

the last hill before my house he punched me in the shoulder and said, “I

told you man, you’re fit!” After I peeled off from the group I threw on my

running shoes and did a half-marathon pace for an hour and covered over

eight miles. Afterwards I texted Jaime and raved about how I felt

awesome. Ok, I think I threw in an explicative in addition to what I just

related. The following day I woke up feeling great and went through my

routine, a mix of weights and running. Later in the week I ran a halfmarathon

distance. The following day I woke up feeling like I could set the

world on fire. Some old friends I talked to marveled at the amount of

mileage I was covering and to me it wasn’t worth a second thought, it was

simply part of my daily plan. I had undergone a rather revolutionary

change in appearance, fitness, and lifestyle from where I had been less

than a year before.

As Jaime continued to talk about living the ‘endurance lifestyle’ in his post I

realized that what he was talking about applied to me as well. I was

stunned and a bit shocked. I had only a few months earlier accepted the

fact that I was an athlete and here I was realizing that I was now living

what could be termed an ‘endurance lifestyle’. Now let me just say that in

no way can I compare myself to Jaime. It would be nice to be at his level

but I have four years of age on the guy and he’s got a sixteen-year head

start on the triathlon thing. The only time I can only keep up with him is

after he’s had major surgery. Still, I realized that, as Jaime said to me a bit

later in a text that, “without you knowing it you’re life is becoming just that.

You’re there”. Way back in April when we first connected he told me that

what I was undertaking was a lifestyle. I really didn’t fully grasp or

appreciate what he meant until I read his post. Of course I joked with him

later via text that I was still thinking, ok, so where do we go from here?

What is my New Year’s Resolution? If Jaime had his way, and my guess

he more than likely will, he would simply say that my goal is to be healthy,

happy, and fit. Actually he did text me just that and my guess that is what

he truly wants for me in 2014. The more I think about it, that’s not a bad

resolution, even if it isn’t very revolutionary.

After a couple of back and forth texts with Jaime we agreed that we would

talk things over during a bike ride. I am going to meet up with him after I go

lift weights for an hour and go through an hour’s worth of swim drills. If you

had told me last year at this time that I would be undertaking all of this in

one week much less one day I would have thought you had gotten into the

doctored egg nog. Now, truth be told, it’s just another typical day in what

has become my ‘endurance lifestyle’.