Hopefully by now your taper is coming around from the icky, uncoordinated mess of the last week or so, and you are starting to feel good about the race you are about to complete. Not always true, and one of my friends, Carmen, said she didn't feel good till the day before - and then she promptly qualified for Kona. So there's a big range of how taper can play out.
I know for me, last week was awful. My legs were, simply put, not mine. The 10-miler I did last Thursday just felt all wrong. I was uncoordinated, my RPE was off the charts...running in the 130's felt like I was in the 160's. It was just WONKY. All the little niggles that I talked about in my last post were all there to keep my company. But I executed the session anyway, per directions. And Friday's swim was just the same. Arms and legs not working in tandem, out of breath, just WONKY. Yet interestingly, my numbers were there, all of them, right where they should be. Truly. I wouldn't have guessed that I'd pulled out 7'20-7'40s on the progressions, and sure wouldn't have said I had an 8'37 avg for that run, and yet, that's what I did. And I was swimming in the upper 1'40s (stop smirking...that's fast for me!). Thank you Garmin for giving me irrefutable proof that even when I feel like crap, I can still perform. (did Coach pay you to do this??!) "Your fitness has't just disappeared". It's true. And by Saturday's bike session, the body was working together pretty well again. "Good news!" I told Coach..."I've got my own body back!"
The reality is, if you have done the work, you are ready, no matter how you feel. I know I've done the work. As I look back over the last 9 months, it's right there in Green and Red. ;) Thank you Training Peaks. As an Agile Coach in my day job, I am a big proponent of what we like to call Big Visible Charts. I'm an advocate of full transparency and making things visible. You can't hope for continuous improvement if you aren't being honest and staying aware of what's really happening over time. TP helps me do that, and you may know from reading my blog, that achieving those Green Weeks is a big deal for me. When I look back over this year, I can say with certainty that it's the best year of training I've ever had. Matthew really taught me that consistency is key. I've always known that, but I don't think I've KNOWN it till this year. And, as I always say - as in tri, so in life - that's no different than what I teach my teams every day at work.
Looking back over this year of training, I have had 11-12 sessions per week, so somewhere in the vicinity of 450 training sessions. I've missed 13... 5 swim, 3 bike, 5 run, and 2 strength. Almost all of those misses were purposeful, for health or fatigue issues. A couple weren't. But damn. I have to say I'm impressed with myself. Consistency. Chase Consistency Kat. String together weeks, and then months, of consistency. That's what Coach said all those months ago. And I've done that. And now, here I am. Seems like just yesterday he was saying "Choo is months and months away...we have lots of time". Now here we are, 4 days to go. Hard to believe.
So... trust your training. Know that you are ready. Now it's just about believing in yourself. If you've done the work, you are ready. One of the things that Coach has said to me in the last week is "Know that you are physically ready to race this, even if your body doesn't FEEL good on race day." I never, ever, thought about it like that before. Those crappy sessions last week actually proved that for me. Of course, we all want to feel GREAT on race day. But I really do KNOW that even if I don't feel great on Sunday, my body knows what to do, and it is ready.
Trust your training = Trust your Coach. And that is what I've done. He has earned my trust, not an easy task these days, unequivocally. Thanks, Coach, for making it so easy to trust you, and moreover, for understanding how important it was to me for that to happen. As I told him a few weeks back, as he was still contemplating what the right metrics for race day were going to be for me...whatever you say, is what I'm going to do...I've trusted you this far, not gonna stop now!
#WhatCoachWantsCoachGets :)
I'm excited! I'm ready. Honestly, I can't wipe the smile of my face now. Got on the plane to come home last night, and just couldn't stop smiling. It's all about Sunday now. Ready, Here I Come!!
Happy race prep,
Kat
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Monday, September 15, 2014
Taperchondria
Yep, it's that time again. Officially "it" started last Monday. Last loooong workout coming off a couple very heavy (18-21 hrs/wk) build blocks, not to mention 8 months of working towards this one goal. "It" being taper of course. Taper is defined by Oxford as as 'a gradual narrowing'. Makes some sense actually even when we translate to the triathlon-specific definition of a progressive reduction of the training intended to reduce physical and psychological stress and optimize sport performance. A gradual narrowing of focus to reap the most we can out of our bodies. We have to allow our bodies a period of major rest as we make the training adaptations from the immense stress we have placed on them leading up to our A race. And to be honest, this is where I think the real art comes in to triathlon coaching, separating the college art majors from the Picasso's out there. Thankfully I think I've managed to find one of the Masters to craft mine.
We break our bodies down, recover, and come back better than when we started. So in taper our bodies start to feel like crap. Systems are shutting down. They're shutting down on purpose - we are no longer applying those purposeful stresses - and they are recovering. Time to rebuild! If we do this right, we come back supercompensated. This is what we want, and of course we want to time it to coincide with our A race. If you've done your build properly, you may have seen a preview of this after a B race, or after a large intense training block, where you've applied race-like intensity and effort, recovered, resulting in a fitness boost. The actual taper is that and then some. I know I've seen very noticeable improvements after each of the half's I did this year, consistently about 12-14 days out from each.
But to get to that amazing place, we have to go through the crap first. We feel like we are getting sick. We notice every new little niggle, and worry that we have found a new injury. Things pop up that we've never felt before. In other words, we become hypochondriacs. AND we don't even really have a way to knock out the nervous energy, because we aren't working out at the same volume and intensity. There's still some there, but nowhere near the volume we've become accustomed to. This is worse for some than others. Fortunately I fall on the lesser side of things. Of course, I live alone, so that's easy for me to say. ;)
Here's the thing - you have to trust that you will come through the taper stronger than you were before you started the training. We need this time for our bodies to absorb the training and make appropriate adaptations. If you don't trust in it - meaning if you don't REST - you won't reap the rewards. So what can you do? I started really feeling sick last Sunday/Monday. Felt like I was getting a cold, and to be honest, that has happened to me every year just prior to key races, so I wasn't surprised. But my training approach has been quite different this time, and so I'd hoped I wouldn't have that this time around. I reached out to my daughter, Kayla, who just finished her studies in wholistic nutrition, and she made a few recommendations. I'll share them with you here, along with a few other suggestions, all of which I started last Monday.
I'm sitting here on the Capital One campus in Richmond drinking a Starbucks Americano...and my heat guard thingy (is that what this is called???) today reads "Be more splendid. Be more extraordinary. Use every moment to fill yourself up." (Oprah Winfrey). I think that's apropos for today, and for this week. I'll extend that to mean "Believe in your ability to be more splendid and more extraordinary. Use every moment to fill yourself with positivity, and the belief in yourself that you can be the best you and hence make your dreams come true." Very appropriate for taper as we struggle with the final waiting. We've spent the last few (or many) months building volume and intensity on top of our solid base. We'll use the next few weeks honing that to razor sharp race readiness - physically and mentally.
Enjoy the taper. You've worked hard. I know I've worked hard. Now it's time to let it all marinate.
T-13days, people. Almost there. Got real for me when I realized I'm seeing my Mum and sister NEXT WEEK. And then Coach went and put the final week into TP.
And don't forget your #PMA. (that's Positive Mental Attitude if you are new to my blog.)
Happy resting!
Kat
We break our bodies down, recover, and come back better than when we started. So in taper our bodies start to feel like crap. Systems are shutting down. They're shutting down on purpose - we are no longer applying those purposeful stresses - and they are recovering. Time to rebuild! If we do this right, we come back supercompensated. This is what we want, and of course we want to time it to coincide with our A race. If you've done your build properly, you may have seen a preview of this after a B race, or after a large intense training block, where you've applied race-like intensity and effort, recovered, resulting in a fitness boost. The actual taper is that and then some. I know I've seen very noticeable improvements after each of the half's I did this year, consistently about 12-14 days out from each.
But to get to that amazing place, we have to go through the crap first. We feel like we are getting sick. We notice every new little niggle, and worry that we have found a new injury. Things pop up that we've never felt before. In other words, we become hypochondriacs. AND we don't even really have a way to knock out the nervous energy, because we aren't working out at the same volume and intensity. There's still some there, but nowhere near the volume we've become accustomed to. This is worse for some than others. Fortunately I fall on the lesser side of things. Of course, I live alone, so that's easy for me to say. ;)
Here's the thing - you have to trust that you will come through the taper stronger than you were before you started the training. We need this time for our bodies to absorb the training and make appropriate adaptations. If you don't trust in it - meaning if you don't REST - you won't reap the rewards. So what can you do? I started really feeling sick last Sunday/Monday. Felt like I was getting a cold, and to be honest, that has happened to me every year just prior to key races, so I wasn't surprised. But my training approach has been quite different this time, and so I'd hoped I wouldn't have that this time around. I reached out to my daughter, Kayla, who just finished her studies in wholistic nutrition, and she made a few recommendations. I'll share them with you here, along with a few other suggestions, all of which I started last Monday.
- rest, Rest, REST!! meaning Sleep. There's nothing better for recovery than this. Super simple. and FREE. #justdoit
- Hydrate! Well! Not only do you need this for your optimal race performance, it helps flush all of the toxins out of your body, and clear anything that might be starting to surface. Hydrate Hydrate Hydrate.
- Double up your daily dose of Vitamin C - I use EmergenC, and I'm doing one in the am and one in the pm.
- Go to Arden's Garden (or your favourite fresh juice place if you aren't in ATL) and order a Grand Slam. Double up on the wheatgrass. Janet was right - it is a MAGIC CURE-ALL. The Grand Slam is a 4-shot juice fix of, in order of consumption, wheatgrass/ginger/lemon/cranberry. I've been doing 2x/week for the last 3 weeks, and will continue till race day. It's a hike for me to get there but SO WORTH IT.
- Oil of Oregano. This is from my super healthy nutritionist daughter. She takes this at the first sign of illness, and she's basically never sick. You can get it at Whole Foods. 2-4 drops under your tongue. (absorbed better by the body like this). Hold it as long as you can. Note/disclaimer/warning: It burns. It tastes like hell. But it works. Chew some gum after. Also a great excuse to down a shitload of water. She warned me AFTER I did it. ...and I forgot to warn G, after I recommended it to him. Oops. The text I got from him: "Oh Mike, by the way, it tastes like absolute shit and you'll probably want to puke and it might be cheaper to just get sick so insurance will pay for meds." hehehe. My text to my daughter contained a few more expletives ;) ...So it's not cheap (about $20), but it will last you forever, AND you aren't filling your body with drugs.
- Immunity tincture. drops, whatever you want to call it. In the pic above, called 'resistance liquid'. Also at whole foods (etc). Also tastes like, well, shit. But whatever. Also natural. Also from Kayla. Also may be useful if you find yourself on a game show on some remote island.
- Become OC about washing your hands, like me, thanks to Coach. In all seriousness, this is for real and also FREE.
- Don't stress about it. Trust your training. You've done the work. Now know this is part of the process and control what you can. Let the rest go.
So that's what I've been doing. Trusting the taper, and managing the things I can manage. And I feel great. Don't feel sick anymore, aside from the damn allergies. So little training last week, 4 days of no legs, and then BAM! This weekend's sessions were killer. Of course they may not all be like that between now and race day, but I know it's working.
I'm sitting here on the Capital One campus in Richmond drinking a Starbucks Americano...and my heat guard thingy (is that what this is called???) today reads "Be more splendid. Be more extraordinary. Use every moment to fill yourself up." (Oprah Winfrey). I think that's apropos for today, and for this week. I'll extend that to mean "Believe in your ability to be more splendid and more extraordinary. Use every moment to fill yourself with positivity, and the belief in yourself that you can be the best you and hence make your dreams come true." Very appropriate for taper as we struggle with the final waiting. We've spent the last few (or many) months building volume and intensity on top of our solid base. We'll use the next few weeks honing that to razor sharp race readiness - physically and mentally.
Enjoy the taper. You've worked hard. I know I've worked hard. Now it's time to let it all marinate.
T-13days, people. Almost there. Got real for me when I realized I'm seeing my Mum and sister NEXT WEEK. And then Coach went and put the final week into TP.
And don't forget your #PMA. (that's Positive Mental Attitude if you are new to my blog.)
Happy resting!
Kat
Friday, September 12, 2014
In the Barn ... Training and Fundraising
My problem with the ride, ultimately, was that my neck was so sore I could not think about anything else. This is a problem that has plagued me the entire time I’ve ridden aero. Doesn’t matter the fit. It wasn’t until this weekend that I made a possible correlation with another ever-present challenge I face – dehydration. I just can’t seem to ever drink enough. My Canadian body was just never meant to endure this level of heat and humidity ;) …After the prior weekend’s not so stellar brick, which resulted in a slightly shortened run due to a loss of 4% body weight, I was super diligent on hydrating all week (to the point I actually downloaded an app to help me). And during the ride, I was extremely conscious of drinking enough, and I drank almost double what I normally would drink. That is, 9 bottles over 5.5 hours. Believe it or not, it still wasn’t enough. The reality is though I don’t know I could have drank anymore! I just have a very high sweat rate. (as the guys riding somewhere around mile 50 can attest as I shouted out to Lindsay 'I'm sweating like a mother-f*@&er...whoops, sorry boys). It took me till mile 85 before I actually peed. That’s crazy with the amount I was drinking. And at mile 85, I just felt like hell. Things had gone great during the work of the session, but had gone quickly downhill since then. Wasn’t sure how I’d make it back to the start of the 103 mile course, never mind do another 12 after that.
The interesting thing, and the point of this story, is that at that rest stop there were these AWESOME homemade pickles. The lady dishing them out also filled the cup with pickle juice. I ate the pickles, and dumped the pickle juice into my water bottle. Within 15 minutes I actually started feeling better. By the time I got back, which actually turned out to be only 99.5 miles, I felt good enough to loop back out for more. I figured I’d ride till I met Lindsay again, and then turn home again. I didn’t run into her, but did manage another 7 miles. I realized later that not only did I feel better in general, but my neck had stopped hurting so bad. It occurred to me that night that perhaps the real problem with the neck is electrolytes and hydration. As I reviewed (anecdotally) the previous times that had happened in such an intense way, I knew I had also experienced severe dehydration. So at least for now, that is my working hypothesis. I’ll be looking to test that out over the next while. I won’t have a definitive answer before the race, but at the very least I will be ensuring not only sufficient hydration, but more electrolytes than I’ve been taking as well.
So I cut the bike short, based on wanting to ensure I had a
good run off the bike this weekend, and felt confident that another 7 miles
would not matter at this point. In the
end I also cut the run short, after a very good 5 miles, all slightly above
goal pace actually, again due to heat and dehydration. Just about passed out, and decided it just
wasn’t worth another mile. Hence, Coach’s
pictorial response to my texted explanation of the day’s recap, and cutting each a little short.
And he’s right. I can’t
do much to improve fitness at this point.
But I can sure do stuff to mess it up.
Caution and confident decision making is the name of the game now for
the next couple of weeks. We’ve put a lot
of work into this, and there is no need to screw it up now with moments of
desperate insecurity. J
And yes, the hay is in the barn for my CCFA fundraising
efforts as well. I am so grateful to
each of you that donated to this cause on my behalf.
I’m happy to report I raised a total of $5700
for CCFA.
It has
definitely brought a new dimension to my racing, and I’m glad to have had the
opportunity to contribute in such a way to this charity. For all my $100+ donors, the last few “Stay
in the Moment” medallions will be headed out this weekend. Thank you for your generosity. And in particular, I want to thank my 3
biggest donors: my sister Leona, who has
won the custom jewelry item; my dear friend Philip, who won the stained glass
art; and my Mum.
Now, to taper. Can’t
believe how close it is now.
Happy tapering,
Kat
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)