3x Pelotons a Week to 70.3: Introducing Drew Davis, CBCG Coach
In conjunction with my officially joining the CBCG team, I’m sharing the story of the first athlete who took me seriously as a coach: my wife, Amelia.
I remember when the e-mail hit my inbox. The subject line read, “Holy Shit--I’m really doing this.”
It was a confirmation of my wife Amelia’s registration for Ironman 70.3® Wilmington in October - five months away. Although we had already fostered a general sense that she would race Wilmington and she had begun informal training, her registration made it official. After three years of supporting my racing with alacrity, it was now her time to take a shot at going the distance.
Amelia’s story may resonate with many of you. She played softball at Princeton (and even overlapped with Heather Jackson for a few years) before beginning her career. Her hard work and ambition led to estimable success, demanding time and focus that often thwarted a healthy lifestyle, let alone endurance training.
After the birth of our daughter, she was motivated to get back to working out, but didn’t want her sole motivation to be the idea of weight loss. She wanted a concrete goal. I teased her about the idea of a 70.3 for months, which she steadily dismissed. To sweeten the concept, I promised that I would coach her, sharing everything I had learned, creating a formal program, and ensuring she would be generally well-prepared to take it on. Finally, she decided to take me up on it.
When we started, she was doing about three Peloton rides per week, averaging 35 minutes each. That’s it. So the prospect of ramping-up her weekly commitment to ten hours a week with some sessions lasting longer than three hours was daunting, to say the least. But together we assessed our schedules, afforded ample time for our daughter, coordinated both of our training, and created a plan for her to get started. I won’t spoil the ending just yet, but I will share some of what we learned together, and how it will inform my coaching moving forward.
All stress counts. All-nighters exist in Amelia’s profession, as do sudden schedule changes and unforeseen workloads. Sometimes her clients need to get on the phone, as in, now. These interruptions obviously interfered with workouts, but more importantly, they added an extra mental load to Amelia’s plate. As we progressed we continually made adjustments to acknowledge, accommodate, and account for this stress. As a result, what we learned and how we adapted actually resulted in more consistent output in her workouts.
Keep the goal in mind. If you Google articles about advice for new triathletes, you will get a long list of patronizing answers alá “you must ride with clips.” “Here is exactly what you should eat and drink.” “Anyone who doesn’t do this will fail.” Very click-baity. For Amelia’s training, we planned every session and approached each decision focussed on one boiled-down question, “What will increase the chances of you crossing the finish line safe and happy?” Shoes with clips were intimidating for her, so we switched to toe cages. Flip turns made her feel panicky, so we stayed with touch turns. Coffee before her workouts simply make her feel better, so we embraced that ritual. We paid attention to her body and her output, and the results were awesome.
Commit to the goal on the daily. Almost exactly one month ago, Amelia made Partner at her firm. This accomplishment is huge. Minutes after receiving the call, she headed downstairs to the gym in her building and banged out one of her longest runs, nine miles with steady HR and fueling practice. As her husband, coach, and best friend, I have never felt so torn about which was more exciting. Her entry into the partnership was a career milestone, and one that very few people ever attain. Her decision to delay celebration, honoring her racing goal equally, and assiduously banging out a huge workout on that day, makes me beam.
In addition to the joy of watching Amelia grow as an athlete and prepare for this race, we have reveled in amazing byproducts of her new lifestyle. We now get to coincide rides, runs, and swims together when time allows, and our shared language about the sport has increased dramatically. I have watched Amelia learn to fail with more grace than she knew, and come back stronger only to attack the session a second time and succeed.
Amelia’s training and subsequent life changes reminded me of the chief benefit to the pursuit of this sport. The patience, perseverance, and ability to adapt to change that triathlon demands are more salient than the actual races.
Five months after receiving that email, Amelia toed the line at Wilmington 70.3. I think that I was far more nervous than she was. I stayed with her at the start, through T1 and T2, and rode my bike all along the run course so that she knew I was there to support her.
Frankly, she didn’t need me. Beyond my expectations and hers, she crossed the line in just over seven hours, finishing very respectably in her competitive AG of women 30-34. At the finish line, she smiled about as wide as I’ve ever seen. Whether or not she continues to race is immaterial. For the rest of her life, she can approach any challenge or obstacle knowing that she prepared for, and demolished this one.
To Amelia, I love you and I am so proud of you. To anyone out there looking to change your life, kick some ass, and become a better version of yourself, let’s get to work!