Women’s Cycles and Triathlon: the Real Effects on Training and Racing
The author and CBCG athlete Amy VanTassel chilling in The Dead Sea
by CBCG Coach and Co-Founder Molly Balfe
Several years ago, a fellow coach referred a female athlete to me for help with what he called “women’s issues.” In my experience, as it relates to triathlon, this term typically applies to one of the following: whether you are supposed to wear underwear under your tri shorts, or how to train and race throughout your menstrual cycle. This athlete fell into the latter category; after spending the better part of a year training for her first Ironman, she realized that she would almost certainly get her period on race day.
CBCG Athletes Becky Matro and Cher Vasquez at our yearly Tucson Training Camp
Her understandable concern was exacerbated by a lack of reliable information, not to mention the nuances of approaching her male coach about the issue. Within the last century, a lack of understanding about female anatomy combined with outdated ideas about gender roles gave rise to the absurd belief that a woman should not participate in sports lest she rattle her uterus loose. It was this type of thinking that contributed to the ban on women’s ski jumping, which persisted until the 2014 Olympics in Sochi!
This history of misinformation has also contributed to a lack of evidence-based research about the specific needs that female endurance athletes have regarding nutrition, training, and racing. A recent article on USAT’s website about “Fueling the Female Athlete,” cites that “when all 2015 publications from the three leading sports science journals were analyzed, women made up only 3 percent of the 254,813 participants in 188 studies.” The unsurprising result of limiting women’s representation in sports science research is that traditional recommendations for endurance athletes are often appropriate only for men.
The good news is we are starting to see some progress. In the past few years, more resources have become available to help equip women with the tools they need to work with their physiology. Stacy Sims’ book Roar provides a tremendous amount of information for women on how hormones impact performance throughout their lifetime. The book clearly states that “women are not small men,” and therefore should not assume that fueling and training based on recommendations that were developed for men will work equally well for them.
The book also details how hormonal changes throughout the menstrual cycle can impact training. Surprisingly, the athlete who came to me because she was worried about racing while she had her period had little to worry about regarding her performance. The biggest hormonal challenges for female athletes present themselves during the high hormone luteal phase of their cycles, when blood sugar levels, breathing rates, heat tolerance, and mental focus can all be impacted. Once the low hormone phase starts on the first day of their period, performance potential and pain tolerance tend to increase.
Research about women’s specific training needs is still being done, but here are a few key points to think about when developing a plan that works for you:
Fueling
For long-term training and racing, it seems pretty clear that most women will not thrive on low carbohydrate diets. As Sims’ book says, “Low-carbohydrate diets increase fatty acid oxidation during exercise and encourage intramuscular fat storage. The body is smart; if there isn’t enough primary fuel to support the stress it’s under, it’ll go for a secondary source—in this case fat—then store more of it for the next time it encounters that stress. But this does not translate into improved performance.” Female athletes are also at risk of undershooting their protein needs, especially in the post-workout recovery window. We urge all of our athletes to consume protein in the post-workout window, but for women this is extra-important: the window is shorter than for their male counterparts.
Recovery
No doubt your coach has told you that recovery is a critical part of training. Strength and speed gains happen when we work and then rest, so a good training plan should include periods of lower intensity to allow you to repair the damage done to your body during periods of heavy training. Moreover, women’s ability to access stored carbohydrates is typically lower than men’s, and lower still when our estrogen levels are high, so you and your coach should develop a recovery routine that allows you to reap the gains of all your hard work.
Aging
Postmenopausal athletes may find that they need to adjust their nutrition plans for optimal performance. Increases in insulin resistance during this time may require a move away from traditional high-carb endurance products to regulate blood sugar and prevent GI distress. Postmenopausal women should also consider adding more high intensity training (along with commensurate recovery!) to their training regimen to support muscle strength and to fight muscle atrophy/loss.
Summary
The author on deck at a recent training camp, image courtesy of Dylan Haskin
Even with recent additions to the body of research on how women respond to training, there is much work to be done. I found a lot of the information in Roar to be extremely valuable for determining possible solutions to common issues that female endurance athletes face. I also thought it was somewhat limited in its discussion of how athletes respond to the hormones used in contraceptives and hormone therapies. My recommendation to all of my athletes is to evaluate your sources of information and find what works for you.
Our sport requires balance, and finding that balance means being clear about your goals and your needs. So tell your coach about your period! In fact, all CBCG Coaches condone tracking your cycle in Training Peaks, so if your coach is male and demurs at “women’s issues,” show him this blog post.
CBCG Hosts Swim Smooth at Nike WHQ: Our Single Best Technique Session
Swim Smooth Co-Founders Adam Young and Paul Newsome, and CBCG Coaches Chris Bagg, Molly Balfe, and Josh Sutton at the Swim Smooth 3-day Coaches Education Course
There’s been a lot of swimming on the blog, recently, but springtime always feels like swim time to us. It’s the perfect time of year to think about technique and to focus on the stroke faults you have in order to optimize your performance at races later in the season. At CBCG we deeply believe in the importance of the swim so that the rest of your race can go the way you’d like it to go. In that vein, we sent coaches Molly Balfe and Josh Sutton to the Swim Smooth 3-day Coaches Education Course at Nike in Portland this past weekend, in order to flesh out their already impressive coaching abilities. Professional development is a huge part of coaches continuing to improve their games, and we’re happy to be able to provide that support.
What is the 3-day Coaches’ Course like? Well, there’s a lot of material, for sure. Adam and Paul know they have a lot of material to cover, so they get right down to it, putting coaches in the water for a CSS test (like finding FTP on the bike) right off the bat, and then following that up with video analyses of each coach’s individual stroke. Molly, for example, set a new CSS pace, but was surprised (and motivated) by her video session: “I’ve got some things to work on,” she averred afterward.
Paul Newsome stalking the deck, running the “Single Best Technique Session”
One of the sessions Paul and Adam teach the coaches is the Swim Smooth “Single Best Technique Session.” This session helps swimmers focus on posture and alignment, hand entry, and breathing, ideally recognizing afterward which of those three areas is holding them back. If you’d like to give it a crack, the session is below:
Warmup
100 breathe right only
100 breathe left only
100 breathe bilaterally
Build Drill Set
4x100 with fins as 2x(25 kick on side, 25 swim), :15 rest.
---When kicking on side with fins, focus on the following things:
1) lead hand is 8-10 inches below the surface of the water and straight ahead
2) wrist is above hand, and hand is above elbow
3) eyes are straight down
Video here
8x50 Javelin Drill. 1-4 paddle on right hand. 5-8 paddle on left hand (ideally using a Finis Freestyler Paddle)
1) focus on feeling the water during the first 25. Ideally you feel water on the back of your hand, not on your palm.
2) on the second 25, focus on not crossing over, and on starting your catch even while breathing away from the catching hand.
Main Set
3x100 moderate breathe only right side, get time. :20 rest
3x100 moderate breathe only left side, get time. :20 rest
3x100 moderate breathe both sides, get time. :20 rest.
Which side was fastest?
Optional Set
400 pull + paddles breathe slowest side, :30
300 pull + paddles breathe bilaterally, :20
200 pull + paddles breathe slowest side, :15
100 pull + paddles breathe bilaterally
Happy Swimmers are our Favorite Swimmers
Ready to make a change in your swimming? You can now book Chris directly for a video swim analysis right through the scheduling site, here.
Two Great Peak Week Swim Sessions
by CBCG coach Molly Balfe
Spring is finally here! The snow is melting and triathletes are making the slow transition from their trainers to the open road. With the improvement in weather comes the indisputable fact that race season is upon us. Athletes everywhere are testing out their flashy new kits, ensuring their nutrition is dialed in for race day, and (hopefully) adjusting their workouts to allow them peak for their first important race. A good training plan should include a few weeks, or at least a few days of decreased volume to rest up for the big day and provide a chance to heal from the physical and psychological stresses of training.
Simultaneously, workouts during these “peak weeks” should also include a bit of higher intensity work in an effort to stay fresh as volume decreases. Perhaps more importantly, training sessions are great opportunities to simulate the unique challenges of race conditions, practicing coping mechanisms for when things inevitably get tough. To get ready for the swim leg of a big race, triathletes should ideally seek out open water swims to acclimate to that exciting sensory depravation experience that accompanies swims in murky water without convenient walls for unscheduled rest breaks. This preparation is invaluable, but there is so much more you can do to make sure you are ready to have your best swim possible.
Race starts are specifically engineered to be exciting, if not completely chaotic experiences. The music pumping, the announcer amping everyone up, nervous athletes shimmying into their wetsuits, and everyone panicking about lines for the bathrooms... All of this hyperactivity comes to an apex as the gun goes off and athletes heart rates are potentially higher than at any point during the entire race. If you do not prepare for this eventuality, you may well end up taking out the first few hundred yards of your race at a categorically unsustainable pace.
Have you ever found yourself struggling to breathe, 100-200 meters or so into the swim? Perhaps you can’t even tell how fast you’re swimming since everything is so wildly different from the pool? Maybe you’ve even faced anxiety or panic? This scenario is one reason why I love giving athletes fast start intervals as they start to taper for a race. Mimicking race starts is an essential practice from the beginner to the pro, as every triathlete must be ready to swim the frenzied start with a semblance of grace, and then drop back to a strong, but sustainable pace for the entire swim.
The following two workouts are among my favorite “peak week swims.” The first is a pool sesh, and the second should ideally be done in open water. I typically prescribe the pool workout early during the week before a race, and the lake or ocean swim later, preferably on Sunday after their long run (which tends not to be very long that weekend). I’m cognizant that it’s not always convenient for everyone, but I do recommend prioritizing finding open water for that week prior, since nothing simulates race conditions like finding a buddy, zipping up each other’s wetsuits, and swimming with the fish.
Fast Starts / Pool
400 easy swim – use a buoy if you are preparing for a wetsuit legal race (no paddles)
8x50 build (:10 rest)
+++++++++
4x250 as 50 fast/200 race pace (:15 rest)
500 @ race pace
+++++++++
200 cool down
Fast Starts / Open Water
10 minutes easy swimming
+++++++++
5x(20 strokes fast/hard, 50 strokes easy)
10 minutes steady, just below race effort
+++++++++
5 minutes easy cool down
Remember, competence comes with preparation! If swimming in open water is outside your comfort zone, don’t expect that to change on race day. Comfort comes from familiarity and confidence, and the A-#1 best thing you can do to minimize race day anxiety is to mimic race conditions. How about this: make a stretch to have your next swim start more cool, calm, and collected then ever. Your coach will be able to tell from your heart rate file, and you’ll be able to overcome unexpected challenges if you incorporate the above workouts. We CBCG coaches are here to help you not just get physically fit, but also mentally fit to make your next race, and this season your best!
What the HECK Does RM Mean?
Since returning from Swim Smooth Camp down in Perth, I've been using the somewhat foreign "RM cycle" more and more in your workouts recently, and it always gets some questions. I know that it seems odd at first, but this way of training is excellent for one reason: it standardizes the amount of training stress that everyone on the squad experiences, which means we all get faster, more efficient, and more comfortable at new paces together. Here is how it works.
Take your CSS (or Threshold Pace)—for this example, let's use Salvo who swims in lane three or four at my Nike squad as our example. His CSS is currently 1:37/100m
Round up to the nearest even number = 1:38/100
Split that number in half = :49 seconds
This is now your "RM 0" number. By adding seconds to it, you can use it like a send-off that is more tailored to your present fitness. When we're using RM cycles, we use the Tempo Trainers (those little yellow torture devices) in mode two, and we're usually trying to "beat the beeper," i.e.: finish the interval before the beeper beeps, and leaving the next time we hear it beep. If you were to do a set on RM 0 (using your CSS pace as your send-off base per 50), it would be very hard indeed, since you would have to swim faster than your CSS pace to get any rest at all! That's why you will usually see a number after the letters RM. Here's what to do with those.
Say I give Salvo a set of 200s on "RM 5." He adds five to his RM 0 number, arriving at :54 (:49 + :05 = :54). The beeper will now beep every :54 seconds, meaning that if wants to get any rest, he'll try to get farther in front of the beep every time he finishes a 50. Salvo goes out a little fast and swims :50 per 50, finishing :20 ahead of the beeper in 3:20, which he uses for his rest, and leaves on that next beep (which sounds on 3:40, or 4x:54 seconds). He sets off on his second 200, a little winded from his first effort, and only manages :52 per 50, this time finishing in 3:30. The beeper simply marches on, though, beeping :10 later, signaling him to begin again.
Whenever we use mode 2, we are “beating the beeper,” which means you try to finish ahead of the beeper ever 50 (getting farther and farther ahead in longer intervals). It’s like a pace clock made for you!
Why don't we just use traditional send-offs?
I'm guessing this will be my biggest obstacle in implementing this system. We've been used to traditional send-offs, like completing a set of 100s on a send-off "base" of something like 1:45/100. The problem with this system is that it shoehorns everyone in the lane into something that doesn't account for individuality. Salvo's CSS is 1:37, but Tracy will also swim in his lane, and her CSS is 1:43. On a set of 100s swum at threshold, using 1:45 as a send-off, Salvo gets 8 seconds per 100, while Tracy only gets two! That is a very different set for the two swimmers! Using RM cycles standardizes the set across participants. It also frees us a bit from "the tyranny of the pace clock," leaving whenever we hear a beep rather than having to wait for intervals of :05 or :10 on the clock. For those of us who grew up with a pace clock, this is an adjustment, I know, but I know from personal experience how effective this kind of training is, and how quickly you'll pick it up if you give it a fair crack.
The other reason is that it really allows us to give a swimmer the correct dose of training stimulus during each session. When we just use multiples of five seconds on the pace clock, we aren’t optimizing our time in the pool, as we’re usually getting too much or too little rest. This way we can figure exactly the correct rest number, and adequately prescribed training stress, too.
What are the other modes for?
Yeah, good question. We use mode one when we want to stay at a certain pace, such as CSS/TP + 3”/100. With mode one we program the beeper to beep every certain number of seconds, so we can use it a pace check. Say Salvo wants to swim at CSS +3”/100 for a set of 400s. He takes his threshold of 1:37 and adds three seconds to get 1:40. If we want it to beep every 25, we have to divide that number by four, right, since the 1:40 is per 100 and we want a reminder every 25? So take 1:40 and divide by four. This is easy, since 1:40 = 100 seconds. Divide 100 by four and you get 25:00. Set your tempo trainer to that number, and you have a device to perfectly pace you through your set.
The third mode, mode three, is a stroke rate beeper, and useful for other things. We’ll discuss it another time.
Diversity in Triathlon: A Few Radical Ideas
CBCG athlete Morgan Spriggs, photo: Darcie Elliott Photography
by CBCG Pro Athlete Amy VanTassel
Moments before the start of Challenge® Penticton (R.I.P.), I helped an African American athlete named Anthony zip up his wetsuit.
“See you out there!”
“How will you recognize me?” Anthony quipped, and we both laughed without having to confirm why it was funny. He was probably the only black man competing that day.
Less than 1% of the entire sport of US participants in triathlon are African American.1 Albeit a staggering stat, are any of us surprised? Look around at any race, anywhere, and it’s egregiously evident that triathlon is predominantly a white man’s sport, fueled by the affluent, and uninviting to minorities since its nascence for the following reasons:
Why it’s so reason #1 - socioeconomic and sociocultural realities
To truly affect long-term and lasting change, we need to get comfortable discussing, and more importantly, addressing uncomfortable topics. The issues surrounding lack of diversity in triathlon stem from deep-rooted discrepancies in privilege, wealth, culture, perceived social constructs, and actual social behavior. It’s daunting and complex to unpack these phenomena, and, like trying to turn a colossal barge, it will likely take time, and a lot of effort, to see a sea change.
Why it’s so reason #2 - the swim thing
Another sensitive issue is the converse correlation between African Americans and swimming culture. Similar to socioeconomic nuances, we must stare down this factor and get comfortable discussing it.
Triathlete Magazine reveals, “Seventy percent of black adults in the United States cannot swim, a fact attributable to a complex mix of political, cultural, economic and geographical factors limiting access to pools, and the ramifications of generations lacking a strong swimming culture.”2
More boldly, The Conversation US reveals, “...learning to swim is one of those intersections where race, space and class collide. Black peoples in the United States drown at five times the rate of white people. And most of those deaths occur in public swimming pools.”3
CBCG athlete Morgan Spriggs offers his insight, “What occurs to me as I reflect on my [triathlon] journey so far was how little did I know when I began. All three sports have a language on their own, community norms and customs and basic competencies that have to be integrated. Quickly, I learned of the myth of African Americans and swimming, a task that seemed nearly impossible based on misconceptions.”
Morgan on looking strong on the run, photo: Darcie Elliott Photography
Why it’s so reason #3 - there are ridiculously few role models
Perhaps the most reparable problem is the fact that young athletes of color have little-to-no reason to be inspired about triathlon. There are staggeringly few exemplars who look like them, and it’s doubtful they’re watching Ironman World Championships® on ESPN-23, or wherever it’s broadcast. (Ed. note: even if Kona was more publicly broadcast, one might note the skewed coverage of men at the front.)
Triathlete Magazine interviewed Sika Henry, slated to be the first black female professional triathlete, “I truly believe that you achieve to be what you see. When I don’t see other people who look like me in this sport, it’s difficult—a little like being an outcast in a way.” In the article, Sika refers to Max Fennell, the first black professional triathlete, who inspired her by “...seeing his journey, his story and having that image.”1
Max Fennell, the first African American triathlete to turn pro, and elite triathlete Sika Henry; photo: usatriathlon.org
Impressive strides made #1 - USAT and the NCAA
Last fall USAT announced a major initiative: to continue to monetarily support historically black colleges and universities (HBCU’s) to increase diversity in triathlon. They jump-started the pledge with the women’s team at Hampton College in Virginia whose team was made possible through a $225,000 grant from the USA Triathlon Foundation.4
“USA Triathlon is planning a number of other initiatives focused on HBCU community engagement, including an indoor triathlon series at HBCU campuses, an HBCU triathlon combine to identify multisport talent, a campus rep program and a professional development program...part of USA Triathlon’s larger mission to increase diversity in triathlon.”4
Strides made #2 – more cash from USAT
Moreover, the USA Triathlon Foundation awarded a grant to Maryland-based group International Association of Black Triathletes. The IABT is the only international African American and women-owned non-profit organization in the multisport industry. Moreover, the Foundation proffered their exclusive “Volunteer of the Year Award” in 2017 dually, to the IABT and Dr. Tekemia Dorsey, its CEO who champions developing under-served populations in discovering triathlon.5
My radical idea #1
USAT’s strides are impressive, indeed, and continued monetary support will be clutch in creating change. USAT and the ITU are non-profit organizations, however, and cannot shell out the kind of coin that some political candidates seem to solicit in a single day, which led me to my first of a few wild ideas.
What if for-profit companies followed USAT’s lead? There are ample corporations with deeper pockets associated with triathlon, such as race companies (the World Triathlon Company® springs to mind), the bike industry, publications, and title sponsors. In terms of the latter, we’ve all heard Matt Lieto and Michael Lovato dutifully include title sponsors in race announcing, as in, “The Hoka One One® Run Course” at Kona. And this year’s lineup of major races has room for more than one car sponsor, including Mazda, Ford, Toyota, and Subaru.
Perhaps most salient was the “Amazon Ironman® World Championships.” So we know there’s a relationship with these major corporations; what if they could be cajoled to donate or grant developmental programs for triathletes of color? Perhaps they could name a college scholarship and award it to black triathletes at Hampton College. The possibilities are boundless.
CBCG long-time friend Rebecca McKee with an impressive finish at World Championships
My radical idea #2
Whenever I see a need for a seemingly impossible sea change, I think of “affirmative action,” due to my career in college admission. In the context of the allocation of resources, Google defines affirmative action as “the practice or policy of favoring individuals belonging to groups known to have been discriminated against previously.”
In higher education, this practice was adopted by most college admission offices several decades ago, giving a relative leg-up to applicants of color or at least African American and Native American students. The topic is rife with nuances and controversy, such as the most famous case of Grutter v. Bollinger and the University of Michigan Law School Office of Graduate Admissions.7
There have been scores of similar cases since, and the topic remains highly contested, but in my professional opinion (I do still work in the college admission industry), affirmative action in the allocating resources is seemingly the only way for to affect staggering discrepancies as quickly as possible, and I stand by my statement.
What if major race companies practiced affirmative action? What if the WTC offered free race entries to athletes of color? It wouldn’t have to be all entrants - they could offer a lottery or figure out another way to manage the cost. How about providing travel or home-stays? What about a special Kona entry system for African Americans?
There are limitless possibilities for race companies to favor triathletes of color, but affirmative action is a strategy to not only make change now, but to impact the pipeline. So what if youth swim programs offered free facility use, lessons, or team membership? Or, perhaps the Olympic Training Center could host a free summer camp and fly-in young African American triathletes. Or, perhaps the most sought-after elite coaches could reserve at least one spot for a triathlete of color, which would directly mirror the efforts of affirmative action in college admission.
What it will really take
We must acknowledge the nearly insurmountable underlying issue behind this topic: there are vast racial divides - predominantly socioeconomic and cultural - in the US. I, personally, can only envision true equality in triathlon when these divides are leveled, which saddens me since I doubt that will be during my lifetime.
I do see a glimmer of hope, though, stemming from three pathways: increased support for African Americans in the sport, a continued effort to squash the myth of African Americans and swimming, and significantly increased visibility of high-level black triathletes like Sika and Max.
Morgan nods to inspirational exemplars who combat all of the above, “Without my friends and mentors who knew the culture and ignored the stereotypes, I wouldn’t have had access to the necessary training resources nor been loaned the necessary equipment to begin my investment in each sport. It is so cool I can ride any distance, hop in a pool and swim and go out my front door to run.”
We at the Chris Bagg Coaching Group would like to celebrate Black History Month and offer a special thanks to Morgan for being an exceptional CBCG athlete.
Morgan in the field with CBCG teammate, Sue Moote; photo: Darcie Elliott Photography
Using a Break to Groove that Habit You've Been Chasing
Quick, what are the habits you wish you had, but don’t? Get up earlier? Go to sleep earlier? Floss? Do your PT? Get to the pool? Spend ten minutes writing in your journal? Nail that morning routine Tim Ferriss keeps talking about? Has it been eluding you for months, even years? What is it costing you, NOT making that behavior habitual? For me, it might be an exaggeration, but I think not having a solid routine around physical therapy cost me the end of my professional triathlon career. For the past four seasons I’ve battled something in my left hip (diagnoses abound: crappy feet; crappy glutes; sciatic nerve entrapment; lumbar stenosis; high hamstring tendinopathy), and the consistent result has been poor or nonexistent runs off the bike in 70.3 and Iron-distance races.
Want to guess what hasn’t been consistent? Yeah, you’re right, my attention to physical therapy. Sure, I went to my physical therapy appointments, nodded along enthusiastically with my PT, and then went home and didn’t do nothing, but did fairly close to nothing. Here’s a good accounting. In the fall of 2017, deeply frustrated with this continuing pattern, I tried really, really hard to get my PT done. I scheduled it into my TrainingPeaks account. I made room for it in my life. There were about six weeks between my first visit with my PT, in October, and my second, just after Thanksgiving. On my way to see him I counted my PT sessions, hoping to proudly display what I’d done. It felt like I did PT almost every day, but after the final accounting I had…seventeen sessions in 47 days. Barely one session every three days! It felt that I’d been doing it pretty much every day, so I was surprised and aggrieved. Which brings us to our first step…
Get Real and Keep Score
“It all starts with keeping score,” says Al Gore, and that face remains true, whether discussing the imminent end of the world and tracking carbon pollution, or if you’re tracking anything you want to control. First you have to know (and accept!) the reality of what it is you’re presently doing, and for this you need to keep track, and, like, really keep track, not “oh, I’ll just remember what I did,” because science tells us that you won’t, in fact, remember accurately. SO WRITE IT DOWN. People who have been trying to change their eating habits have told us this for years, and they’re right. When you write something down, you make it real. Knowing that my strike rate for PT compliance was barely one-in-three (when I was aiming for two days out of three) revealed to me what I was actually doing, and how far I actually had to go in meeting my goal.
Make a plan for what you want
You know what you want, right? Or…maybe you don’t? I thought that what I wanted was a better PT routine, so that I could return my racing to it’s pre-injured potential. But as I thought about it more, I realized that what I wanted was more focus and more satisfaction. Racing better could certainly achieve the more satisfaction goal, but the thing actually standing in my way of doing my PT was that I had let my life (running two small businesses, a two-days-a-week blog for an apparel company, training for professional-level triathlon, running a Masters swim team, and being a halfway decent husband) devour my time and focus. I moved from one task, workout, and meeting like a whirling dervish, all sound and fury, signifying nothing. I arrived at the end of each day exhausted and frustrated, feeling as if I hadn’t accomplished anything of note, even though I’d been “Getting Shit Done” all day long. The big goals in my life (finish writing that book, increase the number of athletes in the company, and win an Ironman) seemed as remote as ever. I realized that what I wanted was a little space—a part of the day I could call my own, where I could address (in tiny steps) those big goals. In that tiny clutch of time, here’s what I wanted:
Four PT exercises (banded arm pull-aparts, banded arm circles, thoracic mobility John Travoltas, internal- and external-rotation clamshells), taking no more than 8 minutes—the time it takes our coffee maker to go from dormant to pleasing.
Three-to-five minutes of journaling. I’m stealing from Tim Ferriss and Best Self Journal, here, since both their routines mirror each other. Write down:
three things for which you’re grateful
your long-term goals
three things that would make today a win for you
Ten minutes of writing in any area: this blog; the novel I’ve been “writing” for years; something for Wattie Ink.; the Output Speedlab blog—anything.
shift from your normal environment and routine
Easier said than done, I know, but everybody has some kind of vacation each year, right? In my case, at the end of each year Amy and I crash out of Portland, fly to Denver, drive over the Rockies, and spend two weeks camped out with her brothers and sister-in-law in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. This was where I chose to make my stand and make some changes. But first I had to clear away my usual routine, which had been getting in my way. With little fanfare, here’s what my morning routine looked like:
Wake up, make coffee and breakfast
Read the news while eating (I try not to work and eat at the same time—it’s not really great for you)
Get distracted by an email
Lurch into putting out fires/starting to work
Not great, huh? The first change I made was the breakfast right away. Even though I usually wake up hungry, I suspect that that hunger is both emotional and habitual, and it turns out I was right—I can wait 20 minutes for my usual egg-and-avocado tacos each day. The second change I committed to was the PT RIGHT AWAY, like, as the coffee was brewing. I tried to “beat the coffee maker” each morning in order to gamify the experience. Third (and this was the big one), I had told my athletes before I left that I would be on vacation during these two weeks, and wouldn’t be responding to workout notifications with my usual alacrity. That’s the work that I usually move to right away in the morning, so by removing that urge I made some space to establish my new behaviors.
So I had made two big changes: environment (not Portland, where there is always work for me to do or commitments I could fulfill) and routine. Now came the real work: making it stick.
Get Habitual
Science tells us that if we can hit a new routine for 21 days, we’re pretty much in the clear. I had fourteen days available to me in Glenwood Springs, so I could make a good start on it that way. As I established the new routine, I discovered several things:
It didn’t take very long at all. 20 minutes, max, so you can ditch all of those people who want you to spend an hour on your morning routine. Going from 0-60 (literally) minutes will just make you discouraged—it would be like sending a non-runner out the door for an hour run, and we all know how that ends!
My normal experience of time and urgency changed. My usual mindset in the morning is a frantic chimp brain screaming at me that if I don’t work as soon as possible, my business will fall apart and people will realize I’m a fraud. Instead, by hitting a routine and doing the things that are important to me, first, it made the work that came after it more meaningful—I understood what I was doing it for. That made me understand what was actually urgent, and made time seem more like a resource to spend than a terrible doomsday clock I could never beat.
Reflect when you fail
Too often, when people establish a new routine, they treat it like the train schedules in Fascist Italy. Don’t succumb to this temptation! A new routine is intended to make your life work better and serve you, rather than becoming a new hurdle or stressor. If you miss a day, spend your time figuring out why you missed, rather than beating yourself up for missing. The original obligation to stick to the new habit still stands, so you’re not off the hook when you miss a day. Relapse, as they say, is part of recovery. Figure out what happened (not necessarily what went wrong), and be on the lookout for those circumstances again in the future. Fail again. Fail better.
Swimming Spotlight: Scott G.'s Path from Bambino to 1:25 Ironman Swim
Scott G. back in December 2015—a textbook “Bambino”
by CBCG Head Coach Chris Bagg
Whenever we have an athlete perform at a new level, we hear from that person’s friends: We’re so amazed by _________’s swim/bike/run! What did you do differently for that person?" Today we’re going to use one of our proudest examples, a recent breakthrough swim for CBCGer Scott G., who swam 1:25 at Ironman Arizona in November 2018. 1:25 not seem super fast to you? Well, let’s consider where Scott came from, which was a total alien in the water, only three years ago. As you can see in the video above, Scott was what we would call (using Swim Smooth’s terminology) a “Bambino.” These swimmers have a bunch of issues, many of which are apparent above. They are:
Poor water feel: Bambinos usually haven’t spent much time in the water and they just don’t “get it.”
Sinky, jittery legs: Bambinos often have their legs sink behind them, and display a leg kick that jitters—usually they kick from the knee instead of from the hip
Holding their breath: one of the reasons Bambinos struggle so much is that they tend to hold their breath underwater. This fault causes their chests float and exacerbates the sinking leg issue. Breath holding also makes the swimmer feel very anxious as carbon dioxide builds up in his or her blood.
Poor rhythm and inefficient catch-and-pull: Bambinos tend to display little rhythm and “oomph” in the water, usually due to a catch-and-pull that mostly pushes down on the water, instead of back on the water.
Now, let’s look at Scott when we did his yearly swim analysis (something all CBCG athletes get) in December of 2018:
Quite different, yes? When Scott joined us, it would take him more than 45 minutes to swim 1500m (an Olympic-distance triathlon). At Arizona, he swam two-and-a-half times that distance (3800m), in 57 degree water, in less than twice that amount of time (1:25). Here’s how he did it:
Consistency of approach. Yep, you knew this was going to be here. Scott has been uniquely focused on getting better at triathlon since he joined us in 2015, coming over from a mostly-cycling background. He has lost weight, dropped his open half-marathon time to 1:29, and committed to improving all aspects of his game. He has been in the pool 2-3 times a week, every week, for close to 150 weeks straight, now. That is the kind of commitment that improving at swimming requires. We’ve said it a bunch of times: swimming is more like golf than cycling or running, and it rewards patient skill acquisition.
A focus on fitness. Even though skill acquisition is important, it is far from the whole enchilada. If you can’t swim 200 meters without getting gassed, it doesn’t matter if you’ve got good form for that amount of time/distance: you simply won’t be able to maintain it even in your workouts, let alone your races! We focused on Scott’s swim fitness, giving him lots of sets with long intervals, forcing him to build his aerobic capacity in the water.
Addressing his limiters. For Scott, our hierarchy was:
get rid of the breath-holding!
improve the kick: use the glutes not the quadriceps to straighten his leg, so he’s actually getting some body lift from his kick
improve the catch-and-pull to generate more force, which will both make him faster AND reduce drag (with more propulsion, his body sinks less)
Practicing pacing. As with many cyclists, Scott likes to go fast. He often started too hard and blew up early, reverting to bad form and slowing down drastically in the second half of the swim. He now approaches swims at the pace he knows he can hold, aiming to swim harder in the second half of the leg rather than the first half.
Growth mindset versus fixed mindset. We hear, so often, triathletes say things like “I’m a 1:15 swimmer,” and abandon any plan of improvement, forgetting (or not realizing) that even if you swim the same speed, you can do so and expend less energy. These swimmers tend to struggle over the whole race, even though they focus on the biking and running. They simply give up too much during the swim, due to their lack of training. Scott has consistently focused on the fact that he can improve, and been patient with that process. Scott’s goal is to qualify for Kona, and that’s going to require slicing another 15-20 minutes off his Ironman swim, and getting their will require belief, confidence, and patience, but most of all the mindset that change IS possible.
And that’s kinda it. No silver bullets, magic drills, or mystery pull sets that will transform your swimming. Unsurprisingly, it takes understanding what you’re doing wrong (analysis), a plan to move those faults up the competence ladder (from unconscious incompetence to unconscious competence), and commitment to that plan. That’s what we do every day at CBCG, for every athlete. If you’d like to talk to one of our coaches as to how you’d be able to pull off this kind of improvement in your own swimming, you can inquire here.
How to Come Down from Caffeine
by Chris Bagg
It’s 2:34 PM, thirteen days before my last Ironman of the year, and I’m breaking my commitment to stick to only two cups of coffee a day. Great way to establish credibility, right? And you thought you were here to learn about how to kick the habit, huh? Well, we’ll get there (I hope). First of all, though, why am I even trying to get off of caffeine in the first place? And why so far out from the race, too? Wasn’t there a study, like, just last year, that established you only needed three days to get clean from caffeine?
It’s a well-established fact that caffeine is a performance enhancer. WADA (the World Anti-Doping Association) toyed with the possibility of putting caffeine on the banned list a few years ago, before basically the entire cycling industry lost their collective shit. So we do know that it improves performance, but—as with anything—it’s important to know how caffeine improves performance, and under what circumstances. Caffeine is a stimulant of the central nervous system, and one of its effects is to block a chemical reception that triggers the onset of drowsiness. So, first of all, you get less tired/sleepy. Not too many athletes get sleepy during their events, but a little more alertness never hurt anyone. The next helpful effect of caffeine is that it helps us utilize fat as a fuel source, especially as we run low on glycogen. For any athlete doing an event longer than 90 minutes, this is hugely helpful. Thirdly—and probably the most pertinent—caffeine changes our perception of effort. Think about that again. Most of what drives our performances out on course is our perception of how things are going, rather than how they are actually going (this is a whole other blog post). If we can change our perception of effort, it is possible we can rewrite our entire experience of the endurance event at hand, perhaps turning in a performance we never even thought possible.
Before you head to the store, though, to stock up on beans, a very important caveat. As with any drug, we build up tolerances. And, like many Americans, we tend to already drink two to three cups of coffee a day, numbing our response to the popular drug. And if you’ve ever had to go until noon without your fix (or if a clever spouse switched the decaf on you), you know that the withdrawal symptoms of caffeine addiction are no joke: lethargy, terrible headaches, irritability. That aforementioned study on coming down from caffeine breezily posited that only three days are necessary for the body to be rid of its addiction to this particular drug. I’ll bet that those freaking study authors drink tea, and herbal tea, at that. Try to kick your habit three days before a race, and you will be so miserable in the days leading up to the event you may decide to DNS.
But it IS important to get off the drug. If you don’t, you’ll need caffeine simply to bring yourself up to your normal level of ability. For some, that may be fine, but if you are looking for that extra zip on race day to nab that Kona qualification, then getting off of caffeine may really help. If you’ve ever managed to get away from it for a stretch of time, you know what that first cup back is like: speed in a mug. How is this legal? you may think to yourself, and I’m not sure if I should drive right now…caffeine to the virgin (or, at least, scoured out) system is fairly amazing, and it can really power great performances on the race course.
OK, I hope I’ve convinced you. So how do we get there? Here’s the system I usually put into play while getting down from caffeine:
13 days out: 1.5 cups of coffee in the AM, with the freedom to have half a cup around 2-3 PM
12-9 days out: repeat the above process
8-6 days out: 1 cup of coffee in the AM, with the freedom to have half a cup around 2-3 PM
5-3 days out: 1 cup of coffee in the AM, nothing else
2-1 days out: 1 cup of green tea with only 35mg of caffeine in it (one tea bag, steeped for three minutes)
Race Day: nothing with breakfast, 100mg caffeine pill 45’ before race start
Why no coffee itself on race day? Well, the tannins in coffee can mess with your stomach on race morning, moreso than the caffeine, so I avoid the drink entirely, take my 100mg of caffeine pre-race, and am usually absolutely flying by race start.
Why Camps?
This article originally appeared on the Fuse Lenses blog. We’re reposting because it’s camp season, and that means our Tucson and Bend Camps are open for registration. Regardless of whether or not you’re coming to one of our camps, you can follow the below structure to give yourself a boost of fitness if you can set up your work schedule to allow for it.
Why training camps? Each spring (or whichever season describes the early part of your competitive year), athletes of all stripes head to different locales to train in groups, in better weather, or to spend some valuable time with his or her coach. But how much really changes? My old training partner, Olympic-probable Eric Lagerstrom, often points out that when other athletes talk about camp, they’re really just describing their normal training in a new setting. This is quite true. I’m in Carlsbad, California right now, with Amy and my training partner Heather Jackson, posted up in a beautiful house in the San Diego County hills. We’ll be here for twenty days, and training doesn’t look too different from normal: big days Wednesday and Saturday on the bike. Big runs Sunday. Long hard swims Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Short but hard runs sprinkled throughout. Easier rides wherever they fit. So why pull up stakes, go somewhere else for three weeks, spend a bunch of money on renting a house, driving the entire length of I-5, find coverage for our jobs and businesses?
That might seem like a stupid question. Sure, the weather is nicer in Southern California than it is in Portland during the winter, but training effectively in Portland isn’t hard at all. It’s wet, yes, but the temperature is fine, the running is always top-drawer, and you can swim anywhere, really. The real value of a camp is not in the amount of training you can get in, or the convenience of nice weather, or the company of strong athletes—the value of a camp is the efficiency it provides: you can do more than you normally can, not by freeing up more time to train (there’s always more time to train, it just depends on how you feel about running/riding/swimming before light or after dark, or when you’re exhausted from work), but by freeing up more time to recover and rest.
When Amy and I are back in Portland, chaos basically reigns. We both run our own small businesses: my coaching company has five coaches and 55 athletes, and Amy counsels high school students through the byzantine, competitive world of college admissions. Like most long course triathletes, amateur and professional alike, we fit our training in and around our work commitments. I think most small business owners will sympathize that you can always work—if you’re not careful you find yourself logging 80-100 hour weeks. Training camp gives me, for a wonderful three weeks, the chance to fit my work around my training, and fit my training around my rest. Long course triathlon also requires a bunch of hours (Heather and I put in 25-30 hour weeks; Amy is in the 21-25 range), but all that training requires a ton of recovery. Stepping away from Portland and getting out of my business bubble allows me to really focus on the work hard/rest hard equation. Here’s what a week looks like, coupled with appropriate recovery blocks.
And that’s basically it! Wash, rinse, repeat for however long you’re at camp, and then schedule some time to really rest the week after camp. We’ll be here for three total weeks, putting ourselves in a pretty deep hole by the end of March. That kind of heavy training requires heavy resting afterward, cutting training volume by 50-70%, depending on how exhausted you feel. Many athletes train hard enough, but don’t rest hard enough, and they find themselves getting tired and slow by mid-summer. Camps are great for training stimulus, but you don’t get faster until you let that stimulus soak into your body. As my first cycling mentor, Captain Dondo, once said: “Riding your bike isn’t training. Lying on the couch afterward—that’s where everything actually starts to change.”
Want to experience the highs and lows of camp yourself? Come to our legendary Bend camp in May, or our Heather Jackson/Wattie Ink. Camp in Tucson, where YOU get to train with Heather Jackson for five remarkable days.
How to Race in a Radically Different Time Zone from Your Own
by Amy VanTassel
Someone once said (was it Confucius?) that to properly adapt to a new time zone, you need one restful day in your new location per every hour difference. Ergo, if you’re heading for the Gold Coast of Australia, with a nine hour difference, you should arrive nine days in advance to get a shot at adaptation. For athletes attempting to actually compete abroad, it should probably be even more.
CBCG friends Rachel McBride and Steph Corker traveling to compete in Ironman World Championships, 2018
Not every athlete, however, has the luxury of showing up on site several weeks in advance. So, as CBCG athlete and five-time participant at CBCG Camps Don Geddes discovered, there are strategic ways to prep for races abroad. The strategies begin at home, well in advance to flying overseas.
“Before I left for Worlds in Australia, I read an article from University of a Sydney professor, Steve Simpson. Since the time difference to Portland was seven hours behind, I had already started staying up a bit later every night, but after I read this research I committed to practicing the following:
CBCG athlete Don Geddes at the 2018 ITU Age Group Standard Distance Worlds in Australia
1. I began going to bed 90 minutes later every day until I was staying up until 3-4 AM, ultimately getting up around 11 AM - 12 PM in Portland.
2. My drastically later wake up time put me in sync for a 4 AM wake up in Australia, which was pretty much in line with my wake up time on race day.
3. I started doing my workouts close to when my actual race times would be - real time in Australia. Since I had a late wave start of 8:23 AM, that meant shifting my workouts to 3-4 PM.
4. In turn, I needed to adjust meal times by having lunch around 4 or 5 PM, and dinner around 8:30.
5. To shake out the stiffness and cobwebs for sitting so long on the 14-hour flight I opted for the formal Aquathon offered to all competitors, which was a 750 meter swim and 5k run the day after arriving. I felt this was really helpful as it let test the water and shake out the legs. Doubtful that a similar event is available for other races, at least I recommend discussing your shakeout routine upon arrival with your coach.
Don ended up 3rd American in his age group that Sunday, in the triathlon! He has clinched multiple PR’s and impressive podia positions in his time working under CBCG head coach Chris Bagg, which is principally due to his diligence and perseverance as a world-class triathlete.
Geddes on his way to 3rd American and 15th in his Age Group in Australia
We at CBCG recognize that such adjustments may be relatively easier for Don, or any athlete who doesn’t hold-down a 9-5 career, but there should be some universal takeaways from his experience. So, in addition to Don’s above sage list of tactics, we offer some general rules-of-thumb for anyone planning to race in a significantly different time zone:
1. Talk to your coach. Whether or not you can get ready in terms of training and fitness, it’s half the battle to ensure you can realistically thwart for the ramifications of jet lag. The best-trained athletes in the world are no good if they’re not acclimatized, so ensure you can meet the afncdd requirements to set yourself up for success for your dream race on the other side of the planet. Your coach can help.
2. Talk to your family. If you’re combining racing with a family adventure, which is a fantastic idea, let’s make sure you’re not throwing them under the bus. If you’re phasing into a new time zone, so should they, at least a little. If they cannot phase-in at least some degree of sleep change, you’ve got to consider the impact on both your racing, and/or their vacation.
3. At least do something. Again, if you’re all, like, “Yeah, must be nice to get to go travel a few weeks in advance, but I gotta work!” at least practice some behaviors while still holding-down your day job. Going to bed just a littler earlier or later, depending on the location, will do wonders. And then controlling your sleep on the flight and upon your arrival will be key, which many people don’t realize is largely controlled by other daily practices...
Eating and training closer and closer to your global race time will be increasingly valuable, so check out Don’s advice and the article he engendered. Talk to you coach and fam, an consider if traveling to Nice, France for 70.3 World Champs or something similar is right for you!
CBCG head coach Chris Bagg waiting for a train in Strasborg
Service Spotlight: How to Do a Swim Analysis
Here at CBCG, every new athlete gets a free swim analysis included with their coaching subscription, and we update that swim analysis each year at our CBCG Bonanza, held each December in Portland (with other locations around the country coming soon!). Why is getting a swim analysis so important that we make that the first thing we do with a new athlete? Well, swimming is more like golf in terms of technical requirements than cycling or running. So many things need to happen at the same time for you to move in an alien orientation (horizontal) through an alien medium (water). Our swim analyses look at you from each pertinent angle, letting you know where you’re doing things correctly and where you could make some improvements. We’ll roll through our six angles in order below, and you can watch, above, as I go through an analysis of one of our athletes.
Angle One: Side View Above Water
This is usually the most flattering angle, so we tend to start here. When we look at a swimmer from the side, we’re watching the following aspects:
If the swimmer lifts the head to breathe
How the breath is timed to the stroke (early breath/late breath)
How the arm is recovered over the water and how it enters the water (want to read an entire POST about this subject? You can do that here)
We also watch for the rhythm of the stroke. Some athletes look like they’re trying to attack the water, flailing down the lane. Others are very “polite” and probably take too few strokes, thinking that fast swimming is about trying to disturb as little water as possible.
Angle Two: Side View Below Water
This is usually the least flattering angle to swimmers, since it reveals what odd things their bodies are doing underwater. When we look at a swimmer from the side below the surface, we’re tracking these qualities:
If their legs sink behind them
How much/how little they kick
The quality of their catch (from hand entry until the arm is directly below the shoulder) and pull-through (from end of catch to hand exit)
Where they look in the water
We tend to really focus on the quality of the catch, here, since that is going to have the biggest impact on other aspects of the stroke, in particular if the swimmer has sinky legs. Usually those sinky legs are a result of a so-so catch and pull-through, so if we can fix that issue of propulsion, then the legs tend to correct as well.
Angle Three: Top View
The top-down angle reveals many other crucial aspects of the swimmer’s stroke. Here, we are looking for the following qualities of the stroke:
Do the swimmer’s hands cross an imaginary centerline, drawn through the spine, out in front of his or her body? If so, this is going to ramify down through the body, usually leading to a swimmer snaking down the pool (or swimming off course in open water). A crossover in front often leads to our next issue…
A scissor kick. Created when the swimmer rotates too much or creates instability at the front of the stroke by crossing over. You can see this happening when a swimmer’s legs spread apart behind them in a wide “V.” A scissor kick is essentially deploying a parachute behind you, so fixing this issue is crucial.
Breath timing. Top down gives us another chance to watch the swimmer’s timing of the breath vis-a-vis the stroke. We want the swimmer to finish her breath before her hand passes her face above the water (on its way towards re-entry). If the swimmer isn’t doing this, it’s a clue that they’re not getting enough air out while their face is under water.
General lack of movement. You’re supposed to rotate along a long axis while doing freestyle, which means your spine, hips, and shoulders should be aligned, and there should be a relative lack of movement as they rotate.
Angle Four/five: 3/4 view front
When we watch from the 3/4 front angle, above water and below, we’re watching to see the swimmer’s breathing patterns. From above the water, we’re looking for the mystical bow wave. What’s a bow wave? Well, OK, some nautical terminology, here. If you’ve ever seen a boat move through the ocean or a lake, it makes a little pile of water right at its prow. That pile of water has to go somewhere, so it flows “downhill,” creating a small trough right behind the boat’s nose. Here’s a good example:
You can see that depression, right behind the bulge of water out in front of the boat, right? Well, we make that, too, as long as we keep our heads still as we swim forward. That trough is a really nice place for us to breathe into, as there’s air there that we don’t have to lift our head for. So when looking at the swimmer above the surface, we look to see if they are making that bow wave AND making use of the trough behind it. When we go underwater, we look to see if the swimmer is holding his/her breath. In the video above, you can see our swimmer isn’t creating a bow wave (or is making a very small one), and therefore having to lift her head to breathe. And when we go underwater, you can see that she’s not exhaling regularly—we should see a steady stream of bubbles coming out of her mouth while underwater. Instead, you can see that her mouth is slightly open, with no bubbles. This swimmer is holding her breath, and making it much more difficult on herself! As yourself this: would you ever hold your breath while running?
Angle Six: Front
And our final angle: directly in front of the athlete. Here’s what we’re looking for:
Is the angle of the swimmer’s arm, measured from the elbow, between 100-120 degrees? This should result in the swimmer’s hand being about 2-2.5 feet below their body and directly under the shoulder.
The hand should not sweep under the body (the dreaded “s-curve,” taught in the 1980s and 1990s to swimmers such as Yours Truly.
The swimmer should rotate in a 90 degree arc, from 45-50 degrees to the horizontal of the pool floor, to 45-50 degrees on the other side. Anything more than that is over-rotation and will cause breathing and stroke timing issues. Anything less than that is under-rotation, and will cause issues of not being able to recover the arm properly over the surface of the water.
Summary
So that’s “it.” We get it—there’s a lot there to think about! Swimming really is very technical, and you shouldn’t be daunted by the amount of information above. Improving at swimming takes a long time, and is more akin to improving at golf than cycling or running—you simply must put in the practice time AND the fitness time. If you just get in the water and do drills, you’ll never build your fitness to a place where you can actually get through a practice without falling apart and watching your form suffer. If you never work on your technique, you won’t progress much in terms of speed. You’ll become more enduring, which is good, too, but speed gains will elude you.
We offer 1-2-1 video analysis here at CBCG, and if it’s something you think might benefit you, you can contact us about it here!
What To Expect When You're DNFing
by Amy VanTassel
I came all this way and spent all this money! All my training was leading up to this race. This was my last chance to qualify, and now it’s gone! My family even traveled to support me...all for nothing.
There’s arguably no worse feeling than DNF-ing a major race. Perhaps it was the classic issue of not being able to run, thereby facing the awful decision of whether to walk it in or step off the course, or an uncontrollable like major mechanicals on the bike. Or maybe it was a “biomechanical,” like a wrecked knee/ankle/glute, heat stroke, or hypothermia. It can be dreadful to bear a DNF on race day and beyond, so what can we do to cope with the awful feeling? As someone who’s grappled with the sitch more than once, I’ve given it a ton of thought and rendered the following humble advice.
COPING WITH YOUR DNF ON RACE DAY
CBCG Head Coach Chris Bagg down for the count
1. Don’t even think about it for a nanosecond!
Distraction is paramount for the rest of the day, so every time that demon named Regret rears its head, think. “Squirrel!” You basically have two options to distract you from going to the Dark Side: staying at or returning to the race scene, or partying with family and friends,
If you change out of your chamois and return to the scene, your new job is to become the best spectator evah. If friends are competing, holler to them that you’re fine, and then go bananas spectating them. Maybe there’s still time to see what’s happening at the front of the race and assure your favorite pro that there’s no one behind her or him. Personally, my jam has always been cheerleading for the back of the pack, high fives and encouragement all-around. The last finishers are remarkably inspiring, especially midnight at a full, proving convenient since you should distract yourself right up ‘til bedtime (and even then you should read a Dostoyevsky novel or play Angry Birds until lights-out).
There is a potential risk with spectating, though: seeing your own gender athletes whom you perceive to have been your close competitors. Sour grapes can be fierce, so in the spirit of distraction, I say turn around three times, and then look at the shoes of the next racer and decide if you like that color.
If you’d rather flee the scene, you should bond with your friends or family. Are there go-kart around? How about the beach? Wine tasting? Or perhaps there’s a fascinating nautical museum in town. My preferred pastime would be watching a game at a brewery, which leads me to my next point...
Go Karts are available just a few minutes walk from the famed race course in Penticton, B.C. Photo courtesy Penticton Herald News
2. Go directly to #carbtown
You might be tempted to wallow in self-loathing restriction, especially if you dropped out early and didn’t get to burn all those pancakes, but you should treat yourself - think of it as coddling yourself - all day.
If it’s safe and not too heathenish for you, I recommend finding beer immediately if you don’t need to drive. If you don’t drink or don’t have a driver, I’m sure french fries are less than a block away, and ice cream is even closer. If you’re in Canada, now’s the time for poutine.
In addition to hitting a brewery, avail yourself of local #carbtown delicacies, such as Canada’s poutine
3. Make zero decisions.
I recognize my cardinal rule of distraction is easier said than done. I bet the moment you knew you were going to DNF you considered your racing future. What now? Register for another race ASAP? Never race this stupid sport again? I’ll tell you “what now?”...nuthin’. Put a moratorium on any judgments, decisions, or plans, and see below for how long.
4. Ugh! The money I spent!
Regarding the inevitability of negative thoughts creeping in, it will likely occur to you sooner than later that you spent a shit-ton of coin on race entry, travel, and, well, everything leading up to your race. Allow that sucky thought to surface, but remember how much you lived and learned a lot during all your training. And you still got to hang out in a cool place and maybe can tomorrow. More esoterically speaking, consider the cost of the race is more like an entry fee for being a triathlete in general. OK, that last idea was weaksauce, but seriously you got to go to Couer d’Alene, or wherever.
5. Nuh-uh...no social media, fool
If you need to tell the world you’re OK, I urge you to just text a few key people. Even if you think you can handle checking your accounts, risking seeing race-related garbage, I promise you you’d glimpse some little post that will make you feel regretful or envious. And for the love of God, please no “Not my day...” race reports, IMHO.
CBCG Athlete Doris Steere spectating Heather Jackson like crazy at the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
COPING WITH YOUR DNF AFTER RACE WEEKEND
1. Disappointment is mythical
Nobody, I repeat, nobody is disappointed in you! I have personally cried, worrying my brother would see it as a waste to have traveled to Mexico for nothing. I’ve been anxious my coach would feel let down, or my husband would feel like we tossed all that coin down the toilet. (Imagine if your coach and husband were the same person.)
Simple solution: envision yourself in their shoes...would you be disappointed? True, you might feel disappointed in yourself depending on the race circumstances, in which case you should check out #4 below.
2. Modify your social media.
I know it’s radical, but I personally suggest not engaging in any race-related content after your DNF. The worst thing to do would be to check out results in an effort to guess where you would’ve finished. Um...point in that? The two exceptions are congratulating friends who raced or giving shout-outs to your sponsors, but you know that feeling when you check out Instagram and you feel a little nauseated? I guarantee you get that pang if you travel down the rabbit hole of content specific to your race. And I know I covered this above, but it bears repeating: please spare the world from the “Not my day...” post? Please?
3. No decisions for a week
When you catch up with your coach, I bet you a million bucks she or he will point to what actually went well that day. CBCG coaches certainly will postmortem everything you nailed leading up to the gun, and depending on how long you made it until you dropped out, your successes and takeaways from the first legs.
I also bet you a million bucks your coach won’t be frantic with plans for your next race, especially if you’re thinking “replacement race.” VT’s rule: no new decisions for a week. The only exception would be if race registration is time-sensitive alá and early race reg invite, or a race being at risk of selling out - but don’t do anything without your coach’s blessing.
4. On to the next!
That being stated, when you get the next race on your calendar, or perhaps there already is another, try to transfer your regretful emotions from your DNF to motivation for your next. This rule might seem the most obvious, but I also find it to be the most effective coping mechanism of all.
CBCG Athlete (and your author) Amy VT crashing out of a cyclocross race. Photo courtesy of Jenny Greeve
For a lighter take on DNF’s, check out my article about dropping out of a ‘cross race published on the Cyclocross Magazine site. Back to sparing the world from a “Not my day...” post, think about that pic of you in your go-kart race or demolishing some poutine.
How to Adjust (and Not Adjust!) your Triathlon Training: the CBCG Coaches' Best Practices
by Amy VanTassel
Pop quiz: can you spot the workout adjustment below that was a good idea?
- “I missed a run earlier in the week, so I ran twice the distance today.”
- “I didn’t know if I could hit those watts, so I mashed my intervals as uphill repeats.”
- “I felt so thrashed after work and felt a sore throat coming on, so I skipped my run and went straight home to dinner with my family.”
- “I wasn’t making my sendoff in the pool, so I just got out early.”
Adjustments to training schedules are inevitable. As coaches and athletes develop their relationships and communication, ideally an athlete should feel increasingly empowered to make judgment calls as life’s inevitabilities happen. Still, even the most experienced athlete questions how to adapt when a workout isn’t going as planned, or can’t happen at all, so we asked our CBCG coaches for their sage insight on what makes for both wise and obtuse decisions on the fly. Here’s what they had to say:
CBCG Coach Donna Phelan
What is your worst example of an athlete making an adjustment to a workout that was a horrible idea?
“Changing an easy taper run of 30 minutes into an hour long run with intervals! Yes, one of my athletes did this not too long ago; doubting your fitness race week and trying to cram at the last minute is never a good thing!”
What is your best example of an athlete making an adjustment to a workout that exhibited smart adaptation based on conditions?
“The best example is an athlete stopping a workout early because they feel a niggle coming on. Better to cut one workout short rather than to be on the sidelines for the next couple of weeks with an injury.”
What’s your worst example of a weekly adjustment in schedule?
“That would have to be an athlete doing a run interval workout one day, and then moving their long run from two days later to the next day—just not enough time for the running system to recover and be ready for a hard stimulus again."
How about your best example of a weekly adjustment in schedule?
“Feeling a cold coming on and taking a rest day to let their immune system recover."
CBCG Coach Ivan Dominguez
What is your worst example of an athlete making an adjustment to a workout that was a horrible idea?
“I haven’t get any of those yet, but I’m sure few of my athletes would love to add some crazy stuff to their training plans.”
What’s your worst example of a weekly adjustment in schedule?
“Not training for few days for whatever reason, then attempting to make up for it all over the weekend, trying to do what they were supposed to do few days ago. Basically cramming in a week of training, or close to it, in just two days.”
CBCG Coach Molly Balfe
What is your worst example of an athlete making an adjustment to a workout that was a horrible idea?
“An athlete saying ‘I felt good, so I pushed harder than I was supposed to.’ This is especially troublesome with long runs, which are often used to build volume. When unintended intensity is added on top of that, athletes are significantly more fatigued, which can get in the way of upcoming workouts (or even contribute to injury).”
What is your best example of an athlete making an adjustment to a workout that exhibited smart adaptation based on conditions?
“The best adjustments I’ve seen happen when athletes let go of their pace expectations and work with their current conditions. This is already a really hot summer, so I’ve seen athletes make smart calls like slowing down their repeat paces for longer intervals on a hot track. Your run pace is really impacted by heat and your body takes some time to acclimate to it. Cut yourself a little slack when conditions are extreme (and HYDRATE).”
CBCG Coach Chris Boudreaux
What do you never want your athletes to do when adjusting workouts?
“Big thing for me: putting back-to-back hard same-sport workouts right next to each other. Like missing a Wednesday or Thursday tempo run, then going Friday tempo run/Saturday brick session/Sunday long hard run...just never do that.”
How about the worst bike workout adjustments you’ve seen?
“Going way above the watts ‘because you could.’ Not every workout is a test of your max ability for that session. Ironman and half-iron races are a lot about that uncomfortable pace - neither all out nor easy - and you need to feel that in training. Additionally, there may be other reasons a workout keeps you from going all-out, like other key sessions coming up. I usually give a range, so you can have freedom to be on the higher or lower end, but ideally not much more. So if an athlete feels a workout is too easy, I’d way prefer she or he should send me a message and ask the purpose, and never just blast it ‘because you could.’”
CBCG Coach Chris Bagg with CBCG athlete Matt Feldmar
And finally CBCG Coach Chris Bagg chimes in with some universal words of wisdom on how to adapt when a workout isn’t going as planned, or can’t happen at all:
"What we're after, at CBCG, is that you develop mastery of your sport. Mastery doesn't mean performance—it means understanding the sport, and how to alter your behavior when things don't go as planned. Being able to make sensible adjustments on the fly results in more consistent training over time, which leads to more consistent race results. As consistency improves, you'll see your results improve, too, as you build a pyramid of strong performances. So how do you get there? Well, the secret is understanding that your training plan is not the Ten Commandments (or Code of Hammurabi, or whichever literally carved-in-stone set of precepts is your particular jam). Slavishly sticking to a training plan, despite being sick/injured/depressed, is the mark of an athlete who wants his/her race to be a paint by the numbers experience: if I do everything, then I can't fail! This is, sadly, not true. It's actually the athlete who can adjust who will have better results over time. The athlete who just does everything, or plays catchup, usually can't deal with it during a race when the plan goes out the window, since there isn't any catching up available during competition."
So, we should all remember that every athlete has to make judgment calls as workouts aren’t going as planned, or if life gets in the way of a perfect weekly schedule. Perhaps the above sage advice from our expert coaches will prep you better for your next adjustment, and if you recognize yourself in one of the above examples, give your coach a virtual hug today.
Better Swimming for Those with Tight Shoulders (Hint: Probably You)
Since triathlon became a thing, and well-intentioned triathletes have been showing up at Masters swim groups all over, we've all gotten used to hearing a whole bunch of swimming orthodoxy: try to limit the number of strokes you take per length, make that elbow point at the ceiling, glide, do fingertip drag drill to open up your shoulders. Happily, Paul Newsome and Adam Young at Swim Smooth have been hard at work debunking the "fewer strokes is better" myth for years, and have also done good work with tossing Fingertip Drag out the window. I'm going to hitch my rhetorical wagon, today, to their argument against Fingertip Drag, but extend it to what I've seen in my swimmers at Nike and at the triathlon camps we run every year.
As Paul and Adam point out in the Fingertip Drag post, it's a bad drill because it forces the whole population of swimmers into a position they can't achieve. People who have been swimming their whole lives (as kids, in high school/college, and then later as Masters swimmers) tend to have hyper-mobile shoulders. They can do fingertip drag in their sleep, as well as maintain perfect streamline position off the wall. They've just done it for a million years, and when you can't do it, they'll look at you the way a native English speaker looks at a confused tourist. "You can't do this? Sheesh." It's not their fault—their bodies have changed over a long period of time, and they simply assume that all humans can hit that position. We all do things like this (how did you treat that new hire at your company last week when they didn't know how to run the coffee machine? OK, so cool it on the outrage), but the answer is never just slamming the new swimmer into a position they can't achieve: it's like speaking English louder at the person who doesn't speak it—there's only one person who looks foolish in that situation.
Just so we know what we're talking about, here, here's a picture of a swimmer deploying the classic high-elbow, fingertip-draggy recovery:
When doing swim analyses, this is what we look for: when the upper arm is vertical vis-a-vis the camera (i.e. the biceps is pointing at the sky; it's not really pointing at the sky, but due to the miracle of perspective it's a useful landmark) we like to see the lower arm in line with the upper arm. If that's confusing, here's what we DON'T like to see:
In this case, the upper arm IS vertical (pointing at the top of the picture frame), but the lower arm is WAY out in front. We see this most often with people who have come to swimming later in life (90% or so of triathletes), and it's usually due to a very understandable misconception: triathletes think swimmers swim with their hands, when really swimming comes from the hips. More on that later, but since they think it's all about the hands they try—desperately—to get those hands forward as soon as possible, leading them to lead with the hand. They're also probably trying to get into that high elbow recovery, but since their shoulders are too tight they have no choice but to bring the lower arm forward, low over the water. Here's what happens:
This is a swimmer who is headed for a crossover in the next few moments of her stroke. She probably doesn't mean to, but with an elbow angle that acute, she's got no choice. The crossover in front (when a swimmer's hands cross the centerline of his/her body) is an agreed-upon issue in the swimming community, so we don't have to do too much debunking there. So that's not great. But there's another issue. Since the swimmer's shoulder's are tight, as she tries to bring that hand forward, angling the elbow, her shoulder is effectively in her way, and to alleviate the tension she has to move away from that tension, shifting her body to the right. Here's where she was only a few moments earlier:
This is just before the picture taken two above. This swimmer is about to finish the pull with the left hand and start bringing it forward. Her body is straight, here, but then let's go back to where she ends up:
Her body is kinked, right, where it was straight only a few moments ago? That's because she's had to move her torso away from the source of the tightness in order to actually bring the arm forward over the water. Her torso moves to the right, and that yaw translates down to her legs, which wash back and forth behind her. Watch some swimmers in the pool: when you see people's legs fishtailing back and forth behind them, it's usually because they've got this going on behind them.
OK, great, you big jerk, how do I fix it? Two ways, both of which are simple but not easy.
1: Straighten the arm a bit
Before you freak out, swim coaches, go and read Paul and Adam's comments in their posts above. Just straighten that arm out during recovery and flop it out over the water, landing it in front of you in line with your shoulder. Doing so will alleviate tension in your shoulders AND make you a better open water swimmer.
2: Open up those hips!
If you look at the picture above, where our swimmer is trying to bring the arm forward, you can see her hips are pretty flat in the water—she's not tipped up on her side at all. In swimming the hips and shoulders need to move together, and in this case the shoulders are trying to roll while the hips are staying behind. Swimming is more like golf than like running or cycling, and never more so than at this moment. If you rotate your hips a little more (without over-rotating), opening them up to the side of the pool, you'll suddenly find you have more room to swing that arm forward over the surface of the water, and you don't need hyper-mobile shoulders any more!
3: Loosen up your shoulders!
What? I thought this whole post was about swimming even though I have tight shoulders! Well, sorry, Buttercup, but you still need to do your homework and eat your veggies. Having more flexible shoulders will help you be a better swimmer long term (and a healthier human being, which is really a big part of what we're after with this whole exercising as competition thing, right?). But I'll return to this subject in a subsequent post. For now, stop trying to bring that arm forward! Just open up the elbow angle a bit, rotate your hips more, and stiffen up through the core!
CBCG Professional Triathlete Andrew Langfield Gets IT ALL Done
Andrew flying into 9th place among a world-class field of pro triathletes at Wildflower Long Course 2018 photo: kaoriphoto.com
A few things you should never say to a professional triathlete:
“Well, it must be easy for you since you don’t have kids.”
“Well, it must be easy for you since you’re so skinny.”
"Well, it must be easy for you since you don't have a normal 9-5 job."
Not only are those futile questions in a chicken-and-egg capacity, but they involve personal situations that most likely entail sacrifice. Moreover, there are extreme exceptions among the roster of successful pros. Body type runs the gamut, nearly half the field has children, and multiple professional triathletes concurrently hold-down full time jobs.
CBCG professional triathlete Andrew Langfield, does even more. Like, way more.
Andrew in perfect aero form at Wildflower Long Course 2018 photo: kaoriphoto.com
"I actually just finished up the first year of my internal medicine residency here in Oak-town, like... two days ago! Super exciting, and pretty hard to believe. But the quick summary is I moved to Portland back in 2011, to become an Oregon resident for the purposes of applying to med school at OHSU. School then became a 5-year ordeal from 2012-2017, culminating at graduation just over a year ago and relocation to Oakland last June. Both my wife Elena and I matched at county hospital programs (think Cook County from the TV show ER), which provide care to an incredibly diverse patient population here in the East Bay. One year down, two to go for both of us! Then we actually get to start working as independent physicians. We both have 3-year commitments with the National Health Service Corps as part of a loan-repayment program, so post-residency will go work as primary care docs in a medically-underserved area somewhere. That is basically the long-term life/career goal anyway, so it's a great deal for us. But yeah, embarrassed to admit that when I first moved to Portland 7 years ago, I didn't fully appreciated I was signing up for the 11-year plan, haha."
Coach Chris and Andrew chillin' w/ their medals aprés Wildflower Long Course 2016 photo: kaoriphoto.com
Amidst his wildly demanding daily, weekly, monthly, and annual schedule, he also manages to train for triathlon, but not just any triathlons, and not just to compete in the middle of the pack. He’s a successful pro triathlete who just keeps getting better.
Wifey! Elena Phoutrides and Andrew traversed medical school together and just got hitched
So how does Andrew fit in not just triathlon training, but professional-level training and racing? Moreover, he’s a devout husband to the wonderful Elena Phoutrides, another amazing budding MD whom he met at OHSU, as well as dedicated member of his totally wonderful family in Boise, serving as an exemplar of many things many people would like to be. Welp, here’s a typical day in the life:
"Oh man, so many days to choose from for this! I seriously love my job, and never a dull day goes by at Highland Hospital. The backbone of any internal medicine residency is the experience on inpatient wards, which is the majority of what I did this past year. These are the patients that were too unwell to make it to their clinic appointments or be sent home from the ED, and had to be admitted to the hospital. I'm actually working on a little write-up for my own blog, about one of my most memorable days on service. So if you are interested in a little more insight on the inner workings of a busy county hospital, stay tuned! But a general summary of one of those days might go something like this:
5:10 - alarm goes off, snooze too many times, finally out the door on the commuter bike by 5:25
5:35 - be late to the pool for masters, miss most of warm-up
6:20 - out of the pool 10 minutes early (45' is better than nothing!), finish the commute in to work
6:40 - hit the door of the hospital, put on scrubs, first cup of coffee
6:50 - get sign-out from the night team on my patients (any overnight events, new admissions, etc.)
7:00 - pre-rounding on the computer (vital signs, morning labs, imaging studies, specialist recs, etc.)
8:00 - start seeing patients
8:30 - BREAKFAST! best part of the morning, usually an omelette +/- a big ol' pancake, second cup of coffee, banana for later
8:50 - finish seeing patients
9:30 - formal rounds begin (meet with rest of team, go see the entire census starting with the sickest)
12:15 - LUNCH! and noon conference, chow on a sandwich + yogurt + fruit + cookie + milk while getting some knowledge, third cup of coffee
1:00 - finish rounds with team if needed, then start working on all the to-do's (phone calls, orders, consult questions, discharges, procedures, etc.)
5:00 - SNACK! usually bowl of cereal + granola bar
6:30 - ride home, 6:30 is always the goal but of course some days this doesn't happen, other days done earlier but stay to catch up/work ahead
6:50 - home, decompress
7:15 - evening session, usually 45-60' run, or trainer session, or strengthening (kettlebells and plyos)
8:30 - DINNER! I'm lucky that my wife loves to cook, but she's arguably busier than I am, so we usually try to cook a big meal for the week
9:30 - DESSERT!, or beer, or both
10:00 - bedtime
Andrew exiting the swim at Wildflower Long Course 2018 photo: kaoriphoto.com
And how does Andrew manage to travel to compete? Most of his competitors have the luxury of arriving a week or more early to any location, with no rush to get home aprés race, putting them at a clear advantage to acclimate to a scene, thwart mechanical issues, and rest. Welp, here’s a typical race weekend sched for Andrew:
Wildflower weekend was a whirlwind, as always. Love that race, the campground scene, the woodstock vibes, the hospitality, everything about it. I was stoked to get Friday completely off, so had the car packed up Thursday night, waited out the morning rush hour here in the Bay, and was on the road by mid-morning.
-Friday-
8:30 - hit the road!
9:00 - obligatory Denny's pre-race breakfast
12:00 - arrive at campground, eat all the pretzels, set up camp
1:00 - shake-out ride and run, get things dialed, jump in lake
4:00 - pro meeting
5:30 - dinner, hang at campsite with wife, friends
9:30 - bedtime
-Saturday-
RACE MORNING! - went fast, had fun, tried to be nice
12:15ish - cross finish line, lounge, chit-chat
1:30 - post-race lunch, more chit-chat, shoot breeze with Bagg, VT
3:00 - break camp, hit the road
7:00 - dinner with Elena's family in Palo Alto
10:00 - return rental car
11:00 - finally home, unpack
Midnight - bed time
-Sunday-
6:00 - wake up, bike commute/recovery ride
6:45 - start work, woof"
More bike course scenery at Wildflower Long Course 2018 photo: kaoriphoto.com
The example of Andrew’s exceptional lifestyle and triathletic success is not to urge anyone to “suck it up, buttercup” (phrase courtesy CBCG coach Ivan Dominguez). It’s more of a marvel at what’s possible - an inspiration for us all when we’re feeling overwhelmed. His coach looks to him as a paragon of execution and devotion, and sincerely hopes Andrew never burns out of his drive to compete, since his talent and execution are truly an inspiration to us all.
Family! Andrew's top priority among three major life commitments
CBCG Athlete Salvatore Lo Leggio's PR at Ironman 70.3® Coeur d'Alene
Salvo on his way to a PR at Coeur d'Alene
Twenty-six CBCG athletes showed up to the races last weekend, and at least six (!) set personal records. 2018 was already proving to be a banner year of successful racing for CBCG, and with Ironman 70.3® Coeur d'Alene and Mont-Tremblant, and Why Racing's Pacific Crest Endurance Sports Festival®, among others, last weekend was no exception. We're still aggregating all the amazing results and race reports, so we might be missing someone, but special PR-Shout-Out's go to: Devin Salinas, Roman Gratteri, Nathan Gaither, Annarose Pandey, Sebastian Pastore, Marc Nester, Julie Kowal (CBCG Emeritus), and our very own Salvatore Lo Leggio, who slayed the CDA 70.3 course Eddie Merckx style.
Another PR: CBCG Athlete Roman Gratteri at CDA 70.3
How did Salvo get there? Hard work and expert coaching, of course! CBCG Coach Donna Phelan channels her own lifetime of success as a professional athlete, as well as her vast experience coaching cyclists and triathletes to do their best, and Salvo assiduously followed her guidance.
Coach Donna raved, “Salvo has been working diligently to prep for CDA 70.3, en route to his first Ironman® in Whistler next month. Coming from a long distance running background, we've been working hard on his swim and bike these last several months, in addition to a big emphasis on nailing his nutrition strategy. He nailed his prescription of 300-350 calories plus a bottle of fluids per hour on the bike, and 220-240 calories per hour on the run. Salvo's swim was over five minutes faster than his inaugural half-iron swim a year ago; he put up a blazing three hour bike split on a very hilly course, and finished with a 1:35 half marathon, besting last year’s split by ten minutes. Congrats on a great race, Salvo! Also a big thank you to Coach Chris Bagg who coaches Salvo at the Nike Masters swim sessions.”
Hangin' loose, but following the nutrition plan on the bike at CDA 70.3
Hailing from northern Italy outside of Bologna, Salvo works at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. As Donna mentioned, he takes advantage of CBCG Coach Masters program at Nike, in addition to his invaluable CBCG swim video analysis (offered to any athlete, anywhere!).
Felicitazioni to our Italian stallion, who has clearly taken advantage of all CBCG his to offer. Salvo says, “Donna not only helped me prepare physically for this race, but most importantly she made sure I was in control of my race, which regardless of one’s goal is a great accomplishment itself. Now onto the next one!” Up next for Salvo: Subaru® Ironman® Canada in Whistler, and, um, getting married to his bella fiancata. This guy’s livin’ large.
Race Highlight: Mike Brown, Promoter Extraordinaire
The winning finish of the 2016 Great White North Triathlon, Ken Anderson Photography
Being a Race Director must be comparable to spearheading FEMA: a full-year, full-time job entailing pre-planning, contingency planning, coordination, and orchestration that peeps won’t generally recognize unless something goes wrong. Our hands-down favorite, Mike Brown of Edmonton, Alberta, puts on the most highly-produced and flawless races, but unlike FEMA, he and his team add a je ne sais quoi, making them the most exciting, enjoyable, and family-like events in the world. Check out these two...
Mike in his element as Race Director for 2017 ITU Multisport World Championships in Penticton, B.C
The Great White North Triathlon
Arguably the funnest, best-produced, and most adventurous half iron-distance race in North America, the Great White North Triathlon in Stony Plain, Alberta is still open! There’s plenty of time to register and book an easy flight into Edmonton, or Calgary if you want a spectacular drive with the possibility of an aprés race diversion through Banff.
Race day is July 8th, but Mike and his crew put on two days of events that give the weekend a family feeling alá Tri California Events@ Wildflower Triathlon Festival. In fact, the primes and giveaways at the familial carbo load dinner (everyone goes) are so upper shelf that a fat bike is given away to any lucky duck who wins the oh-so high-tech heads-or-butts competition.
Mike on stage the night before the race giving away a fat bike, Ken Anderson Photography
“The race has a long history, taking place every year since 1991...with approximately 800 athletes hitting the water at Hubble Lake each...and an enthusiastic 550+ volunteers. The female record [was] set by the legendary Heather Fuhr in 1993...4:14:18. Choose form a variety of race distances – Half Distance, Team Half Distance, Olympic Distance and Duathlon.”
Join CBCG-ers! Coach Chris, who took the tape in 2016, is competing again, along with Amy VT and Matthew Feldmar. Not enough incentive? How about a significant discount? Just contact anyone at CBCG and we’ll hook you up.
Amy VT at GWN 2017, Ken Anderson Photography
Super League Canada
Holy Moly you’d be honored to tick off this bucket list race! Professional and age group triathletes, alike, will revel in this thrilling format, a departure from typical races that synthesizes the components of stage races, short-course ITU, and long-course racing.
The inaugural Super League Canada takes place August 17-19 in our favorite racing town, Penticton, B.C., and serves as a qualifier for pro athletes looking to grab a lucrative contract for the Championship series, and age group athletes seeking a totally awesome weekend with three days of racing.
“The first event is the Equalizer, a two-stage event. Stage 1 is a stand-alone time trial (think Tour de France) that will be approx. 20km on Friday. The second part of the Equalizer, Stage 2, is a Swim (500m), Run (2.5km), Swim (500m), Bike (20km), Run (2.5km) on Saturday morning. Your two times
[are calculated for you standings. On Sunday is} the Standard Enduro: Swim (750m), Bike (20km), Run
(5km), Swim (750m) Bike (20km), Run (5km).”
Mike is no stranger to directing a powerhouse international triathlon over the course of several days in Penticton. He was at the helm of last year’s ITU Multisport World Championships, which attracted record numbers of participants and the top names in professional athletes and sponsors.
Bagg at 2017 ITU Multisport World Championships in Penticton, B.C., directed by Mike
Mike Brown, Friend Extraordinaire
“Mike Brown is the only celebrity I talked to at Kona this year.” Someone in the CBCG community uttered this phrase last fall, making it official: Mike is a legend. Directly intertwined with his success is the fact that he’s also a tremendous, steadfast, and hilarious friend. When Mike visits us here in Portland he marvels at the hour-long lines at overpriced ice cream shops, birds swirling into chimneys as hipsters spectate, and, well, hipsters in general.
As with any good leader, friends and family are central to Mike’s endeavors, and at any race you can see his alarmingly beautiful wife working like mad, his close friends Jenny Ayers and Stan Anderson making everything work behind the scenes, and Darren Hailes and the legendary Steve King announcing dawn-to- dusk. They’re all running around on foot, and golf cart, and four-wheeler with walkie-talkies, addressing everything from road closure misdemeanors to athletes exposing themselves inappropriately pre-swim.
Mike, Bagg, VT, Rachel McBride, Nathan Killam, and Jenny Ayers aprés race
In an era of big-name triathlon series, and profit-oriented race monopolies, Mike Brown maintains a vestige of high-quality experiences. Where else could you race a world-class tri where the Race Director plants a beer in your water bottle cage the night before?
VT’s bike compromised by Mike the night before Great White North 2017
Smoothies: An Endurance Manifesto
“Why do chicks dig smoothies?”
“They’re not just for chicks, dude, and pretty much every endurance athlete I know digs smoothies.”
“Yeah, but why not just eat your food and spare yourself cleaning up a blender?”
My brother actually had a good point, and our exchange incited me to consider specifically why most of we endurance athletes are smoothie obsessed. I’m personally a devout consumer of Fieldwork Nutrition Company®, so I asked CEO and founder Casey Weaver why he created and espouses his stuff. “With our product, it’s important to blend due to the whole food ingredients, as well as fats and fibers, which require a bit more than just ‘shaking.’ We look at Primo Smoothie not as just a nutritious food in itself, but moreover as a vehicle for delivering daily nutrition. I compare how many fewer fruits and veggies I eat on days I don’t have a smoothie and it’s shocking and sad!”
Inspired by his words, my own experience, and polling Campers from our recent CBCG Camp in Bend, Oregon, I’ve concluded these chief benefits to practicing recovery fueling via the wonder that is smoothies:
- Palatability - Have you ever crossed the line at an iron-distance race and walked the pizza gauntlet about to barf? We don’t always feel like putting down Real People Food aprés racing or training, so smoothies can thwart the risk of blowing off eating and drinking. I have come home from several five+ hour runs, revoltingly disinterested in chewing anything. Powders and bananas are hella better cloaked as a peanut butter-chocolate drinkable cocktail you can take into the shower. Just like hiding vegetables from toddlers in the sauce of Spaghetti Oh’s®, we can trick our stomachs into imbibing key nutrients and protein while we feel like we’re relishing an In-and-Out® milkshake.
- Digestibility - Packing in said amalgamation of nutrients in a fluid beverage accelerates absorption and, ergo, the recovery process.
- Convenience - While some argue that it’s less convenient to assemble your ingredients, bust out the blender, and clean it later, there’s no arguing with the reliability of ingredients you can control, the concentrated power of powders (see next bullet), and the ability to grab your drink and go to the car/shower/floor/Timbers game. One athlete pre-makes a cauldron for the rest of the week (see below).
- Powders - Premium product like Fieldwork pack-in invaluable sources of proteins, combinations of viteys, and types of nutrients relevant for athletes that only a mad scientist (see: Casey Weaver) could amalgamate. You’re hard-pressed to get all these beneficial ingredients by grazing from your cabinets aprés workout. Fieldwork, in particular, packs-in clean protein from grass fed whey, healthy fats and omega-3s, vitamins D, E, C, magnesium and iron, curcumin from turmeric and probiotics.
At our recent annual CBCG Camp in Bend, Oregon, 25 athletes endured five days of long and intense swimming, cycling, and running, enjoying the tremendous boon of Fieldwork Nutrition Company® as an official Camp sponsor. A horrifying amount of blending and Fieldwork consumption ensued, rendering our kitchen a massacre site for all things blendable, with five (!) blenders blazing at a time.
Our personal Camp Chef Aaron Vinten of The Athletes Table® procured an array of gourmet ingredients to add to our Fieldwork, including pumpkin seeds, dates (pitted by CBCG coach Molly Balfe), organic berries, flax and pumpkins seeds, spices, natural sweeteners, alternative milks, and much more. Aggregating my data for my pressing question about why we love smoothies, I asked for testimonials from a few Campers:
- “I’m always coming up short on time to make and eat nutrition, particularly after training. I can pack all the protein, carbohydrates and nutrients I need after a workout into six smoothies on a Sunday, and then drink them in the car between locations throughout the week. Plus, I get some extra hydration as a bonus.” - CBCG athlete Sebastian Pastore, coached by Donna Phelan
- “For me, smoothies minimize my recovery time to maximize my next training session. It’s a matter of both time and ease. My coach plans my workouts to just barely squeeze into my busy schedule, so I don’t have time to plan ahead for a meal of ideal nutrients. Way more convenient.” - CBCG athlete Roman Gratteri, coached by Chris Boudreaux
- “I drink smoothies for the quick recovery intake of all the essential nutrients after a long or hard workout. Plus it's a great way to get my two-year-old, Cooper, all the fruits and veggies he needs!” - CBCG athlete Greg Dufour, coached by Chris Bagg
- “I always have a smoothie immediately following any workout over two hours. My coach taught me, and I trust and follow.” - CBCG athlete Doris Steere, coached by Chris Bagg
- “When I first started drinking smoothies for breakfast it was because I could put a good dent in my daily allowance of fruits and veggies, stay satiated through my morning workout, and sustain plenty of energy well into the day. I’m a huge fan!” - Maureen Callahan, coached by CBCG coach Donna Phelan
Camper Bridget Freudenberger of New Hampshire was utterly converted at Camp, seen below assembling her potion with Fieldwork Primo Smoothie, dates, greens, banana, blueberries, strawberries, peanut butter, flax, almonds, and milk. She raves, “Generally, I didn’t care for smoothies because I really love food, but this one was so good! It didn’t taste like artificial sweeteners and it was filling. I placed an order on my way back from Camp, and am currently using Fieldwork as my recovery meal after my morning training.”
Sing it, Bridget. ‘Nuff said.
CBCG/Wattie Ink. Spring Training Camp is a Wrap!
Ed. Note—this article originally appeared on the Wattie Ink. blog. Reproduced here with permission.
What makes a training camp great? It's 2:42 in the morning, on the final day of the Wattie Ink./CBCG Spring Training Camp, and I can't sleep, thinking of the final things that have to happen to wrap the 2018 edition of Bend Camp, our 8th (how in the world did that happen?). I don't think it's the food, the bike routes, the swim workouts, the video analyses, or the massages, although all of those things help. As with most things in this world we love and value, it's the people. This year's camp set a new bar in terms of our campers and our staff, one that will be tough to clear in 2019. From the moment that Amy and I left Portland last Thursday morning, our staff and our participants have made this the calmest and happiest camp to date, resulting in higher quality training for everybody, and better results down the road. But I am, as usual, getting ahead of myself. Here's what we did this year!
Friday, Day One
OK, I know I said it wasn't all about the food, but something that took Bend 2018 to the next level was the presence of Aaron Vinten, who is The Athletes Table and an all-around great guy. Aaron came to our Tucson Dream Camp and made himself indispensable, so I asked if he could come up to Bend to help out with our second camp of the year. To say that he hit it out of the park would be an understatement (and a cliché, too). Aaron is a real cook, and he took the menu that I use—with some tweaks—year in and year out and made it brand new. We've been eating sesame peanut noodles most years at camp, but I can tell you it never looked (or tasted) as good as it did this year. The training? Right. Friday camp we like to get the travel out of our athletes' legs with a short hill session on the run, and also hit them with the highest intensity swim on the schedule, knowing that they'll probably be too tired later in the weekend to go fast in the pool. CBCG co-owner Molly Balfe wrote a challenging and mysterious set, asking swimmers to perform an unspecified number of fast repeat 100s, challenging them to keep going without knowing when they'd hit the stop line. This mystery was a theme of camp; we purposefully withheld the schedule from campers, forcing them to steadily confront the unknown, as they would have to do in races. It's a format I stole from QT2 Systems head coach Jesse Kropelnicki, as it's what he puts his professionals through each year at his own camp in Florida.
Saturday, Day Two
We've written about the magical Prineville Ride before, but the cycling gods gave us an extra level of stoke on Saturday. Cool temps and favorable winds made the 100 miles roll by in record time for many of our riders, and when the scenery looks as it does above, the living, as they say, is easy.
Saturday evening is always a fun night, as the biggest ride of the weekend is behind us, and that's when one of the local heroes of Bend comes to visit. We had the incomparable Linsey Corbin join us this year, and she got right down to business, answering a question right out of the gate and not letting up for an hour straight.
Sunday, Day Three
By the third day of camp, people were beginning to get tired, so we backed off on the volume a bit. We headed to Sisemore Road, on the eastern edge of Bend, for Sunday Runday. Depending on upcoming races and historic volume, campers ran between 60 and 120 minutes. Sisemore Road is a long gravel ribbon that connects Bend and its smaller satellite, Sisters, and the road is perfect long run territory: undulating, windy, and beautiful.
That afternoon we returned to the pool for another tough session that Molly cooked up, putting campers through a descending pace set of 2x400, 2x300, 2x200, 4x100, 200, then 800 for a grueling 3200 meters at Juniper Swim and Fitness Center, Bend's outdoor Olympic-sized pool.
After swimming we held a smoothie party back at Base Camp, using Fieldwork Nutrition Company's Primo Smoothie Mix as the base for our creations. Campers drew upon a huge array of ingredients to compete for top honors: spinach, maca powder, peanut butter, strawberry jam, almond milk, yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, honey, cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds...the list goes on.
Monday, Day Four (Memorial Day)
By the penultimate day of camp, legs were close to toast and fatigue was on the rise. Regardless we headed west, towards Sisters, and another epic ride: Mackenzie Pass. It's less dramatic name is simply Oregon Route 242, and it snakes over the Cascades from Central Oregon towards Eugene. It's chief attraction, though, is the month or so from when the snow clears until early June, when a 22-mile stretch is closed to car traffic. For once, we cyclists are kings and queens of the road, able to ride carefree along some of the most beautiful scenery North America can provide.
Speaking of America (well, the United States of America), it was Memorial Day. We're incredibly proud of our Made in the USA status here at Wattie Ink., and we all stopped for a moment before the ride began to think about the servicemen and women who keep our way of life protected throughout the world. We're super grateful for your service, and to all those who served and made the ultimate sacrifice.
Tuesday, Day Five
Well, that brings us to right now. It's 3:39, now, almost an hour after I started writing this, and it's time to go and start shuttling some campers to the airport. Regardless that a few people have had to return to work, we're going to run and swim again today, before sending the campers away tired, faster, and happier. We couldn't be prouder or more grateful. Thanks to our participants who were awesome and positive, my staff who killed themselves to make every detail amazing, and to our sponsors who made the whole thing possible: Wattie Ink. (of course), Picky Bars, Fieldwork Nutrition Company, Skratch Labs, Sellwood Cycle and Repair, Worthy Brewing, and Stoked Roasters!
Interested in coming to the 2019 edition of the CBCG/Wattie Ink. Bend Training Camp? Head here and you can learn more and get signed up.
A Power Meter for your Swimming
Ed. Note—This article originally appeared in the Spring/Summer 2018 issue of RaceCenterNW, and you can find it here.
I’ve become a curmudgeonly swim coach late in my triathlon career, so bear with me as I air a grievance. Say I’ve given my swimmers something simple but hard, the classic 20x100 on 1:30, aiming to hold 1:25 per repeat, for example. Wanting to ensure that they make the interval, they set off with abandon, swimming the first 50 in :40 (1:20 pace) and the second one in :45 (1:30). At the end of the set they are satisfied, reporting that they “nailed every interval exactly.” It takes a lot of restraint on my part to point out that, actually, they swam exactly zero yards at the goal pace of 1:25/100, starting too hard and then fading in the second half. This “fly and die” attitude is pervasive in endurance sports, born out of a well-meaning (but ill-fated) desire to “put some time in the bank.” Apply this approach to anything longer than, say, a 200, and you’ll quickly discover that you give back that time in the bank quickly, along with interest. The sad reality about athletes like this is that they are actually training to slow down in races, which is probably the opposite of what they’re trying to do in the first place.
So how to fix the problem? Any triathlete, faced with my criticism above, usually counters with a foreseeable argument: “But all triathlon swims start out fast, right? You’re supposed to race to that first buoy, so I’m just training specifically for my event.” Here’s the thing: those swimmers that race to the first buoy and then settle into a group, once they’ve made a gap? They didn’t have to slow down; they chose to slow down. A group established with a gap behind them, they know that they’ve done the necessary work to whittle down the group to a more manageable size, and they can afford to back it off and save some energy. If you’re utilizing the fly and die method, you might make that group for a few meters before getting unceremoniously dumped out of the group, having exceeded your sustainable pace for that distance to the first buoy. As a triathlete or open-water swimmer, you have three main areas on which you need to focus on, ranked in order of importance:
1. Aerobic endurance—basically your swim fitness. Your ability to hold long, steady intervals at a pace that is not easy, but isn’t gaspingly hard. This is a crucial area that I find too many athletes avoid, preferring the sexier shorter and faster intervals that look good but do little for a triathlete/open-water specialist.
2. Pace change—your ability to deal with and weather accelerations and decelerations, once you’ve found the group you can finish the event with.
3. Starts/lactate tolerance—yes, it is important to be able to deal with the red-line that occurs at the beginning of a triathlon or OWS race. However, you will actually improve your lactate tolerance the most by focusing on aerobic endurance, above. So this third focus is actually a distant third.
So what do these subjective descriptions actually mean in a pool setting? It’s all well and good for me to tell you to focus on something, but I need to tell you how to get there, too. First of all, you need to establish your threshold pace, which is similar to your Functional Threshold Power on the bike or your threshold pace on the run. We could get into the weeds on what all those “thresholds” mean, but basically it’s your highest sustainable pace for a relatively extended period of time. For swimming, coaches have coalesced around your best 1500 pace as a good compromise for threshold. How to establish that number? Here are a few options.
1. Go swim a 1500 time trial! Sounds like fun, right? Well, although you may think it’s fun, a lot of problems persist with this. Just as on the bike it’s hard to get an athlete to pace a 60-minute time trial well, it’s hard to get someone new to swimming 1500s in the pool to pace correctly. That said, if you’re Bruce Lee where pacing is concerned, then this is a good option (of course, if that’s true, this article isn’t really for you…)
2. Use the Critical Swimming Speed formula. This formula (CSS for short) has been around for a long time, and has been popularized by Swim Smooth. After a solid warmup, complete a 400 time trial followed by a 200 time trial. Take the difference between the two and divide in half. This will spit out a pace per 100 that you can probably hold for 1500. You’ve found your threshold pace.
3. Perform the following “broken 1500” test, taking the exact rest specified: 2x250 with :25 rest; 2x200 with :20 rest; 2x150 with :15 rest; 2x100 with :10 rest; 2x50 with :05 rest. Take your time for THE WHOLE SET, rest included, and then subtract 2:25. This gives you an estimated 1500 time, which you can divide by 15 to get your pace per 100.
OK, you’ve got your threshold pace for swimming! Good work. Now how to use it? Well, let’s return to our types of workouts, above. A tool that will be REALLY HELPFUL, here, is the Finis Tempo Trainer Pro. You can set it to paces based off your threshold, and it will pace you through sessions. They sit up in your cap and you can see me using one below. Apparently I also have a redundant one on deck.
1. Aerobic Endurance: complete longer intervals (300s to 1000s) at anywhere from threshold pace + 3 seconds per 100 to threshold pace + 6 seconds per 100 with short rest. A classic is the Swim Smooth “Red Mist” workout, which is 10x400 with :20 rest in between each interval, swum as follows: 4x400 @ TP + 6 seconds/100, 3x400 @ TP + 5 seconds/100, 2x400 @ TP + 4 seconds/100, 400 @ TP + 3 seconds/100. This workout looks easy at first, but I promise you it is not.
2. Pace Change: get in a good warmup, then do the following:
a. 4x100 at threshold pace with :15 rest, 100 easy after the four 100s
b. 4x100 at threshold pace + 3 seconds per 100 with only :05 rest, 100 easy after the four 100s
c. 4x100 2 seconds faster than threshold pace with :20 rest, 100 easy after the four 100s
d. 4x100 at threshold pace + 2 seconds per 100 with only :05 rest, 100 easy after the four 100s
e. 4x100 4 seconds faster than threshold pace with :25 rest, 100 easy after the four 100s
3. Lactate tolerance/starts: after you’ve gotten your aerobic endurance in place (a good test is that you can make it through the 10x400 workout above without slowing down or having to extend the rest), here’s a simple session for improving your body’s ability to deal with the start speed of triathlon. Get in a solid warmup, and then go through this following set twice:
a. 2x100 SPRINT with :20 rest (you may feel inclined to extend this rest—don’t; there’s a scientific reason not to; you can email me about it at chrisbagg@gmail.com)
b. 2x400 @ threshold pace + 2 seconds per 100 with :15 rest in between 400s
c. 100 easy and :30 rest before repeating the main set
OK, I’m over my word count, so I’ve gotta call it there, but I hope you found this useful/helpful! Remember, triathlon is a pacing game; it’s not really a racing game.