Preparing for the upcoming Ötillö Swimrun World Championships, my race partner and Ultraman Rich Roll and I did some training up in Lake Tahoe. Afterwards, we sat down and had a state-of-the-union on our race preparation.

Specific subjects discussed include:

• the impact of altitude training & training camps
• the benefits of accountability partners
• the primacy of patience for maximum success in sport
• the perils of overtraining
• the importance of injury prevention

You can listen to this podcast on iTunes or download it from Rich’s website.

I recently appeared on The Rich Roll Podcast, where Rich and I discussed a number of fitness, training and overall wellness subjects that included:

• Chris & Rich’s preparation for Ötillö
• Getting Rich ‘race fit’ at 50 after a 5-year break
• Training into your 50’s & 60’s
• Chris’ training & racing philosophy
• Pros & cons of external monitors/trackers
• Fitness versus racing
• Chris’ three pillars for peak performance
• Training smart vs. training hard
• The primacy of process over results & enjoyment over obsession
• Strategies for optimizing recovery 

You can listen to this podcast on iTunes or download it from Rich’s website.

A timely re-posting of an article I wrote in 2007:

Patriot Perfection: What the New England Patriots can teach Triathletes

By Chris Hauth
12/13/2007

I watch a lot of sports. Many would be of the opinion too much sports. I love college football; enjoy the NFL, baseball and anything that ESPN seems to get excited about. I listen to sports talk radio and check the websites for the latest information. I am actually watching football as I write this. Anyways, you might have heard about this incredible season the New England Patriots are putting together. Tonight they are looking to go to 13-0, all while completely destroying their opposition. They have been favored in the past weeks by the 2nd biggest margin of victory ever according to the Vegas ‘line’. How are these guys so good? How does this relate in ANY way to triathlon?

Flawless execution and experience.

Flawless Execution

The common theme that most ‘experts’, former coaches, radio hosts and Monday morning quarterbacks seem to agree upon is that football is a game of execution and nobody is currently executing their offense better than the New England Patriots. I argue that all sports are about execution. We practice for only one reason: to execute better on game or race day. Of course fitness ties into this equation. You cannot execute a great race in triathlon (or any sport) without having the fitness to execute your plans late in the bike or run. But I have observed that most triathletes are ‘fit’ enough to have the result they desire on race day. So, therefore we are back to how we execute on ‘game day’.

Flawless execution begins in training & practice. We all know that in order to be fit enough on race day we need to swim, bike and run plenty of miles. We do this by combining a number of base miles with tempo & speed miles and the outcome should be the fitness needed on race day. Once again, all football teams practice, and I doubt they vary too much in what they practice. But I have a feeling they vary greatly in how they practice. Sure, you can go out and bike 100 miles and run 15 after. But how are you doing these miles? Are you focused on race day nutrition and hydration or just stopping at the local bakery and shops for a pastry or Snickers? Are you simulating long sections in the aero position or sitting up? Are you transitioning quickly from the bike to the run or hanging around socializing with friends? Are there numerous stops on your ride or are you focused on staying steady on the bike?

On average we train about 16-20 weeks in prep for an Ironman or 70.3. This gives us 12-16 weekends where we can truly simulate all our race day needs. Whether it is the race day breakfast, the dinner prior to a long training day, bike & run nutrition or what we plan to drink. Plenty of weekends to make changes, adjust and fine-tune our strategy on race day in order to execute flawlessly. Plenty of practice opportunities for transitions, wetsuit removal or even eating from a Gel holder while running. Practice, practice, practice until we execute our ‘game day’ flawlessly.

The latest research and studies conclude that what I describe above is called “deliberate practice”. The best people in almost any field are those who devote the most hours to this kind of training. It is activity that’s sole purpose is to improve performance, that reaches just beyond one’s current level of competence and – very important – involves high levels of repetition all while understanding the feedback the results are giving you.

Simply riding a 100 miles and running a few miles after is not deliberate practice. Simply hitting a bucket of balls is not deliberate, nor is quarterback Tom Brady just throwing 50 footballs down field. Riding 80 miles within your prescribed HR zone or wattage, in the aero position, holding a preset cadence, while monitoring hydration and nutrition, as well as how this affects your run after, is deliberate practice. Coming back a week or two later and making adjustments based on your observations and riding that 80 miles again with the goal of improved performance – ever so slightly – is deliberate practice. It’s like hitting an eight-iron 300 times with a goal of leaving the ball within 20 feet of the pin 80% of the time, continually observing results and making adjustments.

The more of this deliberate practice, the more flawless execution becomes.

I hound many of my athletes continuously during the season to practice everything from race day in order to ‘control the things they can control’, because on race day there are always plenty of things out of our control. Flawless execution can only be achieved by having practiced it deliberately numerous times, leaving race day to be very similar to race simulation: just catered!

Experience

The New England Patriots are a team of veterans: free agents bought for their experience, skill and understanding of the game. This skill and understanding of the game allows for even more focus in preparation for the games. Having experience allows for an extra level of calmness on the field when events can cause confusion. It’s the classic ‘don’t panic’ approach that the veterans apply differently and therefore remain focused on their assignments, execution and then, the outcome of the game. Experienced athletes like the Patriots actually become more focused and deliberate when they are challenged or their backs are against the wall. This is evidenced by the past few weekends, the Eagles, the Ravens and the Steelers were all out to ‘dethrone’ the perfect Patriots. This changed their mindset going into the game and, despite being challenged, still prevailed.

In triathlon this experience is also crucial to successful race day results. It would be easy to point out that we need to know how Ironman works before being able to deliberately train for it. But experience means so much more. There is a reason why Tim DeBoom and Chris McCormack have had their best Hawaii results after 5-6 attempts: experience and with it the ability to understand what the day brings: don’t panic. For these guys it means staying focused on your own race despite others riding off the front or the swim having not been as good as planned. It means allowing for 26.2 miles to reach the finish line first, not by mile 10 and then fold (DNF). It means remaining calm but focused and concentrating at the task at hand even more.

For those of us that have not won Ironman Hawaii, it means remaining within our day. Experience allows us to understand the highs and lows we all experience during the event – even expecting these highs and lows and shrugging them off. It is knowing that we will reach a point on the bike we no longer want to turn the pedals or eat another morsel, no matter how fit we are or how many times we did this in training! Experience is knowing we hit a lull on the run and need to move to coke as of this point. All of us have our own observations from race day, and despite the best planning & preparation, we also need to display the experience of having been here before and knowing what we will do to get through it and finish!

Once again, control the aspects of race day we can control via deliberate practice and outstanding fitness. But experience allows us to embrace the aspects we can’t control by focusing & concentrating even more on improvingthis performance and its desired outcome.

The conclusions currently being published throughout sports psychology show that we all have a chance to be great. Mainly because we can be great with work, and high-level performances can be achieved with practice and experience.

Now tell that to the other 13 NFL teams that have lost to the New England Patriots….

Original article can be found on xtri.com

I was recently a guest on author and ultra-endurance athlete Rich Roll’s podcast. It was a great chance to talk in depth about integrating the mental game with physical training, and about training as not just race preparation but as the training lifestyle. Have a listen!

An older article I wrote for a European Triathlon Magazine, but worth the read.  Not only for those of you as a reminder – but for many of you new to my coaching and consulting.

Endurance racing comes down to a simple ingredient called carbohydrates.  Yes – carbs, those evil calories that the rest of the world seems to hate – we need desperately in endurance events to fuel our brains and allow us to push our effort in many sections of any endurance race.

We all know we have plenty of fat in our body to run 100s of miles, cycling 100s of miles and swim…well, that’s different – but you get the point.  But as many of you have heard me say – we only have about 20 miles of running in us based off the carbs stored in our liver and muscles.  That’s apporx. 2000 cals.  Figure most ‘endurance events’ are more than 8-10 hrs, and those require a minimum of 7000-8000 cals.

Now throw in this annoying fact that you have also heard me say: we can only absorb max 350 cals per hour in carbs.  Most of the time its way less than that…closer to 250 cals per hour.  Yet – as many of you have seen on your power meters or garmin watches, that your burn rate on endurance races is way higher – like 600-1000 cals per hour!  Simple math shows you that we are running at a deficit of about 300-600 cals PER HOUR!  Now, most of you know from testing, that if the pace is relatively slow, or if you have developed a good fat burning engine, one where you can hold about 80% of T2 (LT, AeT) without activating your anaerobic energy system, then you COULD get half your energy from stored fat, half from carbs…So – doing that math again, its brings us quite close to equal balanced energy BURN and energy FUEL needed.  Even sum game that allows for steady pace/effort/output for quite a long time!  This can be trained very effectively by developing a fantastic aerobic energy system.

Mess around with this balance too much and things get complicated.  Surges in effort, standing while pushing over a roller, running uphill too hard, swimming too fast for a bit, anything where the HR/effort jumps quickly, then Carbs become the dominant fuel, and because of ancient adrenal system functions, this causes your fat burning ability to slow way down for…..hours!  Even if you slow down, or dial back the HR dramatically, because of the adrenal response, the body will not return to ‘par’ for a while.  (Have you ever ridden harder in a group ride, seeing watts way higher than you ever train…and feel really good?  And want to just keep riding like that – and you can??!  That is all carb pushing through you – and a few hrs later you are dozing off on the couch….instead of running a marathon…)

As you can see – your harder effort too early in the day – in ANY endurance event (over 5 hrs) means that your fuel source will run out.  Your harder effort comes at the cost of burning through those carbs way too quickly without being able to replace/replenish them.  By going too hard – even for shorter periods only – you are shutting down your fat burning as a fuel source…and that means at some point in your later stages of your event, the deficit of output to input will be too big…and you are walking, hiking, stopping or slowing down considerably.

Keep this in mind when racing your endurance event in the future.  Can you go faster?  Sure.  But at some point your run out of fuel, literally…and you slow down.  Instead, as many of you have also heard me say/preach:  go as FAST as you can, using the LEAST amount of energy…Energy being burn rate of fuel…

Pre days (as of Thursday) – arrive midday Thursday (early rise on Thursday AM – but then well hydrated and good eats while driving) – upon arrival get settled/organized in order to register and go to store for food, fuel and hydration for the next 3 days. Food will be bland – but lots of it.

Friday – logistics day – swim in the morning – finalize anything needed for race, work through details – be done by noon with logistics/registration etc. Lots of hydration and clean foods today.

Pre race day Saturday– simple breakfast – then snacking lightly until big afternoon meal around 3-4pm. Sweet Potatoes, some salad, brown rice, pasta & chicken are all part of the selection. A combo of all along with good bread. Also add some Udo’s Oil (travel with it). Another snack, more simple bland foods around 7pm. To bed early but might be watching a movie, reading, watching TV. 9pm lights out usually.

Race day Sunday– Wake at 4am. Coffee – choices are bagel with butter and jam – bagel or whole wheat waffles with almond butter and banana – pancakes with jam or also some almond butter. Can also eat oatmeal with peanut butter, honey and bananas. All successfully tested choices.
Sip water – then electrolytes – then water again – all while going to race and transition etc. If hungry – eat small bites of simple white bread bagel
Depending on conditions expected – Osmo PreLoad.
Before swim have choices of a chew – some bar – or some simple drink.

Swim – no food or drink. Simple 2 loops course. Long and strong first loop after a fast start, then maintain energy and feel for stroke 2nd loop. Be alert for exit and entry after 1st loop to keep HR in balance – not go too hard or exert myself too much to elevate HR while running. Once HR goes up like that, takes too long swimming to allow it to recover.

Bike – wattages will be determined by temps and weather. If hot it might require earlier push in watts, then backing off to a solid floor number. If cool, then holding a steady wattage might be the strategy. Rolling course – will require balanced energy output: on ups keeping it controlled, but on the quick downs also keeping wattage up. This will burn legs differently – FYI.

• Drink: water first bottle – start flushing mouth after swim and then finishing bottle 1 by 1 hour. Then alternating GU Roctane and water at a steady rate of 20-24oz per hour. If hotter then 24-30oz per hour (total cals in drink 400 but I count as 50%-200cals) – NO GATORADE ENDURANCE FOR ME
• Fuel: no food until 30 min in: then 225-250 per hour. ClifBars to begin (250 per bar): carry 2 on bike and 2 in special needs (as well as extra different flavors) – on course are chomps and gels so no need to carry. Typical IM total kJ burned is 4400-4600, so I look to replenish 30% minimum, but closer to 1500 cals (vs. 1350 at 30%). Bars + Chomps + Gels (in that order) = 1300 cals + drink 200 cals.
• No Salt on bike – plenty in Roctane
• Special needs bag has back ups of all: Roctane, food and chews.

Run – off bike and relaxed, see what legs settle in at. Course is very familiar – so the goal is first to get out of neighborhoods and out onto Coeur D’Alene Lake Drive. The start paying attention to pace and turnover out on Lake Dr and back (6.8 miles). Once back into town and neighborhoods, the goal is managing body and fuel to get back out onto Lake Drive. Then 11 miles to go – push out and back. 4 sections total.

• Drink – water every aid station, occasional splash of Gatorade but try to avoid. Depending on weather might run with own drink bottle, as well as grab a special needs. Water bottle (throw away) out of T2 in order to be topped off, flushed out and hydrated.
• Fuel – hopefully smart calories on bike, then gel at miles 3-6-9-12-16-20 with Coke as needed mixed in at times. Always have back up of Gels I like in special needs for change in flavor etc.
• Run is all set up by drink and fuel on bike. If good on bike then run can extend out cals and drink a bit. If not, then manage drink and food early to settle into an effective second half of run…

GEAR for the ride:

• Swim – full wetsuit – one cap.
• Bike – Disc with a bladed Xentis front wheel. Powermeter/Garmin
• Run – no pace, no HR, just stop watch. Will know splits and pace based off mileage in my head

“…in this age, which believes that there is a short cut to everything, the greatest lesson to be learned is that the difficult way is, in the long run, the easiest”

Henry Miller

I’ve never done a 100 miler…I tried once – but I went about my training wrong. I pushed too hard, racked up the miles too quickly. Sure enough, about 5 weeks prior to Leadville a few years back, I pulled out of ultrarunning since I could feel the stress fracture in my foot coming along. It might have already been there – but when I broke my collarbone a few weeks later at Escape from Alcatraz triathlon, I got 6 weeks of forced rest anyways! So – this time I went about it differently. I had two primary goals with my prep for Rocky Raccoon.

First – I was going to build up to a healthy avg. weekly running volume and hold that – it would be my base. Secondly – within that weekly volume I would build up one long run per week. What did this look like in practice? First – I gradually built my running volume from 40-45 miles per week in early October to 70ish miles per week, although my avg for most of December and early January was 65 miles per week. Then, once absorbing a decent weekly volume (55-65 miles), I started inserting a longer run into that standard base week. That means in addition to that 55 miles I ran a 4, then 5, then 6, then 7 hour run 1x that week. Of course this kicked up my weekly totals, but my ‘fall back’ week was always the trending avg weekly miles. Finally – over New Years it was time to test the big volume: I ran 24miles on the 30th next morning (New Years eve) I ran 44 miles, and finally the next morning (Happy New Year!) ran another 25 miles. That gave me approx. 93 miles in 48 hrs. If I can do that – hopefully I can do 100 rested…in 16-18 hrs…and while I knew my training was going well (felt great at NorthFace 50 miler although DNF’ed at mile 44) 100 miles felt quite daunting. 8 hrs of running is different than 16-20 hrs! In hindsight, I probably could have been more rested. Riding a Coast Ride to San Diego (550 miles in 5 days), albeit easy, still left me somewhat flat. I was hoping to feel better on my final 50k prep run the Friday, 8 days prior to the race. Add to that a calf tightening during that run, I was thinking “this could be a really long day”…

Rocky Raccoon also served another purpose. I still had a bitter taste in my mouth from DNFing in Tahoe. I was looking for something hard, monotonous and mentally challenging: 5×20 mile loops should be just the ticket. Not punishment, instead an opportunity to develop a stronger mind for racing. So there it is: 5×20 mile loops, 6am start – rolling course – nothing too steep at any point, see it in the dark, sunrise, during the day, and then see only a headlamp tunnel for the following evenings’ darkness.

The first loop was OK. Didn’t feel as easy, fresh, natural, quick as I wanted (see tired and flat above!). Was actually already sort of laborious. But kept shutting off the mind and listened to podcasts as I knew I would need the mind later on. Approx 3:08 – I made a commitment that I would not rush my 20 mile aid stations, so I always used that for my crew stop. Food, drink, logistics, updates etc.

Second loop – here we go – now I know the course, know where I am each step of the way. Podcasts go to music. Eating a bit too little, drinking plenty. Perfect weather for me: overcast, 60s, humid. Approx 3:08 again. Was actually hoping the first loop would be quicker on ‘free speed’ – but know that in ultrarunning (for me at least) there is one…speed..all …the time…

Third loop – just focus on getting to half way. At 43 I start feeling not so good – the remaining distance seems daunting given I have been running for 7 hours so far. I start thinking how I am now moving into the longest run I have done this season…and start drifting mentally. Luckily, having prepared for this, I was ready to slog through these miles. Not because they were hard physically, but because it is such a dead space in terms of 100 miles..Not getting to 50miles quick enough, and feeling the slowness of the day in the brain, since I can now project how long the second 50 miles might take! But luckily as of mile 52 I snap out of it – grab some ibuprofen – and move on to 60 miles where I now can run with friends as pacers. But that part of the 20 mile loop seems to have an effect on me – it is the longest piece without aid, as well as closed course – so nobody there…3rd eat whole wheat bagel with cream cheese, turkey and bunch of pretzels. Also have some Roctane gels, and a 5hrs energy drink shot.

Fourth loop! Over half way… and no longer running solo. I am ready to talk someone’s ear off! While saying 4th more miles! I tell the crew, let’s figure 8 more hours and get this done before midnight! JINXED! 3 miles into the 4th are screaming, with the occasional cold numbing shooting pain down my left leg with it…The type that if you recruit wrong, you buckle, and catch yourself from falling. Walking – fast walking, quickly try to engage..nada…couple jogging shuffle steps, cold pain…walking…darn darn darn..40 miles of WALKING?? Are you kidding me…this will be booooring. It will be done – but boring and..heck, load up the iPod and I’ll watch a movie while walking…3 to 4 to 5 miles walking – stretch occasionally..nada. But, I do apply Ironman knowledge here: am I doing EVERYTHING now, so that if I can run again later on, I am ready…hydrated? Check….Food? Check…Clothing, gear, rest of body? Check..just waiting (better said, walking) – I reengage at mile 70..the shuffle can be held longer. I know a flat section, with no roots or anything is coming…(a dam trail) and sure enough can shuffle it…shuffle it up to aid station at mile 72..4 ibuprofen, and within 90 sec I am running, feel good and drop my pacer…Pick up new Pacer at mile 75 aid station, off I go to 80 mile crew stop…4:30 (approx.)…ugh but 2 things: curiously enough the pain was in the same section as my previous loops dead zone…and secondly…if out of a 100, I walk, hike 7 miles, I’ll take it.

Final loop! Don’t want to stop long, since anything tightening up might mean walking again…Some calories, some more ibuprofen and some clothes in case its cold. The 4th loop was already half in the dark, so all I am doing now is staring at a 4 ft x 4ft light window in front of me on the trails. That’s my world. The roots, trail, branches and dirt of that window of light is all I see. It’s the last loop – all good. Each step is the loop in 3:27..lose about 20 minutes in that difficult ‘place’…I sit – last time I’ll be doing this loop, but its so vague because in the dark it doesn’t matter. I might as well be in Marin, some forest in Europe, or on the Appalachian trail (which is what staring into that light reminded me of – different story…). Aid at 83, cool….aid at 85, more ibuprofen….6 miles death zone? bring it…aid at mile 92, ibuprofen (!)…aid at 95…ibuprofen…feeling good – steady – actually have a great conversation with my pacer, AIMP athlete # 2 btw…, and the loop sorta flies by.

5th loop is easier then 3rd. Mile 98…ugh, ready for this to be over, my legs are getting tired…100 miles – done! Approx 3:50. Total time 18:24. Yes, I got passed by 1st honestly, that felt good because a) I didn’t even know there was an AG race/ranking… 2) my sole purpose for this race was to finish feeling good. Which, ironically, this 99th was the ONLY mile I felt awful… It was fun. Yes, fun. Trail running is different – and while the next 100 miler (?!) might not be as fun, since now I have a number in my mind and how I would train, and what I would do differently yada yada yada…this one was good ole 1st with friends. You get to eat and drink and be merry at any aid station…You only do one thing…for a lot of hours..! And although the sport has changed over the years since it has become more technical and some agro folks are rolling over from triathlon, it still has a very different vibe.

Did I get out of it what I was looking for? Not sure yet. Stronger mind? Won’t know until IM Texas. Better runner? Doubt that since running 10s doesn’t relate to running 7s in my stride. Was it challenging? Yes. Was I more anxious than it turned out I needed to be? Yes – but that was the fun part of this 100 miler. The unknown, the curiosity, the challenge. Did I ever hit that deep, lost, ‘

had to search my soul’ place? No…not even close. Maybe next time….yes. I’ll do another. Those Belt Buckles are cool…

Data:

2x Clif Bar – 1x PowerBar – 9/10 Gels (mix of Roctane and Salty Caramel) – 1 PBJ on

white – 1x bagel Turkey CC – 1x whole wheat PBJ – 250 cal pretzels – 2x 5hr energy –

25-30 pb filled pretzels – bits of banana/M&M/

Approx 4000cal (220/hr)

4x Osmo – 2x Preload – 16x water (20oz) – 12 oz Gatorade – sip of coke.

Approx 24 oz of fluid per hr.

Issues: 7 mile walk was hip flexor and quad attachment. No calf issue until mile 95.

Switch 3 pairs of shoes: mile 40 and mile 80. Shoes switch good – no blisters, same

socks for 100 miles.

Hi all. I know it has been a while, but nothing like a plane flight to get some uninterrupted writing time.

Mindfulness: the skill of racing and training right here, right now.

In my prep for this upcoming 100 mile run, I have been listening to a lot of audiobooks, podcasts and the occasional music playlist. One article by Maria Gonzalez I listened to stuck with me. It talked of mindful leadership and how we can decrease stress by controlling not only our mind, but also the multiple circumstances that arise daily where we can use better judgment.

As a coach, I wondered how we can apply these management practices and observations to endurance training & racing – and how it can benefit all of us.

As many of you have heard me often say: a lot can go wrong on race day, so we want to focus on the things we CAN control vs. those that are out of our control. Especially given that our events are anywhere from 2-24 hours, that leaves a LOT of room for things to go wrong! Even in shorter events – a minor circumstance can quickly mean minutes!

Surely outstanding fitness helps us deal with the circumstances of race day, but training the skill of mindfulness will magnify that benefit of outstanding fitness.

Dealing with the stress of race day…

First off we want to focus simplifying the stress: as we go into the race, we want to decrease stress, not just manage it. This will help us be better prepared for the situations that WILL come up that are somewhat unexpected. I say somewhat since many of the situations that arise on race day are not unfamiliar – we just don’t prepare or want to realize they can happen to us!

Decreasing stress also means we can assess the situation and seeing what stress we can eliminate. Weather? Temperature? Course? Competitors? Nothing we can do to change those, so instead we focus on how better to deal with them: taking action.

Next we want a constant theme for the day: control the mind vs. letting it control you. When the mind controls us, emotions and judgment are in play. When we control the mind, we can start dealing with that stress, that circumstance. It’s about not wasting energy on how to change the circumstance, instead on how to deal with it, accept it. When something is going wrong in a race and you get upset/stressed (no water at an aid station, you dropped your food on the bike, powermeter/garmin not working, feeling flat watching competitors whiz by you) – you are in your head! You are judging that situation (while it may be correct!) vs. applying clarity, awareness of surroundings, and being right here, right now. Don’t allow yourself to get bogged down with feelings/emotions of the circumstance; instead we want a state of being present – aware – conscious…Mindfulness!

Mindfulness is a skill that can be learned. It is training the mind to be secular. Training the mind on how it CAN deal with stress. Being in the moment, being present (right here – right now) ties into three interlocking components:

1) Concentration.
2) Clarity
3) Equanimity

• Concentration is a skill learned to stay in the moment, be present for as long as you wish.
• Clarity comes with that concentration: clarity of thought, good judgment, seeing things for what they are vs. our own judgment that clouds situations.
• Equanimity – this one I find most important since it allows us to truly control our stress and mindfulness: it means going with the flow. Asking yourself; “can I change this situation, circumstance”? If I can’t alter, therefore I won’t let myself be swept away by the moment since it alters my judgment. Instead I am taking action. Practice acceptance, not anxiety!

Mindfulness is the skill of being fully present and fully aware – not looking to change the circumstance (react) – instead being aware of what is…simply what is…balance.

As with any skill – there are ways to practice this skill of mindfulness. Some of you have heard me talk of a system check, a check in with our body during the race. Part of this means we take a deep breath and ready ourselves for the task ahead. In all my pre-race talks I mention that moment in T2 where you just want to sit for a moment – inhale, exhale and check in with yourself. To be right here, right now, to get yourself ready to concentrate on the run ahead, with clarity & acceptance. In my 100 miler this weekend I plan to do this every 20 miles (5×20 mile loops!) – a sort of mini meditation. The author of the article talks of the para-sympathic nervous system being activated, which has an immediate calming impact. I’d like to get better at it – maybe at each aid station during the Ironman bike? Every aid station on the run? The more we can be in the state of mindfulness for our event – the better! A psychological mechanism to create calmness? I’ll take it.

In order to be better prepared for race day (its called coaching right?), we all can use triggers that come up multiple times in our training days – but especially on long race simulation days. A trigger to do a check in with yourself, to find that place of clarity, concentration and being present in the moment. For me a good trigger has been when I eat. These are frequent enough moments for me to take a breath – do a systems check, remain focused on the task at hand for the training and why I am doing it (execution to the best of our abilities). 

Our mind gets agitated with too much noise. Instead, we can control our mind, moment by moment and with it decrease blood pressure, control our heart rate and work towards having our day.

Hi all –

Holiday training focus – Minimize the damage.

As we enter this final Holiday season push, I wanted to go over the mindset that might be helpful in your training during these harder weeks. Harder means in motivation, temptations to not work out, or even from a weight/nutrition perspective. The Holiday cookies, eggnog, boiled custard, all that good home cooked food, heavy beers and red wine can be tempting.

The goal as an athlete to get through a window of time like this is simple: to kick out on the other side with a decent amount of fitness in order to train effectively again. Whether the Holidays, a big push at work, life’s schedule or even being limited due to a injury, the goal should never be to fight the limited training time. Instead, map out a strategy that allows you to kick out the other side of this stretch with some remaining fitness. No, you won’t at a peak fitness level. No – you won’t be a lean training machine. But you won’t out of shape! You are able to go through the 3-5 disciplines of our sport (I am including some strength/core work and stretch cordz/jump rope etc. as the extra disciplines) without getting too sore or tired. You can ride effectively, run somewhat light, and swim decently. I often say this: if you come out of the holidays fit enough to be 2 good training weeks away from feeling normal and prepared for training again, great!

Its all about the platform I talk to you all about. We want to have a platform of fitness we can work from. From that platform we can dial it up and still absorb the bigger training effectively. We can also dial it back from that platform and go with the flow for 2-3 weeks without losing too much. In both aspects we don’t go over board. We don’t up the training from this platform by too much in order to be shelled for 2 weeks, nor do we completely slow down too dramatically to fall out of shape. Its all a gentle adjustment. No matter what the scenario, I guarantee a level of training in the future where you will have completely forgotten about feeling out of shape or unfit – whether 10 days prior or 4 weeks prior. So be smart now, don’t burn the bridges (you all know what I am talking about!) and keep the platform somewhat within reach.

Or to write it out differently? Chill out! Go with the Holiday flow! Ask yourself, how do I get through these next 2-3 weeks without giving up too much but not stressing out about training and diet during a fun, chill and harmonious time of year. Don’t be THAT person that sits in the corner without any Holiday sweets, drinking water and passing on all the hors d’oeuvres because you are worried how you’ll look in a swimsuit coming back to swim practice …If you think that way, you ARE the athlete in those Ironman YouTube parodies. Or Zumba vs. Crossfit etc. and then you need to go to bed anyways for your morning long bike ride….

How do I get through these next 2-3 weeks without my family thinking I am a dud, and my friends vowing to never go out with me for beers and bourbon again? Get in some training, get in the work you CAN get in without adding stress to an already busy and stressful time of year. If that means cutting the swim short or running instead because you don’t need to drive to a pool, great! If that means taking a 1 hr spin class with some espresso doped instructor at your in-laws local ‘club’, so be it. You are doing a little something every day. Ideally 60-90 minutes per day, but minimum 45-60 minutes. If you are in a scenario where you can train more, awesome. Or if there is an occasional longer training window on a given day, sweet. Otherwise, minimize the damage that these 2-3 weeks can do…

That is the key. Don’t think of this time as getting fitter, think of it as holding on to some fitness. And if life gets in the way, minimize the damage. Kick out the other side knowing you are 10-14 days of consistent training away from feeling 100% healthy and fit again. Then you can drink your wheatgrass detox smoothie while snacking on rice cakes all you want. But for now – just go with the flow, and plan to get your life back in 2-3 weeks. Your family & friends will thank you!

12 years and going strong!

Hi All-

Swim workouts are not posted for AIMP Athletes.

Protected: Swim Workouts

On that note, there will be a swim this Sunday from 9am -11am at IVC.

Thanks!

And so it begins! AIMP and SAG Monkey on their way to Tucson, Arizona for Spring Training!

Hi all –

Hi all –

October is over and I am back from the month-long vacation (or so it felt) – in Hawaii and Mexico. I thank you all for your patience and look forward to starting the 2012 season with you all today. What does that mean? While some of you still have a few A events ahead, many of us are starting our build and progression to 2012 as of today, Nov. 1. Many of you have different goals and events, but the time for a great aerobic platform begins now, with strength work and metabolic efficiency via aerobic training. This season, and how I Rx the coaching protocol will be different than any of the 12 previous years I have been coaching. Not all of you will be doing strength, but all of you will be working off an incredible aerobic capacity as you head into your different A events of 2012. I look forward to next season being our best ever and will be starting your Annual Training Plans this week. If workouts are not updated yet – I will get there throughout this week. Continue to send me your race plans, goals and any other updates needed in the planning of the next 16 weeks.

Thanks!

Chris

We now have an active community group on Facebook. Click on link below to view and join.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/AIMPCoaching/

tri-magazine gives Coach a nice shout in the article:

Age Group Racing at Oceanside 70.3

Hi all –

Just a last chance heads up for the Utah Mini Camp. If you want to join I need to know ASAP. WHY? Because to make this easy for you all, we are coordinating minivans and flights into Vegas so that you can all drive together etc. I will bring bikes for those of you in SF AND LA as I will be in LA and Newport the days prior.

Here is the final planned weekend:

March 10 – ARRIVAL in PM. Fly into Vegas or roll big into St. George. Dinner 6pm as a group for those on site.

March 11 – morning swim (indoors…pool) – 70 mile bike (from lake to St. George and 1 loop bike) – short 20-30 minute transition run (on Diagonal Rd. just like race day)….evening forum of race plans, strategy and nutrition.

March 12 – double loop bike (85ish miles) – longer transition run (45-60 minutes). Dinner: now that we have seen 99% of course – continued race prep and final training stages overview.

March 13 – swim (indoors – pool) – single loop run – CAMP COMPLETE BY 1pm. Lunch and back to Vegas for flights.

Mini Camp is for ANYONE to also get away: The weather in the Dixie Belt of Utah is WAY better and drier than the NorCal weather pattern. Also not limited to AIMPers.

NO COST! All we do is divide the minivans and any extra expenses by the number of attendees…

Please let me know ASAP….

Word.

Hi all – Just a short note that I am starting to finalize our Ironman St. George Mini Camp, March 10-13 in St. George, Utah.

WHAT: a mini camp is a short, 2.5 day, camp at the race site. We ride & run the course in prep for IM and become familiar with all aspects of the race. This allows us to be very prepared for the final weeks of training and for race day.

WHEN: we arrive Thursday PM, in order to swim and ride one loop on Friday. We depart Sunday early afternoon after a morning swim & run.

WHO: For sure anybody doing IMSG. If you have friends, teammates etc. who want to join, great. BUT we will need to limit the mini camp to 10 people. Why smaller numbers? Because this is a very focused weekend with LOTS of communication, strategy, race planning, input and coaching. IF we bring another coach (highly likely), we could expand to 12.

HOW: Friday we swim at a local pool, ride the course for a double loop (80ish miles). In the afternoon we review the lake swim course and first 25 miles of the bike. Saturday we ride 1 loop again and run 1 loop of the course. In the PM, since we have now seen the entire course, we review at an early dinner, discuss race strategy – nutrition – weather – and race day logistics. Sunday is a swim and another run loop. I look to be finished by noon.

COST: Free – I only divide our expenses and will look for contributions for our SAG driver and logistics (this is dependent on attendance numbers). I WILL be bringing bikes for anybody in the Bay Area joining.

NEXT: Please let me know if you are interested in attending – an email will suffice. Once I have a good feel for numbers, I will organize hotel OR a home rental (this is dependent on attendance numbers). I will also plan the pool sessions as size effects which pool. I will also start restaurant prep for our group meeting/dinner in a private room.

Thank you! Hope you can join!

chrishauth@gmail.com

AIMP will once again off a variety of training camps in 2011, but this year we add the newer mini camps.

January 17-22 :: AIMP Coast Ride 2011 – 4 days, 565 miles, SF to LA

February 17-22 :: AIMP Tucson Training Camp – 5 days, 4 nights, all inclusive camp in the warmer confines of AZ :: see link to camp above

March 10-13 :: AIMP St. George Mini Camp – 2.5 days, focused, on course training & simulation for IMSG 2011 ::

April 8-10 :: Wildflower sailfish Training Weekend – 3 days, on site prep for Wildflower and big training weekend for IM’s in May & June ::