Guaranteed
Congrats to Aleck Alleckson, who posted a 15 minute course personal best 4:22 at Lake Stevens 70.3 couple weeks back, getting off the bike first amateur, and finishing 4th amateur overall, his highest finish overall in a WTC event. Well done!
Good luck to my athletes in their upcoming ironman races:
Ryan Jasperson: Louisville
Eric Stimach: Louisville
Evan Deutsch: Canada
Tim Winestorfer: Canada
DJ DeAustria: Canada
Joshua Monda: Canada
Jim Zuba: Canada
Garren Watkins: Wisconsin
Bill Thompson: Wisconsin
Fred Doucette: Wisconsin
With the exception of one athlete above being injured, all of my men have the chance of gaining the elusive Kona slot. There are many that would say that simply based on odds alone, the chances of this many athletes qualifying from a single coach of 25 athletes is pretty slim. Last year at IM Canada, 6 of my athletes qualified for Kona in this single event, and it is highly unusual for nearly every single athlete to have a great day. I do believe in all of them however, and yeah…I think the odds are with them all. If each executes well, solves potential problems that arise, remain patient throughout their race, and go deep enough when necessary, then they will have done everything they can. It is at this point one can confidently say they’ve given it all they’ve got.
I am confident they will give it their all on race day. However, there are no guarantees.
Most athletes that have the ability to qualify for world championships simply need to break that mental barrier. This is difficult to coach into someone because I can’t get into someone’s head at mile 16 in the marathon and guide them to that place they need to be. Finding your way to success is individually driven. No coach can give you all the answers, and nobody can lead you to that place from which you need to arise. The level of pain and fatigue, the process of solitude, and eventual discovery has to come from within yourself. When you’ve reached your potential, the fatigue, pain, and solitude simply disappear. You feel yourself as part of a collective that is self-driven toward the equivalent goal. This is what’s magical about this sport. When I raced ironman Texas, running on a blown up swollen ankle, as I began to jog, then run harder and harder…the sensation of pain faded away. This level of consciousness in a 46 year old striving to win his division is no different from a 30 year old pro trying to win overall. The connection is there.
I wish all of my athletes the best in their upcoming races, and hope all can reach their own level of success. Like I told you all in our meeting on Sunday, when you are falling off the pace leading into the final 12 miles of the marathon, when you are feeling sorry for yourself, thinking about the heat, letting your mind wander…you have got to re-focus. You have got to find your way out. Once you do this, you will understand, and you will realize just how conspicuous it is, and how it was always right there in front you… that next level of consciousness.
Race to the best of your ability, and draw every ounce of energy from within yourself to the very end…then you will succeed. This, is guaranteed.
See her fall
With my recent diagnosis of a tendon tear, a ligament tear, and fractures as a consequence of my fall at ironman Texas…I wore a stabilization boot for 6 weeks, minimal swimming, and spinning every other day on the trainer in zone 1. This evolved after a month into 2 complete weeks of nothing. My repeat MRI 6 weeks after wearing my boot, and 10 weeks after ironman Texas revealed no change whatsoever in the diffuse edema in my Navicular, while the other 2 fractures have entirely healed. The tendon and ligament tear are not of consequence because in my strength testing, my orthopedic surgeon tells me I have enough compensatory strength to forego any surgery. However, the edema in the Navicular means another month of no running (or elliptical). The bright side is that I can ride “normally” outside, of which I began 2 weeks ago come Saturday. I have fallen terribly out of race fitness and completing 2 hours on flats resulted in a 2 hour nap last week. It’s getting a bit better after a few rides and last Sunday’s 54 miler with Ann was not too bad on me. Did 3 x 10 min TT in Z4 yesterday with Aleck of which I averaged my California 70.3 watts…uhhh and in that race was 2.5 hours not 3 x 10 minutes.…I’ve lost my race fitness.
This is relevant in that my wife had the entire year off in 2009 due to multiple stress fractures. I don’t know how she did it. We both love to run and looking back from where I now stand, and seeing her sitting on the couch every day I would return from a 16 mile run or 70 mile ride….I know how she feels. We don’t want to lose the addiction. We don’t want to go through the time it takes to achieve the level of fitness we once had… once we have significant time off, at this critical age when each year a little is lost.
Ann swallowed all of it that year, was patient, and was relentless in her treatment recommendations and therapy. I remember this well as it seemed for 5-6 months she was constantly involved in her treatment at home. She was discouraged yes, a bit depressed, of course. However, she maintained foresight and kept her mind on the goal of ironman Brazil in May of 2010, which would be her first Major race since Kona in 2008. I’ve had injuries of course, but having a stress fracture is different. You feel every little ache, and you become increasing aware of the risk of a full break if you push at all, and a full break results in a metal plate fixation, and probably a full year off.
I have the upmost respect for Ann, and fully understand her extended time off from 2009 and how difficult it is to have to cancel races like ironman Hawaii after racing so well a few months before.
See her rise
Patience leads to perseverance. Ann came back in 2010, at age 40, to race a personal best 9:48 on a much more difficult course than her prior 9:52 PR, finishing with a 3:19 run split that was the fastest women marathon of the day at Brazil. She ran into 6th overall that day, and after nearly a year off. She would go on to have a great season and be chosen USAT female masters triathlete of the year. The psychology involved in Ann’s will to succeed is something most, and I emphasize most, athletes do not possess. This is just plain fact. Thinking you have “it” and having “it” are two completely different scenario’s. I am fully confident if Ann had entered the sport when she was 28 instead of 38, she would be posting times well under 9:30 in ironman. This perspective is quite remarkable to me…she was 40, and many people compare her to women who are in their late 20′s. Her progress really is amazing to me
So, why, when winning the division and placing as a top amateur, out competing many pro’s would she want to stop a 4 year winning streak, and become a pro athlete?
I was told by a popular professional triathlete a couple of years ago when we were discussing the difficulty of attaining pro status in the U.S, compared to most other countries in which you simply have to claim “pro” , and using triathlon as a potential means to make money in sport.
I asked him jokingly, “when did you know to go pro, when you start beating half of them?”
His answer was quite simple. “No, it’s when you are beating all the amateurs.”
I smiled because I knew what he was talking about. It’s not necessarily out performing other pro’s, but it’s about challenging yourself. If you become good enough in this sport to finish as the top amateur, break amateur course records…over and over again, then the point of becoming a pro is to increase your awareness, and to better yourself.
So, while Ann is over 40, why would she give up all the winning to maybe grab a top 10 pro position in an ironman and be tagged as a “slower pro”?
If you do not understand this inherently then you may not understand with an explanation, but I’ll try.
The reason Ann decided to become pro (which, by the way, she qualified in 2007 with her ITU world championship top Amateur performance), was not because she thinks she can race side by side with girls that are 10-15 years younger than her. Does this surprise you? Ann took her pro card because she wanted to challenge herself, derive a set of achievable tasks, as well as some improbable (but not impossible) goals. She is simply satisfied with her performances as a top amateur for now. Outside of Kona, she has been undefeated in her division in each and every race outside of Kona, since 2006. Some athletes want to discover some things about themselves. She may not have the success compared to her amateur performances while racing pro, but if you see it as a concept of only “winning” your division in races, then this may be one of your limitations as an athlete. Yes sure there is a point in life when you are aged to the point that all you have is the division to compete (myself), but certainly if a person is consistently finishing in the top 12 overall then maybe they should not throw in the towel. Competing with this sense of a long-term goal is something that many and athletes I’ve known, and coached, simply do not understand. How much strength does it take to go from a top cyclist in your division and as an amateur, and finishing overall champion, to finishing in the lower half of the field? This is taking the road less traveled. Those that take the easy road will, in the long run, be less successful. Ten years from now…Ann will not be sitting around the pub table talking the “I could have been…I should have been….” The fact is. She is living without regrets.
I’ve never been so proud of Ann as I was last week at Steelhead 70.3, watching her compete out there by herself, while many of the amateurs drafted in large packs and yes the women are even more guilty than the men (due to the 4 second gap, TT start in pairs), and I know this because I saw them drafting in packs of men on the bike course, and let them know it as well. Yes Ann got off the bike in last place, and then ran into 15th…out running 7 pro’s 10+ years younger than her. None this matters however, because her field of competition was 22 women, nobody else. Coming off the bike in last place, and watch her remain more focused than I’ve ever seen her on the run, clicking off 6:40’s on a hilly and technical run course was one of the proudest moments of my life with her. On her first lap completion I told her she was in 19th…was there any notion of calling an audible and quitting? Was there a look of discouragement on her face? No. She was focused, staring straight ahead and coming through the second lap in 17th, negative splitting as she ran the final 5k, capturing a couple more and finishing 15th. This strength of character is not found in many people. The complete focus and remaining entirely on the race plan is exactly why she should be racing with other pro women, even those far younger. Ann’s success at Steelhead will carry her into Wisconsin in a few weeks and regardless of the outcome, from this she will rise, and grow.
This…is guaranteed.
Ann races to 6th fastest pro run split at Steelhead 6:40 pace
So it goes
For me, I have cancelled my only other race prior to Kona, Timberman 70.3 and will cancel Kona. Standing on my foot spectating for a few hours at Ann’s race last weekend showed me I am not ready. The deep aching in the mid-foot is my Navicular, and the edema in the bone is undoubtedly unimproved. I may attempt to begin running in October, a week before Kona. If this goes well, then I’ll race Austin 70.3 a few weeks later in order to gauge my bike power fitness going into ironman Cozumel in November. My 4 month span off after ironman Texas was the result of my unwillingness to allow adversity to over-take me. With 5k to go, running steady 6:50 per mile pace and my high overall placing in a strong pro field…I simply was not going to walk it in. Was it worth it? Does this even need to be asked?
I can’t foresee the end result of this injury, but I have to remain realistic and try to keep my head high. I will likely start the swim at Kona, as I am still registered in the event. Will I ride? Who knows…every race at Kona has been a learning experience for me. So, I may learn a piece of information, or encounter some new adversity I will learn to overcome during the event. This may help me in the future, when I plan to push for a high M50 finish there in a few years. I will just take these things day to day. I may use the week in Kona to gain some much needed quality miles on the bike in order to prepare me for Cozumel as well. This option is still being considered.
I have to thank my athlete Bill Thompson for giving me the idea. My plan is to learn how to mountain bike this winter and race some Xterra, in hopes of gaining a future spot for Maui if I don’t break my legs. Doing the “double” (IM Hawaii and Maui Xterra) would be fun and challenging, esp with the only 2 M45 slots available in the regional Xterra events. However, Bill brought up the “triple”, adding Vegas 70.3 worlds to the mix and this really got my mind thinking. Regardless, gaining a Vegas 70.3 2012 slot at Austin October 21, then gaining a Kona slot for 2012 at Cozumel in Novermber are my immediate goals for the end of my season. The hope is that I can go into CdA in June with my slot and go out with some specific goals and not have to be concerned on the Kona slot. As well, qualifying for Vegas as early as possible will allow me to take some time to learn how to ride a mountain bike this winter and spring, and subsequently race a couple of regional Xterra events. Male 45 carries 2 slots to Maui championships in Xterra. What are the odds of someone who has not, and can’t mountain bike…grabbing one of those 2 slots in a regional qualifier? I think the odds are very slim at best. However, I am not interested in what I can do…it’s what I can’t do that drives me. You can dream of your accomplishments, or you can wake up and actually do them.
As far as my injuries go, year after year, I’ll keep collecting the scars, and I’ll become stronger. I would rather this then not be there at all.
So it goes…I’ll try to begin running on grass here shortly since I have been off nearly all summer. I’ll begin the cycle of gaining strength on the bike again as I start working with Olaf Sabatschus again next Monday. If I decide to start the swim at Kona, who knows I may ride. All experiences lead to potential gains. This, is guaranteed.
