Winter Swim Routine Circling the Drain? Time to Rock the Boat

It has been 4 months since the last frigid open water swims here in Seattle and they feel like a very distance memory. Are you missing the “big pool” as much as we are? Sometimes its just hard to motivate yourself to go swim indoors, especially if you are already tired or have had a tough training week. But don’t skip that swim, your open water skills will really thank you come spring for keeping in shark shape. Use this time to hone your skills and utilize some great training tools.

Winter is a great time to hit the pool and work on technique in the water. Swimming is one of those sports where technique really matters…it is all about efficiency in the water. Give yourself a job in the pool. Go in with the mind set that you are there to accomplish a specific task. This will help break up the boredom of repetitive laps.

One of the most common mistakes made in swim technique is  fighting the water. Water is denser than air, the more you fight the more you increase drag churning your arms. This really just stirring up the water and wearing you out. Instead focus on quality long pulls, propelling yourself further forward with each smooth movement.

As runners and cyclists you learn to go faster by moving your legs faster. This is not the case with swimming. Let your upper body do a good share of the work here and focus on your body rotation. Your legs are best for helping your rotate your body in the water so that as you stroke with your arm it is timed to create a motion that you can pull against creating greater force. Think about trying hit a tennis ball with a racquet while in the deep end of the pool vs while standing on dry land. The force of your swing is greater as you push against the ground. The same idea is happening here- your body’s counter rotation to your stroke allows you to maximize your pull. It takes a great deal of core strength to achieve good body rotation – don’t skip those dry land days!

A fun tool to try out to help you with your body rotation is the TechToc from Finis. It is a waist belt that makes a noise as you rotate side to side. If you are not rotating well you will not hear the belt.

 

 

 

Always consider body balance as you are swimming. Is every part of you working together in a positive motion? On one of your swims don’t focus on trying to fix things just take an over all inventory of what motions you are making, how you are breathing, how you are feeling. Tune in and take stock. Think about what someone else would see if they were watching you from the deck. Take that back to your training journal and your coach to help formulate the game plan for improvement.

Water toys can be a fun addition to a workout but remember should be used as tools not as a crutch. Here are a few ideas you could work with:

• Use your Pull Buoy to take your legs out of the equation and be able to focus on your stroke.

• Use zoomers for more than just practicing your kick. Use them with your kickboard to practice kicking but rather than thinking about the kick think about your core and your glutes and making your kick come from those places.
• Use your zoomers for a few laps of swimming and see if they help you connect your arms to your legs via your core.

• Use paddles (sparingly and as shoulders tolerate) to help work on the catch and finding your lats.
• The Tempo Trainer can help you work on your cadence in the water.

 

 

Other ways to make your workout fun could be meeting up with a friend or teammate. Sometimes just knowing someone else is working hard too helps you stick to your game plan. Take music along for the day but remember that if it distracts from your mental focus it may not be the best choice depending on what your goal in the pool is that day.

Also reward yourself for winter indoor. Consider buying a fun new swim cap or a new suit. There are new SIM swim shorts from Roka that are supposed to mimic wetsuit body position in the pool without overheating.

 

 

To swim like Michael Phelps don’t forget to work on your mental strategy and that can be done both in and out of the pool. In his book The Power of Habit Charles Duhigg gives us an inside to Phelps mental strategy. Phelps coach Bob Bowman taught him to make a record breaking swim simply a habit – how he reacted to his surroundings and circumstances was so practiced he didn’t need to think he simply reacted. Bowman taught him the “watch the videotape” – to visualize the perfect race every night and every morning . Then in practice Bowman would tell him to “Put in the videotape!”. This would insight Phelps to work as hard as he could and instead of being intimidated by it he simply executed the jobs as habit. Once this and a few other key habits were formed the habits spilled over into other aspects of training forming good training practices. Duhigg refers to these as “small wins”. He writes “a huge body of research has shown that small wins have enormous power, an influence disproportionate to the accomplishments of the victories themselves”.

So sleep well tonight, “watch the videotape”, build your small wins and winter swimming will payoff in more ways than you may have initially thought!

Shiny New Goals: Highlight Nutrition

Admit it, it’s exciting to plan out the new year with race and fitness goals.

While you are working on your goals for 2015, don’t forget to put some consideration into your nutrition goals for 2015. For athletes at any level, nutrition issues can sabotage all their other hard work.

Has this ever happened to you?

You bail on a planned workout because you’ve skipped a meal and are too hungry to attempt said workout or don’t make it very far because of flagging energy.

•  Planning your workouts should go hand in hand with planning your meals and snacks.
• Try to keep balanced healthy snacks always available.
• If you are cooking a meal, plan to cook extra to freeze for an easy meal to reheat.

You get distracted and busy after a workout and find that hours have gone by before you’ve gotten a chance to have a real meal. You weren’t that hungry anyway. The next workout is much, much harder than it should be.

• Plan and pack your post workout snacks.
• Use this opportunity to try some different snacks – appealing sounding energy bars, fruit, nuts, flavored nut butters or try making your own.
• If the thought of food is unappealing, try drinking your calories in a smoothie or shelf stable milk or milk substitute.

Work and life has been so crazy that you find yourself thinking you’ll just bail on the whole week.

• Make getting in some time to workout a priority even if it’s a short amount of time.
• Have easy healthy meals planned for when life gets too busy
• Remember that there is always tomorrow to get back on track!

Consistency with your planned workouts and your planned nutrition leads to the best outcomes at every level. To make it to the start line of a goal race requires commitment on many levels including nutrition. What will YOU work on this year?

Making an Iron Rebound: 2015 is the Year of Renewal and Redemption

2015 is the year of renewal and redemption. 2014 didn’t particularly go to plan, although there were still new highs and new milestones reached. Some milestones had to be postponed, but that’s OK because any foundation designed to weather the storms of life has to be built slowly and brick by brick. Injuries may happen, and setbacks may happen, but forward progress is forward progress.

The dual mantras for this year are:

Victory is not measured in medals, but in the courage and heart shown with every step.

Citius, Altius, Fortius

The goals for this year … finish my first solo 70.3, collect a set of coast to coast run Disney medals, stay healthy, and get ready for Ironman New Zealand 2016.

SkiGirl: Saying goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015!

It’s hard to believe that 2014 is drawing to a close, only a few short hours to go! 2014 was a mixed bag for me…it had some big accomplishments and some big disappointments. The good news is the lessons learned will serve me well as we roll into 2015 and on into 2016!

As I look back at the past year it is hard not to be proud of everything that I accomplished, disappointments and all. I can honestly say I swam, biked and ran more miles this past year than any other time in my life! It all seems a bit surreal and at times feels like it was all a dream…the good news for me is it was real and I am in a good place going forward. The hardest decision for me coming into 2015 was to hold off on making another run at getting that IM finish. It was something that I agonized over and after talking with Coach we decided that 2016 would be an optimal time to make that run. The decision allows me to train hard in 2015 and gives me time to some big changes mentally and physically!

2015 is a transition year for me and one that will require a lot of dedication and commitment. I have some lofty goals that will serve as building blocks as we move toward another IM. Most of the year will be focused on making big gains running and swimming. Mostly running, however! Lots of miles will be logged this year – 2 half marathons, 1 trail half and 1 full marathon! I would expect the season will also include 1 Olympic distance tri, maybe a long-course tri, hopefully a return to RAPSody and lots of swimming.

2015 will see a return to being a volunteer ski patroller and instructor up at Summit West – assuming we get some snow! So, come up, join me, play and get in a decent workout while you are at it!

It’s hard to look back at 2014 with mixed feelings. It wasn’t a bad year; it just wasn’t the year I had planned. It is with great anticipation and excitement that I look forward to 2015. There are no guarantees that things will go smoothly or as expected; however, I do anticipate learning lots, having fun and rolling with whatever life brings!

I will wrap this up with one of my favorite quotes –

“Dreams don’t happen because we dream them…they happen because we do something about them.”

Find your dream and do something about it! Here’s to an amazing and wonderful 2015!

-SkiGirl

2015 Goal Setting!

As the holidays roll to a close and 2015 is fast approaching, this is a perfect time to start thinking about what your fitness goals are for next year.

Here are some helpful tips to consider when approaching goals.

• Goals are set but not permanent. They should be evaluated often and able to change. A lot can happen in the course of a year and where you are in January may look very different by July.
• Goals should not be expectations. The idea is to set a goal that is a stretch but not impossible. Sometimes goals are not reached and that is okay! All the trying in the middle counts for a heck of a lot.
• Make sure goals are attainable and appropriate. It is good to have a stretch goal but make sure to have attainable goals along the way. Don’t set yourself up for failure. Consider including smaller goals on the path to a bigger one.
• Consider performance vs. outcome. There are so many things that can go wrong in a goal race, weather, illness, and the list goes on. When setting your goal have it be based on your performance that day rather than on the outcome. You may not hit a time goal but you could still have raced your best strategically and mentally.
• It’s good to be eyes on the prize but make sure to mix in fun workouts to keep things fresh and motivating. This could look a class, social workout, or fun themed race.

A few questions to ask about the goal you want to set..

• What do you want to accomplish? This is the meat of the goal.
• Why do you want to accomplish this? What motivates you? What is going to keep you going when it gets hard?
• What will help you get there? What actions do you need to take to reach your goal? Who might support you in reaching your goal?
• What might get in your way? What potential obstacles could you encounter?
• Who is your support team? Who will cheer you on when you can’t cheer yourself?

Goals can help you understand your strengths and weaknesses and what you might be able to work on to overcome the weaknesses to reach your goals.

Remember we don’t ever chase our dreams alone, so once you know your 2015 goals put them out there to your team and support crew. Many hands make for lighter work. They will all be there to help see you through.

Cheers to a New Year!

 

Keep Your Running Routine on Track: Tips from Shalane Flanagan

US Olympic Marathoner Shalane Flanagan shared with Shape Magazine 9 tips to keep your winter running on track.

We are big fans of Number 5! “Make Your Mantra Super Specific”

From the article 9 Smart Running Tips From Shalane Flanagan:

“‘I use inspirational words that apply to each specific race I run (rather that simply having a go-to mantra that applies to running in general),’ says Flanagan. ‘When I was preparing for the Olympic Trials for the marathon, it was so emotional. I used the mantra ‘cold execution’ to help me to be really calculated and not let emotions get the best of me,’ she says. Think about why a race or run is important to you and make that your mantra.”

What’s your mantra this winter?

Captain Ogre’s Energy Bars

These bars have both low and high glycemic carbs that make them awesome for training or post workout! Thanks for the treat Captain Ogre. 

Chocolate-Chip Oatmeal Bar w/ pecans and dried cherries

1.25 cups (6.25 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1.5 tsp table salt (or 1 tsp)

1.25 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, chopped in food processor.

1 cup (4 oz) pecans, roasted and coarsely chopped in food processor and salted. A mixed salted nut mixture also works, but peanuts overpower the taste and almonds are too bland.

1 cup dried sour cherries, chopped coarse in food processor (can also use cranberries or raisins although I’ve not tried it)

3 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped into chunks about the size of chocolate chips (3/4 of a 4 oz bar of chocolate found in baker’s aisle) or 3 oz semi sweet chocolate chips.

4 tbs softened butter, salted or unsalted (I always have salted and use that)

0.25 cup applesauce

1.25 cups packed brown sugar, preferably dark

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Measure flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into small bowl and whisk together. In second bowl, stir together oats, pecans and cherries.
3. In standing mixer fitted with flat beater, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until no sugar lumps remain, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula; add egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low speed until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl; with mixer running at low speed; add half of flour mixture until just combined. Add applesauce and then the rest of the flour until just combined. With mixer still running on low, gradually add oat/nut mixture; mix until just incorporated. Put in chocolate chips or chunks and give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that flour is incorporated and ingredients are evenly distributed. (We have a mixer and use it. If you do not, just use fork to cream butter and sugar together, add egg and vanilla and mix. Add some flour and mix, then applesauce and the rest of the ingredients. It is a fairly thick batter.)
4. Dump batter into a pyrex 13x9x2 pan. The batter will have to be pushed into the corners with spatula and smoothed out. Bake for 15 minutes then rotate. Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until edges are slightly browning and the rest of it looks set. Run knife around the edges.
5. Cool on wire rack for 30 minutes. Cut 5 x 4 with knife or pizza cutter at this time. I usually pull them out onto the wire rack to cool more completely and get a lot of the moisture out. Store out of the fridge for a week. Otherwise can be frozen.

Nutritional analysis:

Calories   221
Calories from fat 85
Total Fat (g)   9
Saturated Fat (g) 3
Cholesterol (mg) 17
Sodium (mg)   160
Total Carbohydrate (g) 33
Dietary Fiber (g) 3
Sugars (g)   15
Protein (g)   4
* Vitamin A (% Daily Value) 4
* Vitamin C (% Daily Value) 3
* Calcium (% Daily Value) 3
* Iron (% Daily Value) 10

Tips from the Captain:

Based on “Ultimate Oatmeal Cookie” from Cook’s Illustrated 5/05 issue. I wanted nuts and dried fruit with a salty/sweet oatmeal base for my sports bar.

I got the salted roasted pecans and dried sour cherries at Trader Joe’s.

Happy Baking Team!

Do You Have the Post IronMan Blues?

So you’ve spent the better part of a year training for an event that is one day of your whole athletic career. You live and breathe this event. You plan workout schedules, travel schedules and every meal, snack, and gel. There are people in your life, that you don’t live with, who are not into your sport, who have forgotten what you look like. So the day comes and the day goes, you get home and two weeks later it’s like there’s something missing, a void, a hole and you just aren’t motivated by anything. You’ve got the Post IronMan Blues! This condition applies to all types of keynote events marathons, triathlons, ultras… whatever your “A” race for the year was.

How do you tell if you have the Post Ironman Blues?

After a big race people can often feel a whole range of emotions once the initial high wears off. These emotions can often be negatively associated and include things such as sad, depressed, unmotivated, bored, moody, weepy, restless and grumpy. This is all normal and can be a sign that your body is not yet recovered. Even though you may be physically feeling okay there is still a lot of physiological breakdown going on.

How do you treat a case of the Post Ironman Blues?

Now is a great time to start thinking about 2015 goals and working on your bucket list of races. That doesn’t mean you need to commit to anything but just have some fun looking around and dreaming a little. Having a future event or goal even if it’s just an idea at this point will help combat the mental slump you might be in. Other Post Ironman treatments include:

• Sleep – It’s okay  to let your body recover and don’t feel guilty. You have earned this!
•  Fuel – Post race you will need to eat a diet a  bit higher protein and fat than you would expect. Make sure you are fueling to allow recovery. Your body needs calories to repair itself. Gradually revise your diet over the weeks after a race to meet your current activity level.
• PLAY! – This is the time to do things you did not have time to do when training…take a yoga class or time to stretch, join your friends at the gym for a social workout, hike, be outside, spend time in the garden.
• Connect -Invest time in other areas of your life…spend time with your spouse, children or friends you did not get to see enough of. The gift of time is precious as we endurance athletes know. Plan a special day for someone who cheered you on through training ride after training ride, bad days, flat tires, heaps and heaps of dirty workout clothes and rang the cowbell like crazy on race day!
• Organize –Once you are rested do some cleaning or organizing you did not have time for when you were training. Catch up on all the ‘real life’ things you tabled while you were training. It will feel good to cross things off the to do list!
• Pamper!  – Get a massage, go out to dinner and movie, wear non-workout clothes for a whole day, pamper yourself a bit. A little bit of TLC can go a long way.

Take some time and don’t jump back into training full time right away. Treat your body to the recovery it deserves and you will reap the benefit of all the hard work you put in.

 

Baby It’s Cold Outside: Being Prepared for Winter Runs

Happy snow day Seattle!  It seems that winter is officially upon us and that means preparing for a whole different kind of running scene. In the summer it’s easy to dress yourself and think I’m too hot let me take off a layer. The winter however posses a unique challenge in gauging your body temperature.

One of the most common mistakes runners make is over dressing. It it important to pay attention to the conditions before you leave for a run and that means checking the numbers. If you are outside and all bundled up and think I’m comfortable now but going to be freezing in my running gear, take a quick look at your phone. Sometimes its 45 to 50 F outside and you will for sure be too warm after your first mile. This time of year can be deceiving. The same thing happens when its raining. Wet doesn’t always mean cold. It is very tempting to want to wear your running jacket in the rain but that can quickly lead to overheating, negatively affecting your run.

Jackets have their place and that is often when the temperature dips below freezing or in cold weather with strong winds. Remember the wind chill factor can make the temperature feel 10 to 20 degrees cooler than it is. The key to dressing success is layers. You will want to layer up not layer down. Start out a little lighter on clothes than what you would be inclined to put on and add to that as you run if you are finding it to be chilly. You do want your muscles to be warm and comfortable in cold temperatures (take a long warm up, be sure your are fluid before starting the meat of a workout) but you don’t want to start out over dressed, sweat and then remove layers as you will chill quickly. Getting chilled can not only cause a bad run but be dangerous if you are out on the trails or far from home. When thinking about layering consider clothes that wick well. Again in the summer when we notice how much we sweat it’s easy to be sure we are wearing well fitted, wicking clothes..who wants to deal with all that chaffing right? But its even more important in the winter. Staying dry and having clothes that breathe is essential. In very cold temperatures wool blended items can be very good for this purpose but again be sure you look at the conditions or you could overheat.

It is often good to think in terms of intermediate clothing choices. For example keeping your feet, hands and head warm and dry are key to regulating your entire body temperature. For cool days (around 40 degrees) perhaps a short sleeve with 3/4 tights, gloves and a hat will keep you comfortable. For cold days a fleece hat can be a great choice because it will wick well and keep your ears covered. If you are going for a long run in the cold weather and have a place to swap gear an extra pair of gloves is a great thing to leave with your water bottle. Gloves often tend to get soggy and don’t dry out, leading to cold fingers midway through a run. The magic one size fits all gloves you get from the dollar store are great for this because its not such a loss if they get taken.

Other great layering choices are half zips that can be worn with either long or short sleeves as a base layer and 3/4 tights. Both lend well to layering and allow a variety of options. Compression socks or calf sleeves can be a nice addition to shorts or 3/4 tights for extra protection with a little extra benefit as opposed to full tights which don’t allow you to adjust your wardrobe. In stead of wearing a jacket in most cases a light weigh running vest will serve you well. It is a good item to have for  a little extra core warmth but also for wind protection. If you invest in a running vest be sure to get something in a bright color that is reflective to help you be seen in the dark.

If you are running from your car be sure to pack an entire change of clothes for after your run. Ladies that means your jog bra too. You want your body to be comfortable as possible at all times to avoid illness and speed recovery. Being cold and wet even with the car heater on will not do you justice. As a post run treat leave a thermos of warm tea or water in the car to help warm you up from the inside out. Hydration is a lot harder to remember in the cold weather but is just as important as when it is hot outside. You lose water not only from sweating but also into the cold dry air just from breathing.  If you pack a hand held use room temperature water instead of cold or hot from the tap. It will help your body maintain equilibrium in cold conditions.

In the winter it is important to also carefully select your course based on the temperature and conditions. If there are high winds be sure to avoid exposed courses such as Lake Washington Boulevard and forested trails (falling branches can be dangerous). Instead pick a nice neighborhood route where the houses will provide some shelter. If you are going to go trail running consider the snow level and that while it may be fine at the trail head the higher you go the greater likelihood there is of snow. Trails that are familiar in the summer can become quickly unrecognizable in the snow. Always be sure to let someone know where you are going, what time you leave, when you expect to be back. The same thing goes for running in the city – stay in well populated, bright areas and let someone know where you’ve gone. We also highly recommend taking a buddy – not only does it help with safety but it great for motivation.

So get outside this winter, run smart and have fun!

So It Wasn’t Your Day: When Race Day Goes Awry

You trained and prepped and waited. Hell you even survived taper week. You put in 9 months of sweat equity, stepped to the start line and the sun, the moon and the stars just didn’t align. Now what?? Do you finish? Do you quit? Cry, laugh, swear, or all of the aforementioned?

We can prepare you to start the race, we can teach you strategies to mitigate changing circumstances during a race, we can even help you set up a pacing plan, but we can’t run the race for you. Only you know what’s happening step by step, mile by mile. You are in the drivers seat watching the control panel, constantly running systems checks… heart rate, pace, energy level, stomach, hydration, altitude. Houston we have a problem….

So you’ve hit a wall, run up against a challenge. You can’t quite finger it but your training kicks in you don’t think you just seamlessly adjust. Systems check… the warning sirens have quieted. Perhaps you changed your stride, adjusted your pace, ingested more calories, or even pulled over for a pit stop. One more mile, two more miles… but your body just isn’t right. You know what an off training day feels like. You can tell good pain from bad pain (I know right who makes that statement right?). You know this isn’t the best of the worst. You are going to have to make a call. Do you keep going and hope its nothing or do you trust your gut and start planning your exit?

No time for emotions now that comes later…you start asking the hard questions? What does it mean to me to finish? What does it mean to my body? Am I going to cause lasting physical damage? What’s my end goal? Why did I show up today in the first place?

Competition is a milestone on the training timeline it is never the end all to be all. All the work that went into preparing for the event is the real medal. Sure it feels good to cross the finish line and run home to post to your Facebook. But what does it really mean if you didn’t respect your body to get there? You only get one body that has to last you a lifetime. That means a lifetime of races, walks with the dog, bouncing your kids around and dreaming up new adventures.

So you pull up. You know you made the right choice but it doesn’t make it feel any better. You can’t help but to ask yourself again was I being weak? Did I quit for the right reason? So maybe you laugh, maybe you cry, maybe you curse the fates. But in the end trust your gut. You have just gracefully embodied the best of a mature endurance athlete. You took the long view.

So now what?

Regroup. Move for the pure freedom of it for a minute. Then you try again. So you put you first, it was hard and it left you hungry but congratulations because next time not only will you be healthy but you will come to the start with a fire in your belly you may never have known you had.

Go get it!