California 70.3 (March 27th 2010) It's All About the Swim

Spending any length of time in Carlsbad, San Diego is a seductive and surreal experience. As I rolled along the Pacific Ocean during a few final pre-race prep rides watching hundreds of surfers hop out of their pick-up trucks with their boards neatly tucked under their armpits, sporting muscular defining wetsuits on their sleek bodies, letting their shaggy bleach blond hair bounce freely and “BFR” (bare foot run) to join the other neoprene floating angels already waiting for the Wave, I asked myself, “Is this life real? Is this kind of perfection in weather, fitness options, lifestyle options, yuppie treats, free spirits, and glorious views conducive to living a purposeful and productive life with both feet planted firmly on the ground? Don’t we need to suffer more before we deserve such luxury and good fortune day in day out?” I would hazard to guess many of those surfer-dudes don’t spend an ounce of energy weighing their worth prior to enjoying a good wave. Note to Self, I say. Write it in pen: “Live the Moment, Focus on Now, Life is a Journey not a Destination.” I hate clichés. But all too often, they hold truth and power and I must confess, I used them all day long on Saturday, March 27th.

With the guidance offered by Bobby McGee’s book “Magical Running” (as summarized in my last Blog entry), I was feeling anchored, prepared and keyed up for Saturday. Britni Bakk and her husband, Warren, were my travel partners. Britni was racing in the 40-44 age group and gunning for a Kona slot. Her chances were almost 100% based on her exceptional fitness and track record at Oceanside. I was equally anxious to see her race and hopefully celebrate her journey to Kona. Britni and I have spent so much time together training and traveling to races that we calm, encourage and inspire each other. We bring out the best performances possible in one another and freely share our experiences, good or educational. Warren is the rock in her life (and visa versa) and serves as mine too during our racing excursions. Being in their company is always energized with laughs and respect. Their companionship made my experience and ability to hone my mental focus possible. One only hopes to return an ounce of such generosity.

With our prompt arrival at 5:00 a.m. on race morning, we witnessed athletes streaming into transition like a party was about to start. The announcer was promising a pristine day of sunshine, a cool ocean swim and a high of 73F by midday. My focused was on my bike set up, body marking, warming up and peeling on my wetsuit in good time for our 6:43 a.m. swim start.

Like cattle to the trough, the Women Pro were called to the start and allowed to enter by 6:37 for a warm up. Warm up? Warm up in 58F water? No thanks. Myself, Sam McGlone, Michellie Jones and Leanda Cave smartly conserved our body heat and waited until the last second to splash towards the start line some 200 meters away. Even then we had 2:00 minutes to tread water in anticipation. I found a nifty position (after visualizing my speedy start for the past 24 hours) right on Sam’s heels and only assumed I would stay with her for the entire swim. No such luck. I’ll need to visualize harder next time and gotta-wanna even more. Within the first 400 meters, the pack was split and I found myself in a pack of five swimmers. My stroke felt fast, strong and efficient through the water but upon exiting I glanced at the clock and saw that my time was the same as previous years. It’s all about the start in these swim. Note to Self.

California 70.3’s transition is no short jaunt. From the shore to our gear, the athletes run half a km down and back through the 2,500 racked bikes. If all goes well, you will re-establish some sense of equilibrium by the time you are ready to mount your bike. I was aiming for a sub 3:00 min transition time. Final time: 3:05. Darn wetsuit cuff was glued to my calf and those extra tugs cost a few precious seconds.

Triathletes, runners, and cyclists participating in races are blessed with a guided tour through beautiful landscapes and roads completely uninhibited by traffic. The California 70.3 race is rich in history with its surrounding communities and prides itself on a well-established relationship with Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and its Officers. The bike course loops through and around the Base Camp into areas normally close to public access. The course is technical and curvy for the first 40 miles then rolls over 3 major hills before a long flat straight-away back to the harbor and T2. My new Specialized Transition Pro was performing well. As the operator, I felt in control and strong, focused on efficiency and maintaining exceptional aerodynamics. Together, we worked hard to make up five minutes and pull into the lead group of gals. We bettered our time by one minute from last year having ridden the best we could after a solid winter of indoor riding and enduring minor distractions from small events such as the Winter 2010 Olympic Games in our hometown, Vancouver, BC. Our best effort was put forward and that was all we could ask for. We agreed to work on strength and power and use this as benchmark for more quality training and measurable improvements.

Coming into T2, the sun was beaming bright and we were in for a glorious sun-baked half marathon. Again, it is a country mile down and back through transition as we awkwardly run beside our misbehaving bikes with our clipped in shoes flailing around uncontrollably. As planned, my T2 was lightening fast. A quick yank of the racing flats sans bas (a trial) and I was over the timing mat in under 1:45 minutes. My first two miles felt light and quick – under 6:50 min/miles, but I knew a pit stop was in my near future. It was not urgent but it was necessary. Come mile three I dashed off course to make things right. While doing so, I surrendered two spots and only assumed I would make them back and more. With waves of strong energy, great rhythm and a high stride rate, I was covering some ground. I reeled in a few of the very fast swimmers and cyclists but not as many as I would have liked. Thanks to the winter strength work, my run form and carriage felt more in tact than in previous races. Coming into the last two miles, pain crept into every muscle fiber and cell. The exertion had caught up to me, physically and emotionally. No amount of Gatorade, Coke, Gel or cheering crowds would reverse my desire to end this effort and output. The final turn towards the finish line is always bittersweet. This time was no different. Sprint to finish. Pain to Glory.

My time was 4:47. 14th Female Pro. A personal PB at California by 7 minutes. An excellent benchmark for an early season effort. Best of all, my race execution went as planned with the exception of finding faster feet in the swim. My mind was focused and clear of clutter. My focus was narrow and directed at getting to the finish line as fast as my best effort possibly could. It’s a good feeling to finish a goal race knowing that you gave it your all and that, come next time, performance improvements are possible based on more practice, more awareness and the lessons taken from the previous experiences.

Britni was second in her Age Group (40-44) and snatched an Ironman Coeur D’Alene spot where she’ll undoubtedly qualify for Kona. She and I plan to spend a few days in Coeur D’Alene this Spring to ride the course and get her dialed for a solid Ironman race on June 22nd. Next on my race calendar is a half marathon in Montreal on April 18th, followed by a sprint Duathlon in Penticton on May 8th. These shorter races are geared to improve my speed and power. We’ll compliment these races with strength session and specific functional muscular recruitment drills (need a dictionary? I did.) We’re planning for PB’s all season long.

Christine

Visualizing Magical Experiences

It is one week out from the first race of the season, California Ironman 70.3. This large scale WTC event takes place in Oceanside, San Diego, routing the 2,000+ lucky racers along the Pacific Ocean Coast and through Camp Pendleton Navy Base (otherwise not open to public). This will be my fourth year racing at Oceanside but my first year with more specific half ironman fitness. Every year is a new experience but two aspects seem to remain constants: the ocean water is salty and crossing the finish line is forever gratifying (I can already taste and feel both…).

In my lead up to this race as well as in preparation for my season and half ironman racing goals, I was encouraged to revisit the mental aspects of my training and plunge a little deeper into this crucial and equally important component of racing and performance. It took little persuasion for me to delve in.

However, when you have not been doing something (aka: relaxation therapy, visualization, etc) on a conscious level with time set aside to specifically focus, it can be a minor hurdle to begin the process and to even know what is the first step. It’s so easy to procrastinate and find other things to do in place of mediation and writing out thoughts, feelings, sensations and experiences. All this stuff requires a presence, an “in the moment” mentality and deep look inside stirring around for all that needs attention. Who wants it? But, as I have recently noted, crawling through this tunnel towards the dim light at the other end is an interesting journey and warrants much more regular attention. Plus, they say it gets easier with practice and much less daunting.

Of late, my favorite reference for mental preparation and conditioning is Bobby McGee’s “Magical Running” (www.bobbymcgee.org) Even though it mainly focuses on the running experience, it can be applied to any sport, most easily triathlon. It takes the form of a progressive workbook dedicated to the magical experience (spiritual, emotional, mental and physical) of running and performance execution. Bobby emphasizes the process with little to no emphasis on the outcome or results. He teaches us to prepare the mind and thus the body for an ideal performance state prior to any training session or race.

The Chapter that gripped my attention, being seven days away from a race, is “Visualized Running, Seeing Yourself Run and Race Successfully.” Very simply put, visualization is to “see” how you achieve dream levels of sport by imagining the performance through the use of all your senses.

Bobby quotes some wonderful excerpts from top-level athletes. One in particular made the hair on my arms stand straight up. Bruce Fordyve, 9-time winner of the Comrades marathon (South Africa), shares, “So, two weeks before race day, I saw myself on 45th Cutting (a steep 5 mile hill to finish). I planned to strike there and get away from any pursuers. In my mind I pictured, heard and smelt the car exhaust fumes, the crusty sweat of my cheeks, sore stiff legs. I could hear the hysterical yelling from the crowds lining the narrow corridor that remained for the runners. I visualized what was required. What I imagined was an almost imperceptible but smooth increase in pace, the faltering of my pursuers and the gradual realization that I had stretched and then snapped the umbilical chord between myself and the rest of the field. On race day, an eerie déjà vu swept over me. I had been there before, it was happening just as I had planned it.”

Clearly Bruce had played this movie many times before in his mind. He planned for the feeling, sight, sounds, taste and touch of each move. He credits much of his victories to his mental preparation and successful visual cues and sensations.

Bobby outlines the key points for visualization:
· Visualize in the past tense. Believe you have already achieved the performance.
· Focus on action and process, not outcome. Flow, efficiency, balance, coordination, effortless, relaxed, rhythmical, etc.
· Form a routine to practice visualization (x minutes / week).
· Aim high and be realistic.
· Visualize in real time. If visualizing a mile, take the time to visualize every step of the mile. It may take x minutes to complete the exercise depending on how fast you want to run the mile.
· Always “see” success. Expect the best, prepare for the worst.
· Visualize from your true vantage point: inside yourself. Be the participant, not the spectator.

When I have successfully used visualization before past races, using all my senses has proven to be a very effective way to ensure that come race day, the experience is familiar. And don’t we all like familiar? Smell, taste, touch, sight and sound are equally influencing our minds and physiological response to potentially high stress circumstances. The smell of suntan lotion on the athletes in transition, the taste of my sports drink, the feel of the water temperature or light morning breeze, the sight of spectators, officials and athletes during the last lap of the run, the sound of the announcer’s encouraging voice coming through transition. If you play this movie over and over, come race day, you’ve seen it before through a positive, successful and familiar lens.

The Visualization Chapter also covers the process of clearing or de-cluttering the mind to perform, a step that many people many overlook not realizing how distracted they are with “stuff” in the life – bills, responsibilities, duties, etc. Various techniques are used to clear the mind and find focus for the task at hand. For example, you may share with trusted individuals who will listen unconditionally and/or you may list very specific responsibilities that you need to get done in the future and promise yourself to return to this list as soon as the task at hand is accomplished. The result is gaining control of your thoughts and creating calmness and space to unveil the performance for which you are prepared.

As goal driven athletes, we typically have lots going on in our minds and only feel gratified by doing something (or many things). Clearing the mind is a skill that requires practice similar to pedaling a bike, swimming a stroke or running a step. Note to self…

So in my last seven days before the race, I’ll be visualizing a successful race in California, tapping into all my senses and becoming more and more familiar with the movie that will play next Sunday. Of course, defusing past experiences (in the event they were negative) and removing any resistances are essential steps in the visualization process. Recognizing that the past is over and letting go is absolutely necessary to move forward with new and positive thoughts. With this freedom, the mind is allowed and open to focus on the race, the goals and the pre-recorded movie about a successful performance.

I’ll finish by sharing one more quote by Bobby in an article he wrote on his Blog called, “Effective Mental Training”. He says, “Self confidence comes not from success, but from an intimate knowledge of your own ability and being able to access that ability whenever you choose to.” Re-read this quote a few times and it will settle in with your true self and a renewed perspective on how great you are as an athlete and individual.

Christine
www.christinefletcher.com