Simplicity

For the past two months my mental and physical approach to training has been simplified. It is a shift that happened organically. I experienced a moment shall we say just after Ironman Lake Stevens 70.3 that inspired a change for the simpler. It’s hard to explain exactly how it happened but it was a pivotal moment and not really something I was sharing with anyone, until now.

As athletes, we rarely need help from anyone to judge our performance or set unrealistic expectations. The tapes replay and replay until something or someone grounds us and remind us that there is much more to life than sport, results and winning. And, that we are 100% complete with or without extra accolades. Yet, we tend to clutter, evaluate and question. To what end? Is all this questioning and complications vital to athletic improvement? It is necessary to always think and think some more? Somehow, I think not.

Mark Allen consistently relays his message to the sporting community (and beyond) since taping into his own serenity and limitless potential. After studying Shamanism and winning Kona six times, he believes the key to finding your “Zone” is to quiet the mind since even thinking takes energy. He says that during his athletic breakthrough moments his mind would go blank, he would become 100% engrossed in that specific moment completely at peace, uncluttered and ready to unleash a performance that he didn’t even know was within his capacity.

So with one big race left to go – Miami Half Ironman 70.3 (October 30th 2010) – I decided to let go of the “extras” and take one day at a time focusing on each training session, proper recovery and high quality nutrition to back it up. When the training sessions are over, I log it, learn from it and leave it. I structured a routine that was similar each week building on fitness and strength with each effort. Routine meant less thought was required. Routine also had the potential to lead to boredom so it was important to always inject some type of spice to session – a friend, a new route, a slight twist to the session or even a new playlist on my iPod.

The simpler my approach became, the less room it took up in the rest of my life. Train hard, recover harder and move on. Focus on what is important and get rid of the “extras”. For myself, some of the “extras” included rehashing the details about my training sessions with other people. I was tired of talking about it since each chat could turn into articulate evaluation and analysis of, well, me. Boring. And the reality was, all the talking, was not making me race any faster.

Taking a simpler approach comes up in everything. Like jumping in a cold pool at 5:30 a.m. in the morning. Some mornings I can stand on deck for a solid 5-10 minutes pondering the cold hitting my skin and reverberating through my body for the first few hundred meters. I stand there having a good look around, evaluating the situation and questioning how on earth I was going to get in this pool? Three lanes down, however, the eager swimmers were jumping in without even a pause to dip their toe for a quick test of the temperature. They don’t even think about it, they just jump right on in. Kids do the same thing. Simple.

Of course we do need to “think” a little in life so that we can conduct ourselves as competent, functional and organized individuals but maybe shift our thinking to what is fact, what really matters like our integrity and making important decisions. Maybe spend less energy (aka thinking) on judging our selves, questioning our path or evaluating every single move.

All of this has made my lead up to the Miami race intense, focused and very exciting. The work is done, there is no question. I am ready to race, there is no question. The sun will rise and fall each and everyday, there is no question.


Christine

Indigo Patch

Any triathlete that follows triathlon news or reads the odd Slow Twitch article or occasionally checks on race results has likely heard about Matt Dixon and his coaching business called Purple Patch.

purplepatch noun: A period of excellent performance, when nearly everything seems to go right, work properly, and is in perfect balance. Everything seems to fall into place and flows, making it seem like you cannot do anything wrong.

Personally, I love it. Not only has Matt defined his company with the epitome of athleticism, his business name is the holy grail of every single triathlete (and many other athletes) out there. Brilliant. Furthermore, he is delivering on his motto. 100% of the Purple Patch athletes (we hear about) have improved their performance dramatically. From Luke Bell, Chris Lieto, Lindsay Corbin, Meredith Kessler and umpteen age group athletes, they are seemingly all spending time in the Purple Patch.

While I am not under Matt Dixon’s guidance, I have read a fair amount about his coaching philosophy and his definition of the essential pillars for executing a stellar performance. Much of the Purple Patch belief system is founded upon optimal recovery practices, boasting superior metabolic health and having tremendous functional strength. Anyone can train hard but only the savvy few can recover and get stronger, believes Dixon. The message is simple: Be amongst that savvy few who recover from the training only to show up fresh for the next session. Sounds so simple yet athletes are constantly on the bubble with toothpicks holding their eyes open. I aspire to be amongst the fresh, ready, excited and motivated athletes that execute on race day and perform to their potential.

I have decided to call my patch the Indigo Patch. Sounds corny, I know, but it means something to me and is defined similarly to Purple Patch but with my own slant and meaning. It’s good to be unique. It’s good to have character in wacky and inexplicable ways. Just the words Indigo Patch make me smile. Maybe you’ll come up with your own patch, call it the Passion Patch or Chill Patch. Who knows and who cares? If your Patch is meaningful to you and illustrates excellence, health and vitality, you’re golden.

Stress really is a killer. No one is immune to the potential health risks associated with stress or the discomfort and anxiety caused by stress. Stress interwoven with guilt, worry or panic is an emotional, spiritual, and physical state of dis-ease. And yet, we all experience so much stress in our lives. Work, relationships, training, travel, bills, deadlines, commitments to others, shopping, organizing, the list of stresses are endless and the repercussions are rarely evident until it is too late. When it is too late, our bodies are in a state of metabolic unhealthiness. Our hormones are out of whack and our adrenal system stops cleansing our vital organs and unavoidable fatigue sets in. If you’re nodding your head - suffering, confused, unmotivated, lethargic then you have steered off course from your Patch and need to focus solely on rejuvenating your body and your soul. Find your Patch. Hang out there and rest until all systems are a-go and you are metabolically and emotionally ready to face the world again with gusto. Stress really is a killer but it doesn't have to be with a balance of rest and recovery with you in the driver’s seat.

Interestingly, tt’s been a month since I last wrote. Stress kept creeping into my life and distracting me from having the "presence of mind" I need for a decent journal entry. Where did all this stress come from you may ask? I'll make it brief since I do realize my life is not so special in the "Stress" department. In fact, I'm sure the Troops in Afghanistan would hazard to call my "stress" something quite different.

Here it goes just the same. Two races in One week – 24 hour Relay at Mont Tremblant and Ironman Syracuse 70.3 in New York – both of which required significant logistics, travel, multiple beds, meals on the fly, erratic sleeping patterns, work on-goings, performance excitement and, of all things, the arrival of a new baby girl (my niece) into our family on the last day of my road trip. The action and excitement was thrilling but almost tipped me over edge when trying to hang out in my Indigo Patch. More than once did I say to myself, “Be in Your Indigo Patch. Just Be There.” My motivation for being in the Patch was simply for others. I wanted to be an enjoyable person in the company of friends and family despite my swirling anxiety. On my last day, I yelped at my mother while she was driving like a tourist in her own city. She and I were both in a field of overgrown weeds and rattle snakes.

The 24-hour cycling event was every bit of stress worthwhile, times ten. Heck, I met Phil Ligget in the flesh at the opening party. Our 10-man Team Sunice had a deluxe campsite with an RV, designer chairs to lounge in, a stainless steel grandfather of BBQ's, a campfire, and a mobile massage therapist. I had the good fortune to ride the opening and closing laps for our team. Performance or final placing was clearly not a priority for our Team. I have since warned them that next year will be a different story and each one of those guys needs to invest in a Specialize Road Bike. The highlight was, of course, seeing my brother ride a road bike and witnessing the infectious camaraderie amongst everyone as a result of doing a ridiculous number of laps around a 4 km course with an 18% climb each lap for 24 hours.

Syracuse, New York was next on the itinerary as the destination for a 70.3 half-ironman race on September 19th. Having arrived four days before the race. I had loads of time to get to know the course and race setting. While I have no desire to return to Syracuse, the race brought out over 2000 participants. Goes to show how many people are concentrated in the State of New York. Race day was rainy, gray and very foggy which played havoc on the bike but inconsequential on the run. I placed 7th amongst the Professional Females and prided myself on excellent execution. But there was no time to celebrate. My sister-in-law was about to have her third baby and I needed to get back to Montreal.

Raphaelle was born at 9:20 p.m. that same night. She was perfect, healthy and 100% in her Patch of bliss. Sleeps, eats, poops, cries, stares and does it all over again. What’s her secret in effortlessly finding the elusive Patch? I want more of what she has. Goodness knows her parents won’t have much Purple or any other color Patch going on in their lives for a few years.

Once boarded the Vancouver-bound plane, I was in no hurry to do a whole lot of anything until the earth moved me. Sleep, rest and patience were my Modus Operandi. This would prove to be the yellow brick path to my Indigo Patch. Meet you there.

Christine