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.
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
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
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