Training Decisions

Decisions. We all make them. For better or worse, we are constantly faced with situational dilemmas, directional options, moral quandaries, self-compromising considerations or self-propelling invitations. The array of decisions we make on a daily basis is endless and when attentive and aware any outcome is a good one. Either our decision was the best option all around (for you and anyone else affected by the decision) or facilitated an impactful lesson, which will be of benefit when similar circumstances arise in the future.

Ironically, an unplanned detour is often staged along our perfected paved road with massive unavoidable “caution” signs flogging the sidewalks. Congestion and road rage often ensue even though we’re not the one in control. Frustration, anger and denial fuels more internal angst. Surrendering to fate is a lofty deposition even though we know it is the enlightened reaction. With perspective, we may decide to chill out and accept that what will be will be, no shame, no guilt, and no attachment, just acceptance. No matter how disastrous the detour, the decision to let go for most of us becomes an attractive option. If you are feeling perplexed by reading this, you are enlightened and the rest of us are envious.

As athletes, we are driven to succeed at our sport. We are notoriously focused on gaining fitness, speed and endurance with every workout. We gain inspiration from the droves of athletes that surround us in our athletic circles to keep going strong. The decisions we face in training are seemingly simple to the armchair observer that sleeps when tired, eats when hungry, and moves as the earth rotates. But, in reality, highly functioning athletes frequently encounter mentally challenging complex puzzles to assemble thanks to the gravity placed on the potential outcome. If the said athlete is beyond the scope of reason, the making of a sound decision may warrant a third party mentor or coach to step in with perspective. If you can relate, you are not alone.

As the tulips bloom so does the specificity of my own training sessions. Without coincidence, so does the complexion of decisions I am faced with as it relates to training despite having a very solid program and long-term performance goals. Do I swap a glorious spring ski day with friends for a solo 4-hour bike ride with gloves and booties? Do I stay in Friday night resting for the big weekend ahead? Or do I keep my open-minded mentality and train with 100% given my time, energy, recovery and goals without constraints, rules or rigid ideals?

This train of thought led me to wonder why so many goal-driven and highly inspired athletes find themselves in a predicament when their training feels threatened and their goals appear in jeopardy. The reasons are many. The rational is rare. Here is only a handful of what I come up with. Please add.

· Predicament #1: Programs. Most of us follow a pre-determined training scheduled as prescribed by a certified coach. Decisions become complicated when we fail to recognize that a program is only a guide. It can always be (and should be) adjusted according to our recovery and motivation levels without guilt or fear.

· Predicament #2: Recovery. The inability to recover from workouts is often difficult to accept. If fatigue and stress progressively build, a forced rest is no longer option. Being decisive about necessary rest is often beneficial in the long run in contrast to unplanned and longer-term rest. The decision was made for you.

· Predicament #3. Injury. Injury interrupts the prescribed training schedule. At some point, a decision was made to keep pushing through the discomfort, telling ourselves it will pass, my physio will fix it, I’ll ice it down after the session, nothing stops us. Injury plays havoc on an athlete ridden with drive and the unwillingness to stop training. Again, the decision to push an overuse injury only presents one possible outcome: ceased training until the injury is healed. Why didn’t we stop when it hurt?

· Predicament #4: Trust. The lack of trust in our training seems to pose interesting decisions for athletes. For example: Should I add time to this ride, run or swim? Should I push harder in this set? Should I be doing as much as my training partners? Should I take a day off? If there was a plan in place for the workout, we love to change it for our ego not our fitness.

· Predicament #5: Peer Pressure. Training in a group fires a multitude of decisions. Route? Intensity? Workout sequence? Individual goals are often lost in the heat of a group workout. How does one always make the best decision in light of their goals without compromising the greater community good?

· Predicament #6: Nutrition. With energy output comes nutritional considerations in hopes of fueling the body with clean and nutritionally dense foods. Typically, the more active you are the more motivated you are to put healthy fuel in your tank. Decisions and options are many.

Any athlete remotely interested in perfecting their sport intends to make sound decisions that will reap speed and power. A conundrum is encountered when egos could be wounded, peer pressure seeps in and blinders cloud a vision forcing poor self-sabotaging outcomes.

Personally I am inspired by athletes achieving greatness in sport thanks to learning what works for their own bodies and recovery cycles. Some athletes may need 30 hours per week, some may need 10 but both perform to their potential. Check out this Triathlon Magazine on Sami Inkinen as proof of individualism and awareness: http://www.purplepatchfitness.com/education/articles/sami-inkinen-natural

This article is simply an attempt to inject perspective into decision-making and relieve everyone, including myself (especially myself), of the self-inflicted complexities of training decisions. When encountered with a training decision, I have always benefited with doing one of two things: 1) Call my coach, Jasper Blake, to discuss my options. Without fail, he sheds light and encourages the best decision. 2) Consider the big picture in sport and my long term plans. I ask myself, “Will missing this one run really affect my performance? Unlikely. Will training on my scheduled rest day help me be stronger for tomorrow? Unlikely. Will my friends, family and training partners think less of me if I sleep in today? Unlikely.”

Training decisions have been popping up in my little life since running around my neighborhood block in Keds™. My only hope and resounding intention is to become more proactive in the process instead of the other way around. The outcome is far more empowering when I make the decision instead of something somewhere with much greater power and no options to negotiate steps in.

Simplify the decision making process by reflecting on your long term goals and toss in heaps of perspective, chances are the answers become crystal clear coupled with heightened motivation and confidence.

Christine

Mount Washington Loppet 30 km - March 31st, 2012

As I scampered to seed myself with two minutes to spare before the start of the Mount Washington Skate Ski Loppet, I spot Silken Laumann. She was dressed in a bright pink technical jersey with a floral beanie. Her vibrant smiled glowed and her athletic build towered over her peers. Although geared up in cross-country equipment, she was not participating but rather cheering on the competitors and celebrating in the festivities. Having followed Silken’s Olympic career as a 3-time Olympic medalist including her 1992 Bronze medal when she inspired the world with courage, perseverance and hope after overcoming a devastating leg injury just 10 weeks prior to the Barcelona Games. This accomplishment was realized despite being told by doctors she would never row again.

Silken and I exchanged an enthusiastic greeting as though we were long time friends. Although I kept my cool, I was star struck and jittery with awe. Gratefully, this interaction injected more positive energy and focus prior to an event that was now starting in 30 seconds.

More inspiration came from one of Method’s personal trainers, Ashley Holden, who joined me on a girl’s athletic adventure and to offer moral support. Ready with her vocal cords, spirit and camera, Ashley was taking in the excitement of the race as well as making her own way through the trails once the racers would be long gone for the 30 kilometer loop. It was not lost of me that Ashley’s precious Saturday (normally her long ride day in preparation for the Kona Honu Half Ironman in June and Ironman Canada in August) was sacrificed to join me for this race get-away. Since we never stopped chatting, laughing, eating, moving and dreaming up our next “big idea”, it’s fair to say we both lucked out on a great time away from the regular routine.

This would be my third Loppet of the season and I was quietly confident in my ability to execute a strong race. For the past two weeks prior to the event, my body was firing on all cylinders. I felt recovered and energized with significant depth in my engine. What a difference this was to sensations I felt in late February and early March. Life seemed busy then and lingering fatigue had a strangle hold on my energy. Nothing feels worse. Mid-March, I made a conscious effort to increase my Omega 3, 6 and 9’s (Udo’s Oil), Vitamin D, Iron (Floradix) and Greens along with extra sleep and less commitments. Over time, the internal fog cleared and a new found skip in my step returned.

The start of a loppet is not dissimilar to a stamped of Bambi’s slipping on a skating rink using the herringbone technique. Occasionally, skiers will collide, trample, slip, lock gear and ultimately swear. It’s much like a mass swim start except more oxygen and a hard landing. Typically a steep hill separates the field from the front, mid and back of the packers. The Mount Washington race organizers planned it well and planted a steep ascent within the first 500 meters. This gave me a chance to find a rhythm and position myself with others equally matched in speed and fitness.

The course was unforgiving for the entire 30 kilometers. The first half offered up long false flats, extended climbs and one nasty hairpin turn. Small packs of skiers formed, working nicely together for the first 10 kilometers. I found myself with a few solid yet somewhat sketchy skiers offering less assistance than interference. I made a conscious decision to slowly pull ahead in search of an uncomfortably maintainable pace. The race course lapped back through the staging venue before jutting out to the Lake Approach loop. The terrain became far more undulating, curvy and technical within beautiful tree lined pathways and hidden turns. My mind was sharp, my lungs were pumping and my legs were burning. I was in the zone with almost no one in sight and no sounds behind me. It was only the last five to seven kilometers when my gas tank started to dwindle. As luck would have it, the universe planted a jackrabbit 500 meters ahead to chase. It was evident that he was losing steam since I gained a few extra meters with each climb. It pushed me that little bit extra until we finally exchanged positions and saluted our relative efforts. I never did thank him but hope someone returns the favor on his next race.

Without mile markers to indicate distance, it was only my internal clock and experience guessing at how much of the race remained. Finally signs for Raven’s Lodge appeared and race markers lined the snow. The sweet sound of crowds and cheering became louder and louder. And whom do I spot but Silken Laumann, standing on the sidelines yelping at me to “go go, great job”, smiling from ear to ear in support of all the racers. Albeit far from the Olympic Games, it was disbelieving to have Silken cheering for me under any conditions!

The course took us up a short climb before a sharp turn to the finish line. It was during this section that I found my thoughts drift to Ashley, wondering if she was still out gliding the trails or bored to tears in anticipation of my arrival. She was neither. Instead there she was at the finish, as she said she would be, celebrating my arrival as the first female finisher. Her expression read like a book as I predicted she would soon be taking up the sport of skate skiing with gusto.

Once my post-race cough wore off and the excitement of a hard effort, us girls piled into our car heading to the Ferry terminal. Once parked in our designated lane for the 3:00 p.m. sailing bound for Horseshoe Bay, the two of us yanked on our New Balance Minimus Zero runners and headed out for a short run along the Nanaimo marina. We were out, back and flushed just in time to start the engine and rolled onto the boat.

Post-race - Ashley & Christine on the Ferry!

Two bonus observations came up during and after the race. Jasper Blake, my coach and confidante, pointed out the first observation as we debriefed post-race: pebbles are in fact being tossed into my pitcher (reference: “The Crow and The Pitcher”) and slowly but surely, my strength is building and finally surfacing (as witnessed at this race). The second bonus observation was thanks to Jamie’s incredible cycling sessions when he asks us for a tempo effort followed by a challenging yet slightly under tempo effort. I liken this type of drill to that of maintaining momentum after cresting a tough hill climb. This is a true test of fitness, endurance and ability to recover from huge efforts. As I crested each Mount Washington hill, I felt gratitude for all the times Jamie pushed us a little further.

For anyone considering the sport of skate skiing, let me encourage you to test it out. The action has tremendous cross over to running, cycling and swimming as well as being the highest aerobic activity option on the planet. Nothing compares to gliding along the snow using powerful strokes and a strong rhythm. The undulation of the trails, the speed of the descents and the surround nature encompasses the sport of skiing. All your senses will be tested and hopefully set your stage for a fulfilling summer of sport and success.

Christine

Race results:

http://strathconanordics.com/loppet/

"Our mental strength is where our potential lies. How do we use our imagination to create our future?"
~ Silken Laumann