Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tip:
http://well.blogs...s-recognized-or-not/
I can't face another workout!
In last week’s New York Times article, Gina Kolota cited the limits of workouts and the struggles faced by all athletes: How much is too much? When do you rest? What is a challenge or self-destructive? What are the signals for needing a rest day, doing too much too soon, or to little?
“So how to avoid a self-defeating training program? There are no hard and fast rules, because individual athletes vary so much. A training program that one person thrives on will break another, equally talented athlete” she says.
EXACTLY, is what I say!!!
Now we coaches can’t easily get inside your cells and measure glycogen synthetase, but we certainly can and do study your other responses to training. Your training is your response to the questions we ask of you as coaches. We ask you how far, how hard, and how often and you answer us by your responses in mental fitness, attitude, skill, improvement movement patterns, race day performances, and lab results to name a few.
Seems to me that there is no perfect program that exists but that articles like this support the profession of coaching. It is our job to get inside your head, to study you, to listen, and to apply the appropriate amount of training stress as you make further adaptations.
Even better is it often our job to say NO to extra races, workouts performed when sick or tired, or training through small injuries in the hopes of overcoming them.
Be honest with yourself about your workouts; log them, study them, set fitness goals and achieve them. But learn first and foremost to listen to your body. It will whisper at first and then SHOUT at you later. Kind of like that coach you need to hire in 2012. ; )
Check out my new Wellness program in addition to multisport coaching. Make 2012 the year you ask for help in achieving your goals, however big or small.
Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tip:
TRI a horse?
Isn’t it interesting to sometimes look at training in other sports and the performance modeling that lays the foundation?
An equestrian friend of mine shared this pyramid last year, and it has swum around in my head as interesting, applicable, and yes, full of hors-isms.
First, I love how the base of the pyramid is rhythm. When you see a great runner, swimmer, or cyclist, you can be extremely sure that they have great rhythm or flow to their movements. In biomechanicspeak, an athlete with rhythm shows great economy of movement and efficiency. Maybe even beauty…
Second- relaxation. We all hate to hear that relaxing can help us go faster and smoother, but it’s completely true. Lock up one muscle group in your antagonistic pairings, and you can be sure that your movement is no longer relaxed or efficient.
http://en.wikiped...org/wiki/Antagonist_
Third- connection. OK, perhaps we need connection to our bodies and not the bit, but you get this one, right? One body. One mind. Move them together. Train both.
Fourth- impulsion. I”ll call this force of will for us. Will yourself forward in your motion and release that kinetic energy. You might not even stop until that finish line.
Fifth- straightness- I’ll equate this to posture and how you hold your body in space while doing all three sports. Without the awareness and functional strength to hold your body in alignment, how can you possibly imagine efficiency or speed? Does Chrissie Wellington slouch on the bike? Does Craig Alexander run hunched over?
Lastly, collection- To me, this looks like mindfulness. Collect your thoughts and physical actions for that performance.
Kabat-Zinn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwwKbM_vJc
Think this is a stretch? Good. Then expand your mind and let it stretch. : )
Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tip:
Kismet is a word derived from Turkish and Hindi-Urdu, meaning Fate or Destiny, a predetermined course of events evolved from Persian qesmat, from Arabic qisma
This past weekend, Renato Canova and Shaun Martin were two of the title speakers at the ADP distance running summit. Both have accomplished things in coaching you would find superhuman. Listening to their stories, it was clear to all of us that both were destined to become coaches…And as coaches, destined for greatness.
Through his thick Italian accent, Renato waxed intense and philosophical when speaking about coaching. He raised his voice and filled the room ” COACHING IS A PASSION, NOT A JOB. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE PASSION, GET OUT OF COACHING. GO DO SOMETHING ELSE!”
Shaun Martin expressed his passion for coaching differently. He and his runners in Arizona consider running an expression of faith, of passion for life and Eastward- facing devotion to their deities. And in many cases with life on the Indian reservation, running lends a hand in shaping their destiny. Running becomes a passage to the rest of their lives, a ticket off the reservation and out of poverty, into college, life, etc.
All of us left this summit thinking about how to become better coaches, if we were destined for the likes of their amazing success stories and how we can become students of our athletes. We are not simply teachers.
Does your coach have that passion that inspires you? Was he or she destined to coach as a lifestyle, a calling?
I joke all the time with my athletes that I don’t want their money; I want their souls. Does your coach have yours?
Shaun Martin – Chinle High School, Chinle, AZ / Wings of America
Renato Canova (Former Italian & Qatari National Team Coach)
http://distancesummit.com/Summit/Lecturers.html
A reader named Jorge writes:
Hi… do you have suggestion for me about my shin pain… i dont know what i need to do
My Answer:
Sorry to hear about your pain. It’s most likely shin splints:
http://www.sportsin...rleg/shinsplints.htm
Here’s an old post I wrote about avoiding run injuries (based on good
advice from my brother):
http://www.triathlo...t/runninginjuryfree/
You might also want to look up Chi Running or Pose Running to learn more
about proper run form to avoid heel striking and thus have less
injury.
Good luck! Don’t give up running, just find a way to work through it!
My hip hurt me for almost a year when I first started running. It
was partly due to just having to build strenght in the joints. Partly
due to running on the side of the road where it’s slanted, so one foot
was always on the low side of the road.
Carol
Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor or coach or anything, so use my advice at your own risk!
Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tip:
Will 2012 be the year that you kick your BUTs butt???
“I’d like to lose weight coach, but…”
” I was on pace to run ___ but then…”
“I could have been top in my ____ but…”
” I would have made Kona but…”
“I wish I had more time to train but…”
We all love to explain away our shortcomings and are quite skilled at it. It’s how we protect our egos, recover from disappointment, and cover up what might be a lack of preparation for achieving our goals. It’s part of being human and we all do it.. BUT…
What if this is the year that you listen to yourself and define what are your limiters. Listen to yourself in conversation with other athletes and listen for the BUT. Once you do that, you have the beginnings of your 2012 training plan. If you need an ear, hire a coach to listen for an hour or get yourself a great journal and get started! ; )
Coach Stacey on the hand cycle: reconstructive surgery, 8 weeks on crutches, blah blah blah. Could have eaten bonbons but….
I
- 11 miles was my record. Don’t tell me what I can’t do
In 2012, be an athlete who is satisfied but motivated to do more. Motivate yourself to kick your BUTs butt in 2012. No more excuses.
Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tips
©TriStacey Coaching
