Race Awards - my thoughts and my favorites

We are excited to welcome a new triathlon to town - the Off the Rails Sprint Triathlon in Roanoke on May 31. The organizer was asking our local tri group about suggestions for top awards, generating considerable discussion. It got me thinking about the race awards I've collected over the last four and a half years and what I have liked the best.

I'd have to say my favorites are in the top photo - engraved stones from the Bath County Sprint Tri and Giant Acorn (both in Virginia), and the teak plaque from the USS North Carolina presented at Beach2Battleship, a full and half in North Carolina. I tend to like natural materials and things that are tied to the event or area.

It's also important to have the event name, date, division, and placement. That seems like a no-brainer, but not all of them do. 

The collection I have (partially shown above) includes trophies, bobble heads, plaques, trivets, coffee mug, travel coffee mug, wine glasses, water glasses, wine carafe, yoga mat, arm warmers, and socks. At this point I have plenty of drinking vessels. 

As much as I'd like to say awards don't matter at all, I must admit to a certain satisfaction as I pass by these shelves in the bedroom. They serve as tangible reminders that the daily efforts and choices add up to accomplishments - in racing and in life. Even so...I don't need LARGE reminders. Small reminders, taking up little shelf space, are just fine ;-)

If I could keep only one thing from each race, it would be the race bib. It was along for the whole journey and not just awarded at the end!

I'd keep the flags from worlds too.

I also like the collections from the races I have done in consecutive years - like my season-opening race at Smith Mountain Lake. I think it's nice if a race sticks to an award design like this year-after-year.

Still one of my all-time favorite awards was a series award from Virginia Triathlon Series - a customized bag with the VTS logo and our name. This has been my transition bag and gym bag, through thick and thin, for years!

I get a kick out of my Sharpie-d award below, with the age division corrected, and its neighbor with the paper printed label. Hey whatever. And in a shout-out to all my readers in the male 11-13 year old demographic (which would be none...not even my two kids read this), I have provided "banana for scale."  Yes, that is a plastic banana. Thank you to Spencer and Grant for introducing me to that valuable measuring concept.

.

To summarize my suggestions for those tasked with ordering awards, I would offer:

• Tie the award design to the event or area
• Include event name, date, division, placement
• Keep them small - we are adults. It's just a token reminder of how we finished. We don't (shouldn't) need lots of stuff (or any stuff).
• Keep the awards similar from year to year
• And if you are awarding beer or wine glasses, consider providing the beer or wine to go immediately into the glass ;-)

And then there are t-shirts....that's a WHOLE other conversation for another day....

What are your thoughts and your favorite awards?

Out season gym time: Functional Movement Systems

Among my out-season gym goals are to (1) fix weaknesses and imbalances and (2) add in core work. I wasn't sure how to approach either. I didn't really know for certain what my weaknesses were (though I had guesses) and I was a little overwhelmed by all the options for core work and the mixed opinions on what is worthwhile and what is a waste of time.

I mentioned this to my trusty runner friends Carla, Kristen, and Michaela at the Weight Club, and they suggested I talk to the fitness coordinator and trainer there who has experience in Functional Movement Systems - DeWayne Moore. He had helped others to retrain non-optimal movement patterns that had led to injury. I contacted him for help, not knowing what to expect.

I should preface this post by saying that my first years in the gym (early 90s) were as a competitive powerlifter. So for me,

gym time = moving heavy weights to failure

I like heavy stuff! I was not prepared for how challenging things could be just dealing with my own body and no (or little) extra weight.

My first meeting with DeWayne involved a battery of tests to evaluate my movement and flexibility. I had to follow directions (a challenge lol) to lunge, step, squat, and move arms and legs various ways multiple times as he evaluated my movement patterns. The idea was to prioritize issues and address the most pressing ones first -- for me it was core and shoulders first, and we've since moved more to core and hips.

DeWayne prescribed a series of stretches and movements that became my "homework" until the next meeting where he would reassess. Thus began this sequence of evaluate - prescribe - retrain - re-evaluate.

(I have not read up on Functional Movement Systems at all aside from finding the link; I thought it most useful to present my raw interpretation of the process.)

The movements I am doing require simple equipment - like a mat, foam roller, stretch cord, stability ball, pvc pipe, and small free or cable weights. The trick I am finding is doing them correctly, breathing "normally" and using my core down to my glutes to stay stable. Otherwise, if I don't, I'm just letting the strong stuff continue to bully the weak!

I thought I had a pretty vast "library" of exercises after all these years at the gym, but 80% of the things I have learned from DeWayne I had never done before. I'm learning too that the nuances really matter - the direction your toes are pointing, alignment of knees, and maintaining a flat back and engaged core.

I am appreciating just how important flexibility is. I was struggling to maintain alignment in an overhead squat holding just a token 5 lb plate. After taking a few minutes to stretch the soleus and shoulders it was noticeably better.

Retraining the body requires a few tricks. My right knee has a tendency to collapse in -- a fact I have since noticed is also an issue on the bike. When I am doing things like split squats or step-ups, I am using a band around that knee (top photo DeWayne is helping with this, but it's anchored to an upright when I train alone) that pulls the knee inward, causing a natural tendency to then keep it out. Cool trick!

To summarize, I am doing a lot of....

....stretching and rolling (takes time to do it all right)

 owww

...asymmetrical movements that require the core to be on task to stay balanced

...and movements that demonstrate my lack of balance and lower leg stability ;-)

(me not falling over)

All kidding aside, I'm really enjoying this change up from my old gym habits. It feels good to be doing things with a purpose and seeing and feeling results. And if the regular bouts of sore glutes serve as an indication...I'd say things are working. My lazy butt and lazy core have received notice that the vacation is over!

(Photo credits: Bryan Walsh)

It's not always smooth sailing

This morning I had a time trial at the pool and the results were not as I had hoped. While it was just to establish an early season baseline, and I had no illusions of being in peak shape, it was significantly off what I expected. I was not happy.

Frankly, it's been a rough go lately.

I started back running on the 1st with mixed results. My early run/walks and treadmill runs went fine but then yesterday my old friend, the quad problem, resurfaced when I hit the hilly roads.

On top of it all, energy levels are low for me, and gone is the second wind I usually get after dinner. 

Times like this, I remind myself "triathlon is a lifestyle." I know that means it is for better and for worse. Triathlon is not always about feeling awesome, firing on all cylinders, and kicking butt. Sometime it's about learning to persevere when things are rough. The bottom line, we are still swimming and/or biking and/or running and they are all positive things for minds and bodies.

It's still frustrating sometimes.

What is most important to me about the sport is to be in this for the long haul. To do that requires weathering the frustrating parts, like now. They are part of it. Andy Holgate of Can't Swim Can't Ride Can't Run, Sheila Plemich of Mind and Body of Iron, even Leanda Cave attest to that through their writing about the ups and downs.

I am sharing this because I post a lot about all the upsides of the sport, when things are all clicking. But it isn't always that way. The archives reveal that I have had a number of challenges along the way - IT band issues, two broken fibulas, posterior tibial tendonitis, shoulder impingement, drop foot - but this quad issue is setting the record for hanging in there.

I will persevere, and focus on all that I can do. That includes addressing muscle firing patterns, balance, and core at the gym. That means dialing in my nutrition and bumping up my D3 to get through the winter. That means getting needed rest. That means getting back on the Vasa Swim Ergometer and restoring lost swim power. That means enjoying what I can do in the water, on the bike, and on my feet.

Just the process of writing this has been helpful to restore the perspective that was temporarily lost as I looked at the clock from my swim lane, and was flooded with feelings of disappointment.

I will be tougher than my frustration.

I wonder how much of this is just winter itself? Ugh. I almost titled this post "Winter Sucks"!! (Except I still want ONE good snowstorm.)

If you are feeling some winter frustration along with me, hang in there. Let's do what we can do.

Endurance Film's 'RIDES: Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains' Indoor Trainer Video

Late last week I got my copy of RIDES: Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains. I watched it once from my couch (which felt like the equivalent of watching Biggest Loser while eating ice cream) so I was excited to officially fire it up from the bike trainer, as intended. My in-house IT specialists (coincidentally, also my offspring) waved their wands and via the wonders of AirPlay and AppleTV, RIDES: Virginia was conjured magically upon the wall. Very cool. I put on my Runwell kit (but did forgo the Rudy Project helmet that I love and wear all the time for outdoor cycling) and settled in for some work.

Endurance Films has gotten quite a bit of feedback from athletes remarking this is the toughest RIDES cycling workout yet. And as a member of the "peloton" that was in the video (see blog post on filming RIDES: Virginia), I can attest to the difficulty of the ascending intervals and tough pushes out of the saddle. The expressions on our faces in the video tell the tale. But misery -- and this was gooood, productive, strength and endurance enhancing misery -- loves company. That is the point of the RIDES series. It's to be a part of a group pushing their boundaries so you will push yours. You can see it in the body language, the eyes, the movement of the bikes, and you are inspired to work a little bit harder, to hold those watts a little longer, to rev that heart rate, and to keep cadence up long past when the mind says WHOA! Then in the warmup, rest periods, and cooldown, you are treated to some of the most beautiful scenery that the region has to offer. I would know, I ride these roads almost weekly and never tire of them.

If you are looking for a productive change-up to your indoor trainer workouts and want to be treated to scenery and routes from around the US, check out the RIDES series, and of course my favorite, Virginia :-)

The cat found my pedal stroke fascinating until it bonked her on the head....

 ...at which point she turned  her attention to systematically
disassembling a LEGO plane knowing I would not interfere while cycling

...which wore her out requiring a nap.
Which is what the RIDES video made me want to do.

...because this was me when I finished.

Happy Feet

The much anticipated return-to-running happened yesterday in nearly ideal conditions of upper 40's and a blue, cloudless sky! It was a 45 minute bout with a walking/dynamic warm-up and cool-down and 6 x 5 minutes of "jogging" with 1 minute walking recoveries. I felt like I could have run ten miles, and I probably could have, but I'd be paying the price today.

My legs have that feeling that they did something a little out of the ordinary, but nothing is sore, unlike Frazz:

What did I notice?

• Happy Feet! A spring in my step and lightness overall
• A shedding of anxiety with each step
• Some tightness in my right hip (must stretch pre/post)
• Zero complaining from my quad (yay!)
• Some tingling in left toes (related to quad...)
• An awareness of my core and glutes working - hopefully this is for real and due to recent gym work on muscle firing, strength, and flexibility.
• No problem running my normal aerobic pace
• Forgot to turn the Garmin off...I am rusty on procedure!
• Finished wanting more

Coach Jim is stressing "patience" now and I agree. The point is not to return to where I was, but to chart a new course to where I want to be.

Happy Feet to you all!