Using Practice to Brake Barriers

Another great interview from IMTalk that stimulated a few thoughts. Nutritionist Dr Dan Benardot was interviewed about nutrition and was emphatic about the importance
of practice. While working with several Olympic runners, including Meb Keflezighi and Deena Kastor, he found that they did not like to eat prior to running. They said they couldn't do it. After a little practice they were able to eat before running. Some athletes said they couldn't consume more than a few ounces of fluid while running. After a little practice they were able to do it.

I've seen this fixed mindset in myself and others. If we can't do something the first time or second, we believe it's not possible. Cancer patients believe they can't eat because they don't have an appetite. Runners believe they can't consume the recommended calories during a race because it upsets their stomach. I fear that I will never master Motivational Interviewing because I struggle with it.

Typically the problem is a result of a failure to practice. I read a book on MI and I've occasionally looked back over my notes, but I have never deliberately practiced the skill. On the other hand, every Saturday I practice consuming calories each mile during my long runs in accordance with my race day plan. As a result, my stomach tolerates the calories I need to perform.

If you want to be better with confrontation, don't just read a book, practice it. If you want to have more confidence, develop a plan and practice it. If you want to learn any new skill, be intentional and practice it. Just because you can get by without practice today, doesn't mean you will be able to excel later. I can get by without practicing MI with most of my clients, but I eventually struggle with the highly resistant ones.

Weekly Quickies: Short Frequent Intentional Behaviors to Unconscious Habits.

Practice doesn't have to be long or arduous. 

Small behaviors performed frequently build exponentially. 

Try 5 minutes, if that's too much, try 1 minute.

If you struggle in the morning, try practicing in the evening

2014 Rev 3 Knoxville Half Ironman Race Report

Lots of wonderful data from Rev 3 Knoxville Half Ironman to process.  It's one of the reasons I love triathlon. There are so many variables, different ways to train, different ways to fuel, not to mention 3 different disciplines to prepare for, that provide me with a lot of mental stimulation. Unfortunately lots of data can also lead to making things more complicated than they need to be. Thankfully, Knoxville was a B race as I prepare for IM Chattanooga in September. 

My main focus since December has been to maximize my power to weight ratio in order to go faster. I arrived at Knoxville at my lightest weight in 20 years, which gave me high hopes for a great performance.

The day before the race I loaded up on carbohydrates with homemade Dulce de Leche. It’s high carb with minimal fat, protein, and no fiber. By midday, I was tired of all the sugar. I mixed in a few beets, mango slices, and a salad. Energy levels felt good, much better than previous weeks. As I laid down to sleep, I began reading a new book called Show Your Work by Austin Kleon. He writes about ways to improve your creativity and how to get noticed by others. One suggestion was to read obituaries as a way to refocus our minds on what really matters in life, to free ourselves from the insignificant opinions of others.

Race morning, I used that newfound sense of freedom to alleviate the pressure I was placing on myself to perform at a certain standard. At 3:45 am, I fat-loaded with kefir and heavy whipping cream. It was really rich, creamy, and satisfying. Tiffany and I walked to transition and bumped into Bruce and Robyn. It was nice to see familiar faces. I decided to pull up my wetsuit sleeves a little higher than usual after feeling restricted during our practice swim the day before. I also performed several arm circles to loosen up my shoulders. At 6:45 am, I tried a new pre-race drink called UCAN. It is a slow release carb that is supposed to help stimulate the body to burn more fat as fuel. The swim started fast, but I stayed steady and focused on building my speed, while maintaining some contact with other athletes and staying on course. Brand new goggles helped tremendously with sighting. After a third of the swim, I had no shoulder discomfort. I picked up my pace and focused on getting from one buoy to the next. In contrast to other races, this time I breathed primarily to my right side. I’ve noticed I don’t lift my head as high when I breathe to the right as I do when I breathe to the left and it helps me swim straighter. I was first out of the water in my division.

Transition was a little slow as I bundled up in preparation for clouds and rain. As it turned out, all we had was wind and hills. My confidence was high at the beginning UNTIL I started to get passed. I tried to keep up, but my legs were not responding. I had no power.  My mind went to a dark place. It reminded me that I need to practice more mental skills. I want to be more focused and confident in Chattanooga. Looking back, I’m realizing that I got a little greedy with my weight loss as I tried to burn more fat while training exclusively on fat sources (no carbs) during my last 3 long bricks. In retrospect, the last time I felt strong during a long brick was when I consumed my usual high carb drink. I should have listened to my body. My previous rule was to consume race day nutrition or slightly more during key sessions to insure muscle recovery. I arrogantly thought I could have it all. Lesson learned.

Once on the run, I told myself I could make up ground on the athletes that passed me. However, I first needed to visit the bushes to clean my bowels. I think it was a result of going too low on fiber Saturday. As usual, my legs loosened up at mile 3 and I found my rhythm. I imagined I was ITU star Gwen Jorgensen with a light, easy, smooth stride. (While relaxing on Saturday, Tiffany and I watched the ITU race in Yokohama. It was great inspiration from some of the fastest triathletes in the world.) In the beginning of the run, there were a few carrots/athletes to chase, but after I passed the turn around for the Olympic distance race, the number of athletes faded. When I felt good, I picked up my pace. When I didn’t, my goal shifted to relaxing my shoulders and keeping my hands down. I pushed to the very end as a means to turn around a difficult race and end on a high note. My run split ended up being the 2nd fastest in my age group and helped me to move up to 3rd in the division.

Based on my results from Knoxville, my goals for IM Chattanooga still seem realistic.  Although I plan to make a few adjustments to my training and nutrition from the lessons I learned.     

Inspiration - Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Jackie Joyner-Kersee was one of the greatest athletes of all time. She was an All American basketball player and a track & field star at UCLA. She was the first woman to accumulate 7,000 points in the seven event heptathlon and still holds the world record. From 1985 to early 1996, she won every heptathlon she entered. She has accumulated three Olympic gold medals, as well as one silver and two bronze. One of her bronze medals was won despite a torn hamstring. She also won the heptathlon title at the Goodwill Games despite having an asthma attack during the 800 meters race.

Life was not always easy for Jackie. Her parents were still in their teens when she was born and struggled to provide for their growing family. When Jackie first started compete in track, she finished in last place for quite some time. After experiencing some success, she lost her mother to a deadly bacterial infection when she was a freshman in college. Despite or maybe as a result of these struggles, she became the athlete we know today. Sports Illustrated for Women magazine voted Joyner-Kersee the Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th century. Jackie views her success as a "reward for all those hours of work on the bridle path, the neighborhood sidewalks, and the schoolhouse corridors."

Confidence and Fatigue

There is a phenomenal podcast on IMtalk with Dr Timothy Noakes discussing confidence and fatigue. He postulates that the brain functions as a central governor over the body to determine pain and fatigue. It's similar to Psychologist's Richard Lazarus Theory of Emotion, in that thoughts precede emotions and physiology. This is in contrast to the assumption that fatigued is due to physiological factors such as VO2max. Dr Noakes believes the brain anticipates what will happen in the future and tries to prevent biological harm. The key step is in the anticipation/expectation of the future. Confident athletes are going to anticipate more positive outcomes and keep the brain from worrying. Olympic marathoner Ryan Hall is convinced this is the reason for the success of Ethiopian and Kenyan runners. They expect to win and they don't worry about what is "physically" possible. Likewise, in emergency situations humans have accomplished some amazing feats because they were focused on what needed to be done rather than what was possible.

Doubt is thereby the poison that causes fatigue. In the 1989 Ironman, Dave Scott and Mark Allen were running side by side feeling strong and capable. With 3 miles to go, Allen opened up a gap and Dave stumbled. Doubt crept in and Dave was hit with a rush of pain. One minute he was fine, the next he could barely walk.  I experience the same phenomena every time I squat. When I am confident the weight seems light, but when I worry the weight seems heavy. In a meta analysis, confidence was the most consistent factor distinguishing differences between highly successful and less successful athletes (Vealey, 2005).

Confidence is also a great way to compensate for under-training.  I am a huge fan of slightly under-training to prevent injury, burn out, and maintain consistency. If an athletes gets to the starting line fresh and injury free, they at least have a chance. All too often people fill up their free time with more volume or intensity, which either helps a few percentage points or leads to injury. Spending more time on mental skills will help infinitely more and impart zero physiological damage.

The following are sources of Self-Efficacy according to renowned psychologist Albert Bandura:

Performance Accomplishments.  Past accomplishments help build confidence.  Refresh your mind of those accomplishments. In addition, create small realistic weekly challenges that allow for success. Lower the basketball hoop. Break a complicated task into manageable steps. Do Yasso 800s to predict your marathon time.

Vicarious Experiences. Watch someone model a behavior to see what is possible. No one ran a sub 4 minute mile until Roger Bannister. Then 46 days later another athlete broke the barrier with many more soon to follow. On a personal level, I saw a second tier female pro triathlete run a 3:19 marathon during an Ironman and it helped me realize I could do that.  A little chauvinistic, but it helped.

Verbal Persuasion.  Words from friends, coaches, or even self-persuasion builds confidence. Use a mantra, such as "Strong", to encourage yourself or say uplifting words to a friend. Likewise, having a Growth Mindset, by focusing on effort and not innate ability, turns situations into learning opportunities vs. failures. No one is born fully developed. No one does well in calculus on the first day. View yourself as a work in progress. You are beautifully created and there is nothing you can do to add or subtract from your intrinsic value.

Imaginal Experiences.  Use your imagination to visualize success, overcoming obstacles, or different sections of an event.  Revisit my previous blog on visualization for more suggestions.

Physiological States.  How do you interpret physiological states? Does a fast heart beat or shallow breathing mean you will not perform well. OR is it a sign you're ready to race and the body is sending blood to your muscles. Act confidently by keeping your head high, smile, and stand tall. People often think their emotions dictate their behavior. We're happy therefore we smile, however the opposite is also true. Our actions can affect our physiology and our emotions. Try smiling and see how it makes you feel.

Emotional States.  Happy athletes are more likely to be confident. Therefore do something fun or relaxing each day. Go for a walk, have a glass of wine, or call a friend. Another option is to practice Gratitude. Think of 3 things that went well each day and examine why. It will shift your mind from focusing on the negative to focusing on the positive. Focusing on the present moment can also help us be happy. By letting go of the past or worries about the future, all problems disappear. We can either do certain things right NOW or we can't. Become comfortable with the unknown and reframe it as waiting for a pleasant surprise. At the end of the day everything brings some amount of positive gain. In addition, accept your thoughts as just electrical impulses in your brain. Acknowledge that your thoughts are not facts and you cannot control them. Learn to observe them as harmless opinions. Judgement, of yourself and others, disappears when you see your thoughts as just opinions. They are not facts AND you do not have to act on them.

Longevity

As I am increasing in age and still wanting to perform at a high leveling, I realize I need to be intentional. Some people go out fast and fade, others take time to develop, while some stay strong throughout their life. I want to continue to grow regardless of my age.

While reading a biography on Albert Einstein, the author discussed the failings of great scientists who excelled in their 20s only to fade when they reached their 30s.  It was hypothesized that they no longer questioned authority and the status quo.  They became the authority and succumbed to the pressure of defending their positions & discoveries.  Einstein was no different. He became fixated on the notion that there must be order in the world.

I hope that I have the fortitude to periodically step back and question my beliefs and chosen path.  I hope that I continue to be optimistic and believe in a better tomorrow.  In order to achieve this path of perpetual growth, I know I must set aside time each week, each year, and be realistic with my schedule. Below are a few tips I've learned from athletes I admire.

Olympic runner Bernard Lagat, at age 39, just set a new US national record and a personal best in the 2,000 meters. He attributes his longevity and success to taking Sundays off and resting for 5 weeks at the end of the season.  He says it helps him refresh his body and mind.  Particularly now that he has a wife and two children.

Triathlon coach Gordo Byrn summarized his advice for success in the Ironman by "Gain control of, and simplify, your schedule." He suggests creating a simple routine you can complete each week that fits YOUR reality. "Qualifying for Kona is a huge investment in both time and emotional resources. Make sure it is fun and that you routinely schedule time for Joy."  Gordo says, "I meet too many athletes who think a result will bring them happiness. If the process is a burden then consider if your time is better spent elsewhere... Focus on removing mistakes rather than constantly adding stress."

Running legend and coach of Olympic Gold and Silver medalists Mo Farah and Galen Rupp, Alberto Salazar, has his athletes take 2 weeks completely off twice a year.  He also prohibits them from running on hard surfaces such as concrete or blacktop that inflict lots of muscle damage.

Each athlete seems to be intentional with their time and resources.  I like what Gordo says about being realistic and having fun, while focusing on eliminating the unnecessary instead of constantly adding things.  I've done that before and I run out of time.  I'm forced to cut corners that I wouldn't necessarily chose. Therefore chose at the beginning what is important and what is optional.  Currently, I create weekly goals, but I'm realizing I need to incorporate more longer term goals such as 90 days, 1 year, or 5 years.  In regards to off days and breaks, growth is a byproduct of stress and adaptation.  If I'm constantly stressing my mind or body without an adaptation phase, I'm going to get burnt out or fatigued.  Most of the time, my focus is on doing.  Intentionally creating down time provides me the opportunity to think and reevaluate. Thereby allowing me to stay on my desired path.