Today marked yet another disheartening day in the world of sports and the fight against doping.

WADA sure does have its hands full these days.

Todays news of Alberto Contador losing his 2010 Tour de France title makes me wonder… Is this how runner-up Andy Schleck wanted to win his tour title, 2 years after he came in second to Contador?  It must feel like a sullied win of sorts.

Not to sound too preachy, but we all know that doping takes away from everybody’s win, and that runners up are muddied by the scandal.  Can we do better?

Follow these links to see the strong  movement within USA Track and Field  and  take the “win with integrity” pledge.  Sure, you laugh at it.  But where else do we start this dialogue on the grassroots level?

If you coach youth, adults, yourself, or your poodle, you still need to go follow these links and to mull it all over.  And next time you see somebody cheating on the TRI course, speak up and make your voice heard.  No revolt means no progress.

http://www.usatf.org/about/legal/antidoping/ZeroTolerance_actionPlan.asp#2

http://www.usatf.org/About/Programs/WinWithIntegrity.aspx

http://iaaf.realwinner.org/Cases.aspx

Joel Saget/AFP/Getty ImagesLuxembourg’s Andy Schleck, right, who finished second at the 2010 Tour de France to Alberto Contador, stands to be elevated to victory.

A 2010 Tour de France title will go to Schleck. I wonder if a handed-down victory tastes as sweet?

Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tips
©TriStacey Coaching

http://straightsets.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/djokovic-tops-nadal-in-five-sets-to-win-in-australia/

Now I say that’s some $#^$@! tenacity for you!!  …

Today at swim practice, one of my lane mates said something to me that swam around in my head all day.

He had noticed that I buried my lanemates but that I kept talking with coach Becky about my stroke mechanics, wanting things to be proficient and smooth, precise, flowing, and together.   He said, “Well, don’t you reach a level where you don’t have to think about form.  I mean, you can just do?

Well, not exactly, I replied.  At least not for me.   So here I am, forced into retirement by blowing apart my foot and learning to power walk again.  But on a larger level, it seems insane to me not to grow as an athlete, to challenge myself somehow and to display what’s left of my determination and tenacity.   Who could ever take for granted form, fluency, skill, grace, and the power to win?   And who could ever let it go completely?

When I look at professional and amateur athletes alike, what I see in the greats is a magic elixir of perfectionism, talent, dedication, hunger, confidence, and tenacity.

Smile against the sea monsters

A friend who saw some race photos yesterday commented on my swim photos. “But you are terrified of dark water, why are you smiling!??”

tenacity

Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tips
©TriStacey Coaching

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 Tips
©TriStacey Coaching

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_(muscle)

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 Tips
©TriStacey Coaching

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)

Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tips
©TriStacey Coaching

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!

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

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

Something I have been wondering about for quite some time is whether endurance sports makes one’s metabolism more efficient? It’s probably an advantage during a long race if your body doesn’t require as many calories as the next guy to keep on going. Maybe this even helped me in my past races.

Or maybe it’s just my age making my body require less and less calories. I am almost 49 years old, and each year I need less and less food.

True, I have been working out less because I have been throwing myself into my career. Certainly that is a big factor. Still, I have to wonder – if I switched up my workout plan to do something like P90x instead of all the swimming and biking and running, maybe that would rev up my metabolism. My weight has been gradually creeping up this year and I am way beyond good racing weight.

Here is my Loseit.com log for Christmas day (click to enlarge):

December parties, cocktails, and calories… What’s an athlete to do??    Well, split the difference!

One athlete I coach has a famous line , “Put the fork down!!”   In her silly,wise words, Martha is absolutely right:  We can have our treats, within reason, but we have to make cuts in other areas of our eating.   Now I”m not saying trading cookies for bananas is a fair trade,  but ultimately calories in and calories out make for one very simple equation.

My friend and sponsor Cid Cardoso Junior of Inside Out Sports has told me that he NEVER gains off -season weight and instead  thinks it is easier just to be level-headed and level weighted year-round.   No wonder he is a lean, mean, fighting machine year round!!

Tis the season to have fun with friends, drink, and eat.  But it’s also the season to do so within reason and to be mindful.  No need to party multiple days in a row, but once in a while is ok.  Letting go and enjoying your life is a part of life balance, but no need to make it a habit! ; )

For me, little tricks include sparkling water, no seconds, and enjoying party food within reason.

It’s not to soon to think about next year and race weight.   Have you made your goals yet?

elf cookie

check out:

http://holisticguru.blogspot.com/  great podcast coming this week, y’all!  My favorite sports nutritionist and member of my performance team!

Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tips
©TriStacey Coaching

Hello, and thanks for the tips and 1st hand information on your training blog.  I love soaking up other people’s experiences and knowledge.  I have question that nobody in my local triathlon club seems to know or want to answer.  Because there are only 9 official IM (full length) events in the US, and they sell out in hours, if you are planning on doing one, it could potentially be 18 months from now before your race.  But, there are other events, such as the Revolutions3 140.6 race in Sandusky Ohio.  If you complete that, do you still consider yourself an Ironman, even though the sponsor is different?  I would like to think so, but as much effort that goes into training, I would hate to think that I had a Barry Bonds-esque asterisk beside my name until I completed an IM branded event.  These are the things that go through my mind on my long runs.  I know you have more important things to do than answer stupid questions like this, but I believe I’ve run out of people locally to ask.

 Here was my Answer to Jason:

Thanks for writing.  I think that’s a great question!  I did a non-branded Ironman race and I 100% consider myself to be an Ironman. I did the distance. I suffered through the pain. I’m an Ironman and damn proud of it.

However, I did not get the M-dot tatoo. I made my own tatoo design with a 140.6 on it. Mostly because I didn’t want folks asking me “Which Ironman did you do?” and then I’d say “Beach 2 Battleship”. To which they would probably say “Oh, never heard of it.” Unless you are from NC, you may not have heard of that particular race. But it is a full iron distance race, so I’m an Ironman!

Well, that’s my two cents worth! I’d be happy to post your question on my blog and ask readers to chime in.

So, what do you all think?