You have been warned.    I don’t want any guys posting comments on this blog, or I’ll know you read this and I’ll be embarrassed.   And so should you!

Okay, here’s the story.   Whenever I have my period and am fixing to go for a bike ride, I use a tampon, and I jam the string “way up in there”.  Otherwise, the string, particularly the little knot part at the end, will really irritate my girly parts while riding.    And that causes me pain and will hamper my enjoyment of the ride.  I do have a sensitive girly butt.  I am guessing most females do.

Anyhow, whenever I do this, I think, oh man, I hope I don’t forget that I jammed a tampon  way up in there.  I never have forgotten – until this time.    OMG, I rode my bike on Saturday, and didn’t realize until Wednesday that I still had a tampon in.  I guess the good news is that I had some pretty good signs of the odoriferous nature that something was terribly wrong with me.     As I was taking a bath tonight after my spin class, I remembered the tampon and realized what was wrong with me.

Eww.  Gross.   Never.  Again.

More good news, I am still alive.

To be on the safe side, I think I’ll start doing something like writing myself a note on the bathroom mirror.    Is this a senior moment?   fml.

I’d love to hire you as a coach!  Then I won’t have to think!  I can just swim, bike and run!”

WHAT???

Last week, a potential client said this to me in conversation and it seems to sum up what many athletes think about once they are in a coach-athlete relationship.   Other coaches I talk to routinely say that they  bump up against this, so perhaps it’s time to get this out in cyberspace once and for all:

WE WANT YOU TO THINK!!!

Any coach wants an athlete who cares, questions, trusts and even obsesses.   We are in the profession of coaching because we want to see athletes develop and we cannot do this with just your bodies!   Of course we simplify your life by writing you a custom program and manipulating the myriad training factors of intensity, volume, training time, recovery sequencing, strength, speed, agility, peaking, racing etc.  But ultimately, we want you to train mindfully and to grow.   You need to hear our voice inside your head when you swim, bike, run and repeat. And you need to let a coach’s wisdom into your thoughts and actions.   Only then can you fully apply it.

What has your coach done to change your mindset, thoughts, and insight about about your training?

Ask.

Listen.

Think.

Apply!

2012 your best season ever

stacey@tristacey.com

Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tips
©TriStacey Coaching

In January 2012, two of my daughters did the Eno Equalizer race with me, which was put on by the Godiva Track club.   The race course is rugged four miles in the Eno River state park.  It is a scenic,  hilly trail  that includes crossing a swinging bridge and climbing a mountain!

It was an interesting race format.  When you arrive at the race site, you give them your estimated 5k race time.    Based on that, they assign teams of three, each with a handicap allotment of minutes.    Each team then decides how to divy out the handicap minutes between the three runners.   The goal is for the entire team to cross the finish line at the same time, and the team who has all three members cross first, wins.

When we signed up for the race, we thought we would be our own team.   At first we were disappointed to arrive on the race site only to be told the teams were random.  But, in the end, it turned out to be really fun and we met some cool people.

I ended up on a team with the gym teacher from my daughter’s grade school.   Laura ended up on a team with a woman who does 100 mile races.  Holy cow!    Becky’s teammates included the infamous “Monk” from the trailheads running group.

We were just in the race to have fun, and we didn’t win, but we all had  a great time.

Here are some pictures and a video:

Here is a video of the finish line – you can see all three of us cross the finish line at the Eno Equalizer.

I cross at 1:40 into the video;
Becky crosses 4:14 into it;
Laura at 7:18.

 Join the discussion on facebook by becoming a fan of FS Series and then posting your idea for a name on their wall!

Last month, I blogged about how I am very excited that FS Series is bringing back my favorite race venue at Jordan lake.     Why not join me in the pain fun and register for that race, too?!  :-)

PS…I have a Rudy Syton aero helmet (which they don’t sell any longer because the Wingspan is even cooler) and Rudy Abilty in pink shades.  I love them!    I got them a few years ago, and they are still in good shape (even the shades – i have never had shades that have lasted so long!)

2008 Worlds, p.o.'d at Poseidon

Don’t you always wonder what rage can do for your race results?

I often toss this around in my mind, as I begin the journey of coaching various athletes with different styles and personalities.  It’s not every athlete who can effectively channel rage and anger into breakthrough performances.  Not every athlete is wired like Lance Armstrong or Chris McCormack, using anger effectively on the race course.  For every Macca, there is a Chrissie Wellington who races through the pain by channeling joy, writing “smile” on her water bottle and achieving her own joyful nirvana through suffering.

Sports psychologists and coaches certainly have their work cut out for them in this arena.  Each athlete is wired so differently.  Great coaches have so much more on their plates than simply writing swim, bike, run, repeat…

Last week, one of my happiest, most light-hearted athletes with a wild, carefree attitude responded so strongly to my suggestion of channeling rage  in her upcoming A race.  It downright shocked me how “miss happy” could readily summon up rage and anger at various things in her life.  We agreed she would save it for the last 5 miles of the upcoming White Lake half Ironman.   Who knew that there was this other level of passion within her.  How great to know she can call on it when she puts it all on the line in her upcoming race!!!

It’s amazing to discover these hidden sides of ourselves both as athletes and as humans with daily lives full of frustrations, stressors, and seemingly small victories.

Find out what fuels you:  love for  your kids, specific race goals, redemption for something, fame, fortune, or some form of anger.  Harness it. Channel it.  Stash it away.  Then unleash a torrent of great racing at your next race; bring together your passion and that well-tuned body.  Bet you will achieve the next level in your racing once it all acts as one;

body + mind+ passion= breakthrough race day

Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tips
©TriStacey Coaching

Over the weekend, my athletes again taught me a lot about their racing, training, and mind-body connections.  Great coaches learn from their athletes as well as teach them.  Sign me up to be one of those…

My athletes who raced again reminded me of the power of the mind and connecting it to breakthrough performances.  Achieving those breakthroughs means that you master the mind/body combination.   This connection can enhance everything we do if we let it, but it seems the most triathletes ignore this connection and just train those tired bodies to oblivion.  Here are three tips for you to unite your mind and body.  Try them out and write me to dispute, affirm, or edit them.  : )

1. Trust yourself.  Stand on the start line full of certainty, confidence, and a great race plan.  Choosing to believe in yourself when your nerves are taking control is the best way to manage them.  Be certain about your preparation and race mindfully, with humility, but quietly knowing that you OWN it.

2.  Race the race but know your limits.  Your limits of pace, nutrition, open water experience, tenacity on the run, wattage, etc.  You have these limits and you also need to question how you established them.  Are they real or is your brain stopping you before you achieve a breakthrough performance?

3. Dare to test those limits.  The greatest athletes in the world have learned through failure and perhaps you could, too.   Being fearless on the race course means minding your race plan and following wattage parameters, etc.  But it also means knowing when to race the race and be in the moment.   Daring to race the race with a lot of science and thought before-hand could yield you the greatest race results of you career.  Of course it could lead to failure, but how else would you know the limits of your talent?

Trust yourself  to establish, respect and to exceed your limits.   Make your  mind/body unison the secret weapon of your 2012 season and trust that you will succeed.   I know you will.

Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tips
©TriStacey Coaching

the face says it all

“If you hate it, it’s good for you!”

Never short on words, I recently tossed this out to a disgruntled athlete and over the weekend,  it stayed in my head as a refrain.  I watched, proudly, as my 25 proud campers dug so deep in their deliberate suffering and faced their “I hate this” demons…  They rediscovered workouts that they neglect or despise and came away wiser and stronger.  Too busy for yoga but too tight to touch your toes?  Really!?

If you give some serious thought to your training regime, you may see that this applies to you.   Do you train the things you “hate” or simply the things you like.  Something like that old adage about training to your strengths and neglecting your weaknesses…

Coaches have the tough job, of making you love the workouts you despise.  We look at the big picture and your long-term development.  With the wave of a wand and a little art to coaching, a good coach can make you love the workouts you hate and avoid.   We help you understand why you hate the workouts you do, and how they are most likely your performance limiters as well.

A big shout out to all the campers who came and  conquered.  It was epic:  they rode in the rain, baked in the sun, sustained body blows in mass start work, and walked away smiling.   How fun to watch them sort out that love/hate relationship with all the elements of their training and to return home with a new perspective on workouts they hate.

Time for you to do the same to make 2012 your breakthrough year.

Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tips
©TriStacey Coaching

Show me your Iron Will

A few weeks ago, my athlete and I found ourselves doing timed repeats up the steepest hill in town, Lystra Road.   Newly returned to training, Tony was full of self doubt, criticism, and worry about completing his workout.   After a bunch of coaching pep talk and positive re-enforcement, I changed tactics on him and tried something new.  Since then, it hasn’t left my thoughts.  I call that workout “Will Repeats.”

“Tony, enough about how you aren’t fit enough, fast enough, or strong enough to do this climb.  I”m tired of all that #@#%@!!!  and negative self talk.  This time when we climb, I want you to WILL YOUR SELF UP THAT HILL.  Throw your heart into your climb and do not let go of my wheel!”

His climbing turned from half-hearted to astounding.  He reached the top of the climb with a smile, despite the 3 previous attempts and related fatigue.   He, too, acknowledged what he had lived for 4 minutes:  He willed himself up the hill. Mind over matter, pure and simple.

When you hear the greatest triathletes speak of their racing and training, this refrain plays over and over again.  Listen to Chrissie Wellington or Craig Alexander as they speak of the mind games and demons they face every year in Kona.  Watch the suffering at both the pro and amateur level of our sport.   And notice that those athletes who succeed are full of such Iron Will that no hill, rainstorm, or time deficit will deter them.

What if  in your next set of intervals, you do them as WILL Repeats and be relentless in your execution.  Wouldn’t race day come much easier if you knew you had trained not just your body but also your mind?   Will yourself to the  end of your next workout and build that will so strong it will carry you on race day.  No walking. No quitting. No demons winning the battle. Just WILL training.  WILL REPEATS.

Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tips
©TriStacey Coaching

What will yours be?

This weekend at the NC Mulitsport Expo, a small, intense group attended my talk on this topic.   The focus of the talk was how to take the next step in your training and racing.

We began with a group exercise.  Participants had to finish this sentence:  In 2012, I could be a great triathlete, but…”

The responses were profound.   It amazed me that in the course of 1hr together, we really dug deep into their psyches.  Lots of head nods and honestly. Lots of learning. Lots of introspection.

Over half the class took me up on the offer to email and discuss one thing they could change about their training this year.   Fifteen minutes of time with a coach and time to be honest, introspective, and to set goals instead of making excuses.

Please contact me through my website if you’d like to do the same.

I would love to hear from you! 

Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tips
©TriStacey Coaching

This week’s training tip  was published on Active.com last week.   I was soooo excited that they accepted this for publication, as Open Water Swimming is largely about mind games.

For many of us, it is terrifying and the most dreaded part of any race.   Read more about how you can conquer your fears and take concrete steps to stay safe, manage your fear, and to master the technical art of open water swimming.   For more fun, see my video on u tube on race day mental preparation.   Make 2012 the year your rule your over your fears, not them over you.

http://youtu.be/yuBqIxuqDqE  Mental skills for triathlon, specifics about open water

http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/Psych-Yourself-Up-for-Open-Water.htm

Go me, Racing Elite and afraid of the waves!

Stacey Richardson’s Weekly Workout Tips
©TriStacey Coaching