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EFC Power Log
EFC Power Log is your new internet fitness cafe! We post informative articles and encourage real world athletes to share their experiences with goal setting, training, nutrition, racing and achieving their fitness goals. If your workout is done for the day, kick up you feet, grab the beverage of choice and join Energy Coaching Athletes, Friends and Coaches as we share the latest fitness tips. EFC's Power Log is your source for personal, real life struggles and victories leading to true life and fitness improvements. Welcome to Energy Fitness Coaching Power Log!
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Hello EFC Athletes and Friends
We hope you are having a great week and we hope you can get outside and enjoy this amazing, warm and sunny weather!! Spring is welcomed for sure! 
We have really enjoyed the past 15 days, although super busy with 15 people at our home Feb 27th and 28th and then meeting up with and/or working with over 30 people in Chicago between Friday and Sunday- March 5th-7th. It’s been awesome to catch up with so many great friends and help set up so many people for success this triathlon season! 
We’d love to hear from you! How was your bike fit with Coach Bob? How was your swim session with Coach Kel? How was your FT assessment? How about your cycling session? Please share your key take-a-ways as you were filled with knowledge and power to improve!
By sharing your thoughts, you can help others get stronger, faster and prevent injury!
Thanks for all you do!
Remember to "Train Smart and Enjoy Your Ride!" 
-Coaches Kel and Rob
Posted by Coach Kelly on 03/09/10 at 03:05 PM
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Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Dear Friends, Family EFC Partners and EFC Sponsors
We have some very exciting news to share with you…
After 4 years of “trying” to get pregnant, a scary 2008 with medical complications and even a miss-diagnosis of MS (which we later attributed to food allergies/sensitivities) and then another setback on Oct 25th with a life flight helicopter ride to the ER when an athlete rode into me during Longhorn 70.3 Triathlon in Austin, TX resulting in (3) pelvic fractures discovered in an MRI administered on November 13, 2009. Noted in the MRI result was “an incidental” finding that something was wrong with my uterus which would explain our infertility. After this last discovery, Rob and I pretty much gave up and believed we were not meant to have children. We discussed the possibility of seeing a fertility specialist with our primary care doctor after the MRI report, but soon decided we’d help children in other ways such as starting Energy Fit Kids and continuing to be very involved with our nieces and nephew here in Ohio and our nieces and nephew in Colorado…
Well, less than a month after the MRI findings and our shift of focus… Conception!!! Yup it’s true- we are having a baby!!! Oh Boy! Or girl!
Here is a bit of our story 
Just after New Years, we were speaking with Rob’s sister, Laura, who was telling us her exciting but unexpected news. Laura, mother of twins and an Irish twin, just found out she was pregnant and was sharing her symptoms. We both paused and said, hmm- I’m feeling like that. After further discussion, Laura insisted we head out and get a pregnancy test. Well, at first, Rob and I resisted. We had pretty much bought EPTs in bulk at Sam’s club for the past 4 years and we were starting to grow tired of the negative test results, but with Laura pushing us on, we gave in and purchased a new test. Well, Tuesday morning, Jan 4th- the test had 2 double lines and Rob spilled tears of joy while I starred stunned!! 
I must admit, at first, I was like “oh my…now what??? I have a huge triathlon season planned, 2 Ironman races, several 70.3 ½ Ironman races, a need to set bike course records and support my sponsors, and the fuel to get back to Kona after my inability to race the World Championships in 08. Plus the DVD shoot we put off due to the pelvic fractures…” My mind raced, but Rob’s thrill of pure excitement, gratefulness and love was over powering and I knew all that “stuff” could wait. So, I began to shift my focus on God’s plan.
Well, as you know, we are always on the go, so after our “discovery” we began our quest for an OB. Our original plan was to leave for Colorado on Wednesday, but with the snow storm and finding out we were pregnant, we decided to post pone our departure and find an OB. With the complications we expected on my uterus and still healing from 3 pelvic fractures, we felt it was very important to see the OB before heading off to ski in Rockies and be in Colorado for 2 weeks.
Luckily our good friend and neighbor is an All-Star OB and she got us in right away. Friday, Jan 8th we saw the doctor and our baby! It was amazing. It seems there is nothing wrong with my uterus and our “little sac” was looking good at 5 weeks and 4 days along!
Well, last Thursday, February 25th we went in for our “big” appointment and things are looking great! We are now 13 weeks along and our baby’s heart beat is excellent, the spinal structure looks good and he/she is just chillin’ like he/she owns the place. It was absolutely amazing to see the pictures of the little webbed hands, the little legs sprawled out and even my ski-tip nose on the baby.
Over the last month, I have grown so excited and so attached to our little baby. I have totally let go of “my triathlon season” and have committed myself 100% to this baby, our EFC athletes, supporting our sponsors and partners and Rob getting to Kona this year! We are very excited to help our athletes achieve their goals this season and support our athletes and all our Partners and Sponsors services and offerings to our athletes at clinics, camps and races! While we are not 100% sure of our travel and race plans now, I do hope to be “running” around and taking pictures as often as possible and cheering Rob and our athletes on! I will be writing to Ironman to see if I can roll my Ironman CDA, Ironman WI and Eagleman 70.3 spots to next year and we are going to focus solely on Rob qualifying for the World Championships at Eagleman 70.3 this June.
Our due date is September 6th! We are having fun with the journey so far and really excited for Little Wissolik’s arrival!
Well, thanks for hearing our joy! Have a great week and a wonderful weekend!
Oh, and we are very excited about our 2nd busy weekend with several EFC Athletes and Tri Friends in Chicagoland this weekend. We are hosting bike fits, one on one sessions, Strength Assessments and more! So to all our Chicago friends…
Pizza Party Get-together will be this Friday, March 5th – downtown Chicago!
If you are able to catch up- please write back so I can firm up a head count for reservations!
Lou Malnati’s on Wells Street- Downtown Chicago around 7pm – Friday March 5th!
Much love and hugs to everyone!
Love
-Kel and Rob
Posted by Coach Kelly on 03/03/10 at 04:29 PM
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Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Special thanks to all of the EFC Athletes and Tri friends we had at our home in Ohio this weekend! We really appreciate your energy and hard work! This weekend was a huge Success! Bob and Cody drove 3 hours to host professional bike fits and athletes drove in from Michigan and all over Ohio to receive 100% personalized attention with their bike fit and functional strength assessments. We also enjoyed a fun group indoor training ride and run on the bike path together! The feedback we are hearing from all of you is awesome! We are so excited to help you achieve comfort, power and efficiency on your bike and we look forward to helping you develop a personalized strength program to correct muscular imbalances and enhance your flexiblity.
Next up, Chicago this weekend! Can’t wait to see so many Chicago athletes and friends!
-Coach Kel
Posted by Coach Kelly on 03/02/10 at 10:29 PM
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Sigh.  Its been a long and rewarding year of coaching both cross country and swimming, but I can finally take a moment to breathe after this weekend. I think I have been coaching non stop since last March. The longest break that I took was the three days off for my sisters wedding in August. Coaching is so rewarding, but can really start to take a toll on you!! The swim team I am helping to coach finished the season at the state championships this past weekend, and although not everyone swam as well as they had hoped, I was still extremely proud of all of them. I know that in looking forward they learned some valuable lessons and will come back hungrier and more experienced next year. I had a fantastic group of athletes and couldn’t have asked for a better group to spend so many hours coaching Once the emotional drain of coaching wears off, I know that I will miss seeing them everyday.
I was feeling extremely exhausted on Sunday, but know it is time to focus, for the first time in a long time, on just me as an athlete. I was up and at it early Sunday morning for some Tough Love on the bike at the EFC training center with a much larger group than normal. It was great to ride indoors with a large group and it was fun riding with some different people and scenery. I think that Sunday was my longest ride this winter at 2:40 minutes! I can’t believe how much progress I have made in two months working with Rob and Kel and without having a ton of mental energy to focus on myself. I am pretty sure I passed out after the run amidst tons of people coming in an out of their house for the bike fits with Bob Duncan. It felt so good just to lay down though before my bike fit. I have been so utterly uncomfortable on my bike ever since I got it and have truly been awaiting the day when I can feel like an athlete on the bike. I hopped on Bob’s special contraption and Cody and he immediately began tweaking everything until finally, magic happened. I felt amazing in aero and CANNOT wait to see what this will feel like in the coming months. I did not get the right fit nor the right bike years ago when I purchased my Carbon Fiber Giant. And in turn, I have never felt comfortable and been able to apply the power I now know I can on the bike. Bob’s "real" fit helped me feel comfortable and enabled me to crank out the watts. Coach Kel and Rob grinned form ear to ear with my power hitting a steady 250 watts with the new fit. I am so excited for what is to come.
There have been some glimmers of hope with the weather here in Ohio and I will be so excited when we get to spring forward those clocks. I feel like that extra hour of sunlight will drastically change how much I can get accomplished in a day. They always say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. That might be true for the weather, but I am going to come out like a lion with my training at the end of March. I am ready to crank it up and grind out some workouts once my training base is firmly established. I love the hard stuff and am ready to go! Keep on pushing through the cold...warmer days are ahead!
Bis bald,
Darcy
Posted by Coach Darcy on 03/02/10 at 10:26 PM
Coach and Athlete Darcy Wagner •
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Thursday, February 25, 2010
With a few exceptions, none of us grew up saying, “I want to be a triathlete when I grow up.” Like me, you may not have grown up wanting to do any of the three disciplines. Sure, I liked to swim, I liked to ride my bike, but I hated running. Then a few years ago the strangest thing happened: I had the urge to go for a run. I set a modest goal...to try to go one mile without stopping. I thought this strange feeling would only last a day or two but I was wrong. Running became my escape. Whenever I was stressed, or mad, or sad, or even just bored, I would go for a run. To me, running is a cure-all.
It was through a running injury that I found triathlon. A stress fracture just above my ankle sidelined my running for two months. To rehab I was allowed to swim, and bike. I found that by doing the other two sports not only did I not lose any running fitness but it actually improved. The cross training hugely benefitted my running and became a staple of my training program. That’s how I found triathlon. I was doing a lot of swimming, a lot of biking, and a lot of running so I figured why not give this triathlon thing a try.
Though I’m very passionate about triathlon, swimming and biking still seem like work to me. That’s not to say I don’t love doing each of them, they just don’t come as naturally to me as running. I’m constantly refining my technique in search of an extra gear on the bike, or a few seconds less per hundred yards in the pool. Similarly when I talk to swimmers at masters practice, or my fellow riders at a group ride, they all seem to have the same sentiment about running. I love to hear riders talk about epic rides that seem to fly by, or swimmers talk about 10,000 yard workouts that seem like a breeze. To me, no swim workout is a breeze, and no ride seems to fly by.
This winter I’ve been nursing another leg injury that has put my running on the shelf. I’ve dedicated this pre season to improving both on the bike and in the pool and have had a lot of fun seeing the results. I just recently started back running again and now focusing on shorter and consistent runs to build back up. My first real run was a couple weeks ago. Just like when I started running, my goals right now are modest. Even though I was on the treadmill during a snow storm it was one of the most fun runs I’ve ever done. I was just cruising along listening to the rhythm of my feet underneath me. I felt a joy that I haven’t felt in a long time. I’m sure pure swimmers feel a similar joy when they get back in the pool after a long layoff. Bikers the same when they can get back outdoors after a winter locked on the trainer.
As triathletes we all have that one sport we hold near and dear to our hearts. For me that’s running. I know some if not most people share my passion for running, but whatever you’re cure-all sport is, make sure to take some time to enjoy it. Too often we get wrapped in the sometimes endless training cycle and forget why we first started doing multisport. It’s not until we are unable to do our favorite discipline that we realize just how much we miss it, and feel the pure joy to either swim, bike, or run just for fun.
-Athlete Ian
Posted by Athlete Ian on 02/25/10 at 09:09 PM
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Staying flexible (and I don’t mean your body), is a key to success in training and life!
I got up early yesterday to have time to do the bike workout before getting ready and leaving for my jury duty assignment. I rode for 30 minutes, showered, and went to dig the cars out. We had been hit with over 18 inches of unpredicted heavy snow. I kept thinking court would be postponed, but there was nothing up on their message machine. The cars were stuck at the bottom of the driveway which hadn’t been plowed yet and were blocked in by more snow from the town plows. Managed to dig them out and get headed off to court. But the roads were terrible and it was snowing like crazy. I pulled off, called for the 3rd time to see if they had updated their message machine. Finally a new message - court was postponed - but not before I had rushed to be on the road to get there in time. Wish they had put the message up sooner. I live an hour away and need more lead time. 
Well, I returned home only to discover no electricity, heat, water, internet. The heavy snow had brought down power lines and since I live in a pretty remote area with only 24 other people supplied by the power route, we were last on the list to get attention. 
So - what to do with the day that had been "given back to me?" I couldn’t drive anywhere, the roads were terrible, couldn’t do the tons of paperwork awaiting, no internet and I only had 58 minutes left on my computer battery and I couldn’t finish the bike workout since I didn’t have electricity for the DVD player! Run? Well, I couldn’t go out for a run, too much snow - even with snowshoes I was sinking in over my knees! I admit it, I was stressed - all my carefully prepared plans - shot.
Just breath, I told myself. Make yourself a cup of tea and cook something tasty (the gas stove still worked - yeah)! I eventually did settle down, the roads were cleared by late afternoon and I headed in to town for an internet connection and electricity (which is how I am able to write this). We still do not have power and another big storm is forecast for today. Yikes! 
Lesson learned - Be like the humble willow and bend in the storm. The seemingly mighty oak often breaks.
I kept smiling, how are you dealing with all this winter weather?
-Athlete Jo
Posted by Athlete Jo on 02/25/10 at 01:42 PM
Coach and Athlete Joanna Ezinga •
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Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Energy Fitness Coaching is hosting 2 big weekends of Professional Bike Fits and Personalized Functional Strength and Muscular Imbalances Assessments
We recently partnered with Coach Bob Duncan of VERITAS Fit System and we are offering 100% customized and personalized bike fits based on power output, biomechanic efficiency and comfort. If you are in this sport for the long haul, your best investment is in the right bike fit!
If you want to maximize your strength and power while preventing injury, you should begin your season with a functional strength assessment and find out your muscular imbalances, muscular weaknesses and tight areas and then design a strength and stretching program to even out the imbalances, strengthen the weak areas and relieve the tightness.
Let EFC Help You Get Fit on the Bike and layout the right Functional Strength Program for you! Sign up for your spot today! kelly@energyfitnesscoaching.com
Energy Fitness Coaching Professional Bike Fits with Coach Duncan of VERITAS Fit System: http://www.wheeliefun.com/Fitting.aspx
http://www.energyfitnesscoaching.com/about/coaches.cfm
Veritas Fit System was created by Wheeliefun’s owner Bob Duncan and Ryan Vingris. The Veritas Fit System uses real time, computerized, objective feedback measuring power displacement, average torque, and overall pedal stroke efficiency to give your fit a data point. We won’t let a bike leave until objective minimum standards are met. But we do not stop there. We are convinced (based on data from over 4,000 fits) that subjective feedback on comfort and power from what the rider thinks about his/her fit impacts (positively or negatively) his or her performance on the bike. Therefore, once our objective standards are met we rely on you to fine tune your position. Be assured, we won’t let you screw up our objective measures. We are so confident about our final product that if you are not more comfortable, faster, and more powerful we will redo the fit!
The VERITAS Fit Bike was designed with versatility and flexibility in mind. The fixture is a two pillar system enabling quick movement on vertical and horizontal planes. Combined with an adjustable crank and stem, the VERITAS Fit System allows you to easily tailor the bike fit to your customer. A variable resistance module is included with each VERITAS Fit Bike, allowing the fit specialist to quantify the customer’s fit. The objective data in conjunction with the subjective data from your customer ensures a personalized and precise fit experience. Bob Duncan, owner and creator the VERITAS Fit system, has been involved in multisport racing as an athlete, coach, and retail store owner for almost three decades. He is bringing his fit system to Toledo, OH and Chicago, IL in the next few weeks!
If you are interested in getting faster and stronger on the bike, this is a must! I promise you, having the right bike fit is the most important part of cycling in your chosen sport of Triathlon or Cycling. If you are not fit properly on the bike, you will not reach your potential. You may be uncomfortable and in turn lack the desire to put in the time on the bike. An incorrect fit means sacrificing power and speed on the bike and the run. And the wrong fit may lead to injury! You must enjoy the ride and be able to spend hours in the saddle. If you don’t love riding, you need the right fit!
In working with Bob this summer on our bike fits, we road to success with Rob doing a 5:13 and me smashing the age group women’s bike course record with a 5:22 at Ironman Wisconsin. Rob and I spend hours in the saddle every day. We can spend 6 hours in aero and still get off and run! I am confident in Bob’s knowledge and his ability to improve you as an athlete! I want you to feel this good and be fast on the bike and then onto the run!
In combination with the Bike Fit, we will offer a functional strength and muscular imbalance assessment. Without an assessment, it’s a guessing game of what strength work and stretches you should be implementing in your training plan. Your assessment will allow us to determine overactive muscles and underactive antagonist muscles and we will then provide corrective exercises and stretches to improve imbalances and help you prevent injury!
While in Chicago, we also will be available for one on one sessions of your choice.
Bike Fits- $150 EFC Athlete Price/ $200 non-EFC Athlete (Regularly $300)
One on one 30 minute FT Assessments with detailed report to follow- $40 EFC Athlete Price/$50 non-EFC Athlete (Regularly $90)
Saturday and Sunday February 27th and 28th
EFC Training Center in Monclova, Ohio
4647 Terra Court
Monclova, OH 43542
Friday, Saturday and Sunday March 5th, 6th and 7th
Downtown Chicago: Friday, March 5th
Coach Steve’s Training Center in Barrington, IL
749 Oak Rd.
Barrington, IL 60010
Posted by Coach Kelly on 02/24/10 at 04:04 PM
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I must admit, this winter has been the best winter of my life. Our “winter” began late November when we traveled across the country in our little Acura and the EFC Trailer in tow. We spent 2 awesome weeks in Colorado with Rob’s whole family, enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving feast and tons of family fun! I was healing from the pelvis fractures and enjoyed riding my CEEPO with Rob, although on the trainers in Rob’s parent’s home and not outside, it was so great to be back. I was happy Rob was able to run off our rides and enjoy the beautiful trails and the glorious views of the mountains and I patiently awaited my running return. My patience paid off and I enjoyed two short, but epic runs looking up at the snow covered mountains and soaking in the 50 degree sunny day at the end of our Colorado adventure.
On the way home from Colorado we stopped at Coach Steve’s in IL and had a blast running the Santa Sleigh 5K with EFC Athletes, Coaches and their families. I enjoyed walking and running the 5k in the crisp December air and was thankful to be healthy and strong once again!
Once back home in Ohio, Rob and I settled into a nice routine of little morning rides and short transition runs off the bike, healthy homemade meals and powerful days in front of the computer growing EFC. We had a joyous Christmas season, a fun family New Year’s Party and we smiled right into 2010! January started off with a bang with many EFC athletes gearing up for a great year ahead and another trip to Colorado in our path. Off we went in our little Acura, driving across the county and straight up into the Colorado Rockies for a fun 5 days in Beaver Creek with Rob’s whole family. I’m still new at skiing, so I road on the trainer easy every morning than joined everyone on the slopes for some greens and blues! Maybe next year I’ll try a black??
Once home in Ohio again, Rob and I got back on track with our healthy routine. We started working out with some of our athletes and coaches and are really thrilled with how well our EFC Athletes are quickly getting into the training groove this year! Things are well with our family and our nieces and nephews are excelling at volleyball, gymnastics, floor hockey, ice skating, swimming and pre-school. It’s been awesome to be a part of as much as we can!
Although we do work about 10 to 12 hours a day, working out of our home allows flexibility and we are really enjoying all the snow! Because we have to be available for our athletes before and after normal 8am to 5pm work hours, we have been doing most of our training mid morning or late afternoon and enjoying the daylight. We have Yax Traxs for our running shoes as well as racing snowshoes, so we have kept right up with daily trainer rides and runs off the bike. And we’ve added in functional strength work, Triathilates and Rob’s Navy Seal Pull-Up Routine. I’m going to have some pretty big gun this year! With all we are doing with EFC, our new component, EFK (Energy Fit Kids) and our training, I must say, it’s been the best winter yet!
Gosh, I know I had some fun winters with my mom, dad, brother, Grandma and Grandpa at our cottage in Michigan, snowmobiling, ice skating and igloo building, but heck we still are having some fun with that this year at “Papa’s playland” right here in Ohio! And I remember a fun winter when we lived a year in the burbs of Chicago and enjoyed peaceful runs on the golf course and snow tubing with my family at Villa Olivia. But this year still tops that!
And I know I had a great “run” in Chicago, living downtown with Rob, working with Eli Lilly, building EFC and living life to the fullest, but I can’t say that any Chicago winter was awesome. I remember the “brutalness” of those winters more than anything. My vivid winter memories are of me riding my Schwinn mountain bike through the snowy streets of Chicago at 5:30a.m. and 5:00p.m. dodging crazy bus and cab drivers and making it to my spin classes alive but frozen. I remember the negative 30 degree wind chill factor days where upon arrival to the club, with frozen fingers and Rob’s number on speed dial, I would call him and barely mutter “So…cold…have…to…pick…me…up.”  And I remember running along the lake front with Rob, slipping on ice and returning home with our eyelids nearly frozen shut and glad to be warm once again. 
I can sit back and revel over the “awesome ride” of a life of fun and challenges so far and I can smile and say, life is great working with Rob by my side and being healthy to enjoy the great outdoors!
How are you doing this winter? Are you having your best winter yet? I’d love to hear from you!
-Coach Kel
Posted by Coach Kelly on 02/24/10 at 02:30 PM
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Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Just when you think you are going strong and smooth, life has a way of humbling you. Last week was awesome, training was going really well, life felt balanced, troubles were small and manageable.
This week – totally different. Some are little stressors, for example on Sunday evening my internet went down – again. I had 5 training plans to write, tons of emails to answer, and a blog (this one) to post. So, I shuffled to a neigbhors, house using her internet, till she politely asked me to go home at 10:30 so she could get some sleep.
Most of Monday was spent in court, waiting to see if I was selected for a jury (more on that later), and as I drove home knowing there was again no functional Internet, I cruised the Main Street of our little town looking for an unsecured network. I finally found one and sat in my car sending and receiving emails for 30 minutes.
But what is really weighing on me is the trial which starts tomorrow. I have never sat on a jury before and this case promises to be a tough one. I am deeply moved by the enormity of the task that awaits me – deciding the fate of another person. What do we call on to know how to make decisions such as these - faith, a higher power, our own sense of right and wrong, nothing?
As I prepare myself to be sequestered in a court room for days, I am acutely aware of my own personal freedom and the emotional release that comes from running or biking on the open road. There are many who never know that freedom.
I hope you are able to get out there and ride and run for me this week!
-Athlete Jo
Posted by Athlete Jo on 02/23/10 at 02:40 PM
Coach and Athlete Joanna Ezinga •
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Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Ah – the joys of training. No, I really mean it. Perhaps it is just my nature, but I do so much better when I have a specific task – a focus. As a coach and solo-entrepreneur (a person in business for themselves), there are always a million things to do and a million more waiting to be done. But training gives a kind of purity to that small chunk of my day. My only responsibility is to that workout and to do the best I can do in that moment. For that brief period of time. I can shut out everything on the waiting list and put my full attention on the bike, swim or run. It truly is a luxury.
And each sport presents a unique opportunity for deep focus. It takes a lot of mental energy for me to stay present during a pool workout as there is no real opportunity to develop a rhythm in a 25 meter pool and there is not much to see. Swimming in a lake, on the other hand, is wonderful. I can go uninterrupted for as along as I like and the water is alive with movement and light. Running for me is like moving meditation – especially the long runs. A lot of stress gets cleared out and I find that answers come to vexing problems. And biking – when outside – pure joy.
But the great pleasure, is being coached by someone other than myself. What a difference! Each week I can’t wait to see what Coach Kelly has come up with and it is always good.
Are you finding joy in your training? I’d love to hear from you!
-Coach and Athlete Jo
Posted by Athlete Jo on 02/17/10 at 03:26 PM
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Monday, February 15, 2010
The holidays have come an gone, the ball has dropped in Times Square and supermarkets have started selling Peeps, (one of my favorites) marking the unofficial start of spring.
Yes, there is a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel that is the perpetual grayness of winter. Like everyone else my training days have been filled with hours on the trainer, or watching the miles tick by on the treadmill, or wondering if there really is an end to that black line on the bottom of the pool. Mentally it is also a period of transition. It’s time to switch from a maintenance mentality to a sharper, more purpose driven focus.
They say during triathlon that you shouldn’t focus on what’s ahead of you, that you should live in the moment. That may work during a race, but in the winter it couldn’t be further from the truth.
My high school football coach used to say, "championships are won in the summer." What he meant was you had to put in the time in the off season to excel in the regular season. That’s the approach I’ve been taking this winter.
I rededicated myself to the gym this off season. Last winter I neglected it and it showed during the season. I didn’t feel as fit and as strong as I thought I should be. I managed to grab a couple top 5’s and even managed to win a race, but in the big races I was average at best. I had put in the volume, done the intervals, but just couldn’t keep the pace. The difference in my mind was the off season prep work. That changed this year. I used last season’s results to motivate me to get into the gym. I remembered what it felt like getting passed by guys and knowing I didn’t have another gear to dial up. Now I fully understand and appreciate what my coach was trying to instill.
PR’s and podium finishes aren’t made on race day. They’re made now. They’re made in the frigid pre dawn hours spent on the trainer, on the treadmill, in the pool, and in the gym when it would be easier to hit the snooze and go back to sleep. It’s the early season base building that wins awards. That extra mile per hour you gain on the bike, or the 3 seconds per 100 you drop in the pool, or the 10 seconds per mile you drop on the run here in the winter will pay dividends later on this summer.
That’s been my motivation this winter, hopefully your winter has been just as productive. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please share some feedback on what your focus is this winter!
-Ian
Posted by Athlete Ian on 02/15/10 at 05:16 PM
Athlete Ian's Journey to Ironman 2010 •
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Tuesday, February 09, 2010
As the snow continues to fall here in Toledo, I can only keep wondering when the warm weather will be arriving. I have been fortunate enough to be able to workout at the EFC Training Center during the past week a few times, but I want to stop having to layer up so much before going outside to run. Brrr. I can only dream about running in a t-shirt and shorts some day soon.
This two-stage blizzard has been something else! On Friday night, I left for Canton for the Ohio JV Swimming Championships. After trekking through the blizzard conditions that left most of Ohio in Level 2 and Level 3 snow emergencies, we arrived in canton five hours later (its a two hour drive to Canton on a good weather day. The kids quickly had to shave down and get to bed so we could be up and going to the pool in the morning. The meet is a fantastic opportunity for those high school swimmers who were not selected for the Varsity lineup in the upcoming sectional and district swim meets. For several of the swimmers that I coach, it was their first ever championship meet and they were extremely nervous. I, on the other hand, was extremely pumped up for them. I had seen their progress all season and was confident that they would be dropping a lot of time due to an effective taper. A few of the girls only knew freestyle--without rotary breathing-- at the beginning of the year; so, to see them compete in a championship meet at the end of the year was so exciting.
The meet started off great with one of the first year swimmers dropping 3 seconds in her 50 free! I knew from the second that she popped up off her streamline that it was going to be a fast swim for her; her tempo was faster and her technique was better than I had ever seen her swim before. This was, however, topped a few hours later by a NINE SECOND drop in her 100 Free!!! I think I actually jumped up a little bit on deck due to the excitement. We had several athletes make the top 8 and get to stand on the podium to receive their awards. How awesome! All of the girls swam their best times of the year and came out quite decorated with many top ten performances. I could not have been happier and more proud of them as a coach.
I returned to Toledo late on Saturday night and ready for a long ride on Sunday. Time to transition into athlete mode! I don’t think I have ever done an indoor ride as long as I did on Sunday in my life (2:20), but it went by quickly with company from Rob and Kel. I am so determined to improve my bike this year and am really anxious to get out and race. I need to have that bait dangling out there in front of me for some extra motivation. I am feeling healthy and confident in the direction that my training is going in. So far, my body has held up great with my ever-evolving gluten free diet. The goal for the next week is to experiment with a few GF flours and create the most delicious GF bread the world has ever seen.
Keep yourselves going strong through this whiteout for those athletes getting hit by the snow and catch you on the flip side.
Bis bald…
Darcy
Posted by Coach Darcy on 02/09/10 at 01:24 PM
Coach and Athlete Darcy Wagner •
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Thanks again to all those who stopped by our booth at the Team Toledo Triathlon Expo
The lucky Raffle Winners are:
Sandy Reardon
Fuel Belt Bottle and EFC Water Bottle
Becky Mincheff
Zipp Visor and EFC Water Bottle
Ford Crane
Profile Water Bottle and EFC Water Bottle
Darrell Cousino
Blue Seventy goggles and EFC Water Bottle
Prizes are on the way!
Have a safe Tuesday in this snow!
-Coach Kel and Coach Rob
Posted by Coach Kelly on 02/09/10 at 09:59 AM
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Well, after a couple rough weeks in the middle of January, things are back on track with training! The key has been - get the workout in first thing in the morning and have friends hold you accountable!
We are storming into February with focused workouts, a solid training plan, smart meals and snacks and an organized day. Weather, family, meetings...we are balancing it all and finding fun in every day!
Rob and I have been working out with our neighbor Greg and our athlete and coach, Darcy. This month, we continue to focus on building a strong aerobic foundation upon solid technique! Consistentcy is at the forefront! On top of sleeping 8 hours a day, eating high quality, nutritious foods, commiting to a workout every day, we are even more productive with EFC because of the energy we gain from sleep, good food and daily training! Keep your priorities in check and make sure you sleep, eat well and get in a little something most days of the week and you’ll feel so much better!
We have so many exciting announcements coming your way! Please stay tuned!
-Coach Kel
Posted by Coach Kelly on 02/09/10 at 09:49 AM
Coach Kel's Training and Racing •
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It has been a good training week. The volume and intensity have been a little lower and it felt good to hit all the workouts as written, without having to drop anything because life got in the way. But the real highlight of the week, was not the physical aspects of training, but what I learned about the mental side of training and competing.
As I mentioned in my last post, this past weekend I attended a workshop with Mark Allen and Brant Secunda entitled Fit Soul Fit Body. The two of them have been working together for almost 20 years and have written a book by the same name.
Meeting Mark Allen was pretty awesome. He is 52 now and his amazing victories as a 6 time Ironman Champion in the late 80’s and early 90’s are almost beyond belief. With live footage, he talked us through the details of each race and what it took for him to win the championship from his rival Dave Scott and then defend it for 5 more years. The stories were incredible, including his final victory in which he made up 13 minutes in the last 10 miles of the run to seize the victory from a man 15 years his junior. But even more amazing than his physical stamina and athleticism, was his personal and spiritual transformation, which he sees as responsible for those wins.
Mark is deeply connected to the teachings of the Huichol Indians of Mexico. An indigenous people who have lived in the same simple, earth centered ways for thousands of years. Known as great healers, their practices are designed to bring people into harmony with the natural world and their own inner spirit. Mark has worked closely with Brant, a gifted teacher to learn Huichol teachings and apply them in his own life and to his quest to be the best triathlete in the world. And it was clear that he succeeded.
He showed us a number of simple techniques to quiet mental chatter, overcome physical discomfort, and reach into one’s own spiritual reservoir for strength. Practices such as giving thanks, connecting with the power of the land, and replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. Despite their simplicity, they were very powerful and will use them myself and with the athletes I coach. Simple, yet profound. And when done with love and faith – they can be transformational.
-Coach and Athlete Jo
Posted by Athlete Jo on 02/09/10 at 09:44 AM
Coach and Athlete Joanna Ezinga •
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