The Coach's Role

Ok I'm only joking, this post is not about a handbag

So this article comes to you after much thought and provocation. A couple of weeks ago I had, well… a little tiff with another trainer and while my behavior was in the wrong, I felt that my points were valid and correct and so I couldn’t let it go. I feel the need to publicly state my thoughts and feelings on the subject, even though this particular individual will never read them (which is probably a good thing). So here I am getting up on my soap box for you all to read. Hopefully you will use your own judgment whether I am correct or not.

I am sure you are now curious to what we argued about, well this individual and I did not see eye to eye on a certain fitness program. While the program was the subject, my real annoyance was and is concerning the role of a coach, personal trainer, or group fitness instructor.

Before I begin its important that I make these notes, while each of the three individuals above are different, they all should have the same principles guiding them and most of my thoughts and ideas will apply to all three individuals. For that reason to keep things simpler I will refer to these three different roles as your trainer.

The Background of the Argument

After spending the last 5 years in school learning about exercise physiology, psychology and coaching I have to say that I have built a pretty high standard for myself and for other trainers (and a really high soap box). And after years of studying and working hard to do things “the right way” it is a tad bothersome to see trainers and coaches out there who do not give a crap (pardon my language) what’s the best way or even a good way and as a result, their clients do not learn anything except bad habits, motives, and information. Now before you all start jumping down my throat please don’t misunderstand me. I recognize there are A LOT of really good trainers out there and that everyone, every trainer, including myself makes mistakes and they do not know everything. I will be the first to admit that I am not yet a great coach. I think it takes time, experience and education to make a truly great coach. But even with my limited (2+ years) working as an instructor, coach and now a personal trainer I still can’t help be shocked at some of the things I hear and see.

Below I have compiled a list of 10 traits and roles that I believe you should expect to see in a “quality” coach and which will hopefully help you decide who you want to be your trainer. These are traits and behaviors that are based on experience as well as formal training and common sense. I will attempt to illustrate with both “imaginary” as well as real life examples while trying to be sensitive to those who are doing the best they can. Please read through the items and consider them, not as hardened rules but as tools to guide you as you next work with your trainer, or as you seek to find a new trainer.

I know this is quite lengthy and I do apologize for that! But hopefully you will find it worth your time.

* Not all of the items I have listed will be relevant to every coach or every instructor, for example, a group class instructor will not be able to create the same individuality in a class as a one-on-one lesson with a trainer.

Your coach/trainer should:

 

1.       Seek as much formal education, experience and training they can within their respective areas of training. Including maintaining any certifications that are appropriate.

A while back I went in to certify as an indoor cycling instructor. During which a conversation broke out among a few of us instructor-wannabes on a controversial topic, which is better, experience or education. I for one am a big fan of having formal training, credible certifications as well as experience. In case you are unaware there are many training and coaching certs that only require you to pass an exam, no formal training or education needed. Some certs however require formal education (bachelors or higher) in exercise science by an accredited university. See www.acsm.org and www.nsca.org for examples.

One of the other instructors had the opinion that formal education didn’t make a big difference whether you were a good personal trainer or not because you could learn all you needed to with experience. I couldn’t have agreed and disagreed with her more, based on her experience of watching trainers with bachelors who didn’t exactly come off the block running. My response was simply this; it’s true, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell a healthy individual how to lift a weight up and down 12 times, or how to use a treadmill. In fact, helping someone lose weight or gain strength doesn’t require a hard and fast understanding of all of the below the skin information that I have gained. And since training is as much an art as it is a science there will be many trainers who lack all formal education but are incredibly successful because they are gifted artists.

From personal experience I contend that without the deeper knowledge all your trainer can give you is the surface training. And as long as you fit the mold of their previous experience you will do just fine. However, if you do not fit the mold (ie. disease, injury, highly competitive athlete) these trainers will struggle a lot more to get you where you need to go.

2.       Improve their own knowledge and ability through continuing education and by broadening their own horizons through learning new skills or observing other types of training and education.

      In case you aren’t aware I am a certified Tri coach, yoga instructor, cycling instructor, personal trainer, on top of having a bachelor’s degree in Fitness Leadership and working on a masters in Exercise Physiology. Josh (my husband) thinks I just like to spend money. But the real reason for all of the certifications is that I like learning, and each class and training has made me a better trainer and I think, has given me a broader perspective on health and fitness. It’s a shame to see trainers/coaches that think there is only one way to get fit. No, I do not think every trainer needs to have multiple certifications, in fact its better to specialize in one area, however they should at least be trying and learning new things that will help them train you.

       Not to mention, many certification programs out there (most of mine do anyway) require continuing education credits (CEC’s). CEC’s basically assure that I am staying on top of my game.

3.       Follow guidelines for training set by their certifying body, national guidelines and those established by their respective training facility.

There’s a reason why some exercises, techniques, and styles of training are NOT recommended and go in and out of style quickly. Most often its due to the benefit/risk ratio of participating in that activity. Don’t get me wrong, every activity has its risks, but when performed correctly according to guidelines it helps to decrease the odds of injury. Take biking for example, there are many many “wrong” ways to bike, like not wearing a helmet, biking against traffic, or in an indoor class trying to lift weights while biking. Believe it or not there are nationally recognized governing agencies that release guidelines that tell you the safest way to bike based on research as well as experience. 

 

When your trainer knows and follows these guidelines they will be able to not only increase safety, but also improve your training efficiency.

4.       Provide you with quality, up-to-date information that is founded on scientific information as well as experience.

Ever heard of the “fat burning zone”? It’s a myth. What about that lactic acid causes soreness? Also a myth. Ever seen this add “7 old tricks to lose weight quick”? More than likely a load of crap. 

It doesn’t matter where you go someone or some company is looking to get rich off of your naiveté by pushing their gimmicks down your throat. When I see those ads the only thing I can think of is a big old lazy lion lying in the grass waiting to pounce on its unsuspecting prey. Why do you think every week/month there’s a new fabulous, guaranteed fix to your problem? Well… could it be that the 1,000 tips before it didn’t work??? Hmmm…. 

 There is a lot of bogus info out there, and while some may be harmless, some bad info can be dangerous (have you heard of phen phen?). In a day with as much information at our finger tips you can’t assume that everyone out there writing articles in your favorite health magazine actually know what they are talking about, same thing for your trainer. I’m having recall error here, but I believe that it is estimated that every minute a new research article is being published. That means that your trainer needs to stay up to date. 

 

 

5.       Know how to “periodize” a training plan which involves knowing how to manipulate intensity as well as the training/recovery balance.* 

Example of a periodized plan. Notice the high and low volume weeks during the "taper" phase.

As an endurance athlete there are 4 main phases to my training program in a year, base phase, endurance phase, speed/strength phase and race skills phase. Yet somehow each year I get stuck in the endurance phase and never seem to move past it. You wonder why I’m still the same pace as I was last year? However I can say this for myself, I make sure to take adequate recovery between hard workouts as well as after severe increases in training load. 

Experience and research have shown that using a structured, progressive training plan (ie periodized program) that uses different phases of training and a variety of intensities while allowing for adequate recovery will optimize results and improve efficiency. 

*This is much harder to do in group classes at the gym where you have people who attend rather inconsistently. 

6.       Create programs that are about YOU (not them) and help you meet your goals. 

Have you ever met with the trainer on the very first day and they already have a program written for you? Or maybe, they give you a program that really isn’t what you need or wanted. Well… then you are probably a victim of the “canned approach”.  I’m sure you’ve all heard of the “canned approach” in case you haven’t basically it’s the “one size fits all” of training programs. In the health and wellness world that can be all too common.

However, worse than being canned is being caught on the wrong end of the Ego. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard of coaches/trainers pushing their clients to become THEIR success story, which in the end drives the athlete out of the sport entirely. 

7.       Minimize inherent risks as well as warn and advise concerning the risks that are inherent to the sport, but perhaps not always controllable.

I want you to look subjectively at the picture below. What are your first thoughts? Are they “wow those guys are so tough” or is it more along my line of thought “Oh my HELL (pardon my thought) what are these idiots thinking???” My guess is you probably thought more along the lines of the first statement, and that’s fine. In fact, that is exactly why the trainers and coaches devised this exercise, to look and be tough. So now you’re probably wondering why I would think the way I do. I suppose its because I take safety very seriously and anyone willing to let someone else “run/walk” with a barbell with that much weight on it is clearly not considering safety. 

The barbell mile... aka run/walk a mile with the barbell and some serious weight.

Here’s what I see wrong with this picture. I see someone putting their body to the maximum test of fatigue and strength in a way that is compromising to their joints (spine and knees) and without any spotters or assistance. They are in the dangerous position that one misplaced step could land them in crutches or in the extreme case a wheel chair. I’ve heard a trainer try to justify using a barbell for this exercise by saying “it’s the same thing as doing squats”. To them I say “you’re lying to yourself”. First of all with squats, particularly back squats, you should always have a spotter, in case you get stuck. Not to mention, typical weight lifting you might do anywhere from 5-20 reps at one time with rest in between and then maybe repeat that 3+ times so that you are able to hold proper form. It’s nowhere near the same impact. Giving the benefit of the doubt, lets estimate it takes them 11 minutes to do a mile, at that slow rate 120/min or approximately 1,320 steps. Now if I was a bio mechanist I could then calculate the force and impact each step has on the body and while I can’t give you the exact number it’s a lot, and it’s enough to be concerned about the impact on the spine (compressed disks?) as well as the meniscus in the knee.  This is a big problem, particularly since the goal of the exercise is to take you to extreme fatigue. Once your main muscles start to fatigue form and technique go out the window, which with that much weight could ultimately lead to injury. 

The other excuse that this trainer handed me was that every sport has its risks, well true, but shouldn’t you do everything you can to minimize those risks? For example, rock climbing can be very dangerous, especially with increasing difficulties. So while these people are not going to quit, they have done what they can to minimize the risk (e.g. using proper equipment and a trusted belayer). Well… there are many ways to still have the alter ego and eat your cake too. You could use a back pack, give piggy back rides, use resistance belts, pull sleds, carry a dead body, etc. In case you aren’t sure why this is so unsafe there are 2 main reasons. 1. The hands are occupied holding onto the weight behind your head. If you fell or tripped you’d have to have lightning reflexes and superman strength to throw that bar over your head before it came down on top of your head or neck. And 2. The weight is centered exactly over the upper spine and as fatigue sets in, form fails, and you start to slouch over more you increase the risk of compressed disks.

A very good example of a bad example is what was known as one of the best rock climbers ever DanOsman (check out the link). He would frequently climb without ropes and was fast and strong (I’m not a climber so forgive me if I screw up the lingo) and confident. He took risks in his sport that I would never dream letting anyone I know take and he was pretty lucky. Read the caption and the comments on the youtube video to find out how he died. It takes one mistake or accident, that’s all. One mistake like in Dan’s case where they failed to check the rope thoroughly. Odds are you will not die due to a mistake made by you or your trainer, but that doesn’t mean you might get off easy either.  Just be smart and careful. 

 

8.       Practice only within their scope of knowledge (and certifications) and offer a support team of professionals to guide you as the athlete to full health and wellness in the areas where they should not. 

Every time one of my runners comes to me with an ache or pain I automatically want to diagnose it. Well I could get into a lot of trouble doing this. I need to be very careful that I leave the job of the injury specialist to the injury specialists. This doesn’t mean I can’t make recommendations and help them find ways to stretch, strengthen, and modify. But I shouldn’t throw out diagnosis like I have x-ray vision either. Instead I should help advise that they go see someone who can help them. 

It would be awesome if every trainer or gym had their own sports medicine physician and dietician on hand, but most gyms don’t. Ask your trainer or someone else you trust if they have anyone they recommend to you when needed. 

 

9.       Provide you as the athlete with the necessary knowledge, tools, skills training and supervision that will offer the best chance of success and injury prevention.

There are some secrets which should never be kept, especially when it comes to your health, safety and success. Would you ever walk into an advance gymnastics class if you can’t even do a handstand? No, you would be smarter than that. So should your trainer. They should teach you everything you need to know about the program they are giving you including but not limited to, technique, strategy and purpose. So that you feel like you can achieve the goal in front of you. It’s that simple.

I have been coaching a marathon training team on the weekends and I have a wide variety of fitness levels and experience. While I love coaching this group it can be both difficult and nerve-wracking all at the same time. As an assistant coach I am to help these team members reach their goal of completing a half, or full marathon. Easy right? WRONG! Why? Well because everyone is different with different problems, fitness levels, and experience. So while practices are the same for everyone it is my job to make sure these individuals know proper technique, know how to stretch and strengthen to avoid injury as well as providing them with a workout that will give them the right amount of work without causing injury. What makes it particularly difficult is when I don’t see the team on a regular basis to know how they are faring with the program.  

10.       Foster motivation and lifestyle changes that will improve your quality of life now and in the future.

Your choice but your trainer's student.

 

         One of my areas of study is motivation. What an interesting and complex topic. Each one of us is motivated by slightly different things and the decision to act is always up to you. So while your trainer can’t shove motivation down your throat, they should create an environment that is going to improve your motivation so that you make a lifestyle out of healthy living.

No trainer is perfect and they are all going to make mistakes. In fact a good trainer will probably make more than a few, especially in the beginning of working with you. Why? Because each individual is unique and if they are trying to adapt to your needs it will take learning. Training is as much of an art as it is a science, so just like in art class in middle school, there might be a lot of “color testing” before they find a “color” that really fits with you. But the majority of the items I listed above should not be affected by how new they are, how challenging your needs are, or even the art.

 

Hiring a personal trainer, or paying for that gym pass is not cheap and you definitely don’t want to waste your money on bad information and instruction, just like you wouldn’t intentionally take medicine that was going to hurt you. So whether your trainer is brand new or has years of experience. Find one that fits your needs, budget and these guidelines.

Hopefully this list gives you a good idea of how to pick someone that you can really trust and that you want to invest in. But as I mentioned in the beginning, these are just my opinions, you should judge for yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Run-A-Thon Re-Cap

If you were on Facebook this last Saturday and kept seeing me post repeatedly (~1xhr) and saw me "bragging" about the distance I was running you were witnessing the live updates of my Run-A-Thon "38,000 Strides to Cure Cancer". If you are just tuning in check out the page on this blog titled  "38,000 Strides to Cure Cancer".

While it may have seemed that I was just trying to clog your newsfeeds and brag about my wolf-like running ability you were wrong. My purpose was to create awareness for my cause which is to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) through Team in Training.

The LLS exists to raise money for blood cancer research, fund patient support programs, public education programs, and send lobbyists to Washington, D.C.. There are many forms of blood cancer, all of which I do not know, the big or most common types are Leukemia, Lymphoma, Myeloma, and Non Hodgekins Lymphoma. I'm sure that you are aware that there are many different types of cancer and while the LLS only deals with blood cancers, its research team has developed more than 29 cancer treatments in the last few decades, many of which treat other forms of cancer besides blood cancers.

Here are some facts about blood cancers in the U.S.

•  Approximately 957,000 people are currently living with blood cancer
•  Every 4 minutes, someone new is diagnosed with blood cancer
•  Every 10 minutes someone dies (this used to be every 6 minutes, yay research!)
•  Leukemia is the #1 killer of children between ages 1-14yrs old

My role has been to fund raise money to fight blood cancers through LLS's fundraising campaign group, which happens to be the LARGEST training/fundraising team in the world, Team in Training (TNT). TNT came into existence over 24 years ago when a man, frustrated by the diagnosis of his then 2 year old daughter (Leukemia) set out to raise money to fund research for a cure. He and his buddies committed to running a marathon in order to raise money. That first year, those 6 men raised $32,000 and consequentially started the "running for a cause" movement and Team in Training. 24 years later, TNT has raised $1.6 billion with the help of 54,000+ volunteers like myself. 24 years ago the children with Leukemia had a 50/50 chance of survival, today its 90%. That's what I'm fighting for.



So I know I've been rambling on for a little while now and I'd like to do what I started out to do, recap my run-a-thon. So here we go.

Friday night before the run we (Josh and I) spent several hours arguing about where to go, where to stop, what to do about the dog, etc, finally at 10pm after almost driving to Provo (twice) we went to bed with the plan to run to City Creek Canyon in the morning.

I'm going to be throwing in some of my facebook posts, which as you can see for yourself quite negative at first (I've never been a happy morning person).

Saturday morning we started a little later than we had wanted, leaving the house at 5 am.

The start:

Starting an hour later is not the best way to start the day, but I for some reason just dreaded waking up this morning. Progress reports every hour as we go. Stay tuned

We ran south on Redwood Rd for 5 miles and back home with Buttercup so that she would get a run in with us this weekend (without having to go the full 35 miles). Being first thing in the morning, the darkness, sleepiness, and heavy legs made the first 5 miles feel painfully slow but it was manageable.  

Merp... At this point I'm not sure 30 more is possible.
Feel free to donate and make me do it out of obligation and guilt. I need the motivation.

After turning and heading back for home things started to improve, well... as much as it could for with over 2/3 of the run left.

Potty Break: Mile 10 back at home

While the pace was still pretty slow, things started to feel better. Josh, who was on rollerblades for the first 10 miles put on his running shoes and joined me for the last 25 miles. So we started North East to the Jordan Parkway Trail. We stayed on the trail until reaching 400 S in Salt Lake. We found we really enjoyed using the trail, because there tended to be more shade than the city streets and the air was a little cooler due to the proximity of the Jordan River. Here are the then live updates:

Mile 16



Mile 20

Striking a Pose at mile 21 or something...

Besides some light cramping that made me walk here and there things were going slowly but steadily. The side cramps I learned quickly were coming because I was attempting to talk while run... apparently my diaphragm and abdomen thought I should be quiet and just enjoy the scenery... Josh didn't agree. In fact he chattered on and on the whole way. I don't even remember what we talked about now. I'm sure it wasn't to important. I do remember one thing I learned, apparently Lance Armstrong was finally convicted of doping and stripped of all his titles???? What?? That's messed up. I can't even tell you how grateful I am for that man and his willingness to go on all these crazy challenges and adventures with me and be my support and confidence. As things got harder he managed to stay positive and just enjoy the experience. His attitude made a big difference, he helped me stay focused on the positives, including the beautiful day, the distance we've already covered, the goal of finishing, etc. I honestly would not have finished if it were not for him.

At 400 S we turned East, heading off of the trail and into the heat of the city. We both needed to refill our hydration packs and we had run out of salt, which we have learned is crucial for Josh's success while running, and less so, mine as well. So we headed to the Wendy's on 400 West. They were kind enough to let us use their bathroom, refill our water packs, and let us steal their little salt packets.

Wendy's Potty Stop





We were both thrilled for the opportunity to take a short breather and refill. We had been out of water for only 20 mins, but it was pretty hot and being over 4 hours into the run we couldn't drink enough water in order to stay hydrated.

Running was definitely starting to take its mental toll, especially as we zig-zagged through the city towards State Street and South Temple. Its amazing how much difference the shade and even the slightest breeze makes. It has an overwhelmingly sweet feeling to it, especially when fatigued. We welcomed the change of scenery as we entered Memorial Grove and  headed towards City Creek Canyon. We were short our distance, only at mile 27 when we entered the Grove so we knew we'd have to do some loops around the Grove if we were to finish there.

Mile 28, City Creek Canyon

Mile 28! At city creek. So nice. We've slowed down, but we're feeling strong. 7 miles to go!



While the scenery and the temperature had improved by running into the shady woods of City Creek, the intensity of the run did not. Everything was uphill for the next few miles and my legs could no longer produce the power needed to propel my body up and forward at the same time. Walking was the only option when things got much steeper than being flat. We even tried running up a steep trail section on Bonneville shoreline trail, it was not a good idea. We had to turn around and follow the road that traces the perimeter of the Grove and over to the Avenues. We were so close to finishing but it was hard to stay motivated knowing our destination was just 2 miles behind us where we just left.

View from the Road: State Capitol



Once we turned around to start heading back to the grove it was a little uphill and then mostly downhill, which felt so much better. I think the muscle that was most fatigued was my abdominals... (looks like I need to take some pilates classes) but my legs were definitely a close second.

Once back in City Creek we ran to the bottom of Memorial Grove again where we chased down a man and his dog, literally. We saw a man leaving the park with what looked like a Bouvier! We were soooo excited! This is the dog Josh and I really want to get! (After our dogs get old and pass on). She was so pretty, old but sophisticated. 

Anyways, we were distracted talking to the owner for about 10 minutes and so when we finally started again we were at mile 33 at 7 hrs and 20 mins, you can imagine how badly we wanted to be done, and how annoying it would have been to do another two laps of the grove. So we simply ran back up to the spot in the creek that we had picked out for our ice bath and stopped there about 1/2 mile short of our goal... but I really didn't care much... it felt soooooo good.

Done! Mile 34.5 I know its cheating, but we couldn't pass up a good soak



This task was incredibly difficult for me, but I didn't do it for me and that helped, this run was dedicated to my family and friends who's fight is a lot more difficult and important than any run I could ever do.

Disease does awful things to your body and each type messes you up in a different way. Cancer... well that starts out as just the small aches and pains and soon the small things become bigger, and often the treatment is worse than the pain of the cancer, but the treatment may mean hope, a chance, a fight for survival. So day after day these people in my life will fight a battle tougher than my 8 hours running. Whether its going in for radiation every day for 7 weeks (you are so strong dad!) or fighting with time and destiny that it doesn't come back (Jeff and Michelle you are amazing!) or praying that a permanent cure can be found before its too late, these people are the real warriors. They are my hereos.

So while it was ooooh so tempting to back out and not even do the run since I didn't meet my fundraising goal I stuck with it, because like I said, it wasn't about me, it was about these people:

In honor of:Mile 1: My father Wayne Eschler- prostate Cancer
Mile 2: Jesika May- Acute Leukemia
Mile 3: Lisa Polita- Age 2- Leukemia
Mile 4: Bud Rigby- Lymphoma

Mile 4: Ronen- Age 3  ALS (Leukemia)
Mile 15: Richard Steele- Multiple Myeloma
Mile 16: Ed Tucker- Multiple Myeloma
Mile 33: Kathryn Rodgers

After all was done I'm glad I did it, it was by no means a PR and it was not easy, but I did what I said I would and I fulfilled my commitment and honored the people we care about by running, an ability they do not all have the privilege of doing right now. As is stated on my fundraising webpage, my goal was to raise $3,000 and I only just raised 42% of that, but I'm not done trying yet. I still have a month and a half to go and I have plenty of other tricks up my sleeve :)

Although my race is over, the race to cure cancer is not. Therefore, if you are reading this and would still like to donate to my run-a-thon, please do! I would love to accept your donation on behalf of these wonderful warriors. Donations are secure and easy through my fundraising webpage (an e-mail confirmation will be sent to you with tax deductible ID) at:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ut/nikesf12/rblackamix

There are so many good causes out there, TNT is just one of them, but its the one that really spoke to me. As a runner, I couldn't help loving the idea of running to fight cancer! It has helped me to feel so much more motivated and less selfish about taking time away from school, work and family to run. Running with Team in Training and fundraising hasn't been easy, and I'm far from being done. But it is worth it. Because while some of you might think I'm being annoying and that I'm wasting my time. Today I found a quote that summarizes my feelings on the subject:

So once again, Thank you, Thank you for your love, generosity, and support. It means so much to me to know that the few of you who read this, care. I hope that you one day have the opportunity to participate in some sort of "cause" and have the opportunity of feeling like I do right now, proud to be alive!!!

Yoga Series Part 2: Intentions in Mindfulness and Training

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 Have you ever thought to yourself why did I do that? What was I thinking? I bet you have, I know I have. We might think that its capable to act without volition (will or choice) but researchers and common sense all agree that it isn't. Every action is preceded by a thought or an intention to act. Even when you're just going through the motions or the same mindless routine like cleaning the toilet.
You've probably already also heard the phrase "the path to hell is paved with good intentions", there's a reason this phrase is so well understood.


Intentions are an important part of being mindful. Before you act, or chose to act it is important that you set good intentions. It is impossible to be completely mindful when you do not know or understand your goals and purpose for the activity. In yoga intention is an important part of your practice. In fact having the right intentions, and then following them are what sets the course for your practice. Starting with the the wrong intentions is like trying to start your car with water and not gas, not only will the car not start, but it can also cause severe damage to the engine. In yoga good intentions could be to keep your mind in the present, to listen to your body, to push yourself gently, to be calm and in control. In training for a marathon good intentions could be to adequately rest between bouts of exercise, push yourself a little harder on your sprint workout, and practice mindfulness during training.

By starting with good intentions we set the stage for our experience. You could also compare your intentions to the script of the play. A good script is necessary for a successful play, but even a good script will not guarantee success. You also need good actors. A good actor knows and follows the script adding vitality and life to the words on the page. Intentions may be the script, but you are the actor. If you fail to follow your well written intentions your practice or training will fail to be a success.

During your speed workouts you have set good intentions before beginning of pushing to a 6 min/mile pace for mile repeats during the workout but once you get going you get lazy and only run a 7 min/mile. This may not be a huge deal for someone who has the goal to finish the race, but what if you're trying to get your PR, failing to follow your intentions may ultimately lead to not achieving your goals. Training with mindfulness and with intention go hand in hand. If you are not mindful during the practice you will inevitably lose sight of your purpose and intentions. Here I'd like to also mention that it is also a bad thing to take your good intentions too far. For example, pushing through injury simply because you had intentions of doing speed work today is also not very wise.

Starting with Good Intentions

Hopefully I have adequately illustrated the importance of both having good intentions, but also of following through with your intentions. Intentions can be seen as the purpose of the particular workout, or the process (workout specific) goals that you set for that work out.

 Here are some guidelines that can help you when planning your workouts and help you use good intentions and mindfulness.

1. Establish your lifestyle philosophy and purpose. This philosophy should be a constant in your life and never have an end. In 20 years you should still be living with the same purpose. To illustrate a lifestyle philosophy could not be to win the St George Marathon. A good lifestyle philosophy could be to maintain a high quality of life.

2. Create the big picture for your training that fits in with your lifestyle philosophy. Illustrated by the infamous words of the Cheshire cat in Alice and Wonderland if you don't know where your going "then it doesn't matter which way you go". Write down your training goals for both the near and distant future

3.  Determine your current position in relation to your training goals and lifestyle philosophy including your training strengths and weaknesses. Recognize that to be safe and free from injury you should allow yourself ample time for your body to develop and to reach the demands of your goals. Adjust your time frames as necessary. Pushing yourself too quickly into something could put a temporary or permanent end to your goals.

4.  Working backwards from your goal dates, plan a general map/script of a course of progress to get you from A to B and then to C. (meaning don't skip straight from A-Z). Keep in mind your philosophy and goals.

5. Before beginning any workout, remind yourself of your lifestyle philosophy and your goals as well as the intentions for that specific workout. If both your goals and philosophy are written down in an obvious place this will be much easier. Each workout should fit like a puzzle piece into the big picture you've created.

6. Practice mindfulness, staying focused on the moment during the workout. Frequently remind yourself of your intentions.

Staying focused on the moment as well as on your intentions will help you get more out of your training program. It will also help you stay balanced as you focus on the big picture and your lifestyle philosophy. You may find yourself either becoming lazy or wanting to push yourself to the brink of injury and burnout. If so bring yourself back to your intentions.
 
Establishing your intentions before you start is obviously important, but it can be difficult. I know most of us have a hard time deciding what is the best choice that will be most likely to lead us to success. It can be difficult to know without having had prior experience writing training plans, studying training adaptations, and knowing truly what your body is capable of.

Training for success is an art and science that begins with building your intentions (process goals) and purposes into every workout. If you need help and feel lost or overwhelmed it is important to recognize that there is a ton of free rescources in the form of general training programs that can help be your guide. There is also tons of books and articles that have already been published that can be used to help you make appropriate decisions. Also, never forget that there are many well qualified coaches and trainers (such as myself) also available to help create customized programs to meet your needs.

Please as always, e-mail me with any questions or concerns!

Training and Fundraising Updates

I know you're all dying to know how my training and fundraising is going. :) ok maybe I'm kidding myself. None the less I thought I'd update you anyways.

Lets start with training. Overall training has improved. I am able to work at higher intensities and for longer without feeling the drag and dead leg feeling that I had earlier this season. Which is a big plus. I think a lot of this is due to the things that I did while not training. I started eating better (more fruits and veggies every day), I have been icing after my long and hard workouts, and I have tried to do be more diligent on stretching post workout. It really is the little things that count. Last week I ran 24 miles and while I was tired, I felt so much better during the run than I did a few weeks earlier while running 16 and 17 miles.


So as some of you know a few months ago I posted "Race Schedule=Death" (http://crazytrainrunner.blogspot.com/2012/05/race-schedule-death.html) and am proud to say that I made it through my pre-season races fairly successfully! Or in some cases almost successfully :). The Bike MS which I have already blogged about was a little rough... but we blame most of that on the 100deg weather and dehydration that set in as a result.

Three weeks ago we raced in the Rigby Tri, olympic distance. It was a really small but fun event. Overall I think we'd do it again. Its definetly a practice race though, its not high enough quality to be considered a season best. Josh and I both put in really good efforts. I didn't get the time I really wanted, which I blame mostly on the little time I spend biking. I will have to focus more on biking, and less on running for next years races. I do really well in the swims though. I was the second female out of the water with a total tiem of 27 minutes (including my transition time). Like I said though, while this time is pretty good, I really didn't have a lot of competition.

This last weekend Josh and I competed in the Black Ridge Tri in Herriman. This race was bigger than the Rigby Tri, but it still wasn't huge, some 350 people to compete in the sprint distance event. It was The swim was in Black Ridge Resevoir which is tiny. One lap around the piremeter is only 500 yds. So instead of being a typical 800yd swim the race was only 500. A little short. But that also made it nice for Josh who still hates swimming.

The beginning of the bike was all uphill making this a very challenging course. But that also meant the second half was pretty much downhill the whole way. (yay!) Josh topped speeds of 40+mph going down some of the hills. I wasn't able to get going that fast, I think the most I ever hit was 32mph. The run I was pretty proud of, it was 3.1 miles and my average pace was a 7:47 min/mile! That is great for me! I am not super fast and typically train at a 9min/mile pace so I am thrilled with that time. Josh did even better on his run! He was exactly one minute faster than me for a total time of 23:09 and a min/mile pace of 7:14. I have to say I am so proud of all the work he's done in training this year. It has been such a relief... no if only I could get him to learn to swim better. Sigh... another chore for another year I guess.

Here are some pictures of the Black Ridge Tri Finish Line posing:

So here are the remaining events of the year

August 25th -RUN-A-THON- 35 mile run to raise money for LLS

September 8th- Bear Lake Brawl Half triathlon (=half ironman distance)

October 6th- St George Marathon

October 14th- Nike Women's Marathon (YAY!!!)


I must say I am feeling much better about competing in the half ironmnan! Earlier this summer I was feeling incredibly unprepared. I know I could have done a much much better job training, but considering most of my training time I spend running I can't be to upset with myself. Except of course to push myself to get out on my bike a few more times. Lukily the race course will be almost completely flat (woot!) and so I should survive.

The biggest concern right now is the Run-a-thon where my goal is to run the 35 miles. I am not too nervous about running 35. I know I could do it. The real concern is what will happen after that. Will I be able to bounce back and compete in the Bear Lake Half? Will I end up injured? Its just so hard to tell at this point. I'd love to think that I am super woman and come out on top, but realistically I'm not sure that is even possible.

Not too mention I'm only 1/3 of the way to meeting my race goal of $3,000. Granted, I would gladly settle for only getting to $2,000 by the 25th and then $3,000 by October 14th. But once again I need to be realistic. So I'm considering only doing 26 miles on the 25th. Even though I already agreed to 35. But why willingly kill myself if I didn't even meet my goal right? Right? the other Option is I might postpone the 35 miles until the end of October. This way I'm gauranteed NOT to kill myself... so much to think about.

What do you think I should do?

Thanks for reading! And don't forget to donate!

Yoga for the Endurance Athlete: Part 1 Mindful Training

Practicing yoga principles while training is not a new concept to those of us who practice yoga and perhaps some of you who practice yoga while training without even knowing it. But to those of you who have never done yoga or who have never considered the idea you are missing out on the wonderful benefits that could be yours through using the yoga mentality while training.

Yoga brings a new and invigorating component to your training, and I don't mean just by increasing your flexibility, which yes is a benefit. What I'm referring to is what happens when you bring yoga off of the matt and onto your run, or swim, or bike ride. By bringing yoga with you while training I sincerely believe you will be much more satisfied and fulfilled with your training sessions, and you will see improvements in your physical performance as well as your mental performance.

This article will be the first of a series, where I will take an idea or principle that yoga teaches and tell you how to incorporate it into your training. However, if you have never taken a yoga class before, I recommend you sign up and get started. Many of the things may make sense to you just by reading them. However, when you go to a class and put them into practice under the guidance of a skilled instructor you will better know how to apply them to your training as well.

The first principle I'd like to talk about is mindfulness.

Smriti

Five years ago if you would have asked, I would have told you that I hated running. I would have given you the same reasons that most anyone else would have had, it was boring, I wasn't very good at it, it was too hard, etc. If it wasn't for a coworker, Russ, I don't think I would have ever willingly decided to take up running. Running became a way for me to cope with life, it helped me find a sense of identity and most importantly I learned the power of mindfulness in running.

 I didn't have a goal to run a marathon or even a half. Back then I did it because I wanted to get in shape and feel strong physically and mentally. I'm not sure when exactly it happened, but I learned to love running somewhere in those first few months. Running was hard, but I didn't try to hide from that any more. I welcomed the challenge, the feeling of my pounding heart, the overwhelming sensations in my legs, the adrenaline rush, and the new strength I felt, all became feelings I wanted to keep feeling. Initially, Russ and I would talk, but soon we would just run. Letting our minds focus on each step and breath. The stresses of real life seemed to fade to the background as I had only one thing to focus on, running.

 Smriti in Sanskrit (written language of yoga) means mindfulness. Mindfulness is a principle found in both Buddhist and Yoga teaching. Before I offer a definition of mindfulness let’s look at this example found on yogajournal.com, Nora Isaacs uses this example to illustrate mindfulness in a yoga practice.

You're standing in Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I). You actively reach through your back foot and allow your tailbone to descend away from your lower back as your arms reach up toward the ceiling. As you hold the pose you start to notice your front thigh burning, your shoulders holding tension, and your breath becoming labored. Still holding. Soon you get agitated and start to anticipate the joy you'll feel when the pose is over. Your breath becomes shallow while you await the teacher's instruction to come out of the pose. But she doesn't say anything. You label her a sadist. Still holding. You decide that you are never coming back to yoga. As your thigh starts to shake, you mentally check out. Frustrated, you drop your arms and look around the room.

Now imagine this: You're standing in Virabhadrasana I, noticing the same sensations, having the same thoughts and feelings—anger, boredom, impatience, tension. But instead of reacting, you simply observe your thoughts. You remember that this pose, like everything else in life, will eventually end. You remind yourself not to get caught up in your own story line. And, in the midst of feeling irritated while your thighs burn, you appreciate the sweetness of the moment. You may even feel a wash of gratitude that you have the time and privilege to do a hatha yoga practice. Then you bring your awareness back to your breath and witness the ongoing sensations and thoughts until the teacher guides you out of the pose.

As illustrated by Isaacs, mindfulness is about staying in the moment and keeping your mind focused on the task with a non-judgmental attitude. About.com uses the following definition:

 Mindfulness refers to being completely in touch with and aware of the present moment, as well as taking a non-evaluative and non-judgmental approach to your inner experience. For example, a mindful approach to one's inner experience is simply viewing "thoughts as thoughts" as opposed to evaluating certain thoughts as positive or negative.

I really like this definition because it points out a few characteristics of mindfulness found in the words in "in touch", "aware", "non-judgmental" which are also illustrated in the example by Isaacs. Other characteristics of mindfulness include, attentive, heedful, and mindful of responsibilities.

 One of the most important characteristics of mindfulness is being present in the moment. In yoga class we are taught to set aside the thoughts, lists, feelings, etc. that do not have a place in our yoga practice. We are taught to keep our mind in the present moving forward with us as our body moves with each breath and each pose. It is no coincidence that at the end of yoga you feel so relaxed, free from anxiety and worry it’s because of the intense focus you used during class to keep your mind in the moment.

I know that many of you prefer to practice disassociation (distracting the mind away from the task at hand) over association (focus on the task). I can't recall how many times I have heard "I can't run without music" or swimming laps is so boring I just can't do it. Training and racing can be painful, uncomfortable and if you’re like me, you spend a LONG time being uncomfortable. It is so tempting to try to take your mind off of the discomfort with music or by watching TV and its definitely easy to let your mind wander off on what work you have to do that day. Nonetheless, when you are not focused on the task at hand you lose something from that moment, the opportunity to learn from that moment.

 The ability to be mindful during training or racing is not easy, and it takes practice but it is worth it and it will make all the difference in your training and racing. Some of the ways that mindfulness can benefit your training and racing are:

· Injury prevention through paying better attention to the signals sent to you by your body.

· Improved awareness of technique and mechanics as you focus on proper movement

· Improved mental toughness and ability to tolerate the stress of training

· Increased satisfaction and fulfillment

· Improved performance as your mind is centered over the intention of the workout

· Increased ability to pace appropriately.

Applying the Principle

Being mindful may be easier said than done. This is something you'll have to start doing a little at a time. If you have never practiced mindfulness I would recommend finding an active yoga class to participate in first. Having a teacher to guide you during this period of exploration can be very helpful to becoming more mindful.

 While there are many ways to practice mindfulness, I recommend starting by practicing a few minutes at a time and slowly increasing the time you spend being mindful.

Some ways that you can practice mindfulness is by intermittently checking in with your body, focusing on your breathing and movements. Turn down or off the music and the external noise, enjoy your surroundings. Lastly, do your best to not make judgmental responses while training. Do your best to be a neutral observer.

Next Article: Intention in mindful training

The following article was sited in this article:

http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/2684?print=1

Check out this fun article:

http://www.diy-stress-relief.com/simple-mindfulness-exercises.html