Trainingbible Coaching UK

2013-02-14T15:03:00.000Z

A few people know that I am in for an IM distance race this year and have been asking me about the type of training I am doing right now in preparation. So I thought I would post up a typical weeks training at the moment to give you an idea of what I am up to and the reasons behind it.

I am doing Challenge Henley in September with a few good friends. Right now I am spending time doing mostly conditioning work to get myself ready for more race like training in a few months time. Call it base if you want, but I also like to mix things up a bit so I can stay keen and just enjoy the training. My main race goal is to enjoy the experience and do what I can up front to ensure that happens. I love the journey of doing the training towards an event, this has become more important than the event itself, although for me that may just be an age thing as I am not looking to bust PB's its just a great way to stay in shape.

The focus of my conditioning work has been to make sure I am the right work in the gym to get and stay strong and so ensuring I can train consistently in the 3 sports. I am an OK swimmer typically around the hour for an IM so mostly I am doing short feel for the water, rhythm sessions. This often includes continuous swims including some Fartlek or building to a strong steady pace and holding. My main endurance work has been on the bike and limiting the running to twice a week avoid over fatigue or injury.

Typical Conditioning week

Sunday - Long Bike ride (with hills usually about 4 hours anything from 60-75 miles weather permitting.)
Monday - AM Gym session (60 mins) PM Easy Swim continuous (30 mins)
Tuesday - AM Easy run 7-9 miles (75 mins) PM Easy Spin or skills session on Watt Bike (60 mins)
Wednesday AM Watt Bike hard intervals (70-90 mins) PM Continuous swim (Fartlek 30 -40 mins)
Thursday AM Gym Session (60 mins) PM Steady run 8-10 miles (60- 80 mins)
Friday Day off every other week - Or Watt bike Aerobic intervals (60 mins)
Saturday AM Swim Intervals (45 mins) followed by Indoor spin with training group (90 mins)

Typical training week is between 12-14 hours - I tend to take rest days when I feel like I need them rather than on schedule it seems to work for me like that but I am well versed to listening to my body after 40 odd years of regular athletic training. I will look to get 16 weeks of this type of training together before I start to look at more specific race focused.

Please feel free to post up questions or ask them on my Facebook page.
Rob :)

Character lies at the heart of leadership

2013-02-07T15:07:00.000Z

Well its been sometime since my last posting and that's for a variety of reasons, sometimes other things in life take over and finding a voice for my thoughts took a back seat. That said this week saw lots of news stories that I wanted to comment on.

Earlier in the week we had politician Chris Huhne admitting his guilt to the charge of perverting the course of justice, he had for the past 10 years denied he was driving and had committed a speeding offence. As ever the cover up and consequences are going to be much worse than the original offence. A sad story of a talented politician and person with so much going for him falling from grace.

We had the news of the England Footballer Paul Gascoigne sadly lapsing back into hospital for rehabilitation to fight alcoholism. One of England's most talented footballers of his generation, now with his life gripped by a bottle and struggling to get his life back on track.

The Royal Bank of Scotland have been hit with a 390 million pound fine for fixing the interbank lending rate (LIBOR) with traders e-mails exposing how they put their own personal wealth agenda before that of their bank, clients, or anyone else.

Yesterday, we listened to Robert Francis QC, report on the findings and recommendations from the pubic enquiry he led into the issues, that resulted in the suffering and deaths of many patients at Stafford Hospital. He has made almost 300 hundred recommendations for change in a hospital trust that had completely lost sight of its purpose, to care for those at their most vulnerable. It was a gross dereliction of duty.

Four seemingly unrelated stories, the sorts of bad news stories that unfortunately we hear far too often. All of these stories though different in content I would suggest are linked by the fundamental issue of leadership. It has a kind of old fashioned ring to it but its 'Character' that lies at the heart of leadership. Our desire and ability to avoid the path of least resistance, or fall for instant gratification is one of our greatest challenges.
Call it 'strength of character' another old fashioned term, that strength or will is critical in situations that require leadership decisions.

The challenge for all of us is that almost everything we do ends up with us having to make a leadership decision. Everyday we are challenged with decisions of character. Recently my wife Julie and I took a receipt back to a till at Tesco, because after scanning through the bill we noticed they had under charged us.. 'you mean we have undercharged you!' The lady on the till looked shocked that we were actually bringing this to her notice. She said she has never had anyone bring her a receipt back for undercharging before. Please don't think that I am claiming to have achieved the some mystical goal of enlightenment. I am as challenged as the next person with holding true to my own personal values and standards. In this case I just thought it was the right thing to do.

My wise friend and leadership guru Trevor Waldock puts it simply 'the choices we make inside, lead to actions, that lead to habits that form our character'. We can see this in the stories above, it starts off with seemingly insignificant decision, 'its ok to leave that person, I won't check on that patient, the next member of staff will be here to do it in 10 minutes' or 'no one will notice a small rise in that rate, I am sure everyone else is doing it anyway' or maybe ' it might look bad if I am seen to have been caught speeding, its not hurting anyone anyway'
At the time we can all rationalise these decisions, and we can convince ourselves that they make perfect sense. The problem is that these situations hardly ever happen in isolation. A series of things happen, that threaten to expose these actions, and the pressure comes on... and then another decision has to be made, and another and another and before long we are hearing these stories and find it hard to relate to 'why' these people make such crazy decisions? Who in their right minds would leave a patient lying in their own excrement?...Think is was sensible to deny charges for 10 years when they know they are guilty...Think that no one would find out that the interest rate was being fixed?

Character is a work in progress for me, I guess that's the same for many of us, something we are all trying hard to remind ourselves of and keep in context.

Inspiration & Desperation

2011-07-08T11:53:00.001+01:00

Recently, the tragic death of cyclist Rob Jeffries hit the local cycling community hard. And not just locally - Rob was very well known nationally. He had worked for British Cycling and had only left in February this year to pursue a career in Teaching. Rob’s role with BC involved training Officials and volunteers and through this he came into contact with a lot of people. The sentiments on various forums and message boards are very moving; it truly is a sad affair. The 18 year old lad who struck Rob from behind, (it is referred to as “a collision” in the local paper?) was arrested and later released. Emotions are raw, should we blame him? I want to but how can I? Was I a model driver at 18? I can tell you with some shame that I certainly was not. I never knocked any one down but I was lucky. So I cannot blame him. He will have to live with the events of that fateful evening. I hope he is remorseful. I hope he thinks deeply about what happened. I hope one day he rides a bike - he might. I hope he experiences the fun, enjoyment and pain that two wheels can bring. No matter how far into the future this happens then at least some good will have come from this devastation.

Earlier in the race season, I spent the day at the Swashbuckler Triathlon, over in Hampshire. Well it started at 05.15am so it was more like the night shift. Enjoyed myself, some impressive performances and some not so. Good fun though and it did take me back to when I used to jump into rivers at some unearthly hour. I have been to a lot of races lately, I am not a very good spectator so have been taking a few photographs. Now, I am no photographer so I take a lot of pictures and in amongst the rubbish I get a few good shots. I am trying to capture the event, sometimes I think I get it but most often not quite. I put the good ones on my regular blog page – if you’d like to take a look here.

I have decided to have a year off racing. My involvement with the GB Para-Cycling squad means I am away a fair bit so I do not feel I can do myself justice, yes I know, it’s an excuse. I need to keep fit though, I do train hard, always have done, but without the commitment of a race at the weekend it is easy to miss a session. Entering a race always was the best motivation, I thought. So I have ridden a couple of club 10s, but that just seems to highlight the lack of training, reminding me I need to do more. But hold on, I am supposed to be having a year off, so no need to worry…. but what about keeping fit?……I seem to be going round in circles here, so why don’t I just ride the bike - which is kind of the same thing.

At a recent committee meeting of our cycling club we were discussing, why, as a club we seem to be failing? I am sure all clubs, be they, cycling, fishing, triathlon, sowing circles, are struggling. Perhaps the days of the traditional club are over? People lead busy lives and do not seem to be able to commit to club runs, races or marshalling etc. They want to do their own thing. Cycling is on the increase we are told. Participation is growing! I am not sure that is reflected in racing - numbers are down for most local club time trials, the simplest form of racing. I see plenty of people out on bikes so I am sure more people are riding but its not racing that drives them, it seems to be sportifs. They have become very popular, with huge numbers riding more and more events. I am sure some of the people riding these sportifs will have a go at racing. Whenever cyclists ride together competition is not far from the surface. Perhaps modern living provides enough challenges throughout the working week, without the added pressure of racing at the weekends. Riding a sportif on a Sunday with your mates is a great way to relax, no pre-race nerves, no need to suffer if you do not want to, just good fun on the bike, with no results to confirm how good or bad you were. It must be a great way to de-stress, leaving you refreshed and ready to face the coming week.

Take care out there, see you up the road!!

Learning how to suffer

2011-07-05T14:20:00.005+01:00

The Tour de France has just kicked off and we have the opportunity to watch some of the greatest endurance athletes in the world 'duke it out' for the next 3 weeks. When you start to take part in endurance sports one of the things that you learn all too quickly is that the events we challenge ourselves with hurt! They are both mentally and physically draining. This weekend just gone we had TBC athletes at distances from sprint Triathlon to Ironman and all in their own way will have had to learn how to suffer. To put up with often a high level of discomfort in the hope of beating our PB, hitting the podium or gaining a qualification to another race so we can suffer some more.

Pain and our responses to it is a very interesting subject. I have always wondered how some people seem to be able endure what seems like an intolrable amount of discomfort while others pack at the drop of a hat. What are some of the factors that make some people more able to suffer than others?

Some interesting reseach in this area has been developed by the behavioural economist Dan Ariely. I have been following his work at MIT and Duke University for a few years now. You may be wondering what a behavioural economist is doing with pain studies? He researches a wide range of subjects but the study of pain is closer to him than most - he was badly burned as a child and suffered terrible burns to his body - so his work comes with a lot of authority and experience on this particular topic. Take a look at this You Tube video and this might provide some interesting insights into why some people are able to handle more suffering than others.

Dan's research revealed that everyone who had suffered some sort of acute injury developed the ability to adapt to pain and the more severe the injury the more they seemed to be able to endure pain. He made a fascinating distiction from working with chronic pain sufferers, and that was, our ability to endure pain very much depends on how we atribute pain - either positively (i.e. its tough but I can deal with it)or negatively (i.e. its tough and there's no hope of it getting better).

So how does this relate to swim, bike, run? Think about the kind of conversations you have with yourself when the training starts to hurt, are you having positive, self-affirming conversations? Saying to yourself... "this is how I should be feeling right now, its ok, my body is working hard and thats just how it should be", "this is doing me good, its getting me where I want to be in 3 months time" - because these are exactly the kind of positive attributes for pain that helps us learn to endure it. If you have any ambitions to get good at endurance sport learn to love that feeling, because thats the positive feedback that your body is adapting. Keep going comrades!

Excuses, Excuses...

2011-04-15T16:54:00.003+01:00

A busy few months working away has meant more time off the bike than I would like. Popped over to Mallorca in January with the GB Para-Cycling squad, then it was down to Newport Velodrome with the squad for 8 days of intensive track work in February. A couple of weeks at home, then a long drive down to Montichiari, near Brescia in Italy for the Para-Cycling World Track Champs. Took a bike but only managed two rides and could feel the little bit of fitness I had, ebbing away. Still although the championships were hard work, they were very exciting. The GB squad is lottery funded and sponsored by Sky, with most of the Athletes full time and based in Manchester. This level of support is the envy of most nations including the USA who were in the pits next to us at the Velodrome and were constantly scrounging tools from our mechanics. We got on well though, so they were welcome. With 18 medals we topped the table and are the Nation that everyone else looks at, we can appear a little arrogant though! Anyway it’s all about next year London 2012 and everything this year is done with that in mind, points win prizes, the number of points won in competition this year will determine the number of athletes able to compete at the London Paralympic Games. We certainly picked up a few in Italy. It was hard work trackside but being so close to the action was great fun - even enjoyed the long drive back, while the athletes flew home from Verona.

Then it was down to Celtic Manor Hotel for a team day, apparently its £160 to play a round of golf on the Ryder cup course and even though it was midweek there were plenty of takers. Anyway back to that lost fitness! Have managed to get back on it a bit, not got the time for loads of miles so when I do ride I “nail it”. Its hard work but I know it gets results and after 4-5 weeks I can feel a few “green shoots of recovery”. A family holiday and then Switzerland and Spain with the Para boys and girls for 12 days will soon put an end to that.

Enjoyed a morning taking pics at the Ringwood Triathlon recently, I did this race a couple of time in its first incarnation in the early nineties. Organiser Michelle Noble of Results triathlon put on a great race and was rewarded with warm spring sunshine. The course is pretty much the same as 20 years ago and the long drag up Bolderwood drive with the steep bit at the end, caught more than a few out. Winner James Gilfillan looked very comfortable, I know because I was there taking photos of him. I still regularly train on this course and always have to work hard.

London Marathon time again and I have had the usual last minute panic appointments for massage, some of you should have come months ago. Most of the people I have been seeing started training a week or so after Christmas so have racked up a fair few miles. I must wish local star Steve Way good luck, his training has been a bit disrupted this year but he certainly puts in the hard work. Whether he has the form to beat last years 2.19.39, and 17th place I do not know, but I know he will be giving it his best shot - Now that’s something to aspire to!

See you up the road…
ED

Eamonn Deane is a TrainingBible UK specialist in the field of sports massage. To find out more about his work, check out his new website at
www.sportsmassagebournemouth.co.uk

Thin slicing

2011-04-15T16:00:00.003+01:00

As many of you will know I spend my working life split between facilitating Leadership training programmes for corporate clients and coaching athletes. I find both areas really motivating as they are fundamentally about helping to develop an individual's potential. Recently I have been working on a Leadership project for a major bank and was reminded about the book "Blink", by one of the participant's performance in some of the tasks we coached them through. In the book, it's author Malcolm Gladwell describes how the human brain is able to take in, what on the surface seems, a very small amount of information and extrapolate it very quickly. A good example would be how a tennis player reacts to return a fast serve, the unconscious brain takes in lots of sensory information from the servers body position and ball toss and seemingly without a thought moves to the position where the ball can be hit and returned over the net. All this happens in fractions of seconds. Gladwell calls this ability 'thin slicing'. He puts foward the idea that the more we have practised and mastered a particular skill the better we become at thin slicing information. He asserts that because our brain, through its learned experience of these very specific experiences, can effectivly short cut through the sensory information and make super fast decisions in fractions of seconds i.e. in the blink of an eye or even faster. We all wonder why Rodger and Rafa seem to have so much time when returning a serve, now it becomes obvious, their abilty to thin slice the information and move even before the ball is hit, means that added fraction of a second seems like a lifetime.

This theory makes a lot of sense, we know as humans we all live in our own world of perception, experiencing life through our own very specific filters. We all make assumptions about the world we live in or we'd never risk never making it out of bed in the morning. Imagine waking up and trying to decide if the ground was going to be there or not! We assume it is and get up - well, at least its never failed me thus far. When we meet or work with people who have mastered this in an area of life we are interested in it can be a fascinating experience. I have been struggling with an injury for a couple of months, and this week I went to see my physiotherapist, Tim Cruise-Drew. He specialises in working with runners and triathletes, so he has the experience of seeing and treating probably a couple of thousand of athletes across his career. This helps him to thin slice the information he is seeing - its the tiny, inperceptual details that he is aware of, that other physios may not pick up or misinterpret, that make the difference to his ability to identify the source of the injury. Thanks Tim, your insights are making a difference already!

Its what I call the difference that makes a difference. How does this relate to an endurance athlete's performance? According to Gladwell, there seem to be lots of ways that thin slicing works - here are just a couple of thoughts. A few seconds can be the difference between a podium position and 20th place. Think about how much faster you have riden a bike course after you have done it a few times. Depending on the course the difference between riding it for the first time and and the second can be many minutes. The more we learn about the course the faster we are able to thin slice the information we recieve from it and the faster we can go, seems obvious... right? What about the times when you have just gone with the flow in a race and suprised yourself with your performance? Sometimes those thin slices of information provide what we might call a gut reaction. If you'd have stopped to consciously analyse what was going on you might have talked yourself out of it. I remember chatting to an athlete that ran a marathon and on his way broke his 10k, 10 mile and half marathon PB, on the way to his marathon PB. When I asked him about it after the race he told me he had forgotton his watch and just ran as fast as he felt his body would allow him. I am not suggesting we all throw our Garmin's away - just become aware of the potential of the thin slice :-)

To be a successful Athlete, you must understand your ‘Why’…

2011-02-06T18:30:00.002Z

Recently I have been engaged to design a leadership programme for a ‘blue chip’ corporation and as part of that I have been undertaking some interesting research on what drives our behaviour. This led me to thinking about ‘Why’ I decided to become a coach, as it’s something that I am often asked by athletes and business professionals alike. My answer is that I truly believe that sport is a gift for lifelong learning, health and happiness. It’s because I hold this belief that I feel it’s my calling to assist and guide people to be the best they can be. I hope it will enhance their lives as it has mine.
Have you ever thought about ‘Why’ you do the things you do? Finding your ‘Why’ or purpose can be a tricky thing to identify and that’s one of the reasons that many of us don’t give it much time. When we are faced with difficult and complex things to consider, sometimes it’s just easier to accept that’s just the way we are. I would suggest that if we really want to be great at what we do, we need to understand ‘Why’ - even if we find that hard to explain in words.
It’s the ‘Why’ or true purpose that gets us out of bed in the morning and into the pool or onto the turbo trainer. Most of us are able to articulate ‘what’ we do and ‘how’ we do it, but when it comes to our purpose we end up saying stuff like, it feels good, or I get a buzz out of it. Some of us will talk in terms of ‘outputs’ - from ‘getting in the top 10’ to things like ‘managing our weight’ - but I tend to think it goes a bit deeper than that. I believe it’s linked to how we like to see ourselves, and even what we believe to be our true identity.
If we think about this in neurological terms, working out the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ is tackled in a different part of our brain. It’s processed in the computer like Neo Cortex which rationalises and labels these thoughts with language, enabling us to find a form of words to explain it. The ‘Why’ is developed in a different part of the brain - the limbic system - this is where we develop our emotional responses. It is less familiar with language and tends to evoke what we might call ‘gut’ reactions, the intuitive responses when something feels right or wrong, but is hard to explain.
Having a better understanding of our purpose can help garner the level of commitment that’s required to become the best we can be. It manifests itself in the highest performing teams and individuals. It can be observed in the standards they set for themselves and this in turn drives the training and practice schedules they put in place. Understanding our purpose can deliver a constant source of drive and inspiration so it’s worth spending a little time to think about ‘Why’ it is we do what we do. To paraphrase a great leader that truly understood his purpose Martin Luther King said ‘I have a dream...’

ED's Exploits - 10 days in Mallorca with the GB Para-Cycling team

2011-02-04T14:01:00.003Z

I have just spent 10 days in Mallorca working with the Great Britain Para-Cycling team. The primary aim was to build endurance before event specialization work on the track at Newport. Weather was lovely, nice and warm and sunny and no ice. Most of the athletes put in over 30 hours on the road with steady state riding, hill repeats, and interval work. They even had a couple of turbo trainers set up on the Hotel Patio, doing kilo repeats looked just as hard in the sunshine as it feels in my garage. Two of the guys on the squad lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan, there were a couple of hand cyclists who were doing 6 hour rides, very humbling and inspirational but they just got on with it. Training involved two sessions a day, perhaps 3- 4 hours on the road in the morning, followed by intervals in the afternoon or efforts on the Turbo. There was no sightseeing or any of that stuff, when the athletes weren’t riding they were relaxing and refueling. That’s the great thing about training camps, being able to concentrate solely on your training. There are none of the little distractions that you get at home, so all you have to do is Train and Rest. This is actually quite hard! There were quite a few Pro Teams on the island including Team Sky; it’s quite funny seeing them all out as a team, especially when they have a little group of club cyclists hanging on the back. Actually it’s quite motivating, a bit like training on the same pitch as Tottenham Hotspur.(insert your team here) In between all the hard work I managed to fit in 10 hours myself - the Spanish were wearing wind stoppers and overshoes the Brits were in shorts a and short sleeves, cold weather is all relative. The weather was nice and sunny and the roads were quiet and what traffic there was, was pretty patient, alas it could not last.

Here’s my key bike work out for the month:

Find a 5km climb, bathed in sunlight
Warm-up- 15mins
Ride hard and controlled to the top, you need to last the distance so do not go off too hard. Time your effort
Descend to the bottom (recovery) Turn and repeat, aim for the same time-ish as first effort - Repeat
Soft Pedal home, preferably through orange groves
Shower, Sip recovery Drink, eat relax in spa before next session!

Meanwhile back in the real world, this session can be done on the turbo in the garage. Have fun!

My daughter joined the RAF last week; all the ladies have to do two weeks extra basic training, working on core stability. Apparently they find it really hard to march in their boots, due to lack of fitness. There is a high incident of pelvic injuries, so she is spending the first two weeks doing Yoga and Stretching! She has signed up as an Air Traffic Controller but will probably come out as a Pilates Instructor! What would Winston say!?

See you up the Road…

ED

Eamonn Deane is a TrainingBible UK specialist in the field of sports massage. To find out more about his work, check out his new website at
www.sportsmassagebournemouth.co.uk

ED's Exploits - Don't Look Back

2010-12-19T11:56:00.003Z

Well the end of season break has come and gone and I have already started some more structured training. I have always liked to plan the week/month ahead as I find it allows me to concentrate and just get on with it, without having to think what I am going to do. Of course at this time of the year it’s all about base building, stamina work. For the bike, traditionally that has meant getting the miles in, while that is still the case, more and more I favour more specific endurance work. Using a heart rate monitor or watts to measure specific work is a much better way of working and it is less time consuming. It is, perhaps, not so much fun, going out on the bike for 4 hours and “see what happens” is a good crack, so I tend to do a bit of both, structured in the week, go with the flow on Sundays.

It’s traditional to look back at this time of the year and I do wallow in a little nostalgia now and again, especially after a beer, so here is a review of my year:
January: Ice & Snow
February: Snow & Ice
March: “I am going well”
April: “I am not going as well as I thought!”
May: Crashed
June: “Oh England”
July: Italian Mountains = good form
August: A WIN!!
September: Tried Hard
October: Older but not Wiser
November: Surprisingly good training
December: Christmas shopping online is not right, so why do I do it?...Mmm and back to Snow and Ice again!

I first got involved in triathlon right back in the early days in the eighties. My first race was the European Short Course Champs in ‘87 at Milton Keynes. 1,200 m swim, 30 mile bike, 7 mile run, I think - no standard distances in those days. The water was 54 degrees, it was freezing. The continentals were allowed wetsuits but in those days the Brits were not allowed to wear them. The British Triathlon Association, as it was then probably thought they were not “sporting”. In any case I did not own one, so just did it in my Tri-Suit, and it was bloody cold. I seem to remember not many people behind me when I eventually came out of the water. Amazingly the police had closed the A5 dual carriageway for the bike leg, so it was easy to warm up on the fast flat ride. A few minutes before the start, I would happily have been anywhere else than beside that frigid lake. A few minutes after the end of the run I did not want to be anywhere else in the world. No? I don’t understand it either, but I was hooked!
I always like to get out on the bike for an hour or two on Christmas morning, I like to earn my lunch and it always tastes better. It makes me feel a little smug as well, knowing I have done some training when others may have not. Come the season it does not make the slightest bit of difference, but I keep on doing it anyway. Boxing Day usually involves the tandem and some beer, probably undoing all the good work of the previous days ride. Ho Ho Ho!
That’s enough nostalgia for one year; I am looking forward to the spring and some warm sunshine! Be careful on that ice, “If in Doubt, get the Turbo out”.

See you up the Road…

Talent V Practice..Nature V Nurture the debate continues

2010-12-14T12:03:00.009Z

There have been a lot of books published over the last few year's on the existence or not, of natural ability in sport. Books like The Talent Code, Bounce, Outliers and Mindset to name but a few, they put forward the argument that it's focused practice, hard work and the right opportunities to coaching, training venues and training groups that ultimately creates an elite performer. Some dismiss any notion of talent and stress that it's all about the coming together of these external factors, along with the intrinsic motivation and commitment from the individual.

While I agree whole heartedly with many of the assertions of these books, what of genetics? Doesn't this have a part to play? It's very easy to over simplify what is a complex subject. When we start to look at different sports we start to find some commonalities that practice and opportunity does not answer. If we look at Rowing or Basketball the sports naturally favour very tall athletes. How many of the current GB rowing team are under 6 feet in height? Very few if any. That's not to say its not possible for a person under 6 foot to make it, it just makes it less likely given the competition for places. Equally Matthew Pinsent made a great rower but would struggle to make weight if he were to take AP McCoy's place as a jump jockey!

That said, no athlete on the planet can make it to an elite level without an extraordinary amount of hard work and dedicated practice and taking a whole host of opportunities that come their way. Maybe these are some of the things we miss when we declare Roger Federer a 'genius' for hitting that incredible shot between his legs. We forget that he has hit the best part of a million balls every year for the past 20 years and dedicated his life to hitting just that kind of spectacular shot. Its a bit like watching a great stand up comedian, it seems like every sentence is off the cuff and incredibly quick witted, instead of a really well crafed routine, that has been delivered hundreds and hundreds of times.

How good would we be at our chosen sport if we dedicated 20+ hours per week of purposeful practice for 10+ years? How many languages would we be able to speak, or musical instruments could we play, my guess is quite a few more than we do right now. But what else would we have to sacrifice to get there? Nothing... because those few people that choose this path don't see what they are doing as a sacrifice. Its a natural consequence of becoming the best they can be. It's like falling over when you are learning to ski - it's all part of the process.

Carol Dweck author of 'Mindset' is convinced that encouraging children to believe in what she calls a 'growth' mindset will ultimately have a huge effect on their performance, in all areas of their life. Her experiments have revealed that some children believe their physical and mental abilities are 'fixed' by nature while others hold the growth mindset, believing they have the capacity to develop their physical and mental abilities without barriers. The results when they come up against percieved 'barriers' are remarkable, and John Ford's old addage "if you believe you can or can't you are right" still holds true of human nature.

Keep going friends. Improved performance is only as far away as you believe it to be.

The Nature of Reality

2010-11-08T08:36:00.003Z

Saw this lovely little anecdote from Micheal Neill and wanted to share it..

You are in an art studio filled with painters, standing at their easels. Although you cannot see it from where you are standing, they are all looking in the direction of a small platform in the center of the room and painting what they see.
As you walk around the room, you notice small and sometimes vast discrepancies between what people are painting on their canvases. Arguments break out in parts of the room as to whether or not the model for the painting is more one color than another, taller or shorter, uglier or more beautiful than rendered.
You begin to become curious about what it is that everyone is painting, so you make your way to the center of the room and discover to your surprise that there is absolutely nothing there. The emptiness of the center is palpable.
Suddenly you realize the reason that everyone is painting things differently isn't their point of view from what part of the room their easel happens to be placed - it's that what they are "viewing" is only a projection of their own thoughts.
Its a great way of undersatnding why our the Human world is such an amazing and creative place to explore and why sometimes its equally scary and totally bonkers!

Those who train the same - stay the same...

2010-10-20T08:48:00.013+01:00

On reflection, one of the main reasons I became a coach is because I've benefited from having some great coaching, from some of the best coaches around. It worked for me and I believe in it... I hope some of their skills, knowledge and know how has rubbed off!

As a much younger athlete and a keen 800m runner, I had the great fortune to be coached by Frank Horwill. In my opinion one of the truly great athletics track coaches that the UK has produced. In 1963 he founded the British Milers Club in an effort to raise the standard of British middle distance running. 17 years later GB held all middle distance world records. His knowledge amazed me and his ability to inspire and encourage is still legendary. One of his regular quotes to our Sunday training group at Battersea Park was 'Those that train the same, stay the same.' He used to drum that into us. He was talking about ensuring continuous progression in volume, frequency and intensity and most of all, he was talking about variety, keeping the body and mind fresh with new approaches to training. What this meant in practice was working at different paces and keeping the body guessing.

Many of us will be approaching the time of the year where we will be thinking about winter training. Some people think because you are going into base work this means its a time to go easy and loaf about until the weather gets a bit better. If we are serious about performance improvement winter is where we go to work on all the things that will help us improve our PB next year. As Frank would say, it's just like baking a Christmas cake - there are some ingredients that need to be included in the mix to call it a Christmas cake. We need to do some long aerobic work for endurance, we need to include technical work to improve our skills to make us more efficient and we need to get strong by including weights and plyometric work for sure.

Frank would also include a mixture of fast pace work, right through out the year. After a tough winter track session he would have us run 6 or 8 x 80m full out. The lads that had just come back to Imperial College after the Summer break and not done too much training used to love those sessions!! He did not believe in the classic periodisation models using macro, micro and mesocycles and used to say that the Kenyans and Ethiopians think that's some type of Japanese motorbike! He argues with some validity that the classic periodisation model does not work and the results from British middle and long distance athletes might suggest he has a point. Especially as the successful ones seem to follow the Kenyan and Ethiopian training regimes.

Frank is a great believer in working scientifically to pace. In 1970 he developed a 5pace training system, after studying the world records of hundreds of athletes. This same system was very successfully used by Peter Coe, father and coach to the great Seb Coe, the ex multi world record holder. Frank believed back then what some of the most enlightened coaches and world renowned physiologists are saying now - that we need to establish a clear race time goal and develop a pace structure around it, aimed at different distances in preparation to reach the race goal.

For example Frank would have a 10k athlete run sessions at 1500m, 3k, 5k, 10k, and half marathon pace, all within a 14 day window. The pace would be based on what he called his 4 (male) or 5 (female) second rule. He believed that if a male athlete could run a 1500m in 4 mins (64 sec per 400m lap) his 3k potential would be 8.30 (68 seconds per lap) and his 5k would be 15.00(72seconds)and so on. Recovery times on these sessions is also crucial. Frank would argue that anyone can run fast repetitions and have a cup of tea and a doughnut after, the key is developing sustained speed.

Here are some sessions based on the above 4 mins 1500 times, which equates to around 31:40 for 10k:
3k - 3 x 1500m @68secs per lap with 3 mins recovery
5k - 6 x 1k @72 secs per lap with 60 seconds recovery
10k - 4 x 2 miles @76 secs per lap 90 seconds recovery
Half marathon - 13 miles @ 5:20 mins per mile.

Sounds brutal right? Well if your are capable of running 31/32 mins for 10k it probably does not sound quite so brutal - but this kind of work is extremely challenging regardless of your standard. The bottom line is it works, these are the sorts of sessions that you find the top African runners doing and maybe this is one of the key reasons they are at the top. I am coaching a good track athlete at the moment, who is improving rapidly using the same fundamental ideas. I will report back as the year progresses.

ED's Exploits - Second that Emotion...

2010-10-16T10:57:00.001+01:00

The end of the season is always a good time for a bit of reflection on events. Analysis, self assessment, navel gazing, what went right, what went wrong, that sort of thing and very worthwhile it is too. As athletes we can be very self critical about our performance, cold heartedly pouring over data that tells us we are good or tells us we are bad. Our physical condition and fitness are paramount, it defines us, it’s what we do.

There is very little room for emotion in sport and yet it is full of emotion. Perhaps that should read, there is very little room for emotion in training, but that’s not really true either. We have all felt the high after a good workout, that bombproof feeling that makes us think we can take on the world, filling us up with positivity. Likewise the times when things are not going so well, and we want to jack it all in, wallowing in self pity; “why me?”. Embrace it all, it’s the physical work that sows the seed but it’s the emotions that reap the harvest. Picture the boxer, entirely focused in training, ruthless in the ring, yet declaring his love for his wife to the camera post race; the long jumper who seeks out his coach in the stands for an answer, when he cannot hit the board; the sobbing footballers, sobbing when they win and when they lose, ahh! When endurance athletes cry it’s usually because they are tired, but that does not make it wrong or a weakness. This season has been full of emotion, from the inspiration of 45 year old Julia Shaw winning bronze at the Commonwealth Games, to the despair of Chrissie Wellington pulling out at Kona. From the frustration of Wiggins at the tour, to the elation of Emma Pooley at the Worlds. The betrayal by Contador (allegedly), to the hope of Andy Shleck. That suicidal feeling as England let us down again in South Africa, to the life affirming performances of so many unsung heroes of countless Marathons, Ironman Triathlons and crazy endurance events that take place every weekend. Sport is not really important but sometimes it is the only thing that matters, so savour the moment, good or bad, after all it’s what you have been training for.

That’s enough navel gazing for one year. I have got a full winters training ahead and it’s all about: heart rate, numbers, zones, miles and intensity, so no room for looking inside, just focus and hard work, Ha, Ha.

I was at the Gold Hill 10km last week in Shaftsbury, my daughter was running in it and as my season is over I thought I better go and support her for a change. It was good fun, took a few photos, but all I could really think about were those TV adds for Hovis and the brass band music, “Twas like takin bread to the top of the world”. I have cycled up Gold Hill but never down it. It’s the cobbles that make it hard, that and the 1 in 3 gradient; some of the runners walked the whole way up and why not!! Continuing the end of season theme, I went to the London Bike Show, the former world champion, the Lion king Mario Cippolini was there, yes I got a photo but again all I could really think was, if I wore a waistcoat, tucked in shirt, jeans, stacked heel boots and three days of stubble I would look a right pratt, but because he is Italian, he kind of gets away with it! Good on ya Super Mario.

A couple of friends are running the Cardiff Half Marathon; one is aiming for a PB the other is just jogging round. There will be some physical pain, a few questions will be asked and hopefully answered, the hard work and training has been done but it’s the emotion on crossing the line that will live in the memory. Go on “Dig em in”.

See you up the Road…

Make next season your Best yet

2010-09-13T17:53:00.002+01:00

Like a number of athletes right now your season maybe winding down - getting in a few last minute events to extend the summer. We have a number of athletes focused on big 'A' events in Kona, Clearwater, Hungary and the NYC Marathon but most are just about done. So now is a good time to start to review how your season has gone, what's worked well and what you need to do differently, to make those performance gains that you want next season.

For those of you that have ever done any form of performance coaching you may be familiar with the "GROW" model, but if not, it's a simple way of giving yourself some self coaching around your own performance development. Let me explain how it works.

G = Goal. What events or performance targets are you going to set yourself next year? Are you going to work on that swim stroke that has been holding you back? Maybe you need to improve your FTP (functional threshold power) on the bike to PB on the bike split? Some of us are more motivated by a big race or a new country to visit that has an exciting race attached. Whatever it is, we want to find something that is going to get us motivated. Something to get out of bed on a cold January morning to go and swim laps in the pool or hit 'another' turbo session with the required gusto! What is it that’s going to light the fire under your bed and get you focused for a winter of consistent work?

R = Reality. How has this year gone? Did you achieve the goals you set out to achieve or somewhere along the line fall short? What was it that caused you to achieve that result good or not so good? What were you really pleased with? What did you feel could have gone better? Getting to the 'Reality' of the situation is all about being really honest about what you have achieved and getting 'real' about your expectations. I.e. if you are still considering that sub 9 IM consider the implications and consequences. Have you got 12-20 hours per week to put in? If not then you may want to reconsider. This is about setting yourself up for success not failure.

O = Options. This is where we start to kick around the ideas and shape up the things that we could do - where we look at what's possible. If I’m going to try to make the GB team, which would be the best qualifying race? How might I go about improving my swimming? What resources are available to me? These are all great questions to help explore what you are going to focus upon.

And finally W = Will. This is often the most revealing part, as it asks us to consider how motivated we are to do the things we need to do to succeed. For example, if we have considered going to race a 70.3 in Europe, how motivating is that for us? If you were rating it on a scale of 1-10, would it be a 9 or a 3/4? What does the score we give it say about that as a possible option for us? If we did score it as a 9, what might make it a 10 or what are the next steps to make it happen? If we can find some season goals that are truly motivating, making the space and energy in our life to achieve them becomes a whole lot easier.

Take some time out over the next few weeks and sit down with your GROW headings and ask yourself some of the questions I’ve listed here. Getting a clear view of where you are headed and what you find motivating, will sustain you through your Winter Training and provide a great platform for your progress next year.

ED's Exploits - Testing Times

2010-09-10T18:12:00.003+01:00

The sad death of Peter Tindley of CC Weymouth, in our open 50 mile time trial made me think long and hard about Time Trialing. At heart I am a “tester”. Probably because I have won a few time trials, its easy to like something you are successful at. More and more though, I have felt uncomfortable about the roads we race on and the danger from traffic. Historically, Time Trials started very early in the morning to avoid the police, it was illegal to race on public highways, that’s why riders also wore predominantly black kit, imagine going out on the roads these days trying not to be seen!?.

When racing became legal, the early starts were kept to avoid traffic but that was more than 50 years ago. These days, even on a Sunday morning at 07.30am there are quite a few cars about. Why do we race on dual carriageways? Why do we race on roads I would not dream of training on? Why are we obsessed with standard distances? Why are helmets not compulsory? Alas, I only have questions with no answers. I even promote an open Time Trial for my club, on a dual carriageway course, that makes me part of the problem! It’s a relief when everybody comes back safely, I can tell you.

It seems that Peter’s tragic death was due to rider error, so it could have happened anywhere, it could happen out training today. At least on dual carriageways there is room for motorists to avoid cyclists. Some of the lanes I regularly ride are very narrow with blind corners, horse riders, tractors etc. It could happen popping up the shop to get the paper. It’s known as the race of truth, its pure, honest sport, there is no luck in testing, and the strongest man wins. So it’s ok then? Again I offer no answers. There have been four fatalities in Time Trials this season alone, which is a high number for a “minority sport”. No doubt four people have been killed in traffic accidents today. So we accept the risks and try to minimize them I guess.

On a brighter note, I finally got myself a win. A road race down in Dorset, yes it was a “Fish and Chipper” but it’s been more than three years and a win is a win, and I worked hard for it, honest. Hands off the bars, milking the applause from one man and his dog, pathetic, I know but still very exciting, all the same!

Had a guy come to see me with a torn hamstring, he is a football player and he trains once a week, yes once. He tells me that if there is a live match on the tele on training night, then half the team doesn’t turn up. Compare that with most runners, triathletes, cyclists, whose biggest problems seem to be overtraining. I tried to tell him that if he trained more, stretching, core work, endurance based stuff then perhaps he would get injured less (the training effect). I am not sure that he heard me, still he is a nice guy and the “hammy” is responding well. Moral; don’t feel guilty if you miss a training session, there are still people doing less than you!

Take care out there, see you up the road…
E D

A question of Philosophy...

2010-08-08T11:53:00.007+01:00

When I was 16 my Dad told me that I was very fortunate as I had hit the pinnacle of all knowledge and from here on it was downhill - for every year that passed I would become more aware of how little I knew, until I'd reach a ripe old age and I would know absolutely nothing!

He was of course taking the mickey out of his cocky 16 year old son, who thought that the world revolved around him. As time has passed I have indeed become more aware of how little I know, just as Dad predicted. The more knowledge we learn, the more we become aware of how much more there is to learn.

So what have I learned this month? or maybe relearned, because that's the other thing about learning, unless we use the things we learn, we usually forget we ever learned them!

Well, there are two things I have relearned this month. The first is the power of "asking questions". This month I have had trips to both China and the US, facilitating training programmes which entails a lot of coaching. I was reminded of how easy it is to think you are asking coaching questions, when in fact you are making a statement that is disguised to look like a question. Why does this matter? For me, the heart of helping an athlete realise their potential is understanding what their key motivators are. That can't be done by advising them, or sharing my 'wisdom' with them, it can only be done by asking questions and listening carefully and in doing so, helping them engage with their 'real' motivations.

It's something I try hard to do - but sometimes my desire to help overwhelms me and like most humans, I go into my default position of seeing the world through my eyes and making suggestions that are typically routed in what might be great for me, but not the person I am are trying to help.

My other relearning this month is more philosophical in its nature. I was jet lagged and finding it difficult to sleep and as usual when this happens I have lots of thoughts running around my head. I was starting to beat myself up about a lack of consistency in my training and starting to make it mean more, than the need to get back into a more consistent training routine. When we lose sight of the bigger picture we can very quickly get things out of perspective. Sometimes its useful to reflect on the reasons we feel the way we do about a race, session or situation - are we simply making it mean something it isn't?

When I got home, a few days biking and running quickly helped me establish my equilibrium and training pattern, so that was easy for me to resolve. Sometimes the meanings we attach to a race or sport can be really helpful and sometimes not. If the meaning we attach to the things we do is down to us, its worth asking whether we are attaching the most helpful meaning for ourselves.

So I'll leave you with a coaching question to think about (and the answer is entirely your own!) "Is the meaning you are attaching to your race or training session helping or hindering you?" - and if it's the latter, explore what meaning would be more helpful and try that on for size.

ED's Exploits - It’s a Tough Job but someone has to do it!

2010-08-06T14:56:00.004+01:00

Had an email from British Cycling a few weeks ago, would I be interested in a week’s work as a soigneur on a Para cyclists training camp in Lake Garda, Italy? And was I available?

Well what do you think? Of course I was interested, of course I was available. It got better; I could take a bike if I wanted. So I found myself in Riva Del Garda on the northern shore of the lake, mixing up energy drinks, driving a support car, a bit of massage and the best bit, getting some miles in, in the foothills of the Dolomites in 36º heat. Training in the morning and watching the Tour in the afternoon, like I said, it’s a tough job, but nobody believes me.

The Giro D´Italia is the hor d’oeuvre that whets the appetite, the Tour De France is the main course that is so good that you can have too much of it and The Vuelta Espana is the pudding that you don’t really want, can’t say no to and end up not finishing - after all you have to leave room for the Worlds in October. I thought it was a great Tour; it seemed to have a bit of everything, from the cobbles of Northern France to the stifling heat of the south and the rain and mist high in the Pyrenees. I felt they should have raced on stage 2; crashes happen to everyone even the big hitters, Cancellara was wrong to neutralize the stage. When Schleck unshipped his chain, Contador should have waited, perhaps he didn't because he was not confident he could beat the Luxembourger, he never looked in top form to me. Schleck, like Lampard in South Africa did not complain for too long though, you just have to get on with it, and that’s how it should be.

August is a strange month, racing since March can leave you “Demob Happy” come high summer. Thoughts turn to holidays and going for a swim in the sea without doing intervals, a bit of mountain biking with a pub stop, maybe a bit of trail running on virgin territory. Whatever you do, enjoy it, but keep one eye on the prize - September is stacked full of races and a win is only one race away!

I organized an open time trial for my cycling club, and although my name was on the entry details, it was all the people helping that made the event a success. It’s good to say thank you to marshals and people who make cups of tea, if they didn’t do it, we couldn’t do it.

Anyway, gotta get back to the tele, the tour may have finished, but the athletics season is in full swing.

See you up the Road.

E D

Eamonn Deane is a TrainingBible UK specialist in the field of sports massage. To find out more about his work, check out his new website at
www.sportsmassagebournemouth.co.uk

ED's Exploits - Forty Years of Hurt...

2010-07-01T22:04:00.005+01:00

I worked as part of the massage team at the recent Weymouth 70.3 Triathlon, always good fun, hard work, but good fun. That sense of achievement is so evident, despite the fatigue that everyone is feeling. From “serious” triathletes to the 5 guys who made a promise to each other late on New Years Eve. Everybody had a story to tell and it is great to hear them all. In 1992, I think? I won the first Weymouth Half Ironman, unlike this year! It was a pretty grey day with a wind blowing and a chop on the water. I did not fancy it at all and there were questions being asked in my head that should not have been asked on race day. Coming out of the swim, I was 7 minutes down and ready to throw in the towel but somehow you just keep going, the wind that was my enemy in the swim, was now my friend on the bike, by the time I started the run there was only one person in front of me. I went on to win quite comfortably. Strange, several times, during the early part of that race, I wanted to “pack” I am not sure why I didn’t, I certainly wobbled a bit, I guess there is a lesson in there somewhere.

In “66” all I wanted to do was play football, in “70” all I wanted to do was play with girls, “74” and “78” we did not qualify, in love or in football. “82” we were not good enough, “86”the same but the hand of god did not help. In “90” we were good enough, but perhaps others were better? The less said about “94” the better and on it goes. Will I ever see England win the World Cup?

Another crash in a road race saw me escape with a few scratches but my rear wheel was a write off, at £600 a time, I can tell you that hurt!! So struggling for form and with low morale, I decided it was time for a break. A few days walking on the Dorset coastal path left me with a whole other load of aches and pains to worry about. I like long distance walking but do not do enough of it to become used to it (the training effect) and another thing, how come you struggle for 2 hours or so, ascending some rocky, barely there path and as you crest the summit, taking in the view, you are denied any feeling of satisfaction at your achievement - as there are already two old ladies sitting up there with a thermos!

Steve Way (Bournemouth ac) has been picked to represent England at the Toronto Marathon in September; the race includes an international team competition. Steve sees me regularly for massage treatment and I know how hard he trains. Less than 4 years ago, by his own admission, he was a couch potato, overweight and a smoker. No doubt Steve is a quality runner, but do not underestimate determination. Talent and application, a potent mix and probably one we all covet.

I know it’s a little vulgar to blow ones own Vuvuzela but I expect you will forgive me. I have had a couple of articles printed recently in Triathlon plus Magazine and I am also taking on the weekly cycling column in the Bournemouth Echo. I certainly have no plans to give up racing (after all, I haven’t peaked yet!) but if one door does eventually closes there are plenty of other ones to open.

See you up the Road…

E D

Eamonn Deane is a TrainingBible UK specialist in the field of sports massage. To find out more about his work, check out his new website at
www.sportsmassagebournemouth.co.uk

Testing Times - 'Why cant I lose body fat?'

2010-06-22T10:54:00.011+01:00

Its been a really busy month with athletes racing all over the country and abroad.
The Triathlon season is well underway, Summer is now threatening some good weather and the never ending football season continues with the World Cup.

The reason I mention football is that in the last few weeks I have been doing a lot more metabolic testing from outside of the world of swim, bike and run.
That includes professional footballers looking to head back into pre-season training to mum's that want to loose a few pounds and get back into shape. I have done hundreds of these type assessments and always enjoy them as it provides me with a window into what's been going on in their training and nutritional habits. Patterns start to emerge in the data, from which you can start to understand what they have been doing and why certain things are happening.
'I am training really hard and I don't seem to be able to lose any body fat.' was a comment made to me by a client this month and its something that comes up regularly at these assessments. This is a really important issue if you are an aspiring athlete or age grouper because there is a close correlation between lower levels of body fat and high levels of performance, much closer than body weight and performance.
For top level male marathon runners the average body fat is around 6%, in pro triathletes 7% and in sports like rowing and football 8/9%. Its also much better for your health to have lower levels of body fat, it cant have escaped our notice that obesity is linked to hundreds of illnesses. So why do so many of us find it so hard to lose body fat? Studies tell us there are a number of factors involved, here is what I have noticed and some of the advice that I am giving to clients that want to make changes.
The first assessment we look at is resting metabolic rates (RMR) this helps us understand how many calories a client needs to eat to maintain, gain or lose weight. So let's say my resting metabolic rate assessment suggests I need 2500 calories per day to maintain my body weight. Clearly if I exercise, burning a further 1000 calories my daily calorific requirement go up to to 3500 calories. If I eat less that 3500 calories over time I am going to start to loose weight, but this needs to be done cautiously and slowly to let your body adapt. Sometimes I have seen very low RMR calorie requirements(below 1000) and this is usually a sign that the person has gone on some type of fad diet or just is not eating enough. As counter intuitive as it seems sometimes you need to eat more to lose body fat. If we eat to little the body triggers a survival mechanism and starts to store fat, our bodies need a certain amount of ready carbohydrate to burn fat. This will also have a very negative effect on our ability to recover from workouts, we will be carrying fatigue over from sessiont to session and this can eventually end in illness or injury.

The assessment also tells us how efficient in percentage terms the body is at burning fat and carbohydrate (glycogen). Its no suprise that clients that find it harder to lose body fat tend to have a lower fat burning percentage and this means thier body is used to burning higher levels of carbohydrates, so fat stores are not being utilised, this even happens with endurance athletes. Carbohydrate is a faster fuel source for the body than fat, the more intensely we work the more the body turns to carbohydrate for its fuel. I have also noticed anecdotally that the less efficient carbohydrate burners report more hunger pangs, sweet cravings, swings in mood and reduced concentration. Not too suprising as burning high levels of carbohydrate is going to effect the blood sugar balance to a far greater extent.

As far as training is concerned if I see a low percentage of fat utilisation I usually find that translates to an under developed base level of fitness. For whatever reasons they have missed or skipped the base building fitness phase and are used to working at quite high intensities. This does not means to say they are unfit but they are limiting the level of absolute fitness and performance they can achieve without the level of efficiency a solid base can bring. This is normally confirmed when we do the second exercise based Vo2 assessment and we can see a big gap between the predominent fat burning heart rate zones and the clients higher carbohydrate burning anaerobic threshold.
Where I see this pattern emerge the usual advice I give to clients is simple, include back in the training programme longer lower level heart rate work outs and include some strength training to maintain muscle mass and encourage fat metabolism. Seems like a simple answer but the question I posed earlier is why do so many of us find it so hard to lose body fat? Apart from any nutritional issues (that I will come back to in the next post) The feedback I get back most regulaly from clients is 'I find it really hard to run or bike that slowly to keep my heart rate down' This is less likely to be a phyiological issue, this is more often than not a pattern of behaviour that has been developed through training with friends that get too competitive or just a preference to train at a level where 'If I dont train hard I don't feel as if I have done a workout'. Maybe this is where we need to place our focus if we are going to start to see some different results!

ED's Exploits - May 2010

2010-05-27T16:18:00.005+01:00

It's only Rock & Roll - but I like it...!

I could waste hours watching cycling on the telly, the Giro d’Italia is on at the moment, the end of each stage is exciting as are the mountain climbs but why do I sit there watching the flat stages? Nothing happens for hours but I still find it hard to drag myself away! Professional Cycling is surely one of the hardest of sports and the guys in the peloton are among the fittest of athletes. A three week Grand Tour is a real test of strength, both physical and mental. I so want to believe they are drug free and, of course a lot are, most are? It’s a cleaner sport these days. However, there are cyclists who still cheat, as there are in other sports and there’s the rub, whenever there is a positive test on a cyclists, its big news. The rolling sports news programme on Sky features results for all sports and seems to enjoy breaking news of failed drugs tests by cyclists, but gives few actual race results (it does give more results now but that is more to do with plugging Team Sky, than providing information). How many golfers were tested at Wentworth this last weekend? As an amateur cyclist/triathlete I have been tested 3 times. Indeed, if random testers arrived, would they even be let into the clubhouse? How many premiership football players are tested, post match or in the off season? What about jockeys, rugby players, tennis players, cricketers or even darts players? I would think some cyclists are tested more often in a three week tour, than some athletes are tested in their whole careers. Of course nobody can deny, cycling has created a lot of its own problems and still has work to do, it would be nice, though, if all sports were treated the same. It’s probably no coincidence that it is the rich sports that are treated more fairly than others, as Mr. Dylan said, “Money doesn’t talk, it swears!!”

I took a call the other week from the Bournemouth International Centre -“could I come down and give some massage treatment to one of the artists who was performing that evening?” Not wanting to miss a bit of excitement on a Wednesday afternoon I got myself down there, (a very understanding client was happy to change her appointment for me.). It turned out to be the drummer from a rock group, with sore shins from constantly banging the pedal drum! He responded very well to some “Hands on Treatment” back stage. Two tickets for the show were provided, as were passes to the after show party. Sports massage is hardly rock & roll - but I’m waiting for the call to their world tour!

Here comes the Sun! Doesn’t the sun make it easier to train? The recent warm spell seems to motivate us more, which is odd because it’s still hard work. It’s just great being outside and we have waited long enough for it. The ice in the winter is a distant memory and spring was a disappointment too - however it is definitely here now. I try not to worry about the weather, never waste energy on things you have no control over, worry about the things you can control. Speaking of which, I got caught up in a crash in a road race recently. A touch of wheels caused 5 or 6 riders to come down; luckily I was not directly involved but ended up in the verge, just trying to avoid the carnage. Actually no one was hurt too bad, just a bit of gravel rash, it did however mean race over as the remains of the peloton disappeared up the road. Shame, as I could have won that race. (I say that about every race I crash in!)

My form is ok, nothing special, I need to find an edge, I am looking hard but the answer is staring me in the face and I know it - I am not training enough - I come up with reasons for my lack of fitness, but they are just excuses, work, time, family… The real reason is I’m just not putting in the hard work and deserve the form I’ve got. I like the simplicity of endurance sport but I like it more when I’m going well. Even this paragraph is an excuse, I need to train!

See you up the road…

E D

Eamonn Deane is a TrainingBible UK specialist in the field of sports massage. To find out more about his work, check out his new website at
www.sportsmassagebournemouth.co.uk

ED's Exploits - April 2010

2010-04-30T11:20:00.002+01:00

The London Marathon never fails to inspire me. As experienced endurance athletes we can be a bit blasé about the marathon, “been there done that” sort of attitude. Whilst I do not have much time for the publicity seekers, there are a lot of people who really do dig deep, its easy for us, we train, we are fit, and we have done it before. Watching some of the runners cross the line you get a sense of what they have been through - physical, yes - but more often emotional, clutching their medals as a tangible reminder of their adventure. Courage is a great asset for an athlete, whether you are at the sharp end or just trying to get to the finish. The winner is not always the bravest and the brave keep on coming each year to inspire me!

The season is in full swing now with racing most weekends to suit everyone’s tastes. If you are struggling to find some speed on the bike, try one of the many local evening club time trials, no need to pre enter, just turn up and ride, most are about £2. A great way for some quality bike training, and a chance to check out your position, and aero-dynamics in a live race situation. Mostly 10 miles but there are a few 25 mile races, I find just pinning the number on gives me that lift that I cannot always find, when just training and chasing your “minute man” and being chased is great motivation.

To shave or not to shave (your legs)? That is the question and the answer is of course, yes. It looks better, feels great in the pool, is easier to clean if you crash and facilitates massage. Hairy legs and bikes just don’t go together. I have just seen someone who has been waxed, I promised him no names!

A very good friend and very experienced triathlete, cyclist and runner, you name it he has done it all, recently did the Devises to Westminster kayak race, 126 miles down the Thames, through the night, a very demanding event. Even with all his experience, he did not take on enough fluids; he had the presence of mind to realize he was in trouble, so he got himself off the water. However he still spent 24hrs in hospital dehydrated and very low in salts. He is fine now and already planning next years attempt, he never did like DNF against his name. Get your carbo drink inside you and get it in early!!

Finally back to London, I have been seeing elite athlete Steve Way (Bournemouth ac) for regular massage as part of his training plan, an 18 week programmer that started back in December. There have been a few niggles, a few wobbly moments, a few self doubts, sometimes it felt like I was doing the training for him, he stuck at it though, and was rewarded with 17th place in 2.19.37 and possible selection for the Commonwealth Games later this year. Yes, he looked nervous on the start line but he was confident and that confidence came from consistent, honest training and hard work. It works for age groupers as well as elite athletes, so have fun out there but make sure you are trying your best!

See you up the road

E D

Fast fixes, miracle new techniques or the King's new clothes!

2010-04-29T11:31:00.011+01:00

By Rob Griffiths, Head Coach TBCUK

Last Saturday I had the good fortune to spend a few hours with my old buddy Bernie Shrosbree. He was opening his new Performance Centre, set up in the beautiful surroundings of the Haven Hotel in Sanbanks, Poole. He was being interviewed about his coaching philosophy and so I listened with interest whilst he shared his thoughts. After, I reflected on what he had said, and I tried to relate that to my own experience - both with coaches I worked with as an athlete and now as a coach, working with athletes.

Bernie talked about some fundamental factors, some core principles that he sticks to when developing an athlete. These are: Understanding them as an individual on a deep level; Helping athletes develop a reservoir of endurance and conditioning through cross training before adding sports specific polishing; Getting athletes to focus on technique to become really efficient in their sport; Helping the athlete to really understand their bodies and sense whats happening to them to in the moment; Helping them develop a robustness and resilience to keep trying, keep pushing and never giving up.

Like me, and being a similar age, Bernie comes from what one might call the 'old school' of coaching. By that I mean we have a similar belief that nothing much has changed. Sure we have some great new tools and technologies for measuring fitness and helping people see whats going on - our bikes are now made of carbon but all other things being equal, there are still only two ways to make a bike go quicker...push the pedals harder or faster! It's still the person that can do this that wins the bike race.

Looking at the successful athletes I have coached over the years, they have a number of key elements that make up that success. Two of them are Patience and Coachability. These can be hard to find in our culture of quick fixes and miracle techniques. 'I have been training for 6 months and therefore I should be good at this already!' We all want success and managing those expectations can be crucial to our performance and longevity in the sport.

I've had lots of conversations with athletes who approach me for coaching and who have a limited background in endurance sports. They tell me about how they keep getting injured, have bouts of illness that stop them training, or are gutted they did not qualify for the World Championships, or disappointed with a 13 hours finish in their first Ironman.

The old adage about taking 10 years to becoming an overnight success is as true now as it was 10, 20, 30 years ago! Have our bodies developed so much over the past few decades that we are now able to change our physiology? Success in our sport is counted in consistent sustained training over many years. Alistair Brownlee is the No.1 in the World at 21 and for the past 11 or 12 years he and his coaches have been working on exactly those things that Bernie had outlined in his interview.

To get good at anything we need patience - this is especially true in endurance sports - to keep practicing that swim stroke, or developing that smooth pedaling style. Sometimes when we don't really feel like it or our mates are taking the mickey because we are trying that funny swim drill again. Our bodies need the time to adapt to the training and demands we are putting on it, some adapt quicker than others depending on genetics and background. Too much too soon and we end up with the injury and illness sceneario. In my view it probably takes 5 years to learn how to race an Ironman and then a few more to perfect it. Thats what Bernie was talking about - developing a deep resevior of endurance and conditioning! As my old athletics coach Frank Horwill used to say, it's all about putting 'pennies in the bank of stamina'.

Coachability is the another key element I have noticed in successful athletes. By this I mean the ability to take on information and advice and do something with it - top athletes are willing to listen to a coach or adviser. If athletes keep getting injured or ill there is probably a good reason for that, and more often than not it lies in their behaviour and training pattern. It's a fine line between being determined, single minded and focused - important elements for any top athlete - and being pig headed and stubborn. This is where Bernie's point about helping an athlele understand their body, sense when they need to push, when they need to hold, when enough really is enough.

Listening to Bernie is always a treat, as he is a fantastic storyteller, and as someone who has had enough experiences to have lived two lives, he has a lot to offer. If you get the opportunity go and visit him at his new performance center, and take the opportunity learn from his remarkable knowledge and experience.

ED's Exploits - March 2010

2010-03-28T19:52:00.007+01:00

Questions…Questions?

I did my first triathlon back in 1985, before tri-bars, fancy wheels and wet suits. The must have accessories in those days were a Leary pair of shades and a suntan, (skin cancer had not been invented back then). Which begs the question, when do you start wearing shorts on the bike? Too early and your knees get too cold, too late and you look like a bottle of milk in the transition area! Two years ago I wore shorts in the second week of February, but usually it’s the end of March or early April. And of course, once you start, you cannot go back. Seriously though, the weather can change quite a bit on a 4 hour ride so it is probably sensible to wear longs well into May or June. The pros will train in Longs all year round, to keep the muscles warm, especially round the knee. I don’t notice the cold so much on my legs, but stop to mend a puncture and all of a sudden it’s chilly. What seems like a dilemma in April though, is forgotten by June, when it’s factor 15 and wearing a pair of pink Briko’s!! When do you shave your legs though?? That really is a dilemma, but we can talk about that another time.

Its early season, you probably have a few races in your legs; the change from training intensity to race pace can take more out of you than you think. As the season kicks in the temptation is to increase the training as well. Experience has taught me to do the opposite. Let your body adjust to racing, cut your training load back, just for a couple of weeks. It’s a long season, go 100% now and it’s easy to come down with a cold or virus. As you become used to a higher effort, you will be able to return to your usual schedule and be stronger for it.

I worked as part of the massage team recently at the Mad March 20 mile. Race director Lawrence Downs and his crew (mostly Zoom Tri Club members) put on a great race, good atmosphere, enthusiastic marshals, plenty of tea and cakes, we worked very hard but it was good fun - it almost made me think about taking up running again!

Running or cycling, spice up your distance work with some quality tempo intervals. Within your long run, try 3x 10mins, at a good intensity, so you have to concentrate but not too fast. It has to be aerobic, but it has to be honest. On the bike, make them 15 or 20mins - it should feel hard, but not too hard. Quality base work will make you bomb proof.

My own season has kicked off and the good news is the winter training seems to have worked, which is always nice! Some points on the road, a bit of prize money from time trials and the glass is definitely half full. The older I get the better I was!!

See you up the Road…

E D

What's in a TBCUK Training Camp...?

2010-03-25T18:47:00.009Z

Last week we had our first UK long course training camp at Sandy Balls in the New Forest. Camps like this can provide a real platform to boost your training, add motivation and train with like minded people that are focused on a key goal.

To give you an idea of what's involved at a TBCUK camp, here's a quick run down of the highlights and the sessions we covered. To kick off its always interesting to hear athletes goals for the season and check out where they are in their training. Our group had a mixture of experience, with almost all but one looking to attempt their first Ironman or Long course race this summer.

We met up on Friday evening to outline the weekend ahead and share our goals and expectations of the camp. Sports psychologist and Head of Sports Science at Southampton University Candice Lingam-Wilgoss gave an insightful and interactive session on goal setting. She told us about one of her Olympic athletes and how drilling down into each goal helped to create meaningful milestones in their training. This was a great example of how to maintain motivation and keep us on track.

Saturday morning and it was a 7am start with Swim coach Steve Barratt and a technical stroke session with video analysis, followed by breakfast and a rather wet 45 mile ride round the Forestman bike course. Although it rained, it was good practice to train in those conditions - after all, on race day, we get out and do it whatever the weather. Following lunch the first of the afternoon sessions was taken by TBCUK Senior coach Will Newbery. He gave a practical session on core strength for long course athletes, the importance of which was quickly realised - these simple exercises really demonstrate the need for developing core stability and strength, to keep race form together as fatigue sets in - on both the bike and run.

After a short break, it was time to get back outside for our hill run session. Although the group were pleading with me for a little longer (not!) we headed back to the comfort of a shower and another fuel top up. In the the final session of the day nutritional coach Tony Derbyshire shared valuable insights on the critical issue of getting your recovery and nutrition right for the big event. This proved to be one of the most talked about sessions - especially over dinner an hour or so later; thoughts had turned to macro and micro nutrients - where lean meat and endless portions of fruit and veg became our best friends.

Sunday morning provided the second opportunity to work with Steve on that swim stroke, before heading out for a long bike-run brick. The groups were split, with group leaders leading the pacing. The bike element was supported by a refuel and repair TrainingBible Van. It was a long ride, varying between 56-70 miles and thankfully the sun came out, bringing the beautiful New Forest to life. I filmed a section of the bike ride to show you the kinds of roads we ride on, which I've posted on You Tube. Off the bike and onto what must be one of the toughest off road, long course marathon routes. The groups ran between 6 and 9 miles over the undulating terrain. Tired but happy we tucked into a late afternoon lunch before heading home.

All the athletes that came along worked hard and were buoyed by their achievements over the weekend. Some athletes seemed to get physically stronger, and all will have benefited from the sharing and learning. If you have not tried a camp approach before then it may be worth considering one to enhance your training - it can be a real confidence booster to know that you can go the distance and best of all you can look forward to a real step up in your performance levels a few weeks later.

What is Critical Power?

2010-02-26T09:53:00.006Z

What is Critical Power?
Nick de Meyer TBCUK Master Coach

This is a question I have been asked many times as a coach I hope this posting helps to simplify what it is and how it relates to other, better known measures, like heart rate.

Let’s backtrack a bit and answer the question: What is power? Power is an excellent method of measuring exercise effort or intensity and has become the most important measure with professional cyclists in particular. It is favoured by the pros because it is seen as a more accurate measure of performance. It is normally measured in Watts and, like heart rate, can be used in percentages of its maximum output to define training zones. Power measurement is immediate and doesn’t have the delays associated with heart rate. No sooner you push harder on the pedals it registers wattage, where as heart rate does not respond instantly to effort, it usually is delayed for 15 to 20 seconds.

To measure power you need to fit a power meter to your bike, there are now a number of these devices around and are becoming much more accessible. In the next few years you will see almost every road bike fitted with a power meter as the technology is refined. (You heard it here folks!)

In essence, Critical Power (CP) is a method to measure your power output. It’s basically the highest average power you can hold for a particular period of time. Just like training at different heart rate levels can improve your overall fitness; training at different CP levels will do the same. Dr Andy Coggan the brains behind the methodology developed CP zones from 1 minute to 360 minutes (seen in blue on the attached table). As you adapt and get stronger and fitter from following your training programme, these numbers will improve, relative to the goal of your training plan, and dependent on which phase of training you are in.

CP 60 and Lactate Threshold
This is the wattage number that triathletes find most useful. Most of us involved in competitive Triathlon or Cycling will have heard about Lactate Threshold (LT), no doubt we will have all felt it on a tough ride. This is the point when we are riding when there is a rapid rise in the blood lactate level. It’s when the body's rate of lactate production exceeds the rate of lactate clearance. This causes that burning feeling in the muscles and can cause a slowing of our pace. This level of intensity can be maintained in a typical standard distance triathlon race or 25 mile cycling time trial and in some cases a bit longer. For this reason, and the fact that it is very sensitive to training status, LT is a very valuable piece of information for planning training intensities and race pacing strategies. This Lactate threshold level represents critical power for 60 minutes or Functional Threshold Power as it sometimes known. All our training zones are then based on % of this number.

How can I use this?
To establish your baseline “Functional Threshold Power” (FTP) you need a power meter or turbo with wattage. Warm up well and then start a 10 mile or 30 minute time trial. Hit your lap button after 10 mins and record your highest average wattage. Then subtract 5% from that total. The reason that we are subtracting 5% of the watts from your 20 minute test is that FTP is defined as the highest average wattage or power that you can maintain for 60 minutes. Most athletes have a hard time focusing for 60 minutes on a maximal effort and those that can, learn very quickly that a 60 minutes time trial is not that much fun! Testing at 20 minutes is more realistic in terms of getting athletes to do more regular and higher quality tests. Use it every 4 weeks or so to chart your improvements. Use the % in red seen in chart below to calculate your training zones as a % of your FTP: