VO2 Maximum News

ETU European Long Distance Champs (4/120/30)I seem to be blessed with racing in beautiful parts of the world thisyear. I have never been to northern Spain before and have been bowledover by how spectacular the area is.So the journey began by sitting for 90 mins on the tarmac at Stansteadairport from 7am thanks to a French air traffic control dispute. Thepoor cabin crew did not know what had hit them, they filled the timebusily feeding and watering the hungry triathletes on board….we musthave cleared the on board supplies!Eventually we got underway and 1 hour 40 mins later landed at Bilbaoairport where we were met by our travel hosts, Nirvana travel. As thecoach wound its way up through the hills surrounding Bilbao I got myfirst look at the beautiful countryside of the Basque region.We arrived at the hotel and settled in, got some food (eating seems tofeature alot I remember). When I am away on trips for competing themost important things for me to sort are getting food and water,putting the bike together and registering for the event,pretty much inthat order. Managed to get the first two done and took the bike out tocheck all was in order. The city of Vitoria- Gastiez is a cyclistsdream, it is full of cycling lanes with their own traffic lightsintegrated into the road traffic system - makes for very safe andstress free cycling.With this event T1 and T2 were in different places, with T1 at thelake 17km away from the main race venue so we knew that we would haveto be organised to get bikes racked at the lake before  race day etc.All this stuff is normally sorted out at the race briefing. We weretold that the race briefing had been moved from the main race venue,at the stadium, to a building in the old town, which was about 30 minswalk away. We got a lift with nirvana up there but then had to walkfor quite a way through the old town to where we were told thebriefing was to be held. It was a team bonding moment as many of uswandered about in the heat trying to find the venue. No signposts, noA boards outside a building..in fact …nothing! Eventually we found atiny doorway into a church type building that had an A4 piece of paperput in the window declaring athletes briefing. Our poor team managerand several of the team did not manage to find it atall.Fortunately the meeting was not too long and we all got back to thehotel tired, ready to eat and get some sleep. It had been a long day.Friday, day before race day dawned warm and sunny and I got out earlyto do my pre race session. There were several things that needed toget done on friday, the most important being registering and gettingthe various race bags to T1 and T2. both transitions needed to be setup on Friday. The race organisers had detailed how we were going to betaken up to t1 on coaches then brought back to set up T2. we had beentold that we would not be able to get into T2 on race morning soeverything we needed for the run section had to be left in transitionon Friday.Registration was easy and straight forward and I decided that I wouldgive the lake reccie that had been organised a miss, choosing to getmy feet up for a few hours instead. It is easy to get carried a way atteam events doing too much before the race. I figured I would see thelake when I racked the bike in the late afternoon!After a restful afternoon we assembled at the stadium with our bikesand colour coded transition bags to be dropped off. I am not sure thecoach drivers had been told they were taking a load of people withbikes on their coaches and I watched with horror as they opened thebaggage holds up! We actually travelled with our bikes on the coachwith us! The journey up gave us a chance to reccie a bit of the bikecourse, which seemed mainly up hill and twisty turny.The lake was very spectacular and racking the bike was sorted prettyquickly. However we then found ourselves waiting for the coach to takeus back for ages…an hour later we were told that the coaches werenot picking us up where they had dropped us…aahhh. We agreed thiswas turning out to be a trip that was training us to be a good atwaiting. So, having walked to where the coaches now were, back to T2we went and laid out our yellow run bags.Back at the hotel I put together my last minute bits for the morningand tried to get some sleep. I cannot say that the pre race care ofthe athletes had been perfect but I had got everything done as Ineeded to and just needed to go and race.Race day promised to be another scorcher and the excitement wasbuilding as we all got ready to race. It was brilliant to see theelites with us in transition. We had Jodie swallow competing and thecurrent Xtrerra champ, Eneko Llanos was also there.Before we knew it it was race start time, a beach start. The klaxonwent and I launched myself into the lake. A few fast strokes and Ifound clear water. The lake temp was perfect, in fact the lake wasperfect. I settled into my pace for the 1 x 4k loop. I had acompletely clear swim and was out of the water in 58 mins, I had hadan amazing swim leg and couldn’t wait to get on the bike.Through T1 and out onto the bike course. It was 2 loops of anundulating, rolling course, twisting up and down and through thebreathtaking countryside. The support from the locals in the villagesthe course passed through was brilliant. The support of people passingin cars was brilliant and also of the many groups of cyclists. Itoccurred to me how sad it is that we cycle in our country where thereis not such a deep love and culture of cycling. The marshalls wereexcellent both in directing and on the feed stations. On long courseevents it is essential that there is enough fuel and water for everyathlete and as we females were last to go there were concerns that bythe time we got to the feed stations supplies would be low or run out.Not so…I was really impressed with the support on the bike course. Ifelt great cycling, at Bala two weeks before I had struggled on thebike…this was very different. As I went past T2 on the first loopthe crowds were cheering like mad and the atmosphere was awesome. Thesecond loop was quieter but I felt strong and came into T2 with a timeof 3 hrs 56. I was delighted.Through T2, I organised my gels and drink for the run…they wereabsolutely baking, having sat in the sun all day!My electrolyte drinkwas like tea! The run consisted of 3 x 10k loops through a park andthe local streets, with no shade. The temps were hitting 30 plusdegrees and I soon realised I was more dehydrated than I had thought.I adopted a run/walk strategy for the fist loop to rehydrate and getmyself together. The second loop was better, the sun went in and itwas hot but cloudy and the respite from the sun was welcome. The thirdloop was tough,the heat was brutal, alot of people were walking bythis point. I went back to the first loop strategy and dug in to getfinished. I was very grateful to see Jimmy at the start of each loopgiving me good encouragement and keeping me focused!And finish I did. The team manager handed me a Union Jack to wave as Icrossed the finish line. I was very pleased to stop!! I had done it in8 hrs 06, a time I was delighted with.I would like to mention a French competitor, an older man, probably 60plus who completed the course in 11 hours 59. he had cramped on therun course and was in agony but he carried on and finished. We were atthe stadium to see him cross the line and I found it so inspirational.The human spirit is an amazing thing… after he had had a moment tocollect himself they led him over to the podium and helped him up…hehad won his age group!!It was a totally brilliant moment, very movingand one I won’t forget.I was very proud to stand on the podium to receive my silver, and Ishall treasure it.All in all a great race, in a beautiful part of the world, supportedby lovely people.Paula

Almost as soon as I land in Lanzarote my mind leaps into action. It is teeming with ideas and thoughts…indeed it becomes an inspired piece of thinking machinery!

 Why do we have places we visit that do that to us? I believe it is to do with the fact they are places that we associate with good times. Lanzarote is where I go to do all the things I love to do without the day to day business associated with being at home.

 I also believe it is important to have places we can retreat to in order to refresh and regenerate our minds and muscles. I am sure most of us can think of places that are special to us, places that give us a sense of freedom and peace.

 Obviously it is not always possible to visit these places when we need peace, refreshment or inspiration but it is possible to recreate that place within ourselves in order to get the same feelings and therefore the same benefits as if we were there.

 NLP or Neuro Linguistic Programming has provided us with the necessary tools and practices to enable us to do this very thing. It just requires and quiet and comfortable place.

 If you set yourself down somewhere comfortable and just think of that place that holds special memories and good feelings. Think of the time(s) you have spent there. Think about the things you would have seen there, the things you heard or said there and all the good feelings you have felt there. See if you can step back into that time/place in your mind and re experience it. Spend a few minutes in this state of being and harness all the feelings. Chances are that when you emerge from that state you will be feeling upbeat, energised and positive. Then use that positive energy!

 Having done this you can then re conjure all that positivity whenever you need it just by practising the above technique. There is strong evidence to suggest that the more we use techniques such as this, the more productive, effective and positive we can be. The beauty this technique is that we can apply it to all areas of life including our sport!

 Happy Training

 Paula

I am just back from a weekend of learning in Birmingham with a handful of British Triathlon Coaches.12 coaches have been invited and assembled to take part in and formulate a mentoring training scheme for BTF coaches.I am very excited to have been accepted onto this course as I have long felt and voiced my concerns that once we educate and certificate British Triathlon coaches, we set them off into tri world to coach but they then have little scope to receive direct support from their governing body.Whilst this scheme is very much a pilot at the moment, with much work to be done to ensure it is both viable and can be regulated, it is a very exciting development.This weekend we covered what mentoring means, the skills required to be a mentor,roles, responsibilities and much more. There was also alot of role playing!!I am looking forward to getting my teeth into my homework of building a mentee case study and hope that, by planning and commissioning this new role within British triathlon that top quality coaches will keep emerging; and if the coaches are supported then they can in turn support their athletes better too, and that surely is the pure aim of coaching.Happy TrainingPaula

This Tuesday I was frustrated as I discovered I had forgotten my heart rate monitor for my run session. This, whilst frustrating, was not really a problem as I know I can run to RPE (perceived rate of exertion) when necessary, and this is what I decided to do.

Whilst running I started to enjoy the freedom of just trusting my body and instincts to run at the intensities required for the session and this got me thinking about being tied into goals and sometimes losing sight of enjoying the process (on the way to the goals!).

On my thought path I recalled a radio programme about a group of walkers I had heard recently; it followed the walkers who combined their activity with producing art. Their normal routine was to go to a destination and create some artwork at that destination. On this particular day(of the broadcast) they came upon a field newly laid with snow(like a blank canvas) and the group leader told them that they were not going to do the usual thing of going to “somewhere” and then doing “something”, instead they were going to go on a journey with no end. He outlined the instructions which were to take 40 extremely slow exaggerated steps(ie like slo mo giant steps) in a circle and at some point in that circle they could stop and record artistically what they had encountered), and therefore enjoying the process of walking without being fixated on the end point.

The group of walkers all reported that, at first, they felt odd not knowing where they would stop(or where the end point was) but once they had overcome that, really enjoyed the slowness of the walk and also the freedom of choosing random points at which to stop.

Now, you are probably wondering what all this has to do with triathlon and the training run…

It occurred to me, that, in triathlon, we generally are a pretty goal orientated, self motivated and driven bunch of individuals…generally! I wonder sometimes if we get so fixated on our goals that we can lose hold of the fact that the process can be enjoyed and that sometimes we can just stop and enjoy the view. Now by this I don’t mean we  actually stop the training session and gaze adoringly at the hedges but rather enjoy the process of training and enjoy the fact that we can use our bodies in a fit and healthy way.

Obviously all the tools we use to monitor our progress are integral to reaching our goals but sometimes it can be fun to do a session without the “destination” overwhelming the joy of just doing  what we love.

I thought I would end with a quote from Coach Vern Gambetta, from his twitter feed last week - “Running, swimming, biking - human movement. Why do some people have to make it so complex? Keep it fundamental. More fun, less mental.”

Happy training!

We are experiencing weather that I am sure would test the patience of the patron saint of training(whoever that may be!). Just as most of us were thinking that with Christmas and New Year over, it was time to get back in the pool, saddle and hit the running trails,the worst British weather for a while hits us!

Whilst I definitely prefer to be training outside there are some very valuable things that can be achieved when training indoors too. Whilst on the turbo and the treadmill I have been amazed at how much I do not have to concentrate on. There are no roads to negotiate,no other pavement/road users to think about or avoid.There are no weather conditions to consider!

If we can get through the thoughts of boredom when on the treadmill or turbo we can focus on many positive aspects of the performances we want to execute in our races.

It can be helpful to use past performances or training sessions that went really well to concentrate on and recall what it looked like, what it sounded like, what it felt like. You can mentally step right into that experience and use it to focus on what you want to feel like for future races. It has been proven that visualisation used in this way can help to improve how we feel about future events.

You can also practice positive self talk in indoor sessions. We can control those emotions in an event by controlling the inner voice.What do you say to yourself when you are feeling tired? If it tends to be negative then take time on the turbo to change this into positive statement. eg. “I am too tired to carry on” could become” I am tired here, time to think about good technique”.

I also have a bank of words that can be used like a mantra…some work for cycling, some are better for running. They should be rhythmic words that can be repeated with each pedal revolution or footfall or can be timed to your breathing. Different words will work each of us.If those words are repeated in training positively, it has been proven that when those words are used in competition they will act as a positive trigger and can raise performance.

The mind is a very powerful tool and we can train it to work in a really positive way for us. So next time you get on the rollers or the turbo or treadmill have a think about the mental training you can do too.

Our head coach (Paula Dewar) has made it through to the last 7 for the “220 Triathlon Coach of the year award”. We are very proud of Paula’s achievements as a coach. She has helped many athletes with there triathlon goals including Ironman, 1/2 Ironman, Age Group World Championships for both Olympic and Sprint distances and has helped many novice triathletes complete there first triathlon. To help Paula win please register your vote…

http://www.220triathlon.com/webform/220-triathlon-awards-2010-stage-2

As I sat on the turbo for my first winter session there I got to thinking about a few things.It is good at this time of year to be thinking about the way the next season’s racing will shape up and look and when at what the peak or A race will be. It is also a good time of year to be taking things a little easier (unless you have a very early race abroad or an early duathlon or marathon goal). Generally, however, if your main racing is next summer you might want to be thinking about technical aspects of the event. You might want to think about what you want to work on(based on those race reports).Most of you will probably be looking at events leading up to the main race(s) and working out how they will assist you towards your main goals for the season.In the water you may be thinking about specific drills to make the stroke more efficient. at our club we did a survey on what our guys wanted to improve and we have run a series of technical sessions based on what they wanted to work on.Equally on the bike and with your running you may want to include drills to help improve technique or develope new good habits. Cadence on the bike and with the run can be a good starting point back to look at technique for both.Maybe you have some lifestyle changes you wish to change. Now is a good time to test out new things with kit, nutrition,training regimes ie when suits you best to train and how it fits into the rest of your life.As a coach and as an athlete I love the planning process…it is like putting the beginnings of a jigsaw together, working out what things work together and where the various components all fit.Most importantly this time of year is the time to sort all those niggles out and to work on eliminating any injuries incurred from the previous season. I would thoroughly recommend regular sports massage (as the budget allows) in conjunction with some structure in the training to keep the risk of injury to a minimum.Happy training!

Hello,

You will be receiving this newsletter as part of our database, made up from attendees of camps and clinics, competition entrants or clients. We only send out newsletters when we have lots of news and do not believe in clogging up email boxes when we don’t need to!

Here it goes….

Bike Skills course
We are hosting a 6 week course aimed at the post novice to intermediate cyclist/triathlete with the objective of developing a wide variety of skills. We will be coaching skills such as how to use your gears, how to corner, climb and how to ride in a group. Sessions are at our base (The Walled Garden, Hildenborough) and are every Saturday starting 14th November at 10.30. Spaces are limited to 12 and the course cost £50. Please contact Paula to book your place, this is filling fast! paula@vo2maximum.com

New coach joins VO2 Maximum
We always aim to offer coaching of the highest standard using the most current coaching methods. The VO2 coached team has grown to a size where we have needed to bring in more coaches.This is great news and so joining our team is new coach James Stewart.
James has a long history in triathlon and a background in Ironman racing. He is currently a BTA Level 2 coach and is continuing his personal development as he develops his coaching.

2010 Camps
We are about to publish our 2010 training camp dates so keep an eye out for our next newsletter or please visit our website. It is going to be a great year for your training with camps including, swim clinics, ladies days, running courses and our pre season warm weather training camp for you to choose from.

VO2 Cycling
In the summer we launched our sister company VO2 Cycling. It is a bike brand with the ultimate goal to provide great products with great services. It is already showing to be a huge success and the bikes are getting some great feedback. To promote the bikes and to give riders a chance to see them we hosted  The VO2 Sportive in September. It proved to be a really good day and will now become a regular event on the sportive calender. Next sportive event for your diary is on 28th March  at The walled Garden in Hildenborough.
Check out the site www.vo2cycling.co.uk

Prepare for 2010
Many athletes are coming to us now to talk about their 2010 season. It is a great time to start with a coach if you want to achieve your goal next season. Starting structured training at this time of year gives you time to plan your training in a way that will bring you to your peak just at the right time ie race time! Contact us to talk about your plans and how we can help.

Till next time, enjoy training!

Part 2Did you know that Mark Cavendish was the only GB track cyclist at the Bejiing olympics to go home without a medal? He withdrew from the tour in 2008 to get into shape for the madison at the games. He and Brad Wiggins were reigning world champs in this event, Brad Wiggins already had bagged two medals and they were expected to clean up. However, the race didn’t go to plan and Wiggins could not deliver, his body was just too tired from his recent efforts. That night after the race Cavendish sobbed till he fell asleep….Just look at what he has done in 2009!Michael Phelps had had a very mixed year following the Olympics, looked off form in Rome this year….then pulled off the most amazing race I have ever seen….Disappointments teach us how to get stronger, how to grow and how to really enjoy the successes when they happen.As a coach I encourage my athletes to file race reports..it helps them to reinforce all the good points of the race ie what went well. It helps them to understand what they might do differently next time and what things they might want to train in the future.On Saturday what went well - My preps were as good as they could have been. Jimmy ensured my pre race week was perfect and I am really grateful to him for the amazing support. I was on the start line of the biggest race in the triathlon world, I am immensely proud of that. I swam a good swim in the toughest group of triathletes I have ever been in the water with! I rode the strongest 112 mile bike ride i have ever done. Germany was faster but on a much easier course and in much easier conditions. I lost 3 to 4 mins in the confused state getting off the bike and getting over the timing mat!I am really proud of my ride.What would I do differently? Maybe get out here even earlier although I am not sure if that would have changed the medical state I was in, I think I was just unlucky on the day there. Maybe make sure I got some solid proper food at the top of the course?What have I learned? That I love triathlon, I love IM distance and I am not done with this course yet. It is a tough course, not the profile, but the conditions and I would be on my TT bike next time. That health comes above everything else no matter how devastating that may seem at the time. That I have completely brilliant family and friends!!Time to come home now, rest and recover, set the new goals (some already set) for next year and get excited about what next season will bring.Thank you all for taking time to read this blog and sharing this adventure with me.Signing off, Paula.

…..well the blog at least!Sadly my journey to Kona did not end with a triumphant run along Alii Drive to get a medal and a garland of flowers. It ended in the medical tent having been diagnosed with abdominal ischemia - basically the heart stops giving the stomach blood because it is shunting to other parts of the body.But onto the race….Woke up really excited and very nervous! This was the biggest day in my tri career and I was hugely honoured to be on the start line with so many fit endurance athletes from all over the world.It was amazing to be close enough to see “Macca” setting up his bike in transition and to wish Chrissie Wellington well as she walked past me…what a race she had!!The gun went off at 7am,we were off! What a scrum! I swam very wide but still got battered every which way! thats what is going to happen when you put alot of severely competitive athletes of similar swim ability in a restricted piece of ocean! Before I knew it we were at the turn point and not a fish in sight! I was surprised that even on the way back I got well clobbered when normally the field spreads abit…hey ho.It seemed like the swim was over in a flash and into the change tent where I got my bike bag and some sun cream put on me(as it turned out,nowhere near enough!).Onto the bike and passed the crowds who were going bonkers with excitement.A brilliant moment. Saw Jimmy, gave him a wave and set off…the first part of the course loops around the town with some very wooshy corners which I apparently took at speed….It is a fun part of the course. I settled onto the tri bars, prepared for the bike leg,checking my heart rate,eating my banana and having a swig of fluid.For the first part of the course you are on about 40 miles of straight, undulating highway. At this point I was going well, averaging between 16 and 18mph, spot on for me. The HR was looking good and the nutrition was going in well, with the right amount of carb per hour for me. The wind was against us but ok and no worse than a day on Lanzarote. I was pleased to turn off the highway and onto the climb up to Hawi. The road twists up for abit and is much like riding in Kent. The Pinny was brilliant here, she is such a versatile bike and I started picking off a few people who had passed me on the highway. I was looking forward to my bagel at the special food station at the top of the hill…The second half of the climb got tough into the wind which had picked up. I had set myself a target of reaching the top of the course in just over 3 hours, I was just off this but still happy with the ride.The top of the course is where the trouble started. Despite yelling my race number, no one got my food bag. In hindsight I should have stopped,got off and got it myself but was going well, I had food on the bike so the bagel was not essential..would have been nice though! I was shocked that the wind had changed and found myself working really hard to get OFF the climb. When I reached the bottom, I got the first stomach pain. I sat up, slowed up and hoped it would pass. every time I got back on the tri bars I felt sick so had to sit up. Now on a course where good aerodynamics are essential this is not good. I felt ill when I tried to give myself any nutrition and knew I had problems. Earlier this week I wrote about race visualisation and the “what ifs”. I knew the stomach had shut down and could not put anything in, I knew I had to make it back. You can see the bike splits drop off at this time. So nothing went in for at least 60km back. I got back to transition, was helped off the bike, sent to the med tent and evaluated and diagnosed…30 mins later I still could not drink any water and made the toughest, hardest race decision I have ever made - to put my health first and withdraw. It was without doubt the hardest thing for me to have decided, it was absolutely the the right thing to have decided too. To say I was devastated is a huge understatement…end of part one.