What a triathlete can learn from US Soccer in Copa America?

Tonight, (Tuesday, June 21st, 2016), I watched the US lose to the #1 team in the world, Argentina, in the COPA America Centario Semi-Final, which is one of the most prestigious soccer tournaments in the world. (I know many may say the UEFA Cup is better, but the US can't play in that, since they are not in Europe.) Tonight the US lost 0-4, to a team which was flat out better than they were. There is no shame in losing to a team that's better than you. But it is an opportunity to review.

As the game went on and I was frustrated to watch as a fan, I realized so many of the feelings and things I was saying out loud at the TV were things I see in triathletes, and frustrations I have with many of them, from elites to age groupers to elite juniors. I can make it very clear in 2 simple concepts, which if you are a triathlete, you need to seriously consider if you value your performances in the sport.

Lesson #1 - Fundamentals are Key
Passing a soccer ball isn't cool on the playground. Scoring is cool. Being the best passer on the field isn't cool. Saving shots from the goalie position are cool. Headers into goals are cool. Passing isn't cool, that is, until you see a team that has such a basic fundamental skill down so well, they make it beautiful. Argentina passed the ball like it was effortless, while the US passed like they didn't know where it was going. It was such a clear depiction of what the difference of what the best do and what the US does, that I had to write about it, in relation to triathlon. It's a fundamental skill.

What are fundamentals in triathlon? They are bike fit, proper run shoes, basic swim skills, pacing skills, basic aerobic conditioning, injury prevention and therapy, race nutrition, equipment maintenance and its preparation for race day, proper rest and recovery, and of course, consistency of training.

So many triathletes are chasing the highest goals against the stiffest of competition, and don't bother making these fundamentals a focus. They are more concerned with hours of training or their FTP. And it's no surprise when many don't reach their potential or even close to their goals when they haven't addressed the fundamentals! I've literally had athletes supremely prepared and ready to perform exceptionally, only to get in an Ironman and realize they didn't charge the battery of the Di2, and they can't shift! There's no training plan or world renowned coach who can overcome that basic fundamental of making sure your equipment is ready for race day!

There are no nutritional plans which can overcome poor pacing. If it could, then whoever ate the most would win! You can't run your first few miles off the bike at 10K pace in a long course triathlon! There's no way I can help you with training to perform at a high level if you don't have a proper bike fit, giving up effective watts. I can't help you if you treat the swim and transitions as times for photo opps with the family or warm-ups for bike and run, instead of opportunities to close the gap on the best in your Age Group.

There is no training plan a coach can write, or workouts you can do, which can make up for a lack of consistency in your training. You must be committed, and you must put in the work, EVERYDAY.

These are the fundamentals of triathlon, which too often get overlooked. They aren't sexy, like a power file, or bike split, or even passing in a major soccer game, but as Argentina proved, the best in the world are masters of fundamentals.


Lesson #2 - It doesn't matter how good or bad your competition is, if you are your own worst enemy

This concept is related to Lesson #1, but it needs to be stated by itself. If you're ignoring the fundamentals, you are your own worst enemy. If you think you can brush over the fundamentals, as though they are just fodder for a blog, then you will be exposed, especially as your goals get higher, and you face stiffer competition.

There's no way around it, you need to address the fundamentals. If you don't know what they are, or feel like you're never racing to a level which is indicative of your performance potential, then you need a coach, and they should address the fundamentals with you. You can even watch the best, and notice they have the fundamentals down. They don't screw up the basics, they are well beyond them.

I'm pissed off to see a US Men's National Team perform so poorly on the biggest stage, against the best in the world, in a way which shows they lack the fundamentals. I would be embarrassed as a coach of a triathlete if they did the same.

In the postgame, Alexi Lalas stated, "The number of times the US lost the ball, clear unforced errors which have nothing to with the fact you're playing Argentina..." What he was saying is it doesn't matter if they are more talented than you if you give them the victory anyway. Think about that. How much are you giving your competition just because you are not addressing or doing the things which are basic?

Address your fundamentals, stop being your own worst enemy.

Coach Vance

Observations and Experiences at 2016 US Olympic Marathon Trials

I attended the US Olympic Marathon Trials in Los Angeles, this past Saturday. It was an incredible event, and as much as I have been critical of USATF in the past, this is one event they do very well, and do it right. They are to be commended on their venue, sponsors, course, and coverage via TV, internet and media.

As I watched the event, and especially post-race, there were some things which really stood out to me that every athlete should take away, whether racing at the Olympic Trials, or simply going after a PR or some other major goal for themselves personally.

Watching the race on TV, or just reviewing it through the media, you'd think it was all celebrations and happiness. You saw the heartache of the 4th place finishers, and felt bad for them, I'm sure. But you walk away seeing 3 happy people and only 1 sad or disappointed athlete per gender. But that's not really what happens when you're there.

I was watching the race and seeing athletes who were DNF's, limping, crying, sitting alone with their heads down, before the races were even finished. I saw athletes cross the finish line in tears, realizing they hadn't run very fast in terms of time, which had a lot to do with the course and conditions. But they also hadn't been where they thought they might be.

I saw family members of athletes needed to be consoled. I stood with Luke Puskedra's mom at the finish line, who was holding his daughter, while she stressed about the fact her son was in 4th and trying to grab that last Olympic spot toward the finish from Jared Ward. It didn't happen for him.

There were 211 men qualified, and 246 women. You saw 3 finish and make the team. Think about that for a second. Over 450 athletes who qualified for the event, trying to live their dream and accomplish their likely life-long goal, didn't achieve it. Only 6 did. But if you watched TV, it was all about the fulfillment of an Olympic dream, as though each athlete was going to have that happen. But it doesn't.

Sometimes you don't get what you want. There are plenty of tears, plenty of upset athletes, but we highlight the few happy ones on TV. The truth is we call it competition for a reason. Someone loses, and usually more people lose than win.

You can do all the work and not reach your goal. You can do everything perfectly, and it can still not be good enough. This is hard for athletes to comprehend and understand some times but it is a reality of competing. And of course, it is very rare we do everything right in preparation and training, as well as execute a perfect race.

One can and should be happy to make the Olympic Trials, but telling these athletes that is like telling you good job after you fell short of a dream result at your key race. I'm sure it is little consolation if you really committed and cared about the result.

So what is my point? My point is that when you decide to take this performance journey, you aren't promised anything. You likely should be promised that you won't be successful, especially as the goals begin to reach elite levels. You might come close, but you aren't deserving of the result you want just because you work hard and are dedicated. Winning and high performance is about a combination of ability, fitness, coaching, strategy, health, commitment, race execution, and even luck. Many athletes think because they have some ability and commitment, they should see the results. But that's only a part of the high performance puzzle.

I'm not trying to push you away from trying, but I am trying to get you to not focus on the result. The process of going after your goal is the real rewarding aspect of sport.

Be patient, and don't expect anything. Have confidence in your preparation that you have the opportunity to perform at the level you want, or the goals you want, but to expect these to happen just because you worked hard isn't realistic. Yes, you likely aren't going for an Olympic team spot, so you're not competing against the elites, but you likely are competing against a much larger population base than the Olympic Trials athletes were. There's probably more than 200+ athletes in your category, or chasing the championship level you are.

You will have set-backs. You will fail and get beat at certain races. You might even hate the people who beat you, but it will happen. Does this mean you wasted your time? ABSOLUTELY NOT. You will learn more about yourself in the losses than the accomplishments.

Just keep in mind, it isn't all Olympic berths for everyone, or happy endings. You're taking on this challenge of sport because it isn't easy. So don't expect easy, promised results. But this also makes the great results you do have, that much more rewarding.

Coach Vance

It's not always sunshine and nice breezes

Some athletes have an unrealistic expectation that every session should be a great one. That every training run should be faster than the one before it. That every day you should feel fresh and strong. That if you're tired, you should just quit the session and do nothing.

Every training day, just like every day in life, isn't a sun-shinny day. You've just got to put the work in, and stay the course. Yes, if you're constantly tired and not giving yourself the right recovery, you're doing something wrong. But just because you're tired, or not setting a new PR in a session, doesn't mean you're doing things wrong. If you don't have fatigue, you can't get fitter, it's a basic premise of training and performance.

So stop beating yourself if your session isn't a "home run," or if you feel like it needs to be perfect. There were many poor training days in the past, and there will likely be more in the future. If you know the goals of the session, and have a more marco/global plan, you will be fine.

Coach Vance

Test Workouts and Data

One of the biggest reasons I use data with athletes isn't to simply stare at numbers and restrict athletes with the numbers. It's actually to help the athlete see their improvement, raising their confidence as the key events near, so they are on the start line, prepared and believing they can perform well. Yesterday, an athlete logged this in TrainingPeaks, which shows the value of the data from test workouts, and how it affects the athlete's confidence, excitement, and even sense of fulfillment from the work they are doing...

Monster day on the bike. I noticed last year I did this exact same workout 17 days out from Nationals also. Check out the comparison:
Today's Wattage by 5 min: 415, 395, 404, 403, 400, 393, 395, 398
Last year wattage by 5 min: 348, 370, 347, 345, 349, 334, 325, 333

The workout was 8x5 mins, with 2 min recovery. And he was the one who went back and looked up the workout from the prior year, and listed the numbers from the session, not me. The data was so clear to him and his improvement, he was excited to look back and see how it compared.

This athlete is preparing for USAT Collegiate Triathlon Nationals in a few weeks. Last year he set the bike course record at Nationals, so seeing this big of improvement in his numbers, he knows he is capable of even better this year, and excited about it. That success in training is the basis for his mental preparation and focus on the startline, able to focus on himself, not worrying about the competition, or other things out of his control.

If you don't have data to compare your workouts, and track how your training is going, you're missing an opportunity to be truly confident and mentally ready to race.

Coach Vance

Pre-Workout Preparation and Routine

Trainingpeaks asked me to write an article on things to do before a workout, and I thought it was a great topic. I think a lot of athletes just jump into a workout, without proper preparation to maximize the time and investment. Here's what I wrote....

5 Things to Do Before Every Workout

Many athletes start their workout by lacing up their shoes or throwing on a helmet, and getting right into their session. Of course just getting started can be a difficult step at times, but paying attention to a few specific preparation keys before you start a workout can mean the difference between getting the training response you want and possibly taking steps backwards.

Here are five things every athlete should do in this order, before they workout, to maximize the training session.

1. Clear Your Mind

All athletes have stresses in their daily lives that have nothing to do with workouts, training, or racing. Instead, they have life, work, family and other stresses, all which can take away from the quality of a session. If an athlete comes into a session with a focus on the negatives, it can be hard to accomplish positive things.

I have seen a number of athletes quit a session that was going well, change a session entirely simply because of attitude, or fail to execute a session effectively, because they are too distracted with the other aspects of their life. Sometimes athletes want to take their aggression out in a session, which may be the exact opposite of the purpose of the session, such as a recovery spin or technical development session.

A little bit of pause to relax, clear the mind and put 100 percent mental focus into the session will get higher quality and better training response from the session.

Read the rest of the article here: http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/5-things-to-do-before-every-workout


Coach Vance

Race Planning - Better than Good

“Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth.”

-          Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson was one of the most feared fighters in the history of boxing. Yet, there were plenty of experts in the sport who spoke of his weaknesses and how to beat him, as though it were not that hard. Many of his opponents trained and planned to beat him according to his weaknesses. And much like the quote above from Tyson, those plans may have been very well devised, but once the match started and they took those first few punches, dealing with the adversity of the match, it became a challenge to stick to the plan.

That’s triathlon and racing. No matter how well you plan, when you get into the big races, against the toughest competition, your resolve and steadfastness to that plan will be tested greatly. 

Your plan better not be good, it must be great. And it should have contingencies if the punch to mouth was more than you expected. 

Coach Vance

Hard to do Positive Things with a Negative Focus

I said something the other day to one of my athletes....

"It's hard to accomplish positive things if you are constantly focused on negatives."

So often, athletes ruin any sense of confidence in themselves, by focusing on the negatives of their performances, training, lifestyle or injuries. Many miss the enjoyment of training and improving, and most certainly the rewards of it, when they focus on all the things they can't do, or why they can't win, or do well, or stay healthy.

What is your focus on? The negatives, weaknesses and challenges? Or your approach to getting better, and excitement about improving?

Coach Vance

The Ironman Marathon Execution

Many athletes I speak with like to tell me the pace they want to hit running off the bike in an Ironman. They say things like, "I will/want to start off at 7:00 min/mile and hold on. If I feel good after halfway, I will push the second half pace." Or they will say, "I am going to push hard from the opening mile, trying to stay with my competitors or pull away from them."

There are a few problems with this approach....

- This type of thinking is entirely RESULTS based, not PROCESS based. Athletes focused on a specific pace when they start the run, put their confidence in jeopardy if they don't hit that pace. They will judge their race in that moment. Just because your legs don't give you a pace you HOPE for right away, doesn't mean you can't get it, or that you still can't run well.

- If you've ever done an Ironman, you know there are peaks and valleys of performance and how you feel. Athletes must focus on being smooth and running easy early, seeing what the body gives them, not forcing it.

- Remember, conditions can affect pacing as much as anything. Cool climates, and you can run faster. Hot climates, and you will likely run slower. 

- Pacing on the bike must be executed correctly in order to have a good run. So much of your run success begins before you ever take the first step on the run course.

- Nutrition on the bike must be executed correctly in order to have a good run. So much of your run success begins before you ever take the first step on the run course. (Yes, that is the same sentence). But there is no nutritional plan that will make up for poor bike pacing for your run success.

- When athletes start their long runs in training, they rarely focus or care about what the first mile or two of the run will be paced at. They are just getting started and realize there is a lot of running to do. The same approach should happen for athletes when coming off the bike.

- Many faster athletes might think this makes sense for mid to back-of-the-packers, but not for elites or top age groupers. But actually, what tends to happen is those faster athletes are already running fairly quickly off the bike, even running relatively easy. Think about it, athletes who have a threshold pace of sub 6 mins, are easily running 7 min pace off the bike, with hardly any effort. Point? Don't rush the pace the first few miles, it will happen on its own.

- Recent studying I have done of paces for the first mile off the bike for pro men and women in Kona shows that if you run the first mile faster than 20 secs faster than the average pace you hope to REALISTICALLY run, you are likely going to pay the price. This is for the faster people, where it is especially difficult to run faster, but extrapolate it out and that means about 5% for the age grouper. Point? Don't be faster for the first mile than 5% of the average pace you realistically hope to run for the marathon, or you're committing a race suicide.

- When athletes run a marathon fresh, they can handle a little aggressive pacing early, but will still pay the price eventually if they do it too much. Now think about the difference when an athlete starts a marathon in an Ironman? They have very little reserve or leeway for early aggressive pacing, given the deficit they begin the marathon with. Add in hot and humid conditions, (like a majority of Ironman marathons are raced in), and you begin to see the need to be the best pacer in the race, to maximize potential. 

Stop focusing on the pace, and more on executing good pacing!

Coach Vance

You Can't Control the Conditions, But...

You can't control the conditions of a race or event, but you can plan for them. If you plan for it, you control it enough for your performance.

Stop worrying about your race and the result, and start preparing for it. You control the result a lot more than you give yourself credit for. Take control, prepare well.

Coach Vance

The Shortcut to Success?

There is a common saying, "There is no shortcut to success." Which basically means you have to do the work to get to the point you're seeking. But we live in a time where plenty of people work very hard, and even the smallest shortcut can mean the difference between success and failure, so all means of finding that smallest shortcut here and there are being exhausted. We see it a lot in triathlon and training.

Here's the truth, if your hard work is not the issue, (meaning your commitment is truly there), there is definitely a shortcut to success, it's your plan. If the work is there, having the right plan maximizes that work. That is the shortcut for this day and age. Have a plan specific for you, and your needs, and you will find that as your shortcut to success.

The clock is ticking, don't waste time. If you don't have the shortcut, (plan), you're going to get left behind.

Coach Vance

"Forget illusions of balance..."

Saw this on a slide from Coach Jamie Turner, who is most well known as the coach of Gwen Jorgensen.

"Forget illusions of balance - it's about total commitment!!!"

This is often something athletes and coaches have a hard time with. They aren't willing to give up some of the luxuries in their lives, the things they perceive as the balance side of the triathlon equation. I know even myself as a coach, I can't train a squad in Europe and all over the globe, focusing on the ITU WTS series, because my wife and 3 yr old son are too important to me right now. This is why I started a junior program, where I could meet the commitment, and there is no issue with balance. Someday, I hope to make the next step and coach an ITU focused squad.

For some athletes, (from ITU elites to Ironman age-groupers), they can't totally commit because the risk is just too great, (job, finances, mortgage, family, etc.). But the problem is, without the risk, you can't achieve the reward. That reward is going to those who do totally commit.

Coach Vance

I always thought everyone wanted to win...

When I was competing, from the time I was in high school as a football player, and eventually cross country and track distance runner, I always thought everyone wanted to win as badly as I did. I could only use myself and my own mentality as the measuring stick, and those I beat I thought I was just more talented than, and those I lost to were just better than me.

Then I got into coaching, and my perspective changed entirely. It became clear when I was coaching high school athletes that they simply didn't think like I had, where I was willing to go to the limit or edge that I had always been willing to go to.

When I stood on the start line, I judged myself and my preparation based on the standard of "I am here to win," but what I found out was there are few on the start line that had that same mentality. This is why I beat guys who were much more talented than me, and competed well against guys who I had no business being so close to. I learned at a young age in elementary school that I was not athletic, nor had the ability of many of my peers, but it only drove me to compete harder. I refused to accept losing, or having less talent be an excuse.

I especially try to bring this home with my juniors, that they can choose to win. They might not actually win the race, but if they really want to win, and choose to make the effort to win, they will go a lot further in the sport, and especially in life, if they take the mentality that they race to win.

When you toe the line, you have a choice. Choose to win. Choose to be at the front. Once you truly make that choice, you change as an athlete. And it really is that simple.

Coach Vance

Pacing at NYC Marathon

Just thought I would share this excellent example of pacing at the NYC Marathon on Sunday, by one of my athletes. Yes, he slows down late, but never falls apart, because he was patient and executed the correct pace early on. (Click on image to enlarge).

You'll notice only an 11 second difference between his fastest mile, and his slowest mile, on a course known for having some hills, plus wind.

You must be patient in the marathon, because even being patient will bring challenges late in the race.

Coach Vance

"Going by Feel" Part 2

As I mentioned in the last post, there is a disconnect among many athletes, high level triathletes especially, that using data or science means you can't go by feel, when actually, going by feel is paramount at the highest level of sport.

When you're trying to eek out the extra half percent to 5 percent, depending on where you sit on the performance continuum, you have to maximize each training day, and a great sense of "feel" for what is best on the day is critical. Everyone is working hard, those are working smartest and getting the most of every session, (BOTH hard AND recovery sessions), are the ones advancing.

Darren Smith, one of the most successful coaches in ITU history, uses his own metrics of having the athlete tell him how they are feeling before each session. They have to have a number to give him, on a scale. This number is 100% feel! It's a metric though that allows Darren to give the right amount of stimulus on the day.

Those of you who don't have a Darren Smith on deck or at your side for each workout need something to help you assess. Knowing your numbers and how they are responding to the training stress you are giving them, is only going to help the feel process, giving more confidence with evidence of what the right decision is, whether to push or back off, what energy system to train, and how much.

Feel is the best way to train for those last few percentages of improvement, but at the highest levels it is crucial to get it right. Margin of error is too small.

Coach Vance

"Going by Feel"?

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana, Reason in Common Sense, The Life of Reason, Vol.1

I sat down with a high level professional triathlete last week to discuss goals and where they are headed with their training. When I asked about power data and Garmin run files, the athlete responded with, "I just go by feel usually, no data."

This athlete is confused, like many out there, that somehow data collection and analysis means you can't trust your gut in what the right training is for you. The truth is, high level athletes must still do a lot of training based on "feel", no matter how much data they have. The stakes are so high for this athlete, that they have to become very much in tune with their body. They can't afford rest days which aren't needed, or a stimulus which sets them back a number of days with deep fatigue or injury, affecting consistency.

The collection and analysis of data for athletes is only going to help the "feel" process, by providing objective feedback to better hone their assessment skills of themselves, and actually build confidence in the training they're doing. It helps them to learn from the past, not making the same mistakes over and over.

When an athlete feels tired, and isn't sure that a workout went well, especially on the bike, the numbers can sometimes show otherwise, that the session was a great success with great performance. Time and speed on a bike is not always going to show that, especially in windy conditions. Or when they feel they aren't sure to push on thru a spell of fatigue, data can help provide some clarity, and ease the stress of a decision like that.

When an athlete also goes back and looks at data over many seasons, they can tell what training they tend to respond well to, and thru the years the body will change and need a new stimulus, and possibly a new stress balance, (intensity/recovery). Again, learning from the past with the objectivity of data, helps to prevent mistakes for the future.

I laugh when I read about coaches not letting their athletes use power meters, or GPS for running. These coaches are either afraid of the truth, (that they will make mistakes), don't know or understand how to use these tools and learn from the data, want their athletes to blindly follow them, and/or are lazy.

Training will never be perfect, but those who use all the resources available to get it as close to perfect as possible are the ones who maximize their potential. True athletic brillance is found with both the art of "feel", and science, in training.

Coach Vance

Mental Engagement of Swimming

I was reading an interview with 2012 Ironman World Champion Pete Jacobs, and this portion really stuck out to me, as some many triathletes struggle with swimming.


TZ: It seems you have no (known) weaknesses now however with your swim strength does this allow you to focus more than the average person on your bike and run? How much of an advantage does this give you?

PJ: Yes, people do tell me that I’m very lucky, and I guess I am, but the reason I swim so well and so little is because I just focus on my technique every single stroke. I have a high awareness of my body and what each muscle is doing so I am my own coach and am constantly tweaking my technique. I swam less than 10km per week leading into Kona last year, and had one of the best swims I’ve ever had because I just sat in the pack and swam efficiently.


This is what it takes to be a great swimmer. I don't care how much time you're willing to put into the pool, open water, weight room, devoted to your diet, etc. If you aren't mentally focused and engaged in what you're doing with your stroke, you will have a crap stroke, and not go as fast as you can. Many athletes take the "Just get to my bike" mentality in the water, as Gerry Rodrigues pointed out in his great blog.

I went from a 2:00 per 100 yard base time in the pool in 2003, to 2006 coming out of the water with the leaders, or just off them, and contrary to common belief, it wasn't because of physical talent. It was because I learned, became a student of the sport and focused every stroke. Like a single song on repeat in my head, I would go thru the same analysis and questions of my stroke and my surroundings as the race would unfold. I got that mentality from what I did in practice/training.

So if you're struggling in the water, maybe the problem is between your ears.

Coach Vance

Triathlon Science - Release Date March 8th

Order Triathlon Science Here

A 2-year project I worked on with Joe Friel and a host of incredible minds and names in endurance sports, comes to fruition on March 8th, 2013. I wrote one chapter, and edited each chapter, (more than once!) It was a huge project, but one that I am extremely proud of, as there has NEVER been a book like this. 

This book takes a look at what science and research has to tell us about EVERY aspect of the sport, and how we can apply that information to training. We went and got the best and brightest, coaches, MD's, PhD's and more, and had them write for us. It is an amazing compilation, and I believe most national governing bodies for the sport will make this 600+ page book their textbook for coaching education courses.

Here's a list of some of the contributors, which is impressive in its own right:

Bob Seebohar
Matt Fitzgerald

Bruce Mason

Dave Pease

Ross Tucker 

Neal Henderson 

John Post, MD

George Dallam

Gale Bernhardt

Hunter Allen

David Warden

Stephen McGregor 

and more...

Here's some of the reviews already...

“The scientific information discussed in Triathlon Science will give every reader a deeper understanding of the how and why behind a training program. It is a great resource for coaches and athletes alike.”

Linda Cleveland-- Coach Development Manager USA Triathlon

“Triathlon Science is invaluable for any athlete looking to decipher the vast information available and achieve immediate results.”

Adam Zucco-- Triathlon Coach 2009 USAT Developmental Coach of the Year, Five-Time Hawaii Ironman Finisher

“Joe Friel is a founding father of our sport, so you can be confident that Triathlon Science will be a valuable addition to your triathlon library.”

Gordon Byrn-- Founder of EnduranceCorner.Com, 2002 Ultra Man World Champion

Hope you get a chance to enjoy this great book, and send me your thoughts on it. I'm already working on book #2!

Coach Vance

SWOLF Metric

Continuing with the topic of training metrics, one of the big ones in swimming is SWOLF, which is short for swim golf. Here's an article I wrote for Active.com a few seasons ago about swim golf, before the coaching world shortened it to SWOLF. I've also linked the other 2 parts to the series, which was called "Dance with the Water."

In the first part of "Dance with the Water", we discussed the idea that an athlete must listen to the signals the water gives, like a dancer, following the lead of their partner. Move to your own beat, and not in rhythm with the water, and you're bound to struggle with your swimming.

The first step in listening to the water is giving it the chance to speak. The water loves to talk, especially over a game of golf. Yes, you read that sentence correctly. The water speaks a lot to athletes, over a game of swim golf.

Swim golf is played with the water, where athletes complete a single 50-yard or 50-meter interval and count the strokes taken within the 50, adding that number to the time it takes to complete the lap. For example, if you complete the interval in 45 seconds, with 40 strokes, your golf score would be 85 (45 + 40 = 85). Just like in regular golf, the lower the score the better the performance.

If you complete the first interval as you normally swim, it establishes a baseline score—like a handicap in golf. From there, you can change one thing to focus on, and see how the score is affected.

How to Improve Your "Golf" Game

There are three ways you can improve your score:

• Take less strokes
• Swim a faster time
• Lower both your stroke count and your time

If athletes complete multiple intervals at a low to moderate intensity with one minute of recovery between each, they can eliminate intensity and fatigue as a variable in performance and focus on technical variables which affect the score. This could be any number of things depending on the athlete, but once an athlete experiments or changes one aspect of their stroke, they get objective feedback from the water. The water speaks to them and tells them which modifications improved the score and which were not helping.

Completing up to 12 of these intervals can help the water tell you a lot. If you continue to experiment and use this as a tool for learning what the water tells you about your stroke, you can focus on the technical aspects that help you dance with the water. From there, you can transfer that knowledge to race day.

Try this exercise in your next swim workout and see what you learn from the water, and your technique. If you like this exercise, you can find it and many other effective tools for improving your swimming in mySwim Training Plans, which teach athletes how to listen to and dance with the water. The plans include descriptions and videos of drills (iPod compatible), as well as workouts, four days per week—perfect for the triathlete trying to learn!

Check out Part 3 of the "Dance with the Water" series, which covers more about the drills and concepts in the plans, including rolling over, to help make athletes faster at swimming. Best of luck!

Coach Vance

Burnout is Underrated

I find many athletes throw around the word, "burnout", or some variation of it. Many talk about it like it is a disease to avoid, which could send your life into an abyss. The truth is, many athletes never approach actual burnout, where it would truly affect them for years to come. Burnout gets a bad rap, and many athletes don't realize how valuable risking burnout is.

It's likely that many reading this blog are beginning to get excited for the 2013 season, and near the end of last season they were ready for the end of it. That's not burnout, but it does show an emotional commitment. True burnout is when you've committed to the point where you just can no longer commit to the same level as in the past, for good.

Simon Whitfield used a common phrase in his build-up to Beijing, "Be obsessed." It paid off, as after winning Olympic gold in 2000, he had a rough race in Athens 2004, before riding that obsession to a silver, (nearly gold again), in Beijing. It takes a level of obsession and commitment to reach your potential as an athlete.

In the end, when I hear athletes speak of a fear of burnout, that usually means they are scared to reach their potential, because the commitment level required to reach their potential means a risk of burnout. When the commitment level is that high, it is hard not to succeed.

To walk away from the sport due to burnout likely means you've come very close to meeting your potential, and that should feel a lot more satisfying than walking away and feeling like you could have given more than you did.

In short, don't fear burnout...risk it.

Coach Vance

Buckman Road - Your own metrics

I'm in Chicago this weekend for TrainingBible Coaching's annual meeting, where we meet as a group of coaches from different areas of the country, and different sports even, (cycling, triathlon, running, combinations of these), and share ideas, discuss different training topics, new technology, and more.

Ryan Bolton, a 2000 Olympic triathlete for the US, is a TrainingBible Coach who gave a free lecture to the community here on the run training group he leads in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which includes many of the top  male and female Kenyans racing the US marathon and half-marathon circuit, (his top female just took 5th at Chicago marathon this year in the mid 2:20's.)

Given that my recent posts deal with metrics, and understanding them, Ryan mentioned a run workout he has the athletes do, where they run a tempo workout on a tough road called Buckman Road, which happens to sit at 8,000ft elevation. Buckman Road may not mean much to you and I, but to Ryan, it is an excellent metric, that after an athlete completes the effort, he can estimate very precisely what their marathon time will be.

We all have our own metrics, much like Ryan created. For you, it might be your neighborhood run loop, where you know when you run it within a certain time, possibly without even trying that hard, or even if a tempo effort, Maybe it's a hill or climb near your house, that you've done a number of times and you're testing your fitness to beat the record you have set.

The important thing is that you have a metric that matters to you, because you probably haven't had a power meter your whole biking life, or a GPS your entire running career, but you know what fast is to you. And when you can break through with that metric, your confidence will soar, and your satisfaction and motivation for training will likely improve as well.

Now imagine when you start looking at more metrics, from data you've collected for years. You can probably guess how much you're going to improve your daily training.

So what is your own personal metric?

Coach Vance