Tune up race

I got to do the Superseal triathlon this last weekend in San Diego. It was very well run, included prize money, and ran created money for Navy SEALs. What else could you want?

I decided to train through the race as Oceanside is coming up this Saturday. Trevor and I did a 7k swim on Friday and then some lighter stuff on Sat. We were definitely a bit tired going into the event so I was happy with the 2nd overall result. Trevor was leading through the first mile of the run (between us) but he took a wrong turn which cost him about 30 seconds and allowed me to leap frog him and then run scared the last 5 miles! LOL

Anyway, I wanted to thank Superseal and Luminox watches for offering such great prizes.

Relentlessly Positive - Sally Meyerhoff

I haven’t written on my blog in a long time. I have come to accept, I just don’t type well or often

To say I received sad news this last week would have been an understatement. Sally Meyerhoff and I worked together off an on for 2 years. After NYC Marathon last year, she asked me to coach her full time and I graciously accepted.

If I am totally honest, it was also intimidating. To have an athlete at her level put her trust in me was a thing I respected very much. With Sally, like ALL my athletes, I never take it lightly when I write their weekly plans. I know for a certain fact that they are asking me to help them with their hopes and dreams.

In the last 2 months Sally accomplishing dreams she had. Some of her major ones:
Win PF Chang’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon – Done.
PR in a 5k – Done
Experience some success in triathlon Two races, two different distances 1st place, and… 1st place. – Done.
Fine peace in her race plan – Done.

Sally and I had a 4 hour conversation together the other week talking about HER goals. I wanted the goals to be hers. Not mine, not her family's, not what she thought others expected her to do – hers. I explained to her I worked for her. I was here to add suggestions but she had to make decisions.

What we came up with was a plan to focus on her running to make money and work on speed through the spring. We decided it would be best to not have the pressure of Ironman this year, and it would be here for her whenever she decided to go after it. So we thought working on skills and get more experience racing triathlon would be done best through short course racing and half Ironman distances. We also decided it would be a good time to cut her teeth in the pro ranks so she could learn where we needed to get better against the professionals she would be racing someday.

After some racing this summer in triathlon, we thought that would give her a mental break, let her body cross train and build a huge base of fitness which would lead into our goal of running 2:28 or better Jan 14th at the Olympic trials. We also decide the time would be our first goal; placement would be a close secondary focus. Sally was looking for return on investment for what she put into her pursuit.

The focus was to be on becoming the runner and athlete she wanted to become. Improve economy, speed, etc. We would relentlessly work on these qualities and pick things along the way we wanted to focus on without losing site that the real goal was to keep becoming a better athlete.

In my experiences there are some AWESOME coaches out there. Not saying this is what Sally experienced, but in my own experiences coaches sometimes get so caught up in the athletic goal, track work, HR, etc. They forget there is a person in there. In my opinion and looking back at Sally’s blog (http://www.runsalm3.blogspot.com/) her first limiter we needed to address was mental peace and clearness of what she wanted. We didn’t do anything special with workouts leading into January. She and I talked and made a final decision for her to run the marathon Tuesday BEFORE the race! We agreed time and placement was not our focus. Our focus was for her to just enjoy lacing up her shoes and have fun running again. I made her promise me this was her focus.

She won, and really I didn’t care. Yes, I was happy for that. Sure she had ran slightly faster, but she won by several minutes. What I was happier for, was she smiled that entire race. She had fun, and found passion for it again. Next thing you know, she was on FIRE! You can see it in her blog. She was finally happy, and then you know what, she started to win.

Sally was killed on her bike last Tuesday. Our goals were cut tragically short. It really makes no sense to me and I can’t find the “reason” for it.

I was just with her family for the last few days and cannot say enough positive things about them. The Meyerhoff’s have raised 3 amazing children: Sally, Daniel, and Samantha. This fact is nothing but a testament of the parents they are.

To me Sally was a great runner, yes. I loved coaching her. Coaches never know when they will get the opportunity to work with athletes at that level, especially with her character. But my favorite athletes to work with are athletes with passion. For me to write a 5 or a 10 min mile doesn’t really matter to me. What does is the CARING and PASSION which she obviously had.

Sally’s motto was “Relentlessly Positive”. Something she lived everyday with an infectious nature. If you met Sally, you were a better person. I have friends who thought the world of her just having heard me speak of her. It was agreed by the hundreds of people who came to the memorial that she had the ability to relate to EVERYONE.

I learned from her dad this trip her true dream was to own a bakery. The ideal setting was a place people could hang out, indulge in something nice to eat and have a park near by where they could let their dogs run.

Sally was an AMAZING PERSON, who happened to be a fantastic athlete. I will miss her as will many people around the community.

Sally thank you for mentoring me.

There is a foundation being set up in her honor. As I know more details, I will make sure to write about it….. (Disregard opening sentence) :)

---It should be noted that her former High School Mountain Pointe is dedicating their track to her. It will be Sally Meyerhoff

Costa Rica

Just got back form our first ever TBC Costa Rica camp. We had such a great time! We had athletes from the US, Canada, as well as Venezuela. It was awesome to see everyone integrate and have such a great time.

Coach Jim Vance did the leg work for the camp and he did an awesome job. He arranged great digs for us with a 7 bedroom mansion with a pool for us all to enjoy, transfers, personal chefs, and even maid services daily! It was great.

In addition to the learning and training we all did, we all got an opportunity to compete in the new Rev3 races held there. With an Olympic distance on Saturday, and a Half on Sunday, some of us had an opportunity to do both races. TBC had 5 athletes on the podium as well as the overall Male and Female winner for BOTH RACES.

Sally Meyerhoff has been working with me since the end of last year and I would say she is off to a great start! Let’s see, she won the Rock N Roll Marathon in Arizona, and then won the overall title at BOTH races in Costa Rica. Oh, and did I mention had the fastest run splits for both races INCLUDING male athletes… WOW!

I am looking forward to the camp in St. George in 2 weeks.

If you are looking for a late season camp to get ready for an Ironman like Wisconsin, Hawaii, Florida, etc, check out our fantastic North Georgia camp in Aug. I think I will limit the camp to 15-20 people to make sure it is a manageable group.
Here is a link to the camp: http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1939301

Below are some pics from Costa Rica

Picture says it all

I wanted to take a min and congratulate Sally Meyerhoff, and athlete I am fortunate to work with. Sally hired me after having a tough marathon in New York this past fall. She and I decided a new direction and an honest crack at triathlon would be a great break from routine and something new and positive to wrap her head around. Well, she deviated just a bit from the triathlon plan and WON the PF Chang’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon last weekend!

I am so proud of her! I love her picture, it says it all!

Well done Sally!!!

Once again humbled

So Christmas Eve I decided to get a swim in before all the festivities started. As usual for this time of year the pool was packed with people deciding that in fact this is the year they will actually commit to being fit. While I wish them well on their journeys, I selfishly get annoyed at times when I can’t get into a lane. I realize that sounds bad, but hey, just being honest.

So I wait for a lane and start my set. While I am doing a long band set I see an older gentleman trying to keep pace with me in the lane next to me. I can tell he is intent to keep up and to his credit he does. When I finish my set he stops as well. He looks at me and tells me that was awesome, and asks me what the next set is. I really was almost done, and I usually just keep my head down in workouts as I am so often time crunched and just really want to get the work down and head out. This was Christmas Eve however and I thought, what the heck, Ill swim a short set with the guy. We do a few hundred meters together, I explain to him he was swimming great, he was, and thanked him for letting me swim with him.

He goes on to tell me how he is about 70 years old now and has enjoyed swimming for years. He said he has gone to Master World Championships a few times and is looking forward to “Aging up” so he can be the youngest in his age division once again. We discussed times and he told me he can still break 3 min for the 200 meter freestyle. He also said he used to swim a 2:08 for the distance when he was young, which really is impressive and I told him so. He explains to me that he is a “long course guy” and I am thinking 500, 1500, etc.

While talking to him a mutual friend walks up and says hello to me and my new friend. I was surprised my friend Don knew him as this guy had told me he is from the UK and is in town visiting his daughter. My friend goes on to introduce me to this man Michael Reed.

Michael Reed is President of the CSA (Channel Swimmers Association). He ha the title King of The Channel! He has the most channel crossings of anyone in history and has also swam the Nile river among other amazing endurance events. He is being inducted into the Swimming Hall of Fame soon along with Ian Thorpe!

Holy crap I am glad I was nice to this guy! LOL

Michael, you are truly amazing. Congratulations on your induction and truly, thank you for sharing YOUR swim with me!

Runners World article

I have promised myself to post more on the blog. We will see. :) In the meantime, check out the article in Runners World I was lucky enough to take part in.
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267--13801-0,00.html

Very excited about this camp!

TrainingBible Coaching Costa Rica Triathlon Camp 2011
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
February 13-20, 2011


Prepare for the 2011 season in beautiful Costa Rica for a week-long triathlon training camp with TrainingBible coaches and athletes. The week-long camp will be 3 days of intense training followed by 2 skills and learning-focused days, and 2 races at the REV 3 Event (Olympic distance on Saturday, Half on Sunday).


The camp is Monday-Sunday, but the overnight stays are Sunday-Sunday. This camp is nearly ALL-INCLUSIVE, (transportation, resort stay, 2 meals per day, training and race entries). I promise you won't find a better camp or experience, much less for the price. You can even bring a non-participating spouse or significant other, at no charge! (See details below)


This camp already includes top Kona age-group finishers, pro-triathletes, and top TrainingBible coaches from around the world. (Discounts for TrainingBible athletes and camp alumni.)


Camp Features:

• 8-night stay at Coco Bay Estates (an $1800-$2400 value)
• Option for private room or shared room available
• 2 Meals provided per day, (catered breakfast and lunch buffet)
• All sessions coached and led by a TrainingBible Coach
• Entry into REV 3 Olympic and Half distance triathlons (a $450 value)
• Low traffic, paved roads for riding
• Coach on-deck for pool sessions
• Incredibly beautiful open-water swimming in Coco Bay
• Underwater swim video technique assessment for each athlete, ($115 value)
• Run technique video assessment for each athlete, ($100 value)
• Transition competition
• Classroom sessions for individual learning
• Complimentary airport shuttle to/from Coco Bay Estates from Liberia Airport only
• View the Camp Itinerary
Camp Resort – Coco Bay Estates
Register for the camp here

See the camp schedule here

***If a spouse or significant other would like to attend, but not participate in the camp, they are welcome to stay free if the athlete purchases a private room. Food is included for spouses/significant others as well. (Limit one per private room camp entry).


***If friends, couples, etc, want to split a room, they are welcome to both purchase the shared room, and state their desired room share partner in registration.


Hope you can join us! Register soon!