If I don’t ride my mountain bike often enough during the winter, I sometimes forget this…

38 minutes to the top of the climb. This is a 1 hour ride, so I’m gonna have to rip it to get back! Just as the song changes, the gears change. Pop it up to the big blade, click the remote lockout to set the fork to active, and zip up the jersey. Let’s do this! Stand up and blast out 500 watts or so to set the rig into motion. Wonder if my tire pressure is right? Guess I’ll find out. Hit the little kicker just to the side of the trail and catch a little bit of air. Immediately stand back up out of the saddle and hammer into the first 180 degree turn. Back tire slides a little, but holds as another 500 or so watts are slammed into the peddles. Time to really rip up this descent!

Heart starts really pumping with a tight right, quick left, hop off a little riser, and another sharp right. Music thumping in the ears, the bike flows over and around the jagged rocks cemented into the dry Colorado dirt. Thread the needle, thread the needle, thread the needle. The tiniest error would result in a busted peddle or god forbid, scratched rim, as the bike darts through the catawampus pile of stones. In a smooth flowing rise from the saddle, the peddles continue to transfer power to the ground  as the trail becomes almost smooth looking with the unstoppable 29er wheels. Faster and faster the trees fly by. Closer and closer they get to the handle bars, but the thought of clipping one doesn’t even exist.

Another tight 180 degree turn. Hit the brakes just enough to slow down to a perfectly ludicrous cornering speed, while dropping through an off-camber washed out section. Release the front break and look 15 feet down the trail to the small drop into a rock garden and mishmash of roots. No need to think. The bike knows. The body knows. The reactions are so natural, the potentially wheel taco-ing obstacles pass in mere seconds as the eyes focus on the next challenge ahead. The heart thumps louder as the senses scream WOOHOO!

Advancing on another banked left turn, the left shoulder dips, the outside foot drops, and the gaze is on the exit of the corner. Both tires slide ever so slightly as another chain snapping acceleration is set into motion. Down into the saddle and time to flow. Right, left, right, left. The bike flicks side to side faster than the blink of an eye. Inches from stead fast trees, the bars continue to snap side to side as the peddle stroke is coordinated to just barely miss sharp rocks. Everything is flowing as one. Smooth and connected. Body, mind, bike, tires, terrain. It all flows together.

Now for the fun part! The horizon drops away to reveal a mine field of tire slicing, ear-to-ear smile-producing rocks, with multiple routes to descend through. No time to stop and pick the best line, momentum has the upper hand. Out of the saddle, weight shifted back over the rear tire, and fingers balanced above the break levers, the 29er relishes the gnarly landscape as it soaks up the bumps. Fear is running as fast as it can to catch up, but there it has no hope of it keeping pace. Exhilaration courses through the veins as the speed increases, the reactions become quicker, and the effort becomes… well… effortless. This is it. I am in my element.

Picking the line is so inherent that the focus goes to the song on the iPod, rather than the hazards ahead. Fitting as Born This Way by Lady Gaga lays down a base line that continues to keep the euphoric feelings coursing through the body. A smile stretches wide as the bike leaves the ground to float over the rubble. Touching down, the feet level back out to keep the crank arms parallel to the ground. Faster. Faster! FASTER! No brakes necessary. The scenery is but a blur as the sole focus of the eyes is on the trail ahead. Then the saddest part of the entire trail approaches… the end.

Dropping back into the saddle as the tires touch the pavement, one thought cements itself - That was why I do what I do. I A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y love the thrill that comes from the realization that passion led me down that hill.

Can’t wait to do it again tomorrow…

Confidence on the starting line of the ING NY Marathon

Jennie started her marathon program with a one mile time trial (8:30 pace) as her benchmark, because she had only ever trained up to 3 miles averaging 11 minute pace when running easy.  After 8 weeks of long runs her average pace dropped to 10 minutes/mile!  Then four weeks before the race I did a 9 mile tempo workout with her and saw that her times were dropping and her heart rate was 10 beats lower at a faster pace!  She was absorbing the training and getting more fit!  This past Saturday we ran our 2 mile PRE-Race run with strider’s and Jennie’s easy pace was (9:20 pace) and her heart rate dropped 7 beats (145 from 152) from 4 weeks prior!  She was tapered!  She didn’t have the fatigue of previous workouts, long runs, tempo runs in her legs!  This gave me another check mark of confidence going into the race.  I asked, “Jennie do you feel like you’re losing your fitness, strength and feeling fat?  She said, “yes” with a smile.  As her coach I said, “Perfect.  That’s how you’re suppose to feel in a taper”.  Because Jennie’s never been a runner it didn’t play with her head and she felt great about it.  Why, because coach said so.  It would be nice if every client could process information that easily and quickly!

Team Timex Jennie, Susanne, Dina & Kelly

The race was about to begin!  Timex Teammate Kelly Fillow, Jennie’s personal friend Dina Kwit and myself were Jennie’s running crew.  We were running with Jennie, tweeting her progress, taking pictures and coordinating meeting places with possible interviews during the race!  As her coach I printed out two pace charts:  My “A” goal was to hold 9:22 pace at 4:05:59 for a perfect day and another chart for 4:10 which was averaging 9:32 pace which is what her training showed she was capable of running.  I built Jennie up to 19 miles for her longest run.  She ran a 9:56 average pace.  With a short 12 week program after giving birth to her second son, I would stack two days of running to equal the marathon distance and build her long run.  Then in her final long run only 6 days after her 19 miler I tested her ability to negative split the last 3 miles of a 17 miler.  She ran her easy long pace for 14 miles at 10:00/mile to goal race pace!  She ran miles 15 and 16 at 9:35 to 9:16 with only a 10 beat heart rate increase!  BAM there’s the magic heart rate range for race pace, because her 17th mile at 9:02 to a 8:50 her heart rate went up 25 beats (working at her 10K pace heart rate range).   A critical tool in coaching Jennie and during the race was her GPS watch- Timex Run Trainer.  It recorded her pace and heart rate which helped me build such an accurate race pace goal!  A GPS and Heart Rate are also great guiding tools while racing to keep you on the “target pace” especially on a hilly course like NY.  The other key is to feel your pace and rhythm of your leg turnover.  Sometimes the city buildings would cause interference with the GPS, so UP every hill in the race I started singing, “I like to move it, move it” (Theme song from Madagascar/yes I have kids too!) to keep the pace steady.   Jennie, probably thought I just liked to hear myself sing!  No this was to help keep pace and maybe make someone smile around us who wasn’t liking life at the moment.

Maintain a steady pace up hill, down hill and on the flats

Timex GPS Run Trainer (pace and heart rate)

The other key to having a successful marathon was taking in GU every 30 minutes and salt each hour.  My Timex 50 lap watch was on a repetitive timer to help remind us.  My Nathan pack carried our nutrition and a 10oz bottle of water to make sure Jennie was taking in enough fluids.  Jennie had a “Live” interview with CNBC at mile 18.  Where most people might start feeling the “wall”, Jennie put in a little surge.  (Have to look good for the camera, thanks, nice distraction)!

Mile 20 to 26 I broke up the race into two sections.  We only have 2 x 3 mile sections left!  ”This is the same distance as your shortest run “, I yelled.  She did amazing!  There was a nasty hill though that seemed endless.   Then we had the final 3 miles left.  At mile 23 I said, “Let’s dig deeper now,  you will make it.”  I know how mentally tough she is.  This is where pain is temporary and glory is forever.  This is where those long runs come in to play, giving child birth gives you an added edge of getting through discomfort, and using a words that make you tick!  ”It’s the bottom of the 9th and you only have to throw 3 more strikes!”  Jennie’s Softball tenacity kicked in and she ran 10:18, then took it down to 9:09 for her last 2 miles!  My last words to Jennie were, “You only have to run from 2nd base to home plate Jennie, go!”  She broke into a sprint for the last .2 miles to the finish line!

She finished strong, passed more people then we guessed, and averaged 9:21 pace which was our “A” goal!  Tears of joy, accomplishment, helping 30,000 kids in the NYRR program, seeing her family and feeling the endorphin rush of  crossing the finish line.  She gave it her all and the marathon gave Jennie the running bug.  At our victory dinner that evening, she said, “I might do another marathon in March”. Running is contagious, give it a try!  I am Proud, relieved, and what an awesome journey!   Crossing the line culminated in all of the reasons to why I coach.

Hit Goal Pace! Proof on the watch!

When signing up for a marathon your ultimate goal is to finish feeling strong and steady, but the first question most “runner’s” ask is, “What pace or time do you hope to hold?”

11 weeks ago Jennie started her marathon training program after having a baby just 8 weeks prior, and we had to set a pace goal that would work for her.

She didn’t know what pace she could run for the marathon, she just wanted to complete one.  There is less than a week left in her 12 week marathon program and now Jennie knows what she’s capable of. She hopes to hold a 9:30 race pace and pass more people then Armani Toomer did last year (he finished in 4:13:45, passing 25,817 people). You can win a trip to next year’s NYC Marathon by guessing how many people Jennie will pass: Click here to enter.

How do you know what pace you can hold in a race?  Below is a list of strategies that Jennie incorporated that should help you hit your target pace.

1. Measure and record your training results daily by using a heart rate and GPS watch like Jennie’s Timex Ironman Run Trainer.
2. Train according to a periodized program, gradually building your mileage and intensity toward a goal or race event. (a coach helps!)
3. Incorporate training bricks.  If your body is new to this higher volume of weekly run mileage stack a cross training workout like a spin class or 50 minute elliptical workout in front of your 40 minute run.  This way the body get’s the aerobic benefit of an hour and a half workout and physically your building stamina using more muscles groups with less pounding on your joints. This is what Jennie did throughout her training program.
4. Use cross training, such as biking/spin class to balance muscle groups with running.  Know, however, that your Heart Rate will be about 10 beats lower in a non weight bearing activity.
5. Test yourself in a specific workout to gauge your progress. As you can see from Jennie’s workouts on 10/3 & 10/17, Jennie’s average pace went from a 10:49 mile pace to a 9:57 average mile pace for her 15 and 17 mile long easy aerobic runs). This is a 52 second per mile IMPROVEMENT!
6. Incorporate one longer aerobic run each week, keeping the pace easy and your heart rate low.
7. Focus on technique:  Incorporate running drills such as butt kicks, high knees, bounding and striders weekly.  This helps your form and improves your mechanics to keep a fast and efficient leg turnover enabling you to hold that pace!
8. Add in weekly strength work: run hill repeats, push a bigger gear in your spin class with lower leg turnover (cadence) for the main set of your intervals  and/or complete a specific weight/core routine.
9. Do at least one speed or tempo run each week incorporating and practicing paces from your 5K, 10K and half marathon race pace efforts in the run session.
10. Review your training daily,weekly and monthly with a coach so you can see the improvements and growth from your training plan.  I like to use Training Peaks for this (which comes FREE with your Timex GPS watch).  It’s easy for Jennie (athlete) and me (your coach) to add comments, change workouts and store important heart rate and pace data from you watch for the entire year!

Use these tips to help you become a fine tuned athlete and help you achieve that dream pace for your next race!  Please join me in wishing Jennie the best of luck in this week’s race, and let’s all cheer her on!

www.tricoachdavis.com

Last weekend I drove to Athens, GA for the Athens Half Marathon.  Since the Timex Ford Edge had yet to make a stop in this stereotypical southern college town, I realized that had to change.  The only problem?  The Edge was up in Nashville (well, technically Brentwood), TN at Bruce Gennari‘s residence.  Nashville isnt on the way to Athens, so how the heck was I supposed to get the Edge down to Huntsville?

The first option would have been to drive my trusty 2001 Honda Accord up to Bruce’s place, but the neighborhood he lives in is way too nice for his house to have a random old Honda sitting out front.  I also could’ve gotten a ride up there but a 2h drive, and therefore 4h round trip, is kind of a lot to ask from someone.  The solution?  Ride there!

Not wanting to go solo, I recruited my riding buddy, Dave V, for the trek north.  Thankfully the Sunday before last featured marvelous weather for this time of year.  It was a bit brisk at the 7AM roll-out, but warmed up nicely throughout the day.

Having never ridden this route before, we were both a little hesitant about the road conditions and traffic.  Thankfully though, we went large stretches without seeing any vehicles and when there was some traffic, there were bike lanes/shoulders to provide some extra room.  Of course the early start likely helped as well.

So after spending the first 30min or so warming up, we were rolling along pretty well after the first hour.  We both missed the sign alerting us of our departure from Alabama into Tennessee, but by the time we realized it we were definitely too far to backtrack.  Moving through downtown Fayetteville, we discussed starting an “Occupy Fayetteville” movement, but decided to just keep riding our bikes.  Right around 60mi we stopped to refill water bottles and split a Coke, and soon enough we were back on the road.  Apparently the Coke was just what Dave needed because at this point he started CRUSHING it, which made me wonder if I was riding with DV or DZ….

Finally, after ~90mi, I knew we were getting ready to turn off the main road and head towards Bruce’s neighborhood when… FAIL.  Guess who forgot the last few directions?  Somehow though, with a huge assist from modern technology, we made it.  98 miles and 4h41min (not including stops).

All in all, a pretty easy trip north.  The saddle time was well worth the reward of taking the Edge to Athens.

The details, courtesy of the Timex Global Trainer: