If You're Not Stretching, You're Not Trying

The headline for today’s blog can be literal or figurative. When I first started using a Vasa swim trainer, I could barely pull myself along the body-weight-bearing pulley system. It hurt using the device because I hadn’t used those muscles in my swim stroke to that extent.

The physical discomfort was real from stretching my upper lats near my armpits, along with the realization that I hadn’t been performing to my potential all this time.

Recently, I started working with a new athlete and experienced the same feeling — that sense of unease that comes with “new.”

Then it occurred to me how important it is to be uncomfortable. To stretch ourselves not just in training, but in our lives.

It’s vital to seek out our own flaws, or ways we can stretch, to become comfortable being uncomfortable.

If we’re not stretching and feeling that palpable sense of unease, are we really trying our best to be our best?

Coaching Christmas

Lots of people got lots of gifts yesterday. I got a coffee mug. But not just any mug, a Good Wolf mug.

This pleased me greatly. It’s the simple things in life that make me happy.

Then, I received the gift of beginning work with a new Good Wolf athlete. it’s a gift because I understand the responsibility involved with helping someone improve while reaching their goals.

In some ways, this gift if like receiving a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. The gift comes in the form of seeing the athlete’s Training Peaks account, which serves as a forensics kit for what’s really transpired in their training and racing over an extended period of time.

Few things make me happier than combing through the data and trying to understand what worked and what didn’t for that athlete.

It’s fun to look at the charts to see how someone’s season ebbed and flowed from the perspectives of fitness building, recovery, racing and sustaining that fitness level. Then, I love diving into specific races to see what transpired, along with what kinds of workouts that athlete was doing going into the race. You can also tell a lot about how the athlete recovers following the race. If it takes extra recovery time, for example, it’s a bit clearer how taxing that race effort may have been. When the opposite happens, it’s clearer that effort is sustainable, and the aerobic engine is stronger.

I feel like I’m a part detective, part data analyst. Fascinating stuff.

Some people want to subscribe to Disney Plus for the holidays.

This is my holiday jam.

Star Wars and Triathlon

Outside of the trite “Use the Force!” line, I didn’t really think I could tie triathlon and Star Wars together.

That was until I saw the latest Star Wars film, The Rise of Skywalker.

Tl;dr: I didn’t like it very much. At all.

Without getting into spoilers, everything that happened in the film was expected. Everything. And just as something surprising occurred, something bold and daring, the plot point walked itself backwards.

The Rise of Skywalker fluttered and sputtered because it didn’t take any chances. It hit all the expected notes, all the expected cameos. The “right” dialogue lines at the “right” times.

The film executed.

Sometimes race plans can feel boring. They’re expected, if your training is going well. You know your watts, your paces, your nutrition and the course. You know where everything is supposed to happen.

Here’s the difference. Sometimes, a special performance happens when we take a calculated risk. When we see a moment, an opportunity, to be greater. Sure, it might fail. Yes, people might regret the decision. But taking a chance based on good data, experience and intuition sometimes pays huge dividends.

Safe is good. Safe is fine. Safe works.

Sometimes though, a calculated bet is the key to the breakthrough we’re all looking for.

That’s when it’s time to Use the Force.

Movement Therapy

Gee, did I jinx things with my blog post yesterday!

Audra was up ALL NIGHT with a fever. There was no way I was going to rally for a 5:45 a.m. swim with Tower 26.

So I did what any self-respecting Type A triathlete would do. I called an audible on my day faster than you can say, “Omaha!”

I was supposed to swim for 1.25 hours and instead turned that into a 10 minute Vasa trainer session.

Then, I flipped my 30 minute easy trail run to a 1.5 hour session with my good friend Jason.

The mental therapy portion of the run was by far the best part of my day. Movement therapy is indeed real. As if to validate that, Jason and I saw a truck advertising a mobile psychotherapist parked at the trailhead.

What a brilliant concept!

After a long run bellyaching about a lack of sleep and appreciation from occasionally “challenging” children, I felt re-energized and fresh for the day. That was no small feat for someone who saw the clock every hour from midnight on until 7 this morning. Oofa.

What’s my takeaway?

Don’t brag about finding balance in a blog post!

But if I do, get ready to audible…and find a good friend to drag me out of the sleep-induced abyss.

When Balanced

When I feel balanced, the things that irritated me before no longer feel so bad.

When I feel balanced, I can feel the joy of Ayla’s weight against my chest when I’m holding her.

When I feel balanced, there’s time for that extra bedtime story for Audra, without fear I still have more work to do.

When I feel balanced, the day feels measured, not chaotic.

When I feel balanced, the sense of control over my day is palpable.

When I feel balanced, I’m more calm.

When I feel balanced, anything is possible.

It’s amazing how the very same things that could throw me off my game so easily are remedied by just an hour or two of “my” time in a day.

The stressors don’t vanish.

It’s simply my approach to them that dramatically changes.

Only One Way to Go

Yesterday was a tough moment for me, which meant today was going to be better. It had to be.

Still making tomorrow better is a choice. If you spend too long thinking about yesterday, you might just miss your chance.

Don’t miss your chance.

Family Vs Self

I’ve got three weeks off from my Insomniac Games career, part of our annual holiday studio closure.

When Steph and I didn’t have kids, this typically served as the foundation for my off-season training. I’d literally train all day while Steph worked.

It was heaven. I spent hours climbing to Mt Baldy, or running the trails in the Santa Monica Mountains after leisurely swims and breakfast refueling.

Now, apparently heaven is supposed to be a 5:45 a.m. swim and maybe breakfast immediately after with a buddy. That’s it. Homefront duty calls.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and I certainly love spending family time with them. I’m not complaining, just adjusting to another version of “normal,”

But I need some balance too.

Where is the line juggling life as a parent, athlete and coach?

I’m learning that the key lies in coaching. As in I have to follow my own advice. I can get out and ride, it just has to be planned far enough in advance to secure a sitter if Steph isn’t around and if Audra isn’t in school. Then it becomes an ROI game…how much is a long outdoor ride literally worth in dollars spent to experience it?

I’ll tell you one thing…it sure makes me appreciate those training sessions that much more. Each one is truly valuable.

And it makes me just a touch wistful of days gone by. Of mountains scaled. Of ocean vistas gazed. Of group rides past.

I’m grateful for those memories.

People, enjoy your families. Enjoy all those moments.

Just don’t lose yourself in the process.

Rhythm in Chaos

Now that I’m on my second child, I can’t help but notice the parallel moments that feel all too close to deja vu.

Ayla slept like an angel for the first two months. She’d wake up once a night, and we were profoundly grateful for the reprieve from the zombie-like state Steph and I both were fearing. That 10-month hazy nightmare we recall from Audra’s tempestuous early stages.

Now, Ayla’s sleep has regressed. We’re back to that funk from four years ago.

We’re seeing more hours on the clock during the wee hours of the night, and the sleep quality has plummeted. Meanwhile, illness has taken root throughout the house. This has hit Steph much harder as she’s nursing and pumping still. Thank goodness she’s filled with such good cheer and patience.

My admiration for her, truly, has never been higher. I’ve never seen someone able to remain so cheerful and loving despite an astonishing sleep gap.

I have little patience in the darkness. And I’m supposed to be the Ironman of the team.

I know that every with every wake-up, it’s less likely I’m going to find the strength to get up a few hours later to train. I can feel my “escape” escaping right through my willpower to catch it.

Win the sunrise? Yeah. Right now, it’s win three hours of uninterrupted sleep.

The mental toll this takes is the worst. It’s like you grow satisfied with a pattern, only to see it interrupted and have to start over again, anticipating a new pattern.

The not knowing is the toughest part, especially for a planner such as myself.

And now, we’re at the point where I recall in early 2016 that I had to tell my then-coach, Brian, “I just can’t train right now. I’m barely sleeping.”

I’ve got to find a way to break through this time. How can I use my gained wisdom to be better prepared and mentally stronger?

Knowing there’s a pattern here, and knowing the pattern will change, is not dissimilar to racing in an Ironman. We’ve just hit the sleep wall in the Schneider house, that’s all.

We simply have to live out my preaching to Good Wolf athletes that a breakthrough is around the corner. Another milestone is up ahead. Another opportunity for a breakthrough. And hopefully more consistent and restful sleep.

Still, it’s a mental freaking grind.

Mile 18 sure sucks sometimes.

Boarding the Night Train

I’ve fallen off the morning training wagon the last week or so and I’ve been struggling with whether training at night instead is a good idea.

After the kids go to bed, so like 8 p.m.

I’ve always been advised that training within two hours of bedtime can be counter-productive. It disrupts your sleep and therefore your recovery patterns.

But is that really the case if you’re already sleep-deprived? What if you have no pattern!?

I notice a Good Wolf athlete, an emergency room physician who often works evenings, trains at all hours. Basically, whenever he can get the time on his calendar. We try to schedule the flow of his workouts to fit his work activity level. But I’m impressed nonetheless with his dedication and commitment no matter the time.

I’m facing “paralysis by analysis” a bit on this topic. Should I do “whatever it takes” or emphasize sleep at all costs since deep stretches are so hard to come by?

The research indicates sleep, but my guilt level indicates training.

Isn’t that always the case for a triathlete?

For the moment, I’ll be catching the night train only in my dreams. But I’m leaning towards trying some evening workouts just to see how I respond.

Vasa Trainer Review

My training time has all but vanished lately, as I’ve been lamenting.

Perhaps a chance encounter with Facebook Marketplace could help alleviate my suffering.

A couple weeks ago during Thanksgiving weekend, I decided to casually scan online for a Vasa swim trainer. For those who don’t know, the Vasa looks like a cross between a row machine and a Bowflex. It’s designed to help swimmers work on their stroke while on land. Vasa trainers, or the fancier Vasa ERG, are expensive though. They can range from $1,000 to $2,000-plus.

There’s no way I’d pay that much.

But I would pay $100.

I found a used Vasa, but in good condition, for that price about 30 miles from home. No. Brainer!

After three 5-10 minute sessions on the Vasa, the investment has been well worth it. Yet it’s humbling beyond belief.

See, the Vasa points out immediately how poor my catch and pull stroke actually is. That’s because the trainer advocates a high-elbow stroke. I’m clearly not doing that in the water, evidenced by how sore I am in the PROPER swim muscles such as my upper lats and triceps. That’s counter to the typical soreness I experience after long pool swims (shoulders).

I feel pretty much spent after three sets of the following:

— 30 strokes alternating right side, left side (so 60 total strokes)

— 30 right-arm only strokes

— 30 left-arm only strokes

Eventually, as in hopefully next week, I’ll resume my “normal” training routine. But for now, at least I can rest assured that I can “swim” for 10 minutes every other day and hopefully I won’t start from scratch.

And who knows, maybe I’ll finally find that missing link in my swim stroke.

I’ll buy that for $100!!