IM Kona '16: Day 6

With race week finally here, I couldn't wait for my first race week workout. Yeah yeah, I know I am not racing but you can't take the athlete out of me. With this being my 5th time in Kona but first time not racing, I'm full of energy and loving every opportunity to train on the big island, while being surrounded by so many fit and inspiring athletes.

As you may know, Matt Dixon has been a long time mentor of ours and a coach to Karel for the past 2 years. We have learned so much from him and over the past year, we have had a few opportunities to train under his one-on-one guidance. Learning from a coach like Matt, who has so much experience, makes us better coaches. And we are incredibly grateful for the opportunities that he has given us. 

 Being able to participate in group workouts on the big island, open to the IM Kona PPF athletes and friends/family, makes being here a lot more fun. 

With Trimarni athletes Leigh Ann and Justine excited to participate in a PPF group swim workout, lead under the coaching of Matt at the Kona pool, we had planned to meet at the Kona pool at 7:45am for the 8am swim.

Last minute, Karel told me that he had received an email update that there would be a swim at 7:15am at the pool for "fast" swimmers. 

Karel told me I should participate so I figured, why not.

Well, when I showed up, Matt directed me (and PPF age group athlete Philip) to the middle lane where he told me "You will swim with the professionals".

After warm-up, I noticed that I was sharing a lane with Sarah Piampiano, Tim Reed and Jesse Thomas. What a highlight as a triathlete who loves to swim. I was in my happy place with some incredibly talented and fast athletes! 

After my 3600 yard swim workout, I cooled down a bit before joining Karel, Leigh Ann and Justine. I stayed in the back of the lane as I was just swimming just to swim.

Yes, I really do love swimming that much :) 

5700 yards later, I was officially done with my double swim workout and we snapped a quick pick with Matt (thank goodness he wasn't charging yet for pictures - hehe :). 

After our swim, we biked back to our condo (just a few minutes down the road), dropped off our swim stuff in our condo and headed out on Ali'i drive for a preview of the run course and start of the bike course. 

This race course is really unique in that you can actually train or see every mile of the 140.6 mile race course. 

 

After our morning workout, it was time to eat, make a few phone calls and then relax for a short time before heading out to Ali'i drive to check out some vendors before the official IM Kona expo opening tomorrow. 

With tomorrow as the first day for the athletes to check in and the opening of the IM Kona expo, I am excited to see familiar faces and to view some new products/gear in the expo.
I have no doubt that the expo will be all the buzz around town with the latest and greatest in triathlon "stuff".



Like BlueSeventy with their new short sleeve swim skin.



And Ceramic Speed, who offers the only 17-tooth pulley wheel system on the market with the oover sized pulley wheel system (OSPW) and UFO chains.

Karel is like a kid in the candy store here in Kona. He loves talking "bikes".

2016 Purple Patch Fitness Greenville camp

I have a Master Degree in Exercise Physiology....but I don't know everything about exercise physiology.
I am a Board Certified Sport Dietitian....but I don't know everything about sport nutrition.
I am a 11x Ironman finisher, including 4 Ironman World Championship finishes, but I'm really not that great of a triathlete.

I don't lack self confidence but I have self awareness that to be an expert in anything, you have to focus on personal development, continuous education and the understanding that there is always someone smarter/better than you.

As a coach and sport dietitian, I learn every day. Whether it's from an athlete, a research article or another expert, I am constantly learning. I hope that I never stop learning.

Regardless of my educational background and professional experiences, it's simply not possible to know everything about what I do.
And I'm cool with that.

The reality is that sports are constantly changing, especially endurance sports when there are so many variables and factors that make for a "great" race day performance.
Research changes and the training, diet and lifestyle habits by athletes are constantly changing.

In my field, endurance sports (specifically triathlon and running), can be complicated and rarely is there a "best" approach to be applied by the masses. It's only when an athlete figures out what works best for him/her that he/she knows exactly what will work.

I believe that every expert needs another expert as a mentor. I feel the same way about athletes who are coaches - every coach needs a coach.

Having a mentor, or another expert, who you trust, who you believe in his/her philosophy, who is passionate, educated and committed to his/her practice and shares a similar vision as you, is important. But what's more important is that this mentor/expert has more experience than you, a slightly different set of skills and can say/do things that are new to you.
While you don't have to agree with everything that your mentor says, suggests or does, your expert/mentor should challenge you to think, in a good way.

When you are a professional/expert, there is great benefit of having an expert like this in your life because it keeps you having fun - you are constantly challenged to think, learn and devote yourself to your practice.

And with this extra dose of devotion, you become more successful.

I have been a long time fan of coach Matt Dixon of Purple Patch Fitness because I believe we share a similar philosophy in how we coach our athletes. Certainly, with him having an extensive record of successful age group, professional and even Olympic/Elite athletes that he has coached, his methods also work.

Even though Karel and I are coaches, and we take our coaching business very seriously (it's our full-time, 24/7, 365-day a year job), learning is extremely important to us. We are constantly reading, listening to podcasts and studying the training methods and approaches by other coaches (and athletes) but Matt Dixon has been a continued resource and mentor for us at Trimarni.

Although Karel is technically the athlete who is coached by Matt, by default, since I train with Karel and Karel oversees my training, I feel that I am also coached by Matt.

For the 4 days, not only do I get to learn from coach Matt Dixon in Greenville, SC but I get hands-on experiences with coach Matt (and Paul - the "bike whisper") and I get to see how he interacts with other athletes. With many other PPF athletes in attendance, there is constant education but also a nice push to make me work hard.

Learning, working hard, having fun.
This is my recipe to being successful.

Always keep yourself learning.
Always be willing to work hard. 

And above all, have fun. Lots and lots of fun.