The Coach Buzz ...

This post stemmed from an athlete who posted the following on our forum: "Learning to let go of something may be worth more than giving up something.  Freeing yourself from anything that controls you; now THAT can take you somewhere." Very insightful post.  That is the ultimate message and power behind doing something that you deem "impossible." We realize that anything is possible...if you believe, if you want and if you work. I couldn't swim, ride or run with any of you in 2000. I raced Ironman Wisconsin for the first time in 2002. Since that time, I have wanted to win this race, we are now 11 years down the road and that is very real possibility. The last 11 years has been held up by belief that nothing was too big to overcome; bad races, injuries, finances, my anxiety and psychy, other's opinions, nothing.  I always remembered and repeated that the time when you accomplish what you want is just past the point when everyone else would have give

Just a training update for you all. Cliff and I have been working closely on identifying patterns in life (both inside and outside of training) that work well for me and patterns that don't.  As a result, we have made some changes to both the training plan and racing schedule that I am really pleased with. - Anxiety = nothing good for me. I have always struggled with it, so it's time to face it. For me, eliminating big sources of this inside and outside of training help things go much more smoothly.  Think about an interstate in comparison to a city street with stoplights. - I am no longer training for long periods of time on days when I have to coach in person.  This has eliminated a lot of stress for me.  A more relaxed approach to daily training makes a big difference for me. - Longer training blocks before key races are going to be the rule this year. This will help me train well going into each event, which in turn will build confidence. - Race schedule change.  

Most of you reading this will have a training plan or a coach.  But many of you might not have detailed specifics with some of your workouts prescribed.  What I mean by this is that your training might read something like this: "Mainset: 300 moderate on 15sec rest 100 easy on 5sec rest 2x300 mod-fast on 30sec rest 100 easy on 5sec rest 3x300 fast on 45sec rest 100 easy on 5sec rest ...or perhaps: "20minutes easy to start this run." ...or maybe: "60minutes easy to start this ride." If this is the case, take it upon yourself to set targets that fit the descriptions.  What is a reasonable pace for moderate effort in the water over a distance of 300m? What paces  and watts fit the "easy effort" description on the bike or run? If you are unsure, ask your coach. Why?  Because sometimes 220watts on the bike feels easy, while other times 160watts feels like a struggle. If you know your zones/paces and stick to them, it will help keep the

A lot of athletes have asked me what my daily routine consists of and how I get balance everything. So I thought I would give a little bit on insight that many of you can take and apply to your lives, as well as a glimpse into my routine. 1) PLAN! This is the number one downfall that I see with most individuals and athletes.  They may be able to tell you everything they need to do, but rarely do they have a REALISTIC plan on how it will get done. Set up a plan and hold yourself accountable.  Make a LIST, write down certain times that you will do things and make sure that you budget enough time for the most important tasks that you need to get done. 2) BE PRODUCTIVE! In general, people are more productive in the morning; use this to your advantage.  If you have a task that takes a lot of brainpower, get it done first. If you have to deal with other people, try to do it in the morning.  You will likely find that a task which takes 60min in the morning, will end up taking 2 hours

If you haven't checked out our new BBMC website, make sure you take a look (www.blakebecker.com).  The site is now geared toward athletes and will not only give information on services, but also act as a resource for athletes to be educated.  Feel free to post feedback here on what you feel would be beneficial to add onto the site. +++ Since arriving back to Madison, mother nature decided to give us all one last taste of winter.  The roads were clear and clean when I returned, but now, not so much.  This was what the greenway looked like from my porch doors; not exactly ideal for training outdoors on anything other than skis. Training was geared toward recovery for the first 4 days back.  I completed about 54hrs of training over the 2 weeks I was in AZ and needed to absorb that work.  I ALWAYS feel terrible during recovery blocks and this one was no exception.  30min runs are daunting and I seem to forget how to pedal a bike.   From experience I know that I come out of thi