Interview with Athlete on Fire

Scott Jones with Athlete on Fire, approached me at the Studio I train at and the next thing I knew; we were doing a podcast.  I am very honored and appreciative of the opportunity I have had to share my story and hopefully a little inspiration for someone out there!

Athlete on Fire: Trista Francis Triathlete/Coach

Partnered with Highlands Ranch Optical!

I am very pleased to announce my partnership with Dr.Ward and Highlands Ranch Optical for 2014. Dr. Ward is a very talented and skilled Doctor; his staff is incredible and they have the latest in contact lenses, the most fashionable frames and one of the leading Doctors in OrthoKeratology.  Please see my testimonial below on my experience with Ortho-K and how it has changed my life as an athlete.
http://www.coloradoandco.com/video/3372956641001/1/Highlands-Ranch-Optical

Flowing Forward...

Well, it is March 2014.  I head to Timex Camp this week in Florida and my race season starts in about 1 month.  Last September when I finished up my season in Tempe with a 3rd place finish... I was quite grumpy.  I was in 1st place until I hit the run.  My awesome Physical Therapist, Bill at Specialized Physical Therapy received a text from me basically venting about how painful my hamstring was on the bike and how it had no juice for the run.  This is the same song and dance I have been doing since my injury in 2009. I went into deep thinking mode in the next two weeks trying to figure out what my body needs, what I need, what my hamstring needs and had much discussions about a new plan for treatment and training. Honestly, I felt like I had to give one big hard go at it to see if I could turn this sinking ship around after 4.5 years. One thing I did know, is it had been very difficult to follow a training schedule recently.  With the ages of my girls, 18, 16, 13; I need to be able to be there when they need me and sometimes, this really disrupts the training plan. At the end of the two weeks, I had come to some decisions and changes I was going to make. I was not sure if they were the right ones and it was a bit scary moving forward with them.  I decided to take time off from structured coaching and training.  I wanted to just go with the flow of my life, fit in what I could and go hard when I felt like it. This definitely helped me to begin enjoying my training more and it started to seem like fun again and not work.  I have put a huge emphasis on strength, weekly dry needling and workout sessions are back to the gym for more classes with friends.

December rolled around and it was time to start thinking about a little structure again. I began writing my own training plan. This was pretty easy for the first 6 weeks. I decided at that point I was going to continue to move into 2014 with this plan of self coaching.

Here I am about 6 weeks later. Self coaching is not something I recommend to most and the majority of reputable coaches understand the challenges that come from this method as well. I do have a wealth of experience to draw from with 7 years of coaching under my belt but I do lack that outside perspective. Since I have seen such progress in my run, I decided to see if I can manage it and continue to improve.

The first 3 week build was a mess!  I really had a hard time dialing in when I could go hard and when I needed to go easy.  I am grateful for a few friends that helped me sort through the plan and be a sounding board for me. Like most, I just "want" to be able to do more.  I am a different athlete than I was a few years ago.  Age 41 knocked my socks off with the hours I can train and the significantly more hours I need to recover. I have excepted it now and it is much easier to do this when I am seeing run paces from 2009 beginning to return. (insert a big wahoo right here!)  The last 3 week build was a huge success and I am very pleased with the way things are going.  My bike and swim have stagnated but as I tell my athletes, "this is typical when you are seeing significant improvements in another discipline".

I am really excited about the progress I have made.  The hamstring is still painful, but its easier to deal with a painful hammy going fast than a painful hammy going slow! =)

Moving into 2014, I am beyond blessed by Sponsors. Timex Multisport Team, PowerBar Team Elite and Zoot.  I have a few more announcements coming shortly so stay tuned! Enjoy your training =)

What Does Your Productive Day Look Like?

Yesterday afternoon while I was driving my youngest daughter Demi age 13 to a friends, we were having a light conversation.  She mentioned that she was really glad she had such a productive morning.  I asked her to share with me what she accomplished in addition to the 20 minute treadmill run in the basement that I was aware of. She continues "...I ran for 20 minutes, then I did the Vasa Trainer for a little bit, 100 sit ups and finished up with some weights.  I got showered and ready for the day and here I am".  I was taken by such surprise. I could not wipe the smile off my face. I didn't expect to hear what I heard.  I expected something

more like I ran, cleaned my room, did some homework, etc.  The fact that she has learned to take care of her physical, mental, and spiritual self in such a manner assures me that as she continues to grow she will be able to accomplish much.  She will be able to tackle the world because she will have a clear mind and her cup will be full.

Why Not?

Have you ever desired to change something about your physical well being? Perhaps you've had a goal to run a marathon or to establish healthier eating habits? Whatever your specific goal might be, let me assure you that a change must occur. You are the only thing standing in the way of the life you so desire. Since this particular blog is fitness related I wanted to share a story that epitomizes the benefits of change.

On the front end, I would like to say that Trista Francis is a superstar athlete and I never would have had the chance to meet her had I not embraced the change that occurred in my life 7 years ago. I am now a Timex Multisport teammate of Trista's but in the fall of 2006, I found myself in an operating room in Canada within minutes of death. I have undergone a major transformation in my life and am now living my athletic dream.

I was diagnosed with an intestinal disorder as a teenager and suffered in silence for nearly 15 years. I will spare you the horrible details but I was always sick. My stomach hurt, I couldn't eat, I was anemic and was always running a fever. The disease in my large intestine was causing inflammation that ultimately led to a rupture. On that tumultuous day in 2006, my body began to leak bacteria into my bloodstream and I was becoming septic. Surgery was the only option if I hoped to live. The thing about surgery at this critical point in my life is that it was not the first time it had been recommended. I resisted because I was scared to death of what my life might be like on the other side of the knife. 

When I think back over the last 7 years and all that I have been able to accomplish, I keep asking myself "if I never accepted the change that saved my life and all that came with a difficult physical recovery I would not be alive today." Before my surgery, I could not climb a flight of stairs without losing my breath. Now I am amazed at how my body can perform is a healthy state. I treat every day as a gift to make my body the best it can be. Physical change is not easy and we tend to develop habits that lead to comfort. The illusion of the comfort zone is that it keeps us from becoming better versions of ourselves. Comfort has no place in transformation. If you want to change something about you, YOU must embrace the discipline it will take. In other words, you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Our God in Heaven created us in His image and meant for us to thrive and not just survive. My life is a testimony to the incredible blessing that change can be.

I would love to hear your feedback and to have you share your story with me and my community at www.conqueryourcomfortzone.com.

Bo Parrish

HyVee 5150 US Championships

I was more than excited to race this race again. It's a great venue and a course that appeals to my strengths. As I was planning my trip, I realized my girls ran on the Friday evening before the race. As important as this race was to me, being a Mom and supporting my girls at their Cross Country meet was still a step higher on the priority list. I was hopeful I could slide in the day before and still have a relatively successful race.

A few things happened that created more stress than I anticipated. When I arrived at the airport Saturday around 1pm, my car that I reserved was not there. They had no cars and there was a line waiting for the returns to come in. After about 45min, I was able to finally get to my already tight schedule. I stayed downtown last year, but for some reason my memory and google maps were not getting me to the right place. This added more time. After another 30min delay, I checked in, headed over to the mandatory mtg and packet pick up, then built my bike and got it to Grey's Lake by dinner time. Phew!

Race morning came and it was dumping cats and dogs! This caused an hour delay, but thankfully it turned out to be a great race morning. 

My goal for this race was to get into the top 10, close to 5th would even be better. My swim brought me out 12 or 13, I biked up to 9 and was set to hit my goal until the bottom dropped out at mile 2 of the run, in a bad way! Sooo I ended up 16th.

Looking back on that Saturday, I was not in my normal pre-race routine and probably did not hydrate and eat  nearly enough that day. I am pretty sure it was a dehydration issue. For many of the obvious reasons what occurred post race, lack of urination, dark color and when I arrived home and got on the scale two days later, I was still only 115.6.. Yikes! The past couple months I've been fluctuating between 117-118.6.

As I write this, I am en route to Lifetime Tempe. Saturday at 4:19 pm. My girls ran this morning and I left Denver at 3:20pm. I have made a better effort this time to stay hydrated and eat better today. I will build my bike and roll into transition at 5am tomorrow to get my packet. And I heard it will be 100 degrees when I land. Let's see if I do a better job this time around. My girls are my number 1 priority, period. Hopefully, I'll learn to be more resilient to this.. 'Mad dash travel to a race and back'... routine I have going :) Enjoy your training =) 

Photo: Client Justin Little and I; He won taking home the Gold and $750 in cash prizes in M35-39.

The Perfect Storm

We all know that life happens. It just does whether or not we want it to. It happens for me, it happens for you, and it happens for each one of my athletes.  I have been coaching "officially" since 2006. One thing that still remains the same is; as a coach, we can only control so many things. As an athlete, we can only control so many things.  The goal is to control what we can and be prepared to handle what cards are dealt on that day. Each weekend that athletes head out to various races around the country, I know that some will do well, and some might not. This is just part of racing, our bodies, the environment, etc.

Just over a week ago, I had 5 athletes participating in their "A" races for the season.  I had Mike, Greg, and Brandon at Leadville 100 MTB, Nate Dressel at Rev3 Wisconsin Dells and Brian Nath at USAT AG Nationals. I always prepare my athletes to be ready for the "big day" and then as a Coach, I have to just sit back and watch. I was pitting for my Leadville Athletes and knew the day was off to an incredible start with each one coming in ahead of predicted splits through the first two aids. With the way I train my riders, I was confident in their pacing at altitude and wasn't overly concerned about the pacing and was confident in the second half would progress appropriately... other than the unpredictable; mechanical, detours, etc. As I worked my way back to the Leadville finish line I had spotters on course giving me updates as my riders would pass through various points.  I knew it was going to finish out very well in Leadville this year! Mike Staffieri rolled in at 7:22 breaking his goal of 7:30 (with a 1 mile detour) placing 27th overall and 3rd AG behind two pro's! Greg Francis followed with a 8:11 finish beating his goal by 20+ minutes (with a 2 mile detour). Brandon Hodges wrapped up the group with an 8:13 finish beating his goal by 33+ minutes; bringing all of Team iTz in under the 8:15 mark!  As a coach, I was beyond elated with the performances I watched unfold. It was a fantastic showing on their part, executing the race strategy and nutrition plan perfectly on top of acclimating to the altitude.  Not a stone was left un turned and it paid off in a big way!

In other parts of the country that weekend, I had Nate Dressel chomping at the bit to qualify for his professional licence which has been a Monkey on his back for a couple of years.  He began working with me just a couple months ago and we ironed out a few things for him and BAM!  He nailed it in his second attempt after joining Team iTz. Wowzers! It's a good weekend!

After all the good news, I had one more result I as waiting on.  Brian Nath was racing Sprint Nationals in Milwaukee.  The day before he was racing the Olympic and flatted right out of transition.  The quarter size puncture was unrepairable in time to nail his goal.  So he opted out for the remainder of the race.  Brian has been trying to qualify for Team USA for 3 years.  He has always managed a freak accident that has put him out of racing it. This year we decided to give the back to back races a whirl to increase his chances.  Thank goodness we did! After spending much time repairing the tubular before having to get his bike checked back in for Sunday, he was optimistic about his fresh legs going into the Sprint. Brian finished 11th securing his spot on Team USA for Edmonton ITU Grand Finale!

Well, that was five for five that day.  I can't even tell you what cloud I was on, it was way above 9 for sure.  It's kind of a big deal when athletes entrust you with their dreams; I take it very seriously. All of it came together that day and the hard work paid off.
*top photo is Saturday morning in Leadville, when my 17 yr old daughter snapped it, she said... "Lol, nervous?" My response was.. "Not at all ;)" GO TEAM iTz!!!