Boston Performance Coaching

BPC Newsletter

Issue 002 Nov 2007

Greetings

Welcome to the first monthly newsletter for AWS community! Each month the newsletter will provide race reports, athlete news, important monthly announcements, class information, educational articles, and run, bike or swim workouts for the month. Editorial Contributions are always welcome, so please email me if you would like to post an article!

Results from the summer racing season

The summer months were super busy for my clients this season. Congratulations on your accomplishments.

July 1st Patriot Half Ironman:
Michael Yenke 5:12:24 (first half ironman)
Nancy Arena 5:28:43
Bret Fortenberry 5:21:52
Tony Felos 5:22:51
Grace Steinley 5:27:51 (placed in AG)
Meredith MacSwan 3:31:43 (aquabike)
Julia Duval 5:25:21 (placed in AG)

Ironman USA Lake Placid:
Tony Felos 12:28:41
Grace Steinley 12:18:31

Timberman:
KC Connelly 6:05
Todd Gochman 5:50
Meredith Macswan 5:35 (PR, 1st time Half Ironman!)

Top Performances:
Michael Yenke
Buzzards Bay: 1:28 (Placed in age group)
Improved Cranberry Time by 10min from last year

Bret Fortenberry
Hopkinton Duathlon: 1:09:39 (2nd place in age group)
Mass State Triathlon: 1:50:12 (3rd place in age group)
BAA 1/2 marathon: 1:31:13 (Top 8 percentile in age group, 10 minute PR)
Wrentham Duathlon: 1:03 (1st place in age group)

Julia Duval
Mighty Man: 1:09 (1st in age group, 2nd overall)
Wrentham Duathlon: 1:08 (1st overall)

Clients across the World

This past August two of my clients, Robyn and Max Metcalfe embarked on a journey that would take them through some of the roughest, toughest and coldest terrain in the world... all with their own backpacks, food and clothes for the entire race on their back. See below for a "day in the life in the Atacama Desert", a remarkable account detailing their event:

Crossing the Atacama Desert, requires all suspension of comfort and convenience. The 150 mile race requires that you carry all your supplies, including food and water, as you cover the distance over 6 days. Most days are 25 mile stages, but one is a never-ending 50 mile stage. All in all, the race requires you to maintain your momentum and motivation day after day.

A typical morning saw Max and I awaking in a tent with four other racers, 6 of us all together who began as strangers and ended as friends bonded through pain and exhilaration forever. Our tent, named Cordillera (almost impossible to pronounce after a hard day's trek across salt flats), barely kept us out of the wind and freezing temperatures. As we prepared for our daily stage, we awoke in the dark and groped for headlamps, socks, and other attire in preparation for a route talk held 30 minutes before each start. Keep in mind that in Chile it was winter and so the sun did not rise until 6:45 am. On some mornings, our hydration systems were clogged with ice. Did I mention that all this takes place at elevations of 7,000 to 10,000 feet?

The race began at 7:30 am and so we had little time to prepare our pack, assemble snacks and food for the day, load up with water, eat breakfast, tenderly check feet and prep for blisters, and clear out of our tent. Lots of grumbling and encouragement are offered by our tent mates.

We hurl ourselves onto the racecourse, adjusting our straps and checking our food supply that we will consume over the next 9 to 12 hours as we cross the desert. Food is always consumed on the go, as you want to compete the stage without missing cutoffs and or enduring the hot sun longer than necessary. Gels, bars, and nuts become the fare that will sustain us for the six days as we cling to rocky cliffs, wade through freezing rivers, and dash through the sand dunes. The salt flats are so hard that they rip through our running shoes, shearing through our gaiters.

After completing the stage, we return to the next camp, often in moonlit evening twilight hours. Gratefully consuming our freeze-dried meal with the help of hot water provided by the race organizers, we barely have time and energy to find our tents, unpack our sleeping bags, and prepare for another day on the desert.

Why do we do this? Ah, because you think that you just might be able to complete the race. And when you do, you think that you might be able to do it again, and again? Sound familiar?

Workouts and Classes

Class information:
Winter Windtraining Classes are coming soon!!! To sign up, download the registration form on my website: www.aliwinslowsports.com The fastest way to sign up? Call Mark Vautour at 617-232-1635.

Track Workout of the Month:
Warmup 1 mile easy.
Drills: high knees, skips, butt kickers, bounding x10yds each, 3 sets.
Movement Preparations: Lunges, Lateral Lunges, Calf/Ankle Stretches.
Main Set: 10x400's as follows 1-3 moderate pace, even 200's all on 1min rest 400 jog recovery
4-6 5k effort, descend by 200's all on 2min rest 400 jog recovery
7-10 moderate pace, descend by 200's on 1min rest
Cooldown: 1mile easy, stretch and foam roll

Swim Workout for the Month:
300 swim warmup.
Pre Set: 4x100 drill 50/ Swim 50 on 10sec rest 4x50 build on 15 sec rest 4x100 drill 50/Kick 50 on 10sec rest Main Set: 4x (4x100)
Set #1 100 fast, 100 slow, 100 pull, 100 sprint
Set #2 100 descend, 100 stroke, 100 sprint, 100 easy
Set #3 100 Tempo Pace, 100 Tpace +5sec per 50, 100 easy, 100 pull
Set #4 100 sprint, 100 easy, 100 build, 100 sprint