Olympic Coach Bobby McGee Joins D3 Cont'd         The elite he currently coaches is Carrie Messner who made the finals at the 2005 World Track & Field Championships in Helsinki in the inaugural women’s 3000m Steeplechase. She is currently ranked number one in the US in the Steeplechase.         A post graduate student in sport psychology and exercise physiology that is much sought after for his skills in “peaking” athletes on ALL levels for top performance.         Currently Bobby teaches and consults for USA Triathlon and the US Olympic Committee. His business, Bobby McGee Endurance Sports, has a hand in the performance programs of numerous endurance sport organizations. If you haven’t read or used information that he has brought to endurance sports you are missing out! If you wish to reach Bobby please contact him at: Bobby@d3multisport.com Notes from USAT Level III Coaching Clinic Cont'd by Coach Mike Ricci From Dr. Max Testa: Maximum HR tests are not valid b/c you never know what a true max is. Max HR is affected by: Dehydration, Blood plasma, Altitude and other factors. Dr. Tudor Bompa Super Compensation: Sometimes coach brings you up to feel good or brings you down to knock you down for 2-3 days – and this is to break the current state your body is in (break the plateau).         Adaptation is our enemy – we have to break through to the other side in order to improve         Alternating maximal and low-intensity stimuli produces a wavelike improvement curve Ergogenesis: 200m run: 29% aerobic, 71% anaerobic 400m run: 43% aerobic, 57% anaerobic 800m run: 66% aerobic, 34% anaerobic 1500m run: 84% aerobic, 16% anaerobic         If you want to train speed; then train strength. Heavy weight training recruits fast twitch muscle fibers. You need strength to go fast. Psychology – Kirtsen Peterson: Based on the book, “Built to Last” – Jim Collins Tiger Woods – wins Masters and then goes out and completely breaks down and changes his golf swing entirely Lance Armstrong – set up his ATP against traditional ideas – didn’t race the traditional races in Europe and set his schedule to win the TdF. Every workout needs a purpose for the athlete – let them know what the purpose is and the benefit of every workout. This helps the athlete understand accept what they are doing. Nutrition Periodization – Bob Seebohar: Eat to Train, don’t train to eat Recovery nutrition begins before workout Weight loss = a behavioral change Energy balance equation – calories in/out NOT the way – its more complex than that. Bobby McGee: Training and Racing 10 miles to Marathon A race with more downhill running or a bike race with more short steep hills, then the taper should be longer. Two-a-Days – recruitment early in the morning takes 4 hours so easy run in the AM and do the harder run in the afternoon. Even tempo runs should be done in the afternoon. Somatotyping – knowing what the body type of your athlete is – very important The big breakthrough with Barb Lindquist when Bobby was coaching her was when he convinced her to train the run like a world class runner. Work with absolutes on the run just like we do on the bike (power) and swim (pace chart). Have your runners KNOW their 5k, 10k, 1/2M and Marathon PR. How can we predict a race pace for IM if we don’t have ABSOLUTES in terms of times? How athletes gain/lose energy: 4 factors: Mental/Physical/Emotional/Spiritual

Run Ahead by Coach Bobby McGee The secret to getting the best out of your fitness is locked inside your head—here’s how to unleash the running powers of the mind.        Every physical running experience we have is a second creation. The 1st creation takes place in our minds prior to the run. This is both a powerful & frustrating realization. By acknowledging the truth in this statement we have to take full responsibility for the level of satisfaction that each run provides. We need to also happily see that our thinking can and most often does predetermine the value of each training session or race. The great wizard Merlin, from Arthurian legend said, “I know the future, for it is my past.” By this he meant that by predetermining what the outcome of an endeavor might be, we strongly influence the actual course of events. Merlin simply listened to what people feared or thought might happen, and then told them that it would. These characters then of course ensured that their fears or desires transpired by placing their attention fully on what it would take to ensure that outcome!        Bruce Fordyce, the great Comrades winner told me that he is a firm believer in visualizing his races prior to competition. One year in Comrades the actual details of the race so closely mirrored what he had repeatedly “seen” and created in his mind’s eye in the weeks preceding the race, that he felt gooseflesh on his arms despite the 30+ degree temperatures. He went on to win the race, just as he had so often imagined he would. He said it was an eerie feeling.        Running is a reflex action and thus during runs the mind is free to wander. There is one problem though—the brain needs a certain amount of blood, oxygen and glucose to operate at full capacity. During hard running the body will always ensure that the oxygen and blood is available, but the glucose content is often depleted from the long and hard nature of running. The mind becomes foggy and sluggish and we make mistakes. We forget to drink, or eat, we try to run at a pace beyond our current ability, we run when we should be walking, we try to ignore the heat, we fail to heed the warning signals issued by our body, we lose concentration and coordination. To prevent ALL this we need to predetermine the contents of our thoughts and drill them into ourselves until they become second nature. “I drink at every watering station. I pump my arms up the hills. I pay attention to my body signals when it’s very hot. I run at a pace indicated by my training. I am fit and ready for this race. I am an experienced runner who makes good decisions. My pace judgment is superb.”        Research has proven that every thought creates a molecule. By thinking through each race before we run it we alter our very physiology.        There are two key steps in the process of achieving your running dreams: BE - In order to train like a runner who achieves what you desire from your running, you need to be that kind of runner. In other words you need to display the traits of such a runner. If it requires discipline, dedication, commitment and passion, then you had better be disciplined, dedicated, committed and passionate. DO - Once you are such a runner, then and only then will you be able to do what such runners with these traits do to achieve what they want.        By 1st “being” and then “doing” what it takes, we assure success. I have been to many an elite race where it is painfully obvious who definitely will not win the race by the obvious body language each runner is displaying—they are not being winners.        Become aware of your internal dialogue. Replace self-sabotaging thoughts with words and images that alter who you are. Create mental images of realistically successful outcomes. Act out the feelings you associate with success. These simple processes done repeatedly will bring out whatever gazelle lurks within you—guaranteed!        Currently Bobby teaches and consults for USA Triathlon and the US Olympic Committee. His business, Bobby McGee Endurance Sports, has a hand in the performance programs of numerous endurance sport organizations. If you wish to reach Bobby please contact him at: Bobby@d3multisport.com