Nicolé says:
Because I have a “real” job, and will have to be gone at one of the worst times of the year for me at work, I have had to put in a lot of hours this past holiday weekend. Saturday we took the bikes and rode into downtown Seattle. Wow. That was exactly what I needed. It ended up being about a 27 mile roundtrip ride, and there were some good areas where we could challenge ourselves aerobically. The weather was amazing, the air was awesome, and it was just a “peaceful” trip. I felt like a completely different person after that ride, and will be able to start a new week in the morning much differently than I would have otherwise. I am now looking forward to the next few days at work and home before taking off for Aromas, CA on Thursday evening. I am going to focus on the mental aspect of my preparation for the Games this next week and rely upon Coach Dave to guide me through it. Stay tuned…
Coach's notes:
I guess rest is a relative term, and this is a person that just needs to move. Hard to imaging that this was ever a sedentary overweight person. She has tuned her body to the point that it simply craves physical challenges. Being idle is never again going to be a comfortable choice. And at this point whatever makes her feel better is all right with me.
Nicolé says:
Happy 4th of July! Today was my morning workout for the week –and as it was a holiday, Gravity Janes was closed for classes. But because I have such a remarkable and dedicated Coach, Dave had me come into the gym regardless of whether it was a holiday or not. I haven’t yet decided if I am thankful for that or not! What I am thankful for is that I was able to spend a morning with my son Julien. He is not only a great workout partner, but an athlete that I can watch and learn from. We had a taxing workout; getting in technique work as well as some stamina testing. Although I feel really strong physically, mentally I just feel drained. I think that is from working so many hours at my “real job” in preparation for my upcoming departure. I know this is a good exercise for me to go through at this point in my training. Right now it’s all about the mental part of preparation. I need to be mentally prepared for anything – I need to be able to just focus on me and whatever work is put in front of me starting next Saturday and ending on Sunday. Then I will come home, back to work, back to the gym, and back to focusing on my short term goals I have set for myself recently at Gravity Janes! Oh my, though, seven days until Game Day!
Coach's notes:
This is the time for stress management. I think I can help in that regard too by not putting any real pressure on Nicolé especially since none is really needed right now. I think her workouts are a real source of release for her; a chance to focus her mind and set aside all of life's pressures. That is one of the reasons I offered to open the gym on the 4th for her and Julien. She will be welcome in the gym as much as she wants/can between now and Games day, but her work will be carefully monitored to insure that she remains in prime shape. No more PRs and nothing even slightly risky from here on.
Nicolé says
I felt good today physically, but am not at all satisfied with how I performed in the gym today. I have so much work to do, and such little time. This is where/when I need to step back and take a deep breath. I need to remember that all the work I am doing/have done is not all about the Games. It is way more than about the Games. It’s about my health, my fitness, and my ability to do everyday life better than I could have yesterday. And I am doing that! I am eating well (thanks to CBR), sleeping well, and getting in sufficient rest days. I am a bit stressed about leaving town during one of my busiest times of the year. I’ll be getting a good workout in early tomorrow morning with my son Julien and Coach Dave, as the normal Saturday class is cancelled due to the holiday. I’m looking forward to being able to spend some time in the gym again with Julien as he pushes me and will force me to focus. That’s what I need – I need to focus on just me and the work… Oh, and four more days and I will be 47!!!
Coach's notes:
A coach's number one job is to deliver an athlete to a competition in good spirits, with good energy, and injury free. We're looking good on that score. Everyone in this competition will come with their own limitations, so we can't dwell on Nicolé's now. Because of the nature of this competition, Nic has done what she needs to do. We have sacrificed little in the way of her personal development for the sake of this competition; that is something that is always a danger when winning becomes more important than the goal of health. Together, Nicolé and I have kept our heads and had fun with the process. What more could you ask for.
Nicolé says:
Wow. What a day. This is my busiest time of each quarter at my “real” job but I still need to get into the gym at my own time to put in a good workout and continue my preparations for the Games. Ten more days, not that anyone is counting! I am getting good quality sleep, am being well fed daily by CBR, and have so much attention from Coach Dave – what more could a girl ask for? I should be hoping that this journey doesn’t end - but on the other hand am looking forward to getting back into a “normal” schedule and working out at home with my husband a few times a week, too. Don’t get me wrong, I have not only enjoyed this process, but have benefited and learned a tremendous amount from it: not only physically but emotionally as well. I will be able to put all of this to good use in my future training sessions at Gravity Janes, in my nutrition knowledge base, and also in how I cope with these types of special pressure situations. Today was a great workout. Coach Dave seems to know exactly what to focus on, how and when to give me the needed constructive input, and always gives me something positive to think about that has been accomplished in the session. He is a gem. I would not be able to do what I do without his guidance, knowledge and support. I am feeling really good, strong, and focused…
Coach's notes:
Yesterday was mostly a technique day. There won't be much more strength building activities between now and the Games. Now is the time to hone the skills and improve the stamina. I am so grateful that Nicolé is injury free, energized, and happy right now. Most everything else she will need she already has.
Nicolé says:
Today was a self-imposed rest day! I make it a point to do nothing on Sundays, so that I can spend time with my husband, kids (if they happen to be home from college), and catch up on miscellaneous errands. Oh, but with the weather so beautiful again – I couldn’t help myself. We loaded the bikes on the bike rack, headed south, and parked at one of the Green River Trail entrances. There were not too many bikers in the area, and we traveled at a very leisurely pace, covering a little more than twenty miles. Half-way into the ride, we stopped for a break and I had one of the CBR snack bars to hold me over for the remainder of the ride: a great source of nutrition for an outing like that taking up little of the limited space in my bike bag. I have been trying to focus on getting to bed earlier, but after finishing my chores it was almost 10:30pm before the lights went out. Hopefully, I will not suffer from that tomorrow. Oh, and hopefully, I will not be as sore as I am today, because that special workout on Saturday really utilized some dormant muscles…
Coach's notes:
These rest days are so important; as much for a release from the mental and emotional aspect of training as the direct physical recovery. We'll train pretty hard this week, then let up a little and add another rest day or 2 in the week prior to the Games. Tomorrow will feature at least one maximum load, and some broad-based skills training. We'll see if this rest day brings about some new capacity.
Nicolé says:
Over the past several weeks, I have been getting up a few hours before the Saturday class, eating a good balanced breakfast, and just letting my body wake up. This seems to be helping with my performance/capacity during these early morning workouts. Today, Coach Dave came in and pulled me out after warm up so that we could focus on some specific movements I need to work on. It was an absolutely beautiful morning, and I got to do almost all of my work outside. I so loved it. Not only the weather, fresh air, and attention, but also the amount and quality of work I was able to get in. I then spent a great afternoon with my husband Christian, enjoying the sunshine with a long Jeep ride (top off) around the Seattle area. Needless to say, being back at work at six in the morning on Monday is definitely not something I am looking forward to! Oh, oh, oh – I cannot believe it’s only 14 more days until the Games!
Coach's notes:
Today was a great day of balanced work - by that I mean a combination of metabolic conditioning, skills training, and strength. I also enjoyed being outside, and working with Nicolé is always a treat. She's working at a very high level right now and I didn't observe any of the sluggish feeling she had commented on yesterday.
Nicolé says:
Today was a coach-mandated-rest-day. It is extremely hard for me to get my brain wrapped around the fact that my body requires this rest in order to recover, perform, and increase capacity. It’s just that exercise has become the sole part of my day during which time my mind is totally focused on things outside of work, family and daily chores. It’s also a time where any stress and anxiety from the day is released/eliminated. Needless to say, I do not enjoy these rest days, and I’m more than certain that others around me may not either. Hopefully after a day of being well-fed by CBR, physically rested, and mentally crazed, I will return tomorrow to the gym and continue to make progress on specific movements I need to focus on up through, and beyond, Game Day.
Coach's notes:
Rest days pain me also. I hate to lose a day of opportunity for improvement. But the human body has its requirements, and they must be honored if maximum gains are to be made. Plus, I just miss having Nicolé in the gym; it doesn't feel like a normal day without her.
I especially liked the words beyond Game day. It's important to remember that fitness has no value unless it contributes to your quality of life. Working for a Game day victory at the expense of quality of life makes it about ego rather than fitness. Glad to know that's a principle that I've been able to pass along to her.
Nicolé says:
Today was a really good day. I went to bed early last night, slept really well, and just felt “on”. And I don’t mean for workout or strength-wise, I mean at work, at home, in the car, and moving around doing everyday things. Everything just felt on. Again, I will attribute that to the post-workout meals specifically designed for me by my Coach and CBR, and the impact they are having in my recovery. This is a beautiful thing! So… I arrived at the gym for my workout really ready for some good work. I am feeling a sense of urgency in Dave’s plans, as we are getting very close to Game Day! But… I feel really good, am not at all stressed about it, and know that I will do whatever my body is capable of once the time comes. Today was awesome. A full hour non-stop of moving. Great warm-up, heavy deadlift sets, muscle-ups/weighted pull up combo, and thrusters for 6 minutes. I have a lot of things I need to focus on, but I’ll get there.
Coach's notes:
What can I add to that. Feeling good is so much of the battle right now. Every indication is that we are on the right track. A big part of my role right now is keeping her injury-free, while continuing to produce whatever additional capacity we can between now and show time. It's a fine line we walk. I have no doubt we'll arrive at the Games with a thoroughly balanced and healthy athlete.
Today, June 17, I felt really strong and confident coming into the gym for my workout. During my stretching routine and warm-up I was beginning to feel the delayed soreness/impact of the prior day’s inverted sit-ups on the pull-up bar: my upper quads and high abdominal muscles were tender to say the least! But it was a new day.
I began the workout with an attempt at a new maximum rep set of pull-ups, but fell short of my prior 40. I am not unhappy with this, as we have not been focusing on pull-ups recently, but will apparently be re-visiting that movement a bit more often over the next few weeks! I went on to run 800 meters for time. My prior best (without a weight vest on) was 2 minutes 34 seconds – today I ran it in 2 minutes and 29 seconds! A nice improvement and something I hoped would carry over into the next segment of work on deadlifts. Although I ended short of my best, I was able to get in some quality, high weight reps, and move on: next up was nine times up (and down) the Gravity Janes rope (18 vertical feet) for time. I clocked in at 5 minutes and 16 seconds, feeling like I may have rested a bit too long in between climbs – but filing all of this information away for future use.
Overall, it has been a high-quality past few days: a few PRs achieved; some good hard work accomplished; some sore muscles to recover/heal from; just some plain good effort put out. I do believe we are just beginning to see the benefit/impact of the increased amount of protein I am consuming, along with the utilization of carb-loaded post-workout meals. And all of this without the stress/time spent having to calculate, cook, or create the food on my own. Food delivery from Chef By Request appears to be paying off – and hopefully these performance results will continue as the Games approach!
Coach's Notes:
I was still reveling in Nic's personal record Front Squat effort from the day before when she also produced a best 800m run today. To get PRs from both end of the performance spectrum out of an athlete on consecutive days is a very good sign of balanced capacity. Since her challenges in the upcoming Games are unknown to either of us, this is exactly where she needs to be.
At this point, Nicolé's endurance and quickness are a marvel to behold, but she will soon be competing against larger and younger women with no allowance for size or age. Any additional strength we can produce in her over these next few weeks will serve her well. Another important role I can play in her success right now is determining exactly how her current diet is affecting her performance apart from other factors so any helpful adjustments can be made before too much time goes by. You can be sure I'll be analyzing her every move closely.
