Secrets to Success

Everyone wants to know what the secret to another athlete’s success is. It seems to be a common question, “what are they doing different than me that makes them better?” Many times we are looking for that perfect practice, set, or drill that will help us qualify for nationals, a world championship, or just give us a personal record.  I learned something about this back in 2001. I discovered what champion’s do that makes them great.         

                I was a counselor at the Longhorn swim camp for kids 18 and under. If you are not familiar with the University of Texas swimming, well simply put, they are the best. They routinely have one of the top teams at the NCAA’s and on the men’s side it seems as if half the Olympic swimming team is made of Texas swimmers.  Being a swimmer this was a thrill for me to be at the camp as a counselor and learning from Eddie Reese (the head coach of the Men’s team). I was not alone. All of the counselors wanted to know what drills they are doing that make them so good. What practices they are doing that make them so much faster than everyone else?  After the first week of helping and coaching at the camp we, the counselors, were disappointed. I remember all of us sitting around and talking about how these are the same drills we do or give to our swimmers when we swim or coach. Many of us thought we were not getting the secrets to their success. But in reality, we were. It was right in front of us.

                I learned the secret when I was able to observe several practices of the Texas swim team. It was a thrill to see what Olympic and World Record Holders were doing. After attending several practices I came to a realization. These Olympic swimmers were doing the same drills that the coaches were giving out to the 10 and 12 year olds. The drills consistently reinforced good habits and proper technique so that when the swimmers did go fast they did it right. What they did better than everyone else was the basics, the fundamentals. There was not some top secret formula that no one knew about. The Men’s Texas swim team just reinforced what skills the swimmers needed to do to be fast.

                I feel this is the same for all athletes in all sports. If you are constantly looking for a short cut, some secret, then you will never realize your top potential. The secret to success is right in front of us. Do the right things right and be willing to put in the time. If you do that, then you will find success and you can obtain your goals. 

Nick

REV 3 COSTA RICA

REV 3 COSTA RICA

This race was one of the toughest, hottest, most fun races I have done yet.  It was about 12 minutes long for an Olympic, 97 degrees for the day, 10+ extreme UV index, high humidity, super steep hilliacious climbing for the first 2 miles in and out of transition and fairly hilly run- a quarter or which was on sand!

Race morning I was a little nervous about my gearing on my bike- this course definitely requires a 28 cassette and I only brought a 23.  This was my major learning point of the trip. Always always make sure you know the course in case your gearing is off.  With the grade of hills out of transition, I was imagining myself walking my bike up the road ( “please let there not be a Slowtwitch gallery picture of me WALKING my bike on the course, God!”).  Blaaahhh!...

Swim

This was one of the first swims that I was actually able to draft the whole time- wow, what a difference! The effort felt quite a bit easier than usual but I didn’t feel I had the power to get around and make it on my own so I sat in and let my super speedy Profile Design Macho speed suit do its thing.  I knew it was going to be a long, hot, death-march type day so I was happy to be a little conservative in the swim.  I came out with 2 other girls and we were about 1:20 down from the leader (kind of a lot of time but I felt great out of T1 so I think this was the right choice- I am rarely under a minute down anyways…)

What is a speedsuit you say?:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGgdxXnlto0

Bike

Straight out of T1 we rode on a gravel dirt road for about 200 meters.  Pretty awesome- just have to cross your fingers with your tires and hold on tight…..but made it out the other side ok…

Then we started climbing…grades were really high in some places- like probably 15+%... I said earlier that I had a 23 cassette (EVERYONE else has a 27/28) and it was a total standing, grind-fest for the first 2 miles up and down these crazy climbs.  I got caught at the top of the last hill, which didn’t surprise me at all but then really pushed hard on the downhill and got away again.  One of the things that is really awesome about my Quintana Roo CD0.1 bike is that it is soooo super aero. Riding downhill I am able to stay with people much heavier than me- which rocks going downhill in races. Thank sooo much to Skip at Nytro for helping me with my bike..Nytro does so much for the triathlon world- they rock!!  http://www.nytro.com/

http://www.quintanarootri.com/_duraace.asp?content=CD0.1-Dura-Ace-2012

 I had the new Altair profile design wheels on and they rode super fast too- very happy with them and an AMAZING value if anyone is in the market. Also had the new Profile Design Volna Aero bars for the first time- which literally have taken 1.5 pounds off my bike- amazing how much aerobars matter!! I had no idea!!

http://www.profile-design.com/profile-design/products/aerobars/carbon-aerobars

                                            

http://www.profile-design.com/profile-design/wheels/wheel-category/carbon-wheels

….Anyways, I got to the front of the bike race by the middle of the first loop, but it took me quite a while to catch Bree Wee- who was in first most of the bike. Super strong cyclist and super fun person…and awesome picture of her racing a cow on the rev3tri.com site:  http://rev3tri.com/live-posts/pro-bike-action-photos/ganadores-2/  With about 8 miles to go, I started to get really really hot. This is when I learned my second lesson of the day.  Remove the vent block in my Rudy Project Wingspan aero helmet when it is 97 degrees out…you think I would have figured this out by now.  The Wingspan has this great design where you can interchange the vent space pieces depending on the weather:

    Check out all the massive vent area if you freaking remove the cover!!

But obviously there is user error if you don’t actually use this great function =)  So my head was getting very hot –  I decided to start singing to myself. I figured this might take my mind off the fire burning under my helmet…so what better song to sing than “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmZJUfcxrvc

I came into T1 first off the bike with about 30 seconds- so figured I had some time to put on some socks...and Yes, I am the only pro I know who wears socks in an Olympic distance race….

Run

I was fairly confident that I was one of the faster runners in the field but you never want to be too confident of anything so I definitely tried to get into a comfortable cruise rhythm pretty quickly- not too fast, not too slow.  The one issue I was having was the heat but three things saved me:

1-      Lots of salt the night before. This is a trick that a lot of pro use…I literally drowned my food in salt the night before a hot race and have not had a cramp since doing this..(but no guarantees!)

2-      Hammer Endurolytes and Hammer Heed- such great products and such a great product company!!  Being a biochemistry major and a med student, I have researched nutrition products a lot and I am absolutely convinced that Hammer has the best stuff- which is why Team IE only uses Hammer.    There are several specific reasons for the superiority of these products…I am doing a full write up on hammer products this week so check out the TEAM IE blog this week for more details on this if you are interested:  http://teamieelite.blogspot.com/

3-      CARRY  YOUR WATER WHEN IT IS HOT!!  Big deal.  Mark Lorenzoni and Dana Thiele of Ragged mountain racing have repeatedly pointed out to me how Ryan hall carries his water bottle with him away from the bottle station for miles after pickup- while all of his competitors take a few sips and drop the bottle.  This is a big deal when it is hot and water can be a major unrecognized resource on the run.  Water on your head – also very important to keep core temps down in hot weather- use water however you can on the run to stay cool. Once core temps rise, trouble ensues so you have to prevent against this.

The run was super hot, hilly and a significant portion was in the sand so it was epic.  After the first loop of the two loop course I could tell I was pulling away pretty comfortably so I tried as much as I could to back it down. No need to burn any more matches than you have to in March.  However, I was getting super hot and just wanted to stop running so I think my mind and body were battling with what pace they wanted to run…

Mind:  “Slow down, chill out, don’t be stupid, do what you do best- chiiiilllll”

Body: “Just hurry up and finish, this kind of sucks, hot, painful, don’t slow down – I just want to lay down- get there so we can lay down and eat”

Funny- because usually the mind and body have the opposite conversation; I think they met in the middle this time.

Crossing the finish line for my first pro win was huge- I was so happy that it was at a Rev3 event too.  The race director and event directors are such warm, nice, caring people. I had a blast with them.  Thanks so incredibly much to my genius genius coach Greg Mueller (sooo thankful for him!!) and my husband, Wes Radetsky. 

Thanks to Champion Systems for making the best suits in the world! Cant wait for the new pink one I just got!

Lastly, here are some cool interviews and videos  on me at the race:

http://vimeo.com/38733413

http://vimeo.com/38713432

Thanks for all your cheers!! Go Team IE!

Nicole

Team IE in 2012

It is my pleasure to introduce to the World, the Team IE Professional Triathlon team for 2012. This year we have decided to expand the blog to pull in the whole elite team. This will give the World some great insight into our team and the wonderful people that compose the team. I feel very lucky to be surrounded by such hard working wonderful people, and we have some dam good athletes too. The race season is already under way and the camps and testing suggest that we will have a World impact! Over the next year team members will be blogging about life, training and racing. I hope that this is a nice balance of entertainment ,motivation and education for athletes and coaches. The next 3 weeks have our athletes racing in Costa Rica, Australia and Brazil. These athletes have deeply committed themselves to the process and are all ready to race. With seven athletes blogging this year, we will cover a wide variety of topics but if you have a request, please send us your questions. Good luck in racing and be safe in training.

Team Roster

Kaleb Vanort
Nicole Kelleher
William Huffman
Kyle Lee
Lisa Mueller
Jason Smith
Nick Early

Season Opener

This past weekend was my first race of the season, an ITU race in Clermont, FL.  I did this race last season and had great success at it, it was my first podium finish as a professional.  I had high expectations this year and I was feeling great pre-race.  The weather forecasts leading up to the race were telling me it was going to be sunny and hot.  Although the winter has been mild in South Bend this year, I knew it was going to be a tough challenge racing in 90 degree heat.  I did my usual sauna "workouts" leading up to the race to try and get ready for the heat.  Despite the heat, I was ready to get the season under way!!


Swim - The swim at Clermont is one of the reasons I like this race.  The water is shallow and requires a lot of dolphin diving and running in the water.  Last year had about 300m of actual swimming, but this year the course was changed slightly.  This year we started in the water, about knee deep on me, and had about 550m of actual swimming.  My swim has been getting better but I was a little nervous about the longer swim this year, I really wanted to make the front bike pack.  When the horn sounded we were off and dolphin diving.  As we were dolphin diving I noticed someone about 10 ft ahead of everyone at the front.  I am not sure how this guy got such a fast start, but I figured it was now going to be a fast swim.  I felt great in the water and got in a good rhythm to hang with the swimmers around me.  The buoys were a normal battle, but I expect it now so I just stay calm and get around them as fast as possible.  Once we got to shallow water again everyone started dolphin diving and eventually running in the water.  Once I hit the beach Greg let me know I was in good position, but a break away was forming at the front.  I raced up the beach and in to and out of transition.


Bike - The chase was on. I was in a group of 10-15 trying to catch a group of 8.  We were riding stronger, so it was just a matter of time before we caught them.  We caught them before the first turn around and the attacks started shortly after that.  I am a lot stronger on the bike this year, but I need to learn to stay calm now.  When 1 or 2 people would attack and no one from the group would respond, I would.  I really wanted to win the race, so I was not going to let any good runners get away.  Looking back on this, it was not my best idea.  Closing a gap is one thing, but closing it quickly at the cost of high watts, is not the best route.  I may be one of the middle aged athletes but this is still a relatively new sport for me.  I never stop learning, I just wish the lessons were a little more forgiving.  I felt great on the bike the entire time though and I thought the run was going to go well. I was excited to get off the bike.


Run - I got in my running shoes and tried to start running fast; Jarrod took off and set a fast pace early.  My legs were not responding!  The last time I can remember my legs feeling this flat in a race, I got lapped in a 10k on Oregon's track. I took water at the first water stop but I realized nothing was going to help this.  I was going to have to get tough and just keep pushing.  Jarrod was out in front, but I was still in the hunt for 2nd. On the second lap I tried to get my legs going, but they were having none of it. With 1k to go 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th moved and I had no response. It was a lonely, hot last 1000m.  It was the first time in a triathlon that my run had let me down.  


It is weird how disappointing a 6th place finish feels this year, but I learned a lot and there were some bright spots from the race...I had a great swim and bike!  And if I can feel that bad on the run and still get 6th place, I cannot wait until I have a good run-off.  I had a great cheering section at the race and I think that helped me get through the run.  Also it is great having teammates in the race.  It is nice to have Will and Kyle in the bike pack with me, knowing I am not alone on the road.


I would like to thank my mom and sister, Greg and Lisa, my grandparents, and my girlfriend and her two friends for coming down to the race.  Also it was great to have Will's family and Robbie and his dad out on the course as well.  Thank you everyone for your good words!!  Sorry, I may have been a little grouchy post race! :) 


Always desire to learn something useful. ~Sophacles


Kaleb


PS - Happy Birthday Dad!!

Here comes the 2012 Season

This winter has been one of my best, both in my training and personally.  Greg has a new building with a Computrainer studio that has been a huge help with my cycling in the off season.  And we have been able to take a few trips to get outside and ride.  10 days in California and 4 days in Tennessee have given me confidence that my cycling has improved and that riding a Computrainer in the off season can really make a difference.  My swim has gotten better although the changes to my stroke have made for a somewhat long winter.  I can generate more power and faster times in the water, but I get fatigued faster and recovery time is a little longer.  I have been adjusting and by the time the season rolls around I should be good to go.  I am hoping to be a more complete triathlete this year! With the help of run drills and core strengthening, my run has improved without setting foot on a track. I am excited for what the season might hold. 


Some big sponsor news in the off season has come in the form of running shoes.  After posting fast runs off the bike the last two seasons Greg worked out a deal with Scott shoes.  I have been running in Scotts for about a month now and I am very happy!  I cannot wait to race in the new minimalist shoe Scott just released - the race rocker.


The 2012 season could be a big one!!  I just found out I got in to the Mooloolaba World Cup.  If I can do well in Clermont at the beginning of March and then post a good result in Mooloolaba, I might have a chance at getting in to the San Diego WTS race.  If you are not familiar with the San Diego race, it is the last chance Olympic Qualifier.  Any American that finishes in the top 9 automatically qualifies for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.  This would be a dream come true, to represent the US at the Olympics. It is still a long shot, but the fact that the Olympics are even on the radar this year is kinda crazy!!  Hopefully Greg and I can muster up a little magic this season and represent the US on the biggest stage in sport!!  I will try to keep you all updated as much as possible as the season unfolds. 


Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.   ~Norman Vincent Peale


Kaleb

Swimming for a non college swimmer...

This past week we had our TEAM IE training camp in California.  The camp was fantastic and we did a big bike focus and had lots of fun with new and old friends; but the experience I have had recently that has been most interesting has been Greg’s new approach to my swim training this offseason.  The best thing about Greg is that he really thinks outside the box when something is not working the way it should. 

Last year, we did a lot of work on my swimming and ramped up my volume and intensity.  The crazy thing is- I barely got any faster, if at all. It was a huge cost of time and energy and the returns appeared to be fairly small.  About a month ago, Greg came to Charlottesville for a week and he was able to get a much better idea of what my swimming looked like.  I believe I was taking about 22 strokes per length at the time, my kick was mistimed and it really took Greg being there for the  week to start to work on it (best coach ever!)  Since that time I have been doing very little conventional yardage and working on my engagement of the water and kick timing with a bunch of drills and fun crazy exercises that Greg made up.  I started doing my 100’s super super slow and the idea seemed crazy but Greg told me to stick with it- so that is what I did.  A month later I am still working up to being successful with this new stroke but I am almost as fast as I was with my old stroke and I am taking 16 strokes per length now and I am a lot less tired when I come into the wall. 

It has been a really amazing and quick transition but a great example of how you need to trust your coach even when things don’t necessarily seem to make sense initially. I am really excited to keep reporting on this topic as I continue to work on this new stroke. 

 I have had a lot of great swimmers video me and critique my stroke- but somehow I think Greg not being a collegiate or pro swimmer (although he is a freaking fast swimmer!) has been better for me.  He can see things differently and he doesn’t take things for granted that swimming experts often assume.  Also, Greg believes that people can become good swimmers even if they didn’t swim in college- most people don’t think this is possible- but if you don’t think it is possible, it will definitely never happen for you.  I’ll keep you posted on this experiment!! I like the sounds of 16 vs. 22 for now though =)

 Thanks again Greg!!

Elite Race Series Finale

When you think of Myrtle Beach, you probably think of spring break parties and beaches.  Well, this last weekend I ventured there for an ITU draft legal race.  I was a little worried when the race was put on the schedule because it could be hot there and not in South Bend in early October.  Well, as it turns out, South Bend had warmer temps and sunnier skies this past weekend.  The course was fantastic and UltraMax organized a great event.  The course had a good roll to it which is a lot more fun than a lot of the pancake flat courses I have been on this year.  This course was one of my favorite of the year.

Swim – It was a two loop swim in the intercostal waterway.  The women had to fight a strong current, but that was not the case for us.  This was my first race seeded in the top 10, so I got announced before the race, which was pretty cool.  This also meant that I would get a great starting spot!  As the top guys went to the left side of the starting line I ventured to the right hand side.  I breathe to the left so I like to have the group on that side, plus the first turn was a left hand turn so that meant I would not get pinched off by people coming in on me.  I got a great start and was in good position at the first buoy.   I was on feet early but they slowly pulled away.  I am not sure what happened.  With my swim where it is I think I just lose focus for a few seconds at a time and this time it was very costly.  I lost the front pack and I tried to close the gap, but I could not.  I was in a small group with Jeff Helmer and an Australian guy, Tim George, so I stayed with them and hoped there were more people close, so we could get a bike pack together.  But I realized this was not the case when I exited the water.

Bike – I had a good T2 and was off on the bike.   I was able to get my right foot in my shoe before going up the only hill on the course, right out of transition.   Once at the top I got my other foot in and commenced to chasing.  Tim, Jeff and I got organized quickly and were making good time.  We caught a few guys and by the end of the second lap, of eight, we were 5 strong, organized and chasing.  We were all working well together, but the front pack of 15 was moving a little faster than we were.  We kept the chase on and Karly was giving us split updates until I gave her the sign to stop.  The time gap was getting larger and that was not helping me stay motivated.  With 3 laps to go the gap was steady, if not coming down.  This gave me a little more hope and started taking longer pulls at the front.  At this time I could not worry about the run.  I had to be close enough to have a chance to run people down.   Going with the wind we were hitting speeds of 34 mph, so I was having a lot of fun with that! 

Run – This race T2 went well and I was off and running.  I was about 1:35 down to the lead pack, so I tried to set a hard pace to catch some guys.  I knew it was going to be lonely on the run, but this is how most races have been this year.  It was up to my run to get me in the top 10.  I knew if I could pull off a good result I would end up 3^rd in the elite draft legal series, and take home a nice yearend bonus check!  After the first lap, or four, I had not caught anyone but the announcer was trying to get the crowd pumped up – I had a shot at the top 10, maybe even the top 5 if I could keep up my current pace.  The wind and the hill were taking its toll on everyone, including me though!  I knew I could not quit, this was my last race, plus I hate to lose.  I had to stay on the gas, for my coach, my sponsors and most importantly my family that was there cheering me on!!   I was finally catching people halfway through lap 2. At the end of the lap, the announcer said I had a shot at the top 5.  By the last lap I was starting to fall apart and sitting in 9^th place.  I kept it together as best I could and made my way into 6^th place.  As I got into the finish chute 5^th place finished, so I shut it down and handed out high fives.  The crowd was small but it was great throughout the entire race.

After the race I found out I ended up in 3^rd place in the series.  The two people ahead of me were Jarrod Shoemaker and Hunter Kemper.  Not bad company at the top!!  A big thanks goes out to my sister for cheering for me and giving time updates the whole race (except those 4 laps on the bike).  Thanks to my grandparents for once again making the drive to my race.  I have a great family that is very supportive!!  Thanks Greg, for not only getting me ready to race, but for your words of wisdom during the race – through Karly!  I could tell you were giving her things to say!  And thanks to Champion System, Profile Design, John Cobb, Skip at Nytro , Look, Hammer Nutrition, and Rudy Project for helping me be competitive at races.  Hard work and great coaching get you so far, after that quality products get you across the finish line quickly race after race.

I made it through my first season as a pro successfully and learned a ton!  I am planning on giving updates on training throughout the off season.  But get excited, next year should be a fun one!

Never, never, never give up.  ~Winston Churchill

Kaleb