Coach Roundtable - What We Screwed Up, and How We're Fixing It | Nicole Rasmussen, Sarah Scozzaro, Ryne Anderson #201
Episode overview:
Didn't we all, at some point, feel that prick of regret at a mistake made or a lesson learned the hard way? As your devoted trail and ultra running coaches, we've had our share of missteps over the past year. From seemingly minor issues like failing to thoroughly educate athletes about the World Anti-Doping Agency's rule on IV fluids to more significant ones, we've seen it all. And today, we're pulling back the curtain on our successes and missteps alike to help you avoid the same pitfalls.
Episode highlights:
(2:04) Nicole’s mistake: IV fluids are banned in and out of competition, reasoning, example where an athlete gave themselves IV before a race, the role of coaches as educators
(18:41) Ryne’s mistake: considering weather and training, factoring in heat and humidity to long range plans, key training blocks happen May-July, examples, being proactive with scheduling, using cooling strategies in training
(25:23) Sarah’s mistake: assuming athletes make good recovery decisions, example, forcing athletes to take recovery when they need it
(41:43) Koop’s mistake: accounting for the stress of travel, time zone changes and long-range travel for athletes, examples
Our conversation:
(0:00) Introduction: Sarah, Nicole, and Ryne join for a roundtable on mistakes we made this year, learning opportunities form making mistakes
(2:04) Nicole’s mistake: IV fluids are banned in and out of competition, reasoning, example where an athlete gave themselves IV before a race, the role of coaches as educators
(5:30) Nicole’s takeaway: ask athletes about all their medications, cover your bases from the start, banter
(6:40) Koop on IVs: original anti-doping rules, diluting hematocrit values through an IV, IVs today are used and perceived in a different context than in the early days of sport, under-education
(10:04) Anti-doping resources: USADA’s anti-doping 101, globaldro.com, links in the show notes, run all medications and supplements through the globaldro.com, out of competition testing is coming to trail and ultra running
(13:42) Anti-doping awareness for all athletes: banter and kudos, growing awareness around doping and IVs, non-elite athletes may still be subject to randomized doping tests in the future
(16:36) Become educated on anti-doping: it is easy to judge when you lack context, the Pikes Peak Marathon had anti-doping measures and had an IV provider booth, stay ahead of the curve
(18:41) Ryne’s mistake: considering weather and training, factoring in heat and humidity to long range plans, key training blocks happen May-July, examples, being proactive with scheduling, using cooling strategies in training
(20:40) Heat and pacing: your paces will slow down down in heat and humidity, tanking confidence, setting expectations ahead of time
(21:43) Cascading effects of being unprepared for the heat: example, training and psychology, dehydration, recovery, and sleep
(24:19) TrainingPeaks weather app: see weather forecasts while prescribing training
(25:23) Sarah’s mistake: assuming athletes make good recovery decisions, example, forcing athletes to take recovery when they need it
(28:28) Sarah’s takeaway: good communication, stay ahead of athlete fatigue, looking at training over a 6-8 week timeframe, stress can be rearranged, educating athletes to be flexible
(31:50) Framing recovery: avoiding making athletes feel like they can’t do something, reallocating volume, making athletes feel capable yet aware there are better decisions
(33:39) Holding back eager athletes: being mindful of recovery, keeping emotions in check, be patient
(34:27) Rearranging workouts: considering intensity and volume, considerations for workouts and long runs, being able to adapt to the workout is more important than being able to complete it, when fatigued the adaptive process is more blunted at high intensity
(37:18) HRV4Training: example, incorporating HRV4Training into your workflow
(40:32) Fatigued long runs: mental training, time availability, reducing time and intensity rather than moving long runs
(41:43) Koop’s mistake: accounting for the stress of travel, time zone changes and long-range travel for athletes, examples
(43:13) Koop’s takeaways: give more time between long travel and hard training, using a timeshifter app, 80% of athletes traveled across a 6 hour time zone in the past year
(45:39) Time shifter app: shifting sleep and meal schedule based on time zone differences, incorporating the app 3-7 days prior to travel, extra useful for athletes who travel constantly
(47:45) Time delay between long travel and hard training: travel habits, give yourself more time than you think you need, wait 4-5 days to add a new hard workout, parallel to new parents
(50:56) Travel strategies: a potential future KoopCast episode, application to UTMB and travel within the U.S., examples, Cheri Mah
(54:04) Nicole on researching foreign races: roadblocks, navigating around crowded trails, unexpected terrain, mismatches between races and training
(57:26) Getting creative with race prep: visiting the course, navigating language barriers, set yourself up for success, expectations mismatch, expecting the unexpected
(59:53) IMTUF example: lack of information, recognizing and accepting the unknown, adapt
(1:01:14) Wrap-up: tangible takeaways for athletes
(1:02:15) Outro: giving thanks, learning from mistakes, subscribe to Research Essentials for Ultrarunning, share the KoopCast
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