Miss FancyPants Tris: Rejuvenating that Triathlon Spark by Meeting Andy Potts

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Rejuvenating that Triathlon Spark by Meeting Andy Potts

Friday was a time to get all giddy school girl like when we found out D&Q bike shop was having a Q&A session before Philly Insurance Tri (part of the 5150 series) with Kestrel and Fuji pros Andy Potts, Matty Reed, Cameron Dye and Sarah Mclarty. My husband is probably tired of me gushing but it was a pretty cool event.

That day started at 8am with some pretty hilarious facebooking as the girls from Team Triumph went as far as declaring themselves single to deciding who was going to be sitting on Andy Potts lap...I would describe this as pretty close to when friends of mine got front row seats to NKOTB in 1988....Humor aside, it was a great event and learned a lot from these guys and gal, especially these four takeaways!

Lesson 1 - Positive Self-Talk
This was my favorite lesson and hope that I can carry this to heart next time I am in a dark place on a race or a long workout. The question in so many words was how to calm yourself in the swim when the excitement and anxiety of the situation gets the best of you. Potts answered this question with what he does (yes, he says he has anxiety as well). He said he is a big fan of positive self-talk; whereas I do 'what the fuck did I sign up for' self-talk. Maybe this is the key? Similar to ZenTri and his "I see you hill" podcast. Not sure if you ever heard that one, but the Zentri says when a large hill is coming up just start repeating "I see you hill" and pretty soon the hill is over and you are on the other side. Back to Potts, he says he likes to time his breathing with his "I'm okay, I'm okay, etc." He says after a while you will stop saying it because you are, in fact, "okay."

Lesson 2 - Do NOT squirt down your Gu in one shot - your sphincter will close.
We have all heard "don't take a Gu without water" but some of us think that means "shoot the gu in your mouth, follow by a swig of water." When you swallow all that gel, it sits on the lower esophageal sphincter (okay nerdy Heather is back), the sphincter closes or clogs you can say and does not get into the stomach to be digested....ahhhhh this is where water comes in.

I'm pushing up my glasses off my nose as I type...nerd...

Potts was saying that he fills his flask with water and gel (yes I have heard this before but never did it) so that it is easily digested. Funny thing is, this is very intuitive, and I was a little mad at myself for not having the common sense....

Lesson 3 - Practicing Race Simulations of Open Water Swims
This is a no-brainer, right? We all try to get into some open water swims but how about race simulations. Like maybe going with a few friends or more and all try swimming in the same lane...have each other swim over top of you, maybe not the kicking and punching but you get the point. Also, Sarah (I'm on a first name basis with all these peeps) has a great site where she has some swim sets posted. Check her out, she is a pretty standout swimmer.

Lesson 4 - A Race Should Be a Celebration of Your Training

Wow, this was a good one. I never heard this before but it is true. You work your ass off, literally, in training and when it comes to the race it shouldn't be "shit, I can't believe I HAVE to do this" or "I don't want to do this, it sucks." Basically stop your freaking whining (okay he didn't say that) and come into the race as a celebration, this is your party! You worked so hard and you have graduated, now show that race who's boss. So he only said that the Race Should be a Celebration of Your Training, I just added my interpretation.

All in all, as much as I am not a huge fan of the bike shop, they put on a really nice event. I mean really nice. I got a free water bottle or two, got some Gu and Chomps for 20% off and had a great time meeting some really awesome people and hanging with some friends. Here are a few pics of the night!!