The Importance of Recovery

As a coach - I often go over the top with my athletes about the importance of recovery. So I thought a picture, often times worth a 1000 words, may help detail
this crucial training parameter. Thus this pic of my dog Dallas - in full out recovery mode.
Notice the legs fully stretched out to insure
proper lactic acid removal and highest rate of buffering.
Now the fact that he takes up my entire bed (meaning I can recover on the dog bed) is besides the point. Man do I love this pooch. I have wanted a dog forever. I took care of Charlie alot - Evan Fader' dog, and having to give him back - when I had to - just was too hard on me. I had to have a dog. My dog. Actually our dog - Pierre loves him also. I wasn't really expecting to get a 100+ pooch - I wanted someone to run with and mtn bike with. Well - you don't always get what you want but often get what you need. Right? I love him. And he does run - just not too much at any give time. He has done 2 x 7 mile walks back to back. I estimate his % bodyfat to be about 4% - pretty damn lean and almost peak form. He isn't yet sure if he likes my bikes - but one step at a time.
I think the next post I will term Calories in Calories out. I have some good ideas for this one. In photo form explanation.......

What a way for a coach to start the season..... just have a look at the faces of determination. Mike Fawell (HPC) and Brad Kendall (NCVC). Wow. his photo is amazing coz they are full throttle - and where that finish line??

I love it. Working with athletes is an incredible job. I am one of the people that wakes up and loves my job. I am grateful everyday I ended up here - and not as a FT chemist in a dark lab. Where I started. Not that this isn't good also - Carolyn Wilson saved lives working in a lab. I hope I save heart attacks. My problem is I could never stay off my bike. My grad adviser told me (not once but twice) I had to pic school or the bike. The day I defended I left for CO - Boulder.

I had to post this pic - it is great! Tom Kendall has a video he is going to send me of this finish - will post here as soon as her gets it to me.

places without internet or dogs in my family

There are many places I go - where a cell signal and internet service don't exist. I like these places. But I don't get any work done.... This past week was kinda a whirlwind. I was on my way down to farmsit for my sister - she lives on 60 acres in Penhook. It is amazing. I can see ALL the stars sitting on the huge deck she has that wraps around the house. It is like Chris Kelley's awesome place - heaven. I am strongly thinking of living there on day. On my way down Rt 29S, wen my sis calls and lets me know my Dad is in the hospital, had a heart attack. May need open heart surgery the next day. Well, life changes real fast. I was planning to have peace and quiet and get ALOT of work done (having to trek the 20 miles into town to work in a cafe is small price to pay for peace and quiet and stars). That nite my sis and I got no sleep - my brother was with mt Dad in the hospital. Next day we got the call Dad was checking out (we all know who I take after) - his blood thinner and stents were 100% functional and he wanted out. So .. Amy (my sister) went on her trip a day late (Cozumel - which she said is a great cheap place to go but don't ride bikes). So I was on the farm - she has 4 horses and 4 dogs. I think to make a fantastic cyclocross race course there one day. She has all these horse trails and big logs in place already (she fox hunts). (Amy is in the pic with Poppy).

I was there for 4 days. Had to go into town 3 of the days to work - but David and Susie in the Daily Grind help the tea and coffee flowing while I worked away writing training plans. Big month for training plans - Feb and March last big build mos and very critical time. Seems like every month is critical any more - no real down time even as an amateur, except for October. I did get to ride a few days - the terrain in that area is Incredible - yes am planning a training camp there. Climbing EVERY where. If I coach you - you ARE going to climb. Regardless of your discipline. I also had my Computrainer with me so was able to stay on my training plan - which Nate Wilson is helping me with. Look out 40+.

Sis came home - I left to get Dad in Raleigh (my bro's house) - and off to Supply, NC - which is right above SC border. All those "miles" I wanted to get in, with the 70 degree temps down south - were done mainly in my car. Man - Marc Stern told me I would not get to play as much when I had my own biz and he was right. Damnit. My Dad lives off the coastline - in Supply/Holden Beach. Walks at the beach were very nice. I am not a beach person though - and realized, as I am thinking of where to buy some land, what I need. I will aways need mountains. Even when I no longer ride a bike - walking up mountains is a real challenge I always want in front of me. It makes me feel alive, when I feel my heart beating strongly in my chest. I like feeling my body working - what attracted me to sports in the first place. The human machine. It is and always will be fascinating to me.

Hung with my Dad, taught him as much as I could about exercise. I have no idea how I ended up running my first marathon when I was 15 - my Mom smoked and died of lung cancer and my Dad worked 80 hrs/week to feed 5 kids. I just knew exercise from the time I remember. Feeling alive and seeing what my body was capable of. This is still was I have great passion for, but now working with others. As a chemist I worked structure/function relationships - and worked in peptide chemistry making venoms....rattlesnack and bee venom. But I loved the body - human physiology. So now in my field - structure/function - but of athletes and the body. I love it. My Dad is in the pic with his dog - Beast. I know the name is insane. NO idea why he called her this.

Took off from Dad's Sunday AM - back to Raleigh - to get my own dog - Dallas - he is pictured above (I don't know how to space out the pics yet). Yes he is 103 lbs!!!!!! My gosh - have to show Lee Sigelman this one (I talked alot with Lee about about the "athletic" dog I was going to own one dog......to go mtn biking with/etc). Dallas walks uphill like Evan Fader. You have to see it to believe it. I mean look at the size of this dude. His bed is as big as mine. I LOVE him!

Got Dallas - and next on this road trip was off to the WolfPack races - to see the HPC boys and my juniors/Brad Kendall kick some NC ass. The reports from the RR the daybefore were amazing: in the cat 2 race - Nate was up the road and in the break, caught right at the line; cat 3 race Steven Kendall junior handled and won off the front; and the cat 4 race - HPC's Mike Fawell sprinted it out in a video finish with Brad Kendall. I coach both of these boys. Yes - Coach Hefler had a great first start to the season. And NO these boys will not be fried in June. Against some beliefs. All about pacing and most of all - about doing one thing - THE WORK. Man my boys sure gave me a Valentine's Day present(s). Thanks guys!!!!

So Pierre, me, and Dallas off to the race on Sunday - the crit. It turned out to be another stellar day. Nate's team (Kelley) rode a sensational team race and got podium (Ryan..sorry don't know Ryan's last name). But the 3 of them - Nate, Curtis W, and Ryan - way to control a race. Very nicely done. Nate brought the monster Ben King back with 3 laps to go - man it looked OUCH from where I was watching, and Ryan got the job done. In the cat 3 race - SKendall won the field sprint for 2nd overall (they had one guy off the front who stayed clear) - but the pace never slowed down - looked like about 2/3 the field were shelled). Brad K and my 2 HPC boys Chris McMillan/Mike Fawell were duking it in the cat 4 race - Chris came up with a podium 3rd place.

WOW! Well done athletes.

In the car for the last part of the trip - and I had about enough room for one butt cheek - in the back seat with Dallas who had ALL the back seat. Dropped Nate off - back in Reston, VA.

I am super behind in all my work. Shoulda never started this blog coz here I am working here. Okay now to real work.

It was a great week - thinking how much my soul needs the farm life again, and wanna spend lot more time with Dad. He is 82. My athletes inspire me above most anything. So I want to find a way to work in the soil/have a HUGE basil farm and sell my own pesto/maybe even start a winery and train my athletes for high performance.

found my blog again!

My gosh I found my blog.... taken my like forever. no comments......I think I started it using another email address - oh well. I was under pressure because I started it in Tucson with Nate's help and we had to leave for the airport like minutes ago. All that was lost is now found and I can write my posting for February and likely lose my blog until March...like I said no comments about memory.

So - it has 1 month since I last wrote. Back in DC, rolling in Computrainer classes, watching and monitoring my athletes progress. Getting my own DOG! this Saturday - Dallas - a boxer. I am very excited about this. I have wanted a dog forever. I take care of the CharBear alot - a friend's dog - but now really getting my own dog. He is 105 lbs of muscle. Maybe I will get some upper body mass now trying to control him on a leash.... he comes from my sister (who rescues dogs) but Dallas does not do leash. That should be fun...My sis lives on a 60 acre farm (yes sweet) and her dogs run free.

It is February and just about time to start throwing in some bigger intensity - I tend to hold the athletes back for as long as I can - til they wanna bust loose. Being "hungry" is the name of the game. The season is VERY long - and to be fresh late in July takes pacing it very smart. I am hoping the weather cooperates with some warmer temps (on weekends please!) - like it did this last Sunday - so I can send my athletes to go do some climbing. At least enough time to get off of a trainer - and get some road legs.

Some of the boys are going to race in 2 week - man the time passes....but I have some guys racing the NC races - a RR and crit down in Raleigh. So far the early season form is good - for many of my athletes. Power is going in the right direction, Bradley Kendall is working on his CORE every day (at least this is what I read in all his feedback reports...), Steven Kendall is riding his TT bike for 6 hrs at a time......, Nate's Ptap busted last Sunday on Rt 211 coz too high...on and on. The Richmond HPC boys are planning to bring it to NC. Watch out for Chris McMillan - I am letting you all know now. The boy can sprint. Don't say I didn't warm you.

I am getting crazy and doing a mtn bike team event - the Baker's Dozen. Should be fun. We have 3 Co-Ed teams racing April 18th. I am on a training program myself - Nate Wilson is going to study exercise physiology at UCO, Boulder -so we doing some work on how to write training plans. So I am hoping to have some form for this season. He is good so far - nails everything I hate doing and that is on my plan....sign of a good coach.

Okay - gotta get back to work. Hope I don't lose my blog for another month.