"I love you dude!" - CFE Coach Doug Katona and Bad Ass Cyclist as we approached "The Wall" on a training ride outside Foothills Ranch, CA at the CFE Endurance War Camp
As multisport athletes, we know this word all too well - Suffering. It comes in different flavors, and can refer to a variety things - hunger level, training level, race pace, etc. But sometimes, and it is rare, can we say that word while truly enjoying life. 2 weeks ago I was using that word often with a big smile on my face. The reason was simple, I was in Southern California, running and riding in the West Coast sunlight, with my best friends, and other elite athletes who braved the first ever Crossfit Endurance War Camp; the brain-child of my coach and best friend, Brian MacKenzie, and his partner in crime, Doug Katona. Part of the thrill ride included guest appearances by the famous "KStarr" Kelly Starrett, "The Whippet" Richard Airey, and the use of the awesome NLP Crossfit Gym, where Lamar, the gym owner and truly cool dude helped put together a nasty strength session on day 2.
Its been a while since I've done a legit training camp, and this was one heck of a way to do it. Aside from meeting some truly amazing athletes who were all inspirational and uber talented, the lay out for training was post-card perfect, the weather, a tad cold for the West Coast folk, was ideal for this Midwestern boy. Day 1 started with getting picked up at John Wayne Airport by Bmack, then cruising Costa Mesa for some duck tacos and Vietnamese coffee, before packing up th eWoodward Treadmill and Watt Bike, grabbing another 2 shots of homemade espresso, and meeting the rest of the campers. The firs workout, a "leg opener" run was set against the Foothills Ranch, which had a nice, gentle look from the ground, but was lung searing once you got 2 miles in. Led by Richard Airey, he and I jumped in front and I held my own as we hit the mile long climb to the top of the hill, a slog that jumped between 17-22% and took us from 600 feet elevation to 2200 feet in just that mile. Longest mile of my life, but at the top stood Bmack with water and a smile, and as I gasped for air, heard him say "I told you this is where you belong". I couldn't help but look around before descending back down hill, seeing the beauty that lay before us, and realizing once again, he was right.
Day 2 provided some insightful workshops regarding training and nutrition, as well as some quality time with Doug Katona who had a bike ready for me to attack another version of hills. As we sped along the valley roads warming up, Doug laid out the day's ride, promising some "moderate climbiing". To a flatlander - that means a few over-passes. Out there, that meant rolling hills that lasted 3 miles at a pop, with grades between 6-8%, before hitting the biggest climb of the day - a one mile leg breaker, that rose like a monster wave in front of us. Doug, knowing the hill all too well, having ridden with the likes of Chris Horner and Levi Liepheimer on this very course. And it was at the base base of this beast that Doug shouted the above phrase, as he heard me scream out something I can't repeat. But Doug knew something I didn't - that if you want it bad enough, the hill is only a hill, and like any road, can be conquered. So I set into a nice pace, switching between sitting and out of the saddle, relaxing my shoulders, between the pitches of 15%, 22% and the final kick of 300 meters at 18%. And all the while, I gained on Doug, and within seconds, the 2 of us were climbing together in the California sun on one damn fine day. Our smiles could be seen from miles around. Same thing as Chad crested a few moments later, and the 3 of us dive bombed to find a lost camp member.
That afternoon, we stopped at NLP for a insightful but grueling strength workout, capped off by a mobility workout by KStarr. As we checked the clock, I realized we had been at it for 14 hours, and I couldn't help but smile as I foreced some food down my stomach before passing out. The next day, we enjoyed some time on a new torture device, a woodward treadmill. This is one of the truly special kinds of treads that requires you to make it go. There is no "press button and start running". Nope, this bad boy was all on you, and if your form was off, God help you, b/c you were flying off that sucker. A nice 5K romp on that, a little recovery fuel and we were back on the bikes, to do hill repeats. (Apparently Doug didn't think we did enough Saturday) But again, you could see the same thing happeneing on the faces of all the participants - we were hurting, but damn if we weren't having a good time.
I left camp exhausted, but full of hope and a better awareness of my abilities, and more importantly got to share time with great people, make some new friends, and gain a bigger respect for what Doug and Brian have created. Not to mention a deep desire to move to there. As Rich took me to the airport, he couldn't have been more clear - "I'm looking for a roommate, and dude, you haven't even started to tap into your abilities. Move out here, come see what you got in your tank for real." Those words have stuck with me and trust me, the wheels are turning hard.
6 days later, I was at the starting line of my first real outdoor tri in 8 years, in 50 degrees weather and rain, in Southern Ohio. Thinking I would have been shot from the weekend, I actually felt stronger as the race progressed, climbing with more efficiency and realizing something rather critical - no one passed me. It was a time trial start, so my focus was - chase down those who started ahead of you, and don't let anyone come up from behind. And that's exactly what I did - chasing down with fury the 40 some people who started ahead of me, then running my ass off to make sure I closed down any gaps and gave no hope to anyone behind. The result - 2nd overall, 13 seconds out of first. Apparently, I didn't run everyone down, but I am hungrier now than ever. California was just the beginning, an eye-opener, really a wake up call to start believing more in my abilities, to start seeing what Brian, Doug and Jenny have been seeing and waiting for- for this Southside Chicago kid to start enjoying life, and the sport more, and to not short-change myself. All too often I've seen people, myself included, get in a rut, not sure if we are improving or not, and allowing doubt to creep in. That's nonsense. We all work hard, we push, we suffer, we keep trying to get our bodies to the point of "running through walls", doubt can't be allowed to have such power.
Brian started www.iamunscared.com, and on the back of my Crossfit Endurance hat, that word is stictched . The Art of Dealing With Fear, as he refers to it. What we do can be scary, and yes, it can hurt, to the bone, but we have all seen dark times and made it through. We are all Unscared. Its in all of us - just tap into it when times are toughest, you'll be amazed at how wide you smile.
Stay Strong,
Guy
