Stream of Consciousness

by Karen Smyers

“What do you think about when you are on a long ride or run?” I am sometimes asked.  My standard response, in which I attempt to showcase my serious dedication as an athlete, is something like, “I think about my breathing, monitor my heart rate, visualize riding or running with perfect form while engaging in positive self-talk, and keep track of split times and my lactate osmoseology for future reference.”  People are surprised that there is that much to think about and are especially surprised when they discover that osmoseology is a word I made up.

The people who ask that question often can’t imagine exercising for more than 30 minutes.  You know the type–they need headphones, a magazine, and several TV’s in view  just to get them through twenty minutes on the exercise bike at the health club.  They have no idea what you can learn about yourself by going out for a long workout armed with nothing but your own company. Continue reading →

Posted in training | Tagged as: | 2 Comments

Death of a Thyroid: my diagnosis and treatment for thyroid cancer

By Karen Smyers

In September of 1999, I was diagnosed with papillary carcinoma—thyroid cancer.  I want to write up my story so that others can maybe learn from the details and also be reassured that this diagnosis does not mean the end of your athletic dreams.

I was grateful that within 24 hours of my diagnosis I was able to connect with a role model:  A Canadian rower, Emma Robinson, who had been treated for the same thing the previous year and had gone on to set a world record 5 months later.  It gave me the hope and confidence I needed that I would come through my treatment as well. Maybe my story can do the same for others.

IF you want to know what I learned without taking valuable time out of your day to read the gory details, here is the summary:

  • Arm yourself with knowledge
  • Tackle one thing at a time, but do it with gusto
  • Stay positive—find the silver lining of your situation
  • Find something you are passionate about to motivate you through the tough times, and
  • Keep your perspective Continue reading →
Posted in training | Tagged as: , | 12 Comments

Confessions of a Poppy Seed Addict

by Karen Smyers

The IOC recently announced that it is adding marijuana to its banned list of drugs and triathlon’s governing body will follow suit.  (When the IOC says jump, the ITU says “Altius?”)  I find it rather ironic that their reason for adding a non-performance-enhancing drug to the banned list is that athletes must be good role models.  The ironic part is that nobody including all of the young impressionable fans of Canadian gold medalist, whochamacallit, would ever have known he had anything to do with marijuana (primary or secondhand smoke-wise) if it weren’t for the IOC’s testing.  Now the overriding impression of snowboarders is that they are “potheads.”

Anyway, I don’t mention it because I am encouraging people to smoke marijuana, I just don’t think it ought to be tested for if it is not performance-enhancing.  The reason we need to test for steroids, EPO and other harmful substances is that we don’t want athletes to be required to damage their long term health in order to compete with the best.  There is no need to test for things that are good for you and performance-enhancing (like more sleep, vitamins, training at altitude) and things that are bad for you and performance-detracting (lack of sleep, excessive alcohol, junk food, and marijuana). Continue reading →

Posted in training | Tagged as: , , | 1 Comment

Stay on the Sunnyside

by Karen Smyers

Lately I have been getting a lot of practice at making the best of a situation.  Last summer, I turned a severed hamstring into a good opportunity to go forth and multiply.  I took advantage of the C-section that followed nine months later  by getting back on my bicycle seat much earlier than a regular delivery would allow.   Now I am faced yet again with another situation that could be viewed by those less optimistic than I as a serious setback.

Yes, getting knocked off my bike by an 18-wheel truck which resulted in six fractured ribs and a third-degree separation of my right shoulder does sound a bit depressing at first.  I had been training for a big comeback at Ironman, and now I will be forced to watch from the sidelines for the second year in a row.  But if you put on your rose-colored Oakleys, you’ll see that it is not really that bad.  Consider the following advantages:

At least this year on the sidelines, I won’t be on a nine-month moratorium from my favorite beverage.  Actually, Kona isn’t a bad place to hang out when you don’t have a full day of pain looming over your head the whole time you are there. Continue reading →

Posted in training | Tagged as: , , | Leave a comment

Going Nowhere Fast

by Karen Smyers

This is the time of year that many of us hunker down to wait out the cold and blustery winter.  When it takes longer to get dressed to battle the elements than it does to do the actual workout, I usually nix biking outside.  Some of you may be hardy enough to bear the weather, but must succumb to the lack of daylight at this time of year.  When it is dark when you head off to work and dark when you come home, what is a triathlete to do?  Taking a leave of absence, calling in sick, and getting a night job all come to mind.  But if those aren’t prudent options, opt for the indoor bike workout.

You may have an aversion to indoor biking because your bike doesn’t go anywhere.  That is understandable; most of the motivation to keep putting power to the pedals on an outdoor ride is to get from point A to point B, with the added bonus that food and a shower probably await you at the destination.  Lacking the need to cover the distance between me and food, I have had to come up with other ways to motivate me during an indoor bike workout.

Continue reading →

Posted in training | Tagged as: , , | Leave a comment

Training with Calvin K

by Karen Smyers

An essential element of most triathletes’ success and longevity in the sport is their training partners. Your partner in pain can goad you into one more hill repeat like nobody else can.  Think of the number of mornings you would have just hit the snooze alarm if it weren’t for the fact that your buddy was meeting you in the cold, quiet dawn.  (Notice I say “you” and not “we”; I have a policy that if the workout time requires setting an alarm clock, it is too early for me.)  But I do attribute the discipline I have mustered in managing to skip happy hour most evenings to my buddies who I know will be at the pool expecting me.

To an outsider, all triathletes come from the same mold: compulsive, driven, exercise-addicted, passionate, and slightly crazy.  But from within the pack, we have come to know and appreciate a host of different characters all of whom contribute their own quirks to the group. It’s important to have this mix of personalities in your training group to add balance and diversity to your training regimen. Continue reading →

Posted in training | Tagged as: , , | Leave a comment

Executing the Perfect Taper

by Karen Smyers

One of my favorite phases of training and racing is The Taper. It ranks right up there with massage and carbo-loading on my list of reasons that I do triathlon. I find myself looking forward to the taper weeks and even months in advance. When I am trying to schedule a time to do my taxes for example, I will think, oh, I will do it in early September when I am tapering for the World Championships. I imagine I will be brimming over with time and energy during this phase. This seldom proves to be the case, but it is a good excuse to file for an extension.

Taper Prerequisites To execute a good taper, it is (unfortunately) necessary to have some sort of foundation from which to taper–in other words, you must have done some pretty hard training leading up to the race; otherwise you run the risk of tapering yourself right out of shape. In general, the longer and harder the work phase leading up to the taper, the longer the taper can be. So if you have had a several month long build up to Ironman, you can take as long as a month to taper for the race. If you have had a three week intense build up for the National Championships, a one week taper is probably about right. Continue reading →

Posted in training | Tagged as: , , , | Leave a comment

Strutting Your Stuff

Karen pregnant with Casey

by Karen Smyers
2004

As the bun in my oven continues to “rise”, now approaching the dimensions of a hearty French boule, I find myself feeling less like an athlete and more like a sedentary housewife biding my time until a heart attack does me in.*  Although I am still able to run (or waddle) a few times per week and swim as often as I can stand squeezing my zaftig figure into my lycra suit, I find myself doubting that I was ever a finely-tuned triathlete capable of performing flawless transitions in mere seconds or scaling St. Croix’s Beast with nary a whimper.  And if I am finding it hard to believe, I am sure that new acquaintances find it impossible.  For my languishing self-esteem, I need to surround myself with the dead giveaways that remind others and me of my erstwhile identity.  If some of you are suffering from winter identity crisis, these tips may help you remind others that you are no ordinary Homo sapiens.  You are a card-carrying member of tri athleticus.

The first clue you can give is to wear a Timex Ironman watch with everything.  This includes business suits, little black dresses, and all casual wear.  Unfortunately, the general public has caught on to the availability and prestige of these watches so even if you have a special 1996 Hawaii Ironman special edition, it is not apt to be noticed as unusual.  So I also try to make sure it is on chronograph mode and registers the time I ran my 8-mile loop in so that if anyone asks the time I have to mumble, ”Oh, wait, let me see, 1:02 that’s not right, that was my 10-mile run this morning, ah, here we are, it is 3:30 p.m.”  (It can’t hurt to round up the mileage a little–they probably have no clue how to figure a per-mile pace anyway.)  If you have your lap times from your track workout the night before and can manage to mention a few of those, you can really score big. Continue reading →

Posted in training | Tagged as: , | Leave a comment