Arctic and Canadian chill in the air.  Crescent moon in the sky.  A few cars out and a few brave souls in reflective gear running along the Charles this morning.  It's week #2 in the BPC build phase and we were in full swing at 6:30am in the Case Center Pool.  The theme this week is fitness.  It's that time of year to build upon the technique work that you did in the fall, and rely upon your acquired skills from technique to increase and boost your fitness.  The swims in this 10 week period of time have a technique and drill focus for about 40% of the workout and then 50% of the workout is focused on increasing fitness in the water.  This presents a challenge to the athletes, because they have to work hard not only for the drill set, but especially for the main set.  I told them this morning and this goes for athletes training everywhere- at this point they should have 3 swims per week: 1 swim is short intervals with fast paced efforts, 1 swim is mid distance intervals at tempo pace, 1 swim is long intervals with endurance focus.  This is so that each swim is different, they are reminding their brains and muscles to swim efficiently as well as working on strength, fitness and endurance.  Last week was 200's, this week 100's and next week will be shorter.  What does this mean to our athletes?  Get out of your comfort zones and pushing to work hard and get to the next level.

The Boston Performance Coaching December Newsletter covers a review of our base period fall classes and online coaching program, information about wetsuit deals by our newest sponsor Xterra Wetsuits, information about our winter build season of classes and group training, and 1 coaching article: "Capacity for Tenacity" by Assistant Coach Vic Brown.  Also included in this fall-winter newsletter, full race reports from Ron Ulich (Duxbury Beach Triathlon) and Brad Ewald (Austin 70.3), October-November BPC Athlete race results and a listing of Winter Races, events and training opportunities in the area.

We are now right in the middle of our base period and I really see some major improvements from the athletes in all our classes.  I know the base period is a difficult time to commit to classes and many athletes think they don't need to do it right now.  However, it's been my experience both as an athlete and a coach that year round training is necessary not only to stay motivated and focused, but also to give your body a true period of time to experience "base", "build" and "preseason" and "inseason."  Athletes love to train in their comfort zone, which is usually not too hard and not too easy.  Well, you will never improve if you always train the same way.  This is why we have "practice."  The best athletes in the world will tell you that the most important time is the off season.  Your body gets a chance to recover from the hard intensity and volume, but most importantly your mind gets to recover as well.

Week #3 of the BPC Base Period Skills and Technique Focus

It's been great to see so many new faces at our classes this fall.  What is also unique about our fall class sessions is that the smaller class size allows for a closer interaction between the athletes and the coaches.  I love to see our experienced clients assisting the newer athletes-not only does this create a closer community amongst our athletes, but also helps the new athletes get a different perspective.  So far we have had 2 cycling classes, 2 running class, 1 swim class and 2 strength classes.  The response from the athletes has been fantastic and we are still getting new athletes coming in each week.  We look forward to the next 6 weeks, continuing to improve our athletes fitness and technique as we focus on specific technique and form in this base period.

So, triathlon racing season has ended. The spring was tough and it was followed by a cold and wet summer. Our athletes started the season with the Hopkinton Season Opener, and finished with the Duxbury Beach Triathlon. This was a great season, many of our athletes completed their first triathlon or road race, some completed their first century ride, many had PR's in their races. Personally, it was my first season back after the birth of my second child (Tanner), and I was happy with my results. I still have a lot of work to do, but hey, it's the fall and time to start working on those limiters!

I have to say, it was pretty exciting watching Ironman World Championships in Hawaii online this weekend. Chrissie Wellington is amazing. It was also fantastic to watch so many athletes from the Boston area challenge themselves on the world's toughest course in triathlon. Congratulations to all!

We are now in the final stages of our new website. It's been a long haul, many revisions but we are finally done! I am really excited about the changes to the navigation system, and the ability to create a community online for the triathlete community in Boston. We have a unique coaching and training program in the center of Boston. It is our hope to create a centralized boston training community for all triathletes in the area. This year we are partnering up with Lululemon, Greater Boston Running Company, Landry's, Fluid, and the facilities at Boston University to allow triathletes a variety of training in swim, strength, running, cycling and nutrition support. We have also created a true performance team with 2 massage therapists, physical therapy, chiropractic care, nutrition, and a medical adviser (specialist in sports medicine). This way, athletes from all areas, and all levels have an opportunity to train together in a coached environment. Vic and I have worked to put together a top notch online training plan, as well as 4 different classes for a structured year long training program. So far we have about 20+ athletes signed up for the various classes and we hope to build that to 50 or more.

I am looking forward to a year of change for BPC and our athletes. Welcome to our new website!