Aug 2011
Winning at Nationals: Training, Nutrition Pay Dividends
No one can guarantee success. But if you could put some of the odds in your favor, why wouldn’t you? That’s what the team here at AthleticFoodie believes. It’s a philosophy that paid off for Garrett Weber-Gale Friday night when he won his second national title in the 100 meter long course freestyle at US Nationals.
Take a look at the race captured here. Garrett is interviewed at the end. What did he eat before his finals win? A s____ p____. (You’ll have to watch his comments to find out.) It is a great snack for athletes, though.
Here’s the race and video:
Garrett has always said it: “Train hard. Eat right. Swim fast!” Keep the first two statements and switch out the third if you like. The basic philosophy applies to just about anything.
Join Me For Dinner
Over the years I’ve been to many meets and there is usually little or no interaction between fans and athletes. This year I thought it would be fun to have a big dinner to say thanks to all our fans and supporters. Plus, we can get to know one another a bit. I would love to have you join me for this event. Attending will be a handful of National Team athletes… Information below.
When: Sunday night following the conclusion of finals.
Where: Intermezzo Pizzeria…one mile from the pool!
Cost: $20 gets you drinks, a personal pizza of your choice, and includes tax and tip.
Please spread the word and join us for a great night. Contact me on twitter at @G_WeberGale if you have questions. Hope to see y’all there!
Life with Team USA at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista
(You can also view this post and more at the AthleticFoodie blog.)
Since March 14 I’ve been in San Diego training at the US Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Chula Vista. USA Swimming organized a training camp for professional athletes like myself so we could get a change of scenery, and also train with some different athletes. This camp comes at a perfect time as many of the college teams we train with are preparing for the NCAA Championships, and are not training very hard.
In 2008 I spent 10 days at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, C0. In 2009 I spent two and a half weeks at the OTC in Chula Vista, CA. Each training center has it’s unique attributes. Colorado is at altitude which makes training there definitely harder, especially at first. In Colorado the pool is on the OTC campus, whereas in Chula Vista we train at a pool about 15 minutes away. Both training centers have high quality dining halls, which provide almost all the normal healthy things I would eat. As you might expect, the pool in Colorado is inside, while in Chula we have the awesome opportunity to train under the beautiful California sun. Both centers have great weight rooms and physical therapy centers to promote strength and recovery. All in all, each training center is awesome and provides a close to perfect environment to train in.
As I’m sure many of you can attest, our lives always seem to have something else tugging at our attention. Sometimes it seems there are always errands to run, dinners to cook, calls to make, emails to write, meetings to attend, and more. Part of the true beauty of training at one of the OTCs is that we are basically in our own little cacoon, that has a sole focus on training. My objective here is to maximize training and get my shoulder 100% healthy. At the OTC meals are prepared for me. We’re driven to practice. The weight room is a two minute walk from my room. I’ve been getting my shoulder worked on 100 yards from my back door. The campus is quiet, intimate and a wonderful place to take a deep breath and really focus at my goals at hand.
Permanently living at this training center are a number of Olympic track and field athletes, rowers, bmx bikers, archers and kayakers. Traveling through on training trips are teams like our swimming crew, USA rugby, field hockey, softball, soccer, amongst others. As an athlete it’s always helpful and eye opening to speak with other athletes about their training and how they’re preparing themselves for peak performance. There’s no question everyone does things a bit differently, and there’s no exact science for anyone to achieve maximum performance. However, learning from other athletes, and experimenting with new training techniques is always an exciting thing to think about and explore.
So far the workouts have been tough. I’m in a phase of training right now where I’m looking to get super fit while also gaining strength. Since about January 1 I’ve been nurturing a shoulder injury that I’m feverishly trying to rehab back to 100%. This camp has provided me with great opportunities to work with physical therapists and trainers who can help me on my road to recovery. Although my shoulder is only at about 85%, I’m making progress, and hope to be back close to 100% by the time I leave on March 29.
Part of me truly wishes I could live at a training center like this and let all my other worries and responsibilities melt away. I’m refreshed by the simplicity of life here at the OTC. In part it makes me wonder just how good I could become if I had nothing else to worry about but training. Alas, no worries or responsibilities is not really a reality. However, I think this experience can show me, and hopefully others, that we can all probably simplify our lives in some way so that working towards our dreams is less hectic, and more focused. For instance, at the OTC there is nothing to do at night. Left with nothing to do, I’ve turned in for bed as early as 8:20pm. So much extra rest translates directly into higher output training. If I can successfully tune out insignificant distractions at home, and transplant this routine into my life regularly, there could really be huge benefits for me. I understand going to bed at 8:20pm is not normally a possibility for most people. Therefore, ask yourself this simple question…what could you alter and/or or take out of your life that would have an immediate and positive effect on you fulfilling your dreams? Think about it. My guess is there are things we can all do to help promote the realization of our dreams!
Hard Work Paves Road for Improvement
Few things are as much fun as swimming fast. Going best times is even better! This past weekend was a blast, as I not only swam very fast and also went a few best times to boot! Although I did not achieve my goal of going under 4:20 in the 500 free, I did go a best time by 10 seconds.
The 500 free was spurred on by a bet I’d made with a coach named Chris Davis. Unfortunately I failed to win the bet as I missed breaking 4:20 in the 500 free by .03 of a second. I must admit that I was very annoyed and frustrated after the 500. Truth be told I really don’t have any experience racing the 500 and just took it out a bit too slow. However, the fire is still burning inside me and mark my words, “I will break 4:20 before I retire from swimming.” Even thinking about that 500 still rubs me the wrong way.
After not being able to sleep much after the 500 fiasco, I still came back the next day and swam an awesome 200 free. My previous best time in the 200 was 1:33.55, in a full body suit. The plan was to go 1:33 something. The race felt great and I hit the wall at 1:33.29! Wahooo. As Eddie Reese always says, “The hard work and sacrifice always pay off if you’re patient.” This entire year of training has been some of the best of my life. No better way to boost my confidence, and drive home that all the hard work is worth it, than improvement.
The final day of the meet was the 100 Free. Interestingly we hadn’t done much speed work leading up to this meet. All eyes and preparation had been on the 500 free. Therefore the pace we did in practice was mostly all 500 pace. Generally leading up to meets we increase the amount of speed work we do (ie fast 25’s, fast 50’s, 15 meter sprints with fins on…etc) to prepare my body to go fast. Without having done much in the way of fast training I had no idea what my 100 would be like. My goal was to go 42 low. I knew I would have a great second 50 I just needed to get out fast the first 50. I went 20.4 and 21.9 for a 42.33. 20.4 is a bit slow going out for me. My easy speed just wasn’t there like it normally would be. 42.33 is still a fast time that I’m very pleased with.
What a great weekend of racing. I’m so happy with how my body recovered after every race. There’s no question that my fitness level is as high or higher than it’s ever been. My complete trust is in my coaches. We’re continuing to work hard and prepare for even more fast swimming. Hard work is the way to success! Thanks y’all for continuing to support my dreams:)
500 Free Challenge
Many of you are probably wondering why on earth I’m racing the 500 free this weekend at the American Short Course in Austin. During my younger years i.e. high school and college, I always raced the 500 free once per year to see where my fitness level was. Since my senior year of college in 2007 I haven’t raced a single one. Be it focusing on different events, the lack of desire, or maybe even poor planning, I just haven’t thought about doing another 500, until recently.
At the 2010 World Championships in Dubai the fire for the 500 was rekindled. In Dubai my personal coach working with me throughout the meet was Chris Davis, of Swim Atlanta. One afternoon a few coaches and I (Chris included) were sitting around talking about the 500 free. I brought up how I used to do it once per year and could actually throw down a pretty decent time for a sprinter (4:30). Chris turned to me and said, “what do you think you could go now?” I instantly replied by saying, “I bet I could go under 4:20!” Without hesitation Chris says, “not a chance.”
Challenge me? Are you kidding? I live for challenges. The bet was made. Fire began pumping in my veins. We decided the race would be the 500 free at American Short Course. If I go under 4:20 Chris buys me dinner at any restaurant I want in Austin. If I don’t go under 4:20 I buy him dinner. I was super pumped up and couldn’t wait to get back to training. Since Dubai I’ve had some of the most consistent and best training of my life. All roads lead to sub 4:20.
This morning I went 4:25.8. The swim wasn’t easy but I never really threw in the legs and my stroke was controlled the whole way. I’m both very confident and excited that tonight is going to be sub 4:20! I know two things for sure. One, I will give everything I have to this swim, as I always do. Two, this 500 is going to hurt like a mother!
Let’s go baby!!
La Paulee de New York 2011. World-Class Chefs, One World-Class Swimmer
Garrett had an amazing opportunity to join some of the world’s best chefs for a food event, La Paulee de New York 2011. He’ll be sure to write about it on the AthleticFoodie blog. This is certainly a foodie event. An athlete, of course, can also appreciate great food. Oh yeah, after grinding days in the kitchen and late night dinners with the chefs, he also had to keep up with some workouts.
Garrett Weber-Gale, Michel Troisgros, Daniel Humm and (front) Daniel Boulud at La Paulee de New York 2011. This was an amazing food event.
Video for Dubai relay win. Gold!!
Team USA gold medal 4 X 100 medley relay from Dubai: Short Course World Championships. You can see it on Universal Sports.
World Championship Medal
On Friday, Decemeber 17, Garrett swam in the Men’s 4×200 with Peter Vanderkaay, Richard Berens, and Ryan Lochte. The team received the Silver Medal. The above photo was taken during the medal ceremony for the Men’s 4×200. Congrats to Garrett and the rest of the team!
Follow Garrett in Dubai at Short Course World Championships
Despite the fuzziness, these are cool photos from Garrett of the competition pool building in Dubai. Be sure to follow him on Twitter. You can find him as G_WeberGale (G_WeberGale). He also plans to keep writing athlete profiles at www.athleticfoodie.com.
AthleticFoodie nutrition videos on iSPORT
Be sure to see a new feature on iSPORT Swimming, Garrett’s nutrition videos with easy recipes and great tips on healthy eating. The athlete and the foodie in you will like them.
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