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Paula
Newby-Fraser
Paula's
story is great by itself - even if you never hear any
of her coaching advice. I mean, you take all her Ironman
and short-course victories and then hear her story of
how she got into the sport - and you'd be amazed. She
was a self-proclaimed party girl in college and really
didn't do any training. She got into triathlon as an
afterthought, like at age 23. Then she went on to be
the greatest female triathlete of all time! Contrast
this background with the current crop of elites who
have been virtually raised as triathletes since age
8 and you see what a remarkable woman she is. I've gotten
to know Paula over the years either from her camps
or seeing her at races. (We both used to be sponsored
by Mrs. T's Pierogies so we knew each other back then,
too.) Over the past couple of years, I've helped out
at her Multisport
Camp as a kinda domestique on the bike rides, and
let me tell you, at the end of every camp, she gives
sort of her "stump speech" and I can never hear it enough!
I won't even attempt to paraphrase her here; I'll just
encourage you to hear her for yourself at either one
of her camps (or sometimes she gives talks at Ironman
North America events.) More
on Paula.
Mark
Allen
I
can't say I really know Mark Allen though we've been
introduced several times. Anyway, this guy has always
been my hero. His background includes 6 IM Hawaii wins.
But what I think is his greatest achievement, and perhaps
the most dominating achievent in the history of triathlon
is his 10 consecutive victories at the Nice International
Championships. This was a prestigious annual long course
event (Swim 2 miles, Bike 80 miles, run 18 miles) and
drew an all-star international field. I remember near
the end of this streak, he was down by 10 minutes or
so coming off the bike. He just got off the bike and
became The Grip, his nickname (because once he got you
in his grip … it was all over for you!) and he ran down
that guy and won with an amazing run split! [I'll try
to get a synopsis of that race.] Here's a story that
summarizes everything that I think Mark Allen represents:
I used to go out to Boulder to train every summer in
the mid-90's. There was Masters swimming every morning
and it was a "Who's Who" of elite triathletes. You name
the star, they were there. So anyway, after the workouts
everyone would chit-chat (about triathlon, of course)
but Mark always was quiet and kept to himself. You could
tell he kept quiet not out of snobbery or elitism, but
because he was a focused, soft-spoken guy. So one morning
everyone's in the locker room blabbering and someone
off in the corner must have asked Mark a question …
and by God, you could have heard a pin drop as everyone
just shut up to hear what Mark had to say! It was like
those old TV commercials "When E.F. Hutton talks, people
listen!"
More about Mark.
Mike
Pigg
He
was called the "Hardest Working Man in Triathlon." What
I liked about him besides his great workout ethic was
how he dominated triathlons usually by his cycling ability.
I'll always have a tender spot for the racers who win
with amazing swim & bike splits; as opposed to the swift
runners on the ITU circuit. I don't have any good stories
about Mike Pigg. I remember one time in Boulder I was
on the pool deck and Pigg was swimming and when he'd
finish a piece, he'd look over at me. I felt proud like
maybe he was checking out the competition (me!) Meanwhile,
unbeknownst to me, the pace clock was behind me and
that's what he was looking at! After a while, he politely
asked me if I could move so he could better see the
clock!
Scott
Tinley
I'm
a self-starter, self-coacher, as I've said. So when
I first started triathlon in 1991 I bought a Scott Tinley
swimsuit (he once made a popular line of tri-clothing)
and it came with a tag that you could send in to receive
training tips from Tinley himself. Well I sent the tag
in and the brochure I received became my training bible
for my early years of training. It included all the
essentials to get one started. I.e. swimming should
include at least 20% drills and at most 20% pulling.
That kind of time-tested advice. In bullet point format,
too, so one didn't have to slog through an entire book
of filler prose (like you get nowadays!) I'd show the
brochure here but I'm not sure if I need permission
or not. I'll try to. More
on Scott.
Stan
Bergman
Mr.
Bergman was and still is the crew coach at the University
of Pennsylvania. In and around the time I was rowing
there we won several of National Championships and had
some of the strongest crews in collegiate history. The
irony of this is that Mr. Bergman never rowed a stroke
in his life! He was a minor-league baseball player in
his prime. So how did he develop into one of the nation's
premier rowing coaches? For technical work, he often
borrowed some of the Olympic rowers from the boathouse
next door to give some clinics. But what I really think
was essential was he used a lot of videotaping and analysis.
Being able to see ourselves row was the most instructive
method of improvement. (Of course, there were daily
killer workouts (at least 2) which helped us, too.)
But the greatest piece of advice I've ever received
in my life came from Mr. Bergman. He'd say: "Just get
the next stroke." In other words, forget about what
you just messed up or how much you're winning or losing
by … Just get the next stroke. A true life-lesson.
More
on Mr. Bergman
Chuck
Dumke
Chuck
has been a personal friend for many years. We met in
graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, he in
Exercise Physiology, I in Mathematical Finance. Chuck
is a top amateur triathlete and when he was in Madison,
he'd regularly win all the local races. We co-taught
an Intro Triathlon class for a couple of years before
he moved away. Chuck is remarkable by how unassuming
and approachable he is. He's one of those guys everyone
likes and wants to be around. I admired how he always
stayed loyal to our local triathlon club (The
Headhunters) when he could have been on a more exclusive
team. I never heard of him DNF'ing a race, or receiving
a penalty. And I never heard of him totally blowing
up in race. He really personified my Triathlete in a
Box. More
on Chuck.
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