So, how is that New Year’s resolution coming along? 

Trust me. I know. It’s already a thing of the past and you have long forgotten it.  

OK, so how is the training going in your off-season? 

Wait…don’t tell me. It’s been less than perfect. Maybe “fair”. Maybe “next to nothing” is a more accurate description. 

Well, can I ask you about your goals? Your ambitions? Remember those? Are they still the same, or have you scaled back your expectations, or redefined them, or changed your thoughts about them altogether?  

This is what happens to everybody, and I mean everybody, at times. It’s a period that I call “The Dark Ages”, and it can happen at any time of the year and at any point in the season. Often, it pops up in February, which Melissa Schwartz alludes to as the “Holiday Hangover” in her recent blog post.  

Multisport is often considered a “lifestyle” because we rightly put a premium on being able to train consistently. It is when we break from that consistency, whether our fault or not, that we transition into The Dark Ages. Things that I have observed that break the consistency include: 

* Illness 
* Injury 
* Poor weather (ice, snow, cold, wind chill) 
* Equipment problems (pool closure, bicycle breakdown) 
* Family stress (spouse, children, relatives) 
* Job/school stress 

…and I am sure that is a very partial list. Again, chaos can occur anytime of  the year, but even the best intentions on New Year’s Eve are often thwarted by February after you get back to work (or school) and find the job has changed, and the family has new problems (including the cold/flu that they gave you), and you can’t train because it is “too cold” or “too dark”.  

Uncorrected, The Dark Ages can stretch for days. Miss one or two planned workouts? No big deal. Miss a few days? Then you may have spiraled down over the abyss.  One marker of The Dark Ages that I occasionally see as a coach is that an athlete will tend to provide less and less feedback and communication. Sometimes, the athlete may pass this off (legitimately or not) as being “too busy to write/call”. However, I often see this as the athlete being embarrassed to tell the full truth. The more training is skipped or shortchanged, the more embarrassing the news is, and the more likely that the athlete doesn’t want to discuss it. When I was a kid,
this is exactly how I talked to (er, tap danced around) my mom and dad about things (e.g. grades, broken windows, etc.) that I did not want to openly confront.  

That is one big reason why, among many others, multisport athletes should have a coach. The coach (and other friends) can only help in a limited sense. That is, coaches and others can’t change the weather, cure your cold or make you like your boss at work. But coaches can help you arrest the downward spiral,
refocus your attention, and suggest ways to help you cope with the circumstances in more positive ways (all without having to violate your intimate privacy).  
 
There is a wide field in psychology focused on mental skills, sports performance, happiness, being “In the Zone”, and so forth…an entirely different subject much larger than a blog can contain. In the meantime, realize that The Dark Ages are temporary, and that one of the best ways to regain consistency begins with connecting (or reconnecting) to a/your coach…in a way that makes your coach less of a “parent” and more of an “partner” in your journey. 

A couple weeks ago I was given the opportunity to coach cycling at the Air Force Wounded Warrior (AFW2) Selection Camp located at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.  "The AFW2 program works hand-in-hand with the Air Force Survivor Assistance Program to ensure Airmen receive professional support and care from the point of injury, through separation or retirement, for life."   The beautiful thing about this mission statement is the fact they are using sport for rehabilition and recovery!!  More information can be found at http://www.woundedwarrior.af.mil/. 

The Wounded Warrior Games, scheduled May 11-17, also in Colorado Springs, will be how these athletes showcase their abilities in seven sports: shooting, archery, wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, swimming, cycling and track & field.  The Air Force team is composed of 50 active-duty, reserve and retired Airmen from across the country. Their injuries range from post-traumatic stress disorder to quadriplegia and is open also to non-combat related injuries/illnesses (cancer, state-side accidents, etc).  Let's just say, the diversity of athlete's abilities (not disabilities) tested this coach and I learned a ton. 

Until the last couple years, the "Wounded Warrior" was a distant news story or somebody I had heard about from a friend.  I had never witnessed the combat casualties in person as my deployed location was at a HQ safe and secure away from the fight.   During the AFW2 selection camp, I learned these unique Airmen just want to build relationships like us all.  They wanted to be asked about their circumstance.  They wanted to share their details how they were injured, how they endured an 8-hour firefight or the effects of a reaction to the flu vaccine.  (Yes, I met two veterans who were paralyzed from the flu vaccine, but I was told that's VERY RARE.)  At first, I was uncomfortable to get into the details of how their life was forever changed.  That is where I grew (or grew up) as a person.  With any relationship between a coach and athlete it takes getting to know the details of that individual.  You have to ask those questions!  You have to get to know their abilities, history, get to know what makes them tic, dedication to improving their situation, and future goals of why they are doing what they do.  Like every one of us, no different. 

After getting to know the athletes pretty much from the first day, I was inspired!  My first session on Monday, an athlete, Chris Wolff, who I knew as being paralyzed from the waist down was in my spin session.  I put him on the hand cycles towards the back of the room and included him in the workout as much as possible.  At one point in the workout after an intense interval, I got the rest of the athletes off their bikes and we proceeded to do some wall-sits for athlete quadricep development.  Almost immediately, I looked towards the back of the room and Chris proceeded to get out of his hand-cycle chair and lean against the wall!  Afterwards, he said it looked like I had seen a ghost.  I went over to him, shocked about this athlete supposedly not being totally paralyzed anymore and helped him "slide down the wall" to see how deep he could get into the wall-sit.  After about 15 seconds he had enough and we got him back on his seat.  Let's just say the room was pretty excited.  INSPIRATION! 

Not only am I putting together Spring Training Plans for this group leading up to the April training camp, I will being thinking a lot about Chris and these athletes.  I will be thinking about them when I'm in a tough spot in a workout, or when my body doesn't want to get out of bed.  If Chris can get out of that chair, then my body SHOULD respond on a much easier task.  This week tested me as a coach but grew me as a human and I can't wait to get back with them and proceed onto our goals as the AFW2 2013 team.