aerobean wrote:
B_Doughtie wrote:
What if it’s a mental thing? What if he’s peaked as an athlete, I know plenty of athletes who never have “long” careers. You bring in football, the avg life of a pro is less than like 3.5 years.
Add the fact that his weakest leg is the most important and the depth of middle distance is so deep right now, it could be a whole bunch of issues that has zero to do with a coach.
Eta: like it can simply be he’s not good enough anymore. Full stop. No excuses, no slams, it’s just the reality, and that has nothing to do w a coach most of the time. Sometimes your best just isn’t good enough. I contend that’s likely way more accurate than he’s being coached wrong. So back to my point- the middle distance racing is now LOADED.
Yeah, maybe that is the sad truth. As a fan of his maybe I was hoping there was something that could be done to flick the switch and make things better for him.
Ok, so after reading this thread, I need to apply for unemployment soon, hahahaha! Let me answer and address some of the topics here, and questions, but I want to say that I am not here to make excuses, nor would Ben want to make any excuses, this is racing and you need to be ready on the start line. I'm simply answering the questions. I hope this helps people understand the complexities of professional racing, and balancing with family demands.
First, let me state the obvious:
- Kanute's 2022 is his worst season of results under my coaching, and we're not happy about it
- For a guy ranked 17th in the world ranking, and being an Olympian, he is a victim of his own success, where the spotlight is a little bigger on him, so his sub par results are magnified
- No, he has not been injured. He has NOT missed a single workout this season due to physical injury, (other than sickness).
- There is no question that the sport's competitive level is the highest it has ever been, especially long course, and you can't make mistakes if you want to be in contention for the podium.
Next, let me fill in some of the things which have set us back:
- January, wife gets covid, have to basically manage the toddler on his own for about a week. Then toddler gets covid. Then he got covid. This all progressed about 2-3 weeks, where training couldn't be prioritized, he had to be there for his family. And when he got covid, we were down another 2 weeks.
- February, wife gets flu so bad, he has to take her to the hospital. Making things even more stressful, she was pregnant, and they hadn't told anyone. Once again, he had to be a dad, and take on full toddler duties and support his bed-ridden wife, so lost another 7-10 days of training.
- Somehow, the rest and recovery seemed to be a blessing, went to Miami, Oceanside and St Anthony's, and had very solid races, and we felt excited about the season ahead. But the likely truth is the rest and recovery allowed him to hide a lack of base, especially for so early in the season. I believe we are still battling this, and I also believe it is quite possible he is experiencing some long covid symptoms, as his recovery abilities seemed to have regressed, and some of his race performances didn't make sense.
- Chattanooga and Alcatraz had us so puzzled, but he was so run down, the doctors put him on antibiotics, and he finally turned the corner in late June. So something was going on that we couldn't account for.
- This is the first season where Kanute hasn't had to balance World Triathlon and Olympic pursuits. He was able to create his full schedule and focus on PTO, 70.3 races, and a few focus events like Alcatraz. With this, we shifted the training to a bit more volume, and trying to take the next step in his 70.3 performances. While this seems simple and easy, it really meant a lot of new variables and a new training approach, which at times created a scenario where I was not in sync with him and his recovery needs.
- Coming into Chattanooga, he was going great, and we felt good about it, but I overcooked him. I had changed to more of a "recovery on demand" approach, (in contrast to our usual approach, which Ben outlined in the How They Train podcast), which required more and better communication for us to be effective. This was new for us, and we didn't execute it as well we should have, (Ben and I are in agreement on this). Now we have returned more to a structured and predicted rest phase, and he is responding well. But it was more of a challenge focusing on 70.3 than he and I expected, given the other variables we've had this season with covid, etc. I basically had to relearn a lot about him this season, and I took much of it for granted.
- Over the last 12-16 weeks, he has put in a lot of great work, and I thought he would have a good showing at Dallas, with the heat prep we did, and he almost did. We are closer, but not good enough. Collins Cup was actually a positive step forward, but he took a lot of risk on the bike, which he probably wasn't ready for, but had nothing to lose.
Let me touch on a few other topics:
- Hoka is Ben's sponsor, and they have been wonderful to him. Did he sacrifice and potentially lose some places in races due to Hoka compared to the super shoes of other athletes? Yes, I believe so. (Miami, Oceanside, St A's are potential races). But Ben is loyal, and he waited for Hoka, and they have delivered a super shoe, which our initial testing has been much better than we even expected. You will see more on this in the future.
- It's not a mental thing with Kanute. He is the most mentally healthy and prepared athlete I've ever worked with.
- Having Bobby McGee and Matt Pendola on staff for me has been wonderful. They fill coaching gaps I have. If you're a coach or athlete looking for breakthroughs, I would encourage you to consider their programs (SHAMELESS PLUG CLICK HERE)
One of the things I told Ben when he and I first started together, was that he needed to not bury himself in training, and simply stay healthy, come to the start line ready to express fitness. In 7 years together, we have had only 1 injury, (post 2018, torn adductor from Super League Mallorca, last race of the year). Really incredible when you think about it. I told him he needed to force the other athletes to take crazy risk in training to catch up, and we didn't really think many could do it successfully. Since then we have had a few pop up, like Sam Long, RVB. But even they have struggled with health and consistency. Even Brownlees, Norwegians, Jan, etc, have struggled at times with consistently staying healthy.
Kanute has missed zero starts in 7 years. Does that matter if we aren't fit enough to win? If he performs at a high level, that will extend his career, whether win or podium, and we haven't done well enough lately, but each start line is a new opportunity.
So I appreciate all the calls for him to fire me, hahaha! If Ben decides that, I understand, this is a results oriented business. If you think he isn't good enough, or he's on a downward trajectory of his career, I think people need to realize he is only 29. There is a lot in front of him, and we will continue to adapt.
Jim Vance
http://TodaysPlan.com.au (Disclosure: I am contracted with Today's Plan)
http://www.CoachVance.com/ Twitter @jimvance