Author Archives: Danelle Kabush

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About Danelle Kabush

I am certified mental performance consultant, a mom of two, avid athlete and lover of the outdoors

What have my kids taught me about a winning mindset?

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In my opinion, there is nothing cuter these days than watching my 14 month old son waddle around. He is getting faster every day and it seems like his body is just trying to keep up to whatever direction his feet want to take him in! Of course he falls down often and gets right back up, most often without any complaining. It is a whole new world to discover up on his feet and his curiosity to explore everything in sight is infectious!

As I observe my two little ones growing up so full of wonder about the world, enjoying being more physically capable every day, and the incredible rate of Zoe’s language development as she doesn’t even notice she speaks “Franglais” (mixing her French and English) so often now, I’m struck by all the things they do so naturally that are most often associated with reaching our highest potential in life, in sport or otherwise.

Why is it that as we get older a certain self-awareness develops that allows us to be suddenly painfully self-conscious, always comparing ourselves to others, and nervous about what the future will bring? When athletes feel overwhelmed with these natural tendencies that occur as we come of age, sometimes reminding ourselves that if we once did the opposite so well as a small child, maybe we can cultivate the same mindset again when the pressure is on to perform. So tap into your inner child and reconnect to the things that are associated with best performances such as….

1. Staying in the Moment. Although Zoe is already at the age where she gets excited about upcoming events, that usually only happens when I remind her about something coming up. Otherwise, she and Nico are experts at staying totally absorbed in the present moment, whether it being playing with their toys, fighting over their toys, or being engrossed in a story, call it experiencing flow, or being in the zone for an adult. When stuck in the past or too wrapped up in some “uncontrollable” in the future I like the reminder of my favourite quote from the Peaceful Warrior movie, “What time is it? NOW. Where are you? HERE!”. When playing with my kids they remind me to practice being fully present! And they notice when I’m not!

2. Failure is Good for Us! Unfortunately too many athletes self-worth fluctuates wildly according to their last training session or last race result. Lucky for little Nico, he isn’t saying, Geez, why aren’t I walking as well as that other 14 month old over there? Or I wonder if I’ll ever be able to run like my big sister? Maybe I should just give up! Heck no. Kids get up, fall over and over again and keep tyring. Failure is how children learn so quickly and they don’t beat themselves up over mistakes (okay maybe just a little bit if a boo boo occurs). If all athletes could think like a child again, maybe we’d reach our potential faster. Falling and failing is good for us. We learn our limits faster and how to improve!

3. Do it because its FUN! So many times after a top performance, you may hear yourself or other athletes often say, “I was just having so much fun out there!” When children try out their first sports, most of the time they stick with something because they find it fun. When something is no longer fun, we quit. Zoe has recently caught the biking bug and was whoo hooing over the bmx bumps with feet in the air the other day. And that’s why we should continue in sport at any level – because we love it!

Here is Zoe shooing away the Mommy Paparazzi today before she rides on by, with Nico keeping up behind pretty well on foot for awhile too!

Mountain Bike Nationals Race Report

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I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited to start a mountain bike race as I was yesterday! It was a perfect Canmore summer day, the course was in great shape and it was very high on the fun factor!

Over twenty elite women wheeled to the start line at 12:15 (aaaah, nice not to be so rushed like my usual super early triathlon starts!). The field seemed disappointingly small, but one factor is that the U23 women have had a separate start over the past few years. But since we have the World’s number one rider in the World Cup rankings (none other than my LUNA teammate Catharine Pendrel) and Canada is ranked number one in the World for women, staying near the leaders was going to be no easy feat!

My goal going into the race was to shoot for inside the top ten. I was a little nervous about the start as I haven’t done a serious mountain bike race in awhile and didn’t know how much speed I had in the legs. Luckily we had a small start loop to settle things down so I followed my bro’s advice to sit in and just move up when it was easy to do so. Once we hit the first real climb I was feeling comfortable at the back of the front group and was able to move up a few more spots before the first technical descent, the Laundry Shoots, which was a bit scary as I had to make it through the first few turns and drops with my right foot clipped out, but stayed up!

Nearing the end of lap two I was sitting in 9th with Brandi and Mical in 7th and 8th dangling within reach. That’s when a little hiccup happened and I got major chain suck. I ran out of the short piece of single track I was in and luckily was able to finally yank the chain out. Yay, my day wasn’t over because I was having fun and feeling good! By then Jean-Ann had caught me. She rode stronger and stronger and by the end she’d broken away, and my legs were starting to cramp so 10th it was for the day!

Catharine repeated as Canadian Champ with Marie-Helene Premont in 2nd, and Emily Batty in third. Interestingly, although there are some talented U23 and Junior women coming up in the sport, apart from my first running rival, Brandi Heisterman (who is also a mom of two and finished an impressive 7th after riding the last 3 laps with a fractured, dislocated finger!!), the top 10 riders in Canada has not changed up much since I began racing all the Canada Cup races about 10 years ago! That’s why it was fun to end the weekend today as part of the Fast and Female mountain bike camp to encourage girls from 9-19 to get into the sport. Kudos to Catharine Pendrel, Emily Batty, Amanda Sin, Catherine Vipond and Mical Dyck for taking the afternoon to teach an impressive number of young girls some bike skills and inspire them to get into mountain biking!

The Evolution of an Active Family

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My “little” brother Geoff arrived in town this week for mountain bike nationals coming up this weekend (pictured with Zoe and her first official cowgirl hat at the Calgary Stampede). Here we are both getting ready for the same race again and sometimes I find it comical that we are still both racing so seriously now that we are both officially in our mid-thirties! I often joke with my parents saying, bet you’re wondering when your kids are going to grow up and focus on “real” jobs, ha!

All jokes aside, I think one big reason we have both lasted this long has been from the continual support and encouragement of our parents. Since the day Geoff and I both joined the local track club at the ages of 10 and 12, my parents have been actively involved in a positive way. First, they have participated alongside us over the years. I have very fond memories growing up of family runs on the weekend with our two border collies leading the way in the trails around our house in Courtenay, B.C. My parents also chaperoned at many track meets over the years, and attended high school basketball games in the winter. Pictured below Geoff and I are riding on Hornby Island in high school, me on my brothers first ever race bike, the good old rigid purple Kona Kula!

When Geoff switched to mountain bike racing in high school, my parents soon followed along and took up mountain biking too. When an injury sidelined my running after university and I took up mountain biking, it was my parents who taught me trail skills that first summer while riding in Courtenay and on Hornby Island! Geoff was also my coach for the five years I focused on mountain bike racing before switching to Xterra.

My parents have been to countless races over the years, and I’ve always appreciated how well they understand what we do. They’ve always understood what interval times mean on the track, and understand our sport involvement (from soccer, track, volleyball, basketball, cycling, to triathlon) well enough to understand what a good or bad day means because they enjoy following it all, especially with plenty of internet race viewing now! Now both in their sixties, they aren’t running much anymore but are both still mountain biking as much as ever!

Now that I’m a mom, I’m even more grateful to my parents support. My mom or both parents have traveled with me to several races and team training camps the past four years in order to help with the kids. As a parent myself, I hope I can encourage my kids in the same way my parents have encouraged us – by simply taking an active interest in whatever sports (if any, no pressure, ha!) my kids would like to pursue. I think taking an active interest in understanding the sport, and encouraging the process and effort is the best thing a parent can do!

Athlete-Mom Interview: Sari Anderson

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One of my goals in writing this blog is to share some inspiration from other active moms. This is my first interview with Sari Anderson. Sari and I met while racing Xterra. Now a mom of two, 4 year old Juniper and 1 year old Axel, Sari hasn’t slowed down much and has inspired me to keep making training and racing goals. You can learn more about Sari and follow her adventures on her blog. Sari lives with her husband Ian and two children in Colorado and is currently preparing for the Leadville 100 mountain bike race!

Here is what she had to share….

1. Can you tell me a little about your athletic/competitive background before becoming a mom?

Before becoming a mother, I raced as an adventure racer with Team Nike winning a world championship title as well as many other elite events. I also raced mountain bikes as a pro as well as ran trail races and kayaked. There was no training schedule or coaches or structure. I worked full time as a business manager for a plumbing contractor so I trained in the evening and pretty much all weekend.

2. What motivates you to keep setting athletic and/or competitive goals since becoming a mother? Is it different than pre-kids?

Since becoming a mother I have become more motivated and goal oriented as far as my athletic career goes. Before kids, I could race and train when I wanted to. I could travel for long periods of time with only a lot of work to come back to. With kids, I now have to choose my races based on our family schedule and what makes the most sense for my career. This means less worldwide travel and shorter races that the family can usually attend. However, the big difference is that if I am going to take the time away from my family and my work in order to train and compete, then I had better make it worthwhile. I’m usually there to win or prove something to myself. There is no longer racing just to race.

3. How do you balance training and/or racing with your family?

From the first week we arrived home from the hospital with our first child, my husband Ian and I figured out balance and ‘the handoff’. This means that on the weekends we usually either split days or the weekend in order for both of us to get good training sessions in as well as quality time with the kids. Now with two kids and still working part-time, I often train early in the morning while everyone else is asleep. The remainder of my training is done with the kids in the Chariot while running, cycling and skiing. Training with the kids is one of my favorite things as the kids love to be outside and it makes me much stronger. I also added a coach after having our second child in order to maximize my training time giving me quality over quantity. Despite getting in only about 10 hours per week of training, which is significantly less than my competitors, I feel that I am much stronger now than before having children. Without the amazing support of my husband, I would have a difficult time fitting it all in.

4. Did you train during pregnancy? What was your approach?

Although I ‘trained’ throughout both pregnancies, it was solely for my mental stability and to keep some endurance. I know myself well enough to know that I never could race while pregnant. I am not capable of holding myself back. I had a wonderful doctor that understood what my fitness level was coming into the pregnancies and gave me cart blanche to do what I felt comfortable with. My big guideline was to make sure I could talk somewhat comfortably while exercising. Everyone’s heart rate is different so I never wore a heart rate monitor. Some days I could run sub-8 minute miles for 8 miles while pushing the first kid and the next I may only be able to run a 10 minute mile alone. Although it was hard at times, I listened to my body and only did what felt good and comfortable which allowed me to run and cycle until the day I had both kids.

5. Any advice you would give to other moms trying to stay active (or even competitive) while balancing kids?

My advice to moms trying to stay active and/or competitive is to do what you can and not to worry if you miss a training session. A few missed sessions are not going to make or break your overall fitness and readiness for a competition. Also, learning to get out with the kids is so great for everyone involved. You are teaching your kids that exercise and well-being are important as well as giving them a chance to relax and recuperate. When arriving home from a training session with the kids, mom and kids are rejuvenated and everyone feels better ready to face the rest of the day.

Canadian Mountain Running Champs Race Report

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I’ve only done a handful of running races since I officially hung up my track and cross-country spikes twelve years ago but today was 42 minutes and change of painful yet fun running at the Canmore Nordic Centre. It was chilly and spitting rain just before our 10:00 start but I had fun warming up on a few sections of the new single track I will be racing next weekend on my mountain bike. Wow, it was strange doing a run warm-up and strides again!

On the senior women’s start line was a small but impressive women’s field consisting of some well seasoned trail runners, a biathlete Olympian and cross-country ski Olympian who are also strong runners (the Senior men raced 12.5km after us). I knew it wouldn’t be an easy day. My friend Madelaine Bate (also a mom of two who I used to mountain bike race with and now is focusing on Marathons) got the hole shot off the start line and when we hit the first hill Magi Scallion and I were at the front side by side. Then it was into the single track and all the way up to the top of the oven before we crested the top (where I was reminded how loud and heavy my breathing is during a running race!) and turned left and got to let gravity take us down the twisting trail. Luckily we didn’t have to run all the way back down to the stadium! We stayed on the narrow trail and went back up again to do the same loop two more times – a 9.2km total course. Magi was hanging on strong and I finally broke away from her a little the second time up the climb. I was also able to reel in the race leader, a young buck in the under 19 category who just went out a little too fast for himself.

In the end, the slightly cool temperature felt great to race in while leaping over the roots downhill and fighting hard to keep a good rythmn on the steep ups. I finished a mere 20 seconds or so in front of Magi, with Megan Irmie, superstar biathlete finishing a big week of training in third.

If you’ve yet to experience the awesome and fun trails of Canmore for running or riding you can experience the course we did today on this quick lapsed time video – kind of cool!

The Science of “Mommy Brain”: Can it hurt or enhance performance?

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Often when I’m trying to get out the door once our babysitter arrives, I end up coming back in several times to get forgotten keys, cell phone, gear, or whatever else I realize I’ve forgotten on the way out to the car! During pregnancy and ever since I’ve jokingly blamed my absentmindedness on “Mommy Brain”. When I recently read a great book called The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine I was happy to discover that a mother’s brain is truly altered structurally and functionally, and even irreversibly through the hormones of pregnancy, close contact with a child, and breastfeeding. Understanding this phenomenom a little better helped me realize the reasons for the mental fog, and appreciate the sometimes tough balance of being away from my children to work or train.

An interesting fact I read in this book is that between six months and the end of pregnancy a pregnant women’s brain actually shrinks! Scientists aren’t sure exactly why but believe it may be due to the massive restructuring of brain circuits, the “birth” of all our maternal circuits you could say, or everything needed to make sure we are rewired to protect and care for our babies. Apparently during the first six months after birth the parts of the brain responsible for focus and concentration are overrided with protecting and tracking your newborn. Brain size only returns to normal at around 6 months postpartum and breastfeeding can also prolong moments of ditsiness. Of course, if your focus and memory isn’t quite where it used to be in the first year after childbirth or more it could also be due to the fact that mothers lose an average of seven hundred hours of sleep in the first year postpartum!

When I first started training and working after Zoe was born I also often felt a little anxiety and guilt about being away from her. After every workout I would hurry home as fast as I could hoping she’d made out okay without me. Although I’ve been a little more relaxed and more able to just enjoy my time away the second time around with baby Nico, it is interesting to learn that these withdrawal feelings are normal. Mommy brain can cause feelings of “withdrawal” when physically separated from your baby due a decline in levels of the hormone oxytocin, produced from nursing, especially if the separation is more than a few hours. Hmmm. It is comforting to have these biological explanations but since most of us can’t be with our children 24-7, I know for me it is important to have childcare that I trust and allows me to go to work or for a workout stress and guilt free.

And the positives of the changes of mommy brain according to this book are that 1) surges of dopamine and oxytocin in the brain switch off judgmental thinking and negative emotions, while also switching on pleasure circuits, 2) breastfeeding causes blood pressure to drop, and increases feelings of peacefulness and relaxation, and 3) maternal brain circuits change in ways that may allow mothers to have better spatial memory and be more flexible, adaptive, and courageous than females who haven’t given birth – all skills and talents we need keep track of and protect our babies (note: the brain transformation hold true for adoptive mothers too as it happens when in continuous close physical contact with your child). You know, like if you have to lift a car or fight a wild boar!

So in the end, in the first year or more of your babies life, you may feel like you’ve lost your mind, you’re incredibly in love with your baby, it is stressful to be separated from him or her, you’re constantly tired, you need support from others in your new role as a mom, and you love the excitement of what each new day brings with your little one all at once.

While of course, there is the initial drop in your mental and physcial performance, the incredible life change and adaptation that it takes to become a mother has the potential to make us stretch and grow in every direction, allow us to become stronger and more patient, and give us the ultimate perspective on performance!

Continually Refining Recovery in Motherhood

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Swollen hands and face, itchy scalp, worsening exercise-induced asthma, heartburn, indigestion, feeling empty, breaking out in itchy hives, severely decreased motivation and general grumpiness! These were the symptoms I experienced all at once at my worst. It was the spring of 2005 and my first full season racing Xterra triathlons after focusing on mountain bike racing the previous five years. I found myself so under recovered that it took me a few months to feel normal and get that snappy feeling back in the legs. Without a serious triathlon coach to help me balance the three disciplines I had not backed off on the cycling much and just added some running and swimming – not such a good idea! I was also finishing my PhD thesis that spring on top of learning a new sport and traveling to many new race venues all over the U.S.. It was all exciting and positive, but when all added together stressful nonetheless.

After consulting with a local doctor in Canmore where I was living, who had worked with many athletes, he reassured me that most of my symptoms were likely due to being under recovered. Even though I wasn’t allergic to anything, our bodies sometimes act like it is an allergy and produce extra antihistamines in response to too much stress. I learned my lesson that season. The following season I found my current coach, Cal Zaryski, who races Xterra himself and is excellent at personalizing my training in accordance with what else I have going on in life with work and family.

Once in awhile a few of the above symptoms come back and I take it as a warning to monitor myself and listen to my body. Of course, if its just a day or two after a hard block of training that is normal, or after a hard race, when it can take a couple of days to refuel the tank, physically and emotionally.

As a mother, it has been even more important to listen to my body. Staying healthy is number one, so once in awhile if I feel I’m on the edge of getting sick I back it off. I remember when my brother Geoff coached me as a mountain bike racer, he always said, there is no harm in throwing a day out now and then. So if I miss a planned day of training once in awhile I don’t sweat it. Recovery activities like massage, ice baths, stretching, yoga or using the foam roller don’t happen as often as I’d like but I just have to go with the flow. Luckily I’ve also learned through the sleep deprivation days with babies that I can still have good energy with less sleep and that exercising and training gives me extra energy. Like most athletes, if I’m overdoing it I get testy and impatient and so my kids and husband usually are my first alert to when more rest is needed.

Overall, I try to follow my own advice to the athletes I work with and rely on good self-awareness. Sometimes it takes some trial and error to know how much training you can handle in a given week while trying to balance other things like school, work and/or family. When I first started cycling I relied a lot on monitoring tools like heart rate (in training and in the morning) and watts but with time I’ve been able to go more by feel. Most people forget that it is not just the training intensity of training volume that contributes to over training or under recovery, other life stress can be just as much a factor so balancing it all week to week can be an ongoing learning process. I’ve learned how much volume I can handle while working part-time and raising two little sweethearts, and it is likely almost half the training that some of my competitors who are full time athletes do, but the exciting part is seeing what I can do with the time I have to do it in! As I sit here still feeling pretty beat up from three days of mountain bike racing in Fernie, I take it day by day and my body will tell me when it is GO time again!

Furious 3: Final Stage Race Report

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After another 6am wake-up (ouch!), J-F and I rode the 3km from our condo to downtown Fernie. Unfortunately, my dad had to take a pass on day three. He wrenched his back yesterday trying to avoid a tree during a fall and felt too stiff and sore to continue this morning. But we’re super proud of the 12 hours or riding he already put in! He is also stoked about how much he feels his riding skills improved in the two days as well!

Like yesterday, the race started in three waves, 5 minutes apart. I was in the first wave and felt the sore legs pretty quickly, as I imagine most people did! After getting out of town, we climbed on the some double track where I started to work my way up. Unfortunately I didn’t work hard enough to move up early because before I knew it we were on the narrow and long “Hyperventilation” climb where it was very difficult to pass. But I was able to gain about 5-6 positions by the top. That is when we hit the super fun black diamond “Hyperextension” descent. It seemed to go on forever and was so much fun and we whooped through root filled corners, drops and undulating dips back down into a warmer climate again, ha!

Although I had the women’s race leader, Kate Aardal, in sight during the climbing it was all over after the first long descent. After the first ascent and descent the climbing was less sustained but still tough. There were plenty of bridges, and logs in today’s trails which were fun, one or two were a little nail biting! Unfortunately the rock star descending skills of Margie Smith, local Fernie rider Krista Turcasso, and Megan Rose were too much for me today and I ended the day in fifth, still with a big smile on my face (finish line in downtown Fernie pictured below). And after 8:33:11 ride time over three days, I ended up third overall.

My Coach, Cal Zaryski (pictured below with me post-race), ripped it up in the very competitive Sole Men’s 40 category and finished second overall, not bad for another Xterra triathlete!!

J-F had a solid last day and had tons of fun out there. He finished 55th overall in the Solo Men’s category, not bad for a guy who barely has any miles in his legs this year! He should be a little bit better prepared for the Highwood Gran Fondo he is doing next weekend!

Well, as long as they get the course marked dialed in for the second annual Furious 3 next summer, I would highly recommend this race to anyone! It was some of the most challenging climbing I’ve ever done on a bike and I loved the fact it was mainly all single track! And the descending is as fun as it gets on a mountain bike, I would definitely like to try and do this race again in the future! Finally, a big thanks to my mom, Grandma Peggy, who looked after Nico and Zoe while the rest of us were out riding. She spent lots of time helping Zoe on her bike, Zoe enjoyed hitting the dirt on her bike and mountain biking just like mommy!

Furious 3: Stage 2 Race Report

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Well, in an ironic twist most racers in the Furious 3 stage race finished the race feeling plenty furious today!!! I have mixed feelings about today’s stage. On the one hand, my legs felt good, and the riding was awesome! The climbs weren’t as steep as day one but they were more technical and rooty and the descents were SO much fun, long and flowy with plenty of rolls, roots, drops, scattered bridges and logs, and loads of bermed corners!

On the otherhand, myself like pretty much everyone else went off course at some point due to poor course marking and race marshalling, sorry a few pieces of red flagging doesn’t cut it! Real signage with arrows on posts or tacked to the trees would be a good start! There were some points where it sounds like the entire field went off course or rode in the wrong direction without even knowing it! A few guys I was in with less than 10km to go (it was supposedly 45km day and my Garmin recorded me at over 49km by the finish!) accidently rerode a gravel climb from the beginning of the day before realizing we were back on part of the course we’d done about an hour earlier. After backtracking and getting going in the right direction towards the finish line we met up a growing group of racers that was stopped by two passing trains for a good 15 minutes. Volunteers were recording race numbers and times to be fair but it won’t mean anything now unfortunately as I heard the entire stage may be neutralized.

After the long pit stop at the train, was the short section of trail after which it was a hard 5-6km sprint to the finish, where I practiced my time trialing (gotta do some prep for the Calgary 70.3 at the end of the month!) and some drafting in small packs to gain a bit more time – although my lung busting effort won’t mean anything now I don’t think, ha! And that’s too bad because other than the solo women’s leader, Kate, who was definitely up ahead and out of sight again, the next three women, Margie Smith, Marg Fedyna, and myself (both whom I only had 2min 30 and 1min + lead over respectively from day 1) were having a good little battle amongst ourselves, and with Margie catching me on every descent after I’d do the catching on the climbs, it could have made for an interesting race after two days!

As for J-F, he did some major backtracking with the group he was with, and he was plenty pissed when he hadn’t even seen the first aid station after 2h30 of racing! After some anxiety over how my dad would fair and whether he’d make to the finish with all the directional mishaps out there, my mom called to say that he’d made it to the finish line coming from the wrong direction after over 7 hours of racing – so yes, he got lost too! And of course, there are plenty of stories like this from every racer today. It is really unfortunate because as much as we’re here to experience the amazing trails Fernie has to offer we’re also all here to race and see how we all stack up against each other. When you pay big bucks for the entry fee for a race like this, I would say the minimum requirement is having a course that is well marked which makes for a fun AND fair race!! And hopefully that’s what the last day will be tomorrow!

Furious 3: Stage 1 Race Report

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What better way to spend Canada Day on Canada’s 144th birthday than riding sweet singletrack with 300 other people on a perfect day in Fernie, B.C.?! I have only ridden in Canada Cup mountain bike races at the ski resort in Fernie and have always wanted to discover the other amazing trails around the valley here. When the Furious 3 mountain bike stage race was announced last fall, my husband, my dad, and I jumped on the opportunity to enter.

Just after 9:00 this morning we rolled out of downtown Fernie on a 40 kilometer mystery ride – well for me at least, and many others who’ve never ridden here before. The first 15 minutes was super fast and I struggled to stay in contact with the front pack before hitting the first long double track climb. I made some gains on the climb butbeingg such a lightweight on the following double track descent before the first single track I lost spots again. With some rain and a late snow melt the single track kept everyone on their toes with plenty of wet roots and semi-wet bridges. I’m riding my Orbea Oiz for this race and it is fun to ride through the undulating dips.

I’m pretty done right now so it is hard to remember exactly how the race all fit together but what stands out is the “Hyperventilation” climb at the halfway point which was a single track climb with plenty of steep switchbacks that never seemed to end. It was so high at the top I was
considering putting my armwarmers back on! This was followed by a steep descent back towards town before one more grunt up double track and down to the finish line, which I crossed 2h36 minutes after start time in second place in the solo women category behind Kate Aardal (I will update more when results are posted later). J-F was a trooper and on very little training finished in 3h10 with some major leg cramping issues on the climb. My young 67 year old dad was a trooper, and after blowing out his tire and fixing a flat, he came in around the 5h mark and is gung-ho to go again tomorrow! Here he is pictured crossing the finish line! Yay, Dad!!