Overcoming Adversity To Danish National Champion
What do you do when things get tough? When adversity comes, do you shy away? Or are you up to the challenge?
Whether you’re a professional or an amateur, adversity will come. What’s most important is how you handle the adversity. This case study is an extreme example of how results you never thought possible can come from overcoming adversity.
The Athlete:
Line Thams is a 30 year old, seasoned professional triathlete originating from Denmark, whose initial years in the sport were focused on short-course ITU racing. A balanced athlete with a good swim, strong bike and solid run, Line’s early pro career was embedded in a training squad with a complete focus on speed and power development. In the highly competitive world of short-course racing, Line gradually improved and was on a great journey of athletic evolution.
Then came the adversity.
The Challenge:
Following ill-health in the family, causing massive distraction and stress, Line experienced a major bike crash. A seemingly innocuous stretch of road enabled her to build speed, but a freak crash saw her go down with very serious injuries. The impact of her fall was felt predominantly on her face, with major trauma the obvious result. A scary and very serious accident that could have easily ended her athletic career.
After a lengthy recuperation, which has included multiple surgeries (*which are still ongoing), Line was faced with a decision of whether to aim to fight back to the top end of sport. She had major decisions to face, which required plenty of introspection, discussions with mentors and friends, and a grounding on what she truly wanted to get out of a journey in sport.
With deep reflection, Line decided the best path for her was to transition to long-course racing, IRONMAN 70.3 and into IRONMAN. With this decision, she reached out to Purple Patch, and Matt Dixon, for coaching support. A long-time listener of the Purple Patch Podcast, the approach and methodology resonated. In initial discussions, we immediately gelled, and so began a coaching project that would involve navigating the shackles or the past, and aiming to create a new and evolved athlete for the future.
In initial discussions, going back to prior approach to sport and training, there were some real positives in her approach, but also room for improvement. She also had several real challenges stemming from the adversity she had to navigate as a human for the months and years prior. We warned Line that success would require real bravery to evolve and redesign much of the approach, even as we plotted a journey to ‘go long’. A few key points relative to her journey and our planning
Major PTSD around the accident and riding her bike again. When we began working with each other, she couldn’t bring herself to ride anywhere but the indoor trainer, so major barriers to overcome.
Her prior approach was anchored in high training hours and volume. I felt that she had achieved great fitness, but there could be a greater diversity in the distribution of training intensity.
Low recovery. Line appreciated the value of recovery, but didn’t quite know how to apply it in her training. Some elements were great (*nutrition, self-care), but others were less so. A great example was a need to learn just how easy the easier sessions and days needed to be to facilitate recovery.
Applied lessons. Line had speed and power, but didn’t know how to apply these assets to yield best speed. Lessons in terrain management would be critical for athlete evolution.
Technical. While separated by several thousand miles, Line required technical and postural development across her triathlon disciplines.
The good thing was that Line had a wonderful training environment, with a great group of elite athletes to support her, and nice groups and coaches to lean on. I could be the quarterback of the journey, but Line was in a performance environment. This would make the initial months more fun, and she was able to lean into the accountability and support that a group brings.
The Solution:
The coaching approach could be labeled ‘carrot and stick’. I realized that the journey would take real patience, at the same time there were important elements and habits that should be built in without delay. Here is the headline news of how we approached the initial months:
A program built around key sessions. We didn’t build any week of training over chasing hours of miles (sorry, kilometers!). We built it around two to three key sessions. As Line was on a ‘return’ to training, we didn’t want to obsess on specific hours, instead begin with a dynamic mindset and open mind, hitting total hours dependent on how the body responded. The more important element was consistency of training and progression in key sessions.
Lean into our live video coaching. You may have read about our new Purple Patch Video Coaching, with assumptions that it is mapped just for amateur athletes. The twice weekly live bike sessions linked Line and I up for 60-75 minutes every Tuesday and Thursday, and they became the focus of the week. Typically higher intensity, with a focus on low rpm biking, Line was likely sick of my constant feedback and demands for improved pedal stroke, standing and posture. You know what happened? Inside, on the trainer, Line built her physiological improvements, but equally developed skills of riding that apply to outside. She became a better bike rider, from the other side of the world, with some very challenging sessions that built her resilience at the same time. Best of all? She integrated in the rather irreverent Purple Patch community, quickly becoming known as the ‘Danish Pastry’.
Plenty of free riding. The greatest barrier for Line would be building confidence in outside riding again. Early in the process I aimed to de-pressure the outside riding. We began easy and short, with a theme of ‘play’ on the bike. For months on end, any outside riding avoided any performance expectations, and never included intervals. Our goal was familiarity and comfort, with the hard work on the bike happening with indoor sessions.
Build the frame. We realized resilience was going to be key for Line, so a complete strength and conditioning program played a central role in her program. Positive habits, and a commitment ongoing.
Utilize the group environment. Rather than isolating Line in a veil of ‘specificity’, I encouraged Line to train with others, developing positive communication around any adaptations to the plan which were OK, and quickly establishing trust around management of the program. Autonomy and ownership of the program was going to build a wiser and engaged athlete -- and Line was excellent in this area.
Patience. We had no rush to chase racing, only engaging in a race when it felt time and the body told us it might be ready. Even now, as we finally mapped the framework of a second-half of season’s worth of racing, we do so with an open mind, and willingness to pull back if needed.
The Results
Well, let’s hold our breath and see as Line has a long career in long course ahead of her, but I will highlight some of the key experiences so far.
I was proved right! I told Line that she would soon fall back in love with cycling and have fun doing it. Through gritted teeth she now admits that this is one small area that I was proved correct.
Evolution. Across every area of performance, whether technical, skills-based, fitness or overall performance, Line has improved.
A shift in mindset. Line is a fast learner and highly engaged. She also has exceptional ownership and communication. How Line saw her training needs in her ‘prior life’ have completely evolved, and she has developed great autonomy, consistency and performance evolution.
Oh, and one more thing. Line has managed to get one race in so far. The Danish National Championship.
She won.
First race back -- she carries the crown of 2021 Danish National Champion.
Not a bad start. We’re really excited to see what Line will accomplish, and look forward to continuing to update you on her success.
Good luck Line!