SOMA GET FIT.

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By Brock Dumont

Living in Santa Barbara for most of the last 21 years has given me the opportunity to experience a range of fun, exciting, highly motivating outdoor activities. I have an athletic background, and over the years I have played a number of sports and I continue to participate in competitive events—running, skiing, tennis, golf, to name a few. The big picture for me now is to feel vital and healthy. The training, goals, and events are all tools to help keep me entertained while maintaining my mental and physical fitness.

Lately my focus has been more on running. I’m not one of the people who finishes first. Not even in my age class. I simply like participating. It feels great to be part of a group, taking on the challenge together. But entering events like Pier to Peak, State Street Mile, or News Press Half Marathon with any type of performance expectation requires one to organize a training schedule that leads to that result. Let’s face it, training without some type of event or competition ahead can get routine and just plain boring.

So when a friend of mine in Sun Valley, Idaho, introduced me to cross-country skate skiing six years ago, it was a good addition to my fitness repertoire. I also learned of an event called the Boulder Mountain Tour (BMT), which is held on the first weekend of February of each year. It is a 32k (20 mile) cross-country event. Training for it in Santa Barbara is easy—except for the fact that we have no snow and no skate ski tracks. I finished the BMT four years ago in 2:36:00, so I was ready to take 20 minutes off my time this year and finish around 2:15:00

I thought hiring a trainer would be an effective catalyst for getting stronger, fitter, and event-ready. I got to know two trainers, Scott Crawford and Jesse Brisendine, at about the same time. Both of them turned out to be very diligent and thorough personal trainers, and great people to boot. I didn’t want to have to choose who to work with. So I now work with both of them. And it is kind of like working with Spiderman (Scott) and Superman (Jesse). These guys are tremendous trainers and completely committed to getting the results.

My training regimen included a diverse and challenging range of activities: weight training with emphasis on core strength, lots of supersets, running hills, interval training, jump rope, and Pilates. In between our bi-weekly sessions, it was my job to work in rollerblading and running to keep the cardio fitness developing. Did I mention that when we started I was not in very good condition? In my first workout with Scott, we went ultra-light on all the weights, and at the end he slated me to complete two hill climbs. I made it through one hill climb and felt so light-headed that it was time to stop. Barely a 45-minute workout. This was in mid-November of 2007. The BMT was less than 3 months away. Suddenly I felt a long way from being fit enough to even finish!

We worked through mid-December to get my fitness level up; I then left for Oregon for the holidays. Skiing and snowboarding were a big part of the trip, so I maintained the fitness level and actually made contact with the snow. But no cross-country skiing. Upon my return, Scott kindly yet firmly requested that I get a calendar and create a training schedule for the remaining weeks prior to the event. Doing this was easy. I put in my workouts with Scott and Jesse each week then filled in every other day on the schedule with activity. Both Scott and Jesse suggested that rest days might be a good idea. I couldn’t have agreed more. Especially since we had stepped up the intensity of our sessions.

By late January I was completing our one-hour workouts with command and strength to spare. Pushing higher weights. Maintaining greater intensity throughout the workout with less rest between supersets. The development was clear and felt great. Mapping out my workouts gave me a clear and healthy perspective on each week, too. It told me where I was, where I had been, and where I was going. Going up to Idaho, I was ready.

Another noteworthy detail to my story—I had only been on skate skis five times before this: two of them were for the BMT event; the other three in learning how to do it. In short, I am not a very experienced skater. So when a friend in Sun Valley warned me that the track for this year’s BMT would be very cold with lots of snow, I grew concerned. One might think, “Why? Those conditions sound perfect for skiing!” True enough if you are on Alpine skis doing downhill events. For cross country, not so much. Warmer weather and a firm track makes for a faster cross-country event. Thicker snow means slower times and more dependence on proper form and technique. For an inexperienced skater like myself, such conditions could prove especially problematic.

On race day I checked my vast inventory of experience to apply my best skate ski form and technique. Unfortunately, unlike Neo in The Matrix, I couldn’t plug in and download these skills directly into my brain. I had to do it the old-fashioned way. I gutted it out. I finished in 3:17:00. My wife was happy to see that I was still standing. There was speculation that I might be in one of the Red Cross wagons hauling the DNF’ers off the mountain.

It was hard to face such a slow time. It was especially disappointing after all the mental focus and energy expended during the dedicated workouts. But in truth, simply finishing was a huge accomplishment. And after the initial disappointment, it felt great to be a part of it.

Scott, Jesse, and I did some excellent work to build a solid foundation. Now it is time to turn the focus to the next event. I am looking forward to what is next—maybe the State Street Mile. But I’m not sure I can wait that long.

Whatever the case, I keep thinking of an adage that pretty much expresses how I feel about fitness: Life is a process, not an end; if you don’t enjoy the process, you are going to hate the end.

Stay in the process!

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