#10: randomness from the frazzled mind of an endurance athlete

This was a crazy week......and I apologize in advance for this blog....unless of course you have a very short attention span, in which case, it is my finest work!  


*Recommendation*  read the blog and then go back and click on all of the links at least once.


Between traveling back from Texas last weekend, a work-week that seemed as much busy-ness as business for the first 4 days, a couple of late evening presentations that all but nixed any significant training, an act of God in the form of another dumping of snow, a strained popliteus muscle......(is that even a real muscle? enough of these BS bumps and bruises already!) and a Friday spent all day in class, (a class I was really looking forward to, but unfortunately happened to be in the "big city") was nearly enough to put me over the edge.......when did I enter purgatory? and why on earth would anyone (in this case, I) CHOOSE to do this?   By Thursday evening I was pretty darn near shot.......I had gotten in a pretty weak 4 hours of training for the entire week.....about 50% of what I should have done......and with the PACER Team's (our endurance racing team) social on Friday night, I was in for a long weekend.


Well, this too shall pass.  Friday turned out to be a really cool course......a bunch of different Endurance "gurus" from all corners of the globe of expertise....from Sports Medicine experts, to surgeons, to coaches, to bio-engineers to physiologists, to nutritionists to physical therapists and even a shoe expert forming a panel of presentations all related to endurance and specifically Swim, Bike, Run......picked up some very cool perspectives on all areas of tri-sports, not to mention an awesome hot cuban (that's a sandwich for those that might need clarification); and after a grueling commute home (I have serious respect for the people who do this everyday), was able to recharge my mental batteries with the members of the team that have helped foster this whole journey more than they know.....a great group of positive people, eating health-"ier" fare (which I define as at least a "B" on the total health-nut scale), enjoying the company of other positive people.  Not sure if it's just me, or if others in the group get the effect too, but the support that you get from others who "get it" and are pushing their own limits is HUGE.


So Saturday rolls around and it's time to get serious.  4 hours on the bike + 30 min of running to complete the "brick".  Getting started was tough....4 hours....on a bike trainer....first hour and 1/2 goes by pretty quickly (it may sound strange, but at this point an hour of exercise feels like a warm-up).....I'm trying to keep up with some level of caloric load so I don't crash at the end.....banana + 1/2 peanut butter & honey sandwich and some Ironman Perform (powerbar's new version of gatorade) to wash it down and keep electrolytes going in.  Next hour and 1/2 I do a race course......which passes the time pretty quickly since the resistance changes and it requires some shifting, etc.......another banana and 1/2 sandwich (I really need to find something different than bananas....even though after watching banana time with Elvis, I'm a huge believer in their nutritional power, I'm really starting to get sick of them.....if you could only combine them with other things and give them more "utility"....such as a company that will write your name on a banana for advertising....darn, spoke too soon....banananame.com has already cornered that market).....ANYWAY....by now my legs are getting tired and my mind bored........even the current offering on "movies that don't suck" (quite the clever title campaign for Saturday movies) on G4* isn't having the intended effect.....shout out to Tony B (brother-in-law) - saw the commercial for Poynt (his baby) in blackberry app-world.....pretty cool!  I'm going to download for iPhone!


* Editorial side note: Return of the dragon was on....(I know, it seems odd to me too how Bruce Lee keeps popping up...see previous blog)...all I can say is Chuckie Norris has some of the hairiest upper traps I've ever seen; I'll never look at the total gym the same again.  But, the PT in me likes that they warm-up appropriately* Clip 1 below.


Anyway, by now, I'm tired and I start thinking back to a really interesting part of the course the day before......talking about the difference between VO2max (which is genetically limited) and Lactate threshold which can be trained......"how close can you get to that threshold and how long can you stay there can be all of the difference" they told us.....and I realize that's exactly where I'm at.  My muscles are starting to ache and the urge to "just give it up for today, after all, it's been a hard week" is starting to ring through my head......but I realize, this is where I'll actually be getting something out of my training....the threshold, now is the time to focus......I get through the remaining hour, towel off the sweat, which has now formed into a puddle deep enough to require a lifeguard be present, and go out and do a quick 30 minutes of jogging on legs that aren't quite sure they're into it.  Surprisingly though, I'm feeling upbeat.......this is a good test....put on the garmin, walk outside and (of course) it starts to snow fairly heavily.....sort of a cruel joke I think.....but whatever.....we're all in now, and off I run......working hard, but legs are feeling pretty good......lean forward....short cadence, push with the glutes I tell myself......legs are feeling better by the step.....finish off the course about 3 minutes ahead of schedule and the training day is done!  


Sunday rolls around and 90 minutes in the pool goes by fast enough b/c I am seriously focusing on my technique......again, based on some of the sage advice I picked up from the course......R shoulder didn't love it, but definitely a break through technical session.


So on the whole a week that started as a disaster from a training perspective, ended strong.  I was able to stay consistent and get something in on 6 of 7 days, but I definitely had to sacrifice volume (10 actual hours vs. 15 planned).  I have another busy week ahead so I have to figure out how to add another flaming sword to the juggling act.....I'm convinced amateur endurance athletes are the best time managers in the world......but I think it can be done.......my wife's head isn't spinning (completely) around yet with this whole thing and my kids still remember who I am most of the time and my friends and family think I'm crazy, but seem to be enjoying watching this train-wreck unfold......so I guess it could always be worse......and so, I guess there's not really much more to say than: I hope your week was at least as good as mine.....if not, just ring me up on the banana-phone and I'll talk you down (want to test your strength?  Click on that link, and if you can resist getting that song stuck in your head, you would NEVER have allowed Ben and Luke to move along so easily....it's the oldest trick in the book.....clip 2...pretty sure it's flash, so doesn't play on iPhone/pod/pad....one of my few complaints with Mac).


Alright......I think this has been about enough fun for one day.....go do something!


"Remember, baseball is just a game, but music is life." (Mark Panopoulos & Doc Phillips (CFMU))


- Mike E.

#9: today's beating was sponsored by the letter "G"

To the onlooker, it probably seems that the ultradistance thing is mostly a physical thing....but I think most people who have completed something which is considered "long distance" such as marathon or "ultra distance" (race that takes >4 hours even by elites) would say that the physical aspects are only part of what makes it a challenge.


For me, the greater challenge (and draw, I guess) is the mental game, the discipline it takes to come back for more when your instinct tells you to stop.  How is it done?


Your mindset, i.e. “where your head is at” can be critical to success.  If you’ve ever done anything “hard” in life, you’ve experienced this maybe without realizing it…..when you're pessimistic or unsure of yourself everything seems harder and life's little pains seem to sting that much more. On days when you're mind is right, things seem to just “flow” in that Mr. Bluebird on my shoulder kind of way. 


Pretty easy then right? Success breeds confidence and confidence in turn breeds success……one big happy world where those talented few born-to-be-champions live right?  Sort of……


Having success often does increase confidence with the specific task at hand.......but what the research has shown is that broad success is not based on some fixed level of natural talent but rather with hard work which helps to push through apparent "talent barriers".  You know the "late bloomer" who eventually passed everyone by?  Well there is a LOT to this.....but just understand

It's all about

GROWTH
(get it?  Letter G?)

In other words, human potential is not an expression of a fixed “have or have not” value or some innate talent, but that it can be pushed, expanded and grown into……  One of the leading researchers on the subject, Carol Dweck, has shown that not only can you determine which of two key mindsets a person belongs to (growth mindset or fixed mindset, which strongly predicts eventual success even at early ages), but perhaps most importantly, that by changing “where your head is at”, which can actually be done, you can greatly change your chances (good or bad). The effect is immediate and reproducible.  THIS IS HUGE!

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So after that incredibly long intro, I’m hoping the title this week wasn’t misleading, I’m not referring to the kind of rough-up Ralphie administers to Scut Farkus in A Christmas Story (yup, it was "Scut")…..I’m not even referring to the almighty “hurts doughnut” that big brothers everywhere make a living on…..(video of proper technique below).....what I’m talking about here is a slice of the good stuff, humble pie, that when served up to a person with the Growth mindset (as Dweck calls it) can be the springboard to even better performance, because they'll see it as a challenge and eventually overcome it.

So knowing this, one of my objectives during training for the IM, has been to really search out those opportunities to improve….to grow.  In the training world we hear about “breakthrough workouts”……so in a sense, I’m taking this concept and applying it to the mental aspects of my training as well as the physical……and last week, I had my opportunity.

Every once in a while, when putting in my time in the pool, I come across somebody who can really swim.  Do some serious lap swimming and you’ll eventually run across him or her……you know, the type that is moving so fast you’re sure they’re wearing fins…..or have fins for that matter.  


At my pool, I’ve only run across 2 or 3 of these folks and one in particular can motor.  In the early part of my training, I’d just chalk it up to me being slow……which was pretty accurate…..but as the months have gone by and my logged hours have crept up, my technique (and subsequently my speed) has improved.  Last Sunday I was in for my long swim and I saw that the speedster was back……all the lanes were taken, so I was going to have to share with somebody……so, knowing I was in for some wake-riding if I jumped in with this guy, I decided to put myself into growth mindset mode and try to figure out how to keep up……..well, it wasn’t pretty.  Thankfully, it wasn’t horrendous either; I didn’t get completely blown out of the water……but I certainly wasn’t keeping up.  


After about 45 minutes of school being in session, I decided to take a little break.  Turns out that dolphin-man was wrapping up his workout and so we both found ourselves standing at the end of the lane catching our breath…….I mentioned to him that I enjoyed swimming alongside him, that it was humbling……we chatted a bit and after few minutes it was clear this guy had done some fairly high-level swimming……he complimented me on my front quadrant (the early part of the stroke) and gave me a few helpful hints about opening up my stroke length……none of which would’ve happened had I been so afraid of failing (a hallmark symptom of fixed mindset) that I avoided him or if I had believed it was just an innate talent that he had and I didn’t……and so, off to work I go…..to continue working hard and learning as much as I can as fast as I can so ultimately push my limits upward.


Don't get me wrong.....it still sucked to get bested.....but to me, figuring it out is the most engaging part.....the benefits of the long-term being so long I guess.
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TRAINING RECAP
Most training plans for ultradistance events are built around gradual increases by going 2-3 steps forward and 1 back.  The "one back" allows the body and mind to bounce back a little bit before the next push. For me, this translates into 3 training weeks and 1 recovery week.  This past week was recovery week and it was AWESOME to be able to drop the volume down a little bit.....It actually worked out well b/c I had some traveling to do and knew I wouldn't get nearly the volume in as the previous weeks.  Turns out I did about 50% (+/- 7 hours).  It's sort of funny how you acclimate......it still averages to an hour a day, which is more than is typically "advised" (5 hours/wk) for normal people (not claiming normalcy here)......but it felt great to be able to pull back a little.....and now, time to get back to the swing of things.


THE WEEK AHEAD
Need to do some testing this week......not my favorite......but a good time to see what's what.  Some barriers to it though......my bike is in the shop (now that it's broken in, having it tightened and tuned) and although my knee seems to be largely out of the woods....I over-did my R calf on last week's long run.....felt good enough to run 10+ in Austin, but now is sore again......so might make sense to lay low there.


Love thy neighbour, but don't get caught (Bob Eubanks),

#8: the wasting away diet.....ultra-endurance nutrition

Christian Bale training
for an ultra event?

"the trick is to keep losing weight until your friends and family ask you if you've been sick. then you know you're within 10 pounds. if they start whispering to each other, wondering if you've got cancer or aids, you're within 5. when they actually do an intervention, you're at race weight." 


- actual post from a triathlon forum, obviously in jest (perhaps too close to the mark with the endurance crowd).


In our business, we get a lot of questions about nutrition, dieting and the like.......what's the best diet?  Is it safe to cut carbs?  How about eliminate them? Should I go vegetarian? How about low-fat? and on and on it goes.  After more than a decade of searching out the answers, listening, learning, coaching clients and paying attention to the details, we've amassed a respectable amount of knowledge in this area, and we've had some fun successes along the way (more to come on that soon), the one thing that sometimes leaves me scratching my head is how many people struggle with the concept of energy balance....you know, the eating version of the first law of thermodynamics......that energy cannot be created nor destroyed.....that whether the goal is to maintain, gain or lose weight, the first step has to be energy balance.


Unless the energy "going in" gets pulled out (more accurately....converted to another form): heat, electrical, chemical or perhaps KINETIC (i.e. MOVEMENT), it's not going anywhere.....ever.  This sounds pretty simple, and it is......but don't confuse simple with easy......it's definitely a challenge to maintain the balance, but it's not all that complex.

If there was ever a good example of this law in action, it is someone training for an ultra-endurance event.  After the holiday madness and getting back into the swing of things training-wise, and since it's an area that can either make or break your training, I decided to do what all nerds do.....GET DATA!  I started logging my meals and training efforts last Sunday to see where things were shaking out......A lot of work, but I had 2 first hand experiences last year that make it totally worth it.

When Jersey heat lays the smack-down, go Pavlovian:

In NJ State Tri (an olympic distance) the heat was intense (the water was 88 degrees and it got worse from there) which made fueling a major challenge that I didn't want to overcome......and I paid for it.  I pushed a little bit too hard on the bike and stopped taking in calories.....and thus, a hot, crampy, painful 10K run capped off an otherwise "by the plan" race......MISERABLE, plain and simple.  No other way to describe.

Oh, I learned my lesson.  For my 1/2 Iron +/- 90 days later, I dedicated myself to a very specific nutritional plan and even wore a second watch repeatedly reminding me (you'd be surprised how foggy your brain gets in the midst of these things) with an annoying beep to take in some fuel and hydrate every 20 minutes.....and I did, like clockwork.  That race had its own challenges for me.....but nutrition wasn't as big of one....post race I was tired, in a needing a nap sort of way....but I felt fine.....the nutrition was KEY.

But that's race-day.....what about training nutrition?  

The sum up is pretty simple....Eat more bird man....

If you want to read the more detailed breakdown here you go....but I warn you, it's not pretty.

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After dispatching "el wingador" for sure

SUNDAY: Ate "normally", even had a Peppermint Mocha Latte (which along with Oreos, Twizzlers, Coca-Cola and DD Boston Creme Doughnuts, has made the long list of junk items that I could easily go Joey Chestnut on) and wound up about 340 calories short.  Almost perfect if I'm going to achieve race weight.

MONDAY: I ate like a pig (consisting of 8 "seatings", including some popcorn and a "beverage" while watching the Auburn and Oregon go back and forth) and came in just about balanced....75 calories down.....maybe a little too close the balance point, but no worries, it'll shake out OK, right?

TUESDAY:  I had one of those really busy days where I just couldn't find the time to eat.....1350 calories consumed......3233 burned.  A deficit of 1883.  NOT GOOD.  This is the easiest way to tell the body to conserve and hold on to energy......i.e. conserve fat.  Need to focus.

WEDNESDAY:  Another busy day.....but was able to get in some decent fare.  -490 calories.....not perfect, but manageable.

THURSDAY:  Eating is becoming a job.....I know, poor me.  I love to eat so won't complain about having to do more of it, but keeping it healthy and not being tempted to "eat whatever man, it's gonna burn off anyway" takes some discipline. Consumed nearly 2500 calories, which for an average day is on the higher end for me.......the problem is I burned nearly 4200.  Deficit of 1700....ouch.

FRIDAY:  I'm walking in the door almost 4500 calories down for the week....which is more crash and burn than bringing the body down for that soft landing.  Probably would've been another bad day except after my exciting Friday night (swimming laps) I had too many of Lindsay's industrial strength Margaritas.....+1050 calories.  Not exactly the nutrients my body was craving you can be sure.

SATURDAY: 3 hours on the bike and 30 min run means a lot of calories burned.  Quality was passable, although not stellar......and I came out to 2700 which was was big eatin'.......but I was still 2050 down on the day.

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SUMMARY: I was +/- 5500 under the energy balance point with about 12 hours of dedicated training time through yesterday (Saturday).  This is a bit aggressive given my goals. For me, the bottom line is that focusing on training alone is simply not enough.....fuel has a HUGE role to play.  I need to be more aggressive with my intake than I have been.

When I look at the more detailed views, which is one of the very cool features of our coaching interface, it's not just calories I need to focus on (it never is), but it's been a real eye opener as to the true impact of this type of training volume on my system.  

For me, my protein needs to come up, my carbs down and my fat & fiber about the same........which means I can't go out and make fast food my "official training partner".......so starting next week, it's another area to keep an eye on.

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Quick training update:  Had a good week.  Got most of my hours in (had to cut short on the long bike in order to fit in my brick and the pool closed today 15 minutes before I was done) and I obeyed my body long enough to put the cranky knee back on solid footing......now to pace the ramp-up enough to not awaken the beast again.

Peace, love and get all you can, Big Apple (Walt 'baby' Love),


Mike E.

#7 lessons in listening and patience

If you ever watch the coverage of IM Triathlon on TV, they're always talking about the patience it takes to go steady.....so as not to "blow up".  The goal: "make it a long run and a short race"......the idea here is simple....wait for it......really that's the idea, just keep waiting until the right moment.


Well, this week I got a little taste of WHY the "patience of an Ironman" is such a highly regarded thing......and, well, when it's force-fed, it kinda tastes like crap.

I've been "managing" (as we PT's like to call the chronic state of tissue aggravation associated with an ultra-stubborn athlete who won't let the body get completely better) a cranky L quad tendon for a while now.....for the non-anatomists....it's the area just above the kneecap that attaches the big thigh muscles to the knee (and ultimately lower leg).  It has good long bouts and it has it's squeaky-wheel moments......but it's one of my limiters for sure, just a little too fragile to push 100%, which is a frustration.......last week I rolled the dice and ramped up the training.....and this week?  I ramped it back down.


Woke up Tuesday a little sore and the quad-tendon and I talked about it off and on throughout the day.  Got in a fair swim and a solid tempo run, but it definitely started to raise its voice on the treadmill.  By Wed, it was chirping.  So the mental dilemma sets in:  "Get tough and push through it" vs. "listen to your body....patience now will result in gains later".


And so, an Advil and a day off.....after all, if you're going to preach it, you should live it right?

Triathletes are known to shave legs,
but this is just over the top.

Thursday comes around, feeling like a CHAMP!  The body loves some anti-inflammatory and rest......What better way to celebrate than with 70 min of swimming and 90 of running (which was down from 155 min)?  Yeah, the 25-ish degrees of running outdoors, not such a good choice (what's worse frozen toes, thawing toes or those toes? ---->); 


But the knee felt OK for about 80 of the 90 minutes......not breaking any speed records, but got some time in and so it goes.  It'll be 2 fwd, 1 back for another few weeks.....but I'll "manage".


By Friday I was feeling better but still just stiff enough to know not to push it if I was going to get in my long ride on Saturday, which was more important than Friday's 60 min spin.  Couple that with a the "last-stand" of my annual cold and it was time to exercise caution and go with another Advil (just to be sure) and some gentle stretching to go with my "relative" rest.


And so, Saturday gets here:  3.5 hours on the computrainer and some (optional) strength work to mix in on the plan....remember, patience.  Started with an hour of spinscan, did some stretching and light (optional) strength work, got on for another 1:40 race course, off for some more stretching and light (optional) strength work and back on for the last 50 min of controlled-power work.  


It was a tiring workout, but the knee did OK.....better than I expected really......a little backtalk about 1 hour in, but the stretching took care of.  I also continue to experience some L foot numbness after a while in the saddle.......which I'm starting to relate to my piriformis (some other time non-anatomists).....again, stretching helped A LOT.


I'm pretty tired now, but I'll take fatigue over overuse every time.  It's really hard, but there's wisdom in knowing the difference b/t pain and injury (and when you're somewhere b/t the two).  Ultimately, I think it was the right choice.


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Week of 1/3 in Review:

Training: Assuming my swim goes as planned tomorrow, I'll only have gotten in about 80% of my volume this week.....but the workouts I had were solid.  Need to continue to manage my rest/recovery to give my body enough time to adapt to the workout volumes.

Nutrition: The regular day to day was pretty good this week.  I need to focus more (really just plan it out) for the longer workouts, I'm definitely finishing up drained and a bit dehydrated.......I just need to think it through and come up with a system that works.

Mindset: I absolutely HATE when I feel like I'm not able to work as hard as I could (or should).....so this week was a bit of a setback in the mindset area.  BUT, I know it was the right thing so sometimes you just got to let it go.


Preview Week of 1/10:

Training: Going to take another crack at 13-14 hours of training this coming week.  The training objective is to get the volume in without any body flare-ups.

Nutrition: Need to focus on my mid AM more.  I'm pretty good about getting something in for breakfast, but I feel like I'm not doing well during the day and then I'm super-hungry at night.  Objective this week is to do a 7 day tracker to see what types of foods are going in and in what sort of caloric density.

Mindset:  Feeling really busy.  Lots to do at home, work, training, not to mention continued planning for the St. George trip.  This isn't a new or unwelcome thing for me, it's pretty much the constant.......but the discipline here is to be 100% locked in with whatever I'm doing whenever I'm doing it.  This is hard and takes continual practice.  Looking forward to the challenge.


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And that's the way it was ... and that's the way it is ... and it's always changing ... and it is always the same. (Tom Donahue).


Mike E.

#6: a foundation of bricks

badass...a little thick around the middle by IM standards
needs to be somewhere in the emaciated range to have that
"tri-athlete look".

OK, by the 2 hour mark on the bike today, I was looking for something different to occupy my mind.  I had already watched Harry Potter and so took a brief moment to scroll through the free on-demand choices.....wouldn't you know it, Enter the Dragon was a "new" free release......who can argue with a little 1973 action legend.....no doubt when crushing O'Hara (see below), it made going up an 8.7% grade somewhere in Utah that much easier.


ANYWAY....


The term "brick" in triathlon refers to the not-so-fun training method of going from one event immediately to the next in training.... essentially combining the two types into 1 session.  I don't think anyone really knows where the term came from, but pretty common belief is that B[ike] + R[un] + 'ick'.  I've also heard it's related to what your legs feel like as a result.  

It's most common to "brick" a Bike+Run workout, but there are definitely those that recommend swim+bike bricks as well.  The training goal is to condition your body (and more likely your mind) to be used to transitioning.....where much time is lost and the mental resolve so often begins to crack.  So as I sit here with an achy left knee and sore lower leg, a R shoulder that has decided 3 hours in the aerobars was quite enough for today and a continually growing respect for friction (can I get an 'amen' from the endurance crowd?), I reflect on a week that included a jump in training volume, the end of 2010, #3's birthday and my first brick (of many) for this training season.

Week of 12/27 in Review:

Training: Looks like I'll have gotten in about 11 of my 12-ish scheduled hours.  Had to cut short 1 swim b/c a swim-team was in the pool when I got there and I cut the bike short from 3:30 today to 3:00 hours b/c the L knee was getting cranky.....got to keep an eye on that.  Overall it was a pretty good week quality-wise.....although feeling a little beat up as mentioned above.

Nutrition: Nutrition was much better this week, although the early AM sessions definitely leave me crazy hungry about 2 hours later.  I need to plan these out a little better.  Truthfully, it won't be a problem very much longer b/c my work schedule goes to post-holiday mode, which means in the wee-hours of the AM, I'll be working, not training.

Mindset: Glad to have this week behind me.  Fighting my annual cold.....the 2 holiday weeks have a unique stress component, but are "down weeks" in the sense that I mostly do planning & office based work......my body decides I'm finally coming in for a landing and I get susceptible to just about anything floating around.  Definitely seeking the "order and routine" of the other 50 weeks of the year.  Overall though, this is a very minor bump in the road.  Feeling pretty good with my endurance-base:  1:30 swimming, 2:20 running and 3:00 biking, which from the perspective of sheer time is a solid foundation at this point. I have to resist the urge to not feel slow at this point and want to push too hard.


Preview Week of 1/3:

Training: 13-14 hours planned (depending on tomorrow's swim), which is getting to a solid volume; 20-25/wk is the top end for most athletes.

Nutrition: Same as last week - need the fruits & veggies and hydration.....finding myself carb-craving with the training volume increases.......but that's typical for me early on.  In a week or two I'll have that under control and be back to my standard training fare.

Mindset:  Looking forward to this week.  Lots to do, but the right setup to get it done.  Work & Family life will begin to get back their (very relative) balance and should be able to make solid gains.  Need to make sure I get enough rest though......to make sure the nicks and bumps I'm feeling don't manifest into more.

That's it, that's all, end of the mall for the Joel Cooper heavyweight hall and thank you driver for getting me there. Remember, wherever you go ... there you are ... so don't forget your papers. Mmmbyebye.....(Joel C).

Mike E.