#18: I love it when a plan comes together

In the Eisenhart household, we were pretty sheltered when it came to the luxuries that "everybody else" got growing up, including TV (getting "cable" was a huge deal.....even just the free channels), but we did love those all American classics like Knight Rider, the Greatest American Hero (sing it with me, believe it or not, I'm walking on air) and of course the A-Team.  So, if you were a product of the awesome television era too, the title of this week's blog conjures up an image of Hannibal Smith puffing away on his cigar.......and I am ECSTATIC to report, this week would've made good ol' Hannibal proud.  No, I didn't mount a huge gun on the front of my aerobars or wear that camouflage speedo.....but this was the first week in a while where the plan felt like it was really falling in place.  Nice.

My training objectives for this week were: 

(1) Run a 20 miler.  RESULT? I did a pretty hard route, stayed aerobic and came in about 10 sec per mile faster than my 18 miler 2 weeks previously.  Was beat when it was done, but this is to be expected.....the good news is, my legs bounced back pretty quickly.

(2) Build my run strength: RESULT? 3 days after my 20 miler, I was able to do 9 miles of rolling hills (not steep, but definitely challenging) 30 seconds per mile faster than my goal race pace.....so I felt pretty good about this. Finished the week with 3.25 mile brick (following my bike, see below) on Saturday and a light 1 hour recovery walk today with the PACER Team at the monthly workout & social.....so +/- 35 miles of run this week and some increased pace without any aches or flare ups to speak of.....COOL!

(3) Get an 80 miler in on the bike.  RESULT? Was able to do this on Saturday, and although the Veyo Wall is still miserable (not looking fwd to this on race day), I got over it stronger than the last time and had enough legs to get off and run 15 seconds per mile faster than race pace (as above).

Got in a few other miscellaneous sessions (muscular endurance for the bike, pedal technique, a good swim and a few short total body strength sessions).

In addition to the 3 key pillars, I also wanted to take another step toward optimal race nutrition.  This is such an important component to a successful race and with the potential heat, length of the event and the dry environment....I have to get this right.  So with the long session on Saturday, it made the most sense to make Saturday "fuel day".

* In thinking about proper workout fuel I think it's important for me to draw a line between this and normal everyday "healthy eating"....opposite ends of the spectrum....eating this way more than just during intense training would likely result in any number of chronic diseases.....however this extreme situation demands some extreme (although perhaps all-too-common) fueling techniques*

This aid-station sponsored by the "Royale with Cheese"

Endurance Session Nutrition 101 - without going deep into the details, here are some important themes for the endurance athlete:   

• Calorie replacement is important, but it's unlikely to be balanced.  Most folks can tolerate 250-400 calories per hour and will burn a bunch more than that (+/-650 for me), so get as close as you can without leaving yourself overly full.
• This is the rare case when "high-glycemic" may be a good thing.  By definition foods that turn to sugar (in this case muscle fuel) fastest without a bunch of work by the gut are a good thing during extreme exercise.  Just about every other time, this would not be as good a choice.
• This is also the rare case when Sodium is not the enemy.  Whereas normally we tell folks to cut back sodium to avoid things like hypertension and stroke, the sweat losses are so extreme that the sodium needs to be replaced efficiently.

So how'd I do?

I took in 2 powerbars, 2 bananas, 1 powerbar gel (double latte), 2 Nathan Electolyte Tabs, 1 gatorade and 1 "GU Brew" w/double sodium in roughly 5 hours of exercise which amounts to:  1100 calories (233 g of carbs, 22g protein, 7g of fat), 3046mg of Sodium (25% greater than the daily RDA), 1800mg Potassium (+/- 50% daily allowance) and 100 oz of fluid.


Truth is, I felt really good.  Better than I have in a while.  They say one of the signs of sodium loss is feeling "fuzzy".  And although I don't ever really remember feeling this way, I did feel really clear and focused yesterday.  Placebo?  Maybe.  But I'm going to keep experimenting.

So, in a sense - a calorie laden, high salt, high sugar diet is the way to go during an intense bout of endurance exercise......maybe I'll put a "Triple Whopper w/Cheese" in my special needs bag: 1230 calories, 1550mg of Sodium and almost no fiber.  Unfortunately, the fat to carb balance is way off.....oh well.

And now, some motivation

This week I saw the video below for the first time......that "toughest course in the world" stuff wasn't exactly what I was looking to hear....but it definitely got me a little pumped up....worth your 30 seconds.


Until next week......


Think Nice Thoughts (Ted Reilly).


Mike E.

#17: Walk the thin line now, or plan on walking later

And this is where the line between training hard and too hard begins to blur. It's a time when training discipline is really about pushing toward greater heights AND YET leaving enough of the body intact to perform to your fullest on race day........and I'm really trying hard to prove to myself that I have enough wisdom to get it right.  Here's the trick: 7 weeks left before race day.....sounds like enough time to make a  solid final training push, but when I stop and think about it, it's really not nearly as much as it sounds......most people taper (that is, gradually slow their training down over a 2 week period, some over 3), which means I've got 4-5 weeks of training left before the curtain raises on this little ultra-adventure........my gut instinct is to push hard and scrape together every little bit of extra capacity I can.....there's no doubt I'm going to need it.  The problem, most experts would agree, is that this is where being "self-coached" can be a disadvantage.  Am I pushing too hard?  Am I just being oversensitive?  Maybe I'm wimping out..... Maybe I'm not....when we know the athlete and their tendencies as well as their training schedule, it's easier to look objectively......but when the athlete IS the coach, there is no true objectivity....and this can be tricky.

And so, I continue to battle (minor, but there) some symptoms at my R hamstring complex; and after my century ride last weekend, my L knee (quad tendon) is stirring, enough so that on Friday it actually slowed me down about 30 seconds per mile during the last 2 miles of the 8 mile brick I was doing......nothing a little ice and stretch didn't resolve......but at some level I'm wondering if I've inadvertently "poked the bear", since this is almost a week later and it's stirring.

Training Week in Review:

Got 3 swims in, 3 runs in, 2 rides and 2 light stretch/strength sessions.  This is a little lower on the bike than I would have liked, but it was time to bring my run mileage into line with the swim and bike endurance, as well as get back some of the lost swim focus from last week, so the bike minutes dwindled a little. 

The swims felt fine, a little off-form when I got in for session 1 since the previous week was "light".....but it came back quick enough.  By Saturday's long set, things were fine.

The 2 bike sessions were short, but intense.  I did a functional threshold set on Monday which is "all about the burn" and then Friday got outdoors and was reminded how hilly North/West Hunterdon really is.

The runs better than I expected truthfully (with the exception of the little knee issue above).  My pace is starting to come into line with what I'd hoped and I'm still able to stay largely aerobic which is critical.

The "rest day": took today largely off to head into NYC and watch the 1/2 marathon in central park.  A bit brisk in the early AM, but always cool to see how fast the really fast can propel their bodies.  Even cooler was seeing my youngest brother set a new PR at that distance.  Hard work paying off.

Nutrition

Probably not my best quality week here, but I got the big picture right. Keeping the protein content a little higher seems to be yielding the desired result (my weight seems to have stabilized around the 160 mark, which is about 5lbs over race weight and is about perfect for the time being), but I feel like I'm doing more trolling than sitting down to well planned meals.  Need to concentrate here.

Mindset

In general, I'm feeling on-track and so training has not been a source of great stress right now.  This is FINE (as there's no shortage of stressors otherwise), however sometimes leads me to over thinking it......part of that thin line.  Fatigue was a little better this week though, so that has been a help.

Week Ahead

Run dominant week.  Need to get up to a 20 miler on the roads and probably need at least an 80 on the bike....long, slow, endurance.  The good news is, this means the other runs and bikes will be pretty short sessions......the bad news is, with good weather comes busier kids......

+/- 1 month of hard training left, it'll be here before I know it.

Clear the freeways, peasants. His highness is coming (Emperor Bob Hudson)

Mike E.

#16: welcome to build phase, a game of (mental) blocks and struggle

First....I feel like given the destruction in Japan, the unrest in the middle east and the struggle all over the world, it's important that I say this.....I realize I'm training for what ultimately amounts to a game.....something that in the grand scheme of things, takes no more than a speck of the endurance that has been and will continue to be exhibited by people all over the world......and so, my thoughts & prayers are with those around the world who are REALLY struggling. And for having the choice to put myself through this struggle, my thanks are with those that work hard to protect the freedoms that allow me to be (what I consider) one of the "lucky ones".....

______________________________________________________

With less than 8 weeks until race day, things are starting to get serious.....I'm moving into "build phase I", which is marked by higher intensity training; up to this point it's basically been about volume and endurance only.  After a couple of weekend-session setbacks, I was about ready for a little kick in the butt to get things where they should be.  Apparently, this resonates to the regular Red-iculous Effort readers b/c "dust yourself off" made it into my top 5 posts (250-ish left to hit the 1000 mark)......not surprisingly the "wasting away diet" still reigns supreme, everyone wants to stop and see that train wreck unfolding, but there's no doubt, success in sport, like most things is about figuring out the game and getting past those mental barriers that seem just out of touch.....and that's a back and forth struggle.

"Consider it a joy when you encounter various trials knowing that testing your faith produces endurance."

This isn't a new concept.....said another way:  

WITHOUT STRUGGLE THERE IS NO GROWTH

For me, 4 or 5 faith-testing, mental barriers have emerged.  Some I knew would be there just waiting for me, others have been more about finding out as I go.  

• The first is pretty obvious to most....a 2.4 mile swim.  Unfortunately, because open water swimming is hard to come by in the Hunterdon area, this will be a block until it's not......when I'm running up the ramp out of the lake, and realize I've done it, I'll be over it completely.  Until then, the closest I can come is to know that I can handle the distance in a controlled environment, and having now proved this to myself x2 with plenty of time to continue to work at it, I feel like I'm on track.  

• The second is one that has been built up in reading the reviews of the race course.  The "Veyo Wall" is a 8-10% grade climb for about 2 miles (the worst part of a 25 mile net climb) on the bike segment. I'm not a bad climber on the bike, but the word on the web is that to do well here you'd have to be part billy-goat, which I don't believe has made it into my bloodline (unconfirmed).  The computrainer has been an immense help here.  Having been over the Veyo Wall once on a few separate occasions tells me I can do it....however on race day, it's a double loop....YUCK!  Sometime in the near future, I have a date with a double-Veyo loop.....not looking forward to it, but a barrier I've got to overcome.  

• The third is feeling "strong" on the run.  Having done a few marathons, I know I can do the distance, which is a plus.  However, neither left me feeling particularly strong (or accomplished).  The first marathon I just had no idea what I was doing and how much strategy actually goes into these endurance sports, and therefore how little the margin of error really is if you have a specific goal.  The second, well, I was the victim of the often talked about "going out too fast" and 15 miles in the wheels started coming off.  I completed in a respectable time, but it wasn't pretty and certainly not the day I was hoping for......and so, I continue to work and learn.  On Friday I took a good step forward, I ran my first "long" run of the season (which in marathon parlance is usually over 18 miles)......and although it wasn't fast by any stretch it was a hilly course with a lot of chances to turn around and implode mentally (2 roads that were underwater from the recent storms forcing 3 extra hills that I hadn't planned for...see the middle of the graphic below)......and I got through it.  Knees were barking by the end, but not in pain.....again a good thing.  

• The fourth big barrier for just about any cyclist is the "century" ride....100 miles of bliss.  Yesterday I got past this one having ridden the first 100 miles of IronMan Florida.  I was surprised how difficult this course was to get into a good rhythm....no real climbs or descents (this is Florida after all), but nearly constant grade changes making it very difficult to get into a smooth gearing.  I was happy to have it done, but happier that I got it done.  There were at least 3 or 4 times that I could have justified stopping (the L knee starting to act up was the most pressing given it's history with overuse injuries) but I was able to play it smart and still get it done. 

• The last barrier that's definitely playing on me a little is the environment.  The desert of southwest UT has a host of unique barriers (cold water is a big possibility, hot dry air is also likely....a strange combo.  Crosswinds are fierce in some spots I'm told, roads that are choppy enough to gobble up tires, proper nutrition/hydration strategies, salt-losses, and on it goes).  This barrier is part of the adventure of this whole thing, since there's no real way to control for every variable, but I'm trying to chip away at the likely potentials......

• I installed the front-end hydration system on my bike, which will take some getting used to (many shots to the "schnoz" during my contact sports years has left my nose fair-at-best for breathing) so sucking fluid out of a straw while trying to keep enough O2 flow to support a heart that's contracting 150-170+ beats per minute is tricky, but I definitely took in more fluid yesterday while on the bike than in previous long sessions b/c it was right under my face.  I've also determined that as of now, powerbars seem to be doable in small bites.  Have never been a big powerbar guy, but they are the Ironman Franchise sponsor, so getting used to what's going to be available on the course has it's benefits.  

• Was NOT happy to hear that my strategy to use a DeSoto T1 Water Rover (the ridiculously well padded and therefore fast & warm wetsuit) was a dud.  World Triathlon Corp apparently put the kibosh on the Water Rover claiming unfair advantage (isn't that the point of renting one?)....so I had to scale it back a step.  

• I did get my race wheel order in.  Went with ZIPP 404 on front and 808 on rear, so that should give me some power savings on race day although, I'm hoping not to get blown all over the course....the deeper the tire, the more subject to crosswinds.

NUTRITION


I made a concerted effort to up my protein intake this week, which seems to have been a good choice.  Don't think I got up to the estimated (135g/day) need, but body seems no worse for the wear even with the back to back "long" sessions (18+ run, 100 bike), so this is a good sign that things are alright.  Weight also seems to have stabilized a little, still within striking distance of race day goal, but not falling like a stone.  Whew!


And on it goes......




May you live to be a hundred, and me a hundred minus a day, so I'll never know good people like you have passed away. Peace, love, truth and soul.  (Frankie Crocker)


Mike E.

#15: Dust yourself off and get back in the saddle

I set out this week to do a little bit of a redeem.  If you read last week's post, you know that the big Saturday that was to be, well, wasn't.  Bit of an "electrolyte induced mechanical failure" (yes, I sweat my bike computer to death) followed by a "digestion impaired gastrointestinal failure".  No making it sound anything but awful, it was a horrible cap to an otherwise good training week.  



13 hours of hard training later, I think I'm about 85-90% back on the track.  Here's what went right:  

• 
  
• The bike computer wasn't all the way dead.  Hooray!  It came back to life on Monday and seems no worse for the wear.  This is huge b/c it was about a $400 part and I couldn't live with spending that much.  
• Had a couple of solid swims.  Still not fast by any stretch of the imagination, but was able to get some good work done and even got in an endurance session of about the full distance (75 laps in the pool is pretty boring....but feels good when it's done).
• Did some research on finding a suitable training course for the marathon.  It's hilly.....really hilly.  Every review of the race says people go in talking bike, go out talking run.....and since I'm getting close to the first build phase of my training (this is when it goes from pure endurance to a more strength/power approach), it's time to start strengthening up the legs.  The hills in Hunterdon are more than suitable from the sheer grade, in some cases they're too steep, however they're not long enough....so I'm in the midst of finding the "right" type of climb and about 30 miles later, my legs felt pretty strong.....even after doing 60 on the bike.

Here's what went wrong:

• Along with the bike computer issue last week, I managed to screw up my bike tire b/c I was cinching too tight on the trainer (press-on force).  Went with my back-up and found out that I'm still a bit too aggressive.  When I calibrated it turns out the rolling drag was more than double what I was shooting for.  This basically means I was working harder every push and pedal stroke.  The funny part is that right from the beginning I kept thinking to myself how hard it felt.....for 2 hours and 30 minutes it went on this way....I just kept rolling in my head all of the possibilities:  maybe I went too hard this week?  were my legs just "dead"?  did not warming up correctly really have THAT much of a difference?  Was eating (probably too much) pizza the night before hit me this hard? etc.  So I pushed way too hard and that limited my ability to go the full 6 hours I was hoping (got 4 in).....but at least it wasn't something more serious.....even though this feels like an excuse.
• Still having trouble getting in the kind of training volume I'd like.  13 hours is good and probably enough to finish the race, but my training plan calls for 17-20 at this point.  Finding the time is really hard to come up with.  I would've ended at 16-ish if everything went just right yesterday.....so it's not so terrible, but I really can't imagine where another 4 hours would go to bring it up to 20.

Report from the gut:

Nutrition went much better this week.  I'm pretty lean at this point and it's about time I do another food recall to see where I'm really at from an intake standpoint.  I'm a little concerned I'm not getting enough protein.....some calculations have a suggested 135 grams per day......and I doubt I'm getting that.  I continue to get the comments from loved ones about how skinny I'm looking and I even noticed my face is starting to look a little more narrow than I've seen in a while....not emaciated wrestler cutting weight look, but certainly no round cheeks.  This may not be entirely a good thing......they say the water was crazy-cold at last year's IM St George so some extra insulation might not be a bad thing.

On Saturday, decided to eliminate the peanut butter sandwiches......to cut back on the fat and bulk so as not to replay the gut-wrenching run.  So it was powerbars and bananas most of the way.  Seems to have worked.....nothing significant to report except I probably will have to start stationing water on my running route somewhere.  It was 60 degrees outside and felt SOOOO good not to have to carry a watter bottle and to only be in shorts and a wick-tee.....I could've gone longer if I had some hydration along the way.

Recovery:

Took today COMPLETELY off.  It was a hard week of training from an intensity standpoint, and my body needed it. AND IT FELT GOOD.  About the most physical thing I did today was to type this out. AND IT FELT GOOD.

Equipment:

Put in my wetsuit rental reservation for the race - really liked the 2 piece DeSoto T1 that I used last year, but I've heard they're going to be illegal after 2013 (too much padding) which guarantees I won't buy one.....BUT since it's not 2013 and these can be rented.....I'm all for it.

Also bought some additional gear for my bike so I can carry enough hydration and other necessary stuff.  Since the weather is almost ready to break, and I can't wait to get on actual roads, got to be ready.

This leaves me really only one other race-specific item to rent/buy....some really fast wheels.....and since they are insanely expensive.....it's rental all the way.  The trouble is, the more "aero" the wheel (which generally means the more depth is has), the more the crosswinds, which are pretty rough I'm told, will push you around.  I'm leaning toward a Zipp 404 on the front and an 808 on the back......but I'm going to see if I can get some advice on this.

Next week:

Calendar says I'm on a recovery week......which would be a good thing.  But I still have some work to do so I'm going with a partial recovery week......need to focus on the bike and run this week and just maintain the swim form for a week.  Will emphasize volume over intensity b/c the week after next starts "build".  I'll also have to find a way to get a bike time trial done.

The bottom line so far?  There is A LOT to think about to do this right.  I think just about anyone could go out with the goal of completing....but when taking to the next level of living up to you're own potential and doing something truly extraordinary, there are a lot of things that have to go right and just like everything else, it's a game of fine details.

I feel like I'm working through them and I'll get there.....I'm not in crunch mode yet, but with only 8 weeks until race day, it'll be here before I know it.

This is not goodbye, this is just goodnight (Alan Freed)

Mike E.