#66: So you're going to the ragoo festival? Well, crank it up.....

Ok, if you're an Adam Sandler fan you might know the reference.....no? Well, don't worry, you're probably smarter for not knowing it....it's a pretty dumb skit that (not surprisingly perhaps) I found HILARIOUS the first several times I heard it.....OK, this has just about nothing to do with my blog or my training.......except that this week the objective was to increase the training volume some, and that makes me think of a line in the skit.  Crank it up....


Where was I going with this?  Oh yeah.....training volume......since February is largely over and the "preseason" right along with it, it's time to start increasing my total training time and intensity......so this week was about the transition to that point.....to ramp up from the 7-8 hr per week in training volume to the 12-14 hour per week volume (in pursuit of the peak 20-23 hour/wk at peak training....yikes).  To me, this jump is one of the harder ones, as it translates into 2 hours a day during the week (4 of 5 days) and 4+ on the weekends. This requires better fatigue-avoidance & recovery, better mental focus during the sessions and with the juggling that goes with a busy family, nearly perfect free-time management to find the "extra-extra" hour.

In general, it went pretty well.  I was able to get +/- 9 hours of total training time in and felt pretty decent in doing it.  I was able to get a bike heavy brick on Monday, a run & swim on Tuesday, some strength on Wed., a recovery day on Thursday, a short-burst trail run on Friday AM, a hard bike/run brick on Saturday and a double session (swim & run) today.


Overall, it was pretty uneventful, although I can definitely feel the increase in volume with some cranky knees/ankles/feet.....but nothing more than a little feedback really.  Whereas I was happy with the training time, the missing link was the dedication to recovery and nutrition.  I definitely fell short on caloric intake and the increase in volume will likely mean a little more icing and stretching than base-phase, but I suppose I should expect this.  The next step will be to move it up another few hours and be sure to take the time to recover some.

GRADES


PHYSIOLOGY

Move (Training Variables): A- Swim x2, Bike x 2, Run x 2, Brick x 2, Strength x1


Fuel (Nutrition & Hydration): B- Healthy & Decent, but just not enough to match the volume increase

Recover (Physiologic Stressors): B+ Considering the nearly 70% jump in volume this week, not terrible.....this is where the extra time that doesn't get factored in comes from.....extra recovery time for creaky feet/ankles/knees.


PSYCHOLOGY
Endure (Mindset): A- Sort of surprised actually, kind of thought I'd be scrambling some, but doing a little better at keeping it in perspective.  Need to keep it that way.


Connect: B+ It's funny how as the bar gets raised.....so does our ability to hit it.  It was really a crazy week of juggling, but we pulled it off.  Every time I don't think we can possible get it all juggled.....we do.


METHODOLOGY
Quality of effort: A- Some of the best quality sessions I've had in 2012.  

Scoring Key:
A+ = 5.5 A = 5.3 A- = 5.0
B+ = 4.5 B  = 4.3 B- = 4.0
C+ = 3.5 C = 3.3 C- = 3.0
D+ = 2.5 D = 2.3 D- = 2.0
F+ = 1.5 F = 1.3 F- = 1.0



B+ for the week.....best so far I think....so good stuff.


_____________________


So, if my delayed publishing is any indication of how close to the current max I am.....I'm glad it'll be several weeks before the next jump in volume.  Now to settle in and keep the quality and the focus up.


Moving on.


Mike E.

#65 party poopers and runner's high....a crazy week of triathlon training

Last week I was headed out the door to go get some footage of my swimming caught on tape.  If you've read along, you know that my swimming is a definite limiter.....lots of room to improve.  Part of the reason of course is b/c I never really learned to swim for speed growing up......never participated on a swim team, so it's like learning a new skill.


What I'm finding about swimming though is that it is at least as much skill as it is sport....figuring out the lowest energy cost and most streamlined position means a lot.  Over the last 2 years I've been able to make some steady improvements going from someone who was able to get from point A to point B with a lot of effort to someone who is able to get there with a little less churn, but the real goal is to slice through the water with the lowest possible level of resistance.  The physics seem pretty simple in concept:  the thicker the medium, the more resistance matters; and since water is thicker than air, being "aero" is not only important on the bike.....it is perhaps MORE important in the water.  Different term.....but same concept.


So I walked out the door ready to learn a few things, got to the pool and despite a CRAZY-busy scene including a kid birthday party, lifeguard training, a couple of people doing fitness work and a couple people slowly wading, I was able to get a lane and got in for about a 10 minute warm-up, expecting Chris (camera-man/coach-for-the-day) any minute.....and then it happened.  "Excuse me sir.....you'll need to get out".  Huh?


As it turns out, there was a party pooper.....literally; an auto clear-out for 90 minutes prior to any video.....and that was the end of that, a reschedule needed, but the goal for the week remained:  Test each discipline, start tracking my sessions much closer and start getting ready to move into formal training mode.


TRAINING


Monday - back to the pool for a 1000 m time trial.  This basically means, go as fast as you can for 20 laps (2/3 mile). The bad news is that this still isn't fun.  The good news is, that compared to last year, I've increased my speed by about 17%.  This is satisfying, but I'm not satisfied.  Still a long way to go, but it gets me a big step closer to my goal.


Tuesday - it was onto the bike trainer for an "hour of power" test.  This is truly a miserable test....go has hard as you can (in terms of power) for 60 full minutes.  The idea is to establish your "functional threshold power"....i.e. how many watts can you push for a steady effort.  I've not previously done the test this way, so I'm not entirely sure if I performed well or not.  I'll have to go back and do a 10 mile time-trial on the trainer to be sure.


Wednesday - I managed to squeeze in a +/- 6 miler while one of the kids was at practice. I was pleased with the pace as it was a rolling course with plenty of grade to challenge me and I felt solid throughout.


Thursday -  I took the day off after the 3 tough workouts earlier in the week.


Friday - It was off for another run, this time 8+ miles, this time a hill workout......but the goal was to go out slow and steady....which I did....at least until a good song came on.  


Head-games or Runner's High?  Who cares?

THIS is where I stole this picture

I've largely weaned myself off of the iPod while running (since they're not allowed on the triathlon course), but sometimes on my longer runs I'll take one just to allow myself to be absorbed by the run.  So there I was, finishing up a nice downhill when a really uplifting song came on......and I found myself head-up, smiling and running uphill with a sense of ease....faster than I did downhill.  I don't know why, but the song, combined with the afternoon sun and the very little shoulder with cars whizzing by just worked for me....my legs felt light and great.....like I could run all day.  


I'm sure people driving by (the ones who almost ran me off the road) were wondering what was wrong with me......big ol' smile plastered on my face.....I actually found myself thinking about how funny I must have looked.....that uncontainable energy, like an Irish Setter that was just let off its leash.....call it a runner's high or whatever you want....if I can only find out how to push those buttons at will......it'd come in pretty handy on raceday.


Saturday - was basically a washout, with kid activities all day.


Sunday - it was back to the pool, this time for a set and some footage, which Chris was gracious enough to make a second attempt at, this time after doing a 20 mile run.  Too early to tell how many various form errors we found.....but we tackled one right off the bat.


"Your kick is pretty awful"......ok, he didn't use those words, he's much too polite for that, but it turns out it's a major area for improvement......something to work at for the next few weeks.  After a few attempts, I got closer...and, admittedly, it seemed like moving through the water was more smooth.....cool....can't wait to see it on the tape.

GRADES


PHYSIOLOGY

Move (Training Variables): B Swim test, Bike test, Run x 2


Fuel (Nutrition & Hydration): B+ Best week in a while on both areas

Recover (Physiologic Stressors): B Tired by the end of the week, but good tired.


PSYCHOLOGY
Endure (Mindset): B With the intensity of the testing, comes a few days off......this keeps me hungry....knowing I could be doing more.  It won't be long until I'm back to bigger, longer and more intense sessions....so I'm trying enjoy the relatively short burst training.


Connect: B Some chaos early in the week.....but getting more organized is a good thing.


METHODOLOGY
Quality of effort: B+ Felt good about this.....got my workouts in a training log and am starting to get back in the habit of doing.  Feel like things are starting to get into line for more formal training.

Scoring Key:
A+ = 5.5 A = 5.3 A- = 5.0
B+ = 4.5 B  = 4.3 B- = 4.0
C+ = 3.5 C = 3.3 C- = 3.0
D+ = 2.5 D = 2.3 D- = 2.0
F+ = 1.5 F = 1.3 F- = 1.0



B for the week.....which is pretty good, but still not sure I know what an "A" week looks like....got to get there soon.


_________________________


Next up is to start bringing up the volume......somewhere around 12-15 hours this week if possible would be great. Not sure it's doable, but I need to start getting there.  I'll continue to work the intensity where I can't put in the duration, so at least 1 "long" session for each discipline and then patch in what I can.


Have a great week,


Mike E.

#64 a little gas on the fire to get things going?

Coming off a week of training where I felt like I was a little behind the stress-curve complete with all of the key indicators (a cold), I decided this was a good week to back off the total training volume (i.e. lots of long sessions) which for me is by far the greatest stressor.  


The compromise though was that in order to do so without losing substantial ground, I'd have to give myself a little intensity "pop".....a little gas on the fire, which, assuming the gamble paid off, would give me my first training break-through of the season.


In practical terms this worked out to 7 workouts, down from what would be my goal for the week (11) with a decrease in training time to 6 hours from a standard goal of 10+.  However I think it accomplished the goal.  After a fairly intense training week, I'm surprisingly fresh and feel good about my training results; of course I won't know for sure if it was a break-through week until I can look back on it.....but even though I'm still a little run-down, I'm confident things are generally on track.


Training sessions for the week:


Sunday Swim x 30 min - nothing special, just getting in some meters....still battling fatigue


Monday Run x 6+ mi - started aerobic, slowly increased pace to threshold and then ended with a short push of the pace (+/- 1/2 mile).


Tuesday Bike x 45 min (of which 25 min was hard) + 15 min of anaerobic interval-work (treadmill, weights, etc) work in the gym.


Wednesday Swim x 30 min for recovery and form.  Had hoped to get a second session in here, but just wasn't in the cards.


Thursday Swim x 60 min - solid session, started as an "endurance" set, but then saw a guy (really fast swimmer) who was looking for a training partner as his typical partner was running late.  Bottom line is that we started doing 75m repeats......and by the 12th one I was sucking wind......which was a good break from sucking wake.....great "jelly arm" session though.


Friday Run x 7+ mi - went with feel on this one and was happy with my pace on a hilly course.  Wanted to push hard enough to feel it but not go all out.....mission accomplished.


Saturday:  Brick 1 hour of "hillacious" by spinervals pushing enough power on the trainer to have tired legs and then jumped on the treadmill for 20 minutes at a pace I'd be quite happy with on race-day.


Grades


PHYSIOLOGY

Move (Training Variables, over 2 weeks): B+ 3 swims, 2 bikes, 3 runs, 1 short-strength session


Fuel (Nutrition & Hydration): B Nutrition was solid this week.....even good, however as the intensity went up, the hydration went down.

Recover (Physiologic Stressors): B- Good step in the right direction this week......by cutting back on volume I freed up some time to rest.....and I actually did.  It helped.


PSYCHOLOGY
Endure (Mindset): B+ Feeling more and more focused which is key.  Also continuing to pay attention to the little details of my training sessions trying to wring every drop of quality out of them.....this is rewarding as it feels like I'm getting somewhere each session.


Connect: B Still felt like I was able to stay in tune with those around me.....a good thing.


METHODOLOGY
Quality of effort: B- Quality was good......recorded more than 1/2 of the sessions....but still struggling to sit down and put into my tracker.

Scoring Key:
A+ = 5.5 A = 5.3 A- = 5.0
B+ = 4.5 B  = 4.3 B- = 4.0
C+ = 3.5 C = 3.3 C- = 3.0
D+ = 2.5 D = 2.3 D- = 2.0
F+ = 1.5 F = 1.3 F- = 1.0



B- for the week.....passable, and a solid improvement from last week.  Still in search of that "A" week though.....have to love the challenge.


________________________________


OK, it's off to the pool for me.....squeezing in a video session to help me "see" the (many I'm sure) holes in my stroke.  On one hand, sort of don't want to know, but on the other hand, it's probably the best thing for me if I'm to make steady improvements since going at it blindly has a pretty low ceiling.


I'll let you know how it goes......


Less than 6 months to go.


Mike E.

#63: Without it there can be no growth.....but too much will break you

STRESS.....it's such a huge topic and truly, it's everywhere.  In my professional role as both Physical Therapist and health/prevention consultant, I've lectured on the topic formally on many occasions, whether talking about physical stress to aide recovery or mental stress in the workplace. Informally, I've had an almost innumerable number of discussions that are tied back to it......and in those moments, I almost always find myself reiterating the point that stress is not inherently a bad thing worthy of so much fear......it's really not something to be "avoided"......after all, without it growth & development is largely impossible.  I think it's easiest to think of it as a force (much like mental gravity) that when managed, controlled and directed, can be a very positive thing in our lives.


Sure, most people think of (and therefor get caught up in) the path of unbridled stress......things like post-traumatic stress disorders are not only real, but very difficult and often scary for those working through them.......and, unfortunately, research has shown that you can get to that same level of difficulty with small doses over a long enough period without adequate recovery (i.e. chronic micro-over-stress)......and to that end, stress is clearly not something to be shrugged off......but, very similar to other "natural" forces (electricity for example) it has just as much potential to be helpful if harnessed as it does to be destructive if it doesn't.


From a training perspective, this is such an important lesson....truly the key to mastering the long stretches of training needed for success in endurance racing.  For example, one of the emerging methods for tracking training in sports like IronMan distance multisport is termed the Training Stress Score (TSS) and adds up to a Chronic Training Load.  To simplify the concept: without enough training stress.....you can't/won't achieve your goals.....with too much (i.e. training stress overdose), you blow-up.  


Pretty simple right?  
Conceptually simple, yes, but by the time you add in all of the other stressors in life that compete for the same (often, very limited) available recovery time.....keeping things balanced.....or more accurately, slightly off balance to just the right degree......can be tricky.


Editorial admission: In full disclosure, and perhaps not surprising to anyone who knows me, the stress "balance" has never truly been "equal" for me.....and, candidly, I don't expect or want it to be (I'm a believer that perfect balance means stand-still.....and if you're standing still you're losing ground in most situations)....but it can get too far out of balance....which isn't good either.


Sooo....over the last two weeks, I've had to nudge the scales back the other direction as, evidenced by a post-stressor cold (for a person that rarely gets ill, a cold is a good warning sign), things had tipped to the over-stressed side of the equation a bit too far.  


Sure, this was justified.....Lindsay and I, after 5 months, finally closed on our new house last Friday and over the next roughly 60 hours, worked hard to take it from house to home in time for the kids to sleep in their beds and get to school on time the following Monday......it was not an entirely successful effort (house to home will obviously take a WHILE) but it was functional and by Sunday evening, I crawled into bed exhausted, but relieved, the welcome sensation of stress being lifted.....and by Monday evening.....I had a cold.  CLASSIC response of my overstressed system to this stress let-down.


___________________________


So where do things shake out from a training perspective? 


The last two weeks I've backed down some on the intensity (week 1) and gone to short sessions initially, adding back in some short-intense burst workouts when I felt like I could handle them.....i.e. not allowing myself to go into total shutdown rest mode.....but pulling back on the volume enough to move through recovery quickly and actively.  


Given the unplanned curve in my training plan, I'm not surprised that my "grades" have suffered some.....but by taking things deliberately, I feel like I've put myself in position to be back up to speed quickly.  I had 3 solid training sessions at the end of this week (a pyramid strength workout on the bike, a swim-run brick which I almost never do and a longer bike-run brick with power/tempo bursts during each session).  I'm still not 100%

PHYSIOLOGY

Move (Training Variables, over 2 weeks): C 5 swims, 5 bikes, 2 runs, 1 strength session


Fuel (Nutrition): B Slipped a little, but generally in check

Recover (Physiologic Stressors): C- took a slap across the face to pay attention, but ultimately I listened.....body is sore but responsive, upper respiratory stuff is on the mend and I've managed to steal some extra sleep which is NEVER a bad thing.


PSYCHOLOGY
Endure (Mindset): B+ mentally fine....cagey almost from the sudden decrease in training.....but that'll make me hungry to jump back in when I can.  Also, starting to listen to Macca's audiobook (thanks Chris B).....which of course has me all juiced up.


Connect: B+ Of course added recovery (forced as it may be)....means more time to spend connecting with those that matter.


METHODOLOGY
Quality of effort: B- Sessions were short, but I was focused......the limiter for me is getting them into my tracker....a primary objective for February.



Scoring Key:
A+ = 5.5 A = 5.3 A- = 5.0
B+ = 4.5 B  = 4.3 B- = 4.0
C+ = 3.5 C = 3.3 C- = 3.0
D+ = 2.5 D = 2.3 D- = 2.0
F+ = 1.5 F = 1.3 F- = 1.0



So, I wind up with a C for the week.....passable, and with plenty of time to correct, but a good warning shot that I've paid attention to.


________________________________


Where do I go from here?


The most pressing objective for me is plan refinement and tracking.  To move from just getting sessions with general objectives in to planning out my specific training objectives, tracking the sessions and analyzing if the objectives were met.  This is always tedious at first, but hugely helpful.  I'm going to continue learning about the TSS model as it makes a ton of sense to me.....but for now, it's planning and tracking all the way.


Enjoy the week!


Mike E.