#113 - the 12 phases of ultra-endurance psychology

I'm hoping for leg warmers this year

 Most every athlete knows that training goes in phases, or "periods" if you want to tip the cap to the eastern-block origins of "periodization" in sport.....and where on the professional side we typically refer to these with a thick layer of jargon, I like to keep myself grounded with a bit of a normalized translation.  Since the training cycle is, well, cyclical (duh) you can start from any "phase" and work around.....but since for me, our story always starts with fat & happy.....let's start there:

Phase I - the fat and happy phase:  This is everyone's favorite phase - because you get to forget about how hard training really is.  This phase is marked by reminiscing about the last glory....which although is never quite as bad as it seemed at the time, is never quite as good as it feels looking back on it during "Fat & Happy".  This phase is also where nutrition habits tend to suffer (hence the "fat") and the body has a chance to recover and repair from the last story-worthy (albeit often of questionable judgment) adventure.

Phase II - the enlightenment: This is probably the worst phase (in my opinion) because it's when you realize what fat and happy have collectively done.....you realize that the decline in exercise has caught up with you (circumferentially speaking).....and it's usually when "happy" decides to try being a solo-act and leaves.  This is also a tricky time because now "fat" needs a new partner.....and usually the first to come to audition is "slightly-depressed".  However if you can avoid that wise-ass, you can usually expect "wishy-washy" to stop by, followed by "it's time to get serious" followed by "alright, I'm ready" followed by "let's get organized" and finally followed by "let's get physical".

Phase III - the pain of change phase: If you can finally get "fat" to hook-up with "let's get physical" then your on your way......although still, shall we say, not in tip-top form......but that's OK, because that's what phase III is all about.....paying the price (usually in the currency of pain and soreness) to open the windows, let the stale-air out and the light in.  You of course know those are good things and it feels good to get moving again....when you're moving that is.  It also feels tight, sore and reluctant to move when you're not....but after a few weeks, you might even start to notice some improvement as "let's get physical" starts to call the shots.  You're not there yet.....I mean "fat" is still hanging around, but he seems to be more focused now.

Phase IV - the "get busy living or get busy dying" phase: This is the phase of reckoning for "fat", where "let's get physical" decides to confront the situation.  It's not always an easy confrontation, but it always happens.....see "fat" has a definite job.....and you need what it brings to the table.....but you realize now that it has to be on your terms if happy is ever going to rejoin the group.  The best part of this phase is that all of the "let's get physical" has helped you to hone your willpower and with a little effort, usually fat (the sloppy house guest) can now become fat the incredibly important source of energy.

Phase V - the "gentleman we can rebuild him" phase: Phase V is the first "promised land" phase....because now you're believing in you again.  You're beginning to see the fruits of your labor and your training has become part of your routine.  The goal of course is for this to be the longest phase, because this is where improvement really happens.  The big risk here though is that life does indeed get in the way......and it's so easy to never quite get to the Phase V shoreline (or to be blown back into the ocean by a stiff wind).  You can see the lighthouse beacon right in front of you, but the current just seems to be insurmountable. So many weekend-warriors get stuck in this no-man-land..... If however you can get safely to shore, which of course is marked by training consistency more than anything, you will have good stories to tell when you're back at Fat & Happy.  If not, you run the risk of taking a wrong turn and winding up in "fat and miserable".  KEEP OUT!

Phase VI - the "kicking ass and taking names" phase: this is the second "promised land" phase....and it's even better than the first.  Not many get here, but when you have even once, you always want to get back.  You're breaking new ground, surprising even yourself, and realizing how shortsighted the limits you previously set for yourself really were.  The unfortunate part of this phase is that it can be very very short.  Savor it.

Phase VII - the "warrior" phase: this phase is marked by some anxiety and some fear....but ultimately it's a moment to shine.  You've done the training, you haven't seen fat & happy in a while.....but you're now steely & focused.  It's a game of mental focus now.... Hopefully by now you've done plenty of prep-tests and you know what to expect....the question is can you find that sweetspot between focused and relaxed.

Phase VIII - the "doubter" phase: at some point, usually when you're past the point of no return, you wonder if you can actually do this.  You talk (sometimes out loud) to yourself and conclude you can.  You squash the doubter and move on.

Phase IX - the "high": usually shortly after you cross the finish line of the big-race and realize you're going to be OK, you settle into the glory of it.  Months have gone into the making of this moment......and although it never ever turns out exactly like planned, you know you laid it out there....that you committed and pulled through....and it feels good.

Phase X - the "low": soon enough after the high comes the low.  It's marked by I "should-a" and I "could-a" and there's plenty of inventory taking of the other phases.  If your team is strong, they pull you out of this quickly.

Phase XI - the R-cubed phase (Rehab, Rest, Recover): You've pushed yourself, hopefully not to an injury, but maybe closer than you should have......and it's time to get whole again....not only physically, but with your relationships and the world around you.  You spend time.....because you can and you have it......and it feels good.  The training routine is still such a strong habit that sometimes you have to tell yourself it's OK not to train....that taking time off is part of recharging......that getting a little fat & happy is part of the cycle......and that it will take an enormous amount of energy to complete the cycle again....so live it up while you can.

Phase XII - the "what-if" phase: that's right - "do the cycle again" - because even though at every single phase from 5 through 10 you told yourself you wouldn't, you're still in great shape, you just reached many objectives (if not the entire goal) and you start day dreaming.  This is such a fun phase because your dreams never seemed closer and more doable......you start scheming.....while you're fattening up.....it's a happy time.

As for me - I'm late stage 3 - "I mean, fat is still hanging around.....but he's a lot more focused".

Gettin' busy living,

Mike E.

#112: Chill out - Training in the tundra

When it's outside your control, learn to roll w/it

You know the phrase, don't sweat the small stuff? That was my mantra this week in regards to training. Of course, at some level this is at odds with what we're supposed to do when life throws lemons, but you get the idea.  This week, "roll with it" was far more applicable on the training front....so I did my best.

It started on Monday with some brisk temperatures....so I got on the bike trainer as planned. No problem.

On Tuesday winter weather pushed in, so it was a shoveling workout.....not my favorite, but you do what you gotta right?  Oh yeah, and my heart-rate monitor stopped working (now this is not good)....but I'm staying calm.

On Wed, more unseasonably cold weather, but I got a solid workout in on the bike trainer....despite my feet going numb by the time it was over from the garage floor radiating cold....I mean, it is winter right? What do I expect? OK, so it's not winter until the 21st, and last year was the warmest on record....but whatever, I can roll with it.

Thursday, with weather in the low 20s, I figured I'd roll-with-it again.....six mile run with frozen ground and headlamps made for an interesting thaw of my Left (now peg-ish) leg due to frozen toes, but it was still a strong run and I was glad I did it.

Friday, I took the day off.

How to handle predicted snowstorm on Saturday? Not a problem, just get a run in before it gets out of hand: 10 miles of hilly work and some snow to "cool" your face in the final miles.  Nice!

Sunday AM ride? Converted to 2 hours of shoveling.  The coating of ice on top of the snow was a nice way to add some resistance......

So it wasn't exactly what I had planned, but I still got in more frequency (six days) and more volume (15% increase).....not terrible.

If it's all about finding my rhythm right now, I'd call this week a success. If it was all about swim-bike-run, well.....not as good.  The best news is that my fitness is showing some signs of life.  My sessions on the bike are getting stronger and my running isn't as far off as I originally thought it might be.....and my shoveling is really pretty good.....however I'm not sure how that's going to help.

This week it looks like there's only 1 day of predicted winter weather.....and after a few more cold days, the weather could be back toward normal.  If not, I'm thinking about hiring this guy as my new coach.

Keep shufflin',

Mike E.

(photo credit http://www.darrenbraun.com/)

#111 - Testing, Distractions and a welcome-back WHACK

I guess I always imagine it might be more like the prodigal son's return - you know open arms, a welcoming embrace and a small party.....but it's never quite like that.  It's something more akin to a welcoming headbutt or kick to the shins, as if my body is saying "oh great, look who's back.....where the hell have you been - WHACK" - it's a sure-fire way of knowing that I'm at the early part of training.....and not all parties have agreed to come along for the ride.

Pre-training, or "prep" (as some like to call it) is so wonderful and easy going - a few workouts here and there a slow, easy pace, work - but not THAT much.....and so on.  I love that aspect, mostly because it feels like time to yourself with just a little exertion mixed in.  And then there's the early phases of base training, which are not much more than prep really. Still pretty easy going, with the main emphasis of readying the system and organizing life.  Officially, I'm at the later stages of that and, as mentioned last week, the making plans part (getting organized) is done-enough for now.....so this week, was the beginning of actual training.....and with the beginning of any "actual" comes the bitter pill known as "testing".

Testing
The truth is no one really "likes" testing. It's hard.....as it should be if you're going to figure out where you really stand. And so, with enough early base hours in, and formal training right around the corner, it was time to test.....and apropos for this time of year, I chose yesterday's "pie run" as my first test.  The objective of the run is to correctly guess your overall time for a 6 mile loop...closest person wins the pies....not bad, except the course is anything but predictable.  A couple of flat sections, a solid uphill and a big downhill, with a time trial start.  Having no idea where I stood, I underestimated my fitness by more than I should have, but it gave me a solid idea of where I stood.....I pushed hard enough to get a good concept of where my fitness stands, and as usual, it's never as good as it should be nor where I'd like it; but it was decent.

Silence the mind

So although I wasn't super enthused to do so today, I took my sore quads and put them on the bike trainer for a couple hours of blissfulness. I was definitely tired from yesterday's run, but it was good to push my legs some.....but the best thing was that I tried to put some emphasis on the mental endurance portion of training.  Truly, there is nothing more boring than the bike trainer....and in the early going of training about 1 hour is my mental max before my boredom manifests into thinking about all of the things I'd rather be doing....so I figured this week, I'd try to make that one of my training objectives: to work on keeping the mental focus needed.  This is probably one of the most functionally translatable aspects of endurance sports for me. It forces me to calm and focus, a skill that, like most I suppose, isn't supported by the pace of my everyday life.  When one of your best-practiced habits is trying to do to much, simply "being" is not nearly as simple as it sounds.....so something that not only will help my racing, but my everyday.

For starters, I found a few meditation-like exercises that help with focus and figured I'd give them a try while I rode - best of both worlds .  It was not easy....and my mind wandered a lot, but I think there's real value there since racing "within oneself" is so important at the ultra distances.... 

So with >50 miles on the bike and nearly 20 on the run.....training is slowly gearing back up.  My fitness has a way to go and my focus even further, but my routine is starting to take shape.

Steady as she goes,

Mike E.

#110 - Making plans - with 34 weeks to go, it's good crazy.

It's only crazy if....

I love the movie Braveheart - it's one of my favorite movies of all time. Yes, Mel Gibson appears to have largely gone crazy, and yes, that makes me a fan of a (largely) crazy-person.....but it's still a great movie.  When I sat down to reflect on this week, that was what popped into my head....  Not because I relate to the character (or the actor per se), but because at some point, it has to be about action.  And although I'm thankful that I have 34 more weeks - and that my goal is a bit less lofty than achieving independence for a country through gory battles resulting in disembowelment (ouch), it's time to be about action.

Do you remember the scene when they show Wallace running along the hilltops and the unbelievable panoramic views of the landscapes?  At some point I really want to find out where that was and run that path, but I digress.....That scene is called "making plans" (and gathering the clans) and if last week was about putting myself back out there (and crying for your help), then making plans was what this week was all about.  Shortly after I published last week's blog I printed out a calendar to write down the skeleton of a plan and cracked open a few key triathlon resources to reacquaint myself with. After deciding on a basic structure, I started to make plans.

There were a couple of themes that emerged - areas of training that I really need to focus on this go-around: 

1. Racing - although not typically considered a part of training by most folks, this is something I've decided to come to terms with: I just don't race that much and don't have a long history to pull from.  Although I'm now 6 years into my endurance habit, that's a pretty shallow well of experience to pull from, when you consider many folks race for a decade before they attempt ultradistance. If I include all of my races (from local 5K through 140.6), I've only done 26 races, 8 of which were triathlon.  Some athletes will do this many triathlons in a season.....so I'm still a bit of a newbie when it comes to racing. After thinking through how much I learn each time I race, it was clear to me that I can probably shave some time by simply getting more practice at racing itself.  So whereas I'd love to invest more in gear.....I'm thinking I need to just dig a deeper well.  So I'll be building my racing calendar.

2. Power & Pacing - when I compare my relative performances in those 26 races, I tend to do better (relative to the field) the shorter the race - my 5K time is better (compared to my age group for instance) than my 10K, which is better than my OLY-Tri time, which is better than my 1/2 ironman time which is better than my Ironman time.  It's not always the case, but in general the trend holds. I need to try and figure out what variables have the greatest impact here, but this is really important since my goal is in a longer event.  Maybe it says I'm pushing too hard initially and then dropping off faster than I should during the race?  This is very possible.  Maybe it says I'm just more accustom to racing at higher-intensities and/or my anaerobic system is a bit more efficient than my aerobic relative to the field? Maybe it says a lot of things......but one thing's for certain, I've got to get this figured out so I can put the work where it's needed.

3. Consistency is King - this is something I know all too well, but it still is important to train with this goal first and foremost in my mind.... plain and simple, establishing my training rhythm is job 1.  When I get into the habit and build training into every thing I do, I can accumulate enough training hours to get the adaptations I'm looking for.  When I don't have this rhythm, I struggle.  I relearned this lesson this past summer, and 2014 is too important to me to pay the price for goofing off again.  If I stay focused, by the end of December, I should have met this goal.

At least this isn't crazy - Is that Chuck Norris?

4. Strength - There was a time (although it seems like a distant memory at times) when I felt pretty strong, however as I've gotten into endurance-sports, I've let this slip some to build my aerobic base and reserves.  I've been trying to give this a greater emphasis and so far.....well, my body isn't a huge fan.  But soreness fades and the added strength will be an asset - so it's buns of steel for me.


5. Nutrition - This of course never ceases to be important, but it will continue to get more important from here.  I have somewhere between 10 and 15 lbs of body fat to shed by raceday.  It's not terribly urgent right now.  In fact, although I can definitely NOT say accumulating the fat was intentional, some folks advocate for carrying this extra weight during the early training.....sort of like training with a weighted vest I guess.  Either way, I will begin to make some slow changes in my diet - initially a concerted effort on increasing water consumption and a shift to reduce some sugar/carbs.....but nothing drastic - at least until training consistency is met.

 More to come.....but for now - here are the tunes that are stuck in my head, 

Mike E.