#124 Headwinds and hills - it's about how old you FEEL right?

It's been a long 2 weeks.  So long in fact, I actually aged (at least) a year, but, as @jbagspt cleverly pointed out on my Facebook page, I didn't actually get any older (in triathlete years).  It's sort of a double-edged sword - on the one hand, after some point (maybe 21?) no one really wants to get older any more do they?  But on the other hand.....aging up in triathlon years has (theoretical) advantages. At some point (although looking at some of the finish times, not exactly sure when) people start slowing down and the qualifying times start getting slightly more realistic.....so, as long as I can figure out a way to get older AND faster, I'm set.

Of course, in the grand scheme it doesn't change anything.....the goal is still the goal....qualify.....ridiculous as it might seem, I'll just need to figure it out....and the last two weeks have been another step in the right direction; in addition a birthday, the weather seems to have finally broken....and I WAS ABLE TO RIDE OUTDOORS.  I'm not sure I can emphasize enough how exciting and awesome that news is....from acutal scenery changes to having enough breeze to allow the "cool wick" material to actually live up to its name, the ability to ride outside for the first time is like an amazingly fulfilling exhale.....until you hit the first hill....which for me is within minutes of the first "clip-in".  And then it's more like a series of inhales and exhales.....none of which seem fulfilling enough for the job....and that's without the wind.

The GREAT (sort of hilly) Outdoors

Last weekend

Truthfully, I knew to expect it....every year, despite how well conditioned the trainer can get me over the winter months, there is nothing quite like riding outdoors.....and the 2014 maiden-voyage last weekend did not disappoint. As noted in the pic, it was some climbing, followed by a steep descent, followed by a generally flat section followed by 3 reasonably steep interval-climbs.  The good news was, the trainer has indeed helped my base conditioning, I'm definitely ahead of where I was this time last year when I wasn't taking the training nearly as seriously.....the bad news is - hills will continue to slap me around for another few weeks until I acclimate - it is what it is.

Once you get a little taste

MidWeek

This Weekend

And once you get a taste....it's easy to get a little greedy.  Happily, I found a way to get another couple of outdoor rides in this week: a 40-ish midweek, and a longer (65+) ride today as part of a longer bike-run brick session.....worthy of note is the pronounced "Clinton, NJ pattern" - uphill in just about any direction at the start - sort of a "welcome back" gesture from the roads....And to add a little salt to that wound, today's ride had the added, uh, benefit (?) of a nice headwind for much of it.  Having not been outside in a while, I honestly wasn't sure how strong it was......it felt like I was working hard, but I kept wondering if I was just out of shape....entirely possible.  I wondered this only until I did a flat section in the opposite direction.  I never actually seem to "feel" the tailwind, but seeing a near instantaneous speed increase as the workload got easier.  Unfortunately, it was only about 8-10 of the 65 miles.....but I wasn't complaining.

Other stuff.....
I did get some hours on the indoor trainer and some running and swimming in, although admittedly, I gravitated toward the outdoor rides. One important development was that yesterday (Saturday) I did the ever important "hour of power" test - basically a full on blitz on the bike trainer for an hour.  It's pretty miserable, but I was psyched to note that my steady-state power went up by another 14% since the last test 8 or so weeks ago....I'm closing in on my goal (+/- 84%), but having never used this as a training variable, I have no idea when I'll reach my plateau.

Truth be told, the last four-week block has been grueling - of the last 28 days, 25 have been "training days".  Of course, the 3 "totally off" days were AWESOME....but more than that, they were needed.  I'm at about 65% of where I think I can be, and I'm hanging in as far as my training-stress (currently sitting at a -13, which is likely to get a little worse after today's long session, but tolerably above the -30 magic line).  Things are progressing nicely, and besides feeling the fatigue some, I have not complaints so far......but it's still a long upward climb from here.....good thing I'm aging...but not older.

If it were easy, everyone would do it,

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.