#73 A Compounding Interest: Nurture, Cultivate and Grow

I used to think I was born in the wrong era, that it might have been better if I was born in the time when people had to build their homes by hand, or manually plow fields or some other physical beat-down on a daily basis to sop up my energy…..Admittedly, I love the sense of giving everything I've got and then resting fully at the end of a hard day.  It's more like a "shutting down" than a slow relaxing ride into dreamland, but it's feeling of accomplishment. 

For a while, I almost believed that this "energy" was some sort of innate gift (or curse) that was bestowed on me….some type of genetic trait that was passed down…..certainly my maternal grandfather hustled most of his life (and continues today in his own right) and my mom's need to be doing something…..anything in some cases…..is apparent to most people that know her.  Every once in a while, when Lindsay would offer me the "you're just different" (the kinder-gentler version of the "face it, you're crazy") explanation when my frustration at the delays in life, would bubble over I'd actually buy into it a little……but then it started to change.

When I ran my first road race in Philadelphia in 2008 (marathon) and saw the literally thousands of people who committed to the same kind of energy-draining training I had done, and more so, the many racers who had strung years of base-building upon base-building to easily best my relative youth and "energy" that day, I knew it was far more nurture than nature.....they had cultivated energy and grew their success in a painstaking way over time.  

I think missing my goal that day, utter failure (in my own eyes), may well have been the best thing that could have happened to me, because, being a competitive sort, I wanted nothing more than to try again……and I did…….and I failed…..AGAIN 6 weeks later…..and it stung.

Is the most powerful force in the universe consistency? 

It was at that point that I realized that not unlike anything else in life, there was not going to be a quick and easy WAY to do this, and that simply applying my "natural" energy to running was not necessarily going to result in the personal achievement I was after……

• It was going to be more about what I could learn and apply consistently over time; what I would be willing to cultivate and how long I could train hard enough to keep improving but not so hard I'd injure myself; 
• it was going to be about focus and attention to detail coupled with enjoyment of "the pursuit" itself over the long term……
• about the effort itself and about appreciation of the small gains that only happen with steady forward progress.  
• Not unlike the guy who puts a little bit into his retirement plan EVERY week to find it worth millions at the end of his career, I would need to find a compounding strategy for my training.

Achievement in multisport, not unlike business or life, is not always about who can push harder (alone)…..but most often seems to be about the balance of working hard "enough" AND consistently "enough" all while minimizing the expense of fatigue (physical or mental or emotional) to get a compounding effect; and for me, this is much closer to a game of chess than a world's strongest man competition.  

Attempting to think two or three moves ahead and finding ways to be consistent with what's important and letting go what isn't has been great exercise for me……knowing when pushing hard will result in a benefit vs. when it will draw on my energy account and drain me too deeply for my next segment has been a hard thing to learn…….but such a great learning experience; finding a way to let the failures sting only long enough to keep me focused on finding a better plan has been powerful for me;  Getting excited about the little wins and building on them has too…..

This week I've been thinking a lot about how this applies to many of life's fronts which ultimately culminated in a late evening discussion w/Eric over a few glasses of wine the night before he headed north for his second running of the Boston Marathon……in a training season which seemed a little forced for him.  

The conversation was, as they often are, peppered with work-related as well as training-related as well as life-related components……and even though Eric is so focused that he sometimes struggles to take his foot off the accelerator, I was really happy to hear in his voice the sound of someone who was ready to let the day in Beantown unfold and enjoy a race that is soooo wildly popular and soooo difficult to get into by normal standards that it is historical each and every time it's run……and if it takes the reality of an unseasonably hot race day to force this "letting go", I so hope for him that he does…….I'm sure it'll have a compounding effect for him.

A solid week

From a training perspective, this week's was solid for me, with 11.5 hours in so far, and with any luck a short easy run this evening to bring me up to 12 hours which is just about where I wanted to be.

• +/- 70 miles in on the bike, 
• +/- 30 running (after all said/done) 
• +/- 12 using the Ellipti-GO (super cool, no impact, great for recovery, read about Eric's review of it HERE)
• 3x1 hour sessions in the water
• 2 strength & stretch sessions

Also got a chance to test myself on a 50+ mile bike course with a reasonable amount of wind and was excited to check on my data-points and find that even with more climbing than I'll see on Ironman US Championships course I was able to meet my "checkpoint" goal of >20 mph.  Solid progress.

Where from here?

This coming week needs to be a good training effort for me.  My main focus is to get at least 3 swims and 3 solid efforts on the bike (so far weather looks supportive)......even if this means I let the total run miles slip a little, it needs to be a big bike week and consistent swim week....the final step up before a recovery week and only 4 weeks out from the beginning of my racing season.  

Plenty of time to nurture....plenty of room to grow,

Mike E.

#72: Into the wind.....bring it.

Oh what a week.......this was my annual "life hitting you in the face" week.....personally, professionally and from a training perspective....SMACK...."hello, this is life, pay attention.....I'm talking to you".

• maybe this is b/c it was my birthday week.....yep, another year gone by.
• maybe it was b/c I'm training up to a new level of fatigue.....certainly tired
• maybe it was b/c we've been gaining some momentum in some of our projects professionally, but with the little steps forward there's even more to be done.

So to that end, I feel like I've been doing at least as much mental and emotional work as I have physical work this week......and it's been DRAINING......truly though, this is a good thing....sometimes you just have to get whacked hard enough by life to get the message.

OK, your move

From a training perspective, I'm feeling accomplished, but STILL trying to get it all together.

• Wanted to ramp the bike volume back up. Success (120-ish mi and a 60 mi long ride)
• Wanted to keep the run miles up. Success (25-ish mi and a 10 mi tempo run)
• Wanted to get back in the water 3-4x. FAIL...big time (haven't yet gotten in the pool and it being Easter Sunday....not at all sure I will).

It wasn't terrible within the context of all of the other juggling life brought, but I was a little disappointed that I couldn't make the swimming work.

Into the wind

As an endurance athlete, I've come to really dislike wind.  Sure it's nice to have a breeze when it's hot outside.....the gentle type that cools you nicely.....but wind, now that's something different.....like the bully big-brother of breeze.....that powerful wall-like force that hits you in the face and knocks you back a step.....that's the kind I really dislike.  All week it seems that the wind has been whipping.  Misjudged it on Monday and got back home with frozen hands and feet.  Felt it again on Wednesday....but it was tolerable......it was back on Friday night for my tempo run and then the message was slammed home for me about 1/2 way through yesterday's ride:

The planned 60 mile course was uphill for a the first third, then an aggressive descent quickly and along the bank of the Delaware river for the next third and finished moving back uphill and "rolling" all the way home for the final third.  The first third went about as planned.....lots of climbing and some tired legs.  Next section (1/6th if you're a math person) also as planned....beautiful roll along the river moving at about the pace I had hoped for......then as I walked my bike across the footbridge to get back to the Jersey-side of the river another cyclist came up and said "that headwind is something today...." I agreed, but thought to myself that it hadn't been THAT bad.  Oh foreshadowing.....then, as I turned back toward town I got hit by such a hard wind that I laughed out loud and let out (perhaps) a few "you've got to be [expletive]-ing kidding me" sentiments.  So as I slogged through the wind feeling the energy drain from my legs, I thought about what a fitting metaphor it was for me, not just from a training perspective.......keep pushing.....put your head down, have some courage and get through it......it'll pay off later......this is what you signed up for......keep pushing through it......you're not preparing for ordinary.....you're preparing for extraordinary.  

Jam with your toast?

I got back home and my legs were toast.  I had planned on running for about 15 minutes off the bike just to capitalize on "running on tired legs" a skill that is so important to master for triathlon......and they were shot.....I got off the bike and started my short run at a pace that felt fine (minus the pain in my now rather stiff knees)......by the time my watched beeped out the first mile my knees were loosening up (as they usually do) and I was [just] starting to feel a bit better......as I got close enough to see the imaginary finish line (my mailbox) and heard my watch beeped mile 2, I was actually feeling decent and probably could have continued; a truly welcome sign......but I knew I was shot and decided to err on the side of caution......I got home, took a nice LOOONG shower, took in some refuel, sent Lindsay off for her run, played a few minutes of superheros (post-workout promise to the 5 year old) and bought a few items in the 8 year old's bedroom "store" (post-workout promise to #2) found some compression gear for my tired legs and crashed, tired but satisfied with the day, while #1 was at practice.

Just accept it, life is difficult

And as dawn found its way into the room and the 5 year old badgered us to wake, I walked downstairs and found the coffee.  I sat down and remembered that even though I am a year older and life just keeps getting faster; and even though regardless of who you are, there NEVER seems to be a shortage of headwind.....every little thing would indeed be alright if I keep putting the effort in.  

As I watched my three little birds (this makes more sense if you know the song) run around searching for baskets and eggs this AM and only 30 minutes later had to choke back a tear or two as my 10 year old came down ready for Easter Sunday Mass looking more grown up than I was ready for, I realized that life's headwind is really only starting.....even if I'm not a huge fan and even though I rarely miss it when it's not around.....without it, the gentle breeze that comes now and again would never be so sweet.

And so....after a week of reflection and hard work I am reminded of one of my favorite paragraphs of all times:

"Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult - once we truly understand and accept it - then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters."  - M. Scott Peck

Into the wind,

Mike E.

#69: Go with instinct on this one....Saddle-up partner

With a heel still not ready to cooperate 100%, but some weather that was, the goal for this week was begin to build some endurance on the bike using the 40-ish mile brick last Sunday as a springboard.  However, having had 7 days of training in a row, I needed to work in some recovery as well to avoid ramping up too fast.  


TRAINING HIGHLIGHTS


Monday - ride: I decided to push it a bit through Monday mostly because I had the time and the weather was going to work.  I got a solid swim session in and was able to get another 37+ ride in on a hilly course but at a relatively easy pace.  I felt good about this, but if there was any question about needing recovery going-in, there was no question remaining.....I needed it.  


Tuesday - off: was a planned off day......ahhh......planned off days are the best.  Sort of hard to follow-through with this time b/c the weather was really nice again.....but I knew my legs needed the break and so I took the day completely off.  


Wednesday - off? Had a bit of a hiccup on Wed b/c with busy family schedules, that became a day off as well.....not great b/c I likely need the the training time, but I pledged to make up for it the remaining week and hit the weekend hard and my body was happy to have some extra sleep time.


Thursday - Hilly Run: Having recently moved, Lindsay and I are having to recalibrate our standard running routes some, which is a good thing b/c it keeps it interesting "I found a new X miler" or "If you go out to Y and back it's almost exactly * miles"......yes, this is the kind of nerdy conversation that we share......he says as he hangs his head in acceptance of the realization of what he has become.  :)


ANYWAY....I decided on Thursday it was time to test the heel a little and build up the mileage on the run.  The previous week I had done 2 x 4-ish miles and felt pretty good and the heel was responding nicely, so figured it was time to go for a little slow and steady.   So I figured I'd go out and get some miles in and find a 10-12 mile route.  It turned out to be mostly out and back with a climb at the mid-point.....if that looks like something less than fun....it was indeed.


I went out really easy, and the heel was cranky as expected.  I figured it would loosen up around mile 2, it did, sort of and I kept moving easy reminding myself that slow was the trade off for miles today b/c the heel couldn't really handle long and intense. Somewhere around mile 2 the route started doing the up 2, down 1 thing which can be a beating.  It kept this up until roughly the turn (mile 5.5) and then it started the up 1 down 2 on the way back.  A little 1 mile climb back home and 11 miles of smackdown in the books.  Retrospectively, this may not have been the best choice, heel and knees were chatty by the end.....but I was happy to have the miles and the hill work in....


Friday Swim & Strength: The heel needed a break and I had a big bike planned for Saturday so it was to the pool and a follow-up stretch & strengthen session @BC31.  Both were solid sessions and the stretching and core work felt really good on my legs.  I always leave a stretch session telling myself I need more of those.....even PTs need to stretch more!


Saturday - 2 loops
Saturday was to be the "big" day and the plan was to complete 2 x 22 mile loops.  Part of the reason for the loops is to work on the skill of staying mentally focused.  Most triathlon race courses are 2 loop courses (at least) and I find that there is real potential for me to have somewhat of a let-down on the second loop, so this year I'm going in with that as a skill on my "to improve" list.  The second reason for the 2 loops is that I was picking up a co-rider (thank Eric) for the second loop.  It's a nice break to have another person along with you.....it's a double edged sword of course......on one side, there will not be a person along w/me on raceday.....so, like the uplift of an iPod on the run, I can't get used to it; on the other hand, it's a great distractor from the discomfort and lets me push a little bit more as I now have some fresh legs to gauge myself against.  Well, the 2x22mi loops actually turned out to be 1x24 and 1x28....so a bit longer than I had originally planned, but it's always a good benchmark to get over the fifty mile mark.  Due to the less than stellar road surfaces in some sections of my area I decided to alter the route and opt for chipseal over potholes big enough to swallow me up.


Editorial Comment - OK, they're downright dreadful in places which really pisses me off when I consider the amount of taxes we pay in NJ....not to mention the nearly non-existant shoulder and drivers who will NOT share the road.....not exactly a super inviting environment for those looking to ditch their petroleum addiction....or their body fat for that matter.....BUT....I digress


I was saying?  Oh yeah, so after some route modifications, 44 miles became 52 and that nixed the time I had aside to make it a brick.....kid #2 soccer game after all.  It was probably better, my legs were pretty fried......and I was feeling pretty good about it (until of course I saw Lance Armstrong's tweet that he did 120 in Hawaii.....can you say #knocked_down_a_peg ?....ok, that was lame twitter humor)


Sunday - Swim and shakeout run?


And so, I made it to Sunday and the goal was to get in a longer swim and a shorter run.....after doing a little "Julie and Kristen spotting" by watching a little bit of the NYRR NYC 1/2 Marathon on TV.  Another amazing race by NYRR btw......they do a great job.  Not to mention these 2 speedsters.....amazing! 


When I got to the pool I was quickly turned around.....swim meet until 1230P.  Bummer....suppose I should have checked before I went.....another thing to think about....so I got back and put in an easy 4 miles.  The heel felt pretty good and I diligently iced afterward.  1/2 hour later I was back out the door for the swim, which was to be +/- 2500 meters of endurance swimming (up/down the ladder 250, 500, 1000, 500, 250).  Felt pretty good and my pace was reasonable which left me just enough time to get back grab the kids and head to practice......


After dinner, bath, teeth and stories, I sit here finishing my blog for the week.


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STATS


Time: 10.25 hours of training this week, 5 in the saddle, which isn't bad, although taking Wed off unexpectedly hurt some as I was hoping to be closer to 15 than 10 hours in total; but they were challenging sessions, more intense than I had figured on, so it was a solid effort.


Distance: 106 miles, nearly 90 on the bike, which needs to come up some.  I figure I'm at week 3 w/the heel issue, so as much as 9 more weeks to contend with this.  Not my favorite thought, but the more realistic I am the better.


Energy: I'm tired, but not beat.  This is a good thing.


Focus: Feeling good here.  Over the initial hump and starting to get more in tune.  Good weather certainly helps here.


Pain: The heel is manageable.....but it's not where I want it obviously.  My hips are tight and my knees are a little cranky....but this is about what I expect at this point.


Nutrition:  Starting to lean out.....and for good reason.....I burned an estimated 8,200 calories this week in training.....so I need to be careful here.  I want to slowly bring myself down to race weight....but not crash and burn.  Likely need to increase the dietary protein.


Hydration: Fair here.......been a focal point and it helps, although I'm not getting enough in during actual training.  I was pretty dry after the riding miles.


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WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?  


This coming week is going to be more of the same.....

• keep ramping up the volume in all 3 areas without over doing it.  
• Be careful not to over-do and beat myself up too much
• Be ready to hit testing hard in the last week of the month

A little sore, but back in the saddle nonetheless,

Mike E.

#58: It's the most wonderful time of the year....back to base-ics.

This guy obviously stole my sweater!

OK, Christmas time is pretty spectacular for most folks, it brings the kid out in many, generosity out in most and (hopefully) a spirit of optimism and renewal in all.....but this time, I was referring to something a little more blog-specific......when it comes to my Red-iculous effort, this too is the most wonderful time of the year.  


Over the last week, I've come down from the post-race high of last week's marathon PR and although it's been a sprint to the 2011 finish professionally, it's been all about regrouping, strategizing and planning out the next phase of training on the endurance racing front; which if done well will result in another solid jump forward toward my primary goal of an age-group qualified spot at Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.  






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"Give the laziest person the hardest job.....and he'll find the easiest way to do it"

OK, this may be a bit much.

One of my favorite quotes....and often in my professional work (physical therapist & prevention consultant) I find much truth in it.   I am often faced with the engineering aspect of preventing injury and illness (Ergonomics, i.e. maximizing human and system performance through user-centered system design) but I think this may be why I find myself so drawn to Triathlon.....because there are so many aspects that require tinkering with the system (positioning, design, aerodynamics, fueling, etc) to maximize efficiency.....so many little details, especially in ultra-distance (given the amount of time the system has to run) that can drastically change the outcome.


It was about one year ago that I started writing this blog to document my progress with that singular (albeit lofty) goal in mind.....A goal to do something truly extraordinary.....by definition something that very few people will contemplate, even fewer will aspire to and fewer yet will complete......in our local endurance-racing language, the Red-iculous; and despite a very ordinary biological "platform" to build on, here I am behind the computer with a year of experience under my belt having made a solid step in the right direction (from middle of the pack to generally top-quartile), but not "there" (top 1%) yet.


Going back to the well......


This has been about science and art for me....not just blind-follow of any one training plan or method, but about learning and applying the process and finding what works (science) and what I can make work for me (art).  To that end, I've been thinking a lot about the "keys to success" so far, that will absolutely find prominence in my training efforts in 2012.....my own little "good-list" so to speak.  First up?


COMPUTRAINER, COMPUTRAINER, COMPUTRAINER!


Being a total geek, I did my research and the computrainer by RacerMate Inc kept popping up.  

This thing pretty much rocks!

• The idea of a console that gave me power specific data was enticing.....as this seemed to be the common language of cycling.
• The ability to pick from a library of other courses to ride was super-cool as it would keep me from getting bored training indoors.
• To think I could save my performances and compare later appealed to the deepest layers of my inner-geek as I tracked my progress.
• The interactive video was a really cool feature.....the ability to virtually ride the race course would be a huge advantage for St. George (and it was both physically and mentally)

But the thing that really put me over the top.......since this was about learning the process and building a racing machine from the ground up.....was the idea of real-time biofeedback that gave pedal-stroke efficiency information.....what computrainer calls "SpinScan".

Having had more than a decade of professional experience in the realms of "motor-learning" i.e. teaching brains & bodies to learn and relearn proper movement patterns, I knew that learning to do it the "right way" and getting thousands of reps to ultimately imprint my nervous system with those correct patterns was by far the best chance I had to quickly learn how to be a decent cyclist (technically), which would be far more important at the ultra-distance than being power-masher in the short term.  I always had relatively powerful legs, but ultra-distance as far as I could tell, was more about what what you "didn't lose" over the course of the event than what you had at the starting line.  Truly a game of system efficiency.

Getting a little caught up on the price tag I wasn't sure I could swing it and began to doubt even what I knew was right.....could this thing really be THAT good?  Sure it came with plenty of rock-star endorsements and a long track record for the pros, but what about for the everyman....would it really make that much of a difference for me?  


I settled on a toe-in-the-water approach and picked a used one up on eBay.....and, looking back a year later.....it was hands-down the best training investment I've made to date.  Wow, pretty big claim for a guy that bought a new bike, rented racing wheels, got some "aero" gear, continues to experiment with the right nutrition strategy, etc right?  

Onward!

Here's my logic....in 2010 I did my very first triathlon, the NJ State Oly.  For a guy with ZERO cycling experience (beyond experience as a  kid with a bike growing up).  Left to my own training methods and what I could quickly learn, I was able to bike somewhere near the top 1/3rd of finishers on that day.  Not terrible, for a first-timer, I thought, but I definitely couldn't be satisfied (given my goals).  


After a winter of sweating it out to movies, music and a host of other media while compu-training a few times a week which generally entailed a long session (often the IM St. Geo real-course vid), one threshold-power session and one spin-scan/cadence session I returned to NJ State Oly and was able to:

• increase my average speed by 12%, 
• lower my finish time by 14% 
• lower my cycling placement amongst finishers by 24% 
• ride in the top 12% that day

It actually got so much work that I nearly sweat-it to death at one point (short circuited it, but the resilient little unit bounce back.....whew!).  It made such a difference in my performance that as our contingent of triathletes and cyclists (whether coming in for therapy or joining our PACER endurance team) increases, I've been lobbying hard for the purchase of a few more units.  Not sure we have the numbers to swing it quite yet, but there is no doubt, if I can make a similar jump this winter as I did last......I'll be MUCH closer to the end-goal.

So yesterday, I pulled the trainer out and in the next few weeks after my couple of weeks recovery.....it's time to add another base-layer......and the craziest part?  From a guy who loves being outdoors.....I'm really looking forward to getting back in the saddle.

Not sure if I'll carve out the time to blog next Sunday (do bloggers take holidays?) but either way......even though it hasn't been Red-iculous yet, it's been a great ride so far and I can't wait to see what the next 58 episodes bring!  Thank you for being with me on this part of my journey.

Merry Christmas to you and your family,

Mike E.

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Did I already share this one?  Be careful, it gets under your skin?