Tag: training (Page 2 of 7)

How To Set Yourself Up For a Bad Run – Really Bad

September 16, 2013 / Scott / 0 Comments

I had a bad long run yesterday–one of those really bad ones that only seem to happen two or three times a year. If you’ve never had one, consider yourself lucky.

Bad runs are a lot like those really good runs you get every now and then, only different. The difference is that everything that makes your good run so great doesn’t happen in a bad run. You probably could have figured that out on your own, but I felt the need to drive the point home.

Because I spent much of the rest of the day trying to stay off my feet and doing nothing, I had time to reflect and figure out what happened. From what I can tell, these re the most important elements in creating a really bad run for yourself–useful if you want to be prepared for every situation on race day.

Eat like crap the night before. I’ve been eating so good for so long that my body is now sensitive to what used to be normal food for me. We went out on Saturday night and, being the hogs we are, encouraged each other to eat stuff we wouldn’t feed the kids since they weren’t there. “Don’t need dessert–I’ll fill up on bread, thanks. On second thought..bring the bread pudding.”
Don’t sleep enough. This one is tricky. Sometimes six hours is enough to squeak by on, but in this case it wasn’t. A key indicator is that I wanted to go to bed a couple of hours earlier than I did, but it wasn’t in the cards.
Start tired. Not sleepy tired, but tired-tired. I did a bike ride the day before…not a super tough ride, although there was a on-the-edge-of-LT 40k time trial in there. The problem is that I did it in the afternoon and not the morning, so I only had 12 hours to recover. This ride also contributed to the feeding choices at dinner, since we left right after the ride to eat.
Get smashed the night before. Didn’t do this one, but I thought I’d throw it in there because it’s a sure-fire way to mess up your run.
Leave the house 30 minutes late. Yeah, I felt like dookie for most of the run, but the heat wasn’t doing many any favors at all at the finish. Replacing those last 30 minutes with some relatively cool weather at the beginning of the run would have helped.

One of my neighbors was finishing up his bike ride as I was finishing and was nice enough to give me what was left in one of his water bottles. He made the comment, “You look like you’re cooked. It feels so hot out here, but it’s only 87.” Right. 87 isn’t nearly as bad with a 20 mph wind in your face and some sweat evaporation taking place. I’d have pushed him off that bike if he hadn’t just given me water.

Gaming Triathlon Training

September 11, 2013 / Scott / 0 Comments

There’s nothing like having another competitive person push, pull, and drag you to the next level of performance.

I’m a big fan of playing games during training when I’m coaching sports like rugby and baseball. Games are a great way to avoid monotony during training sessions–drills are boring and standing in line to do drills is even more boring. Games also keep the intensity of a training session higher because, unlike a drill, you can actually compete and win. Games also help create an artificial pressure.

I’m not sure why I never even tried to come up with anything for Triathlon training. Maybe it’s because I only have myself to worry about, and the monotony doesn’t bother me very much…dunno. But it’s not quite as easy to dream up endurance training games as it is in ball-related sports.

But I came up with a couple anyway–both depend on a partner.

Swimming

Neighbor Ben and I were talking last week about how much benefit we’ve gotten from swimming open water only. It’s way more exciting that swimming in a pool, even if the danger is mostly perceived, and there’s so much more to deal with–sighting, chop, currents, no walls, etc. Then last week, he T-boned me during our swim and had a head-on collision with another lady. We were laughing about it the other night, but then realized we may be onto something.

What if we went out and played Open Water Tag? It would work something like this…

Both players swim out to the middle of a body of water as a warmup–say 500m or so. Player One then goes under water and holds his breath for 30 seconds. While this is happening, Player 2 swims away in any direction. At the end of the 30 seconds, Player 1 comes up and finds (sighting–key skill) Player 2 and sprints (key skill) towards him to “tag” him. Player 2 can swim anywhere he wants to avoid the tag, changing direction (key skill) at any time. However, Player 2 has to swim head-up (strength/sighting) the entire time he’s being chased.

Running

This is another tag-type game–Interval Tag. After warming up, both players do something somewhat strenuous to take a little mustard out of both–something like 20 burpees. Player 1 then runs away on a pre-determined course while Player 2 rests for 30-45 seconds. Of course, Player 1 will be going at a jog after the burpees.

After his rest, Player 2 chases down player 1 and tags him as soon as he can. Once the tag has been made Player 1 (the original chaser) continues along the course. Remember, he just did an interval, so this will most likely be a recovery jog. At the same time, he’s going to want to put as much distance as he can between himself and Player 2.

Meanwhile, Player 2 (who was just tagged) stops to do some type of exercise like pushups/squats/plank. He should be pretty well rested at this point, but he’ll also have some urgency to finish the assigned exercises and get on with the next chase.

Cycling

If you want to play a cycling game, that’s easy. Sign up for Trainerroad. It’s downright addictive in the way it gets into your head and drives you to match the prescribed power output.

One and Done with Galloway

August 26, 2013 / Scott / 0 Comments

I met up with the MOL team yesterday for a long run. We ran Galloway-style with four minutes of running and one minute of walking, and it was great to get out with those fine people and enjoy a ~~crisp~~ ~~cool~~ Florida morning by the water. This was the first time I’d ever tried the run/walk method, and yesterday’s run was not about pace or distance. All I wanted out of it was time on the feet in Zone 2.

Like Johnny Paycheck said, “We was having us one of them real good times.”

But I did get to reflect a little on the experience after a nap, and here’s what I came away with:

Scheduled and timed walks remove the single thing I love most about running, and I will never ever (never say that) do it again on purpose.

Before I get started, I’m not going to bash the Galloway running method.

Well, actually I am, but not across the board. I think Jeff Galloway deserves a ton of credit for coming up with a manageable plan to complete distance events–one that has actually worked for countless people. What other method has empowered so many people who thought they’d never do a 13.1 or a 26.2 to go out and achieve it?

But, just like every other training method, this one isn’t for everyone. And I suppose I’m one of those people it doesn’t really work for. I’ll go a step further…if you told me that the only way I could train for and complete my next race was by the Galloway method, I think I’d choose watching TV and getting fat instead. Well, actually I’d just keep training and never do another race. I like to train more than race anyway.

Even if you could guarantee me a PR, I still wouldn’t opt for run/walk.

What’s to dislike? For me, it’s the seemingly constant interruption of what you’re doing to do something else. I could see where this is a plus if you don’t really like running. It’s a great mental trick to think, “I only have to run for 4 minutes, then I get to walk again.”

But I actually like running. I don’t want to stop. In fact, my favorite thing about running is running myself drunk. I like running far enough that my mind wanders onto all kinds of other things and it feels like my body is taking steps on auto-pilot–separated completely from what my mind is doing. There’s no way to achieve this kind of groove if you’re constantly having to stop because your watch says so.

Again–just my experience. Your mileage may vary.

And if this method works for you, by all means, keep it up!

Racing Is Just Like Getting Drunk

August 23, 2013 / Scott / 0 Comments

I was talking to Neighbor Ben last night about racing. And racing. And racing. He’d just finished a run, and I’d just finished a bike ride, and there was only one beer each involved in this conversation. One of the themes that kept rising to the surface is that some people like to train more than they like to race, and other people like to race more than they like to train.

Neighbor Ben likes to race.

I know this because he said, “I like to race.”

I like to train.

I know this because I train a lot, and I hardly ever race.

I know there are lots of factors involved, even if I can’t exactly put my finger on all of them. I won’t lie–one big factor is that racing, especially triathlon racing, is expensive. A local race we were talking about doing last night is $100. This is for a no-frills Olympic distance race. Hard to justify that when a new low-end pair of bike shoes cost the same amount, but I still haven’t forked over money for them, even though I probably should have done that a couple of years ago.

Racing is also more time consuming. As soon as your training day becomes a race day you are committed to showing up early to set up your transition area and sticking around for results. That means either dragging the family along or spending time away from them. And that’s just if you’re racing locally. Racing can also involve travel.

Yet another reason I try to avoid racing for the most part is a character flaw I have. I seem to always find a way to rationalize taking way too much time off after a race. That’s not good.

But mostly, I just enjoy the training more in general. Maybe it’s just my personality makeup. I’ve always liked practice. I was the same way with rugby. I don’t think I’d go so far as to say I liked practice more than games there, but I really did enjoy going to practice. With triathlon, I think I’m in it for the training and lifestyle more than the racing.

For me, racing is like getting drunk. It’s fun and all, but not something I want to do more than a few times a year (if that).

So in the case of our proposed Olympic distance race. It’s tempting, mostly because of the peer pressure being exerted by I-Love-To-Race-Neighbor-Ben, but it doesn’t sound nearly as interesting to me as swimming across the Indian River just for fun.

I know some people line things up as “A” races, “B” races, “C” races…whatever. That’s great if it works for them, but I don’t think it works for me. I may not enjoy racing as much as I enjoy training, but when I am racing, I’m racing. I can’t imagine a situation where I slap down money to enter a race and then “just train through it.”

Diff’rent strokes for diff’rent folks I guess. But it’s good for me to think long and hard about who I am before throwing down entry fees in $100 increments.

[image credit]

Daily Reading List — August 15th

August 15, 2013 / Scott / 0 Comments

Should Non-Celiac Endurance Athletes Go Gluten-Free? – I'm realizing that diet is the hardest piece of the endurance puzzle to figure out. Race-time nutrition isn't the concern for me as much as every day living.

Solved? Not Exactly. – "Welcome to the next level. Now run like Hell."

Macca’s Musings: The Soul Of Triathlon – A great read. How cool would it be to look up and see Macca racking his bike next to yours? I wonder if he made the podium. 🙂

The 25-Hour Work Week, And Other Radical Ideas For Better Employee Productivity | Fast Company | Business + Innovation – Not saying this would work for everyone, but it works for me. Start with two assumptions: 1) I'm a responsible adult who can effectively manage my time to get the work done 2) I take pride in my work and actually want to do a good job. The result is someone who feels valued and that they can make a difference where they are. People like that don't go looking for some other place to be.

On Training Plans and Coaches

August 15, 2013 / Scott / 0 Comments

I’m getting ready to gear up for another heavy period of training, and I’ve got plans coming out my ears. The interesting thing is that I’m going to be going from a relatively short (Olympic distance) triathlon to a marathon about 10 weeks later. How do you plan for that? I really liked training on feel for the spring, and I’ve let that carry over into the summer.

What I like most about training on feel is the feedback loop that doesn’t exist in a training plan. When I’m tired, I rest. When I know I have more, I give it. Scheduled plans don’t account for this, and it can get you (or at least me) all out of whack.

Or course, the logical solution is a coach. But that’s pricey…doesn’t fit into my budget.

I’ve noticed something about the way people choose coaches that’s seems a little strange to me. I see a lot of posts containing comments about the great results their coaches have posted–not for their clients, but for themselves. I’m sure a fast athlete has a ton of insight and knowledge that can help the average age-grouper improve, but I think I’d choose a coach based on the results they’ve achieved for their clients.

Daily Reading List — August 6th

August 6, 2013 / Scott / 0 Comments

Monotasking Is The New Multitasking – In other words, turn off email and Twitter and only check them on a schedule.

The Case for Replacing Family Dinners with Family Breakfasts – We do both. Plus lunch too on lots of days. Then there's the afternoon communal green smoothie. Studies would predict that my kids will all win Nobel prizes. Me…not so sure about that. 🙂

How To Tap Into Fat For Your Fuel – Working the program, taking a lot of trust. I bought a case of Gu a couple of weeks ago and haven't touched it yet.

Working From Home? Boss May Be Peeking Over Your Shoulder – Shoutout to @simplysql. 🙂

Now I’m Afraid of Trainerroad

August 1, 2013 / Scott / 0 Comments

If you’ve been following along, and my sources indicate you probably haven’t been, I started the Trainerroad program a few weeks ago as a sign of my commitment to making big gains on the bike this year.

The first order of business on the Trainerroad program is to take an FTP test. I did that, and I scored 252 watts the first time around. That’s decent power, but for a guy my size, not all that impressive. I was coming into the program with a pretty dang good aerobic base, but I’d definitely let my cycling fall off.

I won’t lie–those few extra pounds I was carrying also hindered my bike speed a little. My FTP/kg was at about 2.8.

After following their six week base building program (with a little vacation built in), I took the test again on Tuesday, hoping my dedication to the schedule would give me an FTP of at least 270, maybe even 280.

Well, the number I actually rode missed that mark by quite a bit. I ended up with a new FTP of 305.

305

305!

That’s an increase of 21%. And with a concurrent drop in weight, that puts my FTP/kg at 3.5. That’s an increase of 25%!!!!

I’m not sure how that would factor in time wise, but I’m guessing that means a 40k time trial improvement of a few minutes. Minutes…not seconds. Minutes! I haven’t ridden on the road since starting the program, and honestly, I’m not too keen to get out there for a while because I’m getting unbelievable results on the trainer.

But I’m jumping right into the middle of a 40k time trial program as my cycling training for an Olympic distance race at the end of September. I’ll be flowing straight to a marathon training plan from there, so there’s going to be a focus on the run as well, at least in volume. I think after some big swims this summer I’m ok putting that on auto-pilot for a while. That doesn’t mean no swimming, but I’m not looking for gains.

But here’s the problem…

With that nice, shiny new (and big) FTP, these Trainerroad rides are going to be VERY challenging over the next few weeks. I’m pretty sure that means I’m going to be finishing a little earlier than usual on race day.

Never Again. After This Time.

July 25, 2013 / Scott / 0 Comments

Looks like a ton of people took my advice and registered for the Space Coast Marathon/Half this year because both races are completely full–nice to get some affirmation that this blog has so much influence! 😉

I’m registered and running the full in support of Miles of Love, which is my favorite local charity. Seriously thinking of trying something new this year. Considering running with no watch and no HRM. I’ll just run on feel and I’ll get what I get time wise. The only thing giving me pause is a nutrition plan, but I can probably base that on mileage instead of time. There’s no way to avoid knowing how deep into the race you are on such a well-marked course.

Testing this out at Battle of the Bridges Triathlon in September. I should be able to manage 2.5 hours of racing without electronic feedback. I don’t ever know where I am time/HR wish in the swim anyway. And I’m doing a lot of biking in the 1-1.5 hour range, so I should be used to doing that on feel too. For the run, I’ll just have to let it all go when I feel like I can do so and still hang on.

This is all part of the giant scheme of “untraining” I”ve been experimenting with. I don’t do anything according to schedules other than following what Trainerroad says to do when I decide to bike.

I swim when I feel like I should. That means not much.

I run when I feel like I should, for as much as I feel like I should).

I bike when I feel like I should.

I do intervals when I feel like I should, probably not often enough.

Most importantly, I rest when I feel like I should.

Volume for everything is up in general. I think I’m a volume guy in general, and I think training plans hold me back. The important thing is that I’m having fun…my chances of setting world records are diminishing.

Of course, this will once again be my last marathon. Unless I have a horrible race and don’t PR…then I’ll consider it again.

Daily Reading List — July 24th

July 24, 2013 / Scott / 0 Comments

Five Ways To A Faster Run Split – Got my best 70.3 run split doing a lot of this stuff. One of the things I changed was the way I do intervals–just go hard for as long as you can, as many times as you can. I've found I'll push myself much farther than if it was prescribed, and I'll do more reps too.

Will Fuelling Less Boost Your Fitness? – This is my "thing" this year. We'll see…

Man swims 5 hours to save his family – Studly.

People With a Lot of Self-Control Are Happier – Pretty intuitive to me. It's not about denying yourself, it's about avoiding the guilt and the regret that inevitably come from making impulse decisions.

My First Five Weeks On The Trainerroad

July 18, 2013 / Scott / 0 Comments

I started the Trainerroad program a while back, and I’ve written a couple of posts about it already. I loved it from the get-go, for no other reason than it was a real jolt to my time on the bike. I knew in the back of my mind I hadn’t been pushing like I should on the bike during my last training ramp-up, but I didn’t know how to push the right way to keep focused on my Zone 2 goals while continuing to improve. The result was a pretty weak bike leg in my last race. Granted, I was making a conscious effort to hold back, but I would have liked to been able to go faster while doing so.

I missed a couple of weeks on the trainer due to a vacation, but I’m back on that horse again. That little break gave me some perspective, and I can now tell that the Trainerroad program is making me much stronger!

I’m only doing the Intermediate base build program right now, but I’ve gone from struggling to survive the rides to having a lot of juice in the tank for the last intervals of a ride.

TrainerRoad_Carillon

I have a week and half to go until my next FTP Test, but I’m shooting for a pretty big improvement, hopefully making a jump from 252 up to somewhere around 280. That’s about 11% gain.

To top it off, while my power output is going up, my weight is steadily going down. I’m crediting eating habits here, but I’m down 5 pounds in the last month, and if I can hit that 280 FTP and just maintain 193 pounds, I’ll be just over 3.1 FTP/kg.

3.1 is a completely arbitrary magic number I’ve set for myself that seems to be the measure of a “pretty decent weekend warrior”. I’ve never set the goal of trying to be the best cyclist in Brevard or anything like that, but I’m very interested in being a faster triathlete. The weight loss should nicely impact my run as well.

Trainerroad Two Week Update

June 17, 2013 / Scott / 1 Comment

I’ve been using Trainerroad for two weeks now, so I thought I’d provide an update.

I tell you one thang, Hoss, I tell you one dern thing. And you can write this down…

I fully expect this program to vastly improve my speed/power/endurance/efficiency, but if it doesn’t I’ll at least come out of it mentally tough.

I’m talking about plum mad-dog mean.

At the end of the first week, I did my weekend ride outdoors and a conversational pace. This wasn’t in any way based on the Trainerroad program.

For the second week, I did a 1.5 hour longish ride (Eclipse) on Saturday, and I came out of it feeling like I could chew through leather. If fact, there was so much teeth gritting going on, if I’d leather in my mouth I probably would have chewed through it. There were three 20 minute intervals in the “sweet spot”, which is ~90-100%% of FTP, or the absolute max effort you should be able to maintain for an hour.

Still no puking, but I have a feeling it’s going to happen eventually. The 3×20 minute ride was especially tough because I was barely hanging on at the end of the 2nd interval, and it was scary knowing there was another one coming.

The mid-week rides have not been nearly as tough…yet. The intensity is about the same, but the intervals so far have been shorter.

Next month, I’ll be adding heart rate data and The Sufferfest to the mix. I’m a little scared.

Taper Continuum

May 24, 2013 / Scott / 0 Comments

In a training funk.

Lots of people say this happens to them after races, and the best thing to do is to put another race out there.

I’ve done that, and I’m 19 weeks away. Plenty of time to train and improve, especially give then base I currently have. I actually don’t think it’s completing a race that does this to me. I think it’s the taper and recovery weeks.

I usually get a mid-schedule slump, which I resolved by simply not having a schedule. But I think the post-race slump for me comes from the loss of momentum during taper and recovery.

I have to get my mo back.

Daily Reading List — May 13th

May 13, 2013 / Scott / 0 Comments

Mental fatigue impairs physical performance in humans – One of the things I've learned from triathlon training. Stress is stress. Traveling makes you tired too…maybe not as tired in the exact same way as a long run, but your body takes the stress regardless. It can't be discounted.

IronMan SwimSmart Initiative – Some great ideas here. Good to see they are coming up with some different ways to keep people safe and comfortable. The rolling start is a cool idea.

Customize the Sharepoint Access Denied Page – People stop reading as soon as they see "Error"

Whataburger spicy ketchup and mustard soon to hit supermarkets – "Whataburger"? Oh…they're talking about "Water-burger".

Swim Start Training

April 12, 2013 / Scott / 0 Comments

I was the last one in the pool last night and thought about dumping all the kickboards, pull bouys, and whatever that other junk is in the basket next to the pool into my lane and do 200-300 through it with my eyes closed.

Didn’t want to have to clean all that stuff up though.

305!

Gettin’ After It!