Ernesto's group - CLOSED (Page 23)

So, how's everybody's training going? Are you feeling the weight of the increasing heat? not for you, Mark  you're probably the only one enjoying mild conditions right now, maybe Jen too.

Today, I ran pushing my baby stroller with Veronica in it (my two year old). I had so much fun! it's been a while since I didn't take the time to enjoy nature... As a reminder, know that progress is hard to measure in the summer months because the heat takes a lot of the effort and uses it to keep the body cool (read born to run and sweat). Do not pursue pace goals desperately because it will only lead to frustration. The time to get fast is the winter, the time to put long efforts and teach the body how to go long is NOW.

Mark, this could be a great opportunity for you to start putting speed into your sessions and shorten them. If you want some template workouts I'll be happy to share. Remember, LESS IS MORE.

Conditions early in the am are awesome however the temp may read 68 degrees but in the California sun in feels like 90+.  However low humidity from what I'm used to..  I'm a Carolina Girl and the Summers are brutal so this is awesome.  The breeze off the water always keeps the temp great but can give you a tough headwind.  That being said... I'm still not running.  I didn't realize how swollen my toes were until the swelling can down yesterday! I've been walking fine.  I have also reflected on my race on the 12th.  I will try to but a run in tomorrow... maybe 3 miles.  Scott is even questioning that....  I will see how it goes throughout the week and if all is good I will try to run 10miles on Friday....  My goal was under 2 hours but I am going to forget about that for now.  I still want to do this race but I will look for a 10 to 10:15 pace to complete it...If I can do it at all.  

Jen 

Took yesterday off.  Wasn't feeling well.  The day before I put my new Xterra full sleeve wetsuit on and swam around a little.  Very buoyant.  Water still pretty cold. (I live on a lake and was putting in my dock and lift with hip waders on, but there was a cable I need to unhook which required reaching way under the water and you can't do that with hip waders or you will die.  So I put on my wetsuit for that.)  Today I just swam 2500 yards at the pool.   First hot day of the year.  Thunderstorms this morning (thus the indoor swim).  Will bike this afternoon in 85 degree heat with high humidity since yesterday was a bike day that I skipped.  I'll see if I wilt. 

Totally agree with you Ernesto, it's incredible how the heat can wear you down so quickly.  For my recent 1/2M which was really hot and humid, I prepared myself better by training (suffering) in hot/humid conditions beforehand, which made a big difference the day of the race. The same was not the case for my first Oly Tri a month ago where I was not prepared for the heat and it really took a toll on me.  Are there any particular things one could do to prepare better for events during extreme heat (e.g. special hydration/fuel supplements, etc)?

In terms of training, I'm bummed out to have just learned today that they are moving-in the date of my first 1/2 IM distance triathlon by two weeks from Aug 28 to Aug 13 (only in Guatemala ), which increases the pressure on my training.

Separately, I went on trip to El Salvador this weekend and ended up running on a treadmill at the hotel.  I was surprised to see that I was able to easily control my HR using my same Garmin 305 and footpod on the treadmill vs. my outdoor runs.  I assume that it makes a difference running outdoors with hills and some added stress from having to watch out for cars, dogs, etc.  

Ran a 10K today with old college buddies. It was hot for Chicago (75 degrees & 80% humidity at race time) especially since two days ago it was in the upper 40's. I wanted to do sub 1 hr. but I knew it was not to be with the conditions. I finished in 1:03:13 (a 3 minute PR). Back to my regular training schedule now.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/89125296

The famous "heat aclimation" is nothing but your body creating higher levels of plasma making your blood thinner so it can reach capillaries better and work as a coolant. To help the body achieve this condition faster get in the sauna for periods of 15 minutes (never longer) and re-hydrate immediately after. By re-hydrating I mean drink water AND electrolytes. Water alone will lead to hyponatremia which could even take you to death in extreme cases.

One way to know you've aclimated is a change in the perspiration, instead of being salty and stinky, it becomes like oily water with no odor or very little.

While working out, get a fuelbelt and set a timer in your Garmin (or do it every mile like I do or every half if you're a heavy sweater) and sip some sports drink such as Gatorade or Perform. If you go for water get saltstick pills or endurolytes.

Do not feel overwhelmed by your 1/2 being moved 2 weeks before, the critical weeks before a half are the last ten or twelve and we're still within the schedule. BTW, did you download the EN podcasts about long course training?

About the treadmill, HR is more controllable because of the steadiness of the speed on the treadmill, the flatness of it and the fact that yhe "ground" is moving for you instead of you putting it behind. It is less of an effort but treadmill workouts can be made really fun and challenging. I can send you or anyone in the group some interval stuff for the treadmill that will leave you asking for mercy. Keep up the good work!

Very good workout, congrats on your PR. Great way to finish off with two fast miles at the end, that is what you should do in a run. Get used to the heat slowly, now that you're back in your regular schedule. 

Yes, it's getting 'cold' here , that means 10 C at night and 20 something C during the day... It' s all relative. I would like to get some templates from you Ernesto, but so far I have no concrete plans for the rest of the year and 2012 other than a local marathon in July next year. My neighbour is doing IM Western Australia in Busselton and I'm waiting for his story, I might consider it in the future. A bit more speed would be great...

Mark,

You’re right, it’s not really cold. What I mean is the “off” season. While many triathletes vegetate and decidedly shut off their training, some smarter athletes use the colder weather to get fast. I’m not saying you are not to take time off, you need it both mentally and physically if you want to stay in the sport for a lifetime and not “burnout”.

It is good to take a week or two off at your leisure, but during the off season, short workouts are a great way to build speed and get VERY high return on time invested.

Sessions shouldn’t last longer than one hour on the bike and 45 minutes for running, however, intensity has to be manipulated dramatically.

Bike sessions:

-          Warm up fifteen minutes at 95RPM low gear, two mile intervals by two mile recoveries for thirty five minutes and ten minutes of warm down at 95RPM low gear. When you do the interval, go “ALL OUT”.

-         Find a steep hill 300 to 500M long, warm up on a flat surface for fifteen minutes, then go up the hill and descend coasting, repeat for 35 minutes, warm down for 10. When you go up the hill make an effort to go hard up it.

-         Another one is neuromuscular training, find a flat stretch and do 2’30” @95RPM, 1’30”@100RPM, 1’@105RPM, 1’30”@100RPM and rest for a minute at an easy gear. Repeat three times (total thirty minutes). On this one, it is not about speed but it’s all about high turnover. On the second half of the workout, go 65RPM (hard gear) and feel the muscle tension, go for five minutes, rest for a minute and repeat five times (total thirty minutes). This last one is actually pretty good for the trainer too.

Run sessions:

-         Find a track, warm up for a mile very easy, go hard for a half lap (200M) and easy for another half lap. It is very important that your HR comes down significantly for the easy part, even if you have to walk. Repeat six times and then run an easy mile to warm down.

-         Warm up fifteen minutes and take off “all out” for 20 seconds, recover for forty seconds and repeat 6 to 8 times, then warm down for 15 minutes.

-         Warm up for fifteen, do 8X1’ repeats hard with 1’ recoveries and then warm down for ten minutes.

This should be a good start, let me hear some feedback from you later. It is very important that you back off from the long stuff for a while if you want to get fast. The human body is great at adaptation and from what I see, you’ve been putting a lot of very long easy runs and rides for many months so your body got very efficient at doing exactly that. Now we’ll focus on speed, not length and when the season starts again we’ll put the volume back in but you’ll stay fast.

Ernesto:

Thanks for the words of encouragement.  I ran this morning (4 miles easy) and did the best job I've done in a long time keeping my HR in zone 2.  I focused on really maintaining a 9:00/mile pace and not pushing. 

I will say that what a lot of us in the midwest are dealing with now is the sudden onset of heat and humidity.  You southerners would laugh at us fretting about 90 degrees and humid - but a week ago it was still 50 degrees when you ran in the early morning.  Today all of a sudden it was 72 degrees when I ran and 85% humidity.  Man I hate running in the heat.  It definitely takes time to acclimate to.

After Sunday's half marathon I have to figure out the rest of my season.  A friend is trying to convince me to run the Battle of Waterloo triathlon in mid August.  It's a weird tri in that it alternates between running, swimming and biking multiple times and you have to carry your running shoes with you while you swim & bike.  He has also asked me to serve as a pacer in his first 50 miler in September (which I have committed to do).  I'm definitely doing the Detroit Half marathon (Oct.) and Turkey Trot 10K (Nov).  The question mark is whether I do the Las Vegas full marathon in Dec.  I have to get spousal approval but its a night marathon on the strip - sounds cool!

Once the above is set I need to establish a training plan.  I am thinking swim two days a week, bike 2 days, and I would realy love to do the BarryP running plan from that other tri site.  Its a run program designed to increase volume - a sample week would be (in miles) 6 runs consisting of 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 3.  The runs are in a ratio of 1:2:3.  If you run 20 miles per week you sould divide 20 by 10 and do 6 runs of 2, 4, 2, 4, 2, 6.  You then can increase mileage weekly by 5-10% per week.  It seems like a neat way to run more frequently and increase base volume.  I would look to run through the month of June all at easy pace and no greater than zone 2 HR.  Starting in mid-July I would hope to add some speed to a couple of the weekly runs.  I was thinking of lining up biking on 2 of the short mileage days.  I haven't quite figured out when and how to layer in the swimming.  Maybe a weekly schedule as follows:

• Mon - Rest
• Tues - Bike, run (short)
• Wed - Swim, run (med)
• Thurs - run (short)
• Fri - Swim, run (med)
• Sat - Bike, run (short)
• Sun - run (long)

 Ideally I think I should get to a third day of swimming (it is my limiter).  My issues are that there is a group ride on Tues I want to start doing and a group ride or the opportunity to ride on Saturday mornings.  I do not want to swim or bike on Sunday with the long run that day.  And, from past history I always skip lots of monday workouts if I try to schedule them.  I could drop one of the short runs (Tues or Sat) and replace it with a swim? 

I am open to any thoughts and/or suggestions.  Thanks!

Wentt for a short slow run this morning.  Wanted to see how my feet felt.  Honestly they felt great!!!!  I was happy that the change in shoes made such a difference, but also glad I took the time off to heal. I still did have an ache in my right arch but it feels like it's just real tight.  My calves felt tight but I did hike a little yesterday.  All and All I feel ready to prepare the best I can for my 1/2marathon.

 Ernesto..  with having a week out what do you think I should do to best prepare myself for the time that's left... The race is on the 12th.  My goal is completing the race and no longer focusing on the 2 hr mark.

Love the heat bring it!! Florida boy here the more humid the better got my 3.1 under 26 min (i know not great but great for me ) Still first mile slow off the bike then get better every mile. Water nice and warm just out swim the sharks!!

anyone done the grandcanyon rim to rim run. Headed there in 3 weeks thinking hard about this ! understand its a little over 40 miles . More concerned with the dry conditions (florida boy here love the humid air)  and the altitude change??? love some advice

Ernesto,

If you get a chance, could you please recommend what I should do training wise between now and the Metroplex?  I plan to do the bike intervals tonight and lots of swimming practice over the next few days.

I would wait until the fall to start adding run volume, too early for that right now. About the schedule, long bike and brick on Saturday and long run on Sunday will put you in misery on Monday (I know this one first hand). You'll be better off spacing them.

The third swim idea is great, mostly if this is your weak link. During the summer race! it's the right time to do it, but stick to short(er) races such as Sprints.

Graduation is tomorrow night.  Last day of work is Friday.  I plan to swim Fri night.  By speed, I'm assuming you mean intervals, right?   I'd like to try that getting faster on the couch in front of a good book trick too :-)

It seems a lot of Ironman competitors are in this little sprint race.  I'm glad I'm only competing against me otherwise I could get really psyched out!