TH3_FRB's (Joel) Group - FULL! (Page 4)

Hey Adam-

You can't really look at your LTHR (or how it changes) and say anything about fitness.  By itself it is just a number.  It becomes more meaningful if you have your HR at VO2max for reference.  Think of LTHR as your current max steady state HR...the highest intensity you can maintain for a significant amount of time.  VO2max is a measure of your potential or upper ceiling based on your body's ability to transport and utilize oxygen.  Knowing how close your LTHR is to your HR and VO2max tells us how much of your potential you are currently able to take advantage of.  Only way to get HR at VO2max is with clinical testing...strapping a mask on and doing a specific progressive intensity test while a computer analyzes your respiratory gas.  This isn't very practice or economical for most people.  So back to your LTHR field test (cheap and simple).  The goal is simply to run faster and/or longer at your max steady state intensity.  So your LTHR didn't change but you were able to go faster at the same HR compared to last time...that's progress!  The other option is that you don't go any faster at a given HR but you are able to maintain a higher HR (increased LTHR) allowing you to be faster at that new max steady state intensity.  All that matters on race day is who can go the fastest for the longest.  They don't give out awards for highest LTHR

Well Feb was a good month. I only had 3 days with zero training which is fantastic. Nice consistent base training. Hopefully I'll be able to repeat in March.

This is my last week of base2 training before heading into a week of recovery and testing.

3 days off out of 28...just be sure you're getting sufficient rest and recovery.  At this point in the season you're probably going most everything easy so it's not that big of a deal.  Remember that we get stronger when we rest, not when we are training.  training damages the body so that it will rebuild stronger.  If you're not providing the building blocks (nutrition) or time (rest/recovery) you won't be getting as much out of your training.

My advice is to be conservative.  Better to take a couple extra days off from running than to push it and end up with a nagging injury for the rest of the season.  Take a week and do some extra swimming and biking to work on your aerobic fitness and give the knee a break from the impact of running.

Absolutely! My week and month is periodized and I make sure that I have enough light days and sufficient sleep to let my body rebuild. If have a particularly tough BT workout I gauge how I'm feeling the next day and adjust my intensity accordingly. Some days are simply active recovery days or if I'm really really tired, I take the day off completely. In my current base phase, there's nothing too intense so I'm generally feeling fully recovered within 12-24 hours. Anyway, next week is recovery week so I'm taking Monday off completely and the rest of the week is a mix of active recovery with testing in each of the disciplines.

I'm really glad that I decided to build by own plan this year (based on concepts within TTB and Going Long, etc.) because I'm learning so much. I'm not always making the best decisions but I'm learning from those as well. Good stuff!

If it doesn't hurt when you're walking I'd probably try a couple of minutes of brisk walking and see how that goes. If it feels okay, I'd take it up to a light jog. If that felt okay after a couple of minutes I'd pick up the pace. Do make sure that you're listening to your body though and stop at the first sign of pain. Like Joel said, it's better to be off for a while then to risk serious injury and be off for a LONG time.

Well, think of it in a more extreme case...alternating run/walk.  The run/walk method has been used by tons of people to finish road races.  What you're talking about is really just a modification of that were you alternate running faster and slower.  While I think it may help you get through some rough spots in a race, it will usually be faster and more efficient to run a steady pace.  What pace were you trying to run and what did you end up with?

Hey Everyone-

I realize that the 2008 mentor threads are starting up but I wanted to drop in here an apologize.  I feel like I dropped the ball a bit with you all this season.  I had all good intentions back when this started and I really enjoy helping people out, that what got me started in coaching, but we didn't get really far with this group and that's partially my fault for not showing up and checking in on a regular basis.  I've got no good excuse...just got wrapped up with coaching, IM training, and the rest of life. 

Hopefully everyone had a successful, and more importantly FUN, season.  Do yourself a favor and take some time to recharge physically and mentally and enjoy the holidays with family and friends.  We invest a lot of time into our training and racing and it wouldn't be possible without the support we have from the other people in our lives.  Give them back some of that time and show them how much you appreciate the support and understanding through the season.  And don't be afraid to loosen the belt a little and take in all the good stuff the holidays have to offer.  I'm not suggesting becoming a complete glutton but it's okay to fall off the clean eating wagon here and there...eat the rum cake, drink the eggnog, a few beers with friends, wings and chili cheese fries (one of my personal favorites) on a Sunday watching the football game.  I've put on a good 6-8lbs since my season ended back in early Nov and I'm fine with that