Fast Twitch Tri-FULL (Page 40)

DAVE -

Fabulous pace under conditions (cornering, crowdedness) that I hadn't fully thought through.  For your next task ---- find a tri that is goofy-order, but outdoors.  That's where you might be able to dip under the (HIGHLY COVETED!!!) 6-min/mile pace.  It is very impressive that you ran at 6:18, to be sure.  Mercy!!

KATE and GEORGE -

Kate, George is right about the BT logs here, and it is positively liberating to see what they "allow" as valid workout forms.  I always wondered if in my own paper-and-pencil logs I should really be including the likes of lifting and cross-country skiing and Yoga, and ended up figuring they were vaild, and did  in fact include them.....but it helped my conscience that that the BT logs include them.

I never actually added-on snow-shoveling, although god knows that many of those episodes combine the most demanding aspects of low/slow endurance workouts and ones done at Z3 or Z4 intensity.  Mostly, big shoveling events just gave me "permission" to ease up (or pass by entirely) something in S/B/R later in the day! 

GEORGE -

If you decide to do that indoor tri, be respectful of your knees!  I'm not really plagued by knee problems, but having said that --- I would probably dodge that event seeing that it requires 20 minutes of stair-stuff.  I never feel that I am too far from any number of lurking injuries, and so running stairs would have me worried about several common knee maladies.  Ack!

That sort of thinking really does keep me being a big old baby at times.  You have seen how i respond to trail runners and/or MTB people such as Doug and Johanne and Anne and Trina, and it's all part of my recent-years attitude circling the wagons around my less-than-bionic body in an effort to keep me going and not on the sidelines, injured.  It would be nice to be braver and more adventurous, but.....................

GEORGE again -

About those circling wagons, and bravery..........

Very nasty-cold here this week, which in these latter days makes me bypass running.  Didn't used to be that way, as I would run in just about anything, but as I face an uncertain season ahead and am just returning to running anyhow --- why up the ante on my discomfort?

Bruck, bruck, bruuuuuck!

BEN -

Are you coaching yourself?  if so, you are doing a masterful job of it with your bike training.  My former coach from back when, Erik Cagnina, would probably have described his golas for me pretty much as you described your own current bike plan.  So, in other words --- I think you are doing everything right!  You've got master plans and sub-plans, big- and little-picture aspects, and everything seems to be perfectly designed to increase cycling strength and your ability to handle stresses.  You seem to be well-advanced in this off-season, like two or more months ahead of where most people would be who are eyeing their first races in May or June.  I guess I see your program as pretty much in a Build phase, or at least something quite advanced on Base training.  Anyhow -- outstanding!

How did the higher intensity work go yesterday?

And, when is your first race for '13, anyhow?  What are your hoped-for "A" races?

Finally ----- Did you do that run in the howling winds??  As i just wrote to GEORGE, I used to run in anything; in fact, up to LAST YEAR I ran in just about anything!  But I've ahd this prolonged off-season........and am feeling kind of sluggish..........and cowardly........as i veiw returning fully to action.  Anyhow, i am very envious of your motivation and dedication!!!

AMY -

Back last week you asked a bunch of superb questions about HR and all, and although I haven't exactly studied all the responses, you seem to have gotten some superb ones.  So, I won't try to reinvent the wheel here, but will just add a few very basic thoughts of my own.

• Your resting HR of sub-40 is admirable.........but like Ben, I'm never sure what to amke of resting HR.  I do mine upon waking every morning, and dutifully record it daily ---- but why exactly?  Hmmm.  I think I feel that when mine is low 40s (usually) or high 30s (rarely), that indicates that my heart is just living comfortably at the times when I'm not working it too hard.  I also use it as a confirmation of when i am not feeling well, as it's at those times that it might be 47-51 or so when waking.  If it's at 43 or lower, I'm happy!
• I had testing done in maybe '01 or '02, and that set my zones; I have not re-tested siince then.  That was incredibly valuable to me at the time, and was central to my few years of training with HR.  And then when I stopped using HR (see below) around '04, I used my knowledge of my zones in a year or two of periodic intense treadmill workouts.  These were set for me by my coach..........and there was no earthly way i could've pushed myself to the edges I did had I not had confidence in what my physiological testing said that i could do.
• The problem I ultimately had with HR is that I didn't trust it, to wit:  I too often knew i could work harder/faster than what my HR suggested.  So, i never once raced with my HRM, as that just would've put brakes on my performance.  I am just far more comfortable using RPE, and adjusting "on the fly".  I guess I have far more faith in what i know of my own body than what a machine tells me or suggests to me.
• I also had (have) difficulties elevating my HR, except in extreme situations -- such as those killer treadmill sessions (and suffocating heat), so those questions you have about fitness at lower AT resonate with me!  (No good answer for you, though.)
• Ultimately, in my early days/years of doing this stuff, HR and VO2 were seminal in getting me to certain points in my training; had I to do it all over again, I would include the testing and the couple of years of training periodically-to-frequently with HR.  And I would never counsel anyone into not using HR, as it obvioulsy works brilliantly for many, many superior triathletes. 

Thanks Steve! Yes, I am coaching myself. Taking in everything and learning to put all the pieces together. Every year it's learning more about the "trees", how some of them will work together, and making a better "forest".

I decided not to do the higher intensity work yesterday. Some respiratory thing going on. Don't think it was Saturday's bike, but maybe more an overall workload. I hit all 5 swims last week for near 17,000 yds total, and Sunday night was 4,600 at Masters. I'm working on backing down a little more often than I did last year. So I don't burn out. My respiratory system isn't strong, but I have noticed quite a bit of progress the past few months in being able to push it more often and timing things for that better. Close to being able to hit it all, but not quite there. Last year I would have done the workout and likely had to back down for at least several days instead of 1.

And yes, it basically all could be considered more Base training. I'm still learning how to build into a race better, but it does work to keep doing this and then get in some more race pacing efforts leading into the main events.

I did get through that run ok. Glad there wasn't any ice as I'd have gone backwards. Seriously. Almost blew into the road a few times. Weather is crazy here right now. Had 5F to run in yesterday, it was -4F this morning (swimming inside though). And it'll be ~5F again tonight. We might have snow in a couple days and then 40F in a couple after that.

BEN -

Just writing now to "support" you in backing down when any of the systems don't seem quite right.  That was a very difficult concpet for me to internalize and then consistently actualize, and had I done it many years earlier, I wouldn't've lost near as much training (and some racing) time as i did.  Respiratory matters have never been an issue for me, but just overall skeletal-muscular "shortcomings" have been my undoing.  It's what i refer to when I say that i am hardly bionic, which translates into fairly easily injured.  And that has gotten exacerbated time and time and time again by my refusal to back down, which in turn is compounding by a tendency to return to problematic workouts too soon.  It is a very old story in this gig......but some people are smart and prudent right from the start, and theri the ones who manage their bodies so they maximize training time.  I'm quite good at it now, and have been for about three years........but, jeez, it just took so long to get to this point.  DOH!

Great swim week -- those are some massive numbers you put up!  I read it as swimming 6 out of 7 days, with the masters being the 6th; is that right?  I am nota  strong swimmer at all, but i have found that my performance has improved (albeit incrementally) during the times when I hit the pool uber-frequently.  But that is not easy for me, as the nearest pools are in Ottawa, about 40 minutes away.  I could easily be a pool-rat if I lived closer to a pool, but that isn't possible so i have to make do with 3 times a week, on average.  My OWS site is the same distanxce, but becasue I REALLY love OWS I get there at least 4x a week from late May to early Oct.  And when I can manage it 5 or 6 times.......the performance improves.  (Imagine that!)

Way to HTFU with that windblown run!  i will use you as inspiration and make it out into the bitterness in the next day or two.  I've got decent enough gear, and maybe even seemingly more so because I tend to always underdress for runs, in roughly seasonly-appropriate ways.  So, given that, i have no excuse for wimping out of nasty-cold runs, given that i can always add more clothes.  call me either stubborn or stupid; in this context, either fits just fine!

Yeeehaw!  Great times.  Interesting format, for sure.

I'm assuming you were more than happy (I hope). 

Way to kick off the year.

Matt

To reply to a reply, ditto!

Seriously, that's terrific that it was a great time for you - encouraging to do more, I'm assuming?

And to quote a quote again, "*off to read the report*"

Congrats!
Matt

I hope so!  I spent all day Saturday doing that with my two younger kids (totally awesome day with them!), and then all day Sunday RIPPING down some steep stuff with my oldest (just as awesome) - all after a 12+ miler on Saturday.

I'll tell you what, it sure felt like a workout when I went for my run last night. 

Hope you had as much fin as I did.

Matt

Thanks! That Masters swim was #5. I realized before that my swim was holding me back. I was better than average, but that doesn't mean much in a tri. The energy lost was quite a bit. I could survive it ok in short course, but it really showed in HIM. My best run by far was the one with the cancelled swim.

Also had a sprint duathlon & triathlon for comparison. ~30 min bike, similar effort. 5k runs all around. Duathlon run 2 was quite noticeably easier than the tri run. This was after Run 1 being a 5k, so near 20-21 min, as compared to a 14 min swim at no more than a light tempo effort. So the 14 min swim felt much lower effort, but took more out of me than a 20 min run.

So, have to do something about that if I want to keep getting better. Or at least enjoy the run some.

KATE and MATT -

Great news for both of you!  Not only do those family-based ski sessions count fully as workouts, but you also receive some of those highly-coveted Fast Twitch Bonus Points, redeemable at select merchants nationwide. 

Kate, for one day's effort dealing with one offspring, you earned 230 FTBP.  And Matt, for you dealing with two kids one day and another kid the second day, you accumulated a staggering 875 FTBP.  I hope both of you enjoy the benefits accruing to these points; you richly deserve whatever they provide you!

BEN -

My approach is, given my poor kick, to just scrap it almost entirely --- easy to do, given that 101 of my 103 triathlons were wetsuit-legal (the two renegades were both this past season [can you say "climate change, maybe]).  So, really, I emerge from the water with very fresh legs, which continually reward me throughout both the ride and the run.

I am generally a 50th %ile swimmer, given the entire field in any given triathlon, with a bit of a lean towards the top 40% --- but still far from getting me as competitive as I would like to be.  I have worekd and worked at it over the years, and have learned that i will never make it over the big hump that is forever in my way.

The plus is that in the age group (60-64) both locally and regionally, I am usually in the top 1/5 in the swim in any given race.  The negative, however, is that NATIONALLY, I drop down closer to top third swim-wise --- which is what has kept me from being straight USAT All-American for any number of years.  I can usually bring down A-A Honorable Mention (except not this past season!!!!!!), but my clear limiter in getting to the top of the heap is the swim.   That never-ever ceases to bug me, and I never-ever fully accept that that's the way things are.  However, i am hoping that in 2014, when i am 65, I will have what it takes to be straight USAT -- my swim malfunctions notwithstanding!

Sweeet!  Can I use the points to get a new shoulder??  

pugpenny - 2013-01-23 6:48 AM Hello all! I have been lurking and not much else but working lately! My piriformis/hamstring/sciatica issue is clearing up because I am staying off the bike for now. Apparently my Adamo Road saddle was hitting my sit bones in just the right place to keep the area irritated and cause all sorts of mayhem after an hour's ride. So for now I'm off the bike. I am plunking around in the pool 3 times a week. Did anyone else get the feeling that the more you swim you realize how much you don't know about swimming??? I am going to get a stroke analysis and video with a TI coach soon and I am looking forward to it but at the same time I am sort of missing the "ignorant bliss" with which I used to swim. BUT! nothing ventured, nothing gained. My runs are good - though yesterday with the temps here in the teens I did a little treadmill running and today I have decided to blow that off completely. Funny, but I see as others are starting to ramp up their training in preparation for spring, I have found my OFF SEASON MOJO! I have volunteered to help organize and run OWS at my hometown lake in preparation for the annual triathlon held there. One of my "goals" this year is to give back to the sport. I'm trying! That's about it for now. I am enjoying checking in on everyone's progress! Patti in NJ

Awesome (full stop)

Gang,

I seem to be back on the wagon. It's freezing cold here at the moment, but I got a 6 miler in on Saturday morning and experienced no serious ankle pain. Out of shape yes, injured no.

I'm starting to try to figure out the competition schedule for the year.

Hoosierman

PATTI -

So true, that the more you swim, the more you know that you don't know.  And then there came the point for me where I knew lots about what i should be doing.....but was unable to affecet the changes I so desired.   I have never golfed, but I hear that what it has in common wth swimming is a seeemingly endless series (EACH STROKE) of "checkpoints" on form, which just kind of supports the depth to which swimming knowledge can go.

I too miss the ignorant bliss days of just swimming.  In fact, it has been about 14 years now since I did any swim or ride or run that did not have "workout implications".  Even down in mexico a few summersd ago, could I just swim for the heck of it.  Uh, no, I couldn't.  Pretty pathetic, eh?

A good coach will be great for you, especially if you can be videotaped from all angles (that would be:  from front and back, both below water and from teh deck, and from the side, again both above and below water, but especially below).  So, that's five or six vantages, with the more being the best.  be prepared to see yourself differently than you "feel" yourself in tha water -- kind of akin to the firts time you ever heard your voice on tape, and how different it sounded from waht was in your head!

Added to the videotaping is clear pointers of what all you're doing "wrong",, and recommendations for how you can improve your technique and form.  If it;s a TI person, be prepared for the gamut if TI-type drills -- which work well for some, less well for others.  But it is a vaild appraoch, so enter it wide-minded and if it doesn't all work for you, then you can move on to some other swim-training discipline, in due time.

KATE is right about saddles -- especially for women, there are vast options.  It may take a few tries to get the best one for your position and your physiognomy, so it might be best to find a bike shop where you can try one and if it doesn't work, exchange it for another model/style.  Good luck with this!

Finally, kudos for helping with the OWS, and just in general trying to give back something to the tri world.    I will check to see if you are thus eligible for some of those coveted Fast Twitch Bonus Points, but at the very least you will get LOTS of even more valuable Karma Points!!!!

Hey guys!  Coach and Dr. Suzanne (Adventure Bear) shared this link with me regarding our discussion on heart rate training and methods to find your AT and LT.  I found it to be very helpful:

http://triathlon.competitor.com/2012/12/training/dear-coach-which-off-season-tests-make-sense-for-triathletes_67036

Whoo Hoo!  Took my mtn bike out for a spin at lunch and feel so much better after the ride than I did on Sunday.  I think the new saddle is making a HUGE difference!  (155 width vs the 130 one that came with the bike!)  I'm a little embarrassed that I need a wide saddle- but a lot less embarrassing than my last doctor appointment :-)

Question on training plans- I started one and I think it's a little too easy.  I wanted to start one that had lower mileage due to my bike issues- but I think this one is too easy.  Is it okay to just increase all of the runs by a half mile or a mile?  I'm stuck somewhere between the ramp up of the beginner plans and the start of the harder plans and not really sure what to do.  This week is supposed to be a rest week and it has me running 0.7 miles one day.  That hardly seems worth changing for.  Any suggestions?  Should I just alter the plan?  Search somewhere for a new one? 

On Monday in the pool we swam a 300m TT and I beat 7:00 for a 2:19/100m average.  Still not fast but improving.  But then on my very last length of the swim I was hit by a sudden wave of nausea.  I had to stop swimming for fear of "chumming" the water.

Today I went back to the pool and 38 minutes into the session I was hit by another wave of nausea and I had to stop swimming.  The fellow I was swimming with is a friend/MD so I talked to him about it.

Today was the first time I had to cut a workout short so I have to get this problem sorted out.  Just now there are too many things that could be causing it.  It can happen anytime but it seems to be focused around the pool.  I'll be really choked if I have to stop swimming just when I'm starting to see improvements.

Sorry to vent.