Gordo Byrn's Group - FULL (Page 46)

Jeff,
I loved reading that.  Fantastic stuff! It inspires me to take a look back at my progress.
Brian

Inspirational stuff!  Thanks for sharing.  Save it for review a year from now.

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Jeff
superb improvement over the last year. You must be so pleased with yourself. the swim change is totally amazing a real inspiration.

G team, my first race of the year was yesterday and I am still sore but it was great fun, details as follows.

Registration and transition set-up was smooth and very well organised by the race controllers. I gave myself an hour to relax and get ready for the swim which let me roam around and get the layout set in my head ready for the start.
The swim went ok, I was mindful of Gordos advice not to go too hard and blow out on the rest of the race so swam hard but well within myself and did the 400m in 7:28 which is about 30secs slower than a 400m TT would be. Only 3 to a lane which was perfect and I was lucky to be in with 2 guys who were similar pace so no problems at all.
A short run to T1 and into my bike shoes and helmet and gentle jog to the mount line in 1:29. All ok and had got about 100m up the road when I realised I had forgotten my number so quick u-turn back to transition and a small panic but the marshall told me to forget it as I had a timing chip anyway. Back up the road and straight into a mile of gentle climbing which was tough. This was followed by a lovely hill where I got up to 45mph and had a rest to try to settle the HR a bit. The roads then undulated a lot with some very tough climbs needing easy gear and out of the saddle to get up them. My thighs were burning and I realised I had forgotten my gel which would hurt the run later. No matter carried on attacking and overtaking where I could while being mindful of the run to come and the poor road surface which made using the tri bars a bit risky. 24km in 54:34 was a bit disapointing but not surprising due to the hills.
Into T2 and out running in 1:14 which I was pleased with straight into a hill so took it steady and paced myself. No jelly legs which was great.
The run then went down a tight and very steep path for 50m which was covered in dirt and made running too dangerous so had to walk that before entering a beautiful park. I got running along with a lady who was going at my pace until we hit a hill and she dropped back so I targetted a couple of guys up ahead and made progress towards them. The first 2 miles seemed to be mostly uphill with the odd flat bit thrown in and I was struggling but made it to 2 miles in 20 mins. Finally I was at the top of the hills and had a short power walk while I took a drink and then turned for home and speeded up. It was going great until about 1/2 mile from home when I got cramp in both thighs that I couldn't run through so had to walk back up the steep slippery path before running hard the last 200m to the finish. Total run time for 5 miles was 44:36 which I was happy with.
Total time 1:49:24 so over my target 1 of 1:45(perfect race) but under the target 2 of 2hours and I placed 97 out of 277.
the winner did 1:19 which was 5 mins quicker than 2nd place. Incredible.

Thankyou all for the encouragement you have made the training much more enjoyable and heres to my next race in 6 weeks.
G, you are the best.

In Gordo we trust

Dave,
That is a great race.  Congrats!
Brian

Dave,

Congra's on the race.  As usual you smoked the swim.  Thanks goodness we don't have hills in Florida the likes of what you had to go thru!!!!

BTW - I took your advise and purchased a new bike.  I'll still use my mountain bike but looking forward to getting on a faster bike. 

Jeff

Enjoyed it!  Well done -- I pinned my race number through all my clothes on my first event.  Tried to take my bike jersey off and couldn't figure out why everything was stuck together.  Tore the pins right out of my run shirt in my haste.

I've had my HR so high at the Boulder Peak one year that I forgot my helmet in T1 -- got DQ for that one -- couldn't figure out why it felt so cool on my head for the first mile of the bike...

g 

G,

Just thought of something that I have been meaning to ask you.  I was reading Greg's blog about cranking up his run recently.  I noticed about 1 month ago that my HR relative to the pace I was running was getting lower (I normally do a pace that yields a HR in the 140-142 range - that pace today is yielding a HR in the 132-137 range).  Thought perhaps it could have been an anamoly but I have been tracking and it's been consistent over the course of the last month.  This is a good thing I think - you mentioned in the book and in the forum this is an indicator that your fitness is improving. 

So my question is:  Going forward should I increase my pace (intensity) on all my runs so that I'm running at a HR of 140-142 as before?  As you know I'm in a total endurance build stage.  Or is it better to keep it as is today (HR 132-137 pace)?  Perhaps I should keep the pace as is on my Run Build Days/SBR Endurance Days (i.e... those long days) and bump the pace up on the days where the run is shorter as part of a brick (either swim or bike).  Thoughts, comments? 

Edited by junthank 2009-04-21 10:36 AM

Good Q -- the answer is a little bit of each -- you are building the capacity to "run easy" -- when we start, we don't have that -- we tend to have walk, run, run fast -- so now you probably have the whole range to choose from.  That's good.

The key run for you to use steady effort is your long run -- the others can be easy.  Don't push the pace off the bike unless it is a special occasion brick (race sim).  The goal of running off the bike is transitioning, more than fitness.

Aside from those two guidelines let your recovery be your guide and keep your easy days easy as your fitness improves.  When you can do a little bit extra steady, that's OK.  If you're tired and need to go easy on your bonus runs then that's OK.
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Hey all - I'm just continuing to check the workouts off.

Took an early 5:30 ride this morning in the dark. I have headlight\flashing tail light so it may even be safer than during the day. Very little traffic.

Anyway, had a mishap this morning. Dew\moisture on the painted road lines - was just about as slippery as glass. Went down but at a slow enough speed to avoid any damage to body or bike. Just passing this along as a heads up: watch the paint on the road in damp conditions. It can bite!

Hey Greg, sorry to hear about the crash but glad no permanent damage.
Few bruises to nurse I bet.

Actually I came out of it with almost untouched. My left forearm\shoulder and hip are a bit touchy but nothing to worry about. Just glad nobody came by watching me try to clip out on my back.  Only spectators were a few cows...

Well, Baseball definitely sounds better than what I'm doing. But I can relate.

I'm in the middle of a bank merger at the moment. It's huge, and I understand the time demands. I've been hit and miss at times the last few months. I can't comment on the mix of sports, but unfortunately the 12+ hr days are all too familiar. Maybe I'm just not motivated enough, but when faced with decisions on workout or seeing my kids the kiddos win. No contest. So I'm riding a bike with a headlight at 5:00am (which, btw, was a blast for the most part).

Maybe I missed something, but the overall concept I got from Gordo was to do something everyday. If you have to pass on the bike, just make sure to do something else, but I don't think I'd run every day. My body wouldn't take it.

As a thought, I rented a bike for a couple days and the bike shop gave me some good routes. It was a nice break from the travel slog...

Hi Brian, I think as Greg says try to do something that can fit round your schedule and family. If the runs are short dont be too tempted to go faster especially if you have had a break as that must be more likely to leave you injured. I too am going to do the bike before breakfast now that it is light at 5.30 even if it is just a 30 minute session it is better than nothing. Long ride can be saved for the weekend. Either way you have your base fitness so doing the regular runs will help keep that going ahead of any races.

Yes - exactly. Anything is better than nothing.

Hey Stacie, how did your race go?
Dave

G,

I have a couple questions about the run if your still checking this forum.

I have adjusted my ATP per your advice on my Long Ride Day (cap at 3 hours but add some intervals to build muscular endurance) and SBR Endurance Day (cap at 4 hours).

Regarding my Run Build Day:  Currently I'm doing 70 minutes on my Run Build Day.  Over the course of the next 2 months I take it to 80 minutes and cap it there for the rest of this year plus 2 months into 2010.  Is this appropriate (i.e... should I go longer....  my intuition is no based upon your book... maybe go to 90)?

Also, with regard to run/walk ratios..... on my shorter runs I go 11:0.5.... on my longer runs like today I use 10:1.  Today when I went 7 miles I noticed that I faded a bit during the last mile.  Perhaps I started out a little quick.... HR was good though (mid 130's though 70% of the run - went to 144 during the last 20 minutes).  It was also hotter and more humid than earlier this year so that could have caused the fade.  But, my real question is - is there value in changing my run/walk ratio during the workout as I go longer?  For example, maybe go 10:1 the 1st 4 miles and then go 9:1 or 8:1 the next 3 miles.  Is this something I should practice while training?  I know based on some of your examples (using yourself) it's something that you employ. Or, is it better to simply gut it out while building endurance.

Edited by junthank 2009-05-05 11:22 AM

Long Run -- either is OK, generally, I'd build gradually towards 90 min for an athlete with your goals.  However, main thing is consistent weekly running -- that is more important that duration of long run.

Run/Walk -- If you are fading then back off to 8:1 (or lower) and use that for a few months.  It's going to take years to build towards your ultimate run performance/ability -- take your time and enjoy your running.  Also make sure that you are training your capacity to walk-with-a-purpose as that is a key aspect of the protocol.

Hope this helps,
g 

Thanks G.  Will build the run to 90 per your advice.  Don't know that I'll ever enjoy running as much as I enjoy biking but I'm definitely getting a ton of enjoyment out of this "personal wellness" push I've been on for the last 7 months.

BTW - It's FINALLY clicking in the pool.  Did a 1600 meter consecutive freestyle earlier today and could of gone much further.  I looked at my logs and it took 7 months, 28 hours of pool time, and tons of frustration to get to this point.  For those in your new mentoring group that have similar issues in the water there is indeed hope.  All they need to do is implement your teachings, keep with it and have a ton of patience. 

B/L swimming - hated it with a PASSION when I started.  RELAXED - wondered what the ___ you were talking about for 6 months.  It's not a switch you turn on overnight.  It's a process you have to work thru to realize.  If you have the patience to work though it you will reap the benefits.

Thanks Dave - it's a great feeling.

Jeff,
Those are great questions that i have been looking for answers as well.  I look forward to seeing G's response.  By the way, you are doing awesome with all of this.  I strive for your consistency.  Keep it up.  I also think it is time for you to race again.

Brian

Sounds like you are well on your way.  What I'd recommend you watch is our tendency to keep increasing stress until we break.  For whatever reason, we tend to find it difficult to repeat something that is clearly working for a long period of time.

If you stick to your points then you will go faster.  However, going faster isn't going to change who your are, or what's required to improve from "there".  So enjoy the fact that things are working - keep repeating what's working and watch for things that get in the way of those successful habits you are building.

Excessive high intensity training an error that I see and it is consistently reinforced by the media as well as all of us.  It's a good product to sell because we are attracted to the lure of intensity.  All my big errors came with regard to intensity and recovery.

You should also know that improvements will come "fast" when you are new.  However, to become a top athlete, you'll need to find a reason to train when there are NO improvement coming -- interestingly, you'll need the same awareness/maturity to cope with when you start to slow down due to age.  So enjoy the improvements when the come, celebrate your successes and remember why you exercise in the first place.

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