GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 48)

STEVE -

Thinking about Shaun's interest it Team in Training, and the Slowtwitch posts a few years ago that were highly critical of TNT, I realized that I had neglected to tell you how much I appreciated the story you told of the below-the-knee amputee, ridsing hard at a fairly advanced age. I will not try to trump anything you said about the privilege we all have to be able to do this stuff.

Anyhow, I should've acknowledged that part of your post, and I apologize for letting it slide until now.

STEVE -

The call on what shoe weights to tolerate is a tough one. In recent years I have become a stickler for lighter weight, but it wasn't always thta way. In fact, not too long ago I came across a photo from me donig Boston marathon in '04, and I was very surprised to see that I was wearing Asics 2010 (might've been that number). And then I remembered that I very consciously made the decision to pass on my usual race shoes at the time, Asics DS Trainer, inlieu of the better support and stability of the 2010s. So, I can agree with you that in certain cases it is wise to go with something likely to be reliably protective.

I need to find a photo form IMLP, which was just three months after Boston. I am sure I ran in the DS Trainers there, but it seems strange that I would come back to them so quickly, given that I emerged from Boston with no aches and pains. But I probably wore the DS at Eagleman, about halfway between Boston and IMLP, and felt that they would suffice at Placid.

That's interesting that you have experienced more knee issues since switching from Minado to Jepara, and were it not for the increased mileage of SG training I would think that your knees just require the added support of the Minado, which Etonic considers their motion-control shoe.

Yeah, gotta figure out weights for the Etonic models ---- and also what those names mean!!

ANNE -

Very fine bike work this morning, early bird!!

Feeling about 70% at this point. Got out for a 3 mile run which wasn't too bad. It is only 2 1/2 weeks out from my half marathon and, between that, and not feeling so well, I felt sluggish, and like my form was not so hot. My husband got sick about a day after I did, and he's starting to feel better today. Keeping my fingers crossed for you and Lynn to keep healthy.

Oh, and I registered today for the Lone Star Sprint in Galveston on April 24th. Guess I need to make some hotel reservations as well.  Planning on doing a sprint distance race the following weekend as well. Hopefully, the back to back races won't be a mistake.

Edited by lufferly 2010-01-27 9:05 PM

LISA -

Yay! You're in for Lone Star, which should be a real treat -- the RD, Keith Jordan, pulls out all the stops with his races. As for two in a row, Lone Star is a prety easy course, so at least you won't be beating up on your legs by having to navigate loads of hills.

We are still giving some thought to being down that way at that time, but our interest seems to have waned some. Initially it was either NO70.3 on April 18 or one of the Lone Star races the following weekend, but we aren't talking about that trip too much. Somewhere I have a list of affordable Galveston motels that are beyond the ones mentioned in the race website, and if I can find them I'll tell you what sounded reasonable to me.

While I think I managed to avoid your cold, I caught your running malady -- mine yesterday was likewise sluggish, and with the perception that my form was off. I HATE it when that happens! I had gone through several runs where everything felt fine, but yesterday just wasn't what I wanted it to be. But maybe it was just trying to fit it in before having to be somewhere I really wanted to be, so I was kind of resentful. Maybe? It ended up 10.5km and with a decent negative split......but it just didn't feel all that good. Well, at least the body feels fine today!

DWAYNE -


--------------------------- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! ----------------------

PERIODIZATION -- part one

I am setting about to make sense of Periodization for you. Mark asked about this quite some time ago, and I told him I would address it.....and then it just kind of slipped away on me. But it's not too late, so here we go!

I will try for brevity and simplicity, and see where that takes us. Periodization should be a simple concept, but it gets hung-up some with jargon -- which I will try to avoid in the following post, but will mention here and now.

Training Cycles:
(1) Macrocycle -- A large block of time that culminates with a major goal race ("A" race), or perhaps one or two "A" races. Some people coinsider the Macrocycle to be a training season, but I consider to be a training year.
(2) Mesocycle -- There are five Mesocycles in a training year: General Preparation; Specific Preparation; Pre-Competition; Competition; Transition. To attach these to terms with which you may be more familiar:
General Preparation = Preparation and Base
Specific Preparation = Build
Pre-Competition = Peak
Competition = Race
Transition = Transition
(3) Microcycle -- A period of a few days to about ten days in length -- but for most of us it will be a week. This is our training week, and it consists of the specific training sessions that are dictated by the mesocycle. Usually, microcycles will involve two or three weeks of increased frequency of training (Prep and Base periods), or increazed intensity of training (Build period), followed b y a recovery week.

Okay. It's time to take a deep breath, see if what I said makes sense -- then post this one and move on. Because I think in terms of Prep, Base, Build, Peak, Race, and Transition, that's what I'll mostly use in the following.









Edited by stevebradley 2010-01-28 8:23 AM

PERIODIZATION -- part two

Goals of the different Periods:

PREPARATION
This marks the beginning of most people's season, and it is simply the period in which one prepares to train. It is usually 2-4 weeks in length, and can be thought of shaking off the cobwebs or removing the rust. For beginners, it is getting acclimated to what things are going to feel like - getting used to goggles and chlorine and pool etiquette; feeling comfortable on the bike during a few initial rides; adjusting to the pounding and constant leg movement of running. For veterans, they often bypass the Prep period and just mosey into Base training following their Transition period.

BASE
This is where the most basic elements of fitness are developed. This period can run from 8-16 weeks, with some going even longer. With the exception of Steve, most of us are in our Base period now (although some are still in Prep). The main goals, or foci, of Base are threefold: aerobic endurance; muscular strength; sport-specific skills. So, the group questions so far about swim techniques and running cadence are in keeping with the Base period, which focuses on such things as swim stroke, bike handling and pedalling efficiency, and economical running form. Base is sometimes characterized as "training to train". Many programs that you will see will have two or three Base phases, each of about 3-4 weeks in length.

BUILD
As the race season approaches and the relative importance of scheduled races gets determined, the purpose of the Build period becoms defined. To wit, Build serves to identify and target the specific needs for the "A" priority races. In Steve's Build for Ironman St. George on May 1, he is now including a lot of hill work into both his cycling and running workouts. (If you haven't followed his recent posts, go back about 5-7 days and see the comments he is making about where and how he feels he has to train in order to be ready for IMSG.) The emphasis in the Build period is training to race a specific race. There may be other races scheduled during the Build period (Steve has a half-iron in his Build), but these are not specifically trained for. The overriding prurpose of Build is to increase the intensity of training. Build is generally shorter than Prep/Base, running four to twelve weeks. Depending on the number of "A" races on a person's schedule, there may be moe than one Build period. And as with Base, some programs will break down Build into 2 or 3 smaller phases.

PEAK
This is a two (or three) week period leading up to a single race, or in some cases back-to-back races. During Peak there is generally a decrease in frequency and duration of training, while still maintaining intensity. This allows for fitness to be maintained, while reducing overall fatigue. The "taper" is often considered part of the Peak, and for people who has a relatively high level of fiytness, they can afford a longer taper. For people whose fitness is not as high as would be ideal, they should reduce the taper and continue training right up until a week out from the race.

RACE
One week - one week - which includes the taper and the race itself. This period will have a few choice workouts really designed to maintain an "edge", with no aspirations to increased fitness. At this point, the package is complete, and any forays into intense or prolonged workouts will only risk fatigue or injury. This is a period of relative rest - both physical and psychological. Also, it is a period of psychological preparation for the race to come!

TRANSITION
This period follows a competition period, and for some people it won't start until the end of an entire season. For those doing a series of smaller races during their season, they might not need a Transition after each race. But using Steve as an example once again, after IMSG he will need a Transition before hie begins the sequence of periods leading to his next race. The goal of Transition is to recover and refresh and recharge and rejuvenate, and may take anywhere from one to six weeks. Longer Transition periods occur at the end of the entire competitive season -- or whn one just needs that length of break before starting in with training again. Most in-season Transitions will include activity, but it is unstructured and with a greatly reduced workload. And after long Transition periods, it is usually necessary to return to the Preparation period -- which brings it all around full-circle!!!












Edited by stevebradley 2010-01-28 9:24 AM

NOTES:

(1) I posted the above post twice. The first time was without the section on Transition, just becasue I had a sudden panic attack that I would somehow obliterate eveything. So, I posted what I had, then edited in the part on Transition. (I'm just saying this for those who maybe read it immediately before the Transition part was added.)

(2) There will be a thrid part to follow, and that will be on how to Periodize your own seasons -- but I need to take a break for a while!

(3) Periodization is great -- if it works for you! I've posted that mainly because Mark requested it, but also just to make it available to whomever might be interested. The greneral concepts behind Periodization are highly valuable, but lots of accomplished athletes do not actively break down their seasons into rigid Periods. If it doesn't work for you, or if you just find it intimidating, then by all means work around it!

MARK -

Useful? At all? Anything you want me to re-do or clarify?

STEVE -

I hope you don't mind that I used you as a Case Study of sorts in the above Periodization posts. It crossed my mind thta I maybe should have asked you first --- but by then I had already labored away for a while and hope that you wouldn't mind.

And if it makes you feel any better (misery loves company?), the next post on Periodization will employ Anne as my guinea-pig-of-choice!

ANNE -

BRACE YOURSELF!! (See above post to Steve......)





Edited by stevebradley 2010-01-28 10:50 AM

STEVE,

I thought your 2 posts explaining periodization were really useful and in language we can all understand.   It took me some time to understand when I first started reading about it and I still need to refresh my memory every so often.   Thanks.  

ANNE -

Thank you! I haven't re-read them with any sort of critical eye, so I need you all to tell me whether all I succeeded in doing was muddying the waters even more!

I think there must be a certain type of mind that can readily process this sort of stuff; mine is not. I too struggled long and longer to wrap my head around Periodization, and now I think I almost have it. Mind you, I'm not very good at following it, but I understand it. I guess it's kind of like jaywalking laws -- I get the concept, it's just I'm too flighty to embrace them!

My schedule the past three seasons has made it difficult for me to follow Periodization. There were the 17 races in '07, the 11 in '08, and the 13 in '09, and on top of that I have trouble designating races as "A' or "B" or "C". I really hate having an "A" race on the horizon, and then get injured and have to bail on it. So, to avoid that disappointment, I guess I just try to race as hard as possible each and every race, and keep myself on that edge between races. That is NOT an approach I would advocate for others, and in fact I am trying to rein in my impulses and get back to serious Periodized training and racing for this season. I'm not there yet, but I'm working on it!

And while I've got you here, I just have to share my USAT Rankings anxiety with someone, and seeing as how I mentioned it to you a week or two ago........you get to hear the updates!

On Monday the noose tightened, as I "dropped" to 50, out of 515, with just one HM guy below me.
On Tuesday I was at 49/514, with two below me.
Yesterday I was 48/514, with three below me.

So while things have improved a bit in the past couple of days and I seem to have some "wiggle-room", it is all very nervewracking. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't amount to a fiddler's dram, but for whatever asinine reasons it matters enough that I've been shooting for it for a few years now. (Not hard enough to train seriously for, however --- right? )

Anyhow, that's that. Thanks for listening!

SteveB,

Yes, $3000 for the Steelhead HIM. $4000 for the Philadelphia Oly (including transportation, shipping of bike, etc)...Very serious commitment.

Well two nights after icing and all feels right again (actually yesterday evening prior to foam rolling and icing it was feeling good). The main discomfort seemed to be right at the top of the fibula on the outside of the knee. Good info on the bands... I'll be at the gym again tonight with the intent of the spin class. Beyond that it all depends on time and how I feel. At the end of the spin class, when I sat up on the saddle, it did cause more discomfort than when I was leaned forward on the bars.

Re: Periodization; thanks for the info! Like you I can already tell this is something I would struggle with. My desire to push harder and longer are things I know I will struggle with. Rest weeks are something I also struggle with and generally end up getting planned around work/social life commitments. This weekend would probably be a good time for me to seriously look at race dates and back track a training schedule.

Thanks for your note on this!  Really makes it seem like it should be my first as well.

Steve - what's HM??

DWAYNE - Happy Birthday to YOU!! Hope is was a good one.

STEVEB - Sorry to hear that I'm not the only one out of sorts on my runs right now ... hoping for better things to come. Thanks for the info on Periodization.  So, if I'm understanding, I'm in the Preparation phase (I need extra mental preparation), soon to embark next week on my Base phase.  Keeping my fingers crossed for an HM (Honorable Mention, Denise) for you! Must be getting nervewracking waiting for the final results.

Looking forward to Friday and then the weekend!

Happy birthday Dwayne

Steve
Thank you for distilling & simplifying the information, so far I'm with you. I look forward to your 3rd post.
Mark

Edited by midlifeinsanity 2010-05-24 7:32 AM

GANG!

It's 11:48, and I just got back from most of the day and all of the evening in Ottawa, with the highlight being a great (albeit loooooooong) performance of Bertolt Brecht's "Mother Courage".

So, I'll be back in the morning with part 3 of Periodization, which is how to incorporate it into your 2010 season -- if you so desire!

Sleep tight, all!

Steve,

You and I are on the same page. The 16-week plan I was thinking of using has me doing 6 weeks of base, 5 weeks of build, and 5 weeks of peak. But since I'll have a few weeks of base before the "official" program, I can cut down the program base and add a week each to build and peak to do the 12-week thing you suggested.

Anywhos, that would mean build starts April 5 to have 12 weeks of build and peak. Being in snowboarding season, I'm going to try to keep the base workouts to 4-5 times a week for now. For the weekends that I don't go up to the mountains, I'll throw in a bike or a run, but for now, I don't want to have to worry about making up workouts or stressing over missing one. Eventually I'll build up to 6 days, but for now I figure that a day or two of snowboarding builds up the legs enough to compensate for missing a tri-specific exercise.

I'm mostly clueless about building a bike base, so any help with that would be awesome! I have no frame of reference there since I've never really been into or done any serious biking. I'm working on the run by essentially doing a Couch to 10k program, increasing the running while decreasing the walking. So far so good and I can definitely see improvement.

So questions:
1) Should I slowly add volume to workouts, or speed? And at what rate?
2) How do I go about building a bike base? Are there cycling programs you would recommend? I'm completely clueless on that front.

Thanks!
Kasia

MARK -

The third post will be preceded by a related post on "prioritizing" races.......which is kind of necessary in order for someone to use Periodization as the framework of their season.

Coming real soon!

DENISE -

Lisa has answered this above, but HM stands for Honorable Mention, which is one of the "award" (for lack of a better term right now) categories in the USAT Rankings system. The top 5% in each age group are All-American, the 6-10% are A-A Honorable Mention.

At some point I should go over how the USAT rankings work, especially for people who who are soemwhat competitive and are lloking to do three or more USAT -sanctioned races. I am kine of addicted to "playing" the USAT rankings game, and while it makes loads of financial sense to just do most of my racing up here, most seasons I do the bulk of my racing in the states, just for USAT rankings purposes. Silly, I know.........but perfectly in keeping with someone who generally acts about 15 years younger than half his age.