Brian's group - FULL (Page 5)

So the challenge starts Monday!! I'll be travelling so I'm going to have to be realistic about what I can fit in. That's a chellenge unto itself.

Hey Bill, my current plan is based on time too but I've made some adjustments. I only use time in the case of biking right now because I'm on the trainer and frustratingly slow. My swim workouts and distances are planned along with given times, but if I go by time, I won't finish the workout. I want to fit in a spring half marathon so I'm loosely following a different running plan although when recovery runs are called for, I do those based on time. I'm curious as to how others approach this as well.

There are general rules of thumb on when to start speedwork. For
running, you need a solid base (15miles/week over a 6 months or so). Same with swimming - work on technique until you can swim less than 1:50-2:00/100yds. These are based on my understanding but there are tons of different opinions on this. Brian can definitely clarfy this.

Team,

I'm thinking of getting some racing flats to actually use for my event on Mar-18. I have flat, WIDE feet, and need a neutral shoe (I train in the Nike Free crosstrainers). Any suggestions?

She's spot on ... the running store is the way to get in terms of picking out shoes.*  They are pretty knowledgable about ascertaining mechanics of a runner's stride as well as the mechanics of a shoe. (As they have since educated me, a shoe is more than fabric attached to a foam bottom )

One thing they have told me is that shoes nowadays are pretty adept at supporting your foot - even normal run of the mill shoes.  This is pretty good in that it helps the numerous muscles in your feet withstand the strains of running and/or walking.**

A side effect of this, though, is that the muscles in your feet have grown used to this.  Taking away the support of a running shoe in favor of a racing flat may be something to be very cautious of ... especially if you are going to subject your feet to race pace. 

Talk to the running store about this concern prior to purchasing.  Let them know your running background and seek their input ...

* btw, I have compared the prices at our local running stores (Fleet Feet and Big Peach Running Company) with those of prices on-line and found them to be pretty similar.  The difference with the bricks and mortar store is that you get the benefit of trying them on as well as the expertise of the staff

** A track coach once told me that one cure for strengthening your foot is to run barefooted in the grass for a couple hundred yards at the end of a workout (spring or summertime only ) ... this will ensure that your muscles and joints are warmed up in your feet.

gygyhawk - 2007-02-12 5:37 PM

trying2tri1906 - 2007-02-12 3:04 PM

Team,

I'm thinking of getting some racing flats to actually use for my event on Mar-18. I have flat, WIDE feet, and need a neutral shoe (I train in the Nike Free crosstrainers). Any suggestions?

Go to a running store and have them look at your feet, they will make recommendations, then you can try some shoes on, take a run on the treadmill in the store, or down the sidewalk and see what feels the best. You won't regret it.

Thanks..I'll definitely keep you all's advice in the front of my mind this weekend when I go to some runner stores.

You had mentioned shin splints before ... you might want to check out the new Nike Air Structure Triax+ X.  It was pretty luxurious in the sole department and was the Runners World Editor's Choice Award for March 2007.

I ended up getting the old standby Asics Nimbus Gels b/c that is what I wore prior to my current Reeboks - and before my current right big toenail bruising.

Which is another reason to get fitted ... turns out that while I may be a 9 1/2 in all other shoes, in running shoes I am a 10 insomuch as my right foot is slightly bigger and, coupled with the swelling that normally occurs during prolonged exercise, the front toe was banging up against the front of the shoe ... hence the ugly toe situation. (I got the Reeboks from the company after "test driving" a prototype of one of their shoes over the summer. They wanted an "average Joe" opinion as well as wear testing for durability.)

I missed this question at first ... which is too bad b/c it was the same question I had when I started doing HR training.

The reply I got back from my coach was "Never" - base training is something that we will continue to do in our quest to stretch out our endurance. 

Does that mean we will always be slow? The answer is an emphatic "NO" ... when Norman Stadler was doing his amazing bike split at Kona last November, he did it all in Zone 2 - shoot, he had to run a marathon after that!

So the short answer is that by going slow, you are getting faster. You are teaching your body to utilize your nearly unlimited aerobic supply instead of your very limited anaeorbic supply of energy.

How long have you been training exclusively in Zone 2?  I have been told that it typically takes four to six weeks to start showing.  (I did not see the improvements promised ... which turned out to be a red flag.  Went and had my HR zones established via metabolic testing - VO₂max- and it turns out my field test yielded results that showed my LT/AeT some 30 bpm too high!)

No worries.  For background, see Marina's post on page 3 ... it started on Monday and will continue for two weeks.

In terms of time vs. distance vs. whatever - whatever your schedule calls for, that is what you should do.  The key behind this is to ensure that you a schedule ironed out and that you are following it.  (I was going to blow off a recovery spin on the trainer last Monday, but remembered the challenge and got my lazy rear off the couch and into the saddle to do it )

Bike Travel Cases:

What's a fair price to pay?  Buy online or order from a shop?  Any adivce right now would be appreciated as I am getting "things" togetehr for my first event.

As well, I purchased a Giro Indicator Cycling Helmet, Titanium, Universal Fit Adult today.  Everything checked out...so it should be ok.

Hope everyone's training this week has been fulfilling.

Ciao

Jon

Rats! I missed this question (if I do not respond to a Q as quickly as I should, please mention it in an 'inspire' in my training blog ... I rarely leave the training blogs )

Finding someone nearby that does VO2max testing is half the battle.  A cardiologist might have one as part of a stress test, but it is doubtful (since it probably is not covered by insurance?) ... best way to find one would be to ask around.

Where to ask, you say?  Try your local bike shop, a race director for a local triathlon, at the pool you swim and/or gym that you belong to and so forth. (Doesn't the USAT website have a find-a-coach section?  If you are able to find a local coach then then perhaps they can point you in the right direction.

I'll also do some Googling to see what I can find out too.

Okay ... the challenge has been successful if only in that it got me to do some workouts I would have otherwise curtailed or completely blow off.

That said, I am not at 100% obtainment.  Life got in the way of some of my training and while I still logged in over 10 hours of training last week, I missed:

W - Swim
F - Swim
Sun - 1/2 swim*
       - 2nd run
(*hmmm ... see a trend in the discipline I do not particularly enjoy? )

I have no real good excuse for Friday and Sunday, just poor scheduling/time management on my part.  What I need to do is to schedule my workouts for that particular day (e.g. going to the pool at 4:00 pm so that I can be done + back in time for dinner).

What'd you miss and why? What can you change to make them happen?

Your body is right ... you cannot 'make-up' missed workouts. Now I am probably butchering the physiology that I have been reading in Joel Friel's "The Triathlete's Training Bible", Matt Fitzgeralds "Triathlete Magazine's Complete Guide to Triathlon Training" and, of all things, the Hammer Nutrition guide* (see: http://www.hammernutrition.com/downloads/fuelinghandbook.pdf) ... but here goes the Ole Miss version of the Reader's Digest executive summary:

Training is a function of over-reaction - you stress your body doing a particular something (be it swimming, running or cycling). In doing so, you break down muscle fibers, deplete energy stores and generally wear your body down ... then your body reacts by saying: "Okay, we've got to rebuild stronger to compensate for this stress" and proceeds to rebuild the muscles stronger and add as much energy as it can into your energy stores (thereby stretching capacity).

So in essence, you do not get stronger by the virtue of exercising - you get stronger through the process of recovering from your exercise. 

Once you reach the point when you have stressed the muscles, there no additional benefit of stressing them more since the benefit doesn't happen until you heal.  Now when it comes to doubling down on two different sets of exercises (e.g. bike then run bricks), remember that you can do one well but two not as much.  While the exercise invokes discipline specific muscles, there are many shared muscles + shared energy stores. 

Further, your body produces lactic acid and other waste materials when exercising ... these can reach critical mass (e.g the rebellion you have been feeling) when you do not have enough time to metabolize them out of your system.

* I do not use Hammer Nutrition products, but am truly impressed with the amount of information they put into this guide.  The guide is not a 'hard sell' of Hammer products, but an explanation of the reason why something is important + then at the end of the article, they highlight the Hammer product that addresses that.  I am re-reading it now.

Did you get your bike? What about the new kicks? What'd you settle on?

Time to do the tally for the challenge ... while I did not miss a full day, I did miss 4 workouts over the past 2 weeks and cut short another 3.

Save one, each of these were avoidable in that if I did a better job in managing my time during the day (and/or get my happy rear out of bed early to accomplish the first workout) then I could have found the time.

Two things learned through the challenge: 1) it is harder to miss a workout when you know that someone besides yourself will notice; and, 2) I need to spend more time in Zone 2 (and stop trying to push too hard as at this point it is counterproductive).

How many did you miss?  What can you do to reach 85% of workouts logged? What have you learned over the past two weeks?