Ernesto's group - CLOSED

Hello Ernesto,

My name is Gabriel and I'm interested in joining your group. 

I'm from Guatemala and after living over 13 abroad (2 in Chicago getting my MBA and the rest in SF/Bay Area and Pasadena, CA; where I enjoyed great road and mt bike riding), I'm now back in Guatemala City.  I'm also married and a proud father of two lovely girls!

After years of innactivity, I began running last July to train for my 1st 1/2 marathon a month later, and did well while having a blast.  I've been enjoying training ever since and in the past 8 months have completed a couple of 1/2 marathons as well as my first 2 Sprint distance triathlons.  I'm totally excited about triathlons now and plan on doing my first Olympic Tri this month and my first 1/2 IM tri at the end of August.  Ideally, I want to shoot for my first full IM distance tri next year.

I'm looking for good sound advice, particularly on improving the structure of my trainings, as well as sharing good stories, recommendations and support messages with other on this group.

Cheers,

Gabriel

Mark and Jackie: Welcome back!!!

Mark,

How do you feel with only 4 days to your Ironman?

Thank you Ernesto, feeling fine and calm, but this rain is worrying me. Apparently the weather pattern is set for the next few days. Oh, well, they don't call it Ironman for nothing...

It only makes for a very slow bike, other than that racing in the rain is not bad unless it is cold. I did a half in September 2009 in a downpour from wire to wire, I couldn't even believe they started the race but they did. It was funny to see the drivers on the road looking at us athletes with some mix of amazement and the face of "what are you doing out in this rain stupid?".

You have got what it takes and you're gonna make us proud Mark. Just go with the spirit of having fun and enjoying the view, Ironman courses are usually scenic.

Ernesto,

I decided to do an aerobic walk/run tonight.  A few months ago, I couldn't run at all without my HR going anaerobic.  Well, tonight I had to run more of the workout to keep my HR up.  At first I thought maybe the readings were incorrect.

Question:  Is it possible that on the second day of the Two Week Test, I am into a "higher fat-burning state" already and that explains why I could do more work at a lower heart rate?

Gabriel,

How old are you? I've been looking at your log and your HR seems kinda high for an average. Also, your max HR at some points is pretty intense. Maybe you should lower intensity (counter intuitive to most people's idea of endurance training) and focus on steadiness and aerobic numbers. Do you own a Garmin?

Gabriel,

You have clear symptoms of training over the edge (constant colds is the biggest one). I highly encourage you to purchase the "Big book of Endurance Training and Racing" by Phil Maffetonne. Others in the group can tell you the good things you will pick up from it. Amazon.com has it pretty cheap and trust me on this one, it will be the single biggest investment in your whole endurance career.

Ernesto, thanks for pointing out my higher HR levels and the book recommendation, I will go ahead and purchase it right now.  In the meanwhile, any recommendations as to my current level of exertion and volume of activity? I'm planning on doing my first Oly tri next Sunday, but will play-it-by-ear (b/c I got another cold) and can always choose to do a Sprint instead in case I'm not feeling ready.   

btw, its great to get prompt comments back from you, thanks!

Ok, as far as your running volume, it is superb. You are running a very consistent 20+miles a week which is great. However I notice this:

- You're not doing speedwork.

- You're going too hard on your long runs, as evidenced by your HR.

The way to do speed is to go real hard for very short periods. As an example: warm up 15 minutes running an increasingly easy to moderate pace, take off really fast for only twenty seconds, recover for forty seconds and repeat six times. Finish your run with 15 minutes of warm down.

By doing this, you will do the neuro-mechanical training that speed requires without taxing your body. I have many more examples. Best way to do speed is on the track, so find one if you can.

Your bike is not up to par with your run as far as volume goes, you should be cycling about double what you are doing now. Longer (but easier) rides are needed. The bike is what takes the most time to get good at, because you need a huge aerobic engine for it and because it recruits a lot of muscle fibers.

Swim is fine.

Two questions: why don't you workout on Sundays?

Can you shoot me links to your Garmin files?

Agree with your assessment, I need to reinforce my run with speedwork and increase my biking volume (just got a new bike a month ago to replace my 13 year old bike, so ready to pedal more now!)

Regarding your questions, 1) no particular reason for not working on Sundays, other than more than usual family events in April due to the Semana Santa (Holy Week) which is big in Guatemala.  I believe I have done better in other months with my weekend training.

2) What's the easiest way to send you my Garmin files?  I have them recorded both here at BT and also at the Garmin Connect site

Gracias!