1.29.2013

Boring Update

Jan 14 - Jan 20
S:  19,350 yds - 4hr 34min
B:  122.63 mi - 7hr 54min
R:  35.68 mi - 4hr 40min
Total:  17hr 8min

Jan 21 - Jan 27
S:  19,550 yds - 4hr 37min
B:  146.46 mi - 9hr 48min
R:  31.07 mi - 4hr 2min
Total:  18hr 27min

Nothing exciting (well all exercise is exciting)...but the point is that there's nothing fancy here, no magical workouts, just two solid weeks exercising approximately every 12 hours or so with some work and a lot of food and sleeping sprinkled in between.  Swimming was pared back a little bit as is running, leaving more time to log hours on the bicycle...my favorite!  I even took the mountain bike out twice (crazy for a triathlete, I know) and did some exploring on some power line corridors on Red Mountain.

Exploring power line ROW on Red Mountain

1.13.2013

More Swimming (errr Triathlon) Updates

Jan 7 - Jan 13
S:  25,250 yds - 6hr 3min
B:  107.87 mi - 6hr 45min
R:  32.19 mi - 4hr 15min
Total:  17hr 3min

Three straight weeks of big swimming are in the bag.  I can be honest and say that I would have never dreamed of even attempting to ever swim this much, and although it's been tough and quite a shock to the arms it hasn't been near as bad as expected.  I mean, I made it through so I guess it could have been worse.  Random thought...it's funny how most triathletes readily push themselves to the limit on the bicycle or while running (even to the point of developing numerous running injuries) yet they never do so in the pool.  Sure, the swimming portion of a race is a relatively small percentage of the total time, but poor swim fitness can not only result in a slower swim time but it will also leave you trashed and in a miserable state to start the rest of your race (never a good thing).  I think it just comes down to not wanting to put the effort in to get better. 

1.06.2013

Swimming (I mean triathlon) Update

Dec 31 - Jan 6
S:  28,200 yds - 6hr 45min
B:  85.66 mi - 5hr 37min
R:  31.88 mi - 4hr 10min
Total:  16hr 33min

Well, it was the biggest swim week of my career, edging out last week thanks to a monster Saturday swim of 7100 yds (2nd longest ever).  Luckily, my masters coach joined me for the first 5000 and a buddy of mine joined me for yards 4000-7100.  Without the company it surely would have been much worse!  And for the first time ever, I spent more time in the pool this past week than I did either biking or running.  That's just weird...but it felt good.  Hopefully the hard work will pay off in the near future.  

1.03.2013

A Triathlon History

2012 was a pretty big training year.  Before getting into the details, let’s think about the big picture: I swam, biked, and ran more in 2012 than I ever have in my 5 year history of triathlon.  Most people love to get too deep in the weeds with regards to training (including me sometimes).  There are hundreds of studies that have been done on the right way to train; how often, how long, what intensity, whether or not to do weight training, when to go hard/ez/taper, etc.  Some of these studies even disagree with each other...imagine that!  Sure that stuff matters.  If you race a 40k on the bike then you better have been doing some intervals near threshold power.  You better have simulated the demands of the race in your training.  BUT, I think most fail to see the big picture; to be your best and reach your potential you need to get the work done day in and day out, year after year.  Consistency over time is the key.  Running 1,500 miles in a year will most likely make you a better runner than if you only did 1,000.  Swimming 600,000 yds in a year will likely be better than 500,000.  There is no substitute for hard work.

2008 - 2011 were pretty much spent training in the same fashion.  In general these years followed a pattern of 3 swims, 3 bikes, and 5 runs per week.  Build for 3 weeks and rest for 1 week.  Repeat, over and over.  Easier in the winter and lots of threshold biking and hard running closer to race season.  With some time off in the winter after the races were over, I usually ended up with 500-550 hrs or so each year.  Over this stretch from 2008-2011 I improved each year.  During 2011 I started to feel like the cumulative 3-4 years worth of training load was starting to pay off.  I won my first triathlon and started to really have some solid results.  My goals were changing (overall win vs. age group win) and I started to think about things I never thought were possible (qualify for pro/elite status vs. amateur status). 

With a weak swim that had plateaued and in need of a change in structure, for 2012 I decided to move to some high level coaching with the goal of “realizing my full potential” in this sport.  You never know what you can do until you fully commit to it, right?  After starting up with Brian at Accelerate3, my workout plan started to change form.  You’re a weak simmer?  Well, there’s only one thing that is going to fix that.  Swim harder and more often.  I think most (myself included) don’t know what kind of work it takes for most people to truly be fast in the water.  I think I'm beginning to learn now.  So 2012 in general looked something like this: more swimming, more biking, and a ton more running.  115,000 yds (23%) more swimming than last year.  Lots of hard work on the bike (long threshold sets that make you cry but make you a man).  And I ran 579 more miles (57%) than last year.  That is not insignificant.  All in all, I logged 671 hours; 121 hours and 22% more than last year.  That's 5 more days of training.  But more than anything it’s been a consistent training load for an entire year.  Just getting the work done day in and day out; mostly 2x per day with plenty of rest in between.  Lots of very tough days but not many days that really just kill you and take you out of commission.

 
But the real gauge is the results.  I made huge strides in running (18:40 to 17:50 5k, 1:28 to 1:25 half mary, and a 30 sec 10k tri race PR) and raced at 15-20 watts higher on the bike across the board.  I also won a local 5k and won the Cat 5 State Time Trial Championship and the Southeastern Regional Time Trial Championship.  I made marginal gains in swimming (race-wise) but in the pool I can tell I’m faster and can handle more volume.  I think it’s just a matter of time before work in the pool catches up with me.  If anything I start the bike in a slightly better physical state.  Triathlon-wise I had a handful of top 3 overall podiums as well as a top 3 in the age group championship division at the stacked Hy-Vee Triathlon.  More than anything I feel like a completely different athlete from last year, especially on the race course.  I feel as if I have more margin of error in bike pacing because I’m a stronger runner, and that I can be more aggressive on the bike without destroying myself.  Both these things lead to faster racing.  2013 has already started off great, and hopefully faster racing and good results will be forthcoming!