Internal Mono(b)log

It’s a generally heald belief that long-slow-distance running, does 1 thing very well: it makes you slow.  In fact, the extension is generally true, that the more LSD running you do, the slower you get, unless you’re specifically doing complementatry speed work to keep the tempo up.  The same is true of swimming: just logging long distances in the pool with no thoughts to tempo, technique, pace, etc. will make you slower and slower over time.

You’ll read again and again how the best use of time in the pool is focused workouts: some tempo, some drills, some long, etc.  I’ve adopted this recently.  Mondays are kick days (because my kick sucks and needs specific focus).  Tuesdays and Thursdays are easy/recovery/technique-focus days, where I’ll do a solid hour but focusing on streamlining, catch and pull body and arm position, kick connection, paddle work, etc.  Fridays are tempo days where I try to spend a lot of the workout near critical speed and really get my heart rate cranked.  Finally, Wednesdays are my long-swim days, but even these days are not just mindless kilometer after kilometer: I breakup the workout into segments and each of these segments will have a sub-focus of tempo, technique, drills, kick, etc. The great news is that it’s working for me.

This morning, while I was in the pool, I was pondering this and how it relates to Open Water swimming.  I realized that when it’s cold out and I’m in the pool, I’m very focused on tempo, and pace.  I’m measuring my splits and pushing for improvement.  In the past; however, when I got outside, I’d just swim for time or for distance, but I’d only measure it in the totality of the workout.  Its not surprising then, that my swim pace suffered when I got outside.  All the months of hard work in the pool destroyed by the lack of marked distances outside and the lack of my new-found understanding.

Obviously, with current technology (specifically the Garmin 910xt which I own and open water swim with), there is no excuse to lose my pool swim mentality when I get into open water.  The GPS will track distances for me and I can set alarms to go off every 400m (or whatever) and track my pace and effort to keep up the intensity and not lose all that I’m gaining.

Hurray for those moments of clarity!

Now if only May would get here so I can put this to practice 🙂

Some great drills here but more importantly what they correct for and how to tell if you should be focusing on them.  Nice!

Feel For The Water! Advice & Tips to Improve Your Swimming.: Should You Be Doing More Of That Drill You Hate?.

Here are some of my training stats from 2012.

Events

• Around The Bay (30k)
• 2 Marathons (Toronto Waterfront and Scotiabank)
• 1 Ultra (The North Face Endurance Challenge San Fran)
• 2 70.3’s (Panama and New Orleans)
• 1 Full Iron (Mont Tremblant)

Injuries

• Shin-splints for IM70.3 Panama – yea this one really sucked
• Shoulder strain from poor swim form – form fixed, shoulder too 🙂
• Adductor Magnus strain from 50k mud run in San Fran – repairing 😉

All in all a pretty amazing year.  On tap for 2013?

• Chilly 1/2 Marathon (C-Race)
• Around The Bay (B-Race)
• Toronto Waterfront and Scotiabank Marathons (C-Race)
• Leadman Epic 125 in Tempe, AZ (A-Race)
• Ironman Mont Tremblant (A-Race)
• probably 1 or 2 sprint/oly distance Tri’s for shits’n’giggles (C-Race)

My training focus for 2013 divides the year into quarters, generally in the format of “speed, then endurance, then an A-Race event”.  Need to push to get faster in 2013. I know I can do the distances, now to just do them faster.  Looking forward to some BIG brick workouts leading up to the A-Races in 2013!

Happy New Year Everyone!

I’ve been a long time fan of The Sufferfest cycle training videos.  As the name suggests these are true tests of your cycling mettle and the newest title The Wretched completely lives up to the Sufferfest standard.  In fact, it may set a new bar in Sufferlandia.

The Wretched runs for just less than an hour and is packed with suffer-inducing climbs, attacks and break away simulations using actual licensed footage from the Tour de France. 

The Sufferfest videos always include an RPE scale to indicate how hard you should be pushing in the given segment, but new to the Wretched is a cadence indicator.  So now with the effort and cadence guidance not only do you get a good hard (ok very hard) workout, but because of the cadence recommendations you’ll get to work different energy pathways and muscle groups while participating in a breakaway or a long and tortuous mountain climb.  The addition of cadence is a great idea and is well implemented.  You’ll love to hate this feature. 🙂

For those of you with computrainers, tacx trainers or other computer-integrated bike trainers, the sufferfest courses are programmed into Perfpro, Trainerroad and others so that the effort output is managed for you synced to the course.  The cadence is still up to you, but do it and feel the burn 🙂

If you, like so many of us, are stuck on the trainer for the winter months, I encourage you to try the Sufferfest videos, they really help you mix up the trainer work and keep it interesting.  

Enjoy the suffer.

June 8-10th I organized an Ironman Mont Tremblant Training camp.  It was a “ruffing it” style event where people were generally on their own for meals and accommodations.   The majority of us were camping at Camping Boreal, but some, in light of the terrible weather when we arrived on Friday, chose to find a nearby motel and rough-it a little less 🙂

Read more… »

I’m still having a hard time believing it’s here, but tomorrow afternoon I board a plane and head South to “Big Easy” for the 2012 Ochsner Ironman 70.3 New Orleans.  I guess it started feeling real a week ago when I dropped caffeine from my diet, and a little more so on the weekend when I picked up the bike case, but today I started day 1 of pre-race taper and tonight I pack.  Of course, landing in New Orleans and being issued my bib number will definitely bring it all home.  Heh! Writing this I feel the pre-race tummy flutter and skin flush.  Funny!

It’s also funny: I spent so much time training and specifically prepping for IM Panama that NOLA seems minor by comparison – I had mentally put a lot of emphasis on Panama, perhaps a little too much, and ended up injured and not completing.  I’m coming into NOLA with a much more relaxed feel, I still plan on going out and pushing hard, but a lot of the inappropriate self-stressors seem to not be around this time, which is good.  Ian’s been working me hard and I’ve continued to build on the fitness I had going into Panama.  Coming into this race I feel really solid: my health is good, no injuries, my new bike is amazing(!!!).  I just need to get myself down there, recover from the travel, continue my taper and then on Sunday, go out and have a blast!  I’ve already connected with some locals, so, with luck, I’ll have some company for taper runs, swims, and rides.

For Panama, just a few months ago, I did a big pre-race blog build-up, I won’t repeat all that material here since so much of it is the same (diet, carb loading protocol, etc.).  Packing a little lighter for this trip since I’m only down in NOLA for a few days and because the odds of finding anything I need in NOLA are much higher than they were in Panama.

I’ll post my bib number and results tracking link as soon as they’re available.

Wish me luck!

Today I had to do a 3.5hr ride and brick run, the weather in Toronto was finally cooperative and I decided to take my new Storck Aero2is (aka Gertie) out for her maiden voyage, and I have to say that I’m very happy I did so, on a number of fronts.  The boys at Blacksmith Cycle did a great job putting her together and for her maiden voyage there were very few glitches.

Here’s a pic of me and Gertie:

Was a great day for a ride today, temp in the low teens (Celsius), light winds, full sun: hard to beat especially in April in Toronto!  I was a little concerned about being cold (especially my feet) but was pretty good with a jersey, shorts, arm and leg warmers and gloves.

For fuel today I relied exclusively on First Endurance EFS Liquid Shot.  Liquid shot is amazing stuff: 400cal’s per flask, comes in bulk quantities, has no gelling agents (which are sometimes causes of GI distress and are frequently diuretics), and has very high electrolyte levels (over 1.5g) and amino acids (over 1g).  If you haven’t tried Liquid Shot, you’ve done yourself a disservice.  Also, First Endurance just released a new flavour of Liquid Shot: Kona Mocha.  This is probably the best flavour going (followed, in my opinion, by vanilla).  You have to try it!

Loving the DI2

Before I talk about any negatives, I have to rave about DI2.  I’ll start by warning you: Don’t test ride a bike with DI2 unless you’re planning to upgrade to DI2!  Seriously!  On TT bikes and tri-bikes having the shifters on both the aerobar ends and on the brake levers, is ridiculously cool!  And cool in ways that I didn’t expect!

I expected to love the extra shifters on the brakes when I had to stop or pull up a hill or suddenly needed to be in a lower gear than I had been, and sure, they’re good for that.  But, they’re also GREAT when you’re up out of the saddle, cranking hard, and want to be in a higher gear (passing, climbing, getting cadence back up, etc.).  Being able to, with the touch of a finger, be in the gear you want to be in is FREAKING AMAZING!

Historically, I didn’t go to indexed shifting because I found the indexing difficult to tune (especially if you were changing wheels or cassettes frequently)  and, psychologically, I found the indexing somehow more difficult to operate (don’t ask – I know it doesn’t make sense).  So I always turned off indexed shifting and used friction mode.  I found that in friction mode I shifted more often and maintained consistent power output better.  Well, move over friction, DI2 has clobbered that.  I now find myself shifting like a man possessed: “oh this is a little harder” <shift down>.. “this is too easy” <shift up>.  Power output: super consistent!  Love! LOVE! LOVE!!!

Teething Pains and Torhans Woes

Generally, Gertie is amazing! So much fun to ride: stiff, fast and responsive. There is, in fact, nothing about this bike I don’t like! But I did have a few minor teething pains today. The two worth mentioning were the seat height adjustment and my frustrations with the Torhans 30 hydration system.

1st seat height: my 2nd biggest source of frustration on the ride.  6 times I had to stop and reset my seat height as the adjuster had loosened off from road vibrations.  I was a little nervous about over-tightening the adjuster as I didn’t want to stress the frame (I’m going to see if there are torque guidelines for the adjuster, but haven’t yet).   The adjuster is hard to describe, but it’s a wedge that sits in front of the seat post and is pulled into a friction position with a screw.  Anyhow.. I’ve added a little friction tape to the assembly and think that this may solve the problem as there was really very little that the assembly could get purchase on to stop it from vibrating loose.  Definitely happy that I found (and hopefully fixed) this before NOLA in 2 weeks.  Of course, all the riding on the trainer didn’t show this because there were no road bumps to shake it loose.  I’ll have to get out on the road a few more times before I leave for NOLA to make sure this is sorted.

My biggest frustration on the ride though, has to be the Torhans 30 hydration system.  OH! MY! GAWD! I HATE this thing.  In Panama I used it for the 1st time and was sprayed with the contents repeatedly.  I just figured I was doing something wrong, so I hit the net and did some research.  I found some people who said they only filled similar systems 1/2 full to get around spray issues.  I found some other people who said to cut a little triangle out of the inner spray-back flap so that filling put more liquid into the bottle and less in the gap between the 2 covers.  Well, I tried both of these approaches today and I still ended up wearing a LOT of the contents of the bottle.  I got so frustrated with it, that at one point I was really tempted to yank it off the bike and drop it at the side of the road!   Suffice it to say, it’s going (want it?  Make me an offer!)  I’ll go back to a water bottle between the bars or better yet a Speedfil A2.

Baby Pictures

As promised here are some baby pictures of Gertie.

Here she is as ridden today, don’t really love the HED Tri-Spoke but it’s an ok training wheel:

Love the Adamo Podium saddle, looks like one of the surprise potholes I hit dropped the nose a bit – it started the ride level!

Classic speedfil for water – love this system:

Quarq powermeter, Look Keo Blade pedals and DI2 (tasty!):

More Di2 (rear):

The cockpit, 910xt and the soon to be GONE Torhans 30:

Bike Pure:

Want a ride like this?  I bet you do!  Talk to the folks at Blacksmith Cycle, they’ll hook you up.  Storck isn’t  a well known brand in North America (yet), but based on the performance of this beauty, that’s soon going to change!  Wow! Just WOW!

Barefoot Versus Running Shoes: Which Is (Surprisingly) More Efficient? | Sweat Science.

Now, it is just 1 study, so hardly conclusive, but interesting none the less.

Further I think that the long-term benefits of learning to run in a good barefoot form and doing some training that way, though not necessarily racing that way or always running that way, are not insignificant.

Right back on that horse!

Well I tried to talk Kim into going to New Orleans for IM70.3 New Orleans in April. Thought that we could have a week in the “Big Easy” and I could take a couple of days in the middle to race prep and race perhaps allowing her to explore sites that I otherwise wouldn’t be interested in (museums, galleries, etc.).  But, she’s not biting.  Too bad, I really thought this could be a fun vacation.

IM70.3 Syracuse is June 24.  Its close to home, only a 4 hour drive and I can probably rent a van or find someone with a camper to borrow and do it on the cheap (i.e. camp).

So I’m now registered and training for Syracuse. Same goal: IM70.3 Worlds qualifier slot for Vegas in September.

18 weeks, 5 days of training… divide by 4… 4 cycles build/recovery cycles with 2 weeks and 5 days of whatever Ian throws at me.  Oh my… I’m gonna be an ANIMAL!

RAWR!

Ok Ian… BRINGIT!  Let’s gett’er done!

The taper is in full swing starting today.  My only workout today an easy swim, my last swim until Sunday.  Tomorrow is an easy run and carb loading day.

Today and tomorrow, and in general for the next few days, as my physical training drops off, my mental training comes to the fore.  A small part of this is being “good” and following my taper plan, consciously staying off my feet, keeping my pre-race excitement in check, and stretching regularly.  Yes, these are part of mental conditioning, and important, but the mental preparedness that I’m talking about is the race visualization, and answering all the “what if’s?”.

The “What If’s?” can really wobble your confidence and prep.  What if I panic in the swim? What if I drink too much salt water? What if I get a puncture? What if my bike breaks?  What if… what IF… WHAT IF?!

At this point in training you’ve done all you can. You’re at the best you can be and no amount of training cramming at the last moment will change anything.   All that is in your control has been assessed and addressed.  All that’s left is mental discipline and the chance for bad luck.

Mental discipline keeps you to your plan.  Sure race the race, but do it smartly, by your plan!  Don’t have a race plan?  Really?!  Now isn’t really the time to formulate one, but if you have to look back at your training logs.  Understand what pace/effort you can maintain for this duration event.  Don’t plan to burn your candle entirely on the bike, leaving nothing for the run.  On the day, you need to fight the excitement of the day, and race your plan.

Prior to race day, there are a number of things you should do to support later visualization exerciese.

• Eyeball the swim (swim it if you can), and especially the swim exit and T1 transition.  Are there any gotchas? Anything you need to keep in mind?  Landmarks to use for the swim.
• Drive or ride the bike route, make mental notes of distances, challenging hills, obstacles, etc.  Pre-riding the course is super-valuable if you can manage it.  Try to enter T2 as you would on the bike so you know what it looks like and where it is.
• Scope out T2, especially where the run exit is and again, if possible, walk or run out the exit as you will on race day.
• Run or drive the bike course with the same thoughts in mind: obstacles, landmarks, challenges and rewards in mind.
• Finally return to the finish and enter is as you will as a runner.  Know where it is, what the configuration is and lock the image in your head.

You’ll use all this legwork in pre-race visualizations.

Visualization is powerful you see the race in it’s perfect state.  Mentally rehearse every step you’ll go through, leave no detail out.  This is your only chance to “practice the race”.  See yourself swimming strong, see your stroke, your alignment in the water, breathing properly, good body position, etc..  Visualize the steps you’ll go through as you exit the swim and in T1.   Visualize yourself pacing yourself properly according to your race plan, taking on nutrition, drinking, visiting aide stations smoothly.  See yourself handing the challenging parts of the course with a smile and enjoying the rewarding parts with a laugh.  Visualize entering T2 on your schedule.  See yourself moving through T2 and out on the run.  Again on the run, see yourself running strong.  Good posture, good fuelling.  Strong through the challenges, resting during the rewards.  Finally, see yourself finishing, at your goal time and allow yourself to feel the joy of the day.

So visualization exercises allow you to experience the perfect day, to examine each detail and to visually practice the race.  Mental preparedness is the other side of the coin: preparedness answers the “what if’s?”

It’s completely normal to have stray distressing and distracting thoughts come through your head as race day approaches.  “What if I puncture?”, “What if I bonk?”, etc.

Some of these are addressed by your mental discipline and visualization: you won’t bonk because you’re going to follow your proven nutrition strategy using race-day nutrition you’ve tested and used in training.

Some of these are addressed by mental preparedness:  “What if I puncture?”  Simple, I’ll get off the bike and fix it. I have a spare and co2 and know how to use them both.  Sure, odds are good that my PR is gone, but I’ll finish what I’ve started.

And finally, some thoughts, are just so “out there” that you just need to laugh at them and put them aside. “What if my bike breaks?”, “What if I crash and am injured and unable to continue?”, etc. These are in the category of: “this is so unlikely I’m not going to worry about it and if it happens I’ll deal with it then”.

Yes, luck plays a part in long-course racing, not so much the good type – but certainly the bad can be there.  Broken cables, crashes, broken bikes, broken athletes.  The opportunity for bad luck definitely exists, but dwelling on it pre-race is not helpful or useful, so just put it aside.

Sorry this post has been a bit long.  The mental game of triathlon is super important.  I think many people don’t give it the time that it needs.   If you aren’t mentally prepared, all the physical training you have under your belt will melt away at the 1st challenge.

Good luck out there!