On Tuesday I did my very first set of Tabata intervals. Ummm... to say these are challenging is an understatement. Here's the quick and dirty: 20 sec MAX intensity, followed by 10 seconds rest. Repeat 8 times. Yup, that's it. Sounds easy, I mean that's a whopping 4 minutes of work, it should be cake.... right?
Wrong.
Wrong.
WRONG!
I did a measly 3 and was utterly and completely fried. I think for the first one I hit ~750 watts, the second one I'm not sure, I'd guess maybe 550, the 3rd one I may have peaked around 420 and I was done. I did take a rest and banged off a couple of more, just because I was so humbled by the initial 3 and that I couldn't live with myself by scheduling to do 8 and walking away only doing 3!
Ahh well, now I have something to shoot for, next time I'm going to shoot for 5 in a row - probably a little more realistic.
Training for last week was OK. Bike time suffered a bit, but got some good running mileage in. Sally and I threw a party last night, so today I'm suffering from lack of quality sleep and partaking in a tad too many beverages. I paid my penance though.. by running 22k... it was challenging. The numbers: swim 9.6k, spin: 3 hrs, bike: 50k and run: 75.5k.
This is a scheduled rest week, but I'm mixing it up a bit. Looking to log a bit of bike time Mon-Thurs, then do a 72hour mini taper/rest and then race Owen Sound on Aug 4. Did someone say race? Yes!
Off to sleep now.. I'm thinking 10 hours should suffice.
Cheers!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
The Genetic Excuse
What's easier?
Saying that you do not have the mental fortitude, desire, time, physical ability, willingness to sacrifice, focus etc...
OR..
"I'm limited by my genes."
It's human nature to take the easy road. It's unfortunate that many of us define our ability before we even get to the start line. Somehow I doubt a true champion does this. I read that the great Peter Reid, didn't think he was genetically gifted and that he only did as well as he did through years of hard, consistent work. (imagine!)
I'm sure you could probably map out the genetic component on some sort of bell curve, BUT and this is a big but, you wouldn't be able to map the mental aspects of what makes a champion. These are the intangibles that will transcend any genetic bell curve and make truly great athletes. So if you want to use the 'genetic excuse' by all means do so, but all you are really doing is self imposing your own limit.
~~
Cycling story of the week.
Was out riding the other day when I saw some sort of black, very stealth looking helicopter skimming the trees. It was buzzing around, disappear, pop back up - it seemed to be flying pretty aggressive. Not something I see everyday and was pretty cool. Something was going on, though I had no idea what. Fast forward....
Same road, about 15k down. A woman wearing pink leathers driving a large Fat Boy Harley passes me. Yea that's cool too. Men on Harley's = obnoxious. Women on Harley's = cool. Anyway, about 10 minutes later, the road comes to a "T" and she's pulled over to the side. Ahhh a damsel in distress... and we're both on two wheels.. even if I'm completely dorked out in cycling spandex. (what have I become...?)
It turns out she's looking for some TV shoot that's suppose to be happening on this very road. It slowly dawns on me that maybe.. just maybe that helicopter I saw way back was involved. She said 'that's it!'. But before she goes, I ask if she'll trade rides - just for a spin. She says, and I quote:
"Well I would, but this one is my Mom's - mines in shop!"
Gee, didn't see that one coming.
Being a TV-o-phobe, I have no idea who it was - but we wished each other a great ride and went our separate ways.
~~
Training.
A solid week. Monday: easy 2.7k swim. Tues:15.5k run featuring hill repeats, 1 hour hard ride. Wed: 3k swim, 12k of interval work on the treadmill. Thurs: run 17, spin 1 hour (4X9min at threshold). Fri: run 8k (treadmill, 7% incline at 7mph, held it to 140 HR), 45min spin (5X3min at 115% of threshold). Sat: O/W swim 2.4k, bike 100k, run 10k. Today: 2.5hr spin (did the Ergvideo of Lake Placid while watching IronmanLive of the Lake Placid race-at the same time, cool.) To do: run 10k before dinner.
But first..
a nap!
Cheers!
Saying that you do not have the mental fortitude, desire, time, physical ability, willingness to sacrifice, focus etc...
OR..
"I'm limited by my genes."
It's human nature to take the easy road. It's unfortunate that many of us define our ability before we even get to the start line. Somehow I doubt a true champion does this. I read that the great Peter Reid, didn't think he was genetically gifted and that he only did as well as he did through years of hard, consistent work. (imagine!)
I'm sure you could probably map out the genetic component on some sort of bell curve, BUT and this is a big but, you wouldn't be able to map the mental aspects of what makes a champion. These are the intangibles that will transcend any genetic bell curve and make truly great athletes. So if you want to use the 'genetic excuse' by all means do so, but all you are really doing is self imposing your own limit.
~~
Cycling story of the week.
Was out riding the other day when I saw some sort of black, very stealth looking helicopter skimming the trees. It was buzzing around, disappear, pop back up - it seemed to be flying pretty aggressive. Not something I see everyday and was pretty cool. Something was going on, though I had no idea what. Fast forward....
Same road, about 15k down. A woman wearing pink leathers driving a large Fat Boy Harley passes me. Yea that's cool too. Men on Harley's = obnoxious. Women on Harley's = cool. Anyway, about 10 minutes later, the road comes to a "T" and she's pulled over to the side. Ahhh a damsel in distress... and we're both on two wheels.. even if I'm completely dorked out in cycling spandex. (what have I become...?)
It turns out she's looking for some TV shoot that's suppose to be happening on this very road. It slowly dawns on me that maybe.. just maybe that helicopter I saw way back was involved. She said 'that's it!'. But before she goes, I ask if she'll trade rides - just for a spin. She says, and I quote:
"Well I would, but this one is my Mom's - mines in shop!"
Gee, didn't see that one coming.
Being a TV-o-phobe, I have no idea who it was - but we wished each other a great ride and went our separate ways.
~~
Training.
A solid week. Monday: easy 2.7k swim. Tues:15.5k run featuring hill repeats, 1 hour hard ride. Wed: 3k swim, 12k of interval work on the treadmill. Thurs: run 17, spin 1 hour (4X9min at threshold). Fri: run 8k (treadmill, 7% incline at 7mph, held it to 140 HR), 45min spin (5X3min at 115% of threshold). Sat: O/W swim 2.4k, bike 100k, run 10k. Today: 2.5hr spin (did the Ergvideo of Lake Placid while watching IronmanLive of the Lake Placid race-at the same time, cool.) To do: run 10k before dinner.
But first..
a nap!
Cheers!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Focus
There was interesting thread on the board I hang out on but hardly ever post - Slowtwitch. If you didn't read the link, it has to do with "fast guys" and over 40. I thought about this alot during training this week and was trying to come up with some sort of underlying principles.
First, I'm not even going to define fast. It's relative term, what's fast to me might not be fast to you. It's also completely elusive as the definition changes as goals are met and you start entertain new possibilities.
I think one of the primary attributes ANY "fast" athlete has is Focus. Focus trumps all - it encompasses stuff like dedication, consistency etc. When one is 'focused' things naturally start to fall in place; it could be diet, rest, a tough training week etc... I look back on my training log for the last 7 months and I can count on two fingers the number of workouts I've bailed on - solely because I've been in a focused state. (don't worry, I'll go very UN-focused in the fall). The point being, at age 25 I was more concerned about having a good time. Now at age 40, I don't care if I crash at 9pm on a Friday night, I have early Sat morning ride to look forward to!
A willingness to learn and/or try something 'new'. At the beginning of every year for the last four years, I ask myself "how can I train smarter this year?" Most of us have jobs and responsibilities and a result we have limited time to train - using that time as wisely/smartly as possible is a must. Personal experience: for that last 3 years, I tried to 'race' an Ironman and each time I was schooled.. hard. Each year, I'd train 'more', go longer and think I was ready by the time the next one rolled around. I wasn't. I finally got it through my skull, that starting at an Ironman level maybe wasn't the best thing to do. Totally changed my approach this year and have been lucky enough to score a PB in each race I've done. (5/5) Fortunately, I'm *usually* not that slow of a learner! EVERY year, I've changed or tweaked the program. EVERYday, I peruse Slowtwitch and host of elite athlete and coaches blogs and glean very helpful tidbits of information - some I use, some I don't. Ultimately, only you can figure out what's best for you. (though a good coach can help/speed the process up).
Look down the road. Two years down the road. Long term is not 2 months from now.It takes a long time to get good. Most coaches/athletes say 10 years - only then you've made it the first rung. Patience. Re-adjust your focus to the long term, then start taking the necessary steps to get there. One step, one building block at a time.
Lastly, go outside the box. Even at the elite level, athletic formulas and training protocols are always changing. Why? Because someone, dared to go outside a prescribed mode of thinking. Dabble outside the box every so often, who knows what you'll find. My personal 'outside the box' thing is take 4, 6 .. 8 weeks off, completely off. No training, no triathlon, no blogging. Just time to rest, pursue other interests, gain some weight, do whatever. Sure, I'll lose a ton fitness (don't care), but once I start to get that itch to start back up again, the slate is clean, the system is purged and I'm ready to go.
~~
Training for the week:
I'm totally amazed at how fast I bounced back after Peterborough. An obvious function of improved fitness! Monday was an easy 2.1k swim. Tuesday was a short 6k treadmill run and a 1hr spin. Wednesday was 3.3k swim and 9k run. Thursday was back in the groove with a quick 90k ride followed by a 7.5k run. Friday: 10k run, spin 1 hour. Sat: Run 22k, spin 1 hour. Sun: Bike 130k, run 7k.
Totals:
Swim: 5.4k
Spin: 3 hrs
Bike: 220k
Run: 62k
This week the 'plan' (always subject to change) will be tougher than normal. Some mid week 10mile runs and some back to back long rides on tap for the weekend. Have a frikin awesome week!
Cheers!
First, I'm not even going to define fast. It's relative term, what's fast to me might not be fast to you. It's also completely elusive as the definition changes as goals are met and you start entertain new possibilities.
I think one of the primary attributes ANY "fast" athlete has is Focus. Focus trumps all - it encompasses stuff like dedication, consistency etc. When one is 'focused' things naturally start to fall in place; it could be diet, rest, a tough training week etc... I look back on my training log for the last 7 months and I can count on two fingers the number of workouts I've bailed on - solely because I've been in a focused state. (don't worry, I'll go very UN-focused in the fall). The point being, at age 25 I was more concerned about having a good time. Now at age 40, I don't care if I crash at 9pm on a Friday night, I have early Sat morning ride to look forward to!
A willingness to learn and/or try something 'new'. At the beginning of every year for the last four years, I ask myself "how can I train smarter this year?" Most of us have jobs and responsibilities and a result we have limited time to train - using that time as wisely/smartly as possible is a must. Personal experience: for that last 3 years, I tried to 'race' an Ironman and each time I was schooled.. hard. Each year, I'd train 'more', go longer and think I was ready by the time the next one rolled around. I wasn't. I finally got it through my skull, that starting at an Ironman level maybe wasn't the best thing to do. Totally changed my approach this year and have been lucky enough to score a PB in each race I've done. (5/5) Fortunately, I'm *usually* not that slow of a learner! EVERY year, I've changed or tweaked the program. EVERYday, I peruse Slowtwitch and host of elite athlete and coaches blogs and glean very helpful tidbits of information - some I use, some I don't. Ultimately, only you can figure out what's best for you. (though a good coach can help/speed the process up).
Look down the road. Two years down the road. Long term is not 2 months from now.It takes a long time to get good. Most coaches/athletes say 10 years - only then you've made it the first rung. Patience. Re-adjust your focus to the long term, then start taking the necessary steps to get there. One step, one building block at a time.
Lastly, go outside the box. Even at the elite level, athletic formulas and training protocols are always changing. Why? Because someone, dared to go outside a prescribed mode of thinking. Dabble outside the box every so often, who knows what you'll find. My personal 'outside the box' thing is take 4, 6 .. 8 weeks off, completely off. No training, no triathlon, no blogging. Just time to rest, pursue other interests, gain some weight, do whatever. Sure, I'll lose a ton fitness (don't care), but once I start to get that itch to start back up again, the slate is clean, the system is purged and I'm ready to go.
~~
Training for the week:
I'm totally amazed at how fast I bounced back after Peterborough. An obvious function of improved fitness! Monday was an easy 2.1k swim. Tuesday was a short 6k treadmill run and a 1hr spin. Wednesday was 3.3k swim and 9k run. Thursday was back in the groove with a quick 90k ride followed by a 7.5k run. Friday: 10k run, spin 1 hour. Sat: Run 22k, spin 1 hour. Sun: Bike 130k, run 7k.
Totals:
Swim: 5.4k
Spin: 3 hrs
Bike: 220k
Run: 62k
This week the 'plan' (always subject to change) will be tougher than normal. Some mid week 10mile runs and some back to back long rides on tap for the weekend. Have a frikin awesome week!
Cheers!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Monday, July 07, 2008
Kickin it ... old school.
Peterborough Half Iron Race Report
So I admit, I haven't been around this sport long enough to know what 'old school' is, but I'm certainly 'old enough' to theorize! No heart rate monitor, no power meter, 2 bottles for the bike, no patch kit, spare tire or CO2 -something I don't necessarily recommend - arrive, setup and get to the swim start with 6 minutes to spare - again, something I don't recommend! Instead, I used perceived effort (sometimes known as deceived effort), listened to breathing (I can pretty much tell what HR zone I'm in by how hard I'm breathing) and lastly.. the ol stomach trick (any hint of nausea means back off bucko).
So..
did it work? Read on..
The Swim (2k)
Time: 29:46 AG placing: 2 OA placing: 12.
Actually the guy who placed ahead me only did 1 loop on the swim and DQ'd... so technically the places are bumped up by 1.
My swim was OK. The time includes a fairly long run to the TZ, but in my head I'm wondering why I'm not faster. In the pool, my 'swim all day' pace is 1:27-1:29/100m, so I'm barely just meeting that in a race. I'm seriously contemplating ditching my wetsuit and only using it for cold water swims - but that's a topic for another day.
It was fairly uneventful, there was a long line of about 7 swimmers and we all seemed to be content with following each others feet. Which was basically the way it went for 2 loops.
The Bike (90k)
Time: 2:22 A/G placing: 1 Overall: 7
After a reasonably quick transition, I was on the bike and wasn't exactly sure what position I was in. My strategy was simple: controlled chaos. The first 10 to 20k I wanted to take it easy, get the HR down from the swim, breath deeply and relax. I passed couple of young'uns and was passed by a pro and that was all the traffic I saw for a very. long. time. I never looked back, just buried my head, tried to be as aero and slippery as possible and pedalled away.
I enjoyed the course, it's not super hard, probably best described as rolling type course. A few hills, but I didn't even need to use the small chainring and the weather /wind was damn near perfect.
After the turn around, I was mildly surprised to see about half a dozen guys only a 2 or 3 minutes behind me. It's deceiving, I had no one in front of me the longest time, so it was a kick in the head to see the guys that were chasing me down and they weren't far behind! I counted the guys ahead and was riding in 5th place and was moving at a good clip. I got surprised in the last 8k when a guy passed me, he wasn't hammering, so I just stayed about 50 feet behind him, dialed the effort down a notch and cruised in T2.
In the end, it was zippy bike split and I blew away my own expectations. I was expecting to average to ~37kph and ended up at 38kph on the nose. Was quite happy to see that!
The Run
Time: 1:32 A/G placing: 4 Overall: 20
Ahhh the run. Now comes the point in every race where you start to pay the piper. Did I bike too hard? Are my legs pooched? I leave T2 and immediately start banging off 4min/k - whoa, too fast. I know I'm going to fast, but do I slow down? No, no I don't. I held 4min/k for the first 7k THEN started to pay. Not the smartest move. But I'm running scared. After each turn around I see guys that are breathing down my neck and some of them look STRONG. I'm scared I'm going to blow-up and they are just going to pass me and put me out of my misery. But I held on.
Aaron spots me yells out: "Go Walton, you're in 6th!" Despite being an unhappy camper, I chuckle to myself, he brought me out of the I-feel-sorry-myself-funk I was in and I tried to step it up a notch.
In the end I get passed by a pro and 2 fast young'uns - real runners. I have no chance in keeping up with them. But I can feel the guys in my AG breathing down my neck.. 'just hold it together'.. I say to myself.
4k to go... I think I saw Cliff at this point, but I wasn't in my happy place and couldn't give the props he was due.
3k to go..
they are gaining...
2k to go..
don't look back, just run..
1k to go..
man this going to feel so good to stop..
500m...
ok, look back..
what the hell? I'm safe? SWEET!
Cruise the last 500m.
Time: 4:26:27. A/G placing: 1. O/A: 8.
What the hell? Better than my wildest expectations. My A+ goal was to go sub 4:30, I thought realistically I'd come in the 4:32-33 range. So yea, I'm a happy guy. :)
Mike Woodford scored 2nd place and was a mere 1 minute behind me. Honestly, he just ran out of real estate, he was going to run me down, no question about it. His run was about 4 min faster than mine, but I had enough of a cushion from the swim and bike to hold him off. So, like I said, I was running scared.
Devashish Paul came 3rd in our age group a mere 2 minutes behind Mike! A tough, close race, with 30% of the top 10 overall being of the 40+ crowd! And I thought the 35-39 age group was competitive - these guys are animals!
Cheers!
So I admit, I haven't been around this sport long enough to know what 'old school' is, but I'm certainly 'old enough' to theorize! No heart rate monitor, no power meter, 2 bottles for the bike, no patch kit, spare tire or CO2 -something I don't necessarily recommend - arrive, setup and get to the swim start with 6 minutes to spare - again, something I don't recommend! Instead, I used perceived effort (sometimes known as deceived effort), listened to breathing (I can pretty much tell what HR zone I'm in by how hard I'm breathing) and lastly.. the ol stomach trick (any hint of nausea means back off bucko).
So..
did it work? Read on..
The Swim (2k)
Time: 29:46 AG placing: 2 OA placing: 12.
Actually the guy who placed ahead me only did 1 loop on the swim and DQ'd... so technically the places are bumped up by 1.
My swim was OK. The time includes a fairly long run to the TZ, but in my head I'm wondering why I'm not faster. In the pool, my 'swim all day' pace is 1:27-1:29/100m, so I'm barely just meeting that in a race. I'm seriously contemplating ditching my wetsuit and only using it for cold water swims - but that's a topic for another day.
It was fairly uneventful, there was a long line of about 7 swimmers and we all seemed to be content with following each others feet. Which was basically the way it went for 2 loops.
The Bike (90k)
Time: 2:22 A/G placing: 1 Overall: 7
After a reasonably quick transition, I was on the bike and wasn't exactly sure what position I was in. My strategy was simple: controlled chaos. The first 10 to 20k I wanted to take it easy, get the HR down from the swim, breath deeply and relax. I passed couple of young'uns and was passed by a pro and that was all the traffic I saw for a very. long. time. I never looked back, just buried my head, tried to be as aero and slippery as possible and pedalled away.
I enjoyed the course, it's not super hard, probably best described as rolling type course. A few hills, but I didn't even need to use the small chainring and the weather /wind was damn near perfect.
After the turn around, I was mildly surprised to see about half a dozen guys only a 2 or 3 minutes behind me. It's deceiving, I had no one in front of me the longest time, so it was a kick in the head to see the guys that were chasing me down and they weren't far behind! I counted the guys ahead and was riding in 5th place and was moving at a good clip. I got surprised in the last 8k when a guy passed me, he wasn't hammering, so I just stayed about 50 feet behind him, dialed the effort down a notch and cruised in T2.
In the end, it was zippy bike split and I blew away my own expectations. I was expecting to average to ~37kph and ended up at 38kph on the nose. Was quite happy to see that!
The Run
Time: 1:32 A/G placing: 4 Overall: 20
Ahhh the run. Now comes the point in every race where you start to pay the piper. Did I bike too hard? Are my legs pooched? I leave T2 and immediately start banging off 4min/k - whoa, too fast. I know I'm going to fast, but do I slow down? No, no I don't. I held 4min/k for the first 7k THEN started to pay. Not the smartest move. But I'm running scared. After each turn around I see guys that are breathing down my neck and some of them look STRONG. I'm scared I'm going to blow-up and they are just going to pass me and put me out of my misery. But I held on.
Aaron spots me yells out: "Go Walton, you're in 6th!" Despite being an unhappy camper, I chuckle to myself, he brought me out of the I-feel-sorry-myself-funk I was in and I tried to step it up a notch.
In the end I get passed by a pro and 2 fast young'uns - real runners. I have no chance in keeping up with them. But I can feel the guys in my AG breathing down my neck.. 'just hold it together'.. I say to myself.
4k to go... I think I saw Cliff at this point, but I wasn't in my happy place and couldn't give the props he was due.
3k to go..
they are gaining...
2k to go..
don't look back, just run..
1k to go..
man this going to feel so good to stop..
500m...
ok, look back..
what the hell? I'm safe? SWEET!
Cruise the last 500m.
Time: 4:26:27. A/G placing: 1. O/A: 8.
What the hell? Better than my wildest expectations. My A+ goal was to go sub 4:30, I thought realistically I'd come in the 4:32-33 range. So yea, I'm a happy guy. :)
Mike Woodford scored 2nd place and was a mere 1 minute behind me. Honestly, he just ran out of real estate, he was going to run me down, no question about it. His run was about 4 min faster than mine, but I had enough of a cushion from the swim and bike to hold him off. So, like I said, I was running scared.
Devashish Paul came 3rd in our age group a mere 2 minutes behind Mike! A tough, close race, with 30% of the top 10 overall being of the 40+ crowd! And I thought the 35-39 age group was competitive - these guys are animals!
Cheers!
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