Lakes of the North and Christmas

This past Saturday I did a xc ski race at Lakes of the North. It was a shorter race...10k, but considering how little most people have been on snow so far this year it was just the right distance. My skiing technique isn't the best, but somehow I'm able to keep up with the top guys. I guess all the training I do for triathlon carries over nicely. I came 8th and was only a minute or so down from the podium. I'll take it though considering how little ski time I put in...usually once a week for 1-2 hours.

I never know what to wear for these ski races. You warm up quick so you don't want to be over dressed. I wore the Zoot Ultra long sleeve cycling jersey and then the wind vest over top. I also wore the Zoot winter beenie. That, with some cycling tights and I was dressed just about perfectly for a 30 degree morning in N. Michigan.

Training has been going well. I am taking an easier week this week before ramping things back up. I am itching to start in with a little more serious training, but it was important I be patient these past 4 weeks as my body just wasn't ready to start getting after it quite yet. I guess you could call it a transition month or just getting the body moving every day. It seems to have worked because I feel completely back to normal and ready to start making gains for 2013.

On another note, I've been inducted into the Otsego County Sports Hall of Fame. The article in the paper can be found here . It really is an honor and I feel very blessed to have received the award. I had a ton of support, mainly through my folks and siblings during my youth and really that support continues today. Rachel has been there for every step too since starting triathlon and it wouldn't be possible without her encouragement.

Christmas has come and gone for another year. As always my parents (really my Mom:) went overboard and got all of the grandkids way too much. Kennedy was awesome opening presents. She had a blast playing with some new toys and showing off her new clothes. The best thing about Christmas is being to spend time with my siblings as we don't get to do that a whole lot any more. It's also nice to catch up with extended family.

Back to reality a bit now (minus teaching so really I'm on vacation!). 3 workouts already today and I'm considering a short ski later if I feel good. It's amazing how much you can get in with not having to work. I wouldn't trade my life for anything though.

Thanks for reading.

And so it begins

And we're off! The first two weeks of training for the 2013 season have gone pretty well. The body is coming around ever so slowly, but I think by the end of the 3rd week or so I will feel right as rain. There is a fair amount of debate over incorporating recovery weeks into one's training program. I have done it both ways...3 weeks up and then one week down/recovery. Last year I didn't take recovery weeks, but incorporated a little more active recovery each week. This year I'll be reverting back to about 3 weeks on and one week off. This gets trickier once racing starts, but during my base and race prep phases I will be following that basic 4 week cycle. Lots of research backs the 21 days on and then needing some more rest than usual to fully utilize the concept of overcompensation. The key in my opinion is keeping some intensity just like you might in a taper during a recovery week. Otherwise, you tend to feel pretty rotten. You drop the volume to about half of whatever you did in the 3rd week of the cycle. I also make sure I take one day completely off during the rest week.

So far here are some examples of some swim, bike, run sessions. This morning I swam 2200 yds. I did a 500 IM order at an easy pace, 200k w/ fins at a moderate effort, 100 pull at steady state, 5 x 50 band only ON 1:00, hitting about 40-45 sec., 5 x 50 drill/swim, 700 paddles w/ the 2nd half using a pull buoy, 200 cd working on sighting and dolphin diving. Swim volume is pretty low right now, but that will gradually increase as we go to where most sessions will be in the 4k range with one longer swim each week since an IM swim is 4k itself. If you don't ever swim longer than that you will have no prayer of finishing the swim feeling fresh and ready for the bike. Yesterday's bike session was a 35 min. warm up as 10 min. EZ, 10 min. as 30 sec. big gear/30 sec. regular cadence, 10 min. of 20 sec. single leg/40 sec. regular cadence w/ both legs, 5 min. of spin ups, 40 min. of BIG gear work at IM effort+ (230w+) spending as much time in the aero bars as possible, and then a short cool down. Run sessions have been about 8-9 miles including in about 10 min. worth of hills. As you can see it's pretty basic base phase prep of lower end work, but very strength oriented. This is the most strength stuff I have probably ever done, but Ironman is all about strength and who slows down the least...you must be strong! There is a big difference between aerobic strength and true muscular strength, but they do tie together. I am a big believer and weight training. It seems a lot of people steer away from it, but the results don't lie. The stronger you get the more froce you can generate in all 3 disciplines and this raises your ceiling of how fast you are capable of going. If it's good enough for Alberto Salazar's Olympic medalists, Mark Allen, and Dave Scott not to mention several others it is good enough for me. So many athletes lose power after a long season and the quickest way to get that back is to hit the weights. If you don't know what you're doing in the weight room, this is the best article I've found on triathletes doing traditional weight training: http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/Mark_Allen_s_12_Best_Strength_Exercises

Other things I've been focusing on is cleaning up the nutrition. I take a more relaxed approach in the off-season, but try to be pretty good about what I'm eating when training hard...lots of fruits and veggies, lean meats, and limit the amount of processed foods. I don't get too crazy about things, but it's just about being conscious about what is going in. The 80/20 rule is good to go by...80% good stuff going in, 20% whatever else. Far too many people try to be super strict about diet and they can't sustain that for very long. The 80/20 rule is something you can sustain forever.

Lastly, chiropractic care and massage have played a big role for me in the past and they will continue to do so this year. I have been seeing my people once a week since starting back up training and it sure does make a difference.

Thanks for reading!