Hard to believe I'm sitting here a month out from Ironman Muskoka. Having to sign up a year in advance for these races it always feels like an eternity until you get to toe the line. I find myself in a good position 4.5 weeks out from the race. Every race I've done this summer I have set personal bests. Why? That's exactly what I'm going to talk about after a brief race recap from Mark Mellon this past weekend.
The Mark Mellon is very special for my family and I. My dad grew up with Mark (Mark died in a motorcycle accident in high school), we helped out at the race most years during our upbringing at a run aid station, and now my family has put the race on the last 5 years. Leading into this race each year is a bit tricky with having to take care of all of the prerace planning/setup with my dad. I never know how my body will feel until the race starts. Normally, things go just fine and I do well on this course. It helps to be my hometown event from a motivation standpoint and I know the course like the back of my hand.
This year I felt great pretty much the entire race. I convinced my friend, Ben McMurray, to come over and race again. Ben is one of the best triathletes in the state and always is tough to beat. For the swim this year we did two 500 meter loops. I led the first loop and Ben led the second. Transition went smooth and I was first onto the bike. Ben hung back a bit, probably only 15-20 sec., until about halfway. At the second turnaround I noticed the gap had grown. I knew the power was coming nicely and I was in control. I decided to push things a bit for the next 10k. Once we made the right onto Lake Manuka Rd. I just held steady watts and tried to relax. I figured even if I had a decent gap off the bike I'd have to be prepared to run very well as that is Ben's ace...running well off the bike.
T2 went well and I was off. My mindset the entire way to the turnaround was simple...push! I was pleasantly surprised my gap of about a minute had held at the turnaround. At that point I knew I had to just keep turning things over. For Ben to take a minute out of me in 3 miles was going to take a huge effort so I just relaxed and ran solid. I still am a bit shocked at my run split. Sub 35 min. after a tough bike and I was never at my absolute limit. I thought maybe the run was a bit short, but it's the same course that we've used multiple years and it gets remeasured every year. I guess the training I've been doing this summer is working. Now I just have to keep it rolling until Muskoka...really just 3 more weeks or so before the taper.
I haven't done anything real special, other than consistently train and train hard. I have cut out almost any easy training. That doesn't mean it's all super high end work, but 90% of it is done at steady state or above. 4 hour bike ride, 18 mile run, 4k swim set...whatever it may be I am doing above Ironman pace. Part of the reasoning behind this is I simply don't have the time to screw around. I have a family and busy job (athletic director role no longer leaves summer as a time where I don't have to think about school). I wouldn't have it any other way though.
Triathlon and endurance sports as a whole are such an individual thing when it comes to getting in one's best shape. You can arrive at a certain fitness level in many different ways. For me, something I have really dialed in this year is picking sessions that I think I will do well at and have fun while doing them. That doesn't mean it's not hard because a lot of it is, but I've been more flexible than ever and have adjusted the plan several times since I initially wrote out my long term training plan for this Ironman. For example, after the Bayshore Marathon, I knew my fitness was good but I needed more "strength" running. I had done some faster intervals on the track once a week leading up to the marathon in May, but I felt something was a bit off. I then started incorporating a weekly 3 mile tempo run followed by some faster stuff on the track. The tempo work has certainly given me a boost and then when I start the track work I am already quite tired...name of the game in triathlon- running well off the bike on tired legs. The cycling sessions I've done are pretty much one easy to moderate mtn. bike session, a 2-2.5 hour ride with intervals either at steady state or threshold...also some very short intervals way above threshold- way to get in some higher power work to prepare for very hilly Muskoka course. I usually run a little off the bike after this session. Nothing fancy but not easy either. My other ride is longer, but mostly in the 3-4 hour range. I am not one to go soft pedal for 5-6 hours like many people training for Ironman. I'd rather do 4 hours with all of it above race pace. I guess we will see if it works out, but I have a pretty good sense that it will with how good I have felt this summer. These next 2-3 weeks will be about lengthening out some runs in the 16-20 range and keeping everything else rolling. I haven't done a ton of long running, but with the marathon build this Spring I know that fitness is still in the bank.
One of the most fun things about this sport is that you can continue to improve almost forever until probably the age of 40 or so if you train hard and smart. Heck, some guys are improving all the way until 45+. I had been pretty much at a similar level the last 3 years or so. I raced pretty well, but I was starting to think any further progress was next to impossible. I guess I was wrong and I'm as motivated as ever to kick some butt at this sport.
Will post again after Muskoka and hopefully will be sharing the news of a Kona slot. Thanks for all of the support!
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Coaching
I know I've said this before, but I plan to get this blog rolling again. I want to start by sharing the fact that I'll be looking to pick things up a bit more on the running and triathlon coaching side of things. I have downscaled my operation the last couple of years as my career in education has changed now that I'm an athletic director. I finally feel as though that is dialed in and I can devote a little more time to coaching again. In order to make some room for this, I have decided to stop coaching basketball and track at the high school level...at least for the time being. Not that I didn't enjoy doing that, but I really enjoy working with individuals who have goals of improving their running and/or at triathlon. I think this type of coaching is a lot of fun and it's where my passion is.
That being said, I have decided to make the coaching that I do very affordable. I am blown away by how much people charge as running and triathlon coaches. I want to help as many people as I can so please contact me if interested and I'll share the new prices for coaching. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how affordable it can be. I have space for a couple more people for 2015. Email me at dave@jrmtraining.com if interested about how I might be able to help you.
From a personal training perspective, things are off to a good start. Originally, I planned on holding off until January to begin my 2015 training, but my body and mind were ready as December rolled around so I've been hitting it for 4 weeks now. Nothing crazy of course, but there is some focus and I'm getting in some work. Some examples of sessions have been a 7 mile run at steady state, followed by 20 minutes worth of hill work. Another session on the bike is 30 minutes at half ironman pace broken up by different positions (upright or in aero position) and cadences. All of my trainer sessions progress through a good warm up that includes drills and efforts that prep me for the main set of the day. No swimming for me until March. I did this last year and swam as good or better than I have. I'm at the point where my swimming is never holding me back in a race. At the age group level even at world championships my swim puts me where I need to be. It's the bike/run combination that I still need to keep chipping away at. I'm not saying swimming isn't important. It's just where I'm at in the sport. If I swim consistently for 6-7 months out of the year I'm good to go. I'd have to swim a ton more and that's just not going to happen with no groups around to swim with nor do I have the time. Guys continue to win high level age group races with swim times basically identical to mine. I think I have a plan laid out to to get my bike and run in order for a very solid race as Ironman Muskoka the end of August. I'll hit some local races along the way, but this season is really about one race and qualifying for Kona.
I plan to write at least once a week about a topic related to running or triathlon. Today, I'm going to talk about what some call reverse periodization. I just call it normal training as this is the way I've always trained and the way I've coached the dozens of athletes I've coached along the way. This term comes up every year around winter and I always find it interesting that people use the word reverse. Some believe and it's an older school way of doing things that the optimal way to success in endurance sports is to log a ton of slow miles before doing anything fast. This can work for some, but only if you're really able to log a bunch of miles and as age groupers with jobs and families that just isn't possible. Even with that, there are more and more people realizing the importance of keeping some faster work in the mix throughout the entire season. Periodization really boils down to doing general type training first and then getting more and more specific the closer you get to your key events. This is the case for all sports/aspects of fitness. You must go from general to specific. It's my argument for how crazy weight lifting goes for football in 90% of high schools. Kids lift all summer and then barely at all during their seasons. Go figure you start the season better than you finish it. This is something Boyne City had figured out before I got there and I've just kept it rolling and hopefully enhanced it a bit. The athletes train all aspects of their fitness year round. I think the results are speaking for themselves. A high level of conditioning can trump many situations in athletics.
Back to triathlon and running...think about it, why in the world would you log all kinds of miles over the winter (especially if you live in a cold environment) if your endurance event isn't until late summer of fall? First off, good luck with keeping the motivation high. Second, distance running and triathlon are endurance events and therefore you should be doing longer sessions the closer and closer you get to race day so your body gets used to what type of effort it needs to put forth on race day. You'll still mix in some intensity, but the majority of what you're doing is at race pace or slightly above that last 4-8 weeks. This of course varies greatly depending on the certain distance you are primarily prepping for, but the concept still remains the same.
So what does that mean you should be doing right now? I just call it raising the ceiling. Get your 1 hour best possible power/pace/effort as high as you possibly can. Then, once you get outside (hopefully sooner than last spring!) you chase those numbers all season and extend out your sessions. You still need to log some time over the winter. A couple of hours a week won't cut it. I truly believe gains can be made over the winter on an hour a day if you do the right stuff. You'll need to log more time come spring and summer, but you'd be surprised how little my athletes train this time of year and still improve because they do the right things. It has to be every single week though and there is very little screwing around.
Easier said then done, but I've seen it work for many. It still boils down to flat out hard work consistently done over time. I've had some success in triathlon, and people who are new to the sport ask how I got to be at a decent level. I think they are taken back when I tell them I've been at it for 9 years with many of those years at 10-15+ hours a week of training. And that's what is setting those above me apart...they have a lifestyle that allows them to put in 20+ hour weeks for years on end. I did it for a few years when I had no kids and we lived in Virginia. Let me tell you it works! Anyone can do it if you're willing to put in the time. The problem is that most people who try to do that get burned out of the sport. I have many friends who did that too and no longer race.
Hopefully I gave you something to think about as you plan your 2015.
My girls will probably wake up soon from their naps so I better go. Thanks for reading.
That being said, I have decided to make the coaching that I do very affordable. I am blown away by how much people charge as running and triathlon coaches. I want to help as many people as I can so please contact me if interested and I'll share the new prices for coaching. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how affordable it can be. I have space for a couple more people for 2015. Email me at dave@jrmtraining.com if interested about how I might be able to help you.
From a personal training perspective, things are off to a good start. Originally, I planned on holding off until January to begin my 2015 training, but my body and mind were ready as December rolled around so I've been hitting it for 4 weeks now. Nothing crazy of course, but there is some focus and I'm getting in some work. Some examples of sessions have been a 7 mile run at steady state, followed by 20 minutes worth of hill work. Another session on the bike is 30 minutes at half ironman pace broken up by different positions (upright or in aero position) and cadences. All of my trainer sessions progress through a good warm up that includes drills and efforts that prep me for the main set of the day. No swimming for me until March. I did this last year and swam as good or better than I have. I'm at the point where my swimming is never holding me back in a race. At the age group level even at world championships my swim puts me where I need to be. It's the bike/run combination that I still need to keep chipping away at. I'm not saying swimming isn't important. It's just where I'm at in the sport. If I swim consistently for 6-7 months out of the year I'm good to go. I'd have to swim a ton more and that's just not going to happen with no groups around to swim with nor do I have the time. Guys continue to win high level age group races with swim times basically identical to mine. I think I have a plan laid out to to get my bike and run in order for a very solid race as Ironman Muskoka the end of August. I'll hit some local races along the way, but this season is really about one race and qualifying for Kona.
I plan to write at least once a week about a topic related to running or triathlon. Today, I'm going to talk about what some call reverse periodization. I just call it normal training as this is the way I've always trained and the way I've coached the dozens of athletes I've coached along the way. This term comes up every year around winter and I always find it interesting that people use the word reverse. Some believe and it's an older school way of doing things that the optimal way to success in endurance sports is to log a ton of slow miles before doing anything fast. This can work for some, but only if you're really able to log a bunch of miles and as age groupers with jobs and families that just isn't possible. Even with that, there are more and more people realizing the importance of keeping some faster work in the mix throughout the entire season. Periodization really boils down to doing general type training first and then getting more and more specific the closer you get to your key events. This is the case for all sports/aspects of fitness. You must go from general to specific. It's my argument for how crazy weight lifting goes for football in 90% of high schools. Kids lift all summer and then barely at all during their seasons. Go figure you start the season better than you finish it. This is something Boyne City had figured out before I got there and I've just kept it rolling and hopefully enhanced it a bit. The athletes train all aspects of their fitness year round. I think the results are speaking for themselves. A high level of conditioning can trump many situations in athletics.
Back to triathlon and running...think about it, why in the world would you log all kinds of miles over the winter (especially if you live in a cold environment) if your endurance event isn't until late summer of fall? First off, good luck with keeping the motivation high. Second, distance running and triathlon are endurance events and therefore you should be doing longer sessions the closer and closer you get to race day so your body gets used to what type of effort it needs to put forth on race day. You'll still mix in some intensity, but the majority of what you're doing is at race pace or slightly above that last 4-8 weeks. This of course varies greatly depending on the certain distance you are primarily prepping for, but the concept still remains the same.
So what does that mean you should be doing right now? I just call it raising the ceiling. Get your 1 hour best possible power/pace/effort as high as you possibly can. Then, once you get outside (hopefully sooner than last spring!) you chase those numbers all season and extend out your sessions. You still need to log some time over the winter. A couple of hours a week won't cut it. I truly believe gains can be made over the winter on an hour a day if you do the right stuff. You'll need to log more time come spring and summer, but you'd be surprised how little my athletes train this time of year and still improve because they do the right things. It has to be every single week though and there is very little screwing around.
Easier said then done, but I've seen it work for many. It still boils down to flat out hard work consistently done over time. I've had some success in triathlon, and people who are new to the sport ask how I got to be at a decent level. I think they are taken back when I tell them I've been at it for 9 years with many of those years at 10-15+ hours a week of training. And that's what is setting those above me apart...they have a lifestyle that allows them to put in 20+ hour weeks for years on end. I did it for a few years when I had no kids and we lived in Virginia. Let me tell you it works! Anyone can do it if you're willing to put in the time. The problem is that most people who try to do that get burned out of the sport. I have many friends who did that too and no longer race.
Hopefully I gave you something to think about as you plan your 2015.
My girls will probably wake up soon from their naps so I better go. Thanks for reading.
Monday, December 23, 2013
2013
I wish I had more time to add to this blog, but it's just not possible with all that I have going on these days. Between teaching, coaching, being athletic director, training, and still trying to be a good father and husband it just doesn't leave time for much else. I am going to try to do a better job in 2013.
Above are some pictures. Rachel always does a nice job with our Christmas card and those pictures really highlight the past year. Looking back on 2013 I couldn't have scripted it any better. I feel blessed more and more.
Some highlights for me this past year in somewhat chronological order were: being inducted into the Otsego County Sports Hall of Fame (the youngest member to have been inducted), finishing my masters degree in Educational Leadership, coaching our boys basketball team to a 2nd place league finish-will be first place this year, coaching our boys track and field team to a 2nd straight conference title, the birth of our second daughter Zoe, a PR at the half marathon distance 2 days later, a PR at the Mark Mellon Triathlon, our 7th wedding anniversary, completing my first Ironman in a respectable 10:06 and 5th place age group finish, starting my new position as the athletic director for Mancelona Public Schools, shooting a nice looking buck on opening day, and going to a Lions, Pistons, U of M football, and U of M basketball game all within 2 months of each other. It's going to be tough topping that every year!
I don't tell you that stuff to boast, I tell you that because it shows what can be accomplished through hard work and dedication. It's not all about accomplishing things, but it sure is fun to succeed and the best way I know how to honor the big man upstairs is to use the talents that he has given me.
Obviously, life is lived at 100 mph in the Smith family. I wouldn't have it any other way. Rachel continues to amaze me. She becomes a better wife and mother every day. She tells me I hold things together, when in reality it's her that acts as the glue. Nothing that we do would be possible if it weren't for her. Our daughters resembke her so much already in that they are both so happy and pleasant to be around. The older they get the more fun it is!
On the triathlon front I have been back to work for 3 weeks now. I took a nice 3 month "break" this fall where I did something about every day, but it was all very unstructured. I don't normally take more than about a month to do that each year, but with all of the above going on this past year I needed some reprieve.
I haven't swam since September, and I won't be until March. Without having a pool closer than 30 min. away it is not the best use of my time. That being said, I think March 1 is the latest I can afford to start swimming and be ready to roll come early June for USAT Long Course Nationals in Grand Rapids. Last year I didn't swim until January and swam 59 minutes for Ironman off less than 10k of swimming a week. In the elite age group race even at all the big races I'm not behind because of my swim...it tends to always be from the run. Therefore, a big focus for the winter is to improve my bike (because in triathlon your bike fitness has everything to do with how well one runs off the bike) and to lay down a very solid run base. I'll also be doing a xc ski session or two each week as that really helps get your entire body in shape while probably being some of the best "core" exercise out there.
I decided to work with my old coach Janda Ricci-Munn again this year. I just don't have the same time to plan as I used to and being able to just put my trust in Janda and get the work done has been nice. I enjoyed going at it myself the past couple of years, but in order to make any more improvement I needed to go at things a bit differently. Janda gives me a lot of variety in training where I tend to repeat a lot of sessions when planning my own schedules. I was also getting a bit stale and by simply doing some different things I think that will have me seeing some nice improvement again. There's also that sense of accountability and I see myself working a bit harder knowing I have to check in and be honest with how the fitness is coming. That, and it's always nice learning new things from Janda as he is a wealth of knowledge and continues to learn about the sport. It doesn't hurt that Janda has some big names professionals on his roster now and to see them benefitting from his coaching is very reassuring.
I'll be representing the Zoot team again this year. You can see the updated sponsors on the right hand side of the blog. I wouldn't want to represent any other company and I really do believe it is the best triathlon specific company in the world. They have gone out of their way several times to help me out with gear and a ton of my family and friends have gotten to experience the generosity of such an awesome company and Zoot is definitely well known now in northern and central Michigan.
So far, my race schedule is looking like an early season duathlon, Bayshore half marathon, USAT Long Course Nationals in GR, Mark Mellon, East Jordan Tri, a 70.3 in July and/or early August, a couple other local tris, and hopefully ending the year crushing 70.3 Worlds in Mt. Tremblant. Maybe I'll end the year with a marathon and/or Iceman.
I'll end with a link to this speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTFnmsCnr6g . It's worth the 15 minutes! If I'm ever second guessing myself, I watch this video and instantly the passion comes back.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Friday, August 9, 2013
Ironman Lake Placid
I really intended to do a better job of keeping up with this blog this year, but I guess when you have 2 children 2 or under, a new job of sorts in that I'm our schools athletic director now, coaching 2 varsity sports, and trying to be a good husband it doesn't leave a whole lot of time when the free time I do have is mostly spent training. I don't mean to use any of those things as excuses for anything because those are all things I have chosen in my life and am very blessed to love what I do and to have an awesome family to share it with. I wouldn't have it any other way.
There is no sense in retracing the season before Lake Placid really. I did a few other events with highlights being a new PR for the half marathon distance going 1:17 and a very good showing at the Mark Mellon Triathlon coming 2nd to training partner/friend Ben McMurray from Petoskey (1st in our age group and 14th overall at Placid) who is arguably the best triathlete in the state and recording my highest power output for the 40k distance in a tri and also my fastest 10k off the bike (on a legit course as I've run faster on short courses).
Everything leading up to Lake Placid couldn't have gone much better. The unknown of course was the distance and having no experience being out there pushing the limit for 10 hours. It's impossible to do anything near the distance of an Ironman in training so you're trying to prepare yourself by doing some long sessions and then supporting them with lots of other work...mostly faster. I suppose if you had 20+ hours to train for most of the year like some you could get away with not doing as much intensity, but for me that's not possible. I knew I could come very close to 10 hours and the perfect day goal was 9:45. Almost every year the race has been held if you went 10 hours or very close to it you earned a slot for Ironman Hawaii. It just happened to be that this year my age group crushed it and 10:06 only got me 5th place in the age group (top 3 earned Kona slots). Last year 10:15 went to Kona.
Considering this was my first Ironman I can't be anything but happy. I will try another one at some point and now that I have some experience I know I can improve. I think I'd change just a few small pieces of my training, but really it boils down to confidence/mental strength on the run. I am sure I could have run quicker and this is obvious by how I ran the last 6 miles...my fastest 6 of the day and a lot of that was on the toughest part of the course. I admit I was scared of blowing up and having to walk...a reason I also held back on the bike quite a bit. I know the last thing I wanted to do was go too hard too soon and end up walking and going 10:30+. Once you start walking, which is an urge quite frequently in an Ironman run, the time just piles on. You're not speed walking...it's more like a 20 min. per mile type walk and it can end up being a very long day.
One thing I will say is that if you want to know how deep you can dig and how much guts you have...do an Ironman and you'll find out very quickly. So many doubts creep in all day long and you just have to keep answering the call to keep on rolling and not stop. You have to do the training, but assuming that you did...on race day it is much more of mental task than physical. I have played almost every sport imagineable and there is no possible single day event that is harder than Ironman.
I can't thank my family, friends, and sponsors enough for all of their support. It would be impossible to compete at any sort of high level without so much help from all kinds of people. Rachel deserves the most credit as she has to deal with our crazy lifestyle every day, but she just smiles and makes the best of it all. I don't know where I'd be without her.
We had a lot of fun on our trip and most of that can be seen through some pictures on facebook if you're interested.
Not sure what's next in store for me. I will likely do one more training cycle to prep for the Boyne City Tri on Labor Day weekend and then it will be deciding which route to go from there. I will definitely do another Ironman at some point. If Wisconsin registration makes it online I may go for it. If that doesn't pan out I will likely focus on getting faster for the sprint and olympic distances with maybe throwing a half ironman in there at some point each year. The frustarting thing about Ironman is the races sell out so quickly and most of them you have to go to the site in order to ensure yourself an entry. Some make it online the next day, but it's rare. I just can't justify traveling so far just to sign up...craziness!
All I know is I'm as motivated as ever to keep pushing the envelope with this sport and kicking butt. I have lots more to achieve before I move on to something else.
Thanks for reading.
There is no sense in retracing the season before Lake Placid really. I did a few other events with highlights being a new PR for the half marathon distance going 1:17 and a very good showing at the Mark Mellon Triathlon coming 2nd to training partner/friend Ben McMurray from Petoskey (1st in our age group and 14th overall at Placid) who is arguably the best triathlete in the state and recording my highest power output for the 40k distance in a tri and also my fastest 10k off the bike (on a legit course as I've run faster on short courses).
Everything leading up to Lake Placid couldn't have gone much better. The unknown of course was the distance and having no experience being out there pushing the limit for 10 hours. It's impossible to do anything near the distance of an Ironman in training so you're trying to prepare yourself by doing some long sessions and then supporting them with lots of other work...mostly faster. I suppose if you had 20+ hours to train for most of the year like some you could get away with not doing as much intensity, but for me that's not possible. I knew I could come very close to 10 hours and the perfect day goal was 9:45. Almost every year the race has been held if you went 10 hours or very close to it you earned a slot for Ironman Hawaii. It just happened to be that this year my age group crushed it and 10:06 only got me 5th place in the age group (top 3 earned Kona slots). Last year 10:15 went to Kona.
Considering this was my first Ironman I can't be anything but happy. I will try another one at some point and now that I have some experience I know I can improve. I think I'd change just a few small pieces of my training, but really it boils down to confidence/mental strength on the run. I am sure I could have run quicker and this is obvious by how I ran the last 6 miles...my fastest 6 of the day and a lot of that was on the toughest part of the course. I admit I was scared of blowing up and having to walk...a reason I also held back on the bike quite a bit. I know the last thing I wanted to do was go too hard too soon and end up walking and going 10:30+. Once you start walking, which is an urge quite frequently in an Ironman run, the time just piles on. You're not speed walking...it's more like a 20 min. per mile type walk and it can end up being a very long day.
One thing I will say is that if you want to know how deep you can dig and how much guts you have...do an Ironman and you'll find out very quickly. So many doubts creep in all day long and you just have to keep answering the call to keep on rolling and not stop. You have to do the training, but assuming that you did...on race day it is much more of mental task than physical. I have played almost every sport imagineable and there is no possible single day event that is harder than Ironman.
I can't thank my family, friends, and sponsors enough for all of their support. It would be impossible to compete at any sort of high level without so much help from all kinds of people. Rachel deserves the most credit as she has to deal with our crazy lifestyle every day, but she just smiles and makes the best of it all. I don't know where I'd be without her.
We had a lot of fun on our trip and most of that can be seen through some pictures on facebook if you're interested.
Not sure what's next in store for me. I will likely do one more training cycle to prep for the Boyne City Tri on Labor Day weekend and then it will be deciding which route to go from there. I will definitely do another Ironman at some point. If Wisconsin registration makes it online I may go for it. If that doesn't pan out I will likely focus on getting faster for the sprint and olympic distances with maybe throwing a half ironman in there at some point each year. The frustarting thing about Ironman is the races sell out so quickly and most of them you have to go to the site in order to ensure yourself an entry. Some make it online the next day, but it's rare. I just can't justify traveling so far just to sign up...craziness!
All I know is I'm as motivated as ever to keep pushing the envelope with this sport and kicking butt. I have lots more to achieve before I move on to something else.
Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Whitepine Stampede
I did my 2nd ski race of the year on Saturday and man was it fun. The best thing about the skiing for me is I don't ski a whole lot and have zero expectations of a result. I just go out and try to give a good effort and stay with the pack. Well, I did just that and came 5th overall (1st in age group) in the 20k skate race. I was right behind places 2-4, but with there not being a lot of room to pass toward the end and me not having a lot of ski racing experience the guys turned on the jets and flew by the last 200 meters or so. I did finish with the group, though, and these guys do well at every race they go to in the midwest so I'll take it.
Here are the results: http://www.whitepinestampede.org/2013_results_20Km
Otherwise, I'm just clipping along getting in the training each day. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to some warmer temps so I can get outside on the bike, but it is what it is and overall I'm feeling pretty good. I have to keep in mind that the goal for the year is Kona in October so that is a long ways a way. Yes, I am putting a lot of eggs in the Lake Placid basket, but I am also going to Kona to try to compete not just participate. I keep reminding myself that once I start training like a true elite come summer time because of not having to teach, it only take me a few weeks to really get into top shape. All the work until then is getting my body hardened if you will so I can handle that training well.
Thanks for reading.
Here are the results: http://www.whitepinestampede.org/2013_results_20Km
Otherwise, I'm just clipping along getting in the training each day. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to some warmer temps so I can get outside on the bike, but it is what it is and overall I'm feeling pretty good. I have to keep in mind that the goal for the year is Kona in October so that is a long ways a way. Yes, I am putting a lot of eggs in the Lake Placid basket, but I am also going to Kona to try to compete not just participate. I keep reminding myself that once I start training like a true elite come summer time because of not having to teach, it only take me a few weeks to really get into top shape. All the work until then is getting my body hardened if you will so I can handle that training well.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Frozen Foot 5 Miler
Yesterday I raced the Frozen Foot 5 Mile road race in Traverse City. I normally don't race much besides a few xc ski races during the winter, but I always find a nice little fitness jump after a race and there really is no better test to see where your fitness is at. I wanted to see where I was truly at with my running right now. I really had no specific goal, but was pretty sure I could run 5:45 pace with the course being fairly hilly with a decent amount of wind. The temps were awesome though for this time of the year being almost 50 degrees. Rare for sure in N. Michigan, but I'll take it as I'm sure the snow will be returning soon.
I felt great and ran 28:05 for the 5 miles, which equates to more like 5:38 pace. I was 2nd place on the day. For this time of the year I am very pleased with this. I have only been training for 6 weeks and the first 4 of those weeks were really just getting my body rolling again. I've been doing some solid training the last 2 weeks, but did not expect that pace to feel so controlled. I think the bit of run block I did this fall is paying off and then just the consistent training. Each year I do this sport I sweat it gets easier and easier to get back up to a good fitness level after taking a break.
I felt great and ran 28:05 for the 5 miles, which equates to more like 5:38 pace. I was 2nd place on the day. For this time of the year I am very pleased with this. I have only been training for 6 weeks and the first 4 of those weeks were really just getting my body rolling again. I've been doing some solid training the last 2 weeks, but did not expect that pace to feel so controlled. I think the bit of run block I did this fall is paying off and then just the consistent training. Each year I do this sport I sweat it gets easier and easier to get back up to a good fitness level after taking a break.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Happy New Year
2012 was awesome wasn't it?! I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store. It's shaping up to be our best year yet with another baby on the way and me training for my first Ironman. This week I have upped the ante so to speak with the training. It has been tough on the body, but already by Friday the body is starting to remember what it feels like to go fast. Because of the tough winters here, the best option is to do fairly high intensity work in all 3 disciplines. I plan to get in anywhere from 10-15 hours consistently throughout the winter before bumping the volume up once it gets nicer outside. I have always felt that the best approach to training is to disperse the training pretty evenly between swim, bike, and run. There are lots of things to consider here, but at least this time of year I try to do that. When it warms up the bike volume picks up and the run volume also. I tend to swim a bit more during the winter, back it down a little in the Spring and then once school is out I up the swimming again with an additonal open water swim or two.
This first week has seen me doing a very high end session in each discipline. These are fiarly short and sweet, but are probably the toughest sessions of the week. This week the main sets were for the swim: 4 x 25, 4 x 50, and 4 x 100 basically all out. For the bike it was 4 x 20 sec., 4 x 40 sec., and 4 x 60 sec. with about 20 - 40 sec. rest depending on which small set I was on. These were done at 500+ watts, 450+ watts, and 400+ watts respectively. That was followed by some big gear work. Run wise it was 4 x 100m, 4 x 200m, and 4 x 400m basically at best effort as well. This was followed by some aerobic hill repeats. I haven't done much work this fast in a long time, but I am looking for another breakthrough and I am confident this faster work will be the key.
I am also doing one more race specific workout in each discipline. This week was 3 x 12 min. on the bike at threshold with only a min. or two recovery between. The run was 3 x 2k with a 1/4 mile jog in between or so. These were done at threshold as well. The swim set was 3 x 300 at the same effort. These efforts are also done at close to olympic distance effort.
The last 3 sessions of the week are more half ironman or steady state type effort. 25 min. at that followed by some big gear work for the bike session (I sub in 60-90 min. of xc skiing as well on that day). Run workout is 11-12 miles with 5 or so at steady state. Swim workout is more endurance based with a 1000+ straight along with a longer paddle set where I use a buoy for some of it and also some band work.
On top of that I hit 3 strength workouts that last about 30 minutes each and that pretty much sums up the first real week of the 2013 season.
Bring on next week!
This first week has seen me doing a very high end session in each discipline. These are fiarly short and sweet, but are probably the toughest sessions of the week. This week the main sets were for the swim: 4 x 25, 4 x 50, and 4 x 100 basically all out. For the bike it was 4 x 20 sec., 4 x 40 sec., and 4 x 60 sec. with about 20 - 40 sec. rest depending on which small set I was on. These were done at 500+ watts, 450+ watts, and 400+ watts respectively. That was followed by some big gear work. Run wise it was 4 x 100m, 4 x 200m, and 4 x 400m basically at best effort as well. This was followed by some aerobic hill repeats. I haven't done much work this fast in a long time, but I am looking for another breakthrough and I am confident this faster work will be the key.
I am also doing one more race specific workout in each discipline. This week was 3 x 12 min. on the bike at threshold with only a min. or two recovery between. The run was 3 x 2k with a 1/4 mile jog in between or so. These were done at threshold as well. The swim set was 3 x 300 at the same effort. These efforts are also done at close to olympic distance effort.
The last 3 sessions of the week are more half ironman or steady state type effort. 25 min. at that followed by some big gear work for the bike session (I sub in 60-90 min. of xc skiing as well on that day). Run workout is 11-12 miles with 5 or so at steady state. Swim workout is more endurance based with a 1000+ straight along with a longer paddle set where I use a buoy for some of it and also some band work.
On top of that I hit 3 strength workouts that last about 30 minutes each and that pretty much sums up the first real week of the 2013 season.
Bring on next week!
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