Training Report

Swimming today had an unexpected twist at the end.

I went to the gym to swim in the indoor pool being as it was 55 degrees outside. The workout today called for a 200 yard warm-up, 900 yards of ascending difficulty, a 500 or 1,000 yard T-pace trial (getting an average pace over 1000 yards as a benchmark), then a 400 yard cool down.

I swam the first two parts, then did the 500 t-pace trial (in 10:45) then did another 500 (I felt good and had time left) (in 11:20), and cooled-down for 200 yards by doing some focus drills on technique.

I was very happy to have finished the workout (2,300 yards total!) and then found out that based on this my time to finish an Olympic-distance tri swim would be about 38 minutes. I reviewed the Malibu Olympic Tri results and found, for my age group, that would put me pretty-much dead last. Not a good thing.

Hoping against hope, I called the gym and asked how long their pool actually was, as I assumed 25 yards. 25 METERS was the answer. Not yards, meters! Recalculating, that put me at 33 minutes for the swim (solid middle-of-the-pack) and means I swam about 2,515 yards today! Holy smokes! Converting that to the Braemar Club pool, that would be 105 lengths!

This was definitely much better news! My goal is to swim 1,000 meters in 20 minutes (a 10% decrease) putting me at a 30-minute race swim. Of course the first race isn't until May, so by then I will hopefully be able to swim it even faster. (can you hear the whip cracking?)

BYO Lane Markers

For the first blog entry of the new year (is it the 16th already????) I thought you might be interested in this (if you're a cyclist): Light Lane

In other news, tomorrow I'm riding with a group from LATC starting at the LA Zoo parking lot and going up the hill to the Hollywood sign then back down again (I'm guessing the return trip will be a bit easier). 24 miles or so, 1:45 projected time, first major ride with the tri setup. As an added bonus I'll cruise on over to area "C" and say "Hi" to my TnT friends from last season.

First Post-Bike Fit Report

It took an extra day but I got a ride in today. This morning I rode up to the pool (2.6 miles each way), swam, and rode back. My house is part-way up a pretty steep hill.

When I first started training 8 months ago I couldn't get a quarter of the way up it (I actually packed running shoes in a backpack and switched at the bottom of the hill so I could walk my bike up). A couple of months later I was able to ride all the way up, albeit huffing and puffing and standing up on the bike.

Today, for the very first time, I made it all the way up the hill in a seated position! I haven't ridden the hill in 6-8 weeks, so it's not from practice that I accomplished this.

The only thing that changed was the bike fit, and Ian assures me that the extra power I was able to use during the climb is from the fit, and that there will be more changes, such as an increase in average speed, in store for me.

My recommendation? Get a bike fit!

p.s. Another new personal best today: 40.5mph on the bike. I can remember way back to the summer of '08 when 24mph scared me silly.

Training Happenings

It's been an interesting weekend!

Aside from four holiday parties in the last five days (seriously, if attending those doesn't make for a good reason to train hard, nothing does), I finally caved-in and got a bike fit, from Ian Murray of Triathletix here in LA.

The fit consisted of taking a look at my current position on the bike, discussing a number of things, and then "aero converting" my bike and adjusting from there. By "aero converting," which is Ian's specialty, I mean changing the seat tube for one that increases the forward angle of the seat (more vertical), lowering the seat and handlebars a bit, and attaching aero bars (they look like horns coming straight out from the front of the bars). By doing all of this I will decrease drag significantly while riding, which should make riding easier and faster. Of course, this was all adjusted for optimum positioning on the bike, which Ian tells me will help relieve my IT Band pain and some upper shoulder pain while riding. I'll be on the bike tomorrow to really give it a workout.

I also got a run in today. This is notable because I haven't really run at all since early November. My left knee was giving me some trouble so I've been patiently rehabilitating it and today, while wearing a strap, I ran 5 miles (at a 9-minute average pace) with 1/4 mile warm-up and cool-down walks. My knee felt great! unfortunately, my IT band did not. I think it's time for a follow-up visit with my ortho doc.

Happy New Year everyone!

Pre-Season Halfway Point

It's back to pre-season pre-training starting today. I took the last week off to let my body get itself back together and let me tell you, it felt good to be pain-free! I did miss the endorphins though.

Today was my first day back and I continued the "anatomical adaptation" phase of my strength training with the "B" program (based on the program put out by TTS). I'm getting used to the gym again and my legs are definitely getting better.

Over the next 4 weeks or so I'll go through the program, then take a break, and head into a real strength building phase in January, which will correspond with the beginning of actual tri-training for the Wildflower Olympic tri in May and possibly the Solvang Century in March (I'm now debating doing this as it has become apparent that it will throw a significant wrench into my tri-training plans).

Swimming Update

In today's swim practice I was able to swim a length in only 12 strokes in 24 seconds. I then increased it to 15 strokes and put a little speed on and got my time down to 21 seconds. The overall exertion level is still much less than it used to be for the same distance. I like this Total Immersion stuff.

Halfway to Ironman 2010

I last posted that I plan to do a full Ironman (2.4/112/26) in 2010. I'm thinking it would be nice to ramp-up, and so today I registered for what will likely be one of the most difficult things I've ever done: the Vineman Half-Ironman in July. That's right: 1.2 miles of swimming-goodness, 56 miles of biking goodness and 13 miles of running goodness. In one day. In Sonoma. In July 2009.

Coming to a training center near you this January!

Ironman 2010

I went to a talk last night put on by Triathletix. The speaker was Cherie Gruenweld (author of Become an Ironman) an incredible lady who completed 21 Ironman races - her first being in Kona. Listening to her speak and watching several videos tipped me over the edge: 2010 will be the year I do a full Ironman race!

Swimming Update

I've hit the pool three times this week as swimming is my "limiter" and in the off-season it's good to concentrate on your limiter (so as to unlimit yourself, I guess). So I'm swimming and doing strength training (to get all those little, atrophied muscles that aren't used in swimming, biking and running back up to spec).

Today I swam for an hour, painstakingly (boringly) working on technique and trying to maintain a constant, low stroke count over varying distances. I was able to keep the count between 14 and 17 SPL at up to 100 yards. Not too bad! The exciting part, if you just missed it, was that I actually swam a 14 stroke length (multiple times in fact)! The other nice thing about using the Total Immersion technique is that after 100 yards I'm only a bit tired/winded, and actually much less than I previously was after only 25 yards.

Tough Transition

This is my "rehab month" training-wise: my foot, knees, IT band, back and left arm have issues so I'm just doing PT exercises, rowing, swimming and giving myself a break. While I'm not really working out, I'm spending the "extra" time I normally would be spending training by trying to figure out how to train for next season.

There is no shortage of advice or resources out there, that is for sure! When I was training with Tnt, it was very easy: just follow the instructions, show-up twice a week, and all was good. On my own though, with goals exceeding just completing a race, it's difficult.

I've found sites that track workouts, give you workouts, charge you for workouts, evaluate you, and even one that tailors a season-long training program based on all of the races you are going to be in (unfortunately I lost the link to that one and am still trying to re-find it). There are plenty of sites and coaches available, from $200 to $700 a month for training, but that's a bit pricey considering I'm not quite in "podium range" yet.

So, how do *you* train effectively? Do you do it on the cheap or pay for it (directly or through raising money)? Any tips?

Calabasas Classic Race Report

Bright and early yesterday I woke my son up and we headed out to Calabasas for the Calabasas Classic 5K/10K. It was a very cold morning (especially considering it was very warm the day before) and we shivered our way over to the LA Tri Club tent to wait for the start.

At the tent we met Lawrence Fong's father and picked-up a "Team Fong" t-shirt in support of Lawrence, who suffered multiple minor strokes last week and is in very serious condition at UCLA Medical Center (for more info on Lawrence, click here) (we're on the far left in the photo above).

Ryan and I ran the 5K. His knees started hurting after about 1 mile so we mostly walked the rest of it. As I was more interested in just having some quality time with my son and ensuring he had a good time at his first race, it was no problem to just take it easy for once.

The course was nice and slightly hilly through the city of Calabasas. A short run, we completed it in about 40 minutes, got our medals, hung out at the LATC tent a little while, and then headed home where it was nice and warm. Ryan said he liked the race, will likely do it again next year, and even mentioned doing a tri with me in a couple of years. That, I think, means this was a great morning!

Another Strike Against Static Stretching

“They’re stretching, touching their toes. . . . ” He sighs. “It’s discouraging.”

Yet more advice on NOT stretching before a workout (but you should still warm-up).

Click here to read the article.

Hardcore Jogger

I always figured triathletes in general were hardcore, and even gave myself a pat on the back for doing the Muddy Buddy in the rain on a cold day, but there's a whole level of grit and determination that I don't think I really comprehended, as evidenced in this story out of Arizona from the AP:

PRESCOTT, Ariz. – Authorities in Arizona say a jogger attacked by a rabid fox ran a mile with the animal's jaws clamped on her arm and then drove herself to a hospital. The Yavapai County sheriff's office said the woman told deputies she was on a trail near Prescott on Monday when the fox attacked and bit her foot.

She said she grabbed the fox by the neck when it went for her leg but it bit her arm.

The woman wanted the animal tested for rabies so she ran a mile to her car with the fox still biting her arm, then pried it off and tossed it in her trunk and drove to the Prescott hospital.

The sheriff's office says the fox later bit an animal control officer. He and the woman are both receiving rabies vaccinations.

Swimming is Getting Fun

So for my first official "rehab" workout of the month (i.e. no running or strenuous work - my body is feeling pretty broken in spots) I went to the gym and did the usual PT stretching and strengthening exercises followed by a round of "Triathlon Training Series" "Adaptation-A" exercises. All good. Given that I can't workout tomorrow, I hit the pool for a little over 20 minutes and that is where things got interesting.

Last week I was able to get my SPL (strokes per length) count down to 17 bare-handed, 19 with fist gloves. Today, after only 10 minutes, I got the fist glove count down to 17 and my bare-handed count down to 15! 15 strokes to swim 25 yards! And I did it in 25 seconds - which is 5 seconds faster than usual, and it felt *very* slow (but in reality was not), and I wasn't huffing and puffing at the end.

Total Immersion swimming rocks!

Time to Feel No Pain

Went for a run with muddy-buddy Craig today. I lasted about 3.5 miles (at a really great pace) when my left knee was hurting so bad I could only walk. This knee has been diagnosed with "runner's knee" and it's pretty much at its worst at this point. Therefore, I'm going to shift to swimming, stretching, walking and resistance training for the next couple of weeks in the hope of giving my legs a break so I can ramp up in December and really hit the training in January.

Swimming Progress

I've started following the recommended exercises for Total Immersion swimming. I agree with the logic that I'm not swimming in Tri's so much to win the leg but to do it in a reasonable amount of time and have energy left for the other two legs. With that in mind, I hit the pool today to work on technique.

Fist Gloves ON.

The first 10 minutes I spent getting an average SPL (strokes per length) number at a comfortable pace, with fist gloves. The number worked out to about 25.

I then did 10x50 repeats with a goal of 23 SPL, making me pay attention to form and slowing down a bit. I was able to do that successfully, with flip turns, for the first few repeats. I decreased to 21 SPL's for the next 3, and then 19 for the following 3. 19! This is what I was doing without fist gloves last week!

Fist Gloves OFF.

Bare-handed I got down to 17 SPL! 17!!! I was swimming at decent speed, silently, saving energy, breathing correctly. It felt great and when I got out, I felt like I could do the whole workout again! This is going to really affect my race planning as I feel, with more work of course, that I can swim much longer now. Time will tell.

Fist Gloves

Today I swam for an hour at the club. What an experience!

One goal was to briefly review the different stroke components and then swim my "new" stroke, which I did. It was taking about 20-21 strokes-per-length, about 2 higher than usual, but I felt good.

The next goal was to try out my new fistgloves. These are basically rubber mittens that you put on and swim with for about a half hour. It takes away the water feel from your hands and you learn to use your arms and body rotation to swim - which I did. The really interesting part is swimming once you take them off: your hands feel *everything* in the water - you feel so much more powerful and "right" it's a bit of a rush, actually.

From the TI site:

After wearing the gloves for 15 to 30 minutes, swim with open hands. You'll immediately experience what we call the fistglove® effect – a rush of information from your previously "ordinary," but now highly sensitive, hands to your brain that immediately helps you become more discriminating in how you apply hands to the water, instinctively choosing angles that give maximum purchase on a highly elusive medium. You'll also become ultra-sensitive to the importance of "gripping" the water instead of "slipping" through it.

The third goal was to learn flip-turns. Mission accomplished! I ended-up swimming 50's and 100's instead of 25's which I can already tell will help my endurance immensely. I think not teaching flip-turns right off the bat does people a disservice as you get used to swimming 25's only, and when you're out in the open water you must go much farther than that. Learning 50's and 100's, and even 200's, gives you a much more realistic feel for your stamina.

Tri-and-a-Half-lete

My buddy Craig (one of the six people who happen to read this blog) and I are going to race through the mud at the Muddy Buddy race on 11/2 in San Dimas. This entails alternately riding and running a mile, then going over (or through?) obstacles, then doing it again 6 times, culminating in a run through a huge pit of mud. Then we get washed-off with fire hoses. Sounds fun right?

Right. Except, of course, for the part about riding a mountain bike, which I have, but haven't ridden in the mountains! In fact, I've even put on "smooth" tires (knobby on the sides, smooth down the middle) to make road-riding more comfortable (of course, this was long before acquiring an actual road bike).

In preparation for this dirtfest, Craig and I headed up to Mulholland to ride 3 miles to the Nike missile monitoring base and back. Of course, when Craig said "3 miles" he really meant "4.6 miles, mostly uphill, through sand and gravel." Well I did it (with only a bit of whining). I didn't get mountain biking at all until we hit a long downhill.

As my daughter would say, "OMG!" What a blast! The downhill rides made it all worth it: it felt like skiing and even sounded like skiing! I was riding just barely in control at times, getting up to 20mph at some points. Too much fun.

Now I just need to get a shock absorbing fork for the front of the bike, switch the tires back to knobbies, and I'm good to go!

We are going to DOMINATE the Muddy Buddy!

Swim Update

In my swim last week the goal was to change my stroke slightly to the "total immersion" way and I think I was successful: I was able to cross the pool in 19 strokes, and in almost half the time as others in the pool (who were taking 50 strokes, no joke, to cross).

Now, usually I swim in a pair of board shorts, but last week I decided to swim in a pair of tri shorts. What a difference! I felt like I was just gliding through the water. Highly recommended. I picked-up a couple pairs of "Jammers" (basically bike shorts without the pad) for future swim practices.

Don't worry, Speedos are NOT in my future (out of respect for everyone else in the pool)!

90 RPM

Yesterday I rode 25.6 miles - a big jump with moderate IT-band pain afterward, but bearable. The goal of the training was to stay at or slightly above a 90RPM cadence - which proved more difficult than expected early on, and for the second half of the ride actually pretty easy. In fact, I started pedaling too fast very frequently and had to shift to slow myself down. My heart rate never went above 75% though, so I count it as a very successful workout.

Next bike workout: perfect circles!

Tonight is cross-training in Sherman Oaks with LA Tri Club - always a fun time and a great workout (except for the trying-to-walk-for-the-next-three-days part...)