Success in training is dependent on a balance of workload and recovery. When done correctly the result is optimum absorption of training load. This past weekend my balance was upset.
Sundays schedule called for 150min run in the morning follow by an easy 45min swim at RMC in the afternoon. Monday would finish off the weekend with a 4:00 ride and some core work.
The problem started Sunday night when I had a hard time falling asleep. Around 3am when I finally did get to sleep I was awakened my City snow removal in-front of the house which lasted for about 90min. The result amounted to a night without sleep.
Monday morning rolled around and I tried my best to go about my day as usual. Bookkeeper game by in the morning and then it came time to head down to the store to do my ride. I just didn't have the motivation to go. When I finally convinced myself that if I didn't go right then I wouldn't have time to do the ride I managed to get out the door.
The ride itself was a struggle. Less than an hour into it I was looking at the clock. Never a good sign when you are doing a long trainer ride. At the 90min mark I was considering calling it at 2:00 and heading home for a nap.
In the end I was able to get myself through the first movie I rented and get back on the bike after switching DVDs which pretty much guaranteed I would do the whole thing. Luckily that was the only break I took and was able to soft-pedal through the whole 4:00.
Mondays core session was quickly forgotten and I hoped that I would be feeling better on Tuesday.
When the alarm went off on Tuesday morning I knew that I was still feeling the effects of Sundays loss of sleep so I turned the alarm off planning to ditch the Tuesday morning swim. Since Em had to get up to go to work I ended up getting up with enough time to fit in a 30min swim which I figured would at the least loosen me up from the weekend. Well when I got to the pool I realized how big a hole had been dug on Sunday and Monday. I had zero energy. After 100m I was feeling it.
In losing that nights sleep I had failed to absorb the weekends training and instead had dug myself a hole I now have to climb out of. The start of which was deciding to skip the gym last night and my run this morning. I will try to eat a lot today and get to bed early tonight in the hopes that I can turn this thing around as quickly as possible.
In the end this wont be a big deal so I am not too worried but it is a good reminder of how easily a good training plan can be derailed.
Absorption is Key and the Key to absorption is quality sleep, nutrition and active recovery through stretching, massage and hot cold therapy.
Remember our performance gains are made when we recover.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
The Depths of Winter Return
For a while there it was looking like we would be able to ride outside sometime soon.
That isn't the case anymore. Over the weekend we got dumped on. They are estimating that we got around 30cm of total accumulation over the weekend. If you love outdoor winter sports you are probably in heaven right now. If on the other hand you are trying to prepare for a July Ironman this sucks. My schedule for the weekend was 100min run on Sunday which would have been a slog fest so I bumped Mondays long ride to Sunday and suffered through 3:30 on the trainer while watching a couple action flicks. That still leaves me with the 100min run for today. Only problem is the -18c temps and the fact that the roads are only partially plowed and most of the sidewalks are knee deep in snow. My solution is to do two 60min treadmill sessions instead one this morning and one tonight. Hopefully that will be about equivalent?
Overall training is going very well. All in all I am happy with my progression to date. Looking back at my schedule from two years ago I am way ahead of the game. Long rides are about an hour longer and the long run is about double. My swimming is really the thing I am most happy with as I think I am currently in better swim shape than I was on race day in '06.
On the advice of Mike Neill I have gone back to doing a lot of drill work. I emailed Mike a few months ago and he suggested that I work through the drills in Total Immersion. Well I have been focusing on that on my last few Tuesday swims and I am already seeing some improvement. I am rolling much better and am starting to really feel the water for the first time.
My long swim splits seem to also be improving. My latest long swim stats are as follows.
2500m 46:15 total
500m splits 9:05,9:11,9:14,9:22,9:21
1:51/100m
The week before was
2500 total 45:27
500m splits 8:59,8:55,9:00,9:11,9:25
1:49/100m
The week prior to that was
2200m Total 42:00
500m splits 9:37,9:33,9:36,9:24,200m split 3:49
2000m 38:10
1:55/100m
I think as my muscles adjust to the new technique I should see things fall to a consistent 500m split under 9:15. I think the spits greater to that are a result of muscular fatigue and a bit of technique breakdown.
Long run pace also seems to be improving nicely. Last weekend I did a point to point run ending out at a friends parents place on Treasure Island. Stats for the run were 17.46km at 5:26/km pace (as calculated using gmap). I was scheduled to do another MAP test on Friday morning but the battery in my HRM chest strap was starting to die and I couldn't get a consistent signal. I am going to try and squeeze another one in this week to make up for it.
With 19 weeks to go I think I am on track to have a shot at achieving my goals for the race.
Stick to the plan and keep taking care of my body and everything will be good to go on race day.
That isn't the case anymore. Over the weekend we got dumped on. They are estimating that we got around 30cm of total accumulation over the weekend. If you love outdoor winter sports you are probably in heaven right now. If on the other hand you are trying to prepare for a July Ironman this sucks. My schedule for the weekend was 100min run on Sunday which would have been a slog fest so I bumped Mondays long ride to Sunday and suffered through 3:30 on the trainer while watching a couple action flicks. That still leaves me with the 100min run for today. Only problem is the -18c temps and the fact that the roads are only partially plowed and most of the sidewalks are knee deep in snow. My solution is to do two 60min treadmill sessions instead one this morning and one tonight. Hopefully that will be about equivalent?
Overall training is going very well. All in all I am happy with my progression to date. Looking back at my schedule from two years ago I am way ahead of the game. Long rides are about an hour longer and the long run is about double. My swimming is really the thing I am most happy with as I think I am currently in better swim shape than I was on race day in '06.
On the advice of Mike Neill I have gone back to doing a lot of drill work. I emailed Mike a few months ago and he suggested that I work through the drills in Total Immersion. Well I have been focusing on that on my last few Tuesday swims and I am already seeing some improvement. I am rolling much better and am starting to really feel the water for the first time.
My long swim splits seem to also be improving. My latest long swim stats are as follows.
2500m 46:15 total
500m splits 9:05,9:11,9:14,9:22,9:21
1:51/100m
The week before was
2500 total 45:27
500m splits 8:59,8:55,9:00,9:11,9:25
1:49/100m
The week prior to that was
2200m Total 42:00
500m splits 9:37,9:33,9:36,9:24,200m split 3:49
2000m 38:10
1:55/100m
I think as my muscles adjust to the new technique I should see things fall to a consistent 500m split under 9:15. I think the spits greater to that are a result of muscular fatigue and a bit of technique breakdown.
Long run pace also seems to be improving nicely. Last weekend I did a point to point run ending out at a friends parents place on Treasure Island. Stats for the run were 17.46km at 5:26/km pace (as calculated using gmap). I was scheduled to do another MAP test on Friday morning but the battery in my HRM chest strap was starting to die and I couldn't get a consistent signal. I am going to try and squeeze another one in this week to make up for it.
With 19 weeks to go I think I am on track to have a shot at achieving my goals for the race.
Stick to the plan and keep taking care of my body and everything will be good to go on race day.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Back from the Bahamas!
We have been back from our delayed honeymoon now about a week. Em's brother hooked us up with a room at a Westin in the Bahamas. It was so nice to bask in the sun and lie by the pool. We both took advantage of the sun and managed to come back with a little bit of colour in our skin and not too many red spots. We found out the hard way that you can't afford to miss a spot when putting on your sun screen. The funny thing is that most people seem to miss the same spots.
The hotel was excellent. They had beautiful well kept grounds and a nice stretch of beach. They had a well equipped workout room and a real lap pool, not just some lines painted on the bottom of one of there normal pools.
We both managed to stay quite active. I ended up taking a couple days off and skipped the two long runs I had planned but hey it was my honeymoon. I also picked up a bit of a cold on the way down and didn't want to risk getting sick again.
Over the week I fit in 4 runs, 3 swims and 2 sessions in the gym.
This past week I tried hard to get back to my original schedule but ended up having to make some modifications due to the missed workouts.
I think all in all things are still on track. I will post a general update as to where I am at after I do my next MAP test in two weeks.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
Progress?
Well it seems as though I might be making a little progress.
Sunday's long run went pretty well despite going into it with tired legs. I need someone to remind me I am not Arnold when I am at the gym. I ended up running 80min total at 153 Avg HR and covered about 14km which worked out to about 5:36/km. The run started out smooth and I felt lighter than usual on my feet but by about 20min in that feeling vanished quickly and I was left with two lead anchors. I ended up pushing a bit too hard and let my HR creep up a bit too much at times but I am happy with the result.
Today, Monday, was the long ride. I didn't get to it until almost 6pm because I am madly trying to get the store year end books done. My plan was to do an easy to steady effort for 150min on the trainer. This would be my longest trainer session this winter. I was a little worried about saddle sores as I have been having a hard time getting the backside leathered up this year. The Sports Balm Chamois Balm got me to about 120min then it was will power from there on.
As for the workout. Once I got going I found that I was actually feeling pretty good and ended up putting in some solid efforts keeping my HR down and held some slightly higher watts than usual.
I still need to get some core work in before bed so I better get to it.
Sunday's long run went pretty well despite going into it with tired legs. I need someone to remind me I am not Arnold when I am at the gym. I ended up running 80min total at 153 Avg HR and covered about 14km which worked out to about 5:36/km. The run started out smooth and I felt lighter than usual on my feet but by about 20min in that feeling vanished quickly and I was left with two lead anchors. I ended up pushing a bit too hard and let my HR creep up a bit too much at times but I am happy with the result.
Today, Monday, was the long ride. I didn't get to it until almost 6pm because I am madly trying to get the store year end books done. My plan was to do an easy to steady effort for 150min on the trainer. This would be my longest trainer session this winter. I was a little worried about saddle sores as I have been having a hard time getting the backside leathered up this year. The Sports Balm Chamois Balm got me to about 120min then it was will power from there on.
As for the workout. Once I got going I found that I was actually feeling pretty good and ended up putting in some solid efforts keeping my HR down and held some slightly higher watts than usual.
I still need to get some core work in before bed so I better get to it.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
This is some classic Tri footage.
I love the comment by Molina when asked what his main strength is.
You also have to love the fashions of the era. Pauli Kiuru's hair is simply awesome and check all the 'stashs.
You also have to love the fashions of the era. Pauli Kiuru's hair is simply awesome and check all the 'stashs.
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