Winter Training starts...and a Concept of Operations for the year.

Winter training has started...today! I actually got up and went to the gym. I've been sleeping in every day since June. Last year, I started winter training at about 185 pounds. This year....193! Wow, and yes, the extra is all fat.  I have a long ways to go. But my A races will be in August this year, so I have plenty of time, and I'm not going all-in right away because I don't want to be mentally burned out come the end of June, right when I need to be hitting it the hardest.

I haven't figured out the races for the year, but I know I'll focus on the August races that I love so much because I'll be home in August (yeah!) instead of gone on USMCR training.

So, November through January training will be focused on getting a good base of aerobic conditioning in, with a focus consistent biking and running while also lifting weights with just a touch of swimming to keep muscle memory.  Goals for the period November to end of January:

  - Run 27 miles per week (30 miles running is a perfect week, with 27 being an average week)
  - Bike five days per week for a total of 6 hours in November, building to 9 hours biking at the end of January.
  - Lift weights three times per week to build triathlon specific strength.
  - Swim 500 yards after each weights workout to maintain swim technique and muscle memory.

That's my Phase I of Winter Training.

Phase 2 starts February 1 and then goes through April 30, which is close to the end of spring and the start of real outdoors training. I used to end Phase 2 at the end of March in conjunction with the university spring break, but the weather never cooperates, so I'm adjusting.  During Phase 2, the focus becomes on building muscular endurance, meaning workouts of 80-120% of race distance at 90% efforts in varying lengths of time to build the ability to hold a race pace.

Phase 3 begins in May and runs through the end of July. This is race specific training at the 80-120% race distances. I'll add bricks and some sprints. I'll add open water swims (twice weekly). The local bike race series is during this time, too.

Phase 4 is the primary race season...August.  I know I want to do the Rexburg Rush Triathlon and the Bear Lake Brawl, both of which are in August. So, August is mostly about maintaining whatever endurance I built up during the year. There is also a rest period of about a week when we go to Yellowstone for some backcountry fishing.  Hopefully I can hang onto the physical and mental endurance til the end of September and do the Utah Xterra.

That runs down my concept of operations for the year.

Random Thoughts early on a Saturday morning

I like getting up in the morning and enjoying a relaxing sunrise, whether in the car driving somewhere, getting in a good workout, or just being up. I don't always get up and do it, so it's nice when I do. Such is the case this morning...little guy Noah is Mr. Wide Awake at 0545. No signs of going back to sleep for him! So here I am, watching a wide-awake seven month old at 0600.  Of course, the sun doesn't come up til 0730 or so(!).  So, I thought I'd throw out some random thoughts this morning:

- Paul's third birthday party is today! Grandmas and Grandpas are everywhere. Sometimes it feels like he was born yesterday, and the other day Tera asked me "What did we do on weeknights before kids?" and I honestly don't remember!

- another trail race today! Weather should be dry with near-freezing temps. This route is much harder than two weeks. It's just fun to get out and do the races, even if I'm not really racing and full-on competing.

- I want to get all my thoughts about triathlon planning and military planning into another little book, but it is going really slow. The first two posts on the subject were written in August, and I haven't gotten much further than that.

- I don't even have my plan together for races next year. I'm hem-hawing about the Boise 70.3, which will determine my entire winter training program. I think other things in life are going to take precedent that weekend anyway, so the decision will be made for me.  I'm excited about being able to do the August races again, like the Rush in Rexburg and the Bear Lake Brawl.  And then those roll right into the Xterra in late September.

- Which is why I'm not worried about being in a good training routine right now. The past couple years I always hit it hard beginning in October and then in March I burn out a bit to the point that in August I'm not excited about being on the bike anymore. And right now I don't have a burning desire to be getting up in the morning, although there is a small flame with some kindling on it and I have a bit of wood right next to the fire to make it a big fire when I want.

- I want to get Paul back into the pool this winter. He asks about it now and then.  Swimming is such an important skill in life. If we are going to go backcountry fishing alot, he NEEDS to know how to swim well.

- When I ask Paul about what's great about snow in the hills, he says "We can go skiing!" It's awesome.

- Little Noah is the biggest obstacle to a good morning routine right now. He likes waking up at 0530 - 0545 and not going to sleep. The gym opens at 0600. I can't just leave him home awake and ask Tera to get up because she already gets up a couple times a night to feed him.

- Later this week, I'll be pushing out alot of links that have been collecting as draft posts. It will be kind of random without alot of comments, but the links are interesting.

The Triathlon Planning View

 

Last week I wrote about matching triathlon planning to the Marine Corps Planning Process. I showed equivalents of strategic, campaign, operational, and tactical planning levels. If the descriptions were difficult to grasp, I’ve tried to make a picture of how the different levels tie into each other

Below is a picture of how it all fits together.

· The large circle is the Strategic Level that answers why you do triathlon and what you hope to accomplish each year.

· The vertical oblong circles with dashed borders represent campaigns of two consecutive years that have a goal that takes a couple of years to reach, such as moving from beginner-level and just finishing races to the intermediate level and competing for age-group podium finishes. In this case, the goals build on each and take a longer time to attain.

· The medium circles represent each year as a single operation that encompasses at a minimum the training aspect and races. In this case, the goals are specific to a training routine (why do you bike hard for 75 minutes instead of easy for four hours?) or a race (want to finish a 40k bike in 75 minutes or a 112 mile bike in 7 hours?).

· The smallest bubbles represent the tactical level of individual events such as races. Overall annual training is one circle for each year. Other things that could be included in each year are equipment purchases or training camps. Or, you are attempt a specific skill for the first time, like starting the bike with your shoes clipped in.

· Not shown are the individual Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) that are used in each race and may be updated each year.

Inflation: Smart Start Sept 2010 = 14.2 cents / oz vs Oct 2011 23.8 cents / oz

A couple years ago I started to take pictures of prices at the grocery store to capture proof of the inflation. I lost a bunch of the photos in a hard-drive crash, but I found one from last year.

The latest inflation is .4% for the month of August (released Sept 15, 2011 at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm). 

The 12-month change in the all items index edged up to 3.8 percent after holding at 3.6 percent for three months, while the 12-month the first time since November 2008. The energy index has risen 18.4 change for all items less food and energy reached 2.0 percent for percent over the last year, while the food index has increased 4.6 percent.

I'm a big fan of Smart Start to maintain a good diet, and it tastes great, too. 

You easily see below that Smart Start went from 14.2 cents per oz in my grocery store on Sept 25, 2010 to 23.8 cents / oz today in the same grocery store. 4.6 percent change in twelve months? ...I don't think so!  My math, which is admittedly quite shakey says it's a 63% increase (please correct me if I'm wrong).

The same 17.5 oz box went from $2.48 to $4.17 in the span of thirteen months for a change of $1.69 per box. I eat about 2.5 boxes per week for breakfast (yes, that's alot, I know). At that rate, this costs me and my family an extra $4.23 per week, which is $16.92 per month, which is $203.40.

If my two boys were teenagers and eating the same as me, that would be a change of $12.69 per week for the three of us, which is $50.76 per month....just for breakfast cereal. Wow, that's what I have to look forward to?

Smart Start at 14.2 cents oz on Sept 25, 2010

Smart Start at 23.8 cents / oz on Oct 15, 2011

Matching Triathlon Activities to Military Planning Levels

When I think about triathlon and how it fits into my life and how I want to train and race, I consider the military planning as an efficient and effective way of looking at it. Great military thinkers have been around since the dawn of time, so it is a proven way of looking at things.

To understand my premise you have to understand the basics of military planning and execution. There are three levels of military planning and execution: strategic, operational, and tactical. Additionally, sometimes a Campaign is used to combine several operations to meet strategic
objectives. At the most basic level of execution is Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) that are how and what people actually do, like running form, bicycle cadence and such.

Everything you do must somehow support the level above it and somehow be connected to the level below it in order to be useful. If something does not support higher and subordinate levels of scope, you should seriously question why you do it. In terms of triathlon that you are doing as a hobby, you might simply add to your objectives so that it has a place to fit.

Below is a table that puts different triathlon activities next to an equivalent military activity, and an explanation of the basic level of activity or thought.

Triathlon Scope	Military Scope	Level of Activity
Lifestyle / Philosophy Why Do I Tri?	Strategic	This is the highest level of planning and execution. It encompasses every aspect of the activity. All activities should meet strategic goals. This is ongoing at all times with reviews every few years. Changes are infrequent.
A few seasons in a row or a level of competitiveness	Campaign	A series of operations that interact to meet a strategic objective. This is normally a few months at a minimum and up to a few months long in time.
A single season of training and racing	Operation	A large scale event with several objectives and/or phases, all which interact to meet a campaign or strategic goal.
A single race	Tactical	A single, smaller goal with specific tasks and objectives that meet operational goals.
Swim Stroke, Bicycle cadence, Running form, Specific gear	Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures	Very detailed items or issues that relate to specific ways of doing things.

Change of Seasons = Gear Room Changeout

We have a small room in our house set aside as the "gear room." It's also a guest room, but it's main purpose is to hold our gear (and act as a stash for all the stuff we don't know what to do with!). Most of the in-season gear just stays laying out and easily accessible, mostly because I didn't take the time to put it all away.

Last week, the seasons switch got flipped, so it's time to changeout the gear room. Funny how that season switch works around here: one day it's summer, next day it's winter, and the reverse is true in early June.

So...into hiding goes the water shoes, fishing rods, fishing bags, tent (I use a yurt in the winter!), and bike helmets.  Running shoes stay out because I AM COMMITTED to running in all weather....if only I could get back into a consistent routine....I am happy to say that the weather was never a reason for not running last year.

Out come the ski boots, thick socks, ski glasses, ski safety gear (avy beacon, avy poles, etc), parkas, gloves, hats, and all that stuff.  As for triathlon, my bike trainer gets a focus area now, and the swimming trunks get washed and ready for what is hopefully twice-weekly use.

It's kind of a fun time getting all the winter gear out because I start thinking about all the possibilities the new season brings. And then putting all the summer gear away can be either sad or happy, depending on what memories hit when I start putting gear away. This summer, the memory about summer will be the incredible snow pack we had and how it held up fishing alot.

Does anyone else do a gear room switch-out?

Pocatello Trail Run Series #1 --- Big Fun in The Snow!

Today was the first trail run of the year, and the weather was GREAT! I missed last years' runs because of scheduling conflicts, so I was excited to run this year.

Here's the scoop on the run series: http://pocatellorunners.com/Trail_runs.php

These runs are frequented by a small core of about ten standard runners with a few others trying it out for the first time.  All in all, a field of 20 is large, and fifteen is about average. The race has a really nice and friendly "Let's Have Fun" attitude without much outright competitiveness but just enough effort to make you breathe hard.

The snowstorm from yesterday left some good snow up in the mountains, so that made it even more fun. Two years ago, there was a huge snowfall that began halfway during the race, but with no wind it was BIG FUN. This year, the fun was in the mud.

Today was a 4.5 mile run that I finished in about 48:20. I took my time and had fun on this race. I even took pictures and video! The theme was a Zombie attack of some sort, so some people were dressed up (I didn't because I'm lame like that!). And the zombies got a two minute head-start or so!

Below are some pics of the run. Enjoy! The course was a big loop that included some good elevation gain. On this map, the run was a short loop around chickadee, cotton tail, ruffed grouse, then down to red fox and fox tail, then up the canyon, turnaround, and back to the start via the meadows and sage loop.  Tough course! But a great run for day.

Next run is Oct 22, and it is harder than today's run and includes a really big hill. Basically, it's a run that goes uphill and then comes down the hill, a point to point that is lots of fun and lots of work.




Snow!




AAhhhh, a zombie!!




Heading up the canyon, starting to see some snow and mud!




Starting out on some "ankle breaker" terrain but no snow.

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Weight Training for Triathlons - Back At It!

So...last year the university started charging for the weight room (go figure!) in the brand-spanking-new mulit-million dollar facility a couple blocks from my house. Great setup, right? Well, I went cheap last year and didn't want to pay, so I didn't lift weight last winter. Before the new gym opened up, the facility was a little dungeon area in the basement that was an absolute no-frills, do the work on decent-enough equipment facility.

I missed lifting weights. I lost a lot of bulk. I probably got faster on the bike and on the run. But I missed lifting weights. I mean, seriously, I like the routine I do some much I wrote it into a book!.

Soooo...today was my first day back in the weight room. I bit the bullet and started paying. It is actually a pretty good deal, although I wish they would open at 5:00am or 5:30am like most gyms. Instead, they take the standard Pocatello-easy-life-approach and open at 6:00am. I would go at 5:30 so I could lift for thirty minutes then hit the pool for 25 minutes and then be back home five minutes later at 6:30am. Oh well, I can't have everything.

Anyway, back to the weights. I did my normal routine, but VERY light weights and only two sets of ten reps instead of three sets of 12-15 reps. I can tell already tonight at 10:30pm and nine hours after the workout that I will probably be sore tomorrow just from doing the activities with light weights.

But I'm excited to be back at it. My plan is to lift thirty minutes then swim for 15 minutes with a VERY FAST TRANSITION to be back home at 6:50am every day to get the kids going and such. That's three days per week.

Then I'll do the bike trainer 3-4 mornings per week from 1.5 hours to 2.25 hours beginning at whatever time gets me done at 6:45am. I want to do a mix of the Sufferfest! videos at high intensity for 90 minutes and watching a moving at moderate intensity for two hours or so (48-50 miles?). That will do it for October, November, and December I think, and maybe January. I still have to decide if I am doing the Boise 70.3, which will determine how much bike volume I do after January. If' I don't do the Boise 70.3, my volume remains the same for the most part but I crank up the intensity alot.

I'll post tomorrow how sore I am!

New Sufferfest! available - Very Dark Place

Got this in my e-mail.....new Sufferfest available just in time for your winter training to start!

LIGHTS OUT - A Very Dark Place is on sale now     ---- Our New Video, A Very Dark Place, is ON SALE NOW. You can buy it - for $11.99 - right here: http://www.thesufferfest.com/video-sufferfests/a-very-dark-place/ A Very Dark Place - The new Sufferfest Video On Sale Now You know that ride you've done where you thought you went harder, deeper and to a darker place than you'd ever gone before? Well, this takes you further, deeper and darker than that with officially licensed footage from races like Paris-Roubaix and Liege-Bastogne-Liege and featuring pro cyclists like Phillipe Gilbert, Fabian Cancellara, Thor Hushovd and Bradley Wiggins.  Similar to our Downward Spiral and Revolver videos, A Very Dark Place is about maximum effort for shorter durations: in this case, 4:00 intervals. It was created to work you very, very hard. You need to be both physically and mentally ready for this one. Designed to help you improve your top speed over short distances - covering, or making, attacks, getting over those steep short hills and powering down the other side or taking a big pull at the front of the breakaway. Of course, we're here not just to make you suffer, but to entertain you - so we designed each 4:00 interval with a unique, eh, personality: from steady intensity to aggressive climbing to relentless attacks on the cobbles or on the bergs. You will not get bored - guaranteed.  A Very Dark Place, which is about 54:00 covers: 5:00 warm-up, with Asian racing footage from a member of the OCBC-Singapore National Team 2×30 sprints, from start line of the OCBC Cycle Singapore professional criterium 1:30 rest, because we're not totally merciless 5 x 4:00 sprints- with 3:00 rest between each interval. Each interval features pro-racing: Solo breakaway in Paris-Nice Small group breakaway in Fleche-Wallone Joining Gilbert and the Schlecks as they attack in Liege-Bastogne-Liege Following Cancellara - and trying to beat him - in Paris-Roubaix Holding onto Wiggins and crew in Criterium du Dauphine 4:00 recovery with some vintage cycling footage  Seven-Pack Bundle - $69.99 USD (save $14!) http://wp.me/pqpcO-zI Haven't bought a Sufferfest video yet because you're not sure which one to get? Well, buy them all. Our Seven-Pack Bundle includes all seven of our current videos. Bought one-by-one, you'd pay $84, but you can get them all at once for just $69.99 ------- Other Sufferstuff: - The Book of Suffering: http://www.thesufferfest.com/uncategorized/the-book-of-suffering-now-available-and-free/ - T-shirts: http://www.thesufferfest.com/sfest-shirts/t-shirts/ - Sufferlandrian National Team Kit: http://sufferfest.myshopify.com/  ------- As always, a huge thank you for your support of The Sufferfest. We truly appreciate it. IWBMATTKYT, David McQuillen, Founder Sufferfest Studios, Singapore http://www.thesufferfest.com

A Foundation For Your Winter Swim Training

As we start to think about our winter training plans, we should be thinking about the foundations of each plan. What is that one or two things that you will focus on in order to get better?

For 90% of the swimmers out there, certainly me included(!), technique should be our number one focus. To get faster, sometimes we need to slow down for a bit.

Triathlete.com » Become A Better Swimmer With Limited Training – Triathlete.com



"You’re so focused on getting to the other side of the pool as quickly as possible that you can’t think about the elements of good technique and your form gets sloppy. Before you go fast in the water, you must learn how to correctly swim slowly."


About once per week or when I'm not mentally into a good workout, I like to decrease the volume and then slow down my arm-turnover rate and focus on powering through the stroke with good form. This can be very tiring, too, and it helps me feel the water better. Rather than whipping through many strokes with poor form, I want to get high quality, powerful strokes with good form.


You could do this early in the season to create a very subjective baseline on what a powerful stroke with good form feels like and how long it takes to do 50 or 100 meters. Each month, do that same workout and rate yourself if you think you are improving. You could also have someone (the same person each month) take a look at your stroke and comment on any improvements.