Three reasons and more why Short workouts ARE worth it!

Until last year, I had a bad habit of ditching a workout if I figured only had 30 minutes or so. This was especially true on the cold mornings when I wanted to sleep in and kept resetting my alarm!

But there are good reasons to do a 30 minute workout, many of them outlined in the Triathlete.com article "Twenty Minute Workouts" at http://triathlon.competitor.com/2012/04/training/20-minute-workouts_24024

I think the most meaningful reason to do a 20-30 minute workout, especially if it's the only thing your going to do for the day. Specifically...

1. CONSISTENCY factor plays a role.

2. Maybe you need to have an active recovery day.

3. Maybe you are just having scheduling problems but want to do something.

In any case, it is indeed worth it to put your gear on and do a 20 - 30 minute workout.

A few additional types of workouts are included in the Triathlete.com article I mentioned.

But what kind of workouts can you do in 20-30 minutes? Here's what  Triathlete.com has to say...

The Filler – Simply swim, ride, or run at an easy tempo for 20 minutes. This is a great workout to do when you want to avoid the guilt of doing nothing but you’re not mentally or physically ready for anything challenging.
Tabata Intervals – Swim, ride, or run at an easy tempo for 16 minutes, then complete 8 x 20-second all-out sprints with 10-second passive recoveries between sprints.
Fartlek Intervals – Sprinkle 5 to 10 fast 30-second efforts throughout an otherwise moderate, steady-pace workout.
Threshold Session – Warm up for five minutes at a comfortable tempo, then go for 15 minutes at anaerobic threshold intensity (the fastest pace you could hold for one hour in a race).
Progression Workout – Swim, ride, or run for 15 minutes at a steady, moderate pace, then blast the last five minutes.
Time Trial – Swimming: Warm up, then swim 800 meters (875 yards) as fast as you can. Cool down as long as necessary to make the total workout 20 minutes. Cycling: Warm up, then ride 5 km as fast as you can. Cool down as long as necessary to make the total workout 20 minutes. Running: Warm up, then run 1 mile as fast as you can. Cool down as long as necessary to make the total workout 20 minutes.

They left out a basic weight-lifting session, which should normally NOT be done on a single-time-only basis, so I can see why it didn't make their list. One 20-minute routine I use the weight-lifting routine the 20-60-40 Weight Training Routine for Olympic and Sprint Triathlon. Full disclosure that I wrote that book. But I really do use that routine for a 20-minute workout at lunch. It is fast and easy and provides consistency during the winter, no matter what the southeast Idaho mountain weather will bring.

Another option is to take a look at some of the Yellowstone Time Trials videos that are about 25 minutes long. I made these specifically for those cold mornings that I didn't want to get up and get on the trainer. I have an additional advantage that I get to relive the awesome warm, sunny days that I did the video capture, but I think anyone will appreciate the beautiful weather I had on at least one day (the other day was quite smoky from fires).

Tracking Training Points

Earlier I showed you the weekly points tracker and explained how the points equal 1 mile of bike, or 100 yards swimming, or 1/4 mile running.

Now here is the chart that is used to visualize the annual volume. You can clearly see a ramp-up, and then some leveling with four week cycles followed by a rest/easy week, a race week (zero volume).

The last "set" of weeks shows how I plan to change-up the schedule to focus on Olympic distance training. The even-week sets prior to that are high-volume moderate intensity to train for a 70.3.

This last set has some of that, but intermixed with a lower-volume, high-intensity week to prep for the Olympic distance that is a bit shorter but higher paced.

When I'm done posting all the training data segments, I'll upload the excel file for anyone to copy and use on their own.

Consistency in the early phase of a training program

I really think consistency is the NUMBER ONE priority in the first six weeks of a training program. Joe Friel in his "Training Bible" book talks about how the muscles and tendons have to adapt in the beginning phases, and he is absolutely right based on my recent experiences.

Here are some of my thoughts on how to maintain consistency in the first phase of a new training program:


1. Consistency trumps everything, especially intensity. It is more important to just get on the bike or run for twenty minutes then to worry or think that that 20 minutes won't do anything. It will do wonders simply because of the consistency.

2. As I increase my number of consistent workouts, I can see my capacity improve. For instance, my first workout on the bike trainer in six months, I kept a steady state of about 15mph for 20 minutes before getting tired. Two weeks later, I'm already up to 17.5 mph steady state for 20 minutes before getting tired.  The percentage of improvement is good for morale and motivation.

3. Scheduling is the most important thing. I'm in a period right now when I go for several months with minimal interruptions on a macro-scheduling level, and three weeks when I can look at every meeting and schedule around them to maintain consistency.

4. It's those pop-up events that stop a workout that kill consistency, and those are the things you have to be prepared to adapt to. Find a way!  That's when you have to say 20 minutes of anything is better than a skipped workout...this helps you find the time in your day.

5. Keep the goals very simple, with very little beyond the consistency aspect. I have very simple goals in this first six weeks phase: 1) maintain consistency. 2) get 150 "points" per week in that 100 yards swim = 1 point, 1/4 mile of running = 1 point, and 1 mile biking = 1 point. This keeps me keyed on consistency over volume or intensity (although the only metric is volume, it works that way for me personally).


When I first started triathlon training a few years ago, I noticed that there were significantly different muscles involved and paid attention to the adaption time and processes. I considered it quite normal and just something I had to deal with. Having been a runner and swimmer all my life and hiking alot in the previous ten years, I was in pretty good physical condition, but nothing compared to where I was headed for triathlon. My body needed to adapt to the bike stresses and then the overall changes in form and function of my body.

So now....after gaining 18-20 pounds and getting a bit out of shape, I'm back into the training. And I have to remember that after six months of no consistent training, my body needs to adapt again. That is difficult to deal with physically and mentally. Physically because there is some pain involved in getting back into running more and biking (consistent swimming comes in January!). Mentally, I am having trouble adapting to only being able to run four miles every day instead of six miles.

I figure after six weeks, I'll be back to my normal (new normal, anyway) self or pretty close to it, and then the physical and mental problems will go away, and I can focus on intensity and then move into race-specific workouts.

Clear Priorities allow Clear Focus

No doubt that any athlete with a family and a job has trouble finding the opportunities to make the most of consistent training. Kids, spouse, housework, yardwork, cars, maintenance, burned out light bulbs, dirty diapers, throwing the balls around, time at the park, etc etc etc.....they all add up to missed workouts because we all put our families first (as it should be).

So how to solve that problem? Set clear priorities of effort for spouses based on time of the day or whatever will work for you and allows you to focus on what you want during a specific period of time. My personal example is below.

The last two months have been hard for me because Noah is still waking up at night and early morning. That means I never know if I'll be able to get in a morning workout session. Last year worked great because Paul almost always slept til 7:30, and so I would get 100% priority from 4:30am - 6:40am for my workouts....if Paul needed anything between those hours, Tera would take care of it. And then from 6:40 until he left for school, I would take care of Paul. Tera and I had a deal that clearly defined the priorities of each of us for a set period of time, and that allowed us both to succeed in our goals.

So tonight we made the deal again, a bit different, but the deal has been made. I will get up and give Noah a bottle anytime after we go to bed, and then I get to not worry about it from 4:30am - 6:40 again, just like last year. This allows us to both KNOW EASILY what is supposed to happen in the fog of the night. No questions. No arguing. We both understand what is supposed to be happening.  I get to KNOW that I'm going to workout in the morning, and the added pressure of that being my only "window of opportunity" will get me out of bed. Tera gets to know that she'll be able to workout in the morning, too. And, most importantly, our kids will be taken care of appropriately. The juggling act is solved, at least for now. If Noah starts sleeping all night, then I'll be that much happier.

Other examples could be a specific time right after the work day, like 5:30pm - 6:30pm where you get to do a workout after work, but then take the kids the rest of the night. Even if that is the deal for just one night per week, it is one night per week that you get to focus. Choose a night that doesn't have many interruptions that can break the deal....the maturity level comes with how you handle it if you get home later than expected and realize you only have 30 minutes instead of an hour....then what? You shutup and do 30 minutes because that was the deal.  Trying to muster more out of the deal because of circumstances neither of you can control doesn't help anyone. Roll with it, and go for something for the 30 minutes in the name of consistency and keeping the deal.

Or it could be a three hour period on Saturday or Sunday morning. Again, the deal is the deal. If the weather sucks or you drank the night before and can't get the whole workout in, that's just the way it is. You get your allotted time period -- no more and no less -- so that the other person can have their time. They've surely planned it out to maximize the time, and screwing with the timeline could break the whole deal.  Obviously, there is some give and take on this, but if you are giving more than you are taking, then you need to realize the deal is probably in jeapordy.

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.

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.

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.

Reset Button!

Well, the entire month of July fell apart for workouts. The Pocatello race was fun, of course, but I had almost no workouts because of travel and other work.

So now I'm telling myself that I'll just hit the reset button and start again...FRESH!....on August 1. That sounds good, right. I might have lost some fitness, but I I certainly still have a nice foundation. I'll just have to build the high-intensity level again. The goal is to be able to do well at the Xterra Triathlon in Park City.

That's what I'm telling myself now, anyway.

Last week before my "A" race

Push has come to shove. I can no longer influence my finish time for my "A" race this year (Pacific Crest Olympic Triathlon) by doing hard workouts. The time for that has come and gone. I'm one week away from race day. Any thoughts of hard or long workouts right now will decrease my chances at meeting my goals. I need to be resting. 

I don't know if "taper" is the right word for the rest period right before an Olympic distance triathlon. I'm basically just resting to get my legs back to 100%, shed all that fatigue. I will still do some very short and race-pace intervals, but they will be minimal overall effort. The idea is for my body to remember what race-pace is while not adding to any fatigue.

So, I wrote my race plan. I'm about half-way done. It's a bit more in-depth and detailed than I expected, but that's good because it helps me hold myself to my goals and let's me remember what I was thinking when I wrote out my goals. Some people will say that the goals should be written down at the beginning of the year, but I prefer to understand deep down that all the base and build training is simply leading up to the fastest that I can be, and writing down my goals for times is done best a week or so out when I know where I'm at physically and mentally. When I finish the race plan, I'll post it on a page for this blog.  I did write down training objectives based on my "A" race back in October or November, but I left out any specific times I want to get.

Tomorrow I organize. Wednesday I pack. I also have a race in the local hill climb series, but I'll be doing that simply as a participant to get the points....I missed the first one because of travel for work, and it killed me in the overall points standings.  I certainly won't be pushing hard on this race ride, and I have four days afterwards to shed that fatigue.

I'm excited and nervous about the race. I've never been there before, and I think it will be a nice family gathering.

What changes do you make for summer training?

Old Man Winter still has his grip on southeast Idaho, but at least it's warming up a bit. The snow is gone here in town, and it's melting away in the local mountains. But there is always a chance that I'll wake up in the morning to an inch or so of snow.

When I sit down and make my annual training plan, I always plan a change of focus around the time of the university spring break. I say "around the time of" because who knows what the weather will be like. The last few years, our spring has been cold and wet. The Climate Prediction Center at the National Weather Service says it will be cool and wet again this year.

What changes do you generally plan for when spring hits? I suppose some of you in the south have been riding outside all winter or at least maybe the past two months or so. I like to add in more outside biking (of course!).  Because most of my races are in June, I make a point of doing two OWS each week in May to get used to that kind of swimming again; it's more of a head-game than physical, but it works wonders. As for changes in the run, I'll be changing one of my basic, moderate effort 10k runs at lunch to a hill workout that I absolutely hate to love because it hurts, but it definitely provides some gains.

I've put my skis away and I'm hoping summer gets here quick!

Spring Break Progress Test = SUCCESS! 40k bike progress

A good training plan has some built in testing periods to see if your plan is working. Of course, those tests should be built around your goals for the year.  If you are self-coached, it’s important to work in some of these tests throughout the year so you can make appropriate changes early enough to give you the results you want on race day.
In my case, my goal for the year is a 60 minute 40k bike, so my test is to see if I can ride 24 miles in one hour at a tension that is similar to what I’ll find on race day.
I did a scheduled spring break progress test today to see if my winter workouts on the bike were successful. I didn't really take a break this week, so my legs weren't completely fresh, but they're close enough for the info I wanted.
This week's workouts consisted of 3,000 yards swimming on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. This week had a definite swim-focus  because the pool is closed this weekend and all next week for spring break repairs, and I wanted to pick up my swim efforts. On the bike, I did only a 30 moderate-effort miles on Monday morning. For running, I ran 3.5 miles on a round-about-route to the pool and back on Thursday and Friday. With such little bike and run this week, I still felt fatigued in my legs a bit as I walked up the stairs last night; I guess a three fold increase in swim volume can really affect your entire body!  
Below is my expected progression chart for bike, run, and swim. The March 15 date was not a hard date when I set it back in November or so; it was meant to be a day somewhere around spring break, which today fits.
 

The bike goals are the second and third columns in from the left. I have to put “gear/cad” because I don’t have a power meter and that is my control factor. In any case, I ended up doing the test today on Gear 9 (the highest possible) plus an additional turn harder on the trainer tension, equivalent to an extra gear harder.
My average cadence was 72, much higher than the 68 listed. I only went for 65 minutes (five minute warmup plus 1 x 60 minute set), though, but I had already done 25.44 miles in that 65 minutes. Since the overall goal here is to be able to do 24 miles per hour for an hour, I have met that goal. And, I’m pretty sure my tension is set at the equivalent of road resistance with no wind. I’m very happy with my results, but the “rubber will meet the road” when I actually get out on the road….that might be a while because it snowed again today, and I’m a fair weather rider.

As far as the swim goes, I couldn’t hit that 2,000 yards in 24 minutes today, and that’s probably too fast of a goal anyway. I can hit 1500 yards in 22:00 in the pool at an 95% effort. That’s as far as I’ve gotten in the pool this year. I’m not really worried about it, though, because the swim endurance can come back fairly quickly, and this past week was the first week I really even cared about the swim workouts; almost all swimming prior to this week was done break up the monotony of biking and running all the time.
I hit that run goal two weeks ago. My average for the 10k loop is right around 50:00 on a very moderate effort. I routinely hit faster than 49:30 on that loop if I put forth any amount of effort beyond moderate. That 10k loop is very hilly, with three 200foot elevation change hills on it. I think that if I can hit that route routinely at 46:00 during standard workout weeks with a lot of volume in my legs, I should definitely be able to run a 42:00 10k in a race. That’s still a bit short of the 40:00 goal, but I’m being very conservative and not adjusting for elevation or race adrenaline.
Here’s a chart of what my run progression looks like. The data points are times run on the same course. I tried to run the same “moderate effort level” every time I ran it. You can see how the average time, represented by the red line, trends downward even though I drastically increased bike volume and then the swim volume during that time while gaining about ten pounds(!). If I can lost ten pounds, I’m sure the graph will continue its downward trend.

All in all, I’m very happy with where I’m at right now, assuming that bike tension is equivalent to road resistance. The only thing I’m not happy about is weighing 185 pounds when my goal weight is 170-172. I knew I was going to gain weight when I quit dipping, but I thought I would be able to get it off sooner or later if I had did enough volume. That’s not the case so far.

Scheduling a focus week

Most of us Age Groupers do this triathlon thing while holding down a standard job and making time for a family of 2.2 kids and a dog and a mortgage. Time management and scheduling become very important to successful training. So, sometimes we need to simply do a focus week and get what we can out of that week's training.

For example, you might need to go out of town for a week or so for a business trip. You can't take your bike, and you can't work in a trip(s) to the local pool. What to do? Schedule a focus week for running.

The focus week is exactly what it sounds like. You focus on one specific area. This is nothing new. I'm pretty sure Joe Friel mentions it at some point in his books or on his blog. You can do this when you feel like one sport isn't at the same level as other sports or anytime you run into some scheduling problems like a week of pool closure, a week without a bike for whatever reason, travelling, or injury. It can mean that you simply do only one sport, or you do two or all three sports. The main concept is that at least the majority of your time will be spent on one sport.  Another twist on this is to take an entire winter training period as a focus period, which many people do in order to help their swim. I've spent this entire winter focusing on the bike.

In this instance, I take a few extra minutes to write down exactly what I'm hoping to accomplish  in very specific terms. It's really a mini-training plan for the week or however long your focus period is. Some things might not be exercise related, but maybe nutrition related.

Example of a weeklong run run focus when you're stuck in a hotel during a conference with no pool or bike:

1. I'll run twice daily Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (Mon and Fri are travel days). One workout is short and hard, and the other workout will be an easy or very moderate effort for a longer period of time. (For me personally, this is a hard 4.5 miler with some warmup and an easy 7 miler).

2. I'll swim or bike Monday morning before going to the airport. I'll run before going to the airport on Friday.

3. I'll take resistance bands to use in my room.

4. I'll limit alcohol consumption and desserts; basically just watch watch what I eat and drink all week.

5. I'll stay well hydrated during the day.

6. I'll get eight hours of sleep each night. Turning off the tv will facilitate this.

I wish I was always successful at those things on my trips! Usually, I'm a miserable failure, especially about the desserts because I have a serious sweet tooth! 

Another example is what I'm dealing with right now. The pool I swim at is closed all next week. As luck had it, the forecast all this week was rain, and I hate running in the rain. Also, my swim volume needs to really pick up and get on par with the bike and swim at this point because I focused all winter on bike and run. So, this is the perfect week for a swim focus! I didn't figure this out until Monday morning on the bike trainer, but that was early enough to adapt my schedule to a swim focus. Here is the basic premise of my swim focus week.

1* Family has absolute priority this week.

1. I'll focus on the swim this week. Instead of running at lunch, I'll swim. I want to do 4x3000yd workouts for a total of 12,000 yards this week.  I need to listen to my body for injury and adapt accordingly, but simply being tired is not a reason to cut. (Note: I was averaging about 4,000 yds per week for the past four weeks, so this is a HUGE increase and could easily result in injury if I'm not careful).

2. Swim workouts will consist of longer, lower intensity sets (1500, 1000, 500) in order to build general endurance, allow sufficient recovery, reduce injury, and build my mind-set back up to swimming a 1500.

3. I will maintain my bike volume as much as possible (Another note: my wife had a baby last week, so we have a newborn in the house along with a 2 1/2 year old boy. Joy! but hard on sleep and work and PT schedules).

4. I will run at least 12 miles this week in one way or another, preferably in 2x10k runs.

5. This swim focus week will set a foundation for a bike/run focus next week in which I will bike/run in the morning and then run the standard 10k route at lunch.

So that's a real-world swim focus week. So far, I've done the swims and one of the two runs. My bike volume didn't keep up because I wasn't sleeping enough. And I've eaten way too much because good friend and neighbors are being really nice to us! Such is life. I'm making the most of this week that is AWESOME to have a healthy newborn baby boy and a healthy wife but difficult when considering just triathlon training.

Update: The extra swimming is really stressing my body. I have been cutting out a few workouts because I am feeling really fatigued. Wow! This just validates that swimming really does take alot out of you during the triathlon race, even if you don't feel that tired.

Fun with data and charts….Oct–Jan

Have you ever wondered what to do with those data points you collect every day (if you don’t use software). These shows charts show some interesting points about my volume and how it compares to last year….I’m thinking that increased volume will help my times come down a bit, while maintaining relatively high intensity through the winter. Other points I’m thinking about taking in the future are average 500 and 100 yard times during 4x500 and 20x100 sets in the pool, continued 10k running times (see the last chart below!), and of course heart rate and times on the bike once I get back outside.

I normally don’t make charts, but I thought it would be interesting to see what they look like. Picture says a thousand words, right? By the way, these charts are easy to make and update in Excel….if you’re wondering and are so inclined.

Here’s a look at my overall weekly point total. The red data line that goes along the x-axis is last year’s numbers. The straight red line is the lineal trend, and the curved green line is the log trend. You can see that my volume started out similar to last year and has now become much higher than last year at this time of the year. The last number in blue is my expected total for this week (HUGE WEEK!).

Next up is the weekly points  totals. I’ve added my goal ranges to the right, beginning in mid-March. Red is bike. Green is run. Blue is swim. You can see how I started with running, added the bike, and then added the swim just a few weeks ago. See the run drop when I add the bike? See New Year’s Week when I did nothing? And the last two weeks you can see me getting into a consistent mode and building higher. I don’t expect to get much more volume than this week (usually a bit less probably!), but things should get consistent from here on out as I work all three sports.

Swim Volume. Just starting out. Last number is expected total for this week. I’m hoping to have consistent 8,000yd weeks March-Sept. Last year, 8,000yds was a very high week.

Bike: Volume in miles (y-axis) is definitely bigger than last year, but not as much bigger like I had thought. I’m really looking to get those blue lines close to 150 each week. I can feel the improvements, for sure.

Run: Started out great, and you can see how I’ve dropped running volume while adding the bike and swims. I’m now getting things figured out, and the running volume should again get consistent at 25-30 miles / week (100-125 points/week). One run point = 1/4 mile.

 

Proof that consistency works! Here’s a chart that shows the same course done consistently with the same effort level at the same time every day. Far left is Oct 1, and far right is end of December…there are some gaps. Each data point is an individual run on my standard 10k lunch course; and it was important to me to always try to run at the same moderate perceived effort level. The red line is the trend line. What isn’t shown in here is the addition of the bike volume in November (yet times continued to go down), and the change in weather to an early winter and snow coverage (mid-November). Nor does it show me gaining about 6-8 pounds when I quit dipping.  Even with all of those things that should have slowed be down, I got faster. That’s enough evidence for me to get the heck out of bed every morning and BE CONSISTENT in whatever I am doing.

 

Overall points averages are below. Top line is 2011 (beginning in Oct 2010). Bottom line is 2010 (entire year Oct 09 – Sept 10).

year      overall       swim        bike miles       run

                              100yd/pt     1 mile/pt    4pts/mile

Joe Friel....GREAT STUFF to remember and use!

I got this e-mail today, and I read and re-read it. There are two parts. The first part is about season goals and is a review of what we all probably know....but don't necessarily remember to do. Read it and check your goals to see if they are SMART. Second is the top ten list from Joe Friel's blog this year. Every one of these should be considered MUST READ!  Over the weekend, I'll write a quick note about each of these and post my annual goals. Have a great weekend! Darin *************************************************************************************************************** Season Goals by Scott Iott Happy New Year athletes and coaches!!  Now that you have reflected on your 2010 season, it is time to move forward to 2011.  The first step is to set season goals and training objectives.  Ideally, you should have 2-4 season goals and 3-5 training objectives.  Season goals are tied to events or races and will drive your training throughout the season.  For example, you may have a goal to complete your first triathlon or finish an Ironman in less than 12 hours.  Each training session should have a purpose related to your season goals.  Training objectives are things that you can accomplish during your actual training.  Examples of training objectives can be to complete 95% of written workouts, reach optimal race weight, or set a new PR on a training route.  Each of your season goals should fit under the criteria of the SMART principle.  They should be Specific, Measurable,Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.  Use this formula when setting season goals: Specific – Season goals should be tied to a specific event.  Generally the event will be your “A” priority race when you will be at peak fitness levels. Measureable – How are you going to know when you’ve reached your goals?  Your goals should be written so that you or your coach can monitor progress. Using a pace or power meter will help give you objective data to help with achievement. Attainable – Set your goals so that right now they are just out of reach.  Setting your goals too high will set you up for failure.  Set them too low and you will not challenge yourself in your training. Realistic –Don’t set a goal that you are not physically or mentally capable of accomplishing.  It’s okay to aim high, but make sure you feel that you are able to realistically reach that level. Timely - Season goals should be achieved in the current season, during your build up to your “A” races, or in the 2011 year.  You may have a 2 or 3 year plan in triathlon, but set your goals based on your needs this season. The goal setting process is an important part to the beginning of your 2011 season.  They will drive your training decisions throughout the year.  Use the SMART formula and set yourself up for success in 2011!!  Happy Training! Scott Iott is a Level I USAT certified triathlon coach. He has helped athletes of all levels to numerous age group wins and podium places. Scott has eight years of multisport experience across a variety of distances. He is dedicated to helping athletes reach their season, race, and training goals. For more information on Season Goals, contact Scott atsiott@trainingbible.com

Top 10 Most Read Posts of 2010 by Joe Friel The following are the 10 blog posts from this site which were the most read in 2010. #1 below never ceases to amaze me as it’s #1 every year and shows no sign of slowing down. Only three posts from 2010 made it to the top 10 of all-time (#4, #7, #10). I still have a long list of topics that interest me waiting in the wings. If you have a topic you’d like me to write about please feel free to post it as a suggestion in the comments section below. I can’t guarantee I’ll write about it, but I may. Thanks for following my blog in 2010. It was viewed 685,265 times and continues to steadily grow. I look forward to seeing what’s ahead in 2011. #1 Cleat Position (January 2007) This was the first blog post I ever wrote and it continues to be the most read of all having been #1 four years in a row. Here I discuss a midsole alternative to the traditional forefoot cleat position for cycling shoes. There have been 143 comments posted to this blog by readers, many of which describe their experience after moving their cleats. There have also been follow-up posts to this blog which you can find by doing a search on “cleat position” on thehome page. #2 Road Bike Posture (September 2009) This is a post from September, 2007. I’ve never figured out why it turned out to be so popular. It discusses hip position in a seated position and shows examples of two riders, one with a position I like and another that’s not quite as nice. #3 Foot Strike in Running (March 2007) Written in March, 2007 this is a perennially popular post making the top five for the fourth consecutive year. It provides pictures of two runners at Ironman Hawaii 2006—one with a relatively flat-foot strike and the other with a heel strike. It briefly discusses the advantages of minimizing an initial heel-first foot strike. #4 Core Strength (March 2010) From March of 2010, this post includes frame captures from two videos of runners on treadmills. I’ve had people say that the top pictures of the female runner are fakes—that she has her shorts pulled down on the left side thus exaggerating her poor postural muscles. That’s not the case. I’ve seen the entire video. Had I shown a right-foot landing you would see a mirror image with that hip sagging just as much. These videos changed much of what I thought I knew about the subject. #5 Estimating TSS (September 2009) Training Stress Score (TSS) is a concept Dr. Andrew Coggan came up with that is at the heart ofWKO+ software, which I and many other coaches and athletes use quite extensively. It’s simply a way of “scoring” the difficulty of a workout based on power (bike), pace/speed (running) or heart rate (any endurance sport). If you don’t use a power meter, GPS/accelerometer speed-distance device or heart rate monitor (e.g., swimming) this post helps you estimate TSS for a workout so you can manually enter it into WKO+. #6 A Quick Guide to Setting Zones (November 2009) As suggested in the title, this post takes you through the step-by-step process of setting up your training zones (heart rate, power, pace) for cycling, running and swimming. #7 Physiological Fitness – Lactate Threshold (March 2010) Posted in March of this year this topic continues to attract readers. And with good reason. If you improve your lactate threshold you will be faster. And it’s highly trainable. #8 Heart Rate and Training (March 2009) This is a quick, personal history of using a heart rate monitor along with how to determine your lactate threshold heart rate. #9 Can Your Socks Make You Faster? (October 2007) I believe it was 2005 when I first saw compression socks being used in a triathlon. Now it’s a common sight. This is perhaps the most notable change in athletic apparel in the decade. But are they beneficial? This post takes a look at that question? I need to return to this topic soon as there has been some recent research on the topic. #10 Physiological Fitness – Aerobic Capacity (March 2010) This was part 1 of a three-part series on “what is fitness.” Part 2 of the series was #7 above. Part 3 had to do witheconomy. This aerobic capacity post describes a term—VO2max—used by every serious athlete but understood by few.

Winter Training thoughts

Winter came on strong here in southeast Idaho last week. But NO WORRIES! I got this figured out. Here are a few thoughts about winter training in the snow and cold.

1. How bad will it really be? 4 miles is 40 minutes at the most, so how cold can you get in 40 minutes when you're putting forth at least some effort? Nothing that five minutes in a hot shower can't fix.

2. Plan to stay out of the wind. Really, it's the wind that is the real culprit in the winter, not the cold. If you dress with layers and cover all the skin, the plain old cold doesn't really get you. It's the wind whipping around and THROUGH your jacket that gets you. So plan to run a route in some trees or at least not in the open areas that are getting blasted by the wind.

3. Get warmed up in the house. It's very difficult to leave a nice warm bed next to your next warm spouse to go out into the freezing cold. It's so easy just to snuggle up for another hour or two, and you'd get major cool points from your wife or hubby, right? To win this mental battle early in the morning when you're not even awake yet, plan at least 15-20 minutes of warmup time in the house to get your blood flowing and maybe a couple cups of coffee in you if that's how you roll. The key is to create a transitional period.

4. Enjoy the SUN! It might be cold, but the sun is shining on many afternoons. Get out there and play in the sun! Plan your runs for the middle of the day, and your gyms and swims in the dark times. Plenty of scientific studies say the sun is good for morale, and common sense says the same.

5. Cross Train! Break out the skis. Personally, I think a day in the backcountry hiking up big hills and then maintaining control on the way down is the hardest workout I do. Cross-country skiing is a great option, too. Don't worry so much about whether you cut a bike or a run to add skiing....the point is to break up the monotony of indoor training and GET OUTSIDE! The positive mental aspects of a break in the monotony will far surpass any issues with missing a bike or run that you do half-ass cuz you just aren't into it mentally.

6. Get organized. You've probably read all about how proper organization can help. That is doubly important in the winter because of the extra gear needed to stay warm. Multiple sets of gear help, too. Here are the setups I have, all with old gear that I had laying around and not really being used (ie I didn't spend a ton of money):
1. A warm top and bottom laid out next to the bed so I can get up easily and get going.
2. Bike trainer clothes. Also, I have a coffee pot with a timer downstairs by the bike trainer room. More than once the smell of the coffee already brewing has gotten me to get out of bed!
3. A set of shoes, pants, jacket, hat, gloves, and shorts/shirt for the one mile run to the gym after the bike trainer workout. They are staged by the bike trainer every day to make a quick transition from the bike to the gym for lifting weights (generally only a winter workout).
4. Set of shoes, pants, jacket, shorts, shirt, hat, and gloves staged at work for running at lunch. I keep it simple and use the same gear each day of the week, taking it home only on Fridays to wash it over the weekend. That might sound gross to some people, but it keeps me from forgetting anything more than one day.
It takes about five minutes each night to restage everything in the house and setup the coffee to start brewing five minutes before I should be getting to the coffee pot in the morning.

And what if you forget something? Go anyway! Today I forgot my socks, and I knew I'd be running through some snow and slush. Oh well, nothing a five minute hot shower won't be able to fix afterwards. And do you know what? They didn't even get cold in the 18 degree weather...just a little wet as if it was raining and 50 degrees.

Bottom line: there are only a few no-kidding good excuses for not training (running) outside in the winter; generally you can work around all the standard "but it's winter" excuses. For me, blizzard conditions, significant ice coverage on my running paths, or other unsafe conditions will keep me inside for a day or two at the most.

Long-range annual planning with weather forecasts

As I ran today at lunch, I wondered how much longer the incredibly beautiful fall weather is going to last. And then I wondered if we would have another long, wet spring in 2011 like we did in 2010.

The answers are available at http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/  Click through the three-month forecasts to get the weather man's best guess!

So how does this affect your annual training plan? Well, if you're like me and basically don't ride your bike outside when it's below 60 degrees, you can start preparing yourself mentally for a long winter indoors. You can also decide that now is the time to build up to a two-hour trainer ride followed by a one hour run that will happen sometime in April. 

Supersticious planning?

Today is a Monday that is also the first day of the month. It's not an incredibly rare event, of course, but it's the type of day I like. What better to start a phase of training than on a Monday that is the first of the month? For some reason, I always find it easy to start something new on the Mondays that are the first of the month. It just feels right, and so it's easier to keep it up.

So what did I start today? I finally got my lazy butt out of bed in the morning and got on the bike trainer this morning! Yes, indeed, and it felt great! I followed that up with a quick trip to the gym for my weight lifting routine. I expect to be sore tomorrow from the lifting, so I'm planning to do a 1,000 yard swim just to stretch out a bit and to get a feel for the water again. I also want to swim a bit to help keep my weight down over the winter.  At lunch, I ran an easy 5 miles on an ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS sunny day! Life is good.

Into Build Phase

Now that spring break is over, I'm moving into my build phases. For me, that means I increase the intensity for some of the same workouts I've been doing while adding specific training, such as outside hills on the bike, race pace runs, and open water swims. Because of the weather, my schedule will be a mix of the winter schedule and the expected summer schedule for much of April. In May, the weather stabilizes for the most part, and the full-on summer schedule is in place.

At this point, my weekly goals are
- swim 8,000 yards
- bike 120 miles
- run 20 miles (will probably increase to 24 or 25).

Open water swims are out of the picture in Idaho til May. I might get one in at Camp Pendleton in April, and I hope to make that one a one-mile swim. I'm increasing my yardage now in the swim because that leg of the tri is still kind of in the base phase, as I didn't start swimming til mid-February. My current workouts are M: 20x100 on 1:40, T: 1x800, 1x400, 2x200, 4x100, W: 2x800, R: 1x2000, F: mix of whatever I feel like or off or makeup. The Mon-Thurs schedule gives me my 8,000 yards for the week, with an equal mix of short and long. This yardage is significantly higher than last year's average of about 5,000, and that's because I want to be able push the swim and still get out of the water not feeling tired; the increased distance should facilitate that. The goal for the race split in an olympic race is 20 minutes.

The bike is still kind of inconsistent for me, but I'm getting better. In February and March I had a couple of weeks that I got in all the workouts but not the mileage I was hoping for. In any case, I was increasing the resistance throughout the winter, so the mileage isn't such as great measurment. The month of April will be pretty much like the winter training, but I'll get in as many outside bikes as I can when the weather is nice. The early mornings are still in the picture, and will remain in the schedule during the summer. The goal for the race split is variable given the course, but in general I'm looking for 1:06 or less on a really good day with few hills and little wind.

My run is probably in the worst shape at this point. I've done nothing but easy runs for the past months, but my mileage is higher than it ever was last year. When I can add in the intensity, it should come along nicely fairly quickly. My race goal for the run is a 43:00 10k.

Notice that the race goals don't get me to the 20-60-40....yet. I think that is going to happen further down the road as my open water swim and bike improve. The run may never get to a 40:00 unless I'm under 170 pounds, which isn't somewhere I really want to be.

I think the winter training was good for me. I certainly have a good base for the bike and some decent easy mileage for the run. My swim will get where it needs to be eventually.

I signed up for the Cache Valley Tri on June 12 and the Janet's Tri (West Yellowstone) on June 19 this evening. That will help me get out of bed in the morning and give me something to focus on when the training gets difficult. The Cache Valley Tri bike course is half uphill and the other half downhill.

2010 Annual Training Plan done

Below is my updated training plan for the 2010 season, starting Monday, Oct 6. This is the overall plan that doesn't address details. I have a more detailed list of objectives and "how to meet the objectives" that I won't be posting because it's pretty long and requires alot of reformatting to go into this blog and be readable. I do think that the schedule supports the objectives and tasks to meet the objectives.


Overall Winter 09-10 Training Objectives:

- Maintain bike base and increase leg muscles to allow improvement of bike speed for 40k distance beginning in March.
- Keep weight under 178 pounds to help get to 170 during the summer.
- Improve running cadence to average of 84.
- Make new found swim form a habit.
- Backcountry skiing when snow is good.
- Lose the fat.
- Change my body-clock to sleeping 2100 – 0500, which is eight hours to set up morning workouts next summer.
- Make sure family has priority not just in words but in actions.

October - December Schedule
-Bike Trainer five mornings per week.
- Build up to 60 minutes by mid-Nov.
- Mid-Nov to end of Dec: Mix 90 minute rides with 60 min rides plus 30 minute gym/swim.
- Run 24 miles per week.
- Weather is not an excuse. With really bad weather, 10 mins on elliptical = 1 mile.
- Swim twice weekly (2x1000) beginning mid-November for maintenance and feel.
- Volume/intensity picks up in February because I burn out kind of quickly on the swim training.
- Weights start in mid-November after a solid base on the bike is formed.


Weekly goals for Oct - Dec period:
- Consistency is the key. Get up every weekday at 0500 and do it. Weekends = 0600.
- Keep Friday morning weight below 178.
- Get to sleep at night. To bed at 2130.
- Swim: 2000 yards (starts after Thanksgiving Break, 1,000yds per week begins first week of Nov)
- Bike: 240 minutes any effort, including MTB (only uphill counts) on weekends (after buildup to 45mins/day in mid-Oct)
- Run: 24 miles (starts 5 Oct)

Jan - Spring Break
- Bike trainer five mornings per week, mixing 60min rides + gym/swim and 90 min rides.
- Increase runs to 30 miles/week. Should be getting close to natural cadence of 84 by end of this period.
- Swim volume and intensity picks up in February. Details TBD.

Spring Break - end of April
- Start riding outside. Change up morning, lunch, and evening schedules to allow for bike in the sunlight outside. Increase intensity.
- Continue lifting, but cut it to twice weekly.
- Swim intensity increases, volume remains the same.
- Running = 30 miles per week. Start a long run with Paul in cruiser.
- Bike tune-up for outdoor safety.

May - Idaho Championship Race (mid-July)
- Race specific training. Hills and high intensity.
- More bricks. Twice weekly run 2-3 miles off the bike at 6:30 miles.
- Swim OWS twice weekly at Jensen's Grove.
- Long run once weekly (9 miles?) with Paul in cruiser.

July - Rexburg Race (mid-August)
- Race specific training. Continue high intensity bike training.
- Continue bricks. Twice weekly run 2-3 miles off the bike at 6:25 miles.
- Bike Terry Hill x3 for morning workouts. This is a roughly 45 minute workout.
- Basic swimming workouts.

August - Bear Lake Race (mid-Sept)
- Race specific training.
- Continue bricks. Twice weekly run 2-3 miles off the bike at 6:20 miles.
- Bike the Inkom TT route. This is a nearly perfect simulation of the Bear Lake course.
- Swim 3x2000 weekly. 1x2000 (endurance), 3x600 (muscular endurance), 7x300 (speed/power)

First snow and a change in training philosophy for the winter

Looks like I changed my training plan just in time. The weather turned from really nice fall days to snow today. No accumulation here in the valley, but the local mountains are white. Yeehaw! (I think).

This is the first week of my winter training plan. Well, October through December, anyway, beginning this last week of Sept and first week of October. I'm simply scheduling a morning bike trainer ride and a 5 or 6 mile run at lunch EVERY DAY. This requires me to get to bed at 9:30pm instead of after midnight, and then I have to get up at 0500. I was successful the first three days (Mon, Tues, and today)! We'll see if it continues, but I feel good about.

The morning bike trainer is just 30 minutes right now, and it's more of a matter of getting up and then simply doing a little something to get used to getting up. The bike isn't boring...yet. Intensity level is low, with heart rate around 120. It's amazing how much you can begin to sweat when you're not really working hard but don't have any wind to evaporate the sweat. I actually drink coffee during this workout to make sure I don't get into a higher effort level than I want. I'll up this bike trainer time to 60-90 minutes as time goes by and I get used to the volume.

The lunch run is the same as I've been doing all summer, but I'm lowering the effort level to 8:15 miles or so, about a 6 out 10 effort level, with a 10 being race effort and 4 being a little jog. I want to hit 24 miles per week, which is four six-mile runs or five five-mile runs each week. The focus is on consistency and not effort level. I'm going with the theory at least until December that consistency at a moderate effort level can increase your overall speed, and I'm also working on getting my run cadence up to 84 instead of 80, which actually takes alot of mental focus. Running at lunch in the cold and/or snow is something I can deal with, but cold and wet means I'll head to the gym and get on the elliptical. It's nice that home, work, and the gym are all within a mile of each other.

I feel good about this plan / philosophy so far, but I'm only on my third day. I found in the first three weeks of September that consistent running with moderate effort can be effective because I noticed myself running a bit faster with the same effort level.

In any case, I'll continue with this and evaluate it after three weeks. I'll assume I can continue getting up in the morning! When the bike trainer time gets up past 60 minutes, I think I'll cut that time back a bit and head to the pool when it opens at 0600 to get a short swim in and be back at 0640 so I can watch little Paul (not so little anymore, btw!) while Tera works out.

Lifting weights will get thrown into the mix somewhere along the line, too, but I'm not sure where. Maybe 60 minute bikes followed by 30 minute swims on Tues and Thurs and then lifting weights for 30 minutes on Mon, Wed, Fri. I have a quick lifting routine that will fit into that time frame nicely.

All in all, I think I'm happy with this plan and where it should get me at the end of December.