Week Ending April 29th in Review (Build 1E)

Intended to be a test week, it turned into a high-volume, get back on your running feet, with massive up and down swings.  With only 11 weeks until the first try at 70.3 for the year and with less than 2 weeks until Providence 13.1, running has progressed slowly but surely.  Now that Ratt is working on me and prescribing a steady dose of rub down, e-stim, ice and a very conservative approach to make my come back, it went fairly well.  On Thursday, after a disastrous attempt at the 2x20’ bike (we’ll save that for another post) I got to the treadmill and ran / walked 3 miles.  This was the longest I had gone in a month.  Extreme focus on posture, core and pulling with hams and glutes.  Lots of concentration, especially later on in the run, to maintain that form.  I wish I had a video that I could look at to ensure I’m actually holding the right form.

Back to the 2X20’ just for a quick recap – didn’t go very well.  It’s in my head.  It’s this one test tricking me and keeping me humble.  My environment is still not ideal, but I expect more from myself.  We know that everyday is not going to be perfect, and I had been in a bad sleep pattern for several days, but I just shut it down after 10 minutes of effort.  There was no will.  If it weren’t for the slight progress on the run that day, it would’ve really put me in a bad place.  The fact that I just threw in the towel on the effort without even getting to the place where I had to dig deep; that’s my failure, in my mind.  Matt made me feel a bit better ensuring me that the sleep deprivation is a huge factor in this, so we will be monitoring sleep a bit better with the Zeo sleep manager.  He also suggests that this test in no way tells the real story on my cycling improvements as evidenced by week over week long and solid efforts on the road.  

That being said, Saturday was a chilly and windy day, but Adam and I were planning the tour of South Shore for around 80 miles or 4+ hours.  We definitely had a lot more power today than last week, and at the end of the day normalized power was up 15W with an increased duration of another 30 minutes.  Really strong effort.  We clocked in ~73 miles in 4:15 with an np of 250W!  A big difference today was that I actually incorporated some nutrition.  This made a world of difference. 
Total Nutritional elements:

Liquid volume:

2x20oz water with Fizz

1X16oz with Fizz and Heed

12oz coffee

Total - 68 ounces

Calories and Na:

1 Roctane - 100 cals/125 mg Na

1 Clif Bar - 240 cals/150 mg Na

1/2 Donut (peer pressure) - 60 cals/60 mg Na

half/half 40 cals - 20 cals/6 mg Na

Scoop of Heed - 100 cals/40 mg Na

3 Fizz tabs - 30 cals/600mg Na

Totals - 550 cals / 981 mg Na

With this, I still lost a total of 3.2 lbs (1.5%-2.0%) over the course of the 4+ hours.  Very happy with the effort.  Down south we averaged around 19+, on the way back we averaged 16ish coming north beachside.  We could certainly feel the difference.

Sunday was run day.  Matt had me scheduled for AeT intervals.  I was a little nervous about testing the ankle like this, but it went pretty well.  I stayed right around 7:40 pace for the 3X9’ intervals.  Iced immediately after, but had some soreness afterward.  During, very little pain but could feel the tightness.  Monday morning was a struggle – sore in the lower Achilles.  It has seemingly gotten better throughout the day.

All in weekly volume ~13 hours.  High volume on the year. 

T-minus 10 weeks until Providence 70.3.  1 week until Providence 13.1, but we’ll see if it’s worth the risk. 

Week Ending April 22 in Review (Build 1D)

It was a challenging week as far as scheduling, injury mitigation and keeping to the schedule.  The beginning of the week was strong.  Good swim on Monday and functional training.  

Tuesday, Jorge cancelled on me, but Matt came out to the hatch shell with his camera and we took some video of the run.  We reviewed some of the detail and also spent time on some of the functional training elements and where the areas of opportunity exist.  As far as run technique, on-the-spot analysis shows a 'pusher' technique and a pelvis that tends to drop forward.  That being said, these two considerations create a significant angle from the ground to the lower leg putting enormous stresses on the lower leg and ankle.  Tada…The 3 major takeaways, until Matt does some additional formal analysis, I'm working on:

1.  tall posture (pelvis core engagement)

2.  'pawing' back using the hammies and glutes vs. pushing

3.  Keeping the arms quiet and pivoting from the shoulder only.  

When the ankle is back under control, these are the key focuses.  We will begin to build the run from the ground up, all over again.  This means several months of drills, drills, drills and focused concentration on some key foundational changes.  This also means significant focus on the functional strength training to optimize the core strength and better balance on single-leg exercises.

PT began on Wednesday.  Peroneus tendon group is the culprit.  Ratt and I will work on getting the inflammation down through ice, e-stim, heat and anti-inflammatories.  He's confident we can resolve.

Towards the end of the week, things got a bit derailed.  Good, but difficult evening 90% (~240W) sessions on the trainer.  Limited by HR, but power was right there.  The environment was less than optimal.  Hot, dusty basement with very little inspiration other than The Gladiator in the back ground.  The good news is, these sessions are lengthening out to 3x10' efforts which is taking us up to the Varsity level.  Last 1.5 intervals was rough, right at LTHR, but I made it through.  Next week is FTP test…yuck!

Decent ride on Saturday.  Great 66 mile, ~4 hour loop with Adam down the south shore out to the Myles Standish monument in Duxbury and then out to Powder Point bridge and back.  Good effort overall, NP at 235W.  I played golf that afternoon.  It was a long day and as a result, I was tapped out for Sunday.  Didn't do hardly anything.  Plan to start fresh tomorrow with 11 weeks until Providence 70.3 to go.

Difficult week in the discipline department, which usually isn't the case.  Will check that at the door this week and buckle down for the coming build cycles.  This coming week is about testing that ankle, testing the bike FTP and getting back on track with the complete program.  Diet continues to be a challenge.

Week Ending April 15th in Review (Build 1C) – Focus!

 Big breakthrough week, in my mind.  Although the run is virtually at a standstill, the bike and swim are progressing rapidly.  A reduced volume week, but nonetheless intense in its own respect.  I definitely experienced a new sense of focus this week that I had drifted from in the several weeks past.  It was all about taking one effort at a time and staying in the present, in effect “drifting” through the effort regardless of how hard it felt.  Started off the week with a very positive criss-cross 95%/105% on the trainer.  Executed very well.  Much better than last week.  The swim test was amazing.  I was so pleased with the result and the ability to buckle down and get it done.  Near perfect execution.  I was planning a long ride on Saturday.  With nobody to ride with and a somewhat low morale to head out on my own, I decided to bag it and shoot for Sunday.  Although Saturday turned into a later-than-expected night, I was able to get up and out by around 7:15.  Still wasn’t too excited about getting out there solo, but that subsided as strength grew over the course of the ride.  Turns out, I rode pretty well.  235 NP for 3:17 over 63 miles.  Down rt. 18 all the way into Freetown.  The last hour was intended to be 85-95% threshold.  I rode right on the high-end of that at 254 NP, averaging over 21mph.  Average speed over 19 mph.  Very solid ride.  The rest of the day I felt pretty trashed, but was up and ready to go Monday morning.  Really great week on the swim and bike.  Next week we need to get back in the game on the run.  Matt is happy with the progress.  He believes we’ve found a good balance between recovery and work, thus enabling very solid workouts.  He says, “this is how its supposed to feel” indicating that most athletes work most of the time in fatigue and without enough recovery.  I’m really happy with his approach.  Clearly my progress is evident throughout these efforts and couldn’t do it without his guidance.  Next week, intended to be recovery, is going to shift in plan and build back up.

The Long Bike...

 

Sometimes it seems like it goes on forever.  When you’re on your own, it gets lonely out there.  The wind is in your face and you travel dozens of miles in search of nothing but maybe a new adventure or road that has fewer cars or has been virtually undiscovered by the local cycling communities.  Cycling takes a long time.  In order to prep for IM, its not uncommon to go out for weekly weekend 4-6 hour rides.  You simply can’t do that running, you’d breakdown, but on the bike, there is no impact.  The stress is all bound up in the major muscle movers, i.e. the quadriceps, which seem to be able to withstand almost anything if done at the right intensity.  You can bike forever, as long as your back, neck and seat can stand it.  With very little fuel to run on, working with the minimalist approach, you do get hungry out there.  Biking is different in that compared to running.  I don’t typically get hungry running; I’d rather take my calories in liquid form.  On the bike, you can eat.  I mean like full-blown sandwiches if you really wanted to.  Couple that with loneliness and boredom (at times) of several hours on the road, you tend to want to feed the system, not to mention, you can easily ride through breakfast lunch and encroach upon dinner.  However, with the minimalist approach, we continue to burn, baby burn.  That’s the goal.  You can’t run for 6 hours, but in cycling, you keep the fat burning system rolling for hour after hour – stoking the fire and destroying the fat reserves.  It’s all very good…but it does get lonely out there and you must rely on internal self-talk which is where the real discovery occurs.  Often times I feel it difficult to find routes that are both safe, have enough variety and exploration while getting the distance in that is necessary.  Having been hit on the bike in Long Beach in 2005, safety is always at the forefront of my mind.  Here in NE, the roads are tight, they’re heavily traveled and now with the Smartphone, people are paying even less attention.  Yes, I too am at fault of this.  Comfort in numbers - finding riding buddies and routes are the biggest challenges.  Group rides work, to a point, but there is no drafting in our sport and there is certainly no one helping you keep pace or pushing you.  The group ride is not where the gains are made.  The gains are made, when you’re out there alone for those long, long rides; where you really put the work in.  It’s out there where you conquer your fears, overcome self-imposed obstacles and learn to rely on yourself and your resourcefulness.  You may be 50+ miles from home and get a flat, some other worse mechanical issue or remember that you’re 50+ miles away from home.  This is nothing different than what we’ll face in our race and in our life.  The long ride becomes bittersweet benefit.  Like the long run, only longer, much farther and more reliant on equipment and mechanical systems not to mention the body’s systems.  You can cross state lines and weather systems without even thinking twice.  A whole new element is explored and it’s during this that you realize the ability to overcome almost anything by spending hours reflecting on your life while chewing up mile after mile.  The quads continue to burn, but you seem to keep moving forward towards that never-ending search towards the goal that is on your door step, taunting and teasing you; daring you to take that personal challenge.

1000 Yard Time Trial Beast Out

On Thursday, another 1k TT had been planned for the pool.  The time to beat was 15:12.  My secret goal was sub-15:00, also the projected month-end target we were shooting for.  When I began that morning on the functional training work, I knew I was strong.  I hardly broke a sweat going through the exercises that typically would begin perspiration immediately.  It was then that I knew, as long as my stroke felt strong, that I would be beating my PR for the 1000.  As soon as I hit the water, I knew I had it.  I was anxious getting through the first 1800 yard drills, etc, to get to the TT.  Finally I launched at a pretty good clip.  The idea was to negative split this so that I could finish strong.  The main difference between this and the last effort was a greater sense of urgency coming off the wall and a renewed focus.  I maintained bilateral breathing throughout the first 750 or so.  Having peeked at the clock after 500, I knew I was in for a record-breaking split.  7:13 at the half-way point.  I was feeling pretty fatigued, but knew I would have enough to break 15:00 (I hoped).  Switching to unilateral breathing, I blasted the last 100 finishing up on the back half with a 7:11 split.  14:24, all in!  Absolutely destroyed the goal with perfect pacing and execution.  This is a 52 second improvement in 1 month, representing a 5 s/100yd gain over the threshold distance. 

Swim training is certainly paying off.  I have enjoyed the pool work, to date, and the ability to ‘feel’ the water has massively improved my technique.  The drills, non-free work and the consistency of all these are paying huge dividends.  The swim is not going to be something just to get through now, its going to be a key, strategic tactic and advantage for my race planning going forward.

Good Friday and Easter Rides

Tour de South Shore…Good Friday morning I took a solo ride from home down 3A to Duxbury.  The plan was to ride endurance (170W-200W) for the first 2 hours and then hammer down for the last hour at 85%-95% FTP (225W-250W).  3A is a bit of a sketchy road.  At parts, the shoulder is good, but in other areas there is no shoulder.  The worst part about it is that the cars drive on the 2 lane road like it’s a highway; pretty scary.  In any event, bundled up pretty good since temps were in the low 40s.  Tried out the bibs, Chamois Butt’r and the shoe covers.  Let me just say, I absolutely love the bibs – better for 135 bucks, but definitely make a big difference.  First 2 hours were pretty easy, plugged along at 200+W (a little too hot, but within reason) and then got off the bike in Marshfield after lollipopping around 139 to stretch a bit.  The back was a little tight and the ankle was feeling it with powerful pedal strokes.  Took off North on 3A at a steady state in the 240W range.  I found it difficult to maintain the steady work with the rolling hills on 3A, so focused on the average wattage being within range.  Worked well.  At one point, down the driftway, I didn’t feel like I had enough power to carry on, but was able to press those thoughts and feelings away.  I stuck with 1 Fizz tab only and the back was sore for that last hour.

That afternoon, headed over to Cycle Lodge to pick up my race kit – nice!  Beth was able to quickly squeeze me into the schedule and made some adjustments to address my pelvic twist that is still in play.  Replaced the Romin with a Tri-tip and we noticed that it squared me out a bit.  Furthermore, we raised the bars slightly and the seat for optimal power.  Beth believes this would reduce pinching in the shoulder and the back strain. 

Easter Sunday, went out with Adam M. on his Tour de South Shore.  All back roads through Norwell, Marshfield hills, Scituate and Cohasset.  Pretty good loop with some beefy terrain.  We kept it pretty easy in the Z1-Z2 range, but it was really fun getting out with him and testing his route.  We got in 45 miles, with plenty of add-on potential.  New saddle worked well.  I like it much better.  Bar set-up was insignificant due to limited time in the bars, but some back and shoulder discomfort remain.  Ankle appears to be feeling a bit better.  The quads were fatigued to some degree after Friday’s effort and Saturday’s squats and deadlifts…Cadence was low, but taking into account the hills, its was a reasonable tradeoff.

Great weekend of riding.  Got nearly 6 hours in on 100 miles.  Making some good progress on bike strength as this has been the focus due to my laying off of the run and the potential to make some big gains on the ride. 

Week Ending April 1st in Review

It was mostly a very solid Build #1A week, despite the ongoing ankle issue which resulted in a “no more running for a while” approach towards the end of the week.  In this, we scrapped the weekend long run for a second long bike ride.  Needless to say, we got a lot of volume in on the bike this week.  The quads have officially called time out on this one!  Good soreness coming from there and good effort, all in.

On Tuesday we amped up the FTP intervals to 3X8min.  I didn’t realize this would be as challenging as it was, but the last effort was pretty rough.  I tore through it and finished the sets, but the effort was up there.  Wednesday’s run tempo intervals decidedly took the ankle problem to a new level, thus reformatting the rest of the build week to even more bike focus, where it already was the focus to elevate up to the “varsity” level.  Thursday’s criss-cross (95%-105% FTP) was hard to sustain.  Seems I was very capable of keeping the 105% effort up, but when trying to lay off and hold up the 95%, that’s where the power decline was realized.  Like any of these efforts, I’m sure the next time will be easier, but this was a new workout for me.

Saturday’s long ride was changed up to be a long Z3 effort inside since rain / snow was in the forecast.  2 hours on the trainer at Z3 effort.  I most certainly need a new solution to keep the morale on the trainer.  I watched the entire feature of “Invincible” with Marky Mark (one of my favorite actors).  Great flick with an especially good quote, which I’m modifying to my own, “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work as hard!”(More on this later) Even with this film and the IMFL course map next to me, it was hard to focus and seemed a struggle.  Going to try and pick up some new videos, playlists and pics for the walls that will continue to motivate me.  

Sunday’s ride was much more enjoyable.  2:30 hours, solo, out in the sun.  It was a chilly morning, so I was geared up, but my toes became numb, none the less.  Going to have to invest in shoe covers for the spring.  The rest of me was heavily armored in winter gear, including balaclava, gloves, tights, etc.  Everything else was warm.  Took a trip to Hull gut, then down through Cohasset back roads to Scituate light and then center.  Took a quick stop for a small coffee to warm up and after that, it was a battle.  Headed back down 123 and then home on 53 – lots of traffic.  Those last 45 minutes were a struggle.  Very uncomfortable in the saddle and no power left, so average power declined about 10 Watts.  The good news is, my sustainable wattage outside is much better than inside, for a given heart rate.  I maintained an average Z3 wattage of 210W, where HR was actually in Z1, approximately 137 bpm.  This never seems to be the case on the trainer.  Every Watt seems much harder to achieve.  Started out a bit hot in the 220 range and settled into that for the first 1:45.  After the stop, power declined to a 210 average.  I was SO hungry coming off the bike.  As soon as I got home I devoured everything I could find.  My hunger never diminished throughout the day. 

I think the bike work was really good this week.  Not without it’s challenges, the 2 tempo+ efforts, coupled with the long back-to-back weekend rides were a good boost to the cycle training which we’ll realize in due time.  This build 1A, although the run work was limited, the swim was maintained and the cycling was the true focus.