So the first month of 2012 is done. Damn--the advance of time scares me. does not seem to let up and I know what happens at the end....
I think it was a very effective month of training for me. Here are the aggregate stats:
Swim: 30,600 yards
Bike: 748 miles
Run: 166 miles
Time: 81 hours
Last year, the same totals were:
Swim: 35,250 yards
Bike: 733 miles
Run: 164 miles
time: 84 hours
So, pretty comprable. I'm psyched about this--despite how close the numbers are, I feel like I'm way ahead this year as compared to last year. Last year (2010), my "A" race was Kona which was in early October. After that race I took about six weeks "easy". I used December 2010 as a transition month and then I hit it pretty hard in January 2011. This year, my "A" race was right before Thanksgiving so I took it "easy" for a few weeks in Decembe 2011 and used January 2012 as an easy month recovery vehicle but also tried to get myself ready for the work of 2012.
I feel like I've been successful. I'm very motivated. I just completed my last knee injection cycle so I'm way ahead of last year and the major knee problem I had deal with last year. My shoulder seems to be recovered. I'm about 7 pounds ligher than last year at this time. My swim is very solid despite taking a week off in January for my new tattoo. My run is getting better by the day and could be a source of real improvement in 2012. I rode 46 miles today (it was 58 degrees) and I can still feel the love....
Could be setting up for a great year....
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Ok--starting to get back in the game
Very strong week of training. Probably a little more that I should do at this point in the season but I'm all there motivation wise. Good progress on my 100 swim intervals (under 1:30 now). I did two 2X20s (225/227 and 224/227 watts) so all good on the bike front. Big week of running. I want to get to hill training and up the anaerobic stress here shortly...going on a bit of a vacation with my bride next weekend so next week will be a consolidation week for me.
Here are the stats:
swim: 9000 yards
bike: 193 miles
run: 45.6 miles
stretch/weights: 2 hours
total time: 22:39
As a side note, I only had one week last year with more run volume--that week was during the meat of my IM build for IMAZ....I feel really good about my run now. Although I do worry about how slow my pace is....still, I think frequency and volume is what I need most so I'll stay on the program for the next few weeks at least....
Here are the stats:
swim: 9000 yards
bike: 193 miles
run: 45.6 miles
stretch/weights: 2 hours
total time: 22:39
As a side note, I only had one week last year with more run volume--that week was during the meat of my IM build for IMAZ....I feel really good about my run now. Although I do worry about how slow my pace is....still, I think frequency and volume is what I need most so I'll stay on the program for the next few weeks at least....
Friday, January 27, 2012
Got this in my e-mail this morning.....
Aloha Randy,
On behalf of Event Director Diana Bertsch, it is a great pleasure to extend to you an invitation to participate in the 2012 Ironman World Championship, to be held on Saturday, October 13, 2012.
Your invitation and registration instructions are attached. Visit our official website, http://ironmanworldchampionship.com/ for race information and updates.
We look forward to seeing you in Kailua-Kona in October.
With Aloha,
Erin Erickson
Coordinator, Athlete Services
World Triathlon Corporation
Sweeeeet!
On behalf of Event Director Diana Bertsch, it is a great pleasure to extend to you an invitation to participate in the 2012 Ironman World Championship, to be held on Saturday, October 13, 2012.
Your invitation and registration instructions are attached. Visit our official website, http://ironmanworldchampionship.com/ for race information and updates.
We look forward to seeing you in Kailua-Kona in October.
With Aloha,
Erin Erickson
Coordinator, Athlete Services
World Triathlon Corporation
Sweeeeet!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Response to Pwickman question
A week or so ago I received this question:
"I enjoy reading your blog, Randy. A lot of this stuff is useful for a newbie like me.
This post made me think about the benefits of a structured training plan and a coach. I'm a do-it-myself kind of guy. During the winter months I just make sure I'm doing a bit of everything without really structuring anything, and in the spring/summer I will plan out 3-4 week blocks. So a few questions to a more experienced athlete: do you build your own training program? And have you ever worked with a coach? Lastly, if you did, do you think it was worth it? And what benefits did he bring?
I appreciate any feedback you can give me."
My answer:
I do build my own training program and in 2007, I did work the whole year with Peter Reid as my coach. I also worked with a Masters swim coach for a time in 2007. I really benefited from working with them--especially Pete. Here is my current take on coaching vs. self-coaching:
- I think coaches are best for people who are pretty serious about triathloning. I'd say if you work out 12+ hours/week, race 10+ times/year, race IMs, then you proably are pretty serious. If you don't do these things and still want some guidance, buy a plan like Endurance Nation sells, read some books or ask others for advice (or all three).
- For DIY kinda guys, I think a coach is more valuable the less experienced you are. I definitely learned some things from Pete--things I still use today.
-If you're not a DIY person and you're serious, and can afford it--get a great coach.
-Swimming strikes me as the most technique dependent of the three disciplines and getting some help there (especially if you don't come from a swimming background) is wise.
-One of the biggest benefits in working with Pete was I was always motivated to work hard. As a result I got in great shape and raced a couple of my best ever races with his guidance.
-I also, towards the end, got burned out.
-My main thesis is that if: 1. you are very serious about traithlon; 2. you understand the science of triathlon training because you've worked with a coach before and/or you have read a ton and talked to lots of experienced triathletes and you continue to do so; 3. you've personally experimented with a fair number of training approaches and have a sense of what works and what doesn't; 4. you are in tune with your body and know when you are triathlon fit and not; 5. you think broadly about all the stress in your life and understand how it affects your motivation to train; 6. you are honest with yourself and are more than willing to back off when your body and/or mind tells you to do so; 7. you are willing to track what you do and be prepared to modify your approach if your analysis indicates that you should....
if most of these are more true than they are not then you should self coach....if not, seriously consider getting some help.
at a personal level, I did it myself for 6 years before I got a coach. I should have done so sooner. However, the bright side is after just 1 year I was pretty much good to go and now in my 12th year, I feel very solid that doing it myself is the only way forward for me.
Hope this helps...
"I enjoy reading your blog, Randy. A lot of this stuff is useful for a newbie like me.
This post made me think about the benefits of a structured training plan and a coach. I'm a do-it-myself kind of guy. During the winter months I just make sure I'm doing a bit of everything without really structuring anything, and in the spring/summer I will plan out 3-4 week blocks. So a few questions to a more experienced athlete: do you build your own training program? And have you ever worked with a coach? Lastly, if you did, do you think it was worth it? And what benefits did he bring?
I appreciate any feedback you can give me."
My answer:
I do build my own training program and in 2007, I did work the whole year with Peter Reid as my coach. I also worked with a Masters swim coach for a time in 2007. I really benefited from working with them--especially Pete. Here is my current take on coaching vs. self-coaching:
- I think coaches are best for people who are pretty serious about triathloning. I'd say if you work out 12+ hours/week, race 10+ times/year, race IMs, then you proably are pretty serious. If you don't do these things and still want some guidance, buy a plan like Endurance Nation sells, read some books or ask others for advice (or all three).
- For DIY kinda guys, I think a coach is more valuable the less experienced you are. I definitely learned some things from Pete--things I still use today.
-If you're not a DIY person and you're serious, and can afford it--get a great coach.
-Swimming strikes me as the most technique dependent of the three disciplines and getting some help there (especially if you don't come from a swimming background) is wise.
-One of the biggest benefits in working with Pete was I was always motivated to work hard. As a result I got in great shape and raced a couple of my best ever races with his guidance.
-I also, towards the end, got burned out.
-My main thesis is that if: 1. you are very serious about traithlon; 2. you understand the science of triathlon training because you've worked with a coach before and/or you have read a ton and talked to lots of experienced triathletes and you continue to do so; 3. you've personally experimented with a fair number of training approaches and have a sense of what works and what doesn't; 4. you are in tune with your body and know when you are triathlon fit and not; 5. you think broadly about all the stress in your life and understand how it affects your motivation to train; 6. you are honest with yourself and are more than willing to back off when your body and/or mind tells you to do so; 7. you are willing to track what you do and be prepared to modify your approach if your analysis indicates that you should....
if most of these are more true than they are not then you should self coach....if not, seriously consider getting some help.
at a personal level, I did it myself for 6 years before I got a coach. I should have done so sooner. However, the bright side is after just 1 year I was pretty much good to go and now in my 12th year, I feel very solid that doing it myself is the only way forward for me.
Hope this helps...
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Bicycle Symphony 2012: Movement One, Part II
A couple of I owe ya's: Pwickman--I'll post a response to your comment from a couple of posts ago shortly. Also, I still need to post my 2011 recap/2012 plan. Life has been busy as of late and it's been eating into my blogging time!
I thought it might be of interest to comment on how I'm thinking about my bike training as it doesn't get much focus on this blog in January when the swim and the run are the stars.
Like last year, I have three Meso cycles to my training year: Jan 1-Mar 31 (where the principal focus is on building speed and getting in frequent swims and runs); Apr 1-June 30 (where I top up my speed and add enough endurance work to ensure I'm ready to train for an IM--this is where the bike moves to center stage); July 1-Nov 18 (IM specific training for Kona and Zona).
However, from the biking perspective--my training approach is less 3 distinct Meso cycles and more a gradually building symphony that moves from one stage to the other. Using the music analogy, I consider the first Meso cycle to be the first Movement of my bike symphony. The purpose of this Movement is to get my bike FTP up to within 5-10 watts of my 2012 peak. There are a number of parts in each Movement and I moved from Movement 1 Part I to Movement 1 Part II this week.
Part I took place over the first three weeks. Here, the key workouts each week were 2-3 one hour rides on my computrainer at a "cruise speed" (this worked out to be 180-195 watts). My rule was that I could not do them two days in a row and that I'd fit them in as best as I could given my life schedule and my focus on The Conservation of Motivation. I did 7 of these rides and decided this weekend that I was getting bored with them (ie--they weren't as motivating to me and I thought it time to move on).
Today i started Part II. This movement will consist of an one hour workout (10 min warm-up, 2X (20min @80-90% of FTP), with 5 min easy spin after each 20). This is a more challenging workout but since it's my H-IM race pace it's still comfortably uncomfortable. My rule is that I have to have either 3 or 4 days rest between each key workout. I'll do these for a while until I feel the need to move to Part III (which will of-course climb up the intensity scale).
Now, I didn't test my FTP because I find that I use up a lot of motivation when i do so since it essentially requires an A level bike effort. However, I've trained on a computrainer now for 10 years and I have a good sense of where I'm at. Everytime I've tested my FTP over the last 5 years it's been between 260 and 310 watts. I'm in pretty good shape right now and would guess my FTP is around 280 watts so I decided to do today's key workout targeting 2X20 @225 watts. I did 225 and 227 watts quite comfortably. This indicates that i guessed pretty well--if I can't deliver the 2nd interval at higher watts than the first then I have a problem. I'll do it again Friday and probably just look to repeat today's effort. I'll look to raise my output up to perhaps 2X20 @240 watts before I move on to Part III some time over the next few weeks....
I love good music!
I thought it might be of interest to comment on how I'm thinking about my bike training as it doesn't get much focus on this blog in January when the swim and the run are the stars.
Like last year, I have three Meso cycles to my training year: Jan 1-Mar 31 (where the principal focus is on building speed and getting in frequent swims and runs); Apr 1-June 30 (where I top up my speed and add enough endurance work to ensure I'm ready to train for an IM--this is where the bike moves to center stage); July 1-Nov 18 (IM specific training for Kona and Zona).
However, from the biking perspective--my training approach is less 3 distinct Meso cycles and more a gradually building symphony that moves from one stage to the other. Using the music analogy, I consider the first Meso cycle to be the first Movement of my bike symphony. The purpose of this Movement is to get my bike FTP up to within 5-10 watts of my 2012 peak. There are a number of parts in each Movement and I moved from Movement 1 Part I to Movement 1 Part II this week.
Part I took place over the first three weeks. Here, the key workouts each week were 2-3 one hour rides on my computrainer at a "cruise speed" (this worked out to be 180-195 watts). My rule was that I could not do them two days in a row and that I'd fit them in as best as I could given my life schedule and my focus on The Conservation of Motivation. I did 7 of these rides and decided this weekend that I was getting bored with them (ie--they weren't as motivating to me and I thought it time to move on).
Today i started Part II. This movement will consist of an one hour workout (10 min warm-up, 2X (20min @80-90% of FTP), with 5 min easy spin after each 20). This is a more challenging workout but since it's my H-IM race pace it's still comfortably uncomfortable. My rule is that I have to have either 3 or 4 days rest between each key workout. I'll do these for a while until I feel the need to move to Part III (which will of-course climb up the intensity scale).
Now, I didn't test my FTP because I find that I use up a lot of motivation when i do so since it essentially requires an A level bike effort. However, I've trained on a computrainer now for 10 years and I have a good sense of where I'm at. Everytime I've tested my FTP over the last 5 years it's been between 260 and 310 watts. I'm in pretty good shape right now and would guess my FTP is around 280 watts so I decided to do today's key workout targeting 2X20 @225 watts. I did 225 and 227 watts quite comfortably. This indicates that i guessed pretty well--if I can't deliver the 2nd interval at higher watts than the first then I have a problem. I'll do it again Friday and probably just look to repeat today's effort. I'll look to raise my output up to perhaps 2X20 @240 watts before I move on to Part III some time over the next few weeks....
I love good music!
Early pool progress
One of the more satisfying effects of a return to training is the rapid improvement one gets in the early weeks from a return to swim training. Aftger IMAZ, I swam just one day (1000 yards) over the next 8 weeks. This is a little longer of a hiatus than is desireable or I normally take. This was a combination of a number of factors: a busy holiday season, a desire to let my elbow inflammation cool down, and the 2 week healing period post my Honu tattoo.
My first week back I did an initial 10X100 on 2:00 interval test and averaged 1:38/100. Last Monday, the same test yeilded an average of 1:32/100. Yesterday I averaged 1:28/100. When I'm really fit I can hit 1:18/100 going on 1:45 so I still have a ways to go. That said, it is really satisfying to get this early progress--it happens every year. I aslo know I'll begin to plateau a bit come the middle of March and will probably stay level until the onset of my IM specific training in July. Early on, I'm right on plan.
The elbow is definitely better but still something I need to monitor. Hopefully I can keep it under control with rest days here and there and ice from time to time. for the time being, I'm foregoing PT. Had my last knee injection and the knee feels awesome. I'm running well (although not that fast). I'd like to up the volume a bit as well as the intensity but am mindful of my tendency to get injured when I move higher than the 150-160 mile/month level I'm currently at....
My first week back I did an initial 10X100 on 2:00 interval test and averaged 1:38/100. Last Monday, the same test yeilded an average of 1:32/100. Yesterday I averaged 1:28/100. When I'm really fit I can hit 1:18/100 going on 1:45 so I still have a ways to go. That said, it is really satisfying to get this early progress--it happens every year. I aslo know I'll begin to plateau a bit come the middle of March and will probably stay level until the onset of my IM specific training in July. Early on, I'm right on plan.
The elbow is definitely better but still something I need to monitor. Hopefully I can keep it under control with rest days here and there and ice from time to time. for the time being, I'm foregoing PT. Had my last knee injection and the knee feels awesome. I'm running well (although not that fast). I'd like to up the volume a bit as well as the intensity but am mindful of my tendency to get injured when I move higher than the 150-160 mile/month level I'm currently at....
Sunday, January 22, 2012
one of those weeks
Lots of work drama. Drive up to Boston for alex's BC visit ( in a horrible snow storm) killed the weekend's training. Good news is I'm rested and ready for next week!
Stats:
Swim: 9000 yards
Bike: 145 miles
Run: 31 miles
Time: 16:10
Planning on shifting to more structured interval work on the bike next week. Run will follow the week after. Building strength on the swim--really just want to lock in in on 8-12k of reasonably high quality swim work/week for the next 3-4 weeks.
Last knee injection tomorrow---all good!
Stats:
Swim: 9000 yards
Bike: 145 miles
Run: 31 miles
Time: 16:10
Planning on shifting to more structured interval work on the bike next week. Run will follow the week after. Building strength on the swim--really just want to lock in in on 8-12k of reasonably high quality swim work/week for the next 3-4 weeks.
Last knee injection tomorrow---all good!
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