The Truth - Part 2

Train and recover, train and recover. That is likely the cyclical nature of every day, week and month of a competitive triathlete. In order to optimize this cycle, the training, recovery and nutritional protocols are critical to become the fastest, most durable athlete you can be.

As promised, here's a run down of everything that "I'm on". Note; my supplements of choice are very First Endurance centric. The reasons for this are many but I've been using their products for years and most importantly they work for me. I'm a sponsored athlete. All first endurance products have been formulated to work together and are all legal by WADA, USADA and UCI standards.

The Truth Will Set You Free

This off-season there has been no shortage of doping scandals, suspensions and some heated discussions within the Age Group ranks on Slowtwitch about doping probability and motive. In my 10 years in this sport, I can honestly tell you that I have never heard or witnessed anyone talking about doping to gain a competitive advantage. Maybe it's because I live in Michigan, maybe it's because my local peer group of triathletes is small or maybe because I expect the best from everyone in this sport rather than the worst as commonly portrayed on Slowtwitch.

How prevalent is doping in the AG ranks? How many Kona Qualifiers dope to get there? How will the USAT, USADA, WADA, UCI, etc. ever identify a way to ensure the competitive AG playing field is level? My answer for each of these is the same. I have no idea. Call me naive but I'm not convinced that there is a problem. How can anyone be certain that an in and out-of-competition testing protocol needs to be implemented until it's been identified that there's a problem?

I'll throw out my own simple, although likely expensive, idea for 2013.

1. Randomly test Kona qualifiers at the event in which they qualify.
2. Test Top 5 in every AG this year in Kona.

(what about big USAT non-ironman events? sure, do that too)

This will be a far cry from identifying a solution, but it will certainly identify if there is a problem.

Having qualified last year in Wisconsin and subsequently signing up for the Ironman World Championship (to be held 13 months later), I've also agreed to enter the pool for out-of-competition drug testing. I doubt out-of-competition testing very prevalent but I welcome the day I get a knock on the door from someone from the USADA holding a little plastic cup. And I'll tell you what, when it happens I'll be sure to Blog and Tweet and Slowtwitch my brains out because the mere hint of an accusation that "most" age groups dope to get to Kona is not only offensive but completely unfounded!

In my 10 years in this sport there is one certainty I've witnessed, NOT ALL AGE GROUP ATHLETES ARE CREATED EQUAL. You have your Couch to 10k athletes, you have Weekend Warriors, you have the Genetically Gifted and finally your Professional Age Groupers. The monetary value and personal time allocated to this hobby of ours can be a night and day between within these different categories of athletes. I guarantee you that the athlete that spends more time training, more money on equipment and coaching and also has the benefit of some genetic gifts, will likely beat any athlete in to the ground to who has less of these resources to "spend".

Can I compete with a group of guys who are independently wealthy, have coaches and the means to train 20+hrs a week year round? NOPE! So my best bet is to do what I can and hope that too many of these guys in my Age Group don't show up to races are really important to me. Is there a chance that 10 former Kona guys could show up at one qualifier and whoop the snot out of all of us?  Sure!  And if that ever happens, is every guy that beats me to the line "all doped up"? I highly doubt it but I will put money on that fact that their lifestyle is more likely set up to enable them to train harder and race faster than me.

Wow, that kinda rambled away from my intended direction...anyway, next time I'll continue with 'The Truth Will Set You Free' theme and present a full disclosure of exactly what it is that I'm on and the products that I'm a full believer in!

Until then,
Train Smart 

KAHTOOLA!

"F" is right!

Social media reminds me daily that a whole lot of people live in a much nicer, warmer winter climate than I do. Outdoor lap pools in Florida, long bike rides in Arizona and nice sunny, warm runs in California. 

Living in the mid-west, you've got to play the hand you're dealt and as such I've been "dealing" with this weather my whole life. 

Winter running allows me to get outside to enjoy some fresh air, the undulating terrain allows me to continue to build muscular endurance and durability and getting out also allows me to continue logging run mile without wanting to stab my eyes out on the treadmill. While running on trails, snow and ice can present it’s own risks, I think when approached correctly, running on adverse terrain encourages a quick cadence that promotes efficiency and a proper body position/foot fall for good bio-mechanics. (read: forward lean, forefoot strike)
 
So the Kahtoola Mt Run is this funny little local race that has us crazy Michiganders running an 8k up and down the local ski hill. The race is put on by Infiterra, a Michigan based Adventure Racing Company, and this race is just that, an adventure! Only about 60 brave souls showed up this year, and if racing up and down Pine Knob doesn’t sound like much “fun”, the Arctic Blast from the north brought the wind chill down to about 5 degrees to further skew our definition of a good time!

ONTO THE RACE
Right when the gun sounded some fast dude blasted out into the lead. “Fast Dude” lead the way for the whole first lap, he held about 15 seconds on me as we yo-yoed up and down the different slopes. I finally caught him at the beginning of lap 2 and we ran together for a while, no doubt measuring our efforts, trying to gauge what kind of finish would be required. I’d put in a surge and he’d close the gap. A game of cat and mouse ensued and after my second failed attack I was certain I was the one getting toyed with. And then, during the last long, steep climb up the far side of the hill, I attacked one last time, glanced back and he was gone. I recovered at the top, quickly traversed to the other side and then back down to the lodge. Two of my boys greeted me at the finish. It was really the first time they been to a race and it was fun for them to see Daddy win!

Brooks ASR + Yak

FOOTWEAR
I’ve always run in a trail specific form of running shoes, the Brooks line always have a few options to offer but I’ve also had success with Adidas trail runners. Pictured below are the Brooks ASRs that I’ve been lovin!. They’re incredibly durable and short of actually having metal screws in the soles, they have an amazingly aggressive tread.


This year I’ve also added some YakTrax to my winter gear selection. As I’ve said, I’ve been running on adverse surfaces for years now and I don’t think anyone really NEEDS YakTrax to enjoy some winter running. I have however been amazed at how well these things work. They’re awesome on hard packed snow and ice, especially when there is layer of fresh power covering the hard pack. They improve toe-off and traction when changing direction and generally just allow you to confidently cover the distance a little quicker.

So if you’re stuck in a wintery climate and lack a strong affinity to miles and miles of dread-mill running, like I do, do yourself a favor and invest in some season specific gear. It’ll help you cope with the winter months, continue to boost base season fitness and just generally get you outside to enjoy some fresh air. 

That’s it here.

Train Smart
 
Next Up: The Truth Will Set You Free

My “Off-season” Plan

Off-season really isn’t the right term here, what I really mean is my Base Season.  I define off-season as the few weeks or month directly following my last race of the season.  It’s the period when I’m not training for a race and I allow myself some more “flexibility” with my diet…let's say about 10 lbs of flexibility.

What I’m getting at here is the “off-season” is well behind me, luckily!  I spent most of January trying to get back at it in regard to consistency and getting a handle on my eating habits.  My goals for February, March and April are as follows:

Swimming

I’m extremely fortunate to have swimming as a strength.  I spent 10 years of my life swimming between 5-8 times a week (10-16hrs/week in HS).  I typically try to get back in the pool about 10 week before my first triathlon of the season.  That means late Feb or early March I’m going to have to start getting wet again.

Biking

Dungeon

This is where the bulk of my base season hours are spent.  My first goal is to re-establish my FTP and the hard work begins.  Several times a week (3-4x) I spend an hour or so at various forms of FTP intervals.  3x10min or 3x12 or 2x20.  The nice things about working at FTP…it’s short and sweet.  1 hour on the bike in the evening and I call it good.  Some additional filler on the bike consists of 1 or 2 sessions at 85%FTP.  I like doing a short warm-up, 3x15 @ 85% and a quick cool down.  Again an hour and I call it's a wrap.

Running

I really enjoy running and it’s hard for me not to unintentionally focus on running instead of biking.  These next couple months are spent building frequency and consistency for all of the hard work and big miles to come.  I’ll do several easy 30min runs a week and usually save my “long” 45min – 1hr run for the weekend.

Core/Yoga

This is one area that I’ve gotten extremely lazy with in the off/base season.  I continue to be amazed how the loss of core strength and flexibility hinder my ability to be strong and stable in my biking and running.  I’m trying to get in at least one ½ hr core session and two ½ hr yoga sessions a week during the next couple of months.

Summary

Swim: 1hr/wk

Bike: 4-5 hrs/wk

Run: 2-3 hrs/wk

Core/Yoga: 1-2 hrs/ wk

So that’s my basic week during the base season, between 8-10 hrs.  If I’m ever not able to repeat this, week after week, I know my intensity is too high and I need to back off.  No fancy formulas or hard sets to remember, just a good, solid, consistent base effort to pull me into spring.

Next Up: The Kahtoola Mt Run.  The Truth Will Set You Free.  Core Fitness for Triathletes

Until then.  Stay warm.