Week 2 Recap

I hope everyone had a nice, long Thanksgiving break this past weekend. I know I did. It was a relaxing, albeit lazy week since I skipped a few workouts. That's to be expected though, right? After eating some turkey, eight rolls, a pound of mashed potatoes, and drinking a liter of Coke, who wants to do a tempo run? Not me.

From Thursday on out was not a complete loss. On Saturday I took part in a friendly game of tackle football. Sure I'm 30 years old and probably shouldn't be playing but I couldn't resist. After a few plays it was quite evident I was in much better shape than any of the 20-something guys I was playing with. I've found its difficult to be modest about being a triathlete when you're schooling people with fitness alone. I won't even get into my other grand football abilities.

Sunday was a day of rest to recuperate from the football game. I was tight from all the sprinting to say the least. I broke out the heating pads for a few sore spots and stretched them out good. If you've been following along, this meant I was missing the important 11-mile run I was scheduled for. Given that Week 3 is an easy week I opted to replace the first easy day with the long run. I finished that last night and felt great the whole way, which was a huge difference from Week 1's 10-miler. Some might find this odd but I'm looking forward to Week 4's 13-mile run.

Week 2's volume was up slightly to 5 1/2 hours due to my introduction of swimming. I swam 3500 yards and ran 22.5 miles (including Monday's run). You might have noticed I didn't do any of the planned biking. I've decided to wait until I purchase a time trial bike, which could be this coming weekend.

Week 1 Recap

The first week of training is always difficult. In the back of my mind I kept thinking, "maybe I'm doing too much, too early." During every run I felt like I was freakishly tuned to each ache and pain in my legs. The 10-mile jaunt at the end of the week left me wondering why I'm following a marathon plan.

Now a few days and workouts later my body has recovered from the rough week and is begging for more punishment. Its been a while since my legs felt this good. I think I'll go leg press a VW Beetle a few times after this blog.

Week 1 consisted of Hal Higdon's plan with minor changes; the first being my lack of weight lifting due to the ACL pain I was experiencing, and the second due to soccer practice. Overall I managed approximately 28 miles in under 5 hours of running. Not a bad first week.

Its Official

I'm going to Europe the day after Christmas! Sure I'm excited about crossing the big pond for the first time but I can't help but wonder how this is going to effect my training. Is it just me or is this how all triathletes think?

There is no doubt in my mind the vacation will seriously limit my swim and bike efforts. Even though I'm absurdly dedicated to my training here at home I don't think I can bring myself to waste part of a European vacation sitting on the hotel's stationary bike for two-plus hours. And there is no way I will attempt to swim 300 laps in a hotel pool slightly larger than a bathtub. The only discipline I can easily keep up with overseas will be running.

Weeks 7 and 8 of my plan are very important to the running mileage build-up and contains long runs of 16 and 17 miles respectively. If I want to keep the three 20-mile efforts planned in weeks 11, 13, and 15 I need to fit in these long runs. Otherwise I'm not sure I'll find time to do additional mileage build-up once the tri season begins. Missing those weeks would ultimately put a damper on my plans for doing the inaugural Beach2Battleship Ironman-distance triathlon in Wilmington, NC next November.

Now that I've convinced myself I need to run while touring Germany and France I'll need to do some research on where to run near my hotel. I don't feel like being mugged because I ran down the wrong street. Paris must have something like a Central Park I could enjoy. Stay tuned.

Lazy Day Horray

Its only been four days since I began the 2008 plan and I'm already happy to see the mandatory rest day. There's a good possibility the 14 miles I've run so far this week have something to do with it. Perhaps its my neighbor's relentless barking dog combined with their lack of common decency to bring him inside at 1 AM in 40 degree weather. Hmm...

Not much to report on my training since I'm still feeling my way through the marathon plan. Hal Higdon's plan is well written and doesn't leave much for me to wonder about. The only issue so far has been finding a proper hill with adequate length to run repeats on. The lack of relief in southeast Virginia makes it difficult in that respect. The search continues.

Daylight, or lack there of, will become an issue next week. Right now I hardly have enough light to fit in a three mile run after work. So it only makes sense to run before work and then swim, bike, and lift in the evenings. This means I need to get up about 5:30. Ugh.

And It Begins

Yesterday was the first day of my new plan for 2008. I'd like to say it went well but sadly I can't. It seems my ACL doesn't want to run marathons.

Back in 2003 I partially tore my ACL while playing basketball. I skipped surgery hoping things would heal up tight. After three months I began rehabbing with light resistance. It took another month to heal well enough to run. The true test of its stability came once I returned to soccer because it requires quick cuts back and forth. Its easily been four years since I've thought about the injury.

Now that part of the new plan involves a combination of running and weights I've immediately noticed my legs aren't ready. This surprises me since I can do both independently without pain. Today my ACL aches a bit like a sprain although I didn't hyperextend it. I guess this means no lower body lifting for a while.

I ran the scheduled "easy" three mile run in 25:42, which was a bit faster than the 9:00 pace I wanted. Its going to be tough to slow it down on easy days. I can see now I'll have to swallow my pride on the trail and crawl if I expect to stay healthy in 2008.

2008 Off-season Plan

If you read my last blog you know my first season was a constant injury. A tremendous amount of mental anguish was also suffered. Its frustrating to have the heart and mind to perform when you're physically unable to. Some of my injury problems stemmed from lack of moderation due to the fact I am extremely competitive. Triathlon training not only takes time and willpower, it takes patience. For me, patience is derived from a solid, well-designed, training program. Going without a plan is a dangerous path.

Today I'm going to discuss my 2008 training program. Most of it is derived from different sources around the internet. There is a ton of free stuff out there, you just have to look for it.

Swim

Last season's swim was the only bright spot of my training. I never claimed to be a swimmer and never will. But what started off being the event I feared the most became the one I was most proud of. I used a combination of the Total Immersion DVD, About.com swim workouts, YouTube freestyle videos, and a collegiate swimmer friend of mine to hammer down my swim stroke and maximize what swim ability I had. It took some long, boring hours in the pool but was time well spent.

This year I'm continuing the same type of workouts as before but expanding the total weekly volume from 10,000 to 15,000 yards. In essence I'm adding a fourth swim workout to my weekly routine. For the first and second month I'll focus on swim stroke and strength using buoys, paddles, and rounds of swim golf. Additionally I'll gradually work the volume up so my arms don't fall off. Once the base is established I'll replace some of the drill work with speed while maintaining volume. During this time I make sure I don't sacrifice form for longer intervals.

Bike

Spin class is not a good way to train for triathlons. Trust me. I was writhing in pain from the bike portion of my first triathlon. While the weather is unsuitable for riding outdoors I intend to keep the legs moving on my fluid trainer. If I find the cash this winter I'll finally purchase a triathlon bike to switch up riding. I've heard this helps stimulate more muscles due to differences in the seat post angle.

One of the mistakes I did last year was try to play catch-up with my bike volume. I rode too much spin bike during the base phase. Once I realized the error of my ways I had to pile on the mileage to prepare for Vineman. Yes, a recipe for disaster. And even as I write this, some four months later, my hamstrings still ache a bit.

This season's bike volume will start early and very easy since I'm building a running base off a marathon program at the same time (probably not good idea but I like to walk the line). Now when I say easy, I mean keeping a heart rate in zone 1 or 2, nothing more. I intend to keep this pace, with gradual volume increase, throughout my marathon program. I'm also going to throw in a few one-legged drills from time to time. After the Shamrock Half Marathon I'll begin focusing on bike speed while keeping one long endurance ride for the half-ironman distance. Hopefully the weather will cooperate by mid-March and I'll be outdoors.

Run

Running has always come easily to me. Being genetically predisposed to a small frame and having a good strength to weight ratio has certainly helped. During my first triathlon season I thought it wouldn't take much to regain my collegiate abilities given I could still bust out a 6:00 mile. It was that line of thinking that ruined most of my run training and about half of my bike training last year. My 2008 campaign should keep me healthy if I don't push it.

I'm excited to start my first ever marathon training program, especially Hal Higdon's Advanced-II plan. I chose his program because its free and detailed. All of his programs are well written and easy to follow. The difficult part is finding the time to fit it all in.

To keep from getting shin splints and ending up at the doctor's office begging for pain meds I'm using McMillan's running calculator and previous known efforts at given heart rates to structure my running program. Let me give you an example. I know I can run 9:00/mile easily for 8 miles with a heart rate in the 150-160 range. This is perfect for long runs. With this information in mind I entered a few different marathon times into the calculator until McMillan's suggested long run was 9:00/mile. This equated to a 3:15:00 marathon. You'll notice the calculator also provides estimates for the training paces I'll need for Hal Higdon's program (tempo, race pace, Yasso's 800m).

The Plan

Below is a screen capture of the workout program I've outlined. This is basically the off-season workout geared for Timberman 70.3 in August 2008. The running and biking numbers are shown in miles while the swimming is in yards. HI stands for high intensity workouts.

With all programs and our good intentions to complete then sometimes life gets in the way. When I skip a day I don't make up for it by adding to other workouts because that can lead to injuries. I just move on to the next session. I view a plan like a guideline that is always subject to change. I don't get down on myself if I need some random Tuesday off because I have to work late.

2007 Training Review

The first wave of cold weather is here and with it is the reality that my first season as a triathlete has come to a close. Actually its been closed for nearly a month due to other career aspirations (studying for the professional engineer licensing exam). Before the off-season training begins its important to evaluate the previous season and learn what did and didn't work.

Sometimes I need a kick in the pants or a goal to get me started. A coworker of mine did both when she challenged me to race Vineman 70.3 in July of '07. I had an '05 Litespeed Sienna collecting dust in my garage (gift from a sugar-momma the year before) so I figured what the hell, the race is 24 weeks away. And at the very least I'd get a nice west coast vacation out of it.

Being a flag football and soccer weekend warrior I thought I was in good enough shape to jump into solid triathlon training right away. Wrong.

Let the pain of ignorance begin!

Without a formal training plan I began with three-mile runs every other morning. Seven years ago this workout would have been cake. It was disappointing to struggle for 8:30/mile but I managed. I continued to keep the pace since the level of effort was rapidly declining. During week three a dull ache appeared in my shin but I ran through it. A few days afterward it was too painful to run. For the next eight weeks all the running I could stand was for soccer games.

I shifted my efforts to swimming and biking while the leg healed. Now fully aware of how quickly overuse injuries can happen I swam only three days a week; all drills (thanks Total Immersion). I saved my real cardio efforts for 1-hour spin classes. To say the least, I attacked the spin bike with a vengeance. This turned out to be a bad plan because it prolonged my shin injury. I eventually had to stop both and focus solely on swimming.

With swimming I found success. I quickly improved my stroke and managed to get my volume up to 9000 yards a week. I tried pool running for my shin but found it strained my back too much. I didn't need another injury to nurse.

Once my leg felt healed I took advantage of the warmer weather and began a new biking plan (still no running). It had become apparent after my first ever triathlon (White Lake Half in Spring 07) that spin class was not an ample training tool and that I needed to actually ride my road bike. Who would have guessed? My plan was to ride an easy 30, a hard 20, and an easy 64 miles each week. Like everything else, I stupidly jumped into it. A month later I had a pinched nerve in my foot from an improper cleat position and hamstrings so tight you could play them like a guitar.

I eventually ended up in physical therapy to see if there was something I could do to help my hamstrings. The pain was not debilitating so I could still train, just not hard. The whole injury issue became a question of whether triathlons were worth the trouble or not. One thing was for sure, I was committed to finishing Vineman. I plowed on.

During the last month of training I battled the hamstring pain with a daily regiment of ice and anti-inflammatory meds. I finally managed to run again, but carefully so the shin pain wouldn't return. Luckily I live near a five-mile wooded trail loop that is easy on the legs. I also began to understand how to use heart rates to control workouts and the importance of easy days.

After Vineman I continued to train smarter with a ton of easy days. I stayed fresher for my once a week (per dicipline) speed work days. My hamstrings were still painful now and then but I didn't need the drugs to cope. During that last month and a half I saw my biggest increases in bike and run speed. Finally I felt like a triathlete and not a walking injury. I can only hope this will carry over to my second season.

Meet The Author

As the caption below the main title says, I'm a second year triathlete. Even now at the age of 30 I tend to approach things haphazardly and triathlons were no different during my first season. Injuries have happened. Lessons have been learned.

This blog is an attempt to pass useful information along to active and aspiring triathletes alike. If that wasn't enough I'll also chronicle my own training along the way. By no means am I an expert so take everything I say/do for what it is (ramblings from a random crazy triathlete on the internet).

If you've read this far then you must either seriously enjoy triathlons and/or my boring writings. Should you continue to read below I'm sure you'll be further captivated by standard statistics of yours truly.

-Widdy

Vitals
Sex: Male
Age: 30
Height: 5-8
Weight: 150
Background: College track

Track PRs (all in high school)
400 - 0:56
800 - 1:56
1600 - 4:34
3200 - 10:20
5000 - 16:48

Race PRs (since the comeback)
5K - 18:48
Sprint (750m, 12.5 mi, 5K) - 1:12:32
Half-ironman - 5:34:06