Gary’s Fitness Blog

It’s fairly common in conversations about triathlon training today to discuss watts, normalized power, TSS, functional thresholds and intensity factors.  These terms are all the result of more cyclists using power meters to monitor training intensity and even race efforts.

I have been using WKO+ (formerly cycling peaks) for a little while now, primarily with my Garmin 305 (because I still haven’t justified the power meter expense) to monitor my run training.  The WKO+ software is really great and allows an athlete to get deeper into the training data more than any other training software and log program I’ve ever used.  Because I don’t have a power meter it does have limitations.

The biggest limitation for me is that because I don’t have a power meter, the software’s performance management analysis doesn’t give me an accurate picture for triathlon training.  Why?  Because I have no way of quantifying the work done (TSS, CTL and ATL) on the bike that allows the software to analyze the data.

As a triathlete we also have to consider swimming.  Can we monitor power in the water in a downloadable manner?  Not yet.

So as I look at the athlete’s that I’m trying to help prepare for the 2009 triathlon season (specifically, Ironman Louisville) I have several issues when trying to use a similar method for monitoring training stimulus over time:

1.  no one uses a power meter (and likely are not going to purchase one)
2.  few have a Garmin 305/405 to monitor their running workouts
3.  if they had all this equipment, it takes a lot of time to download and analyze, which they may or may not do.
4.  they have to use the power meter and/or Garmin device for EVERY workout, or they can just estimate the workouts and enter a best estimate TSS or rTSS for the individual workout (which gets us back to why use it anyway)

So, while I am very excited to see some of the data that comes from my Garmin (and yes, hopefully soon my power meter?) it is not a practical solution right now to help my athletes by using the WKO+ software and the Performance Management Charts.  (I have to say though, it is a lot of fun to spend time with the data I can get.  It’s amazing the kind of data we can get in the field better data than what we had in the exercise phys lab on the Monarch.)

How we are tracking long term / short term training stimulus:  (the post to my Ironman athletes)

In the past years I have used total hours of training as my main monitoring system. This was a good method because the majority of the exercise that I did was done at a very reasonable almost easy intensity.

For most of us, this is still going to be the biggest limiter (steady state ability and duration we can hold that intensity).

But with powermeters, heart rate monitors, gps’s, etc…. coaches and athletes are now getting pretty analytical in these monitoring methods. In my opinion, we are making a lot of things too difficult - especially for Ironman training when it matters more that we are consistent and gradually build duration. .. but ..

I realize that we all don’t have powermeters/gps’s so I’ve been thinking about how to add in an "Intensity Factor" to our monitoring.

Here is what I’ve decided to do:

A mixture of the Aerobic Points System (as seen on slowtwitch ) and Borg’s 10 Point RPE Scale (as discussed in the power training article by Dr. Coggan )

Here’s how the scoring it works:

10min swimming = 3 point
10min cycling = 1 point
10min running = 4 point

So as an example: 9.5 hours balanced week
1.5 hours (90 mins)of running: 36pts
6 hours (360 mins)of cycling: 36pts
2 hours (120 mins)of swimming: 36pts

That was just an example of how to add the total times, now to look at the RPE scale / intensity. We’ll be using the Borg 10 point scale , notice the Borg Scale is weighted so that the higher numbers are more spaced out. (Which is done for a number of physiological reasons that Dr. Coggan explains in the article also.)

Example of a workout calculation:

60 minute swim, effort at 3 RPE = 6*3 = 18pts * 0.3 = 5.4

45 minute run, effort at 2 RPE = 4.5*4 = 18pts * 0.2 = 3.6

60 minute cycle, effort at 5 RPE = 6*1 = 6pts * 0.5 = 3.0

Does this make sense? What I’d like you to do is calculate your total points at the end of each week, but you’ll need to write the "RPE" score in the comments as you log each workout.

The key to this system is that you are honest with your RPE scoring, otherwise we could just track hours. We will be tracking hours each week, etc… but I like how this system will account for the differences in intensity, plus we get to track it across all 3 sports, not just power on the bike or pace on the run.

One other data chart that we’ve been tracking:

I had an athlete that put together her own spreadsheet to track her RPE score, aerobic points and what we are calling intensity factor (which isn’t the same as IF for WKO+ which is NP/FTP).  One of the charts that she set up was to a plot of the intensity factor to workout duration.  By plotting that chart we can monitor the ratio on a week-to-week basis.

Feedback?

I would love to hear what others have to say about this concept.  We’ve just started using it several weeks ago, so until we get more data I’m not going to make any conclusions.  I am sure that those triathletes and/or runners that are used to monitoring their hard data from high tech devices with balk at the idea of using RPE.  But I’m not worried about that, I’ve come to peace with using a subjective data point like RPE.  In fact, I think that it can incorporate variables that impact training that a power meter can’t - such as psychological variables (fatigue) and health implications (early stages of sickness and stress).

In our book, Strength Training for Runners, Nikki and I included the single leg squat.  It is an exercise that I like to add into a runners program for several reasons:

1.  It requires you to use a single leg to produce force; this translates well into running which requites this movement to be repeated 1000’s of times.

2.  It helps develop stability in the hips and knees.  One of the premises that we have discussed in our book is that when a runner begins running more miles and increasing the intensity of their runs, if they have poor stability (primarily hip abduction and external rotation strength) they will be more prone to injury.  The research we share in the book supports this theory.

The NASM training that Nikki and I attended back in June also used the single let squat as an assessment for specific movement patterns, muscle imbalances and range of motion (just another use that a trainer may have for this exercise).

As I continue to build the list of exercises that I do on the TRX Suspension Trainer, I have found the single leg squat to be one that I find very effective.  I like how the TRX allows the non-power leg to follow a more natural “running” motion.  It allows this motion, but it doesn’t interfer with the stability aspect of the exercise - the exercise still requires a person to maintain good stability through the entire motion of the downward and upward phase of the movement.  By adding pauses at the bottom and top of the movement, you can add aditional stability challenges. 

Here’s a picture from the Fitness Anywhere site that displays this exercise at the bottom of the exercise movement:

 Hope you are staying injury free!

Here’s a few links to where and what the EndureChallenge was:

1. How it started - Why guys need to find fitness (and life) milestones
2. When I decided what to do - Celebrating 30 years of living well
3. Great Illini Race Report - iron distance race on Sept 6th, 2008
4. Lake City Marathon Race Report - marathon ran on Sept 13th, 2008

I was able to get some data loaded into motionbased, but not all because the Garmin 305 started deleting the oldest data during the week.  I have the totals of the workouts, but not the gps data (and therefore no maps or motionbased links).  Here’s what I have:

1.  Great Illini Marathon - don’t have gps
2.  Effingham, Illinois to Paris, Illinois - don’t have gps
3.  Paris, Illinois to Attica, Indiana - Sept 9th
4. Attica, Indiana to Logansport, Indiana - Sept 10th
5. Logansport, Indiana to Warsaw, Indiana - Sept 11th
6. Lake City Marathon

It’s too bad that I don’t have the gps map from my first day of bike touring, it would be comical to see how much I was backtracking and moving around the Illinois countryside to get away from small gravel roads.  The other thing about the data during the bike touring is that I started the gps when I left the hotel in the morning and stopped it when I got to the next one at night; therefore the charts are a little odd because I stopped to eat at diners, fast food joints, talk to locals, etc.  That’s what I love about touring!

Thoughts on what this taught me about my athletics:

Lesson One: The biggest lesson that I’m taking away from this event is that I don’t need to fear Ironman.  This was my third Iron Distance race in the past three years and up to this point I think that Ironman was still intimidating me in some ways.  The biggest way that it intimidated me was (as I mentioned in the lake city race report) by making me fear a complete collapse during the run that left me immobile.  That fear caused me to develop a race strategy that was possibly too conservative.

Granted, I did have somewhat of a breakdown during the last 10 of the marathon on the 13th, but the next time I do Ironman (Ironman Louisville in 2009) I will remember that it too 2.4 miles of swimming, 435 miles of cycling and 40.2 miles of running before I finally slowed below a 7:30 pace (and I still managed a 7:22/mile pace overall).

Lesson Two: I can ride a bike faster than “touring” pace.  I have been pretty consistent over the last couple years in telling myself, “back off the bike or you won’t be able to run… back off, back off.”  If you read my Ironman Wisconsin Race Report from 2007, that was a pretty consistent theme during that ride.  I wish that I had my heart rate data from the Great Illini because I guarantee that I rode well above 145 - 150bpm, which is what I used as my ceiling (or mostly) during IMMOO last year.

The one little bit of data that I have from the bike is when I turned my Garmin 305 on during the last couple miles of the bike during the Great Illini (to have it ready for the marathon).  During that period I was sitting in the 157 - 161 bpm, which is a time that I was trying to relax and prepare for the run.  The best thing is that I got off the bike and ran well!

Lesson Three: The third thing that I learned (again) will relate to training over the next year - when you find your behavior and emotions changing, it is a good sign of overtraining.  I noticed this during the touring that occurred between the two races.  I remember sitting down in the hotel room after one of the nights of touring and just felt like crying?  No reason, I felt wasted and wanted to cry as I laid there on the bed.  You can probably see some of this if you watch the youtube video updates that I shared.

As I sit here (Wednesday, 4 days after the last marathon) I have been dealing with small levels of depression each day.  Nikki has noticed that I haven’t been in the “best mood” too.  It might be an exaggeration to say “depression”, but it is really hard to find anything to be happy about - even though I know there is a lot to be happy for.  I believe this is just another way that our mind tries to tell our body what to do and not do?  It’s not easy to get out there and exercise when you have lowered moods; therefore I’m going to listen and be very careful over the next few weeks.  I don’t want to get sick (like I did two years ago a few weeks after Ironman).

Lesson Four: I have talked about this a little bit in the race reports from both races (Great Illini and Lake City Marathon) - but when racing in endurance events, getting the mind out of the way is a major part of the race.  The body must be trained and fine tuned, but the mind must also get out of the way and allow the body to work.

Chris McDonald just did an interview over on Endurance Corner Radio where he talks about his 2nd Place finish at Ironman Louisville and 1st Place finish (and course record) at Ironman Wisconsin a week later.  It’s a great interview and he does talk about the mental challenge during Ironman Wisconsin and how it played a role in his race.  They spend a couple moments talking about the mental aspect of fatigue.

The last thing that I’m excited about is that I’ve learned about barriers that I’ve built over the years and how those barriers are abstract constraints that I’ve placed on myself more than they are real physical and physiological limiters.  That is a lesson worth its weight in gold.

So how was I going to approach the marathon at the end of my EndureChallenge journey?  It would have been easy to go into the race thinking that all I wanted to do was finish the race, but other than celebrating the transition from my 20’s to my 30’s, I wanted to try and break through some psychological barriers that I’ve developed around racing over the years.  (I’ll write more on that in some upcoming posts).

So here is how I approached the race:

1.  Even though I wore my Garmin 305 and the heart rate monitor (thanks Saori and Paul), I told myself that I would not look at the heart rate data at all during the race.  I also decided that I would only look at the watch at mile 10, 13.1, 20 and the finish.

2.  Without the feedback from the Garmin, stopwatch or race clocks (this race didn’t have clocks or timers along the course), I decided to run a pace/effort that felt doable - But an effort that was “hard”.

3.  I also told myself before the race that I didn’t want any excuses for not “meeting expectations”.  I knew that there would be periods where I would try and use the Great Illini race the week before or the bike touring during the week as reasons that I wasn’t running well - I decided before hand that those excuses wouldn’t be acceptable.  (Easier said than done.)

Race Start:

There were tornado warnings in the area and it was raining pretty hard on and off during the night, so the race was pushed back a half hour.  At one point I was nervous that they would decide to cancel the race, which would have meant that my week would have come to an anticlimatic ending.  But after some sitting around and with the race director trying to get the course remarked with chalk, the race got started.

First 10 miles:

Before the race, I heard two girls discussing how they had planned on running just under 3 hours.  I thought that if I was going to see what was possible, why not latch onto them and keep them in sight as long as possible.  And hope that they don’t go out in 2:50 pace, because I wouldn’t have any way of knowing.

As we took off, it felt pretty comfortable to run with the small group of 4 or 5 that chose to run that pace.  I knew it was harder than I’d run in some time, but not unthinkable.  The race consisted of 3 loops (1,2,3) then you ran over a bike path to another division around a lake and ran 5 more loops (a,b,c,d,e).  I ended up running just behind one of the girls through loop d (when she started to pull away a little).

I crossed the 10 mile marker at 69:xx minutes.  “Holy Crap,” I thought, “I can’t believe that I’m actually running this fast still.”  It felt good at that point and around mile 12 the second girl started to run next to me.  As we ran back through the bike trail towards the half way point she said that she’d hurt her knee and that she was going to fall out at the half.  I was a little bummed that I wouldn’t have anyone to run around, but also knew that with all the loops there would be ways to see others and pace myself.

As we ran through the half, my watch said 1:31:xx.  Still going pretty well, I thought, but wondered how long it would last.

After running loop 1 and 2 of the second half, I knew that I was going to be in trouble - so I decided to take a conservative approach to my walking breaks.  I decided to walk 30 seconds at every other aid station,  I had been doing 30 seconds every 3 to 4 miles.

It seemed to help as I was able to run strong during the run portions of my race.  The a and b loops went pretty well, even the c and d loops were steady (although I could feel the pace slowing quite a bit).  I ran through the 20 mile marker at 2:24:xx, pretty good I thought.  10k to go.

I could feel the pace slowing more and more, along with my legs beginning to hurt significantly.  Many times during a run/race when I feel the pain and hurt begin to set in, I have confidence that my legs won’t give out (like on the run during the Great Illini last week).  This week it didn’t happen.  The last 10k was pretty rough.  I never stopped moving, but at times I really, really wanted to.

Finish: 3:17:xx (results not up yet)

Final Conclusions and Thoughts:

Most people say that I should be incredibly happy with how the marathon turned out.  To be honest, I don’t think that I’m ever fully excited about a race result.  Even at the Great Illini I wasn’t too happy and I set an Iron Distance Triathlon personal best by 12 minutes.  There is always something to improve when I look back.

But, that wasn’t the point of the week or the marathon.  It was to celebrate and I feel like that is exactly what I did for a week.  How lucky am I that I have the ability to get out there every day and push my body to the limit, without my body caving in?  How lucky am I that I have the health that allows me to be active and mobile everyday?  How lucky am I that I have so many friends and family that were supportive and interested in my crazy-little-mess-of-a-week?  How lucky am I that I have a wife that loves me, puts up with this craziness and supports me and even encourages me?

At one point early in my collegiate career I sat down and wrote out a sketch of goals in most of the major areas of my life.  The areas included:  education, financial, career, athletic and personal development/spiritual.  As I look back, many of those goals are starting to become a reality or have already been realized.  I remember after running my second marathon in 4:00, I thought that qualifying for the Boston Marathon may never be possible.  I sit here today a little dissappointed that I didn’t run under 3:10 a week after an iron-distance triathlon and 323 miles of bike touring - YES, I am a very lucky guy.

Athletic Conclusion to Marathon:

I am almost always very conservative when I develop a race strategy for triathlons and marathons.  I rather be conservative and finish well then go out and limp my way home - is my normal line of thinking.  While this often proves itself well in triathlons and marathons, I also realize that by always being too conservative we may never realize our full potential.

Fear of Failure is often the biggest limiter we face in endurance athletics

As I mentioned above, I did not want any excuses or reasons for not giving this marathon everything I had.  This meant I had to be ok with walking, stumbling or crawling across the finish line.  So I gave it a shot during this marathon and I feel very good about the opportunity my mind allowed my body have.

So was it realistic to run under 3 hours or even 3:10 at this race, with this training or in this situation?  Probably not, but it sure felt good to at least try!

If you follow my twitter page (twitter.com/ditschfitness) then you’ll know the basics as Nikki sent some out during the race. This report will fill in my emotions and feelings for the race, but first the basic stats:

Great Illini Results -

swim: 1:17:48
t1: 2:00
bike: 6:00:40 (18.6mph)
t2: 1:14
run: 3:38:51 (8:21/mile)

total: 11:00:34

Swim - as the horn sounded things were a little rough in the beginning. I’m not sure if I was not anxious enough; therefore unprepared to get moving or if I just needed a little time to get into a rhythm? It didn’t take long though as I felt incredibly efficient in the water. I had zero kicking going on and felt like every pull was really getting some work done. I kept thinking to myself, “pull yourself through the tube.” Which is a visualization that my coach/professor at UNL shared with me when I was learning to swim.

My time ended up being around 5 minutes slower than last year at IMMOO, but that is what I expected. I didn’t swim one time from Sept 9, 2007 to June 9, 2008. And once I started swimming in June I made it to the pool only a couple times a week (a few weeks I got three swims in). The one thing I did do this year that gave me a little confidence that I could get out there was the Cave Run 1.5 mile swim that the YMCA put on at Cave Run Lake.

Bike - the bike training this past year was also not specific to Ironman. If you have been following my blog for awhile, then you’ll know that I just wanted to take a different approach this year. I didn’t want to train for any specific event, but try some races out, if I felt they were possible. (And you’ve seen what kind of brainstorming occurs when I don’t have events picked out!). That philosophy of training for this year left me with few specific race rides. In fact, I did zero race simulation rides this past year and only had one brick (bike/run) workout this year at all (last weekend with Jeff).

All that being said, you can imagine how pleased I felt to see that I rode 13 minutes faster this year than I did at IMMOO. I realize that you can’t compare different races and courses, but that is a positive that I’m going to take away from this race.

I actually felt really good most of the bike. There were periods that the wind had me moving at what felt like a turtle’s pace, but I just tried to push on. The biggest issue I had on the bike was my back. I did most of my rides on my road bike this year, in fact, I think the longest ride I did on my triathlon bike was 50 miles (again last weekend with Jeff). My gluts and lower back were in pain pretty much the whole time, but with the wind I didn’t want to stand too much. Occasionally I would stand and just spend a couple minutes in my big chain ring and ride hard standing up to relieve some tension.

The other positive that I’m taking away from this ride is that I even split the 2 loops. I rode 3:00 on the first loop and 3:00 on the second loop. Can’t be bummed about that.

The one lesson that I’ll take away from this is that I need to learn to ride the bike faster. I was the only athlete in the top 10 that rode under 19mph. (The top two rode 22mph or over!) Training to ride faster and learning how to race that way would leave a lot less work to do on the run for me.

Run - The run training was very similar to my bike training. I did nothing specific, but I also never stopped running through out the year. The one thing that I always feel is true, if I run consistently, is that my run will not abandon me.

When I got to the run, I felt really good and started out pretty quick. My leg turnover was good and my pace was too fast but at a comfortable effort (6:40ish). As I approached the first aid station I asked for coke or gatorade. They said they had, “water and ecaps”. SH*T. That was my first thought. I had some egel’s with me, but my stomach was not willing to take any more of those. So I took some water and used a couple of my Succeed Salt Tabs.

As my usual plan of action, I walked 30 seconds at every mile.

As I approached the second aid station, I asked the same question. Again they had nothing but water and ecaps. I saw a pattern here and was getting nervous. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to run the marathon if all I had to use for aid was ice water and salt tabs.

On the return section of the first lap (we ran 4 laps) they finally had some coke available at mile 5. I took a can of coke and was able to drink a couple drinks. My stomach was pretty messed up at this point, but even more scary was that I was starting to feel really dizzy, my fingers tingled and I felt light-headed. If you listened to my last podcast (hydration and the role of sodium) then you’ll understand where my thoughts were going. I started to say some multiplication tables to myself, hoping that the answers wouldn’t allude me: “1 + 1 = 2, 2 + 2 = 4, 4 + 4 = 8″ … ok, you’re not there yet.

Around mile 7, I thought it was over. I stopped at the aid station and began to sweat heavily. I started to dry heave pretty heavily but couldn’t get anything to come up. My head was spinning and my legs felt like jello. To be honest, it felt like I had been at the bar a little to long on a Nebraska Football Game day. The aid station workers were standing there not sure what to do, they asked if I as alright, when I said “no”. He turned around and walked away like “oh boy… that isn’t good”. They offered me some bananas, but that wasn’t going to happen, so I asked for some coke again. At this point all I really wanted was a ride back to the start. Without different aid on the course I was worried that I couldn’t get what I needed to recover at any point. I also wasn’t excited about putting myself in a place to risk my health and ruin my chance of riding my bike this week and doing the marathon next weekend.  I guess the one positive about the several minutes that I stood there (I’m guess 5 to 6 minutes), was that despite the violent dry heaving, I didn’t actually puke fluids up.  Had I began to lose fluids with every attempt (which I saw happen to one guy), I’m not sure I would have been able to get moving again.

After I took the coke I started walking again. In the end, I think my ego and anger pushed me forward. Looking back, I am happy that I didn’t DNF at that point, but I’m not sure that being propelled by ego and anger is the place I want to be in life, even during a race.

After I got my mind settled down, I began running again. I’m not sure how it happened, but I actually ran ok once I was running. My body was still chilled (in the sun). I craved water, but everytime I tried to drink any I felt like I would throw it up.

Around mile 18, I finally got a bottle of Gatorade Endurance. Magic. While my pace was decreasing to 8:30/mile pace, my thoughts finally cleared up. I didn’t have the “lost in space” feeling as bad and that gave me confidence to try and push home and at least try and break the 11 hour mark.

It didn’t happen. As you can see above, I missed it by 34 seconds. 34 seconds is a tough pill to swallow after 11 hours.

Final Thougts:

I feel pretty darn happy as I come away from this race. It is 12 minutes faster than I went at IMMOO last year and while it’s difficult to compare courses, I’m happy with the way things turned out. While I am a little bummed about how my run ended up, it was still the 2nd or 3rd fastest of the day (I think the 2nd fastest on the results page is a relay team?). And I guess when I am at the point that running 3:38:51 for the marathon in a Iron-distance race is a bummer, I have more to be thankful for than I have reason to complain.

Now — learn how to swim and bike!

I also learned that you need to be very aware of the race course nutrition. The Great Illini website said this:

“The 26.2 mile run course will be divided into 4 6.55 mile loops. Competitors will have the opportunity to access their run course special needs bags every 6.55 miles. There will be aide stations and porta-johns every mile of the run course. The aide stations will be stocked with fruit, Hammer Gels, E-Caps, water, Heed energy drink and much more.”

I knew that I would need Gatorade Endurance and Coke to get me through the run.  I should have had Nikki’s Fuel Belt full of Endurance and used it, with some extra bottles for the fuel belt at the special needs bag.

That is why we do races like this, to practice and learn.  The great thing about this race is that usually I have a year to sit around and think about what happened before I get another shot.  This time I get to ride my bike around Illinois and Indiana for a week and then give the marathon another go around at the Lake City Marathon!

I can’t wait for Ironman Louisville next year though!

So here I am, it is at the beginning of March in 2008. I have held true to this idea that I’m going to just workout and train throughout the year, no periodization, no “A” races, etc. My idea was to just drop in a race when I felt like it.

That brings me to next weekend. Next weekend I am going to run my first ultra run! It is a 60k run in the Land between the Lakes area of Western Kentucky. I am pretty excited about this race, but I am getting an enormous dose of fear.

The longest run that I’ve had since the Ironman last September has been the Rock-N-Roll Marathon in Arizona. It was a good day to experience what it would be like on my feet for a very long time, as I coached all the athletes from Kentucky to the finish line. But to be honest, I didn’t feel like I was in great shape at that race and I am not in better shape now.

The truth is that I have less long runs than a person normally puts in getting ready for a marathon. I ran 15.5 miles last weekend and then this weekend I ran 13.5 yesterday and 19.4 today. Last night a friend of Nikki’s asked her “Is that his taper”?

The thing with this style of training and racing is that it doesn’t have a taper period. And I’m getting nervous enough about knowing if I can finish this distance that I wanted to put in a double long weekend to see what would happen. It didn’t go super well. I am hurting pretty bad right now. I can move (and actually jogged a half mile with a client after) but by the end of today’s run, I was hurting enough that I started having some second thoughts.

Fear. Sometimes we have fear about what is about to happen. I am thinking that at times it might be wise to have a little dose of fear before we get ourselves into a situation like this.

I’ll let you know how it goes. I went and bought a digital voice recorder and a lapel mic, I plan on doing some updates during the run. I’ll share them with you if there is anything interesting, funny or ridiculous.

[note] This is a reflection I had after the 2006 Derby Festival Marathon. I am adding it to my blog making sure I have it archived somewhere. As the 2008 Derby Marathon is approaching, maybe there are some ideas worth looking at? [end note]

Marathon Training : lessons learned and mistakes made

“It seems that many endurance athletes view overperformances / underperformances in relation to the acute circumstances. For instance, hot and humid weather, too cold or didn’t eat properly. I do it with most races too. (re: just ask me about my Buffalo Lake Springs Triathlon experience. I’ve got lots of reasons for my poor performance. Including the hitchhiker I picked up in Oklahoma… it has to be his fault!) So, it is good to hear about how training programs could have changed for the better from other endurance athletes.”

Predicting Running Performances - Feb 24th, 2006.

After making a statement like that, it only seems honest that I would try and figure out what occurred during the training period leading to the Derby Marathon that resulted in a performance 9 minutes slower than my expectations.

Here are the lessons that I feel I can continue to learn, as I move forward towards my next adventure. Some of the lessons are positive, others are mistakes that I will try and correct the next time I decide to perform during a marathon. When it is possible, I provided a link to an entry in my blog that I felt supported (in real-time) the conclusions I came to.

Lesson # 1:
Consistency is everything.

• Two major problems I saw as people trained for the spring marathons were lost periods of training due to injury or illness. The injuries and illnesses were likely resulting from too much intensity or too much volume in their training programs. (see: Training through injuries)
• I built a base fitness in October, November and December, with the plan to build upon that base starting in February. The nine weeks of exercise after the December 3rd marathon, inconsistent in nature, didn’t allow the base to be realized with a 12 week marathon training program.
• Consistently doing races allows for better development of “racing consciousness,” thus allowing you to perform with a less hectic mind. It also creates a deeper understanding and experiential knowledge of pain. - Derby Festival Marathon Report (re: The Pain)

Lesson # 2:
Inserting “test races” or “fitness evaluation races” are valuable when you create a race strategy, but they also provide confidence in your training and provide intensity into a program based around aerobic development.

• Changing a perspective of training and physiology - 2/17/06
• Predicting Running Performance - 2/24/06
• Week and Rodes City Review - 3/27/06
• Recovery week review – taper importance - 3/30/06
• Papa John’s 10 mile review - 4/17/06

Lesson # 3:
Nutrition, flexibility and core strength are as important as training paces. Ironically, I said this several time throughout the training period, but I never gave it 100% attention, especially nutrition. (And the reason I’m dedicated to it right now.)

• Magee’s bakery and my lactate threshold - 2/14/06
• I’m tired. My legs, my mind and my mood. - 2/17/06
• period one review - 3/6/06

Lesson # 4:
There needs to be a solid development of aerobic base or fitness before a person begins inserting cruise intervals, thresholds or any higher intensity workouts. In this 12 week training cycle, I used Tuesday’s as my “higher intensity” runs, but began those workouts before I had realized the fitness level I needed to reach my goals.

• Marathon training in T minus - 2/3/06
• Initial testing and focuses - 2/9/06

Conclusion:

Reviewing the lessons that I learned, it is humbling to realize that I didn’t follow my own basic philosophy of training, “Health, Fitness, Performance.” I was caught in a mind-set that focused on performance and the variables that create performance. What I have learned again is that without a deep level of fitness, there will be no break through performance, and without health, it is very difficult to develop that fitness.

I don’t want people to think that I am completely unsatisfied with the race. The fun for me is the journey of improving over time. And I have more improvements to make in my fitness and the resulting performance. I have a lot more fun ahead of me. Plus, I take some pride in the fact that I have transformed from a 3:54 – 4:00 marathoner into a 3:04 – 3:08 marathoner. I just know that there is more time to take back!

“Everybody wants to get fast, hardly anyone wants to get fit.” - Gordo Byrn

garyd - 5/23/06

I posted a program for the Derby Festival Half Marathon a couple posts ago. You can find that post here:

Derby Festival Half Marathon Program

If you viewed the program (the google spreadsheet) you see that the program is divided up into four three-week phases. The phases allow for different focuses in the training and what we are trying to accomplish with the running that we are doing.

As some of you readers may have noticed (and due to response I know you have) I am a big believer in developing your fitness at a “steady state” level. This has mainly developed out of my experiences as a runner/triathlete and the philosophies of people I respect such as Arthur Lydiard and Gordo Byrn.

When you coach people though, you have to recognize your biases and make sure you are not allowing them to influence what is best for your athletes. Just because you hold a strong belief shouldn’t influence the best interest of your athletes.

With that reasoning in mind, I realize that for a half marathon there are runners that will need to run faster, harder or more intense than I normally “allow” my athletes to run. That is the reason that I have structured the half marathon program to include some specific “quality” runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Below is a description of how those workouts are planned. For reference, it may be beneficial to review the complete program shown on the google spreadsheet again.

Tuesday Workouts:

(phase one)
Week 12: easy run
Week 11: easy run
Week 10: fitness test

(phase two)
Week 9: 6 x 30sec strides
Week 8: 6 x 30sec strides
Week 7: fitness test

strides are just 30 seconds of running fast, focus on using perfect form as you do these, think quick feet

(phase three)
Week 6: 10min warm up, Main Set: 4min at 5k pace, 2min walk, 2min jog, repeat main set three times, 6min cool down

Week 5: same as week six
Week 4: fitness test

(phase four)
Week 3: run at 1/2 marathon goal pace
Week 2: fitness test
Week 1: rest (race week)

Thursday Workouts:

(phase one)
Week 12: easy run
Week 11: easy run
Week 10: easy run

(phase two)
Week 9: Tempo Run - 5min warm up, 3 x 12min at 10k pace, 2min walk between sets, 5min cool down

Week 8: same as week 9

Week 7: Tempo Run - warm up, 4 x 10min at 10k pace, 2min walk between sets, cool down

(phase three)
Week 6: same as week 7
Week 5: same as week 7

Week 4: Tempo Run - warm up, 4 x 12min at 10k pace, 2mn walk between sets, cool down

(phase four)
Week 3: run at half marathon goal pace
Week 2: run at half marathon goal pace
Week 1: rest (race week)

I hope you find the workouts fun and challenging. They should be enough to pick your speed up to run the half marathon well.

In December of 2006, I made a commitment to use a run/walk method for my races in 2007. There is always a lot of discussion and opinions around this idea amongst runners. Here are the two biggest things that I see:

1. Those runners that believe that a “true” runner wouldn’t walk during a race
2. Those runners/sports scientists that believe there is no validity to the method.

I originally came to the idea after listening to Bobby McGee speak during the training clinic at the Olympic Training Center. While I wasn’t sure if I was convinced, I thought that I’d give it a try.

Here’s the link again to my previous post: Does Slow Down mean Walk for me?

My Experience:

The commitment I had was to run/walk every run I did. And looking back, I don’t remember doing a single run in ‘07 that I didn’t walk some. There were quite a few benefits that I derived from this experience. I’ll skip the physiology of it for now (maybe I’ll get to it at another time), but the two things I noticed were:

1. It allowed me to recover easier, which allowed me to run more often (I actually ran every single day in Feb. of ‘07)

2. Emotionally, it allowed me to relax and have peace with the idea of walking, which allowed me to use those lessons during races.

I used the method in 3 key races during the ‘07 year:

1. Derby Half Marathon
2. Mountainer Half Ironman
3. Ironman Wisconsin

To be honest, I believe it helped in all three races. I had some doubts about the idea of walking during the half marathon, but here is what it did: It slowed me down at a time during the race when I was getting caught up in the race and running way too fast. Therefore, it forced discipline into my race when it would have likely been lacking. While 1:25 is not really fast for a half marathon, it was as much as I could have expected considering the training I had leading up to that race.

The biggest benefit that I had during the year using this method was during the Ironman. It was hugely beneficial going into that race knowing I would have to walk, because when I started walking that first mile, I was able to say to myself “this is part of the plan.” That was more empowering than getting to 15 or 16 and saying, “I have to walk because I don’t know if I can run anymore.”

The difference between those two psychological states are worth many minutes during a race. I had hoped that I could go under 3:30 for my marathon split, I didn’t make it as I went 3:35. But I’m convinced that I would have been closer to 4:00 had I not started walking from mile 1.

Who benefits the most?

The athletes that benefit the most from using this strategy, in my opinion, are those that are still challenged by their endurance. I tell athletes that you’d benefit if you are planning on going over 3:30 for the marathon. (There’s no science to that number.)

That being said, I will use this method the next time I try to go under 3 hours. And as Bobby McGee said, he has had a 2:30 marathoner use this method.

The key is determining where your pacing begins to drop. Maintaining a consistent pace is likely the largest performance boost that many runners will see by using a walk/run strategy.

I would be interested to hear others experience using a run/walk stategy and how they felt it helped or did not help them.

Derby Festival Half Marathon Schedule - use link to view program.

The above program is designed to get people ready for the Derby Festival Half Marathon (locals call it “the mini”) in Loisville, Kentucky on April 26, 2008. The information posted here is just the number of minutes that an athlete could run on each day. The style and placement of runs is similar to how I design marathon programs (double long weekends), but since this is a half there will be added focus on “speedier” runs on Tuesday and Thursday.

Each phase has specific goals. There are goals related to the distance of the race, but there are also goals based upon the athletes’ experience, ability and durability. (Those of you who just went to AZ with me know that durability is my newest buzz.) I’ll try and blog about the general period goals when I have a chance, but I need to complete my athletes’ workouts for the first phase.

Also, start thinking about what you might use as your “fitness test”. My last post (at sweat365.com) discussed the idea of fitness tests. For more info you can search my blog or look through the tags at delicious.

Hopefully this is of some help to those deciding where to start.

Note: This is an updated post with a better link to the program as the iframe wasn’t working correctly.