This past week of training was a good one for me (see, going to Vegas really did help me come back more focused and ready to charge life). That said, my "week" didn't get started until last Tuesday because Monday I was a little under the weather/recovering/playing catchup lol. But from Tuesday until today (Monday), here are the numbers:
Swim: 6.08 miles (10,700 yd)
Bike: 155 miles
Run: 25 miles
Strength: x2
Total time: 16.4 hours
That 16.4 is just "the meat" of every workout. I also log a "total time" that includes warmups, cooldowns, "transitions" for brick workouts, stretching/foam-rolling, etc., because I like to know how much time I'm investing into training. Does anyone else do this?? Am I psycho?? This week my time came out to 18 hours.
That, given my heavy work+school load, is a pretty good week for me. In fact, one of my biggest so far this year. I'm glad to see I'm handling the added intensity well and recovering well too! Only several naps were needed.
My plan was to build on the week, and pile a lot on for a big "4-day" weekend combo. Keep in mind, I didn't actually have a four-day work-free weekend--whenever I wasn't training I was eating, sleeping, working or studying. Efficiency is the name of the game baby!
Friday night = swim about 2 miles. For me to stay in the pool for that long mostly solo is quite an accomplishment!
Saturday morning = An intense 40-mile trainer session with lots of pain-inflicting intervals followed by an even harder & hilly 5.3-mile T-run. Our run splits were: 8:37, 7:48, 7:28, 6:56, 6:43 + 2:27. (Plus, the ol' Garmin said over 900 ft elevation gain on the run, but that seems extreme. Hm.)
Sunday morning = Trainer session of 3 hr 10 min, increasing intensity/power each hour. Yes, I know SoCal peeps, it was nice outside Sunday, but I chose the trainer because I had to listen to a class lecture I had missed (in mp3 format--sweet!), and I really wanted to watch Avatar. I know I'd never do either otherwise, so some sort of multi-tasking activity had to be done!
Monday = Run 10.2 miles on a moderately hilly route and swim 1,500 EZ. The run was pretty damn enjoyable and ranks up there as one of my favorites of the year so far... loved it.
--
Whew. Next up is some recovery and a mini taper in anticipation of a triathlon this weekend. Yup, it's time to start racing again! Excitinggggg :) Good timing on the recovery week, too, as I have several major writing deadlines this week and a trip down to San Diego on Thursday to help a friend with his new clothing company.
Hope everyone is happy with their February and ready to hit March HARD!!! :)
Showing posts with label triathlon training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label triathlon training. Show all posts
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Recovery Week with a VO2 Twist
Monday I could barely lift myself out of a chair; Tuesday wasn't much better. No working out. Wednesday I thought I was feeling refreshed, but than I swam and it hurt so I took it easy in preparation for Thursday am....
Being that I'm on a recovery week I thought I'd be "fresh" by Thursday and that a 18-min run wouldn't screw up my recovery agenda too badly so I scheduled a VO2max test in the CSUF Performance Lab. The plan was not only to test my own VO2, but also to learn how to conduct this test for the future research and work I plan on doing. My friend Albert, also a grad student, would be doing my test and teaching me along the way.
So Thursday morning, I arrived. I felt a sort of normal, but definitely not 100%. But, really, now that I'm in full-on training mode, the only time I'll be 100% is after a full taper leading into a 70.3. I chose a treadmill VO2max test because I know I can get myself to a higher intensity running than on a cycle ergometer. However, treadmill is probably the more painful of choices.
For those who don't know what VO2max is... briefly: it measures the maximal oxygen you're able to take in and utilize for working muscles. The more oxygen you can use, the better. This is measured by looking at venitlation (hence, the tube sticking out of your mouth) and the amount of O2/CO2 that goes in and comes out. Factors include time, weight, respiratory exchange ratio (using carbs vs. fat as fuel), etc. Relative VO2 is expressed as mL*kg*min, aka milliliters of O2 per kilogram of body weight per minute. Absolute VO2 is in liters, with ~3L or more considered good.
While VO2max is highly correlated to endurance performance, it's not the be all end all. Take lactate threshold for example: if two dudes have the same VO2max, whoever has the higher LT will win b/c he can wokrout at a higher % of VO2max aka intensity. Efficiency/economy also plays a role. The "quiet" economical runner will do better than the "choppy" runner even if the quiet runner has a lower VO2max. (Message: work on form/technique!)
Anyways, back to my test.
Protocol:
I did the "short" test of 18 minutes or less. If you don't like hill climbing, well, then, this might not be the best choice for you. I will likely do the longer test next time... flatter at higher speeds.
So, once HR monitor is on, mask/mouthpiece are secured and computer is calibrated, start walking on treadmill at 3.5 mph & a low incline. From there the speed and % grade incline are increased at certain time increments. The increments are ~2 min at first to get really warmed up and not to shock the system, then they shorten to ~30 seconds and it starts getting harder and harder at a rapid rate. Total time would be about 18 minutes or whenever the testee motions to stop. The max on the chart we were using was 7.5 mph @ 18% incline--while 7.5 mph isn't that hard at all, doing it at a 18% incline is!
Basically, you go until you can't go any more. If you're a rockstar and the speed/grade needs to go beyond 7.5/18%, then so be it.
Sounds simple right?
Ha.
Me still walking, still ok...
As soon as I started jogging, my legs felt like bricks. Ugh. Guess I could throw out the idea of doing this test accurately aka fresh. I don't even remember when it really started hurting (maybe 6.0 @ ~10% grade). The worst part of the whole experience is having a dry throat & mouth and not being able to truly breathe deeply with that damn mask on. Plus your nose is plugged, and that just sucks. All I wanted was to be able to swallow and/or moisten my mouth. Neither were possible. One of the guys compared it to sticking a toilet paper roll in your mouth. Pretty accurate :)
Starting to pick it up...
So anyways, I was watching my HR the whole time, waiting for it to creep up toward the 180s. Knowing that just this past Sunday I had it at 185 while running uphill and that my max is roughly 194-195, I wanted to get it at least 190 for the VO2 test. But my legs said otherwise. I ended the damn test with a HR of merely 181, about 17 minutes into the test and at 7.0 mph / 12% or 14% grade, can't remember exactly. Lame! (And a true indicator that this recovery week is sooooooo necessary.)
You can see my form starting to suffer here... I was just staring at the fan and hurting, trying to be strong and tell my legs to shut up...
Still, at that intensity, my VO2max was at a "superior"/above average level according to charts and books, and in the right zone for a female endurance athlete. Definitely not super elite, but not disappointing. Feel free to ask me what it is, if you care, but I'd rather not post it because I don't want to intimidate my competitors ;-)
If you haven't done this test, I recommend trying it. If you can't afford one, there are ways around predicting your VO2max via other tests. Truthfully, it's really not that necessary to know, as HR, RPE, LT, etc. etc work just fine. Plus, you don't want to obsess over certain numbers that are out of your control to a certain extent.
In the end: hard work is hard work... and if you work hard, your body will go where it's capable of going.
In the meantime, I'll continue NOT working out hard until next week. Bring on the rest!
Being that I'm on a recovery week I thought I'd be "fresh" by Thursday and that a 18-min run wouldn't screw up my recovery agenda too badly so I scheduled a VO2max test in the CSUF Performance Lab. The plan was not only to test my own VO2, but also to learn how to conduct this test for the future research and work I plan on doing. My friend Albert, also a grad student, would be doing my test and teaching me along the way.
So Thursday morning, I arrived. I felt a sort of normal, but definitely not 100%. But, really, now that I'm in full-on training mode, the only time I'll be 100% is after a full taper leading into a 70.3. I chose a treadmill VO2max test because I know I can get myself to a higher intensity running than on a cycle ergometer. However, treadmill is probably the more painful of choices.
For those who don't know what VO2max is... briefly: it measures the maximal oxygen you're able to take in and utilize for working muscles. The more oxygen you can use, the better. This is measured by looking at venitlation (hence, the tube sticking out of your mouth) and the amount of O2/CO2 that goes in and comes out. Factors include time, weight, respiratory exchange ratio (using carbs vs. fat as fuel), etc. Relative VO2 is expressed as mL*kg*min, aka milliliters of O2 per kilogram of body weight per minute. Absolute VO2 is in liters, with ~3L or more considered good.
While VO2max is highly correlated to endurance performance, it's not the be all end all. Take lactate threshold for example: if two dudes have the same VO2max, whoever has the higher LT will win b/c he can wokrout at a higher % of VO2max aka intensity. Efficiency/economy also plays a role. The "quiet" economical runner will do better than the "choppy" runner even if the quiet runner has a lower VO2max. (Message: work on form/technique!)
Anyways, back to my test.
Protocol:
I did the "short" test of 18 minutes or less. If you don't like hill climbing, well, then, this might not be the best choice for you. I will likely do the longer test next time... flatter at higher speeds.
So, once HR monitor is on, mask/mouthpiece are secured and computer is calibrated, start walking on treadmill at 3.5 mph & a low incline. From there the speed and % grade incline are increased at certain time increments. The increments are ~2 min at first to get really warmed up and not to shock the system, then they shorten to ~30 seconds and it starts getting harder and harder at a rapid rate. Total time would be about 18 minutes or whenever the testee motions to stop. The max on the chart we were using was 7.5 mph @ 18% incline--while 7.5 mph isn't that hard at all, doing it at a 18% incline is!
Basically, you go until you can't go any more. If you're a rockstar and the speed/grade needs to go beyond 7.5/18%, then so be it.
Sounds simple right?
Ha.
Me still walking, still ok...
As soon as I started jogging, my legs felt like bricks. Ugh. Guess I could throw out the idea of doing this test accurately aka fresh. I don't even remember when it really started hurting (maybe 6.0 @ ~10% grade). The worst part of the whole experience is having a dry throat & mouth and not being able to truly breathe deeply with that damn mask on. Plus your nose is plugged, and that just sucks. All I wanted was to be able to swallow and/or moisten my mouth. Neither were possible. One of the guys compared it to sticking a toilet paper roll in your mouth. Pretty accurate :)
Starting to pick it up...
So anyways, I was watching my HR the whole time, waiting for it to creep up toward the 180s. Knowing that just this past Sunday I had it at 185 while running uphill and that my max is roughly 194-195, I wanted to get it at least 190 for the VO2 test. But my legs said otherwise. I ended the damn test with a HR of merely 181, about 17 minutes into the test and at 7.0 mph / 12% or 14% grade, can't remember exactly. Lame! (And a true indicator that this recovery week is sooooooo necessary.)
You can see my form starting to suffer here... I was just staring at the fan and hurting, trying to be strong and tell my legs to shut up...
Still, at that intensity, my VO2max was at a "superior"/above average level according to charts and books, and in the right zone for a female endurance athlete. Definitely not super elite, but not disappointing. Feel free to ask me what it is, if you care, but I'd rather not post it because I don't want to intimidate my competitors ;-)
If you haven't done this test, I recommend trying it. If you can't afford one, there are ways around predicting your VO2max via other tests. Truthfully, it's really not that necessary to know, as HR, RPE, LT, etc. etc work just fine. Plus, you don't want to obsess over certain numbers that are out of your control to a certain extent.
In the end: hard work is hard work... and if you work hard, your body will go where it's capable of going.
In the meantime, I'll continue NOT working out hard until next week. Bring on the rest!
Monday, February 15, 2010
That's a Wrap + Why I'm so Sore!
Sunday marked the end of my second 3-week training block/build of 2010. The second was way better than the first. I pushed harder, got that much closer to puking during a few high-intensity workouts and survived a little longer on a couple key rides, runs and brick sessions. As a result, I saw some numbers that made me happy. Except for swimming. It seems that as volume increases with bike/run, and in general, my progress in swimming is plateauing a bit. But, thankfully, I have some new knowledge and ideas to help get results I want in the pool (more on that later).
.
Valentine's Day was the icing on the cake for the big training block, and if it hadn't been for the HOT sunny weather and my love of the outdoors, I don't know if I would have stuck to the plan of a.m. long, hilly trail run & p.m. ez/mod 2-hr spin. Part of me just wanted to lounge around and rest.... But there was no way I could miss out on the gorgeous day. So (with El Moro/Crystal Cove still closed) I ran at Whiting Ranch, which just reopened Saturday since the SoCal storm mayhem we had recently. All the mud and trail destruction became a good excuse to make the first 1.5 miles "easy" as not to eat sh*t.
At about mile 2, you hit the big hills, Mustard & Dreaded, which are killer hard even at a walking pace. Here's a picture from the base; the actual "top" isn't even in sight:
I swear I almost broke down in tears because it hurt so bad "running" up. But once at the top, I rested, chatted with hikers and got inspired to run back down to the base and do a repeat. Crazy, but glad I did. I ended up passing two dude runners who looked very fit and about my age on my 2nd jaunt up; we struck up convo at the top. One is a marathoner-in-training, the other a former competitive cyclist. At that point I was hurting, but I knew more hills were coming. So I asked if they wanted to run with me knowing it would keep me motivated, plus it was their first time on the trail so I could play their torture tour guide. They were all about it. So I ran. They followed. We tackled the next big hill, and I made it up with a HR max of 185. Now that's work, but it felt awesome to crest the top.... I credit the guys for helping me to push; they were like my V-day surprise! In a weird, painful way.
.
Then the downhills finally came, with lots of fun and technical single track where good footing is key to not rolling an ankle (learned the hard way last year). The marathoner almost held onto my pace the whole time, but I got an edge in the last couple miles where it flattens out... somehow the speed in my legs turned on--I think it was thoughts of a yummy lunch that awaited.
.
All in all... that 9 miles of running--with 2,100 ft of climbing--put me at nearly 30 miles for the week and just about 90 miles within the last 3 weeks. (I'm currently training 14-16 hrs per week.)
.
After some refueling and moaning/laying on the floor, I got my butt in gear for the ride. I told myself to just take it ez and not overdo it. After last-minute planning, I got in my intense long-ish and very hilly ride (w 5-mile t-run) on Friday with my boss, who's a freakin stellar athlete.... translate: OUCH for me! That was my "big one" for the week, so Sunday it was just about spinning and enjoying the outdoors some more. Surprisingly, 2 hours in the saddle went by really fast and I felt better after that then when I started.
.
But today I feel like I got hit by a truck. That's largely in part due to a full day of Jessi Stensland's MovementU clinic on Saturday. She had us doing tons of AWESOME functional movement exercises that are perfect for dynamic warmups and overall body maintenance aka developing a body that's balanced, resilient to injury, healthy, strong, well-aligned and, most importantly, a performance machine.
.
If you haven't heard or seen Jessi's MovementU, I highly recommend attending one/checking it out. It's a full day, but don't think about it as if you're "losing" training hours; rather, you walk away with more knowledge to boost your performance that, in my opinion, beats missing a Saturday's 4-5 hours of sbr-ing. Plus, you're moving and being active the whole day with Jessi, and if you're like me and haven't been doing these functional exercises, then I guarantee you'll be more sore than 4 hours in the saddle leaves you! I swear!!
.
Not to mention, she serves some excellent food, too. All homemade by her. How does she do it all?! I have no idea... but I can guess that it's her dedication to an athlete's well-being.
The MU crew (including some of my CSUF Tri Team friends!!)....
.
Valentine's Day was the icing on the cake for the big training block, and if it hadn't been for the HOT sunny weather and my love of the outdoors, I don't know if I would have stuck to the plan of a.m. long, hilly trail run & p.m. ez/mod 2-hr spin. Part of me just wanted to lounge around and rest.... But there was no way I could miss out on the gorgeous day. So (with El Moro/Crystal Cove still closed) I ran at Whiting Ranch, which just reopened Saturday since the SoCal storm mayhem we had recently. All the mud and trail destruction became a good excuse to make the first 1.5 miles "easy" as not to eat sh*t.
At about mile 2, you hit the big hills, Mustard & Dreaded, which are killer hard even at a walking pace. Here's a picture from the base; the actual "top" isn't even in sight:
I swear I almost broke down in tears because it hurt so bad "running" up. But once at the top, I rested, chatted with hikers and got inspired to run back down to the base and do a repeat. Crazy, but glad I did. I ended up passing two dude runners who looked very fit and about my age on my 2nd jaunt up; we struck up convo at the top. One is a marathoner-in-training, the other a former competitive cyclist. At that point I was hurting, but I knew more hills were coming. So I asked if they wanted to run with me knowing it would keep me motivated, plus it was their first time on the trail so I could play their torture tour guide. They were all about it. So I ran. They followed. We tackled the next big hill, and I made it up with a HR max of 185. Now that's work, but it felt awesome to crest the top.... I credit the guys for helping me to push; they were like my V-day surprise! In a weird, painful way..
Then the downhills finally came, with lots of fun and technical single track where good footing is key to not rolling an ankle (learned the hard way last year). The marathoner almost held onto my pace the whole time, but I got an edge in the last couple miles where it flattens out... somehow the speed in my legs turned on--I think it was thoughts of a yummy lunch that awaited.
.
All in all... that 9 miles of running--with 2,100 ft of climbing--put me at nearly 30 miles for the week and just about 90 miles within the last 3 weeks. (I'm currently training 14-16 hrs per week.)
.
After some refueling and moaning/laying on the floor, I got my butt in gear for the ride. I told myself to just take it ez and not overdo it. After last-minute planning, I got in my intense long-ish and very hilly ride (w 5-mile t-run) on Friday with my boss, who's a freakin stellar athlete.... translate: OUCH for me! That was my "big one" for the week, so Sunday it was just about spinning and enjoying the outdoors some more. Surprisingly, 2 hours in the saddle went by really fast and I felt better after that then when I started.
.
But today I feel like I got hit by a truck. That's largely in part due to a full day of Jessi Stensland's MovementU clinic on Saturday. She had us doing tons of AWESOME functional movement exercises that are perfect for dynamic warmups and overall body maintenance aka developing a body that's balanced, resilient to injury, healthy, strong, well-aligned and, most importantly, a performance machine.
.
If you haven't heard or seen Jessi's MovementU, I highly recommend attending one/checking it out. It's a full day, but don't think about it as if you're "losing" training hours; rather, you walk away with more knowledge to boost your performance that, in my opinion, beats missing a Saturday's 4-5 hours of sbr-ing. Plus, you're moving and being active the whole day with Jessi, and if you're like me and haven't been doing these functional exercises, then I guarantee you'll be more sore than 4 hours in the saddle leaves you! I swear!!
.
Not to mention, she serves some excellent food, too. All homemade by her. How does she do it all?! I have no idea... but I can guess that it's her dedication to an athlete's well-being.
The MU crew (including some of my CSUF Tri Team friends!!)....
--------------------
Last but not least... I said on FB/Twitter how I got to spend Valentine's with my one true love, the sunny outdoors. Ha! It's true, though... beautiful days spent outdoors in nature are all I need at this point to keep me happy and sane. Sunday, May 3, 2009
Target Practice
I like to play little games with myself on bikes and runs. Makes the time pass by faster and I tend to push harder. One of them is something I call "target practice." Basically, I see a cyclist or runner out in front of me, and it's my goal to catch that person and leave him/her/them in the dust. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail miserably. Well, today, I was on fire! I passed about five people and/or groups on my bike ride. Maybe it's cause I got a late start and all the fast morning-ride guys were already done. Oh well, I was happy.
Then on my T-run, I had a hard target to catch about 4 miles in. He was probably 2-3 minutes ahead of me and running at the same pace, so I had to pick it up if I wanted to get him. It took a while, but I was successful! Passed him, held a good lead, then I think I fired him up and he sped up and started pacing off me, which made me run farther than I planned. Got in about 7 miles and it was the best T-run I've ever had after a decently long/fast bike. I averaged 7:30-min miles on a hilly run, which is an improvement from past T-runs.
On top of that, I put in a hard week of work trianing-wise. I was logging in my weekly totals and was impressed! I got in four swims, three bikes, four runs, three strength-training sessions and multiple stretching sessions. Although I didn't log in major mileage (or time) in any one workout, I did more workouts at harder intensities across in all the sports, and my total mileage was just about where I wanted it, including an intended increase in swimming yardage (about 9,000 yds). I had to miss one scheduled run due to majorly sore legs from a killer weight session, but oh well, learned my lesson.
I was reading Matt Fitzgerald's plan for IMAZ training, and he's doing something similar - "spend as little time training as necessary to achieve [his] goal." This entails about 12 workouts a week that are generally shorter and harder rather than fewer total workouts that are longer and drawn out. His reasoning is that he wants to keep his wife (haha), but from my single-girl point of view, I kind of like this approach, it's nice to work out A LOT and still have time for the rest of my life. I think my longest training sess was today - about 3 hours for my bike-run. I may switch up the weeks because I think getting in 70+ mile rides with long T-runs is important, but it's fun playing around with training. I don't get bored.
PS - Congrats to everyone who raced this weekend. I checked out some of the Wildflower times and was super impressed and proud of the people I know of who competed, way to rock it out there!!
Then on my T-run, I had a hard target to catch about 4 miles in. He was probably 2-3 minutes ahead of me and running at the same pace, so I had to pick it up if I wanted to get him. It took a while, but I was successful! Passed him, held a good lead, then I think I fired him up and he sped up and started pacing off me, which made me run farther than I planned. Got in about 7 miles and it was the best T-run I've ever had after a decently long/fast bike. I averaged 7:30-min miles on a hilly run, which is an improvement from past T-runs.
On top of that, I put in a hard week of work trianing-wise. I was logging in my weekly totals and was impressed! I got in four swims, three bikes, four runs, three strength-training sessions and multiple stretching sessions. Although I didn't log in major mileage (or time) in any one workout, I did more workouts at harder intensities across in all the sports, and my total mileage was just about where I wanted it, including an intended increase in swimming yardage (about 9,000 yds). I had to miss one scheduled run due to majorly sore legs from a killer weight session, but oh well, learned my lesson.
I was reading Matt Fitzgerald's plan for IMAZ training, and he's doing something similar - "spend as little time training as necessary to achieve [his] goal." This entails about 12 workouts a week that are generally shorter and harder rather than fewer total workouts that are longer and drawn out. His reasoning is that he wants to keep his wife (haha), but from my single-girl point of view, I kind of like this approach, it's nice to work out A LOT and still have time for the rest of my life. I think my longest training sess was today - about 3 hours for my bike-run. I may switch up the weeks because I think getting in 70+ mile rides with long T-runs is important, but it's fun playing around with training. I don't get bored.
PS - Congrats to everyone who raced this weekend. I checked out some of the Wildflower times and was super impressed and proud of the people I know of who competed, way to rock it out there!!
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