Saturday, April 15, 2006

Training Easy Makes You Fast!?!?!?

I received the below email from an athlete that I coach:

Athlete:
I thought I was well hydrated and most of the high hr is drift toward the end. I ran yesterday (outside) and kept hr in 150's for first three miles and then it went into 170's after a few hills and did not go down much. Interval times were similar across all 6 miles (have not downloaded that workout yet). My rpe was low except for a couple long hills. Can a person compete over a long period of time with higher heart rates? Do I need more base work?

Here was my response:
**FYI - this athlete has an ATHR (anaerobic threshold heart rate) of 174 beats per min. Zone 1 = <148, Zone 2 = 148 - 157

I hear what you are saying. And you are not going to like what I have to say. You need to slow down your running so that you are in zone 1 - 2 for most of your training. By running in zone 3 and higher consistantly you are not training your body aerobicly, more anaerobicly. You will not improve your fitness by training in zone 3 and above all the time. All you will be doing is making yourself fatigued, overtrained and increase your chances of injury. It will take you having a ton of self discipline to train slower, this will require you to walk once your HR leaves zone 2 and climbs into zone 3. Training in zone 3 and above should be done in short durations and used to specificially develop your anaerbic (threhold, endurance) and muscular endurance. I am very confident that if you can hold back the reigns staying in zone 1 -2, your pace will eventually drop. If you chose to train in zone 3 and above you will not experience any gains in the endurance.

So to answer your question - yes, you need more base work in zone 1 - 2, that is the key. Now for your other question - can a person compete over a long period of time with higher heart rates? YES - but only after a base is laid. This base depends on the person. Take me for an example - when I race anything up to 1/2 Ironman distance or 5 hours and under, I am racing within 5 beats of my anaerobic threshold of 170 bpm - the whole time. This is what it takes if I want to be competitive in my age group. I do 95% of my training in zone 1 - 2. When I go hard during my training it is very, very hard. There is a huge difference for me when I go easy its very easy so that when I go hard its going to hurt.

Training easy makes you faster!!

Coach

Wind

Recovery is key! That is what I always tell my athletes. We are always at a stage or recovery - before, during, after training, it includes all areas of life. So I am sitting at my Ibook G4 recovering from my day in the wind. I set out today, woke up at 5am to prepare and load, met up with my SAG driver 'Scott' and 'Darin' who was crazy enough to ride with me (both clients of mine).

Yes, I spent the day in the wind on my bicycle, the plan was to ride from western Iowa near the Missouri river to my brothers house in south/east - central Iowa. I had the route mapped and estimated the distance at 142 miles. A solid ride on any day. As soon as we stepped out of the van I knew it was going to a brutally long and hard day. A 25 mile per hour head wind coming out of the south / east the direction we were going to travel all day. It was actually comical at times - Darin and I, both solid cyclists with training rides usually at 19 - 21 mph avg speeds. We would be riding on the flats at about 14 mph, then 7-9 mph on the hills, only to descend the hill at 10-11 mph. It was what I call a FORCE training session. Like being in the weight room on the bike. I had estimated that it would most likely take Darin and I 10 hours to make the 142 mile trek, including all the stops and refueling. Well at the 56 mile mark we were at 4 hours and 30 mins. We were trashed. So we decided to ride a bit with the wind at our backs. We made it to approx 70 miles but the toll on our legs was done. We stopped to refuel, met up with my brother Dave who was averaging 5 mph and the clouds came in, thunder rolled and rain started. You have to be able to say when, and the last straw was the clouds rotating just above us, no formal twister, but when you live in the mid west, you just know. So we loaded up and started the return trip, this time as passengers.

It was an incredible sight all those endless rolling hills that we had ridden, some damn long ones too. Miles and miles of them! One thing you experience when riding in the wind is the noise, relentless noise that never gives up. Makes your brain go numb! In the van on the way home is was soo quiet. The plan was to stop on the way back and take our driver Scott out to lunch for Taco's in Minneola, IA. As we were just about to drive through town Darin spotted a couple of MTN bikers that were riding on what is called a 'Trace', an old rail road bed that has been converted to a biking path (it runs from Council Bluffs to the Missouri border). Darin noticed that one person was down on her back and could see blood on her body / close. I immediately turned around and we went to their aid. She had gone over her bars and had deep cut just above her eye and road rash on her upper arm and bummed her hip. We her and her husband in the ran and put the bike on the rack and brought them to their car, about 10 miles down the road.

Then just as we were rolling into Omaha my van broke down, we managed to make it off the interstate and into a gas station lot. Some kind of fuel, alternator issue. I found a ride for Scott back to his vehicle at my house and Darin and I road to his truck then we returned to meet the tow truck and to retrieve our gear. We finished the day with a late lunch at Qdoba for some well deserved burritos.

So the day turned out to be much different than planned, but I know that Gods hand was in it all. If we would have continued to ride we would not have been there to assist those 2 mountain bikers and would most likely be stranded in central Iowa with a van that would not go!

I am off to work on my recovery as I prepare for my 4 hour brick work out that will start at 5am!

Cheers -

Kevin

Friday, April 14, 2006

The Passion of Christ!

Just returned from a late night ride on my Honda Interceptor. I am fairly new to being on a bike that has an engine. Sometimes it makes me feel guilty that it doesn't require effort. I attened my community of faiths (church) "Coram Deo" ((latin for = In the presence of God)) Good Friday service. A reminder of what injustice and justice was required by God so that I might have eternal life in Jesus Christ. Tonight as we were meditating on the Passion of Christ in the book of Matthew, it was humbling to know what Jesus had to suffer through in order for me to be redeemmed. It makes the little discomforts of life seem so small. It makes the suffering that I subject myself to during my training for triathlons a bit easier to handle. I have often felt that if I am feeling comforable, that is not where Christ wants me. Yes - this is easy to say, but when you are living through some hard times, it makes it hard to grasp. Honestly - the harder more demanding, more painful my training is - the more I like it. Something in me desires to find comfort in discomfort. You could call that my motto. I know that in a very small way, this pain develops my character and brings me closer to Christ.

Thank you Jesus for sacrificing yourself so that I may live! Off to bed as I prepare for a 150 mile road trip (bicycle) tomorrow!

In his Grip -
Kevin

Introduction

Welcome to The Multisport Life Blog

I desired a place to record my experiences in life. Although I am social and have a vast support network, I tend to keep my thoughts deep in my head. So my posts might not make sense to you, but I encourage dialog as it will help me process. I do not claim to be a typist and know that my grammer is below my 12yr old daughters ability. So if I offend any english grammer perfectionists --- sorry!!

A little about me - I am a husband, father, son, brother, friend, endurance coach, triathlete, Ironman, marathoner, Adventure Racer, snowboarder, snowshoer, mountaineer, wake boarder and motorcyclist (VFR Baby!!!!). As you can see I love adventure with a sprinkle of risk! Hey I'm a man and am learning that God gave men a heart for adventure.

The list above is non-conclusive, especially given that I live each day developing my relationship with Jesus. I know by coming out of this closet and indicating that I am developing my Christain Spirituality (I am getting away from using christianaity as it has so many negative conotations in the current culture), that you may lose interest in reading more. It will be your loss, but it is also your right. I fully acknowlege that I am a broken guy. Man I got sin in my life. And every new day brings more awareness of how much I need Gods grace. It is not that I am out there breaking the law, taking lives or cheating on my wife. But I acknowlege that my heart is not pure. I value peoples love and acceptence over my Savior Jesus'. I am selfish like nobody's business. Money controls me in ways that I am embarrased about. So you get the picture, I got issues just like everybody else. The difference ......... I know truth. I consider myself blessed. I heard Gods voice and truth and accepted this by faith. It is so hard to explain, but I hope to share my fiath, my story, my Journey within the bounderies of the Blog world! Visit often - post your comments!

Kevin