Official 2012 start

Officially started my 2012 training today! Almost hit the snooze button, but decided against it. I averaged 200 watts on the spinning bike today. My goal is to practice pacing during the week, with a cadence of 100 rpm to work on leg speed, then focus on strength during the weekends with lots of hills. I may go up to 250 watts and eventually 300 watts during the week, but I want to make sure I can maintain 100 rpm and not completely exhaust myself. Gradual progress. I am also starting to lift weights, twice a week. My plan is to do 3 sets of 20 reps. I will do dead leg lifts, step ups (roughly 1.5-2'), and body weight side lunges. Last year, lifting really helped my hamstrings stay loose.

Ironman Tips: Nutrition

• Practice race day nutrition during long training sessions. This is extremely important. You do not want to be starving after a long session. If you are, you did not eat enough. It will compromise your performance and fail to acclimate your stomach to race day nutrition.
• Recovery starts before you are finished with a training session. Make sure you eat enough to fuel and repair your muscles.
• Consume 300-400 kcal/hr on bike
• Consume 250-350 kcal/hr on run
• Consume 1-2 saltsticks/ hr on bike and run
• Water is okay for easy sessions lasting 60-90 minutes, but make sure you consume calories for anything longer.
• Eat a mixture of carbohydrates and protein within 45 minutes after training. Carbohydrates will replenish glycogen, protein will help repair muscles. Milk is a good option.
• Eat a fruit or vegetable with each meal. They provide antioxidants that protect against free radicals generated from exercise and other stressors.
• Make healthy fats 30% of your total kcal. Healthy fats reduce inflammation in the body. Eating fat also trains the body to burn fat as a fuel, which is the primary fuel source during endurance events. Glycogen stores only last for less than 2 hours.
• Healthy fats include: avocados, salmon, sardines, mackerel, tuna, herring, olives, olive oil, coconut oil, macadamia nuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, chia seeds, hemp seeds, cage free eggs, grass fed beef, look for monounsaturated fats.
• Limit sugar and polyunsaturated fats as they promote inflammation.
• Try to get as lean as possible within reason. Excess weight is just more you have to carry, but every time you lose weight you inevitably lose a little muscle and thus power.
• When trying to lose weight, increase your protein intake and lift weights to maintain your muscle. You’ll lose more fat and less muscle.
• If you want a “treat”, eat it first thing in the morning, right before exercise, or right after exercise. Your body is better equipped to deal with highly processed carbohydrates at those times.

Ironman Tips: Training

Bryan’s Ironman Tips

Training

• Relax, it is not that hard. If you can do a marathon, you can do an Ironman.
• Be consistent and train a little year round. Running is the most important. You need to keep your body accustomed to the pounding.
• “Train where your fitness is right now, not where you want it to be.” - Scott Jurek. In other words, don’t increase intensity or volume too quickly.
• Increase frequency before increasing volume. Volume is more taxing on the body.
• Frequent workouts also stimulate more testosterone, insulin like growth factor, and other beneficial products than fewer longer workouts.
• Break your training into 2 weeks relatively hard, then 5 days easy, cutting volume down by 50% with no intensity & no lifting. This will prevent over-training and help your body become stronger.
• Take one day completely off each week.
• If you miss a workout, don’t overexert yourself to make it up. Skip it, you will be doing plenty of training.
• Most all of your training should be aerobic. The Ironman is a long, relatively slow race.
• Sleep as much as possible. Training will break down your muscles, sleep will help them grow stronger.
• Weeks 19-24: aerobic, high cadence, mix in some hills
• Weeks 13-18: heavy weights
• Weeks 4-12: running intervals, long runs
• Weeks 1-3: Taper
• After an Ironman, take 2 weeks completely off.
• At the end of the season take 3-4 weeks off, then 3-4 weeks unstructured fun training.

Training Plan 2012

I have developed my training plan for next year.  It may change a little, but I really want to focus on frequency.  From everything I have been reading the past few years, frequency is the key.  It stimulates more growth hormone/factors, promotes durability and strength, and helps with recovery.  The more my body gets used to cycling and running, the faster I will become.  Long workouts are great for endurance, but endurance is relatively easy to build up.  Speed, strength, and durability take longer.  Long sessions also require much more recovery time.  As a working athlete, I have additional stressors and less time to recover.  Therefore I am going short and freq until 3 months out from my A race then adding long rides (5hr) and runs (2hr).  During my base phase I will be doing 1hr rides with a 2-3 mile run Mon-Fri and twice a day on Tues, Wed, & Thur.  I will swim and lift legs twice a week.  On Sat, I will do a 3hr ride and 6 mile run.  When I start doing long runs, I use the run/walk strategy to speed recovery.  So far I have been doing 8min run/30sec walk.  Bobby McGee recommends 10min run/1min walk, but I want my walk to line up a little better with my gel consumption.  

Mock Curry

No rice, no curry, no problem. I had a hard time deciding what to make this week for lunch. I had two cans of coconut milk that have been in my pantry for months. I thought about curry, but every time I buy curry seasoning the meals turn out very bland. Although I think that has more to do with my past reluctance to use salt. Never the less, I went to make my meals without a clear idea or a full pantry. I soon realized I didn't even have rice. Tiff found some potatoes and recommended I use them. As you may or may not know, I hate to waste food and often throw random items together just to get ride of them. Here is what I came up with.

2 cans coconut milk

64 oz broccoli

2 frozen packages of pureed winter squash

2 lb Laura's lean ground beef

4 baked potatoes

2 tbl leftover hummus

1/2 cup leftover rice

ginger to taste

crushed garlic to taste

cinnamon to taste

salt to taste

sriracha hot sauce to taste

It makes 8 servings of roughly 600 kcal each (200 kcal carbs, 200 kcal pro, 200 kcal fat)

Race Weight

FYI race weight is important, but it is not everything. Don't let the light weights intimidate you. It's better to be strong and powerful than lean and weak. Chris McCormack weighs 175lb and ran a 2:42 in Kona. Tom Lowe weighs 195lb and ran a 2:44 in Austria. Chris McDonald weighs 183lb and ran a 2:55 in Louisville.

Training Ideas

Thinking today about training after watching so many people blow up this year during ironman races. The race is long and challenging, but it is not that bad. It does not require all of the stress we place on our bodies preparing for the event. People need to be fresh and ready to race. I believe the keys to training are frequency, consistency, and recovery. Frequency as in doing each discipline multiple times per week, but not necessary long workouts. Consistency as in training from week to week, month to month, and year to year. Your base fitness accumulates from year to year if you're consistent. Recovery as in from the stressors in our life. Recovery from training as well as job and family related stress. If we don't recovery our muscles will not develop. My thoughts for the day. Bryan