Hi folks, Today my coach-scheduled workout was a four hours and thirty minute Z2 (heart rate around 112) bike ride, but the weather was too cold for this 'old fart,' so I decided to do it on my trainer. This is a long time to be on a trainer bike, and as I don't think that listening to music is a good idea because you generally aren't listening to your body when you do that, I had plenty of time to ... Read more
Use Cool Down Time In The Pool As Playtime And You May Learn Something Useful
Hi folks, Ironman training involves some pretty long swims sometimes, and often they are preceded by heavy weight room, bike or run workouts the previous day. You may hit the water sluggish and stiff, but after a few laps you'll loosen up, attacking each set with increasing enthusiasm. I find that around the two-mile mark (72 laps in a 25-yard pool) I start to tire significantly, and by the end of the ... Read more
Is It Acceptable For You To Add Extra Workouts To Your Coach’s Training Plan? Rarely!
Hi folks, I pay a coach to set my workouts based on his experience and my athletic background, combined with laboratory data such as lactate threshold and VO2 max. So why would I suggest that one might arbitrarily add a workout to his plan? The answer is that I consider it acceptable as long as it is not a physical workout, but a mental one. For instance, today I added a short early morning swim, but ... Read more
Consistency Is Key When It Comes To Safe Exercise For Better Health
Hi folks, Last weekend I had a 4-hour bike ride scheduled by my coach, but I just didn't want to do it. Then I did it anyway, in spite of myself. For the first hour my legs complained, my brain complained, and in general I complained. The complaints didn't do any good because I was out there on my own. If I had said any of this stuff to a riding buddy (which I never would, as I learned that lesson ... Read more
Keep Track Of Laps In The Pool Whilst Boosting Your Mental Discipline
Hi folks, If you have a long swim, you'll have no trouble keeping track of laps completed with a complex group of short sets, such as that in the adjacent figure. You just have to count each set and mentally tick off your workout on the plan stuck on the wall at the end of the pool. However, if you have a small number of long sets, say 4 x 1200 yards, it is not so easy. I discovered the perfect way ... Read more
Learn To Stand Before You Walk Before You Run
Hi folks, I have a problem with chronically tight calf muscles, and I may have found the cause. The way that I stand. I was receiving further core instruction from my dance and Continuum teacher, Rebecca, who commented that I tend to lean forward when standing. I did a quick internal body scan and there it was, plus lots of other things. My Feldenkrais training from Karen emphasizes the importance of ... Read more
Integrate Your Endurance Training Into Your Life In A Healthy Way
Hi folks, This is a follow-up post to the 'early morning swim chicken' one I posted previously. I am a notorious no-show for early morning swims, but I am working to fix this. Like one of my key biking partners, Rory, I also tend to lose the mental debate at 5:00 am and end up staying in bed. But that is no way to work towards a sub-13 hour Lake Placid Ironman time, so I am biting the bullet and ... Read more
Don’t Chicken Out Of Those Critical Early Morning Swims
Hi folks, The early morning swim is an interesting journey on a cold winter's day. Your alarm wakes you up around 5:00 am, and then the internal debate begins. Stay in my nice warm bed? YES!!! Go jump in a cold pool? NO!!! But I really want to have done that swim. Note the focus on the past tense - to have done that swim. This is the key to motivating your way out of bed. Don't think about how warm ... Read more
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