Ironman Lake Placid Training: February, 2016

Properly preparing for an Ironman is a long process that occurs over a period of months, not weeks. The work that is necessary is not really the most exciting stuff. After going through this process in 2006 I came to the conclusion that you could take a look at what I would do on almost any day or week and not be overly impressed. There is nothing spectacular about an 8 mile aerobic run before work or a Wednesday night group ride. Even the interval work doesn't come off as being of the rip-your-face-off variety. No, training for an Ironman is more about the day-to-day building of fitness with occasional bouts of speed.

Will be spending much time on one of my favorite trails

Right now I am in the base building phase. The major goal for this month was to continue to build on what I did in January.Base is not just about putting in time/miles. After more than a decade of training for long course events I have a descent aerobic base but need work on my strength and speed. After a good start to the year in January I was looking for a solid follow up month in February.

Here's how things broke down for the month:

Swim:  February started out with a solid few weeks of training, but ended up being not exactly what I had hoped. Sometimes life gets in the way of training. Sometimes the weather gets in the way. And sometimes the space between the ears is the problem. As good as the weather has been in Eastern Pennsylvania this winter I don't have that as an excuse, so I have to go with schedule and mental.

With a number of evening work appointments over the second half of the month my available time to train became limited. Add in my lack of desire to swim in the early morning hours I missed a few sessions in the pool. So while I did continue to work on my kick I didn't make as much progress and I wanted. My longer swims were a tiny bit longer than in January, but not nearly enough. March will be better.

Bike: I feel rather fortunate this year as the weekend weather has been relatively mild, allowing me to get outside three out of four weekends this month. And unlike getting in the pool I have no hang ups keeping me from riding. Inside I have continued to focus on interval work with short, concentrated workouts. Power numbers are up, right where I was at the end of the 2015 riding season. Overall volume is good, not great, but nothing unusual. When I can get outside I have been riding in the 1 1/2 to 2 hour range, just getting in base miles. My goals for them month were successfully reached.


Run: As I enter March I am starting to feel more confident in my run. My 2015 was dedicated to low run volume as I worked to strengthen up the musculature around my right knee. December and January were about adding volume, getting back to comfortably running many more miles than I have done in a few years. February was a it of a hybrid in that my overall volume increased slightly, but I began to add training stress via hill work. Over the four weeks I did 3 hill workouts, two on the treadmill and one out on the roads. Hill sessions have me feeling stronger. The consistent training miles have enabled me to be consistent and feel good while doing it.

Strength and Mobility: Nothing new here. I have been very consistent making sure I get a good combination of traditional strength work (squats, deadlifts, chins, etc.) and functional strength work. I continue to get stronger on the major lifts. Mobility training has been positive as well.

Racing: Once again there was no racing this month.

Overall: Other than my bad week in the pool things are going well. I continue to get stronger, back where I was at the end of 2015 on the bike and far better in many ways than I was last year on the run. My swim is doing just fine. With the start of March, however, things start to get a little more real.

What's Happening in February? After not racing since early December I will be racing the Warm Hearts 5k on March 26th again. Hopefully we get better weather than last year. As for my training March is a transition month which will see a noticeable increase in total volume. In the pool I will continue to focus on developing my kick and increasing the long swims to the level I want to maintain during my Ironman specific raining. On the bike I really need the weather on my side as the plan is to start cranking out some good miles on the weekends to compliment the short, hard stuff I do during the week. If all goes right my FTP numbers will be up as will my endurance. On the run I am adding in a speed component. Yes, that's right, I will be back on the track again. Not my favorite place to run but I understand the benefits.


Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Ironman Lake Placid Training: January, 2016

As we entered the new year my training had just started to get more structured in nature. After taking some real downtime, December was about getting workouts in on a consistent basis, making sure I would be ready to get back on the straight and narrow path with my training. With an Ironman on the race schedule it is important for me to get fit enough to do the training necessary to get in Ironman shape. If I'm not "ready to train" by April 4 I have basically no chance of reaching my goals come race day.

A few years ago I started to think of my training over the course of a month as opposed to just thinking about what each particular week was about. The change in focus has allowed me to back off when the legs feel a bit spent without the guilt of missing or having a poor workout. If that long run gets bounced from Saturday to next Tuesday, no big deal.

For the month of January the main goal was to start the process of rebuilding my fitness. Over the 31 days of January the goal was to get my training back up to full capacity, building volume and workload over the course of the month. Strength and muscular endurance were an overriding theme.

In general I achieved these goals. Training volume was consistent from week to week, averaging 12+ hours consistently. The final week of the month was scheduled for recovery. After the Lehigh Valley was hit with 32 inches of snow on January 23, I decided to move the recovery week up a few days. By making such a switch I took any internally produced pressure I may have had to run long on a treadmill out of the equation. Plus, shoveling and snow blowing all that snow was an added bit of work not. Having monthly goals made the funny looking weekly workloads OK!!!

Here's how it all broke down:

Swim: The goal here was to get in the pool on a consistent basis, build up total volume as well as yardage per session, and start working on my pathetic kick. All of that happens. I was in the pool 4x each week, increasing my weekly yards from roughly 10k the first week to 12k the last week. I added a kick set to 3 workouts each week, with the exception of week 2 due to time constraints. I did a 1k test at the end of the month, swimming it in 14:10. Not great, but a good place for me at the end of January.

Sometimes a run outside is just not an option ...

Bike: The major goal for the month here was two-fold: first I needed to get my winter volume up after taking a few months essentially off from riding; and, two, start the (hopefully) two month process of rebuilding my FTP. Most of the mileage/hours were done solo on the trainer as Bethlehem in January is not conducive to early morning riding. Weekend weather did allow for a few rides outside, which gave me a nice break. Overall I would call the month a success as I was seeing better numbers during intervals while not destroying my body for days after. Not back quite yet, but another month of consistent saddle time should do the trick.

Run: As I stated last month, of the three disciplines this is the one that requires the most care. After two years of low run volume/frequency, it is a process to get me back to where I need to be come July 24th. This month the concern was frequency, making sure the body can handle the pounding of running on a regular basis again. Total volume was less of a concern with no real target for weekly mileage. I did not want to put a number in my head that I "had" to reach. More important to see the gradual increase than hurt myself right out of the box.

After 31 days and 21 runs I enter February feeling much, much better when I run. Overall mileage has been trending up while average pace has been trending slightly lower. Just as important running feels easier than it did in December and I feel like I am starting to get my legs back under me.

Strength and Mobility: This was an easy success for me in January. After a few months of consistent focus in this area I have continued forward in a consistent manner. Even as my swim/bike/run have started to increase I continue to get stronger on the major lifts. Mobility training has been positive as well.

Racing: No racing this month. Sometimes you just have to train.

Overall: December turned out to be a good month. The workload was not unreasonable by any stretch of the imagination, but slowly built over the 4 1/2 weeks. I started the new year feeling fresh and fit enough to start the base training period on January 4.

What's Happening in February? Once again there are no races on the schedule, just steady training. In the pool I will continue to work my kick, extend my longer swim sessions, and work the high end. By the end of the month I expect to be hitting the same FTP numbers on the bike I held at the end of my 2015 racing. Assuming the weather cooperates my weekend long rides will get a bit longer, but nowhere near long. I enjoy riding outside in the winter, but I do not believe in putting in overly long rides before it is necessary. Mentally I will be better come April if I keep these on the (relatively) short side. And if weekends are for $h!t, I'll stay inside and get less volume as a result. On the run the goal is to continue to build muscular endurance and durability. After "just running" in January, February will feature hill work during the week. Strength and Mobility work is about continuing to build on the work I have done these past few months.

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Training Review: December 2015

If you've been following me for a while you know that I have become very comfortable looking at my training on a monthly basis, having an agenda that extends for roughly 30 days at a time. Back when I was a coached athlete I had trouble with the weekly nature of the focus. The problem wasn't the plan, but me. If it was on the paper I would do it, regardless of how I might have been feeling that day. Pushing through worked for a while, eventually leading to tired legs and sub-optimal performances.

Winter has finally arrived.

December was a transition month from the restfulness of the off-season into the day-to-day grind of Ironman training. Looking back at my training journal November was a month of little training volume and virtually no intensity in any of the three disciplines. This I expected. October, while I did train for and race in the Philadelphia R&R 1/2 Marathon, was much more relaxed than I remembered. I continued to run, even increasing mileage in mid-month as part of my prep. where I surprised myself was the lack of swimming and biking. For the most part I had taken October off from both.

Needless to say, I entered December with a dropped level of fitness.

Fortunately, this is exactly what I was going for. In order to get better you need to sometimes take a step backwards, allowing the body and mind to heal. Taking time away from training (but still exercising) brings back the desire to train and train hard.

My goals for December were simple. Over the 31 days I needed to just be consistent, slowly building volume over the month.

Swim: Started out the month with a few easy swims and gradually built up the total time per week each week, with the exception of Christmas week, which schedule just didn't allow me to get to the pool as much as I may have wanted to. Or not. It's the holidays and there were things more important than trying to squeeze in a swim workout just to get some yards. By the end of the month I was feeling better in the pool and swimming a reasonable amount.

Bike: After pretty much taking the previous two months off, December was very consistent. The good weather helped, giving me time outside every week, including a Christmas Eve ride in shorts and a short sleeved jersey in 70 degree weather!!! Not being exclusively stuck in the basement and/or riding in extreme cold weather is big motivation. Still, reality is no matter how warm the weather is for December, riding at 6 am requires me to embrace the trainer. The volume this time of year is always low. Power gradually started to come back to a respectable level, but not where it eventually will be.

Run: Of the three disciplines this is the one that requires the most care. My mileage has been low for two years now, averaging under 20 mile per week over that time. With Ironman on the agenda, December started the slow process of rebuilding run specific fitness and muscular endurance. It's a big project that will take months. December was a good start. I did run a 5 mile race (see below for some details) as well as my annual NYE South Mountain Run.

Strength and Mobility: For the first time in years I managed to not slack on strength and mobility work during the Summer and Fall. Turns out that is helpful when you get to the off season as you don't have a rebuilding process. I ended the month stronger than I have been in years.

Racing: I did actually do a race in December. I ran hard but didn't truly race it. Every year since 1998 I have done the XMas City 5 Mile Run in Bethlehem, PA. It is held on the second Saturday of December and is a great excuse to hang out with friends, grabbing a post-race meal with anyone who can come. Once again Rick did a great job, putting on an excellent race, selling out early with what had to be a record number of participants. I ran a 33:32, which was fine. More important, I enjoyed myself doing the only speed work for the month.

Overall: December turned out to be a good month. The workload was not unreasonable by any stretch of the imagination, but slowly built over the 4 1/2 weeks. I started the new year feeling fresh and fit enough to start the base training period on January 4.

What's Happening in January? There are no races on the schedule, just steady training. In all three disciplines I intend to be at full winter volume by the end of the month. In the pool I will be working on my weak kick. On the bike it is about building strength and getting the wattage back up to where I was at at the end of last season. Running is all about building muscular endurance.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Training Review: April 2015

Considering that today is May 19th, this is a bit of a late update. Been busy lately with work, life, and of course a nice dose of swim/bike/run. Yes, April finally gave us some good weather (and early morning light) in the Lehigh Valley, getting me back outside on an everyday basis. So, so nice. And not having time for the blog because I'm training ... I don't see that as much of a problem.

April is the month where I start to get more serious about what I am doing. The plan was to get more volume while continuing the strength and muscular endurance work, especially on the bike. Consistency would be the key in the pool. The run would continue to be about getting my old, slow legs faster.

County Road 519 near P'burg, NJ

Swim: Last month I discussed how I needed to get more consistent with the swim. I am not a swimmer, but have made myself into an OK triathlon swimmer. This means I have developed enough of a stroke to stay competitive but not enough to be competitive in a pool. For the past 6 years I actively focused on my swim with big (for a non-swimmer) volume. The lack of focus here has shown in the pool time so far in 2015. April was a bit better, but not what it probably should have been. I tried .... kinda ... to make that happen. And to an extent it did.

Bike: Consistency and interval work. Early in the month I was forced inside a few times due to weather issues. This worked fine as it gave me a controlled environment for some specific interval work. By mid-month I had rid myself of the trainer and have been out on the roads full time. Monday evenings have become group ride night for me and Cassie, joining the Lehigh Wheelmen Monday Night "A" Ride three times. What a great group to ride with!!! A few Sunday mornings I have been joining Char's Kick Ass Milford Ride for some long miles and hills. Again, a super group of people to spend a few hours with on two wheels. And the muffins at the Milford Station Bakery are second to none.

Overall I had a good month of riding. Nice long rides combined with targeted interval sessions have helped my FTP improve. I look forward to racing.

Run: Consistency and intensity have been the keys for my run so far in 2015. April continued this trend with 3-4 runs each week. Long runs have been moderate in distance, a big departure from how I trained prior to 2014. Huge volume isn't in the cards for me any more which I am completely fine with. My short race times have been coming down again and I am starting to feel fast for me. Will I ever be the fastest runner out there? Hell no. Do I care? Not as long as I feel I am doing my best.

The one setback I did have was a small issue with my left calf a week out from the St. Luke's Half Marathon. It is a problem I have had before and I followed my standard protocol. I immediately shut the run down for five days and got into Joe's office for massage therapy. By Saturday I was able to run. That Sunday I raced as planned.

Racing: After a 5k in March I had two of the older Lehigh Valley races on the schedule for April - Emmaus 4 Miler and the St. Luke's Half Marathon. Emmaus is a very hilly course and much to my delight I had a good day, running an unexpected PR time of 25:36, winning my age group and placing 16th overall on April 12th. Two weeks later I ran a 1:34:59 at the 1/2 marathon. Not my best time, but a solid effort. Definetly an effort I hope to improve on at my next standalone half later this year. You can find my race report here.


Overall: April was a good month. I was consistent with everything but the swim, including strength training twice a week, which I really haven't mentioned for whatever reason. The two running races went well, and I entered May ready to race some triathlon.

What's happening in May? Now that we are into nice weather the bike volume/intensity will continue to increase. On the run the focus will be track workouts - yes, track workouts - with a moderate long run duration. There will be no 20 mile runs for Jon!!! With no long triathlons or marathons on the schedule there is no reason to put the stress on my body of crazy long runs. In the pool I am simply looking for consistency.

I will be racing Jerseyman Triathlon mid-month along with the Tortoise & Hare 5k on Memorial Day as a run fitness test.


Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Training Review: March, 2015

So far 2015 has been about three things - strengthening the body after knee surgery in 2014, resetting the mind to be able to stay fresh and engaged with my training/racing, and helping some of my training partners reach their 2015 goals.

One of the reasons I became a self-trained triathlete was because I would do whatever I was told to do for that week. Didn't matter what the legs felt like, had a nagging little injury, or if I even felt like doing it for that matter, if it had been written it must get completed. The problem was not Coach, the problem was me.

The largest change I made had nothing to do with volume or intensity, but instead with time frames. Everything I did previously was based on a 7 day week and what I needed to get done over that set period of time. Today I think about what I want to accomplish each month. By changing my way of thinking I can push a workout from Saturday to next Tuesday without thinking I just blew my week. Weekly workload can look vastly different from week-to-week, but who cares? The point (at least for me) is not to pump out miles for the sake of miles, but to build fitness and get as fast as I can come race day.

The month of March was about staying healthy, getting stronger and even a short race. These first few months of the year have been lower volume by design. Without any serious racing on the horizon there has been no reason to physically and mentally bury myself. Here, then, is how March shook out:

Swim: If there is one area that I have slacked off it is in the pool. Most weeks I have been getting in 3 swims. Most. I have intended to get an extra session in on the weekend just about every week which has not happened since early January. I have also thought about getting to the pool before work, but that hasn't happened either as I really do not like the early AM swim. Bottom line is, if I were to race today my swim would not be up to where it has been.

I am perfectly OK with this. In past years I have spend a lot of time getting my swim times to a respectable level. At just about any triathlon my swim times come in around the top 10%. I did not grow up a swimmer and do not want to put in the work needed to get to the next level. Coming into 2015 my plan has not been to emphasize the swim and I have held to that up to this point.

Will most definitely will be spending some time
riding on this road.

Bike: Weather conditions have made riding outside just about impossible since the beginning of the year. Thus, riding equals the trainer. After taking a few easier months, in March I started to push the intensity level on those trainer sessions, limiting the sheer volume of work. I have never been a big fan of mindless hours of indoor riding. If I can make it 90 minutes 2 or 3 times in a winter it is a lot. I am not pro triathlete Andy Potts who does all of his bike training inside. Traffic aside, I enjoy being outdoors on two wheels.

The time I spent on the trainer in March was a productive combination of strength work, power work, and muscular endurance sessions. The last two weekends the weather broke enough for me to get outside for rides in the 20-25 mile range. Entering April I feel good about the progress I have made on the bike.

Run: If there is one area of my racing that can be improved on it is most definitely my run. In both local and regional triathlons I have been able to hang with the better athletes up to T2. From there ... hasn't exactly been what I think I am ultimately capable of. In the past, my run training has been more focused on long distance endurance than speed. Always figured this would get me where I wanted to go while limiting the stress on the body.

Warm Hearts 5k

I have decided to take a different approach in 2015, concentrating on shorter distances and speed work. The big news here is I have been making it out to the track on a regular basis. This is a big deal for me. I have never been a fan of the track. Being that I am a fan of trying to improve I will continue to go back and see where it gets me.

Racing: For the first time since December 2014 I signed up for and completed a race. The Warm Hearts 5k on March 14th gave me the opportunity to see where I was at after a laid back off-season. Not a bad effort, running a 19:47, placing 5th overall and 1st in Men 40-49. My race report can be found here.

Overall: A good month of training that gives me a good place to start some more serious training.

What's April All About?: The month of April will be about starting to build some volume into my training while continuing to stress strength and muscular endurance. In the pool I need to get more serious and stop blowing off workouts. The goal is to get 3 days of swimming in each week and bump up the yardage. On the bike I have to start riding hillier terrain and increasing my long rides. You can simulate hills somewhat on the trainer, for surer, but it still isn't the same as actually riding up a hill. Speed work will continue to be my focus on the run.

I have two races planned as well. On April 12th I'll be racing the Emmaus 4 Miler with The Mayor and The Queen. There will be no taper just a good hard run and another test of where I am. Then on April 26th I'll be once again racing The St. Luke's Lehigh Valley Half Marathon. After a winter of low run mileage and not a whole lot of long runs in me the main goal here is to run a 1:30, or a 6:52/mile pace. Hopefully I'm not being too aggressive with this goal.


Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

2015 Race Schedule and a Training Update

There's a good reason why I haven't talked about training all that much lately: since Ironman I haven't done a whole lot of training. Yes, I have exercised. But very little of what I have done since November 1, 2014 could be considered training.

And to be completely honest it has been a great thing. Getting ready for an Ironman is a huge task, taking up not just massive amounts of time, but also major amounts of mental capacity. I have done enough long distance racing to understand the need to give it a break. As someone with a long-term perspective on sport, I always pick and choose what I do with the big picture in mind.

Source

I raced my first race in 1995 and have been around the Lehigh Valley scene ever since. I have witnessed many fine athletes come and go for a variety of reasons. Most leave the scene because they either physically beat their bodies up to the point where they can no longer do it, or they burned out so bad they just flat out quit. And here I am 20 years later, just like the Energizer Bunny, still going and going and going. Not the best athlete you will ever meet, but consistent.

The difference has been my ability to kick it back and embrace not always being "in shape." My off-season has never included a race schedule. Yes, I have done races - specifically xMas City 5 Miler - during my down time, but always as a fun run, never pushing the envelope.

Right now, I am not "in shape" for much of anything. I am weighing in 7-8 pounds heavier than my race weight with my longest workout this year being an 11 mile run with The Mayor two Saturday's ago. Hard to believe I ran a marathon off the bike just 3 1/2 months ago.

January had two goals: 1. Start the process of getting strong again and 2. Train consistent.

Win! Win! The first four weeks of the year I stuck to an unaggressive training schedule with what I consider to be low volume. Monday's were no-cardio days and I was lifting weights 2-3 days per week. Some of the strength training has been done in a traditional sense with functional strength workouts thrown in on a regular basis. Long workouts have been limited to 1 hour.

The first two weeks of February have been a continuation of January with a slight increase in what a long workout looks like. In the pool I have not done more than 3000 yards in any one session, no run longer than the one 11 miler, and there is no way in hell I'm spending much more than an hour sitting on my trainer.

Six weeks into the year I can honestly say I am in nowhere near competitive race shape ... which is perfect. If you are in race shape in February, come June you could be in trouble. And by October ... maybe you are more hardcore than I am, but I would be physically and/or mentally wrecked.

Been there. Done that. Not going back.

Anywho ... I have always felt that racing is a personal thing. When I choose to do an event or a distance I choose to do it because I want to do it. Yes, I will race with friends, sometimes even to just help them reach their own goals. But even when doing that, I am there by choice.

Which brings us to 2015. After so many years of racing long I am taking a much different year for myself. One thing with racing long is you can only do so much of it. When I was running marathons I would do 2 or maybe 3 each year. Ironman years are dedicated to one or two races at the most. For a few years I have been talking about changing things up and racing bike and racing shorter events. This is the year.

For triathlon my goal race is the TriRock Philly Triathlon in June and the NJ State Tri in July. In Philadelphia I am looking to grab a PR at the Olympic distance and (finally) win my age group. I know you can't control who shows up, but I still want to win my age group at this race. It is one of my favorites and I have come so close in the past. In NJ I want to put together a great race. The bike is long (25.5 miles) so it is not a true Olympic distance. I always love racing in my native New Jersey as the competition is always high quality and it feels like being home.

There is also the possibility of a September Ironman 70.3. I haven't made a commitment to it yet. Honestly have to see how things go and if I want to commit to the work necessary to be in shape. Right now I'm leaning yes. Getting ready would be committing to long runs of 1:45 and long rides in the 3 hour range, not 3 hour runs and 5 hour rides.

On the bike there is a Thursday night crit series in Trexlertown. My plan is to start riding these races on a regular basis and try my luck at one or two of the local time trials that are held in the Summer months. It is time I test my bike and see what I can do without the need to run to the finish line.

Current 2015 Tentative Race Schedule:

March, 22 - Warm Hearts 5k (paid)

April 12 - Emmaus 4 Mile Classic (paid)

April 26 - St. Lukes Half Marathon (paid)

May 16 - Jerseyman Sprint Triathlon (paid)

May 31 - Black Bear Triathlon (OLY) (tentative)

June 28 - TriRock Philadelphia (OLY) (paid)

July 19 - New Jersey State Triathlon (OLY) (paid)

August 9 - Steelman Triathlon (OLY)

October 16-18 - Runners World 10k or Half Marathon (tentative)


And there you have it. For the first time in years I plan on racing more and racing short.


Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Ironman Training Review: July, 2014

So far 2014 has been more about training and recovering from surgery, not racing. Yes, I did go out and "race" Jerseyman Triathlon in the aquavelo division a few weeks after surgery. And yes, I also went to Eagleman 70.3 and did the swim and bike before handing in my chip (still couldn't run). But that wasn't racing. Those events were more about just getting out there and proving to myself I could still toe the line. Nothing more, nothing less.

That has changed. On July 4th I raced the Firecraker 4 miler in Palmer Township and I did the Steelman Open Water Swim (OWS) on July 14th in Quakertown. I didn't do a specific write up on either event because ... well, I really don't know. I just didn't. Both events went well.

For the 4 mile run my plan was to just go out and see what I was capable of doing 11 weeks post-surgery. With minimal running miles - none fast - I entered the race with no expectations other than getting a baseline. Run hard, see what happens.

Photo Credit: LVLive.com Firecracker 4-Miler 

What happened was an official time of 26:01 on a slightly short course. According to my Garmin the course was 3.89 miles and my avg. pace was 6:38/mile. No one was more surprised than me. If I had held a 7:20 pace I would have been ecstatic. Something to be said about having base fitness.

Best part of training is going to places you
would normally not in the company of friends

Next up was Steelman OWS on July 13. This is an event I added into the schedule when I made the decision to forego racing Ironman Couer d'Alene. After entering the 5k swim a few years ago I have since stayed with the more sane, 1.5 mile race. My total time was 43:44, just a few seconds slower than my PR, good enough for 4th in AG40-49. Clearly, nobody showed up in my AG, and the time was satisfactory. The water was a bit choppy and I didn't feel like I swam particularly straight all day.


Here's the breakdown for July (and the first 3 days of August):

Swim: Admittedly I had trouble getting to the pool this month. When I got there, motivation was waning. After 10+ years of training in the pool I finally hit a stretch where I just wasn't as motivated as I should be this time of year. I attribute the situation to a number of factors - no need to put huge volume in with my A race so far away; not having an outside pool to swim at as I have had for the past 5 Summers; a bit of swimming burnout.

This past week I emerged from my funk and had three quality swims.

Bike: Unlike the swim there is no lack of motivation to ride. In a little more than a month I logged 883 miles in the saddle, finishing off the month with my longest ride of the year (81 miles). Not just logging miles, I have completed the specific workouts I had scheduled, including my favorite - hill repeats on Applebutter Road. The only real "lost" bike ride this month was the result of a horrendous thunderstorm that left the Wednesday Night Ride stranded in the park for 40+ minutes waiting for it to pass.

One of my favorite roads in the Lehigh Valley

On July 27th I did my last ride with the Sunday Morning Cycle Fitters group that rides from the Jersey side of the free bridge in P'burg for the next few months. This is a great group of riders, led by Charr, with a desire to find the biggest hills on the Jersey side of the boarder and climb them. While I will miss the group, I need to have long rides that are more focused on the steady-state riding necessary for Ironman Florida.

No worries, I'll still be riding hills and will be back charging up those hills with the group once I've recovered from IMFL.

Run: Things are going well. I have managed 4 runs per week for the past four weeks without any knee issues. Volume is nowhere near where it has been in the past, nor will it be as I prepare for IMFL. Reality for me is the next three months will be an experiment of n=1. In the past I have responded very well to volume ... which just can't happen now or likely ever again. Uncharted territory to say the least.

I did, however, do my research and have a plan of what I want to do. Theory is nice so now we have to see how it plays out in the real world. The next test will be at the two Olympic distance triathlons I have scheduled for this month (Steelman and TriRock Asbury Park) and then at Pocono 70.3 on September 14. If I can run reasonably well I continue on the path I am charting. If not, we reassess the situation.

Overall: I'm starting to feel pretty good again and, more importantly, my body feels ready to take the pounding of Ironman training. Good thing as $hit gets real now. Starting now (August 4) I need to stay focused on the big picture and Ironman Florida.

This will be the last weekly report as I will move to weekly updates up through Ironman Florida.


Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon


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Ironman Training Review: June,2014

Ironman Training Review: April & May, 2014

Ironman training Review: March, 2014

Ironman Training Review: February, 2014

Ironman Training Review: January, 2014

2014 - The Year for Ironman Racing

Ironman Training Review: June, 2014

Normalcy. It's what I have been wanting to have in my training all year. Normalcy, in my world, is swim-bike-run-eat-sleep repeat week in and week out. When the winter weather breaks, with a few exceptions, training is done outdoors, and my basic week looks the same. Week, after week, after week. Not that I don't like change ... but I really don't like change when it comes to my routine.

I love my routine!!!

And the routine I oh so love, well, it has evolved into what it is over the past 15 years or so. Really, since I started training for my first Ironman in 2006 things have/had been steady, consistent. I take Rule #2 very serious.

After dealing with the crappiest winter we have seen in Pennsylvania in a long time, then injury, the first five months of this year were less than consistent to say the least. June, however, changed all that, hopefully for good. I've been back at it on a regular basis, even raced a bit.

Here's how June worked out:

Swim: Three to four times each week I was at LA Fitness, in the pool. With Ironman CDA off the table I backed off my weekly volume, opting for shorter, harder sessions. I didn't test this month so I kept my CSS pace at 1:21/100. It has been there for a while now, which I'm totally OK with. Normally when bike and run volume pick up I struggle in the pool. Tired legs and all. This year it feels a bit different. I don't know if it is the lower run volume coming off the layoff, but my swim pacing hasn't deteriorated. In fact, I PRed a few of my standard workouts this month. Whatever it is, I'll take it and call it a win in the pool.

Eagleman 70.3

Bike: My riding has been pretty darn good. I pre-planned my DNF at Eagleman 70.3 on June 8, riding within myself at a PR time of 2:22:xx. I didn't/couldn't run, but felt great coming into T2. If I could have physically run I feel like I had a good run in me. Could it be the limited run mileage? Maybe. Could it be delusion? Maybe, but I don't think so.

This season I have done two things with bike training a bit different than in years past. First, I have taken interval training seriously. I really enjoy riding my bike and, in years past, would get a lot of miles in. Those miles tended to be more exercising than training, if you know what I mean. Last season I decided I needed to train more and exercise less, so intervals became more of a regular presence. At the Great Six Flags Triathlon I broke a long standing PR at the Olympic distance (40k) on a technical course that featured 1000 feet of vertical that I attribute to the interval work (race report). It seemed to work so I kept on doing it.

The second thing I have done is more climbing, even though it's not my favorite thing. In the past I have shied away from a lot of climbing when I am on my own. If I have a choice between doing some nice steady-state riding or up and down all day, put me in the aerobars and let me go. Not that I'm a bad climber ... it's just not my preference.

On most Wednesdays and Sundays I have been out on group rides that force me to hit the hills. Even better, one ride meets in Easton, riding mainly in Western NJ, while the other group rides in Lehigh County, PA. The Lehigh Valley and the surrounding area has some great roads for riding with climbs of all sorts. These two rides have really been a big help. As an added bonus: I get to suffer while making others suffer with me!!!

Overall mileage and intensity has been good, consistent from week to week. Let's call this a win.

Eagleman Pre-Race

Run: Coming off knee surgery I have been slowly reintroducing the run back into my routine. In June I ran 2-3 times each week, separating runs with 1-3 days. As the month progressed I was able to lengthen the distance from 1-2 miles up to 4 miles each run. Reality is I don't want to have any setbacks so I have not been aggressive. My fear has been that after four months with little to no time on my feet there is a real risk of problems other than my knee. I would rather slowly gear it back up than suffer a calf strain or hamstring issue that keeps me from running for a few weeks.

Overall mileage is low and runs are of the just gettin' it the miles variety. Not what I would like, but better than it could be at this point in time. Not there yet so I call this a draw.

Overall: Fitness is coming back. When I raced Eagleman I really raced on base fitness. By the end of June I feel like I am starting to get into better shape and will be prepared to start my Ironman specific prep for Ironman Florida on time. July will be a continuation of June, building strength and rebuilding fitness.

I have two races planned for July - Firecracker 4-Miler (run) and Steelman OWS (swim) - and then two Olympic distance triathlons in August (Steelman and TriRock Asbury Park) to test my fitness and durability.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon


Related Posts:

Ironman Training Review: April & May, 2014

Ironman training Review: March, 2014

Ironman Training Review: February, 2014

Ironman Training Review: January, 2014

2014 - The Year for Ironman Racing

Ironman Training Review: April & May, 2014

It has been two months since I last posted a monthly training review and a whole lot has happened during that time. Of all the things that have happened, almost none of them were on listed on my season training plan. If all had gone according to schedule I would be just about ready to start tapering for Ironman Coeur D'Alene on June 29th. Instead of being Ironman race ready, I'm just starting to build fitness. Here's what's been going on:

First, Ironman Coeur d'Alene isn't going to happen this year. The Queen basically told me that there was no reason to travel across the country to go have a bad experience. With training not being what it should have been for a variety of reasons (see below for more details), she made too much sense for me to disagree. There are always other races, including Ironman Florida, which I'm signed up to do this November.

Second, Knee Surgery. On April 16 The Queen drove me over to the Westfield Hospital to get surgery on my right meniscus. The actual procedure took only 30 minutes, but the process took up most of the day. We headed home and, for most of the next 5 days, I sat on our couch with a few books, my iPad, and Netflix. The long version of the story can be found here.

That post was written one week after the surgery. A few days later I was cleared to ride bike inside on my trainer for no more than 30 minutes ... which, of course, I heard to mean "ride for 30 minutes." Over the course of a week I gradually pushed a little bit harder each day. Not hard, mind you, just a bit more work than the day before. Then, after spending a weekend in Washington DC cheering on The Queen at the Nike Woman's Half Marathon, I received the OK to start riding outside again.

Third, the reality that my pre-surgery training hadn't been all that great. Looking back, even discounting for three months of not running, my swim and bike were both affected by the tear in my meniscus. I was in denial at the time, but soon after getting back on the bike it became obvious just how much I had been struggling. With my knee constantly swollen and painful, riding outside became a different experience. For all but one ride I stayed close to home and on flatish roads.Why? Well, it hurt to pedal in a standing position so hills were out of the question. And with some pain and swelling, I thought it was prudent to stay close to home as I preferred to not have to make the call for the pussy pickup (and by pussy pickup I mean when you have to call to get a ride home because something happened, not this).

With playgrounds that look like this, who
wouldn't want to ride their bike 

Fourth, the combination of crappy weather, too much indoor training, and my achy knee resulted in a lack of motivation to train. Nothing more to say here, but hard to preform at the Ironman distance if you aren't willing to do the work.

Fifth, said lost motivation has been found once again.

So here's how it all has gone down. April started off with no running but some good swims and (finally) some riding outside. Swimming was fairly normal but the bike, not so much. While I was happy to be outside again on a somewhat regular basis, I was counting down the days to get my knee fixed.

After the April 16 surgery I basically spent 5 days on the couch, followed by a week of limited riding bike on the trainer. for no more than 30 minutes ... which, of course, I heard to mean "ride for 30 minutes." Over the course of a week I gradually pushed a little bit harder each day. Not hard, mind you, just a bit more work than the day before.

That weekend we traveled to Washington DC where The Queen was running  the Nike Woman's Half Marathon. She pulled off a big 5 minute PR. Probably not the ideal situation, my knee was able to withstand some 5+ miles of walking and too many hours in the car.

April 28th I was cleared to start riding outside which I did immediately after work that day. Not fast. Not hard. But I was back outside on two wheels. Happy, happy, joy, joy!!!

After three months in the closet, had a little
dusting off to do.

Using the same structure as I did for the indoor riding, I started with a few short, easy rides, gradually adding a little more intensity to each ride. By the weekend I felt comfortable with adding in some vertical, which went off without a speck of pain or swelling.

May 1st I was cleared to start swimming again. Never been so happy to be back in the pool.

May 17th I raced the AquaVelo division (aka "The Injuryed Guy Division") at the Jerseyman Triathlon in Clinton, NJ. I had signed up early in the year for what was to be a shake off the cobwebs race. You can find the race report here.

From there it has been a matter of continuing to rehab the knee, which won't be 100% for some time, working on rebuilding my fitness and building a plan for November's IMFL with the least amount of running necessary to be successful.

Which speaking of running, I did some of that last week!!! Three short and slow runs, but it was actual running.

Anyway, I fell really, really lucky. The recovery has been on the fast side of average and I am back doing what I enjoy. In fact, last week was the first week of 2014 I was able to get a full week of training completed without any issues. Which leave me looking forward once again to a great 2014 race season.

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Ironman Training Review: March, 2014

As far as training goes, to say that March was not the month I expected it to be would be an understatement. After two months of horrid weather and relatively low volume (but high intensity), March was designed to be a transition month into race specific prep for Ironman Couer d'Alane. Total volume would increase while intensity would continue, but with more emphasis on long interval sets.

What actually happened is my right meniscus has a small but painful tear which requires surgery. As a result, any planned racing for the first half of the year is not going to happen (including IMCDA). While I had a great plan coming into 2014, shit happens and things change. I have a general idea of what I want to do in the back half of the year to get ready for IM Florida, but need to see how surgery goes and how fast I'm able to start training again. My plan is to be very conservative and err on the side of doing less. You can read more about it here.

With that said, here's how the month of March worked out:

Strength Training: March is a transition month. I still strength train 2x per week, but less volume and less emphasis on continuously adding weight to basic exercises. With knee issues I moved away from basic squats and into single leg movements. I'm still deadlifting. Core work increased slightly over February.

Swim: Weekly yardage was up, with the exception of a swim recovery week in week three. Well, more like I was a bit bummed about my knee and used that as an excuse. That small transgression aside, I was able to hold my CSS pace at 1:21/100. On the surface this doesn't sound all that great. But ... and this is a big but ... unlike years past I haven't slowed down with the increase in bike miles (see below). Also, I have been doing some serious pull sets this year, which have been getting slowly but consistently faster. I'll call that a win in the pool.

Bike: March is a month I generally get approx. half my riding done outside and half inside due to weather and sunlight issues (gotta hate when work gets in the way). With the early daylight savings clock switch, riding before work doesn't really work until April, and in the evening I can't get onto the bike much before 6 pm on a good day. So what happens is I usually manage 1-2 days during the week outside and then both Saturday and Sunday. The other days are on the trainer. As it worked out the weekend long ride has been progressively longer, overall time in saddle has been where I expected, and HIIT sessions on the trainer have been effective. With the knee issue I haven't been as aggressive as I'd normally be, but I'm pretty much where I expected to be entering April.

Run: The month started out with two weeks of 3 runs per week with OK mileage and ended with an appointment with a surgeon. On March 9 I went out for a short recovery run and around 3.75 miles I felt a pain in my right knee. After consulting with my doctor it was concluded that either I reinjured the knee or the cyst that was in the knee area burst. A few weeks of rest would tell us what actually happened. On March 27 I did a short test run and the results weren't good. Needless to say I haven't run since.

Overall: If I were a pessimist I would certainly call March a disaster. When the highlights are sub-par training volume and being able to run, there's a problem. After facing reality and backing out of IMCDA due to the knee surgery I scheduled,  I should be really, really bummed right now. But I'm not. I have chosen to take this setback in stride. After many years of training and racing without major injury it was my time. Please don't misunderstand, I am not happy about having my plans drastically changed. Believe me, I would like nothing more than to be outside running 30, 40, or 50 mile per week and preparing to race Ironman in June.

Source

I prefer to concentrate on the positive. My fitness is up, my swim is in good shape, and my bike legs are coming back. After recovering from surgery the plan is to slowly increase run mileage. The big goal for the year continues to be Ironman Florida and the time away from running, something that hasn't happened since I started seriously running in the mid-1990s, cannot be a bad thing. November 2 is a long time away.

Between now and then I will do what needs to be done to make sure I am fully prepared when I step into the Gulf of Mexico. Racing this year will be different that originally planned. Some planned races aren't going to happen while others will be on the schedule. Training will be different as well. I have a number of ideas for both ... just need to get through surgery and back out running before I can make any hard decisions.


Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon


Related Posts:

Ironman Training Review: February, 2014

Ironman Training Review: January, 2014

2014 - The Year for Ironman Racing

Ironman Training Review: February, 2014

Last month I ended my review of my January Ironamn training by noting that I can't wait for the weather to break. Well, here in Eastern PA we are still waiting for something that resembles nice weather. Turns out,  as bad a weather month as January turned out to be, February was worse. We had snow, and more snow, and then a bit of ice in the middle of more snow. The Queen had half the month off from teaching!!! It hasn't been the worst winter season, but it is darn close. Fortunately the temperature has been cold enough to keep the snow around ...

Last I looked, nobody ever moved a race date because of crappy training weather in the months leading up to the race. Thus, we carry on ... albeit with more inside training than I would like. Not always the most fun, but sometimes you do the workout because you have to, not because you really want to. I would much rather suck it up inside in February than suffer in June because I let the weather be an excuse to blow off workouts.

We've had more than our fair share of snow this year.

February training was designed to be a continuation of what I was doing in January with slightly more volume. On the bike, build strength; in the pool, speed and technique. The run, due to my knee issues, the plan was to simply run and not do damage.

Strength Training: February was a continuation of January with 2x/week of hitting the weights. Still doing basic exercises my overall strength is good as we enter March. On my to major lifts - squats and deadlifts - I ended the month stronger than I entered it. There was much core work done as well as specific training to address some imbalances that are contributing to the knee problems. The focus starting in March will change with less overall emphasis on basic strength training and more on core as well as swim/bike/run.

Swim: Weekly yardage was up a bit to an average of approx. 9,000 over three swims per week. I tested early in month (400Y/200Y) swimming both timed intervals faster than January and surprisingly faster than expected. Since the beginning of the year I have been working on my threshold using the protocol from Swim Sense. You can find the deets here. I have worked my way down to where my CSS pace is 1:21/100Y. For my main set each week I have mainly stuck with 8-10x200 on 20 sec rest. Sounds easy enough, right? Don't bet on it.

First time in 3 years I've had to bust
out the really cold weather gear.

Bike: The weather in February was more of the same. And by more, I mean more snow, more rutty roads, more brutally cold days, and more time spent on a trainer than I would like. The HIIT sessions during the week are getting me strong, but workouts are relatively short in duration. Fortunately the weather on weekends was just good enough so I could get outside and ride on 3 of the 4 weekends. All things considered, I'll take it. I enter March feeling good about my strength but knowing I need to start getting in some longer, endurance rides soon.

Run: January run training was a bit of a disaster due to injury. Still not where I would like to be, I have been able to start running again, working to slowly build mileage in a sane way. I was scheduled to race the Myrtle Beach 1/2 Marathon on February 16, but 18 inches of snow cancelled the trip. It was a bummer, but totally out of my control. Instead, I spent some quality time with my snow blower (one way to get outside) and treadmill ... something I have used more this year than ever before. Between the snow and the poor road conditions, I was much better off inside than I would have been on sketchy roads.

The good news is I have been able to run. Overall run mileage is still down, but I have been able to run, even getting in two short transition runs. Long runs have been around 12 miles.The bad news is there is still some pain and all my runs are just running - no intervals or hill repeats, or tempo runs. I am choosing to be positive about the situation, believing it will get resolved and the lower run volume early in the year will benefit me come race day.

Overall: Total training volume was up a little from January. I feel great in the water, strong on the bike, and happy to be able to run. Fitness is up, but bike endurance is a bit behind where I would like it to be.

While the first two months of the year were designed to build strength, March is a month of transition from base-type training to race specific prep. At the start of the month I am just 16 weeks away from IMCDA. Total volume will start to increase in all three disciplines. In the pool this means my endurance sets will be longer as will overall volume. On the bike I will be outside as much as possible. Fortunately, the clocks change on 3/8 giving us light in the evenings. Hopefully this allows me to get outside a few days each week. On the weekends, I'll be outside getting in the miles if at all possible. If the weather doesn't cooperate, longer trainer rides will have to happen. And assuming my knee is ok (I go back to see Doc on Friday 3/7) mileage will slowly grow this month.



Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon


Related Posts:

Ironman Training Review: January, 2014

2014 - The Year for Ironman Racing

Ironman Training Review: January, 2014

As I noted here, I have not one but two full Ironman races on the schedule this year. Big racing takes some big training, but also a long-term perspective. Fitness is not built overnight, but over days/weeks/months of consistent training. Over the years I have learned that the real work is not very glamorous and, at times, can be quite boring. Yes, there are key workouts  along the way. As anyone who has gone through the prep process knows, those workouts are the exception, not the rule.

The basic periodization of an Ironman training plan is quite simple: Start by building base fitness, ramp up the mileage over time, build specific race fitness, taper into the race. Simple, but not easy.

January 1 was the official start date for my 2014 Ironman training. One of my projects during my downtime in December was to put together a broad plan for the year, using Ironman Coure D'alene on June 29 and Ironman Florida on November 1 as my two "A" races. Any other racing would be done as a compliment to these two races.

Winter running in the Lehigh Valley (Towpath at Sand Island)

For January the original plan was to put in some solid miles on the run, building up mileage over the month, build strength on the bike, and strength and stamina in the pool. The total volume would be relatively low. Strength training and core work was also included.

Strength Training: Every year I take a few months and spend some time in the gym with some basic strength exercises. The older we get the more important this becomes. Since I'm getting old, I take it serious. I also take it serious because, although I don't necessarily look like it, I have enjoyed lifting weights for as long as I can remember. The strength focused actually started shortly after the Philly Marathon. During the month of January I deadlifted and squatted more weight than I have in many, many years. I enter February feeling strong.

Swim: For most of the month I kept the weekly yardage in the 8500 yard area, spread out over three swims, with an endurance swim and a speed session each week. After three months of very little swimming, the beginning of the month was a bit of a challenge. My speed was down and longer intervals kinda sucked. By the end of the month all was good and I was back swimming my intervals right where I was at the end of last season. The last week of the month I was in the pool more than originally planned - five times for much higher mileage. More on that below.

Bike: Unlike the last few years, very little of my time in the saddle would be outside. It has been a harsh winter here in NE Pennsylvania. Weekday rides this time of year are always inside (they happen pre-dawn) and weekends have been less than ideal. The limited riding I have done outside has been on the mountain bike, which is a nice change of pace and quite a bit of fun. I'm an old man so I'm not off on crazy trails balling downhill semi-out of control or anything like that. I enter February feeling good about the work I have put in, hitting my volume goal, but with a good chunk of specific work.

Run: Originally, the first few months of 2014 were to be dedicated to higher volume, base run training. A calf strain in mid-December made the planned volume an impossibility. Instead, I build volume over the month, topping out in the mid-30s. This worked fine, but ... and this is a big but ... but there is a knee issue. Not really sure what happened or how it happened, but it did.

Over a few weeks, what appeared to be some normal tendonitis that pops up from time to time was a much different issue. By the end of the month I was hobbling around and not running at all. Something is definitely wrong. I have been to a doctor and will have more when I have a handle on what I am dealing with. Until then we can leave it at I am currently not running due to injury.

Overall: Other than having an injury, I'm pleased with January. My bike feels about right as the swim is exceeding my expectations. The run is a concern right now. Fitness is coming back to where it should be as I am getting stronger. Volume is low and intensity levels are up.

February should be more of the same - strength building on the bike, working on speed and technique in the pool - with a bit more volume. As for the run ... I should have a better idea of what's going on very soon. I am scheduled to run a half marathon in Myrtle Beach, SC in a few weeks which I am highly certain won't be happening. Even if I can run at that point, not sure I will be running enough to go 13.1 miles. It could still happen, but I'm not betting on it.

On another note I have upgraded my tri ride for 2014. I have been riding a Quintana Roo Seduza since 2007. It has been a great bike and I have enjoyed the bike immensely. With many thousands of miles on it I had a choice to make: a major overhaul or buy a new bike. After finding a great deal on a new bike, I purchased a new Quintana Roo Illicito.

Can't wait for the weather to break so I can take her out for a spin.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon