Directions: do basic week - repeat....

The idea of constructing a "basic week" is to help simplify the training schedule. It helps to plan your life (family, work, etc..) on a week-to-week basis if you already know what your training schedule is going to be.

The hope is that by simplifying your training schedule (notice this doesn't necessarily mean take away from your schedule), you will be more consistent with your workouts. When we are honest with ourselves, we know that training "all out" or "hard core" for 3 weeks doesn't really help us improve when we follow that up with 4 weeks of hit-or-miss workout sessions.

One of the two major principles of training is overload (the other is specificity). Let me quote a little piece on overload from the ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription (6th Edition as I still have my undergrad copy):

The principle of overload states that for a tissue or organ to improve its function, it must be exposed to a load to which it is not normally accustomed. Repeated exposure is associated with an adaptation by the tissue or organ that leads to improved functional capacity" pg 138.

The bold is my addition of course, but it drives home the point. It becomes difficult to improve our fitness and therefore our racing abilities when we treat our training in a hit-or-miss manner. So here's my challenge for you today -

Train smart, but more importantly - make sure you train!

This is a post that is meant to drive home this message to me more than it is anyone else. Thanksgiving week turned my "basic week of training" into a "basic week of sitting". As I stepped on the scale yesterday morning, I was amazed that in 5 short days I put on 4.5 pounds and climbing into the pool in the afternoon was more than difficult. Why? The other old training principle, "Use it or lose it" came into effect.

My Basic Week - I figure posting my basic week will motivate me and help keep me accountable, so here it is: Gary's Basic Schedule to Jan 28, 2007 (Excel File)

Here is my annual training plan, so that you can see how this basic week fits into the big picture: Gary's 2007 Annual Training Plan (Excel File)

Welcome to Mideast Multisport.

This is a little bit of news that I have been wanting to share for quite some time...

Nikki and I are a part of a new coaching group located here in Lexington, Kentucky. The name that we chose for the new company is "Mideast Multisport". As the name suggests, we are going to be coaching triathletes, runners, cyclist and swimmers. Each member has their own strengths (notice! mine is not swimming!), so it will be fun to see how I can learn from the other coaches to help fill in my "blind spots" as a coach.

This area (Kentucky specifically) is an absolutely wonderful place to train for triathlon, not to mention as a runner and cyclist. Here's a post I wrote about Lexington's endurance culture and about one famous/world recorder holding local (at the time) runner. The other great news that us Kentuckians heard late this summer, soon after we started this process of creating Mideast Multisport, was that Louisville is the new host of an Ironman race.

The great thing about the way that we set ourselves up is that we will not only be able to help local athletes through clinics and camps, but we worked with workoutlog.com to have an online system that will allow us to effectively coach athletes online.

Hopefully we'll be able to bring in some people from outside our region for our camps too. Kentucky has a lot to offer for a multisport athlete, why not try and share it?

Well.... I'm excited. Check us out at: www.mideastmultisport.com

Coming to a pool near you.

Some inspiration to get out there and work on the swim this winter! This is what I want my swim stroke to look like (don't we all)!

Grant Hackett Swimming Technique




Hackett and Thorpe

Gordo's Notes from Long Course Training Clinic.

I shared my top 10 ideas that I took away from the clinic in Colorado Springs on the 3rd and 4th. Here's a link to Gordo's notes:

Gordo's notes from Long Course Training Clinic.

Here's one thought Gordo had on Bobby McGee's talk:

His best concept... was when he asked that we consider if we are training a central or a peripheral response with our training. Very insightful.

By the end (or even the middle) of an ironman race, most athletes have a peripheral system that is so shot that they have an inability to place a meaningful load on their central system. Ironman is an event that challenges the peripheral system. This is VERY different from nearly all other endurance events (marathons, TTs, road racing, swimming).

I mentioned this idea too in my top 10. I want to know more!! I have been trying to discuss this idea with Jeff, Nikki and a little with Beth this past week, but I don't completely understand it. I intuitively "get it", but not enough to make me happy.

So Gordo or anyone else that happens to read this that has more to add.... please add. Don't leave me hanging! I need more.

Can you imagine going sub 2:30 and still using a very brief walk within the race!?

Is it simple and easy to love....

Is it simple and easy to love others right now or does it mean you have to change who you are?

I know that everyone comes to ditschfitness and gary's fitness blog to see my latest discoveries and thoughts on training to endure in the world of sports. But tonight I'm taking a little bit of slack in that tightly wound rope and talking a little off topic....

or am I? As we look at our own lives and the place that training and racing has in it, is it possible that other areas of our lives (for most of us that is 90% of "us") impact our physical abilities more than we are willing to admit? What role does our spirit play in running 26.2 miles? Can the health of my relationship with Nikki create problems with my physical health? Will a hard day at work require different training zones the next morning? Can my willingness to love others freely actually "free" my breathe?

Here are my thoughts on a couple of these topics, along with an action step on how to incorporate the topics into your training this week (after all, training is a great form of meditation if you free yourself of ... well yourself.)

Simple and Easy ...

This morning sitting and listening to the teaching at our church sevice I heard a very familiar saying,

"Have you ever confused simple and easy".

Most people confuse the idea that being simple means that it will also be easy. It just isn't true. If simple meant easy then everyone would have wonderful eating habits and America wouldn't be cluttered with quick fix programs that don't seem to help anyone but the author. If simple meant easy than sex would always be great and happy; paying bills wouldn't cause any pain; talking on a cell phone wouldn't cause accidents; watching the news wouldn't be so disstressful; and ...

"I love you"

wouldn't be so damn hard for so many people to say(trust me there's a big flashing arrow shining down on me too!).

I don't want to get to deep into the theology of the passage, but the lesson can be appreciated by all. (Re: John 15 and Romans 12:13-16) In order to stay connected to Jesus the disciples were instructed to follow his commandments. Upon hearing this my guilt ridden history and concious makes me ask, "are you kidding me? I may never be able to see the face of Christ again. I am too feable to live up to those standards. Then as I am willing to let my ego go and see that this was interpreted as (John 15:12) loving each other as we were loved. (It wasn't mentioned today but I believe similar ideas are in Matt: 6 about the greatest commandments.)

So simple... yet so damn hard to do.

As I think about this I wonder what damage it does to my body when I am unwilling to let love flow through me to others I come in contact with. Can the attachment that I have to my own ego / self-image actually impact my ability to experience what we might call "optimal health". Because I always seem to think about performance, I wonder, does my attachment to self-image actually impede my performance?

I guess this answer depends on how you view the mind/body connection, if you believe they are seperate, or if we even have a "mind".

Action Step One

As you head out on a run this week, follow these instructions, instead of the normal training zones I might give: set a timer for 5 mins so that you don't have to check your watch throughout, then...

10 min - warm/up, just run

5 min - mindful running. pay close attention to the feel of your feet striking the pavement, notice the strength and support your hips give to your thighs, relax your upper body

5 min - move the attention from your extremities to your breathing, notice the depth, the fullness, the rhythmic pattern

5 min - try and move away from giving your attention to the physical changes happening, move the attention to your thoughts, what is it that comes to the front of your mind first when you move from the very physical to the mindful? Don't be judgmental about the thoughts, just be observant.

5 min - take control of your thoughts and focus on the love that you would like to openly give to others. Think about who it would go to, how it would be displayed and how that person may feel by receiving love from you.

10 min - gradually move your attention away from your thoughts and back to your breathe and body. How does your breathe feel. What is the strength in your legs like?

[edit: I had a lot more typed and to say, but I decided to save it for another day :)]

Resources:

The idea of mind, body, spirit interacting with health and performance has always been an interesting concept for me. Here are some interesting reads that have opened my mind, even if they are not 100% on topic, they have challenged me:

a. Timeless Healing - book
b. Mind Body Medical Institute - website
c. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience - book
d. Flow - wikipedia
e. Your Maximum Mind - book
f. Molecules Of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine - book
g. Spontaneous Healing : How to Discover and Embrace Your Body's Natural Ability to Maintain and Heal Itself - book
h. Wes Sime, Ph.D - google search of a former professor that got me thinking

Long Course Training Clinic - Top 10 Thoughts.

I spent the past weekend (11/3 and 11/4) in Colorado Springs at the Olympic Training Center. It was a great experience that allowed me to accomplish a few things:

1. Spend time discussing Ironman training with others that like to discuss it as much as me.
2. Meet others that already list "coach" as their full-time profession.
3. Listen to Gordo talk about his ideas / concepts in a place where questions could be asked (although I didn't have many questions for him).
4. I got to meet Gordo and his wife Monica.

The Coaches / Presenters

note: these are not the official titles of their talks, just my quick titles.

Monica Byrn - Swimming
Andy Caplan - Swimming (Monica's Brother)
Gordo Byrn - Several topics (race strategy, bike training, etc.)
Susan Williams - General thoughts on training for Ironman
Bobby McGee - Run training for the Ironman
Tim Hola - Training for Ironman for the everyday man or woman

My Top 10 Thoughts - Very Quick Take-Home Messages

I have pages of notes, but here are the top 10 thoughts I have walking away from the clinic. I will share more indepth ideas about the individual talks as I work through my notes. Here you go (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER):

10. The long continuous swim is very important. Build it to race distance.

9. Getting better on the swim requires putting in some yards (I don't like this, but understand it.)

8. What matters: consistency, passion and persistance (Gordo's exact points)

7. A limiter for some athletes isn't doing the training, it is absorbing the training.

6. Simplicity in life can help produce above average fitness (and results?)

5. "Don't blow off the swim" - Susan Williams

4. help athletes prepare and possess the ability to adapt (during races, but I might add that it is a good quality to have during training too)

3. An even training load obtained by cycling (especially in flats with few breaks) is a very valuable quality of cycling.

2. Structure with training can sometimes drain an athlete of the joy associated with training. Each athlete will have their own tolerance level for "structured" training.

1. A coach (and athlete) should think about training both "centrally" and "periphery" when training for the run. Central = lungs, heart. Periphery = neuromuscular, mechanical. (I need to learn more about these concepts. If I remember right, Lore of Running has some info on this.)

And here's a photo of Gordo and I.



Nice photo hey. I get a chance to have a photo with my hero in the world of triathlon and I look weirded out! I'm not sure why I was surprised by this fact, but Gordo and Monica were both very "down to earth". Triathlon is such a different sport than other sports, in that being a professional rarely seems to change how the athlete interacts with "the common folk".

Last General Comments

Andy (Monica's brother) was actually the quiet comedian of the weekend for me. He seems to be able to find humor in a lot of things, including always carrying the coats. He also has a lot to teach about swimming, but the one liners were my favorite :)

If you ever get a chance to see Bobby McGee - do it. The time spent is very educational and informative. I might be a little biased as some of his points reinforced a few of my held beliefs, but he does know his stuff. I picked up a copy of his book, "Magical Running : A Unique Path to Running Fulfillment," so look for a review on that soon.

One characteristic that I saw in Gordo and Tim Hola was a very "relaxed", "comfortable-in-my-own-skin" and "go-with-the-flow" type attitude. Maybe it is coincidence or it might be a trait of successful athletes?

More later.