Fatigue. Is it controlled by a govenor?

I have talked about Timothy Noakes before and the idea of a "central govenor" model of fatigue. It is a concpet that needs to be explored more by me, but the research also needs to be more complete... the concept is interesting none-the-less.

This month in BestLife magazine there was an article titled "Mind Over Muscle" that brings into the main stream Noakes' ideas. It begins by stating a research finding that showed muscle biopsies of exhausted marathoners still had plenty of glycogen and ATP... the reported conclusion was that fatigue is a result of the brain telling the muscles to conserve energy, not as a result of running out of energy substrates. Noakes is quoted as saying:

"This is likely a survival mechanism"

It is an interesting idea and concept if nothing else. Definately controversial in the field of exercise physiology. How does the article use this information? They give a list of four things to do in order to get an edge in performing:

1. Program your pace - Train in a way to trick the brain's govenor
2. Sweat with a smile - be positive (my tags on positive talk)
3. Zen out - keep relaxed during exercise
4. Envision success - use visualization techniques

All these ideas are things that I commonly support, whether they are related to a govenor model of fatigue or not I have no clue.

I'd like to return to the idea of fatigue in endurance events after I finish Ironman Wisconsin, but for now go read a previous post I wrote (Is fatigue physical or pyschological?) while reading the book, Deep Survival.

Ironman Wisconsin - Historical Results and Weather.

After spending time watching Iroman Wisconsin last year and seeing so many people struggle with the cold temperatures, I thought that I'd take a little journey through the historical weather records on race day in Madison.

I also wanted to see how the race may have been impacted by the type of weather they had. The best place that I have found to review race results and the historical results is, www.triresults.com

The TriResults site actually just put up an Ironman Wisconsin Events page that has a great listing of the historical data, including: the results listing, divisional top ten by year and Hawaii qualifiers by year.

Weather Data: taken from wunderground.com

Sept 10, 2006: Mean - 56F, Max - 59F, Min - 53F
Sept 11, 2005: Mean - 80F, Max - 91F, Min - 69F
Sept 12, 2004: Mean - 71F, Max - 85F, Min - 57F
Sept 7, 2003: Mean - 74F, Max - 89F, Min - 59F
Sept 15, 2002: Mean - 59F, Max - 71F, Min - 48F

Results Analysis:

Taking some data from the TriResults site, I wanted to see how the times changed year to year. To make things easy, primarily because the data was already put together, I took the 10th place finishing time (male 25-29) and the last Hawaii Qualifying time for each year.

I realize that those times are not a good snapshot of the field of triathletes racing on those days, not even a good snapshot of the male 25-29 year old age group, because to finish that high you are definately on the long tail of things. But the data was accessible and there may be a day I'll have the desire to search through and find the median number in the age group so that we can see where the exact middle finisher would finish.... maybe later. Here's what I do have:

	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002
10th Place Finisher	10:25	10:50	10:37	10:32	10:21
Last Hawaii Qualifier	10:18	11:10	10:22	10:18	10:20
# of AG Participants	201	186	162	173	184

Final Thoughts:

So are there correlations that we can draw from this data? I think the one thing that becomes obvious is that the 2005 race was an outlier in terms of race performance (among the top 10 and Hawaii Qualifiers). When looking at the weather data, we also see that 2005 was the hottest year the race has been held. In 2005, the average temperature was 80F with a high of 91F. The high's in 2004 and 2003 were both in the 80's (2003 being 89F) but the averages were both down into the lower 70's.

The one fact that I find interesting was that in 2006 the times were not significantly different than the times in 2004, 2003 and 2002. I guess I expected them to be primarily because we saw so many people appearing to struggle with the cold. The best explanation that I have for this is that the results that we are looking at are people that are on the course for 10 to 10.5 hours. If we were able to look at the middle of the pack (mop) and back of the pack (bop) results, we might see something different. My hypothesis is that the weather becomes more of a factor the longer your day is, but it is just a hypothesis.

The last thought that I have is that the weather will impact the way I approach the event, especially if it is going to be a very hot day. But in the end, it is a variable that is out of my control and therefore something I should be prepared for, but should not be anxious about. It appears that most years athletes do a pretty good job of adapting to the conditions.

To view some Ironman Wisconsin 2006 Race Reports that I tagged on del.icio.us go here: Ironman Wisconsin Tags

Einstein, Relativity and Triathlon Training.

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving." - Albert Einstein

I recently began reading the new biography on Einstein written by Walter Isaacson called, Einstein: His Life and Universe. I wanted to read the book to learn some basic facts about the man, but I have also gained some insight into the world of triathlon too. (Of course I had to be looking for it, but hopefully it's entertaining / insightful none-the-less.)

The first theory of relativity that Einstein provided was called "special relativity." (He later came up with his general relativity theory.) The take home idea from special relativity is that if there are two objects, determining who is at rest and who is in motion is relative to the "observer" and is not an absolute. The scenario used to best describe this idea was a man sitting in an armchair versus a women in an airplane flying above. In both scenarios the same laws of physics apply, therefore each person (man and women) could consider themself at rest, while the other is in motion. Neither is right or wrong. (Isaacson, pg 107-108).

In triathlon training and racing, I believe a similar understanding of relativity can be valuable. Follow my thought process for a couple steps:

- When training with a group it can be hard to do the training appropriate for you. We ride too fast to keep up or we want the group atmosphere, so we swim a masters workout that does not address an Ironman triathletes'or an individual's needs.

- When developing a race strategy we make decisions and goals based upon what we would like (hope) to achieve. These decisions are not grounded in the honest assessment of our current fitness levels. (It would be ideal if specific workouts have been completed to assess those fitness levels... check out my last two race simulation posts as my examples: race sim #1, race sim #2). An even more frieghtening scenario is when we start setting race goals based upon our training partners' race goals, keeping in mind their race goals may not be based upon an honest assessment either.

Even worse.... basing them on ideas, reports and race strategies you see posted at online forums or blogs (even mine)!

The relativity link..

The connection between special relativity and triathlon is that there rarely is a right or wrong when it comes to training programs or race strategies, there is only an appropriate program based upon the athlete (the observer).

When we complete workouts and follow our training partners' lead we may be involving ourselves in a scenario that leaves us sitting "at rest" while our partner is reaping the benefits of the workout and maintaining momentum. The program has to be based upon the individual athlete to know for sure that progress is occurring. After all - it's all relative.

Special Ironman Wisconsin 2007 Note:

I wrote this blog entry last week, but last night (8/10/07) found myself in the middle of a conversation that made me understand this idea a little better. A group of us doing Ironman races in September were sitting around eating at a local resturant, naturally the conversation lead to: How much training we were currently doing, How much training we would do 'x' weeks out, etc. I almost began to have an internal anxiety attack, because I came to the "realization" that I wasn't doing enough.

It took a few minutes before I remembered this topic and understood that I was getting caught up in someone else's experience. Their experience was robbing me of my own. I took on the attitude that what they were doing was right and therefore my experience was less-than-positive.

I pulled myself out of that place quickly and thought back to the positives that I personally have had lately. I also realized that if I was doing the training they were talking about (25 hour specific prep weeks) I would be left to heaps of dust come September 9th. Perfect for them, not reasonable for me.

How do we know if we are "at rest" or "in motion."

There are ways that we can set up a program that encourages us to learn about ourselves enough to make those "honest assessments." Here are several that I'll share now:

- Races: A race is not only exciting, but a great testing ground to see if we have improved our fitness. Use shorter races strategically placed to enable yourself to make several observations throughout the year. Alan Couzens wrote a recent piece that includes an analysis of Jack Daniels' Formula and using racing as test. (Use the link and check it out.)

- Fitness Tests / Test Sets: Set up your own fitness test and test regularly. Gordo has talked a lot over the past year about his 3 mile aerobic run test. Some things that I use are:

• --> 3 Mile Aerobic Run w/heart rate
• --> Thursday 6.3 mile group run w/heart rate
• --> 10 x 200 yard main set
• --> 4000 meter time
• --> North Middletown Bike Ride w/out and back, heart rate/time
• --> Valley View Ferry Climb time

- Meditation: I realize this may appear to be non-physical. It may or may not be, but one thing that regularly practicing a mindful state does is open up your awareness so that you can become more aware when you are training. Instead of looking at your training partners' performance for validation of yourself, you maybe more comfortable looking within your own ability. (I do this well in training, not so well in the day-to-day).

Final Question:

Are you "in motion" or "at rest"? Remember, don't confuse movement and progress!

Fitness vs. Endurance

There was a thought provoking post today on the blog "Hanging in BOCO" (written by John Shilt). The post brought up the following questions, for me:

- What is fitness?
- What is endurance?
- What is the difference?
- How does that difference apply to Ironman?

I have all kinds of thoughts on the subject, but go read his blog, it seems to be presented in a clear way. Here's a link: Learning, Understanding, and Believing

The one quote I want to highlight from the post is this one:

Endurance (in IM) is being able to race for 8 to 11hrs with efforts at AeT to AeT+10 without your pace and power declining.

I believe that if an Ironman athlete can fully understand that concept and then allow that principle to influence their training (opposed to training partners, daily speeds, etc), then they are on the narrow path to reaching their Ironman potential.

This season I have tried my best to manage my fears, doubts and anxieties while training what appears "sub-optimal" and feel that I have succeeded 85% of the time. That discipline alone gives me confidence heading into Ironman Wisconsin. That along with the fitness tests and other fitness markers that seem to be improving as I head into the final weeks.

Example: Yesterday's workout - 4.5 hour bike, managed my effort on the bike to be under AeT (135bpm) for almost the entire ride (hit 150bpm 2x on climbs), saw pace increase as ride continued despite temps reaching 92 degrees and heat index reaching 100. Got home and went out for a 30 minute transition run.

Nikki warned me to be careful due to the heat (she had just finished her workout earlier). I took off and ran at AeT for the first mile, then ran the rest at AeT + 5 bpm. My average pace was 7:58!

Not fast you say - I know. But when you consider that I have run very few miles under 8 mins pace all year, this workout came at the end of a 9 day "on" cycle, the heat was keeping heart rates high and I had just finished a 70+ mile ride, I feel pretty happy with what occurred.

The other positive is that some of my best 3 mile fitness tests this year have been around the 8 min/mile pace.

To put all this into the context of John's post, I hope that I am witnessing a good amount of fitness being transferred into a great level of endurance.