I've been training for triathlon for roughly 4.5 years, and competing for 4 years. I ramped up my training in 2010 and 2011, and have largely held consistent (at a relatively low volume) for the four years beginning in 2011. My average weekly volume during that stretch has remained at approximately 13 hrs/wk. I have gone way down in the off-season and maintain an average close to 20 hrs/wk in-season (peaking up to 31.5 hrs back in 2011). While all training plans are a mix of duration, intensity, and frequency, I saw that there were huge gains to be made with some changes to duration and frequency. After some reflection, I also realized that I had not been doing everything I could with regard to my approach to nutrition as well as recovery.
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| This bear stared me down for 200 miles in VA |
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| Crossing the Mississippi River (MI-LA border) |
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| The rain stopped and the skies cleared in TX - I took it as a good omen. |
My biggest weakness is on the bike - this not only puts me at a deficit on the longest leg of a triathlon, but limits my run as well, taking away what should be a strength. My off-season training needed to address this weakness. This was two-part: one, I needed to increase my volume and strength on the bike and second, I needed to increase my functional strength through a general strength program. These would be my primary off-season goals. As winter is miserable in Connecticut, I made the decision that I would spend a good portion of the winter in a better training environment. My super generous buddy, Jason Cochran, who had moved down to Austin, TX last year invited me to crash on an air mattress in his living room for as long as I wanted to train and that is where I have been since December 28th. My secondary goals involved frequency (I wanted to hit 5-6 workouts in each discipline per week) and in the swim I wanted to up my volume/intensity so that I was prepared to swim at the front of any race I entered.
By the numbers my first 4 weeks have looked like this:
Swim - 88,000m, 25h31m, 23 swims
Bike - 992.67mi, 59h49m, 22 bikes
Run - 79.54mi, 10h58m, 22 runs
Strength - 10h4m, 10 workouts
Total Time - 106.5hrs (26.6 hrs/wk) - 77 workouts
Jason lives on the west side of Austin, so in the hills. This first month all my riding has been in the hills. During this block I saw my aerobic power rise, as you would expect from higher volume, but I have also seen max power numbers for every interval under 5 min. ( 30" - 528 watts; 1' - 409 watts; 2' - 338 watts; 3' - 324 watts; 5' - 302 watts). I also ended this block with an encouraging 5.5 hr base ride. 206NP for both the front half and the back half, which was higher than my output at my final race of the season last year. In my next phase I will be looking to maintain a volume close to 20hrs/wk on the bike, increase my 1-5' power numbers even further, and get my base 5-6 rides (I will do one at the end of week 2 and another at the end of week 4) up to 220-230NP.
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| Some pictures from a 100+ mile ride out to Johnson City - the second time I did this ride the water crossing was calf deep while clipped in! |
On the strength side, I have been averaging 2.5 workouts per week. These sessions focus on core strength, stability exercises, and max power. The power exercises are centered around deadlifts (maxed at 185 for set of 3, 3rd-5th sets) and squats (maxed at 205, set of 8, 3rd-5th sets). I have also done DB rows and pull-ups to focus on my upper body strength. A majority of my time is spent on stability exercises: hip flexor exercises w bands, single leg squats/walks/lunges with med balls and plates. As I move into my second 4-week cycle I will look to maintain the same frequency, building upon the previous workouts.
My swimming is slightly lower volume-wise than I had hoped, but I am pleased with the frequency and the resulting increase in speed. I have managed to join the University of Texas Master's team for 2-3 workouts per week, which is great to challenge my comfort level and push me against quality swimmers. I have been able to fill out the remainder of my schedule in the scm pool at the Lifetime Fitness I joined. My best workouts have been on a 3 x {9 x 100yds @ 1:15 (1' rest) 100 FAST (1' rest)} where I held 1:09's on the base 100's and 59 on the FAST 100's. I also did a 400m time trial (100 ez BK), 100 time trial on my own where I went 4:51 and 1:06. In my next phase I will add in 1 VO2 max workout per week, and try to maintain a volume closer to 25km/wk, where I was in week four of my last cycle.
My running has been minimal, by design, over this block. All have been relatively easy, with only a couple runs stretched up into zone 2. My focus has been on cadence (maintaining 88-92 strides per min) which has become automatic. 1-2 times per week I have completed 8 x 100m striders (building to mile pace) w/ approx. 50" rest between. In my next cycle I will look to increase my run volume slightly - adding in 1 run per week of 10-15 min of fartlek intervals; I will also maintain one workout per week that ends with the 8 x 100m striders.
I'm also super excited to have been accepted into a study at the University of Texas, which is testing VO2 max and lactate threshold in endurance athletes. So as part of my next training block I will be going to the lab for 4 sessions (VO2 max tests on the bike and run; lactate threshold tests for the bike and run). I've never had these tested in a lab setting and am looking forward to getting those numbers pinned down!
Nutrition:
Proper nutrition means discipline. I have not always had the disciple to turn down a burger, and lord knows I love a good beer or two. Problem is, this impacts workout performance and recovery if this is done on a regular or even semi-regular basis. Some aspects of good nutrition are intuitive, but most lead to questions - I know generally what is good for me, but what is the correct portion size? how often/when should I be eating?
So I hired a nutritionist and I couldn't be happier with the results. It takes away a lot of the guesswork and while I just completed the largest volume block of my career, I never lacked energy to perform in any of my workouts. For the most part, it is a simple diet. I eat approximately 5 times per day (depending on whether it is a 1, 2, or 3 workout day) with meals #1 and #5 being similar, and meals #2 and #4 being similar. I have been gluten free thus-far, but that will change. I eat a lot of fruits and veggies, as you would expect, but I am regimented to the portion sizes. A couple of the things that surprised me in the nutrition plan:
1. The larger size of my first and last meals of the day
2. How small the protein portions at meals #2 and 4 (post workout) were as well as how low calorically those meals were - however, I eat frequently, have not been hungry at all and have had the energy I needed for all workouts
3. How late I eat my last meal - I've been eating my last meal approx. 45 min before bed, and again, have never been overly full or hungry and sleep very well.
Through 5 weeks I am down a modest 5lbs (2.5kg) - should be noted that is from the heaviest I have been in 7 years - but have gone from 10.8% body fat to 7.6% body fat. I'm sure a portion of why I am feeling so good, and dropping body fat, is that I am alcohol free now, for those 5 weeks (for a scientific account of what happens when you cut out alcohol, check out Ben Greenfield's blog http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/2014/12/30-days-no-alcohol-experiment-part-1-happens-quit-alcohol-cold-turkey/ ). If you want more information on the Nutritionist I am using, Ollie Matthews, visit http://bodycatchers.com/ (be sure to mention I referred you, as you'll receive a 10% discount). I'm excited to see how I continue to respond to the nutrition plan and how it allows me to maintain training and recovery at a high level.
Recovery:
Nutrition and recovery go hand in hand. I have always been good about getting an adequate amount of sleep. For me this means 9-10 hrs per night, with 7.5 hrs as a minimum, when I am in heavy training. I have not always been great about doing the little things (massage, trigger point rolling, etc) to increase blood flow and facilitate recovery. I started using the trigger point foam rollers when I had an Achilles injury last June, but got away from regular use. Now, I make sure to use the trigger point rollers 3-4 times per week and cover each muscle group at least once per week. Additionally, I now have a new Normatec Recovery System (thanks to a wonderful Xmas gift from my parents!) I spend 30-45' in the pants and hips 4-5 times per week to stimulate blood flow.
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| The Normatec boots! |
It amazes me how some relatively minor changes - fully committing to the task at hand - can have such a large impact in such a short amount of time. Looking forward to where this goes, and getting into race season in a few months. My first triathlon will be the Challenge Knoxville Half, on May 17, but I have a couple single sport tests coming up:
February - bike and run VO2 max and lactate threshold testing (Austin, TX)
February 22 - Pace Bend Road Race (25 mile - Cat 5 road bike, Austin, TX)
March 8 - Bolton 5 mile (run; Bolton, CT)
March 22nd - Boston Blowout 30k (run; Fairfield, CT)
Happy training and racing!
Jeremy
