The Coach Buzz ...

Wednesday Feb 28 So today I saw power numbers A LOT higher than previous rides while doing my vo2 work. I just got new Dura Ace Pedals which seem to have better power transfer. I can't wait to get my new TTX in a week or so which should be even more stiff than my current ride. Anyway, hot hot hot here today: Morning Swim: 1:04, 4250 yards. 400s, 100k, 8x50 build to HARD on 1min. Then Mainset of 4x800 on 11:00 (10:15,10:13,10:07,10:09) Not Blazing Speed, but it was hot in the sun. Ride after: 6xsugar loaf on about = recovery. After about a 40min warm-up. Here are the numbers!!! #1 - 2:20, AP 409w, NP 425w, Avg HR 170, Max HR 183 #2 - 2:12, AP 421w, NP 431w, Avg HR 171, Max HR 185 #3 - 2:11, AP 416w, NP 432w, Avg HR 173, Max HR 186 #4 - 2:12, AP 422w, NP 432w, Avg HR 173, Max HR 185 #5 - 2:13, AP 416w, NP 426w, Avg HR 172, Max HR 188 - Starting to crack :) #6 - 2:16, AP 397w, NP 407w, Avg HR 171, Max HR 185 - Cracked about 2/3 the way up :) All in all I am VERY happy, considerin

Tuesday Feb 27 Today was a solid day all around. 14km steady run of 1:04 with Gman out at the clay trail. Ran the hilly route steady in the heat. It was HOT and HUMID today, 85ish with the heat index. Good swim at the pool 1:51 6000 yds. WU of 400s, 16x50 every 4th hard on 45, 12x50 every 3rd hard on 50, 8x50 every other hard on 55 and 4x50 all hard on 60sec. Mainset of 10x100 as 75steady/25head out of water. Then 4x400 on 5:30(5:00-5:10), 4x200(2:33-37) on 2:45 and 4x100(1:15ish), All just steady swimming. I am still a bit tired in the water from my 10k workout last thursday. 45min of weights after the swim. Kept everything really light today, 3x20 @ 135 on the squats and did extra work on the adductors and abductors. Good stretch after. Evening ride of 1:48 and 51km nice and easy. New D/A 7800 pedals! Love 'em! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Monday Feb 26 Today was a true recovery day. 3000 yds in the pool in 60min, then done for the day. Afternoon massage in Tampa and saw a TERRIB

Sunday Feb 25 Today was a long run out at the clay trail. If you haven't read my earlier posts, then I will give you a brief description. It is a hilly dirt road that makes a "box" through the orange groves that are south of Clermont. It tends to be hot and the road is packed well, perfect for long runs. The only two things that you have to watch for are snakes and bees. Today the plan was to wu for 15min and then run 2hrs at IM effort, then cd for 15min. The run itself went great. Pinned the HR at 147-52 and just ran. Quite hot by the end of the run, 81* I think. Anyway, on the way out at about 3 miles I noticed bee hives....but no bees??? Hmmm, wierd. I kept running and over the next mile I noticed a few more bees, then a few more, then I came over the next hill and I they were all over. I sprinted for the next 400m until they seemed to be gone...I wasn't going back that way! Luckily no stings and no more bee hives for the rest of the run. I did see a hug

Saturday Feb 24 Today I had a good ride, 4:01 and 129 km. Windy and warm...what a suprise for Clermont :) The mainset for today's ride was solid: 30min build to 240w 50min @ 240w 10min easy 30min @ 280w 5min easy 10min @ 320w 5min easy 30min @ 280w 5min easy 50min @ 240w Easy run off the bike easy effort, kept HR about 140-45 and saw miles that ranged from 6:55-7:20. 8km total. 60min of stretching/yoga at the NTC in the late afternoon. Pretty tired, but felt good when I left. +++++++++++++++++++++++ Friday Feb 23 Swim early with Marc, 1:01 3000 yds. mainset of 80x25 on :30 3hard/1easy. Shoulders felt the best after about 1500 of the 2k set...probably from the 10k I swam yesterday. Descending run of 15k out at the clay trail. Fairly windy and pretty hot. But descended by 5km, 5k build to HIM, 5km build to 10k, 5k descend to 5k pace. Pace through the last km was about 3:03. Afternoon 60min session of yoga and stretching...going to attempt this almost every night for recovery. 15min a

Thursday Feb 22 Today was my biggest swim session to date. I did the workout with a Jerry Dawson, an athlete who was one of the best pro triathletes in the 80's and who is now setting some top 10 world master's swimming times. He is a stud in the water! The set was 100x100 on the following pattenr: 5x(10 on 1:30, 5 on 1:25) Swam 1:16 to 1:20, steady 1x(10 on 1:30, 5 on 1:20) Swim 1:16-1:20 again, the 1:20 set was 16,17,17,17,16 Then descend the last 10 to Best effort. Last interval was 1:11 The set turned out to be more of a mental challenge than physical. I had 400 cals in the form of Gatorade Endurance and 2 Power Gels, along with 1 liter of water. Quite warm when we finished, about 80*. So, here were the day's totals: Run Early, 59 min and 12 km Swim, 2:30, 10,050 yds Bike, 1:15, 30 km +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Wednesday Feb 21 (Recovery Day) I tweaked my knee in the weight room earlier this week and I am giving it a day to feel better. It is nothing major, as

Ok, well I sitting on my couch watching the NUMBER ONE team in the nation, my WISCONSIN BADGERS! I hope they don't let it go to their head and can pull out the win at Michigan State...we'll see. I am writing this blog still shelled from today's training. It is finally warm again here(about 75-80* for the next week). Now onto the training for the last few days: Tuesday Feb 20 I started the day off with my legs still pretty stiff from the weekend and my lats from yesterday's swim. But I was optimistic about today's set 4x1000 on 14:00 with no warm-up. My stiffness showed in the first 1000, as I came in at 13:58. I descended nicely for the set with a steady effort. #2 was 12:59, #3 was 12:57 and #4 was 12:55. I did a quick 250 cd to bring me to the IM distance and hopped out. After a quick brakfast I headed out the door for my ride. Goal was to ride 6hrs in rolling terrain with as much steady riding as possible...with the race still in my legs, I wanted to avo

Sunday Feb 18 Today was my first race of the season. The Tampa Half Marathon( www.tampabayrun.com ) Here is a little recap for you. After a night with about 2hrs of sleep, first race of the season anxiety, I left Clermont at 4am to head over to Tampa in the pouring rain. The rain stopped just in time and the temps were great, tho it was pretty windy. I arrived over in Tampa at about 5:20...The traffic was pretty backed up, so I parked the car 2mi from the start and warmed up over to the Convention Center. It was now 5:35. I found the registration table, pinned on my bib, dropped my clothes off and headed to the bathroom. I looked at my watch...crap, it was 5:50 and the race started at 6. I jetted out the door and ran about another half mile to the start. I wove my way up front just in time for the National Anthem. "I'm thirsty and kind of hungry," I thought. I hadn't eated anything since 330am. But, I assurred myself that it was only a half marathon. Last year I ran 1

Saturday Feb 17 Not much today. 44min morning 10k run building to steady with strides at the end out at the clay trail.. My new half marathon shoes are great, I have switched to the Asics Gel-Hyper Speed. I am still tired today, but better than yesterday. I have an easy afternoon scheduled. Afternoon spin of 1:08 and 34km...Swiss ski school loop backwards.

Friday Feb 16 Swim 1:35 5600 yds Good swim this morning, with Marc joining me for the first 3k. We showed up to the pool at 630 and it was 45* and sprinkling...what state am I training in again? The water always feels warmer when the air is cold, but this morning the water was a little colder than normal, what a nice suprise. 400 easy warm-up, then mainset of: 800 swim on 11:00( 10:17) 800 pads only on 11:00 (10:09) 8x100 swim on 1:20 (1:13 :14 :15 :14 :14 :13 :15 :13) 45sec rest 400 swim on 5:30 (5:04) 400 pads only on 5:30 (5:04) 4x100 swim on 1:20 (1:15 :13 :14 :14) 45sec rest 200 swim on 2:45 (2:32) 200 pads only on 2:45 (2:31) 2x100 on 1:20 (1:15 :14) 45sec rest 100 swim on 1:25 (1:13) 100 pads only on 1:25 (1:11) 100 swim (1:10) Then 100k easy to regroup. 10x25/25 on 1:00 First 25 was best effort blast right into 25 recovery. Good end. Easy cd After breakfast with Marc, his wife Amy and their 4mo old baby Tristan at Perkins, I headed out for an easy run. Kept things easy 49:2

Thursday Feb 15 (Recovery) Today starts my mini rest period. I like 3-4days, versus an entire week. I really don't think that a full 7 days is necessary for full recovery. Anyway, I was a bit tired today and took my time getting everything done. It was also a day to catch up on everything that needed to be taken care of. Swim 1:04 4100 yds 4000 straight swim with a 25 of breast stroke every 250yds. Effort was mostly easy with a little steady mixed in. Felt good. 100 kick at the and then out. If you are ever tired in the water here at the NTC, getting out when it is in the 40's WILL wake you up. I think I have a few more days of this ahead. Easy pm ride of 1:25 and 40km. Kept it in the little ring the entire time. 50* out, where am I again????? Tired tonight and will probably sleep pretty hard. Epsom salt bath before bed and then a good stretch. See you tomorrow....

Wednesday Feb 14 Today's Title is 5/5/5 What is that? you ask. My theme for the day, swim at least 5k, ride at least 5hrs in the hills and then run at least 5k off the bike. This is just a general endurance day, but I will hopefully build to a 6/6/6 day. Just a creative way to get in a big day of training. Swim 1:31 5400 yds 600s, 8x100 on 1:30 descend by 4's, 8x50 on 50, every other hard. Then mainset of 8x400 descend by 4's again. #1 at 5:30(easy), down to 4:55ish for the 4th, then repeat, decided that I had a big day ahead and I just did a quick cd. Huge breakfast, then out the door to ride. Ride 5:08 142km Today I headed into the hills, thus the low speed. Oh yeah, we had SCARY winds today as well. I couldn't ride on Hwy 19 b/c of the trucks and the wind. I did, however, find every hill I could through 3 out-and-backs on Cherry Lake, as well as 3 loops on Buckhill, Sugar Loaf, 561 and Grassy Lake. No structure, just easy to steady the entire time. Starte

Tuesday Feb 13 I have decided to pass the time with renting movies for the next few nights. So far I have rented Crank, a real "outside the box" way of thinking when it comes to movies. Tonight I am watching flags of our Fathers, I am only halfway so I will write my review when i have finished it. On the training front today, I got sweet revenge for my botched track workout last week. I moved my vo2 intervals into the hills and used Skyline Dr. (a 400-500m hill that is STEEP..almost too steep, but it worked well). Total run was 13km in 1:09. 20min wu into 7x1:45 repeats up the hill with walk down recovery) walking down was actually hard b/c of the grade. Max HR on the repeats follow: 181,183,184,186,187,187,189), then easy home. Felt good. Swim directly after the run with 3400m in 1:04, 1300 mixed warm-up into 80x25 on :25 1h/1e as the pattern. The hard is an all out sprint with focus on power and form and then the next 25 is used to recover. I swam 60 and used pads

Monday - Feb 12 - Recovery Day...sort of. Today was a recovery day, sort of, in that I had no cycling or running scheduled. Just swimming and weights. Swim 2:12 7450 yds. Morning swim 600s, 8x50 build to hard(1-4,5-8) on 10s rest, 6x100k, then 3x(550 hard effort on 20s rest and 4x100 hard on 1:30, 50 easy to reset), 200 easy, then 6x200 pull on 10s rest, descend 1-3 and 4-6, 4x75 as fast/easy/fast, cd pm swim after weights of 1050 straight, mix swimming and drilling. Weights: SM session. 20x135,16x165,12x205 on the squat. 3x12 dumbell lunges(60lbs), 3x20 single leg squat and 3x16 single leg calf raises continuous. Then usual upper body stuff that included, dips, fly, deltoid raises(3-positions), lat pull and swimmer pull-down. Followed up by 20min of core work and a bit more stretching on the infamous stretch-cage. 1:30 total time. Not much else to report. Graham and Stacy are off to Hawaii today, so I have the casa to myself...well, me fat-cat and smokey(2 cats). Good times. If the

After my day yesterday, I wasn't really sure what to expect for today. Either I was going to be shelled and not have a great day, or I would. So lastnight, I went into recovery mode with an epsom salt bath, drank about 2 liters of water and stretched for a good 30min before bed. The result....another great training day. I headed out to the clay trail which is a hilly 10mile loop, there is not one flat mile...funny, because before today I could have sworn there was. Here was the plan: 1 mile easy (8:41) 2 miles steady building to moderate effort (7:45, 7:30) 15 miles moderate effort in the hills (7:26, 7:01, 6:59, 7:02, 7:26, 7:11,6:57, 7:07,7:02, 7:30, 7:18, 7:24, 7:09, 7:00, 7:11) 2 miles descend to best effort (7:04, 6:47) Total Time 2:25:42, 32km Felt great, legs and energy were there...actually had to force myself to stick to the plan and stop at 20miles. Easy 1km cd and done. Evening Spin around the lake, 12km, 31min ++++++++++++++++++++ Below I have listed week 1 totals here

Saturday Feb 10 Well, today I got some redemption for my botched track workout yesterday. I had a HARD 200km hard on the schedule today, the structure is outlined below. I was also very excited to see power numbers that were as high as they were, this early in the season. Before I write about the day, i want to write about staying on top of nutrition on the bike. Today was the first day where I did NOT have 1 low spot throughout the entire ride...infact. I felt like I could have kept it rolling (maybe I need to ride harder next week:) Anyway, there are so many times when myself as well as others talk about their leggs aching late into the ride. I really believe that it is avoidable by staying on top of hydration and your calories. Taking in a minimum of 28oz(round to 1 liter if you like) of fluid per hour and making sure that you take in at least 400cal per hour(that doesn't mean zero for the first 2hrs and then 1200 at the gas station either). When I am working hard, this is what

Friday Feb 9 Well, I knew there would be a day when I would 'fail' a workout....if I didn't, how would I know how hard I could/should push myself. Anyway, I had another big swim this morning and placed a vo2 run session after. I was pretty tired going into it, but felt good warming up and thought I could hit my paces...well, I got through 6 of 15 repeats and knew it was time to call it a day rather than risk an injury. Last year I probably would have done the session and ended up cooked for the weekend...this year I have a bit more knowledge. Morning swim was 1:39 and 6300 yds 50x100 on 1:25, followed by 200k, then 16x25 every 4th fast on 30sec. 12x25 on 35sec, 8x25 every other fast on 40sec and then 4x25 all fast on 45sec, 100 easy cd. I went through some highs and lows throughout the set, that is usual and actually ended feeling quite good. Tired when I finally did get home, but got to the track and aimed at 15x400 on 2min at Daniel's I pace. I may switch this one

Thursday Feb 8 (Recovery Day) This time around, I have decided to integrate recovery days into my schedule even when I may not necessarly feel I need one. For me and others I know, we tend to only take recovery when it is our_only_option....meaning we are too tired to do anything but rest. Only problem is after a few rounds of this, we are so far overtrained(or injured), there is no coming back. At least that is what happened to me last season. So, I will still be logging 30-40hrs a week up to IMAZ, but I will have recovery built in and if I need an extra day or two here or there, it is welcomed. I am also viewing my training as a block of training, instead of weekly. Viewing training as 'weekly' tends to make me(probably others too) think that I have_to get everything done in a 7 day period, why?? So, I have 3 weeks worth of 'key workouts' with recovery. It is scheduled to get done in 21 days, or it may take me 24. Either way, it gets done and I stay healthy and hungry

Wednesday Feb 7 Morning swim 1:42 6,000 yds. Warm-up was 12x100 on 1:40. 16x50 drill/swim, 6x50 build to hard, 200 pace (2:29) Mainset: 4x400 swim with pads steady on 1:30 base (5:09,5:07,5:07,5:08) 3x300 swim on 1:20 base (3:49,3:47,3:49) 2x200 swim with pads on 1:15 base (2:28,2:26) 100 best effort (1:08) Cooldown: 200k, 300 swim easy Afternoon ride in the hills 3:11 and 90 km. 15min easy into 90min of 'triples' riding (every_single_hill that you come to in the pattern of sitting, standing, aero). My goal was to ride the flats at IM wattage, build to threshold watts on the hills and then take the descents easy. I counted 24 hills on my PT over the 90 min, PHEEEW! Then 10min easy over to Mt. Sugar Loaf Road...it is the steepest hill in the area. It takes about 3min to ascend and is perfect for my vo2 strength intervals. Data from the repeats below Goal was to ride 5x3min and start at 340w and build to 360w. Recovery was 1:30. #1 - 338w Max HR 177 #2 - 340w Max HR 178 #3

Tuesday Feb 6 Morning run of 22km. Descended 20km, then 2k cd. Broke the run into 4 out and backs of 5km each. The course was rolling with a strong headwind. The splits are not blazing, but I had a good strength session yesterday which I am still feeling and I ran this run more 'strong' than 'fast,' IMer's will know what I am talking about. Splits and HR: #1 - 22:02 HR ?(didn't work) #2 - 19:07 HR 165 #3 - 17:49 HR 168 #4 - 17:16 HR 175 Noon swim of 1:04 and 3200 yds. Mainset of 60x25 on 30sec, 20 swim and 40 with pads. This is my favorite power building workout...finally sunny in the pool to work on my tan :) Afternoon easy/steady ride of 2:11 and 62 km. Boys Ranch to Bay Lake through Groveland and back on Cherry Lake. Evening stretch and some strength for 30min.

Sunday Feb 4 Morning Run of 2:22 and 33km...16km at IM effort then 3k easy, then into 5x4min at LT hill repeats with jog down. Build for last 4km home, cd Tough run, though cool outside. Noon nap and then easy pm swim. 40min and 2100 yds Then the Super Bowl..2 glasses of wine and I was ready for a nap. I did like the Prince Halftime show, even though I am not a huge fan. From a entertainment standpoint it was great and he is a talent...I think he can play any instrument???? WOW. Monday Feb 5 Morning swim of 1:44 and 6300 yds. 800s/800pads/8x100 mod, 600s/600pads/6x100 mod, 400s/400pds/4x100 mod, 200s/200pads,2x100 mod. The kick and cd Weights after swim. SM session of 1:30. Squats were 20@ 135, 16 @ 160, 12 @ 205 One legged squats followed(getting easier) good stretching and core work. Afternoon spin of 1:40 at 45km past the swiss ski school. Felt tired in the head(from swimming) but body felt fine. Made some homemade turkey chili to feed me for the next two days. One of my f

I have decided to keep a detailed training log of my training here in Clermont for all those that might be interested: Day 1: Thursday 02/01 Travel Day Easy spin with Graham(I am staying with him and his wife Stacy), 34km in about 1:15. Rode on the new connecting path to the West Orange Trail. Day 2: Friday 02/02 Swim 1:15, 4500 yds. Started with 30x100 on 1:20 from the gun. Good simulation for race start with no warm-up. Held 1:13-16 for all. Last week was all swim, so this week I mised it up with 10 swim, 10 pads, 5 swim, 5 pads. 200 kick, 8x75 k/d/s, 200 easy, then 6x50 build to hard effort on 1:00. CD Noon track workout. Total time was 1:06 and about 13km. 30min wu with some muscle activation and drill work. Then 12x400 at Daniel's I pace(Vo2) on 2min. Conservative start this week, all were 77-78sec. PE was a little high, but is my first hard running in the humidity. Afternoon spin 1:33, 48km. Evening strength and yoga work for 30min. Day 3: Saturday 02/03 Raining all morning b

Clermont Training Hi all, well the last 48hrs have been pretty crazy. I left Wednesday morning at about 5:30am to try to beat an ice storm that was aimed at the southeast. As a result I drove about 1000mi over 15hrs to Byron, GA (about 90min south of ATL). I accomplished my goal of beating the storm, but it wiped me out. I slept hard for about 11hrs and then finished off the trip and arrived in time to get in a 75min spin for dark. Then, lastnight we got pounded by storms. For anyone that doesn't know where Clermont is, it is in Lake County (the county where the terrible tornadoes occurred lastnight).