The Coach Buzz ...

Ahhhh coffee! The above picture represents the place where I will be spending most of my recovery week coming up. I am in the process of moving my coaching over to Training Peaks and that should take most of my free time. +++++++ My first training block down in Clermont is all but done and has gone very well. Volume has been moderate (25, 27 & 30 hrs), but there has not been much in the way of easy training. Most has been in my steady zones (IM pace/power) or harder. Last week finished with a solid block of riding. Here are some numbers for those that like them. Keep in mind that the numbers below are on from cycling only. 4 days, just under 15hrs in the saddle and a combined TSS (Training Stress Score) of 688. My TSB is currently at -72 and I have increased my ATL (Acute Training Load) by 118 points over the last 3 weeks. Needless to say, it is time to absorb all of the work. The most notable ride was the last one (yesterday) of 5:15. The TSS score was 266 with most of that co

The above picture really has nothing to do with today's post, but I wanted to put it up. My friend Cindi sent it to me. The name of the place is Blake's LotaBurger and it is a chain restaurant located in New Mexico. It shouldn't be hard to find one, as there are 76 locations throughout the state. I will have plenty of time on my LOOONG drive from Florida to Arizona. If you have eaten here, please leave a comment and let me know what you thought! I wonder if I get a free burger?????? +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Back to my title. To exceed expectations, I think we need to be realistic in what we expect. If we always expect the BEST CASE SCENARIO, we will often be disappointed. This sets us up for getting discouraged, frustrated and eventually quitting whatever we are doing. Not to say we shouldn't set the bar high, but we need to keep it real. This idea could relate to any job out in the world, but let's talk triathlon (big surprise , right???) Ch

Well, I have found my groove and am really starting to feel nice and fit. Best part is that I still have almost 3 months to my key spring Ironman . Weekly Training Summary Total Hours: 27:10 Swimming: 25,832 yds Cycling: 262 miles Running: 49 miles Strength: 1 hour The best workout was 17.5mi long pavement run on Sunday out at Lake Louisa. Warm-up followed by very hilly 7 miles at IM effort. Finishing with 7 miles rolling at IM HR 150-153, pace was surprising, at 6:20-6:40 per mile. This is very close to being faster than I was last summer. Also, I found some great new shoes, Adidas Supernova Light 6. I am getting custom orthotics molded on monday to make them fit even better. They are are a good mix of cushioning in the forefoot and support, while weighing in at only 9oz. Now, no thinking....just doing and results will take care of themselves. Another big week to come. Go Packers Baby!!!! BB

The above image is of the National Training Center pool down here in Clermont . In this pic it is set up in Short Course Yards, which I haven't seen much of since coming into town. This year before coming down to Florida, one of the things I focused on was my swimming. I put in about 6-10 hours each week for six or seven weeks to hopefully give me a boost. All of the swimming was done in a short course yards pool. I arrived down here in FL to a pool that is Long Course Meters(LCM) about 75% of the time. Let me tell you, there is a HUGE difference between the two and it was a big wake up call. I have been patient though and knew eventually my swim fitness would start to come through. I started out at the beginning of last week swimming about 1:27 per 100 meters at a pace that was mod-hard. After about 12 days of swimming, my pace has dropped to 1:19 per 100 at the same effort. I am really starting to feel good about things in all three sports. In addition, I have dropped 5 lbs in my

The past 3 days have flown by. Training has been around 4-5 hours each day with some solid sessions. In between I am not doing too much besides coaching work, napping and eating. I need to recover the best that I can during this first block of training. It is always one of the toughest. Today's bike session was the highlight of the week. It leads me to believe that I may have increased my FTP/LT slightly during the threshold focus I did in November and December. The ride was 3.5 hrs ending with 2x20min at HIM effort. The normalized power for the ride minus the warm-up and cool-down was around 255 watts (about 3hrs). The 20min effort were at 286 watts and 292 watts with HR only in the low 160's. This is about 15 watts higher than I saw last year. It is only one ride, so I won't get too excited just yet. +++++++++++++ I went to the foot doctor earlier this week to get a follow up x-ray on my foot and I got some great news. He talked with me, looked at my foot and

This week went very well considering I was coming off of 8 weeks training where I averaged between 12-18 hrs per week. The 3 weeks before that, I averaged even less. I still have a long way to go before I am ready to race, but I was surprised at the numbers that I saw this week and it is proof that we can maintain our fitness without much volume at all. Here is a summary of the week along with a few details. The total hours for the week was just over 25, which included just over 24k of swimming, 12.5 hours of riding (243 miles) and 5 hours (41 miles) of running. I also had 1 hour of strength work and a good time during the Packer Game yesterday ;) Swimming went ok , but was not my focus. The riding went well. My weekly TSS score was just shy of 550 and I had several good rides, which means I have a good starting point for this coming season. The highlight was a 4hr steady ride with normalized power after the warm-up of just over 240 watts. I also had 2 shorter hard rides of 2.5 hours

I am spending a lot of time looking into my past ironman performances and trying to learn what I can do better in the future. I am specifically looking at substrate utilization (what my body uses for fuel) and carbohydrate absorption (how much my body can use during exercise). In addition to reading on the net, I am getting some good input from the guys over at Endurance Corner, specifically Alan Couzens . So far, I have come to 2 conclusions that will hopefully aid in my ability to use fat for fuel and absorb more calories during exercise. 1) Incorporate significantly more "good" fats in my diet. 2) Increase my intake of calories on the bike, close to 500. Alan indicated that by taking in 480 calories per hour, my body should absorb close to what is possible (290 calories per hour). If I can get my body to accept this, I will hopefully eliminate that "bonk" that I have experienced too many times. I will report back in a few weeks on my progress ++++++++++

...is not illegal EVERYWHERE to smoke with your kids in the car?? People who do this should be arrested, not just fined $100 like in some states. I was coming back from a ride today and a car rolled up next to me at a stop sign. Two kids in the back...younger than 1 and maybe 4, two adults in the front...SMOKING with the windows almost all the way up! First of all it is Florida and it was 81* today, so why your windows aren't all the way down is beyond me (this car did NOT have air conditioning). Second, if you did smoke with your kids in the car, why wouldn't you have your windows all the way down. This is not the first time I have seen this. This winter in Wisconsin I saw a woman smoking with the windows all the way up with her child in the back seat. Stay with me here, I am almost done on my pedestal , but why isn't this illegal in all states ? The kids have NO say in what is going on and even if they did, THEY ARE KIDS! Better solution, to make smoking illegal. Here is

Well, I made it down to Clermont , FL yesterday. If you are wondering where clermont is, click here . It always seems that a weight is lifted off your shoulders when you come from a place like Wisconsin in the winter, to a place like Florida...anytime. Around this time every winter in the north, it seems that myself and many others I know, go on a winter depression roller coaster. I am not sure if it the decreased daylight, the cold, or just the fact that trying to train in December in Wisconsin is just not fun... In conclusion, I have decided that if I choose to spend an entire winter in a colder climate, racing an early season Ironman will probably not be in the cards. +++++++++++++ Today, I started off with a morning run out at the clay trail with Heather Gollnick . Pace was pretty easy today, but I want to avoid crushing it this first week. I have put myself in that hole more than once. Total run was a little over 13 miles in 1:39. I followed up the run with a 4km long course me

Well, I decided to add up my total training time for 2007. The numbers were about middle of the road for me. I would have hit 1,000,000 in the pool, but I got sick during the last few weeks of the year during a big swim block. I also had two running injuries that limited my running for a good chunk of the year. 2007 NUMBERS SWIM: 963,495 YDS BIKE: 17,446 KM RUN: 2,924 KM STRENGTH: 66.5 HRS XC SKI: 5 HR TOTAL HRS: 1,114 Training and Racing Goals for 2008: For 2008, I have several training and racing goals. Regardless of how things turn out, the number one thing to keep in mind is all that matters, is that I keep improving. But since I am a driven, competitive person...I have a few more detailed goals then that. This year I am sharing them on my blog. TRAINING Swim: #1 - Swim a 5:18 500 SCY (B Standard for USAT Development Team) #2 - Swim 1,200,000 yds for the year. Bike: #1 - Raise my FTP t0 340 watts at sea level (currently 320w) Run: #1 - Remain injury free #2 - Run sub 6 for my