The Colours of Autumn

This morning was one of those days that I am pleased that I partake in past times that take me outdoors, that I'm not the type of bloke that spends all of his time in a pub or in front of the little box in the corner that just eats away time, Yep it was a great morning to be outdoors.

I hit the local woodland trails, and ...

• Yes it was a bit windy ...
• Yes there was a bit of a nip in the air ...
• and Yes there was a bit rain ...

BUT

The colours of the woodland more than made up for any negatives, the trails were covered with fallen leaves of red to gold and the canopy above me reflected those autumnal tones, i know this all sound a bit hippy and tree huggy but this morning was one of those mornings that mad me glad to be out for a run ... rather than still wrapped up in bed.

WW

So Very Tiered ...ZZZZZZzzzzz!

Yesterday  (Wednesday) was supposed to be short swim and long run day, but over the last few nights I have been struggling to sleep, both getting to sleep and waking often during the night.  This all culminated in me getting up and feeling paper thin washed out and tired.

I ended up missing my lunch time swim due to an over running meeting but as the day wore on I felt worst and worst and felt I could have nodded off at my desk.

So then came the decision I hate to make … to ditch a key session, I felt I could have probably trained but not as planned, so I had my evening meal and went to bed ... no TV ... no reading … just bed.

I was in bed by 8:30 but still, even though I was sop tired, struggled to get to sleep … I still woke several times during the night … and is I write this it is the crack of dawn.   But I feel a bit better which is quite important as I have a 6hr drive after work today as I am heading home.

But the question is what can I do about it???

• I am looking to drop the amount of caffeine I have been consuming, which has crept up to silly levels.
• I may try reading instead of TV after training to help me come down fro a training high
• I could try listening to some relaxing music as I bed down for the evening
• But what else??

I do know I need to get this sorted as I can’t go dropping key session like this when I am looking for major improvements.

WW … a non happy … sleepy … triathlete

Winter Brick Sessions

By the time I finished work last night it was already getting dark, and my breath stood heavy on the quickly chilling evening air … and I wanted to get in a brick session, I thought it may be a bit dangerous out on the bike in rush hour traffic in the dark so the plan was to hit the gym and the spin bike for the firs segment then outside for the run. After all the weather/conditions in the UK really fall to where you cant get outside and run and treadmills are the invention of the devil.

So since it was going to be the spin bike I decided to push a heavy load and work my HR aiming to sit just below my Vo2 max (85-90% of) with recoveries dropping to 75% (just above the point where my lactic levels start to rise). The work out looked like :-

10min warm up
10 x (
- 2min heavy standing
- 1min heavy seated
- 1min spinning seated (rec)
- 1min heavy seated
)
8 x (
- 40secs heavy standing
- 80secs heavy seated
- 40secs heavy standing
- 80secs heavy seated
- 1min spinning seated (rec)
)
5 x (
- 1min heavy standing
- 1min heavy seated
- 1min spinning seated (rec)
)
5mins spinning

So 2 hours in total on the bike, by now I was drenched in sweat so I had a quick towel down pulled on my jacket and out the door I was.  The sky was clear and star filled (even amongst the light pollution) and I quickly started to feel the sweat in my hair start to freeze so I decided that I should go for a decent pace to keep mw warm, aiming for 80-85% MHR.

The first part of the run was flat allowing me to maintain my HR then as I approached the end of my loop it was time for hill reps … or hill sprints to be exact:

8 x 45sec hill sprints | walk back recoveries

The aim on these sprints is to really push myself and maintain a long stride length throughout, I time for first sprint and at my end point, so I always run the same distance for each sprint but by the last sprint it may be taking me longer than 45secs … but you get the point.

My session was finished off with a jog back to the gym, strides and stretching ….

Total run time 40mins

Not a bad midweek session … well for me

WW

W/E 22/10/2010

Another sold base week for me this week with 9:30 training time, and even a little swimming, on the negative side I am suffering a thigh / hip flexor strain that has affected my strength / power training and give me slight problems during my long hard run.  I still had a good run though completing the 14.5mile route in 2:07, when you compare it to the 2:21 I was covering the same route in the summer as build up to IMDE, I was well pleased.

Also this week I managed to get my gym set up at home so I can get in an extra session when I cant get out, its just basic but includes: -

• Cross trainer
• Rowing Machine
• Spinning Bike
• Bench
• Dumbbells
• Kettlebells
• Etc …

On the negative side I didn’t complete week 3 of my 100 push up challenge, so I am going to have to repeat the week rather then move on …. must try harder!!

So the figures: -



SAT	__	__	Rest Day
SUN	AM	00:50	RUN: Easy drills session
SUN	PM	00:11	100 Pushups Week 2 Session 3
MON	AM	00:10	100 Pushups Week 3 Session 1
MON	PM	01:30	BIKE: LT Zone interval session (Brick Pt1)
MON	PM	00:35	RUN: Including 6x45sec Hill Sprints (Brick Pt2)
TUE	AM	00:48	Strength: Session from PT
TUE	PM	01:33	BIKE: Steady session stand / sit mix
WED	AM	00:32	SWIM: Including a 1k TT (18:59)
WED	PM	02:07	RUN: Long tempo run (14.5 mile)
THU	AM	01:03	StrengthSession with PT, Hard kettlebell session
THU	PM	00:11	100 Pushups Week 3 Session 2
FRI	__	__	Rest Day

SWIM	00:32
BIKE	03:03
RUN	03:32
OTHER	02:23
TOTAL	09:30

WW

Power V Strength

I t was pointed out by a friend that on an earlier post I was getting myself mixed up with STRENGTH and POWER and referring to my lack of strength in cycling, where what I was really discussing was my lack of power in cycling.  So this has lead me to do a bit research on the subject, I am not saying that my finding are complete (or totally correct) but they are what I have discovered so far: -

Firstly a couple of definitions: -

STRENGTH : is the maximum force that an individual can apply to a resistance, quite often expressed as an individuals maximum lift for a single rep, I.E. an individual may be able to bench press 110kg for 1 rep then this world be the representation of his strength.  In reality though if 111kg was attempted the individual would not be able to lift the weight but the force would be slightly high, as maximum strength has zero velocity, but most people use the maximum lift for 1 rep method.

POWER: this adds speed/velocity into the equation as power is the rate at which work is performed and can be represented as the equation:  power = force x velocity or power = (force x distance)/time.

For some triathletes (runners or other athletes) , pure strength training well only have limited benefit and in the early stages of training as there is evidence that increments in absolute strength does translate to increments in power BUT as strength training progresses this effect becomes less and less.

Training to improve power on the other hand can improve a triathletes performance, if we examine the formula above it suggest this can be done in 1 or more of 3 ways : -

• Increasing Force
• Increasing Distance
• Decreasing Time

FORCE: here I mean increasing force while keeping velocity and time constant this would in a cycling specific session involve intervals in a high gear, recruiting and building strength endurance capabilities while not sacrifice speed or the time of the overall ride.

DISTANCE: in running terms this world be doing increasingly longer session keeping intensity (force) and the duration of run constant, it is suggested that flexibility and efficiency improvements can contribute to improving distance, as is shown by the countess studies on stride length and running style

TIME:  Decreasing the time it takes to cover a distance at a set force is another way of improving power, improving skill levels have shown to have helped decrease time, if you look at swimming a large proportion of gains are maid through becoming a better swimmer, through drills etc

NON-SPORTS-SPECIFIC

When I talk about non sports specific training to increase power I am referring to time in the gym, this is a highly contentious subject amongst most triathletes  where some swear by it, others yes but only in the off season and other no way kept to sports specific. A recent poll I ran on the beginnertrieatlete website produce the following opinions: -

 

Yes,I weight train all year round	48%
Yes, but only in the off season	21%
Nope, only sports specific	9%
Would like to but have not	17%
Yes and no	5%

But for those that do believe in gym work to compliment the sports consider training to increase power rather than strength, don’t worry about that one rep maximum an instead look to increase the weights you use in more explosive exercises such as cleans, jump squats, kettle bell work etc.  This will help build and recruit the appropriate muscle fibres for power in you sport and help you burn calories, thus helping out in another formula which is the power to weight ratio.

POWER TO WEIGHT RATIO

If increasing you power is your aim then you need to consider you power to weight ratio (power(in watts)/ weight (in KG))  if an increase in power is matched (or superseded) by an increase in body weight then the gains may not be translated into improved performance, alternately a drop in weight while maintaining current power could again see an improvement in athletic performance, this is due to the power to weight ratio.

Ideally those undertaking specific power training should also consider their ability to reduce the amount of body fat they carry thus improving both sides of the power to weight ratio equation and helping further capitalise on any power gains…

There we having it … my ramblings for the day … I am not saying any of this is gospel … but it is my current understanding

Feel free to correct me, add your comments, or argue your own point …

WW

One Hundred Push Ups

You may have noticed in my training updates that I quite often refer to the 100 push up challenge, and a number of people have asked me what its about so here is a brief explanation: -

The 100 push up challenge is all about getting to a point where you can do 100 non-stop good form push ups from whatever your staring point (try googling 100 pushups). It is a six week program and comprises of a number of workouts each week based on test results. With test carried out at the start and at set periods during the program.

Although it is meant to be a 6 week program, you also have the option to repeat a week if you feel you have not reached the required level to move on.

I am now just starting week 3 and the reason I am doing this is northing more than it’s a good challenge to do in the off season … I am currently crap at pushups …

Go on … have a go!

W/E 15/10/2010

A solid weeks training, for me this week with 11 hours of training, this week saw me pick up a thigh injury that meant some changing of plans then come down with a cold .. so no swimming at all this week, I am not overly worried about my lack of swimming at the moment but need to keep an eye on things.

SAT	__	__	Rest Day
SUN	AM	01:40	RUN: Easy multi terrain run
MON	AM	00:10	100 push up challenge 2:1
MON	PM	01:30	BIKE: Structured session (Brick Pt1)
MON	PM	00:22	RUN: including 6x45sec hill sprints (Brick Pt2)
TUE	AM	00:55	STRENGTH: Session from PT
TUE	PM	02:21	BIKE: Lower end LT session
WED	PM	01:35	RUN: Hard Intervals
THU	AM	01:00	STRENGTH: PT Session
FRI	AM	01:07	BIKE: MTB (Brick Pt1)
FRI	AM	00:10	RUN: (Brick Pt2)
FRI	PM	00:10	100 push up challenge 2:2

SWIM	00:00
BIKE	04:58
RUN	03:47
STRENGTH	02:15
TOTAL	11:00

GEAR REVIEW: Petzl MYO XP

The winter, as the nights draw in, normally pushes evening onto the roads and more well lit routes that are normally suffer from being boring, choked with fumes from traffic or clogged with pedestrians, Well this year I wanted it to be different .. I wanted to embrace winter wild running, to be able to continue to enjoy runs along the river banks and through woods and parks, so to this end I decided to look at head touches as a means of lighting my way.

After quite a bit research, I new what I wanted, something light that took regular batteries, had a good burn time and most importantly was bright. There were a couple in the running a model from Lennser and another from Petzl … and, by default, since I could not find anyone with the Lenser in stock I ended up by the Petzl.

The model I purchased was the Petzl MYO XP and off I went for an evening run on the heath.

I originally had reservations about the battery pack on the rear of the strap, but once I had but the Petzl on I found it adjusted easily and was comfortable to wear; I used it on maximum power for about the last hour of a hard interval run, during which the light stayed in place and did not irritate.

The light was bright enough for me to see comfortable, meaning I was able to push myself during the session without fear of tripping over an unseen obstruction and its adjustability meant it shone exactly where needed.

I will definitely be using the Petzl MYO XP to allow me to continue running off road this winter and as a supplemental light while out on my bike … you can never be too safe out there

RATING 9/10

Features

• Shines up to 97metres (boost mode)
• 86 lumens (maximum level)
• 150 lumens (boost mode)
• 3 lighting levels (maximum, optimum, economic)
• Wide angle lens allows to quickly switch from flood beam proximity lighting to focused long distance lighting in a single movement
• Boost mode increases power if needed while optimizing energy consumption and weight (175g with batteries)
• 180 hour light duration at economic level (80h on maximum)
• Battery charge indicator light warns when batteries are 70% and then 90% discharged
• Head Band includes top strap.
• 3 year warranty

Specification

• Dark grey, black headband with grey graphics
• Water resistant for all weather use
• Polycarbonate wide angle lens
• Operates on 3 AA/LR6 batteries (included)

Intervals on the Heath

I had planned to do cycling hill reps tonight but I have a slight niggle still in my upper thigh so thought I better not put it under the stress of hill work.

So instead I thought I'd run, intervals to be specific on the local heath its flat and off road (on grass) so easier on the injury. I totalled just over 10.5 mile in the 1:35, which looked like : -

• Warm up
• 10 x 2mins @ 87%+mhr | 2min active recovery
• 10min steady
• 10 x 1min @ 90%+mhr | 90secs active recovery
• Warm Down

AHR = 76% MHR
MHR = 95% MHR

It was a good session and I got to try out my new head torch, which I will be providing a review of later.

Cycling Physiological Assessment (Part 2)

Interpreting the results …

Having all that data is one thing but understanding what it means and how to make use of it is another, the output from the assessment was a personalised 13 page report, which took a few days to prepare, that combined my results with my sporting aims (endurance as opposed to sprint) but briefly here are some points that came form the report …

Firstly my training zones: -

ZONE	HR	GUIDELINES
1	to 112bpm	Used for recovery purposes. Early winter training, or as a training zone if you build up extensive miles (6 hours/day)
2	114bpm -147bpm	Foundation of endurance training. Develops lactate removal capabilities and extensive overload on the mechanisms of aerobic respiration. The level where training induces performance improvements.
3	148bpm -162bpm	This is intensive training. This will bring your form forward to a peak. It is probably easier to do this type of training in an interval format, as it is simply difficult to maintain this intensity for long periods without the ‘racing’ motivation. The level three training sessions will be quite short.
4	162bpm +	Intensive intervals to top your form off. Monitoring of heart rate is usually not needed. Can be developed to enhance sprinting and time trialling.

Next my weight, as can be seen I an quite a bit heavier than the elite or age grouper (although taller) so I could do with dropping some weight, this will not improve my cycling but will help improve my power to weight ratio (currently 3.06W/kg) my aim is to drop about 6kg which by itself will help me realise a .25W/kg improvement and help with my climbing (which has always a problem)

Improving maximum power and oxygen consumption (and helping push up my VO2max) will be a case of training mid to longer training sessions in Zone 2 with mid (upper mid) zone having the most benefit and save most of the Zone 3+ work until after base training. To ensure control over this factor the use of turbo / spinning bike will be adopted in the off season

My strength is not very good (283w max power) so that is another area I need to work on during the off season and this needs to be both cycling specific and generic.  The cycling specific work will be taking the form of hill reps and be complicated with some off season gym work focusing on strength endurance this will help me push up my wattage and therefore improve my cycling weight to strength ratio.

So that is what my plan is based on at the moment and I will be going back to get retested in the new year to see what effect my training is having and this will co-inside with me commencing a specific Ironman training program.

Cycling Physiological Assessment (Part 1)

I have always said that the bike is my weakest discipline and no mater what I have tried I have always struggled to make improvements, well lately I have decided to have a scientific look at my weakness and have it quantified and develop a training plan based on this.

To this end I took part in a Cycling Physiological Assessment at Canterbury Christ Church Universities sports science department. This involved cycling on a bike that measured my power output, while my heart rate, oxygen consumption were recoded along with taking regular blood samples to measure my blood lactic saturations.

The aim of the assessment was primarily to: -

1. Highlight specific strengths and weaknesses of your fitness profile in relation to your sport,
2. Provide a scientific basis for any training guidance we may offer, and
3. Enable regular monitoring of any changes in the components assessed

The tests last between 60 and 90mins and take the form of riding up a couple of hills that just keep getting steeper and steeper

So the following table is the output from the tests and show how poor I actually am on the bike: -

NAME	XXXXXXXX	Hogarth	XXXXXXXX
CATEGORY	Local Age Grouper	Triathlete	Elite Triathlete
AGE	38 years	44 years	25 years
HEIGHT	1.79 m	1.86 m	1.78 m
MASS	75.9 kg	92.4 kg	70.2 kg
BODY FAT %	-	-	10.40%
FAT MASS	-	-	7.3 kg
LEAN MASS	-	-	62.9 kg
HAEMATOCRIT	-	-	-
HAEMOGLOBIN	-	-	-
MAXIMUM HEART RATE	170 beats.min-1	174 beats.min-1	188 beats.min-1
MAXIMUM MINUTE POWER	338 W	283 W	385 W
POWER:WEIGHT RATIO	4.45 W.kg-1	3.06 W.kg-1	5.47 W.kg-1
POWER:WEIGHT (0.32)	84.6 W.kg -(0.32)	66.5 W.kg -(0.32)	98.8 W.kg -(0.32)
POWER:WEIGHT (0.67)	18.6 W.kg- (0.67)	13.6 W.kg- (0.67)	22.3 W.kg- (0.67)
MAXIMAL OXYGEN CONSUMPTION (Absolute)	3.95 L.min-1	3.89 L.min-1	5.21 L.min-1
MAXIMAL OXYGEN CONSUMPTION (Relative)	52.0 mL.kg-1.min-1	42.1 mL.kg-1.min-1	74.3 mL.kg-1.min-1
GROSS EFFICIENCY (POWER)	21.2 % (250 watts)	19.5 % (200 watts)	20.9 % (310 watts)
LACTATE THRESHOLD (LT) POWER (Absolute)	175 W	125 W	230 W
LACTATE THRESHOLD (LT) POWER (kg)	2.31 W.kg-1	1.35 W.kg-1	3.28 W.kg-1
LACTATE THRESHOLD (LT) VAO2 (Absolute)	2.50 L.min-1	1.98 L.min-1	3.36 L.min-1
LACTATE THRESHOLD (LT) VAO2 (kg)	32.9 mL.kg-1.min-1	21.4 mL.kg-1.min-1	47.9 mL.kg-1.min-1
THRESHOLD HEART RATE (LT)	120 beats.min-1	112 beats.min-1	-
LACTATE THRESHOLD (OBLA) POWER (Absolute)	236 W	202 W	323 W
LACTATE THRESHOLD (OBLA) POWER (kg)	3.11 W.kg-1	2.19 W.kg-1	4.60 W.kg-1
LACTATE THRESHOLD (OBLA) VAO2 (Absolute)	3.19 L.min-1	2.99 L.min-1	4.37 L.min-1
LACTATE THRESHOLD (OBLA) VAO2 (kg)	42.0 mL.kg-1.min-1	32.3 mL.kg-1.min-1	62.3 mL.kg-1.min-1
THRESHOLD HEART RATE (OBLA)	140 beats.min-1	147 beats.min-1	-
ISOCAPNIC BUFFERING PHASE (W)	65 W	65 W	93 W
ISOCAPNIC BUFFERING PHASE (VAO2 kg)	8.9 mL.kg-1.min-1	8.1 mL.kg-1.min-1	14.3 mL.kg-1.min-1
HYPOCAPNIC HYPERVENTILATION (W)	60 W	54 W	62 W
HPOCAPNIC HYPERVENTILATION (VAO2 kg)	7.1 mL.kg-1.min-1	7.2 mL.kg-1.min-1	12.0 mL.kg-1.min-1
RELATIVE BUFFERING (W)	23.30%	28.40%	28.80%
PREDICTED 40km PERFORMANCE TIME (HH:MM:SS)	01:02:27	01:05:03	54:49:00

W/E 08/10/2001

A good solid week of 10hrs  but very little swimming

SAT	AM	00:25	RUN: Easy 2miles
SUN	PM	00:10	100 push up challenge 1:1
MON	PM	01:45	BIKE: 35miles at 90% OBLA
MON	PM	00:38	RUN: 4.5miles tempo (in 5c45sec hill sprints)
TUE	AM	00:35	SWIM: 1600m as 4x400m
TUE	PM	00:10	100 push up challenge 1:2
TUE	PM	01:45	BIKE: 33miles intervals
WED	PM	01:30	BIKE: 22miles hill reps
THU	PM	01:12	Strength: PT Session
FRI	AM	01:01	RUN: 6.8mile Trails
FRI	AM	00:11	100 push up challenge 1:3
FRI	PM	00:37	RUN:3.1Mile Trails and paths

Back Again ... Again ... Again

Hi all

I am going to have another go at Blogging my progress towards an Ironman, this year Ironman Regensburg. The reason last years blogging came to an end was fact i have gone self employed and my life has been chaos.

Last year turned out o be a complete shambles as far as my training progressed, working away from home and not being able to get my head focused resulted in the worst IM time so far IM Germany 2010 = 14:51

Training was all over the place with a lot of weeks only being 3 sessions and only 2 long rides all together

This year I will again try and get my backside into gear and go for another Ironman with a target of under 13hrs ... Ironman Regensburg here I come ...