a good day

Today was a good day at the pool, and a good day overall as well. The swims were low intensity, long sets and I was on my own on the lane (I did this practice after hours due to conflict with following the finals).


As I was on my own I decided to go really relaxed and forget the times. It was also a good opportunity to practice my secret weapon: the 10stroke cycle. The 10 stroke cycle works better in open water swim or long pools, but if you’re on your own on a 25m pool, you can have good fun practicing it.

It goes like this: pull from the wall, three strokes, breathe, three strokes, beathe, two strokes, breathe, two strokes, breathe and lift the head till the nose is at the water level, watch the buoy, or the wall, and start again. I have reached a point where my strokes are pretty well balanced, and my breathing is OK from either left or right. However I still prefer to start with my left arm, meaning that I’ll have to breathe on my left hand side more often.

The 10stroke cycle is something that I did for me and I’m not sure it will work for someone else, but I can tell you some of the advantages, though.

For starters it is a good way to concentrate, if you’re counting and making sure you’re on the right track, whatever happens in the surroundings evaporates and you’re just swimming.

Secondly, I is good for navigation. Lifting the head every 10 strokes is as much as you need in most of the open water swims. Even with 5feet swell I’ve had no troubles doing this stroke cycle.

Another good point is that it allows for good alternation of speed and strength in your stroke, without altering the breathing pattern too much. Very often I see other swimmers sticking to 3 or 4 strokes for every breath at the beginning, and then slowly loosing time with a 2 stroke last 400m.

To be fair, I’d have to list some cons of this swim stroke. I can only think of two: the first one is that it is very individual and it hasn’t been tested in a lot of athletes…. So you’re forgiven if you don’t buy.

The second disadvantage is that it does require a good adaptation period, and many of us don’t hit the open water often enough.

I will continue to use this until someone proves me wrong, so if you adopt this style please don’t forget to cite the source : )
 
Date 12 July
Sport Swim / run
Time 60min / 60min
Dist: 3.2km / 8km
Comment: all pacey, patience will get me there

Sunny weekend!

It was sooooo nice to go out there and ride all day long!, beautiful chilly winter mornings.
I jumped on my bike to to to the core conditioning that coach has on the Saturdays and a lil' run after, there was a bit of a fright with one of my quads giving me another of those funny cramps I mentioned before. I am definetely seing a physio on Monday. Then there was one full day and a half for me to rest and recover after a hard week.

I figured out what the problem may have been with my performance at training. Last time I was doing this kind of intensity workouts my house was a nest for family, my mother and sister in law were staying for a holiday and Nat's mum took care of the house, cooking, washing and pretty much everything for us. That is one hour or two a day that Nat and I are putting on our backs.

I reckon that extra housework and then going to bed a little bit later and a little bit more tired is the difference. It's good to find out, and the solution is easy, just go to bed a bit earlier and be smarter about the housework, we're back on track.

On anothe note, I received my race uniform from TriNZ, and my running cap. They look pretty mighty in black and they are open to sponsors to advertise. We get a pretty good deal from 2xU for other gear, but at the time I had to pay for the uniform I didn't have the dough for them. I hope TriNZ opens the online store again next month so I can get some more stuff.

In the meantime I'll take the race suit for name printing and so on.

Today was a day of so we enjoyed the sun and some fine food @ the beach,

Hope your weekend rocked as well.

Date: 11 july

Sport: run

Time 45min

Dist: 7km

Comment: cut short

the infamous test set

Today in the morning it was time for one of my least favourite swim sets. It just says TS in the programme, and it stands for TEST SET. They are a good way to know where you are, and in today's case it was also a good wake up call. The mechanic is very simple, swim 100m all out, rest for 10 secs, swim 100m all out, rest for 10 secs, swim 100m all out.... you get the picture. (not dissimilar to the wingate test I did on the bike some time ago)
I've been at the pool pool for 15 months now, and I've done 5 of these sets.  the first time I was preparing for a sprint tri, so I was only required to do 6. From then onwards I've had had to do them in full. It's hard to get the mind around going all out at all times, It took me to my third one to get it right. On the first time, I blew up, but as it was only 6 it was ok. The second time I thought I was going to approach it in a smarter way, but I was told of for holding my efforts in the first reps.
Our lane is three or four guys and we all swim very similar times. I used to be a notch faster but I think that may not be the case any more. So the lead is altenated between the three of depending our weaknesses and strenghts. I am good at short sets, Martin is goo at longer sets, and Carl is a freak when we're using any aids like buoys, fins or the mother of all paddles.
So I knew about todays' set for the last week or so, and although I did not tapper for it, it was there in the back of my head all day yesterday.
In the past I did 1.06 and 1.08 for the first hundred, and then stayed in the 1.20-1.28 area for the rest of the set, with the last one being just over 1.15.

Today I was 1.09 for the first hundie and from the second 100 it all went downhill (1.25's to 1.35's). I just didn't have it anywhere in my body. I kept swimming in good form and everything, but there was lactate everywhere. (the photo illustrates my eyesight after finishing the set)
I'm still happy that I did everything by the book, but a bit concerned by the fact that I lost time to the other two guys. I don't say it as if it is a race, but there is a benchmark and I felt I did not reach it today. I'm also satisfied to know the HR drop was OK as well in the minutes after the set.
There'll be another one of this sets somewhere in August, we shall see what comes out of it.

Date: 9 July
Sport: swimming/running
Time: 60min / 40min
Dist: 2.9km / 6km
Comment: friday run sprints are back!, more news to come

Mind games

Day 4 of the hard week on the programme and I'm spent big time. It has been a bit of a jump in the intensity and another one in teh volume of the workouts. I am also doing everything by the book (that means that I'll run 70 minutes and not 68 or 73 at the right intensity). I am working towards an outcome (being the best I can for the race) and can't afford to miss any of these work-outs.
There's also the mind games.

I am a very calm type of guy. I don't panic when under pressure and I very very rarely get angry. Anyway, it happens that when training becomes a job and every day I has more and more on the plate for me, I end up focusing on the wrong things. I've been bothered by a mild cold that never develops, pain in the shoulder, pain in the neck (I need a new pillow) and sore calves.

It is not the first time that happens, but I'm making a stand not to let any of that to interfere with my training. None of those aches and pains are really painful to make me stop a workout (most times) , but they do alter my concentration and I won't let that happen.
Triathlon is an endurance sport, and one thing I have learned is that endurance does not only refer to the ability to endure physical activity for prolongued periods of time, but also to the ability to endure some pain associated with it. I'll be doing a bike workout on my own this evening, and I will have to shut the pain windows for some time.
So, here I am, 2 months out of the race and already playing mind games with myself, this is going to get interesting.

On a second note, while re reading what I wrote I realized that this is what happens to me when making the change from base to competition period, the first couple of weeks are quite traumatic and then it all goes smooth as.

happy training everyone,

Date: 7/8 July
Sport: Swimming/Running/Running T/Cycling
Time: 60min/70min/15min/60min
Dist: 3.2km/16.8km/3.2km/n/a
Comment: bring on the new pillow!

Le tour

The first reference that I have of the tour is some newsflash from the early nineties, when Indurain ruled. I remember reading bits and pieces here and there and then it all dissapeared until some years ago, when the big texan brought the tour back to the masses.

It's a truly amazing race, a feast of endurance cycling and certainly something that is up there in the bucket list for me to go and watch, ride and drink.

I started following year in, year out and the last 4 editions I've been up there following each stage, highlights and web coverage. I don't have the sports channel to follow it on TV, so I've been most happy when people gives me old editions that I can watch on DVD. However, same as I do with Kona, I prefer the written words. The race recap, the stage narrated hour by hour and sometimes every 10 minutes. The opinions right after, the winner's view of the race and everyone's take on the events of the day. I love the vertigo of those chronicles and how the writer battles to keep one put on the seat... reading.
 
And the photos.
 
It is more demanding and time consuming than the TV coverage, but a thousand words, many times say more than one image. May and July are months of joy for me, there's books I'm reading, but what I read more is the websites, blogs and papers stories on how the tour and giro are going.
 
So today I started my day with half hour of tour reading/watching and I was a happy man. No sore legs from yesterday, no sore shoulder, only one itching desire to go out riding for hours.
 
Unfortunately life catches up and I had to go and do some work, and it's rainy and cold, so the road is a no-no. I'll be seating in a windtrainer for an hour and that'll be my day,
 
but no one can take my morning joy
 
Date: 5-6 July
Sport: Swimming/Running/running T/Cycling / Running
Time: 60min/60min/15min/70min/15min
Dist: 3.3km/9km/3km/n/a/3km
Comment: slowly building fatigue, this is getting good!

Dark patch

The mighty argentinean team lost in the quarter finals game against Germany. It was a very hard couple of days. The game aired at 2am Sunday NZ time. I planned to do a lot of training on the Saturday, sleep a little siesta and go to the local to see the game with another couple of hundred expats.

I went to a core and muscle conditioning session that coach runs during the off season. They do this circuit of 20 workouts in 20 minutes as 20seconds excercice, 40 rest, then 25secs excercise, 35 sec rest... and so on through 12 weeks. Saturday was a 45do 15 rest, and I think it kind of cooked me. I jumped on my bike and off for a 80km ride, that I did with my backpack carrying the clothing from the previous session. A different way to go up the hills, and certainly a different way to do little 3km TT's.

Got home, ate, watched movies and slept it.

The game was interesting but not flash and I went to bed at 4am really p'ssed in more than one sense, but knowing I had all Sunday to lay in.

Unfortunately my body and my circadian rythm weren't of the same opinion and I woke up at 10 or just past. Had brekkie, called the family and took Nat out.

Today is the start of the race prep phase and I did a half cooked workout due to a shoulder niggle.

That's the recent developments from rainy Auckland

thanks to all those that voted, and to the one's who didn't please do on the following link:

http://doyourthing.co.nz/2010-00690/valentino-luna-hernandez

Date: 2-3 July

Sport: Swimming/Running/Cycling

Time: 60min/45min/180min

Dist: 3.5km/8km/80km

Comment: grey weekend.

Honouring my word

Thanks to all the ones who voted me, we’re a month away and I need to collect 3000 more votes to have a chance… It’s gonna be an uphill battle (but only to the top, then is all downhill).


I said I would give triathlon advise to whoever voted me and let me know. And today I’m honouring my word. As there was only three of you I’m not going to spill all my worth of sports knowledge. Besides, there’s plenty of people that had said wiser things before, so here’s my contribution:

Three things I didn’t know you need for your triathlon races

Killer instinct: often left aside by coaches and athletes outside the elites, this is one mighty weapon that can turn your performance on or off. Combined with good fitness, this is the best way to make an A race your race, always.
Killer instinct drives you to get in amongst the washing machine in the swim, keep tailing that guys that just passed you and sprint to your max in the run.
The only counter indication is that killer instinct can drive you to hit big walls at time. It’ll always work better in combination with good athletic state.

Running legs: I’ve seen this time and time again, and I’ve suffered it myself: triathletes don’t pack their running legs for races, and end up going at the same pace as when they trained hard. The running legs can’t be purchased online. They have to be grown. A pair of 35min10km running legs take a good year or two, a pair of 30min10km running legs take a five year period to grow, and only on some types.
The key here is to make do with whatever is there in your genetic wardrobe, and MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE you pack them for your next race. All my run pb’s are triathlon races. And I never go more than 10% close to them at any one time during training.

Racing experience: the more I race, the more I like it. Same as the running legs, racing experience does not retail on bike shops. I find this blogs a good source of second hand experience, and of course many time I pick things that may apply to my races. But each race I learn more and more.

Happy training!

Date: 30 – 1 July
Sport: swim / cycling
Time: 60min / 60min
Dist: 3.6 km / n/a
Comment: I was beaten by my wife in the 10x100 free with fins set (shame!)