Ironman Race Execution.
you tube link: http://youtu.be/7iwTVnqcj3U
Monday, August 20, 2012
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
X-Terra race report
One of our local CO athletes sent me a quick race report on an X-Terra race he did last weekend. while he in not an X-Terra athlete he still did quite well. i thought this was well worth the post.
enjoy!
"The race was held at Eldora, at ~9200'. Water temperature was 61 or 62 F, wetsuits were required, not optional. I wore a neoprene swim cap i bought in case the water was cold at st George. It felt fine and didn't bother me at all. I guess the work in the pool is paying off. I averaged 1:38 per 100 yd, which is the fastest swim pace I've done (and at 9200' elevation!). I'd say this swim leg was the highlight of the day.
enjoy!
"The race was held at Eldora, at ~9200'. Water temperature was 61 or 62 F, wetsuits were required, not optional. I wore a neoprene swim cap i bought in case the water was cold at st George. It felt fine and didn't bother me at all. I guess the work in the pool is paying off. I averaged 1:38 per 100 yd, which is the fastest swim pace I've done (and at 9200' elevation!). I'd say this swim leg was the highlight of the day.
The bike was fine. I put too much air in my tires, thinking the race would be on nordic trails and fire roads as per the race description. It was, but there were also some loose, rocky and steep sections, just like any front range ride. Maybe I went a little faster on the flats on wide fire roads, but felt less stable on the loose downhills and rocky uphill sections, lesson learned. I couldn't imagine how tought it would be to stay in control on some of those trails while on skinny nordic skis. A few guys bombed by me on the downhills, but really didn't gain much time. I think i passed them all on the run in the first mile or so. Mountain bike riding is very anaerobic. Avg HR on the bike ride 160.
The run was just confusing. Very winding, tight and rocky, with some very steep hills. Not very many chances to actually get in a good rhythm.
All in all, it was a good time, a good change of pace from the normal routine. I might be tempted to do more of these races in the future. . . race wheels for the mtb...or maybe a carbon hardtail to drop weight."
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Race Execution!
Live webinar hosted by Training Peaks!
On race day all the training is done. In the bank. In long distances races being tough is important, but relying on being a "tough guy" never seems to workout well.
Race day is 100% about race execution. Self tactics. how does one use their strengths to guard there weaknesses and give themselves as much opportunity as possible to meet their goals?
Sign Up HERE
 |
| First let the fish run, before you can real it in for the catch. |
On race day all the training is done. In the bank. In long distances races being tough is important, but relying on being a "tough guy" never seems to workout well.
Race day is 100% about race execution. Self tactics. how does one use their strengths to guard there weaknesses and give themselves as much opportunity as possible to meet their goals?
Sign Up HERE
Saturday, June 30, 2012
30 days to Better Cycling and ride Challenge!
June 30th workout, podcast, .
Day 1 workout above.
Lactate Threshold, Zone 4The anchor point for our training...
First off gang to really get the full spectrum of each topic read the posts AND listen to the audio. There are not the same. A good Threshold work out is in the Audio.
Threshold: your lactate threshold is talked about in many different terms so lets get it straight. Its “Lactate Threshold”. or just threshold. Not anaerobic threshold, aerobic threshold, etc…
Your threshold is defined as the point at which your body can not fitter and process the lactic acid and lactate you are producing and it builds up. When this happens your rate of work can’t be sustained very long. While many people can produce there power at threshold for up to an hour but go 5% harder and your down to holding that power for 30’ -20’ or less! A big drop off!
You tube Chanel podcast on lactate threshold
How we test for our Threshold:
~The lab. Best way, can be expensive, using a power meter and heart rate during the test is the ONLY way to go!
~Field Test: very good and the most practical. We don’t race in a lab. For this a test of 40 minutes or more should be used. Use a course that you don’t have to stop on and allows you to produce a steady power out put. To find threshold HR take your avg. HR after the first10 minutes or so, when it final settles in.
“Why 40’ I heard it was what you can do for an hour”. “I heard it was what you can do for 30”.
Again your threshold is defined by blood levels of lactic acid. I know many athletes who either can not do this out for a full hour or can but only when the planets align. This is where we come to FTP. “Functional Threshold Power”. To use your Threshold in training it needs to “functional” repeatable, useable. It takes a very sound rider to do a full hour right at threshold. You will see some riders who have no problem with this while other will struggle a bit. We’re all different. In our experience here the newer the athlete, the less time they can hold lab defined threshold for. However, the 1 hour TT is the standard and everyone should be striving for this.
With all tests, races and training there is no one piece of data that defines your abilities. Do several tests, take many data points and match that up to a lab test. As said earlier the more data points you have to define your threshold the better. just because you rode up Appellation Gap in 1 hour, one time, way back when, probably with a tail wind, doesn’t mean that is your threshold. its got to be repeatable!
Your Zones:
This is the starting point for all your zones. If your using the old 220 minus your age for HR its most likely wrong. If your gym has one of these charts up, tell them to get with the post 1990’s!
An excellent description of how your zones should be set up is here
http://home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/cycling/power-training-levels.aspx
As you can see each zone has a range. So don’t stress out about finding your HR or wattage at threshold the .001%. you want to be as accurate as possible, yes, but don’t loose sleep. With the ranges in each zone, the variability in athletes in every zone and the fact that you will be defining these zones with more than one data point, you will have lots of good reference points and well set up zones for very effective training.
Bottom Line:
~Test every month or so.
~Use more than one data point/test to determine your Threshold
~Use differnt types of tests ie. best 1 hr. normalized power from a race, 1 hr TT, 30' TT less 3-5%)
~Get a threshold from climbing and TT
~realize we are all a bit different. what your pals do is good knoldge but find out what YOU can do and can't do.
Day 1 workout above.
Lactate Threshold, Zone 4The anchor point for our training...
First off gang to really get the full spectrum of each topic read the posts AND listen to the audio. There are not the same. A good Threshold work out is in the Audio.
Threshold: your lactate threshold is talked about in many different terms so lets get it straight. Its “Lactate Threshold”. or just threshold. Not anaerobic threshold, aerobic threshold, etc…
Your threshold is defined as the point at which your body can not fitter and process the lactic acid and lactate you are producing and it builds up. When this happens your rate of work can’t be sustained very long. While many people can produce there power at threshold for up to an hour but go 5% harder and your down to holding that power for 30’ -20’ or less! A big drop off!
You tube Chanel podcast on lactate threshold
How we test for our Threshold:
~The lab. Best way, can be expensive, using a power meter and heart rate during the test is the ONLY way to go!
~Field Test: very good and the most practical. We don’t race in a lab. For this a test of 40 minutes or more should be used. Use a course that you don’t have to stop on and allows you to produce a steady power out put. To find threshold HR take your avg. HR after the first10 minutes or so, when it final settles in.
“Why 40’ I heard it was what you can do for an hour”. “I heard it was what you can do for 30”.
Again your threshold is defined by blood levels of lactic acid. I know many athletes who either can not do this out for a full hour or can but only when the planets align. This is where we come to FTP. “Functional Threshold Power”. To use your Threshold in training it needs to “functional” repeatable, useable. It takes a very sound rider to do a full hour right at threshold. You will see some riders who have no problem with this while other will struggle a bit. We’re all different. In our experience here the newer the athlete, the less time they can hold lab defined threshold for. However, the 1 hour TT is the standard and everyone should be striving for this.
With all tests, races and training there is no one piece of data that defines your abilities. Do several tests, take many data points and match that up to a lab test. As said earlier the more data points you have to define your threshold the better. just because you rode up Appellation Gap in 1 hour, one time, way back when, probably with a tail wind, doesn’t mean that is your threshold. its got to be repeatable!
Your Zones:
This is the starting point for all your zones. If your using the old 220 minus your age for HR its most likely wrong. If your gym has one of these charts up, tell them to get with the post 1990’s!
An excellent description of how your zones should be set up is here
http://home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/cycling/power-training-levels.aspx
As you can see each zone has a range. So don’t stress out about finding your HR or wattage at threshold the .001%. you want to be as accurate as possible, yes, but don’t loose sleep. With the ranges in each zone, the variability in athletes in every zone and the fact that you will be defining these zones with more than one data point, you will have lots of good reference points and well set up zones for very effective training.
Bottom Line:
~Test every month or so.
~Use more than one data point/test to determine your Threshold
~Use differnt types of tests ie. best 1 hr. normalized power from a race, 1 hr TT, 30' TT less 3-5%)
~Get a threshold from climbing and TT
~realize we are all a bit different. what your pals do is good knoldge but find out what YOU can do and can't do.
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