Hey CP, sorry I haven't gotten back in touch. I didn't get back until late friday night, woke up on Sat, went and got my new bike (Trek Emonda 6) then it started raining. So after a nap (because my body had enough) I got up and ran 7 mi. The run went great. My foot felt good as I was very aware of my foot strike and the angle of the ground. So Last week I got 16 mi in running and for the most part it felt good. The run on the TM was not bad. The next day I ran for 5 and it went ok. But then with the shifts and pulling night drills, my running stopped till I got home.
Yesterday I rode for 30mi. and it went well. Today I will kick out 3-4 mi. running before work tonight and do the prescribed workout manana. I am a little worried about the distance this weekend as I have only put in 90' on the run for the longest distance and that was 10.5mi and when my foot hurt. So we hope Quassy will be ok.
Thanks for the update. I think between your run workouts and your work shift, you have all the strength you need. Success at Quassy will be determined by Nutrition on the bike and smart Pacing in those early run miles (follow bike HR for first 3).
Do your best to stay in the middle of the road/off of the camber. That’s the spot that won’t get you if you don’t pay attention. I will be sending you strong vibes.
Thanks CP, I appreciate it. It have been putting in some good runs and some bike time this week. So I will chill over the next couple of days and just swim when I get up there. I listened to your podcast today and it was a great one. I love listening to it on the bike. If nothing else, I will be talking with you next week. Thanks.
Good morning CP, I hope your weekend was good. Quassy was less than stellar for me for a few reasons. 1, I didn't take in enough nutrition on the bike. It was cool weather in the first half and I took in a lot, so I kept having to stop to pee. So then when it got warmer, I didn't do what I should and kept with my slower intake of fluid. This led to a bad second half of my run. I cramped and my energy hit the floor. 2, I over extended myself on the bike wattage. It was tough to maintain my Z2-3 area going up and down the hills. I didn't feel bad, and I feel as if I would have been fine if I was better on my nutrition. So I learned a lot, and ready to pick it back up. I had a good couple of days of recovery, afterwhich I swam a few days then entered a bike ride in. This morning I ran for just over 3mi and felt good. So I will be back at it tomorrow.
Thank you for the update. It’s very hard to stay steady despite the terrain, but as you noted it helps you pay attention to the changing elements of the race.
Very odd that you would peethat much so early in the ride. Could be you were over hydrated from the day before/morning? Since you don’t drink on the swim then hydration doesn’t start until the bike and it should take at least an hour or 90 minutes to get through your system.
I usually recommend that people hydrate early in preparation for those higher temperatures so I feel like you’re halfway there.
As we move into this next phase of your training, let’s really focus on controlling your whites on the longer we can rides so you can develop that skill.
Evening Coach, hope all is well. I had a good last few days of training. Next week may be rough with all the work I have to do, so I am glad that I was able to get the miles in over the last few days. I took Tuesday off because my legs felt like death. Then on Wed. I got on the (hopefully new) tri bike for 50+ miles to try it out. It went well, however the frame may be a tad small, so my tri shop gave me the next size up to try. I will be riding it on Wed. to see. But all in all, it was great. That night I did a open water swim at the lake with a friend. I was tired so we just did about 15'. Then on Thurs. We got up and went to Brushy Mountain. Its located just outside of Wilkesboro, NC. It was great. We put in 50+ miles with just over 5000 ft of elevation. Then today I got to get a long run in (11+ miles). The run was good as I did what you recommended and ran in the opposite direction I usually run. I held a good pace given the heat of around 90. Still dealing with some of the Mortons neuroma, but only on the bike (road bike). As I go to the mountains next weekend, I will be paying attention to this. If it persists, I will go to the ortho.
I am going to try to get another long run in next week (wed) but the week is looking rough. I work tomorrow (sat.), half on Sun., then full day on Monday. Tuesday is Helo training, then Wed. is a half day in the afternoon with the academy. Then work on Thursday, then friday is off to the mountains. I will put in some miles on the run and swim this week for sure, but little on the bike till Saturday.
Married life is great. It helps that we have been together for a while and communicate pretty well. Our faith is huge with us as well, and is the cornerstone for us. How is your wife and family? I am sure not many ppl ask you about your life. With your schedule, as well as your wife and kids, how do you juggle it all?
@Eric DePoto - Nice work last week! The best antidote for a tough week like this one, is to have a great week like last one. Very impressed. All you have to do this week just keep the fire burning with a few short runs. Sorry for the bad analogy!
Please keep me posted on an aroma, and remember to keep an eye on the life of your footwear.
It’s always a struggle. I am blessed to be home during the day so a lot of low stress Frequent interactions with my kids makes life a lot easier head takes pressure off of the other times. That, and my amazing wife!
Coach, I am so glad to hear your personal life is good. Without that, other things can be very tough.
I changed my long run up due to schedule issues in the last minute. So after a day of flying and doing rescues on Tues. I did a small swim and bike on Wed. then I did a 8.5 mi run on Thurs. to the FH then I am returning to the house today in the same fashion. Sat. I have BSG hundo ride with close to 10000ft. of elev. Sunday may be a rest day for me, what do you think?
I feel as if I am not following a concrete schedule as of late which is causing me some anxiety. I think I just need to stop juggling 1000 things.
Ok, so my run home was awesome! Other than two (yes two) Aholes almost hitting me on the run. How that happens you ask? I say they are in too much of a rush and centered on themselves (rant over). Ok so it was great. Held a sub 8 pace and felt great. Got some chiro after that with acupuncture and shock wave therapy.
BSG was good as well. I did the ride in sub 6:30 with about 8000 ft. of elevation. I felt great till about 90, then I just felt fatigued. I never cramped and just stayed even on the pedals. I didn't try to KOM anything, but I did get aggressive with the descents. All in all, a good day. When you get the chance look at my strava, and give me your thoughts. I too today (Sunday) off but will swim tomorrow and ride 50 on the TT. I have a massage tomorrow at 4 then Tues, I have chiro again.
I really like how you are adding the distance and continuing to be smart. This process of adding volume can be a tricky business, you seem to be managing it well. These next two weekends I am not worried about that Long ride. I would prefer you get more tempo riding in at ABP.
This should allow you to continue developing that long run safely. Might give you the chance to stick in one extra swim toO.
CP thanks for the compliment, it truly just fell that way. I am feeling good after todays run. I pushed the run and did a good Z2 pace overall, but got into Z3 for about 4 miles. If there is anyway we can talk before williamsburg that would be great. I just want to make sure I am going into the next few weeks of my training with my head straight and tight.
So far so good. Happy 4th to you and your family! I feel good and will go for a easy spinning 4th ride today and a 30' run. I hope you are able to enjoy today and all it offers. I will hit you up tomorrow.
Hey Coach hope you are well. I am getting ready for this weekend and very excited. Been at work today and got a swim in this morning, so all is good. Tomorrow I leave to drive up there and should be ready.
Q: You have for me to load the EN Full advanced and do level 2. There is the 2017 EN Full advanced but no level 2, and there is the 2018 EN full bike or run focused with level 2 in there, which one of the three do you want me to load?
CP good morning, hope you are well. I was in Williamsburg and raced the half. I saw Mariah while I was there and it was good to see her and catch up. The race went all in all well. I had some issues which were unforeseen but all in all went well.
Swim: Went good. I was with the current on the first half, but got caught in the turmoil of currents at the turn which slowed me down a bit but all in all, felt good. Pulled a 32' out of it.
T1: Smooth, not fast but smooth. No issues.
Bike: Pulled it out. I say that because at mile 10 I hit a pot hole and it dropped my seat down 1.25in.
Timeline: Mi. 6, chain came off and jammed in between my frame and crank. Mi. 10 seat dropped (I didn't have a multi tool so I just rode it). Mi. 14, pee brake. Mi. 35, stopped to give a guy my extra tube and CO2, he had nothing. Put down 2.5 bottles of nutrition and 2 gels
Rode 2:40. Avg Pwr 195. NP 205
T2: pee'd again.
Run: Did pretty good. I started out a little fast, but felt real good. I was avg'g a 7:48. At mi. 5 I had my right quad tighten up so I stretched it and slowed my pace to about a 8'. At mi. 8 my quads finally we pissed from the bike (I am assuming) and I dropped to a mid 9 pace to finish. I never cramped but was toeing the line. I started walking the aid stations as well. My HR was not bad, but legs hurt. I had 3.75 bottles of nutrition from my fuel belt and some salt on the course.
Finished with 1:48
So I pulled out a 5:13, 45' faster than my fasted time so the PR was good. My legs were not crushed on the bike, but I knew I would pay for the dropped seat later. Around mi. 10 my foot hurt again and had some IT issues on my left side. I also felt as if my digestion was slow as I kept burping up my run nutrition on mi. 9ish on the run. So I still have concerns but feel we are on the right path. Your thoughts?
GREAT RACE. and good lessons learned too — multitool weighs 8oz. We need more fluids on the run; especially in the first 3 miles (half). Those early miles matter a ton. I hope you are recovering quickly...you can keep it light this week as needed to recover. Especially on the run as you heal up.
So my week last week was pretty light. This week has not been much better as I had to go out of town for 2 days to teach. I was able to get a run in on one of the days and I am back at it today. I swam and rode for 90' yesterday and will do the split run today. Tomorrow I will do a swim as I am at the FH. Sat. will be a long day on the bike then to wrap up Sunday with a recovery run as I am back at the FH. My body feels good but I am stressed big time for the next couple of weeks. Next week looks like this:
Sun: FH 24; Monday off (work out); Tues. FH 24; Wed. Helo training; Thur. off (work out); Fri. FH 24; Sat. leave for Punta Cana and come back on Thurs. the following week. Fri. FH 24.
Now while in the DR I will be training and trying very hard to stay diciplined on eating and not drinking (my wife won the trip with work and is receiving an award). There, I will be doing some open water swims, runs and ride on what ever bikes (stationary) that they have.
The following weekend after I get back (and after the FH on friday) I know there is a big training weekend. I will be training like mad for sure. I just need some thoughts on how to navigate through the next few weeks both work out wise and stress wise.
Ok so I made a last min change to the run and did the full run instead of the split run due to rain. I ended up popping 15 mi. in the timeframe and it was a good run. Today I had to work and we were too busy for any workout. Tomorrow I will be putting out a 5hr ride with a run as well. I will keep you in the loop.
I hope you noticed how you just did a 15 mile run like it was no thing. Really like with your fitness is at. The next piece of the puzzle here is to focus on nutrition to make sure your hydration and if you laid plans are going to set you up for success. If you haven’t already checked out resources/wiki/nutrition, please do so. Then jot down what you drink and eat per hour on the bike so we can start that conversation! Hope the trip was awesome 😎
Hey Coach, hope you are well. Yes I did notice that I had an epic run. Yes you were right. Not worrying about the pace and just running was good advice. I had a shitty bike yesterday and feel like shit today. So, I didn't run or swim today and leave tomorrow. I will make it up in the DR next week. Bike wise, I will be on a trainer or some sort of stationary bike. Yes my nutrition is coming along and I will keep you posted. Talk soon.
Wishing you the best on your trip and, like I said, excited to see how things are coming around for you. The trick will be to get back on a consistent schedule when you return. The bigger workouts are nice, but we have to remember not to sacrifice our overall training just for one big session. Is the consistency of training and the compound effect that makes a difference.
Well I am back and I have to say that I trained more than I thought I would while in the DR. I was able to get in a workout each day with most days doing 2 workouts. I even rode a crappy recumbant stationary bike TWICE! So now I am back and I am back at it. I have my big "Camp weekend" this weekend and will get into that starting tomorrow as I am at work today. So we will go through the steps and look at the numbers over the next few days.
Ok so day one of the volume weekend was CRAPPY!!! I felt good on the bike till about mile 75, then I went down hill. My power went down as well as everything else. The heat played a role in it for sure but I couldn't even run after. I was a train wreck.
Day two was a little better but I only did about 4.5 hrs. My watts went down again around mile 70 and I felt like crap, but not as bad as day one. I was able to kick a run afterwards but it was slow. Again, the heat was brutal. Tomorrow I will run, but I am not looking forward to it or my pace.
Hey CP good afternooon! Ok so the run went better than expected. I only did 13 in the 2 hours, but the heat was real tough towards the end and I ran out of nutrition. All in all I pulled out a 8:45 pace. The legs felt heavy but all in all, not bad. I have attached the last few days workouts so we can go over them when we talk next (Thur. Aug 9 @1245).
That kind of fatigue on the longer volume sessions is on this whole was related to nutrition. If you experience it again, something is down and go stick a ton of food inside your mouth.
That will start the process of getting back on track. It just takes a little bit of time but once we get it out then you will be awesome.
way to gut it out!
PSA - if your ride does go south, and you can’t save it, make sure that you nail the recovery Nutrition) so you are better for the next session.
Yeah I was wondering if that was the case. I looked at what I took on day one ride v. day two ride and it was evident both physically and numerically that my nutrition was down on day one. I only took in 5.5 btls of nutrition and 3 gels (with temps in the 90's). The next day I did a similar ride at 80 mi. but put down 6.5 blts. I rode better and felt better and was able to run after on day two. I have to do better on this.
As you noted, that nutritional piece is critical for me is hotter workouts. You simply cannot get away with under hydrating and expecting any type of physical performance.
In many ways these workouts are all about just figuring out the nutrition. Everything else will follow from that.
Keep calm, carry-on, and hydrate the heck out of yourself!
Comments
Do your best to stay in the middle of the road/off of the camber. That’s the spot that won’t get you if you don’t pay attention. I will be sending you strong vibes.
How is married life treating you?
This should allow you to continue developing that long run safely. Might give you the chance to stick in one extra swim toO.
That will start the process of getting back on track. It just takes a little bit of time but once we get it out then you will be awesome.
way to gut it out!
PSA - if your ride does go south, and you can’t save it, make sure that you nail the recovery Nutrition) so you are better for the next session.