TRANSITION AREA: Training Calculators and Workouts

Happy Leap Day!  I'm a bit pressed for time today, so I thought I'd actually send around one of the pages on my blog that you may not have seen called Workouts and Training Calculators.  From time to time I update this with new stretches, yoga routines, and training calculators that I've found.  Now's the time to be doing strength training and stretching, and calculating your nutrition and pace goals for the year.  So here are my recommendations, and make sure to periodically check the Workouts and Training Calendars tab above for updates:

Workouts/Instructional Resources:

• 15-minute Pilates workout:  Winter is the perfect time to bone up on your strength training and this is a quick workout that you can tailor to meet your schedule (the dog in this video cracks me up).  
• Yoga for Athletes by Body Wisdom:  I've had this DVD for years and actually love it.  I don't do as much yoga as I should and I'm sure there are other great DVDs out there, but this one I like because it provides yoga programs for 16 different sports - for everything from basketball to triathlons to rock climbing to martial arts.  Each sport-specific yoga program is then broken down into 12 different customized workouts to target muscle groups used most frequently in those sports.  Great for when you can't get to the gym or just want to throw in a quick yoga workout.  Also, I'm a beginner yogi, so this is great for beginners on up.  
• Dave Scott (6-time Ironman world champion) shows his 6 favorite stretches for triathletes: http://bcove.me/v3fbjq1c  
• Swim Smooth:  Having trouble with your swim stroke?  Check out Mr. Swim Smooth.  This animated, multi-directional video is amazing for showing you what your freestyle stroke should look like.  You can also figure out which of six swim types you fall under, and learn specific tips uniquely designed to help your type. For example, are you an Armie (plenty of power but needs more control), or a Bambino (more confidence and rhythm required. That's me).  Sign up for their email updates for additional tips.  My coach from Dominion Cycling and Triathlon Club recently signed on to use their swim workouts for the team. Although I just started getting back into swimming, so haven't really had a chance to use these, other folks on the team are reporting great results and faster swim times.  

Training Calculators:

• Triathlon Calculator: The Chicago Triathlon Club has the best triathlon pace calculator I've seen so you can calculate the split and total race times:  Chicago Triathlon Club calculator
• Pace, Time, & Distance Calculator:  Calculate your pace, distance, and time for any event:  http://www.marathonguide.com/fitnesscalcs/pacecalc.cfm
• Individualized Pace Charts:  Create your own individualized pace chart to keep you on track during race day for a 5k, 5 miler, 10k, 10 miler, half marathon, and marathon:  http://www.marathonguide.com/fitnesscalcs/pacechart.cfm 

Nutrition Calculators:

• Food Scanner/Nutrition Counter:  The best apps I've found for keeping track of my nutrition is Daily Burn.  You can download the app on your phone and if you have a camera, there's a built-in scanner that lets you scan UPC codes that will automatically upload all the nutrition info.  You can also manually enter nutrition information.  

Do you have any recommendations for workouts or training calculators?  Is there anything you'd like me to review? 

THE RACE: Sideline or Finish Line? Which Will You Choose?

I won't claim that I came up with question "sideline or finish line" on my own.  I was sitting behind a bus today and the ad on the back of the bus asked that question in reference to something else, although I have no idea what the ad was for.  But it triggered a question for me:  How often in life do we pick sitting on the sideline over trying to reach the finish line?

One definition for "the sidelines" is "a situation in which you watch something that is happening but are not involved in it or cannot influence it."  A "finish line," as we all know, is a line indicating the location of the finish of a race."

Sitting on the sidelines...

vs.

Striving for the finish line.

Sometimes we're forced to sit on the sidelines...like when we're sidelined by an injury.  And sometimes we choose to sit literally on the sidelines in a productive, rather than passive manner, to cheer on someone else striving to reach the finish line.  But a lot of times, we voluntarily sideline ourselves by deciding we could never even make it to the finish line.  

I saw a guy at the pool today who's doing his first Ironman in May in St. George, Utah.  He said that he was doing the Boston Marathon three weeks before the Ironman, and that he hoped to qualify for Kona at St. George.  What a slacker.  I then proceeded to pee in the water next to him and splash him with my kickboard.  

I was talking to my boyfriend and I said "Only in my wildest (actually I said wettest) dreams would I hope to do Boston Marathon, Ironman, and qualify for Kona in the same year."  Maybe if I took a couple years to really work on my run, I could have a chance at qualifying for Boston.  But I'm pretty confident that I'll never qualify for Kona.  

Then I was sitting behind that bus a little while later, and it hit me:  I'd sidelined myself before even trying to get to the finish line.  

Let's be clear, realistically, even if I quit my day job, I'm probably never going to qualify for Kona.  And I'm ok with that.  That's one sideline I'd be more than happy just to sit on and just cheer other people on.  But Boston could be - with a lot of hard work - something I could at least strive for.  Maybe I never actually qualify - but maybe that's not the point.  

Instead, maybe the point isn't that you reach the particular finish line, but that you at least try for that finish line in the sky.  What's the worst thing that could happen if I were to train for, but not qualify for, Boston?  Assuming I don't overtrain and get an injury, the worst that could happen is that I'd become a faster, better runner.  Maybe even place in my age group at some races.  And what's wrong with that?  Isn't that, in and of itself, a finish line?  Sometimes we get so wrapped up in that one particular finish line we have in mind, that we forgot to account for all the other finish lines that we crossed just in trying to reach that bigger goal.  

In my worklife, I never doubt my abilities.  I'm slightly delusional that way.  (A delusional attorney, go figure).  But I always think that I can somehow win my case.  And I'm truly surprised when I don't....when I can't convince a judge or opposing counsel of my view, I'm in utter disbelief.  This actually has made me a better attorney, because I don't give up and I explore every available option.

So why is that I don't have the same kind of delusional optimism when it comes to my physical abilities?  I think it has to do with the fact that endurance sports provide a specific measure of our current abilities.  We know exactly how fast we are on a given day, how fast we'd need to be to qualify for something, and how fast we are compared to everyone else.  So when you feel like your performance won't stack up to level you need, it's easy to pass judgment on what we think our future abilities will be and to say "there's no way I'll ever..."  

By intentionally sidelining yourself, you hold yourself back.  You put yourself in a situation where something is happening, but you're not involved. Other people are moving toward their goals and dreams, and you're sitting on the sidelines with your beer and pom-poms.  So what if you don't qualify for Boston - set it as a goal and see how close you get.  Then watch all the other finish lines fly by as you're trying...

I've said it before and I'll say it again...I never thought I'd run a 5k.  Never thought I'd run a marathon.  Never thought I'd do an Ironman.  I've now had to eat those words.  Maybe someday I'll have to eat the words "I'll never quality for the Boston Marathon."  And even if I don't, I bet I get to the rest of my finish lines a lot faster than I would have otherwise...

When have you put yourself on the sidelines?  

THE RACE: Periodization - The Building Blocks You Need for A Successful Year

Do you train the same way all year long?  Did you know that you need to alter your training routine throughout the year, as well as your eating habits?  Have you heard the term "periodization?"  Period-what?  Well, little grasshopper, grab a pen and paper...

If you're an athlete of any kind, you'd better tattoo periodization on your brain.  It's not just for elite athletes, and the concept of periodization has been around since the early 1900's when Russian sports scientists developed it. 

What is Periodization?

"Periodization is a training concept in which the year is divided into periods; in each period the athlete focuses on improving a specific aspect of fitness while maintaining the gains made in previous periods."  Joe Friel, The Triathlete's Training Bible, at 36.  It means that your training should progress from the general to the specific and emphasis your unique needs.  Id. at 37.  It means arranging your training schedule for the year so that elements of fitness achieved in an earlier phase are maintained and new ones are added.  Id.  Think of it like building blocks:  You can't raise a building without the appropriate building blocks at each level.  Likewise, you can't achieve your peak fitness for the year without the appropriate building blocks along the way.  

Famed triathlon coach Joe Friel, describes on his website that periodization incorporates four guiding principles: 

1. The closer in time you get to the race, the more like the race your training will become.  This is called "specificity." 
2. Success depends on race-specific intensity, not volume. This is where the technology comes in because heart rate monitors, GPS units, and power meters will help determine your training intensity.  
3. There is a purpose behind every training session.  
4. Training follows a planned pattern alternating stress with periods of recovery to avoid overtraining.  This is done on weekly, monthly, and annual levels.  

How Do I Establish a Periodized Training Plan?

The Training Bible includes an Annual Training ("ATP") form; but, if you don't have that book, Friel provides free templates for annual training plans on the Training Bible website.  Under "Forms," if you're a triathlete, use the Triathlon Annual Training Plan Form, and for any other athlete, use the Cycling Annual Training Plan form. If you need help setting up your ATP, Friel recommends using Training Peaks, where a "virtual coach" will set up a periodized training plan for you.  (You'll need to become a member of Training Peaks). 

  

If you don't want to use Training Peaks, here's run-down on how the Training Bible describes setting up your year according to foundational periods:  

STEP ONE:  Determine Season Goals.  What race goals do you want to accomplish this year? Run a 10k? Marathon? First triathlon? Ironman?  Be realistic in setting these goals.  If you had trouble finishing a 10k last year, you may not want to jump into a marathon this year.  Also, make sure your goal is measurable - don't just say you want to "get fit" or "be healthier."  Training Bible at 109-110.  

STEP TWO:  Establish Training Objectives.  The Training Bible provides a Triathlete Assessment form (at 103) to determine your strengths and weaknesses.  This form could be used for any athlete, not just triathletes.  Different strengths are required for different races.  So looking at your goal(s) from Step One, determine whether you have any weaknesses that will limit your ability to reach that goal, then establish your training objectives to improve those weaknesses.  

STEP THREE:  Set Annual Training Hours.  The Training Bible focuses on training hours rather than distance.  Determining your training workload will help ensure that you're not over- or under-training.  You should use the table provided at page 119 in The Bible to determine what you want your workload and training volume to be.  Determining this annual total will give you breakdown of weekly training hours.  Look back at your training over the past to get an idea of what your training volume may have been.  You may not have kept track of this before, but you should be able to come up with some estimate.  For example, if you worked out for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, that's 2.5 hours of training a week, and 130 hours per year.  Therefore you may not want to jump this year to training 500 hours for the year; instead, add about 10-15% onto that number.  See Joe Friel's Training Bible website.  

Here's the annual hours chart that  Joe Friel's Training Bible website provides: 

   

STEP FOUR:  Prioritize Races.  Come up with a list of your planned races.  On your ATP list your races in the "Races" column.  On Friel's ATP (from the book or website), the date you indicate on the first column is the Monday of a given week, and the week includes the following Saturday and Sunday.  So, for example, I'm doing the Marine Corps Irish Sprint 10k on Saturday March 17, so I'd include this race for the week of Monday March 12.  You should include all races that you may do... you can exclude them later if you decide not to do them.  

Once you list your races, categorize them according to A, B, or C-priority races.  

A-Priority Races:  Pick no more than two or three races that are the most important ones to you.  Ideally, these races should be clumped together in two- or three-week blocks, or separated by eight or more weeks.  

B-Priority Races:  You can have as many as six B-priority races, which are important, but not as important as the A-priority races.  

C-Priority Races:  These are races you do for experience or hard workouts. 

STEP FIVE:  Divide Your Year Into Periods.  Friel provides the best description of the periods in the Training Bible and on his blog.  Here's a table he provides on his blog to show each period:

The purpose and length or training periods

Period	Purpose	Typical Length
Prep	Prepare to train	2-4 weeks
Base	Establish basic abilities	12 weeks
Build	Build race-specific fitness	8-9 weeks
Peak	Increase rest and race specificity	1-2 weeks
Race	Rest and prepare to race	1 week
Transition	Recover both physically and mentally	1-8 weeks

To build in these periods, go to your first A-priority race and count back in time two weeks before the race.  That will be the start of your "peak" period.  Then, depending on the length of your event, count back four weeks.  That four weeks will be your "Build 2" period.  If you're doing a shorter distance like a sprint or olympic distance triathlon, you could stick with just the "Build 2" period; but, if there's a longer distance event, like a half-Ironman, include two build periods of 3-4 weeks each.  Using the weekly durations in the table above, keep counting backwards to establish periods for Build 1, Base 3, Base 2, Base 1, Prep, and Transition.  You've now established your first peak.  See Training Bible at 116-117 for further description.  Use this same process if you have a second A-priority race, and include a transition period for recovery after the first A-priority race.  You may not get the weeks to work out exactly, so you may need to go with three-week rather than four-week lengths.

STEP SIX:  Assign Weekly Hours.  Finally, you'll establish weekly training hours (based on the annual training hours you chose) to develop a "stair-step pattern of increasing and decreasing volume and intensity as you build to a peak."  Training Bible at 117. You can either use the Weekly Training Hours table on page 119 of the Training Bible, or the following table on Joe Friel's Training Bible website:

Take your annual training hours and multiple them by the multiplier in the right column to get your weekly training hours for each build period.

You're done!!  That wasn't so bad, and kinda fun, right?

Last year I had my coach at the Dominion Cycling and Triathlon Club design my annual training plan for the Ironman.  Now that we're in the off-season, we all take a break.  Unfortunately, I don't function well without a schedule, so to get my butt off the couch, I developed my own ATP.  My race calendar is pretty light right now, and I'm sure that my coach will do his own ATP for me once we get back on track. But for now, this gives me some goals.

So I thought I'd share my ATP with you and each week, send along my Workouts for the Week.

This year I plan to do the following races:

• Marine Corps Irish Sprint 10k (March 17)
• National Harbor Half Ironman (Aug. 5)
• Marine Corps Marathon (Oct. 28)

Based on those races, here's my crack at an ATP: 

Week #	Date	Strength Phase	Period	Race	Hours (550 annual)[i]
1	2/13	AA[ii]	Prep		9
2	2/20	AA	Base 1		11
3	2/27	AA	Base 1		13
4	3/5	AA	Base 1		14.5
5	3/12	None	Base 1 (R&R)	3/17 MCM 10k	8 (incld 10k)
6	3/19	MT[iii]	Base 2		12.5
7	3/26	MT	Base 2		14
8	4/2	MS[iv]	Base 2		15.5
9	4/9	MS	Base 2 (R&R)		8
10	4/16	MS	Base 3		12.5
11	4/23	MS	Base 3		14.5
12	4/30	MS	Base 3		16.5
13	5/7	MS	Base 3 (R&R)		8
14	5/14	SM[v]	Build 1		14
15	5/21	SM	Build 1		14
16	5/28	SM	Build 1		14
17	6/4	SM	Build 1 (R&R)		8
18	6/11	SM	Build 2		13
19	6/18	SM	Build 2		13
20	6/25	SM	Build 2		13
21	7/2	SM	Build 2 (R&R)		8
22	7/9	SM	Peak		11.5
23	7/16	SM	Peak		9.5
24	7/23	SM	Peak		8
25	7/30	None	Peak	8/5 Half Iron	8
26	8/6	SM	Trans		7
27	8/13	SM	Trans		7.5
28	8/20	SM	Build 1		14
29	8/27	SM	Build 1		14
30	9/3	SM	Build 1		14
31	9/10	SM	Build 1 (R&R)		8
32	9/17	SM	Build 2		13
33	9/24	SM	Build 2		13
34	10/1	SM	Build 2		13
35	10/8	SM	Build 2 (R&R)		8
36	10/15	SM	Peak		8
37	10/22	None	Peak	10/23 MCM	8

---

[i] Hours from p 119 of Triathletes Training Bible

[ii] AA = Anatomical Adaptation Phase (4-6 wks if it’s been more than 4 weeks since you’ve done strength training)

[iii] MT = Maximum Transition Phase (2 wks)

[iv] MS = Maximum Strength Phase (4-6 wks; do 6 wks if bike is weakness)

[v] SM = Strength Maintenance Phase

** No strength training during race week. 

And here are the workouts for Week #4 (I've left out the details of the workouts, i.e., intervals, etc.):   

Monday:  

--  Core and stability with weights

--  Swim 2000m

Tuesday:

-- Bike 1 hr 15

-- Run 45 min

Wednesday:

-- Leg blast day (weights)

-- Swim 2000m

Thursday: 

--  Bike 1 hr 15 min

--  Run 45 min

Friday: 

--  Strength training for swimmers

--  Swim 2500m

Saturday: 

--  Bike 2 hr

--  Run 1 hr

Sunday: REST!

Have you planned a periodized training year before?  Want to give it a try?