Different Training Philosophies

When I first started working with Peter Reid, we talked about the training plan for Ironman Florida, and what I needed to know. The one thing he stressed time and again, "Most people overtrain for Ironman." When he sent me the final training phase after LA Triathlon, to prepare for IMFL, I replied to his email with, "Is this all???" Sure enough, as small as it seemed compared to what I expected, Pete knew what he was doing.

I'm not going to share my full volumes and things, and say that Peter's way is the only way, but I came across a blog of a pro who finished top 20 in Kona last year, and will be doing Arizona in two weeks, and I had to wonder if maybe he really is an Ironman genius. Here is an excerpt from his blog:

Back to the training block...since Christmas, the volume of training has been consistently over 32-33hr per week. If I look over my training diary and just look at the training volume for this year's weeks, this is what I've done:

32:45
33:35
33:28
32.53
33:03
30:10
34:20
40:10
39:00
37:40
37:45(last week)

and the updated totals are (through today)

Swim: 347.1km
Bike: 6909km
Run: 1449km

It has been a consistently tough year so far for me, as the numbers confirm :P Through the last couple weeks, I definitely feel a loss of fitness or in another words, I'm getting really tired and some workouts are very tough. But I'm sure all the hard work will be worth it when I cross the finish line at Ironman Arizona for the third time. I'm really looking forward to racing, seeing some old friends, and punching my ticket to Kona.

When I read this, my jaw about hit the floor! My highest week in preparation for Florida was maybe 30 hours, MAYBE!

We shall see how this individual does, and I truly do wish him the best, but I honestly can't believe someone can do this much training, and still keep quality, as well as stay injury-free. If he doesn't do well, it shows again that Pete is probably very right.

Tomorrow is the California 70.3 race. My pick to win is Kate Major for the women, and Luke Bell if he's racing for the men. I'm looking forward to watching it, and seeing how it goes.

If you're out at the race and see me, say hello!

Vance - 2007 NFA

Ok, definitely feeling the workload!

I thought I felt it yesterday, and I did. Then today, I felt it even more! Maybe it didn't help that today was big day as well!

Started the day with 4K in the water at 7:30 AM. Wednesday is our time trial day at the UCSD masters, and my time has slowed 3% over the last 2 weeks from my fastest 200 I had set when I got back from Panama.

This is good news and bad news. The bad news is I'm just not swimming as fast as I was, but really, that's not too bad. The Panama trip gave me a chance to rest, and since the return I have been training quite hard. This proves my workload is high, and I'm on the track. It also helps to show that I can expect a minimum of 3% improvement when I rest, but chances are I will be looking more at a 10% improvement being likely after I finish these last blocks of training in April. It could just be wishful thinking, but training is pretty logical.

After the pool today, it was home for some breakfast, then on the bike for 3 1/2 hours, with 5 times up Mt Soledad. After the ride I headed home and ate a little something before heading back to UCSD for my run and drills with accelerations, and hit the weight room at the rec center.

Finally home and done with the day's workouts, and it was almost 7 PM.

Otherwise, it's time for me to start recovering for getting ready for Carlsbad 5000. Should be a great speed workout for me. I'm looking forward to a light three days.

My clients seem to be ready to go this Saturday at Oceanside 70.3. I'm looking forward to watching the race and seeing how they do. My biggest challenge is getting them to rest properly and still believe they are fit. We'll see how it goes.

Vance - 2007 NFA

Feeling the workload

After a complete rest day yesterday, I was excited to get back to training and figured I was ready to tear it up! WRONG! It became clear I underestimated my work load from the weekend, especially Sunday's long run of over 2 hours, and then the weight session.

It's amazing, but in the pool, I always seem to swim better and faster as the workout goes on. It literally takes me 2-3K until I am warmed up and really swimming in my rhythm and groove. So it was no surprise when I hit my groove on the last set of descending 100's. I swear I swam each round the same way, but for some reason, the last round is the fastest almost always. Anyways, I struggled a little today in the water.

It seemed like a step back, but it just shows I'm working hard. Having some slower days in the water is normal, but if it gets really bad then you need to back off. Pete always tells me, "When the swimming starts to suck, it's a clear sign you're over-training."

About an hour after the pool workout, I started my run workout for the day. 30 min warm-up, 3x10 mins with 3 min recoveries, then 4x1 min with 2 min recoveries, and cool down to make 90 mins. I try to start off conservative and make the last interval the fastest. Oddly enough, I felt fine, but it was clear that my heartrate was higher than I expected, especially for my effort level.

In summary, I underestimated the workload of the past weekend. Tomorrow is a big day as well, then I shut it down and get ready for Carlsbad 5000. We'll see how that one goes.

Since many people read this who don't know about where I train, and what it's like in San Diego, I figured I would share with you some of the places I use in my training. After reading the Inside Triathlon magazine issue on Boulder, I actually started to realize more how much I love San Diego! It's fine that they gave the distinction of Tri-Mecca to Boulder, as I'd rather have everyone move there than here!

So here's some brief photos of the areas and facilities I train at...

This is the woods where I do a lot of my interval training, like today.

This is obviously the track where I workout sometimes as well, and you can see the woods surrounding it, where the trail system is.

This is the Canyonview Aquatic Center on campus. We switch to long course next Monday, and I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!

If you ever come to San Diego and want a great place to train, UCSD is a great place!

Off to bed...

Vance - 2007 NFA

Finally, a rest day!

So it's Monday, my first rest day in what seems like forever! Ok, it was last Thursday, but that felt like forever, considering how busy I was that day!

I know I've been slacking on the blog, and I will try to keep it at no less than 5 posts a week.

The training this past weekend went pretty well. I've got two bigger days Tuesday and Wednesday, then shut things down for the Carlsbad 5000 on Sunday. Not sure what to expect out at C-bad, as originally I thought I might come close to the 15:00 barrier, but now I think 15:30-15:45 is more relastic, as my speed just doesn't seem to be there yet. Not bad though, for an Ironman guy!

Been looking at the Wildflower entry list and who is scheduled to be there. Looking like quite an impressive field:

Simon Lessing
Craig Walton
Greg Remaly
Luke Bell
Bryan Rhodes
Josiah Middaugh
Leon Griffin
Brian Fleischman
Brian Lavelle

I'm sure there will be more to add as the time gets near, and I know I'm missing a few already, but you get the idea. It appears the defending champ, Terenzo Bozzone, will not be racing as he is coming off knee surgery from a bike crash. Well, if I needed any extra motivation, looking at that list should help.

Saturday I will be out watching the California 70.3 race here in Oceanside. Should be fun, with about 7 clients doing the race and a bunch of friends. I know I will wish I was racing, but I'm glad I'm waiting for Wildflower.

If you're going to be out at the races this weekend, say hello!

Vance - 2007 NFA

Macky....Holy CRAP!

First off, sorry about the picture issues, I don't know what the hell is wrong with this thing sometimes. I am trying again to get it to work. I find sometimes you can right click and save it to the desktop, then view it, otherwise it's got it's own mind.

So if you recall a few of my posts about running with a local high schooler here, named Macky, well then you heard it here first! Macky ran 3:50 in the 1500 last Saturday at San Diego State, beating a field of collegians, and running one of the fastest sophomore times in California HISTORY!

Check it out...

http://dyestatcal.com/image/7tr/March/17%20UCSD%20Open/index.htm

Really excited for him, as he's a great kid. He's got a great family, a great coach in Jimmy McCarthy, and a ferocious competitive spirit and work ethic. The future is very bright, and I hope I played a small role in his success at least.

Meanwhile, today is a total rest day, after two really big days. Tuesday was a workout with Swain in the early morning, consisting of a lot of split squats, and chin-ups. I haven't done chin-ups in over a year, and after 21, I was toast! I thought for sure I would swim like crap at noon, but amazingly, IT WENT GREAT!

After that it was 90 min run on the trails of UCSD with 3x10 mins, with 3 min recovery, descending the efforts, then 2x2 mins with 2 min recovery, done FAST!

Yesterday was another big day of AM swim, about 3500 yards, (and wow, I was really feeling the chin-ups! Swimming was definitely affected.) Then it was home for a big breakfast, and on the bike with Mac Brown, (I train with a lot of Mac's), for our favorite workout of 10 times up Soledad! 2 sets of 5, with a 30 min easy spin between sets. It's amazing how much better it went this time than last. 4 hours of riding total.

Off the bike it was a run of about 30-40 mins. I decided not to even turn on the watch. I just wanted to go out and run on feel. I felt like crap the first half. I was supposed to do some drills at the half-way point, then run home. I did about 2 drills, and realized I was totally worthless. Bagged the rest, as it makes no sense to do them incorrectly because you're too tired and feeling inflexible from the climbs.

I felt a lot better on the run home, but I think it's because the wind was at my back. Was supposed to hit the weight room later, but after still feeling Swain's workout, I figured it was a big enough day. I came home, ate, showered and took an hour and a half nap.

Today being a rest day, means a lot of errands, seeing the accountant to see what I owe Uncle Sam, and massage at 11:30. Lots to do, no more time for blogs.

Vance - 2007 NFA

Back with the posts...

Sorry for not posting sooner, and letting the blog suffer over the weekend. It was a good weekend, and things seem to be right on schedule.So Saturday was the 10K race, St Patty's Day. I was hoping just to run right around or under 33 mins flat.

I had heard from many people the course is long, and everyone's GPS systems seemed to confirm that, at 6.35 to 6.4 miles. I ran 33:48, and figure it was about 45 secs to 1 minute long, putting me right where I wanted to be.

Here's the HR data for the race:

Kind of funny to look at it, because you can't even see the surges I put in. It just shows how my body is able to go to top end right away, and then hold it for the race. What's also pretty amazing is the fact that I only hit 184 bpm, which is the first time I've seen it north of 180 in a year! I remember just a few years ago it was up in the 196 range. That's how much Ironman training can change your body!

I hadn't done any intervals yet this year, so it was pretty good. I'm even pretty happy that I sensed my fitness pretty well. Oh, and I did beat James. But he is ready to race well at Oceanside.

Yesterday was my first day in the weight room, which was preceeded by a light jog. I spent about 50 mins in the weight room total, being pretty conservative on the amount of weight I lifted.Today was a swim day, with an easy bike ride to the pool at UCSD and back home. Did the noon masters session, and thankfully it was a good aerobic set. 4x400, with some additional stuff, about 4K total for me. Everyday I feel like I get faster, even when I'm just recovering.

Speaking of getting faster, I can't believe how well all my clients are doing. (Actually, I can believe it, I'M A GOOD COACH DAMN IT!) But it is really going well, as the ones who are doing Oceanside are all telling me how much they feel so good and fit right now. I'm really excited to go watch Oceanside 70.3!

Earlier this evening, I was playing my iPod on random, on the stereo, and an interview from last February came on, from Endurance Radio, that I did. It was interesting to hear myself, and where I was back then. My whole focus was the Olympic Trials, along with XTERRA. A few months later I was performing at a new level at the Olympic Training Center, and thought I was well on my way.In the weeks following I would get injured, develop hypoglycemia, suffer some of the most frustrating events in my XTERRA races, and would suffer the low point when I got my butt kicked at San Diego International, running like CRAP off the bike. I ran nearly 4 mins slower that day than I had in the previous years.

Fast forward to now...Ironman and long course are my focus, and I'm working with Peter Reid, ready to try to make my mark as the top American in Ironman racing. It was just really amazing to hear that interview and see what a different athlete and person I am now.

Endurance Radio is now http://www.enduranceplanet.com/, and they have a great interview with Cliff English, who is the US National Coach. He said something which I smiled about, when he mentioned people who are "racers" have something special, which you don't really see in training, they just step it up when it counts. Racers have "the magic come out" on race day, as he put it. I take a lot of pride in being one of those guys. This is why I love to race the best in world, and see what I've got. Sometimes, I look back and am amazed at some of the stuff I was able to do. Hopefully, there is a lot more of that to come!

Vance - 2007 NFA

A successful Oceanside 70.3 Talk

I never actually mentioned it on here, but last night I did a talk at B+L in Solana Beach, and the event was a big success!

I've received a bunch of emails from people who attended the event, and some others who have read the article I wrote on the event, and the feedback has been entirely positive and thankful for doing the talk. I'm happy to see it going over so well.

Since I am not going to be doing Oceanside, and instead doing the Carlsbad 5000 the day after, I'm looking forward to going out and watching my clients and friends compete in the race.

Tomorrow morning is the 10K, and we'll see how it goes. Not feeling all that great, but not feeling bad either. We shall see how it goes.

Later...

Vance - 2007 NFA