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One of my latest ambitions is tackling a 50K trail race on about 10 weeks of training. Most people’s first thought is, are you nuts? The second is, how do you train for this?
My longest run has been 42kms which included some street and some trails. I’ve done a 35km tempo run, yes tempo, and many 20-25K fartleks as well. I’ve also done some track work but keeping the intensity in check.
The secret to training for an endurance event such as this is taxing the right energy systems to get the biggest bang for your (or my) buck.
Looking at the race and then working back, I guess what time I expect to finish in and then figure out what energy systems I’m going to rely on the most. Since it is primarily a zone 1 effort (zone 1 meaning almost all fat burning), a lot of training has to be done at this level.
You cannot expect to run your half marathon pace for a 50K. Now for someone else their pace might be your half marathon pace! But remember to only focus on you!
I would have liked to put in a lot more volume but on such short training time, I had to make some adaptations. Here are some short cuts to keep relative volume down:
- A zone 3-4 run can be regarded as 3 to 4 times the amount of time as compared to a zone 1 run. So this means a track workout can tax the body equally to a long run in terms of energy (work done). Substituting these in twice a week will help keep overall time down.
- I use cycling and swimming for added volume. This also helps me keep wear and tear off my body.
- With only 10 weeks of pure ‘ultra’ training, I have to rely on previous months and years of solid foundation.
With the goal in mind to finish upright and keep logging miles through the winter, this 50K should be a lot of fun.
Thanksgiving is today, so that means the muscles cells should be jammed with added fuel for the journey ahead! See the results here (www.vulturebaitrace.com).
Read it here too…
One thing that I truly admire about kids, is they put up with just about anything you throw at them. In terms of exercise, they will do crazy feats like wind sprints till they puke (suicides ring a bell?). At a young age, it’s about proving to you, their friends, and themselves that they can put themselves through torture.
If you had to compare a kid to a piece of metal, they would have be very ductile (bendable). However, their ultimate stress, so the amount of physical work that it would take to break them, is low.
Starting a youth exercising early in life causes their bodies to slowly become stronger. In fact, if they are pushed but not to the breaking point, their tolerance to stress increases exponentially. When they become an adult (after puberty) they become a piece of hardened steel ready to do even more physical work.
Some keys for helping youth reach their potential:
- Keep sport and exercise fun. Especially at very young ages.
- Speed is critical in their youth. Include games or sports with sprints to help develop leg speed.
- Sport specific is not necessary until puberty. The more exposure to different events will help build youths into better people/athletes when they are older.
- Building the cardiovascular system is important in the puberty stage.
- Weights should wait till after puberty.
Folling these steps, at the adult stage the athlete will be ready to participate in higher competition. This could mean more frequent events or longer duration events. The key, is not rushing the stages of development.
If a child wishes to pursue a life of sport, whether competitive or not, make sure to keep an open mind and be ready for change. Building a foundation that is sound will create a individual who will be tough as gold.
And isn’t that the dream?
When I first started training, I had no idea how far I could go. I had no clue how fast I could run or bike or even swim!
Then I got a watch. Then I got a heart rate monitor. Then I got a GPS. Then I got a….
Now, speed is very well defined. To the point where I can tell you what you need to complete or compete at any race.
I like knowing. I like the fact I took the hard road of science and learning to uncover the mysteries of the body. In no way am I saying I have it all figured out. But I’ve put a lot of the puzzle pieces together.
The scary thing about this self discovery of learning is just how good the best athletes are. The mental drive, biomechanics, physiological characteristics, and just good old fashion luck of these individuals is amazing.
I am always amazed with so much technology around us that people stick to their house clock for tracking time. It’s these simple things that I think can help unclutter the mind.
Or in my case, make sense of it all.
People can fall into many different categories. I have summarized my thoughts on a few:
Pole counters – Not much going on in the head. Reliable for work but don’t ask for any creativity.
Dreamers – Everything is achievable. Every thought is BIG. Unfortunately not much gets done.
Medium – A little bit of both. These people tend to stay in the ‘real world’ but have out of the box thinking.
Analytical – Book smart and linear thinkers. Think if life was like a computer program (maybe it is….), these people would be following scripts. These are the movers and shakers of the world. Just don’t expect them to surprise you.
Juggling life, work, new house, grad project, and training has taken its toll.
This year unfortunately has not been about training. It has been about learning about bigger aspects. One’s that I feel right now, are more important than numbers on a piece of paper.
However, I haven’t stopped putting one foot in front of the other. This is key. The body will hold your status if you keep the engine warm. Let it cool off or stop and you’ll have to start from scratch.
The seasons are changing and so is my focus. I’m going to train for a 50K, ”Vulture Bait”, something I’ve been itching to do.
I’m logging running miles now. At least 90K a week and will continue to do so into the winter.
With time being cut down, I’m starting to think more about what I like to do. Kind of trivial but what I don’t like is when a race is dictated by a flat tire or a mechanical. Funny enough I sometimes hate (or a lot of times hate) running after cycling. I like cycling. I like running. Sometimes I’d rather keep them apart.
Looking into the future….
Even though I probably live in the flattest part of the world, I’d really like to take on mountain running. The World Mountain Trophy would be pretty cool to go and do… A two year goal which I think could become a reality!
When I read about cyclists blaming a sinus infection for their bad races, I thought they were just a bunch of chumps. Well, what goes around comes around.
I had a great lead up to the Canadian National Triathlon Long Course Championships. My power on the bike has increased substantially, my running is holding par, and my swim, well that was going to be the question mark.
On Thursday after I had finished swimming and running the course (the day before I rode the bike loop), I got a tickle in my throat. Weird at this time of year!
Then within a few hours I had a sinus infection/allergic reaction/ cold. Just like that I went from feeling great to a head cold in the middle of the summer!
I didn’t let it get to me at the start of the race. But it became clear on the bike I was not at my best. I couldn’t crush the hills. At one point I thought I was towing an anchor…. Yes, I was in for a long day.
The run was just survival. Four loops with only one being ‘great’.
This experience puts me in a bad mental space. Huge expectations only to be quashed by a little bug. Fluke or is it something more? Time for a change?
I’m taking the week down to reconsider my options and see where I want to proceed for the fall.
A super sprint for some reason, has got a bad name. It’s too short. It’s too easy. It’s not a challenge. It’s only only for beginners.
I challenge that.
Where can you do three different sports, in less than 30 minutes outside of an obstacle course setting? Super sprint tris are a blast and are great for the top end speed!
If done correctly, the super sprint can tax a zone 4 and some 5 completely for the day. A sprint or Olympic triathlon is mostly zone 3 with some 4. A running race or short cycling time trial may be the only way to get that good of workout (but it’s only one sport!).
Super sprints should be on your triathlon list. They will challenge your upper threshold and give you some new speed and perspective on how much triathlon is!
Quantifying a workout even when you have all the gadgets is still hard to evaluate. How does one compare an easy long ride to a short hard time trial? Enter the point system combined with a lactate test.
A lactate test will give you the specified zones you need to work in.
Zone 1 = Fat burning/base
Zone 2 = Mostly fat burning but carbohydrates are beginning to be used more
Zone 3 = Transition point where lactate begins to build up
Zone 4 = Carbohydrates are the dominant fuel source for the muscles
Zone 5 = Carbohydrate inferno
Using the information above, it can be easy to quantify every workout. For each zone above, a number is given for each minute spent at that intensity; so 1 point for 1 minute in zone 1, 2 points for 1 minute ins zone 2, and so on.
So if we take a sprint distance triathlon as an example to quantify, we get:
Swim 750m (say 10 minutes) in Zone 4 = 10*4=40 points
Bike 20Km (say 35 minutes) in Zone 3 = 35*3=105 points
Run 5Km (say 20 minues) in Zone 4 = 20*4=80 points
Total workout = 225 points.
This means in training, an equivalent workout could be:
Zone 1 = 225 minutes (3 hours and 45 minutes) / 1 point = 3.75 hours
Zone 2 = 225 minutes / 2 points = 1.875 hours
Zone 3 = 225/3 = 1.25 hours
Zone 4 = 225/4 = 56.25 minutes That is a huge amount of zone 4 work! Leave this one to the pros!
Zone 5 = 225/5 = No chance.
This is easy way to help quantify workouts. Also to help compare races to training.
I was doing my nightly website blogging and came across Joe Friels: Overtraining article. Much to my displeasure, he never came up with a clear answer. Honestly I’ve come up with a small list of things that happen that typically lead down the road to being overtrained.
1 – Canker sores. Yes, breakdown of your mouth as well as your muscles. This is caused by eating too many sugary foods..
2 – Craving carbs. Sugars especially! The body in the overtrained state craves energy. It will take whatever it can get but I find it’s the simple sugar it wants the most.
3 – Wake up in the middle of the night to pee like an old person. Yup, another sign your on the overtrained wagon. Your body just can’t get the full rest it needs.
4 – No libido. Not the worst thing in the world if your done having kids or do not have a girlfriend/boyfriend. But I think this is very unnatural.
http://www.joefrielsblog.com/
Anyone going to Magog, for the Triathlon National Long Course? If so, please email me!
Magog Triathlon - Sketch music. Not liking that there is no wetsuits!
Found this great article in an effort to increase my repertoire of drills.
Crossover: When your hand enters the water at the beginning of each stroke, you must ensure it doesn’t cross your body’s imaginary midline running from head to toe. Crossing over puts a tremendous amount of strain on the shoulder joint and makes your body fishtail or swing from side to side, increasing drag.
Prescription: Single-arm and catch-up drills. Exaggerate the width of your entry point. At first it may feel as though you are entering far too wide, but this is simply because relative to where you were entering, it feels wide. Video analysis is usually necessary to monitor progress.
Entering too early: An early hand entry at the start of each stroke almost always causes the swimmer to drive down with his or her arm rather then extend forward. The driving-down motion causes an ineffective straight-arm pull that generates little power.
Prescription: Catch-up, finger-tip drag and single-arm drills.
Short finish: When you are sprinting, a shortened finish, which boosts stroke rate, is advantageous; however, for most distance swimmers, full or almost full extension at the end of the pull phase is much more efficient.
Prescription: Catch-up drill with thumb scrape on your leg to ensure you are completing the end of each stroke.
Dropping the elbow: Oftentimes, swimmers drop their elbows after their hands enter the water at the start of each stroke (instead, the elbow should remain high while the fingertips point down — think of reaching over a barrel on its side). This freestyle no-no robs swimmers of speed more than any other flaw. A similar flaw with the same prescription is pulling with a straight arm. In both cases, most of the resultant force vectors are directed down.
Prescription: Fist and single-arm drill. Also, visualize pulling over a barrel with each stroke.
No long-axis rotation: This is also described as flat swimming, where the swimmer doesn’t rotate from side to side. This flaw shortens the pull, reduces the length of the stroke and increases drag.
Prescription: Kick on side drill and catch-up drill.
Slapping and overextending entry: This is usually caused when a swimmer is working to lengthen his or her stroke; however, a long stroke must be generated by extending underwater and rolling onto the side. Otherwise, overextending on the entry can push a swimmer’s body down in the water and lead to a straight-arm pull.
Prescription: Catch-up, finger-tip drag and single-arm drills.
Flying into Halifax in T-9 hours!
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