Lactate Threshold Testing

This week I completed a bike and run lactate threshold testing (LT - for short). These tests have been described as "one of the most important physiological benchmarks for successful athletic training," and "Sports science research has proven that training within one's lactate threshold determined training zones is the most effective and efficient way of improving one's athletic ability." The main goal of the testing is to

Learn your true five training zones.

Determine your true maximum heart rate and power output/pace on the bike and the run.  

If you have never had the test done its actually quite fun, except that you get poked w/a needle every 3 minutes so they can test your blood. By the end, my left fingers reminded me of minced meat, but I had hardly noticed it. The other thing is that they strap a mouth piece over your face to measure your O2 consumption. I felt like I was using a scuba rebreather. My results from the test really surprised me. I always thought that I was a good cyclist, but the test clearly showed me that I am a classic example of spending way too much time in the middle zones and not enough time either at an easy pace or a hard pace. So I've got to work on that. On the run, I had a more even curve and had a much higher O2 consumption, and I actually maxed out the speed on the treadmill that we were using. That felt pretty cool.

In addition to the LT testing, they also pointed out that my left foot slightly protinates to the left, which could be why the only times I have been injured (strained hamstring and knee pain) have only been on my left leg. To help prevent and correct this, they showed me different foam roller exercises and strength workouts. I also measured my BMR and found out how many calories I burn during working out. Overall the experience was eye opening. I found that on a normal day I burn aprox 2000 calories, but if you add in just an hour of working out that gets bumped up to 3000. So on some days when I'm working out 3-4 hours, I have to eat upwards of 5000 calories! Wow, I had no idea. I guess I need to eat up. I want to give a BIG THANKS to Terry and Kim who were the ones who administered and supervised the testing. They really are the best. Thanks again guys and I can't wait to implement these results into my training for 2012.

GU - 2012 Supporter

I arrived home from Christmas in Katy to one more suprise. Well, actually 2. Sarah got me an Iphone Ironman phone cover and an Ironman umbrella (2 awesome gifts), the only problem is the iphone cover is for an iphone 4 and doesn't fit my iphone3. If anyone wants it, it's 20 bucks, otherwise I have to send it back or upgrade. Hmm - Maybe I should just upgrade. Anyways, the second surprise, was that I had received my order from Gu. Besides what I had ordered, they included a sample pack with all their flavors and products to try out and 3 boxes of GU Roctane Pineapple and GU Vanilla flavored (my faves!) I'm excited to have their support this year as they really are one of the best nutrition companies and is what I use to help me stayed fueled and hydrated during a race. Can't wait to start using my new goodies!

Near Perfect Training Week

If there is such a thing, last week would come pretty damn close to it. I spent the week in and around Austin swimming, biking, and running. First off, I was pumped to get on my new Tri bike, a 2011 Cervelo P3! Thank you so much to Austin Tricyclist for doing such a great job in setting up the bike. It is a real beauty. At first I couldn't hold the aero position. It's been about 2 months since I've ridden in aero and my muscles had slowly atrophied away to where I could only hold the aero position for maybe 10 minutes at a time, but by Friday I had no trouble staying down. My favorite days of the week were Tuesday and Thursday. Each started with a FAST run workout, followed by a SLOW bike workout. Saddly, I could only participate for this one week, otherwise I would have loved to make these runs apart of my weekly routine. I would finish up the day with an easy swim at Big Stacy Pool. This is the only free pool that I know of open year round. The only issue is that it is a 33yd pool. That doesn't covert to anything easily for me so I always feel I am going so slow. The whole week just flew by and before I knew it, it was already time to head back to Katy for Christmas. All I had was 20 miles left to reach 200 miles for the week, but strong winds, cold, and then non-stop rain for 2 days kept me inside. In the end, it worked out well. I read the Girl with a Dragon Tatoo in 2 days, and had a great Christmas with my family. I hope everyone else is having a great Christmas Break! Merry Christmas

Houston Triathlon Summit

So I just got back from a two day tri clinic with the world renowned triathlete, Andy Potts and his coach. This was not a training camp of sorts, it focused more on training/racing, goal setting, and technique. It was an awesome clinic put on by OnUrLeft/OnUrMark coach and race director Aaron Palion. Some parts I felt were geared more towards the beginner triathlete, but I definitely learned a ton. Sometimes its so much easier just to be able to ask a question without having to search the internet for hours to find the best answer. Hopefully this becomes a yearly addition to the OnUrMark events that can grow into something more like a conference with vendors and additional speakers in the futures. I left with tons of new knowledge I can’t wait to apply to my training this next season. Below is kind of a step by step account of what the weekend consisted of. If you like you can continue reading, or just stop here (you won’t hurt my feelings)

The first morning, when we checked in, we were greeted w/the best goodie bag ever. Some of Andy’s sponsors (Powerbar, HoneyMilk, and Nathan) really stepped up and donated tons of goodies. The first morning focused on swimming, and for good reason. Andy is one of the 3 fastest swimmers in the sport and is typically always the first out of the water at any race. Despite coming from a swimming background, he still spends a large portion of his training focusing on the swim. This is a common thread I am finding among the pros is that they focus equal amounts of time to every sport even if they are already strong in that area so that they can gain as much of a gap as possible between them and their opponents. So after a brief intro, we all headed down to the pool where we went over specific drills and really worked on feeling the water. Plus we got to see Andy swim! While we only probably swam 400m, I really felt like I gained more from that than any swim session that I could do by myself. That afternoon got a little technical for me discussing training and racing goals, heart rate training zones, work:rest ratios and feedback loops for training. Andy and his coach rely heavily on constant feedback and are big proponents of always training w/HR, watts, and pace for his training schedule. While I would like incorporate this more (and plan to) into my daily workouts, I’m glad that’s not the only thing Muddy focuses on. We then did a spin class workout consisting of a 1:1 work/rest ratio. Afterwards, we followed Andy through his weight routine. It’s not a lot of weights (focusing mainly on legs and core) but he emphasized how triathletes are definitely lacking in this area and I agree (myself included). We rounded out the day with a Q and A session. When I got home, it felt like I was returning home from Halloween w/my bag of goodies and proceded to dump it all out on the floor to better analyze what I had gotten.

The next day again focused on swimming in the morning with more drills and wetsuit tips. I actually swam w/my wetsuit in the pool for 200m. Never done that before. Afterwards, Jussi, Mark, and myself were able to squeeze in quick 10x100 set while everyone was changing. It was then more Q and A. We also had Memorial Herman Sports Science institute come talk to us about the importance of getting your LT and VO2 Max tested with them (which I’m doing the week after Christmas) and the other services they offer. We finished up the day with a treadmill run. Again we followed a sample workout from what Andy does in his training (although he does it at a much faster pace). Again we finished off the day w/more questions, some awards/prizes, and a great dinner. Now I’m off to Austin to incorporate all I learned into my training. PS – really looking forward to trying to working on my swimming.

Last Final Over and Done

And man did they save the worst for last. Why do they do that to us. They put the hardest exam at the end, when we are brain dead, sleep deprived, and not able to retain any more information.  I think I did great on every other final except the last one, which was Oral Pathology. The moment I sat down to take the test I knew I was in trouble. It was like my whole mind just went blank. It’s the worst feeling ever. I’m just hoping to pass that one. Like I said though, everything else was good. So now I’ve just got clinic the rest of the week. I so badly wish I could just cancel all my appointments and just go on break early, but that’s not going to happen. I’m just thankful I don’t have to stare at a computer screen for 8+ hours a day anymore. Between checking email, planning my training schedule for the next two weeks, status updating on facebook, or tweeting, I don’t know how I actually managed to stay focused and study. So now I am ready for a clean break from all of it, and focus on spending time with family and focusing on training. It seems like a far way off but starting Monday, Lonestar 70.3 is 14 weeks out, and I’ve got a lot to do if I want to be on the podium. Here is to the next two weeks of Christmas parties, family, travel, and training.