Smuggling fitness.

In truth are the rhythms of life, ups and downs, ins and outs. Keep moving forward with resolute intentions and "progress" shall be made (I tell myself). The past few weeks have been good for me, streaming with self discovery and elective workouts. The punched in the stomach feeling like I had somehow let myself down re last post, has been replaced with excitement surrounding a more low profile approach, trying to smuggle as much fitness as I can.

It involves a reduced volume/ high intensity training plan and a small handful of short duration. I spoke to Jim at some length about executing a 6-8 hour/ week TP and some general guidelines surrounding fitness maintenance that might allow stabbing at a race with 3-4 weeks notice. It looks like this.

6 day training week 3 week microcycle (sport focus) within a 6 week block:
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3_2_1
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3 days focus sport (2 interval, 1 long)
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2 "on-deck" sport (1 interval, 1 long)
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1 day (interval)
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*plus all the strength training I can fit in.

It sometimes sounds like a cockamamey scheme, but it should work.
I'm going to try to make as many of the workouts with a group to help with motivation and fun factor. The best part of this type of plan is that it's "sustainable"(buzz).
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Training has been mostly about having fun, and yes Vo2 max intervals are fun, with plenty of cycling and undocumented runs. I've been averaging over 100 miles on the bike for the past two weeks and I'm feeling strong and fresh. I got out on the MTB with the kid on Sunday and built on some local knowledge in Penasquitos Canyon.

On the radar.

Time trialing again this sunday. I don't know what it is about these races, but I've always been a speed junky, techno weenie, and suffering on the bike. They are really well run with good fans and a low key atmosphere. My start time is late, which is good for my warmup style. It'd be nice to lay down another PR, but I'm mainly looking for the data for the next 4 weeks of training.


ready to blow.

Keeping with the cycling focus I'll be heading up to the TCSD Pine Valley Duathlon on the 20th.
This race features a killer climb that I know pretty well with a less attractive two lap hill run. It's draft legal on the bike and want to implement some strong strategy to work with a lead group and establish a good gap then motor the descent into transition.

PV DU profile

Then on May 4th taking to the bike once again in the San Luis Rey Road Race. I'm really looking forward to this race having learned alot from BLVD. I will be bringing more bike fitness and a go for it attitude.

I've got one more card to play but will talk about that later.

The leprachaun stole my mojo.

St. patty's 10k has come and gone and the parade passed me by. DNS. I had overcome some doubt (regarding my fitness) and was willing to put it all on the line for the sake of doing just that. Mentally prepared with my motivation identified, I went to sleep with cautious optomism. It didn't seem to matter because my daughter's mind was apparently made up that she wanted to see her daddy first thing in the morning. Not at 8:10 in the morning coming down the finish chute, but more like 4-5 times between the hours of 1:30 and 5:00am. I punched my alarm clock when it finally went off at 5:30. I think only Tony Robbins could have got me out of bed. In hindsight I could have slogged to the starting line, but I would have most likely sat in yawning and ran a 45 minute 10k. I died my hair green instead.


I can't take racing seriously anymore. There are too many variables that require the flexibility of gumby. If it happens, great, if not, I get pissed...I mean no big deal.

My current training is liveable and still manage to get in 6-8 hours depending on the long ride.
I have been cutting out some swimming but getting in enough to maintain some feel.

The challenge for me going forward is to develop a training style that will service my current level of fitness. I will probably consult with Jim on this one to make the best use of my time, but
one theory I was considering is a rotating focus on all three sports. I want to be fit enough to bang out a club race, Aquathlon, or Road Race with just a little notice. Parts of me want to just focus on the bike, another tells me, "hey focus on swimming, what's not to love about that." I think it'll end up something like:

6 day training week. (2 week cycle)
3-4 days/week focus sport
2-3 day mix of non focus including strength or pilates

The question is what kind of intensity should these sessions be?

What I don't want to do is just vamp everytime I head out the door.

Another thing I really need to focus on is diet. Not in terms of quality, but quantity. There is a huge difference between fueling a 12-15 hour training week and 6-8. I don't need to explain what happens if I don't recognize this elementary fact. Carrying any extra weight is understatedly counterproductive. It'll be challenging fighting off the instinct to feed.

I must admit I totally miss the excitement of moving my fitness forward enjoying the fruits of a breakthrough workout. To any readers out there living the life, seize the day, your are truly fortunate.

My hair's not green.

F.I.T.T.

The bitter pill has gone down and now the sugar. Results of the Fiesta Island TT yesterday yield yet another PR on the bike, which is nice. I went 29:34/25.22 mph a couple of well earned ticks up the road from last September where I went 29:48/25.02. It was a surprise because I've only been training with that level of intensity for 2 weeks. Credit solid base and strength training. What is more surprising is that I rode "blind" for the last 20 minutes. That is, my P-tap blacked out after 9 minutes and had nothing to judge the effort but my gut. No power, no HR, no cadence. (It'd be nice to have power/HR data but I think I can interpolate from first 9 minutes @ ~275W avg) Funny thing is it was almost perfectly paced. First two laps were within seconds and last was the fastest by 5 seconds, luckily I had a watch. Even though there is something kind of cool about that, It think I probably left something on the course, as a result. Even though getting wattage feedback limit you, it can conversely force you to reach beyond current average wattage without over-reaching and blowing up. It also let's you know when your unknowingly letting up.

almost one full lap to interpolate avg watts~275.


looking "comfortable" relaxed and aero.

The day had a rough start with the time change robbing an extra hour of sleep. I was lagging and only warmed up for 35-40 minutes. I intended to get in 60 minutes with some time to stretch.

Warmups freak me out because during the first 10-15 minutes, 200 Watts(Z2) feels like race pace, and I'm like how the hell am I going to push 80 more watts for 30 minutes. (it makes me nervous everytime) Patience and experience are the only salvation. As soon as I start sweating it starts to get easier. It takes me a while to thaw out and could have used an additional 25 minutes, but had to boogey, pump and piss to get to the start house with 30 seconds to go. That was good and bad. Good because I was still pretty hot off the trainer and the sprint to the start house. It also kept the nerves from settling in. Conversely the race basically started from the bathroom and didn't have time to collect myself mentally and breathe.

It's always a learning experience. I threw on the 11-23 cassette for the first time in a race. I pulled the 808 off the wall and I went back and forth knowing that the 12-25 works from experience but wanted more gears in the power zone. I think in the end I ended up pushing a bigger gear and was happy with the choice. (It did make me a little nervous if the wind happened to be in my face on some of the rolling/false flats, having to shift to the 39 to avoid excess cross chain friction in the 53-21/23 config.)

I also was happy with my ability to stay relaxed throughout the whole effort. Normally I start shifting in the saddle and gears when I start hurting but I settled in and focused on my motivation and pedal stroke without letting my mind drift into the pain too much. Looking at most of the race photos, my face is relaxed and position stayed pretty aero.

It was a good day and know I can go lower. I'd like to see a time in the 28's if I have a go in April.

St. Patty's 10k is this Saturday. I'm going to have to focus on flexibility, recovery and eating especially "clean" this week.

No blood from a turnip.

It's amazing how much my life is growing in all directions right now. I'm expecting a son in June, my daughter is developing at seemingly supernatural rates, my work is finding fresh pressure with the development of a new business model, all along with some solid investment endeavors. Pretty dynamic stuff that leaves me very little time and energy for the one thing (disciplined training) that waters this victory garden that is my life. Pretty gnarly paradox. How this relates to my training is fairly simple. My training is full of compromises. Not only in quantity but also quality. Though life is full of compromises it is not a place that I am comfortable.


This is where I'm headed. The month of March is my last month of focused training at the current level. I've made arrangements to take time off from being a coached athlete. My racing goals reach no further than the next 30 days. This is not to say I won't toe the line after that, I just don't have the time and energy capacity right now to meet my previous expectations. It's a pretty shitty feeling pulling away from your well intentended goals, but what I have to realize is that you can't keep doing the same thing when it's not working and expect a different result. There is no more blood. Adaptation is key and for me that is a more fluid approach to my fitness and racing goals. I've been afraid to make such a hasty decision and that's why I've allowed a grace period allowing time for some reevaluation. I can still have an omelette instead of waffles. Of course, I've discussed this at some length with Jim. He was kind enough to empathize but more importantly shared how difficult this sport can be off the course, especially when loved ones are involved. In such an introverted sport I think we rarely share the flares, just crashes and PR's. Honesty is righteous.

My life may not change at all but it is the perception of pursuing a life that is balanced, perhaps not so narrowly focused (as it can become) that will promote my personal success. Back off, reevaluate and hammer when the time is right.

I've still got a full month ahead of training and racing. Sunday is a 20k TT and the following weekend is St. Pattys 10k. My plan is to stay focused on the bike and run but still try to get in two swims a week. Swimming will begrudgingly be the first to go. I'm also going to go into the races a little more rested to try to make a point and take full advantage of my current fitness. God forbid I nail some PR's and it lights a fire in my belly. I can deal with that....later.

The state of my training at this point is actually not as bad as it appears. I've had two weeks of some anaerobic endurance and LT work, same hours as base phase just harder, a lot harder.
5x3 mins sub 5k and 5x3 min at max sustainable wattage have been taxing me down big time. Not to mention a shocking 90 minute tempo run. I welcome the efforts, but just not recovering that well with added stress and lack of sleep. I did have a hard and fun MTB ride on sunday and smashed a record climb on Black Mountain twice, within 10 seconds of each other, which is nice. Local weather has been keeping me on the roads and on the trainer so getting outside away from cars was a premium. I want to spend more time on the Epic.