What the heck…..It’s a stupid clock!

I was absolutely, no question about it brought to the end of myself today.  Before this morning, I thought I was in shape (boy was I wrong!)  The point that I am trying to make is that I had an insanely difficult workout this morning and I blame it all on the “innocent looking” clock you see here.

Last night, I had a great meeting with a potential investment management client who also happens to be a top age group triathlete.  My friend and I spoke business for about 15 minutes and quickly got into the subject matter about which I am writing this post.  We raced together in New Orleans 2 weeks ago and he mentioned that he would like to talk with me about my training.  He asked if I would print out 1 month of workouts for his review.  As he began to pick through my daily training, he noticed that all of my work was completed based on heart rate level.  I confirmed that the foundation of my training was performed according to HR zones.  He kept reading and stopped when he got to the first swim workout.  The next few words that came out of his mouth would change me entire perspective on swim training.

“At what interval are you doing your swim sets?”  What, I asked?? ”How fast are you swimming your 100s?”  “How much rest are taking in between sets?”  Clearly, these were questions that I could not answer.  I explained that I had been doing 2 long swim session per week and that I was simply swimming for endurance.  He was shocked by my response and now I know wrong I have been.  I do remember when I was training for my first Ironman event and hired now fellow teammate, Bruce Gennari to coach me.  Bruce would write swim workouts for me back in 2008 and I guess I just got lazy and stopped following them.  My friend, Cliff was about to throw down a challenge and I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  Cliff (who is currently being coached by Siri Lindley) opened his notebook and layed out his current 2 week training block for me.

He got to a particular swim workout and told me that I needed to be doing 3 to 4 HARD swim workouts per week.  Cliff swam in college and understands the value of the aerobic workout the pool can bring.  He explained that by spending more time in the pool doing fast sets, I would be adding to my aerobic base and improving my lung capacity which would lead to better bike and run performances.  I regret to say that I had always felt like swim training was a necessary evil.  I would tell myself that a race was never won in the water and that I was a strong enough runner to pass everyone that beat me out of the water.  Again, I was so wrong….

(ENTER HUMBLE-PIE!!!)

Cliff challenged me last night to do 30x100s on a 1:40 interval.  He told me to add a 500 warm up to get the blood flowing.  This sounded very difficult but I HAD NO IDEA.  So I got up this morning and headed to the pool.  I never look forward to a swim workout so I begrudgingly entered the water.  I swam my 500 hitting the split button on my Timex Race Trainer Pro with each 100.  After my warmup, I determined that my turnover was roughly 1:30.  I looked at my good friend (shown above and hanging on the wall) and pushed off “at the top.”  The first 100 felt like a sprint and I imagine that it was because I had not regularly been swimming at that speed.  Easy enough, I thought…12 second rest and I was off on #2.  That next one hurt a bit more but I was still relatively composed.  When #3 came around, I was starting to get mad and by #5, the realization set in….I AM NOT IN TOP RACING SHAPE :-(…..

So the rest of the story, is that I could only complete 15 of my prescribed 30 100s.  Miserable, I know and what’s worse is that know my confidence is shaken.  All of the hours I have spent simply going up and down the pool at endurance pace have been all for nothing.  THAT’S RIGHT, I HAVE BEEN WASTING TIME.  My head is now placed firmly between my legs and I am feeling like a dang couch potato.  My humble-pie has been fully digested and I feel like crap.

BUT……NOW I KNOW AND NOW THAT I KNOW, I WILL GET BETTER.  I WILL GET FASTER AND MY AEROBIC BASE WILL ONLY GET BIGGER!!!! Cliff, I hate you brother, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!

Thank goodness for multisport….the 25 + mph winds in New Orleans took away 1 of the 3 and the New Orleans 70.3 became a duathlon!!

Race director Bill Burke was faced with an impossible predicament; no way in the world to know which way the weather would swing.  The decision was made on Saturday night to cancel the swim, so we all knew going into race morning what we would face.  I took a short video in transition before the race to illustrate just how hard the wind was blowing.  My voice was overpowered by the howling winds in the background.  As the sun came up, we were led out of the transition area over to a roundabout where the new first leg of the race would begin.  We were started in a time trial fashion 2 by 2 according to age groups.  The first run was 2 miles and was a good warm up.  The wind was still blowing like crazy but the day could not have been more beautiful.  Looking back over my race, I would say the one thing I would have changed was the first run leg!  I probably took the first 2 miles a little too easy.  But hey, I was learning as I was going-literally!

I jumped on my bike and took off into a head-wind.  The bike course has several causeways leading out which I was careful to descend on my brakes (and not in my aerobars!)  I could feel the wind hit me as I went up and over the various bridges atop Lake Panchatrain.   When I finally made it out to the center of the course, I noticed that the winds were not blowing in a way that really affected my performance.  There were certain parts of the original course that had to be cut out, so the entire track ahead was 52 miles.  I was in a good rythym most of the ride, steadily passing and NOT being passed!!  I probably give too much credit to my competition rather than focusing on my own race.  The whole bike leg is based on positioning.  I know that my run has always been the reason that I race and I was very much looking forward to this particular run.

I made a quick transition and was off on the run.  Once again (just as on the bike) I was greeted with a strong head wind.  The run course also had to be modified so we were running alongside the water and back into a residential area.  The volunteer support was incredible, I mean really over the top!  I took one drink of Powerbar Perform at each aid station and also grabbed an ice-cold sponge-AWESOME FEELING, TRULY!!  Now, I must say that with most loop run courses, I always dread running past the finish line the first time around.  This time, I can honestly say that I was looking forward to the second loop of the run.  Everything was clicking and I felt strong and composed feeling no signs of fatigue.  I did my best to smile and greet as many volunteers as possible.  The energy that was diverted away from my actual effort paid off tremendously!

For the first time in a 70.3, I broke 1:30 on the half marathon!  I was thrilled as I crossed the finish line and felt great to know that I gave everything I had.  It is always good to get that first race of the season under your belt.  Yes, I showed up to race a 70.3 but was left with a shortened half ironman duathlon.  I cannot control the environment nor the conditions that I race in.  I simply showed up, raced when my number was called and continued to race as hard as I possibly could until I crossed the finish line.  On those grounds alone I must say……it was a good day in the Big Easy baby!!

I must say that one of my favorite things about this “job” is getting to work the expo!  Our local Timex rep, Adam Motes and I had a blast this week.  As you can see, we are very well represented and this was our chance to make the Marathon shine!  If you can see closely enough, Adam’s lanyard is custom designed to read “Marathon GPS $99.95.”  Let me just say that this little marketing piece got TONS of mileage.  For 2 days in Nashville, we fielded all sorts of questions from interested runners.  The overwhelming support came in the price point; people were absolutely shocked that the price was so low.  The functionality is pure and simple, put the watch on and take off!

Over the course of 2 days, we probably spoke with close to 1,000 people.  The expo was HUGE and we had a great location on the floor of the Nashville Convention Center.  Of course, we had all of our other stars present as well: the Run Trainer, the Race Trainer Pro and the Cycle Trainer to name a few.  We really made a push to showcase our GPS products and we are adament about gaining more of the market share in the specific category.  Not only did we have fun, but I really felt as if we were educating those who were genuinely interested.  All in all, a wonderful experience and something that I will most definitely look forward to doing again soon.

I want to tell you that I experienced something new this week; THAT’S RIGHT…NEVER BEFORE HAS THIS HAPPENED TO ME IN MY TRAINING!!

I have always been of the mindset that my effort level should correspond with my heart rate.  If I feel as if I am pushing hard, I feel that my heart rate should be high and on the flip side if my effort does not seem as labored I would expect a lower heart rate.  Well, I pretty much disproved my own theory this week and here’s the story…..

On Monday morning I decided to do a cross train.  I am still battling plantar faciatisin my left foot so I have been doing a good bit of cross training through the winter.  Today, the machine of choice was the stepmill.  I really like the rotating staircase and have noticed that I can take my heart rate as high as I want it depending on my intensity level!  Today, my goal was to really get after it.  I started the workout at 115 steps per minute and gradually increased to 125 steps per minute over the duration of my 1:50 workout.  About 10 minutes into the workout I could tell that my body was going to fight me today…My breathing was labored and my legs felt like concrete.  I could not figure it out but I felt like I was exerting a huge effort despite my environment.  Now remember my previously held belief described above….I fully expected my heart rate to be off the charts because it literally let like it was beating out of my chest.  Now, here’s the great mystery revealed and the main point of this blog post.  I looked down at my watch as I was getting off the stepmill and it read 140.  What the heck, 140…”are you freakin’ kidding me, that HR is less than baseline or below my aerobic zone 3.”  Why did my workout feel so hard, yet my average heart rate was so low???

I decided to do another cross train on Wednesday for comparison purposes.  My machine of choice today was the elliptical trainer.  I have been doing a good bit of my weekly run training on the elliptical so I am pretty dialed in to what my heart rate should be based on my effort.  Since I was doing a comparison to my Monday workout, I tried my best to emulate the testing conditions.  I gave it another big effort (as I was drenched like I’d been swimming when I finished) for 1:50.  This time around, I felt great and my movements were effortless.  The time flew by and I felt great.  I stopped my watch exactly at 1:50 and looked to the heart rate data.  What I saw further confirmed by confusion….151.  Now, I will say that 151 is much closer to an upper zone 3 or lower one 4 workout for me and what I am satisfied with.  This was the heart rate that met my expectations but my effort or perceived exertion was not one that I would have matched with a 151 average heart rate.

In conclusion, I now know that my perceived exertion will not ALWAYS correlate to my average HR.  I am just thankful that I have these valuable training tools to make this kind of evaluation.  Where would I be without my Race Trainer Pro, Run Trainer and Training Peaks account????!!!!

run HRbike HR

bike HR

No, that’s right-YOU ARE NOT SEEING DOUBLE!!!  What you are seeing are the heart rate measures for both legs of my BRICK workout this morning!!  Pay close attention to the time of day in the upper left hand corner of the watch.  Let me just say that this has NEVER happened before in all my time of training.  Let me just say as the title of this post suggests: I WAS DIALED IN TODAY BABY!!

For the past month, I have been leading a group of fellow triathletes through a Bible Study and workout session.  We meet each Wednesday morning at 5:30 and spend 1 hour in God’s Word and then we do 1 hour of training.

This morning started out with a lesson from Genesis 11 and 12.  We were looking at the life of Abraham on our journey toward faith and obedience.  Over the last couple of meetings we discussed Noah and all that he did to demonstrate his faith and how God rewarded him by saving his life!  Genesis 11 is the first place where we see Abraham mentioned.  God made a special covenant promise with Abraham to make him the Father of All Nations.  Abraham left everything that was familiar to follow God’s call.  He was 75 years old when he departed him homeland of Ur.  He took along his wife, his nephew and all of his livestock and belongings to set out for the land of Canaan, or The Promised Land.  Abraham acted on faith and God rewarded him handsomely for his obedience.  As we made our way through Genesis 12, I threw out some questions that centered around the concept of “routine.”  “What does routine mean to you?”  “Why is routine so important?”  Those questions led to a discussion on “comfort zones.”  We all agreed that as triathletes, routine was essential!  Then I turned the conversation toward the unknown and doing what is not comfortable.  The point I was trying to make is that in the face of uncertainty, we are called to have faith.  Faith can take on many shapes and forms but it is absolutely imperative that we practice it as often as we can.

Moving into the Easter season, I encouraged my group to act on faith by doing those things that did not come as naturally.  One particular challenge I issued was to invite a friend who does NOT attend church on a regular basis, to go for a run or to have a cup of coffee or to simply demonstrate an interest in what that person is doing.  This conversation was incredible and I really felt like the message I was trying to deliver was registering.  We concluded our study and prayed and then off we went to our workout!!  (Well, what do you expect…..we were all thinkin’ it!!!)

We started with a run because not everyone had their bikes.  Everyone worked into their pace and we stayed together for the most important.  We spoke about family, about work and about our upcoming season.  Kevin had just completed a marathon, Bob was gearing up for Gulf Coast 70.3 and John was preparing for a local sprint race.  Of course, I wanted to hear everything the guys had to say about New Orleans 70.3 which is now less than 3 weeks away.  Toward the end of the run, the conversation started to dwindle as we were all moving at a nice clip.  We finished the 6 mile clip with sweat pouring (which I am still having a hard time believing since it is only APRIL.) at my average HR was 162 which is just below was my anaerobic threshold.

We parted ways and then I jumped on my bike to finish the BRICK. I guess my HR was just elevated because the effort did not feel strained.  I rode 25 miles, dismounted and looked at my watch…..DANG, average HR 162.  What are the chances of that!!!!