As some of you may know, I will begin training under the guidance of Coach Lisa Colvin (http://www.triathlonacademy.com/public/Lisa_C_Colvin_PhD.cfm) beginning Monday. We have been working together to come up with a general plan that will allow us to keep focus on the larger picture as we continually pay attention to the minutiae of day-to-day training. I've also talked with Nell Stephenson (http://www.nellstephenson.com/), a leading nutrition authority in Paleo nutrition for endurance athletes, about possibly helping me out with what I should consume and when in order to get down to my racing weight within the coming months and do it in a way that will enhance my training and health, not hinder it. You can read about both on their websites. They are both very accomplished athletes and professionals. I'm blessed to be working with them.
One of things that I believe is crucial for pursuing and achieveing goals is to 1.) set them in the first place and 2.) set specific targets to hit along the way. The targets will keep you focused day-to-day yet still ensure you are moving forward under the framework of the goals you've set. With that in mind, I feel today is the perfect time to lay out my goals and targets quickly before I dive head first back into the high volume lifestyle come Monday. Swim:
My goal for the swim at Collegiate Nationals is to be out of the water in the top-10, requiring a sub 20 minute 1500m open water split. I believe this is 1:20 per 100m which I can do in the pool at around tempo effort when moderately trained. I am expecting to be doing plenty of 100m repeats with little rest to build my race pace fitness in this area after a month or two of longer aerobic efforts to build back into being efficient and fluid in the water. Doing it in the pool is all well and good, but if I cant translate that to open water then all the pool fitness means little. Once the weather begins to warm up again in the spring I will plan to head out to an area lake and do an open water session at least once/week. I also think playing water polo once a week would help out as well with sighting.
Bike:
Lisa and I have agreed that the most crucial place for me to put my efforts is into my cycling for now. I believe this is two-fold. One, obviously the bike portion is the longest during the race and therefore the most time can either be lost or gained during the ride. Two, cycling is the easiest for me to do in high volume. We are going to aim to have me doing around 250-315 miles a week this winter. This will help me lean out well because of the hours of activity and I believe it will make me a stronger runner as well. I've read opinions of people like Gordo Byrn (http://www.endurancecorner.com/g_blog) who believe that cycling can improve your run fitness off the bike. The fitter you become on the bike, the more efficient you are and the less likely you are to waste much needed energy for the run. Therefore, you can get off the bike and run to your potential b/c you're bike fit. My goal is to be on and off the bike in under 59 minutes total for that portion of the race. I have no doubt that a high volume of training with some intensity thrown in a few months out will facilitate this well.
Run:
The run is my favorite of the disciplines, especially when I am fit. Blazing through forest trails on foot is the most primal and amazing feeling I know. I just love it. And I am also gifted with the ability to run high volume without injury. I once knocked out three 100 mile weeks at 215 lbs without an inkling of an injury. I am now much less than 215 but I still have a ways to go before I get back to my racing weight of 165-170 so I will keep my running volume moderate (50 mi/wk) and have the cycling volume high. My running will naturally get faster as my body sheds fat and unecessary muscle through cycling and the moderate running. I have set the goal to be running 32:30 OTB in the race next Spring. I'm going to hit the hills in Duke Forest hard come Spring time a couple months out from the race to gain confidence and power to do this.
Nutrition:
I believe this is the single most crucial element to a training plan. I need to get to racing weight over the next few months. Nell reassured me that I will not need to be counting calories on the Paleo plan (I hate calorie counting) and that I should just focus on recovering properly and providing the body with nutrient-rich foods and the body will naturally move toward low body fat% and higher % of lean muscle tissue. Perfect.
"Trials of miles, miles of trials." - Once A Runner
No comments:
Post a Comment