Tucson Camp Day 3 and 4

On Monday, all of us took on the mighty Mt. Lemmon. The climb is 27 miles in length and the grade averages 6 to 8 %. The girls got a head start and we steadily climbed from cacti and the warmth of the high Sonoran desert to pine trees and snow and ice at the top of the mountain. Brendan, one of the cycling house staffers was in the van to provide us with food and water and access to our warmer clothes.

Everyone did great. Personally, I over geared and was out of the saddle a bit more than I would have liked. A few years ago, I spun up at 10-12 miles per hour. On this day, I was only managing to hold 8-10 on this climb. It really makes a difference when you use the correct gearing. It was a great strength workout.

This is a great mountain to train on and I saw quite a few professionals and folks from other triathlon camps out there. If I lived here, the ultimate weekly workout for me would be to climb this mountain at threshold with jumps above threshold and occasionally and see how far I could get each week before I blew up. It’s kind of like an over under workout on a mountain.

I guess the best thing I have next to this in Oklahoma is wind and, of course my, Computrainer.

Doug Leib, pictured above, has an altimeter on his watch. Here is a photo of his polar down load. It’s quite impressive. The ride time was between 4 and 5 hours for the group. The pools were closed, so we were unable to get in a swim, but some of us got in a run.

A massage therapist came by that evening and I got a wonderful one-hour massage. Sean Stevens said I looked “worked” after it. It was good.

On Tuesday, Brendan, a former high school runner, took us on a run on the Sabino canyon trails. The dude is smooth. Toby and Sean enjoyed the trail running dodging rocks, while I preferred some half-mile intervals on the flat fine sand horse trails. Here's some of the "Cycling House" special pancakes.

After the run we went for a two and a half hour recovery ride then stopped at “Le Buzz“, a coffee shop, and put the finishing touches on our recovery. On the way back, we saw an old man fall in his driveway. He wasn’t able to get up, so we helped him up. He was out measuring the square footage around his driveway to buy some gravel. Toby and Sean did that for him then we took an easy ride back to the house. He and his wife were thankful. We did our good deed for the day.
After a 15-minute core session, our final workout of the day was a swim. I upped the main set of my workout to 6 x 400’s on the 6:00. A guy got in my lane and shared the other half. He was keeping pace with my 1:05-1:10/100 pace. After talking with him after my workout, it turned out that he swam for Dartmouth and was a distance guy that swam a 15:40 for the 1500. That’s smoking fast. He said that I pushed him, and was glad that I was there. If I had known that, I would have let him lead then I could have circled with him.

When we returned from our workout the boys had our dinner ready, which was delicious. Dana was super hungry.
Tomorrow, it’s another day of swim, bike and run. We are headed to Gates pass and ride on the west side of town. Until then……

Tucson Camp Day 1 and 2

The first official day of the Tucson Camp started with a 4-hour ride to a point southeast of town called “Pistol Hill”, it is close to Saguaro National Monument and Colossal Cave. Our ride out involved steady false flat terrain that allowed us to keep a steady power output for an hour of tempo intervals. After the meat of the ride was completed, we rode a loop around the Cactus Forest. It’s a beautiful place and it’s purely Arizona.
When we arrived home, lunch was waiting for us. After that settled, we took the Hammer bus to the community pool and just took over. It’s important to establish “lane dominance“. The locals were wondering who we were. I managed to get in a set of 5 x 400’s as my main set.
Following the swim, there was an optional run which Toby and Dee took advantage of while the rest of us took part in a killer core workout that was lead by Jen. My abs are still sore from that one.
We were then treated to an awesome meal by the cycling house staff. I can’t rave more about the food here. It is fantastic. The best thing is that we don’t have to prepare anything. It’s all taken care of.

Day 2 started with a 1:30 run up to the Sabino Canyon recreational area. Toby, Sean, Doug and I ran up on the trails deep into the canyons until our progress was halted by a couple of washes that had actually turned into rivers. They were impassable. We backtracked a bit and ran a few hardish efforts, and then we headed back.

I am familiar with the area and thought I could show the group a short cut back to the house. To make a long story short, I lead the group on a run through some heinous brush, burs, cactus, and a few washes that, again, were actually rivers. Despite some wet running shoes, we made it back to the house with only a few scratches from the cactus we ran into.

The girls avoided this, and went on a shorter run and longer ride.

After the run was a nice 2-hour active recovery spin that involved carrying our bikes through sand then riding across a wash. Some folks got a little wet on that one. The Tour of Tucson runs through that wash, and the thought of thousands of cyclists hauling ass through there at the same time seems pretty crazy.

To complete the workout for the day we loaded up the van and headed back to the community pool. This time the community had established “lane dominance” . We eventually got in a good workout with some top end 100’s. I found the swim refreshing.

When we returned we were treated to another great meal then kicked back and visited.

Andy and Sam returned from the 24-hour race, which they won. They had some good stories.

Tomorrow we are going on a 5-hour ride and summit Mt. Lemmon.

Training Camp Is On At The Cycling House

This week I won’t be inside hammering out intervals on my computrainer surrounded by a pool of sweat. Why not? Dana, I, and a group of 6 other fitness minded Tulsans have traveled to Tucson, AZ for a week long training camp. Dana and I came here twice in 2007 and the fitness we gained from that week carried us through to great performances that year.

We are staying at a unique place called "The Cycling House". Dana and I stayed here in 2007. This place caters to the fitness minded athletic camper in every way. As a guest here, you get the “pro athlete” treatment.

We shipped our bikes to the house and when we arrived, they were assembled and ready to ride. A nutritious lunch was also prepared and waiting for us. Within an hour, we were out on the roads enjoying the sunshine and the hills.
It is such a pleasure to just train, and have everything else taken care of. All you have to do is train and relax. The rides are supported by a sag and they provide a guide to ride with us to make sure that we don’t get lost. The support riders aren’t slouches either. They all come from a professional cycling background.

I’m a Hammer Nutrition guy, so I find it nice that there is a pantry filled with all the products I need for my long rides and recovery needs. Dana and I only brought one small bag with us on the plane, which was nice. I think I had more crap with me the last time I flew when I did Escape from Alcatraz. Now that was an adventure.

Last night after everyone arrived we had a nicely prepared salmon and saladfor dinner. Yum! All the food here is great. It was my birthday, so a surprise cake with candles and the traditional birthday song was for desert.

Yesterday we managed to get in a 20 mile bike ride and a 5.5 mile run with some tempo intervals. The official start of the camp is today and we are planning on a 4 hour ride with some intervals followed by a swim and a run. The outline is on the grease board.

Breakfast at the cycling house. Today was oatmeal and awesome pancakes with fruit.

Andy and Sam are getting ready to leave for a 24 hr mountain bike race called "24 hrs of old pueblo"

I will try to update daily since I will have tons of time on my hands.

2009 Gets Off To A Good Start

These past few weekends some of my coached folks and my wife and kids have started the year off with a little competition and racing.

Toby Smith and Kara Cassel both took 3rd overall in the men’s and woman’s elite division of the St.John indoor triathlon. The event consisted of a 500-yard swim, 12-mile stationary bike, and a 3-mile indoor track run. Both athletes have been hitting it hard in training, and were pleased with their results.

My wife Dana, Michael Krupka, and Eric Lundt traveled to Austin Texas for the 3M half marathon on January 25th, while Dana ran well; she wasn’t pleased with her race. Both Michael and Eric ran PR times for the distance and were happy. Both are building for Ironman 70.3 Oceanside in April. I cut back on their volume this year and focused more on speed and it appears to be yielding good results.

Paige and I traveled to Oklahoma City for the Oklahoma Age Group Swimming Championship. Swimmers had to qualify for the event that consisted of prelims and finals. There were some fast swimmers at the meet and it was fun to watch. There were 12-year-old girls there who could smoke me. Now that was humbling.

The parents in the stands are just unbelievable……. Too serious for a kids meet. They carry clipboards with all their kids’ times and yell like drunken sailors in the stands. “They can’t hear you”

All I care is that Paige has a good experience and develops a lifetime fitness attitude. She had fun and won a bronze in the 200 free relay. She just missed the finals in 2 events. Her times were off her best. This was probably because we had to get up at 4:30 am both days to drive to Oklahoma City to make the 7 am warm up time. She was tired and so was I. It was good fun though.

Payton took part in the Krafft Gymnastics Friendship cup gymnastic meet in Tulsa. Dana and I tag teamed the events. While I took Paige to the swim meet, Dana took Payton to the gymnastic event and was a concession volunteer on her 40th birthday. Prior to that, she did a birthday set of 40x100 in the pool with a group of her buddies on the 1:40 send off.

Payton wasn’t happy with her performance. She fell on the beam, which is rare for her. These gymnastics kids are such perfectionists!! Payton had another Gymnastics meet in Oklahoma City, the Dynamo Classic, and this weekend and had better results. She placed 4th in the floor for the Level 7’s with a 9.4.

Braden ended up 3rd with his science experiment at the school science fair. I asked him if he was upset that he didn’t win. He said “Dad, it’s not about winning it’s just about taking part and having fun” Who told you that??? “No one” Wise kid.

It was good fun and a busy few weekends. We are currently gearing up for our Tucson training camp February 13th-20th. A large group of motivated Tulsans will be joining us for a week of fun in the sun at The Cycling House. It will be nice to just train and not have to deal with other life responsibilities. I will update our daily camp happenings on this blog. Until then….

The Science Experiment

My eight-year-old son, Braden, has entered the school science fair again. The project he chose to do this year was to determine the effect that fertilizer has on plant growth. We talked through our plan together and developed a hypothesis. He felt that the fertilizer would stimulate the growth of the plant.This was well known. His experiment was to determine that if more than the recommended amount of fertilizer was given what the result would be. He hypothesized that it would result in a huge plant. Like “Jack and the Beanstalk“. Makes sense right? More is more.

I looked around online to find clear planters where the root systems of plants could be visualized. I found some from Edmond Scientific and placed an order for three. We placed pea seeds in the Plexiglas planters with equal amounts of soil. Colored construction paper served as a barrier from the soil and also identified our control and experimental boxes. One of the boxes received the recommended amount of fertilizer while the other box got a whopping four times the recommended amount.

It has been two weeks into the experiment and he was astonished by the results. The control box was the first to sprout but the fertilized box soon surpassed it and it is flourishing. What he felt that was unusual was that the over fertilized box had barely sprouted. The growth of the seeds appeared as if they had been stunted and they have failed to progress pass the sprouting stage. Most of these seeds won’t even germinate.

I had no idea that this experiment would amount to much, but the results even surprised me. We are often lead to believe that if you give or do more of something, the results should be better. As I sat at the table and stared at the experimental boxes through my fog of fatigue from my own workouts I started to think…This little pea seed experiment reminded me that too much of a good thing, no matter what it is, can lead to poor results. I was over fertilized with training, work, and family obligations.

Training for triathlon is a science experiment for me. I’m a busy guy but I still want to perform well. I want to make the most out of every training session. They always have to have a goal and a purpose., no junk miles here. I love to keep detailed logs that include graphs logging my stress scores, fatigue scores, power, pace, heart rate, and even blood lactates on selected intervals. I know that if I get too much of a dose of training the results decline just like the pea seeds with too much fertilizer. The key is to get just the correct dose… The recommended amount of fertilizer consistently. If you get too much…Well, you know what happens…. Fried, Cooked, Shelled what ever you want to call it.

I read an article in “Popular Science” a few months ago about Andy Potts Andy Potts article and felt that he and his coach are really on to something. The body responds to all kinds of stresses and this has to be monitored on a DAILY basis. There is no use in doing a hard workout if it is going to be sub par due to underlying fatigue. The data I collect tells me exactly how much stress it takes for me to get a training effect and by looking back at times when I have been shelled, such as this moment, I can look at fatigue scores which show me what I need to avoid in the future. My best results have come by listening to my body and, currently, paying attention to these graphs and numbers. It’s nice to be able to associate a feeling with a number.

My wife teases me about all my meticulous data collection. “JFT” she says. I just don’t think it would be as fun for me. I like all this detailed data collection. I get a better feel for what my body is capable of and get a better sense of proper pacing for longer races. The Raceday software has helped me keep a good eye on this.

The science fair is January 29th and last year Braden won with his electric generator project. We will see were this project leads. In the meantime, I’m monitoring my own training doses and with the help of Dr. Phil, the results are coming along very well. My science fair is coming up this spring;-)

The Last Man Standing

This past weekend was the “Dad and Lad” camp in. 50 Dad’s and their cub scout sons paid $75.00 to ride a bus from Tulsa to Oklahoma City to stay overnight in a science museum called the “Omniplex”. All this included a catered barbecue dinner, science demonstrations, and activities, which included an all night movie marathon…… A young boys dream.

I had just come off an all night call in the hospital the night before so another all nighter was going to test my endurance.

Braden and I started the trip on a bad note when I refused to let him bring his Lego collection along with him. “Come on, there is plenty of things to do there. The Legos stay at home“. He is a Lego fanatic but that’s a topic of a different blog. Needless to say, he was not happy with me, but once we arrived at our destination, he quickly forgot about the Legos.

A science demonstration was by a spunky college student who drove a Segway. He performed some explosive chemical reactions with hydrogen gas, liquid nitrogen and other substances. This guy seemed to have a crazy effect on the boys. They were going nuts and dancing in the isles while explosions kept me awake.

The museum was filled with all kinds of artifacts from moon rocks to F16 jets and I enjoyed just touring it on my own as Braden took part in his own personal hands on experiments. He chose to sleep under an indoor tree house with his buddies so I looked for a more secluded quiet spot.

By 10pm, I was dragging and found a quiet place to lay down behind a snack bar that looked like it hadn’t been used for a while. I slept well but, unfortunately, the lights came on at 5:30 am when a man and his grandmother had arrived with our breakfast of coffee, donuts, and cereal. Figures…I had picked the worst place in the museum to crash. Oh well, I get up at that time anyway, so I packed up my stuff and moved out of their way.

I went into the theater to see what was going on there. I found one boy still up watching the movie “Cars”. I asked him if he had been up all night and he said “yes”. I was impressed. I told him we should give him a medal or trophy for being the last man standing. That’s Ethan Baskin pictured above.

Ethan and I ate breakfast together while the rest of the crew was awakened at 6:20 am. We were back on the bus by 7:45am and back in Tulsa by 9:30am.

It was a fun and educational time and I was glad that we stayed inside vs. outside. It’s kind of chilly out there now. Last summer, Dana went on a Mother and son campout with Braden. This indoor thing at the science museum was cushier and I feel I got the better end of the deal.

Now it’s time to get some sleep and get rid of this crick I have in my neck.

Time For A Change

I never thought that I needed a Triathlon coach. I’ve been in and out of this sport for a long time. When I started doing triathlon in 1983, the approach was simple we just trained with specialists in each sport. I swam with the college swim team. I rode with the area cyclists, and ran with the college cross country/ track runners. This, unfortunately, also was the first time I experienced the overtraining syndrome. Back in those days, more was more and the triathlon magazines were filled with articles on how much the top athletes in the sport were training. To achieve those levels you had to be able to reproduce what Scott Molina, Scott Tinley and Dave Scott were doing. It was not very sophisticated but I probably did a lot more intensity and volume at one time than I needed to do. I, like most triathletes, tended to push myself beyond my limit. A coach would have been a good idea back then if I had one.

With that said, when I embarked on my return to triathlon in 2005 after a long layoff, I began to look for a coach to help me reach my goal of completing my first Ironman. A very demanding job and family kept me from overtraining. The internet was filled with great information to help me. Gordo Byrn’s site and forum was my favorite. I trained on my own up until eight or so weeks before the day of my first Ironman in Florida. I was clueless on how to handle the nutrition, pacing, and approach the race. I needed some help. I needed a coach!

I ran into an old friend, Dave Latourette (pictured in both pics above) at the Degray Lake half ironman in 2005. He was the announcer at the race. He’s a really spunky guy with a great personality. I had raced with him before in shorter races back in the 90’s. I knew he had done quite a few Ironman races and even had raced in Kona several times. I mentioned to him about my upcoming Ironman and asked for his advice. He gave me some tips and mentioned that he was a coach and that he could help me with the final build to the race. I hired him on the spot. Eight weeks later, I picked up 5th in the 40-44 age group at Ironman Florida, a podium spot, and qualified for Kona. That began a three and a half year relationship that cumulated in top ten age group finish in Kona in 2007.

Dave is not only is a good coach but a great friend. I have referred him a number of clients who also have achieved great things in the sport.

Not many coaches are there for you in the meat of your “A” race. Dave was there riding his bike along side me at mile 24 of the marathon of an Ironman Hawaii giving me encouragement in Kona in 2006 and 2007. I was digging deep and my body was saying quit, Dave was there to motivate me and keep me on pace to finish strong both times.

Last year my motivation was low. I had some chronic aches and pains. My hours at work had increased and I just couldn’t get myself out the funk I was in to get out the door to train. My performance suffered. Dave advised me to take some time off. It was good advice from a good friend and coach.

A few months ago when my motivation began to return, I felt I needed to make a change in my training. During my downtime, I began studying and using performance computer modeling. Unfortunately, I also felt I needed a coach who was familiar with using models intimately. Training with these models take the junk out of training. A busy guy like me needs the maximum “bang for the buck”. So I chose to move on to someone with experience using this type of training. I thought who better to be my new taskmaster than Dr. Phil Skiba, who developed the software “Raceday” and is the owner of Physfarm . It’s a different approach, and the workouts vary a bit from what I was doing with Dave, but I’m enjoying the change of pace thus far.

I called Dave to tell him a few days before I made my change. He understood my feelings but it was still hard to tell him the news. It’s hard to let go of something that worked and move on to something new.

Dave still coaches my wife, Dana, and a few other Oklahoma superstars like Chuck Sloan, and Amanda Erwin.

I just want to say …Thanks Dave. We had a great ride!