Dealing with the stress of heavy training loads

This time of year I always get reminded how demanding big training volumes can be on the body. Stress is stress and the challenge of trying to balance big training blocks while maintaining a healthy body/mind can be overwhelming. I have mentioned many times before that I have four keys to success: 1. Stay Healthy 2. Stay Consistent 3. Train Properly 4. Have fun I consider sleep to be the most important factor in maintaining optimal health. I get blood work done at least 2x a year and use other tests to see if I am in need of any supplement assistance to my daily diet. One supplement I use this time of year is Drenamin from Standard Process. This supplement addresses many of the key variables that I need: Drenamin supports adrenal function and helps maintain emotional balance. Promotes healthy adrenal gland function Encourages a healthy response to everyday environmental stresses and supports immune system function Maintains energy production Supports a balanced mood Contains a combination of key ingredients from Cataplex C, Cataplex G, and Drenatrophin PMG Good source of antioxidant vitamin C*

70.3 Timberman - Quick Recap

This was my 12th time racing the Timberman venue. I love this course and the surrounding area. I went to prep school on the lake back in 1990-1991. I have always admired the beauty of the Lakes region. I'm going to keep this recap very short and go over the major points of my race. Swim: I saw Charles Perrault right before our wave started and knew that I would definitely not be the fastest M40-44 swimmer on the day. I did try to hold his feet at the beginning and it was the first time that I almost overheated in a wetsuit. I could not hold him and I ended up doing the remainder of the swim by myself. Bike: I came into the race really well rested. I had a hard time settling in on the first 12 miles as my legs were so fresh from the rest. I was able to settle things down once I got onto the main road at mile 13. However, I did make two critical mistakes in hindsight. The conditions were hot and humid on the day. I did not take in enough calories to account for the extra needed in the heat. I, also, got behind on my hydration. There was 1 less aid station at the beginning of the bike this year and I dropped the water bottle at the 2nd aid station. So, I got my first bottle of water at the turnaround at mile 29. Both mistakes are completely my fault and I know better, but sh*% happens sometimes. Run: I started the run conservatively to find my rhythm and then built into a good clip by mile 4. I registered my first and only sub 6 minute mile at that point. Then the wheels slowly started to come off. This is where my 2 big mistakes on the bike started to manifest. It was like a slow moving train wreck. I started to lose energy and focus. I have experienced this numerous times in the past and I should have been able to recognize the symptoms. By mile 7, I was ready to take a nice long time out. So I made a deal with myself to walk the aid stations until I started to feel better. It took 3 aid stations to get back on track, relatively speaking. I was able to get back to a somewhat respectable pace for the final 5k and I crossed the line in 4:21:47 2nd M40-44/5th Amateur/ 34th Overall. This was not one of my better days. They say you learn more from your failures than your successes. While I do not consider this a failure, I sure learned a lot on the day.

Taking Risks: IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships Bike Pacing: From Training Peaks

Taking Risks: IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships Bike Pacing Thursday, August 13, 2015 | By Chris Thomas Email this article Taking Risks: IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships Bike Pacing The 2014 70.3 World Championship was my thirty-ninth Half Ironman distance race. So, I’ve had some opportunities to figure out what works well for me and what does not over the years. I am a bit of a data dork and love to analyze my race data. Race Day Numbers My effort on race day is dictated by triangulating my perceived effort, heart rate, and power in that order. I have found that I need to ride to my own feel. If I get too hung up on a certain power number or heart rate, then I do not race as well. However, I do know my zones very well from my training. When I line up for a race, I know exactly what I am capable of. I may have a good day or a bad day, but I am not just guessing what I can do. So I keep a close eye on my numbers like Normalized Power® (NP®), heart rate, cadence, and speed throughout the race to see how I am riding. I have found that this helps me to stay patient at the beginning of the bike leg, when my legs are fresh and to stay focused in the middle to later sections. I have had a tendency to flake out a bit in the past and my effort has dipped due to the lack of focus. Post Race Analysis According to Hunter Allen and Andrew Coggan in their book, Training and Racing with a Power Meter, the optimal Intensity Factor® (IF®) range to race a Half Ironman is .83-.87. IF shows how intense your effort was as a percentage of your Functional Threshold Power (FTP).I have, personally, seen mine range from .76-.87 over the years. Another one of the other parameters I look at after a race is the Variability Index (VI). VI indicates how smooth your power output was over the ride. The lower your VI, 1.0 being perfect, the more evenly your power production. Joe Friel has stated that an optimal VI for triathlons is 1.05 or below in order to run well off the bike. I have ranged between 1.00-1.08 during my Half Ironman events. Data in Action Here is a look at my data from the 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Mont Tremblant, Canada Proper Bike Pacing My Intensity factor came in at .82 for this race. While slightly below what I normally see, I felt that I performed well on the day. I had gotten dunked during the start of the swim segment, which cost me a little bit of time. So, I knew I needed to ride well in order to be in a competitive position starting the run. Each race is unique and the dynamics of the Mnt. Tremblant bike course were frustrating at times as packs formed and the tightness of the course design caused a few bottlenecks. In spite of these unfortunate situations, I was able to ride consistent and pretty much stuck to my game plan. I ended up with a variability index of 1.02 for the entire ride. However, even with the proper VI, my quads were very fatigued coming off of the bike as I pushed the last 7.5 kilometers as hard as I could. My goal was to create as much separation as possible during this hilly section. The bike effort brought me into T2 first in my age group. I had an uncharacteristically slow transition and dropped two places coming out onto the run. I could see my competition right in front of me, but I could not match the leg speed of my competition. I ended up getting run down by another athlete and just barely held on for fourth place in the M40-44 bracket by four seconds on fifth place. There were some speedy runners for sure. I was happy with my effort on the day and really felt that I gave everything I had. While my bike numbers indicated I should have been able to run well, I had used a couple of extra bullets that clearly affected me in hindsight. This illustrates that using numbers can help you make good decisions on race day, even if you gamble a bit. Racing is all about fitness, execution, and good decision making. Using data allows you to build on each of these elements. While my numbers were good, I gambled a bit and it was a good learning experience.