Endurance Nation | Triathlon Coaching, Ironman Training, Half Ironman, Beginner Triathlon

Listen and read along as Coach Rich outlines the underlying philosophy of the “basic week” that is the foundation of all EN training plans. You’ll need to open the audio file (below), then go to the presentation and follow along. Enjoy!

View the presentation here; get the audio here.

Note: The audio runs approximately 60 mins, google might prompt you to sign into google docs to access the presenation.

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Here is a link to view on online version of the power point presentation used by Rich and Patrick in their webinar on the off season:

http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dc82vhcj_246cvsw5v53

Audio is availble online here (mp3 file).

Get a cup of coffee, pull up the presentation, start the audio and prepare for some OS nirvana.

P

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Written by Coach Matt (Matt G.), this sheet allows you to enter your weight (in lbs) and your FTP, then spits out a chart that shows how changes in weight and FTP will affect your w/kg; the ultimate cycling performance benchmark.

You can download the spreadsheet by clicking here.

Enjoy!!

Team EN

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I got a great email from a client regarding my last post (walking the line), and it really struck a cord with me. Mainly because it seems that despite all my prognostication, I missed a huge part of who I am and what I am doing. Here’s the (edited) email text…note, it begins with a quote from my post:

” ‘I think this type of tiered success is possible, but that it takes incredible focus, a dash of luck and a lot of great planning.’ True… but do you really believe in luck? Don’t put this burden entirely on your own shoulders. You have the most important ingredient and didn’t mention it – an incredible support network. A wife who “gets it,” a bunch of fans, what appears to be a close-knit family… and soon an adoring child. I’m nowhere near the endurance athlete you are, so my expectations are not as high as yours, but you’ve seen first hand the tough balancing act in [our] household between career, family, and athletics. There are probably similarities to your situation. I don’t have answers for you and seem to re-calibrate/re-prioritize my life weekly, but I believe the struggle to achieve balance is a good and healthy thing. Living through daily struggles it can feel like no forward progress is being made. And, having incredibly high expectations of yourself, you might not achieve objectives exactly how you picture them in your head. But look back over your shoulder and you’ll see things unfolding as, yes, you planned! I don’t know how this is remotely possible without a tight support network… mostly in the form of family!“

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Sometimes I need a kick to the brain area (usually sitting on it!) to note the obvious. In this case, to note how large a role my family – both my amazing wife and, of course, all the folks out there who I work with and who work with me. There have been plenty of times when I needed inspiration, guidance, support, etc…and someone has been there for me.

Sorry for the random post, but I thought it was important enough to note here…

Coach Patrick

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sorry, Cash fans…this is not a blog on the man. It is a blog about a man, that man is me, and I am walking the line. You know the one…that fine line between building fitness and pushing yourself over the edge. I am there right now b/c of the ambitious week I have scheduled, but some of you arrive here at this place because of a combination of training/social/professional circumstances – a perfect storm of factors that force you to rethink your training.

Walking this line is both a good and a bad place to be. It has potential for “good” as our bodies respond to stress and challenge (with the appropriate recovery) to become stronger and fitter. It also means that we are mentally prepared for the worst that might come about on race day. Walking the line can be a dangerous place as well. Pushing just a bit too hard could mean getting sick, getting injured and – worst case scenario – not being able to compete in our goal event.

As endurance athletes, we walk this line more frequently than most other folks, so it’s important to know what you are dealing with. The hardest part about pushing this envelope is that sometimes folks don’t even realize they are doing it until it’s too late. Only afterwards (hindsight is 20/20, right?) is it apparent that you went too far. In my coaching experience, it’s the athletes who are able to discern the difference between hard work and bad work – and who do something about it – who are the most successful. Here are a few things to consider as you push your body to the limit.

WARNING SIGNS

1. Apathy Towards Your Training. You just don’t wan tto do it anymore. You’d rather do chores than train. Loss of motivation is usually sign number one.
2. Nagging Injury Returns. That IT band issue, or plantar fasciitis issue, you know the one you “fixed” last time? Well, it’s back. These are another early indicator of overdoing your work.
3. Discipline Fails You (Nutrition, Daily, Etc.) You were a food goddess/god for three weeks; you ate well, shopped well…heck, you were unstoppable. Now you find yourself face-deep in the largest bowl of ice cream you have ever seen. Other people are staring at you. Time to rethink your plan, as it’s easy to trick yourself into thinking “now I have to kill myself tomorrow to burn off these calories” instead of “man, I have done a lot of work already, this won’t kill me.”
4. Sleep Is Unsatisfactory. Whether you know it or not, the effectiveness of your sleep, when you are overtrained, is seriously comprimised. Your body needs the sleep to regenerate and process all the work you have done, but when your heart is unable to “reset” and is running “hot” (ie, a higher resting heart rate than normal), you aren’t getting what you need. At first you will wake up tired (try for a nap or a better night’s sleep that next evening); worst case, you will wake up feeling like you really hadn’t slept (no alarm, etc.) and you will trick yourself into thinking that’s a good thing as you are usually beat. But it means your body never went into rest mode. An easy day followed by a good night’s sleep is in order.

SOLUTIONS

1. Take Some Easy Days. Just getting out and moving is important. Several off days can sometimes fool our bodies into full recovery time (not what we want; save that for post race), so you should strive for an hour of easy work. Think swimming or cycling. There really is no such thing as easy running.
2. Refocus On What Is Important. Instead of freaking out about missed workouts, look at the next three to five days and identify what the key things are that you want to get accomplished with your exercise in light of your present state. Future-focused task orientation is huge.
3. Recover, Recover, Recover. Feet up every night, go to bed with 15 mins of reading, light stretching, good food, etc. All these things help. You know what to do; take your own advice for a change.
4. Set New Plan Of Attack. Similar to #2, only in terms of planning your next 2- to 4-week cycle, we want to make sure that you don’t push over the line again. This means reviewing your training log (you DO have one right?) and adjusting what you are going to do in the near future using the lessons learned from your recent past. Sounds tricky, but it’s not all that hard if you invest a few minutes of thought!

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I think a lot of folks assume that since I have become a coach, or at least self-employed, that I have a lot more time to train, sleep, etc. I have found that to be partly true (in that I have more time) but my work and family and training responsibilities all just don’t fall into place now that I work out of the house. In some ways, I think it’s more frustrating because inside I feel as though this should be easy, and it isn’t. At least not yet. So instead of sitting in the office, frustrated at my boss/work situation, I am sitting at home, in my boxers, complaining to my cat about my boss. )))

The hardest part is the high expectations I have set on myself as a husband, an entrepreneur, and an athlete. I am always wondering if a person can feasibly strive for a high level of success in multiple fields of endeavor? On the surface, it appears challenging. In my tiny work-circle, I have noted that most of the coaches I know aren’t competing at the highest level of their ability. But maybe they are focused on being great coaches instead of great athletes. I think this type of tiered success is possible, but that it takes incredible focus, a dash of luck and a lot of great planning. If anyone has figure this all out, be sure to shoot me an email!

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