photo credit: doug88888

There is only one thing can think of that’s worse than training the same way, year after year. That would be doing the same training over and over again…but hoping for different results.

Sounds simple enough, I know, yet tens of thousands of triathlete are guilty. When things don’t go right on race day, the typical answer is “train more.” But at some point “more” becomes impossible. Maybe you have maxed out your training time; maybe you just don’t want to be there anymore.

But you can always train different.

Yes, there is precious little room at the top of any mountain you seek to climb. But there is more than one way to get there. Don’t settle (again) for the status quo; go outside your personal comfort zone to identify new ways to get fit, get fast and stay motivated.
If it’s not working, more might not be the answer.

Meet the Team: Kris Frazier

Meet Kris Frazier. Kris is an EN OG, Charter Member of the Lil’ Peeps Mafia, Ironman Louisville Team Captain, and a resident of Louisville, KY. She lives right on the bike course and is recently the former president of the Louisville Landsharks Triathlon Club.

Since training with Endurance Nation, Kris has seen a 24% FTP increase, 12% VDot increase, a 7′ HIM PR on a hilly course vs her former flat course PR. She also finished her first Ironman, Louisville, “coherent and with a smile on her face,” and is ramping up for another breakthru performance at L’ville this year.

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#1: Nutrition is key. Plan, pack and prepare your foods in advance.
On your grocery days, set aside some time to wash, chop and bag fruits, veggies and prepare basic meals for the week. Chopped up veggies can become salad fixings, a healthy on the go snack or be incorporated with meat for a quick healthy meal. Marinate, grill and keep chicken ready to add to salad or pair with veggies or pasta for a quick fix dinner.

2. Retire your cape.
Outsource daily tasks such as cleaning, meal preparation or laundry when you encounter those high volume training weeks. No price can be put on your peace of mind. The only person who thinks YOU have to do it all is…you.

3. Get your zzzz’s.
Important repair work goes on at the cellular level which only happens during REM sleep. Don’t underestimate the role that adequate rest plays in your success in training. Naps are good!

4. Recovery weeks and easy workout days are there for a purpose.
Too often we “A” types can tend to go too hard, too long, too often, much to the detriment of our overall training. Give your body the rest it requires to perform. The upside is that you’ll be better off at all aspects of your life.

5. Create your own race team.
It takes a nation to get you to race day. Family, friends, training partners, coaches and health care professionals all play valuable roles in delivering you to the starting line healthy, happy and ready. Be sure to recognize and thank those who support and sacrifice for you throughout the season.

6. Schedule as far ahead as possible.
Look at your personal calendar and schedule and take as long as it takes, even up to two weeks! Time spent mulling and pondering where the open windows of time are for you to train is time well spent.

7. Ignore most advice to buy the latest-and-greatest gear.
Only buy something if 1) you truly, truly understand how it can help you be a better/faster/healthier triathlete, and 2) you feel that your training and performance is being harmed by not owning this thing.

8. Don’t be afraid to go to the group rides that might be out of your league.
Go, ride as hard as you can for as long as you can, and you will get so fit. Once you get dropped, you continue to push yourself and just meet up at the next meeting point in the ride. You’ll gain fitness, skills, confidence…a huge win across the board!

9. Be ready to workout at all times.
Sometimes life gets in the way, so be ready with workout gear in your car / at your office to take advantage of any openings. If the family is driving somewhere can you ride to it and then get a ride home with bike in the vehicle? Running a 5k? Bike to it and ride afterwards. Running a half marathon? Warm up beforehand and then run a few miles afterwards for an “easy” mental long run! Why wait for your car to be serviced for one hour?  Go out for a run or ride!  Kid at the orthodontist?  You guessed it, go running!

10. It’s about Camaraderie, not Ability.
Find like minded women and men to train with who are not trying to win the workout but who want to just work hard and build each other up through encouragement and praise.

Bonus Tip
Our women asked us to add this to the list!
You don’t “need” women-specific training tips! The tri-world tends to speak to you slowly, write in crayon, and get you to wear pink stuff! The truth is you don’t need to train and race all that differently from the boys. What you need is to surround yourself with a group of women and men who get it, get you, won’t talk down to you, and will support you regardless of your race goals or knowledge level.

Interested in learning more? Join us for a women-only Open House, March 16-19!
Go here to learn more and to request an invitation.

• Learn the secret to becoming the fastest you have ever been with the shortest (and toughest!) workouts you have ever done.
• You’ll get the secrets behind racing smart and actually running and PASSING others during the marathon.
• Meet some of the coolest, yet still normal, women in triathlon and know that you won’t need to have a knife pulled from your back later.
• See how the mothers of 4 and 5 kids find time to fit iron training into their life and why it is a lifesaver for them.
• Hear about all of the newest gadgets out there to help you train, and get real time feedback about how compatible / accurate / useful they are.
• There are no dumb questions! You will get a polite response every time!

Go here for more Women Only Open House information and to request an invitation.

Rich Strauss: All of our long course training plans include two race rehearsal workouts, roughly at 6 and 3 weeks out from your race. These are, without a doubt, the most important individual training session in your schedule. You want to get these right, so let’s dig into them a little deeper:

Purpose of a Race Reheasal:

• Dial in/verify nutrition and gear plan: where/eat/kit out your bike just like race day. Does your setup work, anything to tweak, does my nutrition plan work, etc.
• Dial in/verify pacing plan.
• Dial in/verify bike fit. Locking yourself in aerobars for a 56 mile ride is very different from even your most tri-specific weekend ride. This is more critical with Ironman race rehearsals, as I’ve salvaged at least a couple of my races with race rehearsals where the fit I thought was going to work for 112 proved otherwise by about mile 90, locked in the bars. Swimming before a race rehearsal is a good idea, as it will fatigue your neck and shoulders, just like the race will, so you’ll get a more accurate assessment of your bike fit. However…
  • Bike course selection (below) has priority.  Don’t create a ton of artificiality or admin time by limit the bike course route to it’s proximity to a pool. The bike course has priority over swimming and any course with lots of traffic, stops, etc is time where you come off the gas, have to sit up for something…all stuff that won’t happen on race day. This WILL effect the quality of your race rehearsal, specifically your neck and back won’t get the full monty experience due to the artificial rest periods.
  • 1.2mi swim + 56mi bike is just not that big of a deal, if your bike fit is decently dialed in. In other words, I haven’t seen too many people sitting up in the last 10 miles of the HIM bike because their neck, back, shoulders are worked, post swim. This is MUCH more common in IM racing, not so much HIM.

Course Selection:
You want to pick a course that has ZERO or as few stops as possible, that will have you on the bike for almost the exact time as your predicted race time, and has you locked in the bars. This time-on-the-bike is more important than trying to replicate the hills of the course. For example, if the Oceanside bike is going to take you about 2:55 but you pick a stoopid hilly route that takes you 3:20 to get in your 56…that’s a very different bike ride. Also, that hilly route = sitting up in the bars = resting your back = very different from race day. Again, course selection (identical time as race day, locked in the bars, no stops) has priority over swimming first.

Run
45 minutes, regardless of distance, at race pace. If the run course of your race is “special,” ie, very hilly right out of the gate, like Wildflower, it would supergroovy if you could duplicate this for your race rehearsal run, choosing a very hilly run course…but not at the expense of bike course selection.

Doing less, or nothing at all, is most often the RIGHT thing to do.

Question: If the prescribed intensity of a workout is just not happening, should I just go easy?

Rich Strauss: Rather than going easy, don’t be afraid to just pull the plug, take a day off and not do anything, especially on the bike.

We like to see our athletes get in 4-5 runs per week and we’ll _sometimes_ have them go out and “just run easy” in order to maintain that frequency. However, on the bike we like to see our athletes hit it hard on just about every ride. If it’s just not going to happen, I’d rather have that athlete bail on the ride, take a day off, regroup, and move on with the training schedule.

In our experience, there is value in running easy, for the sake of maintaining running frequency, building resilient legs, etc, but there is little value in riding easy. Feel like you need to ride easy to just get through the session? Consider bailing on the session and take a day off.

Get Fit, Get Fast!

I recently did a presentation about Training and Racing Power at the TriFitLab run by TTBikeFit.com It was a good presentation (I’ve done better), but what always interests me is not what I do or whom I’m speaking with but the questions that come from the audience. Instead of leaving those answers information at the clinic with the 35 folks who attended, I want to post answers here in a space where everyone can learn from them.

1. What power training software do I recommend? The standard software that comes with each powermeter is pretty budget. I recommend that people use WKO Plus by TrainingPeaks.com. It’s simply the industry standard and a great place to start. If you are looking for a more predictive tool, you can refer to RaceDay software. Finally, if you want a robust free software package, you can consider using SportTracks.

Depending on the software you choose, it can cost money, but most are under $100. I view it simply as the cost of doing business and using your powermeter. A powermeter is nothing more than very expensive cadence sensor unless you actually take the data, analyze it and put it into practice. So, absolutely use that software, so important.

2. Does 30 minutes of hard riding equal 3 hours of easy riding? People really asked a lot of questions about my statement where I said that if I can earn the same training stress in an hour-long hard ride < ?> that I could learn in two hours in an easy ride…then why would I ever chose to ride those two hours. For busy athletes on a fixed schedule, intensity is the biggest tool in your arsenal. While there’s no one “best way” to build fitness, there are certain ways that are better for your life.

There was a specific question one gentleman had around adaptation, development of capillaries, the ability in the body to transport oxygen and so on, as all of those development happen at lower aerobic levels — and aren’t you essentially short-changing yourself by training at a higher intensity. At the end of the day, all of the work that we do below our functional threshold is really aerobic, and it’s just a function of how many of your slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibers you’re recruiting to get the work done.

The work that you do in zone three versus zone two or zone one, which are easier, simply recruits more muscles to get that work done. That doesn’t mean that there’s less capillaries developed and that there’s less oxygen being transported. The plumbing is the same. Doing more work you get those same aerobic benefits out of it. Of course, any good training program will have variety. Variety in training will induce adaptation. You also need to explore all of your options, but for the age group triathlete or age group cyclist a plan is only as good as your ability to implement it.

3. Will a powermeter help me on race day? Finally, people asked a lot of questions about using a powermeter as a race execution device, and whether or not triathletes could potentially use a device and use the information gathered to race.

The answer is yes, triathletes absolutely can race off the numbers you generate on a test. On race day, everything that you do is really a percentage of that functional threshold number. And having power in the race can help you eliminate so many of the external environmental things that can only distract you from executing the optimal steady race: competition, hills, etc. The best race is a steady one, and a powermeter can help you do that.

For the roadies, I think that a powermeter is very different on race day. While you should record and review your performance later, in the race itself I think you can use the numbers on the dial as a means to add more depth, more color, more dimensions to the race right now. Traditionally, when you’re in a group or a breakaway, you’ve got to make decisions based on how you feel, and based on the perceived fitness of those around you. That guy looks strong; this guy is not so strong, etc.

With a powermeter, you can see how much in work you’re doing right now, and you can begin to see what the power numbers look on each key section of the course, measuring that number against what you know you can sustain from your training. All of a sudden you can make informed decisions: Can I handle the effort I need to put out on this hill? How much harder do I need to work to separate myself from this group? What does the effort look like when guy number one gets the front versus guy number two? How much harder or how much less harder are we working? Am I getting more of a benefit here, siting second wheel, or do I have more of a benefit here sitting third or four wheel? All of that changes over time, and the power meter gives you the ability to really make quality decisions that can really effect the race and your placing.

Conclusion
While a powermeter is certainly not a cure-all for everything that you do as a triathlete or roadies, it certainly is very specific and detailed tool that can transform the way you approach your training, the way that you build your fitness; both within a given training cycle, but also across the year across multiple years, and ultimately, turn you into a phenomenal racer, helping you leapfrog way ahead on the learning curve, much further than you would have had you not had a powermeter.

Overall

• Very, very cool to have this course added to the US calendar. It’s a classic western course in a very unique area of the country.
• It’s tough! I’ve trained and/or raced on every US Ironman. In my opinion…IMSG will probably be regarded, after the event, as the hardest WTC Ironman on the US calendar.

Swim

• Likely the most scenic, and certainly the most unique, swim venue on the calendar. A calm reservoir surrounded by red rock desert, cliffs, and scenery. Sunrise over T1 and the lake will be magnificent.
• The separate T1 and T2 areas will present their own logistics challenges but I’m sure WTC will have this sorted out.

Bike

• I don’t know any way to describe it, other than “classic western terrain:” big vistas, views, and horizons that go on forever. If you’ve never seen red rock desert, cliffs, and high desert vegetation, you’re in for a serious treat. However, those characteristics come with a price…
• Deceptive grades: for those of you not used to it, your visual perspective of a hill is going to be challenged and, in short, it will be very easy for you to get in over your head because this 8% hill looks nothing like you’re used to. Many times I found myself on long, long climbs. The wide horizon and big views told my eye that it wasn’t that steep. But, toggling over to the % grade on my Ergomo, I saw 4, 5, 8, 9% many times, for a long time. This is not 8% through the trees with an obvious transition at the bottom and top (IMWI), or a series of noticable rollers (IMCDA), or a long flat section next to a river (IMLP). This is a long grind up a long 6-7% hill that doesn’t look it at all because your eye is tricked by the scale of the terrain around you. In particular, there are more than a few deceptively steep and long climbs in the ~20 miles from T1 to the start of the loop. Many athletes will ruin their day in the first hour by working too hard on these “false flats,” which ain’t false at all. They just look it because, welcome to the American West, we gots big horizons.
• Wind: deserts mean wide temperature changes = wind with no terrain to block it, or terrain that funnels the wind. The mostly downhill ride from Veyo? I drove it on my way out of town on Saturday and the net elevation loss was about 1500ft. But when I rode this section on Friday, it was into a strong headwind and there are at least 2 x 1.5 mi @ 6% pitches. In other words, riding from Veyo back to T2 isn’t a relaxing coast. You’re gonna have to work on some hills and into the wind. I predict many people will be sitting upright into the wind = a sail on the second loop.
• Two legit, this-hill-is-no-joke climbs, both on the stretch to Veyo:
  • Eagle Ranch: relatively short but steep pitch, probably 10-11% grade.
  • The Veyo Wall: a sharp right hand switch back into a climb that brings you out of the valley and on top of the plateau where Veyo sits. 1-1.5 miles long at 8-10%, even saw 14-15% kickers a couple times. Good news: ain’t no way you can miss this. Bad news: it’s steep, really steep. It reminds me of Beach Hill on the Wildflower course (cliff on the left, drop on the right), but likely shorter and slightly steeper.

Welcome to Southern Utah!

Run

• Before the race, everyone is going to talk about the bike. After the race…they’ll be talking about the run. The IMSG is, in my opinion, the most challenging run on the US calendar.
• St. George, the town, is relatively flat but surrounded by red rock bluffs to the west and north. The route leaves central downtown, climbs gently to the north to the right on Red Hills Parkway. This pitches up slightly steeper and takes you up to the top of bluff. You run along the bluff (still mostly climbing), with a quick detour loop through Pioneer Park (another hill in here), before a relatively steep drop down to 900 East. Flip it and come back. The net:
  • You’re going up, at a slightly greater and greater grade, for likely the first 3-3.5 miles. There really isn’t any place in here to settle into your stride on flat ground and just relax. Instead, you’re constantly running uphill at near constant grade for a long, long time.
  • The course makes a quick out and back on 1250, twice per run loop. No worries, it’s only about 1/4 mile and 1/4 mile out, on a dead end street with an Elks Lodge at the end. I suspect the Elks will put a huge aid station there. However, it’s a decent climb with a very short, but steep little kicker likely right before the aid station. Think short, steep driveway up to the aid station, but doing this for the last time at about mile 24-25 will be…challenging.
  • Once on top of the bluff…it’s a false flat. Again, nowhere to really relax on a flat, or freewheel down a slight grade, until the kinda steep (but too short) pitch down to 900 East. Flip it, kinda steep climb back up, then false downhill (ie, should be a downhill but it’s not really an “I can coast here” downhill) across the top of the bluff. More importantly, look down on the town and you’ll see just how far above St. George you are. Two reactions: (1) “Holy crap, I just climbed a long way up!” (2) “Holy crap, I gotta do this again!” No other run course so vividly lays out before your eyes what you just did…and what you gotta do again.
  • At some point on the bluff, about mile 9-10 of the first loop, you’ll finally start the lonngg downhill back to the finish. The downhill bit on Red Hills Pkwy will be tough on the quads. Not crushing, but lap two is gonna hurt. Then, once you make the left Hwy 18 and the next left on Diagonal, it just goes and goes and goes. You can see forever where you gotta go, it’s downhill, but only enough to take about 15-20″/mi off your pace, not coast, rest, and take 30-45″/mi off your pace.
  • Right in a traffic circle a nice 1/4 straight roll downhill through town to the finishline. This will be cool, similar to the finish at IMCDA.

TeamEN prepares to assault the IMSG run course

Admin Notes

Gearing:

• Compact (50/34): 26-11 in the back…or 27 or even 28-12. You can’t have enough gears.
• Standard (53/39): 27-12 preferred. 25-12 = borderline stoopid. 23-11 = you’re an idiot and I’ll be there to take pictures.

Point-to-Point: with T1 and T2 separated by over 20 miles, there will be some interesting race week and race day logistics. No worries, WTC will have a plan, but you’ll need to pay attention to the Athlete’s Guide when that comes out.

Food: St George is a real city with real supermarkets so no problem getting any special stuff you might need. Here are some additional resources for you:

• Benja Thai and Sushi: good Thai food, but 5/5 on the spicy-0meter didn’t make my shaved head sweat, which is how I gauge hot
• Iceberg Diner: CRAZY thick milkshakes. Located about 4 blocks from the finish, be sure to stop in after the race.
• Veyo Pies: “If pie is in the name of the restaurant, you have to stop.” — Rich’s Road Rules. Seriously though, excellent pie shop in the town of Veyo, about mile 50 on the course. I talked to the owner, and the owner of the gas station across the street, and they are excited about the increased traffic to their stores. Do your part to spread the economic luv outside of St George to stopping in town when you drive the course. Fill up your gas tank and buy a pie at Veyo Pies. You’ll dig it, I promise!

Will You Be Ready??

Endurance Nation wants to give you FREE stuff, including a Platinum-Level training plan ($269 value!) during our IMUSA training plan sale this week, March 2nd through 7th, 2010.

On Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of the IMUSA plan sale, we’ll be giving away three great prizes:

Grand Prize: One Endurance Nation Ironman Lake Placid Platinum Training Plan. That’s a 20-week plan plus our Ironman Lake Placid Course Talk Movie, Race Preview, eBooks and podcast resources…an incredible $269 value!

Second Prize: An Endurance Nation Four Keys Race Execution Kit. That’s a Four Keys DVD, T-Shirt and Bracelet, along with our IMUSA Race Preview File…over $70 value!

Third Prize: A copy of our renown Four Keys DVD…a $37 value!

There are two different ways to win, so pick the one that’s right for you:

Option 1: Twitter

1. Follow EN on twitter @teamen and retweet the following post (click here to do so automagically):
   Ironman USA Triathlon Plan Sale & Giveaway by Endurance Nation | You Could Win Up To $269 In Prizes! http://ow.ly/1bi88 @teamen
2. That’s it! A winner will be randomly selected on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from all entries. Be sure to follow @teamen so you get notified! As a bonus, the 100th ReTweet will receive a free Four Keys DVD!

Option 2: Facebook

1. Fan Endurance Nation on Facebook.
2. Share this link on your wall: http://su.pr/1cpH0z
3. Send an email to admin [at] endurancenation [dot] us with the subject “EN Fan”. A winner will be picked on Wednesday and Friday and Sunday.

Of course, you can simply purchase your own plan in the EN Store, save 15% now and get a refund in the event you win…your call!

Thanks again and have a great 2010 season!

- The EN Team

Attention Ironman Lake Placid Athletes — You have T-minus 21 weeks until race day! But don’t panic, Endurance Nation is here to help! We’ve created the ultimate Ironman USA training package designed to prepare you physically and mentally for your race. Purchasing an Ironman USA Training Plan allows you to tap into the collective Endurance Nation experience, knowledge and race-weekend mojo. EN plans are world-class because:

• Rich and Patrick have personally coached over 80 people to the event over the years.
• Patrick has raced IMUSA five times, qualifying for Kona twice and setting a 10:01 PR.
• TeamEN at IMUSA: 20 athletes in 2008, 36 athletes in 2009, 45+ expected for 2010!
• We have conducted annual camps on the course since 2003 — seven consecutive years!
• For 2010, Endurance Nation will host a FREE ‘Training Rally’ on the course, June 10-13. Over 75 people are expected to attend. Learn more and plan to join us!

Simply put, no one knows Ironman USA better than Rich, Patrick, and TeamEN.

Save 15% — Sale Ends Midnight, Sunday, March 7

Your Platinum Level Ironman USA Training Plan includes:

• Your choice of a Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced 20-week Ironman training plan.
• The IMUSA Course Talk Movie: Over two hours of Rich and Patrick teaching you how to swim, bike and run every inch of Lake Placid.
• Four plus hours of podcasts to accompany your training plan — two per training week.
• A FREE Four Keys Race Execution DVD, a $37 value!
• An invitation for you to attend the TeamEN Four Keys Pre-Race Talk: the live version of the DVD, delivered to over 1500 Ironman athletes over the last two years!

Still not sure? Download a FREE IMUSA Preview PDF.

Review this additional guidance from the Coaches and members of Team EN, including top tips for each leg of the event, equipment, bike gearing, and other recommendations. Be sure to browse our photo album from last year’s race to get a sense of the EN vibe. Why share this with you before you purchase an EN plan? Because we are confident that you’ll see the depth of our knowledge regarding Ironman and our commitment to making your race day the best experience possible.

Meet The Team: Olivia Syptak

Coach Patrick talks to Olivia, another EN newbie, about her return to Ironman in 2010, the tough OutSeason and much more. Olivia is just good people, ’nuff said. Check it out!

Click Here to Download the File