The Value of Progression

Wow, look at me bloggin 2 days in a row!  I sort of touched on progressive training in the last post, in regards to my 70.3 training plan, but I wanted to expand on that idea just a bit, to further explain how having a plan can be of immense benefit when training for a Tri-race. Once you begin racking up the mileage in all three disciplines, the danger of injury increases.  One way to offset the risks associated with overuse injuries is to gradually increase your mileage at a steady pace (progressively) over a period of weeks.  This is something that I have struggled with at times throughout my training days, and not just with triathlon.  I've added too much weight to the barbell when lifting weights, maybe tried to over-extend a posture in yoga, and even went with way-too-heavy of a ball in my bowling days.  The eventual outcome is always the same.....soreness and some degree of injury.  When I began doing endurance sports, my main focus was with running.  Like most I did the 5k, then the 10k, then worked up to a half-marathon distance, yet along the way I encountered tons of leg and knee pain.  Once I began to focus on triathlon training, the pain continued to my surprise....as I have read tons on how training for 3 different sports will actually increase fitness, yet reduce the likelihood of overuse injuries associated with single sport activities, because you are training within a different discipline each day.... typically.  Well, I discovered that running uses my knees, cycling uses my knees, and DARN IT I even feel my knees being taxed a bit in swimming!!!!  But what I didn't realize at the time is you can go too far, too fast.  Sounds simple and well, quite obvious yet we triathletes are a different breed of knuckle-heads!  You see we are all about going farther, and going faster while going farther!  A lot of triathletes try to push, push, push without giving the body an opportunity to heal properly.  I was driving this morning, and got this vision in my head (I had just come from the dentist and my gums were all puffy from the cleaning) and even though there is a bit of damage to the gums when they are scraped and cleaned.....uuhhh yuck......they regenerate and healthy growth occurs in TIME.  Now if I went back and had them cleaned again everyday, well that healing would never occur and if it did, it'd take forever!  Same thing happens to our muscles, tendon, ligaments, etc.  Exercise in essence damages these areas, yet when recovery takes place, healthy growth occurs.  We in the end gain muscular endurance and strength when we allow for healing. But the kicker is allowing that healing to take place before jumping back into the "saddle" and blistering through another intense workout. 

So basically, that brings me back to my point regarding progressive training.  All research I have evaluated since college (don't ask how long ago that was) is that a 10% increase in duration, intensity or distance per week is about the healthy limit.  Maybe those elite triathletes can push a bit beyond that percentage (maybe).  I have certainly been guilty of not adhering to that guideline and yes I have had horrific IT Band pains, behind the knee pains, and even lower back pain as a result.  Its funny how on a cardiovascular and muscular fitness level we can be capable of finishing a marathon, yet there are all those little connecting tissues and joints that cannot handle the stress of that distance without gradually acclimating to the demands of a marathon!  Knowing this going into a serious training routine for my upcoming 70.3 race, I searched for a plan that progressively worked me up to the point (and beyond) the demands of this race distance, using the 10% rule and having regular recovery weeks along the way where there is a 40% reduction in work load that week.  I also looked at it this way, I cannot afford to drop a couple hundred bucks to register for a race 5 months out, only to injure myself and wind up not being able to compete on race day!  Just some things to think about when trying to decide how far your long run or bike workout is gonna be this weekend!

So trust me I will always push, I will always be all out and wide open, yet as I get just a slight bit older....shut up......I think its important that I (and all of us) train smarter, as well as harder :)  I still want to be around beating those kids 10 years or more younger than me to the finish line!!!!

Wow It's Been Awhile!

Hard to believe that my last post was in November of last year....well I guess that kinda makes sense, given that most of us are so busy with the Holidays that we lose touch with many other things :)  Well the only "race" I have competed in since the last blog was the Gaston County Girls on the Run 5k with my daughte in December.  I gotta say this was another amazing experience for me personally.  My daughter really pushed and we finished this 5k almost 10 minutes faster than the previous one we did together in October and there were considerably more hills involved this time.  The Pre-race festivities were great, with live music, the Chik-Fil-A cow posing for photos and being in a really up-and-coming Chic town like Belmont, NC made for a great venue.  At the end of the race, all the girls received a nice medal, which really meant a lot to my daughter.  I can't say it enough how wonderful of a program that this is for young girls.  It totally builds confidence and self-esteem and the coaches discuss some of the common issues that our lil' girls will face heading into Middle School. 

The Holidays were amazing.  I have sooooo much to be thankful for, that its hard to even begin to list everything.  I just thank the universe first and foremost for family, health, a decent job and the opportunity to live in a healthy and beautiful city like Asheville, NC.  It really makes training outside wonderful and motivating!  The fam headed up the Penn. to be with the wifey's family and I was able to really get my running mojo back.  In the 5 days we were there, I logged close to 30 miles!  Not bad for me :)  It's totally rejuvenated my running spirit!

Training has ramped up as I am preparing for a pretty tough Half-Iron Distance Tri in May (The Beast of the East Half Steelman).  I must admit that I broke down and went with a 70.3 training program that seemed to fit my style to prep for this one.  I am in the 5th week of the program currently. I still throw in my "hard headed" style of balls-to-the-wall training, but I certainly see the benefit of progressive increases in both duration and distance in each of the 3 disciplines.  I still hit the weights hard 4-5 times per week and will continue the strength building type workouts until March, at which point I will focus more on muscle endurance (in terms of weight raining that is)= Higher reps, less weight sorta thing......  I am throwing in 3-4 yoga sessions per week and making a real effort to limit the sugars in my diet and making sure to drink a lot of H2O.  I also increased the protein in my diet, via a quality Whey Protein mix and I can tell I have added a nice amount of muscle thus far in the "off season" without adding any noticable fat.  I am trying to do some increased core strengthening stuff, plyometric based workouts from time-to-time, and jumping rope when I am bored, LOL!  Just keeping my body guessing, I suppose is the easiest way to look at it.  I really believe that variety does wonders in terms of keeping us motivated!  I couldn't imagine only doing runs, swims and bike rides.  The cross training, weights, and yoga are as important to me as the Tri-specific stuff.  Maybe I should call myself the Well Rounded Triathlete instead :)

Anyhoo, I am saving my pennies to purchase a wetsuit and found the one I want.  Should be getting that in the next couple of weeks and totally stoked about it!  If you haven't ever checked out the Wetsuit Outlet online, let me be the first to suggest it to you!  They've got Tri-items in addition to an amazing array of wetsuits!  I am also looking at buying some "aero" wheels for my bike.  I use the ""'s because the wheels are still 24 spoke, alloy wheels, but considerably better than what I currently have and I think they're gonna be a decent bang for my buck purchase to help shave a bit of time from my bike splits.

Here's a pic from the Girls on the Run 5k!!!!  Yes I had to carry the daughter's coat the last 2.5 miles of the 3.1 we completed that day!!!!

I reckon that's about it for the moment.  Wishing anyone reading this happy training and if you ain't rocking...you ain't living!!!!!