Archive for November, 2005
Happy Birthday Hortense! Your first 10 days being 26 promise to be epic! The first day of our vacation in Cabo coincides with the beginning of the training season. Thus, one vacation is ending (training) while one begins (late honeymoon). Our honeymoon will double as an early season training camp! Sounds crazy, I know. But training in Cabo San Lucas will hardly be rough, I’m looking forward to hour long swims (water temp is in the 80’s) in the ocean, mixed in with lots of surfing and some long runs exploring the never-ending beaches. Being active is the best way to explore and discover and its what Hortense and I love to do. Plus, I am more than ready to get back into some training, the 4 weeks off have revitalized my body and rejuvenated my mind while replenishing my motivation. The best thing for me while not training was having extra time. Having time to leisurely enjoy this opportunity with friends and family was a real treat. Today marks the 25th day of no structured training. I was still active, playing water polo once, riding my mtn.bike to work almost everyday, yoga, and doing weights (first time in 2 years). Having the start of the training season coincide with a vacation will make the transition even more enjoyable, I’m very eager to treasure some hot weather and have all day to train. By ‘all day’ I mean any time during the day, I don’t plan on doing any more that 2 hours of actual training. That leaves 22 hours to do all kinds of fun things.
Simple Drills to Improve Run Economy Run economy is an often overlooked aspect of a proper training program, mainly due to lack of technical knowledge. Along with VO2 max and lactate threshold, economy is one of the three pillars of running. Utilizing your energy in the most efficient manner possible is the key part of speed progression. Simply put; the more fluid and graceful you are, the less oxygen you will be using as you run. As fitness improves and speed increases an inefficient run stride will become a major limiter. You may reach a point where progress plateaus until your form issues are addressed. Economy is not something that can be perfected in a single work out. It takes time and thousands of proper strides before the form will become automatic and subconscious. You should work on your running form every time you run, or at least check it to make sure you are not going back to old (bad) habits. If you are a novice runner the sooner you work on your form the better. It is much more difficult to change form that has been reinforced by years of bad habit. Having good form does not just improve speed, it can help prevent injury. When you run you land with a force three times your body weight. By reducing vertical oscillation and braking forces you lesson the stress and impact forces on your body. Stride Rate Improving stride rate is a good place to start your economy work. If you have a low stride rate you are likely producing more vertical oscillation. This means you are projecting energy and motion upwards instead of forward, and producing greater impact forces. Running should be akin to flying with your feet briefly touching the ground. An elite runner’s feet touch the ground for as little as one tenth of a second per stride. The more time your feet spend on the ground, the more energy you are wasting. You want to aspire to a stride rate of 180-190 strides per minute. If you are a beginner in all likelihood your stride rate is closer to 170 strides per minute, or lower. Don’t worry about your stride length; your stride will naturally lengthen as your stride rate increases. Count your left or right foot strides for 20 seconds. You should be in the 30-32 stride per minute range. Increasing stride rate will initially feel awkward, and may seem like you are taking “baby steps” while running, but this is a good sign. Plan on taking several months and a lot of practice before increasing your stride rate. Be patient. Stride Rate Drills Turn Overs: Turn overs train your neuromuscular system to move your legs faster than they are used to. You will use a short stride and fast stride rate. This may feel a bit awkward initially. Visualize a Sandpiper running on the beach and move your legs as quickly as you can while keeping a short stride. Be sure to lengthen your stride at the end of the drill and do not stop abruptly as it will be hard on your body. You can do 4-6 turn over of 50 meters after your run strides. Walk / Run Progression: Start by walking with a fast turn over and proceed to your walk / run threshold. Move your feet as fast as you can while maintaining a walk. Now slowly and seamlessly progress into a slow run with a fast turn over. Your stride rate should be about the same. You will find that your stride is smooth and that there is little vertical movement. Metronome Running: A metronome is a timing device used by musicians. It can be purchased at your local music store for around $25. Be sure to get a small, portable, battery operated unit. Dial in 180 beats per minute on your metronome and match your footfalls to the beat. Once you get your rhythm down get on a treadmill and practice maintaining 180 s.p.m. at a variety of speeds and grades. You can also download a digital metronome and save it to your MP3 or CD player. Go to http://www.milsoftware.com/crystalmetronome/ for details. Foot Strike Your foot should strike forcefully directly under your center of gravity or hip. Visualize a line from your belly button to the ball of your foot. If your foot lands before or after this point there are braking forces that will decelerate you. I recommend a mid foot strike just aft of the ball of the foot. A mid foot strike limits the amount of time your foot spends “rolling” along the ground when compared to a heal strike. The less contact time your foot has with the ground the better. Use a quick contraction of the muscles in your lower legs during push off, or a “pawing” motion. Foot Strike drills Barefoot Running: Running in thickly padded shoes on even surfaces does not make the muscles of the foot and lower leg work very hard. You also transfer more of your energy to your shoes and less to the ground. When you run in bare feet you naturally use a forefoot strike and strengthen the foot and lower leg muscles. Not only does this give you a better foot strike feel, it helps prevent injury. Start by spending as much time as possible walking in bare feet. Add barefoot running very gradually into your training starting with just one session per week. Make sure the surface you are running on is well tended and clean of debris, such as a golf course or athletic field. Posture When running, picture yourself as a puppet controlled by marionette with a string attached to your head. The string holds your posture vertical and perpendicular to the ground. Keep your chest out, eyes on a point about 30 feet in front of you, and head fixed. A slumped posture restricts your breathing. Hips should be tall and back strait. Keep all your motion projected into the forward plane and avoid any lateral or vertical motion. It is hard to correct your form if you can not see it. To get some visual feedback position a mirror at various positions around your treadmill, or better yet, use a video camera equipped with slow motion to video yourself running. Hips Tall Position: Stand with feet at comfortable distance apart and slowly rise, supporting body high on balls of feet- Squeeze abdominals Arm Motion Your arm motion acts as a counterbalance to the hips. If you have a very stiff upper body while running, your shoulders will rotate causing an opposing movement of the hips; again wasted energy. Try keeping your shoulders loose and your arms swinging like pendulums from your shoulders. Your arms should work in the same rhythm as your legs. Keep your hands relaxed and thumbs up. A longer lever arm takes more energy to move. Keep your lever arm short by maintaining a fixed 90 degree angle at the elbow and making sure your arms do not drop below the level of your waist. There should be no movement at the elbow when running. Your arms should work freely forward to back and should not cross the midline of your body; remember all energy forward. Keep your hands loose, thumbs up, and don’t clench your fists. Arm Motion Drills Side Brush: Gently brush the side of your ribcage with the palms of your hands as your run. If you have a fixed angle at the elbow you can not “reach” with your hands. Pendulum: Concentrate on relaxing your shoulders, especially the trapezius muscles, by performing a few shoulder shrugs. Now swing your arms loosely front to back, keeping a fixed 90 degree angle at the elbow. Make sure you are not rotating your shoulders. Slowly speed up the movement while maintaining a relaxed swing. Are you shoulders relaxed? Strides Simply put, strides are running with perfect form. I recommend you perform strides at the beginning of your work out before you are fatigued. Work on your key limiter. Start off slowly running 100 meters concentrating on your form. Walk back to your starting point and gradually increase speed and distance as you maintain perfect running form. Strides are a great warm up activity and should be an integral part of weekly training. As you can see there is a lot more to running than just moving your body faster. If you are reinforcing bad form you are working against yourself. A lot of economy problems are just bad habit, but some are caused by an injury, biomechanical problem, or flexibility issue. The best course of action is to get some professional eyes on you and identify your individual issues. I video my runners on a treadmill and play different shots of their stride back in slow motion. This gives very precise visual feedback on what they are doing right and wrong. Don’t try to change everything at once, or overnight. Your pace may actually slow slightly as you adapt to new form- be patient. Work on the most glaring problem with your economy and perfect it, then move on to the next. I never attempt to work on more than 1-2 parts of the run stride per session. Work on flat terrain as it is easier to focus on form. Finally, realize that even if you are an experienced runner with great form it is still a good idea to check your economy regularly. Old habits do die hard.
Aerobic Base Training- Going Slower to Get Faster One of the hardest concepts for an athlete to understand and implement is base training. It is counterintuitive to run or bike slowly in order to gain performance later in the season. It is also very difficult to take a step back from the intense training you were doing a few weeks ago, and bring the speed and pace way down. But if you have the discipline to train aerobically for a period of time, when everyone else is still hammering away, it will pay you dividends down the road. First and foremost you need a break. I prescribe a 3-4 week transition phase at the end of each season and immediately follow it with base training. Transition is a time to rest and recover both physically and mentally. We do not take total time off because the fitness loss takes too long to make up. Instead I give my athletes maximum flexibility with their training, plenty of rest, and let them leave the heart rate monitor at home. This gives them a few weeks to refocus before we begin structured base training. You can not train hard year round without taking regular periods of reduced volume and intensity. If you attempt to you will in all likelihood find yourself burned out, over trained, and perhaps injured. You will also find your performance degrading rather than improving. Most athletes build base in the fall and winter when there are not a lot of races. If one of my athletes wants to race during base we call it a “C” fun / training race and do not set any performance goals. Physiology of base training There are two basic energy systems you use when training; anaerobic and aerobic. Unfortunately, you can not build both your aerobic and anaerobic systems at the same time very well. The idea behind base training is to train your aerobic energy system specifically and solely. Why is this important? The more work you perform aerobically, or in the presence of oxygen, the more efficient you are. Prolonged aerobic training produces muscular adaptations that improves oxygen transport to the muscles, reduces the rate of lactate formation, improves the rate of lactate removal, and increases energy production and utilization. These adaptations occur slowly over time. Fat is a primary fuel source for the aerobic energy system. Over the course of a base period your body learns to more readily break down and utilize fat as an energy source. As an added bonus this adaptation helps post exercise fat metabolism as well. This is an important factor, especially for long distance athletes. The fat we have in our bodies could provide enough energy to perform many distance events back to back, whereas muscle glycogen depletion can occur in as little as one hour. The less muscle glycogen you utilize, the more efficient you are. Contrary to the aerobic system, the anaerobic system consumes carbohydrate rapidly and the byproduct is lactic acid. Other adaptations of aerobic training include increased stroke volume of the heart, capillary density, and mitochondrial density. Stroke volume increase simply means that your heart pumps more blood per beat. Mitochondria are structures within muscle cells that produce energy from fat and carbohydrate oxidation. Think of them as tiny batteries for muscle contractions. Regular endurance training can double these structures (1). By increasing capillary density we can effectively transport more blood to the working muscles. The process of building capillaries occurs gradually. Because high stress training breaks down capillaries, base training is best for allowing the slow growth of capillaries. Base progression There should be progression during base season as with any other training period. I normally prescribe 12-16 weeks of base training. This will vary with athlete’s fitness level, and the type of event they will be peaking for. Over the course of base I progress from the low end of the aerobic energy system and gradually proceed in steps to the high end. The heart rate zones I use fall into the 71-90% range of lactate threshold or 61-80% of max heart rate. I also incorporate specific strength training at an aerobic level. This entails different types of low cadence cycling and slow hill running or even walking. These work outs also increase in volume throughout base. Base training is an excellent time to work on form and economy as well. As intensities increase later in the season it is harder for the athlete to concentrate on form. By establishing good economy habits early in the season the athlete will carry them forth. It also important to keep the athlete’s mind moving with drills and technique work when they are training at low intensity to keep boredom at bay. Base training does not mean you will never move fast. Run strides, foot speed drills, and fast pedal work can all be integrated. Towards the end of base I start power work but use brief durations and full recovery between efforts. How does this transfer into performance gain? Let me give you a hypothetical example. Suppose athlete Sam runs a 7 min. mile at lactate threshold. His fastest aerobic pace, or aerobic threshold, is an 8 min. mile. We start off Sam’s base training at the low end aerobic zones at which he runs a 9 min. mile and he begrudgingly complies. Over the course of his 12 week base program the above mentioned adaptations occur. At the end of his base season he now runs a 7:30 min. mile- aerobically. This is the “base” for Sam to build on for the rest of his season. Improving on the previous season is now more obtainable with proper training. If Sam’s race is an Iron Man in which the aerobic energy system is used predominantly this improvement in aerobic speed is crucial. Now the hard part… The hard part of base training is having the discipline to train at these low intensities. It may mean running very slowly or even walking. It may mean separating from your training group in order to pursue your individual goals. It also means avoiding the contest of egos that group training often turns into. If you can find a training partner with similar goals and fitness level you may be able to train with them, but more often than not what I see is a base work gone awry. Even spending short amounts of time above your aerobic zone degrades the work out. The area between the top of the aerobic threshold and anaerobic threshold is somewhat of a no mans land of fitness. It is a mix of aerobic and anaerobic states. For the amount of effort the athlete puts forth, not a whole lot of fitness is produced. It does not train the aerobic or anaerobic energy system to a high degree. This area does have its place in training; it is just not in base season. Unfortunately this area is where I find a lot of athletes spending the majority of their seasons, which retards aerobic development. The athletes heart rate shoots up to this zone with little power or speed being produced when it gets there. Another issue is having accurate zones. I regularly performance test my athletes in order to ensure their zones are correct and to confirm their training. After performing many of these tests, and comparing them to race data, I get a very clear estimate of lactate threshold. I use a percentage of LTHR to determine individual zones. I also recommend validation through clinical testing. I have witnessed athletes using zones that are several years old. Assuming fitness has improved over this time their zones would no longer be accurate and they may have spent an entire base season training the wrong energy system. You have to let your anaerobic system atrophy during base. This means you will loose some of your anaerobic endurance and the ability to sustain speed near lactate threshold. Expect to loose some top end coming out of base, but this is what you are going to spend the rest of your season working on. It often takes several seasons to see the result of sound base training if you are a novice athlete. Be patient, it is a process that is slow and can not be rushed, but the sooner you get started the faster you will be.
The 6 Most Common Athlete Misconceptions In my experience, I believe there are a few common misconceptions many athletes have. 1. Miles = Speed. Going farther does not necessarily mean getting faster. If you put in a lot of weekly miles, but lack any specific training, you are really only (over) training your endurance. If you want to run, bike, or swim fast, you must run, bike, or swim fast. This means interval training for strength, power, aerobic capacity, and lactate threshold training. I tend to be conservative with my athletes’ training miles. I don’t want an athlete doing one more mile than he or she needs to. If your goal is to build endurance, it is not necessary to go more than 10-15% over race distance. Only a portion of your training should be dedicated to building and maintaining endurance. The rest should be shorter, more specific workouts that address your specific limiters. 2. A month off is good for you. Take a month off and you will spend the next 8+ weeks getting back to your previous fitness level. This means spending a large portion of the season training to rebuild fitness instead of building. Fitness falls off very quickly. A transition or maintenance phase is far preferable to time off. You can reduce training volume by as much as 80% and still maintain a level of fitness as long as you are training at the right intensity. Transition phases last 4-6 weeks and are an informal training period. It is a great time to cross train or do other activities. The main focus is rest and recovery while seeking to maintain a level of fitness. More than one total week off is not a good thing unless required. 3. I made it through my workout; therefore I ate and drank enough. There is a big difference between what is optimal and what you can get by on. I often see athletes gravitate towards the latter. Dehydration raises heart rate and lowers endurance. Glycogen depletion leaves you with little energy for high intensity work. Not eating or drinking enough degrades your performance. You may be able to complete the work out, but you could have pushed harder, gone faster, and accomplished more if you had followed a good fueling and hydration plan. The longer your training session, the more important this becomes. 4. I swear this made me faster. Some dietary supplements do work; most do not. Just because a pro endorses a particular product does not mean it will work for you. Don’t forget, pros get paid to promote these products and, therefore, they may have little objectivity. Supplements are an easy sell and have little regulation. All a manufacturer needs is a claim, a good marketing campaign, and an endorsement and they will sell just about anything. The supplements that do work usually have some sort of blind clinical studies behind them. Look for objective sources of information and be careful what you put in your body. Remember, there are no free lunches. 5. (Insert name here) does it, therefore I should do it. If you were to scrutinize 5 top athletes, they would in all likelihood find 5 different ways they got there. Training is a mixture of art and science. A good training plan addresses the athlete specifically and no two athletes are alike. Of course there are principles that should be a part of every training plan, but you should not try to copy another (successful) athlete’s training plan. It is like trying to run in their shoes. Recovery, limiters, fitness levels, goals and objectives, and experience are all individual factors that should be addressed in your plan. If we all tried to train like Lance, most of us would be dead. 6. Close enough is good enough. Training requires precision. For example, the difference between a good aerobic capacity workout and a non-productive one can be a few heartbeats and seconds. In order for adaptation to occur, the body has to have a new stress level placed on it. This means breaking new ground. If you apply the same level of stress, or less, you will not get faster. The nearer you are to your goal race, and as work out intensity goes up, the more important this becomes. Athletes are often surprised when I tell them their workout did not accomplish much because they were slightly below or even above where they should have been. They may have worked hard and were very fatigued, but did not have that last little push that to take them to the next level. So there you have it. Put these misconceptions behind you and you will be well on your way to training more efficiently and effectively.
Bevan Is Back-Kemper Wins Overall Title (November 12, 2005 ) Despite a squall that swept through during the bike course, the unsettled weather could not dampen the spirit of the most dramatic finish to a World Cup Triathlon ever. ITU Tiszaujvaros and Hamburg World Cup events earlier this year claimed the right to “most dramatic finish ever!”, but that title was stolen from them today in New Plymouth. Within a few hundred metres of the finish the final result was anyone’s call as the world’s best triathletes charged head to head to the finish. As Kiwi team-mates Kris Gemmell and Bevan Docherty (2004 World Champion and 2004 Olympic Games Silver Medalist) charged to the finish, Rasmus Henning of Denmark (multiple World Cup Champion), Hunter Kemper of the USA (the 2005 World Cup overall leader) and Aussie team-mates Brad Kahlefeldt and Courtney Atkinson shadowed their every move. This showdown in the dying minutes of the 10km run segment of the World Cup Triathlon was preceded by a challenging 1.5km swim and a 40km bike. Courtney Atkinson of Australia and USA team-mates Andy Potts and Matt Reed led through the opening 2 lap swim section and then almost escaped the major players in the field onto the 40km bike segment. USA’s Hunter Kemper was wise to their tactics and organized a group around him to make sure the trio did not escape off the front. Meanwhile the chase pack was desperately trying to make up lost ground and with the likes of Paul Amy leading the charge they moved to within 40 seconds of the leaders by the final 10km of the bike. Several brave souls attempted to break from the bike group at the front, but most failed until Marko Albert of Estonia got away and took Aussie team-mates Chris Hill and Greg Bennett with him as well as Andy Potts of the USA. By the time the breakaway group hit the bike to run transition they had 44 seconds on the 24 athletes in the chase pack. Bennett was the first to emerge from the transition and for the first 2km it looked as if an Aussie might claim a World Cup title in Kiwi-land. Sadly for the many “Team Bennett” fans this was not to be as charging Kiwi mates, Kris Gemmell and Bevan Docherty soaked up the adulation of their country-mates that lined the course. By the 5km mark it looked as though the two New Zealanders would demolish the field, until Rasmus Henning of Denmark, Hunter Kemper, and Aussie team-mates Brad Kahlefeldt and Courtney Atkinson started to reel them in. The final 300 metres was the most dramatic the sport has ever seen. Kris Gemmell began his sprint early, and although everyone responded it looked as if he would take the top honours. However, just the way he did at the 2004 ITU Madeira Triathlon World Championships, Bevan Docherty responded and charged past Gemmell in the finish straight to take his first World Cup win of the year. At the same time he recaptured the hearts of the New Zealand nation the way he did in 2004 with his silver medal victory at the Athens Olympic Games. Kris Gemmell, the undisputed favourite of many in planet Triathlon was second by a hair, and Rasmus Henning was 3rd. Hunter Kemper won the overall World Cup title by placing 4th as Brad Kahlefeldt rounded out the top 5. Kemper, Tim Don (GBR) and Kahlefeldt won the top 3 places on the overall World Cup and took home their share of the $100,000us bonus pool For the 90,000 spectators who were watching the event live on www.triathlon.org the event was as real as if they were sitting in the stadium. High resolution ITU Media photos (Photographer Delly Carr’s photos) are available - please contact Adrienne@triathlon.org Please visit www.triathlon.org for complete results and photos. The ITU World Cup Series is a 16 race series contested by the leading Olympic distance triathletes in the world. All events are contested over the Olympic distance of 1.5km swim, 40km cycle and 10km run. For more information about ITU Events please contact: ituhdq@triathlon.org |
