Coach Iron Pete - Men's Success for Tough Times

This week is all about getting back into the swing of things in terms of training. All training sessions this week, as well as for the next 4 weeks, will be at an easy pace. For the next 20 weeks, I will also be in the gym 2 times per week. The first two weeks of weight training also involves easy sessions to easily adjust to the regimen. I hope to swim 5000 meters, cycle 50 miles, and run 35 miles this week.

The 2011 season will have see 2 -3  100 mile ultramarathons. The one in May is the Massanutten 100, and hope to be in good base shape when I toe the line. I am not sure if I'm doing Vermont again, but I placed it into the framework just in case. My decision will depend on how the training works out.  The big "A" race has got to be the Leadville 100, The Race Across The Sky. This race absolutely scares the wits out of me because of the high altitude (10,000 ft+ in most places). I have got to be in pristine shape if I am to ever finish this race. Throw in a Double Ironman in October and a few other ultras and here is the overall framework for the season: (it's a bit hard to see from here, but click on the picture to see it more clearly) I have two sets of 4-week Base mesocycles in the beginning to adapt and set a good base, after which I start to build on that base for three mesocycles. This should put me on pretty good shape to tackle Massanutten. The longer Overdistan...

AM Workout: 3000 meters swimming total Workout Details: Warmup: 800 meters Primary Set: 1x1000 meters timed freestyle with 25m hard, submaximal swim every 100 meters, the rest of the swim at an aerobic pace that allows incomplete recovery. Drills: Kick Sets - 8x100 meters kick with fins (2x100 butterfly kick, 2x100 back kick, 2x100 breast kick w/o fins, 2x100 free kick). Untimed. Secondary Set: 1x200 hard IM, timed. Cooldown: 200 meters The primary set is unlike an ordinary 1000 meter swim set; it is a set designed to a) increase tolerance to anaerobic threshold  type workouts over a long distance swim, b) promote incomplete recovery through not rest, but maintaining the easier pace over the other 75 meters. This incomplete recovery promotes faster recovery overall and discipline to maintain form when tired. It's a great change from just doing a 1000 meter swim because I am forced to be very actively focused and engaged during the set, as compared to an ordinary 1000 meter set, whe...

PM Workout: 4 Mile Run Time: 38:25 (9:36 min/nile pace) Course - College Ave. Route (slightly hilly) Weather: 50F, Clear, No Wind With an extremely busy day today, I was able to squeeze this run in the evening. Runs in the PM are usually not easy for me, but this run was the exception, as I was extraordinarily loose during the run. Hopefully I can see more runs like it. Weekly totals for the week: No swimming yet, no cycling yet, 4 miles of running.

AM Workout: 9 mile run at Duke Island Park (flat and fast) Time: 1:25:30 Weather: 45F, Sunny, No Wind This was a nice long workout today. I was meeting an athlete this morning at Duke Island Park and decided to start beforehand to get the needed 9 miles on to cap off a good first week. The park is quite beautiful in central New Jersey and 2 mile loops can easily be done there with very minimal traffic. The final tally for the week is as follows: 6000 meters of swimming, 30 miles of cycling, and 30 miles of running. For next week, the swimming and cycling will be increased a bit while the run mileage stays the same.

AM: 5 miles of running Course: Delaware and Raritan Canal Towpath ( RVRR Group Run , flat and fast)) Time: 44:42 (8:56 min/miles pace) Weather: 38 degrees, no wind, sunny The first real cool morning of the season arrived. With it, the annual scramble to put together my cold weather running wardrobe to place into my large bag. Drove to NJ to meet up with the Raritan Valley Road Runners for their weekly Saturday run from Johnson Park onto the Raritan and Delaware Canal Towpath. With a faster group, I pushed the pace, albeit just a little bit. This is base week and I was not going to start going balls-out fast with the club, so I kept it slow enough to break just a little sweat. The result was an awesome run workout! The first week of any season is the most energetic! Loads of energy from the off season and a full recovery from soreness and fatigue help contribute to that energy. I will do another easy 4 mile run tonight. Weekly mileage so far: 6000m of swimming, 30 miles of cycling, an...

AM: 3000 meters swimming total - All drills (no timed sets) 1) Warmup : 500 meters 2) Strength Sets: 6x150m paddles (50m left hand only, 50m right hand only, 50m both) 3) Symmetry, Hypoxic Sets: 4x200m freestyle with snorkels 4) "Putting It All Together" Set: 1x500m freestyle ( untimed ) 5) Cooldown : 300 meters Paddles can be tough when swimming normally with both hands, but with only one hand pulling, it can be extraordinarily difficult. Add to that trying to keep my form through the entire drill as my shoulders were tiring. So when I get to that part of the set where I can use both arms, I felt extremely smooth in the water. The snorkels are another tough set. Try breathing through a straw and you'll understand how it might feel in the water when taking breaths. I usually do 100 meter sets with snorkels, but I decided to give 200 meters a try. That distance can make people faint if this set was done wrong. The object here is to keep everything constant and smooth so t...

PM: 20 mile Mountian Bike on Asphalt Course: 6 loops of Great Kills Park Time: 1:17:44 (15.5 MPH) Loop splits: 1) 14:01, 2) 13:37, 3) 13:19, 4) 13:41, 5) 13:15, 6) 9:45 (short loop) Weather: 65F, Windy, P. Cloudy With my road bike inoperable at this time, I have to do the next best thing and take my mountain bike out on the course, hence the noticeably slower speed. I will be on my mountain bike as well as on my Computrainer for the rest of the year while I shop around for a new road bike. As for the workout, this was again at an easy pace, so that I can gain the miles needed for my base. I ended up the workout very energetic, and not tired, which is what is needed in base training. Tomorrow I go back to the pool. For the week: 3000 meters of swimming, 30 miles of cycling, and 16 miles of running.

AM: 5 Mile Run, easy intensity Course: South Avenue (mostly flat) Time: 46:28 (9:18 min/mile pace) Weather: 57F. VERY humid, no wind, cloudy Although a bit sluggish today, I felt pretty good on the run. This time I started at 5:30AM, a bit later than usual. But the entire run was in darkness anyway as dawn doesn't usually show up until 7AM. I'll be cycling at Great Kills Park later in the day. So far so good this week. Weekly totals are as follows: 3000 meters of swimming, 10 miles of cycling, and 16 miles of running.

AM: 6 mile run, easy intensity. Course: Richmond Ave/Staten Island Mall Course (slightly hilly). Overall Time: 56:52 (9:29 min.mile pace). Weather: Light rain, Very warm, light wind. Started this run at 4:50 in the morning as the rain woke me up pretty early today. The run felt great! The rain was actually nice as the temperature was quite warm for this time of year. The bike that I planned for today might be a quiestion mark as I need to repair the rear brakes on my mountain bike with parts that my bike shop doesn't have. If the bike doesn't go, I might either run again or swim at night, or take the rest of the day off. For the week: 3000 meters of swimming, 10 miles of cycling, and 11 miles of running.

AM: Swim - 3000 meters total. 1) 800m Warmup 2) Primary Set 1: 4x100 Indivudal Medleys (Fly, Back, Breast, Free) on 2:15, straight into (no rest), 3) Primary Set 2: 4x100 Reverse Individual Medleys (Free, Breast, Back, Fly) on 2:15. 4) Symmetry drill: 6x100 snorkels untimed  5) Secondary Set: 5x100 free with paddles (timed) 6) Warmdown: 300m A nice short but intense set. Sometimes it's nice to break into the other strokes than just the freestyle, which contributes to the all-around nature of the discipline. The symmetry drills are with front-end snorkels specially made for swimming. The tradition IMs averaged around 1:42 per 100 meter and the reverse was even faster, 1:39. The 500m swim with fins came in at 7:25. Some improvement is needed, but since this is base, volume goes first.

AM: 5 mile run at 5AM in the morning along College Ave. (slightly hilly). Nice and easy at 48:42 (9:44 min/mile pace). One of the beautiful things about base is that this time, albeit slow, is bound to improve a lot in the coming months without extra effort. That is exactly what base does. Almost all base workouts have got to be at a relaxed pace. If you do speed work here, you're bound to get injured, so don't do it. PM: 10.5 Mountain Bike on road in Great Kills Park on 43 minutes. My road bike is unserviceable at this time but will be ready for the spring. Again, the pace is relaxed.

The Vermont 100 Mile Ultramarathon is over, I've had my necessary 2-3 months active rest, and now, starting today, October 25, I have started training for the 2011 season in earnest. Before even designing an training plan, an overall goal needs to be set. Goal 1: To do 6-7 Ultramarathons ranging from 50k to 100 miles. Goal 2: A double Ironman is in the works. That means lots of swimming and cycling are included. First goal of ANY workout is to establish a strong base that will allow one to build miles and speed on top of it. Consider the base as a foundation for a house that you want to build. The larger the foundation, the more durable and strong the hourse wil be. My foundation that I want to achieve after 12 weeks is weekly mileage of 40 miles of runnining, 100 miles of cycling, and 10,000 meters of swimming. As with base, almost all training is at an easy pace. The miles are important here, not the speed. On to week 1...