Coach Iron Pete - Men's Success for Tough Times

So, I have this conundrum about The Beast Series , and now I'm back to square one again. Everything has to do with transportation to Virginia. I do not want to drive for 8 hours to an ultra, do the exhausting race, then drive the 8 or so hours back to Staten Island. That leaves 2 options, commercial transportation and carpooling. Commerical transportation is a stretch at best. The best option is Amtrak, and the earliest train arrives at 8:30PM before the race (pdf) . The race venue is 25 miles away from the start, so that puts me in a bind. Renting a car is an option, but an expensive one. The bottom line is that commercial transportation turns out to be not very feasible when it comes to expense. So that is out. That leaves carpooling. I honestly don't know of anyone in the NY/NJ area who is doing The Beast Series. I will send some feelers out to see if anyone else here is doing it, but it doesn't look good. So that leaves me with my original plan. Forget about The Beast ...

M Tu W Th F Sa Su Total Swim Off Off - - - - - 0 Bike Off - - - - - - 0 Run 4mi. 10mi. - - - - - 14mi. March 1 - AM Workout - 10 mile run Course: Bayonne Bridge Time: 1:32:55  Pace: 9:18 min/mile Weather: Northerly wind on way out with fierce headwinds on the Bayonne Bridge. Coming back was much easier with wind at the back. Comments: 47:28 going out, 45:26 coming back. Definitely wind aided on the return trip. Legs were strong throughout the run. I never felt any tiredness from the 21 mile run 2 days ago.

M Tu W Th F Sa Su Total Swim Off - - - - - - 0 Bike Off - - - - - - 0 Run 4mi. - - - - - - 4mi. Monday February 28 - AM Workout - 4 mile run Course: College Ave. Time: 38:45 Comment: Rest day from 21 mile run yesterday. Will be doing a longish run tomorrow after the easy day today.

Second Mesocycle is from January 10 to February 6 This 4 week period concentrates on holding my running to about 45 miles per week. I hope to break 50 miles on the third week, then recover on the 4th week with lower mileage. This should help set myself up with a nice strong base for the rigorous build phases that come after this 4 week period is over. The bike and swim, support disciplines at this time, will remain about the same weekly mileage (4000-5000m of swimming, and 50-60 miles of cycling per week). Weight training is still 2 days per week, with all 4 weeks in its strengthening phase. In summary, here is the portion of the training framework I'll be concentrating on...the swim is in meters, the bike and run are in miles.

This first 4 week period, or mesocycle, was designed to "get back into the routine" of training again. Did I achieve this goal? Yes I did. There were some hiccups along the way, with a big one happening when that epic snowstorm hit right after Christmas, but the hours of shoveling I did *was* a workout in itself, and, although it cannot be officially posted in my training journal, does have to be mentioned. And, although I did not finish the ultra, I can take to account that I did finish 21 miles on a very slippery, snowy, and rough-footed course in 20 degree weather. I have always been vunerable when the thermometer dips below 30 degrees, so I feel that I am really toughening up here. I am sure that if I'm met with the same conditions in the future, I can definitely tackle it better. I have found good rhythm to my daily routine and hope to continue it to the next 4 week period.

M Tu W Th F Sa Su Total Swim Off 2000m Off Off 2000m Off 1000m 5000m Bike 15mi. Off 15mi 10mi 10mi Off Off 50mi Run 4mi. Off 5mi 4mi Off 21mi 6mi 40mi AM Workouts: 1000 meter swim and 6 Mile run on the treadmill No stats on the swim, 1:03:00 on the 6 mile run. Both training was done very easy, all designed to loosen up a pair of tight legs from the run yesterday. And with that, I finish the 4 week training period and start the next tomorrow (January 10).

M Tu W Th F Sa Su Total Swim Off 2000m Off Off 2000m Off - 4000m Bike 15mi. Off 15mi 10mi 10mi Off Off 50mi Run 4mi. Off 5mi 4mi Off 21mi - 34mi RACE: WATCHUNG WINTER ULTRA Result: Did not finish (finished 2 of 3 laps for 21 miles) Conditions: Hazardous ice rutted trails covered with newer snow. Weather: Cloudy sunless day with temps ranging from 18 to 26 degrees. Little wind. Time: 5 hours 15 minutes. Pace was 15 min/mile. I had to make the decision to stop after 2 laps and is never easy to do so. These were easily the toughest conditions I've ever been on, although I have a feeling that this is the norm in the ultra world and that these conditions are tame considering where other ultras are held. That's OK though. Training in tough conditions will help me toughen up, right? Who knows, maybe I'll be out there one year at the Arrowhead 135 in northern Minnesota with temps as cold as 10 degrees below zero because of this race, right? Still, the positives I can take from thi...

M Tu W Th F Sa Su Total Swim Off 2000m Off Off 2000m - - 4000m Bike 15mi. Off 15mi 10mi 10mi Off Off 50mi Run 4mi. Off 5mi 4mi Off - - 13mi PM Workout: 10 mile bike opn Computrainer Course: Apple Duathlon (miles 0-10) Time: 32:02 Speed: 18.7 MPH Avg. Watts: 180 This workout was a final tuneup before the Watchung Ultra 50k tomorrow. With this, I have finished my cycling for this week. The ultra tomorrow would be a good first tune-up to the 100 milers later this year. If I do well here, it would be a good sign that I am on track right now just 4 weeks into my training. Wish me luck.

M Tu W Th F Sa Su Total Swim Off 2000m Off Off 2000m - - 4000m Bike 15mi. Off 15mi 10mi - - - 40mi Run 4mi. Off 5mi 4mi Off - - 13mi AM Workout: 2000 meters of swimming, including 5x200m free with fins with 30 seconds rest in between reps. 200m times: 2:43, 2:46, 2:46, 2:45, and 2:44. Rest of workout was 800 meter warmup and 200 meter cooldown. As for weight training, even though it's a day before the ultra, the training was normal and pulled no punches. Even though 50k is a lot of mileage I cannot keep my eye off the big prizes, Massanutten and Leadville. If that means I go a bit slower on tomorrow's 50k, so be it.

M Tu W Th F Sa Su Total Swim Off 2000m Off Off - - - 2000m Bike 15mi. Off 15mi 10mi - - - 40mi Run 4mi. Off 5mi 4mi - - - 13mi Thursday PM, Bike on Computrainer Course: Ironman New Zealand (Miles 0-10) Time: 34:18 Speed: 17.5 MPH Avg Watts: 180 A very short session on the bike today. From here on in, all sessions are short until the 50k run on Saturday. That will be an extremely long session. :-)

M Tu W Th F Sa Su Total Swim Off 2000m Off Off - - - 2000m Bike 15mi. Off 15mi - - - - 30mi Run 4mi. Off 5mi 4mi - - - 13mi AM Workout this morning was a 4 mile run on Richmond Ave. toward the Staten Island Mall. Course is flat. Time: 37:43 Pace: 9:26 min/mile Try to keep it real easy since this is my last run before the Watchung 50k Ultra. Weather conditions for ultra...tomorrow is predicted 1-3 inches of snow, which shouldn't affect my race. Praying it stays that way.

M Tu W Th F Sa Su Total Swim Off 2000m Off - - - - 2000m Bike 15mi. Off 15mi - - - - 30mi Run 4mi. Off 5mi - - - - 13mi 15 miles of cycling on the Computrainer Course: Ironman Canada, Miles 0-15 Time: 55:34 MPH: 16.2 Avg Watts: 180 The beginning of the course has some very noticeable hills. Otherwise, this was a pretty nice workout. I have 20 miles of cycling to go this week, all easy due to the upcoming ultra.

M Tu W Th F Sa Su Total Swim Off 2000m Off - - - - 2000m Bike 15mi. Off - - - - - 15mi Run 4mi. Off 5mi. - - - - 9mi I'll be updating this on a daily basis, starting today. I aim for transparency for my training and hope that this format works for me and for the people I coach. This morning's workout is 5 miles along the moderately hilly course of College Ave. Total time was 46:22. Felt a little stiff today, but was extremely better than Monday's 4 miler, when I had stomach problems. The 50k ultra for this weekend is on! There might be an issue with weather, but it seems a potential snowstorm might go south of us, which is fine by me. I'll be going extremely easy for this ultra, being nowhere the shape I was last summer. Not yet anyway.

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...