Workout of the week - The long "strength based" tempo run

 

Over the past few weeks I've been progressing gradually with my run fitness. I'm not training with a specific race day pace goal in mind but instead, I'm training to become a stronger runner. A lot of variables contribute to running well off the bike and frankily, it really comes down to not getting injured. Running is corrosive and it brings a great risk for injury. I've been thankful that my body has not had a setback since August 2019 and for me - someone who has had a rocky relationship with running - that is a big deal.

When I eased back into running after my short off-season break, I focused primarily on easy running with good form. I incorporated a lot of walk breaks in my runs to help reset form and neuromuscular firing (communication with the brain and muscles) and finished some of my runs with hill strides (10-15 seconds uphill w/ walk down) to activate the posterior chain and for leg turnover. After a few weeks of frequent running, I continued with easy runs but included one intense workout of either hill repeaters (8 x 30 sec strong hill efforts) or short tempo efforts w/ double time recovery (6 x 3 min w/ 3 min recover).  This progression over the past 6 weeks has changed my physiology to allow me to feel stronger during my long runs.

A misunderstood concept of long distance triathlon run training is improving economy and strength. Both are vital to running well off the bike - much more so than prioritizing endurance (easy long runs) and speed (speed/track work). It's easy to have the "runners" mindset that to be ready to run 13.1 or 26.2 miles off the bike you need to do speed work and easy long runs and while both are valuable, triathletes should not neglect strength-based runs.

My weekly running mileage right now is around 24-26 miles per week which comes from 3-4 runs per week. Right now I am not doing brick runs and I always include easy runs into my training plan. I like to vary when I run (morning, mid day, evening) and what days I run, to ensure that I can find good form at any time of the day. But when I ask my body to do intervals, I prefer those workouts to be in the morning. I always spend at least 15 minutes doing ECFIT/mobility before a run. I also like to do an easy run the day before a harder run to help prime my body, neuromuscular system and mind. 

I feel there is great value in incorporating higher intensity efforts on hills into a long run. Not only do you feel extra light and springy on the flats after you run uphill, but it's a much safer way to elicit a higher heart rate and power response vs. sprinting on flat surfaces. It's hard to keep good form when running at high speed (that's why track athletes spend a tremendous amount of time warming up and on drills before they run) so there's less of a risk for injury on hills.

Running is so much more than collecting miles or gaining fitness. When I run easy, I don't view these workouts as "fitness gaining." Sure, I'm gaining fitness but my focus is on form economy under fatigue, posterior chain activation, breathing, movement economy and finding the joy in using my body. And when I do more intense workouts, I'm focusing on raising my anaerobic threshold while improving my run economy and efficiency. Intense workouts are important but I'm not doing pace-based intervals as I'm not tied to running a specific pace on race day. In long distance triathlon, you need to be great at not slowing down. 

While your strava file may not look impressive as uphill running produces slower paces than running on the track or on flat ground but hill sprints offer benefits such as:

• Strengthening running muscles and tissues (ex. core, glutes, feet, etc.)
• Increase stride power
• Reduce risk for injury compared to speed work on flat ground 
• Improved running economy
• Improved muscular endurance 

Speed isn't holding you back from progressing with your run endurance. Focus on economy and strength and you'll get better at going further while minimizing a massive slow down. 

Long "strength based" Tempo Run

WARM UP
~25 min easy jog 

MAIN SET
4 x 30 sec strong hill efforts w/ 1 min EZ walk/jog down
4 x 5 min tempo (not flat but not super hilly) w/ 1 min walk recovery (~6:59 min/mile)
4 x 30 sec strong hill efforts w/ 1 min EZ walk/jog down
2 miles steady (7:45 min/mile average)

COOL DOWN 
~5 min EZ jog cool down 

Total miles: 10.0 miles (funny because I didn't even look at my watch until later that day. I rarely look at my watch when I finish a run because I run either by time or by completing the workout as prescribed)
Total time: 1:22
Here's a graph of my workout to see the execution. Green represents speed. Yellow represents cadence. I don't wear a HR monitor when I train. 

I fueled with my typical 2 waffles (or a bagel) w/ peanut butter, syrup and yogurt around an hour before this run, had 2 Powerbar chews before the run and had 2 flasks, each with 12 ounce water and 1 scoop C30 Never Second Berry. 

If you are interested in doing a run workout similar to my long workout, here's a safe way to get started.....This ~50-minute workout can be done on the treadmill or outside. 

WARM UP
Mobility + power walk into ~15-20 minutes easy run (include reset breaks as needed and before the pre-set)

PRE SET
4 x 15-20 sec hill run (4-6%) w/ 1 min EZ jog/walk down + 15 sec extra rest

MAIN SET
3-4 x 2-3 min good form, steady running w/ 2 min walk/jog between

POST SET 
4 x 15-20 sec hill run (4-6%) w/ 1 min EZ jog/walk down + 15 sec extra rest

COOL DOWN 
5 min EZ jog/walk 

Appreciative of the long run

After a very tough 1:45 trainer session on Saturday morning, we ventured out to the Pretty Place Chapel so Karel and his mom could enjoy the beautiful view of the mountains. We then we went back to Triple Falls so they could see the covered bridge and high falls. The weather was a bit chilly compared to the last time we hiked but the trails were so quiet in the afternoon - it made for a peaceful afternoon in nature. We made a quick stop at the Flat Rock Bakery for some fresh bread (and a pepermint brownie - yumo) before heading back home. As always, Campy loved his afternoon adventure and slept the entire car ride home.

On Sunday morning I had my longest training run in a very long time. I still get a bit of apprehension and worry on the day/night before a run. But with a good amount of time spent warming up with strength/mobility before each run, I am gaining more confidence and trust with my body.

My run was not the typical "long run" of going out and running for 95 minutes straight but instead, it included a bit of EZ, hills, tempo, aerobic and intensity. Let's just say it had a bit of everything.

WU: 10 min EZ + 10 min aerobic

Pre set:
3x (15/30/45 sec strong hill running w/ an EZ jog down between)

MS:
30 min aerobic running (holding ~140 HR)

PS:
4 x 2 min tempo (strong) w/ 1 min EZ between

CD:
15 min aerobic running (holding ~140 HR)

While I did find myself "wishing" I was faster during the aerobic running, I had a little self-talk with myself and stopped my negativity and reminded myself how grateful and thankful I am to be running injury free (and feeling so strong and efficient while running).

At the end of the run, while driving to the airport to pick up an athlete who traveled to us for a bike fit + swim assessment, I reminded myself of a recent/timely blog post that I wrote on comparison.

It's often said that comparison is the thief of joy. In other words, social comparison is a big part of how we determine our own level of happiness.

If you find yourself in a daily competition with the achievements of others or a past version of yourself, it's time to direct your energy elsewhere. Start caring about the things and people in life that are meaningful and purposeful to you.

Life is filled with sadness, stress, pain, disappointments, insecurities, anxiety or depression. It doesn't matter who you are, life can be tough. However, this idea that life is far from perfect is far from the picture-perfect life that is often depicted on social media. While you may envy over someone's highlight real, you never know what the behind-the-scene moments look like.

I encourage you to have less comparison to others and more compassion toward yourself.

Although it is inspiring and motivating to see the success stories of others, do not let the triumphs of someone else trump your own personal accomplishments and achievements.

Trimarni endurance camp reflections - day 4

When an athlete lacks mental toughness, it's easy to give up, give in or give less. We see this a lot when athletes train alone.

But in a group setting, athletes are willing to do just a little bit more than what they would do alone.
Regardless of talent, a mentally tough athlete has what it takes to get through a tough workout.

Day 4 of camp was all about attitude and every camper brought a great mindset to the last day of training at camp.

After three challenging, exhausting and long days of training, our campers arrived to Lake Jocassee around 8:30am for one last workout. A 1-hour open water swim workout followed by a 90-minute hilly run.

At Trimarni, we have a special group of athletes. We feel incredibly lucky that our athletes/campers bring great can-do attitudes to every workout as this fosters a positive, ego-free, supportive environment. When you feel good about yourself, you think, act and train in a way that is good for everyone. 

Instead of doing things the way that they have always been done, our campers opened their minds to new ways of training over all 4.5 day of camp. 

Instead of simply asking our campers to swim for 60 minutes, we gave them a swim workout. There were no excuses or reasons for not being able to do the swim workout but instead, everyone gave their best effort - even though we could see the exhaustion in their eyes.

And this is why a group training camp is so beneficial. When you think you don't have it in you, others bring the best out of you. 

It's always amazing to see how a group environment provides an immediate source of energy. Our campers were extremely mentally strong and welcomed the opportunity to challenge and push themselves beyond their comfort zone. 

With a beautiful backdrop to our open water swim, we all gathered in the water after a dynamic warm-up to start the open water swim workout.

Warm-up:
10 minutes out, 10 minutes back - easy swimming
Then 10 minutes out (easy), 10 minutes back build effort.

Pre-set:
4 x (10 strokes fast, 10 strokes easy, 20 strokes fast, 20 strokes easy, 30 strokes fast, 30 strokes easy), 

Main set 3x's
~150-200 yards out (Joey was our "buoy" in the kayak)
#1: Endurance effort, 85%
#2: Build to strong
#3: Strong

The water was a little choppy and the open water swim workout was not easy on the last day of camp but our athletes did not complain. Knowing that the open water environment is not familiar for most athletes, we encouraged our campers to not get frustrated and fight the water but instead, focus on good swimming technique, with great confidence. 

After the swim, we got ready for the run. At Lake Jocassee, there are no flat roads so we told our campers that this would be a very hilly run (about 250-300 feet of climbing for every 30 minutes of running). With the very last workout of the 4.5 day camp being a long run, we wanted to add some specificity to the run to keep our campers focused and engaged.

Although we had covered a lot of miles on the bike, we purposely did not overload our campers with running miles to ensure that we could minimize the fatigue and tissue breakdown throughout camp. This approach makes for quality training and to reduce risk for injury as our campers could keep good form during every run. Additionally, at our camps, every camper is required to bring sport nutrition/fluids with them when running, for all run workouts - either in a hydration belt or backpack. This keeps our athletes "healthy" when accumulating training stress and makes for productive training sessions and quick recovery.

Run workout
90 minutes as 3 x 30 minutes
15 minutes out, 15 minutes back on rolling terrain

Loop 1: Conversational pace, smooth and easy
Loop 2: Steady effort
Loop 3: Strong effort

We had our campers loop back at the picnic tables where additional sport nutrition/water was available for refilling flasks. Our campers treated this workout like a race so the nutrition stops were quick, just like at an aid station (or special needs) on race day.

It was so awesome to see our athletes work together. Although some athletes opted to run alone, there was no shortage of cheers and high fives from the athletes on the run course. Plus, our photographer Joey captured some great pics of us running! Here are a few pics of our campers in action.

Joe and Karel

Justine

Celeste

Heidi and Kevin

Thomas

Me and Justine

Elizabeth, Danielle and Sandra

Tim and Meredith

Jim 

Pat

Michaela 

Katja and Kathleen 

Stephanie 

Although the camp experience is just as exhausting for us coaches as it is for our campers, we absolutely love putting on training camps, especially in beautiful Greenville, SC. It's incredible to see our campers stretch their physical limits, step outside a comfort zone, embrace fear and bond with like-minded individuals. Our job is extremely rewarding and we love helping athletes develop fitness and skills to improve athletic capabilities, while having fun and maintaining pure enjoyment for the sport of triathlon.

Total camp stats:
2.5 hours of swimming 
12-14 hours of cycling
2.5-3 hours of running
Over 17 hours of training in 4.5 days!
And over 14,000 feet of elevation gain on the bike and over 1000 feet on the long run!

Every camp reminds us how much we love the sport of triathlon and why this sport is so special.

Inspiring people doing incredible things with the human body.
Stretching comfort zones, pushing limits and overcoming fear.

You will never know what you are capable of achieving until you try.

Thank you campers for making our 2017 Trimarni endurance camp extra special! 

And a special thanks to Joey for being our SAG/photographer and assistant coach Joe for your watchful eye, great mechanic skills and support. Also thank you to Thomas for being our"route guide" so that we could spend more one on one time with our campers. 
And thank you to the following companies who provided swag to our campers: 
XTERRA WETSUITS - wetsuit bag and hanger
cheribundi - refuel
Veronica's Health Crunch - yummy crunch
Mg12 - The Power of Magnesium - magne sport balm, roll on and salts
BOCO Gear - camp hats
OOBE - camp shirts
TeamHOTSHOT - Hot Shot 'drink'
CLIF Bar - Sport nutrition
Infinit Nutrition - Bike nutrition
Beauty Counter - sunscreen 

Fuel for the mid-week long run

After an EZ form focused run with a few "fast feet" intervals on the treadmill on Tues evening, I made a delicious dinner for me and Karel of couscous, spiced with turmeric and salt, tossed with sauteed veggies (celery, edamame, yellow peppers, onion). Cooked tempeh was my protein of choice.

This dish didn't take too long to prepare as I was able to cook everything at once by using three of the burners on the stove. Karel was on the trainer, doing his bike workout as I was cooking, so by the time he was finished, it was time to enjoy this yummy creation, which left us with a happy tummy and well-fueled body.

After a great night of sleep (oh sleep, how I love you!), I woke up excited to run outside on Wednesday as this was the first morning in several days that it wasn't raining. Plus, I had a very specific build-run workout on tap and with a building confidence in my run fitness lately, I was excited to see what my body had in store for the morning run.

I started my morning with a cup of coffee with milk and then a chocolate chip waffle smeared with peanut butter, banana slices and syrup (yummy), and a glass of water.

After I digested my pre workout snack, I was got myself dressed in my run gear and was ready to go.

I started my run with about 10 minutes of active warming up inside the house to wake up my glutes and to loosen up my hips. I feel so much more springy on my feet when I take an extended amount of time to warm-up, before my run warm-up. After a few more minutes of dynamic stretching outside, I was ready to run.

(Karel left for his run a bit after me as we rarely run together)

With so many beautiful running routes from our doorstep, I let my legs lead the way. My run included no shortage of hills and climbing but that's my favorite type of running. After a 20 minute EZ warm-up, I stopped for a few minutes to stretch out again,  took a swig of my vanilla Clif Bar gel and a few sips of water from my hydration belt (2 x 10 ounce flasks) and then I was ready for my main set:

3 x 20 minute efforts, build from steady to strong w/ 1 min walk in between.

In reality, my workout was really 60 minutes, with the last 30 minutes slightly stronger than the first 30 minutes, but no harder than a Z3 effort for the stronger effort. But for my mind, I broke it down into 3 x 20 minutes as this was my strategy to best execute this very specific main set. Also, I wanted to include some walking to make sure that I could keep great form throughout.

I continued to sip on water throughout the main set and took a swig of the gel (about 1/3rd of it) every 20 minutes.

By the last 20 minutes, I was running strong and fast, which told me that I not only paced it well but I also fueled smart. I not only felt stronger as the run continued but my pace dropped with every 20 minute segment. I never looked at my watch throughout the run, as I went all by feel but it was fun to look over the stats when the run is complete.

After the run I had a smoothie made with milk, frozen fruit and whey protein and then it was time for breakfast (my first real "meal" of the day).

In total, the run was 1 hour and 24 minutes, 10.35 miles. 

 

It's a shame that we live in a society where so many athletes are afraid to take in calories during training, not to mention eat "enough" to support energy needs.

My body deserves calories, lots of them!

The way I look (body composition/weight) is never a focus when I eat or train. I don't train to look a certain way and I don't eat to look a certain way. The body I carry with me for every workout is the body that stays nourished and well-fueled, every day of the year.

I don't bash my body, I thank my body.

I don't workout or eat to try to look different.

And you better believe that I thanked my body a lot after the workout. I even told Karel after he came back from his run, that I was very impressed with my body that I could run so well this morning. I felt light on my feet, strong, resilient and fluent. I could not have asked for more out of my body!

This active lifestyle that I live is a fun one but it's geared toward performance. I expect my body to perform for every workout but never do I take a workout for granted. I feel incredibly lucky for what my body allows me to do and seeing that I push it, challenge it and destroy it through the many workouts that I accomplish each week, week after week, month after month, year after year, I owe it to my body to make sure that I eat and fuel smart.

I train to adapt to the stress that I intentionally place on my body. And since I want to be the best athlete that I can be (hey, genetics can only take you so far and in my situation, my body was not built for running so I have to work hard at it!), I never overlook the many nutritional strategies that I can take to help me get the most out of my body, while keeping my body in great health. 

Do you eat and fuel smart?

If not, why aren't you using your diet to get the most out of your body to improve your performance and to keep your body in good health as an athlete?

Kona countdown 34 days: Every choice matters

We have approached the "less than 5 week" countdown until Kona!!! 

After we returned from Boulder, I mentioned that I was overly exhausted after our 9-day train-cation in Boulder. After taking several days to recover, I was able to get back to my planned training but I did have to make some modifications. 

With so much climbing and hard efforts in Boulder, I came back with a body that was not very happy. Nothing new to me with many years of back issues but with less than 6 weeks left until Kona (at the time), I did not want to take any chances for a tight back to turn into a back injury to turn into a hip injury (which I have had much experience with in the past - 6+ years to be exact from 2007-2013).

My right scapula was so tight/inflamed that I was barely able to swim last week. Additionally, because of the tightness in my upper back, it was tugging on my lower back and hip area and my right leg felt very weak (again, nothing new to me from past hip issues). I also felt calf and ankle issues...all relating to my back. Pretty much - my right side was totally out of whack. 

Rather than trying to treat myself (I never use our foam roller or Trigger Point set- even though we have both), I made an appointment with the best massage therapist in Greenville (I saw him last year before IMWI - my last massage was September 2014!) and simply modified my training. 

I had to back off with the intensity and yards in the pool and I lowered the intensity on the run/bike.  With every workout, I was constantly aware of my back and listened to my body. 

Every day, I found myself feeling better and better and after my massage (last Thursday) I felt so much relief in my hips, neck, back, calf and ankle.
I have always had back issues (which came from years of swimming and then turned into hip issues) so this is just something that I have to constantly be aware of and be proactive with as an endurance triathlete. I do a lot of strength and mobility work to help with my back but I should get more massages than I do to help with all the tension I carry in my upper back. 

Both Karel and I had massages on Thursday evening and decided to take Friday completely off from working out. It was SO needed. 

This Saturday (1.5 weeks after we came home from Boulder), Karel and I rode together on a beautiful country-road route with lots of rolling hills for a very nice, 3 hour low-stress ride. We loved seeing so much wildlife on our ride too. 

After the ride, we went for a 4 mile run (with two walk breaks) and kept the run low stress.
Amazingly, we both felt so good and for the first time in over a week, my back felt almost normal again and I finally felt more comfortable running again. 

I'm so thankful that I was able to make smart decisions with my body since returning home from Boulder and throughout this season. My body is not perfect and I always have to stay on top of it. For the past two years I have remained injury free and it's all from listening to my body and being smart when it speaks to me. It's always hard when you are an athlete and you are nearing a race - accomplishing workouts is often the number one goal. But I want more than simply checking off workouts - I want to be consistent and have quality workouts that will better prepare me for race day. And if I can't have a quality workout, then I want to do whatever I can to help my body stay healthy so that I can have the best performance possible on race day with the fitness I have accumulated over the past season. 

These choices are often tough as athletes but we have to make them if we care about our race day performance. Sure, it feels great to workout and it sucks to miss a workout....but what sucks even more is being injured, sick or burn out. Then you can't do anything with your body in training......or on race day. And on race day, that is when you want to have your best performance - not in training. 

With 5 weeks left until Kona, I did my last long run before the race. But more than my last long run, I was able to properly execute in one of my most favorite Ironman race-prep workouts:

2 hour bike + 2 hour run

I have done this workout several times before when gearing up for an Ironman and I just love this workout. I love the specificity of the workout as well as an opportunity to test nutrition before and during (bike/run) and to work on pacing. It is a great confidence booster and I love the mental test of knowing that I will be running my longest run after a 2 hour bike. 

Here's how the workout went down:
(all pain free - yay for being smart last week!)

2 hour bike
40 minute warm-up spin
MS:
2 x 30 minutes (10 min IM effort, 10 min faster than IM effort, 10 min strong effort)
10 min EZ spin in between

EZ spin home

2 hour run
5 x 3 mile IM effort w/ 1 min walk in between each 3 mile segment
I was able to hold 7:45-8:10 min/mile for the entire run and for the first time, I felt steady and strong with this pace.
(extra stops to refill flasks - it was hot running from 11:30-1:30pm!)

Total workout: 

2 hour bike
2:10 run, 15 miles (my longest run since IMWI last September and this will be my longest run until Kona)

Average pace on run (with walks): 8:15 min/mile

So my question to you is, are you making good choices?

Since every choice matters......

Do you listen to your body or push through pain?
Do you fuel/hydrate before/during/after workouts or are you just getting by?
Do you give yourself time to warm-up before you start your workout or do you hope that you will loosen out when you get going?
Do you recognize that you gain fitness through consistency or do you just focus on getting-by?
Do you focus more on your body composition that you neglect proper fuel and nourishment or do you focus on performance and keeping your body in good health?
Do you make time for recovery or do you tell yourself that you will recover better tomorrow?
Do you prioritize restful sleep or do you feel like you can just get by with little sleep so long as you don't miss a workout?
Are you flexible with your workout or do you struggle to modify when needed?
Do you get stuck in the moment rather than thinking about the big picture? 

I've spent many years training for a 140.6 mile race and I have learned through many mistakes that every choice matters. When we make choices, we have to think about the best decision in the moment that will make for a better next-day workout.
 Performance gains are built from many, many training sessions. With every training session, we have to make smart choices. 

When it comes to your next training session - make a good choice when it comes to how you warm-up, how you fuel and hydrate, how you pace yourself, how you choose to execute and how you recover. 

If you keep making good choices, you will make good progress. And with good progress, THAT is when you experience performance gains to feel ready for your upcoming race. 

Trimarni Greenville camp - Day 3 recap

As much as our campers love the entire 4-day camp experience, after day 2, our campers tend to move a little slower, talk a little less and take a bit longer to warm-up. But that's ok - it's all part of the overloading process and it's much easier to suffer with friend/teammates. 

We knew that our campers would be moving slow after the last two days of camp and Karel and I wanted to change up the scenery so that our campers did have to go into day 3 workouts with a "just get through it" mindset. 

We are big proponents of changing up the scenery in our own training, especially when it comes to the final push before an endurance race. When training on the same roads all the time, we often need a mental boost to help keep us entertained to get out the door and to have quality workouts. It's no fun to just check off workouts to get them done so a new place to train can often be a welcomed reboot for the system. 

Just an hour drive away from the lodge, we knew that Lake Jocassee would be the perfect venue for day 3 of our camp. We planned a morning full of swimming and running, followed by a picnic at the lake. Talk about a great way to train and recover!

We divided into two groups with my friend Tricia (SAG support) leading one swim group and I lead the other swim group. We divided up into similar swim abilities for 2 x 15 min out and back segments, swimming parallel to the shore and toward the mountains. 

I was very grateful to a friend (Meredith) for letting me borrow her Safe Swimmer Float. Karel and I will be ordering ours soon as I highly recommend that swimmers who swim in open water (ex. lakes/rivers/oceans) use the swimmer float. Even for experienced swimmers, it is nice to have an orange target for a boat so you are seen but also it is really beneficial for other swimmers to use for spotting and it can be good for resting in the open water. 

After the first out and back, we picked up the pace with a few harder segments followed by easy segments for the next 15 minutes and then steady back to shore. 

It's not that often that triathletes can swim an hour without resting on a wall so this was one beneficial swim for everyone. 

Great picture Elizabeth! Love the water at Lake Jocassee!

Trimarni photographer Taylor and Trimarni athlete Jim checking out the views. 

Since we asked our campers to swim in normal triathlon attire, it was a quick transition before we started a dynamic warm-up before the long run. 

Trimarni camp took over the picnic area - triathletes do not pack light!

Thanks to Clif Bar and Veronica's Health Crunch - our campers were well fueled and energized throughout camp. 

Our campers loved the new energy food packets from Clif Bar, especially the banana mango with coconut. So refreshing!! 

We made sure to spend a little time warming up as we had a long run planned for our campers on very challenging terrain. Did we mention that Lake Jocassee is hilly....like 500 feet of climbing for every 30 minutes of running, hilly?

Like what goes up.....

Keeps going up!!!!

We gave our campers the option of doing 3 x 30 min (out and back 15 minutes) for half IM athletes or 4 x 30 min (out and back 15 minutes) for Ironman athletes.
Either 90 minutes or 2 hours of running with walk breaks as needed within each loop (we suggested every mile). It was cloudy and on the cooler side compared to our long ride the day prior but we still required all athletes to carry hydration for 30 minutes of running and adequate calories and to stop to refill bottles every 30 minutes. 

We asked our campers to run by feel - very conversational pace but the last segment should be the strongest - with the last 5-15 minutes as a "best" effort. This required our campers to hold back and to not obsess about pace (which is easy to do when you are accumulating around 2000 feet of elevation gain in a 2 hour run!)

I ran with Trimarni athletes Joe and Adam who are training for IM Lake Placid so it was nice to give them some tips and suggestions as we were running. Plus - they really kept the run entertaining.

Karel provide course "support" on his mountain bike

Justine and Kate looking strong!

Jim and Elizabeth are refueling thanks to Mother Earth. 

There are some things that Karel and I can not plan for at our camps. We love seeing how friendships are made throughout camps, how every camper brings out something good in another camper and how fitness improves after camp.
What Karel and I witnessed on day 3 of camp was incredibly amazing. As Joe, Adam and I were finishing the last 15 minutes of our run, we didn't see anyone else out running. We assumed everyone was done for the day since we had all started at the same time. But as we were running back to finish our last segment, we saw the rest of the campers still running. It was so awesome to see that not one camper gave up during the long run on day 3.

Everyone gave a best effort at the end and Karel was there on his bike cheering for each camper to dig super deep. It was really incredible and I think we will carry that special moment of determination by our campers to our upcoming races. 

After the run it was time for a recovery soak in the lake. Oh it felt SO good to rest the legs. 

After we relaxed, it was time to eat!! 

We had chips, delicious homemade bread from Trimarni athlete Sara Ran Away with the Spoon, pretzels, deli meat, cheese, watermelon, oranges, apples, water and orange juice.
Everyone started with a recovery drink (thanks to Clif bar) and then it was time to enjoy some real food!

My mom came with Campy a bit before we finished the run and he enjoyed a bit of relaxing at the lake in his comfy chair in the shade. 

Around early afternoon, as the clouds began to get a bit darker, we all cleaned up and headed back home. What a great day 3!!!

Around 6pm, we all enjoyed a delicious dinner from SideWall Pizza and a nutrient filled salad at the lodge and it was nice to relax with our campers over dinner, before our last day of camp. 

Yum...pizza!!!!!

In case you couldn't guess, pizza is a Trimarni camp must-have meal!!

Thanks Elizabeth for this shot. Even Campy enjoyed winding down in the evening with the campers. 

We just love how friendships are made at camp - Trimarni athlete Jim and Taryn talking after dinner. 

And of course, there are lots of laughs and inside jokes at Trimarni camp. 

It was early to bed for our campers (and Trimarni camp doggies) before day 4 of camp.

One more day to make memories, to push hard and to discover new capabilities! 

Stay tuned for my last recap of the Trimarni Greenville camp!
Thanks again to Elizabeth and Taylor for all of the amazing pictures!!

Adapt to the least amount of training stress: the "long" run

When you mention the word endurance athlete, I think most people would instantly think "long" workouts. As that would be expected if you are training for a "long" event. In my multisport world, Ironman and Marathon are the two big endurance events but I would also like to include anything over 2 hours, such as a half marathon or olympic distance triathlon for many.

When it comes to building endurance, there are many approaches as to the best way to improve the cardio, muscular and respiratory systems as well as building confidence for the big, long day. But before we jump ahead as to the best way to build endurance, I think I must point out the best way to train for any event.....

Forget about what your training partners are doing, what you read in a magazine or what a friend of a friend told you to do to improve fitness. The general and most basic approach to training involves periodization. If you do the same thing over and over, expect the same result. However, infrequent workouts bring infrequent results. Consistency is key as you continually stress the body.
That is, the most appropriate way for you to appropriately adapt to a sequence of training is in a way in which your body is overloaded to adapt to training stress but not at the cost of injury, burnout and fatigue. In order for this periodization principle to be executed properly, athletes must recognize that there must be a healthy balance between training and recovery so that you peak at the right time and training intensity/volume is specific to training and racing goals. In other words - there is no "best" way to train but instead the right way for your body to consistently (key word) progress with training....and still function as a normal human-being in life.

Structurally, your body must be flexible, strong and biomechanically "healthy" to move with proper form and skill and metabolically, your body must be able to provide energy to meet the demands of training.

For many athletes, the motivation is there but the body doesn't always perform. For others, the mind and body struggle to maintain energy as training progresses. I find that most athletes have about 3-4 "great" weeks in their system when they start a new training plan or start training for a race. Thus, this is where many adaptations quickly take place. However, athletes are known to be a bit inpatient and instead of progress continuing to be made after 3-4 weeks, athletes begin to plateau with fitness (and often, struggle with body composition issues) and recovery is delayed, motivation dwindles and goals are forgotten (or the opposite - the athlete continues to push with a body that is not responding appropriately to training stress).

In order to maintain optimal health as you see/feel yourself progress with your athletic training, it is important that you recognize that the best performances by athletes are done with individualized training. Therefore, how your body responds to training stress may be different from your training buddies. You can follow a similar training plan but your approach - the duration, frequency and intensity - may be different. Thus, it is important to recognize that throughout many cycles of "epic workouts" and finishing workouts you never thought you could start along with resting and recovering the body when it needed to rejuvenate, this is where the magic happens. It is not one or two great long workouts (or "yay, glad that is over") but instead, many orchestrated workouts that allow you to recover and then peak at the right time and eventually, race at your full potential on race day.

When it comes to endurance training, there are many approaches to improve running endurance.
For example, I have many of my athletes doing different styles of run training depending on how they adapt to training stress as well as their primary goals for race day.

A few different strategies for improving running endurance:
-mid week "long" runs
-long runs off a short bike warm-up
-mile repeaters during a long run
-fast intervals, a few times per week
-two a day runs, once or twice a week instead of a long run
-run/walk workouts
-plyometrics/hip strength
-cross training
-track workouts
-group runs
-hill workouts

As you can see, there is no right or best way to improve running endurance and despite what your training buddies may tell you, those long runs, weekend after weekend can be very damaging and non-productive.

Rather than blogging about the physiology of the body (I sure do love that stuff!) , I will keep things simple so that you can have a few take aways from this blog to figure out the best way to improve our running endurance.
- The primary prescription for building endurance is based on training frequency, training duration and training intensity.
-Research has shown that running twice per week may produce similar changes in VO2 max as training 5 days per week. However, if training intensity is low, you will need more frequent workouts to increase aerobic capacity.
-Depending on your workout intensity, this will determine your workout duration. If your intensity is above lactic threshold, the duration should be kept short due to fatigue.
-Although an increase in intensity will likely shorten the duration of activity, keep in mind that if training intensity is kept low, a greater frequency of training may be needed to elicit the desired physiological adaptations to enhance endurance performance.

Confused?

To maximize aerobic capacity, whatever workout you are doing should create an overload on the physiological processes of the body in order to result in adaptation. This is where it is up to you, as the athlete, to consider the risk-to-benefit relationship that exists when training for an endurance event. Increasing the duration of training too quickly may increase risk for overtraining and injury. Increasing the intensity too quickly or too hard, may cause premature fatigue. Not increasing the duration or intensity may have you wondering why you aren't making progress with your fitness.

When an athlete builds endurance, several things are taking place in the body to adapt to stress:
-Increase in cardiac output
-Increase in stroke volume
-Increase in blood volume and hemoglobin concentration
-Increase in blood flow to exercising muscles
-Decrease in resting heart rate and blood pressure
-Increase in mitochondrial size and number
-Increase in oxidative enzymes
-Increase in capillary density
-Increase in reliance on stored fat as an energy source
-Possible increase in myoglobin content
-Increase in VO2 max
-Rise in toleration of lactic threshold
-Improved ratings of perceived exertion
-Improve metabolic efficiency
-Improved mental strength

Out of all those adaptations that take place as we work on building endurance, there is no guarantee that running 20+ mile runs before a marathon will help you out on race day or running 3 hours as you train for IM will ensure that you will have a strong run off the bike.

It is without saying that you body must learn to tolerate stress if you are training for a long distance event and you have a lot to work on when it comes to training your body and mind but it important to consider the many types of workouts (ex. intervals,repeaters, tempo runs, hills, fartleks, short/easy runs, cross training, longer runs, brick workouts) that contribute to an increase in endurance. Many times, athletes forget that each workout stacks on the other to build endurance.

And most importantly, if your body is not physically ready to adapt to stress, it is important that you strengthen your body prior to pushing your body. Weak muscles do not respond well to weight-bearing activity for weak muscles bring poor form. The same is true with slacking on nutrition and how it affects your form, mind and recovery during a long run.... trying to progress too quickly with an endurance running routine will only bring haphazard results.

As I continue to blog about my 6th Ironman journey, I enjoy sharing my workouts with others but also with the hopes that I can inspire you to train in a way that allows for consistent success as you have fun with your training. Yes - there are hard workouts and the body will not like you at times but never should you feel as if training takes over your life and never should you stop liking training, especially when you paid money to train for an event.

Sunday's brick - My workout:

2 hour bike + 2 hour run
2 hour bike - 1st hour warm-up (as I progress with IM training, I often need longer warm-ups to get my body excited to train). 2nd hour w/ Karel on his wheel - nice and steady at a little faster than my IM pace (power).

2 hour run - solo
Run 1 mile, walk 10-12 seconds in between each mile. Per my mental coach Gloria, I am only allowed to focus on one thing at a time. When I am biking, I can not think about the run off the bike. When I am running, I can't think about how many miles I have left. It's amazing how much I can think about within a mile - it is a great way for me to stay focused and in the moment.

13.15 miles
Total time: 1:52
Average pace (including walk breaks) 8:32
(I refilled my bottles at mile 7 and mile 10, 2 minute break each time. Goal was to hold around 8:20 pace)
Mile 1: 8:19
Mile 2: 8:23
Mile 3: 8:17
Mile 4: 8:21
Mile 5: 8:19
Mile 6: 8:17
Mile 7: 8:13
Mile 8: 8:23
Mile 9: 8:28
Mile 10: 8:31
Mile 11: 8:21
Mile 12: 8:19 (I cut a deal with myself as miles 10-12 were getting really hard - it was very hot and I was running into the wind and my body was tired but still I was holding good form. The deal was if I could run sub 8:20 on mile 12, I could go "easy" on the last mile...done!)
Mile 13: 9:02
(my walk breaks ended up ranging from 10-22 seconds which I walked every mile from 1-13, from my Garmin which still gave me a consistent 8:32 pace and a body that recovers quickly so that I can have another consistent week of quality training)


Sunday's brick - Karel's workout

10 mile group run + 3 hour bike + 6 mile run

Another style of training based on Karel's goals and his fitness and how he adapts to training. The first 10 miles were a comfortable pace for Karel, between 7-7:30 min/miles for most of it (don't hold me to that though :) which he did with a group of runners at 6:30am at the beach. He then went for a 3 hour ride (I sat on his wheel for 1 hour of it) which was a nice steady ride at his IM pace. The 6 miles off the bike were by feel and Karel said he ended up feeling better on the 2nd run than the first run.

Two different approaches to the "long" run and both of us finished our 2nd big week of IM training. We are both feeling great and we have been recovering really well from our workouts..just enough stress to adapt but not too much that we feel lingering fatigue or injuries.

Of course, having good nutrition during the day and proper sport nutrition helps but we can't blame everything on nutrition. Train smart, train hard and recover harder.


                                 
6 more weeks.....thumbs up for fun, consistent training :)

Ironman prep- long run + yummy berry-licious pancakes (recipe)

 

After my quality brick workout on Saturday and my normal post workout recovery routine (recovery drink, stretching, foam rolling on my bac, Epson salt bath/shower, 110% Play Harder gear, food and then trigger point, I rested briefly after a nice long Campy walk and then I had to attend to "work" duties for Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition, LLC while Karel was working at Trek. After a delicious dinner last night, we both were ready for bed around 9pm as our eyes were sleepy and the body was begging for rest. Have I ever mentioned that Campy is a professional sleeper?

 

Without an alarm, we both got up around 5:30am this morning as I guess our bodies were ready to start the day.

 

For the training this am - tempo bike + long run. With the run being the primary focus of the run today.

 

Seeing that I am gradually progressing back with my running, I am very careful to not do too much too soon. However, I have noticed that with all my hip strengthening work, I find myself running with better form than ever before. It's as if my glutes are finally working and my back is finally liking me again. Crazy as it seems - my body always seems to function the best when I train for an Ironman...short distance, speed events - not so much.

 

Considering that the Ironman distance is all about putting together the pieces of swim bike and run into an endurance event, I do not do many "long" runs. The longest I have ever ran in training for an Ironman has been 2:45 as I feel it is better to go by time than by miles. However, I find that 16-17 miles is a good distance to aim for and to get comfortable with in training for an Ironman and to really get comfortable running off the bike. I do most of my runs off the bike because it works for my body to get warmed up on the bike. I don't feel that every Ironman athlete needs to bike before every run but it is good to run off every bike - even if it is for 5 minutes (and it can be  a walk, not always a run).

 

Because my long runs are typically off the bike, I believe that running steady is better than running fast for an Ironman. In years past, I have always tried to focus on a goal time for the marathon in the IM and I tried to simulate that in training. Well, oddly enough - I've never been even close to running that time in the Ironman. I've managed to run 3-sub 4 hour marathons off the bike in Ironman's but always running the pace of a 3:30-3:40 marathon in training. Anyone can teach themselves how to run fast or a certain pace in training but off the bike - well, that's a whole other story. For me, I run better off the bike (not always faster) so I prefer to run a long run at a steady pace.....not slow, but steady. I will always do intervals in my long runs but I am focused on my running being efficient. Thus, I can run continuous if I want but that doesn't always give me a quality week of training with an efficient body, the following week. Thus, every long run has the purpose of making sure I am able to run off the bike in an Ironman and most importantly, arrive to the race hungry and not injured, to race.  I have been keeping check of my HR in training and also on my form for I know if either of those two get off, so does my pace. Of course, the best IM runs come after a bike that has been paced well so it is important to recognize that in order to run strong off the bike (or run/walk as I will do on race day) you have to be able to put together a training plan that allows for endurance fitness gains over time. You do not want to overkill yourself with a 20 week (or even 10 week) Ironman plan with long, slow junk miles. Make your workouts count and you will be able to put that training to good use on race day.

 

Bike:

1:15 bike

20 min warm-up
5 x 2 min leg openers (high cadence) w/ 2 min EZ

Main set: 30 min IM pace (low Z3 watts)

5 min cool down

 

Transition to run

 

Long run: 11 miles

Total time: 1:36 (average pace 8:34 min/mile - which includes my walk breaks)

The focus was to keep my HR as close to 130-145 as I could and to hold around 8:30 min/miles. There are a few faster splits because I was imagining myself on race day and I guess I got excited so I had to dial it back. Also, I ran two bridges (up and down) which was helpful for controlling my form and HR. I was running from 9am - 10:30am so it was getting very hot and humid but my body does well in the heat (not ideal as it isn't the fun type of suffering like pushing in cooler weather) so keeping my HR in check as I stayed in a steady pace was the goal for the long run.

(BTW - this is my longest run since January. What a great feeling to be able to thank my body for this run, especially after I wasn't able to run for 3 months from Feb - April. THANK YOU BODY!)

After each mile, I walked 10-13 seconds after my garmin autolapped the mile and then I hit lap to restart another mile.
On my garmin 910xt, I have my garmin set to see the following on my interval screen when I run which helps me pace myself:
Lap time      Current pace
Lap pace      Lap HR

 

Mile 1: 8:26 min/mile, 120 bpm

Mile 2: 8:22 min/mile, 129 bpm

Mile 3: 8:34 min/mile, 134 bpm (the intercoastal bridge is ~.68 miles from one side to the other)
Mile 4: 8:34 min/mile, 137 bpm (back up the bridge again for ~.68 miles)
Mile 5: 8:27 min/mile, 139 bpm
Mile 6: 8:25 min/mile, 144 bpm
Mile 7: 8:19 min/mile, 146 bpm (got excited thinking about the IM!)
Refilled my flasks with water/sport drink - 2 minute break at most. I had a total of ~250 calories for my run, consuming gel or sport drink, a little every mile and then water/sport drink as needed - I am never strict on when I drink/take in calories - if my body needs it, I take it but no more than every 15 min on the bike or 1 mile on the run)
Mile 8: 8:27 min/mile, 142 bpm
Mile 9: 8:25 min/mile, 146 bpm
Mile 10: 8:23 min/mile, 147 bpm
Mile 11: 8:14 min/mile, 148 bpm (got super excited....allowed myself to go for it)

 

 

 After cooling off and stretching before getting into my car to drive home from Nocattee (where I love to train), Karel and I exchanged training stories from our morning bricks and we were both quick to get to the freezer for our 110% ice pads.

 

While we iced, I made some berry-licious rye pancakes. They came out really good as I put together this creation without looking at any recipes.

 

1/2 cup rye flour (you can use any flour)

1/3 cup blueberries (I used frozen)
3 large strawberries - chopped

1 tbsp. chia seeds
1 tbsp. unsweetened coconut shreds
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water
2-3 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. sunflower seeds

Makes 7, 1/4 cup wet batter pancakes.

 

1) Mix together ingredients.

2) Heat your skillet to medium heat (or a tad below) and drizzle with olive oil. Pour 1/4 cup serving of batter on to skillet and press down lightly with back of measuring cup to make a flatter pancake. 

3) Cook for 3-4 minutes on one side and flip when bottom of pancake is firm. cook other side for 2-3 minutes.

 

 

 

 

                                      

 

 

I can't believe this is my 6th time training for an Ironman! I am so grateful to my body for allowing me to do this. I absolutely love the journey of training for an Ironman and I never get wrapped up in the end result. I realize that competing in an Ironman is a gift and I am the first to say that the human body does not have to allow "us" to train for anything and push our bodies to higher limits. With everything that I have been through over the past 7 years since I have started racing in Ironmans, I can honestly say that it never gets easier when you keep raising your limits. However, it is always fun, I never get burnt out and I wake up super excited and motivated to see what my body is capable of for that day.

Happy training, exercising and healthy living!