Training the body: thanking the body.

My legs were tired, it was hot and humid, the wind was blowing and I was riding behind Karel on his new Speed Concept.

33 days until Kona and I think I just finished one of my hardest training blocks ever.

Thank you BODY!

-Sunday's workout-

5 hour ride + 15 min run

Bike:
1 hour warm-up, building to 10 watts below IM pace (legs took a while to warm-up thanks to the stress I placed on my body from Saturday's 3:15 bike + 9.5 mile run).
35 min IM pace w/ 5 min EZ
Main set 3x's:
35 minutes @ Half IM pace (watts) w/ 4 minutes in between (see below of details of this set)
Steady riding upper Z2 until finished
Total hours: 4:58
Miles: 99.3

15 min run off the bike (RPE 75-80%, ended up holding 8-8:15 min/miles)

Since Karel is training for a half IM (Miami 70.3 in the end of October), his training is a bit different than mine right now. He ran 1 hour before the bike and then joined me on my 2nd interval. After I did 35 minutes of riding at my IM pace and then recovered for 5 minutes, Karel joined me and we were ready for the main set.

The duration for the main sets has grown over the past few weeks and no more am I feeling the "low" I use to feel around 2.5 hours during my long rides. While training for IM Lake Placid, I knew that my endurance was going to come slowly after not running for 90 days (Feb - April) due to my chronic hip/back issues. But I continue to focus on the CANs with my exercise/training routine and enjoying everyday with my healthy, pain free body. Now, I feel my endurance is better than ever and since the training is getting very intense and specific, I am super mindful of resting my body before I really need to rest it. I really love the progression that Karel has given me with my training for it was a work in progress. I spent all last year working on my speed as Karel did not want me to do an IM but instead work on the little things that will improve my endurance. Hence, get faster before you go longer.  I remember blogging last year about doing my first Olympic distance tri in 4 years! Oh the nerves!! Then there was The Iron Girl Half Marathon in Clearwater . Then another Olympic distance tri (first time for Karel!). And then I was able to put it all together at Branson 70.3

Anyways, the body is an amazing thing and I don't feel it is always respected. It takes a lot of time to train the body and mind, not only in athletics but with anything in life. You just have to have patience and I think our society loves quick fixes. Our society wants something to happen today just like.

Sometimes we have to shut up the mind to make the body go that extra mile to get stronger but many times, we don't listen to the body when it is speaking.

I feel athletes are no more stubborn than the rest of the population for many people push the body (or don't listen to it) when it needs to rest or slow down. I think for many of us, we just don't want to miss out on life and because of that, this is the reason why we should listen and constantly pay attention to the body and what we choose to feed it, do with it and most importantly, how we speak to it.

On Sunday, my main set was more than just 35 minutes at Half IM pace. It involved no tail wind (thanks to Karel choosing country roads with the long blades of grass blowing right at me or to my side) and very little shade from the heat. It was perfect Kona prep and Karel constantly reminded me what I was about to do with my body in Kona in about 4 weeks for 140.6 miles. "It's not going to be easy Marni. You can never beat the wind."

Riding with Karel is amazing. I can't tell you how much I learn and benefit from him as a cat 1 cyclist for many many years. His knowledge of bikes is one thing as well as his passion for anything on two wheels but it is his attention to details and tactics that really make him so smart as an athlete.

The set was as follows:
10 minutes of me in front riding half IM pace.
Then Karel would go in front and hold a similar pace (he did this workout for me so he obviously wasn't pushing his watts) and I had to stay draft legal (7 meters) behind Karel. He wanted me to pay attention to my speed and watts and to stay draft legal but still be "competitive" with who was in front of me. This is something I have a hard time with as I typically stay a bit too focused on myself and don't take a lot of risks when it comes to being pushed by the other girls who pass me. Karel wanted me to be relentless within my own ability and I felt like this was one of the hardest sets I have ever done and it really pushed my limits (physically and mentally).

I repeat myself quite often but the thought in my mind is that I am always grateful for what my body allows me to do. There have been many times in my life when I have wanted to give up - when things aren't easy, when obstacles arise or when it seems like everyone else has it easier than me. 

For the past few years, I have experienced a lot in life and I owe it all to my body. We go to great lengths to reach goals together and because of it, I have really taken advantage of life. 

You see, success in life- whether sports, career or anything in between - is having a purpose and then thinking in a positive way as to how YOU can go about reaching your goal.

I constantly remind myself that my body does not have to let me do "this". When I train I push my body and challenge myself. I get sore, tired and rely on sport nutrition because I am depleting my body of nutrients, fluids and electrolytes. I see patients in the hospital who are too tired to get out of bed, lay in pain, are unable to think straight and feel miserable - not because they just did a marathon or an IM or biked 100 miles that day but because their body is failing them at that time.

I find so many people are so focused on what everyone else is doing that they forget who they should really be paying attention to on a daily basis - their own body.

This morning I received an email from a Trimarni follower and it 100% sums up everything I believe in. With permission from Sarah S. I wanted to share this note from her which she shares her thoughts after finishing her first Ironman distance triathlon. There's a great lesson in thanking the body. 

I started Ironman Arizona last November but DNF'd due to dehydration about 100 miles into the bike....Rev 3 Cedar Point was my redemption race.

First of all though, you really have changed the way I think about my body and my relationship with food. I don't come from an athletic background at all....I couldn't run over a mile until 2009, never really rode a bike until 2010 and couldn't swim a lap until 2011. So this has been quite the journey! 

I never have had a healthy relationship with food but reading your blog has taught me that as athletes especially food is FUEL and we need to treat our bodies right. Also, thanks to you the whole day yesterday I kept reminding myself to thank my body for being awesome. 

When it got hard (which it did a lot) and I wasn't preforming how I *thought* I should, or going as fast as I had hoped, instead of being angry at my body or dragging myself down, like I used to do, I thanked my body for letting me get through training and for carrying me through this race. 

In the past I would have felt bad for myself and thought "you're so slow, you're near the back, why do you even do this?" but yesterday not a single negative thought entered my mind the whole day. 

I spent hours thanking my legs and my lungs and encouraging my body to keep moving forward. It's still a new way of thinking for me, but I love it!

How did Sarah's race turn out? Here's the end of her race report:

Miles 18-22 were the worst, I just gritted my teeth and used every single ounce of grit and determination and will I could to move one foot in front of the other. With about 4 miles to go I started feeling good again! I actually did a little bit of slow running and let myself get a tiny bit excited about finishing but not too much because I still had over an hour to go at my pace. I could see the lights of cedar point getting closer and soon I could see and hear the finish line. Miraculously once I got in the chute all the pain vanished and I was able to run again. I took it all in…everyone cheering my name like I was a rockstar and the tears started flowing….I did it! A 6:23 marathon isn't what I hoped for (about an hour slower) but it didn't matter, I was so proud of myself. After 15:19 of swim, bike, and run! I am an Ironman! After years of training and a DNF last year, I did it. It was the hardest day of my life and nothing anyone can do or say will prepare you for how deep you have to dig out there. I am just so proud of myself!

My top ways to recover after a long/hard workout

I don't think I know of any athlete or fitness enthusiast who doesn't like to recover quickly. I know in some weird way we love the post-workout "hurt" but if it lingers on to a point that form suffers, motivation declines and fatigue ensues, it's likely that you are wishing that a) you didn't overdo it with your workout or b) when will I feel "normal" again. 

So for those who have tried to tweak their recovery routine, I thought I'd share some of my favorite ways (aside from nutrition) that I use for recovery. 

Now I must preface this and say that training or working out "hard" is only one component of making performance gains and often times it doesn't lead to successful performances or reaching goals. Training smart, on the other hand, is where the magic is made. When designing a training plan, it is important to factor in time for pre and post workout nutrition (sorry - I had to put in one nutrition suggestion in this blog :) but also for warm-up/cool down and of course, your recovery to ensure that you can be consistent with training. I see/hear far too many athletes who are pressed against the clock and rush out of bed to squeeze in a workout/training and then rush off to work or daily tasks. Totally fine in my  book to "get 'er done" early and to maintain an active lifestyle BUT it is important that you consider the necessary time spent on preparing your body before and after workouts for quality training. Thus, if you have 90 minutes for a run or bike or swim in the morning, consider the 10-20 min you may need to warm-up, the 10-15 min you need to cool down and then additional 10 minutes or so to properly recovery. I don't think that you'd be upset with a 60 minute workout although it isn't the 90 minute workout that you planned. However, considering the time you spent on taking care of your body, you can thank me later when you see consistent performance gains and more enjoyment with your balanced training plan. 

Today's workout was all about "race prep". Many coaches like to call this period of training "peaking" and although I do not want to peak right now (but instead on the 28th in Placid), it is important that I am considering every aspect of race day such as my nutrition, clothing and pacing. I practice, practice and practice these things all the time but nearing race day, I realize that my body may not make drastic gains in fitness but to ensure a great race day, I need to know what my body is capable of doing for 140.6 miles. Therefore, finding that right power zone is important on the bike to let me know what I can do for pacing off the bike. Similarly, designing the perfect run/walk strategy is important to me as well as "testing" all types of scenarios, including the ones that Ironman athletes hate to do....hold back on the first 6 miles of the Ironman run and holding back on the first half of the 112 mile bike. 

I am really pleased with today's workout, despite being hot and windy (like usual), my body performed well and it was a big confidence builder for race day. 

2 hour bike: 

30 min 'warm' up at 10 watts lower than predicated IM race pace

Main set: 3 x 20 min @ IM race pace watts w/ 2 min EZ in between.
Steady effort home, pace similar to warm-up although it felt much easier after doing the IM race pace intervals which was not too taxing on my body. 

Total: 42 miles

Transition to run: 

15 mile run, 2 hours and 14 minutes (including walk breaks)

Strategy: run ~8:20-8:30 min/mile pace, walk 30 seconds in between (to resist fatigue and to maintain good form since I believe in saving my best performance for race day)

Post workout......time to RECOVER!!!

1) Active recovery

This is not a consistent thing for me but there are some workouts (ex. running) where I like to go for a short EZ spin afterward for 20-30 min to loosen my legs OR jump in the pool to let my body enjoy non weight bearing activity. I try not to sit (although I did for this picture to show off my lovely triathlete-in-training compression socks + tri/cycling short tan lines) within the first hour after a workout as I find I get extremely tight so this active recovery helps my body out. I usually do no more than 30 minutes of some type of active recovery or I just walk Campy. 

2) Epson Salt Bath

We always have bags of Epson Salt in our house. I typically buy from Wal-mart, Big Lots or CVS/Walgreens. Epson salt baths are great to help relax the muscles and you can choose warm or cold water, whichever makes you happy. If I am short on time after a hard workout, I just grab a handful and use it as a scrub on my legs to soak in my pores. It works wonders. 

3) Compression

  

On goes the mobile ice bath after my muscles are a bit more relaxed. I LOVE 110% Play Harder and I have been using them for years. I wear compression while I train (always) such as tri shorts while running and cycle/tri shorts while cycling. I never wear running shorts because I believe compression works for me. I also wear calf sleeves in races and compression socks (CEP) in training/racing as well. I wrote an article a while back on compression and I have always felt like it helps me. I also have compression tights (Zoot for me, CEP for Karel) and several types of compression shorts. What's great about compression when you aren't training is that you can easily wear it while traveling or under many types of clothing to help with recovery, at least for the first few hours post workout/racing. Although, I am not afraid to rock my compression in public :)

             
                          
                                    (on my way to Kona for the IM World Championships in 2011)

4) Trigger point therapy

source

I typically wait a bit (after I eat a meal) to do some type of TP therapy on my body, particularly for longer workouts. For more intense workouts or weekly workouts, I may use the roller or ball soon after for my back and piriformis just to reduce any soreness. The thing I always do though is dedicate 10-15 minutes EVERY evening to using this kit and stretching. Yes, I am human and many times I do not want to do it and I just want to tell myself I'll do it in the morning. But it really helps me out and I want to be consistent with my training so thus I have to be consistent with my recovery. The Trigger Point Therapy kit comes with a helpful DVD which you can also find great videos on line as to how to properly get out your trigger spots. 

5) Extra's
Aside from nutrition, I get massages once or twice a month and I try to make sure that I keep up with balanced training because there is nothing better than going to a massage therapist who is sport specific and having him/her just "find" something to focus on. The thing that is the worst is going to a massage therapist as if they are the healer of everything and will cure all your aches and pains in 1 session. I have a few great massage therapist and they all know my body very well which is great, because my body can be quite difficult to understand at times (hence visiting many doctors and getting multiple imaging testing done for my chronic hip issues). 

I know napping is important but I just can't do it. I sleep wonderfully at night, almost always 8 hours a night is exactly what I need. I never do less than 7 and I get restful sleep which is important (aside from the occasional cat making noises at 3am and waking us up or Campy deciding that a King size bed is not enough room for him so he has to press against me under the covers). Karel is a great napper, just 20-30 minutes at a time and he is good to go. I guess my brain has a hard time shutting off so I just make sure that I get to bed at a reasonable hour (often times a bit earlier on the weekends) to maintain consistent sleeping....as I believe the sleeping is the key to keeping me sick-free for the past 6-7 years as I have yet to have the flu (no flu shot) or cold. I'm sure diet helps but I really believe that quality sleep is one of the best things you can do for your overall health and mood. 

A good attitude is important. I don't like to dwell on workouts that did not go as planned or "off" training. I try to keep my mind in a positive state which is important as if you start to doubt your fitness or think too extreme, you may find yourself doing unnecessary things the rest of the day such as restricting food, overtraining (junk miles) or pushing harder than needed. Try to reflect about past situations in order to better plan for the future. And to help with better quality workouts, be sure you train hard and recover harder. 

Happy training!