The quest for the best running shoe can be daunting, but the search for the best zero drop running shoes can be downright frustrating. The majority of all the Altra Zero Drop reviews I personally...
Goof Review: Altra Torin 1.5
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The 1st week: Are my goals realistic?
I have come to the realization that even I, as the epitome of the positive mental attitude, still hear those negative voices in my head. For all the conversations I have with clients, friends and other athletes about going out and just having fun, I still have grand notions of finishing races with a PR(personal record) and while working out this week those goals seem daunting.
I had three Lactic Threshold tests I had to complete this week; one each for swimming, biking and running. While just doing these tests I felt like I was really out of shape, and truth be told, I did take an off season for the last couple of months, at least by triathlete standards. I did complete at least 5 hour long workouts a week with a half-marathon and a 10k thrown in there, and, oh yeah Ragnar, but I wasn’t in “training” mode per say. This week I started back “in training” and my goals seem so far off and this is only my third day.
Monday, I completed my Bike and Run LT tests which consisted both of a 10 minute warm up, followed by 40 minutes of the event at a pace that burned my legs and put me into a feeling of oxygen deprivation but not so much that I couldn’t complete the full 40 minute main set which was then followed by a 10 minute cool down. My running LT is 173 and my biking LT is 165. I looked into my future workouts they are noted with requirements that include the LT. For instance: Bike 12×1 minute climbs at LT+10, meaning I should be climbing and my heart rate should be 175. Sounds like fun doesn’t it? I know my body will acclimate, hopefully I won’t make a mess before it does.
Tuesday, I completed my first bike workout and strength workout. The bike was 8-12×1 minute climbs in the saddle at a RPM of 50-60. Now my normal riding RPM is 85-95, so you can imagine the resistance that had to be on the bike. I ended up doing it on the spin bikes at LA Fitness, because, well, there are no hills in my general vicinity which is Tampa, Florida. Nothing but flatland here. I have to travel 45 miles north to San Antonio to get any resemblance of some hills, and during the week, that just is not happening. Why? I have a responsibility to this activity called “work”. I wish I could sit here, blog and comment all day, but unfortunately I cannot. I blog in between meetings, lunch and then edit when I can. This workout while being fun, was what I would call, THE QUAD KILLER. It was brutal.
Unfortunately, I was late getting to the gym so I was not able to get my strength workout in, so I showered, drove to work and then returned that evening. Luckily, I always have an extra set of workout clothes in the car. (I think I got that from Ben Mena. He is notorious for spontaneously telling his girlfriend to just drop him off 10-15 miles from home and after changing into a spare set of shorts and shoes he runs home.)
I haven’t worked out with weights in a while, and I know from my studies of the anatomical makeup of muscles and the neurological systems of the body that there is a “breaking in” period no matter how much experience you have lifting. In order to activate the pleasure center of my brain instead of the pain center, I had to drop the weight down and do the exercises concentrating on good form. It was a circuit of 5 supersets and it was not easy, no sir, not easy at all. Deadlifts, pull-ups, squat to overhead thrusts, medicine ball wood choppers, side planks, cable twists and more. I felt beat to death afterwards. Of course, I understand my body enough that I had to stretch very well afterwards or my back would be yelling at me later.
I also learned why I really enjoy working out in the morning. It was extremely busy at the new South Tampa LAF last night. I barely got a parking space, and I ended up having to do most of the movements in a tiny little space, while other members were just waiting to pounce. It was at that point I read myself the riot act and vowed that no matter how much I had to do during the week, I would just wake up early to finish all of my workouts in the mornings.
That vow started this morning as I was up at 4:30 and ready to leave at 5 even though my first workout was track at UT which didn’t start until 6. That workout was brutal as well; 800-400×3-1mile-400×3, at least this week I didn’t falter until the last 400 and only by a couple of seconds. As soon as I finished and cooled down I headed to LAF to do my swim T-test. Basically this is 1000 meters swam as if I was in a race and then the average time of a 100 meters is considered my T-Pace for workouts. Future workouts for example included “4×100 at T-pace – 10 seconds”. I have been working really hard on my body position in the water, but I am still really slow. (Notice I am not mentioning what my T-Pace actually is.) With a pull buoy or fins, I can go forever at 1:50 min per 100m, but without I am…well…a little slower.
After going through all of this, I guess I feel like I should. There is a long journey ahead. I might as well enjoy it.
Carpe Viam!!!
So it starts – Ironman Season Training Day #1
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| PB&J before our ride this weekend |
Have you ever heard that saying “Today is first day of the rest of your life”? Today started my Ironman Journey #2 and I was excited last night to get started. No more excuses, no more waiting, today was the day the plan actually started. Of course I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep last night, but I got up anyway and got on my trainer for an hour of high intensity cycling in order to document my Lactate Threshold Heart Rate and Power Zone.
Today, I had to take two Lactate Threshold tests. The LT test determines at what heart rate and power wattage that you blood delivers oxygen to your muscles most efficiently. The scientific definition is the maximum steady state effort that can be maintained without lactate continually increasing. Lactate builds up not allowing oxygen to be utilized. Stay within the LT and the body will be able to keep working efficiently which turns into long amounts of time at that heart rate.
The greatest thing about knowing your Lactate Threshold is that you can train to make it even more efficient. A higher threshold means the body can keep going at higher intensity which turns into speed in the case of triathlon. The caveat is that in order to increase the LT, it has to be done slowly. More workouts above the LT will increase it, but the more the body and muscles are working above it, the shorter the duration until the muscles learn to work with less oxygen making them work a lot more efficiently. This is why the trends have been hit the gym hard, and the endurance will come.
I have a buddy Blayne, whom decided to make the move to CrossFit which is the epitome of high intensity training. I have done a couple of these workouts in the off-season and the actual work in class may only be 20 minutes, but the participants are wrecked afterwards. Let me get back to Blayne. He started taking part in CrossFit religiously, and trained very little for the Rev3 70.3 and completed it with no problem and did really well. The story doesn’t stop there. He entered a 50 mile road race a few weeks later without running more than 9 miles and he completed it and I saw him two days later as he was entering the coffee shop from another CrossFit class and he looked fine. (Maybe I should put the disclaimer that says “results not typical”?) Did I mention the guy is in his 40s?
More and more I have read about triathletes either taking up CrossFit, High Intensity Training(HIT), or supplementing their training with either. It makes sense. A couple of times a week, a short circuit sets of heavy weight(with good form) and the body works higher than it’s LT training the muscles to work with less oxygen. If the body continues to train this way, it makes sense the muscles adapt to utilizing a lower amount of oxygen. When the intensity is lowered, the heart rate reduces allowing more oxygenated blood to the muscles which actually increases the aerobic capacity or VO2. Increased VO2 allows the body to work harder at a longer rate.
Whew! Enough science. My first week looks like this:
I look at it now and it looks daunting. doesn’t it? This is the base phase of the plan, it gets busier and more intense as we get to the build and peak phases. I think I am in for a lot of fun this season. Speaking of season, my race schedule is posted on the right side pane of the page.
Yeah. Over there
FYI – I promise you I am not going to be blogging everyday about my workout that will just get boring, but when I have an epiphone or a breakthrough, that is when the post will be out. Of course I plan on conitnuing with any race reports, product reviews, cool new recipies and tributes to the those inspirational people I find so…well…inspirational.
Have a great week.
Carpe Viam! Carpe Momentum!
Tribute Tuesday #5 – Benjamin Mena
There are people out there that take everything in stride and just let the world unfold around them, and there are people who have decided there is so much negativity in the world it is much easier to be oblivious to everything. Either way, in my opinion, if it makes you happy, then do it. There are a few people out there, that have a passion for making the world a better place. There are those who find one cause and passionately support it, which is phenomenal, but a rare few people out there are able to spread their power of influence, courage, and passion to every cause, organization and individual in need they can. My friend Ben is one of those people.
Before I tell you about his cool “Run for Cause” fun runs, or the races he has organized and the races coming up, let me tell you about Ben Mena the runner. Ben and I met through friends from my tri-club the A-Train and some friends from the Run Progressive track workouts. I knew of him and knew he was fast, but that didn’t justify what I saw when I first ran with him. I am amazed at people who can run a marathon with 7:30 average per mile pace. This guy hammers through half-marathons in under 6-minute miles and then will turn around and bike for 20 without skipping a beat.
My favorite memory of watching Ben was actually a cycling workout. Ben was coerced into joining us and Pete (Tribute #2) let him borrow his road bike. This bike had pedal cages on it because Ben didn’t have cycling shoes or cleats and this was going to be his first ride. Well, Ben goes out in front with the “A” group and is really strong. We all thought, “OK, we will just hang back here and watch him die out and pick him up at the turnaround.” He reached the turnaround and just kept going and beat us all. First time out! A few weeks later he decides to do a duathlon in Orlando for the first time and he finishes first, overall. Ben’s VO2 max is off the charts. Maybe that is why he continues to help those in need, with a VO2 max that high, his heart is huge.
Ben organizes a monthly fun run in Brandon, Florida that gives to a different charity each month. I have been running in every one since July and I have seen no less than 50 people at any of them. He also is part of a duo with Beth Shaw (Dis-com-BOB-ulated Running), of which they have successfully completed their first race called the Shape Up for Summer 5k and now they have another one coming up called the Corporate 5k in downtown Tampa. The Shape Up for Summer 5k had well over 750 runners which is well over what they expected and as I used the race as a culmination runs for my clientele, let me just say it was one of the best organized 5k runs I had participated in. Beth and Ben did a really amazing job, so if you find a race organized by MenaShaw Races, you can be sure to have a great experience.
With that being said, Ben has another race he has organized and this one has an interesting spin on it while helping out some people that can really use it. I will let him tell you in his own words. Let me introduce, Benjamin Mena.
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Benjamin (Ben) Mena
Birthdate: 8/25/83 – Virgo
Place of Birth: Virginia Beach, VA
Place growing up: Charleston SC and Bremerton, WA
High School: Cocoa Beach High
High School sports: Soccer, Cross Country, Track
College: University of Central Florida
College Sports: Cross Country, Track
Other Sports: Ummmm….. nope
I usually describe you as one of the fastest runners in the Tampa Bay area. What started you running?
I used to be the guy that would make fun of the runners and throw stuff at them. (in HS). I thought running was dumb and pointless. So after a win-less soccer season, the soccer girls tried to convince me to run cross country to prep for soccer… I said yeah right, that’s dumb… their response was just run behind us. What teenage guy can say no. after my first year running (JR year) I developed a passion for it and it quasi-took over my life.
JR year was just an introduction to the sport. Our workouts were easy as hell, but the one thing I loved my coach for (she was hot also) she taught us all how to make running fun and enjoyable. My Sr year of high school we had a new coach. She had a background as a professional runner, so she knew her stuff. She helped give me the dream of being a college athlete. At that point, I wasn’t good enough for any college team but I worked my ass off as hard as I could. I had the one gift that every coach wants in their athlete. Burning desire to make it.
The summer before college was pretty crazy. I was working 5 jobs to try to get ready for college (until my car died) then I had to drop my job at Publix [Supermarket]because it was a 20-mile bike ride each way). I would bike to my different jobs, then get home and run and then would be able to start hanging out with friends after 11 pm. During that time I would never miss a run no matter how bad I wanted to have fun.
I still to this day don’t know why coach chose me out of all the other walk-ons.. but I am thankful she did. I ran with my heart and I knew I had more to prove that everyone that came in on scholarships. (I also didn’t have a car… so I got a lot more miles in than most people. Outside all the running I was walking 5-14 miles a day to and from, and around school) By the end of the first season, I was granted an athletic scholarship and the following year I was team captain…
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| Ben doing what he does best |
What and When was your first 5k time? What and when was your fastest 5k time?
Year of high school. I don’t remember the time but I was low 20s, but my fastest was 15:20 in college.
What kind of workouts did you do to get that fast?
You don’t want to know the schedule. But my favorite workout was mile repeats!
What was your average weekly mileage?
60-80 was the average. During the summer we would crank it up for base building. My highest week was 112 and 90% of those miles were done along the Appalachian Trail.
I mentioned above that you hold a monthly fun run named “Run for a Cause” at the Cork & Olive in Brandon. How did that come about?
Just had the idea while at the bar. I love hosting fun events for people… and it came about from there. our first event I was hoping for 10 people… and over 50 ended up showing up.
How many different charities have you hosted?
7 or 8 now
If someone had a cause they would like to have hosted at one of your events what is the best way to contact you? Best is through FaceBook.
The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School has devastated the country. You chose to act quickly and do something about it by hosting this Virtual Run. Can you give the details?
This is a virtual half-marathon and virtual 5K. Since it is virtual, you can complete it anywhere in the world. You can run, walk, swim, bike, anything you like, and you can complete the 13.1 miles or 5K all at once, over the course of a week, or whenever you can. Just complete all miles between now and Jan 31st. This is on the honor system – you do not have to report your miles.
The registration fee for the Half Marathon is $30.
Register Here: http://www.active.com/half-marathon/tampa-fl/sandy-hook-elementary-memorial-half-marathon-and-5k-2013
Event Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/events/186264894845690/
What gave you the Idea?
I am on the board for a few charities, and I was already researching a way to do a virtual 5k. When the devastation occurred, I couldn’t sleep, so I mulled it over for a while and by Sunday I had it up on Active.com and Facebook and 200 people already had agreed to participate. Today on Facebook there are over 1800 that have committed and a little over 250 that have actually signed up on Active.com
It grew a lot faster than I thought. It went viral. I originally thought about a few people here in Tampa to raise around 1000 dollars, but now it is well over that.
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| Beth and Ben |
Do you have any other races coming up?
Beth and I have been organizing a Tampa Bay Corporate 5K.
This is an event where the runners choose one of the 4 charities that this race will give back too. Every person that registers for the race will get a vote (fill in the blank) for the charity of their choice. The charity with the most votes will receive a portion of the proceeds along with Little Things for Cancer, Cystic Fibrosis (Tampa Chapter), and Operation Helping Hand.
You can get more details on the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/131275133693630
or on the event website: http://www.tampacorporate5k.com/
Beth and I have been organizing a Tampa Bay Corporate 5K.
This is an event where the runners choose one of the 4 charities that this race will give back too. Every person that registers for the race will get a vote (fill in the blank) for the charity of their choice. The charity with the most votes will receive a portion of the proceeds along with Little Things for Cancer, Cystic Fibrosis (Tampa Chapter), and Operation Helping Hand.
You can get more details on the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/131275133693630
or on the event website: http://www.tampacorporate5k.com/
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| Ben and his fiance Jennifer |
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| Ben and the Goof |
Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of the Off Season
There have been so much I have been wanting to write about, but my time has been taken up by this thing I have to do called “a job”. Do any of you out there have this same problem? It is really starting to get in the way of my training, coaching and especially my blogging. I cannot believe how long it has been since I have posted something, and it is a crime with all the ideas that have been flying around in my head.
Let me use this post as a way to get back into the habit of blogging daily or at least a few times a week. Subject – The Off Season.
I have been toiling with this for the past month just because I have been finding myself not working out a little less than normal. When I do, I am enjoying lower durations with small bursts of high effort, a.k.a intervals. As I speak with some of my fellow cohorts in triathlon I have been getting two primarily different opinions. One is coming from the die-hards, “Off season?? What off season? There is NO off-season!”, the other is coming from most of the guys that actually take podiums, but have more time to train during race season. “Dude, you have to come down a bit and give your body a rest. You have been putting it through a lot of stress. Trust me bro, you will have a better race season if you slow down a bit and take some rest.” So, what does a guy in my position do? I want to improve, but my philosophy is all about injury prevention.
Looking at the science of it I came up with the following opinion (notice I said opinion?):
Working out is cumulative – everything you do to a muscle repeatedly continues to impact it no matter what you are doing. Why do most marathon training plans have the mileage go up for 3 weeks and then dramatically falls the 4th week? The quadriceps hamstrings, calves, have taken a beating for three weeks and they need time to recuperate. The fibers of the muscle need time to repair, but if they keep being taxed then they stretch and start to heal they are taxed again. Even though they have started the healing process, they cannot fully heal unless they are put at rest for a significant amount of time. Yes, with proper nutrition, and preemptive injury therapy the healing can be expedited to a point, but they surely will not heal completely unless they are at rest.
Running everyday for 15 days in a row no matter how much the workouts change from slow to fast twitch muscles and back again, put a cumulative toll on your body. Now put that in perspective of a triathlete’s season that starts with base workouts in late January and doesn’t end until late October early November. That is 10 months of a cumulative toll on the body, whether you are an age grouper or pro. Do you think with that kind of wear and tear on the body that if there isn’t a slow down in the frequency and a lowering of the effort level that there might be some injuries awaiting or at least some backsliding in the coming racing season? I do.
Fact: It takes even a pro marathoner 20 days to fully recuperate from a race. 26.2 hard miles on the body of a fully trained marathoner, still takes a long time to recuperate doesn’t it? What do you think that does to an age grouper?
I am going to take this month as it comes. I am going to do a few races, and if I don’t feel like working out when the alarm goes off, so be it. When January comes I’ll be doing my base mileage and continuing my strength and flexibility training as planned, but when February 1st comes…..IT”S ON!!!!!
When will you start your race season training?
Carpe Viam!!
How to Race Ironman Florida With Very Little Stress
I have a lot of friends that are competing in the Florida Ironman this weekend. This is the granddaddy of endurance competitions right in the heart of the panhandle Florida at Panama City Beach.
I want to wish you all the best of luck and I know you will all be an Ironman at the end. Of course, a couple of them already are, but that doesn’t change the challenge any.
As I did this last year I want to give you the lessons I learned while taking on this challenge. Take them or leave them, but hopefully, you will take something out of it and if not another reader might find a helpful hint to take on their journey to the Ironman Triathlon in their future.
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| Left to right: Eve, Kat, Marai, Summer, Mary-Ellen & Iron Rick, Anne, Carola (Not pictured: Rick Jansik and David Nardoski) |
- Double check your gear on Thursday when you arrive. Most likely you will know someone coming up on Friday, so they can bring an item you may have left behind.
- Go to Athlete Check-In early Thursday or when you arrive on Wednesday. Get it over with so you have all of your gear bags and as you unpack you can start to pack them.
- Buy all of the SWAG and stuff you want early. They run out fast and if you follow #2 then you will not have to wait in line. For some reason, Ironman does not hire the fastest cashiers in the world and the line seems to take forever.
- Swim a portion of the course early on Thursday morning as close to race time as possible. Notice the current, the temperature, how long it took you to warm up, and any wildlife in the water. Double check to make sure your wetsuit is fitting correctly and any adjustments you needed to make to feel comfortable.
- Write these ideas and any other adjustments down. Then the excitement of the race does not bode too well for memory cells. It is best to be able to look over a checklist on Saturday Morning.
- If you do not have the experience do not feel invincible enough to rent race wheels or if you do, rent them at home and bring your training wheels with you. The weather may say 5-7 mph wind gusts on Friday, but that can change to 20 mph in a heartbeat and a lot of miles are spent in the crosswind.
- Ride on Thursday as well. Ride a few minutes in each of the major gears and in the low chainring to spin your legs and get some blood moving. This will also check your bike for any adjustments you may need. There is always a bike maintenance tent at the expo. Ride after you swim in case you need to get some maintenance done.
- Keep eating and keep hydrating especially on Thursday. Thursday is actually more important than Friday as far as nutrition and rest are concerned.
- Do not run on Thursday. Save the pounding for Saturday.
- Plan for a long, long sleep on Thursday. The excitement is building but not enough to hinder your sleep on Thursday vs Friday. Friday will be a completely anxious day and that night will be hard to sleep. Get it on Thursday. No alarms, no loud roommates, just sleep as long as you can. Once your up, you’re awake and it will be hard to get back to sleep.
- Walk through your transitions and even legs and make a checklist for your gear bags. This works. (ex. I get out of the water, strip my wetsuit, go to the tent and I put on my shoes, helmet, glasses..etc…then write down “shoes, helmet, glasses, and anything else”) Make sure you walk through your nutrition plan as well, to make sure you have enough nutrition on the bike. If you are putting the powder in bottles, do that at this time as well. It is your choice if you want to add the water today or tomorrow, but put the powder in the bottles. (Personally I put my bottles completely together and put them in the freezer. By the time you get on the bike they will be almost thawed and you will have ice cold hydration)
- Put your gear bags together on Thursday night, when you are calmer. You are more likely not to forget anything. You will still have a few things to put in them but the bulk will be there.
- Plan for a special needs bag for the run, but ride with what you will need for the full 112 miles. The stopping for the special needs bag is not worth the time. Have what you need, and if you do come into a situation there are aid stations every 10 miles, they will help.
- Do put a special needs bag aside for the run. This is just for some warmer clothes just in case the temp drops. You probably will not need it, but at least it will be there. Do not trust the forecast in Panama City.
- Do a 15/15/15 workout on Friday. 15 min swim, bike and then run to clear all the excess and get your legs feeling like they need to for the next morning. It sounds weird for the day before such a hard day, but trust me this will make you feel much more confident.
- After you return and shower after your little workout check your gear bags one last time. Empty each of them out and run through your checklist one last time. You can turn these in, pretty early on Friday, and you will want to so you can just relax the rest of the day.
- Relax as much as possible on Friday. Put your feet up, watch TV, play some cards, but relax.
- Do not forget to eat and drink. Follow your nutrition plan which should include your meals on Friday.
- Lay down and try to sleep no later than 8:30. 3:30 am comes awfully quick.
- Get up at 3:30a and take a shower. This will awaken you and start your day.
- Have a nice breakfast by 4:30. This will make sure you have all the nutrients in your body by the 7 am start time.
- If you train with a gel, have one in each sleeve of your wetsuit. It is always a little chilly on Saturday morning, so even if it is uncomfortable, your wetsuit provides warmth. If you have a sleeveless put the gels in your pant legs. I also put a couple of Imodium as well, but that works for me. I suggest it if you know it does not cause side effects for you.
- Find your friends and have them near you at the start. This helps. It provides some comfort because the rest of the day…you will be most likely alone.
- Have one of those gels 10 minutes before the start of the race and the second one while you are running back into the water on your second loop.
- Put a smile on your face. If you are terrified then fake it. Most of the time faking it will make it true.
- Trust your training it got you here now it is time to have confidence in it.
- Do not eat or drink anything but water for the first 15-20 minutes of your bike. Your body is making a switch. Allow it to settle before you put anything in your stomach.
- Ride your own race. Do not worry if others are passing you. You have a plan stick to it. Enjoy the scenery and get lost in it.
- If you have a watch with a timer use it. I personally had my alarm go off every 15 minutes so I knew to make sure I was drinking and eating. I knew that I had to take in a quarter of bottle every 15 minutes and a gu every 45. In the Ironman if you get behind on your nutrition it is a hard fight back.
- Salt – Make sure you have enough salt. I took 250 mg every hour and I had no cramping at all.
- Do not deviate from your plan. You spent a lot of time putting this plan together do not deviate even if you feel great. You never know what the course will bring.
- HAVE FUN! This may feel like the longest day of your life while you are competing, but after you cross the finish line it will feel like it went by in a blink of an eye. Enjoy it! You spent a lot of time training for this, have some fun.
- Last but not least. Watch when you are coming into the finish shoot. If there are people around you, either slow a little or speed up and make sure you are alone as possible coming across the finish line. This is going to be your moment. It should be one of the few times in your life you should be selfish. Savor it. You swam, cycled and ran the whole thing alone, cross the finish line alone. Trust me here, you will thank me for it when you see the video later.
I am so proud of all of you. I am so lucky to be able to call you my friends and I know you will all be amazing. I will be there volunteering and I really hope I get to see everyone.
Kick some booty. Ironmen and women.
Carpe Viam!