Many of you might know that we’ve done a Training Bible Coaching Podcast since October. You can download it off of iTunes or direct download. Here are the links:

http//trainingbible.libsyn.com – direct download

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/training-bible…podcast/id274671958 – iTunes

But we’ve got a segment called, “Don’t be that guy.” I think this picture really tells that story.

Strength Workouts- These workouts will focus on developing the ability to overcome resistance.
Progressive Hills
15 minute warm up
Then run at zone 2 pace, begin at 1% incline and increase the incline by 1% every 1/4 mile or 400 meters. After you reach your treadmill maximum incline begin to decrease the incline by 1% every 1/4 mile or 400 meters until you reach 0% incline.
Finish the session with 5 minutes of easy jogging.

Rolling Hills
15 minute warm up. Do the following set 5-8 times.
Set: 2 minutes @ 6 % incline, run at 70-80% of threshold
1-minute recovery @ easy jog, no incline
1 minute @ 7% incline, run at 70-80% threshold
2 minutes @ easy jogging, no incline
Finish the workout with a 5-10 minute easy jogging.

Form Workouts – These workouts will help you develop proper form and become a more efficient runner.
Cadence focused intervals
15 minute warm up. Run for 30 minutes at 75% of threshold. Your goal is to consistently monitor your cadence throughout the main set. Count your right foot steps in a 15 second time frame. Do this each minute. Your goal should be to have 22 or more right foot steps in 15 seconds. This would indicate a cadence of 88+. Finish the workout with a 5 minute easy jog.

Speed Workouts – These workouts will help you develop good foot speed.
Fast to Faster
15 minute warm up include 3 x: 20 of some fast paced surges. Do this set 3-5 times.
¼ mile as easy jog
¼ mile as tempo pace (around half marathon pace)
¼ mile as faster than 5k pace
5 minutes cool down easy running

Broken 8 minute intervals
15 minute warm up then do 5 x 8 minutes as follows:
#1 2 min @ 75% of threshold, 4 min @ 85% threshold, 2 min @ 90% threshold
#2 1 min @ 75%, 5 min @85%, 2 min @ 90%
#3 3 min @ 75%, 4 min @ 85%, 1 min @ 90%
#4 1 min @ 75%, 3 min @ 85%, 4 min @ 90%
#5 2 min @ 75%, 2 min @85 %, 4 min @ 90%
Finish the run with 5 min of easy jogging.

As soon as this game was over, I immediately began to think how this relates to racing, as I was very inspired one of the heroes in this game. David Freese, who had made an error earlier in the game, lined a 2 out, 2 strike triple to tie the game in the ninth inning, and then hit the game winning home run in the bottom of the eleventh. Whether or not you are a baseball fan or not, I think that this story parallels racing long course triathlons. The Cardinals were down, but not out. Many times racing brings moments of being “down,” and it is how you respond to those that will ultimately play a major role in determining the success or failure of your race. Maybe it is something uncontrollable, such as a flat tire or crash, stay positive, your race is not over. You may have several periods, such as the Cardinals did, when you are having a low point. Continuing with your positive thoughts and keeping a positive state of mind will help you get to that finish line. So, next time you are down to your last strike in a race, remember it’s not over till it is over!!

My preparations entering this race were the best they have been in my time doing triathlon. Training stress, power numbers, and pace goals were at all-time highs. Essentially, from the months of June thru September, I didn’t do much but train for this race. My weekly volume at times was over 30 hours, and I was very comfortable doing 7+ hours of training on my long days. So, I can honestly say that I was well prepared.

The swim was typical, rough start for the first 400-500 meters, quite crowded, but I held my ground and found a good pack to swim in thru the turn. I did manage to spot a few dolphins, which initially I thought were sharks, so needless to say it was a very anxious moment!! I finished the swim in 1:05, about 3 minutes faster than my 2009 Kona experience. I was pretty happy with it, and felt quite good exiting the water.

On the bike by mile 10, my stomach was not feeling 100%. It is hard to describe, but I began to feel full. As a result, I decided not to drink or eat anything for a bit thinking that it was my body’s way of telling me that I did not need more nutrition. Then out on the Queen K at about mile 23 I got a flat tire. Surprisingly, I was very calm, and changed it rather quickly. However, the valve extender had bent and the tube was slowly leaking air. Fortunately, tech support showed up and put a new valve extender on and I was good to go. The end result was about 13 minutes on the side of the road watching bikes fly by. It would be an overstatement to say that I was bothered by the flat, but it did take a bit of wind out of my sails. The pack that I was riding with was the perfect spot for me, and by this time they were all gone. It got windy going up to Hawi and my stomach only got worse. I was forced to abandon my nutrition plan by mile 60 and just get coke and water. Finished the ride in 5:13.

Onto the run, my stomach did not get any better. I had to stop by the porta-potty at mile 6, which was a first time for me EVER in a race. Running in Kona is difficult as it is, but throw stomach issues in the mix and it is virtually impossible to maintain the pace I wanted. Each aid station brought another potential GI nightmare, so I stuck with coke and water most of the run. My best miles were in the Energy Lab, but miles 20-24 were terrible as I found myself walking all aid stations. I’m pleased that I gutted out the run without walking much, and I finished in 3:14, which wasn’t too bad, but relative to my AG, it was average. Total finishing time was 9:38.

As I analyze the race, I’m not disappointed. Bottom line is that things just did not go my way. I had the legs to be competitive, but a bit of bad luck and some stomach problems led to my “average” race. I’ve been fortunate enough to have many good Ironman races, and this is the first one that didn’t live up to my expectations. Big time thanks go to my awesome support crew Tobi and boys, and my coach Jim Vance and training partner Adam Zucco. I’ll be back in the game soon, ready to put this race behind me and focus on a solid 2012 season. Congrats to all the Kona boys and girls, great racing!!

Warm-up: 10-15 minutes of easy jogging including several short, fast surges

Main-set: 5-7 x 1000 at 5 seconds/400 faster than 5k pace (3 minute recoveries in between)

Cooldown: 5-10 minutes of easy jog/walk

Enjoy, and see you next week!!

#1 How is my form? Out on the run, take 15 seconds to count your right foot steps. That number should be around 22, if it is not focus on increasing your cadence to match. Secondly, remind yourself to lean forward from the hips, this will also help to increase your cadence. As you fatigue thru your race, you may have the tendency to run upright and loose that form you have worked so hard to achieve. On the bike, focus on smooth a smooth pedal stroke and keeping your position as aerodynamic as you can.

#2 Consistently monitor your pace, heart rate or perceived exertion. Whichever tool you use to measure your intensity, make sure that you check your status to see if you are maintaining the appropriate pace. Often times this may mean that you have to slow down because you are moving too fast. Your race plan will dictate your pace, so in your race make sure you stick to it. Particularly for long course athletes, you will have periods of feeling really good and really bad, so it is important to keep on top of your pacing strategy.

#3 Stay on top of your nutrition plan. Again, you should have a detailed plan already in place on when and what you are going to eat. However, you need to assess how your stomach feels. If you feel bloated or have a “sloshing” feeling in your stomach, back away from the calories. Otherwise, make sure you are getting the appropriate race nutrition in your system.

#4 Have something that you can do to bring your focus back on the race. Many times you may get caught up in the atmosphere of the race and lose your race focus. Have a system in place that brings you back to the current moment. I like to count my steps, during the run, up to 100 several times. This brings my mental status back on the present without looking too far ahead in the race.

Much like a favorite motivational training song this list should be continually repeated as the race develops, always keeping your mind in the race and executing your race plan. Make sure that you stay present in the race and are able to react to things that you can control. Sure the weather might be bad, but you can’t control that, so don’t let it affect you while you are racing. Stay in the moment and make good race decisions that will allow you to properly execute your race strategy. Don’t forget our track workouts will be each Wednesday evening at 6:30 at Geneva North Middle School. Hope to see you all there!! Happy racing!!

Scott

Where: Geneva NORTH Middle School Track, 1357 Viking Dr. Geneva

When: 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Who: All ability levels, runners, triathletes and anyone who wants to get FAST!!

Training Bible Elite Coach, Scott Iott, will be leading a FREE track workout. There will be two workouts in May on the 11th and 25th, then EVERY Wednesday June thru August. FREE TO ALL and FREE CLIFF BAR products as well!! Feel free to email me at siott@trainingbible.com with questions!!

Going into the race, I was well aware that it would be very competitive within the age group. This is one of few 70.3 races that offer qualifying slots for the Ironman World Championships, and typically kicks off the North American racing calendar. I “aged up” this year and moved to the 35-39 group, with the likes of many top level athletes.

The race itself was great, beautiful course, and great weather. I worked hard to get in good shape for the race, and would have considered that this was the best shape I was in for April. The swim was in the cool waters of Oceanside bay, water temperature was 60 degrees. I swam 30 minutes flat, which in looking back at prior races was a 4 minute personal best. But I knew that I’d still be down 3-5 minutes on most of the top of the age group.

I started the bike feeling really well, riding based on feel really. Not too concerned about limiting myself in terms of wattage. This was the most difficult course that I’ve road with several climbs. There were a few climbs that were tough, one at 17%. Unfortunately, the bike course is closed so experiencing it for the first time was hard, but that is what all competitors deal with. Bike time was 2:27 and normalized power was 271.

I started the run feeling okay, not great. Went through the first three miles in 18:06 and I thought I could try to hold on to that pace. Quite honestly, I wanted to run somewhere around 1:20, which I though would be towards the fast end of the group. Starting having some stomach cramps and that forced me to slow a bit and deal with them for the last 9 miles of the race. I never really had that extra gear, I was simply hanging on. Ended up running 1:23, not bad, but much slower than most of the group.

At the end my finish time was 4:25, which after analyzing was a 6 minute PR for the 70.3 distance. I finished 9th in my age group. It was a very competitive race and I’m very happy with my results, however, my hat is off to the guys that finished ahead. I was very humbled by their performances…….They were so fast! Especially my good friend and training partner, Adam Zucco. He won the age group and was the first overall amateur!! I’ve seen first hand how fast he has gotten in the past two years, how much he’s driven me into the ground. It’s so, so impressive.

This race did renew my interest in going fast at the 70.3 level. I’ve always considered myself an Ironman guy, but I think I’d like to try to get some more speed into the body for a few half Ironman races this summer. Rumor has it that twice a week track workouts are in the schedule, ouch!! Back in the saddle tomorrow, very motivated and ready to start prepping for a big summer of racing!!

#1 Start your ride going into the wind. Most likely you are doing an out and back course, and if you have a headwind the first half of your ride, you will enjoy a tailwind in the last half. This will also force you to ride different routes as the wind never seems to always come from the same direction. Don’t forget that riding with a tailwind back home will get you there faster, so you may have to ride further the first half of your trip!

#2 Maintain your normal cadence. When riding into a headwind, don’t try to grind out in your normal gear. Shift down so that you can maintain your normal cadence and spin into the wind.

#3 Choose wisely when in the aero position. If riding with a head or tail wind, it is okay to dive into your aero position. Getting low on the front end will help you distribute the wind around you and your bike. However, be cautious riding aero when strong crosswinds are present. You may not have enough control of your bike when in the aero position when a side wind gust comes your way. Make sure you have firm control of your bike when riding with strong, gusty crosswinds.

#4 Don’t fight to maintain a given speed. When riding into the wind, it will take twice the effort to maintain speed compared to riding on a calm day. Forget your speed and focus on watts or heart rate to monitor your effort.

#5 Keep a positive mental attitude. When you leave for your ride, be prepared to accept that it is going to be a challenging day on the bike. Wind can beat you down both physically and mentally, but stay focused and be positive.

Don’t let windy days prevent you from riding your bike outdoors, follow these easy tips to stay safe, enjoy your ride, and manage in windy conditions. Happy training!!