What I Have Learned

It is amazing what you learn when you're actually paying attention. Sounds kind of obvious doesn't it? The 2010 Tri training season has begun and since I am working one on one with Ray Kelly I am super focused on heart rate based training. What does that mean? That means that I wear my Garmin 305 for every bike and run workout and I am required to stay within certain Zones for different reasons. For three days I had to get my waking heart rates and send them to Ray who created my Zones for training of which there are 5.

Zone 1: Recovery
Zone 2: Endurance
Zone 3: Tempo
Zone 4: Aerobic Threshold
Zone 5: Red Line (I so don't want to get there)

For the Build Phase of my training I get to spend A LOT of time in Zones 1 and 2. Now for those of you not totally familiar with HR training these Zones have pretty low beats per minute (BPM). My max for Zone 1 WAS 107 and for Zone 2 it WAS 125 but I found it nearly impossible to move slow enough to keep my heart beating at 107 BPM while trying to run. Try it and you'll see what I am talking about. As part of training with Ray I have to fill out a daily log on Training Peaks so that he can see that I did the workout and what I did during the workout. It also tracks other metrics like sleep, fatigue and soreness. The first run at a max of 107 BPM was supposed to be 45 minutes but I was so frustrated it only lasted 30 minutes most of which I spent walking to keep below the dreaded 107. In my notes that night I explained this frustration and that even I could not move that slow, I am slow but seriously this was getting ridiculous. The same week I also had a 45 minute Zone 1 and 2 run scheduled - the good news about this was that I was allowed to get my heart up to 125 BPM now I know that doesn't sound like much but after the torture of 107 this was a dream or so I thought....this was just as hard. I spent a lot of time walking to bring my beats down but I managed to keep it up for 45 minutes. Again my notes to Ray reflected my frustration and although I know that there is reason for this can I please have some extra beats per minute. WISH GRANTED! I got 10 more BPM HAHA sounds funny but it's true.

This past Saturday I had a chance to test out the new Zones on my 45 minute run. Although still hard it was a lot better but I noticed something very interesting. I would be moving at a steady snail slow 4 MPH and all of a sudden my heart rate would just go up. I had done nothing different and it would just start to elevate like I had started to sprint - OK maybe that's an exaggeration but it would go up by a few beats. I added this phenomenon into my notes and I got a lovely email from Ray, have I mentioned how amazing he is, telling me that the reason for the "cardiac drift" is because I am not fit yet. YUP not fit! WOW you do do learn something every day as here I was thinking that I was so fit. I guess you can be in shape and not fit. Who knows but all I know is that I must take full advantage of the build in order to get myself fit.

I have also learned a few other very important things since I started to really focus on 2010. It is really hard to get your heart rate up on the indoor bike trainer. I have a few bike workouts throughout the week and again I am in the same Zones with the exception of when doing spin ups and going "up hill". It's amazing to see how quickly my heart comes back down after the exertion of those two pushes. If you have a bike and live where it's cold GET A TRAINER seriously. It makes such a difference as I would not be able to do these workouts on the bikes in the gym. I know that once spring comes I will be even more comfortable on my bike - I practice clipping in and out as well as standing while pedaling - both of which have been really scary for me. While I was in LA last week I had an hour ride on the schedule so I headed to the hotel gym for that...that lesson was that recumbent bikes give you a numb butt and a lot of knee pain. The good news is that I have regained feeling in my butt, plus the workout was done and out of the way for the week :-)

Another important thing I have learned is that psychologically I am my own worst enemy. The swim is my strongest of the three tri areas. I love to swim, mostly in open water but in the winter that is not an option, but I am holding myself back for some reason. One of the swim workouts that I have to do is a descending 100's workout. Basically you do 7 sets of 100s while taking time off each set and then you need to do 3 more at your fastest time. I have to add the times into my log for Ray to review. This morning I emailed him asking if he thought that the Masters Swim Program at the Y was a good idea for me, one of my friends thinks that I should be in it with her. Yes, was the answer but that my 100 times were high for my abilities. The more I think about it I know that he is right. Since I have a swim coach who I swim with once a week all I do is focus on my strokes or should I say "over focus" on my strokes and form. When I think too much I lose speed because I am so concerned about being perfect. This weekend while I am away I need to get my "T" or test time so that I can improve my 100s in the pool and over all time on race day. In order to get my T time I have to swim 1000 yards continuously and divide that time by 10, that will be my 100 time. Once I have that I need to work to reduce that number by June 13, the date of my first sprint distance race. I guess after swimming 2400 on Sunday this won't be too bad or so I say now.

It seems that getting out of my own way is the best way to improve performance. Once I was able to understand why I am running so slow, pushing so hard on the bike and swimming so "perfectly" I can make adjustments that will ultimately make me a faster, stronger and well balanced athlete. Learning keeps me sharp and on my toes plus it makes me smile to know that I can get that much better.