Folks, this is a quick note to THANK YOU for your support and interest and to UPDATE you on where my energy is going. I started ask a tri coach over a year ago b/c I kept getting random questions emailed to me and I figured that putting the q+a out there for everyone to read and comment on would be beneficial for everyone.

I think that now, however, the growth of my main project, Endurance Nation, means that a great deal of this dialogue is taking place in the new forum: www.endurancenation.us/forums.  Instead of posting here, I am going to put my question-answering energy into the EN website.

Come on over, check out the forum and join the conversation.

Coach Patrick

Q: “Thanks for this service. This is very cool. I stumbled across your web page from a blog link. I’m training for IMWI this year and have gotten in some big rides, like last weekend I did a 120 miler. Now that I’m in my last 9 weeks before the race I wanted your opinion on whether it is more beneficial to do 2-3 more overdistance rides for IM prep at slow pacing, or do 2-3 shorter distance 80-90 miles at race pace?”

A: Coach Patrick [http://www.performancetrainingsystems.com/blog]: Good luck at IM Moo! Thanks for the link to your workout log…I can see how you have done some serious biking over the last 8 weeks. In addition to that 120 miler, you have done 100 or more miles at least 4 times. That’s a lot of miles unless you are planning to aim for an AG slot to Kona. Without knowing what your race day goals are, I can say that you are getting closer to that window where you start to question yourself, “Have I done enough?” This is the most dangerous part of race day…I experience it too, spending hours pouring over my workout data to see if I missed anything. Note: This is a vast improvement over going out and actually working out more.

But I digress. Based on your log, you have 9 weeks to go. The only two rides you need now over 100 miles are at 8 weeks and 4 weeks to go. These are race simulation rides where you will ride 112 as you plan to on race day (intelligently!) then run 4 miles afterwards as you will on race day (stoopid easy). Full documentation on race sim protocol is here: [http://www.performancetrainingsystems.com/newstips/tips.html#rac].

Other than that, you can do week 7 + 6 as 75 miles w/ quality work (see below), week 5 as an easy 60 miler on Sat, easy 40 miler on Sun, week 4 is race sim (see above), week 3 is 75 miles of quality (see below), week 2 is 80 miles in a group (that won’t crash) where you get to do some drafting / not do too much work, week 1 is 50-60 miles easy with a short hard run off the bike.

The quality work on the 75 milers is something like a 90 min warm up that’s 45′ easy, 30′ as 3′ @ 60 rpms aero / Zone 2 HR, 3′ standing @ 60rpms / Zone 2, 3′ easy @ 90 rpms, then 15′ easy. Then do 4 x 25′ at Half IM effort / HR (mid- to top- Zone 3, 80-85% FTP for you Powermeter freaks), with 5′ easy recovery. Then spin home. You should feel absolutely shelled. Note: if this is your first quality ride in a long time, you might want to start w/ 4 x 15′ or 4 x 20′ and a larger rest interval.

Again, good luck!

Coach P

Q: “I am a new runner and am training for the ½ marathon. I have been training since Feb, and have over time begun to build my endurance. I have been training exclusively on a treadmill (weather & 14month old) limit my ability to get outside. Any advice for me. I managed to run 8 miles in 65 minutes, and realize that more than likely will not keep that pace come race day. I run 3-4 days a week, with one long run on Sat or Sun. can you give me any pointers for a beginner, I am nervous about finishing the race, never mind with a decent time. Also any advice on clothing on race day…“

A: Coach Patrick: Well, first things first, many points to you for keeping the training up through the winter & with a little one on your hands.  Very impressive. For first time 1/2 marathoners in TRAINING, your biggest goals are to build up to two 10 to 12 mile runs. These should be a week apart and the second 12-miler should be 4 weeks out from your race.  Both are run at a steady pace with the goal of finishing strong.

In terms of maximizing your training, some hill running would be good as the course has quite a few ups and downs (especially on the return leg). I would also suggest some high cadence work at the end of your long runs to help keep you sharp even as you fatigue.

On RACE DAY your biggest challenge will be to pace the first 1/2 appropriately, especially as you have never done a half marathon before. The first 1/2 is out and up a long steady hill (4% grade???). Not too hard, but just hard enough if you know what I mean. If you can pace this well, you’ll have the energy to remain strong over the second hald fnad finish well.

Good luck!!!

Q: “This summer I’ve planned two important races, a half Ironman and an IM 9 weeks later. How would you organize the training those 9 weeks? I’m thinking of something like the following. What do you think?

• 1 week recovery
• 1 transition
• 4 weeks build
• 2 weeks taper
• Race week

A: Coach Patrick: This is a great question, and a great time of year to ask it. Most folks wait until the transition is actually happening to figure out how they want to approach it…and by then it’s usually too late to change course.

First things first, I’d suggest you figure out your priorities and stand by them. Most folks say the IM is more important, but when they toe the line on HIM day, they still want to rip it up. Not a good idea if you haven’t trained to race that hard.  If your goal is to have a solid IM, you can train to use the HIM as an opportunity to test your taper and race pacing.  If your goal is to race the IM at a quality effort (as a veteran), then you will want to try and push the HIM to test your fitness.

Second thing to keep in mind is the relative intensity of your race day. If you tapered for the HIM, and then raced it hard, you’ll need up to two weeks of recovery. If you just did the HIM at IM pace as a test, you could get away w/ a little less recovery.  By recovery, I mean a week of no running, minimal cycling, and light swimming.

Third thing to keep in mind is how you will race your IM. Most folks “race” their IM events at the same intensity with which they train. Or at least they will race at that effort level if they are smart!!!  Anyway, returning to four weeks of building before a steady endurance event isn’t really that necessary.  I usually tell folks to do more race specific efforts in the last few weeks so that they are “dialed in” to their pace and how it feels. This is invaluable on race day.

Here is what I suggest, assuming you prioritized the IM but went a bit harder than planned for the half…

• Week 1: Recovery
• Week 2: Transition (2x light run, 3x swim, 3x bike)
• Week 3: Base Week, Longest Run this week (2.5 hours).
• Week 4: Base Week, Longest Bike this week (up to 135 miles).
• Week 5: Base week, include Race Simulation Brick of 112 bike / 4 run.
• Week 6: Recovery Week, test the swim / bike / run to nail down final pacing / race day zones.
• Week 7: Base Week, include longest Swim.
• Week 8: Taper
• Week 9: Race week

Good luck!!!

Q: “I recently started training with a powermeter (Ergomo) and conducted some tests with varying cadence while maintaining my power output on my triathlon bike (agressive low forward position). I found that my HR was consistently about 10bpm higher when I reached 90rpm+ compared to lower rpm values like 70rpm. This is an unexpected result since my usual cadence is around 90 (perhaps just below) and I can confortably crank it up to 130 before I start bouncing.

How should I interpret this? Should I continue working on higher cadence (I already used powecranks wih a fixed small gear for 2 seasons for this purpose) or should I conclude that my muscle fibre setup lacks the fast fibres to be efficient at 90+? I read Jan Ulrich tried to mimic Lance Armstrong high revs without success. Or does agressive positionning on a bike privilege lower revs. compared to the classical road bike setup? “

A: Coach Patrick: I think you hit the nail on the head in your last sentence: high cadence in aggressive aero positioning is tough. Compare Lance’s TT set up and you’ll see it’s nowhere near as aggro as Jan’s. When you say you can do 130rpms w/out bouncing, I assume you mean sitting up and not in your aggro tri position.

Same thing happenend to me in my powermeter move: I found I could hold higher watts at 80rpms than I could at 90 or 90+ rpms. As I am a bigger guy (6′ 2″ and 185lbs on a good day), I know the aerobic cost of getting my cadence up while aero is high (Note: riding my road set-up in the off-season I have no issues riding 90-100rpms).

As my goal in IM racing is to keep my HR down as much as possible on the bike (so I can crush the run), if I can manage to sustain the lower rpms, with a good wattage, and conserve HR, I am golden. Let’s be clear that my rpms are around 80, and not below. While I have found lower HR values at pushing a lower cadence, I can’t sustain the power output required to ride at, say, 70rpms for 5.5 hours. And I am quite sure a kneecap might pop off.

If you are going to make the move to a lower cadence, you will need to do significant conditioning to prepare your body for this change. The stress on your muscles and the connective tissue in your knees and hips is significantly increased at lower rpms/higher torque. You should consider including lower rpms sets in your weekly training regimen, as well as including some standing low rpms sets as well (say 3 hour ride w/ middle hour as alternating 3 min intervals - 3′ standing low rpms, 3′ seated low rpms). Of course, you should gradually build into this (start w/ 20 mins, then 30 mins, etc.). Back off at any sign of residual knee/hip pain or discomfort…recover…then begin again.

Do the right work and you just might find yourself going faster for minimal effort!  Good luck!

Q: “Sometimes when I run, my calves and shins tighten up so much that I loose circulation in my feet. I’ve struggeld with this for a while and can’t seem to figure out how to keep it from happening. I’ve been building up my mileage slowly according to my coach’s instructions and the pace has been quite slow. I am only running 2-3 days per week with other days for biking and swimming. I stretch after my warm-up and after every workout. I hav been taking regular walk-breaks during my runs, but walking doesn’t help. The muscles only relax when I fully stop and lift my feet off the ground (one at a time, obviously). My trainer has watched me run and found no apparent issues. I also had my shoes fitted at a reputable shoe store where they watched me run on the treadmill. Usually, the problem gets better towards the end of the run, after many stops and I don’t have any pain after the run (i.e. it doesn’t feel like an injury). Any ideas?“

A: Coach Al (aka The Injury Guy):  I listen to people all the time describe their aches and pains and then I formulate a series of questions to delve further into their ailments, eventually coming to a solid conclusion.  This is not the case with your predicament.  I got halfway through the first paragraph and immediately
called over a few of my colleagues to read along.  By the end of the two
paragraphs we all unanimously agreed on two things.  The first is that you describe picture perfect symptoms of intermittent claudication.  Secondly, and of greatest importance is that you contact your primary care doctor very (very) soon and schedule a visit, stating that you feel you have intermittent claudication.

What is most likely occurring (as does with IC), is that your arteries in
your lower legs (calves) have a bit of atherosclerosis in them (plaque) and
your muscles are not getting enough oxygen during exercise and therefore
cramping.  Your lack of pain and improvement with rest strongly support my
statements.

Look at it this way: Your muscles need more oxygen and blood when you exercise (esp. biking and running for the calves) than you use when just sitting or lightly walking.  Because your supply cannot meet the local demand, you have resulting cramping.  There is good literature on the identifying factors for this condition and linking it to Peripheral Artery disease (PAD).  There is also something called the Ankle-Brachial Index Test that you should ask your doc to do. Link for ankle-Brachial Index Test (Blood Pressure):
http://www.webmd.com/hw/lab_tests/aa115638.asp

While this condition is NOT life threatening right now, you should manage it
under the care of a physician to prevent any future issues.  I just want to be clear that I am providing you with the best information I can based on what you have provided.  I still strongly urge you to seek medical care through your primary care doctor.  If you feel I could be of any more assistance, please contact me at http://theinjuryguy.com

Best of luck to you.

The Injury Guy

Q: “Is there a specific technique for the start of the swim wave? I am getting caught up in the wave and it is taking me 300 to 400 meters to battle through the crowd to get to clean water. Overall, I am a pretty strong swimmer and I usually finish in the top 5%.“

A: Coach Patrick: There are several different ways to execute a “clean” swim start.  The most important thing to do is to choose the right strategy for you, whether you are an excellent swimmer or a total novice.  It’s also important to take the total distance of your event into consideration.  If you’re about to do an Ironman, for example, having a smooth swim is much more important than having a clean one.

For stronger swimmers, I think the best option is to line up right in the front.  When the gun goes off, you’ll swim all out for 50 to 100 strokes, and then settle into your race pace.  There are a lot of triathletes out there who have no idea how to see themselves properly.  As a result, poorly seeded fast swimmers can miss making the first group because they are stuck behind someone else.

Weaker, or less experienced swimmers, need to be a little more strategic.  If your swim times are average, then you might want to hedge your bets and stay close to the front.  Depending on a comfort level, I might suggest that you start a few feet wide of the buoy line.  This will give you a few clean strokes before you need to head in and merge with the main group.  If you are seriously concerned about your ability to finish the swim portion of the triathlon, I think your best bet is to simply wait a minute or two for the majority of athletes have started swimming.  This way you can pick and choose the best place to start.

Q: “I am a relatively new triathlete. My swim background consists of 5 summers at camp…20+ years ago. I won’t drown, but I am not going anywhere fast either. I have read that swim technique trumps swim fitness, but want to know why just swim 30mins three times a week won’t make me better. And are swim lessons really worth it?“

A: Coach Patrick: Well, first off, welcome to the triathlon world. You might be concerned about your swim skills, but let me tell you have seen some triathletes in the water and it can be pretty scary. You are probably already better off than 30% of the field at any given race. But there is certainly room for improvement…

Technique is essential as any improvements to form and your body position will net you free speed. Fitness requires real work, and a good triathlete is as lazy as possible. There are plenty of resources out there for athletes to use when concentrating on the swim, from books to clinics, etc. I personally think that most folks learn swimming experientially - i.e., when in the water - so I would skip the books. Nothing trumps you in the water tweaking your stroke and feeling the difference in “Before” and “After” so you can work on regaining / maintaining that feeling for longer and longer periods of time. Note that as you are working on your stroke, short 30-min swim sessions are best so you can stay focused and learn without the burden of fatigue impeding your progress.

I think lessons are a great investment - providing you can find the right person - because the direct feedback and physical tweaking of your stroke that an outsider can do is priceless.  Finding the right person means:

• Working with someone who is a triathlete and who has raced / swum in a wetsuit;
• Someone who will continue to rephrase and show you examples until you “get it” - this can take a while;
• Someone you can meet with several times and is open to meeting you again in the future as you continue to improve on your own.

It might also be a good idea to ask local tri groups who the area swim guru is…that’s a way better option than picking someone out of a hat!

Good luck!

Q: “It seems that all training that is geared toward monitoring your heart rate is based on a percentage of your maximum heart rate but determining your maximum is either formula driven, which apparently can be grossly inaccurate or based on some maximum effort that may or may not be achieved on a given day. Are there any programs out there that are based on a multiple of your resting heart rate rather than a percentage of your maximum?

For example my resting heart rate is 46 bpm, and I think my maximum heart rate is 185. A workout that calls for 75% of max would have me at 139 bpm or 3.08 times my resting HR, whereas someone with the same max HR but a resting HR of 60 bpm is at the same 139, but only increasing their HR by a factor of 2.32. Using this example it seems the outcome of the workout would be totally different for each of us. “

A: Coach Patrick: I don’t know of any protocol that uses intensity as a multiple of resting HR. And I agree that using ANY formula to determine HR zones is not a good idea…there is no need to do this if the athlete is active and can physically complete a test. Both HRmax and HRrest can vary for individuals across multiple days…sometimes within the same 24 hours. So using either as a factor for determining appropriate intensity is suspect. I personally have my athletes use their Lactate Threshold as a marker from which they can set their training zones. I test my athletes using an expired gas analyzer or I have them conduct a Field Test / Time Trial. Whichever option we use, the doing the test itself insures that the athletes benchmark (in this case, their LTHR) is determined while doing the exercise of choice. So a running / treadmill test will generate a running LTHR we can use for zones…this method, done on a treadmill by the athlete is much more accurate than measuring a percentage of either HRrest or HRmax.

So to follow your example, if you and your training partner both complete a Field Test and determine your respective zones, you will have a way of correlating your workouts. As an endurance run might call for a main set of steady state effort at the top of Zone Two, you can both run at that specific HR and know that you are putting the same relative stress on your bodies. Of course, if your buddy is a speedster, his Zone Two effort might net him 7 min miles where your Zone Two is more like 8:30s.

If you’d like more info on HR training, testing and other protocols, please visit the PTS website.

Happy Training!

Despite the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks, I am still planning to leave for Kona. I will pick up all AskATriCoach.com postings after I return, probably the 24th. Thanks for your patience and I’ll be in touch soon!

- Coach Patrick