The Road Ahead

I have officially begun my training for Ironman Arizona 2011.

I am going to post my goal for IMAZ here as a method of accountability.  In November 2008, I completed the course in 9h21m.  I left feeling very satisfied but like I had more in my tank.  However, as I sit here today those hopes were washed away by at least one baby and a couple or 3 semesters of grad school.  I've come into this training block (Six Months) with a little less ambition.

My Goal:  Qualify for Hawaii 2012.  In order for me to accomplish this, I need to train to a 9h40m Ironman finish time.  I believe this time is definitely a possibility for me.

With the semester winding down, I have managed to have a few consistent weeks of training (through a lot of encouragement from Quent).  I'm starting with run focus until I get my weekly distance to a mileage in which I'm running with a mile pace I think I should be. (currently 8:20 is comfortable)  With my body weight being higher than normal, pushing my pace is tough at the moment and everything suffers.

Today, I committed to an International Distance Triathlon this weekend.  (.9 mile swim, 24.8 mile bike, 6.2 mile run)  I also completed a short workout through which I am able to predict my pace for the event.  This will help me judge my effort I will use complete the course.  Notice I said complete not race.

My predictions 24min swim, 1h15m bike, 45min run for a 2h25m finish.  

Just for fun... if we do some simple math and multiply this time by 4 (roughly the Ironman distance) we get a product of 9 hours 40 mins.

Strength Is Relative

So many things could be said about this .... I will encourage you to watch and develop your own strength routine.
http://www.wimp.com/trainingbars/

Emotions when racing

Tim kindly allowed me to contribute to his blog... a different perspective... Thanks Tim, hopefully you won't regret it!! I felt compelled to write today because I was recently asked for some advice on how to handle intense emotional reactions on the golf course. If you've ever played golf, I am sure you are familiar with the roller-coaster of experiences that sometimes come from this frustrating, yet addictive game. I thought about the uniqueness of golf and how important it is to keep your anxiety in check when playing: anger, frustration, even over-confidence can wreak havoc on your attentional focus. Endurance athletes don't require the same level of precise skill in order to execute their "game plan" however, the emotions that you experience out on the race course have similar impact in terms of derailing your focus. I advised my friend to choose his emotional state PRIOR to stepping onto the golf course. In other words, he should decide exactly how much anxiety he would allow himself to feel and give himself a narrow window. Confidence comes from being calm and quietly attentive (that is borrowed from Mark Allen) not from being ego-driven. If you watch the best of the best athletes, you will often see that their emotional profile is very narrow. They do not stray far from their optimal level of arousal. The amount of anxiety that you are able to handle is totally unique to you. Performing well is a matter of actively choosing the level of emotion (which goes hand in hand with anxiety) that you will maintain. If this means writing notes on the back of your hand to remind yourself of how you WANT to feel, do it! I have often considered some type of tattoo on my wrist as a reminder but that might be going a bit far.

Tim Key goes transatlantic

Hello from JL, based in Great Britain, Tim trained me for my first IM in 2003. Sadly I did not compete again until 2009 but I've been back at it for a couple or years now and Tim is looking after me in the lead up to challenge Roth later this year. I am looking forward to blogging with you all over the coming months.

Metamorphoses of Two Athletes

I can write the same workout for two athletes.

I can do nothing to improve the athletes at equal rates. Rate of improvement depends on the individuals athletic history and ability to recover. In fact, workouts which are above an individuals ability will make them progress slower due to time needed for adaptation.

Short

Jerred: ouch - http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/article/36686/

Tim: that's nothing new... i've been 2 inches short my whole life

Projects Projects and Travel

I haven't had much wisdom to pass along this week. I think everyone is scared to make a comment. As a coach I've never had a hammer and nails approach. I want athletes to take my 'notes' as constructive building blocks. (Anyone want to make a comment as to what I mean by this?)

For me school is ON... like waves on the North Shore in Winter... the projects just keep coming. I love when a professor schools me into thinking they have a need to show me how to organize my time. "Our profession has deadlines and schedules to keep." BTW I'm 43 not 23.

Tim's response to my run log...

Typical Tim, short, sweet, and with a little bit of I wonder what the hell he is really meaning:

Tim, " I didn't see any whiny comments."

How My Career in Triathlon Began

My Dad -

He had completed a few triathlon's in the early 80s with a good friend Jim Burleson. I think 1982 was his first. I seemed to remember he would always come home with a cool T-shirt.

Around this time or just before when I was 13 I started training for and completed my first 5k. I was so out of shape as a young teenager, I literally almost died in training. The 5K was associated with White Buffalo Days which is an annual event in Snyder in which we recognize the now extinct buffalo hunter J. Wright Moore.

I trained by running to a yellow gate you could see from our front porch about a mile away. I think I managed to run, well...walk 3 miles once or twice before the event. I also completed several 2 mile run / walks during my one month training period. In October of 1981 I ran the 5K and was sore for a week. Can you imagine the shoes we ran in!

When I was 16 and racing motocross (MX) I would read about Johnny O'Mara and David Bailey and their training. Then I would go do it. Being a person that likes to experiment, I started incorporating runs around my MX track in full race gear (boots included) up to about 2.5 miles. In hindsight it was a pretty good workout, but can you imagine what the cows were thinking. I was so out of shape and to have seen me trudging through the pasture in red pants, a chest protector and black helmet would have been a great reality show.

My first Triathlon was Fall 1987 at Texas Tech University at 20 years of age. Formally known as the Triathlon for Everyone this annual event was the only triathlon in our part of the world.

The morning of the race I was scared as hell. I was very intimidated by everyone there. However, when the gun went off I forgot about all of my nerves. A skill I still have today. I think this comes from racing MX; something in my mind just clicked and I ended up winning overall.

The following year, 1994, was the USA Bud Light Series. Yes, they gave away beer at the finish. I went to Houston and Phoenix in the spring and managed some good finishes. After those events I started training more to help my MX career.

A few years later in the spring of 1990 I broke my wrist. I tried to come back that summer and compete at the same level, but I knew my career in MX had plateaued... I was just not ready to be hurt again.

The next year, 1991, I raced several events including one in Evergreen, CO. I was hooked.

Simple Words

Simple response from Tim can go a long way towards calming your frustrations about having to cut a workout short.

don't make up time on workouts... just go with what you got each day.

Hey Tim,

Just wanted to let you know what a HUGE help you have been for me. I will be the first to admit that part of being healthy is working out consistently. That part is fairly easy for me. I find that I'm pretty motivated to work out. It makes me feel good and my body feels strong. What I didn't realize was what a big difference eating healthy would have on my well-being. I THOUGHT I was eating healthy but when you came over to "look at" my pantry, I realized I was completely off track. Looking at the ingredients of all the things I was eating and feeding my family never crossed my mind. And if it HAD crossed my mind, I wouldn't have known what it all meant anyway. The reorganizing of my pantry has really made it easy for all of us to choose healthy snacks. Once I started taking your eating and buying food advice, I found that while working out is necessary and a great tool for a healthy body.....the food part is really the bigger piece of the puzzle. I have worked out for years and thought I was healthy. However, my body has had a complete make-over now that I've started eating the way you taught me to. I am a firm believer, now, that eating right is 85% of being healthy for me. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that my diet is perfect 100% of the time. You know I can't let go of my Dr. Peppers and mexican food. But, I will swear by your method of teaching me what to look for in foods and how to cook and eat the RIGHT foods. Thank you for that. You probably just added on about 10 more years for me to continue to torture my children.

:-)

With thanks,

Debbie Bayouth

First Post

OK, I'll be the first to post. Someone should probably start out with one of Tim's classic smarta$$ answers, but I'll start with a good one. I sent Tim an email to read 2 things:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From Coach Brett Sutton (Team TBB) http://www.teamtbb.com/forum/index.php?topic=2629.0

which is in response to Brandon's blog here (http://blogs.teamtbb.com/brandonmarsh/2011/01/28/lonestar-party-bus/)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

His response is below. I took a alot away from this response. (hint: you may have to read between the lines, as you do with a lot of his responses)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not sure what exactly I'm suppose to take from either.

I had read what Brandon wrote last night.

but here are my general thoughts.

Brandon is right.

Marketing screws us.

Kenyans are training for races that are 30min or less in length. but... that doesn't exclude these guys that are running 2hours almost all out.

Human physiology allows this to this point. beyond 2 hours calories are not available

White man developed a sport that last 3+ hours for the average person. .... that is by the way getting off the couch mid life.

don't even get me started about 10hrs +

Everyone wants to run faster. I say go do it. see how long that last.

Most of the mix of intervals i write are to entertain your brain as much as make you better.

There... there's my secret.

If I really had you go out and do it... " a certain way" the client would be brunt out and injured ... b/c they did start mid life and western culture has a lot of distractions.

for example... the read out on the power meter. :)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------