Heart Rate Monitors : The Beginning

Hello out there in the land of multisports. Today, and for the next few posts I'm going to be talking about what may, after a good pair of running shoes, be the single greatest piece of gear to have in your arsenal. It is the heart rate monitor. Many make them, some are better than others, and here I'm going to do my best to write objectively about a few of them.

Let's get a few things out of the way first. A heart rate monitor is a device which, through the use of a piece of diagnostic equipment, be it a chest strap, finger clamp, wrist strap, just to name a few, can read one's pulse and transmit the useful information to the interested party. Short answer for us is something that can tell us how hard we're working and display it in a manner that is easy to read at a glance.

There is a point of diminishing returns on adding gear to our kit. It is the point at which the bulk, or added features, reduce our enjoyment of our activity. For everyone this is a very different point. Some people (perhaps myself included) would want to know every wheel turn on the bike, correlate that to a series of heart beats, and then extract the effect of the force on the chain to determine how hard I need to be running after T2. For others the intrusion of a wrist watch detracts from the simple pleasure of running. So I leave that completely up to you. Know that your choice is right, because it's right for you.

That having been said, let's talk about heart rate monitors. I'm sure that you've heard by now that, and if you haven't allow me, during training your ability to work withing specific zones (ranges of beats/minute) allow you to train more efficiently over the long term than any other piece of gear.

I will be talking about heart rate monitors from the perspective of a multisport athlete as opposed to a general fitness athlete. I believe that the best way to track someone's actual heart rate is to put a strap around their chest where the heart is.

While there are many brands of devices that do this, I'll be looking at the following:

• Polar


• Timex


• Suunto


• Garmin

...and perhaps a few others as they come up in discussion.

Stay tuned for the next episode.
-dean

Triathlete Magazine talks about odd running form in triathletes

In an interesting observation, Matt Russ, in an article written for Triathlete magazine , talks about why triathletes as a group seem to have a different running form than runners. The reason for this, as cited by Russ, is that triathletes swim, and there for have a more developed upper body, in particular shoulder muscles that change the way the upper body moves thus affecting our running form.

http://www.triathletemag.com/Departments/Training/2007/Why_do_triathletes_run_funny_.htm

A wet and rainy Wednesday

Hello. Today's post is sponored by the letter "R".
- R is for rain, and rest, and recovery. It's also for respect.

On this rainy day I'd like to point out that in this writer's opinion, the greatest task that each endurance athlete has to undertake is the practice of staying injury free. Nothing, well almost nothing, will ruin the most well-planned, best-intended, training schedule than an injury, especially one that could have been prevented.

Over the long course, a training plan is divided up in to periods. Each period has a particular goal, be that base building, or strength training, or peak building. Within each period there's a rest. Rest is necessary to allow the body to recover from whatever you were training it to do.

Even within a set, say a track session, rest is built in. Respect it. If your prescribed set is 400 @ (name your pace), followed by 1200 @ (name your pace), with a (X:XX) rest in between, respect the rest interval just as you would your pace interval. IT'S NECESSARY.

What's that you say, you have an easy week on your schedule? Then, TAKE IT EASY!!! Rest, recover, SLEEP.

That's all I got. See you next time. Anyone out there want to sponsor this blog? I think I'm running out of letters in the alphabet.

Just how far do we train here anyway?

One of the most significant collective stats that my friend Doron shared with me my after our first ironman was just how much distance we had covered in training. He used a number that I can barely fathom at this point, and wondered if we had been on the same training plan.

This year I want to see how far I end up traveling on my "trip" to ironman. To that end I've been logging my workouts in a personal workout log as well as the one that we are given access to through the teamintraining ironteam.

There's even a nifty map that shows how far I would have gone across the country.

Swimming - Study through Youtube

If you're going to study swimming from videos you really can't get better than youtube for good free stuff. And if you're going to look for technique I say watch some professionals.
The first few here are of Ian Thorpe.



What I like here in this video of Ian Thorpe is the clear shot of the catch (the hand entering the water), and how much of his arm you can see pulling his body through the water. Note the bend in the elbow and the shape of the arm motion through the pull. (Above & Below)



2006 Commonweath games trial (200m)(Below)
Time 830 - Action Starts at 3:10
Check it out, the arms aren't moving especially fast, it's all pull power, form in each catch, pull, and overall body positioning. Smooth.



Kicking too (Below):


Freestyle swim video from the 2004 Olympic games


Just for fun: Men's World Record 4x200 Freestyle


Link to this Blog Post Swimming - Study through Youtube

Tri Saturdays - Just a ride in the park

I love Saturdays. Friends of mine sleep in or do brunch or even go skydiving. Me? Well me and mine go out for bike rides. Yup, you heard me bike rides. For the two races that the Los Angeles Chapter of Team in Training "IronteaminTraining" participants will have either seven or almost ten full months of training to tackle the Wildflower Long Course (a half iron distance triathlon) and/or Vineman (a full iron distance triathlon). Today's mission was simple, ride as a team for the first time. So with a little parking lot assessment of equipment, and bike handling ability the team set out on a short hour/hour-and-a-half~ish ride around Griffith Park from the Los Angeles Zoo.

After an easy five mile warm up the lead pack upped the ante and the group spread out over the 17-mile course.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1430246

If you were there this weekend it was great to see you. No worries about anything at all we have months (and I mean MONTHS) of training to go. If you weren't there you missed yet another opportunity to join us at Portos Bakery and my favorite part of almost any training day, lunch.

In the words of one of my coaches, it was a good practice; Nobody drowned. Next week it's off to Santa Monica for some Westside riding. See you then -dean

(link to this blog post - tri-saturdays-just-ride-in-park)

New starts at odd times

Let's take a look at what's going on for me this year in the world of endurance sports. I'm probably not a beginner anymore, though there's still tons to learn. I've completed a handful of half marathons, a half iron distance triathlon, a couple olympic/international distance triathlons, two full iron distance triathlons, and there still seems to be room for more. In the world of triathlon we're coming to the end of the racing season with many locations having held or are nearing their championship event. For me and several friends of mine we're starting true base training in prepartion of another "going long" season.

For me this will be a focused year, trying to get the most out of training and the least amount of skating that I've done. And by skating I mean going through the motions without purpose. Laying this out there today, I'm not going to qualify for the big race in Hawaii, not this year, and probably not this decade. But this year is for reaching down and seeing what I'm capable of doing. Setting new PRs at all my distances and having fun while that happens.

I'm also helping out with Team in Training again this year as a mentor. We'll be going to Vineman in Sonoma, a full iron distance race as well has taking many to Wildflower for the long course, a half iron distance race. I look forward to introducing them to you as the season progresses.

I'm also working with the LA Tri Club to increase the club's presence at local races to support our member athletes from beginners to elites, and to recruit new members.

Oh yeah, then there's working, dating, and sleeping that has to get done between all the training, eating, and recovering that is already planned. So like I said last year, I send my apologies in advance.

-dean

Tour de Fr... Denver?

Hello out there. I got an email from one of my coaches and it looks like he's out to ride the Tour de France... but in Denver & LA, minus car support and while working.

http://tourdedenver07.blogspot.com/

Quoted from Coach Gareth Thomas:

With the Tour de France just around the corner, i thought I'd share
my latest mad thought with you......

I am going to attempt my very own "Tour de Denver (and LA)" to
coincide with the stages or this years Tour de France. I figured that
perhaps i can do a third of the length of the tour rides on the same
days with similar profiles to the Tour stages. Near my home in
Colorado I have access to some major climbs and time trial courses so
I figured I could find HC style climbs and routes to match what our
Tour heroes will be doing each day. On my work days in Los Angeles I
can ride the computrainer courses in my office. Of course there are a
few considerations...

1. the altitude in colorado starts higher than the finishes of the
hardest stages of the TDF!
2. it is often above 95 degrees most days now
3. i'll have to do most of it "solo"
4. I have to work and travel during it all

i have no idea if this is going to be an "easy" task or impossibly
hard. No one day is longer than 45 miles but there are many days back
to back and the intensity is going to be way hard.

Anyway, I am going to track my progress on a blog - it should throw
out some interesting info along the way. I'll be riding with an SRM
powermeter so I will provide data from each days ride. I'll be
getting somewhat regular massage and chiro along the way. I am going
to do weight and % fat pre and post Tour and also i am going to lab
test with lactate and VO2 pre & post. So if anyone is interested in

1. also following my stage plan
2. following my progress
3. giving me some encouragement
4. joining me on a ride or 2

then please visit my Blog and let me know what your thoughts are....

http://tourdedenver07.blogspot.com

Watch out Lance, here I come!!

Gareth Thomas
--

Should be a kick. Give it a look and shout out some support would you!

Race Report : 2007 Ironman Coeur d'Alene : Bike

This year in Coeur d'Alene marked the first year of an all new bike course. There are a number of reasons that I have heard for this, but they don't really matter to me. The old course took riders out to the Idaho/Washington state line with a fair amount of climbing and had pieces of the ride that in retrospect felt like unnecessary filler. There was a long piece past mile 35/85 (or so) that followed the centenial trail along the highway and caused riders to hit a decent headwind.

The new course took us out of Coeur d'Alene and in to the town of Hayden. This year's course was quite a bit harder. Though in looking at my polar altitude data from last year and comparing it to this year, it seems like there 4300 feet of climbing (30 miles or so) and last years course had 4600 feet of climbing over the same distance. Though there was 300 fewer feet of climbing I'd say that this course was harder, if only in my mind. I'd say that last year had the climbing over a shorter distance forcing riders this year to climb for a longer period of time.

The biggest change was that the course was far prettier than last year. To the uninitiated this might sound petty, but over a seven hour period having great stuff to look at makes the time that much better. The rolling hills were beautiful, and the long line of riders looked like ants climbing over them.

For me I had the opportunity to talk to several people over the ride. (Most of them were passing me). It was by all accounts, despite being difficult perhaps, a great ride. The weather we had was wonderful, mid 60's to low 70's with a small headwind for most of the ride and a longer stronger headwind right near the end of the ride. If they keep the course the way that it was and you intend to ride this race next year, I'd recommend longer sustained climbing as a large part of your training.

End result, last year 7:50~ish, this year 7:20 (and that's with 12 minutes worth of bathroom stops because of the cold weather and hydration planned for a warmer day).

A quick recap

It's Ju.. err May. We're so close that it might as well be June. This will be my 45th post of the year. All in all not bad, that's 9-10 posts a month, 2-3 posts per week. It's been a kick for me to write for all of you. Thanks for following us so far and taking any possible learnings from the missteps that I've made thus far in my training.

Here's a little of what I've learned:
- Training = Hard Work
- Ironman training = INSANELY HARD WORK
- Workouts are best done in all conditions to prepare the body and mind for anything.
- Training for the long course is made better/easier when working with others.
- EVERYTHING tastes better after 100 miles on a bike.
- NOTHING feels better after a marathon than a nap.
- When in doubt, Go team
- For some reason this is fun.

Cruising the coonejo

Today the ironteam did a century ride in thousand oaks, ca. Put on by the Conejo Valley cycling club, this challenging ride featured several distances for the casual 25 mile, to the 100 mile course with over 6000 feet of climbing.
It was my first long workout in close to six weeks and had to call it quits at seventy miles. For the first time even Ipulled a DNF.

More to come on this event later.
-dean

http://irondean.blogspot.com

Begging forgivness from the Tri-Gods

If the training of an athlete for an event was under the supervision of god, like in Greek times, and the actions of an athlete answerable to that god, this is what my most recent prayer would have looked like.

Dean: Hear me oh great god of triathlon, one who speeds transitions, suppresses the head wind, and calms the currents of the open water swim.

god of triathlon (GOT): Greetings athlete. What brings you to me today?

D: Forgive me for I have sinned (for lack of a better phrase) in my training.
GOT: How have you sinned?
D: I allowed my bike to fall in to disarray and somehow damage it to an unrideable state.
GOT: Equipment is sacred. You must not allow yourself to err in this way. Without gear we cannot complete the distances we strive for.
D: Yes, I have erred. I will endeavour to be more mindful of my equipment. There is more.
GOT: What else then?
D: I'm in the last phase of my training for my next Ironman race, Ironman Coeur d'Alene in Idaho. Without my bike, I have not been able to ride for three weeks. Please forgive me.
GOT: That is what base training is for you idiot. Nonetheless you're probably fine and thus easily forgiven. Besides you've been injured too haven't you?
D: *GASP* How did you know?
GOT: Do you question my omnipresence?
D: Oh, right. See everything, hear everything. Slipped my mind. Got it.
GOT: The rest probably did you a lot of good. Tell me, do you now want to run?
D: Oh yeah!
GOT: Do you want to go out and ride?
D: You better believe it.
GOT: Did you want to do these things three weeks ago?
D: Not nearly as much as I want to now.
GOT: Then you're most definately better for having been off for a few weeks. No skimping on the training now that you're six weeks from taper.
D: This I can do. Is there anything else?
GOT: No, and stop stealing my lines.
D: *Ahem* Thank you for listening, it stills the demons of doubt that haunt me. Amen.
GOT: And while you're at it go chase down an ironman PR why don't you!
D: You got it... Amen.
GOT: Don't forget the hydration or the salts!
D: Um... Amen.
GOT: Get some rest!
D: Umm.. Really, got to get back to work now, so... Amen?...
GOT: .....
D: Hello?... Amen?... Hello?
GOT: Yes, I heard you. Your sins have been forgiven. Get back to work.
D: Amen.

A day on the path

Of the trends in triathlon, one of the best in my opinion is the opportunity for triathletes to train on the grounds of an event site and under the instruction of coaches and event staff. Large triathlons such as the Jamba Juice Wildflower Triathlon plan on hosting several training camps for interested athletes (training camps).

The opportunity for newcomers and experienced athletes alike is tremendous. If you're planning on attending a long course event, for the first time especially, I'd recommend attending a training camp if such a thing is offered by the event organizers.

For Team in Training athletes for whom Wildflower is an opportunity, a training weekend is often one of the options included in the benefits for fundraising athletes.

Humor: Once Upon a Time I Feared the Treadmill

I once thought that this would most certainly happen to me... Thankfully, or not, I'm still waiting for the first time this happens to me. I can wait...

Tuesday Swims

I really do enjoy the Tuesday swims with the team. Sure my stomach complains when I get to workouts that it would much rather have my butt in a chair with a sandwich and a drink of some sort, but it is the one time during the work week when I can count on seeing most of my team. Here's what I like about my Team in Training Ironteam:
- Everyone is training for the same event.
- Everyone is raising money to fight cancer.
- Everyone is training to be ready for the same event.
- When the workout is all said and definitely done, we go eat.

Today was no different really. I showed up to practice and it was threatening to rain on us. But once you're there and dressed, there's really no other option than getting in and doing the workout. (There is another option but don't tell that to my grumbling stomach.)

Today we worked on active recovery, or resting in motion. Makes sense, the impulse after a difficult effort is to come to a stop, recover your breath, take in some fluid, and bring the heart rate down. This is what the body would like, trust me. Instead, following a hard effort we reduced pace kept moving. Very effective in making the body more efficient.

Love it.

Over the hump part II

For the past two or three weeks I've been in a funk, a training funk. If you had to give it a clinical name it would probably be training fatigue. In looking back over the my training history I found that I'd been more or less in long course training mode for the last 18-months with little or no break. That's a long time. A part of me had lost the spring that usually comes with working out and being on the road. There are still workouts on the calendar both in the things to do column and in the training recorded column. But the stuff that I've done has been really half-hearted, and that's the truth.

To this we add a second major pain, that of my mind against my body. My brain just says, "C'mon it's just a 45-minute run, real low effort." My body on the other hand says, "Hey! Leave me alone and let me just sit on the couch and play a little Madden '07 on the 360. I need a day/week/month off!" For the most part the body wins, but not without stressing out the mind. The mind sees every workout not done as an unraveling of everything that has been accomplished, every goal achieved, and a floating backward from the next sets of milestones.

Here's the hard part. Sit down. Breath in. Breath out. Blink. Repeat. Repeat until the voices are silent. Now think, Training Fatigue. And now ask, do you feel like doing this anymore?...

For me that answer is yes. So like most addicts we deal. I got between my own body and mind and we agreed that we wouldn't quit, everything just had to be dialed back for a few weeks. Maintain less than half the mid-week workouts, and dial back the intensity of the weekend workouts unless I felt good. And with a 2400 yd swim last night as a short sprint workout I feel like I'm back. I got out of the water with my shoulders screaming, and heart pumping, but invigorated from the activity. I might have even mentioned that I felt great, and that I missed the workouts.

One more week of building, two key weekend workouts, and then I have a gate race. The California 70.3 for me is a test, a barometer to see whether or not this has been worth it for me. I think that it has been even if my times are horrendous. I feel like a healthier person. I feel faster than I was last year. I feel that despite my time off so far this year I've been more fastidious to the program than I've ever been to a training program in my life.

I know that there is more in me. I know that my body needed the rest. I know that I love the distances... I know that there is more in me. I know that I'm ready for it.

Whoo Hoo! What a Ride!

To my triathlete friends and readers,
Have you ever gotten that jaw dropping, "You're going to do what?.." When you explain to people that in a triathlon you are going to swim, then ride a bike, then run, no matter how far you're going to go? I know that I have. And of course the popular follow ups, are either

1. That's so cool. I wish I were in that kind of shape
2. Holy *&%$ that sounds hard.
3. Why the *&#@ would you do that.

The first two are nice for the ego. For the third I offer this:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, "WOO HOO what a ride!"

I offer up CHEERS, KAMPAI, Salud, and a L'Chiam to the ride. Live it up and leave it all out on the course. -dean

Gear - Perpetuem

First up is Perpetuem, a fine product from Hammer Nutrition.
Hammer has come a long way in engineering their products to work for distance athletes for the duration.

One serving of this stuff, was 260 calories from 54 grams of carbohydrates, most of that from maltodextrin, a long chain carbohydrate. I mixed almost 1.5 servings per 22 oz bottle and found that it dissolved with a little work and stayed that way for the duration of my workouts. I liked the mild flavor and could handle it repeatedly over a long workout, sometimes 5-7 bottles worth.

A note here, there is 6g of protein per serving. Now we've entered in to some dicey ground. The debate over whether or not protein should be a part of your nutrition regiment during exercise or race is a hot topic of debate. Personally I'm not sure. See, honest. Dean = not sure about protein. Some people say that it increases active recover or feeds muscle. Some people say that it throws a monkey wrench in to the digestive process. Some people say that it does nothing.

Dean still = not sure.

Perpetuem remains on my shelf as a staple product for 2-3 hour workouts. The jury is still out as to whether or not it causes some level of problem in my stomach or if it is any of a hundred other factors including but not limited to stress, over training, poor combination of solid foods, improper pre-workout nutrition, sleep deprivation, stress (oh, did I say that one already), heat, and the list goes on and on.

If there's one thing I can say about all of this it is this, think about it. Yes, you heard me right, think about it. Read what you can get your hands on. Try the free samples. Buy small bottles of concentrate or single serving pouches, and try it out. What works for one person may not work for you. You may thrive on nothing but fructose (fruit sugar) based sports drinks. You may reject protein completely. You may discover, like a friend of mine, that vitamin water though carb free, and gu's with a power bar thrown in are the perfect mix.

You have to try it. In the meantime Perpeteum gets a 4 our of a 5 rating in my book for being good, but with a small reservation due to something unknown. Plenty of carbs, salts, and a nice mild taste, a little like vanilla if you ask me.

Links:

• Hammer Nutrition
• Deep link to Perpetuem

Nutrition

When you talk to distance athletes, long course triathletes in particular, you find that beyond physical gear the conversation will drift towards nutrition. "What do you eat/drink", "How much do you take with you", "What do you use?" The answers and solutions vary even more widely than the products available. Combinations of products often work better for individuals as different people metabolize and burn nutrients at different rates. Scientific studies also prove and disprove concrete training methodology every year. So what do you take?

Me personally, I've tried quite a few products and here's what I look for:

• Calories per bottle (as this will help me calculate total calories sustaining me over the distance)
• Carbs per bottle (major source of fuel)
• Type of carbs in the drink/food/gel (different sugars have properties that lend themselves to easier, slower, faster, absorption rates and may have an effect on one's digestive system)
• Flavor (All the above properties are meaningless if you don't want to or can't drink/eat it)
• How mixable is it at the concentration I need it?
• Does it still taste good when it's been baking in a plastic water bottle for four hours?
• Very important!!! (See Flavor)

See then next few posts for my reviews on selected nutrition products and their virtues

A new milestone

So we're back in Malibu for the weekend. I can seriously think of worse places to be for a Saturday. We break through a new milestone for us this weekend. The five hour ride. Five hours at fifteen miles an hour puts you at seventy five miles.

More importantly it requires a higher level of attention be paid to nutrition planning and pacing. From here on out expect longer and harder rides. At the very least this ride will prep people who are training for the California Half... opps, California 70.3 race in Oceanside at the end of next month.

We should have some nice weather though:

Looks like that's all from me for today! See you at Zuma.
-dean