Lift Heavy Things (part 2)

In part one of Lift Heavy Things, I did my best to share with you why you should begin a weight training program during your off-season. Hopefully this helped you make the commitment to head to the gym and get started. But now you realize you have no idea what to do or how long it should take. Remember, as an endurance athlete your goal in the gym is to develop strength to be able to apply more force to the pedals, pavement, or water... that's it. Your training program should focus on the function of the muscle and as such here are a few things for you to consider as you get started:

1. Use Multi-Joint Movements- in order to save time and hit as many muscle groups as possible use big movement exercises. These are three joint movements such as a squat and leg press for lower body or lat pulldown and bench press for upper body. When pressed for time or just starting out, do these four exercises first!
2. Focus on the Muscles that do the Work- Don't go into the gym and start using machines or doing certain free-weight exercises that are not sport specific. You are wasting your time and all of your hard work will not carry over to improve your overall ability in your sport. Think about the biggest muscle that is used to do most of the work. If you are unsure ask a trainer.
3. Copy your Movements- As you are working pay special attention to where you place your feet and hands. Try your best to put them in similar positions to the sports you are training for.
4. Work on Correcting Imbalances- Throughout your season you work hard and push your body to its limits. As such, you train and race through soreness and even minor injury in order to meet your goals. But in doing so your muscles get out of whack just like the tires on your car do over time.
5. Connect your Muscles- It is great to develop the strength of your upper and lower body, but if you do not also develop your core those forces will not get utilized. Your back and abs are your lever point when applying force and if your mid-section resembles a slinky then the forces get absorbed and not transferred into work.
6. Pay Attention to your Time- Your time is valuable so don't spend all day in the gym... maybe an hour to an hour and half at most. Focus on big multi-joint movements to get the best bang for your buck and add in core work. Also, your weight training workouts are a supplement to your winter training endurance workouts... not in addition to. Don't get burned out before the season even begins. 

I hope this helps. Don't forget... if you are in the Roanoke Valley, you can start coming to my classes at the Gainsboro or Kirk YMCA in January. If you have any questions for me or are interested in joining me at the YMCA, feel free to email me at edward.h.shepherd@gmail.com.

Lift Heavy Things (part 1)

It is now getting crazy cold outside and you should be ready to start moving some of your workouts indoors. In my last post I shared with you some ideas for what you could get in to during the off-season. One of those very necessary workouts should be lifting weights. A lot of you don't care much for it, but it is a very important part of building a strong foundation to your 2014 race season.

You may be reluctant to head to the gym in the off season because you are unsure of what machines to use. This may be true, but it is not a good enough excuse to leave weightlifting out of your winter training plan. All good gyms have instructors that can help get you started or if you are in the Roanoke Valley you can start coming to my classes at the Gainsboro or Kirk YMCA in January. The point is, make it happen! Weight lifting is not going to replace your fitness or sport-specific training, but supplement it to (1) improve integrity of joints, (2) correct imbalances, and (3) improve muscular strength to help you sustain a larger workload over time.

A lot of people say they don't want to lift too much weight because they don't want to "bulk up." Well here is a news flash- that will never happen to most of us! As an endurance athlete, you will never be able to lift enough to counter the amount of endurance training you do to cause that to happen.

 

So why lift at all then? As an athlete, you want to recruit multiple motor units, which means more fibers are firing, causing an increase in force production and strength. As an endurance athlete, you can have a relatively small number of motor units, but with weight training you gain the ability to recruit more of those motor units in order to help with the workload. What this means is you don’t gain more muscle, just recruit all of the  units in the muscle you already have! By starting small and working up over the next few months you will be surprised at the gains you will see. All of the hard work in the gym will pay huge benefits when you are standing on the podium!

 

This is part 1 of a series I will be blogging about for the rest of December on the need to weight train. If you have any questions for me or are interested in joining me at the YMCA in January, feel free to email me at edward.h.shepherd@gmail.com.

Off-Season = Cross-Training

 As 2013 comes to a close, it is now time to keep your levels of fitness from diminishing in the winter months. I love to race, but as the season moves on I find myself wishing I could do something that is not sport specific to racing. That is why I love the off-season just as much and in some ways even more! Now is the time to have fun and experiment with new ways to stay in shape. Here are a few transition activity ideas you can try:

Head Indoors:

There are tons of opportunities for cross-training available to chose from at your local gym.  Don't be afraid to get a gym schedule and check some of them out. Guys, if you think these classes are easy or too "girlie" for you... get over yourself. I have just started attending a circuit class and it kicked my butt into humbleville! These classes have some of the fittest people in the gym in them and will give you a run for your money in the challenge department. If your gym has a pool and you are not already swimming on your own, check to see if they offer a masters class or a set time for free swim.

The winter months are also a necessary time for you to get into the weight room. If you were lacking some of the power you needed to really get a strong pull as a swimmer or push a bigger gear on the bike, now is the time to work on that. A lot of times this can be intimidating for endurance athletes because of self perception, but at the end of the day if you want to be a better athlete then here is where your off-season training must begin.

Misery Loves Company:

If you are like me, riding outside when it is cold is not a pleasant experience and one that I don't mind avoiding. Unfortunately if one of your off-season goals is to improve your time trial ability you will need to figure out how to train in spite of the cold. How about getting together with your buddies and have a group trainer ride? These can be just simple rides or structured training sessions using a video series such as those offered by Endurance Films. They offer a variety of videos that are challenging and in a group setting are a lot of fun!

Group trail runs are also a great way to keep up your running. I love racing on trails, but with some convincing from my run coach I stayed away from them for the most part this year. I did make an exception for the Into the Darkness race which almost sent Coach Pincus over the edge, but lucky for me I survived. Trail running in the winter is a good break from all of the miles pounded out on the pavement and a great change in scenery. Yes, your pace will be slower but in the off-season that is just fine. This will allow you to relax both physically and mentally. You can't go hard all the time so this is all about enjoying running while recharging your mental motivation to want to go hard when it counts in the spring.


Just do Something:
Ok... you worked hard this year to get yourself in shape and do the best you could at the events you entered. It would be a shame to let all of your effort go to waste and have to start all over again next year. Take your current level of fitness and try to carry some of it over to next year so you can come out stronger than ever. I am not saying you have to develop an elaborate winter training plan, in fact don't do that. I am saying just do something and have fun doing it!

Finishing out the Season

So... how did it go in Richmond? Even though I didn't break my goal of running under three hours, I would have to still say it went great! My good friend Hunter French and I hit the road Friday afternoon to meet up with JJ White at the event check-in and packet pic-up. Once we arrived, we roamed around and checked some of the booths of interest to get what freebies we could before heading out to fuel up for the Marathon. After a great meal and feeling the need to go to bed at 7:30 we all finally retired for the evening and BOOM faster than I fell asleep, it was time to get up and get ready.

After getting everything set up including my Hammer Nutrition supplements, Runwell gear, and visiting the bathroom a few times, we hit the road. It was supposed to be only a 20% chance of rain, but we quickly figured out that was definitely not the case. We made our way to the Marriott to meet up with the Fleet Feet Roanoke crew and cheer them on and then it was go time!

Well... as if the rain wasn't all ready enough, right off the bat it started off crazy. I go to find bag check and am told its four blocks away and I have four minutes to go before the start! Great!! So now I am doing my best football dodging moves to find the bag check and make it back. After getting to the check in and heading back to the start line I realize I am not going to make the official gun time so I just relax and take my time to move in with the crowd to go over the start line and activate my chip. I hit the line and now I am officially running the Richmond Marathon for time. Even with the rain I feel pretty good clipping off 6:40 pace miles with ease all the way to the river. As I start making my way through mile ten, I get hit with a major urge to attack the first Port-O-Potty I can find. The problem is there isn't one in sight and I am getting desperate! As I begin fearing that some unsuspecting neighbor is about to get a very bad surprise, I finally see a row of green heaven and break into an almost full on sprint to the first open door I can find.

Two plus minutes later, I am happy again but now my legs are not in agreement with my request to run and getting back up to speed takes a bit. I manage to push forward at a pretty good clip until about mile seventeen where now my hips are beginning to rebel. Between miles eighteen through twenty-three both hips are aching just as they did in training and all I kept telling myself is "Do not stop to rest... its a trap!" I knew that if I listened to my legs request any chance I had of going under three would be finished for sure so I pushed on at a now much slower 7:30 pace. Just as last year, once I started making my way back into the city any pain that I thought I was having began to take a back seat to the feelings of accomplishment I was being overwhelmed with. As I topped the hill and headed down to the finish line I high-fived anyone in the crowd that was willing and cheered the whole way down. I was so glad to be done no matter what my time was I wanted to celebrate! An official time of 3:04:05 was not the goal I set for myself but it was still a PR and a damn good time so I was pleased with my effort in spite of the obstacles.

Richmond Marathon Week = Nerves and Excitement.

Well... it's almost time. Time to intentionally hurt myself for what will hopefully be less than three hours. I can honestly say I am totally nervous about doing this. There is no way I will be near the leaders for this one, but what makes this such an anxious event for me is this is the first time I will be running a Marathon with a goal time in mind. 

Anything can happen while running a Marathon but I am confident that I will achieve a Personal Best time on Saturday, even if I hit "The Wall" after mile 20. My fitness is there and the training was done... that combined with my current PR time means I will do that. But I have set the bar very high this time for myself. I will be going for something I have never done or attempted before thus the nerves and self-questioning. As my friend Colin has told me over and over this year... no matter what I say, I have to consider myself a runner at the paces I am getting to. Even with all of the joy I have experienced this year running, training, and developing new friendships it doesn't make doing a Marathon like this any easier!

You can track my progress by clicking on the picture.

Saturday will be a huge test for me, physically and mentally, but I’m as ready as I can be to do battle with myself to achieve my goal. I am Anxious to get started and Excited to get it over with! The good news is this has been something in the making over time. I have done the Richmond Marathon three other times and the course has hardly changed so I know what to expect. I have had a ton of people cheering me on all season and that has been truly appreciated more than you all will ever know. I have also become a part of a great organization in Runwell that supports a cause I believe in and been invited to be a part of the Roanoke Valley Elite Track and Field Club which is a huge honor. So like a sleeping volcano, here I sit trying to appear unassuming and calm while underneath the emotions and energy of it all are building within me waiting to be unleashed. I am ready to stare myself down and prove to those voices of doubt that I can do this. I will do this.

#DoWok in October for November Goals

Well I was really hoping to get to Duathon Nationals in October, but that was just not in the cards this year so I decided to turn all of my attention towards running.  After several second and third place finishes this season, I started off the month by getting my first running win at the Johnny CASA 5 Miler even while battling through a cold. I followed that up with a third place finish in the Mountain Junkies "Into the Darkness 4 Miler" the next weekend which I did despite the objection from my running coach, Finn Pincus. Why did he object? Because I was in the midst of training to do a personal best at the Sports Backers Richmond Marathon and his concern was I could get injured. Lucky for me that did not happen!


I have continued to up my mileage each week in October as well and train with RV Elite teammates Steve Crowder, Ali Kassens, and Andrew Parkins. They have helped keep me focused and motivated to push myself towards my Marathon goal. Steve has helped pace me through some of my long runs and give me advice. Ali is training for the Philly Marathon which occurs the very next day so we have been pushing each other on the speed workouts... good luck Ali! And Andrew just did the Chicago Marathon in a blazing fast 2 hours and 39 minutes! I am very grateful to God to be surrounded by great team members. And I have to say thank you to Hammer Nutrition for providing me with the proper nutritional supplements designed to help me work towards my ongoing pursuit of achieving optimum performance.

Now it is the beginning of November so the taper has begun and the reality of it all is starting to set in that I am actually going to push myself as hard as I can in a Marathon! Yes, I have done Marathons in the past but never to the brink of breakdown so I am starting to get very anxious and yet excited all at once. I am just ready to get it going and I am sure next week I will be even more wound up... so I have to say thank you to my lovely wife for dealing with me as I begin to act like a kid before Christmas wondering if he will get what he asked from Santa. It will all be over soon and then I can relax a little bit before I begin gearing up to do it all over again next year. In the meantime, I just hope my Marathon goes a little better than the stages below. And for all of you out there that are doing one or have done one, I am sure you can relate.

Racing with Humility

This weekend I competed in the Johnny CASA 5 Miler Zombie Run in Rocky Mount, VA and have to say that I had a great race since I won, but was almost 80% sure I wasn't even going to race Friday night! So... let me explain. 

I have been hard at it for the past month and a half either racing or doing other endurance adventures every weekend and on top of all of that, I am trying my best to train for the Richmond Marathon. This past Tuesday I did an 18 mile run and was able to keep a 7:20/ mile pace quite comfortably even after a good swim workout that morning with Coach Tanya so I was very pleased. Unfortunately I woke up Wednesday and could tell I was catching a cold which led me to take a rest day and I planned to only swim on Thursday to try my best to recover as much as possible. My training had been coming along quite well and I was really hoping to push at least a 5:45/ mile pace in Saturdays race.

Thursday morning I woke up at 4:30 AM as usual to get ready for swim practice and it was all I could do to get myself out the door. I still felt horrible and my head cold was trying to get in my lungs. I made it through practice with some encouragement from my coach and made sure I stayed on top of all of my Hammer Supplements in order to help my immune system. That night I got to bed early and after work on Friday I jumped on the treadmill to do my pre-race day paces workout in order to get ready for Saturdays race. Immediately my heart rate went trough the roof and I felt like I was dying! As I finished the warm-up I even questioned skipping the interval sets and completely bagging the race as I tried everything to get my heart rate down and bring my run pace up. I made it through the paces workout and as I looked at the data from my upload I realized part of the reason my pace was so messed up is that my Garmin was struggling to correctly track my footpod because according to the satellites I was standing still. That made me feel better about my pace, but I was still very concerned about how hard the workout felt. So... reluctantly I decided to go ahead and race but because of how I felt, I only committed to trying to keep my previous 10 miler pace of 6:10 as long as I was able to stay with the lead group. 

Saturday morning I felt a little better, but still moved at a snails pace in order to conserve as much energy and minimize all efforts so I could throw everything at the race. I was still sticking to my game plan of being a defensive racer in hopes of staying with the front group. I really wanted to have a good showing for Roanoke Valley Elite and Runwell now that I was totally focusing the rest of my season on my run training and because the defending Johnny CASA winner was Andrew Parkins, an RVE teammate. As I got ready for the race I knew that the local favorite, H.T. Page, was my main competition for the day so I was excited to finally get to run with him again but was also anxious to see if I could keep up, much less beat him. He and I trained together last fall on the trails and up to this point I had yet to beat him. He is by far one of the fastest masters in the valley and is a noble competitor in every race. He is a local celebrity!

After my warm-up I made my way to the line and could hear some of the runners talking and pointing to H.T. as the person to watch for and to stay on. I did my best to just blend in, keep my head down, and be unnoticed. Johnny Nolen, the race promoter, went through the introductions and then just like that the horn was sounding and we were off. I immediately jumped out front with H.T. and Timmy Moyer as we headed out of town and sped towards the turnaround. As we started up a climb near the end of mile one, Timmy took to the front but was not able to create separation so he eased back up allowing the group to stay together. Unfortunately he must have put out more effort than he thought and before the 5k turnaround was already off the group. At the 5k turnaround I was feeling fine sitting on H.T. but was jealous of those that would be soon finished and even H.T. kidded with me after the race that he had wished I had done the 5k! 

At the 5 Mile turnaround H.T. was still in the lead with me glued to his hip and moving at a comfortable pace of just a hair over six minutes. I was both pleased and surprised at how I felt and even thought about upping the pace a bit but because I still had a bad cold and out of the great respect I had for my running partner I decided to hang back. I never felt like I was in any trouble and cruised the first hilly four miles working out in my head when I would try to make my move. With the lack of confidence about my own ability tied with my respect in the ability of the person I was running with, I decided to hold out no matter what until the final quarter mile and as we topped out the final climb I lit up the burners. I had never gone head to head with H.T. before so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I knew right away I had created a gap and I committed everything I had to pushing all the way to the line and what do you know I won! I was both pleased and humbled to have run with such a great guy and finally beat someone that I had looked up to for so long. Throughout the entire race he was cheered on by runners and spectators the whole way! It was great and I was glad for the experience. 

So now it is Sunday and I needed to put in some recovery miles but because my wife was doing something with our church I had to run on the treadmill again. I knew I would be tired from yesterdays effort and I still felt pretty rough. Just like on Friday my heart rate immediately shot through the roof! I was now starting to get a little concerned and right about the time I got ready to stop the workout I noticed that the incline setting on the treadmill was set at 5.5%! I quickly fixed the incline and just like that my heart rate went down to an acceptable level. Thanks to my lovely wife, I was hit with a hilarious dose of humility! It turns out she had been adjusting the incline during her workouts and I was the lucky recipient of the increases unknowingly during mine. And with a devilish snicker her response was... "see I actually helped you win." Yes, I guess so.

Rolling at the Triad Ten Miler

Triad Ten Miler Start

This past weekend I was again in North Carolina to do a race hosted by Trivium Racing, the Inaugural Triad Ten Miler. Needless to say after last weekends fiasco during the swim section of the Ramseur Lake Triathlon, I was very happy to have to only run. After a good four mile warm up doing a preview of the first and last two mile stretches of the course I was ready to go and was pretty sure this was going to be a lot hillier than I had expected... I was right!

I felt really good during my warm up and even though the course was a little more challenging than expected, I was sticking to my goal of pushing a 6:10/ mile or better pace. As the horn sounded we were off and right away a group of four took up a blistering pace at the front of what I figure was a 5:10 pace or better because as I looked down at my Garmin I was doing a 5:30 and they were still moving away from me quickly. I knew I could not keep my current pace up the entire race so I settled in with the second group and as we made our way through the the first set of rollers I was feeling fine.

Through the first three miles I was pushing comfortably just slightly above my 5k race pace and as I entered into mile four the hills really started to become more challenging. They were not long, but definitely steep so I was now either pushing a 6:30 pace up the hills or rolling at a sub 5:30 pace on the downhills to try to maintain my overall goal. At about mile six I was still ahead of my goal time, but now my choice of shoes became a factor. I went with my Zoot Sports Ultra Speed racing flats and the lack of cushioning started beating up my legs a little more than I was comfortable with. These are great shoes and I love them, but I think they are better suited for 10k's or less.

Starting in on the last three miles of the race I was trailing slightly behind the second group and now laboring to just maintain my pace to keep my goal in sight. Mile eight had several steep rollers that totally wiped me out and I knew if I could just hang on to mile nine I would be OK. As I took the left turn back on to the finishing stretch I worked to regain my focus mentally and looked back to see that another group of three had split up and was fast approaching. I tried my best to turn on the jets for the last mile and just didn't have as much in the tank as I would have hoped for. After two of the three caught me I was able to still hold on for tenth place and a finishing time of 61:13. Looking at the results, the overall winner finished in under 52 minutes and on that course he was hauling!

During my cool down my calves were blown and I could tell I had pushed as hard as I could so I was very please with my effort and result. I popped some of my ENERGYbits and headed over to the awards ceremony pleased that I was able to Runwell!

Lessons Learned from a Non-Swimmer

It's amazing that something so small can have such a large impact in a race. Whether it is a tiny gravel you get in your shoe as you are trying to put them on in transition, dropping your water bottle during the bike section thus leaving you dehydrated for the rest of your race, or in my case this past weekend at the Ramseur Lake Triathlon using an anti-fog solution I had leftover in my swim bag that I already knew didn't work that well! No matter what the distraction you face during your event it can have a huge impact on your entire race and may even end it but it's what you do when you are faced with these situations that determine your ending.

The weekend started off great. I hooked up with Mike Dalsey  via some Facebook planning and headed down south for the evening. Along the way I got some pointers on how to approach swimming and open water swims from a guy that has been in the water his whole life. We had a great evening and I was feeling a lot better about doing my longest single swim and only my third open water swim.

The morning of the race, I woke up and was excited to finally get to represent my Runwell Ambassadorship with the new gear by Champion System which fit perfectly! Mike and I made our way to the course, set up our transitions, and I got a good warm up as I mentally prepared myself for the upcoming swim. After my warm-up, I grabbed some water, popped a few of my Energybits and then got my wet-suit on and headed to the water.  As I got in the water and put my goggles on they immediately started fogging up! I then began trying frantically to keep them from fogging to no avail, then the horn sounded and I was off swimming... blind. Needles to say this was not working so I stopped a few times to get some water in the goggles to wash out the fog but it just kept happening. I decided to take the goggles off,  flip over and backstroke which worked well but now my contacts were getting wet and sticking! I proceeded to zig-zag on my back with sticky contacts the rest of the first lap and as I started in on the second I stopped to sight and caught a glimpse of the front group, including Mike, heading for shore. I struggled through the last lap doing any combination of a super slow breast stroke and a sad heads up freestyle to keep my contacts dry and when I finally made it to shore I was tempted to kiss the ground!

Now I am finally ready to race... but coming out of the water 20+ minutes behind the leaders I knew I had no chance of making a top three finish so I decided to grind it out and see if I could at least claw my way back in to the top ten. My T1 transition was fast and I was up to speed on the bike in no time feeling great in spite of my double effort swim. It was a dark overcast day, but the yellow lenses in my new XX2i France 1 Pro glasses helped brighten things up and my mood! I was passing people like crazy which was both fun and motivating so I kept at it on a course that was rolling and beautiful. Maybe it was the tailwind or just the number of people I passed, but the bike leg seemed to be over in no time and as I took the right turn heading  back in to transition I was wondering where I stood in the overall. I quickly unbuckled my shoes, jumped off the bike and ran to get started with T2 asking the official if he knew how many were in front of me. He started counting bikes and as I ran out to start the run he yelled that it looked like sixteen ahead of me so I turned on the burners in hot pursuit of at least six people. At about mile two I had passed several people and finally got another glimpse of Mike. I was glad to see him and was hoping he was still near the top finishers and as I ran Cameron Chappell, my partner in crime in the spring Triad Duathlon Series, cheered me on. I caught as many people as I could during the first lap and then starting my second lap of the run course it became harder to know who was on the same lap as me until I started back towards the finish line. With two miles to go, it was clear I would catch no one else so I turned down the pace and cruised in to the finish line.

After it was all said and done, I ended up 7th Overall and 1st in my Age Group so I was happy with the result considering the sadly entertaining swim leg but man was I glad to get that race over with! Mike ended up 4th Overall and 1st in his Age Group so it was a great day for us and two others (John Harding and Lisa Dulong) from the Roanoke Valley. Rich Swor of Trivium Racing did an awesome job hosting this event and if you haven't done one of his races you should. He and his team work really hard to put on the best race possible and I am even looking forward to running in the Triad Ten Miler this coming weekend. Especially since there is no swimming involved!

Bridging my Passion with my Past.

Being an elite athlete sometimes is hard. Being so passionate about my sport, the workouts I do, and the accomplishments I achieve... sometimes people just don't understand me. After God and family it's what I get fired up for and excited about... what I have to do that day, how am I feeling, will it effect the workouts I have scheduled, and so on and so on. I am what most people call obsessed... I call it disciplined ;-)

Being a Physical Education teacher, after being away from it for several years, gets me even that much more excited about all of the aspects wrapped around leading and living a healthy lifestyle. I am in a school where the students truly need me and I go to work everyday looking forward to helping them be successful and putting a smile on their face. See, a lot of these children come from situations that are similar to mine growing up. An environment where addiction to drugs or alcohol is a daily struggle that they must be witness to and endure through.

It's a hard way to grow up and most of us end up falling victim to the habits we saw modeled for so many years... but not all of us.

Now, I have found a way to bridge my passion for health and exercise with my past of having to see relatives suffer through addiction for so many years. Enter- Runwell. A nonprofit organization that has at its heart and soul, a mission to shed light on the struggles associated with addiction. An organization that is passionate about helping people trade their habits of addiction in for habits of health! After researching the organization and several face to face meetings and phone conferences with the founder- Linda Quirk and VP of Marketing- Pam Rickard, it became very clear to me that I had to be a part of what these great people were working so hard to do. Now I am an ambassador for Runwell and I look forward to representing them and working with them for a long time to come! If you have a moment, please take a look at the Runwell website at http://www.runwell.com/ to see what they are all about. In the months to come I will share more of the great things that I get to do by being a part of this organization and will even reach out to you all to give you a chance to be a part of something bigger than us. If you are like me, you know someone that has struggled with addiction and this is our chance to reach out and help make a difference in their lives. I will keep you posted and in the meantime, continue to Runwell!