Not quite a Runner... Yet!

So this past weekend I got a chance to run the Race for the Cure 5K with fellow Roanoke Valley Elite teammate Andrew Parkins. He has historically been much faster than me but my running has been coming along pretty good over the last two years so I was excited to try to finally hold pace with him. It was a great day for a race and we were joined at the front of the starting line by Colin Munsey and Andrew Holbrook, two more super fast guys! My strategy was to hold on to Parkins for as long as could with the hope of finally breaking into a sub-17 5K.

So the gun goes off and we are rolling! I immediately fall in behind Parkins with Holbrook behind me and Colin watching it all play out in fourth. My thought was to attempt to hang tight early on, knowing that the first mile and a half are the toughest part of the course and if I could just stay close then maybe I could make my goal. During the first mile the two slight up hills didn't seem too awfully bad and I was going well but as we hit the mile marker Parkins looked down at his watch and later told me he thought we were moving a little slow so he picked up the tempo and I worked as hard as I could to stay in tow. Truth be told... I think he was trying to drop me and as we went over the last rise at the mile and half mark I was starting to get a little bit gapped and I knew that my ticket was about to get punched.

So we make it to the two mile marker and by this time Parkins has about 15 seconds on me and now Holbrook rolls by me right after the Fleet Feet water station. I see him moving by but my efforts had left me gassed so I did my best to minimize the damage over the course of the last mile. I did appreciate seeing Mark and Mike on their morning run and their cheering me on helped keep me motivated to finish strong.

As we all hit the line, needless to say I was a little bummed at not making my goal time but still pleased that I was in such great company! My teammate, Andrew Parkins, hit the line in 16:55 for the win then Andrew Holbrook, who is training for Boston and going to tear up, came second and I tailed in for third. This race showed me I still have a lot to learn about how to pace and compete effectively but I am still very honored to be able to rub shoulders with some of the Roanoke Valleys finest runners.

Turn Your Training Up

Top 3 Overall
 

So this past weekend I was supposed to do my first Triathlon of the season but because of a nagging shoulder injury I had to bail and instead opted for the last race in the Triad Duathlon Series on Saturday. This was just fine by me seeing as how the level of competition was guaranteed to be good and I needed to compete in order to defend my Third Place Overall position in the series. I had a good first run, felt good on the bike, and struggled through the second run to end up in 3rd place on the day and thus holding on to my position in the series. So despite a rather mediocre performance I had to be happy on the day.



 

 



Me and Matt
 

 While at the race, I was talking to Glenn Thompson and Matt Sommer about training. Matt mentioned that he needed to develop more power on the bike, but felt that it was difficult at times to gauge because he didn't have a power meter. I then had a very similar conversation with Peter Walton on my training ride on Sunday. This has been a question that seems to come up a lot... "What can you do to work on your power output when you don't have a power meter?" What if I told you that the answer to this question is outside your front door and it wouldn't cost you any extra money to implement?

 

 



During the Winter months and off-season, power development is down in the Weight Room. As you may recall from my previous Weight Training Series, by lifting weights like a weight lifter you force your body to adapt and gain power. During the season, you can do the same thing by Climbing. Just as you can't hide from the squat rack, you can't hide from a mountain. Either you can lift the weight or you can't... Either you can push that gear up the mountain or you can't. It's the same concept but now it is sport specific in order to prepare you for your season of racing.

 



Me and Darren during our Tuesday Mill Mt. repeats.



How much climbing is based on your goals for the season. Most of the time I recommend a long road climbing session (2-4 hours)  on one of your weekend rides and a short (1-2 hours) climbing session during the week. I do this on Tuesdays in order to allow for enough recovery prior to the weekend. These sessions are not easy. I do them at or above Tempo pace with the goal being to spin a gear as much as possible. Just like pushing a heavy weight on the squat rack or leg press, these climbs are all about turning over that gear and keeping it going at a constant rate the whole way up the climb. When you first start, keep your Heart Rate down in order to keep lactate acid from building up too quickly and as you progress you can push harder. These types of climbing workouts are not are not about how fast you can get up the mountain, they are about building power quickly! If you can find someone just as crazy as you to partner up with then you've added another challenge that will push you that much harder. Add this into your weekly routine and after a month I promise you will be amazed at how much stronger you feel on the bike. This added power will help you be faster during the bike leg of your race and be less fatigued during your run section and the only cost is your level of commitment to the workout.