Northeast Park Duathlon Race Report

After much anticipation, the race season has officially started for me and man what a start! This past weekend I took part in the Northeast Park Duathlon in Gibonsville, NC. I was anxious to see where my fitness level was after a long Winter of training, most of which has been indoors this year due to the cold temperatures and snow. I was also excited to be representing TriSports.com as one of my new sponsors for the 2014 season, as well as Headsweats and Feetures!

 

It was a great morning to race even in February and after talking with Richard Swor, the Race Director, earlier in the week and then seeing some familiar fast guys at the start line, I knew this was not just going to be an easy training race. Right away I saw Albert Harrison and Glen Thompson who are both top ten National and World Duathlon guys and Wes Kessenich who I met last year when he caught me in the bike section of the Bermuda Duathlon. I knew these three alone would make for a fast race but that wasn't all!

 

So the horn blows and we are now off and rolling in the first run leg and I felt good running in between Albert and Glen so I knew I was right where I wanted to be... problem was I was still barely in the top ten! So after the first mile I looked down at my watch to see we were hauling at a sub 5:30 pace and that was just a little more than I wanted to do so I fell back behind Glen but still in front of Wes (knowing he was a fast time trialer). I hit T1 still in the top ten and right behind Glen.

 

I had never raced against Glen, but knew he had raced on the US National Team and placed 6th at Worlds last year. I knew Albert was way faster than me right now, so I decided to focus on chasing Glen rather than worrying about Wes who I knew would be chasing hard behind me. As we made our way out of the park I pushed hard and kept Glen and Robert Maughan, who were battling it out in front of me, in sight for the entire ride. At the halfway point I knew I was ahead of last years pace but I just could not get comfortable on my bike. It may have been the fact that this was the first time I had been on my time trial bike outside since last fall, but either way I continued to push to keep my targets in sight. With about two miles to go, Wes came rolling by me and I was a little bummed but not surprised so I tried my best to stay with him into T2.

 

I remembered last year even though Wes had caught me on the bike, I had beat him in the last run leg of Bermuda so I tried not to panic. Well he was having none of it and took off out of T2 with me in hot pursuit. Needless to say, I did not catch him. He ran a faster second leg to hold me off and take 4th and I rolled in right behind him to take 5th Overall. Man what a great first race with awesome competition! This is just a preview of the speed I will need when Duathlon Nationals come to North Carolina in May. It will make for a great couple of months of racing leading up to it for sure!

Almost Time to Get 2014 Started.

After a long block of Winter training it is almost time get things going for the 2014 racing season. I have been working hard over the last four months to build myself up on a strong foundation that has consisted of the following weekly training:

• Weight Training 3days/ week
• Swimming 3days/ week
• Running 5-6 days/ week
• Cycling 5-6 days/ week

As the 2013 season ended, I started focusing on being more consistent with my running and coming off the Richmond Marathon in November I carried that conditioning into the off-season. I also knew I was going to focus more on triathlon's this year so I had to make sure I was getting a lot of quality time in the pool. With the help of my swim coach, Lindsey Jones, I have seen my times come down and I feel much more at home in the water. This Winter I needed to increase my power on the bike so I have worked my tail off in the gym in an attempt to get the watts I need to be more competitive at the national level on the bike.

Last week was my first time trials in the water for 2014 and my times looked good and I felt strong. I know I have a lot of work to do and Lindsey is really pushing me to do more IM work to be a more rounded swimmer. I don't like it but it is working. As part of my running program, I have been doing a tempo run every Thursday and I was very happy that I was able to hold my current 5k pace comfortably for ten minutes as part of the last workout. This past Saturday was my first timed power test on the bike and although I was fairly pleased with my wattage output, I have a lot of work to do on developing my power endurance. I see a lot of time spent in Scott Moir's garage in my future to make this happen.

I am really excited to get my multi-sport season going to begin representing my sponsors:

Trysports.com- for all of my general needs in all three disciplines. They have a great selection of products and sponsor a team as a way to give back to the comunity that made them.

Hammer Nutrition- this is a company that I have been a part of for a few years now and I truly love their products. If you haven't tried them click the banner on the right to save big on your first order!

Headsweats- I have been using thier products for years and now I get to officially represent them. They are the reason that I now prefer to wear a visor of a hat.

Feetures!- These are by far the best socks on the market and the Elite brand is durable and provides great arch support. As a Fleet Feet mentor/coach I was introduced to Feetures! and these are my socks of choice now.

Rudy Project- I have known Paul Craig of Rudy Project since my days as a cyclist at Virginia Tech and this a brand that I proudly represent. I have used their sunglasses for more than ten years and now also wear thier helmets exclusively. Rudy Project also helped sponsor a fall training video that I had the pleasure of being a part of with Endurance Films as well.

So just like last year I will start off my season with the Triad Duathlon Series in February and March put on by Trivium Racing. This is a great series and the last race is a Regional Duathlon Event so the competition should be more challenging. Being a member of the Roanoke Valley Elite Running Team this year is a big motivator to get faster in the run, so I will also sprinkle in a few local 5k's to help sharpen test myself against the local speedsters. Be sure to check out my calendar at the bottom of my blog page to see where I will be racing next and hopefully I will see you on the course!

Winter Training equals Winner Training

So the Arctic blast is dropping temperatures in the U.S. to lows not seen in years but you still have to train. When the temperature drops, there is no reason for your training to drop as well. There is always a way to get your base training in no matter what the weather is like outside... you just have to be mentally prepared and push on in spite of Mother Nature mocking you. Yes, it is hard, painful, and down right unpleasant at times but that's what makes you a winner! Winners do what others are not willing to do... not because they want to do it, but because they want to win!



Michael Schaffer of Runwell



I have had quite a few conversations over the last two weeks about training and preparing and progress. Even though all of these conversations are in regards to only one aspect of the whole picture, the common thread within them all has to do with a certain mentality. A winner looks at the days workout's and knows they must be done with no regard to what the weather is. If you can learn to cope with the weather and train outside no matter what, then you are already one step ahead of your competition. If you can't get outside, but you are willing to do those miles on the treadmill, or bike trainer anyway, no matter how mind-numbing it may be, then you are one step ahead of your competition.

 

If YOU are willing to do what it takes to be a winner no matter how hard it is today, then tomorrow you will be better for it. It is up to you to fight the voices in your head telling you not to get up early for that 4:30AM workout. It is up to you to do the hard part of the workouts when no one else is around to push you. It is up to you to dance with Mother Nature no matter what. It is up to you to hold yourself accountable and be honest with yourself no matter what you tell your coach or training partner or whoever else it is that you talk about training with. Because at the end of the day... Today is what will make you better tomorrow!

Planning to Win

Welcome to the 2014 race season. You may not have a race for several more months, but what you do now will determine how well you do later. Yes... like everyone else you are working out. You are swimming, running, biking, weight lifting, cross-training or whatever it is you are doing right now in order to prepare. But my question to you is Prepare For What?

 

I talk with a lot of athletes that do a lot of working out and work really hard, but come race day all of their hard work seems to not pay off. The reason in most cases is due to a lack of planning that leads to more purposeful training. All athletes know how to workout, but not a lot of athletes know how to train. There is a difference. Workouts are something that can be done by anyone... Training is a workout that has a purpose not just for that day but is part of a bigger plan set in motion in order to reach a goal. By setting concrete goals for your race season you can then start making real plans on how to achieve that goal. After you make plans now comes the hard part of doing the right work to achieve the goal no matter how hard it may seem. Remember your goal is bigger than just one workout and the pay off will be worth doing the right work no matter how much you dislike it. By sticking to your plan to reach your goal you will be more satisfied with your outcome. I am not saying that you will necessarily even achieve your whole goal, but what I am saying is you will be a much better athlete no matter what the out come is.


Now is the time for you to get your goal on paper, make your plan, and start believing in your ability. The reason why most people never reach their goal is because they don't take the time early on to define it. Even worse, those that do take the time don't take their goals seriously or don't view them as absolutely achievable. Winners can tell you about their goals because it is all they think about... actually obsess about. They love to talk about it- where they are going, how they are going to get there, and what they plan on doing each day along the way. The constant talking about their goals is not so much a cockiness, but a repeated mindset that is done to remind themselves why they are doing all of this hard work in the first place. The same should go for you as well. Set a goal and keep it stuck in your head as more than just a dream, but rather more like a future reality to get excited about. You don't have to have a goal of winning a national championship. It just has to be something that is meaningful to you, such as placing in your age group in a race you enjoyed doing last year.

 

If you are looking for help on putting all of this into play there are tons of books, internet sites, and articles available to help you. Through the power of google and some key word searches you can find just about anything. There are tons of resources available if you are willing to seek them out. I personally use "The Triathlete's Training Bible" by Joe Friel as well as have coaches to help me with my running and swimming. Setting goals is so important you should use any available resources you can in order to try your best to get it right. By getting a goal and sticking with your plan to acheive it you will have a great 2014 season! Watch the video below and then Get After It!

 

Lift Heavy Things (part 3)

Ok... it's time to lift. If you haven't started then now you are behind and it is only the first week of the year. This is the final part of my off-season blog posts on weight training and now its time to talk about how much. During one of my fall runs with some of the guys at Roanoke College and with some of my Roanoke Valley Elite team mates, the topic of lifting came up. There is only one thing that I wanted to stress then and that I cannot stress enough now- lift weights like a weight lifter, not an endurance athlete! Give me a chance to explain.

Remember in my first post I stated that weight training is all about muscle fiber recruitment. In order for your body to be signaled to recruit more muscle to do work, it must be stimulated by something heavy. Not so heavy that it is impossible to move, but heavy enough that there is a need to bring on more muscle for the job.  So what is enough without being too much? When I set multi-sport athletes up to begin lifting, I start them out with five basic movements- bench press, lat pull down, seated row, squat, and leg press. These are all multi-joint movements designed to hit big muscle groups that also do the majority of the work in competition. 

Always begin by doing a warm up set of 15 with very little weight in order to get blood into the muscles you are getting ready to stress. For the first three or four workouts do NO MORE than two sets of no more than ten reps of a weight that is a struggle to get to ten. I begin this way in order to allow your body to adapt to the workload that you are putting your body through without causing soreness. After that, you should move it up to three sets of 6-8 reps on each movement. Remember, your goal is to recruit muscle for the job and this is done at the neuro-muscular level. Weight lifting is not an endurance activity... it is totally done to get a higher level of power output from your muscles to transfer into your endurance activities when you need it. As you work harder in the gym the more of your training efforts will be transferred over and allow you to do more work with less effort in the sports where you need it. I promise, if you stick with it for at least two to three months leading into your season it will pay big gains during your 2014 race season!

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.