POWER TEST

If you read anything on cycling training, almost everyone is moving towards training with a power meter. Training with power is an objective measurement to how much work you are doing and how much stronger you are becoming. You can focus on training in different intensities that which are very black and white. This is much better than training predominately with heart rate as so much can affect how that measurement: caffeine, lack of sleep, diet, etc. The power test basically consists of you sitting on your bike, and going as hard as you can with the maximum amount of watts you can sustain over that time.  As I sat on my bike along the other 19 riders at my training center, I was a little intimidated as I didn’t know what number to shoot for. I went with the plan to go out at “about a 7″ intensity and negative split the last 4 minutes or so.  Overall, I put out a 232 watts per average average. Now here’s the interesting part: having this number  now allows me to figure out my power to weight ratio. Check out the following graph:

When I took the test, I weighed in WITH SHOES, which put me around 183 pounds. 183 pounds in kgs is 83 kgs.  232/83 = 2.79. Without shoes, I was 170 which would put me around a 2.83. So looking at the chart, I am a atop of the Cat. 5 racers…which isn’t that great. But this is good news! I can now objectively assess my progress and hope to climb the ladder in this chart. After the first few weeks of training, I have already loss 3 lbs, and my watts have been increasingly gotten higher and higher. In fact, when doing workouts, I’m consistently up in the 250 range. I think the p90x is helping as well.

VO2 Max Test (running)

To keep it short and simple, a “VO2 Max is a measure of how fit an athlete is: It expresses the volume of oxygen a body consumes per minute.” The test is an experience all in it’s own. I get the shop and I start warming up on the treadmill. I’m instructed that they will be putting a mask on my face to measure the carbon dioxide vs. something. I wasn’t really sure how much this was going to hurt, but all I could think about was the episode of the Cosby show were Cliff Huxtable is taking a health test and he’s fine in the beginning being all funny but by the time the treadmill really starts running fast he’s almost about collapse. One of the funniest episodes ever!! Check out the clip below.

I digress. The VO2 max is great because it sets your training zones so now I know what range my heart rate should be for endurance runs, tempo runs, sprints, etc.  The test hurt pretty bad. I started out going slow then he ramped up the speed over a few minutes to a 8:00/min mile pace. I was feeling pretty comfortable there. Then he started ramping up the incline. 3 percent, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 percent. At around 8 percent incline I think my heart rate was about 175 (still going at an 8 min mile pace don’t forget). The sound of me breathing into the mask started to sound like Dark Vader almost. 8.5,9 percent…I can could see the computer screen in my peripheral vision showing my heart rate creep up: 178,179, 180. Finally he put it at 10% incline and told me that 10% was going to be the highest he would go but the longer I went, the better data they could obtain. I ended up tapping out at 184 beats per minute. My coach who was looking on told me I was starting to move all over the band and to try to concentrate on staying in the center. However, I think what made me stop was that I started to feel something rise out of stomach and I didn’t want to push it to where I vomited.

I didn’t know how much my effort was”good” or not, but I scored a 60.4 which ranks me in the “excellent” in fitness for my age group. Check out the following graph below. I guess it’s all relative. But it’s good to know what my potential is. I know already that it must be higher now as I’ve lost weight being on p90x. All in all, I’m enjoying the data collection and and science behind becoming a better and faster triathlete. I can’t wait for the next round of tests!

I am the owner of a 60.4 VO2 max

That’s a good question. What is “good”? Is finishing with a time of 2 hours 41 minutes good? Well considering the last Olympic distance race time was 2:57; then yes, that’s really good. Is having a PR (personal best) 10k run by over 6 minutes good? I think most people would say so.

However, is finishing 100 out of 186 good. Probably not. However, the race was good for me for other reasons.

*****

Swimming in the Schuylkill is an experience in itself. At the starting line, everyone self-seated themselves but the current was so strong we were all on top of each other before the starting gun went off. I think volunteering the day before really gave me insight on the swim course. Right before you exit the water, there is a swim turnaround in which you have to swim upstream for maybe 100 meters.  During the sprint race in which I volunteered, I noticed you had to angle yourself past the exit in order to arrive at the exit without swimming the extra distance…or not to swim into the bank of the river. In the sprint race, there were many weak swimmers who were getting pulled away from the swim exit or they had to get pulled into the swim exit by an escort kayak.

Philadelphia Insurance Medal

Transition 1 has been getting lately. I used extra amounts of body glide to get the suit off which I think helped. My suit didn’t get caught on my ankles as usual, I had my shoes already strapped in my pedals and I was off pretty fast. I even had my first successful running and mounting bike start.

The bike course was a 2-loop course that is pretty flat with rolling hills. I hadn’t really ridden that intense for that duration since my training has mostly been longer distance. But I looked at it as interval training and thoughts of saving something for the run was pretty much non-existent. I concentrated on keeping a high cadence but with the intention on going harder the second time loop. The first lap felt great, but the second lap became pretty congested as the later swim waves began to exit the water. Many times, I and others had to yell “LEFT!!!” in order just to move forward. I even heard reports that there were a few crashes and pile ups. I think organizers did their best with making it safe, but when these distances there are many novices and charity riders. That being the case, there is always going to be a safety issue

Transition 2 was pretty fast as the day before I practiced mounting and dismounting and my new triathlon specific Zoot shoes were easy to slip into. I was in and out in 2 minutes.

As I mentioned before, the last time I did an Olympic race, I ran the 10k in 57 or so minutes. I don’t remember as it was in Japan years ago. I didn’t have my running pace attachment so I couldn’t tell how fast I was going, but I timed the first mile marker which had me at around 8:10 min. I ran the 6.1 miles pretty hard for me anyway but smaller, quicker runners still passed me anyway. One of these days, I’ll be come a fast runner I swear. The run course was pancake flat. Over all I ran a 52.46. One thing that annoyed me on the run course was the jerk of an athlete that yelled at a volunteer because they didn’t have a GU gel at that station. He wasn’t a professional, just an average guy just like you and me. I really think there should be penalty for jerks.

****

So the question remains: Is 2:41 good? People have asked me this week if I was happy with my performance. I still don’t have an answer. I’m not disappointed that’s for sure. Thinking back on it now, here’s what I got out of it:

1. I got out of my comfort zone. I prefer the long distance paced stuff, rather than the quick stuff. I have been primarily running 14, 16, 18 miles so the high paced 6.1 mile was sort of a shock to the system.

2. I incorporated the lessons from Daytona my swim (even though there was a current). The best part about it was that I think I let go of my mental safety barrier when I’m out there in the open water. I just pretended I was in a pool which made extremely more relaxed and confident going into Ironman UK.

3. I ran in my new lightweight Zoot racing shoes for the first time! I absolutely love these shoes as my T2 transition was super fast.

4. I hosted a professional athlete in my home that was super nice and gave me lots of advice on racing and training.

5. I spoke with a former Olympic Medalist (who use to ride with Lance) who has a training center here and speaking with him about my goals, says he has a lot to offer me.

The race was local, and it was fun. I day I volunteered I saw I saw a lot of good things out there I saw people get out of THEIR comfort zones. I saw overweight people taking control of their lives and deciding to be fit. My Ironman distance might be that person’s sprint distance. As someone who was formally obese, I really enjoy seeing things like this. I think that is why I like the triathlon community as much as I do. It is very supportive, and encouraging.

So was my race good? I still don’t quite have an answer.

This is how I feel right about now

I’ve officially run myself into the ground. Friday’s run was tough. Much harder than last week, but that was expected. Probably wasn’t good that I pushed it a little hard around mile 8 of 2-hour run (in the blazing heat no less).

Saturday, my goal was to do 2-hours of high intensity cycling on the trainer: ladders, supersets, race simulations, etc. It was beautiful outside, but I didn’t want any junk miles, so I decided to concentrate on some intense training indoors. The session was supposed to last 2 hours…but lasted about 45 minutes.

I guess I should have seen this coming. Immediately into the first few intervals, my legs were burning. They felt very heavy; evidence by not being able to get my cadence over 90rpms. So I’m there, in my living room, collapsed over my aero bars. I just know my heart rate is over 180+ beats per minute. I look down on my watch and it reads 147.

“147? WTF?! How is this possible”?

If I’m in my aerobic zone then why does it feel so hard? I went on for 40 more minutes and called it a day. I simply had enough. I hopped off my bike and Googled “Can’t get my heart rate up”.  Diagnosis: overtraining. I’m “heart tired” as they say.

Considering how I felt on Friday, and the hill training I’ve been did early in the week; the 1-hour tempo runs; running stairs; and ultimately, not taking enough time off from JerseyMan…it all makes since. Taking from Coach Joe Friel’s blog, symptoms of overtraining are:

+ Fatigue which doesn’t go away with 48 hours of low workload or even time off from training. The legs feel tired or there is general body weariness that lingers even after taking it easy for two days.

+ Little control of emotions – evidence of anger, feeling sorry for yourself, moodiness, depression, grumpiness. In short, you are hard to live with. A spouse or roommate may be the first to recognize this.

+ Performance declines. For example, you are slower at a given heart rate, or for any given speed, heart rate is higher than usual.

+ Self-confidence declines. This may be the best marker, but it’s hard to assess. One way to do it may be in the athlete trying to visualize accomplishing a very high workout or race goal. If it seems out of reach and farfetched, self-confidence may be low.

After reading these symptoms, it’s all coming full circle:

This week I had of such a heated argument with a friend of the most trivial thing. I simply lashed out and I don’t even know where it came from.

While it is comforting to come to a conclusion for the way I’ve been feeling, I’m a little worried about the next two months of training before Ironman UK.

After BlackBear this weekend, I’ll take a week off. From that point, I have only 7 weeks left. I have a race on one of those weekends (albeit it’s only an Olympic distance). After that race it will be month to Ironman UK. I also have to fly home to Florida for a weekend. Basically, I have only 3 weekends left for long bike rides

According to Mark Allen, the perfect taper beings a month in from race day.  I’m not sure if I’ll be ready but it almost feels as if while summer is beginning, it’s almost ending as well. Sub 13 hours is the goal. I feel my run will be ready, but there are still lingering doubts about a 1:10-1:15 swim time (which could possibly be answered soon).

With the lack of time till August 2^nd, my personal family commitments, improperly scheduled races, recovery time, are starting to get to me, but I least now I can formulate a plan of action. If I’ve learned anything from this season so far, is that you shouldn’t schedule 2 half Ironmans in a 3 week period.  Just plain stupid.

This is how I feel around 2-3pm

I’m pretty tired. Actually, I’m really tired. But today was different. It’s the kind of tired that when I sit down, I notice a tingling in my hands. This can’t be good.

In the morning as I sit at my desk, I can pretty much push through the fatigue. However, after lunch, I hit a crash and I want to pass out. But throughout the day,  I’ve been losing concentration, and I’ve been dipping into self-pity lately. Staying awake at work is becoming a daily battle. This is almost as bad as when I ran a political campaign last year. I feel like I’m getting enough sleep.

Feeling this, I thought I needed to switch things up. I decided to purge my tunes on my Mp3 player. I added a slew of new music and I added Pimsluer Japanese II to keep up my language skills while on those long runs.  Current music selections include Silent Alarm and the Magic Numbers.

On the commute to work today, I was dead tired…as usual. I’ve noticed it’s taking me about 45 to 60 minutes to roll out of bed when before it has taken me 10. Exiting my stop, I heard a song I heard a song which pepped me up quite nicely: O.P.P. by Naughty by Nature.

But it was short lived, I sat down at my desk and I put my head in my hands thanking God the office was getting early release for the long holiday.

You down with O.P.P.?

Ultimately, I need to address this issue of constant exhaustion. It’s making me edgy, moody, and paranoid.  I feel like I’m getting plenty of sleep, but with just over a week till Black Bear, I’m worried that I won’t be rested and I’ll have a disappointing performance like last time.