Armed Forces Triathlon Championships

On Saturday 9 April the U.S. Air Force defended their title at the Armed Forces Triathlon Championships hosted by Pt Mugu Naval Air Station, CA. With a majority of us on last years team, our goal was to repeat our victories in the men's and women's division. Since I train mainly for Ironman events, I have a difficult time keeping up with the speed demons who dominate the Olympic distance within the military so I'm content with simply contributing to the Air Force's effort in chasing the team victory. The race is set up using ITU draft legal rules with multiple laps for all three disciplines. The race begins with a beach start with the swim consisting of two laps of an inverted triangle. This proved to be the most challenging aspect of the race. Based upon last year's race, the swim ended up being about 4-7 minutes longer due to inaccurate measurements and stronger than normal currents. For us non-swimmers, this ended up being a huge obstacle. Besides being in the ocean longer than I desired, the temperature of the water was in the low 50s, something that took over an hour to recover from. In fact, one of our triathletes was pulled from the race for hypothermia. Once on the bike I was abel to join up with a Marine and we were able to work together to slowly pick off other triathletes. After picking up another Marine, the three of us worked the entire remaining 30K to finish the four loop bike course in 54 minutes. Conditions were to last year except with a little stronger winds, but nothing too detrimental. After exiting T2, I began the run with one of the Marines I biked with. We ran stride for stride the entire 10K, an experience that can bond athletes, especially if you share the military connection. After crossing the line in 2:00:23 I was a little disappointed with the results even though I felt strong throughout the race. I just couldn't understand what happened. That is until I talked with my teammates and realized everyone had the same experience with dramatically slower swim times compared to last year. The reason why I had such a vested interest in my results was the fact that my training has been dramatically different. For my entire triathlon career my training has been focused on LSD, long slow distance with high volume and low intensity. After recently coming to the realization that I can no longer dedicate hours upon hours to training on a daily basis, I made the conscious decision to rethink my workout regime. That's when I decided to adopted CrossFit and CrossFit Endurance. Below is a comparison of last year's times and this years results. In the next post I'll share some of my thoughts on CrossFit and where I plan to go from here in order to focus my attention on preparing for Ironman Canada.

2010 - 1:54:41

2011 - 2:00:23

Swim

2010 - 23:47

2011 - 28:54 (+5:07)

Bike

2010 - 53:28

2011 - 54:07 (+0:39)

Run

2010 - 35:57

2011 - 35:47 (-0:10)

The Countdown Begins

Well here we are, only months away from kicking off the 2011 season. With the house on the market, kids in full swing with school and activities, and the drama that constantly overwhelms the workplace, I still remain committed to CrossFit and CrossFit Endurance. In fact, I'm even more convinced it's exactly what I needed to take that next step up in performance. For so many years I've been putting in the miles, upping the volume, but still achieving the same results no matter how much time I commit to training. With the transition to a high intensity, short interval training philosophy I've seen some improvements in speed. For example, this past weekend I elected to do a longer run (10 miles, shorter than my typical long run but longest run in weeks). During the long run I incorporated a four mile tempo and was able to maintain a faster pace compared to previous long run tempo sessions (6:40-6:00 pace at altitude) while nursing a hamstring injury. I have yet to test my endurance on the bike and look forward to seeing how my stamina holds up the next group ride, hopefully this weekend. On the flip side, my swimming is something I've been neglecting for awhile now. After spending a majority of the pre-Christmas period putting in 4000 yds sessions daily, I let my swimming fitness slip away. Although I continue to swim three times weekly, my volume is low (1000 yds) and needs a massive makeover. For the next month I plan to commit myself to CrossFit Endurance and attempt to swim at least four times weekly and incorporate a lot more high intensity intervals. With the Armed Forces Triathlon Championships in Ventura, CA only a month away, I need to get my swimming fitness back to a somewhat more respectable level. The Armed Forces Championships is an Olympic distance tri that is draft legal, something I have a difficult time excelling at due to my subpar swimming skills. Although I had the second fastest bike leg last year (playing catchup) I was never able to reach the top competitors. This year my goal is to knock off a couple minutes on the swim in order to be a little more competitive and help the Air Force team win the team competition once again.

I plan to blog in the next few days and share with you my experiences getting to know Dick Hoyt and Lopez Lomong, something I'll cherish for the rest of my life. Definitely changes one perspective on life...

Committed to CrossFit

After writing my last entry I convinced myself I needed to dramatically overhaul my approach to training. I start a new job in Vegas at the end of May. I will be flying F-16s once again and with this assignment my workload will increase exponentially. No longer will I have the luxury of 2+hr daily workouts...and to be honest, it's difficult to maintain motivation year at year with 20+ hour weekly volumes anyway. So, after extensive research, I've elected to make the plunge and fully commit to CrossFit (CF) and CrossFit Endurance (CFE). No longer am I scheduling my life around lengthy workouts or getting frustrated because "something came up" and occupied my time. Emotionally, this transition has been challenging yet therapeutic. The difficult aspect is having to completely commit to a training approach that is 180 out from what we are use to; LSD. Besides being completely foreign to what the Olympic lifts entails, never mind giggling every time someone says "snatch" or "jerk", I had a difficult time giving up a mindset we've all believed in for years. Unfortunately I had no choice. I knew that if I reduced my volume while maintaining the same low intensity, I was doomed to decline in performance. I had to make sacrifices because I owed it to my family and my obligation to my country. However, once I made the commitment I was relieved that my life no longer revolved around century rides and epic trail runs. What I wasn't ready for was the amount of "shock" my body was about to experience. The workout durations are relatively short; however, the intensity is intimidating yet rewarding. Never have I been so sore working out for such a short duration after doing the CF Workout of the Day (WOD). I typically follow the CF WOD which is posted daily, to fulfill the strength training requirement and the CFE WOD three hours later. I typically get three runs, three bikes, and three swims in a week, all high intensity with durations ranging from 20-90 mins long. One thing I've noticed is that I no longer struggle to get in a workout even if it's 7pm at night. Having to jump on the trainer or treadmill for 20 minutes is a heck of a lot easier than convincing myself that anything less than an hour is not worth it. Over the next few posts I will report my progress (or regress) and discuss how my training is going; the good, the bad and the ugly. One thing is for sure, I am committed to this change and feel as though there is much to be gained from high intensity, short duration workouts. Only time will tell...

The Challenge of Off-Season

I work +12-hour days...I have three kids all under the age of five...When off-season arrives there are certain expectations and a need to give more attention to specific personal/professional obligations. Don't get me wrong, my priorities will always be; family, job, triathlon; however, the emphasis definitely fluctuates depending on the time of year. No longer can I justify three+ hour workouts a day, especially when the light of day is limited. Besides, I'm easily susceptible to burnout from time to time, therefore specific steps are taken to in order to maintain the motivation necessary to continue improvement. As the days get shorter and the temps begin to drop, there are three key elements I make a priority; frequency, quality, and convenience.

Over the years I've always struggled with quality vs quantity. Should I focus on the heavy mileage at a lower intensity, or should I incorporate more intensity on a regular basis? It goes without saying that a long ride/run will be a part of the weekly routine; however, I've constantly debated the volume-intensity argument for years. It's only recently that outside influences have begun to limit my freedom to experiment with such workouts. No longer can I adjust a ride on the fly and extend it's duration an hour. With my desire to spend quality time with three energetic knee biters at home and the ever increasing military obligations at work, I've decided that frequency, intensity, and convenience will help me maintain a high level of fitness without having to commit obnoxious amounts of time in the pool, on the road, or around the track.

As I get older I've resigned to the fact that I will never exit the water in the lead pack, therefore, I've elected to focus on maintaining my current swimming ability. The most efficient way I can do this is through frequent swims (2-3K, five days a week) at a higher intensity. That way I'm able to get in and out without drastically effecting the schedule (mine or my family's). As far as the bike, I prefer to commute to work, accumulating over an hour in the saddle. Add the large climb and the additional weight from a backpack and it makes for a intense session. Finally, the run is slightly more difficult and needs to be specifically scheduled sometime during the day. With the addition of a Computrainer/treadmill I'm able to get in some miles after the kiddos go to bed. As far as intensity, I know my body cannot handle high mileage at a higher effort level. Instead, I've decided to adopt the Maffetone approach, maintaining the same heart rate throughout every mile. With consist 4am wake-ups from my children, knocking out several miles every morning has allowed me the luxury to only sacrifice a couple hours a week during work day hours to accomplish longer runs. With a focus on frequency, intensity, and convenience I'm able to maintain my priorities and still pursue my athletic goals and setting my sights on the road to Kona...