Heading to Vegas for the first XTERRA cup series race. We're three hours into a 10 hour drive. The crew includes Rickey Tolliver, Jason Michalak, ed Oliver, and Jason Hilgers. Check back for updates!

Sunday wrapped up a big bike week for me. 21 hours on the bike, most of it off-road, lots of climbing. I ended up missing some of my intended runs and swims, but it works out okay since I have been pretty consistent in those areas and my bike is what has been lacking over the last few months. With the closure of my Base phase of training nearing, I will begin to spend more time on the bike while doing more race-like workouts and big climbing rides to get me into race shape by Summer.

Sunday evening, after driving 3.5 hours home from Fruita, I was spent. It was all I could do to unpack the car, my bags, take a shower, eat some food and hit the hay. Monday was lighter day to get ready for my final Base week that lies ahead. I hit the pool for a quick drill swim to loosen up a bit and a short 20 minute run to loosen up as well. Following that I hit the weights for upper-body and core work.

Today was a solid training day with a 3500 yd swim with a 1600 straight swim followed by 2x 400 pull. Classic Base Training Swim session. After that I headed to the track for a bike-run combo speed session (40 minute road bike followed by 20 minute road run + 4x(3 minute 315w Vo2 interval on the trainer followed by an 800 on the track at 5:30 pace), 4 min recovery). This is more of a Race Prep session. I have kinda fused my last few weeks of Base training with Race Prep training. I’ve been feeling a little under-prepared for the first race of the year coming up in Vegas in less than a couple weeks. I figured I would get a jump on the race-prep phase since I have a well established base from several seasons of big training.

Up tomorrow is a long climbing day on the road bike followed by a transition run. Thursday calls for another 3500 swim with strength/endurance emphasis and a long trail run (1:45-2:00) in the morning and a threshold interval ride on the mtn bike in the evening. Friday is a recovery day with a light swim, weights, and a recovery spin. For the weekend I have another long climbing day with strength intervals on the bike followed by transition run. Sunday completes the week with a third 35oo swim and a local 7-mile trail running race.

CW

Another big ride today in Fruita. We rode the Edge Loop and all the Bookcliff trails: Zippety-Do-Da, Chutes n Ladders, Frontside, Kessel Run and Joe’s Ridge. Sweet stuff! 5 hours total ride time with some descent elevation gain and lots of fast singletrack. Big readings on the Sicktor Scale!

Here are some picks from yesterday on the Western Rim Trail….

Some pics from today on the Edge Loop and Bookcliffs….

Climb up Rim, backside of the Edge Loop

View from the Rim

Waterfall Portage halfway down the descent on the Edge Loop

Waterfall Portage from below

View from the top of Zippety-Do-Da

Video on Zippety-Do-Da

Tomorrow we arevoff for a few laps around Mary’s Loop, Horsethief Bench, and Steve’s Trail, before heading back to Denver and snowy carnage of the Blizzard of 2009!

After several trips to the chiropractor, a massage, and lots of stretching and ibuprofen, my back is feeling better this week. Big training volume is the plan. Here is what i”ve gotten in so far:

• Monday- 3o min run, weight training, 30 min bike
• Tuesday- 3500 swim (1600 free + 2×400 pull), combo session (4 times: 3 min Vo2 bike interval on trainer followed by 800 run on track), 90 min easy mtn bike
• Wednesday- 6 hours on the CX bike in the mountains. Big climbs, on-road, off-road, sick!
• Thursday- 3500 swim (4 times: 500 pull, 200 kick), weight training, 30 min run

On tap for the weekend is the EPC spring training camp. Most of the EPC Team and many of our athletes headed up to Fruita, CO to get in three days of killer mtn biking and trail running. A huge storm rolled in this morning and made driving over the divide a bit challenging. Those of us who made it over in the morning were able to make it. The few that couldn’t leave until the afternoon missed the boat as the storm caused I-70 to be shut down. Major bummer for Ed, Jason H. and my girlfriend Kathy. This photo says it all….

Today’s ride was a sweet one. 3:15 in Rabbit Valley. We hit a lot of fun jeep roads and the super fun Western Rim Trail. Some sweet single track along the rim above the Colorado River. Tomorrow we head to the Bookcliffs for the epic Edge Loop and Fruita favorites: Zippety D0 Da, Chutes n Ladders, Joe’s Ridge, Kessels Run and others in the area. In the afternoon we’ll hit the trails again for a long trail run in the Kokopelli Trails. Gotta get some sleep.

This week was a little disappointing from a training stand point. It started off Monday with a some severe SI Joint inflammation. From www.sportsinjuryclinic.net:

What is a sacroiliac joint?
The Sacroiliac Joints are located at the bottom of the back. You have one either side of the spine. The Sacroiliac joints help make up the rear part of the pelvic girdle and sit between the sacrum and the ilia. As with most other joints in the body, the SI joints have a cartilage layer covering the bone. The cartilage allows for some movement and acts as a shock absorber between the bones. When this cartilage is damaged or worn away the bones begin to rub on each other, and degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis) occurs.


I have a history of this occurring since I was 18 years-old. It flares up just about every year to varying degrees. The most recent case that interfered with my training was in 2006 two weeks before XTERRA Nationals. I was able to race, but missing some key workouts and not being 100% physically kept me from winning the AG Overall. Over the years I have become pretty good at identifying it coming on and can take steps to prevent it from getting too bad. This week however, it came on pretty fast and subsequently interfered with my training a bit.

I visited my chiropractor on Monday and Wednesday to get some electro-stimulation therapy to loosen the muscles around the joint so she could help put it back in place. In conjunction with the chiropractic work, I put in a lot of time stretching out my back, hips, hamstrings, and quads. All these muscles can tighten up and twist things in ways they shouldn’t which leads to strain and discomfort.

By Friday I was feeling better, but still a few more days (and chiro treatments) away from being 100%. It’s always frustrating to have injuries and illnesses interrupt our progress as athletes. The best thing is to stay positive and know that often you come back from reduced training volume/intesity from injuries and illnesses stronger and more focused than ever.

I was still able to get in a few longer rides (one 4.5 hr road, one 3 hr mtn) a few runs (one 1:45 trail run, one track speed workout) and a few good swims (two strength/endurance, one race pace), so I am confident that I will back on track next week.

CW

In an effort to eliminate the all too frequent endurance athlete recovery week blog post that always reads…

“Oh thank heaven that my recovery week has come just in time to save me from killing myself”
and…
“Boy I’m looking forward to relaxing, drinking beer, and have a good ol’ time when not training full bore”
and my personal favorite…
“Wow, I feel so fresh and ready to crush my next block of training following my incredible recovery week!”

The truth is recovery weeks are boring, and I will spare you the meaningless details. Rather, let’s move on to what lies ahead. Hopefully that will provide more useful information and less vague, boring, ramblings that waste your precious blog surfing time.

First, let’s get us all caught up.

I started training December 1st 2008 for my 2009 campaign. The first 10 weeks were dedicated to preparing myself for training. “Training to train” as many folks like to recite. This is what I call the GENERAL PREP phase. This is when you want to work on your weaknesses, while beginning the development of endurance and strength. For me, I put in a lot of aerobic running, strength training, and moderate amounts of riding. I opted for no swimming, so I would be fresh and excited to get back in the pool later in the training year.

February and March were the first two months of my BASE phase. April will be the final month of the BASE phase. The first two months are focused on continued running base with the inclusion of 1x week speed workouts, 1x every-other-week threshold run in the form of local races. Swimming comes in with an initial focus on technique (Feb.) before getting into the endurance and strength development focus (Mar-Apr). The bike gets focused with weeks 5-12 of my stationary trainer workout series 2x week along with a moderate duration strength ride on the weekend. Cross-training (xc skiing) stays in the schedule for aerobic development as well as weight training 3x week for continued strength development.

Now, heading into April and my final BASE block things change up just a bit. I will drop the cross-training in favor of an additional long ride in the hills for more emphasis on cycling endurance and strength. Swimming volume continues to build while maintaining focus on endurance and strength (longer swim sets/intervals, lots of paddles). Running speed intervals sets become fewer to allow for them to get longer in duration while I will also move them outside from the treadmill to the track (weather permitting). Transition runs come into the equation to get familiarized with these delightful treats of multisport training, while keeping the local races in play for T-pace work and the weekly long run on the trails for, say it with me, endurance and strength.

Upon the completion of my BASE phase, I will move into the RACE PREP phase of training in May and June. This is where training becomes more race specific with several transition workouts between sports (swim-to-bike and bike-to-run), higher race-like intensities, and lots of racing. Overall volume will reduce to allow for the added intensity and recovery needed between sessions, while maintaining endurance and strength in each sport with a weekly long session in each.

Make sense? Of course it does. Now make sure your plan is dialed in and go get it! *

* If you are excited as hell to get your training dialed in but find yourself re-reading this and scratching your head in counfusion on what exactly you should be doing, feel free to contact me if you need help setting up your plan

Back for 2009, one of my longest and most supportive sponsors:

For 2009 Rudy is hooking my EPC XTERRA Team up with their sweet new SLINGER Helmet (their lightest at just 10 ounces!), a pair of sport glasses and casual wear glasses of choice and a nice transition pack for heading to and from the races. For my use, they are supplying me with several killer pairs of sport and casual wear sunglasses, prescription eye and sunglasses, as well both standard and aero helmets, and some super nice travel gear!

Totally sick new KARBONEYE’s with ImpactX Photochromatic Clear lens. These are becoming my favorite pair. The lenses start out clear and darken to the light conditions. Awesome for riding/running in mixed light conditions. Carbon arms, full wrap lens has incredible coverage, and did mention they are rediculously light?

The new for 2009 NOYZ. A nice tweak to some of the classic RUDY models. Racing Red lenses for all light conditions (my favorite all-around lens tint), adjustable temples and good coverage. Very comfortable for long miles!

The FREEON, a RUDY classic, and still my favorite all-around glass. Laser blue lenses for high light conditions. Full wrap lens, adjustable temples and great Euro-styling. I love these for skiing as well as road riding.

What a bad-ass! The MASTERMIND with Polar 3FX Laser Black lenses. Super nice full coverage hipster shades. I’ll be sporting these on the podium in 2009 (along with my Zoolander look). Look out!

I have been a big fan of RUDY for several years. Their optical quality and Italian syling speaks for itself. To top things off, their new line of helmets are getting stellar reviews from every media source. Now is your chance to try some on for yourself. RUDY has extended a SPECIAL OFFER for all my blog readers for this week only! From now until Friday the 10th you can log on to www.e-rudy.com and use a special pass-code to get your own RUDY Gear for 15% below their Bro Deal pricing they offer as their standard sponsorship to athletes and teams (basically 50% off retail!!!).

Email me to get the special “Fans of EPC” discount code. Remember it’s this week only, so don’t delay! Big shout out to RUDY PROJECT. Thanks guys!

CW

Photos courtesy of me and my iPhone

Four days into my recovery week we decided it was a good time for an LT test on the bike. It’s been several months since my out-of training test last November. Over the last 12 weeks I have completed my annual Stationary Trainer Series. It’s time to re-adjust training zones and mark progress. EPC coach Cary Kinross-Wright was administering the test (I get to return the favor next week!)

The testing protocol we use at EPC is a ramped power test, taking blood samples every 3 minutes, as HR stabilizes to 25 watt increases. We begin the test at a casual 100 watts and build from there. For my test we choose to build by 50 watts up to 200w, and then continue at the 25 watt increments until I can no longer pedal. In my case this was 23 minutes later at 325 watts, HR 181 bpm, blood lactate levels at 10.1 mmol/L. Here are the results:

Overall I am satisfied with my progress thus far. Compared to November, I increased my power at LT by 7.5% from 270w to 290w. I also managed to gain about 4 pounds of muscle (mostly upperbody), while keeping body fat in the same 5-6% range (caliper measurement). This works out to a change in watts per kilo at LT from 4.3 w/kg to 4.4 w/kg.

Next up in training will be adding a second long bike day per week to further challenge my endurance before moving into my Race Prep phase that will empasize much more work at LT. With any luck (and some careful planning) I will hope to see another 4-6% increase in power before I begin to peak for my A races mid-summer.

What do you think, sound like a plan?

CW