Week 3.1.10 Recap

First week of March (first week of second Base Phase) went off without a hitch. Definitely my best week of training of 2010. Monday I hit the gym for a heavy strength session followed by a one-hour massage. Tuesday I was back at Masters Swim for the first time since October. It was rough adjusting to the 5 am wake-up call, but it felt good to be back in the 50-meter pool following feet. Suprisingly I was able to hang onto Hairy Jason’ss feet for most of the swim. I asked him half way through if he was pushing or cruising and he said pushing. That tell’s me I’m improving in the water! After the swim on Tuesday I hit the treadmill for speed intervals followed by a 15 minute hill-climb across the street up Green Mountain to the radio towers. Finished up the run with an easy downhill cruise and a little foam roller time to work out the kinks. Solid run sesh! Later that evening was Trainer Workout 9A with some LT efforts followed by Vo2 intervals on the bike.

Wednesday I was back in the pool for a speed swim with short fast intervals followed by a hefty pull set. After the swim I was back on the bike for a 3 hour ride up and around Evergreen and Lookout Mountain. Getting back home I threw on the running shoes and hit the roads for a 15 minute transition run. First of the season. Later that evening I was back on the foam roller and yoga stretches to loosen up before bed. Thursday was another 5 am wake-up call for Masters. I was a little less fresh today and swam down a lane to keep things under control. Later that morning I hit the track for some mile repeats. First track sesh of the year. Wasn’t thinking I’d be up for much, since the previous weeks of treadmill milers were so brutal and the legs were tired. However to my surprise I managed to pull off a series of sub 5:40 miles which I was very happy about. That evening was Trainer 9B with more intervals and by this time I was feeling the fatigue a bit.

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Ideal Health Energen

Think back to high school biology if you will, studying the cell and energy production. Remember the mitochondria? The powerhouse of the cell that produces energy in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) from glucose via the Krebs Cycle. As endurance athletes, mitochondria play an important role in our ability to perform. You can think of them as our aerobic engines. A primary goal of the aerobic training we do is to increase our mitochondrial density in our muscles. The more energy producing mitochondrial “engines” we have in our muscles the more work we can do. Sounds good to me.

Now what if you can maximize the efficiency and production rates of each of these powerhouses? In essence increase the “horsepower” of these aerobic engines? Well you can with certain key components needed during the energy producing process of the Krebs Cycle occurring within your mitochondria. According to the researchers at Ideal Health, Energen provides optimum amounts of a key component of the Krebs cycle, alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG), along with vitamin and mineral activating cofactors to enhance effectiveness.

Product Highlights

• Contains effective amounts of alpha-ketoglutarate, the Krebs cycle compound often found low in metabolic testing.
• Magnesium and potassium, important cofactors in cellular energy production, are included in their bioavailable citrate and aspartate forms.
• Energen also contains lipoic acid, a unique nutrient which functions as an antioxidant by helping to “recharge” other antioxidants, and also acts much like a B vitamin, helping to convert food into energy.

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Product Test: Prolong

Super new product I’ve been introduced to by my SoCal bro, James Walsh. The same guy who introduced me to other great things like Agave Nectar, the term “Chillax” and neon speedos with pink skulls. Always on the prowl for the best nutrition I think he may have found an ideal energy drink: Prolong Energy. A maltodextrin based during race/workout drink that provides all the needed nutrients to help you get it done.

I’ve been a fan of maltodextrin for race fuel for the last decade. My coach, Arnie Baker, introduced me to the corn based sugar as an ideal sugar as it’s easily digested, quick to reach your blood stream, and easy to mix at high concentrations for the extra calories you need while racing. Way back then I purchased a 50-pound sack of the stuff right from the grain manufacturer in Iowa. It cost more to ship it to my house than the product itself. I drank it straight up mixed with water. Three scoops made a 300 calorie bottle. Later I got more sophisticated by adding it to other sports drinks to gain electrolytes. This worked, but was not ideal.

This is why I am excited to find this product. It is pretty much how I would design an energy drink if I had the chance. Maltodextrin based for fast burning calories, a small amount of Fructose for sweetness and slow burning energy, a generous supply of elcetrolytes, a 10:1 carb-protein ratio for muscle support over long distances and added buffers and antioxidants. Pretty cool!

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2010 EPC Kits

With the help from Pearl Izumi and Rudy Project the 2010 EPC Kits are in production. These are the kits that the EPC Xterra Team will rock at as they dominate the Xterra Series events as well as all the EPC coached athletes at their events. We even have a limited number of extra kits for any friends and fans of EPC interested in flying the EPC colors in their training endeavors.  Send me an email to reserve your kit today. Sizes and quantities are limited!

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Base Phase 2, Time to Get Serious

Last week was a nice recovery week from my first Base Phase block. Kept on training, but lightened the load, dropped the speed work and intervals in favor of some easier riding and running and lifting. I only did one swim session to allow for a full recovery and absorption of the last several months of swim training. This week I begin masters swimming on top of my regular swims for more volume and speed in the water. Cycling was light with my two trainer sessions performed at a much lighter effort and a 40 mile easy ride on the weekend out to Chatfield Res. to catch some friends finishing a running race out there. Running was just a couple easy runs on the treadmill and a 75 min trail run on snowpack and mud yesterday. Only two weight sessions with fewer sets. Wednesday I got out for a very nice XC skate ski at Frisco Nordic Center. It’s finally been snowing up there and the track was great. Got in some good hills and hard efforts trying to mimic the Olympic racers I’d been watching earlier that week in TV. They make it look so easy!Over the weekend I hung out with Kathy’s kids and took them to see Danielle (EPC’er, future Xterra star) race an indoor track meet at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. She did the 5k on Friday and the 3k on Saturday. I had never been to an indoor track meet. Pretty cool and she did great!

So back to the grind stone this week.  READ MORE

BASE 1 Fitness Summary, 2.22.10

My first of two three-week Base blocks is in the books. The EPC Base Phase is Phase II in the annual plan. Phase I, Base Prep, concentrates on building low intensity volume and strength in each sport individually. Once this foundation of training frequency, volume and strength development is adequate moving on to Phase II brings in speed and power to the equation while still focusing on the individual sports. The Base Phase is where the most gains for the season ahead can be made. After this phase we bring the sports together into combo “tri-specific” workouts and races that get you ready to race.

Description: Phase II, Base

Following Base Prep (where you build volume), the Base phase holds volume at or slightly above the max volume reached in the previous Base Prep phase. This allows for an increase in intensity to be the primary stress applied. Workout become a bit more structured with specific target paces for intervals training all zones. There are three key workouts in each sport: Speed, LT, and Endurance. Speed sessions work on the top-end paces with very short repeats. The LT sessions work on race paces around Lactate Threshold with moderate length intervals. The Endurance sessions focus on aerobic paces at longer interval durations and including sport specific strength work. Additional recovery-endurance sessions are added to maintain desired volume. In addition to the aerobic training, weight training transitions to a more dynamic routine. READ MORE

2010 Race Bike

My 2010 (and 2011, 2012, 2013, etc.) Race Bike is in production. After a couple seasons debating the effectiveness of a 29′er for XC racing, I have finally made the decision that they are the way to go. Several factors went into this decision and once the decision was made to race a 29′er the easy decision was which 29′er to race, the Seven Sola SLX. Custom built, triple butted titanium tubing made by one of the best frame manufacturers in the world. Yes I said world, as in planet Earth. Over the last couple weeks I have been working closely with master frame designer Neil Doshi over at Seven and we have the geometry dialed and ready for production. Super psyched!

Why a 29′er you may be asking yourself (that is if you don’t already have one)? Well simply put, becuase they are fast and stable while going fast, which is what I intend on doing. As 29′ers began to rise in popularity a few years back I was aware of the physics behind the larger wheel, but was not convinced of their usage in XC racing applications. At the time they were too heavy, part selection was limited and usually too heavy, and they handled a bit slow for racers. Well times have changed. They are becoming lighter, more and more high quality parts are becoming available, and the geometries have evolved to suit the needs of racing. These factors have been proven over the last two years with riders like JHK, Adam Craig, Heather Irminger, and others that these big wheeled bikes can be ridden fast.

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Recovery Drinks

Following workouts it’s critical to replenish the body with fluids, carbs, protein and other vital nutrients so it can recover and be ready to go at it again later in the day or the next day. There are many commercial “recovery drinks” on the market today. Most of them are good at getting the job done. They are often quick, convenient, and just what your body needs. I am a fan of the good ones for this reason. However, when possible, I prefer my own recovery drinks that usually taste better and are just as good for recovering as the manufactured commercial products.

We have all read the articles in the last couple years stating chocolate milk as the ideal “non-manufactured” recovery drink. I happen to be a big fan. READ MORE

Snowshoe Schooling

I decided to embrace winter and try something new today: a Snowshoe Race. This was one of the toughest hour long events I’ve done. Jason Michalak talked me into this one and then proceeded to kick my butt. The race was a 10k at Beaver Creek Ski Resort. Big climbs, steep descents, 1200+ feet climbing, groomed trails, packed trail and deep powdered, the course had it all, and all at 9000+ feet elevation. Josiah Middaugh schooled us all, but Hairy Jason hung tough and brought home a 4th place finish. I shuffled in at 8th place male, 10th overall. Yes, I got chicked, double chicked, in fact. I can blame a handful of face plants and clumsy trips, but honestly, I got beat and beat bad. It was an awesome workout none the less, and I will be back for more.

*Thanks to Kathy for the awesome pictures!

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Phase II: Base

With two months of general aerobic and strength training under my belt in Phase 1- Base Prep, this week I head into my second phase of training- Base. In the Base Phase I begin to do some speed and LT training in addition to the aerobic and strength training. Still keeping the training modes individual with the exception of a light 15-minute run after my endurance bike rides. By keeping the sports separate, I can give each full attention to get the most out of them before getting into combination workouts in the third phase- Race Prep.

My overall Base Week looks like this: READ MORE