This may be an ongoing thread for me because I like to share things I read.
In the back of Competitor Magazine is a one page interview with Fabrice Hardel. He is a chef at The Westgate Hotel in San Diego.
He bought a pair of running shoes in 2007 on a whim because he wanted to "see where he could go" and to help kick a smoking habit. That same year he ran the 2007 Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon in 2:53. (hahahahaha)
He is now 40 years old and does ultras. He makes his own gels. Of course, he is a chef.
He trains 7 days a week running 90 -105 miles per week.
Monday long run
T/Th are cross-country and hill repeats.
W/F are trail running days (a 13 mile loop with 3000 ft of elevation gain)
Sat is a 10 mile run that he likes to finish in under 56 minutes.
Sun is a 10-13 mile easy recovery run.
He does one or two big races a year and the rest he does just to stay in shape.
Oh my goodness, that cracks me up. He is a well oiled machine. My poor body would be a pile of bones in the desert. People that can run like that amaze me.
- itri -
Ex-smoker has healthy turn
Inspires others with his focus on fitness By Liv Osby Pickens County News losby@greenvillenews.com Kyle King smoked his first Marlboro at age 12. He kept it up through middle school and during his years at Seneca High School. By the time he was 23, the Pendleton man had a pack-a-day habit.But one day, he’d had enough. In short order, he quit smoking, began training regularly and he now competes in five triathlons a year. What’s more, he’s become a health guru for his coworkers, too.“I smoked until I was nearly 24,” says the IT support specialist for Baptist Easley Hospital. “And then just the thought of smoking for half my life was more than I wanted to do. I quit cold turkey.”Ironically, King, 31, always hated the smell of cigarette smoke. The cost always strained his budget, too. But he got in with a smoking crowd, he said, and did as they did.“You think at 12, 13, 14, you’re being cool. It’s not until later that you realize you’re not,” he says. “It’s a very hard addiction to stop.”But in 2005, he began working at the hospital, where smoking wasn’t permitted on campus, affording him an opportunity.“It was starting to get tougher to smoke,” he recalls. “And I remember smoking when it was 30 degrees, 20 degrees outside in an ice storm. And you realize this isn’t too bright.”
Kyle King, an IT support specialist at Baptist Easley Hospital, kicked a pack-a-day habit. HEIDI HEILBRUNN/STAFF
King had also lost two grandparents to smoking. And in the back of his mind was the nagging desire to be an athlete. So he kicked the habit in 2006. Then one day, he and a friend were watching a football game and flipping through a magazine when they saw an ad for a triathlon. “I had always been ... jogging around the neighborhood a few times, even when I was smoking,” he says. “So we said, ‘Let’s do it.’ ” That fall, the Tri-County Tech graduate began training in earnest — swimming at the Y and running and bicycling over the streets of Pendleton. He competed in his first short-distance triathlon — a 750-meter swim, an 11-mile bike ride and a 5K run — in May of 2009. “I did pretty well the first time out,” he says. “I did it in about an hour and a half.” First place was just under an hour, he says. Since then, he’s been competing in the Half Ironman, also known as the 70.3 for the combined miles participants swim, ride and run, and posting his results on social media sites. Before long, he had come to the attention of Kelly Price, manager of employee and community wellness at Baptist Easley. “We offer a free monthly wellness luncheon on campus to all our employees,” she says. “We had included Kyle’s pictures in our weekly newsletter and on our intranet site, too, and it sparked conversation around the hospital. So I said, I think the employees would really like to hear from you.” At first, King declined. “I’m kind of shy,” he explains. But Price eventually persuaded him to take the plunge, and his program garnered the secondhighest attendance in three years, and the highest turnout of men. “He didn’t just share the competition side of things,” Price says. “He shared different risk factors, the history of how he quit smoking and how he incorporates healthy eating habits.” King confesses that nutrition is still the thing he struggles with most because his training schedule means he has to consume a lot of calories. But he’s off the fast food burgers and tacos that he lived on for years, mostly eating a healthy diet full of fruit and whole grains, though he and his wife still dine out — just not on junk food. “I try to eat as natural as I can. I don’t like to eat a lot of meat during the week when I’m training. I just feel better,” he says. “A lot of people don’t believe it makes that big a difference, but it does. Diet plays a huge role in being able to keep that up week after week. I couldn’t do it eating fast food.” Since King’s employee luncheon, several workers have approached Price about wellness, and one signed on for a personal wellness program after hearing him speak. Four others he’s worked with have competed in triathlons, telling her that if King could do it, they could too, she says. “I definitely feel hearing from other employees helps,” she says. “They have a higher impact.” King says the change in his life has left him feeling stronger, more alert and more focused. He’s planning another talk for coworkers at some point and is busy training for another triathlon in October. “Physical activity is my passion and I’ve always wanted to share it,” he says. “It feels good to hopefully inspire people and get them moving.”
Kyle King trains for a half ironman, 70.3 miles of swimming, riding and running. HEIDI HEILBRUNN/STAFF
I've seen this guy riding around town. His story was in the paper today.
Easley para-cyclist at home on the road
Jason Griffin, a member of Roger C. Peace para-cycling team, is a flat track C5 racer, but he started racing as a teenager on motorcycles.
By Lillia Callum-Penso
Staff writer lpenso@greenvillenews.com His accent is thick as molasses. He will talk about Clemson Tigers football, his theories on medical school and why he loves Easley.But the one thing you won’t ever hear Jason Griffin bring up on his own is what life is like with just one arm.Griffin lost his right arm when he was 2, but Griffin’s life doesn’t reflect that loss.In his 40 years, Griffin has raced motorcycles and bicycles, and he stands as the only licensed pro amputee to compete in AMA Pro Flat Track race, according to the AMA’s website.More recently, though, Griffin has become a part of 11-member Roger C. Peace paracycling team. The award-winning team was formed through a partnership between the Roger C. Peace Rehabilitation Hospital at Greenville Health System and Greenville Cycling & Multi-Sport.The team includes amputees, paraplegics, quadriplegics, visually impaired athletes and cyclists with traumatic brain injury.
He is listed as a C5, meaning he is almost able-bodied except for one injury to one limb.
“They rate them by injuries, so C5 is a cycling class where you are fully physically capable other than potentially an upper body appendage,” Griffin’s coach, David Curran, said. Griffin, a biology teacher at Tri-County Technical College, is preparing for his next big race in the fall, but for five days, Aug. 28-Sept. 1, he will watch his Roger C. Peace teammates Ryan Boyle and Aaron Trent at the UCI World para-cycling championships in Greenville. “The athletes on my team are some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met,” Griffin said. It’s hard not to notice Griffin is missing an arm. It was severed just at the shoulder and Griffin prefers not to mess with prosthetics. But five minutes into a conversation with Griffin and awareness of the arm fades to the background; his personality comes to the fore. Griffin grew up in Easley. In fact, he lives in the same house he grew up in. He moved back home in 2004, shortly after the unexpected death of his older brother, and he’s been helping his parents ever since. Griffin didn’t grow up cycling, but rather riding motorcycles. Both his father and his brother raced and it was a natural fit for the energetic child. If you’re wondering how he could ride with just one arm, Griffin is prepared to answer that. “I was never thinking about that, I was just out there racing. I always did what all the other kids did,” Griffin said. “Maybe that’s the difference, when you raise your kids, if you tell them they’re disabled then they’ll think they’re disabled. But my dad said, ‘Ain’t nothing wrong with you, boy, you’re just going to have to work a little harder.’ ” The story of how Griffin lost his arm is an interesting one, but not as interesting as the story about Griffin’s cycling successes. As a teenager he began racing motorcycles, practicing with his older brother and father.Having just one arm forced Griffin to develop certain skills at a higher level, Curran said. Because Griffin can’t do the traditional sprinting on his bike, which requires standing up to generate more force, he has trained his body to achieve the same level of speed while seated. “It takes an amazingly high amount of power,” Curran said. “He’s also got amazing bikehandling skills, probably from riding a motorcycle all his life. So he does things that I wouldn’t do on a bike with two hands that he’s pretty comfortable doing and at really high speeds.” Griffin really got committed to flat track racing on a motorcycle in 2004. Griffin’s older brother died in 2004, and Griffin sees his racing as taking over for his brother, as well as honoring his memory. Griffin lost his arm in a lawn mower accident when he was 2. He has no memory of the incident but recites it as he heard it through the years. He ran out of the house when his mother turned to give a magazine to a neighbor. Griffin’s father was mowing the lawn with a new riding mower and that was it. Griffin was rushed to the hospital but his arm was already disconnected. The accident also took part of his heel and hip. He’s rather calm about it all, considering, but the way Griffin sees it, “Everybody struggles from something.” “So in that respect everyone is disabled in one way or another. I don’t think anybody’s got it 100 percent together.” Griffin got into cycling about six years ago, but only began competing last year . He started riding with a group in Clemson while he was getting his master’s in biology there, and found it a nice parallel to motorcycle racing. He moved eventually from mountain bikes to road bikes and then began competing in local races. Griffin joined Team Roger C. Peace and has had great success. He’s twice been invited to stay at the Olympic training camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and competed in national and international competitions around the country. As the UCI para-cycling championships get under way, Griffin won’t be racing. His classification had only two available spots, and his coach, Curran, said he was up against a formidable number of athletes. But, as he does with all things in his life, Griffin takes racing in stride. “Life’s so much easier when you just don’t worry about it and you don’t try and force it,” Griffin said. “It just goes, and you just get up and go with it. Doors close and doors open. You go through the open ones.”
Jason Griffin was also the Series race director of the Criterium on Thursdays at the Greenville/Pickens Speedway. They had 5 race dates on Tursdays this summer. I know a couple of people who raced there and really enjoyed the venue. I wanted to check it out but never had free time to do it.
An amazing story featured on the today show this morning!
http://m.today.com/parents/triathlon-brothers-boy-pushes-pulls-his-disabled-brother-through-race-1D79959305
Lori
This group was also featured in Runner's World this month. This was in the paper today. I think it is cool and would be neat to start some workouts like this other than just running. Anyone know of a place to run stadium steps in Easley. I can't think of anywhere. They keep the football field locked.
November Project draws hundreds for early workouts
Technique really matters to the dedicated people who work out with the November Project, a free run club and boot camp — when it comes to hugging, that is.“Your hips have to be in,” instructs Janeen Porche, 37. “No church-lady hugs,” adds pal Traci Johnson, 46, demonstrating the off-limits style by sticking out her rear end and gently tapping Porche on the shoulders.And don’t even think about extending an arm instead, explains the always-smiling Kyle White, 29: “We don’t believe in handshakes.”What they do believe in is the grass-roots movement started in 2011 in Boston by Brogan Graham and Bojan Mandaric, two former Northeastern University rowers who made a pact to exercise together throughout the month of November (hence the name). When friends — and, eventually, strangers — began to join them as they ran the stairs of Harvard Stadium, they decided they didn’t just want to get stronger and faster. They had a new goal.“We want to change the way people see fitness,” Mandaric says.They welcomed people of all athletic abilities to their workouts. All they demanded in return was that folks be ready to sweat and socialize. Within a few months, hundreds had taken them up on the offer, and interest bubbled up in exporting the program to other cities.One of these offshoots — called “tribes,” in November Project parlance — launched in the Washington last year under the guidance of Danny Metcalf and Steve Christensen.“It was clear this was something I would love. Nothing like it exists,” says Metcalf, a proud goofball and Ironman triathlete who’d heard about the November Project from friends. Christensen had just moved from Boston, where he’d trained with the founders, and recognized the potential for another “weird and positive” community.Prospective leaders “pledge” to show their commitment before they’re allowed to use the November Project name. So the first D.C. gathering last September was just a handful of people running the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial
at 6:30 a.m. on a Wednesday. “There were four of us,” recalls Kathleen Hodge, Metcalf ’s roommate and his business partner in a line of nutrition bars. Over the next month, they went to bed every Tuesday night asking one another, “Think anybody will come tomorrow?” Each week, more people did. The leaders experimented on them with various break-the-ice activities. One of Metcalf’s greatest discoveries? “When I tell people to tickle under each other’s chins, they do it,” he says. At many other free fitness groups in the area, it’s possible to show up and not feel as though you’ve actually met anyone, Christensen says. At the November Project, a workout without a personal connection is a failure, no matter how many calories you burn. The nature of what they do promotes that attitude, Metcalf adds. In a traditional fun run, people break off into pace groups, so someone who can dash a sevenminute- mile won’t see much of the 10-minutemilers. Fall to the back of the pack and you might end up completely on your own. Because November Project workouts keep participants together in the same space, there’s constant interaction. “So someone like me can get a quality workout with all of my best friends. I just run extra sets,” Metcalf says. By late October, Metcalf and Christensen had earned official tribe status. It was just in time to earn a mention in a Runner’s World cover story about the November Project. The piece chronicled the meteoric rise of the Boston workouts, which were by then attracting up to 650 people — a mix of Olympians, ex-college athletes and recent couch potatoes. That publicity boost brought more people to the D.C. workouts. The quirky culture that had formed kept them coming despite the most miserable winter in recent memory. “In negative-8 wind chill, when you’re doing burpees, you really bond,” says White, the handshake opponent. “The type of people who do this are the type of people I want to hang out with.” They keep getting more quality time together as workouts are added to the schedule in a different spot each week. The group also holds special events, such as last month’s Better Than Bedtime, a costumed 5K held simultaneously in all of the November Project cities. (There are now 17 tribes, from San Diego to Milwaukee to Baltimore. The District tribe, which attracts up to 350 folks for workouts, is second in size behind Boston’s.) This rapid growth has turned the November Project from a weekly habit into something more serious. “I believe the word she used was ‘cult,’ “ said Jeff Greenstein, 27, as he and his girlfriend, Emily Schwartz, 24, reached the finish line for Better Than Bedtime, which ended at a local bar. She’d persuaded him to give the November Project a try, and from the looks of the couple — dressed as a pair of Angry Birds — they were now equally hooked. “We’ve done 20 workouts in a row,” Greenstein boasted. To understand what inspires this devotion, imagine the scene at the Lincoln Memorial on a recent W ednesday morning. It’s just before 6:30 a.m., and the sun is struggling to get up. The hordes arriving, however, look wide awake, especially as they form a tight circle and start hopping. They go through a shouting calland- response routine. They spin around, bop their neighbors on their heads and then interlock fingers with a partner, make eye contact and whisper, “Connection.” They’ve been told to wear either blue or gray today because they’re marking the anniversary of the official end of the Civil War with a themed workout. Their shirt color determines their team. Each person is supposed to run the stairs of the memorial eight times (because it’s August), do 20 burpees (because it’s the 20th day of the month) and take a lap around Lincoln (because that’s approximately 2,014 feet). Finish early? You can do stairs or burpees or take over a struggling teammate’s lap around Lincoln (or join in). And they’re off. And they’re happy about it. “This is the best workout and the best time. I used to wake up early to work out on my own and dread it,” says Stephanie Cencula, 27. Four months into her time with November Project, she still looks forward to hitting the stairs. “It doesn’t get easier, but you expect how hard it is,” she adds. Cencula, like several other folks out this morning, is on her second workout of the day. It’s possible to do both Wednesday sessions — as long as you’re still standing. Christina Lopez, 26, says she does doubles because it’s the only way to see all of her November Project friends. (Lopez has come a long way since February, when she was so out of shape that couldn’t do a pushup.) Christensen dashes around, offering highfives and admiring the view of the Washington Monument against a purplish-blue sky. “It’s the best way to start the morning in D.C.,” he says. It would be a perfect day, if only Metcalf were here, too. His co-leader is in Portland, Ore., for surgery to remove a brain tumor. With Metcalf out for a month, various members of the tribe have pitched in as “Danny of the Day.” Keith Ives, 29, who has the role this morning, remembers that at his first November Project workout in December, Metcalf had introduced him to the term “race everything,” and encouraged him to push himself. He’s taking that message to heart, cheering on both teams to finish up so they can get to the next activities he’s planned. “We’re going to line up, blue facing gray,” he shouts. Then they partner up for squats, highfive pushups, a plank exercise (one person holds the position for a minute, while the other hops over his or her legs), and, of course, hugs. The crowds storm the stairs one final time, and they take a seat for the presentation of the positivity award. A piece of an old oar is frequently bestowed upon a tribe member who exemplifies the November Project spirit. Today’s winner is Solo Kwon, 39, who delivers a stirring acceptance speech: “Each and every one of you inspires me. I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in because of you.” Part of what’s fueled November Project growth is FOMO — or, fear of missing out, says Chris Cantergiani, 45.
Hey, its a movie about running and not football. How about that!
Costner catches young runners’ dreams His role as coach was a lesson in physical, ‘spiritual endurance’ Bryan Alexander Working in cabbage fields under California’s Central Valley sun for scenes in McFarland, USA taught Kevin Costner key lessons.First, the work performed by field workers each day is backbreaking. Second, the low-wage toil makes the real-life story behind the drama, due out Feb. 20, all the more heroic.“The bigger lesson was understanding that people have to do this every day to feed their families. From sunup in all kinds of conditions,” says Costner, who plays a cross-country coach. “In America, this is a lot of people’s journey, doing these kinds of jobs, hoping their sons and daughters will do better.”The screen tale of an impoverished town in a farm-rich area is inspired by the true story of McFarland (Calif.) High School. Newcomer Jim White (Costner) noticed that the young Latino farm workers ran great distances each day just to get from their exhausting jobs to school and back home. And they were fast.He created a cross-country team in 1987 — a seemingly ludicrous concept at the cashstrapped school — and transformed the team into a state championship powerhouse. “These people really labored,” Costner says. “No one handed them this. It’s not making a movie where they win — they actually won. Really.”New Zealand indie director Niki Caro says the story focuses on White’s perseverance to create the team and his unconventional runners’ inner strength, which was forged through hardship.“I was inspired by these kids’ physical, mental and spiritual endurance,” Caro says. “Those qualities are perfect for running.”Caro immersed herself in the life, taking up long-distance running and insisting on shooting part of the production in McFarland despite the cost. The runners onscreen are a mix of young actors and actual McFarland student runners.“My mandate is to be culturally specific and authentic. And I backed that vision all the way — not just pay it lip service,” Caro says. “I hope this story breaks new ground in the types of stories Disney tells.”
Caroline Wozniacki impressive in marathon debut
Nicole Auerbach @NicoleAuerbach USA TODAY Sports NEW YORK It’s unusual for professional athletes — other than runners — in their prime to compete in a marathon. Or even to think about competing in one.“I think you need to be a little crazy,” tennis player Caroline Wozniacki said Wednesday, “but in a good way.”So call Wozniacki crazy — her father and support team said as much when she told them this summer she wanted to run in the New York City Marathon. On a blustery Sunday, she completed the 26.2-mile marathon in an impressive time of 3 hours, 26 minutes, 33 seconds. Her pace hovered about 7:50 per mile. By running Sunday, she raised more than $81,000 for Team for Kids. She was greeted at the finish line by close friend Serena Williams. Woz niacki, the No. 8-ranked women’s tennis player in the world, had not run more than 13 miles during her training because of her exhaustive tennis schedule. She admitted after the race that 13 miles had felt “really easy,” so she set her goal first at finishing under four hours, then at 3:30. Her time qualifies her for the Boston Marathon, though she said she would not run another marathon for at least a few years.“I’ve never tried anything this hard,” Wozniacki said, adding she hit the proverbial wall around mile 20 before pushing through. “This was the toughest physical test I’ve ever (had). You have to keep going. Once I got onto First Avenue, I had a camera crew following me, so I couldn’t walk. I had to keep running.”Eight days ago, Wozniacki lost in three sets to Williams in the WTA Finals in Singapore. Instead of taking a vacation, she focused on preparing for Sunday’s race. She shied away from the traditional marathon runner’s prep before the race — to say the least. “I think I did everything you’re not supposed to do,” Wozniacki said, smiling. Three days ago, she went to a Halloween party and stayed out until 4 a.m. Saturday night she went to the New York Rangers game with Williams. The only time she felt nervous was at the start on the bridge.“As long as I finished and didn’t get injured,” she said, “that’s an achievement in itself.”
Love that article! thanks for sharing. I'm going to google image her now.....
that just shows how mental it is! People focus too much on preparation. I've always felt that way. Just race!
A must read!!!
To do very well in – or even just to complete - an Ironman distance triathlon (2.4mile swim, 112mile bike, 26mile run), you would need to do many bike+run brick workouts, complete weekly 2-3 hour long runs, pedal 6+ hour rides and spend at least 20 hours swimining-biking-running per week? Yes or No?
I did none of those and had the best triathlon results of my life in 2011, including a sub 9hr finish at the Hawaii Ironman World Championships. An accident, luck or a secret sauce for endurance success? Read below and let me know what you think.
I met a number of ordinary, yet super-fit, individuals during my recent race trip to the Hawaii Ironman World Championships. With a limited sampling, it seems that many of the even first time Ironman triathletes who qualified to the event train 20hrs or more per week and some consistently 25hrs a week. I was not surprised to hear that there was one common denominator between my and most others’ preparation and training: I had done almost the opposite from everyone else. Since I heard the disbelief and question “..and you did what?” so many times, I thought this topic is worth a brief post for others’ benefit.
I won’t have a scientifically or statistically meaningful sample of individuals to draw conclusions from, but I hope that I can make a point by using my own experiences as a data point to extrapolate from. For context, this year 2011 has been so far (and by far) the most successful year for me in the triathlon adventures. For example, I have become the 2011..
In addition, all objective metrics (such as power measured by “watts” on the bike, running pace) as well as relative metrics (how I’ve performed against my other competitors) are significantly up from the previous two years. So something is working quite well, while many other things have remained constant over the past three years: my overall health, work load, sleep, nutrition/diet and race body weight.
With a 300+ employee company to run and just more than an hour per day to dedicate to workouts, my training has always been “little, but with great quality” thanks to the amazing principles by Matt Dixon of PurplePatch Fitness.
Here’s what 9 out of 10 triathletes and training tips in most magazines tell me about triathlon training (the conventional wisdom), and especially, how to become a superb athlete at the Half- and Ironman distance.
Since the beginning of the year, I’ve had 2 weeks with more than 15 hours of training, and one of those weeks included three days (3-4hrs/day) of casual bike touring in Finland during a mini-vacation. An average week is around 12hrs, which also includes warm-ups, cool-downs and some commute bike riding.
Weekly training hours in 2011:
In comparison to my own previous years, this volume is about the same or 1-2 hrs per week LESS than earlier.
Even more so than limited training hours, weekly focus on recovery has been the most radical change for my 2011 “season”. Most endurance athletes (from recreational to more serious) seem to purposefully dig a really really deep hole (in terms of fatigue) over several months to barely survive until their taper period, and then start a 2-3 week race-taper and hope for the best to get out of the hole and be fitter and fresher on the race day than when they started the massive build. I’ve seen this ranging from first time marathon runners to experienced triathletes.
In weight lifting this approach would be unheard of: If you don’t get stronger (lift more weight or more repeats on a given weight) after each workout, you’d immediately change something or have a significant recovery period before next lifting session. It is obvious that if you don’t become stronger, your body is doing the opposite: breaking down due to too much or too frequent weight workouts.Many endurance athletes tend to think that grinding through workouts day in, day out, no matter how tired, makes them stronger eventually at some point.
The approach we applied to my training this year was that of the weightlifters’. I never trained more than 2-3 days before a good rest day. And if my numbers (pace, speed, watts) weren’t up in the next workout, I took another rest day or two. The principle was simple: I should get stronger and faster every week (or day), not just hoping to get there after a 3-4 months of hard work and a 3 week tapering period.
I started using Restwise (which I’d highly recommend to every athlete) to better quantify my recovery (chart from last 3 months below). If my recovery score was too low, I took a rest/easy day until the scores were up (80-100%).
Similarly, I used quick 10-15min mini-tests in most workouts to see if I was improving; and sometimes stronger efforts like 20min max effort on the bike with maximum power. If the numbers weren’t up from previous time – time to rest.
I was race ready and well rested with 2-4 days of easier workouts throughout the previous 8 months. My final Hawaii Ironman taper was 4 days, after a 50minute all out (395Watts average; which, again, was a personal all-time record) bike time trial race just 5 days before the Ironman race. Similarly, I decided to race a Leadville 100Mile mountainbike race at 11,000feet altitude and prepare with a 48hour “taper”. These were only possible because I didn’t have 3 months of accumulated fatigue to shake off, but fresh and progressively fitter legs throughout.
I couldn’t find a single real brick workout from my training log in 2011, except a couple 5 or so minute shake ups and one 10 minutes jog after a bike ride. It certainly takes a few events (or workouts) to get used to the feeling of running after a long and/or hard bike ride, but that feelings will never go away. I still feel crappy for the first 5-15minutes of running off the bike, similar to feeling in my first triathlon 5+ years ago.
Secondly, I’ve avoided doing any major run workouts with tired legs. Running with tired legs and/or bad form is the easiest way to injure oneself. I haven’t found scientific research that would explain why training with tired legs (=lower power) and bad form (=injury risk) would actually make a better runner even if you have to do that after a bike ride in a race.
Instead, I’ve had all my runs in an almost fully recovered state, which has allowed me to run much faster and stronger each time.
As you can see from the chart below, I rarely hit the trails for more than 80 minutes. I did one 2 hour, mainly for self-confidence as I couldn’t believe that I had to run a marathon in 3 weeks but had not done a single run more than 15 miles.At the same time, I’ve recorded my fastest ever runs on both half-ironman (13.1mile run) and Ironman (26.2 mile run) distances this year.
Instead of logging miles and spending hours running, risking injury and compromising other workouts 3-4 days following a massive run, I’ve focused on a lot of race pace (below/at/over) running. A typical “marathon” workout could be 3-4 times 15minutes where 5 minute sections are below, at, or slightly above expected race pace. That’s a 75-80minute workout and I’m able to recover in 24-48hrs vs. 3-4 days after a massive 20mile+ run.
More often than not, after people fade at the last half of the run in a triathlon, they say they need more and longer long runs. I would guess that the most common reason for fading at the end is just bad pacing in the beginning (of the bike or run), bad nutrition/hydration or simply not enough race pace running in training – and not that the long run wasn’t long enough in training
I’ve found that is is completely possible to get strong performance gains with a single workout per day and 10-12hrs or so per week. Typically a big week for me looks like this:
Accident, luck or a secret sauce?I realize that I am extrapolating from a single data point, but before you stop spending time with friends and family, reduce nightly sleep to 4hrs and spend all your time logging miles in a quest for improved endurance performance, read this post one more time. It might help you reinvent the conventional wisdom.
For the business readers: Many of these same principles apply to improving performance at the office. For example, unfortunately hours spent at the desk, lots of “hard work” and conventional wisdom are often associated with great performance, when in fact efficiency, true business impact and unconventional wisdom are the things that actually propel individuals, teams and companies to a greater performance these days. And too often the person who gets the promotion is the one who spends the most hours at the office rather than the one who comes up with a real break-through idea and executes it efficiently. Not very different from the mile counting triathlete who still follows the conventional wisdom and finishes at the bottom of the race results despite most hours in her training log?
I love that post! It's encouraging for me, especially the part that says usually the only people that get promoted within a company are those that spend the most time there - not necessarily the ones with good ideas! How true. I like how it relates training to work.
Cooking at home can be recipe for health Those who make effort cut calories, study suggestsKim Painter Special for USA TODAY This week, millions of us will perform a ritual that involves roasting poultry, cooking vegetables and serving it all at a table.For many people, it won’t be easy — as evidenced by the 100,000 calls and several million e-mails, texts and other pleas for help expected this season at the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line.Maybe we wouldn’t need so much help if more of us engaged in another traditional ritual: cooking dinner most nights. We also might be a lot healthier.“The more you cook, the healthier you are going to be, even if you are not trying,” says researcher Julia Wolfson, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore.Her conclusion might surprise people who associate home cooking with indulgent holiday meals. But it is based on research, including a study that found adults in households where someone cooked dinner most nights consumed 137 fewer calories each day than other adults, even if they were not trying to lose weight. They also ate less sugar, less fat, less fast food and fewer frozen dinners, Wolfson and colleagues reported in Public Health Nutrition. About half of adults in the study cooked or were cooked for at home at least six nights a week. That’s in line with other research. In one study published in 2013, just over half said they cooked on any given day. It showed women cooking less often and for less time than in the past — and showed that increased cooking by men has not taken up the slack.Neither have restaurants, for better or worse. The percentage of meals eaten at restaurants declined during the recession and continues to fall, finds a consumer survey from the research firm NPD Group. NPD says 8 out of 10 meals now are at home. But those meals increasingly involve something straight out of a package (such as yogurt or a granola bar) or in need of minimal preparation (like frozen pizzas and pancakes), NPD’s Harry Balzer says.Balzer says the convenience mindset is here to stay: “People asking us to cook more just don’t understand human behavior.”Research based directly on supermarket scanners shows a somewhat different picture, with sales of ready-to-eat foods leveling off, says Barry Popkin, a nutrition professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. But sales of ready-to-heat foods such as frozen dinners are increasing, he says.“Most of these are processed, packaged foods” that pack excess salt, sugar and fat, Popkin says.Convenience foods can and should be made healthier, he says. But teaching more people to shop for and cook fresh food, in a way that fits their budgets and schedules, is not a lost cause, he says.Programs such as the national Cooking Matters initiative, which reaches out to low-income families, have had some success, he says. So have children’s cooking classes. A recent study in Preventing Chronic Disease found children ate more fruits and vegetables and tried more foods after taking classes.Of course, the Web is full of easy recipes and advice on how to cook more. The government’s ChooseMyPlate.gov site, for example, suggests starting by adding one cooking night a week. Or cook big on weekends to have leftovers for the week ahead.“You don’t need to cook like a chef at home,” Wolfson says. “You don’t need to spend a lot of time cooking. You just have to cook.”
Cooking is an exercise at our house. T sets aside a day for each child to be responsible for a meal. I am included as a child. They learn to prepare a meal and learn what is healthy. Pre-packaged meals and highly processed "foods" are not an option.
Lol love it. That's awesome. Tell us something you have made for dinner on your night to cook.
Lol for some reason just can't picture him cooking, I bet his night is pizza night! but then again Brent does most of the cooking when I work (as long as everything is Layed out) we eat a lot of venison as long as he's had good luck hunting!