Vineman 2001 ... AKA ... R.I.P. VINEMAN

First a Bit of Prelude ... I have been wanting to write this for a period of time but it now seems incredibly appropriate considering that Vineman has been laid to rest after 27 years. Vineman has been a part of my life every year, in some way, shape or form, since 1997 when I first raced it as an athlete. In order, my involvement has been: Athlete (then I moved to Santa Rosa in 2003) organizing & coaching, and most recently the last 7 years coaching and announcing.

Back to my race report ;-) ... I chose Vineman in 2001 because I always felt at home racing there, and I needed that feeling to get my long course racing back on track. I was having great success at short distance but "Ironman" racing was proving to be a bit of mystery with mixed results from very good to poor, and most recently very poor. (As 20 years has passed I have come to realize that short distance racing really was my sweet spot, but long distance racing was attractive because of the different challenges it always presented me). One thing to note is Vineman 2001 was rewarding before the gun even went because of the athletes I was coaching (and training with) for the event and the fact we would get to spend some time in NorCal visiting my sister. I should add that I chose to seek out some different coaching guidance that took me out of my comfort zone and I knew three days before the race that I was moving very well. I'll skip the rest of the pre-race "stuff" and get straight to race day ...

The Swim: In typical Vineman fashion we started under a blanket of marine layer and low 70 degree water emperature. As usual I would lose the best swimmers in the first couple hundred meters and then be leading the next line for a large portion of the swim. After the final turn on lap two I realized I was in no mans land with only one other athlete as company. Cruising into shore I saw 58:?? on the clock, felt like I had dealt out very little energy and was pleased with that!

Into T1 ... wetsuit off, threw a bike jersey on, and likely arm warmers, to combat the chill of an early NorCal morning (NOTE: I had spent my summer training in the heat and humidity of Fayetteville, AR. so to me it was quite chilly)

FOR HISTORY SAKE: I swam in what would currently be a dinosaur of a QR wetsuit and TYR Race Tech Goggles

The Bike:  I started the bike with one other athlete (Henry Sacre of San Diego) ... as we headed down River Rd. I was passed (rapidly) by Jeff Mitchell  (who now is one of my friends here in Santa Rosa). By the time we hit Westside Rd. at mile 6 Jeff is long gone and I would have to be content in watching Sacre ride away while I deal with my own sleepy legs. For the most part the bike was a lonely affair ... I passed 1 athlete and was not passed by anyone until about mile 75 on Kinley Rd. It also was about mile 65 when it started to heat up and with that my cycling started to really come around and I was feeling quite positive about the rest of. the day.

As I rolled into T2 at Windsor high School I had ZERO idea where I was in the race but I actually felt reasonably refreshed and quite motivated.

-Bike Time: 5:38:?? that included both transitions
-Nutrition: 2 x 800 calorie bottles of Carbo Pro, water, Meta Salt every 30min, Sour Patch Kids
-FOR HISTORY SAKE: Litespeed Tachyon 650c wheel / round tube titnaium bike, crappy spinergy wheels and crappier over inflated Tufo tires, Timex watch (no computer, Garmin etc.)

The Run: Running out of T2 my legs felt unbelievably good when a mile into the run my sister tells me to stay focused because some
guys ahead didn't look very good. (I don't think she wanted to tell me a was barely in the top 20 ;-). When I got to a short out and back at 1.5 miles I got the wonderful news that I was in 16th place ... sweeeet, NOT! But, the good part is my legs felt incredible and I had to keep backing off because it felt too quick ... 14:30 through 2 miles ... that felt easy, but could I hold it? I kept rolling along through Lap 1 (of 2) and periodically would pass someone and move up another spot. Then I hear the express train of Peter Kotland coming up to me at mile 10 where I tried to run his <6:30 pace for for a few minutes .... MISTAKE ... at that point I thought Peter was running to the win!

Making my way into WHS to finish lap 1 I still felt very good, and Kotland was still rolling ... at the turn around Mr Sacre comes back into the picture up ahead and the news is we are 5th and 6th. Heading down Windsor Rd. at the beginning of Lap 2, 6th becomes 5th as Kotland is laying on the ground with double hamstring cramps. (oddly enough my wife, who I did not even knew existed at that point in time, says she was standing there as Kotland was at near death ;-)  I am now running with Sacre but at every aid station he drops back with his girlfriend who is following him on a bike and handing him cola (and other stuff) while on two wheels ... this continued from mile 14 to mile 20 where I finally had enough and went nuts on both of them (I really wish I remember what I said :-) At that exact moment my frustration and anger sling-shotted me up the road and by mile 22 I was clear of the "the couple", making another pass and trying to hold off the twinges in my hamstring going up every hill on Starr Rd. In the last two miles it was clear road ahead and I wasn't going to get across to David Glover who would win the race but was never on my radar.

I rolled across the line 2nd ... fastest run of the day 3:11:?? and 9:50:?? on the clock.

At that time (and even now) the placing did not matter ... the feeling at the finish line did, (witness the photos) how I executed the race did, how my athletes succeeded did, and getting my mojo back for sure did!! It was good to be home.

As I write this now I can't say that I ever thought Vineman would not be a part of the triathlon landscape. Though the race, it's people, and it's culture have now passed on ... "The Legend of Vineman" will always live!

Never Taper!

This may not be what you think the title refers to but I hope it caught your attention!

Currently I have a lot of athletes in the middle of a race week for a variety of events and it got me to thinking about how I / we handle our race weeks and days leading into events. One term or word that I prefer to not to use is, TAPER. For so many athletes the word simply means rest, or just by the use of the word the athletes brain begins to shut the body down, the athlete gets nervous, and they begin to believe that the training simply does not matter any more. When in the fact, it is the farthest thing from the truth ... the sessions all matter, they should have a particular place and each one should have purpose.


So, if I am not using the word "taper", what do I use?




PEAK  and / or FRESHEN ... Depending on the race (and it's importance) that is coming up we may just be FRESHENING where some races we are PEAKING and FRESHENING

* FRESHEN: This is typically a 2-6 day period leading into to a race that has a lower priority than a peak race. Regardless of peak or freshen the structure of race week always looks the same for my athletes. This is so they have a very good idea of what is coming, it creates a comfortable familiarity, and they can plan their race weeks accordingly. On that note, pending the distance of the race the actual sessions will vary slightly BUT the structure stays the same and a lot o the sessions it a variety of intensity levels.

* PEAK & FRESHEN: The difference here is that the 1-3 weeks leading into race week will start to lesson training load, training frequency stays almost identical, but particular sessions have a high importance placed on them.

Therefore, as you get close to your races think about rising to your peak performance with specific sessions that make a difference, or if not peaking, freshen up to race at your best on the day!

Have a Great Race,
DL

Racing ... Consider FAST before FAR

        Over my years in California I have witnessed some trends when it comes to performance of endurance athletes, weighted mostly toward triathletes, and in general they look like the following:

- Good to great fitness early in the year (Quarter 1) ... but have peak races in quarter 3 or 4

- A trail off of fitness, or at best a leveling of fitness, by June 1 - July 1

- Carrying too much fatigue early in the year to truly peak perform in second half of the year

- Targeting long races early in the year, every year, YET the key longer races that really mean the most to them are in mid summer, or later.

This theme has rung true for a few of the self guided athletes within our team over the last couple years. When I had the discussion with them, let them know I have seen the pattern(s), and proposed a solution, their responses were something like "hallelujah"!  

Why Do We See These Trends?

-Race calendars overloaded with longer races that are overshadowing shorter races that could / SHOULD be an integral part of an athletes build to peak racing

-We can have really good winter weather at times here in NorCal (not as I write this ironically) that drives athletes outside to do too much long training (especially cycling) when it is not necessary (yeah sure it's fun, but poor performance later in the year doesn't feel so good)

-The tendency for athletes to think that if they are not training for a 70.3 or Ironman race then t's not "epic" or "important" enough.

-Using early season 70.3 OR Ironman races to get ready for later season 70.3 or Ironman races

-Athletes not racing enough shorter races because they feel pressured to get their longer training in.

What is the solution? 

My exact words to an athlete were: "Just because there are early season 70.3 races does not mean you should do them. Because athletes start obsessing over getting their long training in they skip too much of the proper training progression to get properly fit over time and have their best races when it matters ... essentially, too much long stuff early in the year and not paced OR placed on the calendar appropriately."  

Granted every athlete is different, but, IF you truly want to peak at a 70.3 OR Ironman race in quarter 3 or 4 of the year I don't see a lot of value in a long distance race (for an age grouper) in quarter 1 or early in quarter 2. The main reason is most athletes do the same training year round if they are consistently training for the same type of racing. After a period of time the body will not respond to getting the same key stimulus it has gotten all year, or for a majority of the year. In return you just get tired and race specific fitness fades.

What Do You Advise Coach?

Here is an example of what I would propose for an athlete doing a mid July 70.3 (Say, Vineman?):

- February or March ... 5k or 10k running race (establish some baseline pace numbers)

- Early to Mid April ... duathlon / sprint triathlon if available

- Mid May ... Olympic Distance Race ... NOW you are approximately 8 weeks to your 70.3 and can focus on training specifically for that race.

- Mid July ... 70.3 peak race ... FOLLOWED by a break!

- This leaves the back end of the season to adapt in whatever direction you want to take your racing.

The key is train specifically for the NEXT race ... not the race that is 4 months away. YES, by training for the next race you are also training for your longer race while NOT getting sucked in to doing the wrong training too soon.

There is so much to be gained by going through a variety of training phases. (physically, mentally, metabolically, physiologically) When you get the training progressions right, you'll be surprised how well your races go.

It's not too late in the year to re-think your schedule and re-shuffle the deck ... 

Swimming ... On a Monday

As I was driving to my sunrise swim this morning I thought about the majority of the swim sessions that I give my athletes on a typical Monday and why I script them the way I do. I knew my legs were a little heavy from the weekend as a combo of getting back to a good training routine (longer ride and runs from what I’ve been doing, plus some strength training on the lower body). So, I scripted my session in my head based on what I thought MY needs were and then went and knocked it out … it was as follows:

NOTE: I am a believer that one should swim strong/solid OR fast every session, even if it’s briefly, AND that long warm ups are necessary. 

Here goes:

-        -500 easy based on how I feel (just wake up)

-       - 8 x 50 w/ small paddles building the last 25 @ 10sec (start to force the system awake and use good technique with paddles)

-       - 4 x 100 w/ fins as 25 kick / 75 cruise swim (kicking was to help recovery from the weekend AND drive HR up a little)

-       - 4 x 50 cruise w/ small paddles (technique)

THAT WAS ALL WARM UP … most athletes think a warm up 500 easy is the warm up ... not so fast!  When athletes are carrying any kind of fatigue it usually takes at least 20min to get all systems warmed up. So you can see that this particular warm up checked a lot of boxes for me

-        MAIN SET of 1500 meters just rolling from one block to the next on the rest interval indicated – focus is on small bits of pace change BUT ALWAYS holding form.

-        250 pull, done as 25 strong / 100 cruise @ 15sec rest

-        200 pull, done as first and last 25 strong @ 15sec rest

-        150 pull, done as 25 strong / 50 cruise @ 10sec rest

-        100 pull, done as first and last 25’s strong @ 10sec rest

-        50 pull, easy @ 20sec rest

-        5 x 50 paddles – strong @ 10sec rest

-        200 pull w/ paddles - cruise

-        3 x 50 paddles – strong @ 10sec rest

-        100 pull w/ paddles – cruise @ 10sec rest

-        50 strong w/ paddles

-        WD = 4 x 50 easy mixed

  

In the end I checked all the boxes that I wanted … technical swimming, small bits of harder / faster swimming, a little work to aid my heavy legs, a solid warm up and controlled main set and some pulling to take a bit of work off my tired, and sinking, legs.

When I script athletes swim sessions these are some of the things I think about when deciding how to place their swim workouts across the week. I hope that you’ll do the same for yourself, or for the coaches out there, you start doing that or your athletes.

Always thinking … and today writing!

Planning Ironman Vineman? ... or Vineman 70.3? ... or any race

Since the turn of the year there seems to be more buzz about the former Full Vineman, now Ironman Vineman, and the same could be said for Ironman 70.3 Vineman. Along with the “buzz” I see a lot of what athletes are doing from a training standpoint and see opposite ends of the spectrum .... too much or nothing!  So whether you are training for either Vineman race (26 & 23 weeks away respectively) or any race for that matter, I hope the following information will help you evaluate or re-evaluate the path you are taking to get there.

Some things to consider from a training standpoint if you are racing at Ironman Vineman, Vineman 70.3 ... or any other race this season.

1)     Get Healthy – Stay Healthy … If you are not 100% healthy and are battling frequent illness or carrying around any sort of injury, FIX IT NOW, and back off what you are currently doing.  If you never get healthy you’ll never be able to train properly

2)     Get Strong – Stay Strong … this can mean different things to different folks. For some it includes the weight room, or strength classes, or specific workouts. Regardless of exactly what it is for you, as athletes we need to be creating a stable platform that we can work off of when the training REALLY matters for your key event. (Which is starting 8-12 weeks from race day)

3)     Be Consistent … before making major changes or increases in training load find a pattern or schedule that is molded around points 1 & 2 that you know you can OR have maintained for 6-8 weeks CONSISTENTLY.

Before you start worrying about how long your training sessions are, find a pattern of consistency for at least 6 weeks so you can establish the three levels above.

All my athletes are different and have different demands and I guide them like that, individually. So it’s difficult for me to say exactly what a person should be doing “now” when they ask online or in casual conversation. BUT, if you / they have established the above criteria I am way closer to being able to answer that question. If you have not established #1 - #3 you already know the answer to your question.

One other question has come up in conversation as well: 

“What About A Training Camp Coach?” 

ANSWER: 

Part a.) I start with items 1-3 above (but 8 weeks not 6) … if you haven’t done that then it’s non-negotiable. Without a foundation the camp is likely do-able but the potential for too much rest needed post camp OR the increased injury risk especially makes any value of the camp worthless. 

Part b.) The reality is I like camps but they should be placed appropriately. If you are more than 8 weeks out from the key race then just getting in the extra volume and stimulus of a camp is plenty. If you are 2-8 weeks out and training has consistently been on track you can consider specific “pace work” into the training camp. In the end, if the camp is an overload of training for you, then you and most people will get good benefit just from training overload alone.

When considering your training, where you are in it, and where you are going … it is important that you can do your best and most specific training when it matters (Go back to #2 if you don't remember the answer ;-)

More Vineman and race planning thoughts to come soon.

Best,

DL