You SUCK

Ever play this game with someone while swimming, biking or running?

Rules:

1. You never actually let on that you are playing the game. It's all in your head.
2. You must be faster than the other person or willing to pick up the pace significantly so that you are moving faster for a decent period of time.
3. You are not allowed to play with someone that you are working out with unless you've agreed with one another that if either of you begins playing the game, nobody gets offended. For example, you are swimming intervals together. Most likely each of you is playing against the other anyway. Or you are near the end of a run. It's only natural to behave like it's the end of a race and go for it! Or you're riding together and you spontaneously decide it's time for a sprint.
4. There is no starting gun or clock. You may begin the game at any point during your workout. The word "GO" is never to be uttered aloud.
5. The game continues until you've conclusively decided the other person sucks.
6. You can play against as many others during a workout as you like, or against the same person more than once. Look at it as a fartlek session.
7. If you are running or biking, you are required to at least smile as you pass the other person, and why not you are faster than them! Extra points for saying, "Looking good," "Way to Go," or "Have a Nice Day." If it's someone you know and you are absolutely sure they are OK with it, you can go ahead and say, "YOU SUCK!"
8. If because of playing the game, you blow yourself up and someone you were playing with goes past YOU, then you need to tell yourself that YOU SUCK. Don't worry--you'll get over it!

How to Play
You swim, run or bike faster than the other person. When playing in the pool, it's even better if you give the other player a head start at the wall, say like 15 seconds. When running or biking, slow down a bit to let the other person gain some time on you, otherwise they might catch on that you are fast or are about to sprint. Because then you can play YOU REALLY SUCK, depending on how much of a head start you gave them.

Once you decide it's GAME OVER, you are allowed to pump your fist in the air, smile gleefully or jump for joy, but you are not actually allowed to yell, "YOU SUCK" unless it's against your friend. Friends understand this because it goads them into training harder!

I haven't had the opportunity to play on the bike yet, but it will happen as soon as I get outdoors. More likely, I'll be the victim of someone else who's secretly playing WITH ME! I've played in the pool today and Wednesday. Sometimes I play on the treadmill, just by going faster than someone for a bit.

My FAST

My FAST is competitive.
My FAST sometimes races against others when they don't know it.
My FAST requires high octane fuel to work properly.
My FAST doesn't appreciate extra junk in the trunk--slows her down.
My FAST knows there are others with faster FAST, but that there are plenty slower.
My FAST understands that plenty of rest is necessary.
My FAST knows she needs to be revved up regularly or else she gets slower.
My FAST requires regular tuneups to keep her running efficiently.
My FAST likes her ego stroked with positive affirmations.
My FAST gets all riled up when I tell her she sucks. And then she makes me prove I'm wrong!
My FAST works best when her mind is freed of fear and expectations.
My FAST likes to LOOK FAST.
My FAST loves being timed.
My FAST likes to help others find their FAST.
My FAST is very happy I found her.
My FAST has a name--Sheila.

Twofer--I DON'T SUCK!!!

And also I received some prizes in the mail today...he he...these things got me through two great workouts today.

Why does every day feel like a time trial to me? Oh yeah, because IT USUALLY IS. At least when I ride my bike or swim or run tempo. Let's see, that would be 5 out of 7 days per week. No wonder I've been a little frazzled.

Yesterday all I did was my last, mega, hurt-every-single-muscle strength workout, nothing else. Today I thought was swim time trial day, so I got mentally prepared for that, but then when I looked at my schedule, I saw it was really scheduled for Wednesday. Oh well, I'M DOING IT TODAY, DAMMIT, since it would be a short swim and then I'd still need to do a bike interval workout.

As I exited my house, I saw in my mailbox a package that I knew was from Shelley, and I knew what was in it (see above), but I didn't open it--I decided just knowing it was there would give me some more motivation in the pool.

I warmed up, did some fast 50's, and it was GO TIME. My upper body and arms felt the effects of yesterday's strength workout, but too bad, here it comes,1,000 yards. The last time I did one of these I sucked at 1:47/100 yards, and that was when I unilaterally decided I needed to be swimming at least 10,000 yards a week. Yes, I do drills every workout, too, but at some point you need to be in the pool a lot to have more "feel for the water," and I find that for me 3 solid swims of about 3,000 yards plus one or two more of 1,000-1,500 yards is perfect. So I started doing that, and I could see as the weeks were going by that I felt stronger in the water, definitely, but with the strength training peaking as well, not so much faster, but a little bit, you know?

So I swim, and I feel like I've got a good pace going, and several times during the bout I'm thinking to myself, "I can't let the Collective down." Man, we are all ON FIRE lately, and here was another chance for me to come through. I finish the 1,000 yards, feeling like I put out a good effort, and I look at my time. Now, I was a math major in college, but sometimes for the life of me I can't do simple arithmetic when my heart is jacked up after fast interval work. So for about 2 minutes, I'm like, "Wow, I still suck." And then it hits me, DOH!!! I figured wrong, and I DO NOT SUCK! I screamed at the top of my lungs and pumped my fists in the air, "YEAH, BABY!!!" My time was 16:52, which is 1:41/100 yards. Now I am no Brett or Shelley, but that is a solid time for me, and that will get faster as my training marches on, especially since the strength training drops off next week.

I AM SO HAPPY!!!! So I am so excited when I get home and I open the package, and I was expecting the Collective beads, but then I also get BUTT MODEL!!! He he...I'll be wearing these pretty much all the time except during swims. They seem to be pretty powerful.

But wait, there's more. Act now and you get this fine set of Ginzu knives.

I had to do a bike workout, including 2x15' at FT watts. As you may have seen from my goals last week, I upped the ante, and now it's not good enough to "meet" my current FT watts--I need to BEAT them. So I power up the bike and get in a solid warmup and then here we go. I always "work into" the watts, because you can't just explode into an effort like that (except, well, when I do a sprint race and then pretty much it's balls out as soon as my feet are clipped in). Since I have a luxurious 15 minutes, I go relatively easy for the first 5, and am averaging 167. That would be fine (current FT is 165), but hey, I can do better. The Collective knows that! So I march on up to 173 after 10', and decide that's plenty good enough, and then I just hold it.

One interval down, one to go. When I start my second interval, it always feels harder to keep the same cadence, so I tend to shift into one higher gear. This was no exception. After 5', I'm only up to 165 watts, though, so I am going to need to work. I think back on my awesome swim TT and fire up my legs (which by the way are still sore as hell from yesterday's strength workout), and just let it all hang out, and watch the watts tick up until I hit 170 after 10', but no, I need to meet the FIRST interval, so I push extra hard for the last 5' and get back to 173 watts.

I have to go get a well-deserved massage now, over and out, I tell ya the Collective is a force to be reckoned with! Tomorrow I will just relax through my 3,100 yard swim workout and an easy 1:05 tempo run.

LIFE IS AWESOME!!!

Good Riddance, Evil Strength Workouts!

Finally, I'm at the end of the really hard strength training.

Today I had no scheduled triathlon workouts, so I did my last really big strength workout today, and starting next week, I go into maintenance phase (2 sets of 12 reps).

I've been doing this strength program for 4 years, and it still kicks my ass! I use the periodization from a Mark Allen/Paula Newby-Fraser program; however, the actual exercises I do are a combination of moves I know and love from my old bodybuilding days, various books I've picked up over the years and guidance I've received from a few awesome personal trainers I've encountered. I do one full-body workout per week, and then I repeat the abs and core exercises a second time in the week. Here's the breakdown by body area of the number of exercises I do:

• Abs: 5
• Core: 8
• Legs & Glutes: 15
• Arms (Bis and Tris): 11
• Shoulders: 11
• Chest: 4
• Back: 5

So my first strength session of the week, the full-body workout, has 59 exercises in it (which I typically split across Monday and Tuesday), and then my repeat abs and core workout has 13 exercises (which I typically fit in on Thursdays). Good thing I have all the equipment in my house--it would take a LONG time to do all of this in a gym! I pretty much execute the routine circuit-style, and from week to week, I never do the exercises in the same order, which keeps my muscles alert and prevents mental or physical staleness. So for those of you who have studied my physique, you see that in reality I don't do a lot of abs work, but I certainly think my power and endurance in all 3 sports benefit from the level of strength training that I do. And it helps to keep my muscle mass up while doing all the cardio, which ultimately contributes to my lean-itude (I just made that word up). One of these days I'll get someone to photograph my upper back--it's totally cut, but USEFUL--it's what drives my ability to swim without fatigue.

The periodization I've followed this year (the beginning weeks are flexible, depending on how I ended my previous triathlon season) goes as follows, except for most of the abs and core exercises, where I always do 2 sets of 15 reps:

• 1x15, 2 weeks (my solo marathon on 10/2/2005 was in here)
• 1x12, 2 weeks
• 1x12, weights up, 1 week
• 1x12 at new weight, 4 weeks
• 2x12, 2 weeks (my solo indoor 1/2 Ironman was in here)
• 2x12, weights down, 1 week
• 3x12, 2 weeks
• 3x12, weights up, 1 week
• 2x15, weights down, 1 week
• 2x20, 2 weeks (Goofy Challenge was in here)
• 3x20, 1 week
• 2x6 Power, 2x20 Endurance (about 1/2 the exercises for a body part are at high weight/low reps 2x6; other 1/2 are at lower weight/high reps 2x20) 1 week
• 2x8 Power, 2x20 Endurance, 1 week
• 3x8 Power, 2x20 Endurance, 3 weeks

And that brings me to today! Next week and for the duration (except that I will only do abs and core or perhaps not even that during a race week, and prior taper weeks I might scale back to 1x12), it's 2x12, and that will feel AWESOME (ask Brett--he's followed my evil periodization plan).

I know I added some exercises this year, but I didn't really keep track. You've seen from my weekly workout summaries that the percent of my training hours devoted to strength isn't very high, and will go down even further as my sports volume increases, but I do believe that it builds a solid foundation that enables me to pile on the volume in the springtime with less risk of injury. Add to that the consistency of stretching I've been following, and I am very pleased with these "extras" that I incorporate into my training.

What's so funny to me is that before 1998, I was really into the bodybuilding thing, and just LOVED pumping iron. I would do about 4 hours per week, and in the summer I would take my bench and free weights out into my garage (yes, hauling all that weight down a flight of stairs and 30 feet down a driveway was a workout in and of itself), and I'd work out outside in my driveway. I loved pumping iron, and I couldn't imagine not doing it.

Then I started running, because you know, it's important to do cardio, too (I can hear all the snickering going on), but I wasn't ready to give up my beloved strength routine. Back then I did a split routine where each body part got worked twice a week, but not nearly as much abs and core work, so I figure I was doing as much or more exercises per body part as I am doing today. Once I started running, though, I scaled things back to 2 full-body workouts per week, and still carried a hefty (pun intended) load of strength work.

The thing was, if you had asked me at the time which I enjoyed doing more--running or lifting--hands down it was pumping iron. I loved the way it felt deep in my muscles while doing it--almost as if I could feel my muscles growing (which we all know isn't true--they grow only when you are resting), I loved DOMS, I just loved having muscle.

Then, the triathlon bug bit, and again I had to make a compromise to my strength training. It was tough, because not only did I not have enough time to do all the lifting I wanted, but it compromised (initially) my attempts to add more volume to my weekly workout time. So I had to scale back again. In the process, I rediscovered how much I loved riding a bike (which I had done plenty of as a kid, non-competitively), how much I sucked at swimming (here I thought I knew how, but NOOOOOO), and how running when you have all these other things to do is not so enjoyable.

Fast forward to today, though, and because I've learned how to take care of myself and how to balance the sports training with the strength training, and I've designed a strength program that works well for me with my triathlon training and racing schedule, and I have to say that I enjoy the sports more than I do pumping iron.

But there is still a special place in my heart for it, because I know that without it I would probably be a big blob of unattractive fat, which does not work for me. And while I no longer subscribe to Muscle & Fitness magazine, occasionally I will pick up Oxygen, because I just think these women who shape their bodies (to a point) are gorgeous (no, I'm not gay), and since they also do plenty of cardio, other than the weird dieting they go through for a contest, they are pretty healthy and inspirational. I read in Oxygen the other day a weight chart that was supposed to show whether your weight for your height is under, within or over where it should be. Their chart said I am UNDERWEIGHT. Ha ha. Funny coming from a magazine that is geared to women who are trying to get their bodyfat percent down to 7-8 (me, I'm a whopping 11 or 12, possibly lower, possibly higher, who knows?). Oh well, it just goes to show you there are many different standards out there.

That picture of Arnold? That's on the back of the door in my home office/gym. While I have a new found appreciation for the triathlete physique, I still have a soft spot for a buff guy with a little more muscle. Not too much, though, but Arnold? He's still a hottie in my book. And I think it's hilarious that years ago I taped "GET HARD" to that picture. I think I just came up with a new Crackhead motto: TRAIN HARD, GET HARD, GO HARD. You can interpret that how you like. Works for me!

Weekly Training Report: 2/13/2006-2/19/2006

This was another intense week, workout-wise. Intensity increased in tempo run, long ride and long run. Duration increased in long ride. Next week I do a swim time trial (only 1,000 yards, which is adequate for a HIM) and back off the run volume slightly. But I am going to jack up my bike volume just a bit more so that I feel confident in my endurance heading into Ralph’s. I fully intend to negotiate with my coach for a little more volume than he planned for me; then again maybe not! All I know is I have a scheduled rest day tomorrow—but I will knock out my entire strength workout anyway. At least I get to sleep in on a Monday, which is rare for me!

My long run today was not a piece of cake after yesterday's brick, but then again, I didn't expect it to be. I decided I would forego the Ultra Violence so that I will sleep like a rock tonight, and while my legs felt pretty good except for a little quad tightness (gee, what a surprise there, huh?), I could just feel the accumulated fatigue of working out hard pretty much every single day this week AGAIN! And I did something silly--I knew I would be oh-so-close to 15 hours of training for the week on the nose, but not quite there, so I ran a few extra minutes. Am I retarded or what? When I read about other people doing that, I generally laugh, so go ahead, laugh at me, I won't mind! And I must tell you that those 4 extra minutes of running were difficult, even though I ran at my easy pace. Guess I had exactly 1:40 of running in the tank for today, NOT 1:44. Now that, my friends, is what I call measuring your effort with 100% precision! Just like in a race!

Here are the details from the week that was:
Swim: 10,100 yards in 3.57 hours; 24% of weekly workout time
Bike: 4.92 hours; approx. 86 miles; 33% of weekly workout time
Run: 4.82 hours; approx. 30 miles; 32% of weekly workout time
Strength: 1.73 hours; 12% of weekly workout time
Total Hours: 15.04 (see here I even went OVER the 15.0, ha ha)
Approx. Calories Burned by Exercise: 6,448
Average Sleep: 8.82 hours/night
Stretching: 2.45 hours

Goals from Last Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night. DONE
• Stretch 15' per day. DONE
• Meet or beat 165 watts during all FT intervals. DONE
• Meet or beat 100 and 200 speeds in all swim workouts. DONE
• Keep the momentum going. DONE
  

Accomplishments This Week:

• Met all goals.
• Weathered some stressful events by continuing to focus on good nutrition, adequate sleep/rest, plenty of stretching and rolling with the punches.
• Did not wimp out on any workouts, even as there was more intensity in running, more intensity and volume in biking, and more of an endurance focus in swimming.
  

Goals for Next Week:

• Average 8+ hours of sleep per night.
• Stretch 15' per day.
• BEAT 165 watts during all FT intervals.
• BEAT previous 1,000 yard TT time and do it with the wetsuit on (I need to see if the darn thing still fits!)
• Keep the mental focus. Hard training has taken its toll this week mentally, but resulted in a spot-on brick workout yesterday. Try and duplicate that this coming week. Last week of strength/endurance strength workouts. YIPPEE!!!!!
  

Workouts Completed this Week
Monday: Swim 3,100 yards in 1:06; Strength :51; Run :50 including strides
Tuesday: Strength :21; Bike 1:05 including 2x15’ FT, watts=172, 170
Wednesday: Run 1:05 including :30 tempo ; Strength :32
Thursday: Swim 2,800 yards in 1:00; Bike 1:05 including 3x10’ FT, watts=169, 170, 165 (I was a little off for this workout)
Friday: Swim 3,100 yards in 1:05; Run :40 including strides.
Saturday: Bike 2:45 (see yesterday’s post for stats); brick run 30’. Entire workout felt great!
Sunday: Run 1:44, including 20’ Upper-Steady and 25’ Tempo; Swim 1,100 yards in :22