Consider Barefooting the Triathlon

The concept of barefoot running has been around for a while.  Interest in it increased dramatically in September 2009 when Vibram launched their new FiveFingers footwear.  Marketed as the “barefooting alternative” to more traditional shoes, they have developed a cult following.

Needless to say, I have a pair of FiveFingers, the KSO model to be specific.  I love them.  I wear them often, run in them often, and have seen the benefits of wearing them.  Yes, in the beginning I discovered I had muscles that I never knew I had as my body started adjusting to them.  My glutes and calves in particular were most bothersome.  But after a few weeks and many miles running, I discovered that barefoot running is the only way to go.

FiveFinger Issues

The reality is that I am a triathlete at heart, not a runner.  I love my FiveFingers so much, I really, really want to wear them during my next triahlon.  Sure, I can put them on after cycling, but I wonder if they would take too long to put on.  Maybe wearing them throughout the entire triathlon is best?  But what to consider?  Here is what is on my mind:

1. How can you ride the bike in them?  Clips? Cages?
2. Can I wear them during the swim portion of the triathlon?
3. How long does it take to put them on?
4. Are there any rules that preclude me from barefoot running in a triathlon?

They seem like simple questions, but let’s take a look at how the FiveFingers will look at each stage of the triathlon.

Swimming in FiveFingers?

Seems a little odd wearing an Xterra wetsuit with FiveFingers, but not really different than wearing booties and a wetsuit when you think about it. Black KSOs might blend better than the cool blue camouflage color.

The USAT rules state that one cannot wear any devices that aid in propulsion.  FiveFingers definitely do not aid in propulsion.  I would have to argue that, if anything, the FiveFingers will cause more drag since they have an open mesh top, a contrast to a solid neoprene bootie.  On the plus side, they might actually keep your feet a little warm?? hmmm…

Cycling in your FiveFingers?

Cycling presents the biggest stumbling block to this issue.  The way I am looking at it, there are two ways to do this.

1) Wear the FiveFIngers and replace my clipless, snap-in pedals with cages.   Why don’t I like this idea?  I really don’t want to replace my pedals with cages since I don’t like how they look so amatuerish.  Second, cages don’t give you the same efficiency as clipless pedals do.  Nothing like being physically attached to your bike.

2) Wear the FiveFingers inside the cycling shoes.  Seems crazy, but when you think about it, this might be the fastest solution. Coming in from the swim, you can simply slide them into the shoes.  When cycling is done, simply pull your foot out and start running.  Yes, this could actually REDUCE TRANSITION TIME.  Exciting thought.  What’s the downside?  I need to buy a much larger pair of cycling shoes, assuming they make a pair big enough.  This is going to require a trip to the cycling store and a follow-up post.

Running in the FiveFingers

This is the best part and does not require much explanation other than barefoot running is the only way to go.  Running in my FiveFingers feels natural, powerful, free, and light.  for more information on the health benefits of FiveFingers, checkout Vibrams’ Health/Wellness page.  What more is there to say?

The Barefoot Triathlon

Whether or not my next triathlon is my first barefoot triathlon, the thought is exciting.  Worse case scenario, I can put the FiverFIngers on after cycling, but wearing them for the WHOLE triathlon means a lot more than, “I wore my FiveFingers for the run portion of triathlon.” Why not?

Have you considered barefooting your next triathlon?

Are We Really Born to Run?

Are we really born to run?

I don’t know.  Wish I knew the answer, but after reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, I think I will be a lot closer to the answer.  You see, McDougall’s book is about the quest to find the answer to the question.  He ironically states:

“These were very good questions.  But as I was about to discover, the only ones who knew the answers – the only ones who lived the answers – weren’t talking.  Especially not to someone like me”.  - Christopher McDougall, Born to Run, p 13

Clearly I am only thirteen pages into this book and I am captivated.  Whether it was chapter one’s tail of find “El Caballo Blanco” or the strange commonality to my own quest for the same answers, I really can’t wait to see how this book unfolds.

Before I go, let me leave you all, my loyal readers, with one last quote from the book.  I found this to be very motivating and might blow it up really big and hang it in my cubicle for inspiration:

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.  It knows that it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed.  Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve.  It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle – when the sun comes up, you better be running.” – Christopher McDougall, Born to Run, p 13

With that said, more to come as I explore the world of Born to Run.

The 10 Mile Run That Didn’t Happen

I am training for the 2nd Annual Santa Barbara Marathon in November 2010, in addition to the Santa Barbara Triathlon Long Course.  My training has been focusing on improving my running endurance with a Long Run once a week.

The past two weeks, I have been running 9 miles with delight!  Today was supposed to be my first run to 10 miles, reaching a new milestone in my training.  I mapped out the route, had my water, my fuel, my iPod Touch (ew! Apple), and my GPS HR thing ready to go.

However, in the back of my mind, I knew I sabotaged this run even before I got to the starting line.  You see, yesterday was a killer training day which included a class at the gym (GVAC) called Ripped, a 23.23 mile bike ride (was supposed to be 24) and a 100m swim (was supposed to 800m).  In addition to these activities, you must know:

1. My nutrition left quite a bit to be desired (a dark chocolate cherry frap, mocha buttercream cake, etc)
2. I was coming off a very stressful end to my work week
3. I probably didn’t drink enough water afterward

I will admit that I was saying to myself, in utter shock, how much pain I was in on the 23 mile bike ride.  Cycling is my best sport and I love it, but clearly taking a month and half off and jumping back on, riding farther and faster than ever was not the best plan.   As much as this surprised me, I should not have been as equally surprised at my body’s reaction to the 10 mile run.

I felt it the moment that:

1. I sat down to foam roll my calves.  They hurt… a lot!
2. I started running… the legs were sluggish and felt more like bricks than springs
3. I stopped at the first stoplight 0.39 miles after the start, the legs hurt
4. I realized that I was having difficulty controlling my pace
5. My right leg gave out and I went crashing to the ground
6. My body was telling me that it still needed to recover.

So, to make a long story short, I made it through 3.09 miles, in agony.   As great as I felt, as much as I tried to convince my body to push on, as much I wanted to hit 10 miles today, the honest reality is that today just wasn’t the day.

Listen to what your body is telling you and act upon it.

Feeling the Hard Work Pay Off: Swimming

It was a long time ago that I started swimming lessons with the intention of becoming a good swimmer. While I fairly quickly picked up side stroke and was able to power through the 2009 triathlon season with it, side stroke became both my savior and my devil.  It saved me because I could finally swim, but was my devil since the scissor kick sapped my legs of energy even before I got on the bike.

So, the past few years, after working with a coach, attending a Total Immersion swim clinic and persevering through countless frustrating workouts did I manage to arrive at my latest workout, a 35 minute pool workout where I swam 875 yards (0.496 miles, 32 laps!).  While I didn’t realize this accomplishment until today, as soon as I did I jumped for joy.  Not a fast pace by any means, but that will improve over time!

Not exactly perfect form, but it will improve!

The wow’s, in the beginning:

1. the head would not stay in the water.  Now, it is in the water and rotates with the body!
2. the legs dragged behind. Now, the legs follow streamlined and I can glide on each stroke!
3. power came from my weak arms. Now, my strong arms assist the power from my hips.
4. kicking was how I compensated for lack of balance. Now, kicking is incidental and not part of my main propulsion.
5. I hated the thought of swimming. Now, I look forward to the challenge of making myself a better swimmer!

The next big hurdle for me is swimming crawl in the ocean!  I can swim side stroke just fine, but I have the phobia about putting my head under the ocean.  All I see is green and emerging from the green are sea monsters, sunken ships, and sharks.  Maybe I watched JAWS and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea too many times, but this phobia is real and the next big challenge for me, but I know I can do it!

Oh my, what is that strange creature shedding it's skin?

Also last year’s wetsuit is way too big for me now.  I bought it when I weighed 240 pounds and now I am under 200!  I look like a big scary, black and red sea creature coming out of the ocean.  Surprised I haven’t been harpooned yet.  Besides, a proper fitting wetsuit will help reduce drag.  I think I will pick up another Xterra Vector Pro X2.

Now that I am coming down off my swimming milestone high, I would like to ask you all a question: What was the best moment you have ever had while swimming?  While race results are fine, I am thinking more about experiences during the swim.  Please leave a comment!

Cheers!

Happy New Year & My First 10k of 2010!

Now that 2009 is history, I want to wish everyone, triathletes, runners, bloggers, swimmers, etc, a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010 is already off to a great start.  In fact, I ran a 10k this morning with a friend. While the overall pace was 12:37/mi, I had tons of fun getting out there and running nice and easy (run data via Training Peaks).  Not only was I there to help encourage her, but I also learned a lot about myself in doing so.  2010 is going to be the best training year yet!

How have you welcomed 2010?

Week 52.2009 Training Summary

Triathlon training summaries are a double-edged sword.  On the one hand, you get to see your progress and gloat about your accomplishments.  On the other hand, you often start to see bitter realities that don’t make you so proud.  However you end up looking at it, the exercise of reviewing your training, your progress, and your goals weekly is essential.

The last time I reviewed my weekly training summary at Aric In Training, we four weeks ago, week 48.2009.  At that point, I was talking about putting my plan together, focusing on periodization, and publishing my goals (I owe you my goals… I know).  The whole idea was smart triathlon training for 2010.  Something went wrong in the past four weeks…

The Chart

Looking at this week’s chart, one will be shocked.

Wow, quite an increase in training time!

Wow. Check out that four week increase in training time since Thanksgiving week (48).  Each increase represents a substantial increase each week:

1. Week 49 Increase: 125%
2. Week 50 Increase: 25%
3. Week 51 Increase: 19%
4. Week 52 Increase: 12%

The 12% increase this week does not seem like a lot.  In fact, a 10% increase week over week is not unheard of in the fitness industry, but 25% is hefty!   The 12% on top of 19% and 25% is just plain ugly.

The Reality

So what happened?

1. Substantial increase in run distance, which increases the overall training time. In fact, run distance in the past month has almost doubled. Sick!
   1. This week I had: 1) 4 mile tempo run, 6 mile speed workout, 8 mile “long run”
   2. The 8 mile long run was pace focused (sub 11:30) so most of the run was in zone 3, carb burning zone and I bonked quickly.  Long runs should be endurance runs where fat burn is key.
2. What you don’t see is the intensity of the 17.5 mile bike ride on Dec. 25th.  With just one bike ride per week now back in the training plan, I would expect there to be an increase in time, but the ride should be easy, not hard.
3. Swim time and strength workouts are being used as recovery days, not necessarily the ideal purpose for them.
4. Goals were switched around.  I feel like I gave into peer to pressure as my trainer and and another client seem to be racing fast and hard to compete in a half marathon in March.  Getting sucked into the excitement was a bad decision on my part. Yes, I am competitive, but being competitive is not always smart.

But there is some good news.  Focusing on my running workouts week over week, one can see that I am progressing quite nicely.  Even with a substantial increase in distance, my average weekly run pace continues to improve.

Distance Increases as Pace Improves

How do I feel?  Pretty good actually.  My muscles are definitely tired from today’s 8 mile run and I feel a little stressed as I have been trying to do so much… any yet the dishes still aren’t done.   It feels great to push the body a bit…  that runner’s high is amazing, but I am starting to feel like I am pushing too much.  Fatigue is settling in.

While I can go on and on giving insight into my training week, I think the above four items summarize what went wrong.  To sum up in two words:  lost focus.  Giving into peer pressure to participate and prepare for an event that is not on MY A-list is pulling me toward failure. I have so much to build on, it would be a shame to loose my momentum now.

Going Forward

One word: regroup.  AFter looking at my Facebook page tonight, I am hearing loud and clear that I am pushing my training too far.  My summary chart shows it, my body feels it, my friends say it, and my goals tell me to train smart.

Tomorrow, Monday, is a 100% rest day, as planned.  Then I will review my training plan and consider what it means to train for my A-list events.  What do I want from my 2010 season?  Smart training, competitive races, and enjoyable fun!

After reviewing the training plan, I need to take some further data points.  On 10/24, I ran 2-miles at 10:00 pace with a resulting heart rate of 162.  Doing a test this week will help me understand how my heart has improved its ability to sustain effort.  I hope to see it under 160??

Of course, I also need to talk to my trainer.  While he has been pushing me to train for the half marathon (afterall, I told him I was interested in doing it), I need to communicate my hesitation toward continuing at such a high level of training.

In addition, nutrition is the key.  While my nutrition has improved ten fold over the past two years, I will be honest that there is still room for improvement.  Focusing on eating simpler, nutritious meals that fuel me to perform is a huge priority.  You can read more about my nutrition experiences at Fitness and Food, A New Reality.

Lastly, going forward, all long runs, need to be heart rate runs, focusing on keeping my heart rate in zone 1 and 2 for the entire run.  Sure I can do 8 miles, but I can do 8 miles at a pace that teaches my body to burn fat, not carb.

Summary of the Summary

Staying on the current trajectory is going to lead to problems.  I felt it, saw it coming and now sit in my own reality of over-training.  Time to pull it back, regroup, refocus and stay true to what 2010 will deliver if I train smart.   Triathlon training is an awesome thing and is focused around goals, not my own made up peer pressure and ego.

8 Mile Run Results & Endurance Tips

Thank you to everyone who voted to choose the route for my 8 mile run today.  I really appreciate everyone’s feedback and hope you all had fun choosing as I had running the route.

The Winning 8 Mile Run Route

The winning route was the Airport/UCSB route of 8 miles and only a 100 foot elevation gain.  The route heads east along Hollister, turns south on Fairview and snakes around Santa Barbara Airport to the bike paths at Goleta Beach.  Climb the hill passed the Henley Gate and enter the campus of UCSB.  Cut across campus to El Colegio Rd toward Goleta.  Snake around Girsch Park and return to the start.  Overall, it provides a lot of interest as the scenery changes from urban, to industrial, to educational and back through the suburbs.

How did I do?  Well, 8.03 miles in 1:36:24, or 12:00 pace. Not exactly fast, but considering how many stoplights I stopped for and a few pictures, it is not surprising.  I also bonked just before halfway.   However, if you calculate moving pace, the run is excellent at 11:16.  The last 8 mile run I did when I wasn’t feeling well was 11:38 pace.  Great run, but plagued by fatigue and lack of fuel.

Heart Rate, Pace and Elevation Lines

It is fascinating to me to see the first 3+ miles be so smooth. After photographing the Henley Gate, the run suffered from there.  It wasn’t heart rate, it wasn’t breathe, it was muscle fatigue.  There are two things that I can think of that would lead to this pattern:

1) My body is not efficient at burning fat, so I must have used up my glycogen by this point since it got worse as time went time on (I didn’t bring anything to eat on this run, mistake!)

2) Climbing up to the plateau that UCSB sits on, I noticed a substantial drop in temperature, covered in sweat, the muscles tightened and fatigued quicker.  If you notice, it was mostly flat or down hill from mile 3.5, so it was an easier run than the previous run I did the week before.

What does this run mean to my training?  It means that, yes, I can push my body through 8 miles of “running” albeit not efficiently or prettily.  At this time I plan to regroup and focus on fat burn.

Endurance running is all about teaching your body to burn fat, not carb. Teaching your body to burn fat requires lots of long, SLOW runs and builds up over time.  Certainly, my last few runs have not been “slow”.  While I thought about participating in a half marathon in March, the bottom line is that that goal is a little amibitious.  The half marathon was a “B” race, so skipping it might be smart.  Training by ego is disaster!

Here are some additional resources on increasing running endurance:

1. Triathlon Week (increasing running endurance discussion)
2. Cool Running (Training Tips by Jeff Galloway)
3. Runner’s World (Boost Your Endurance)

Not only was it fun to have you all choose my route, but I learned a lot about where my body is in terms of conditioning, and I got to see a variety of scenery.  Running doesn’t get much better than this!

Vote: Which Route Should Aric Run?

With my impending 8-mile endurance run coming up tomorrow, I thought I would allow the world to vote on which route I should run.  All routes are roughly 8 miles in length and all have flat and hilly areas to them.  If you are familiar with the greater Santa Barbara/Goleta area, you will have better insight into these routes.  If not, just vote randomly.

This poll will remain open up until 5 minutes prior to Aric’s departure for the workout, which will be sometime Dec 27th morning (PST).

POLL IS NOW CLOSED.  Thank you to all who voted!   Looks like the winner was the Airport/UCSB route.  If you are in that area, look out for a slow moving runner.

The Hollister/Cathedral Oaks Route linky.

The Airport/UCSB Route linky.

The Mission/Upper State linky (with gnarly hill!)

The Waterfront/Mesa Route linky.

Looks like the Airport/UCSB route is winning…

Thank you very much! I will post the run workout results shortly after I recover!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas.  I hope everyone has a great time with those important to you, including family and friends.

In the spirit of Christmas, may the performance diets take a back seat to sharing some goodies with those around you.  Go ahead, two cookies isn’t going hurt.

May Santa be kind to you all!

How Training By Ego is Disaster

As a triathlete with some pretty lofty goals, I have to pay particular attention to training smart.  This means I need to:

1) Carefully plan out a quarter (3 months) of workouts using periodization.

2) Take plenty of time for rest to let my body recover from the stresses of building.

3) Listen to my body and skip a workout when my body tells me to rest.

4) Listen carefully to my trainer, peers, and fellow triathletes to make sure I am not overdoing it.

5) Record and measure each workout’s intensity and duration, reviewing my training dashboard frequently.

The Ego Run

However, sometimes the most calculated, well planned workout goes awry.  Take my recent 8-mile run as an example.   Waking up that morning I felt sick, stressed and lacked energy.  Since I had committed to my trainer to do it, I felt compelled to do it, after all, I trust his judgement.

Arriving at the gym, I still felt a little odd and even considered calling it quits, but my ego to push through kept me on track.  Then I met my trainer and he didn’t look so good.  I asked if we should reschedule, but we agreed it would be good to push through it.

Then we stared running and at 0.86 miles it was clear that my trainer was not doing so well and neither was I.  I suggested we cut it short, but we agreed to push through it.  At just over 4 miles we both agreed that in the future, if either one of us felt the way did that morning, we would reschedule. At that point our egos deflated and we started to have fun with our pain.

It was almost like that crazy episode of Modern Family called Run For Your Wife where the husband’s ego thinks it can out do the wife’s running capability.  In the end, the husband almost kills himself but the wife let’s him win. Why?

It took us 01:33:23 to cover 8.01-miles which gives us 11:38 pace overall.  Considering we both felt like crap, my longest previously was 6.6 miles, and we stopped a few times, this was really quite a successful run.

However, in the end, we were both in need of serious recovery time.  I about threw up and had sore ankles and legs.  He looked like death and had a sore hip and ankle.

The Lesson

In retrospect, I learned that when two guys get together, egos tend to inflate and smart decisions go out the door.  We were both lucky that we didn’t come away with more serious injury.

The lesson here is to listen to your body and don’t let the ego, commitment, training plan or anything else override what your body is telling you.

LISTEN.  THINK.  REACT.  BE SMART.

The future of your entire athletic ability is at stake.

Cheers!