July 17, 2008
Notes on Recovery and (Old) Age
I just read an article in the NYTimes about Dara Torres, the swimmer who made the Olympic swim team at 41 years of age. The first amazing thing is her age, which challenges the notion that as we grow older we must slow down. In fact, the NYTimes article cites many studies that refute that claim and that we can maintain high performance levels well into advanced age. At some point, I want to post about that once I dig more into age and performance. But the second amazing thing I read was her recovery regimen, which consisted of having two essentially full time trainers who stretch her out and massage her muscles after each workout.
Yesterday I (half) joked with my physical therapist on what would it take to be my personal recovery specialist, meeting me every day (including weekends) after my workouts and then doing her therapy magic on me so that I could recover faster for the next day's workouts. I wasn't able to find a model that worked, but I'm still thinking about it!
In absence of having a personal therapist, we must all bow down to the fact that recovery is important and that it does change over time as we age.
My first clue on this was last year, when I began doing laps up Old La Honda, a 3.3 mile steep climb. I would find that this workout was quite extreme, by my body's standards, and that one day off was not enough to recover me for my normal middle of the week workouts.
Oh I did try though. I would take my usual Sunday off completely doing absolutely nothing. Then on Monday morning, I'd hit the pool and try to run. Sometimes my Monday sprinting workout would be ok, and that was topped out at 2000 meters anyways so the length of the workout did matter. But after that, I would switch into running clothes and hit the treadmill for a workout and found that I could not maintain any sort of endurance workout, let alone a threshold workout at all! I would inevitably peter out at around 20min or less and head to the shower. During these workouts, my heart rate would climb very quickly and my ability to sustain the aerobic, or anaerobic, effort was nearly impossible. Even on the next day when I would ride on my Computrainer, I could not sustain a normal bike workout; high wattages were impossible to maintain, let alone attain them.
Eventually I gave up and listened to my body. I'd take Sunday completely off, and on Mondays, I would try for a swim sprint workout and sometimes I'd be ok. After that, I'd run a form workout on the treadmill for about 20 min. On Tuesdays, I'd do a pedaling efficiency workout for about 30 min and that's it. Then by Wednesday morning, I'd be pretty fully recovered for a great swim and run workout at normal levels.
I'm 42 now. I need more recovery time. But I am also getting faster as my Ironman times have been whittling down race after race. I am pretty sure I have not maxed out my ability yet either, as my marathon time has also been dropping as well. Yet, our conventional thinking has us believing that older people can't still perform and should slow down, and that we can't speed up unless we're stressing our bodies practically every day.
I think conventional thinking is wrong, and many others are thinking that too.
Here are my notes on recovery, and especially for us 42 year old folks who refuse to believe that we can't race Ironman when we're 90:
1. You gotta listen to your body! But you also have to have the right intuition about your body, which can be learned. Sometimes when I get up in the morning, I have developed the ability to really know what my body is capable of at the time. I know when I feel really great (the easiest) and can go out and do a normal workout. I also know that when I just don't have it. These are the times when it's obvious I can't sustain a normal workout and I'd be frustrated quitting in the middle. And then there are the unknown times when I feel a bit tired, but am not sure how much. These are times when I go out facing a normal workout but decide after I warmup. During warmup, I test my body and see how it responds to the efforts. If it doesn't seem to have it, then I either stop or just do a form workout, or just go for an easy ride, run or swim.
2. You need to accept that you may need more recovery days. It was hard for a while, thinking that I was doing something wrong. But I gave up with that notion and proved to myself that I was still improving despite not having a "normal" set of workouts throughout the week. Even this year, as I ramp up laps up Kings Mountain, I find that I need Sundays and Mondays for recovery. As I increase my laps, I may add Tuesdays which was similar to last year. But that's what my body needs and that's what I give it.
3. Recovery doesn't necessarily mean do nothing. Sundays are the days I absolutely do nothing. After the long hard workout on Saturday, I don't think it's a good idea to try anything on that day. But on Mondays and Tuesdays, I practice active recovery, which is do a light workout which activates the muscles and gets circulation going to flush out bad stuff and promote healing. It also lets the body know that you're not going into non-active mode and keeps the body in that place of athletic improvement.
4. Work on neural muscular activation at a minimum if you can't do a normal workout. Instead of running a normal fartlek workout, I might do track form workouts like strides, kick backs, etc. This stimulates my nervous system but doesn't stress my aerobic system which hasn't fully recovered yet. On the bike, I'll do pedaling efficiency workouts which consist of one legged pedaling drills and high RPM spinning. For swimming, it means form practice drills to improve my form. Proper form in all three sports is super important and it is always possible to practice them in lieu of aerobic workouts.
5. Use physical therapy to help your muscles recover. I know we're not all pro athletes, but I go to physical therapists every week and they use ART and Graston to take the tension out of muscles, and help scar tissue realign faster. Otherwise, I would need too much time for my muscles to relax and release tension by themselves due to my age. They help me get back to doing a great workout over the second half of the week. I would love to be Dara Torres and have someone work me over after every workout for recovery. Still working on that!
6. Ice is awesome for recovery, especially ice baths. They really help get the bad aerobic by-products flushed out of muscles faster.
7. I have not found anything that helps my aerobic system recover faster though. It just seems like time and rest are the only thing that really get it back on track. I'll keep looking though.
8. Taking Sportlegs anti-lactic acid capsules also helps to prevent accumulation of lactic acid in your muscles, which increases stiffness and soreness.
The important thing is to acknowledge that we are growing older. We need to be aware of this and accept that we can't train and recover like when we were 20. But the good thing is that if you do this right, you'll still get faster. I know I am.
Posted by dshen at 09:45 AM | Comments (0)
July 08, 2008
Yield to Life
Whoo hoo! Got my Yield to Life bike jersey today, signed by Dave Zabrieskie himself.
I'm proud to be a donor and a part of Yield to Life, whose mission is to promote safe cycling everywhere. The popularity of cycling and triathlon has put an enormous amount of people on the roads on bicycles. Add to that soaring gas prices and now you have even more a reason to go out and bike. The unfortunate consequence of this is that simply because there are more people on bicycles that probability says that there will be more bicycle accidents.
Of course, every bike accident sucks and every death to a cyclist is even more tragic. We must do what we can as drivers and as cyclists to help prevent the collision between bike and auto.
Organizations such as Yield to Life promote safety on the road and the fact that cyclists and drivers must co-exist on the roads. While probability makes more accidents inevitable, we must do what we can to drive the odds in our favor such that preventable accidents be reduced or totally eliminated. Support Yield to Life! Donate enough money and get a cool cycling jersey plus socks!
Posted by dshen at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2008
Training HOT
Global warming is in full force this year. These last few weeks in Palo Alto have been in the 90s, which is really unusual as Palo Alto tends to be much cooler than San Jose. This morning, I got to Rancho San Antonio by 830a and it was already 82 degrees by my car's thermometer. By the time I finished my run 1.5 hours later, it was showing 88!
In years past, I have avoided training in hot weather. I would go do treadmill runs in air conditioned comfort, or train in the early mornings when it was cooler. I'd almost never be out midday when the temps run much higher (California weather is very much like desert weather; it can be in the 50s in the early mornings and it shoots up to the 90s midday). It was just too hard to train then.
Lately I've changed my opinion about training in hot weather. I've done 4 Ironmans and numerous smaller races. The longer the race, the more likely us racers will experience the hot temps of the midday sun and that's where our spirit and our bodies break down in the face of heat.
With global warming playing havoc with our weather systems, I think we'll be forced to race in overly hot conditions more and more. Acclimatization will be key.
So now I skip the comfort of air conditioned gyms and early morning cool temps in favor of training midday under the blazing sun. The more I condition my body to produce effort in those temps, the better off I will be come race day. I have already had my body shut down due to high temps and high humidity. I'm not normally a person who can function well in those conditions. But I hope that this year, by training more in hot weather, I will be better prepared for a hot race day which will still be hard, but hopefully I'll also be able to perform in case race day is cool.
No more air conditioning in my home - I just sit and swelter in my room to help continue the acclimatization outside of training (it saves on my electric bill anyways). And I schedule around training outdoors in the middle of the day.
I love to sweat now, and enjoy the pain of forcing my body to perform when it feels like collapsing. I risk heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Nice. All in the name of Ironman.
Posted by dshen at 01:20 PM | Comments (0)
June 16, 2008
Compression Works Part II
This last week, after my long ride, I decided to try a pair of compression tights which cover my entire legs instead of just my calves. I was curious to see if they would work on my entire legs, versus just in my calves.
I had a pair of 2XU Tights which I hadn't tried before and put them on now.
It was a warm day in Palo Alto and those tights were kind of warm to wear. I wonder about racing in them during hot climates, but perhaps I would just get used to them. I walked around all day with them and only took them off to go to sleep.
I think they definitely worked. My legs weren't feeling as tight as on days that I didn't wear those tights. The next morning, they were definitely less wiped out and felt fresher than without wearing those tights all day.
I think combining the tights with ice baths, which I will start to do once my ride times get longer, should help my recovery a great deal.
Posted by dshen at 08:57 AM | Comments (0)
My Fascia, My Nemesis
Fascia is this connective sheath that surrounds and holds all of your muscles together. It can contract and relax and helps support the function of the muscles within.
As I train for Ironman, I find that this year, my fascia is creating some more interesting problems. It seems to be tightening up more this year than in previous years.
It's been tightening down on my kneecaps in response to heavy training and causing some pain there during the morning after. My solution is to grab my trusty spoon and give spoonage to the area around the kneecap, which magically causes the fascia to relax and release its clamping down on the kneecap. I also experience the fascia just literally tightening up to a point where my legs are super stiff from running. I have to remember to loosen them up by accentuating my kick back during running, which seems to lessen its pressure. Also, in my calves, the fascia doesn't relax fast enough in the next day; I often have to use my TP Massage Roller to loosen up the fascia around my calf muscles.
No matter what, I go each week to ART and Graston which helps my fascia to release after hard training and gets me going for the next workout. Without it, I would not be able to keep up with training day after day.
Posted by dshen at 08:47 AM | Comments (0)
May 29, 2008
Compression Works!
This last month I've been slowly ramping out of the base phase and getting my running up to about 1.5 hours. I'll maintain this for many months and don't really need to run more just yet, as I've still got about 6 months to go until Ironman Florida and don't want to burn out.
Last week, I ran my 1.5 hours and the day after my calves felt a bit tight and sore. They felt kind of overworked and it was a bit unusual as I had been running 1.5 hours for my long run for a few weeks now. But it was more warm than usual and I thought that this may have contributed to a bit of extra soreness.
I thought about ways to remedy this and then I remembered my Zensah calf compression sleeves. I got those and put them on and it worked great! First, the compression seemed to relieve the immediate soreness somewhat. By the end of the day, my calves felt much more fresh and a lot of the soreness went away.
This is truly magical! I hope to use my compression sleeves more in my training for Ironman Florida, and I plan on using them during the race, no matter how dorky I look.
Posted by dshen at 07:18 PM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2008
Computing Grade
One thing that has always confounded me is percent grade.
When I'm on the treadmill, I always run at 1% grade which supposedly simulates a flat surface due to the fact that the treadmill's moving surface changes the dynamics of running slightly (versus you moving across the ground). When I train hills, I hit the up button on the grade and increase the % percent grade. Seems simple, but when I go outside to run and try to equate a treadmill grade to whatever hill I'm running on, I get confused.
It's the same when I bike. For instance, on the Tour De France, they talk about Category 1 through 4 climbs:
In general terms, Category 4 climbs are short and easy. Category 3 climbs last approximately 5 kilometers (3.1 miles), have an average grade of 5 percent, and ascend 150 meters (500 feet). Category 2 climbs are the same length or longer at an 8 percent grade and ascend 500 meters (1,600 feet). Category 1 climbs last 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) with an average 6 percent grade and ascend 1,500 meters. Beyond category climbs include an altitude difference of at least 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) from start to finish and have an average grade of at least 7 percent.
Since I'm nowhere near a Tour De France class rider, I'm assuming that these climbs are pretty brutal, especially the Category 2 and 1 climbs. I might be able to get up them, but I certainly wouldn't be winning any races anytime soon.
But what do these percentage grades actually feel like? Last year, I did laps on Old La Honda and it's about 3.35 miles long and climbs 1280 ft. According to Stanford Cycling, it averages 7.3% grade.
OK. Old La Honda is tough for me and now I sort of know what 7% grade feels like. Still there are portions which feel even steeper than that.
Now onwards to the computation. I finally figured out that grade is rise in height over a given distance, and then you multiply by 100 to get percent.
So 7% grade is a rise of 7 ft. for every 100 ft. travelled. Hmmm still tough to visualize. Let's convert that to an angle from the horizontal. So taking the arctan of the triangle formed by 7 ft. high over 100 ft of distance, that's an arctan of 7/100, that's about a 4 degree slope from the horizontal. Doesn't seem like much but definitely hell to pedal!
Posted by dshen at 07:11 AM | Comments (0)
April 20, 2008
The Dreaded DNF
Watching my friends race Ironman China yesterday was really painful. The heat index reached 115 which is a combination of temperature plus humidity. It was an unbelievably hot and humid day on Hainan Island and for the 500+ racers, it was a nightmare.
One of my buddies DNF-ed. He was feeling blurry eyed in the heat, not able to take down any nutrition at all. Even dumping ice water on himself didn't do enough to get his body out of this heat trauma. Add to that the nausea of almost throwing up really made him wonder about the reality of finishing. Reaching T2 where inside the changing tent it was 100+ degrees, he wandered over to the medical tent and called it quits.
In a painful email to me, he relayed to me how he felt. Although I haven't DNF-ed yet, I could definitely relate.
Often times, I have wondered whether I would stop during a race, either due to injury or the body just calling it quits under the conditions. Under any circumstances, Ironman is extreme and you never know how your body is truly going to be on race day, even after physically preparing for it for months before. But I just can't imagine stopping....ever.
The image of Julie Moss crawling across the finish line, never calling it quits no matter what, has always inspired me. I saw the spirit of Ironman embodied in that crawl and resolved to never quit in Ironman no way no how no matter what. In my first Ironman, my call to arms was "Stopping is not an option." It kept me going even when I almost stopped and my resolve just fizzled.
However, sometimes our resolve and desire to reach the finish line aren't enough. If our bodies just aren't up to finishing the race for whatever reason, there is nothing we can do. Whether we are not able to take down nutrition and keep throwing up, we got sick right before the race, we're not acclimatized enough to the heat, or if the weather is so bad that we cannot continue safely, we have to stop because dying in an Ironman is probably not worth it.
But man it feels like shit.
You just spent the last 6 months preparing for this event. You've used every weekend going out and riding for hours, beat up your body on long runs and swims. All that time and mental energy spent preparing for the race, only to reach race day and not make it to the finish line.
Where is "Stopping is not an option?" Julie Moss didn't quit; how could I?
All that time and energy just wasted. Down the tubes. No finish line, no medal, not even a damn finisher's t-shirt. All that money wasted on the plane tickets and hotel. Food. Time off from work. Fuckin' A.
Even knowing all that, I know that someday, at some race, I too will DNF. Probability says that it will happen the more I race. I've been lucky so far, racing in pretty decent conditions and my body never letting me down....yet.
So as painful as it is, I mentally prepare now. I say to myself, "Someday I will DNF. It will suck. I will hate myself. I will feel like shit." Then I go out and race. Somehow, repeating this to myself makes me feel better about DNF-ing, if it happens. Or so goes my theory. Let you know the day after I really do DNF....
Posted by dshen at 08:51 PM | Comments (0)
Off Season into Base Training: Like Pulling My Legs Out of Sludge
Well I'm finally on the edge of being completely out of off season and about mid-way through my base training. The reason I say I'm not completely out of off season is because of some injury which has forced a reversal back to pre-base to allow for healing.
My off season this year was the longest yet. It was about 3 months total before beginning the base training ramp. And wow that extra month made a huge difference in a negative way.
Since I only have one major race this year, IM Florida, and it's way late in the year on Nov. 1, I thought I would give my body some extra rest and healing before ramping again this year. I think the extra rest and healing did happen but it also had some detrimental effects.
I do not have an athlete's base. I never did athletics when younger and so my body is still trying to adapt to the stresses of being an Iroman athlete. So I react differently than other more conditioned athletes in that I may get injured when others don't, or I need more rest than others in the same situation. Or at least I reach some higher conditioned state.
The extra month of off season seemed to have pulled my fitness so far back that when I tried to ramp, albeit gently, I still got injured on both feet, right foot having a plantar fascia issue which caused the ball of my foot to swell, and my left ankle's tendons getting strained. I think this would have not happened with other more conditioned athletes.
This caused me to interrupt my run bulid and finally just stop running altogether to let it heal completely, as running in between just aggravated both and never let the pain go away. I stopped for 3 weeks of running, but I was able to build swimming and cycling.
As for cycling, this was also interesting. Throughout off season, I used my Powercranks to do strength workouts on my bike and gained a lot. But extending that strength into my core Computrainer workouts has been tough; I had to take the strategy of doing a workout 2-3 times in succession, starting with conservative wattage and increasing it on the same interval workout. My wattage seems to have increased a bit, but it feels that I did not gain as much as I would have liked. Still, it's early and I have not done long outdoor bikes yet.
That extra month of off season really made it tough to come back, more so than in previous years of only two months of off season. It's been like pulling my legs out of sludge; it feels SOOOOOO slow to build back the strength and endurance that I had last year. At last, as I come up on May, I feel I am almost there. Another 2 weeks of gentle run building with the addition of fartleks to prepare for track workouts and speed, and I hope to be ready to get on the build to Ironman Florida this November.
Next year, only 2 months of off season and that's it! And after watching online my buddies race at a murderously hot/humid Ironman China yesterday, I'm psyched to get into some serious training...
Posted by dshen at 07:10 AM | Comments (0)
March 28, 2008
On Nutrition: Email to Buddy, Going For His First Half IM
Sent to my buddy, who was concerned about his nutrition. My half IM (and some full IM) nutrition plan:
First, congratulations and great job in reaching this point to undertake your first half IM!
Second, here my views on nutrition:
Although I also have tried to add up calories over time at one point, I have found that it is something that is super hard to quantify like that, and I'm not sure it's useful. Race conditions change and so does your body over time.
For instance, I tried to follow similar nutrition plans at Half Vineman and Honu Half but at the Honu Half, it was a lot hotter and my stomach shut down at one point whereby fluid was sloshing around in there. So I had to stop taking in fluid until my stomach calmed down, and also I walked a lot too. A short while later, magically the fluid in my stomach just got absorbed all of a sudden and then I ran to the finish. This has never happened to me at Half Vineman where the temps are different.
As for my body, I have found that over time, I don't need to dump so much nutrition down as my body's natural strength, endurance, and fitness have risen. At one time I would fill up my water bottles with 1.5 scoops of Accelerade and then an extra scoop of Carbo Pro just to top it off. I found out that doing this meant that after a long ride, I would get diarrhea from too many calories going in and my body just not being able to process it, causing stomach problems. So I backed off on this and only use 1 scoop Accelerade for even a tall water bottle and I don't have any problems, AND I'm getting faster AND I'm not bonking either. So overloading on calories obviously wasn't going to make me faster.
Fine tuning your nutrition is something you should be doing during training, so hopefully you've found your plan. DO NOT DEVIATE from your plan no matter what! Everyone says this but we often don't follow our own advice. You could really mess yourself up if you don't. I've seen people throw up on the course and you ask them afterwards what happened and some of the time they deviated from plan! If you don't throw up during training, you'll probably be ok for the race.
I have many more problems with cramping, so I dump in 3 scoops of Endurolyte powder into each tall water bottle, and one scoop into each 10oz Fuel Belt bottle. I also take 3 Saltstick tabs per hour (1 every 20 min), in addition to the electrolytes in my fluids. This I have tested and have shown no negative effects on this, and it seems to help me control my cramping since I sweat a lot AND I'm a weak piece of shit so cramping comes naturally to me.
Here's my nutrition plan for a half IM (note full IM is slightly different):
3 hours before the race start, I eat a hard boiled egg, and 1/4 plain bagel. Then I sit on the toilet and crap out whatever I can (believe me you don't want to take a crap on the course if you can avoid it; plus I've seen racers with brown streaks out their butts on their race shorts because they had to crap and it just started coming out yuck!). I drink down a cup of First Endurance Pre-Race with a carbo drink, usually I just use Endurox recovery drink before the race (as well as after). I also dump a packet of Emergen-C in there too.
Before the swim starts, I take a Powergel (w/ extra sodium).
After the swim before the bike, I put down another Powergel. I get on my bike and ride. For half IM on the bike, I usually use 2 large water bottles with one scoop Accelerade and 3 scoops Endurolyte powder each.
Usually I don't start taking any more down for a while until my body gets accustomed to riding. I find that I really don't need my first nutrition until 45-1 hr in. But i do start taking salt tabs on my 20 min schedule immediately (it's important to not get into an electrolyte deficit early), and sipping fluids about every 15 min. I take a Powergel every 45 min, a Saltstick tab every 20 min, and sip my water bottle to wash down everything. Depending on the air temp, I may sip more or less than every 20 min.
Generally, I go through 2 large water bottles in a half IM. After I finish one, I immediately toss it to increase my aerodynamics.
If my stomach feels too full, I may wait a bit before my next sip or nutrition.
Hopping off the bike, I go into T2. I keep my eye on my watch and keep fueling my Powergels every 45 min, continuing from when I was on the bike. I may grab a cup of gatorade on the way out, as usually there is a nutrition station at T2 exit.
For half IM, I carry 2 10oz Fuel Belt bottles of Accelerade. But I mix it in another small water bottle so I fill the bottle up, and put one scoop in there, and then dump 2 scoops Endurolyte powder in there. Then I squirt it into 2 10oz bottles.
At some point, I may try to do the race without carrying my own fluids, but now I am too paranoid about my electrolyte problems and cramping to trust only what is out there on the course. Also, sometimes even half ironman aid stations will run out and it's nice to have something to sip if you can't get something on the course.
But inevitably, I am supplementing my Fuel Belt fluids with whatever is on the course. If I reach an aid station and I'm about to take a gel, I'll just drink a Gatorade there instead of sipping from my bottles. I am a huge fan of cola so I will definitely drink that over my own fluids, but at most half IMs you won't find cola, only at full IMs.
Still i gel every 45 min, and take Saltstick tabs every 20 min.
This has seemed to work well for me but it was developed very organically and not very scientifically. Still, I have not bonked ever on a race so thats a plus. I have had other problems but never bonked thankfully.
Check out this article:
Feed the Machine, Triathlete Magazine
In looking at what you're doing, the only thing I might change is to eat the powerbar earlier. Digestive systems start working not as well as time goes on, and your body is more able to deal with solid foods earlier in the race than later.
But note that I only eat energy bars during full IM where I usually put down at least 2, sometimes 3 bars in the first 3 hours. My bar of choice is the Balance Bar Yogurt Honey Peanut. It is very plain tasting and easy to chew. I hate Powerbars because they are so chewy and require more water for me to get down. But i have found that half IMs are short enough that you don't need to have solid food and can do well on gels alone. Besides, eating a bar is harder than gels. You have to unwrap them, take a bite, and then put them back somewhere. If you're going to eat an energy bar, I would time it out. I usually take a 1/4 bar bite every 15 min, so by the end of 1 hour it's gone. Sometimes I take smaller bites, so it's gone after 1.25 or 1.5 hours. But i stop when my stomach feels too full.
Important: do not forget to take nutrition down! Keep focused on the race and keep to your schedule of putting down nutrition. The only time to stop a bit is if your stomach starts to hurt, feel too full, or if you feel like throwing up. Back off on the nutrition then and slow down too, until your system returns.
At each aid station on the run, I take from a mouthful of fluid to a full small cup. Then I wash my mouth out with some water because i hate that sticky feeling. Try not to over drink at an aid station. Just take the drink and move on.
One note: slowing down at an aid station means extra time on the race. At IM WA, for the first half, I didn't stop at all and only took fluid from my Fuel Belt. that strategy fell apart later....ha. But I did reach the half way point faster than I ever have on an IM.
Another point about your plan below. If you are going to bike about 3 hours, then if you gel every 45 min, you should take down 4 gels approximately. If you take one every hour, you're going to need 3.
Always take with you one more gel than you think you'll need, both on the bike and run. I've fumbled gels before on the bike due to cold fingers and always glad i had an extra. Plus you may take longer than you think on the bike, or more likely on the run. You definitely don't want to run out of nutrition on the run. That has happened to me before where I thought I would run a certain time but took a lot longer!
Food for thought. Pun intended.
Posted by dshen at 06:21 PM | Comments (1)
