I was feeling pretty decent today so I decided to do the 2400m Step Assessment to get a baseline for future tests. Here's the protocol:

1. Run 2400m @ 140 bpm and record time. Take 90 secs rest.
2. Run 2400m @ 150 bpm and record time. Take 90 secs rest.
3. Run 2400m @ 160 bpm and record time. Take 90 secs rest.
4. Run 2400m @ 170 bpm and record time. Take 90 secs rest.
5. Run 2400m @ 180 bpm and record time. Take 90 secs rest.

Here were the results. I took splits at the 1200m mark and will only use the last 1200m because it takes a little while to get to stable HRs. I only did 800m on the last one (180 bpm) because I was in serious need of finding a bathroom due to eating a bowl of cereal right before heading out for my run.  All of the paces felt pretty comfortable. The only difference I noticed was once I hit 170 bpm my breathing started to feel slightly more labored. 180 bpm felt fast but only because I haven't spent any time there yet. Overall this is a good sign that my run fitness is moving in the right direction.

140 bpm: 6:41 pace (138) @ 1200m split, 6:55 pace (141) @ 2400m split
150 bpm: 6:18 pace (145), 6:28 pace (151)
160 bpm: 5:48 pace (153), 5:56 pace (161)
170 bpm: 5:12 pace (164), 5:30 pace (171)
180 bpm: 4:57 pace (164) only 1/2 mile

My usable data will be:

6:55, 6:28, 5:56, 5:30, X:XX

My goal for this year is as follows:

6:48, 6:18, 5:45, 5:20, 4:57

Once I can hit that type of an assessment I will know that my base is fully developed and I'm ready to start specific training for either 5k/10k or Half Marathon/Marathon. I've noticed this on past assessments that the correlation between pace and HR is about 30 seconds for every 10 bpm give or take 3-4 seconds.

The NNT Nation is an organized group of athletes focused on inflicting pain and suffering to Triple Threat Racing (3T) on any given Saturday during the Saturday Morning Shootout.

For immediate press release

7/31/2010
Charlotte, NC

The first official showdown between The NTT Nation (Non Triple Threaters) and 3T (Triple Threat) was a test of willpower and team strategy that left the 3T team coming home down West Blvd on fumes and The NTT Nation celebrating their sweet victory. The day started with a good showing by The NTT Nation having five riders in the peloton (Dave (Tyler's friend), Nick, Redmond, Todd, Tyler, & Waldo) while 3T only had two guys (Murph, Woody) to fend off the barrage of attacks that were soon to come. Just after the neutral zone Todd and Redmond fired off attack after attack which Murph and Woody had to chase down to avoid the 10 point break away points. Woody would then counter attack with no luck since he had The Red(mond) Rocket covering him like a warm blanket. This continued until the sprint stages got under way.

STAGE 1: (downhill sprint on Mt. Holly Rd): Tied: 0
1st: Waldo (3), 2nd: Woody (2), 3rd: Murph (1)
Sprint 1 was a down hill sprint which lines up perfectly for The NTT Nation to get "The Man From The Isle of Waldo" into a position for a stage victory. Waldo was the only man in the field that can sprint downhill at over 50 mph so we knew he was a shoe in if in the right position.

STAGE 2: (slight uphill sprint @ stop ahead sign at end of 15 min slight incline on Old NC 27): The NTT Nation +2
* Can't remember exact placings.
On the lead up to Sprint 2 the 3T team put the pressure on the peloton and whittled The NTT Nation down to three riders (Dave, Nick, Tyler). The NTT Nation came out ahead by 2 points.

STAGE 3: (KOM on Spencer mountain): The NTT Nation +5
1st: Nick (5), 2nd: Woody (3), 3rd: Dave (1)
This stage was the beginning of the end for 3T.

STAGE 4: (flat sprint in Lowell): The NTT Nation +5
1st: Nick (3), 2nd: Woody (2), 3rd: Tyler (1)
No gain in points on this sprint but a big loss in energy.

STAGE 5: (KOM on McAdenville): The NTT Nation +12
1st: Nick (5), 2nd: Tyler (3), 3rd: Woody (1)
The first 1-2 punch of the day for either team. Let the creaming begin.

STAGE 6: (KOM on Cramerton): The NTT Nation + 19
1st: Dave (5), 2nd: Nick (3), 3rd: Murph (1)
The NTT Nation sent Dave up the road with no response from 3T. Another dominating mountain stage by The NTT Nation .

STAGE 7: (uphill sprint on Armstrong Ford Rd.): The NTT Nation + 23
1st: Tyler (3), 2nd: Nick (2), 3rd: Murph (1)
The NTT Nation attacked on the downhill leading into this sprint. A group of three regrouped midway through the climb until The NTT Nation launched their man again to yet another victory. We're starting to see a pattern here.

STAGE 8: (final sprint across bridge on Wilkinson): The NTT Nation +29
1st: Dave (3), 2nd: Tyler (2), 3rd: Nick (1)
This stage was what we call total domination. Also known as the trifecta or the triple crown. Call it what you will....it was a thing of beauty. The NTT Nation send Dave on a solo attack and got up the road while 3T could do nothing but pedal as if they were in quick sand. Tyler and Nick followed suit while Murph and Woody were strategizing their counter attack up the hill after the sprint. Directly after the sprint Murph launched off the front and opened a gap only to be closed within 40 seconds by the The NTT Nation member formerly known as Nick.

BREAKAWAY: The NTT Nation +49
Tyler (10), Nick (10)
This attack was like taking candy from a baby. Just after the rail road crossing Tyler attacked to stack up some more points against the weakened 3T crew and after about 15 seconds Nick decided to go for "Double Jeopardy" and rub it in even further. The duo stayed away for the minimum 3 mins and tried to wait up on the 3T crew but you can only coast so slowly.

RECAP: The NTT Nation made a net gain of 49 point over 3T!! As you can imagine, this was quite embarrassing for 3T to have a group of scrappers dominate them so handily. To officially be considered as "skunked" you need to get beat by more than 50 points so this is about as close to a skunking as you will ever see. The Saturday Morning Shootout has never seen such a beat down as was seen by our very eyes last weekend. It was a day that will go down in the history books as one of the greatest ass whoopings of all time. Team strategy and starting numbers were key to opening the flood gates of stage victories for The NTT Nation. The Red(mond) Rocket and T-O-Double-D Kaish played an integral role in dishing out body shots to 3T in the form of attacks and covering moves early in the day. The Man From The Isle of Waldo took the first stage victory which set the tone for the rest of the day. From that point on the remaining The NTT Nation dominated the mountain stages and once 3T was out of gas they launched a two man breaker that stayed away until the day was over. If 3T wants to win next week they will need to field a much larger team and hope for a miracle from the cycling gods. They are now 49 points down in the yearly standings and can only hope to chip away at that deficit in the weeks and months to come.

PLAN AHEAD.  Here's G-ma recording her intake after each meal.  I'd rather see her plan out her meals ahead of time and then simply check them off after consumption.


MAKE HEALTHY FOOD CHOICES.  Check out G-ma eating an apple.  An apple a day keeps the doctor away.


PUMP THE GUNS.  Here's G-ma in the house of pain getting ripped.  We want to maintain our strength.


LOSE THE BOOZE.  Margaritas are tasty and make you feel great but they don't have a place in a Shredder Program.  Go back to the bottle once the weight is lost and maintainable.


THE RESULT is being chiseled like The D-Horn.  Not everyone will get results like The D-Horn but we can certainly try our best.

Endurance sports such as triathlon, cycling, and running tend to favor the athletes that are trim and strong.  Carrying around excess fat means giving away free time to your competitors.  When people are willing to pay hundreds and thousands of dollars to shave grams off of their equipment why not put in a little extra effort to shave pounds off of your body?  I see guys riding the lightest bikes and training countless hours to get better results but they overlook the fact that losing the excess fat will get them immediate results without spending a dime or spending much time. 

Below is a list of things that I try to do when I'm trying to chisel my way down to my race weight.  I'm not a registered dietician or certified sports nutritionist but I have used the method below multiple times to shave off those last 5-10 pounds.  There are many different ways to get from point A to point B and this is just the way that I've done it successfully in the past.  This doesn't just apply to endurance athletes.  It can easily be applied to anyone trying to lose some unwanted baggage.

Plan Ahead
I try to plan my daily intake just as I would plan out my training for the day.  Actually, I plan out my nutrition plan to coincide with my training plan.  I'll figure out how much I need to eat for the day and then plan the timing of the meals and snacks around my workouts.  That way all I need to do throughout the day is eat off of my list and check each meal and snack off as I go.

Drink Lots of Water
Water plays an important role in my ability to shed pounds.  It helps to regulate how much food I eat and keeps me hydrated for my upcoming workouts.  We lose fluids while sleeping through breathing, sweating, and waking to pee (for some people) in the middle of the night so I take down anywhere from 16-24oz of water right after my morning weigh in.  I also take down 16oz of water before every meal and snack and take down another 16oz of water with each meal and snack.  This helps to keep me from overeating and ensures that my food gets diluted properly.  And last but not least, I don't drink any calories unless it is during or directly after a training session (sports drink or recovery drink).  This means no milk, juice, soda (even caffeine free), etc.  It's water only when I'm trying to cut down to race weight.

Timing and Makeup of Food Intake
I don't really change my daily ratios of macronutrients (carb, protein, fat) all that much while trying to lose weight but I do focus more on the placement of each within the daily meal structure.  For instance, I will ensure that my main meals of breakfast, lunch, and dinner all contain a higher ratio of protein and good fats than carbs because the protein and fat will subside my hunger longer and I typically only take in carbs during my training sessions so it balances everything out over the course of the day.  Before and during a training session I eat a much higher percentage of carbohydrates to fuel for the workout.  Directly after the workout I have a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein to promote quick recovery.  All other snacks are a good mix of carbs, protein, and fat.  An important thing to note is that if you are trying to cut weight while training a lot you have to fuel up on carbs before, during, and directly after exercise to ensure that your workouts don't suffer.

Make Good Food Choices
The cleaner the food you put in your mouth the more you can put in for the day and the better your body will work for you.  Lean cuts of meat, poultry, fish, and fruits are all packed with nutrients and don't have a high caloric cost so you can eat more food.  I try to stay away from packaged foods when cutting down because they are typically packed with calories and the high glycemic index foods make me hungry a lot quicker.

Lose The Booze
Alcohol adds tons of unwanted calories.  It's tough to get shredded while drinking alcohol.  Simply put.....cut out the beer, wine, tequila, vodka, etc.  Drink no calories.

Record Your Progress Daily BUT Review At Aggregate Level
I've got a scale that tells me my weight, body fat %, and water %.  Each morning (when trying to trim down) I wake up, go pee, weight myself naked, and record the date, weight, fat %, and water %.  I don't look at these numbers on a day to day basis because they can sway drastically from day to day based on hydration status, amount of carbs and/or salt in previous meals (carbs and salt retain water), when you took your last dump, etc.  To see if you are trending downward you can take the average weight over the last 7-14 days or you can find a body fat % and water % that are exactly the same as your current values and make sure that your current weight is less than the previous weight.  People make a big mistake when "dieting" by looking at the scale each day or once a week and only taking their weight into consideration.  When they see that they've been eating well but they gained two pounds in one day they get discouraged and say screw it and go on a binge.  I've seen day to day swings of 3-5 pounds before depending on how well hydrated or dehydrated I was and what I at the night before.  You have to look at aggregate data to get a better picture of which way you are trending.  That's why I record it every morning and review the data in an aggregate form.

Pump Those Guns
Strength training will help to maintain muscle mass while trying to lose fat.  We don't want to lose muscle because we want to keep our current strength while losing fat.  This will improve our strength to weight ratio on the bike and we will have less of a chance for injury.

Even though this seems like a lot of work it really isn't once you get into a routine.  What it really comes down to is consuming less calories than you expend on a daily basis.  The examples above are just in place to keep me on track and keep my mood and workouts stable when I'm trying to shred that last bit of fat for improved performance.

The similarities are endless between Macho Man Randy Savage and Watty.


This is what happened the last time Watty ran his mouth before camp.  The photo that I'm not showing is the one of me melting down at the top of this same climb....

Watty hosts the toughest training camp in the NC mountains each April that I commited to helping him with before I decided to hang up my triathlon shoes.  The camp is very demanding so it's not something that I can go into untrained without getting dropped and left for dead.  There are going to be some strong cyclists up there so I've got 8 weeks to work myself into shape.  I'm currently not in any kind of aerobic shape and I've only ridden the bike (mountain bike) three times since racing Clearwater 70.3 in November.  Watty and I have been bantering back and forth about who was going to lay the wood to who.  He left me a voicemail this morning taunting me in a Macho Man Randy Savage (ex-pro wrestler) voice.  The end result from all of the trash talk was that we're going to see who makes it to the top of three selected climbs during the weekend but we're taking vastly different approaches to our training.  I will be limiting my training to under 100 miles per week on the bike and Steve will be riding between 300-400+ miles per week over the next 8 weeks.  It will be fun and interesting to see the two training styles collide in the mountains.  Of course this is all in good fun but it's something that will force me to get into some kind of aerobic shape to stay fit and healthy.  Along with that, I don't like to lose, so it's a good challenge for me.  Here's my plan for the next 8 weeks:

* 3 cycling sessions per week consisting of:
     * Two hour long interval & LT workouts in our basement
     * One Saturday mountain bike ride building from 1.5 hrs to 3 hrs

* 5-6 short run sessions building to 40 miles per week

* Three 30 min strength sessions

* Drop about 5 lbs of unnecessary body fat

The training days at the camp will be long for Steve and me since we'll be taking the long course each day.  He's got each course broken down with optional bailout routes that can make them shorter if need be.  The long routes are 103 miles with ~13k ft of climbing on day 1 followed by 102 miles with ~18.5k ft of climbing on day two and we'll finish off with a ride out and back on the parkway on day 3.  The toughest day will be day two.  We'll be riding "the loop of truth" which was a course hand picked by Steve and me a year or so ago in our attempt to come up with the toughest course we could find in the Blowing Rock area.  I think we've succeeded.

My only concern for camp will be my body's ability to utilize fat as the primary fuel source.  Since most of my training will be high octane and I will have no foundation laid down I'll be interested to see if I'll be blowing through my carb stores faster than usual.  If that's the case, I'll be stocking up on Mountain Dew at the gas station stops!!

There are still a couple of spots available for camp so here's the link for info if anyone is interested in joining the group.

Camp Details Here

At the end of each season I like to take a look at my training numbers to see if they are trending upwards over the course of the year or not.  For the most part, 2009 was a fairly consistent training year with only one injury that took me completely away from running for 11 days.  Aside from that there weren't any big voids in training.  The table below shows my average weekly volume in each sport from mid November to mid November of the previous year.  That's when my seasons start and end.  These numbers include end of season breaks and mid season breaks as well as recovery weeks so the numbers look pretty low but don't show the complete picture.  The good news is that I've trended upwards in all three sports and hit my yearly records in the swim and bike.  I've also increased the intensity at which I train this year so my overall training stress was much higher this year than in previous years.  This should set me up nicely for next year.

Year	Swim	Bike	Run
2005	5,000 yds	105 mi	19 mi
2006	7,000 yds	142 mi	21 mi
2007	8,000 yds	148 mi	35 mi
2008	8,400 yds	115 mi	24 mi
2009	10,200 yds	155 mi	26 mi

* Aggregate data courtesy of athleticore.com

I first started my triathlon training in the 2004-2005 season and the numbers trended upwards until 2008.  The 2008 season was my first season racing pro and I had an injury that crippled me for most of the season.....hence the low training numbers.  I made a conscious effort to get in the pool more in 2009 and it is noticable by the jump in weekly average by 1,800 yds per week.  In 2010 I hope to increase my swim and run significantly since I feel that these are the areas where the race is won and lost.  My bike mileage won't be as high in 2010 but the bike intensity will be higher.

I recently had a buddy of mine ask me about how to structure his triathlon training week and I thought up a pretty simple way to explain how to incorporate stress and recovery within his training.  When I am creating a weekly sequence for either myself or other athletes I typically use a color coded model to be able to visually see the level of stress that each workout and/or day puts on the body.  My simple approach to the color coding is as follows.  The distances and intensities would vary based on the athlete's history and current fitness level but this is what I use for myself.  As you can see I tend to lean on the cautious side. 

RED:
* High effort that needs 1-2 recovery days afterwards
* Steady State workouts (70.3 intensity :: LT minus 10-15 bpm) longer than 20 mins in duration
* Lactate Threshold workouts of any duration
* Speed workouts (VO2 max intervals, long hill repeats w/ short rest)
* Sprint workouts (Short hill repeats w/ long rest, Economy workouts)
* Endurance run sessions over 14 miles
* Endurance bike sessions at or over 4:00

ORANGE:
* Moderate effort and distance that could be completed day after day
* Bike rides at Ironman effort (LT minus 20-25 bpm) or lower for durations at or below 3 hrs
* Run sessions at Ironman effort (LT minus 20-25 bpm) or lower for durations at or below 12 miles

BLUE:
* Super easy recovery day
* Easy spin at HR levels of Lactate Threshold minus 50 bpm or below for 20-40 miles
* Easy run at HR levels of Lactate Threshold minus 50 bpm or below for 4-6 miles
* Easy swim workout 

The idea is to schedule a recovery day after a session that either overly damages the muscles, depletes glycogen stores, or depletes fluid stores.  Typically hard workouts and long workouts both tend to do this so each would deserve a recovery day (BLUE) after that particular hard day (RED).  Taking a BLUE day gives your body the chance to repair the damage and store more glycogen and fluids so you are ready for another RED or ORANGE session.  An ORANGE session is a session that could be completed every day while allowing your body to recover between each workout.  It's neither too hard nor too long and is mainly used for building a solid foundation and maintaining your aerobic system.  An instance where I elect to take two BLUE days after a RED day is when I combine a long and hard workout.  For instance, if I do a 4 hr bike session with 2 X 30 mins at 70.3 intensity then I would be best off taking two BLUE days afterwards to ensure that my body is recovered from such a session.  I've found that combining long and hard workouts tends to take my body longer to recovery from especially if you are doing part of your work towards the tail end of the session when your muscles are tired and your body is low on glycogen and fluids.  I've learned to use these workouts sparingly. 

Here is an example of a weekly sequence for a foundation building week.  The bulk of the week is geared towards building a solid aerobic foundation while getting in some primer workouts that will set you up nicely for the real work to come in the race specific period. 

Monday: ORANGE
Tuesday: RED (Steady or Hills)
Wednesday: BLUE
Thursday: ORANGE
Friday: ORANGE
Saturday: RED (Endurance)
Sunday: BLUE 

Here is an example of a weekly sequence for a race specific week.  For these weeks you are either doing tougher sessions that are very specific to your goal race, resting from those workouts, or maintaining your aerobic system.  The actual workouts themselves would differ depending on what your goal race was. 

Monday: ORANGE
Tuesday: RED (LT)
Wednesday: BLUE
Thursday: RED (VO2)
Friday: BLUE
Saturday: RED (Endurance)
Sunday: BLUE 

This sign pretty much sums it up -- taken at the bottom of one of our climbs.

Steve Watkins (aka Watty) and I created a cycling route in the NC mountains that we named "The Loop of Truth".  The reason for the name is that it tells you the truth about your fitness every time you ride it.  There is nowhere to hide on this course.  Your fitness and nutrition are totally exposed and you will find out what you are made of by the day's end.  We've only actually completed this course once before and the other two times have had to cut the day short due to major mechanical issues (shredded tire & broken chain).  "The Loop" takes a toll on the body, mind, soul, and bike.  Here are the stats and notable climbs for The Loop of Truth:

STATS:
Distance: 102 miles
Total Elevation Gain: 18,500 ft

NOTABLE CLIMBS:
George's Gap 1: 1.85 mi @ 773 ft (7.91 ave grade)
George's Gap 2: 1.92 mi @ 821 ft (8.09)
Rominger: 1.98 mi @ 905 ft (8.6)
Clarke's Creek: 1.25 mi @ 884 ft (13.3)
Shulls Mill: 4.82 mi @ 1853 ft (7.28)
Parkway: 5.76 mi @ 983 ft (3.23)
Hickory Nut Gap: 4.39 mi @ 896 ft (3.86)
Beech: 2.84 mi @ 1474 ft (9.82)
Pinnacle Ridge: 1.93 mi @ 1428 ft (14.01)
Pinnacle Add On: 1.07 mi @ 513 ft (9.08)
Back of Beech: 5.83 mi @ 2221 ft (7.21)

The toughest part of this course starts at the bottom of Beech......we climb Beech.....descend the backside......climb Pinnacle & Add On.....descend Pinnacle & Add On......and then climb the backside of Beech.  We have many nicknames for this part of the course such as "The Valley of Death", "The Gauntlet", "The Trench", "Blood Bath", etc.  The elevation gain on this part of the course alone is 5636 ft over 11.6 mi climbing for an average grade of 9.14.

Since we had a long weekend for the Labor Day holiday we decided it would be fun and challenging to do the Loop of Truth 3 days in a row and call it "le tour de truth".  Since we were staying on the top of Beech Mountain we decided it would make the course even tougher by finishing the course with "The Valley of Death".  Below is a summary of how the weekend went.

FRIDAY:
Jen and I packed up the Honda Element and drove up to Banner Elk, NC after work.  The drive wasn't all that bad and probably only took us 2.5 hrs even with a good bit of traffic heading out of Charlotte.  Met up with Steve and Amanda at the cabin and made some homemade pizzas and a couple of beers and were off to bed to ensure a good night's sleep.


Just a relaxing trip to the mountains minus the 22+ hrs of cycling.


Steve and Amanda's picture turned out better than ours.....boo you.

SATURDAY (DAY 1):
Distance: 110 miles
Time: 7:46:35
Total Ascent: 19,056 ft

Steve and I got started at around 8am and were on our way in good spirits.  We decided to stick to the HR cap for the weekend so things didn't get out of hand as they usually do.  Our main goal was to make it through the weekend in one piece.  I tried to keep most climbs under 150 bpm and did a pretty good job of this.  We made a stop at The Ham Shoppe for lunch at 50 miles and I took down a turkey sandwich, PB & J, and a lemonade.  This set me up nicely for the second half of the ride.  I really like the idea of eating lunch midway through the ride.  Otherwise I feel ill from just eating so much sugar all day with nothing substantial.  On our way to Hickory Nut we decided to do a little exploring around Sugar Mountain and added on about 5.5 miles and didn't find any great climbs.  We were trying to get over 20K ft of climbing for the day.  We stopped at a gas station just before the start of the Beech climb and I loaded up on Mountain Dew.  Unfortunately it didn't kick in for the climb and I was the first to falter on Day 1.  I bonked pretty hard going up Beech but then rallied for Pinnacle and The Backside to finish off the day strong.  Watty did just the opposite as he was very strong up Beech and faded a bit on Pinnacle and The Backside.  Overall a solid day in the saddle with great conversations and we finished off with dinner and a campfire with our lovely ladies.......you can't beat that!!


Watty climbing the "easy" part of Pinnacle.


Fire safety 101 - Watty prepping the grill for some burgers.


Jen is prepping her marshmallow stick for battle in the campfire.


Amanda means business -- sharpening her marshmallow stick.

SUNDAY (DAY 2):
Distance: 105 miles
Time: 7:31:52
Total Ascent: 18,719 ft

It was a little tougher to get going this morning so we got started at around 8:25am.  The agenda for the day was the same as Day 1.  My legs seemed to actually feel better on Day 2 than Day 1.  We continued to keep our efforts in check up the climbs as we both knew that the course will take its toll no matter how easy or hard you ride it.  We got rained on early in the ride and the course was slick.  While descending George's Gap Steve hit a slick patch around a tight corner and went down.  Luckily he and his bike were okay and he only came away from it with a swollen and skinned hip.  This wasn't about to stop Steve though so we were back on our way.  After descending 194 I realized that my tired had a slow leak so we changed that and went back to business.  We again stopped for lunch at The Ham Shoppe in Valle Crusis and this time I went with a chicken sandwich, PB&J, lemonade, and Coke.  Yesterday they filled my lemonade with mostly ice and a little lemonade so today I said "no ice please" and evened the score.  Lunch was just what I needed and ended up finishing the ride feeling very good.  Both Steve and I set personal bests going up Beech and felt good through the rest of The Trench.  We got back to the house and had a quick transition and went out for a 50 min trail run on a very tough hiking trail.  This pretty much finished us off for the day.  Dave showed up just as we were about to have dinner since he was to ride with us on Monday.  We had another great dinner and campfire along with a few cold beers.


It's not all about the bike.  Watty and me by the campfire.


Fire safety 201 -- the bigger the better for making smores.


The finished product -- a golden brown marshmallow on melted chocolate.


Dave seemed nervous for the loop but ended up showing it who's boss hog.

MONDAY (DAY 3):
Distance: 102.5 miles
Time: 7:17:09
Total Ascent: 18,528 ft

We decided to get an earlier start this morning because we had to drive home later in the day so we headed out the door at 7:15am.  I was hoping for good legs again today but ended up with very tired legs that were sore to the touch.  Watty was in the same boat.  This was Dave's first time on The Loop so I wanted to ensure that he got his money's worth but could barely get my HR up to 150 bpm early in the ride.  We rode fairly easy for most of the day and sat around 140-150 bpm for most of the notable climbs.  The ladies were kind enough to pick up lunch for us and meet us at the bottom of the Shulls Mill climb for lunch.  The combination of eating lunch and not enough water to dilute it left me feeling like I was going to throw up.  We set a decent pace up Shulls Mill and Watty started to feel good on the parkway so we set good tempo there as well.  By the time we hit Hickory Nut my lunch and the Mountain Dew I just drank was about to come back up.  We decided to ride Hickory easy to let things settle and hopefully find some legs for the last three climbs of the day.  By the time Beech rolled around I just decided to see what my legs would give me and only ended up 18 seconds off of my PR.  I could tell that it took a toll though and at the toughest part of Pinnacle I slowly fell apart.  I had a bit of a meltdown at the top but luckily the ladies were there again with cookies and cokes.  After another Mountain Dew and 8 cookies I was back in business and felt pretty good coming back up The Backside to finish off the day.  Dave rode really well today and I think his big summer miles on the bike are going to start paying dividends soon.  Watty and I were both pretty well spent after 3 days of that punishing course but were very happy with the accomplishment.  After cleaning up a bit we all grabbed some pizza in downtown Banner Elk and then made the drive home and headed to bed.


Watty on the parkway - we've got some great views on this route.


Having a bit of a meltdown on top of Pinnacle.  It happens.


At least I don't look as tired as that guy - Watty regrouping.

Overall Totals:
Distance: 317.5 miles
Ride Time: 22:35:36
Total Ascent: 56,303 ft

Overall this weekend was just what I needed to kickstart the 2nd half of my season.  I realized that I'm not in as bad of shape as I thought that I might have been and actually set a personal best on the Beech climb.  It was a lot of fun hanging out with Watty and Dave during the day and spending some relaxing time with our wives during the evening.  Speaking of which....a special thanks to Jen and Amanda for checking on us at various points throughout the weekend with their "sag" vehicle.  Their timing was second to none.

I just recently ran some reports from my training log to check on my average training volume for the year so far and here are the results by year for Swim, Bike and Run:

Year	Swim	Bike	Run
2005	5,900 yds	121 mi	21 mi
2006	7,400 yds	150 mi	18 mi
2007	8,900 yds	172 mi	35 mi
2008	10,000 yds	142 mi	28 mi
2009	9,200 yds	158 mi	27 mi

These numbers represent the averages over the first 30 weeks of each respective year.  This obviously doesn't give the whole picture since my training has been more intense this year than it was in 2007 for example but it does give a good indication of what I might need to focus on during the 2nd half of this season as well as in 2010.  My favorite equation for success is:

CONSISTENCY + PROGESSIVE OVERLOAD == CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT

In 2008, my consistency suffered because I was injured and so far in 2009 my consistency has suffered because I've been racing more often and have been spending a lot of time freshening up for races as well as recovering from races.  I've also turned up the intensity a notch this year so I've been missing workouts here and there due to excess soreness.

I've started to plan out the remainder of my season and I keep thinking about how I can be CONSISTENT and PROGRESSIVELY OVERLOAD my body with stress.  Here are some of my thoughts:

* I'll only be racing two more times this season: Augusta 70.3 and Clearwater 70.3.  I won't be spending as much time freshening and recovering from races.
* I think the high octane intervals on the bike and run really took their toll on me.  Maybe because I didn't have the foundation necessary or maybe my body just doesn't handle that work well anymore.  I'm planning on doing more hill repeats, steady state, and LT work over the 2nd half of the season since these workouts don't dig me so deep and I bounce back from them more quickly.
* I am going to join Tim Kerr's swim group at the Aquatic Center to get my swim training up where it needs to be.  I get more out of my workouts and am more likely to put in more time in the water when there are others around me to be competitive with.
* I'm pretty excited because it shouldn't be too tough to surpass these numbers in 2010 so I know that I've still got a lot of untapped potential ready to bust out of the seams.

Here are some specific aspects of my training that I'd like to focus on during the second half of this season:

* Improve force on the bike.  I'll be more focused in the weight room and will be hitting the hill repeats and going to the mountains.
* Improve muscular endurance on the bike.  I tend to struggle towards the end of my 56 mi bike leg and feel like I need to improve my sustainability.
* Increase run cadence.  I feel like my body gets too damaged by the run and I think it's due to my slow, bouncy cadence.  The increased turnover should help with muscle fatigue as well as keeping me in a better horizontal plane.
* Swim volume and consistency.  I don't plan on missing a M, T, T, F swim session with Tim's group once I start in two weeks.  My swim needs to improve by next spring if I want to have any chance of breaking into the top 3 at 70.3s next season.
* I've gotten a bit soft looking lately so it's time to get "gorilla shredded" again.  Hitting the weight room and cutting a few calories during my mid-season break and rebase period should do the trick.  Muscle retains more H2O and CHO so turning the extra fat into muscle should help on race day.