Tucson Winter Training Camp Day 2

There is a saying in New England that if you do not like the weather - wait a minute. I guess the same is true for Tucson! After a day of down pouring rain and 42 degree temps - we awoke today to sunshine and warm temperatures.

The game plan was to hit all three disciplines today:

90 minute swim
4 hour bike ride
30 minute run

After our morning coffee run we headed over to the Oro Valley pool - which is about 20 minutes from our hotel. Check out this picture I took of the pool this AM.



It is hard not get motivated to swim here. Swimming is right up there with going to the dentist with me. I never swam competitevly as a kid, and only started to swim when I turned 40. Every year I put in just enough swimming to get through an Ironman swim in July. So as of this morning I had not swam since last July. The swim workout started out slow for me, but one of the camp coaches (Brian) jumped in the lane next to me and started to make some suggestions. This was a great day to try some new things and sure enough these suggestions started to work. For the first time in awhile I actually feel like I might have something positive happening for me in the water. The coaches put everyone through a solid 90 minute workout in the pool. This group of athletes has a great attitude and everyone seemd to enjoy the swim.

The temps continued to ride and by 11:30 AM we were in the low 70's. Time to get on the bikes. Today's ride was going to take us to Colossal Cave - which is a nice 26 mile steady climb from the hotel. A few of the athletes were christening their new bikes today - which was very cool. We headed out on the ride and after about 5 miles you are in southwest countryside with city views to your right and mountain views to your left. I have done this ride now for the last four years and I really enjoy it. I know the roads and realize that the hard work is done in the first 90 minutes. Here is the elevation chart for this ride and as you can see again this desert ain't flat.



The group spread a little but regrouped at the Cave - before heading back. The coaches told us that we were not going straight home - instead we would be making a stop at the Saguaro National Park to do 2 loops of the rolling 9 mile road that winds through this beautiful park. I got my second wind on the downhill ride from the Cave to the Park and the miles just clicked away. Once we got to the park we headed out on the loop. This photo shows just how great this park is:




We headed back to the hotel with the entire ride being a little over 60 miles. A quick change into running shoes and we were out for a 3o minute run. My legs actually felt pretty good on this run which surprised me as I thought that after the ride I was done. A good sign of my current fitness level.

I am a good tired right now - a solid day of training in the books.

Heading out to dinner shortly.

Camper Jeff M.

Tucson Winter Training Camp Day 1

Easy to wake up the first day out west after you travel from the east. Our internal clocks have us thinking it is really 6:00 AM when it is actually 4:00 AM in Tucson. It rained hard last night and showers are lingering here this morning. A coffee run at 6:15 AM to Starbucks was well attended. Tom and Huck from Missouri and Gus all understand that a little caffeine is one of the secrets to surviving camp.

We headed over to Sabino Canyon to run the trails in this magnificent park. This is one of two national parks within the Tucson city limits that have wonderful trails that show off this areas southwest landscape. The idea this morning was to run for 90 minutes on a trail called the telephone line trail. The trail starts out flat and then begins to climb at mile 1. At mile one we were at 2800 ft of elevation. Many people think the desert is flat this park redefines that. From mile 1 to mile 4.5 the trail climbs 1200 ft of elevation. This is single track trail with switchbacks all the way up. The rain intensified on the run and as we gained elevation the temperature began to drop. There a few sections of the trail that are a little dicey with little margin for error and a steep drop off below. The rain made it interesting and you certainly needed to stay focused on the run. At mile 4.5 the trails descends down to a road which is used for walkers and hikers to enjoy the park. I took it easy going up the trail as this type of running wreaks havoc on my back. The uphill is not that bad, but the rock hopping on the descent has me wincing from time to time. After you get to the road the run is a nice 3.5 mile rolling course back to the parking lot. At elevation here in the desert there is plenty of snow. This time of year the snow melts and when it combines with rain - it washes out portions of the road. On the way back we had to traverse through 5 or 6 of these wash out bridges - running through water that was up to our shins. That water had to be about 40 degrees which created a chill to the body.

Here is the elevation chart for this morning's run:




We headed back to the hotel for a quick shower - which took the chill off and then searched for any warm closed that we packed. A quick trip to Jamba Juice for a breakfast smoothie was enjoyed by all. Jamba also makes WheatGrass shots for the true health enthusiast. It has become an annual tradition to down one of these. Gus bought us all a shot. Think of the bottom of you lawn mower after cutting your lawn on a wet day. Now grind that grass up and drink it. Enough said.

Camper Jeff M.

The skinny on compression gear

There’s compression gear and there’s tight fitting clothing. One is proven to work through medical design and testing. The other may work minimally or not at all. By “work” I mean promote circulation back to the heart to reduce lactic buildup and post event soreness (DOMS—Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) and promote recovery. Tight clothing can restrict blood flow and thus oxygen to the muscles needed for work or limit the lactic recycling out of the muscles for recovery.
First, don't waste money on non medical grade compression gear. Get the good stuff. By that I mean the medically designed gear with specific zones or areas for increased and decreased compression based on your body’s muscle groups and their locations in your body. For the calves, it is preferable to go with full socks or the blood can pool in your feet unless you're actively running. As for tights vs socks, tights are better for full recovery, but can get hot in the summer and after racing causing your body to have to work to reduce the heat, so they can be doing negative work at the same time. The best option is to get both socks and tights and use them based on a variety of factors. The Zoot CompressRX line is medically designed compression gear. Most others are just tight clothing that restrict circulation rather than promote it.
The other reason Zoot gear is superior is that it is designed with circumference based sizing. Most other gear is small, medium, large—not as specific for fitting. Be very specific with sizing. Getting the right size is as important as the gear itself.
If you only get one thing, get Zoot socks. If you have the ability to spend some coin, get a set of the Zoot Recovery tights and a set of the socks--tights for right after races and while traveling, socks while in school and walking around. You’ll also want a Recovery top for traveling and post-race on cooler days. Compression gear while actively training is second in effectiveness than for recovery. If you can swing it, get some active recovery gear. If you can only afford one set, get some designed for recovery.
You can get the entire line of Zoot compression gear at Trisports.com (and use code GEC-S for 10% off).

Brian

Pedaling Efficiency

Last week I had an opportunity to jump on the CompuTrainer at Coach Grasky's house and do a spinscan. When I first got on and started seeing my efficiency numbers I thought "there is no way my efficiency is that bad". Well it was! I was in the low 50's and good cyclists are typically in the 70 or above. Luckily for me my power was pretty much split 50/50 between my two legs. My cadence for the initial spin scan was in the high 80's low 90's. Which again I thought was optimal for me.

So after some discussion with Brian regarding my stroke and cadence I started back up again. This time really focusing on more of a cross country skier motion. Brian also had me slow my cadence down to around 75rpm. This time my efficiency shot up into the high 70's and I was riding faster with less power than the initial test. I was ready to jump off the bike and call it success :)

We talked a little more and decided that I should take the CompuTrainer home with me and continue to work on my pedal stroke while also changing up my cadence to see how it impacts efficiency.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be spending some quality time on the CT to really get things dialed in.

Based on my recent rides having the SpinScan done has proved highly beneficial. Not only am I producing more speed with less power but my legs feel so much better on my rides.

If you want to improve your cycling I highly recommend having a spinscan done.


Brian Nath
Coach, Grasky Endurance Coaching
USAT Level 1 Certified Triathlon Coach
www.graskyendurance.com

Healthy Holidays

If there is a difficult time of the year to watch your diet, it’s now. You might still be munching on Halloween candy, the big Thanksgiving meal is still hanging out in you lower GI and the holiday parties that abound in December begin this weekend. Couple that with a slowdown in training and we might just find ourselves five or ten pounds heavier. So, here’s a little damage control. It’s still over 13 weeks till Firebird Triathlon in Chandler and 15 weeks till Lake Havasu Tri March 20th. Spend the next four weeks making informed choices with your diet and putting in some base training. You’ll burn those fat stores for energy and those five to ten pounds won’t seem like such a problem at the start of your 12 week cycle of training for a spring triathlon.

Additionally, put the holidays in perspective. It’s 4-6 weeks out of 52 in a year or about 10% of the year. It’s what you do the other 90% that significantly affects your health and performance. Since we all know the holidays can be a battle ground for the diet conscious, have a plan to stay on a healthy course, e.g., eat salads, fruits and vegetables before digging into the chips, cheeses and heavy casserole dishes. Think ahead and make healthy choices. Do not skip meals in anticipation of a party or large meal. You will be more apt to overeat- this is a bad habit to get into. Continue with at least 3 meals per day plus healthy snacks. Drink plenty of water between meals. This keeps you hydrated, aids in digestion and elimination of waste products. Also, thirst can also be confused with hunger and cause you to drink too much of a high calorie liquid. Eggnog, for example, has about the same number of calories as a piece of pie. Spend your calories carefully. If you are really looking forward to having something that only comes around once per year have it, but avoid something else that may be high in calories and is more common, something you can get anytime. Step away from the food table to visit. It is very easy to keep eating when socializing and thoughtlessly take in too many calories. Find a place away from the food to visit and play games. Get active. Gathering with family, friends and co-workers doesn’t have to be all about food. Try taking a walk or drive around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights; play Twister; wrestle with the kids; organize a comedy club night instead of a large dinner party. Maintain base training from now until the end of the year- don’t wait until January 1st. Incorporate a new food into holiday meals. Try a new recipe this season. Try a new fresh vegetable or fruit salad; add in brussel sprouts, squash, mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes, cut some of the sugar and marshmallows out of the sweet potatoes, make a low fat cheesecake and substitute Splenda in place of sugar. Remember the standards as well: Be Satisfied with small amounts of food. Avoid concentrated sweets and sugar. Appreciate food quality, not quantity. Take your time eating. Chew your food well (approximately 20 times for each bite) before swallowing. Stop eating at the first sign of fullness. Remember to avoid “mindless eating” and make informed decisions. Now is the time to take control of your diet so that you can go into the new-year one step ahead.

Brandon Nichols, RD, CSSD
(Registered Dietitian, Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics) specializednutrition@gmail.com
520-249-1599 for a consultation.