Aloha Tips for Training – The 20 minute rule and……

Some words of wisdom from Cheryl Isberg, reporting from Maui:

There are a few things that have come to mind the last week. This last week was my biggest training week since last summer. 17 hours and counting which has also included many calories and a few naps.

There is always that first big week that hits you after the new year that you know is out there but you have no idea what it will bring. Will it bring some break through training or just a miserable slog through the items on the training log. I had a few nice bike rides with RTB’er Brad Williams and that helped make the week “easier”. It is always nice to ride with someone else and it was nice of him to block the wind for me and take the long pulls. Come to think of it, I think I forgot and never took a pull in front J but he has an Ironman to train for so all the training in the wind will do him some good. J

By Thursday it hits me I am tired. I start consuming more calories but thin gs are getting slower. I am dreading my long run on Friday and what to do. I then thing back to some great advice we got at the 2005 Ironman CDA RTB training camp. Former pro Mike Pigg was on hand for the festivities and he said even when your tired, go out for the first 20 minutes of your scheduled workout, if it doesn’t feel better after 20 minutes then go ahead and stop and rest your body.

The great thing about the 20 minute rule is that it works. A lot of time our perception of being tired can stop us from even walking out the door to do the next swim, bike, or ride. The reality is that once you get the first 20 minutes you can usually mentally go “ok, I have the first 20 minutes done, let’s just finish this work out”. So, there my friends are your first rule for training this year. Give it 20 minutes, if you don’t feel better then stop and skip the rest of the workout and rest up for your next key workout.

That being said, I had to use the 20 minute rule twice this week. Saturday I headed down to my favorite open water swim place for what I was hoping to be a mile swim. As I looked down the beach toward Black Rock, I could see the swell hitting the shore break. I mumbled something to myself like “huh, I guess I will deal with that once I get there”. It was a murky swim and I broke 2 of the 3 open water swimming rules. The 3 rules being:

1) Never swim alone (ok I always break this one)

2) Never swim when it is murky*

3) Never swim after it rains*

*Cause the sharks like it when it is murky and they come in after the rains to feed on little fish – like you.

So, as I am swimming in the murky water, I keep thinking “this is stupid – get out of the water” followed by “sharks, love murky water”. I kept telling myself ok just 20 minutes, just 20 minutes trying not to test the fate of the shark gods.

I get in my 20 minutes then of course start to see the break now is breaking at the shore and it is coming from 2 directions. There are a lot of people who drown at Black Rock and I start to think that I now know why. After a few minutes of treading water, counting sets, and thinking ok I have faced 5 Ironman swims, how hard can it be to get myself out of this water? I count the sets and guess they are coming in 2 minute breaks and then I make my run, err, kick to the shore. The first one I miss and I get caught up in the rip tide and I duck under a huge wave to get back out beyond the break. Ok, that wasn’t very fun. Once more time to try and if I can’t do it I need to turn back and swim up the beach to try to find another easier route out – of course that would be more then 20 minutes though….. More counting, more waiting, then kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick!

Ahh, finally through the break, run like hell (make sure my swimming bottoms are on) and whew I am through. Gosh that was a workout in itself and note to self – let’s try to avoid that break in the future.

Of course on the return walk back up the beach, Brad and his lovely family is enjoying some beach time. Brad offers the “not going to swim back?” and I think well that would have been easier then trying to get out of that break but I only wanted 20 minutes of swimming. J

So, Day 2 of the 20 minute rule comes in the form of my long Sunday ride. Coach Simon wants this to be a tempo ride. About 5 minutes into my ride, my legs are saying no tempo ride today – it’s a recovery ride. Then I start doing the “just 20 minutes” thing and then I start to wonder when was my easy day this week and of course I hear Simon saying “the easy day was yesterday”. So, I then realize I only loaded one bottle, no heart rate monitor and I am already tired. I am coming down the hill and I think I see someone waving and then I realize it was Brad. Wow, I just blew right by him. Where is my head today? I need to focus because I have 3 more hours of riding and apology to make to Brad.

About 30 minutes into my ride I find my groove and realize the worst is over. I am already riding, some tempo and recovery. Some how I get my 3 hours in and it feels to good to be able to cross that off the list.

Who knew you could get 3 hours in by just telling yourself “20 minutes”?

Raise the Bar Triathlon Dating Help

Ever on the lookout for pertinent information for the tri-public, RTB’s Dating experts have recently come across this dating aid for triathletes. Happy Hunting! (Note: may also apply to already married triathletes)

"I am an outdoors type of person." Really means: I train in any type of weather. If it's raining, snowing, 90 degrees w/100% humidity, or winds gusting at 30 mph. I don't want to hear any complaints because I will still train in it and you're just a big wuss for complaining about it.

"I enjoy riding my bike." Really means: with or w/o aero bars, alone or in a peleton, I don't care. If you can't do a spur of the moment 30 miler then you're not my type. I will let you draft, but if you can't hang and I drop you - I will see you later. I am a capable mechanic, but don't expect me to change your flats or tune your bike. You need to learn that on your own.

"I enjoy jogging." Really means: Let's run hills until we puke. I have just as many shoes as you only mine are better because they are functional and all look the same.

"I enjoy dining out." Really means: I enjoy eating out, in or anywhere else I can find food. Don't be shy because with the amount of food I eat, you can have that main entree instead of a salad and you will still look as though you eat like a rabbit in comparison. Don't get your limbs too close though as I may take a bite out of you. Most importantly don't expect any taste off my plate unless you can bring something to the party like more food. Eventually though if your not burning 4,000+ calories a day you are going to plump up and have a terrible complex due to watching me eat deserts and not gain any weight. Friends and family will eventually decide not to dine with us anymore due to my horrid table manners. Oh, and don't ask me any questions during breakfast, Mid Morning Lunch, Lunch, Afternoon lunch, Dinner or Recovery Dinner as it does not lend to efficient food intake.

"I enjoy quiet walks on the beach." Really means: Walks on the beach warming up into an 8 mile run and then plunging myself in the ocean for a 2 miler. If you get in my way you're going to find out what mass start is and let me assure you that you don't want to find out.

"I find fulfillment in charitable work." Really means: If I am not racing, I am volunteering and I expect you to be there along side me as I stand out in 90 degree weather for 8 hours handing out sports drink to cyclists going 20 mph. Just stick the ol' arm out there and hope it doesn't get taken off.

"I enjoy sharing quiet moments together." Really means: It's taper time. Just back off because I am strategizing and in a pissy mood because I am worried about my "A" race and can't workout.

"I am an active person." Really means: Aside from my 40 hour job, and the 8 mandatory hours of sleep a night. 10 hours a week are devoted to me during the off-season and 20 during race season leaving us 4 hours. 2 of which are spent inhaling food and you not talking to me, so let's make the best of the 2 hours we will spend together on average each day. If you are a licensed message therapist or doctor this would make the most optimal use of our time together. Nutritionist is also acceptable, but I probably already know just as much as you.

"I enjoy road trips and leisurely drives." Really means: You have your choice of Wisconsin, Idaho, Florida, California, Arizona, and New York, but don't expect to do much site seeing. If I get enough support from you we might be able to include Hawaii in there.

"I enjoy site seeing." Really means: Lets grab a mountain bike and get our HR's up to 90%. There's plenty of time to look around on the descent as trees and bushes whiz by you at 40 mph.

"I like stimulating conversation." Really means: while we are running, we can talk about food. Then we can talk about how we decided what to wear on this run based on the temperature at start time versus the temperature at the time we expect to finish, how horribly out of shape we are, how many miles we did last week, and how many we will do this week and next week. Then we can talk about food.

"I enjoy relaxing soaks in the tub." Really Means: I'm going to stop on the way home and buy two bags of ice, throw them in the tub with some water, and sit in this torture chamber for 30 minutes.

"I'm interested in photography" Really Means: My camera is permanently perched a tripod in front of my trainer. I obsess over taking photos of my bike position and analyzing them to get the perfect setup.

"I'm into in technology" Really Means: My HRM and bike computer are my best friends. Until you can give me some hard data that can improve my training, don't bother trying to buddy up to me. You could one day break into the top three if I find you as entertaining on long runs and rides as my ipod nano.

RTB Sighting on Maui

I have received one phone call and one email about this RTB sighting on Maui. Here is the story from the point of view of those two involved. Kristine Kloepfer and Cheryl Isberg. And do not worry it has a happy running ending.

Cheryl:

The start of the season always seems to be the hardest. My Sunday ride today was the longest I have done since Ironman Canada and my body is really not playing along much. About 90 minutes into the ride my body seemed to remember back to that 112 mile ride and a promise that was made. I think I made one of those "if I can just get through this race, I promise we will take some time off". The problem is I never told my body that what that meant was a few months of low intensity training but at some point that would change. So, let's say the suffer was on. Then the strangest sight ever - could it be someone standing by the side of the road and a young man yelling "go RTB!". I first thought to myself "my god, I am in a race and I didn’t even know it" then I thought "who is that?".

Of course after I passed the young man I was wondering how he knew about RTB because I was not in my official uniform this day. I opted for RTB shorts and a new Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop jersey that was presented to me for my 44th birthday. Then to my right a while van pulls along and there is Kristine Ott yelling "we are RTB too" and a small conversation occurred on the highway. Who knew that RTB reached 2700 miles outside of Washington? The good thing was it was the kick that needed to get my F5 butt home. Kristine mentioned she spotted that F5 across my rear

Kristine:

So my family and I are on vacation in Maui. We come here often, it's really a beautiful place. We were driving back to our condo after a day of shopping and I am in awe of all the bikes on the road and I mention to Mike how cool it would be to bike here. Then up ahead I notice someone riding in aero and point it out to Mike, "Hey look, there is a tri-bike!!!" Feeling very excited!! As we pass this rider what do we see??? A big F5 on her butt! She is wearing RTB tri shorts. What the heck? We pull along beside her and it's none other than Cheryl Isberg. How cool is that. The next day we enjoyed a 5 mile run together along the north shore of Maui.

And rumor has it that Brad Williams will soon (256 hours and counting down) be seen in Maui in full RTB gear. Could you be next?