Travel & Training Balance

Below is another article from endurance coach and lead Vineman announcer, Dave Latourette. (seen right with local pro triathlete, Tyler Stewart)

NOTE: The article below was originally published in Dave's monthly column at http://www.endurancecorner.com/

When travel becomes a necessary part of a dedicated triathlete’s schedule it “disrupts” the delicate balance we have created in our everyday life routine. I know the conversation that goes on inside most people’s heads when they look at
an upcoming trip that in return takes them out of that routine. With a little creativity it’s not difficult to manage your training and fit it around travel schedules.

I have a handful of athletes who travel anywhere from one time per week to one time per month. As long as we know the travel schedule ahead of time -- and quite often we do -- it’s a seamless process both mentally and physically to make it work. Consider implementing into your own schedule some of the following:

· If at all possible don’t schedule any travel the last eight weeks before a key race.

· Plan your training such that travel weeks are intended to have a lighter training load.

· Don’t try to cram in all seven days of training in four days before your three-day trip. I’ve seen that (and tried it) and it doesn’t work. Travel is stressful no matter what. Don’t get on a plane or take a trip wrecked from training - it’s a recipe for illness.

· Prioritize what you can do when you are home versus when you travel. Most often the thing
that suffers when we travel is cycling. If that’s the case, book-end your travel with your cycling sessions. For example, if you have a trip scheduled Tuesday - Friday, then schedule your cycling sessions for Monday, Saturday and Sunday of that week.

· Make it less stressful on yourself when traveling with easy to manage sessions. For almost everybody that starts with running. It’s darn easy to pack your shoes and clothes and run almost anywhere… including the treadmill or hotel stairs (I’ve done the hotel stairs in place of a hill workout and it was good “fun”).

· If you plan to swim when traveling then research the options before you ever leave for your trip. If you are already on a tight schedule, you can’t afford to be on a scavenger hunt for a pool. SwimmersGuide is a good start.

· Don’t stress over or plan key sessions when travelling. Sometimes it’s better to keep it simple and just “do something” every day.

· Eat as healthy as possible when on the road. This can take some work but it’s doable.

As long as you plan ahead and stay active when traveling, your fitness doesn’t need to take a hit. In actuality I think taking a short break from the routine allows you to return more motivated and appreciative of the system you have in place at home.

Think ahead, be creative and travel safe!

In our attempts to have a bit more consistent content on our blog we are including some articles written by Vineman lead race announcer and endurance coach Dave Latourette. (above with pro triathlete Craig Alexander) Dave has a long history of coaching and racing triathlon. Dave is also the creator of the Vineman Triathlon training plans and finished 2nd overall at the 2001 Full Vineman and posted the fastest run split. The below article was originally posted on www.endurance.com.

“Back Half Strength”

Limiters or “limiting” can be scary words as they reference something we may not be good at. The reality is, if we want to improve, we have to face that fear of what we aren’t good at -- or simply need to improve at -- and find a way to change it. One area I find lacking in most of the athletes new to me or that I continue to work on with developing athletes is what I call “back half race strength.” That may mean different things to different athletes; for most it means maintaining pace/power from the first half of the race over to the final half of the race (and even within each race discipline). This especially holds true over the last half of the run where it’s easy for a race to go wayward very quickly. While many of the other columnists here have addressed specific limiters within each swim, bike, or run discipline, I would like to address how we can work on our back half strength on a daily basis.

Though the back half of our races is obviously dictated by our fitness it can often be our mind, ego, toughness, or just reality that sabotages the end of those events. (Yes, nutrition plays an important role too, but we need to assume for this article that you have a good grasp of that.) The largest component of getting this right is being realistic and confident about our abilities so we can be tough at the end. Without racing frequently, how do we practice “getting it right?”

-Daily: No matter what your session is -- swim, bike, or run -- structure the workout so that the session or main set begins in such a way that you feel strongest over the second half without “pace fade” or a drop in power. Keep doing this day after day until you get it right, and then stick with it.

-Weekly: It’s not uncommon to see a pattern of athletes being real good Monday through Wednesday, struggle a bit on Thursday, re-group Friday for a strong Saturday which is then followed by a lackluster Sunday. When you see patterns like that, be honest with what you can handle over a week so that you structure yourself and your fueling to be steady over the entire week.

-Training Blocks: No matter what your training cycles are (10 days, two weeks, 17 days, etc.) be reasonable about what you can handle so the last few days aren’t a death march just to get through it. Don’t create a pattern that forces a “recovery” period before you want it.

-Season: When the dust settles the most important period of training before your peak or key event is the final eight to 13 weeks. If you can’t be strong for at least the last eight weeks leading into your target race, you’re missing the sessions that most highly influence your race day performance. Much of this takes time, confidence and experience to learn. But do your best on a daily, weekly, and training cycle basis to give yourself a chance to be great at the end. If you are honest about your fitness and you can train back half pacing frequently, you’ll have the confidence to race it and not be affected by outside influences that might force you to do just the opposite. Be strong at the end!

Dave Latourette is a full time triathlon coach living in Santa Rosa, California and works with athletes from newcomer to elite. His top athletes have won USAT Age Group National Championships and raced in World Championship events that include the ITU World Championship and the Ironman World Championship. Dave can be found at: TrainToEndure.com, davelatourette.blogspot.com, or on twitter: @dklatourette

Happy New Year!

Although it's been nice to have a long run of sunshine we definitely needed the 6 1/2 inches of rain that fell on Sonoma County this past weekend. As a result, the vineyards will soon be looking quite yellow (like the photo on the right) in the coming weeks. This is what wine country looks like during our winter...very different from the summer!
The 2012 Vineman season started out with a bang when the Ironman 70.3 Vineman sold out in 3 hours (much to our surprise). All of our other events are on track to sell out as well. This will be a first in Vineman history. This means more work for the Vineman staff. Although we've had a lot of free time for afternoon bike rides, late morning swims and extra long vacations it's time to get back to work securing permits, meeting with town and county officials,ordering competitor shirts, medals and race numbers, contacting volunteers and finalizing sponsor contracts....and that's just the beginning!
It looks as if the pending run course change for the Ironman 70.3 Vineman will be a definite! Once we have all the details hammered out the new run course will be posted on our website. Everything else remains the same for the 70.3 Vineman. There are no changes (that we know of!) for the Full Vineman and Barb's Race.
We are excited for the 2012 races and look forward to having a record number of participants this summer. We hope that if you are not racing Vineman this summer you'll come out and volunteer!

A New Season About To Begin

It's hard to believe that registration for our 2012 Vineman events is just around the corner. We've managed to get some rest during these quiet past couple of months but prep work for next year is underway. Yes, Vineman has become a year round production!

The dam at Johnson's Beach is out, the vines which are now turning color have been picked clean of their grapes.....another crush season finished, summer over. Sonoma County takes on a different feel this time of year. And this is when the weather happens to be the best here in wine country so it's likely that you'll find us out on our bikes instead of in the office! A ride on the Silverado Trail in Calistoga is on the schedule for this weekend.

However, it's almost time to get back to business. We're getting ready for the onslaught when registration opens on November 1. In 2011 the Vineman Ironman 70.3 race sold out in just over 4 days. (a lot faster than the 4 weeks it took in 2010). So, we are anticipating a sell out in 24-48 this year. 2011 was an exceptional year for the Full Vineman as well. We exceeded 1000 entries, making it the biggest Full Vineman field to date. Our cap for the race is 1100 so our hope is to reach that number in 2012!! We also anticipate that Barb's Race and the two AquaBike events will sell out.

So as we head full steam into the 2012 season, most of you are winding down your season and relaxing. Enjoy a restful couple of months before gearing up for next year. We hope your 2012 race schedule will include taking part in one of the Vineman races!

Echelon Cycle & Multisoprt in Santa Rosa

When you are in Santa Rosa for the race (or if you come early to check out the course) be sure to stop by Echelon Cycle & Multisport. Kevin Buccholz, the shop owner/lead mechanic/sales director/head dishwasher, has finished the Full Vineman several times and would be glad to share his insights with you. One of the cool things for this year's races which Echelon will be sponsoring is the race-day on-site results station. At the results station you'll be able to type in your name or number and print out your personal results as soon as you cross the finish line (or later if you prefer to cool down a bit)...anyway, the results will be available in real time. It will be a pretty slick set-up. Thanks Kevin! Echelon is located at 1005 Cleveland Ave and their web site is echeloncycling.com.

Vineman Finisher Wine!

We are working with Highway 12 Vineyards on a private label wine whch will be called Vineman Finisher Wine! It will be the wine which is awarded to the overall and age group prize winners in the July 30th events this year. Michael Sebastiani, the Highway 12 Vineyards wine maker, and his business partner, Paul Guisto, recently proposed the private label wine idea to us. Sebastiani has competed in several Vineman events and is excited about combining two of his passions: winemaking and triathlons. The Highway 12 Vineyards Vineman Finisher Wine will also be available for purchse to anyone who finishes one of the Vineman events which will be held on July 30th -- the Avia Vineman Triathlon, Barb's Race, and the Vineman AquaBike.

New Avia Shoes!

I just got a new pair of Avia AVI Quest Lite running shoes and really like them! Not only do they look great, but they are very comfortable too. The cushioning is amazing.