Chuck Graziano's Blog

Here's an inspiring video about swimmng and life

2012-01-28T09:16:00.000-05:00

Thank you to my friend, Sue, for sending me the link to this inspiring video by Diana Nyad, the 61 year old swimmer who attempted to swim from the US to Cuba last year. It's definitely worth watching to understand the obstacles that she has had to overcome and how they have affected her thoughts on life, not to mention the different perspective we'll get on our own "open water swimming".

Click below to view the video:
Diana Nyad Video

January To-Do List

2012-01-13T07:50:00.000-05:00

January “To-Do” List!

Notwithstanding New Year’s Resolutions, it’s tough to get off to the right start in January. Here are a few things I find bulletproof for ramping up training and getting stoked for the coming year. They’re simple and in some respects obvious when you look at them individually, but if each is an ingredient to a recipe, then the recipe produces motivation!

• Develop Focus- What’s the point of training? A key race? A breakthrough in personal fitness or accomplishment? Write down the vision. Keep copies in key places (at your desk, in your car, with your workout bag, etc.). When starting my training year, what gave me motivation was to write down the splits that I wanted for my key “A” race. Any time I wasn’t “in the mood” to train, I’d look at them and remember what I was working toward and how important it was to get out and get the training done!

• Create the Roadmap- This is likely your training plan. If you have a coach, one will be created for you. If you don’t, you’re on your own to either create one (if you have the background to do it) or buy one online. But you wouldn’t get in the car for your family vacation without first knowing where you were going, or what roads you were going to take to get there. Don’t try “just doing it” without your map!

• Be Consistent- It’s hard, for everyone! Sometimes you’re just not in the mood. Sometimes it’s sickness, soreness, fatigue or just plain “don’t wanna’s”. Consistency in your training will pay in big dividends. Get out and do something. Even if you have to cut back on your planned training day, get yourself started and many times you’ll find that you feel better after your warm up and get the whole thing done!

• Maintain a Flexible Mentality- Don’t let the weather, your job or other variables destroy your plan. Keep options available. If the pool is closed for some reason, switch your training days around and do something else. If you can’t ride outside, ride on your trainer. If your boss schedules an early morning meeting, bring your running gear to work and get your run in during lunch (or immediately after work). Don’t let variables get in the way.

• Have a Support Team- Few people (if any) can do “life” on their own. We all need a support team to help us through. When I ran my first marathon, I made a pact with a good friend that we’d call each other at any time we “didn’t wanna”. And we kept that pact. After speaking to each other for a few minutes, we’d get the kick in the butt that we needed. Develop your own support system with Family, training partners, co-workers and friends.

• Take Good Care- Your mental stamina will go a long way, but we all have to maintain our physical health as well. Good sleep, quality nutrition, scheduling quiet time are all important factors. Eating junk and only getting a few hours sleep will not support you in your training! The better you eat, and the more you get a good night’s sleep, the more you’ll be up to the task both physically and mentally.

• Visualize!- You have a vision that gets you excited and stoked for the season (if it doesn’t, you have the wrong vision). Spend some time visualizing the accomplishment of your vision. Close your eyes and experience being “in the zone” as you ride smoothly and effortlessly through the course. Feel the excitement of crossing the finish line. Re-live a “perfect day” or racing or training where you were totally in the zone and loving life.

As the adage goes, “the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts”. Take all of the above as part of the whole and use all of them to get you to the next level!

Chuck Graziano is the owner of Inspired Performance Coaching and provides training and coaching to endurance athletes of all levels. He is a USA Triathlon level II certified coach, is certified by USA Cycling at level III and is a Training Bible Elite Level Coach. Chuck served as the Head Triathlon Coach for Team in Training- NJ for 11 years and now coaches their IronTeam. For further information, contact chuck@inspiredperformancecoaching.com

Don't miss the opportunity!

2012-01-06T10:33:00.000-05:00

We're on the countdown to the end of our early registration discounts for the 2012 Triathlon Training Camp at Lake Placid. This year's camp runs from June 28th through July 1st, perfect for tweaking your performance up a few notches and ideal timing for many ultra distance events (IM Lake Placid, NY/NJ, Louisville, Canada, Mt. Tremblant, etc.). Whether you have an iron distance event on your schedule, or are targeting a personal best for an Olympic distance event or just want to learn more about training effectively our camp program will be ideal for you. Our limited enrollment allows for attention to every camper and coaching for whatever your goals.

Take advantage of the early registration discount and save $50 now and get one of the limited rooms in our reserved block at a very special price.

http://tinyurl.com/4x95y48

A really Easy Way to Measure Training Progress

2011-08-16T16:25:00.000-04:00

I’ve found that a really easy way to measure the progress we’re making in our training is to look at the input/output ratio that’s being generated by each workout. I thank Joe Friel for writing about this in his recent blogs, especially since it’s a relatively simple and “low tech” method. I’ve been using this myself in my recent training and find it pretty valuable, but as with everything, it has its limitations.

How does this work? I've posted an easy guide to using this system on my website, so click here to read the short article.

Depressed after finishing your Ironman? Here's what might help!

2011-08-01T17:35:00.000-04:00

Ahhhhh, PIDS (Post Ironman Depression Syndrome)! So common. In fact, I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who does not experience this. You've trained hundreds of hours, have had support from every sphere of your life (Family, Friends, Co-Workers, etc.), you've built up to a huge day of racing and you then experienced an incredible day with thousands of people along the course cheering you on. Then, within 48 hours, the banners are down, Ironman Village is turned back into a vacant skating oval and the "Welcome Can-Am" signs are up, welcoming the "next" group to come into town. What's not to get depressed about?

What my suggestion is: Go back and relive your day. Think about all of the great (and all of the painful) moments of the day and what you were experiencing at the moment. "Revel in the Glory" so to speak. You deserve it. That will help. Tell your friends about your experience, but try not to kill them off with hours of Ironman tales. And finally, write your game plan for next year: what were the strengths and weaknesses of this year's training and racing? What would you change for next year? What specific weakness would you spend time developing? It doesn't matter if you're doing another IM in 2012 or not. You're likely to be planning SOME event, so make plans around that. I think you'll find that the internal (but written) debrief process and forward thinking will get you out of the depression and into an inspired state, motivated to move on to an even better 2012.

At least, that's what works for me and what I suggest to my athletes!

Ironman message to my Team in Training Gang

2011-07-17T08:03:00.003-04:00

Team- You may notice that there is nothing scheduled as a group training event for next weekend. That's because several of our past & present coaches and TNT participants are racing at the Ironman in Lake Placid. It's hard not to point out that every single one of them were once in your shoes, doing their first triathlon with Team in Training and looking at the event (in most cases a sprint distance race) as a huge undertaking. Well, they fell in love with the sport (like many of you will) and continued to race and step up their game to where they are now at the Ironman level.

Now, I'm a coach who views Ironman as an event that's not meant for everyone. Some people excel at shorter distance events. Many, many have very busy lives with careers, family, social obligations and schedules that just don't permit the commitment to training for the Ironman distance. Some, just love racing sprints and Olympic Distance events. And that makes them no less of a Triathlete. For me, when I first started racing triathlon, having come from a running and cycling background, there was only one Ironman event in the world and it was still a relatively small group of people on the lunatic fringe. But I came to love the sport and got myself into an excellent state of fitness racing mostly Olympic distance events. It's not the distance of the event that gets you in amazing shape, it's the commitment to train for your chosen distance.

Our bodies are amazing machines (it's well known that "God doesn't make junk"). We gradually increase our riding, running and swimming and our bodies respond by making physiological changes to adapt to a higher level of performance (which reflects the type of training we're doing). Like scar tissue, the body rebuilds muscle fiber stronger to avoid the cellular level damage that's done while training, to avoid having that damage repeated the next time. We train differently for short events than we do for long events. The specific training that we do determines how the body responds so we can become very fast at shorter distances, or in the alternate, get to where we can go very far without fatiguing. The key ingredients to whatever type of training you're doing is commitment and consistency. Without both of these in place, not much will happen.

As for our coaches and Team in Training alumni who are racing next weekend...these guys have worked really hard over the past year to be ready. Wish them a wonderful day and an experience that will produce a warm glow for a lifetime. And if you have any possibility at all and you want to see an Inspired Performance to where you're ready to explode, come to Lake Placid next weekend to support them and cheer them on...and for bonus points, be at the finish line at midnight to see the entire town of Lake Placid plus all of it's visitors come out to support the last finishers in what is likely to be the best party you'll be part of for years to come.

Chuck

Peaking v. Tapering!

2011-07-11T14:54:00.000-04:00

Going into the final few weeks before a key race (particularly long course or ultra) is not about tapering! Tradition has referred to the taper just as it has called for a pre-race carbo loading pasta dinner! Many of my friends and athletes are putting the final touches on their training for Ironman Lake Placid. For those that I'm coaching, the mantra that they're hearing is that they are not in their taper. There's still important work to do that the image of a taper would not conger up.

The last 2 weeks prior to race week is more accurately referred to as a peak period. I stress the distinction between the terms Taper and Peaking for a couple of reasons I think are very important. First, there's a huge psychological reaction to what you do when you're tapering. You tend to take training less seriously. You focus on resting (important) and no longer feel the necessity of completing every workout. Secondly, tapering as most people see it, is a significant drop in training volume. While that's true in the peak period, it's only half of the equation. So here's what happens when an athlete is "tapering" as opposed to following a Peak Training Phase.

The commitment level goes down. If you're tired during a taper, you tend to blow off the workout and just rest and relax.
Your training volume and enthusiasm for training goes down. You'll go out for a ride or a run and make it more of a social event than a workout in preparation for an event that you've been training for over the past year. As a result, your pacing will get slower and you'll likely start feeling "stodgy" which becomes a vicious cycle.
Your weight starts to climb. It's likely that your appetite will not go down at the rate your training volume does. The pounds (that you really don't need to carry around on race day) start to mount.
As a result, your race will not be optimum or reflect the work that you've put in.

A Peak Period, however, differs in this sense:

You push through the temptation to slow down, but understand the importance of rest between workouts.
The training volume you're doing goes down, but your intensity goes up. You train at a higher heart rate or power zone and do "mini-races" at race pace and above. You'll continue to feel the fatigue for several days after you reduce volume, but before very long, you'll start to catch up and feel much more rested and refreshed. Your pace will be fine tuned and you'll start to feel very sharp in your training.
One of your key focuses will need to be on nutrition. Volume of Calories has to be proportionate to volume of training. The quality of those Calories also needs to be watched carefully. You may have "gotten away with" eating anything during your high volume ramp- up, but that's not likely to continue now. Carbohydrate holds three times its weight in water so the more starch you put in your system, the more you'll weigh and it's not linear given the water retaining quality of CHO.
Some of you are aware of, or are using the Performance Management Chart on Training Peaks. If you are, you know that you are looking for the "Yellow Line" or Training Stress Balance to come up to zero, while the other lines (Acute Training Load and Chronic Training Load) to come down. For those not familiar with this valuable tool, the key is that you need to rest, but too much rest is damaging just as too little rest is. The balance is in following a good 2 week peak period that consists of race-like intervals at lower volume than you've been training at, getting good sleep and rest when not training, and watching your nutrition very carefully.

The final week (Race Week) is looks almost like a third Peak Week, but with volume (again) reduced substantially and work being short but fast. Again, rest when not training is critical and a good nutrition plan (normal eating, not feasting) is paramount to your success.

Wishing all of my Inspired Performance Coaching Athletes and friends great success in your upcoming race, and as I always say: "Follow the Plan!" and Have Fun.

Camp Sold Out!

2011-06-20T21:11:00.000-04:00

Our Triathlon Training Camp at Lake Placid™ is SOLD OUT. Twenty- Five athletes ranging from Sprint and Olympic distance people to experienced Ironman competitors will be at training with us beginning on Thursday evening, June 23^rd. A Welcome Reception will get everyone acquainted on Thursday and training will start early on Friday morning, with campers meeting at lakeside ready to swim at 6:30 AM.

We appreciate the support and thank our sponsors who include Infinit Nutrition, Computrainer, Excel Orthopedic Rehab, Wicked Fast Nutrition and Clif Bar. Our camp is conducted by Inspired Performance Coaching and Training Bible Coaching and co-directed by Chuck Graziano and Tom Manzi, both USA Triathlon Certified Coaches and Training Bible Elite Level Coaches.

Congratulations Quassy Competitors!

2011-06-11T09:37:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Inspired Performance Athletes Elliott Albirt and Rich Kiser for great performances at the Rev3 Quassy half. And congratulations also to all the Team in Training coaches and alumni who raced as well. What a great group of people. Dinner for 40 at Maggie McFly's? What a great time. Now back to training and preparation for the next big race on the schedule for this season.

Massage Therapist at Camp

2011-05-11T18:13:00.000-04:00

Just arranged today for a massage therapist to be set up at the Northwoods Inn for us during camp. We'll have an advance sign up for appointments during some down time that we've built into the schedule

We're close to filled. If you know anyone who is interested in coming up to camp, have them sign up now while we still have a couple of slots open! Sign up here.

Training Camp Itinerary is up!

2011-05-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

We're getting really excited about the way our Training Camp at Lake Placid is shaping up. There is a detailed preliminary itinerary now posted at the Inspired Performance Coaching website. Please take a look if you're registered for the camp to see what's in store. If you're not yet registered for the camp, take a look to see if this is something that would help you in your training and racing. We have just a few slots left before registration closes, so please sign up if you'd like to participate! Remember that there are a limited number of rooms at the Northwoods Inn that offer a special rate for our camp. Information on how to get the special package will be sent to you once you register.

A Terrible Thing and What to do about it!

2011-04-19T15:29:00.000-04:00

Today many of us learned of the passing of Gretta Waitz, the champion runner from Norway (and honorary member of the NY community) who won the NYC marathon 9 times! It was so sad to hear, but we (especially those of us with active, athletic lifestyles) should once again be reminded that there is no running away from cancer. As much of a champion as Gretta was, her 6 year battle was lost to a debilitating disease that I'm confident nobody reading this blog has not been touched by.

So, what's our take away? It does us no good to mire in the sadness of her passing, or for that matter, anyone's passing from the disease. And we can consider ourselves at the effect of the disease (maybe it will get us too). But for me, I recommend we take up the battle where Gretta left off and fight the disease with everything we've got. It may not have stricken us individually, but it certainly has personally. The challenge is not to be a victim or at the effect of the disease, but to be at the cause of doing something about it. Of course, as one person, it seems such a miniscule thing that I can do. Like a grain of sand on the beach. But as a world we can come together and create that beach, composed of the uncountable grains of sand all fighting for the same thing: A world that is cancer free. It's not important (in my way of thinking) that we direct our energies at raising money and awareness for breast cancer, prostrate cancer, lung cancer, brain cancer, blood borne cancers or you name it. It's important that we do something!

Personally, I've been a member (and a coach for people who were members) of Fred's Team (for those of you who remember Fred LeBow, founder of the NYC marathon who passed away from brain cancer) and for the past 11 years have coached or The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. I've seen Team in Training pass the $1 Billion mark in fund raising! There's also Livestrong (which organization has been rated among the best in terms of percentages of fund raising that actually goes to the cause- in the Livestrong case-81%!). And there are so many more. It's your choice.

The important message is: don't just read this, say "oh, that's a nice idea, maybe I'll do a Susan B. Komen walk" and then go back to life. Make a commitment to give something of yourself in the vision of you (and your children) living in a world without cancer! And then take the first step: make a call, do an internet search, take action. If we all just give a little bit of time on a regular basis, we can make this happen!

What do you think about Aquabike?

2011-04-14T19:31:00.000-04:00

The USAT Age Group Committee is working on the promotion of Aquabike as a sport to be included in more and more events across the country. This is a sport (swimming and cycling) that is growing and in fact has now been established in two regional championships: the Northeast Regional Championship and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship. The benefits of including this event include:

Opening up the multisports world to people who may be daunted by all three events of Triathlon
Creating more opportunity for market exposure for sponsors (and therefore their participation at more events)
Making it possible for aging and/or injured athletes to continue in their multisports participation despite injuries or degenerative conditions.

What do you think? Please post your comments!

Are Athletes Really More Focused Thinkers?

2011-04-10T09:42:00.000-04:00

Here's an interesting article from the New York Times on a study that shows how athletes my be more focused thinkers than non-athletes. Seems to me that there may be a lot of reasons for this, and my personal experience is that after training, I'm particularly focused but that's certainly not empirical. Click here to read the article.

Quality Recovery

2011-04-07T18:42:00.000-04:00

Many of you are starting to ramp up your training for the season. As you do, recovering quickly from your workouts becomes more important. As your body recovers, it needs to restore amino acids that are used in training. Restoring leucine, isoleucine, valine and glutamine after exercise helps to rebuild the muscle fiber that is damaged in training, helps prevent muscle soreness and aids in the production of growth hormone.

As I did last year, I just ordered a fresh supply of RecoverEase! I don't sell supplements for a living, but when I find a product that is especially good, I try to pass it along to those I know might benefit from it. This is a recovery product that I've found works better than anything I've tried in over 25 years of training and racing. As my own case study, when I first started using RecoverEase, I cycled from my home to Long Beach Island, NJ (154 miles) on a Friday. I took RecoverEase that night and the next morning and did a strong 10 mile run on Sunday without significant fatigue or soreness!

The key ingredients include essential amino acids including (especially) L-Glutamine which you may recognize as an amino acid that many athletes load with prior to a race. The contents are very similar to Endurox R4, but RecoverEase has twice the amino acid potency without the calories. Because I ordered in bulk, I can offer friends and athletes I coach a 25% discount from the price offered by the manufacturer. Bottles of 120 capsules are available for $29.99. If you're interested follow the link below!

Triathlon Camp at Lake Placid- Almost Filled

2011-04-05T20:04:00.002-04:00

Our June camp at Lake Placid is very close to being "sold out". We're very happy with that news because it (we hope) speaks to the reputation of the coaches who manage this camp, myself and my good friend and colleague, Tom Manzi.

We intend to run a 1st class camp. We don't coach any other way. It is our intention to be sure that everyone has a great time and gets some individual attention and so to insure this, we limit the number of people we register. And those registered so far span the spectrum of Triathlete from sprint and Olympic distance people to those intending on racing at Ironman USA this year. We've charted out rides from 10 to 112 miles (and more if you wish). We're putting together some workshops on varied and (we think) interesting topics ranging from how to calculate your Training Stress Score for your three sports to race day strategies for Ironman.

We're excited about this year's camp (as we have been each year that we've done it). Tom and I have done almost 500 tris between us and the thrill of the starting line has never changed for either one of us so we can identify with the excitement of our campers. We'd love to have you along, but as I mentioned, we do limit the size of our camp and we're thrilled that we'll likely sell out in the next week or so. So if you're interested, or have questions, shoot me an email or give me a call and we can address any thoughts that you might have...but do it soon!

Triathlon Training Camp- Register now if you want to come to camp

2011-03-29T16:08:00.000-04:00

Registration for our Annual Triathlon Training Camp at Lake Placid is going very well. As of today, we have about 7 slots remaining available until camp is "sold out". We're very happy with that news because it (we hope) speaks to the reputation of the coaches who manage this camp, myself and my good friend and colleague, Tom Manzi.

We intend to run a 1st class camp. We don't coach any other way. That's why we limit the number of people who we have in our camp. It's our expectation that everyone who attends will get individual attention and some actual coaching. The people registered so far span the spectrum of Triathlete from sprint and Olympic distance people to those intending on racing at Ironman USA this year. We've charted out rides from 10 to 112 miles (and more if you wish). We're putting together some workshops on varied and (we think) interesting topics ranging from how to calculate your Training Stress Score for your three sports to race day strategies for Ironman.

We're excited about this year's camp (as we have been each year that we've done it). Tom and I have done almost 500 tris between us and the thrill of the starting line has never changed for either one of us so we can identify with the excitement of our campers. We'd love to have you along, but as I mentioned, we do limit the size of our camp and we're thrilled that we'll likely sell out in the next week or so. So if you're interested, or have questions, shoot me an email or give me a call and we can address any thoughts that you might have...but do it soon!

Chuck

Some Early Season Dos and Donts | Inspired Performance Coaching

2011-01-04T07:07:00.000-05:00

During the early part of the training season, your focus should be on much more than just getting back to training. You should create a broad-brush picture of what your training will look like (your Annual Training Plan) and then set out to accomplish the specific goals you've set for this early part of the year. In this article, I give you my take on what your goals should focus on.

Some Early Season Dos and Donts | Inspired Performance Coaching

Computrainer Special Discount

2010-11-12T10:11:00.000-05:00

Computrainer is well established as the "trainer of choice" for indoor riding. Guaranteed to improve your cycling performance, these units give you a challenging workout, provide you with key information (including power data) and are well known for their patented Spin Scan analysis of your pedal stroke.

Order a Computrainer through Inspired Performance Coaching before December 31^st and save $250, plus take advantage of interest free financing if you choose to pay for your unit over the next year. More information.

Information about Ironman Lake Placid 2011

2010-11-01T12:43:00.000-04:00

For 2011, a number of North Jersey athletes will be training together, following a similar (but individually customized) training plan. The plan will break down into details of daily swim, bike, run or strength and conditioning workouts. Training will begin on the Monday following Thanksgiving. The group, however, will be limited in size and only six (6) slots are still available. Read more!

Congratulations, Jenny Zhang

2010-09-27T10:28:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Jenny for a great performance at Age Group Nationals in Tuscaloosa. Jenny landed a spot on Team USA to compete at the World Championship in Beijing next September!

Inspired Performance Athletes Continue to Kick Butt

2010-08-06T14:46:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Amy Broadwell who just completed her first Ironman at Lake Placid. Amy kicked butt and achieved her goal times in the swim and bike and although slowed down by a migraine, still managed to finish off the run and complete the event in a highly respectable time. Bobby Cooper recently took 2nd place in his age group in the CA Police and Fire Games. Jenny Zhang won 2nd place in her age group at the NJ State Triathlon. Great job, all of you and a nice payoff for your hard work!

Congratulations Bobby Cooper, Rich Kiser and Jennie Zhang

2010-07-07T10:27:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Inspired Performance Athletes who are having a great season so far. Bobby Cooper placed 3rd in his age group in the FLOW 2 mile swim in California. He is preparing for IM Arizona this year (his A Race). Bobby followed up his 3rd place swim with a 3rd place tri finish a week later. Rich Kiser placed 1st in his age group in the Highline Hustle Triathlon in Grand Junction, CO. Jenny Zhang placed 2nd in her age group at the Mooseman 70.3 triathlon in Bristol, NH and then returned to NJ to place 3rd at the Philly Tri in what can only be described as "hellish" conditions on the course! Great job.

Greatest 3 days of training

2010-04-22T20:04:00.000-04:00

Glad to see that our Triathlon Training Camp at Lake Placid is starting to build momentum. We're looking forward to a nice group of people training for various distances in one of the most beautiful venues there is. For more information about the camp click here.

Varying Brick Workouts to your benefit

2010-04-15T13:00:00.000-04:00

A combination (or brick) workout that combines two or more disciplines into one training session pays big
dividends, for multisports racing and provides physiological as well as psychological training for the stresses of
race day. Many athletes use the “same old brick” as a staple in their training plan, however,
workouts can be combined in an infinite number of ways and should be structured to
make them suitable given a variety of factors that should be considered. read more...

Maintaining Performance During Longer Training

2010-04-12T19:19:00.000-04:00

As most people start ramping up their training during the Spring Season, it becomes increasingly important to pay close attention to your "fuel intake". Lately after group rides with athletes I've started working with, I've been asking how much nutrition they took in and in what form. I'm surprised at the response I get from most people who either have no idea of how much they've taken in, or who dramatically fell short on their needs. What's not surprising is their comment that they started to fade toward the end of the ride.

Following a smart nutrition plan on your longer training rides and runs is critical to your success. A lot has been written about how to estimate your needs and here are some common threads:

Depending on body size and intensity level, most people will need somewhere around 275 to 325 Kcal per hour of carbohydrate replacement. Start on the lower side and see how you feel. Tweak the amount you take in until you feel good throughout the ride or run.
Fuel up continually. According to "Exercise Physiology" (McArdle, Katch & Katch, c.2001), the body can process a maximum of 1.2 grams of Carbohydrate per minute. This equates to a little under 300 Kcal per hour, but given the limit of how much can be processed per minute, it becomes obvious that you have to eat/drink continually during that hour and not wait for 60 minutes to consume 300 Kcal (in which case you can expect a bit of stomach upset!).
Practice the form of energy that mostly agrees with you. I use all liquid and find that easy to process without stomach distress. Some people tolerate energy bars well or take gels. What works best for you under high stress loads is what you should use.
Differentiate what works during easy training from what works during high stress/race conditions. It most likely will be different!

Once you start to keep track, it's not that complicated. But it is crucial to your success (and to feeling good) with endurance sports.

Training in Lake Placid

2010-04-09T10:54:00.000-04:00

Plans for our Annual Triathlon Training Camp in Lake Placid are coming along nicely. We have a special package at the Northwoods Inn for our Campers and rooms in town are no longer available due to the Annual Horse Show going on during the same weekend as well as the Tupper Lake Half IM race. Camp will start on Thursday evening, June 24th with registration and a reception. Friday morning we'll get into Mirror Lake to swim before returning to the Hotel for a continental breakfast (included with camp registration) and workshop. We'll then get out onto our bikes for a fully supported ride (various distances). Camp will conclude at about 2PM on Sunday with individual training assessments.

Every year we have a number of people who are tweaking their training for an Ironman distance event and also people who are not training at the Iron level, but want to experience this beautiful venue. We will have something for everyone and everyone will be fully supported (beautiful bike loops of 25, 30, 42, 56, 112 miles). There is also a shorter 10 mile ride for those just getting into the swing of riding.

Camp registration is $179 until May 15th and $199 thereafter. We include continental breakfast each day, dinner on Saturday night, tee shirts, goodies, fully supported training, individual training assessments and special activities being planned.

There are lots of activities for family members or friends who may not be training with you. Possibilities include a visit to the North Pole, drive up to the top of Mount Marcy, ride on the Olympic bobsled course, visit the ski jumps, shop, hike, swim and on and on. The horseshow is also a main activity in town during this week!

I encourage everyone interested to register early. Rooms in town are booked up and we have a limited block with special rates at the Northwoods Inn, which is right in the middle of town!

Call me or email me with any questions: chuck@inspiredperformancecoaching.com or 201.506.3300.

Recovering Faster

2010-03-30T07:50:00.000-04:00

I don't earn my living by selling supplements, but I do occasionally come across a product that makes a meaningful difference. When I do, I recommend it, and if available, I'll get the product and offer it to my clients at a discounted price. Over the past two years, I've been using a product called RecoverEase to come back from hard training. As one example, when I started using RecoverEase, I did a ride from my home in Ramsey, NJ to Long Beach Island, about 154.3 miles (but who counts those tenths?). I used RecoverEase and followed a good nutrition and hydration recovery plan the following day, when I ran an easy 5 miles and by the day after, I ran 12 miles feeling remarkably good! Since then, I've been using this product, which for the most part is a combination of amino acids needed for recovery (and one that you may have heard of for loading before competition- L-glutamine). Many of the ingredients are the same as in Endurox R4, but this is a capsule form product that is much more conveniently handled and no mixing is required. If you like R4, I think you'll like RecoverEase better.

I am able to offer my clients more than 25% off on this product. A bottle of 120 capsules normally sells for $39.99 plus shipping when ordered through the company. Order from me directly, and I'll get it to you for $29.99 with no shipping fees.

As I said, I'm not a supplement sales guy, but this is a product that I've used and I believe it will make a difference for you. That's why I've set up a relationship with the company to order in bulk at a price that allows you to try a bottle ad a pretty nice discount. For more about the product, go to: http://www.wickedfastsportsnutrition.com/p-1-recover-ease.aspx

To order, contact me at chuck@inspiredperformancecoaching.com

Congratulations Paula Newby-Fraser, Barb Linquist, Valerie Silk, Carl Thomas and Jim Curl

2010-02-21T10:13:00.000-05:00

As Chair of the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame Committee, I had the privilege of inducting 5 really great people of our sport into the Hall of Fame last weekend. Paula Newby-Fraser needs no introduction, with her 24 Ironman wins including 8 in Kona. Barb Linquist was ranked #1 in the world for 2 consecutive years and won a huge proportion of her career total races. Valerie Silk was the original owner of Ironman in Kona and is responsible for moving the race to the Big Island and making it what it is today, before selling it to WTC.

Jim Curl and Carl Thomas may not be much a household word as the others, but these guys were visionaries who are largely responsible for Triathlon becoming what it is today, and specifically for it being an Olympic Event. Carl Thomas told the story at the Hall of Fame induction of how he came up with the race distances we today call the Olympic Distance.

When he went to the IOC in 1988 to petition for Triathlon to be an Olympic Sport, he wanted the support of the swimmers, the cyclists and the runners. So, he chose the 1500 meter swim, which is the longest distance in competitive swimming, 40km for the bike since that's the gold standard time trial distance for cyclists and the 10km run, for its popularity in competitive running. He also chose metric since, well, the whole world is on the metric system other than the US and UK! Before doing this, there was no real standard distance for triathlon, except for the distances of the US Triathlon Series, founded and developed by Carl Thomas and Jim Curl. The distances prior to Thomas' visit to the IOC were 2km swimming, 40km cycling and 15km running, a distance selected by them because it would produce finishing times that were comparable to the finishing time for a marathon!

After 24 years of racing, I never knew that story until the induction ceremony, although racing in the USTS is what really got me involved in the sport!

Running in Cold Weather

2010-01-29T14:33:00.000-05:00

If you're in Northeastern US right now, you're doing your best to stay warm. Last night I drove up to Killington to check on our house there, and the weather forecast for today was for high temps about -5! And windy!

So how do conditions like this impact your training? I've heard from countless people how running outside in temperatures cooler than 20 degrees can freeze your lungs! Well, that's just not so. The body has an incredible ability to warm the air before it gets to your lungs. While you do have to be prepared for cold conditions, there's no compelling reason why you're limited to the treadmill.

First thing, dress in layers. A good tech fabric shirt as the first layer will wick moisture from the skin. A mid layer to trap warm air is critical to being comfortable. Then, your outer layer should be a wind proof fabric. Wear two layers on your legs. A pair of tights against your skin will help manage moisture and a pair of wind proof pants will keep you legs warm. One pair of fairly heavy socks should be fine on your feet. The most crucial items of clothing will be gloves and a warm hat (like an old wool ski hat). If you can keep body heat from escaping through your head and extremities, you'll be surprised at how warm you'll stay.

Once you have your clothes laid, do a warm up routine before getting fully dressed. A very important element to running injury-free in cold weather is to keep your leg muscles warm. Starting out with increased circulations which results from a warm up routine will get you ahead of the curve. Cold muscles are much more likely to cramp or knot than muscles that are warm and supple.

Running is a huge limiter for me, but when I'm coaching on the mountain at Killington, I almost always run home from the locker room at the end of the day. And those runs where I'm generating a great head of steam on a very cold day are some of my favorite experiences. Enjoy the outdoors!

January Training Off to a Good Start

2010-01-26T10:01:00.000-05:00

Well, with a repair to my rotator cuff out of the way, I'm starting to get into a good rhythm of training. The shoulder work was mostly cleaning out scar tissue and bone spurs, as well as doing a decompression (removal of some bone to make some room for the muscles in the rotator cuff). The tendon was mostly intact, so no long term recovery is needed.

So, I'm thinking about my goals for this coming race season and wanting to get faster on the bike. My game plan is to build a huge aerobic base through January and February, but not ignore some work I need to do to increase my speed. Working primarily with power this year, I'm monitoring my wattage output, having measured my Functional Threshold Power (FTP). My endurance rides are primarily about 70-75% of FTP and my shorter rides during the week include some intervals at FTP (e.g. 20 min warm up in power zones 1 & 2/ 2 x 10 min. at FTP or slightly higher w/ 5min recovery, and 15 minute spinning cool down at about 75% of FTP).

If I were not using power, I'd likely be doing similar kinds of work using Heart Rate, so the intervals would be at Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (LTHR). You can substitute your HR zones and do the same workout.

I recommend the inclusion of intervals to those athletes who have some depth of experience with training. For those doing their first full or half iron distance event, I'd focus more on the lower heart rate work to build that base with perhaps some shorter intervals after the first four weeks of strictly endurance (zones 1-3) work.

My key "A" races this year: IM USA, Lake Placid and Age Group National Championship. About 6 other "B" and "C" races on the calendar starting at Columbia this May.