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2006 News and
Updates! COACH'S CORNER COACH'S
CORNER
Starting Fresh in 2006! Hello everybody, welcome back to another year with Team
Javelin! Each new year we begin fresh
with expectations for fun, fitness, PR's, and new races. Before you get too deep into this year I would like to provide some options for you to think about
as you set about your journey that is the 2006 multi-sport season. In one way, shape, or form we all want to improve within
our particular activities, right? To accomplish this we first need to define how we can
monitor our improvement. One way to
begin monitoring improvement is to set some benchmarks or
"markers", as I like to call them, in all disciplines of the sport. Once you set these
"markers" you can re-visit them throughout the year to see how things are going. What follows are some
markers that I have used personally or with my athletes. I
hope they are useful to you. Training Logs - Many of us keep these but
many of us don't. This year I have begun requiring my athletes (no options any more for them) to keep these so
I can make quicker, more reliable changes to their program. I am able to view them at anytime that
I'd like, allowing me to see how someone's day, week, month is progressing. The athletes
themselves are enjoying the log and the ability to view the big picture regarding how much (or
how little) they have done. Over the long term it will provide a lot of feedback needed to create smart training
decisions. Do your best to keep as much detail as possible so that
it makes sense when you look back at it in six months time. First off, before attempting any of these test
"markers," be sure that you have spent 4-5 weeks completing enough training that you don't injure yourself
in the process. Swim Markers - Here are some
"markers" you could use for your swimming. Short course athletes
may choose the shorter markers while long course athletes
might choose the longer ones. That being said, you can mix all these markers into swim sets so you
have a variety of feedback. - 1000 Time Trial - Pretty straight forward! Swim a 1000
straight time trial and record your time. - 2x500 @ 30 seconds rest - Swim 2 x 500 with 30 seconds
rest between intervals recording the time for each - 1x500 (good for sprint distance racers) - 10x100 @ 10 seconds rest - I like this one for any
athlete but very good for Olympic Distance athletes. Start your watch at the first 100, swimming
them all as fast as you can with only 10 seconds rest between all of them. When you are done with
#10 stop your watch, subtract 90 seconds (resting time) then you have a total time for the 1000. (you can take
this as a raw time OR break it down into time per 100) NOTE: For the 1000 or 2 x 500 your best bet is to start at a pace you can maintain OR increase over the distance. Cycling Markers - Don't be afraid to be
creative with some of these ideas but remember that these "markers" should be repeatable. Meaning, you
should be able to replicate the test identically if possible. I like my athletes to have data for both of
these "markers" as it provides feedback for time trialing / flat land training and climbing
fitness. - 10 Mile Time Trial - Just like the swimming TT, this is
a pretty straight forward one. Pick a course that is safe, on flat to rolling terrain and see
how fast you can go. Data you can collect from this for comparison sake is time and average heart
rate for the distance. Remember, the more data you can collect the better! If you happen to be
training with a power meter, compu-trainer or other indoor training device you will have even more data
options such as; time, HR, avg. power and others depending on the software you might use. - Local Hill Climb
- Simply pick a climb in your local area of at least 10 minutes in
length, or longer. As you did with the 10 mile TT, record as much
data as possible for the distance. Just remember that climbing fitness and flat land time trial
fitness have differences and are affected by different aspects of cycling. I'll save all the details
for that for a different article. :) NOTE: Be sure to be well warmed up before attacking
either of these "markers". Run Markers - You'll find the best place
to perform your "markers" for running are on the treadmill, track, or flat, marked running trail. I'll
provide just one running session for you but you could also do an uphill one like we did with cycling
as well. - Level 3 Test: You'll start by running a mile at an easy pace that
allows you to warm up gradually. (do not time or collect any data for this first mile)
After the warm up you begin collecting data over the next three miles. Each mile of the three
represents a "level" with each mile being run faster. Therefore, start your watch / HR monitor at the
beginning of the three miles, running at a pace you know you can increase over each mile. At the end
of miles 1 and 2 hit a split / lap button and at the end of the 3 miles simply stop your watch.
Data you should have collected over this "marker" should be; overall time, 3 lap times,
and hopefully AVG heart rate data for each lap and overall. Be sure to log all your data for these initial
"markers". Don't try to analyze them too much as they are your benchmarks for the year(s) to come. As you consider testing your progress you
may want to repeat your tests every 5-6 weeks. If you try to test
your progress any sooner between "markers" you may not have given your body enough time to adapt to
the new training stresses. When you repeat the tests in time, you'll now have the beginnings of a data
base you can use for comparison. If your training is going well then you'll
have seen improvements in these markers. (faster times, lower HR's for similar efforts, increased
power, etc.) Best of luck on your journey into 2006 and enjoy one
session and day at a time! Dave Latourette www.traintoendure.com |