Ron Saetermoe

For those of us that work for a living, finding time to train can be one of the biggest challenges you face to reaching your triathlon goals. There simply don’t seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done.

The debate still rages on regarding how much training is the right amount. Naturally, you’ll need to train longer if you’re doing 70.3 and Ironman stuff, but how much is enough?

The legend Mark Allen seems to subscribe to the “more is better” school of triathlon training. If you’re training for an Ironman you’d better be prepared to put in 20+ hours of training per week. That’s a part-time job on top of your full-time job!

On the other hand, you’ve got Russ Jones from the “less is best” school of triathlon training. Granted, Russ specializes in shorter triathlon distances but his basic philosophy is shorter sessions but with more intensity.

So who’s right?

Here’s my take on it: they’re both right.

Let me just say that I’m a huge believer in the benefits of cycling with a trainer and running on the treadmill. Can you still become a great triathlete without these tools? Probably, but it will take more time.

Essentially the trainer and treadmill allow you to pack a huge amount of quality training into a tiny chunk of time. Generally my CompuTrainer and treadmill sessions are 60 minutes each. In order to get the same quality of training on the road I might have to do double that, or even more.

And it doesn’t stop there. Your trainer and treadmill sessions should be intense, not easy. You need to rev up the speed, watts and incline to get a real quality session. If you do, you’ll feel quite wasted afterwards but will find that it really helps improve your fitness. When I get off my CompuTrainer at the end of a tough session I can barely stand.

The benefits of the long stuff can’t be overstated either. It’s easier for me to do my long sessions on Saturday and Sunday because I rarely work an entire day during the weekends.

These sessions are more about endurance and pacing than building strength. The other benefit they have is confidence building. If you do a 100-mile bike ride in practice, that 56-mile ride for your 70.3 won’t be as intimidating.

You also benefit by incorporating the long stuff into your workouts by validating your nutrition plan. Less important for sprint distance races but your nutrition plan becomes more important as your races get longer.

So to really maximize the benefits of you limited training time the answer is short AND long.

Ron Saetermoe

Are you bored of your workouts? Do you dread doing the same thing day after day? Are you looking for ways to spice your workouts up a bit? If so, you’re not alone.

Some athletes have no problem doing the same workouts over and over again – I think they find it comforting in a way. That’s great: to each his own. But for the rest of us we like to mix it up a bit.

Now, I’m the first to admit that my swim workouts can be quite boring. The only thing that breaks up the monotony is the pain, and the fact that I’m afraid of losing track of what lap I’m on. You see, when I lose track I go back to the lap number I remember – never forward.

So what can you do, and are there any benefits of mixing things up? Currently, I ride on my CompuTrainer five times a week. That’s a lot but I’m really trying to improve my cycling and my run off the bike. So here’s what I do:

Monday: Recovery ride on the CT including very light watts building to 60% of max.
Tuesday: Speed workout on the CT including high cadence (up to 120) and heavy watts building up to 90% of max.
Thursday: Power workout on the CT including low cadence (down to 40) and heavy watts building up to 90% of max.
Saturday: Long road ride (frequently with friends) and short or long transition run afterwards.
Sunday: Easy ride on CT including very light watts building to 60% of max and long run.

This regimen seems to break things up enough for me not to go totally mind numb.

In order to keep the runs interesting I change up the distance, intensity, interval length and rest interval length. Yesterday, for example, I was feeling spontaneous so I left the house without a specific plan other than my total distance.

I normally warm up for about 15 minutes with a slow pace before I do any real intensity. That may seem like a lot but you should remember that I’m 54! After that I decided to do 10 accelerations of 30 seconds with 30 seconds easy running in-between. That takes me up to 25 minutes. I ran easy for an additional five minutes so I was halfway home.

Then I decided to do decreasing intervals with decreasing rest between. I started with a five minute interval with 2:00 slow running, then a four minute interval with 1:30 slow running, three minutes/1:00, two minutes/0:30.

So that was my workout yesterday. No particular reason, just felt like it. It was great and I didn’t feel the least bit bored by it.

Cheers!

Ron Saetermoe

We’ve talked several times about our new mission here at Triathica . . . the Triathica Academy. Well, that mission is about to be deployed and we hope you’ll come along.

The Triathica Academy is a “paid for” subscription service aimed at helping develop triathletes of all levels. It is (will be) the most comprehensive online triathlon development website in the world including workouts, training plans and information to help improve your health, fitness and triathlon performance.

To give you a flavor for where the Triathica Academy is headed I hope you’ll join us on YouTube at the Triathica Academy Channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/TriathicaAcademy

We’ve posted three free videos from our “Triathlon Experts” series:

Episode 1: Women in Triathlon with Sherry Rennard. Sherry shares her insights about women in triathlon and has some advice for women who want to get into the sport of triathlon.

Episode 2: Finding a Good Massage Therapist, Kathy Flippin: Kathy talks about what to look for when choosing a massage therapist. She tells us why seeing a massage therapist who specializes in sports massage is important.

Episode 3: Weight Loss with Kristy Richardson: Kristy talks about weight loss for the triathlete and how to attain the proper weight through good nutrition.

And this is only the beginning. We’ll have lots more videos, podcasts and workouts at the Triathica Academy.

Watch for more details.

Cheers!

Ron Saetermoe

When was the last time you had a breakthrough training day? Have you ever had a breakthrough training day? What is a breakthrough training day?

Let me give you my perspective on the subject and why it’s important.

My definition of a breakthrough training day is one that you push beyond your previous limits and perform harder and/or than you ever have previously. When I have these kinds of days I surprise myself because I thought that my previous efforts were the best I could do.

As I’ve written before, one of my training secrets is the CompuTrainer (a trainer for your bike that measures watts, or effort). My pal Lar Dog Davidson turned me on to this tool and I used it extensively when I was working with another coach. The great thing about the CompuTrainer is that the numbers simply don’t lie.

Consider going to the gym and working out with weights but having no idea how much weight you’re lifting. Unfortunately, many people train on the bike that way. You may be working hard but without some form of measurement (besides speed or cadence, or even heartrate) you really don’t know how much work you’re actually doing.

So the benefit the CompuTrainer has is you know exactly how many watts you’re pushing. In my case I have a favorite power workout I do. Essentially I keep increasing the watts while decreasing the interval. For example, I’ll push 200 watts for five minutes, then rest two minutes. The next interval will be 210 watts for four and a half minutes, etc.

My breakthrough workout then is when I start my first interval at 210 watts instead of 200. That extra 10 watts doesn’t sound like much but consider that 10 watts is a 5% improvement. Consider that a 5% improvement on the bike is like the difference between going between 20 and 21 miles per hour. Take a look at the bike splits sometime of the top people in your age group. Chances are there’s less than a 5% difference in time.

Sometimes before and during these workouts I have no idea if I can finish. Guess what, sometimes I don’t. There are a lot of factors involved including your glycogen stores, your rest the night before and previous workouts and recovery. Breakthrough workouts don’t happen everyday . . . that’s why they’re called “breakthrough.”

Perhaps the best breakthrough workout I had this year had to do with my bricks. Like just about everyone, I struggled after a hard bike workout to run. But if you can’t run well off the bike you’re not going to do well in this sport.

One morning in February at 4:30 in the morning I got on my CompuTrainer for a hard 60-minute workout and a transition run. When I got off my bike my legs were pretty wobbly so I thought I’d limit my run to my short course (about two miles). But when I started to run I felt great, even after pushing so hard on the bike. I was surprised that my stride was so fluid and strong so I decided to do my long T-run of six miles, and I felt great!

That was a breakthrough for me. Since that day I’ve been able to duplicate my performance at least once a week.

Don’t just workout. If you really want to get better you really need to push yourself hard occasionally. Trust me, you’ll surprise even yourself.

Ron Saetermoe

It’s not always easy to stay motivated. For me, it’s easy to stay motivated as an important race is approaching (mostly because of the fear I suppose) but in the beginning or middle of my year it certainly isn’t.

I actually think you can develop motivation as a habit (or addiction). I’m one of those people that never has to set an alarm to get up in the morning, no matter what time I get to bed. Without fail I’m up at 5:00 every morning. Sometimes a half hour earlier or later but almost always at 5:00.

So here’s what I find: I go through stages prior to my workout.

Stage 1: Get moving. So when I’m awake and I’m not feeling particularly motivated I can either lie there or attempt to go back to sleep (which is rare) or just start moving. I’ll use the restroom, get a drink, get dressed and try to get my mind into the workout I have planned (yes, all of my workouts are planned well in advance).

Stage 2: Dial back. At this point I’ll frequently convince myself that I’ll dial back my workout. This helps me get started. Hey, a 30-minute easy spin sounds better than a 60-minute sufferfest! Dave Scott always said any workout is better than no workout.

Stage 3: Get started. So I’ll start out on my swim/bike/run workout satisfied that I’m going to work less than my plan. Then, something funny happens – the workout doesn’t seem so bad so I enter the next mental stage of my workout.

Stage 4: Bring it! Generally, once I get started I feel better than I thought I would. That’s not always the case but usually is so I muscle through the first couple intervals. It feels hard, but definitely doable.

Stage 5: I did it! After I’ve finished one of my planned workouts when it looked like I might totally sloth, I’m very proud of myself. Sure it’s exactly what I had planned but I could have just as easily skipped it. Damn I’m good!

This is how it works for me on those days I’m just not feeling motivated. What do you do?

Cheers!

Ron Saetermoe

Since I’ve just qualified for the Ironman World Championships in Kona I certainly don’t consider myself an expert on the subject but I might be able to give those of you that share my dreams some advice that may help. Much of this is what I have learned through my readings, interviews with successful Ironmen and my own experience. Let me know if this helps.

1. Don’t be in a hurry. Most of us are mere mortals and won’t be able to put together an Ironman qualifying time in a couple short months. Yes, there are those few, and you do hear the stories, of people that were world-class runners or cyclists that manage to qualify quickly but that simply isn’t the story for most of us. My quest started in 2007 with my training for my first race in 2008. I then qualified in 2010.

2. Aging up is great! Depending on where you are in your age group, one way of getting to Kona is simply waiting out the other guys. It’s never easy but at Ironman Hawaii 70.3 there were 172 men in the 35 – 39 age group, there were 47 in mine (55 – 59). The odds definitely improve as you age.

3. Train your tail off. I doesn’t matter what age or sex you are you simply can’t avoid the hard work. You’re probably going to have to train 20 or more hours per week during your race/peak phase of your training – and it needs to be quality training at that. Build up to that volume slowly but you need to put in the miles.

4. Work on your limiters. For me, my limiter was always the bike. I was usually in the top 10% of swimmers, top 20% of runners but in the bottom 50% of cyclists. And since the bike portion of most races is 50% or more of your total time (including Ironman) the answer was obvious. I got myself a CompuTrainer and learned to love it.

5. Dial in the nutrition. We all talk about it but few of us take it all that seriously. Often, we simply talk to someone else and blindly do what they do. I really think you need to figure this out for yourself, and try different things. For me, it’s hard to consume anything solid when I’m riding or running hard so my solution was Infinit. But before I tried it in any of my races I used it a lot in my training. For me, it works.

6. Pick your race carefully. Since I still only consider myself to be an “okay” cyclist now I picked Ironman Arizona as my “A” race for 2010 because the bike portion is fairly flat. A bunch of my mates signed up for Ironman St. George and as much as I wanted to join them I knew that race wasn’t for me. Try to find a race that suits your strengths. If you’re a strong swimmer try to find an ocean race where they don’t allow wetsuits. If you’re a strong cyclist look for a bike course with a lot of hills. If you’re a strong runner look for a hilly run course.

7. Boost your confidence. Because of all my hard work I reached the podium in 2009 nearly every time I raced. Of course, most of the races were smaller, local races but I became a regular on the podium. As your performance improves so does your confidence. Now when I race I fully EXPECT to podium!

8. Get the right equipment. Perhaps more than the actual performance improvement, your equipment helps you gain confidence as well. I got myself a new slippery wetsuit (Quintana Roo Superfull), I got myself a new bike (Cervelo P3) and I got some new running shoes (Asics Kayan). All three fit me well and I feel more confident racing with them.

9. Select good advice. Get advice from everyone but use what works for you. For example, one athlete I know eats as much as possible during every race, so that was his advice. That doesn’t work for me so I tried something that does. Parse through the advice and try everything – BEFORE, not DURING the race.

10. If all else fails, enter the lottery. I entered the Kona lottery three times and never got in. A friend of mine got in three times on the lottery! Now I’m glad that I didn’t get in on the lottery because this means more. Oh, I would have gone, but this way is so much better.

I hope this helps. If your dream of making it to Kona one day is a priority for you, you will certainly make it there. Best of luck!

Ron Saetermoe

Like a lot of people, I saw Julie Moss on ABC’s Wide World of Sports in 1982 and was just astonished at what I was seeing. This incredible woman simply wasn’t going to stop for anything without finishing the Ironman. The challenge of the event and the drive of that woman inspired so many of us to tackle one of the hardest endeavors in sport.

I was coaxed into doing my first triathlon in 1983. I had no experience, training or even a bike at that point. I signed up and have been doing them ever since. And while not “age group competitive” I never forgot about Julie and the Ironman.

The longer I was competing in triathlon the more serious thought I gave to doing my first Ironman. The problem was, like many of us, my family and career took the front seat while triathlon took a back seat. And while I still had the dream, I never felt like I was sacrificing anything by not doing my first Ironman.

As my son grew and my business required less of my time day-to-day I was able to increase my training. I started to become more competitive in my age group in sprint and Olympic distance triathlons, so I decided to try my first half Ironman distance race: Vineman, in 2003.

I did okay in that race but realized I really liked the longer distances as well. Going fast was fun, but going long was challenging.

I kept training for the longer stuff and kept improving my performance. I got my first podium finish in 2003 at the Newport Beach Triathlon. What a great feeling!

My breakthrough year was probably 2007. I podiumed three times in triathlon that year and signed up for my first Ironman: Ironman Coeur d’Alene.

Now my training sessions got longer and I spent a lot of time trying to calculate my finishing time and placement in my age group. At least the time spent training would be worthwhile.

Well, after that race I definitely had the Kona bug. I wanted to get to Kona and would genuinely focus my efforts on that goal. I was realistic but for me qualifying for Kona was one of those audacious goals you set for yourself.

I knew my best opportunity would be after I “aged up” to the 55 –59 age group because I still needed a lot of base training and experience. So I continued to train and race and get the best advice from experienced Ironman all around me.

My goal for 2010 was to compete at Ironman Arizona (for the third time) and get my Kona slot there. However, because I did so well at Ironman California 70.3 I figured I’d better find another qualifying race that might allow me to “punch my ticket” this year. That was Ironman Hawaii 70.3 (Honu) for me.

It took a lot for me to get my Kona slot. Tons of training, experience and a little luck. A 25+ year dream come true. Just like Dudley Moore’s response when the flower shop owner asked him “How does it feel to have all that money?” my response is the same: It feels great!

Cheers!

Ron Saetermoe

The support we have received for Triathica over the past year has been great. I appreciate every bit of it!

So what’s next for Triathica?

I’ve written about it several times but I have to say that I’m getting very excited about our new business model. My partner in the Triathica Academy, Oguz, showed me the beta version of our new website last week. It really looks great!

So what is it?

The Triathica Academy is going to take online triathlon training to an entirely new level than ANYONE has ever seen. We are going to be offering a monthly subscription service that will provide the triathlete all of the resources they need to complete their first triathlon or reach their goals of qualifying for Kona.

The core component of the Triathica Academy is the weekly workouts. We’re going to provide weekly swim, bike, run and resistance training workouts that contain a ton of detail. The swim, bike and run workouts will include markers for heart rate and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) so when the athlete does the workout again later they will be able to see their improvement.

Additionally, the Triathica Academy will provide lots of other useful information. We’ve already shot several informative videos with various experts that are sure to help subscriber’s performance.

We’ll also have a newsletter, blog and chat. It really is exciting and I think you’re going to love it.

And again, thank you all for your support!

Cheers!

Ron Saetermoe

Excellence in athletics has a lot to do with your form. And while perfect form is impossible to achieve it is something we all need to strive for on the swim, bike and run.

It is possible to do well in triathlon even though you don’t have great form, however. Some folks make up for their form in other ways such as their strength or determination.

Russ Jones is one of those guys. While my form is far from perfect it is far better than Russ’. The thing is that when Russ and I race together we’re usually getting out of the water at about the same time.

I remember Strawberry Fields sprint in 2007. The surf was quite high that day which is usually a good thing for the stronger swimmers. On this day, however, Russ came out of the water just behind me and passed me on the beach run into transition. How’d he do it?

In Russ’ case it’s all about determination. You see, when he attacks a race he’s going all-out in each of the segments. He’s going at 100% on the swim and doesn’t even think about the bike until he’s riding. So while I “should” have beaten him, he actually beat me by two seconds.

Here’s the difference, if you can race at 85% of your maximum effort you’ll have more energy for the events that follow. Not everyone can go at 100% for an entire race, especially the longer stuff. That’s why your form is so important.

The swim is perhaps the event that depends the most on good form. You can usually tell whether a swimmer has good or poor form pretty quickly. They’re movements are fluid like they’re hardly working at all. The body rotation is excellent, their arms are reaching way out there and their “catch” is nice and shallow.

I think the run is the second most important to concentrate on. There is a lot of debate on what good form looks like for the run but bad form is easy to spot. Some say a forefoot strike is best while others say mid-foot is best. Others say a heel strike is fine. Frankly, I don’t know what’s best. There are so many opinions about it that it’s impossible to know.

I don’t know the guy, but the winner in the M50-54 age group at the OC Duathlon has the goofiest running form I’ve ever seen . . . but he did win. Again, while form is important, it’s not everything.

Generally, the best runners have fluid movements (just like swimmers). They don’t look like they’re working that hard, but they are going fast. They generally have their hands high and their heads don’t bounce much.

And while cycling form is perhaps the least important, it is still crucial because about 50% of any distance race is about the bike. Good form on the bike starts with a good bike fit. Again, there are lots of schools of thought here but here’s my take . . .

First, I think your bike position can be more aggressive (more forward in the saddle and back flat) for the shorter race. However, trying to do an Ironman in this same position might be impossible because it’s so painful to your back and neck. So, while position is important, comfort is just as important.

The other thing I notice about the best cyclists is that there isn’t a lot of body movement. My pal Larry Davidson has excellent form. I really noticed it a couple years ago at the Desert Triathlon as he blew by me. I’m working like crazy and my body is bouncing up and down and moving back and forth. Larry’s going faster than me and there’s no body movement. His legs are turning over but his body is perfectly still and his arms and legs are tucked in tightly.

So the place to start is to get someone to look at your form and then practice it. Yes, I hate drills too, but “perfect practice makes perfect.” And during your workouts really concentrate on your form to make sure you hold your form even as you tire or exert yourself. I think about it the most when I’m swimming. When I’m doing my speed intervals I’m thinking about my body position, my hand entry, even what my feet are doing.

If you want to get faster you need to be constantly working on your form. Get some help and you’ll get there.

Ron Saetermoe

It’s funny but the less I workout the more pain I seem to have. Why is that?

I just finished my first week (of two) of taperinig for Ironman 70.3 Hawaii and my training volume is down about 30% from my peak weeks. I’m really enjoying the extra time for doing all of the non-triathlon stuff but I’ve got all these aches and pains that weren’t there before.

It could be that I’m spending some of my extra time contemplating my belly button or it could just be nerves. Don’t know, but I’m pretty sore right now.

No matter, I’m going to go see my favorite massage therapist, Kathy Flippin of Dynamic Touch in Costa Mesa (www.dynamictouchmassage.com / 714.345.7188). I know Kathy’s magic hands will fix me right up.

I’ve experienced this phenomenon before so I’m not worried. It’s like Faris Al Sultan said once before he won the Ironman World Championships (paraphrasing) “Everyone has a little problem here and a sore muscle there, but when the gun goes off you are a 100% racing machine.”

It’s true you know. Starting in December 2009, I haven’t done a proper taper for any of my races. My goal is to concentrate on my training more than my racing and just use the races as quality training days. So far it seems to be working although I’ll e the first to admit that my racing performance is surprisingly good – even going into my races fatigued.

My pal Russ Jones actually warned me about tapering too much before my Hawaii race because I’ve done so well without tapering. The thing is, I know my body pretty well by now and know I’ll do better with a taper.

So if you’re in taper mode and notice all kinds of aches and pains, consider it normal. You’re in good company.

Cheers!