BREAKTHROUGH TRAINING

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.

STAYING MOTIVATED

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!

QUALIFYING FOR KONA

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!

HOW DOES IT FEEL?

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!

RACE REPORT: IRONMAN 70.3 HAWAII

Ron Saetermoe

If you’ve been keeping up with your Triathica Weekly reading you’ll know that I just competed in the Ironman 70.3 Hawaii on Saturday, June 5th. I didn’t have this race on my schedule but when I took second at the Ironman 70.3 California I thought I’d better seize the opportunity to try to qualify for Kona.

I probably jinxed it by saying I was going to the race with the intention of qualifying for the Ironman World Championships but what the heck! That was my plan.

I checked out all of the competitors in my age group (M55-59) ahead of time so I’d get some idea of what I was up against. If/when you get to a place where you’re trying to qualify as well you’ll know why. Anyway, the guy that I figured would win is a guy by the name of Kevin Moats.

The good thing is that Moats already has his Kona slot because he won the Ironman World Championships last year so you get an automatic entry the next year. So, I figured I’d need to finish second to him (sounds easy, right?).

I went to www.athlinks.com and checked out as many of the competitors as I could and knew the competition would be stiff but I thought if I could put together another great day I could do it.

Then, I got some bad news. A friend of mine, Gary Clendenin, told me that Charlie Brockus somehow got into the race AFTER it was announced it was sold out. Fair? Don’t know, but Charlie is a perennial favorite.

Oh well, at some point you TRY to forget about all that stuff and just “leave it all out there on the course.” That was my plan.

Pre-Race

I was very fortunate to have Oguz Yildiz and my 15-year old son Steven with me on this trip. It sure makes it more fun when you’ve got company. It would be a short trip with us only staying three nights. Didn’t matter, we were on a mission!

We got in Thursday and took our time getting to the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. Nice place and right on one of the best beaches on the Big Island. I would definitely go there again. I carbo-loaded Thursday night, which is my normal day to do it for long races (two nights out from race day). I don’t like loading the day before because I feel heavy and bloated.

Friday was one hectic day! Ideally, before a big race you stay off your feet as much as possible. We certainly didn’t do that. Had a swim in the morning, went to registration, picked up the bike, went for a ride/run with Al Gaspari, grocery shopping, went to the swim start/T-1, etc. Not restful or relaxing at all!

I managed to get to sleep around 9:00 p.m. (12:00 p.m. PST) and slept until 2:15 a.m. Five hours – not too bad. Got out of bed at 4:00 a.m. and had my breakfast (OJ, English muffin with peanut butter and jelly, yogurt with some blueberries and walnuts mixed in).

Oguz and I headed down to the swim start at 5:00 a.m. while Steven slept. I got my tires pumped up, gear sorted out and went down by the swim start to stretch and get nervous.

Race morning was windy. Hapuna Beach is usually flat in the morning this time of year but we wouldn’t have that luck today. It wasn’t bad, but it was choppy.

The Swim

I went out for a quick warm-up in my brand new Tyr Sayonara speed swimsuit, which I would only use once because the rules change September 1st and they won’t be legal after that. I looked fast and felt fast! As I got out I looked at my watch and it was dead! Uh oh! Oguz quickly gave me his watch and although it didn’t have a heart rate function would still keep time. Problem #1 of the day. (There would be more.)

This is a mass, deep-water start with about 1,300 competitors, including the pros, who started with us. I seeded myself wide left for the clockwise course because a guy I met in the jacuzzi the day before told me this would be beneficial because of the current. Heck, I don’t know so I followed his instruction.

We treaded water for about five minutes before the gun went off – which was before I could start Oguz’ watch. Oh well, I wouldn’t have my swim split. No biggie! Problem #2.

I felt like I was swimming fast and really felt good. Maybe I should have swum so I didn’t feel good! Anyway, for those of you that have swum with over 1,000 of your closest friends, you know how rough these swims can be. There was all of the normal thrashing and kicking. I had to swim over a guy because another guy was cutting me off and he tried to kick me. Why do people do that? I’m not trying to swim over him.

I got about ½ through the swim and got kicked in the face and it knocked my goggles halfway off. I had to stop briefly and put them back on. Problem #3.

I finished the swim and felt good about it. Who do I see just ahead up the ramp to T-1? Charlie Brockus. I tap him on the shoulder and congratulate him on a good swim. No comment or reaction. This dude is focused!

I figured my swim time was pretty good because Charlie had the fastest swim split at this race last year. The problem is that I didn’t know where Moats was. You see, my buddy, Russ Jones, thought I should try to get out ahead of him on the swim and try to see if I could hang on with him on the bike. Nothing doing today, he was ahead of me already.

I keyed on Charlie because he was the only one other than Moats that I knew in my age group. I beat him out of T-1 so I felt good about that.

The Bike

My plan on the bike was to go harder than I did at Ironman 70.3 California. There, I averaged 192 watts. I figured I could manage 195 watts because I was in better shape and a couple pounds lighter. I also averaged 198 at the OC Duathlon but that was less than ½ the distance.

I started out hard on the bike because I knew the competition would be formidable, and Charlie was just behind me. Well it certainly didn’t take long because Charlie blew by me about three miles into the bike. Wow! I would never see him on the bike again all day.

The wind seemed to die down for the first leg, which started south on the Queen K, which was very welcome. I was fast on the first leg and didn’t have too many people pass me. BTW, they don’t stamp your age on your calf for this race so you can’t tell how old the competitor is in front of you. I HATE that!

I was pushing hard on the bike and wasn’t sure I could hold my pace but pressed on. As I made the left on the road to Hawi the wind seemed to pick up. And the closer we got to Hawi the stronger the wind got, and it was all up hill!

It was probably about 10 miles or so into the bike leg that my pal Al Gaspari passed me. He gave me a few words of encouragement as he blew by me. Al’s got the biggest damn calves I’ve ever seen!

I continued to check my heartrate (my Ergomo computer has heart rate function), my speed (which was disappointing) and my watts. I was averaging 215 watts heading into Hawi! Slow down big guy, you’re cycling waaaaaay over your head!

The turn before Hawi isn’t the same as the world championship. We turn a bit earlier but it is still hallowed ground to me.

Now we were going downhill and with the wind. It was great!

One thing I notice about most triathletes is they tend to coast going downhill. While it is a good time to take a little rest it’s also a good idea to keep your legs turning over so they don’t cramp. Also, I like to keep my watts up as much as possible so I don’t have a lot of peaks and valleys in my effort. Having said that, I do tend to “spin out of my pedals” occasionally and have to coast.

I could tell I was really getting fatigued on the bike. My watts had dropped to 205 and my heart rate stayed right at 160.

So I’m nearing the right turn to head back to the Fairmont Hotel and T-2 and a bee somehow gets into my cycling jersey (which was zipped up) and it stings me in the chest and then stings me in my stomach where it leaves it’s stinger. Naturally, I’m weaving all over the place trying to stop the pain and a guy from my age group passes me and asks if I was stung. “Yep.” He tells me that he’s done for the day if he gets stung because he’s allergic. Lucky me, I’m not. Is that problem #3 or #4? #4 I guess.

T-2 was fast, as usual. I’m pretty good at transitions.

The Run

I was dog-tired starting out on the run and it was getting hot! The entire venue for this race is great but difficult. The run takes place on the roads and golf course in and around the Fairmont Hotel.

It’s kinda cool in a way to be running on the fairways and cart paths of a golf course but I can tell you that running on that spongy grass isn’t fast!

The other thing about the run course is that it’s hilly! Seems like there are very few spots on the course that are flat and after 56 miles on the bike I’d kinda like some flat. Not going to happen.

One of the great parts of the run course is that there are a lot of “out and backs” which gives you the opportunity to see who’s in front of you.

I guess I’m about four miles into the run and come to one of the out and backs and I see old Charlie (you can’t miss his HUGE moustache). His head was down and he was really focused now. He passed a sign and I checked my watch. I checked the time again as I passed it. He was 2:15 ahead of me.

Shortly after that I passed Al. He was struggling. He asked about Charlie and I told him I’d need to make up 15 seconds each of the next nine miles in order to catch him. It would be tough but I thought I could do it if I was patient. The being patient part would be the hardest part for me.

Since I didn’t have access to my heartrate I had to go by feel. I knew my heart rate was elevated from lack of sleep, the heat and the humidity but I also knew I was running much slower than the 7:30 pace I thought I could hold.

The next time I saw Charlie I checked spread again. Guess what, now he was only 1:30 ahead of me. I was closing on him just as I planned.

Every rest stop I doused myself with cold water and drank either Gatorade or Coke and took a cup of ice and tossed half of it down the front of my shirt and half down the back. After a few times I couldn’t even feel the ice!

I guess it was about mile nine as I was approaching a big hill on the golf course and whom do I see walking up? Yep, Charlie. Guess whom else I see? Oguz with his video camera. He’s about to document my pass. Very cool!

As I passed Charlie I patted him on the shoulder again and told him he was doing great. Again, absolutely no response.

The last several miles of the run course are on a false flat. In other words, you’re running uphill. My final split was very slow but Charlie wasn’t going to come back to challenge.

I guessed that Moats was done by now but I had no way of knowing if there was anyone in 2nd place because I didn’t know any of the other guys. I crossed the finish line in 5:19:14. What a disappointment! But, would it be enough?

Oguz met me at the finish line and I needed to sit down so I found a massage table that wasn’t being used and kicked off my shoes. I was so tired I couldn’t even make my way to the results board to see how I did, even as much as I wanted to know.

Oguz was on the ball and pulled out his iPhone. I took 3rd! Oh no! Moats was first and Nicholas Kaiser was 2nd! I was crushed! I missed by one spot! Crap!

Then it occurred to me that there are a total of 44 Kona slots for the residents of the Hawaiian Islands. Kaiser doesn’t sound Hawaiian but Oguz pulled up his detail. He’s a Honolulu resident! As tired as I was I screamed and yelled as loud as I could. There were a ton of people around and one of them said, “He’s got his Kona slot!” Everyone knew it.

Post Race

I was basking in my dream come true after the race. We had to hang around so we ate and drank and worked on our tans. I would have to enter the roll-down at 2:30 in order to claim my spot and the awards ceremony was at 4:00 and the roll-down at 4:30. They missed ALL of their projected times but I was too happy to care.

I collected my award and congratulated the other podium finishers and then collected my slot.

It still hasn’t completely sunk in. I’m going to Kona in October!

I want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement during this entire race season. It really kept me going. Special thanks to Larry Davidson, Chris Johnson, Kevin Cowell (your 808’s rock brah), Oguz Yildiz, Steven Saetermoe and especially my mom who sponsored me for this race.

The Stats

Here are my bike stats for you computer nerds:

Here are some times from people I know:

WHAT’S NEXT?

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!