Training by Time Instead of Distance

I wrote the following to a coaching client recently and thought it would make a great blog post.  I also store goodies like this in my "coach's tips" section of my coaching softwares that clients get access to. (Workoutlog.com)

He asked if his workout should be by time or distance.  This is what I told him:

Time vs. distance is one of the most important things to know about in training. Here goes -

You want to almost always workout by time. You do a workout by time and effort level, distance being a result - like a side-effect.

You can nearly kill yourself trying to go X miles in hills or wind one day, then cover the same distance another day or in another location with almost no effort. You cannot reliably compare workouts going by distance.

Pros rarely workout by distance. This is something that separates them from the amateurs. They say "I'm going on a 3 hour run... bye!" However far they run, that's how far they run.

Going by time greatly simplifies and improves your workouts. It also makes them portable. When the workout says "hard for 1 hour", go hard for an hour. What you want is a few hours of hard and a lot of hours of easy by the end of the week. It really doesn't matter how far you went. If you trained for a week in hills, that's going to be a lot shorter distance than if you did it on flats. But the hills were harder! So unless you go by time and effort level, your workouts will get all screwed up because of hills and wind.

Another thing to remember is when a workout says to go easy, go easy no matter what the conditions are. If you're in hills or riding into the wind, just gear down and take it easy. You have to develop the guts and self-confidence to not go hard when some chump is passing you on an easy workout. That is probably the most difficult thing and will wreck your training. You are the better athlete for holding back, saving your hard workout for your hard workout.

The distance in those workouts is mostly for me to get an idea of how much load I'm giving you if all things were equal, which they aren't in the real world.

Pixie Green Tea Mate'

I'm really enjoying a cool green tea / yerba mate mix made by Pixie.  You might want to check it out. 

Caffeine is a little different from source to source.  The stuff in coffee can give you jitters, the stuff in tea not as much, and the yerba mate version hardly at all.  Yerba mate does give you a ton of energy, though.

Pixie makes a blend of the green tea and yerba mate in one tea bag.  Interesting mix and good stuff.

Back in Texas (and Other Blatherings)

I'm back in good old Texas where the men are men and the sheep are scared.  It's a lot hotter than Oregon, but that's OK - I'm ready for some warm weather.

The problem with blogs is Twitter.  Supposedly, blog postings have gone down in count significantly since you can post most of what you want on Twitter.  But, I don't think that people are surfing the web and looking for something interesting to read any less than before.  That makes the blog postings that do get done a heck of a lot more visible, eh? 

Some news:

• I got an email from Mevio saying that GoDaddy.com is offering a sponsorship.  I've bought domains through them and I have to say their customer service rocks.  I forget passwords and crap like that all the time and they've always fixed my screw-ups.  Good customer service is what sets you apart from competition nowdays.
• My right shoulder is a mess.  If I tweak it really good, I can't lift my arm above my head.  My swim coach says I should go get an MRI.  Then he went into detail about how they rip things apart and weld them back somehow.  Thanks?
• Speaking of swimming, I'm rockin' like Dokken in the pool.  I swam 200 yards in 2:19 today, after swimming 2000 yards of other stuff.  The high school kid in the next lane got me by a second or two.  It was a good race.
• Don't use orange juice mixed with water as an energy drink.  I did that at swim practice this AM and nearly puked.  It's the wrong kind of sugar and can go wild like Ricky Martin in your gut.
• During that 200, things went kinda like this:

1. First 25 yds - "Hmm, too fast.  Slow down."
2. Next 75 yds - "Pace it... Pace it..." 
3. Next 50 yds - "Keep up! You're doing it!"
4. Next 25 yds - "Am I about to puke? Stupid orange juice!"
5. Last 25 yds - "IF I DIE RIGHT NOW, WHAT A GLORIOUS WAY TO GO OUT!!! AAARRRHGHGHGHG!!!"

• My nervous system and whatever else absolutely lit up on that last 25 yards.  I hadn't felt like that in a long time.  It was like fire pumping through my entire body.  It was probably supercharged adrenaline and it felt amazing.  Hells yeah.

Podcast - ZenTri in Bend, OR.

Click HERE to play episode.

I recorded a show while in the multisport mecca of Bend, OR.  Drew took me mountain biking, cross training, swimming, trail running, hiking, climbing, and lots more.  Bend is an awesome place, for sure.  I can't wait to come back!

Here's the link to my twitpic photo stream.

Click HERE to play episode

ZenTri in Bend, OR

I'm in Bend, OR right now and have been for the past few days.  This place is crazy! Drew and I have been documenting our journey using Twitter and pictures, so check out the links to join in on the fun.

Next, I'm moving on to Astoria to hang out with other non-triathlete friends.  They are very active in other ways, so the adventure is definitely going to continue.  Astoria is where The Goonies was filmed, so we should have an awesome time there as well.

Big thanks go out to Drew and his family for an epic time and incredible meals.  We could not have done this without him!