Week 2 Training for ITU Worlds: Better But Still Getting There

Editor’s note: Ian Murray is using Zwift to train for the International Triathlon Union Long Course World Championships held in Odense/Fyn, Denmark July 2018. His weekly Zwift Insider series discusses the previous week’s training and the plan for the upcoming week.

I know, starting a training plan right before the holidays is a recipe for failure early on in the process.  I am well aware of this and have built the plan accordingly.  To be honest, I only started training this far out to keep myself occupied during some down days while the wife is traveling.  So, while it seems like I have built in a lot of training, I have no delusions that I will hit everything spot on in the first few weeks.

Week 2 Recap – Still Getting Around the Work Schedule

Unlike in the previous week, I had more control over my schedule.  Not complete control, mind you, but way more control than the previous week.  As it is early in the training block, I am still focused on strength and running, and really I am erring on the side of strength when it comes down to it.  The foundation needs to be strong this year, as the longer distance can break me down.

That being said, I also had a fitness test for work on Tuesday, so that limited my Monday training a little bit.  I still got in some work on Monday, 90 minutes of riding and a short strength workout, but I kept it fairly light.  Tuesday followed with the test, which consists of 2 minutes of push-ups, 2 minutes of sit-ups, and a 2-mile run.  I had a good day, doing 82 push-ups, 82 sit-ups, and running 11:03.  A little cool down jogging following the test and a short swim in the early evening capped off a great training day.

The rest of the week went fairly well.  On Wednesday I led the Endurance Lab group workout in the morning and the SkillZ and DrillZ Ride in the evening.  I was pleased with my long run of a little over 10 miles on Thursday and the strength session that followed.  Friday was a mixed bag of a day.  The strength work went very well, but my swim got cancelled in the afternoon due to work issues. Of course, all of this led up to a planned Zwift race on Saturday morning, one of the TeamODZ special events.

Despite some significant technical difficulties associated with the Friday night Zwift update, some of us still managed to get in the module and race.  It wasn’t my best 80-minute output by any stretch, but it was good for what I had done to my legs this week.  I ended up taking the sprint victory almost entirely due to good tactics.  My breakaway partner was at least equal strength, so I had to race smarter.  Here’s the video of the race (the sprint finish is at the 1:25 mark.)

[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcK2nEu9N0U[/embedyt]

And then there is Sunday.  You see, it’s the damndest thing those hard efforts.  Although the race was not very long, I did bury myself a little.  And, the race started later than I normally start my rides.  Why do I mention that?  Well, let’s just say that my normal feeding plan got thrown off on Saturday.  Yeah, I ate breakfast at 11:00 or so and then got busy with errands.  Before I knew it, it was 4:30 PM.  I had not eaten lunch, nor did I have my planned ice cream snack.  No, unfortunately my ice cream shop was out of the flavors I like.  I was pretty disappointed to be honest.

By the time I ate, two hours later, the damage had been done.  I could only put down so many calories, and it was not enough to catch up.  Thus, as I type this, I am not running as planned.  I am sitting in a cafe near my house waiting on some french toast, drinking a cappuccino.  I plan on doing my strength workout later, but I doubt I will get to the run.  That’s ok.  I am well over my targeted TSS for the week, as recommended by TrainingPeaks, so I am not going to sweat it

Week 3 Preview – Getting Ready for Santa

Week 3 will be a bit more of the same.  I will keep the strength work going and add a little more running.  I am not sure if the TeamODZ race will be rescheduled to this Saturday yet, but it looks like that will be the case.  Thus, I am planning on an easy Friday to be ready for Saturday.  To be fair, I have about 500 TSS going into the race, so I’ll have a good bit of training leading up to it.

As you can see, the week has started with green.  I hope that we keep the green going throughout the week.  Speaking of that, we’ll cover the green, yellow, red next week.  For anyone who wants to join in on some of the training, I’ll be riding leading a group workout on Wednesday mornings at 0515 EDT and running long on Thursday morning at around the same time.  Hope to see you out on course!

Exercise for Weight Loss

First, the Basics

Muscles are where fat is burned. Muscle is the engine. The goals here are two-fold.

First, we are doing Zwift indoor cycling as part of our effort to burn fat. Outdoor riding and especially hill climbs are wonderful for this goal. We need specific efforts in indoor cycling to target fat burning. We need gears and a cadence that will incorporate our strength.

The second goal is retaining and increasing muscle mass. Aerobic exercise by itself will not build the strength we want. Strength exercise like weight lifting prevents the body from stealing unused muscle tissue for energy, protein, and nutrients. Don’t confuse thin with fit. If weight loss is mostly muscle loss, losing fat becomes more difficult.

The body does not like to burn fat. It requires more energy to convert fat into usable fuel than it does to burn simple sugars. To encourage the process of using stored body fat for fuel, we want to exercise early in the morning before eating. Our body should be using fat while we sleep and, in a true sense, we are fasting for those eight to twelve hours. This process will continue by lifting weights, cycling, and jogging. As soon as you increase your cycling or running to a high aerobic effort, you start to burn more calories than your body can provide by converting fat into fuel.

Eating right before exercise will only tell your body to burn those calories instead of using stored fat. There is a totally different approach for athletes before an intense race. Morning workouts will raise your metabolism for up to eighteen hours. Having more muscle through strength training will keep your resting metabolic rate (RMR) higher too.

Sprinting and anaerobic efforts kick your body into burning its supply of muscle glycogen. On the other hand, long endurance training can cause muscle loss. Your body may break down muscle tissue in your arms, back or chest to provide protein, energy, and nutrients to your body. This is why we need to keep calories, nutrients, and protein at the proper levels while reducing fat intake. Marathon runners and many Ironman competitors are training on the edge of what is possible. The risk of long endurance exercise includes overtraining, being under nourished, and suffering muscle deterioration. They may look ultra lean, but often they suffer hormone deficiencies, iron depletion, and training injuries. Leave that to the pros.

Strength training the whole body raises muscle mass. Additionally, it raises hormone levels. With sprinters, the muscle cells in their arms, shoulders, and chest store more fuel (as in carb loading) and provide more energy when needed. This is why a sprinter who uses weight training for only the leg muscles will not become a world champion. But look at well known sprinter is Usain Bolt’s upper body muscle structure!

Weight training is necessary. You might only be able to go once a week and lift. If so, work your entire body. I prefer to go twice a week and do half my body each time. Best scenario is to do some type of weights daily, even just a few minutes with a pair of light dumbbells. Personal trainers are in the best position to access your needs. Always stick to good form, perfect form. Don’t compromise form in order to lift more weight. Do the down movement slowly, eccentric movement. It is the hardest to do in a gym with other people because most don’t set a good example.

Make a Schedule

The best scenario for power cycling is sixty minutes of low intensity exercise each and every day. A good level might also be something like 3 days of 45 minutes, 2 days of 20 minutes, and one day of 90 minutes, with one day open. The minimum amount of exercise is four sessions of 30 minutes each.

Make a Routine

After getting up early a few days in a row, you will want a day to sleep in. You can skip the bike, get up late, make some coffee. But then go for a walk outside or do 20 minutes of other exercise, such as the foundation exercise linked below. Don’t let yourself get lazy. That’s not an option.

If you wake up five minutes before your alarm goes off, that’s a bonus. It may seem hard to do all of this regularly. It will become much easier when it becomes an ingrained habit. Many sources say it takes three to five weeks of steady behavior before our body and mind reprograms. Until then, it may fight you from time to time. Expect a setback or two, a temporary weight gain, a lack of motivation, or some other diversion. It will get easier when your program becomes a habit, the normal routine.

Preparation will help your new routine. Before going to bed, lay out your clothing for the morning. Set up the coffee maker, pack your lunch for work. Take a minute and oil your chain. Check the tire pressure. Above all, make sure you get enough sleep, at least eight hours.

Drink Plenty of Water

Dehydration will not only hamper performance. It will hinder fat burning as well. I use filtered water with a splash of lime juice. I find I drink slightly more that way. Read a few more thoughts in the article Hydration for Zwifters.

Variety is the Spice

Keep it fresh. Change your weight routine without trying to add five pounds every workout. Find some new music on Pandora or YouTube. Enter a race, try a group ride, or do a different type of workout. Only did 3 of 6 sections? So what? Next time try to do 4. The improvement is more important than the success.

On the Bike

You might want to ride a straight 45 to 60 minutes every day in a gear that puts your cadence under 80 rpms. Intervals break up the monotony of long segments. Please, don’t use a huge gear that will make your knees ache. Everyone is different. (I am giving general directions but I am not a personal trainer.) All advice has to be tailored to your level of fitness and ability. It is safest to consult a professional that will help you individually.

Here is an example of a low cadence workout at whatsonzwift.com:

Note the effort is in the blue zone. This is a fairly easy ride. You might want to skip the yellow and red sections. Green is medium, yellow is a bit harder. Orange is hard and red is very hard. Remember, the high levels are burning very little fat. If you are gasping for air, then your body has to burn glycogen, sugars, and carbs.

Another example from whatsonzwift.com

Note this is a very long workout. It does use the blue and green zones well. Don’t forget, when you use a workout like this, you can skip ahead by hitting the tab button. Use it to shorten your warm-up or finish early.  I left the Zwift ad in there on purpose.

Core Training, Foundation Work, and Weight Training

I have found these videos to be of great benefit personally. There are many other programs and routines available. Check the source and their credentials. As stated everywhere: “Check with your Doctor especially regarding any health conditions you may have.”

I have been taught through the Colgan Institute and reflect a lot of that in my training, diet, and advice. I am always learning more on nutrition and diet.

MTSLA Workout playlist

Winter Training: Oreo Cookies Do Not Mix with the McCarthy Special

Editor’s note: Dr. Nick Green is writing a series of posts documenting his winter training progress as he works to drop weight, build power, and be ready to take Strava KOM’s when spring rolls around. Browse his past posts here.

Warning – numbers ahead!

Following the ‘joy’ of the fitness testing, I dove into my first structured training ride on Zwift. The ride of the choice was the “McCarthy Special“. If you haven’t checked it out yet, following a ten minute warm up there is a three minute effort at your FTP, followed by three minutes at 112% of FTP and another three at 125% of FTP. These efforts are followed by nine minutes of 63% of FTP before repeating the cycle two more times. For this first attempt, my wattages worked out to 243 watts, 272 watts and 304 watts with the nine minute cool down between efforts being 152 watts.

The first try at this workout went surprisingly well. The first repetition was great, I would even say somewhat easy. Now the second repetition through was decidedly more difficult, with the end of the 304 watt effort being quite challenging. By the end of the third block of efforts, the fan was just not doing enough to keep cool, and the towel was ready for the laundry.

Interesting for me to see a max heart rate during this ride of 160 bpm… that’s almost max!

The following three days allowed for two more hour long Zwift rides, as well as a 60km solo ride on what has become the last nice outdoor ride of the year.

This was followed up by one of the early lessons I’ve learned on Zwift. Although my coworkers are great cooks, one of them tempted us with several bags of Oreo Cookies. Despite my drive to slim down, cookies have always been a weakness. The lesson learned: never push your body after eating food the quality of an Oreo. By the second repetition I was unable to push through the 304 watt effort, and the third attempt the 304 effort was abandoned after a minute and a half.

At this point in the journey, there really hasn’t been any appreciable increases in performance, although the Critical Power graph keeps getting minor bumps towards higher power output. It’s the Critical Power graph that is quickly becoming my favorite post ride metric, as it shows how hard (or not!) the ride has gone, and if there have been any improvements to performance during the effort. It’s the post ride feedback my analytical mind was missing from stationary training without Zwift.

The next installment will include some attempts to increase maximum wattage, and an attempt to train through the pain of a recurring back injury. Until then… Ride On!