5 Weeks til IMF 2010 Update

Couldn't be happier with where the knee is and where things are trending at this point.

One thing I love about coaching multisport athletes is the simple fact that each athlete is unique. Each athlete brings a different genetic makeup, goals/expectations, physical ability, strengths/weaknesses, etc. That being said, I find it essential to meet each athlete I am privileged to work with at where they are currently.

This brings me to my current scenario. I have 5 weeks to play with until I toe the line on the cold sandy beach in Panama City (including a two week taper).

One of the primary workouts that I plan on using will be a specific CompuTrainer (CT) ride that will peak at 3 hrs in duration followed by a 1 hr run. The focal point for the bike will be to target my goal watts and Lactate Balance Point (LBP) I have validated in my testing/training.

Currently, I hope to target a wattage range of 245 to 260 watts and an LBP upper limit of 160 bpm. Please take note of the word 'hope' in the last sentence. I will be zeroing in on these numbers pretty inently in the next 5 weeks (via LBP testing and potentially one last CP20) to determine their legitemacy.

It appears that my knee surgery was a tremendous success and I am ready to take on an IM without 3 tears to the meniscus (IML 2009 - no joke). Today proved to be very promosing as I mounted my 'battle wagon' (my Trek) and held the low end of the wattage range above and rolled at 15 bpm below my LBP.

Even happier to report that I was able to play in my Nikes at a respectable average pace of 6:38/mile for almost 9 miles. The knee is as close to 100% as I think it could be.

Here is the fun kicker for those who are still hanging w/ me. I am huge proponent of stride rate/frequency. Most lean toward the 90 strides per leg per minute. Others are now supporting 95 strides per leg per minute. So get this. By the end of this run I averaged 88 strides per minute. I am in process...like we all are. Hang with me.

I threw my Vibram Five Fingers on and lodged the Garmin Foot Pod into these 'slippers' (on the top of the foot). Bam! For the just over 1 mile run I rolled with a 92 stride rate (6:52 pace). The logic hear was to try these guys on for a very short period of time under somewhat fatigued conditions. I don't recommend this for all athletes, but per my heightened focus on corrective/dynamic strength this season I am game.

I was all smiles to see these numbers (peaked at a 97 stride rate...say what!?) and to force my body to increase stride rate when it had just finished a solid sub hour run.

Side note...I love the looks/responses you get when you are running in a 2XU race suit w/ Vibrams on. The neighborhood folk wouldn't even make eye contact let alone wave to this weirdo ;)

Lets keep the body guessing friends...lets do this!

Coach L

Studio7 Shout Out!

I couldn't be prouder for each of my athletes who toed the line in Louisville and Wisconsin this year! Each one of them took on the challenge exceptionally well. To see each of them work through the challenges that an IM can bring was simply awesome.

Below is the IML/IMW 2010 crew that truly represented (in alphabetical order):

Julia Bonner

Scott Ellison (1st IM)

Kyle Frank (1st IM)

Jason Jordan (1st IM)

Josh Hayes

Mark Mahoney

Gary Martin (1st IM)

Mark Schuler (1st IM)

Todd Spanish (1st IM)

Jenn Tiepen (1st IM)

Dirk Wuensche (1st IM)

As a coach who takes great pride in each of his athletes I find the closing hours of an IM especially special. Some of the most intense battling takes place in the last 2 hours of an event of this length. Those who scorch the 140.6 in the low 8 range certainly battle, but I also believe the folks who are finishing with an hour to spare are something special.

I'd be remiss if I did not give Meredith Dolhare a congrats as well for tackling Roth (IM) and Regensberg (IM) with two weeks seperating the two events. She then took on one of the most challenging endurance events around; Powerman Zofingen five weeks later. A superb showing indeed!

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On the "IM in 10" end of things I am grateful to report that I was able to execute a 7 mile run at Madison w/ minimal issues. So, in the upcoming weeks I will be dialing in on adding some 'finishing touches' to my IMF 2010 preparation.

I am really looking FWD to sharing my journey and trumping traditional thinking with respect to IM preparation.

Stay tuned troops...Coach L

Ironman Louisville 2010

Its 'chilly' here in Louisville - seriously. Could not believe that I was acutally cold this morning as I walked to Einstein Bagel. The scene is vibrant and there is plenty of fit looking folk walking the streets of Louisville. Its hard not to get all fired up about Ironman when you are at the race site of one. If I could I'd jump in on this one on Sunday. Below is a quick vid from my room at Louisville:

This was the first day I was able to 'workout' and I was gitty to get my heart pumping again. Mark Olson and I took off to the University of Louisville Nata torium with hopes that we could hit the water there: http://www.uoflsports.com/facilities/lou-facilities-natatorium.html

Long story short, we walked into the place like we had swam there for years. Not a soul questioned our presence. They must have wrote us off as grad students or profs. So, we get into the pool area and there was not a single person in the water. We were fired up and quickly put suits on while on the deck (a comical story in itself as you can imagine). 30 minutes later and a mile or so under our speedo and we were done. Still, not a soul to be seen at this beautiful facility. Whats the deal we thought. This explains it:

I'd go back again tomorrow. Lesson learned: make sure to read the back of signs when things just don't seem right. The front of the sign was 'pool rules'.

Oh, no issues w/ the knee and water proof band aids don't work. After just 200 yds they were in the filters of the pool. Feeling great despite not being in the water since Latta.

Stay tuned friends,

Coach L