4 Week Update

I wish I had incredible news to report as I draw all the closer to IMF 2010, but I don't.

In the perfect world there would be no flat tires, no colds, plenty of uninterrupted sleep, unlimited hours to train, and no injuries along the way. We live in a fallen world friends and we must face these obstancles and many more.

In my particular case I made a bone head mistake of going just a bit too hard on a training run last week, which set me up for a week long set back. The knee that got scoped flaired up and made running...well...not possible. Its crazy how much sidewalk/road camber can absolutely do wonders on your kinetic chain - specifically your knees.

Thankful to report that I am now days away from mounting my 'battle wagon' and throwing my Nike Frees back on again.

With only 4 weeks left I do hope to put in some appropriate training that will bolster my confidence and add just a bit more umph to my engine.

This weekend I plan on riding 1:30 to 2 hrs on the CompuTrainer at IM watts w/ a conservative 1 hr run post. I look FWD to seeing how the knee responds and if this will generate the momentum I have been looking for. Within this workout I will be working with my prefered energy drinks for the bike; CarboPro (1st bottle) w/ Infinit for the remainder of the ride.

I plan on peaking out at 2:30 to 3 hrs on the Trek w/ a 1 hr run post. I also hope that I will be able to knock out a long run of 13 to 16 miles prior to November 6, 2010.

Stay tuned friends,

Coach L

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