March 18, 2010
It looks like the season has begun. The dSquad has already mixed it up at the races; IMNZ, IM Malaysia, and IMCh 2010 are in the books, and the crew's results were phenomenal. Some qualified for Kona, yet all raced extremely well; mostly top ten in their respective age groups. Again, this validates volume oriented training. When used judiciously, and in the correct format, high volume training works. For the smart athlete, it always does.
For these guys, 25-30 hrs a week of SBR is the norm. Week in, week out. Peak weeks surpass 40 hrs. Having this consistency allows the athlete to shift from managing an IM finish to racing an IM finish. The difference in perception is like night and day, and until the athlete is in the realm of high volume training, they may never experience the difference. The dSquad has figured this out, and pursue it relentlessly.
JFT...
Louis
April 2, 2010
When guys talk smack, they usually have the goods to back it up. That was very evident this past weekend where I had the opportunity to mix it up with some of my crew at IMCali70.3. Without going into the gory details, they apparently swam in two wetsuits, rode motorcycles, and used a Segway for the run. It was a hammerfest, but I wasn't invited! Either I was way off, they were way on, or both. Probably the latter, because when you really analyze the squad's strengths, they are strong in all disciplines, and I am just the senior bench warmer and cheerleader. Nevertheless, it was a blast seeing everyone, and I although I will always love that event, it will be a couple of years before I return. As I was flying over the Sierra Nevadas on my return trip to STL, I had this final thought about the race; if you want to really do well at O'side, bring your A game, because they play for keeps in Cali.
JFT...
Louis
April 9, 2010
We're all starting to bounce back after our first turns at bat in the last few weeks. GB and KP began preps for a central Cali training camp coming up in mid-April, while my buddies down under in Kiwi-land are preparing to hunker down for a winter on the trainer. Long saddle days, short run efforts, and no swim, but those guys don't need that anyway. Nevertheless, I'm still trying to get my head around my squad's Cali70.3 race efforts and compare them to my feable attempt at keeping in the same area code , but I should just let it go and move on. Acceptance is a good thing. It frees you up to aspire to better performances. Besides, there is a whole season ahead of us, and I am excited about it. The crew has a big week planned; we will be shooting for the 25-30hr training range again, but for this block a little speed work will be thrown into the mix. I'll report on the outcome next week.
Everyone stay safe out there...
JFT...
Louis