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Great Training Day with Energybits!

Went out on a great Run/Ride/Run with a training buddy of mine this morning.  We have Maryland Olympic Duathlon in two weeks so we went up and hit the course we will be racing.  Took it easy on the first two mile run to get warmed up.  Went out and did the first of two loops on the bike course at a nice 16 mph average to see the course and know what to expect.  Then we had the good idea to race the second loop and see what we could hold for a race pace.  Was happy with my 18.9 mph average for the loop.  It is a very fast course for the first half of the loop then some pretty decent hill work in the last half.  Then we finished up with another two mile easy run as a cool down.  We were going to do the whole four miles but brilliant me decided to try without socks.  The blisters I have now are thanking me.

I hit the energybits right before the workout began and then did the normal race nutrition I have worked on for the rest of the day.  I felt great coming off the bike and going for the final run.  I am really liking this new nutrition additive that I have found out about.  The product works!!!  No crash following extreme exercise either.  It is worth the price of admission.  Check it out.

Thank you energybits again for letting me on board a great team!

Thank you Energybits!

I have signed on with a company as a Brand Ambassador.  It is a product that works without a doubt and is 100% organic.  It is a great product and one I truly wanted to back.  If you are wanting to know more please do not hesitate to contact me on here....my email below or on twitter @Evan_Zilliox

Time to get things going for the year!  Glad I am on board with energybits to help this year be even more successful race wise!

Been Awhile

It has been some time now since I updated my blog and thought I should at least put a little something down.  With the "season" starting to ramp up next month the training has been going good.  I have focused a lot more in preparation for my races this year on the endurance aspect of things as opposed to the speed aspect of it.  Holding a steady pace in the swim and run for a longer period of time is going to be key for me to make good on the goals I have set for myself for my key races. 

A steady swim pace has me under 28:00 minutes for my 1500 meter and hopefully down to under 25:00 by the time September rolls around.  Working a fluid consistent pace for my run has brought down my 10k time considerably and that is where I will hopefully keep it going.  I would eventually like to have it under 40 minutes and I think I can do it as long as I keep focusing my training the way I am now. 

I am looking forward to representing USMES this year and many more to come.  The team even though scattered about the country is very supportive and takes care of those within very well.  In the short amount of time of being a member...it has already paid off. 

New Training Block

Midway through the new training schedule and I am feeling great.  You always have to make adjustments as you see fit.  The weather didn't quite cooperate with me this week so my long run on Wednesday had to get shifted to today but that is OK.  I don't think I would have pushed as hard yesterday on it. 

I talked the other day about utilizing a training plan and sticking to it.  This week was the first time in my training that I arranged a strict routine for the week since starting and it has made me a lot more accountable for my training.  I have an ending mileage and time that I should hit if I stick to it and seeing that makes it a lot harder to alter training. 

I was looking through my training times and got curious how well I will start doing once the events start up in July.  I figured that if I was to run Maryland Olympic Du right now, I would finish in roughly 1:58.  That makes me feel pretty good as the Elite guys have to finish in less than 2 hours to compete at that level.  I looked at my age group from last year and the winner came in at 2:02.  That was also a motivating factor to keep to my training as a podium place possibility makes for a lot better day come race day. 

No matter what you are training for, train at the level you want to achieve, not where you are now.  Figure out where you want to finish a race and strive for that.  If it is a possible podium finish...make it happen.  If you want to finish under a certain time...train to that time.  I give people advice all the time and you shouldn't start out training at the distance you want to finish but the time you want to finish in.  If you want to finish a half marathon in 2 hours, run for 2 hours and see how far you get before just lumbering along for 13.1 miles.  If it is an Olympic triathlon in under 2:45, do all three disciplines and add up the times you come up with.  Once you have all three times and find a total time, let’s say 3:05, then figure out which event you can start cutting down and where.  About two months out from race day, do everything you can to do all three events in a row and see where you are at.  This is how I am training for Nation's this year.  I have a goal time in mind that I want to finish in and I know which events I can shave time off from to make that happen. 

Put the plan to action, follow your plan for training and nutrition, and rock it on race day!

Training Plan

Its always good to know what you did, what you wanted to accomplish and what you are going to be doing next.  Finding the right trainin plan and tracker is all up to your own likes and dislikes.  You can use an online version or a book version...make it yourself on a spreadsheet or simply right it down in a note book.  The method is your choice however you have to have the discipline to use it to it's fullest potential.  Keep your tracker up to date and make sure  you see trends, both good and bad, and work on them.  You also have to use them to plan ahead.  I plan out one week at a time due to life itself throwing wrenches in here and there. 

 

There are a huge variety out there of these online...some are a little pricier than others but you do have options and be sure to use the free option (if available) of each one before picking the one you plan to use. 

I use Training Peaks as I have found that it offers a huge selection of options, syncs to almost every GPS watch on the market, and allows you to build custom workout plans as well as giving you the assistance you need. It has a great platform for planning and tracking workouts as well as a lot of comparison tools to see if you are getting faster and what areas you are getting better at.  

 

The other option is a paper version.  I started out this way with a book I bought that had some guidelines in the first 30 or so pages and then was just a calendar for the rest.  Worked very well but was a lot more time consuming as you have to do your own calculating and you had to make sure you were tracking events correctly.  If you are less concerened about seeing a mileage breakdown, accurate elevation increases and decreases, or comparisons to a "virtual trainer", the book version might be the perfect thing for you. 

 

Whatever you use, use it to the fullest potential and Tri on!

Training Cycle

My new training cycle starts May 1st.  This is will be the plan I use to go into the four events I have planned as my "season".  Hagerstown went well and allowed me to see that my winter run training paid off pretty well and is still going strong.  A new focus on nutrition, conditioning and pre/post workout needs has me really excited for this year but mostly Nation's.  Nation's Tri is a race I want back from last year as I was really upset with how I did there last year.  With new training comes needed things for that to happen. 

 

New training shoes are the first on the list.  Yes, your race day shoes are not the ones you put the pounding miles on from training.  My training shoes are more cushioned and longer lasting all around than the shoes that I race in.  The guys at Potomac River Running have always helped out with that.  They put so much effort into making sure that you are fitted correctly in a shoe that is going to be right for your stride and for what you are needing them for.   Like always I will head back to them (I always go to the Rockville location) for new running shoes and will continue to do so!