Flattering to be asked for advice - Newbie advice for the Clydesdale

A recent comment asked whether I had any advice for the novice Clydesdale (>200) pound triathlete, also looking to drop 100 pounds.

I do.

The text message version:
Triathlon is meant to be fun, so don't screw that up. When a clyde, easy on the running, heavy on the swimming and cycling. Look critically at your nutrition and get rid of all non-diet soda.

GENERAL TRAINING VOLUME
I know things are much more advanced these days with the number of hours of training, training zones, training periods and the like -- but that always seemed a little to advanced for me. I still with an old school, but tried and true methodology of calculating my training.

In the month before a given race, I try to maintain weekly distances that are 300% of my race distances. Therefore, for an international race (0.9 mile swim; 25 mile bike; 6.2 mile run) -- it would be my goal in the month before the race to swim 2.7 miles (i.e., ~5,000 yards); 75 miles on the bike (I usually phrase it as 60-90 miles); and ~18 miles running per week (but these days I only shoot for 10-12 miles running, and making up the rest with 20-40,000 rowing meters).

Of course, the week before the race, I'll cut the mileage in half or down to 1/3rd the level.


RUNNING AND THE CLYDE - CONSIDERATIONS
Clydesdales can easily develop trouble with joints from running because it does, pretty much, beat the living daylights out of you. Only in the last few months have I developed what I believe is a nice alternative to running -- indoor rowing. (For a full disseration go to the concept2.com website and then review their forums, which are excellent and filled with former (and some current) runners).

In my own personal history there is a direct correlation between weight, running miles per week and injury. As you can see from my blog my weight has gone up and down over my adult exercise life, from 170 pounds to roughly 270 pounds (which roughly translates to 12-14% body fat to ~30% body fat). At 265-270, I still ran, but not as often, not as far, and fewer miles per week (on an annualized average I would guess in the 5-10 miles per week category). When I was down at 12-14% body fat in my early 20's, I could run 20-30 miles per week, with fewer injuries, though they did happen (sore knees, ankles, aches/pains, etc.).

Now, at 225 (as of this am), I have a plan to manage this. I have an indoor rower and it's my current intent to substitute 10-15 miles of running for about 2-3 hours of rowing -- it's a rough equivalent. Nonetheless, I still intend to try to keep to running 10-12 miles per week (instead of 20 or so miles per week).

The other way I used to manage being heavy and trying to get in the vaunted 20 miles per week, I wanted to run was this: I would do aerobics tapes at home. It's a great cardiovascular workout and left me with enough shape to do triathlons. I used to be a big fan of THE STEP -- in particular, I used to do the step when I lived on the east coast on rain days when I had a scheduled run.

In sum, because running is so tough on the joints of the clydes, it's my practice (and dare I say my advice) to start slowly and then gradually increase -- by no more than 10% of your weekly miles per week (e.g., if you begin with a 5 mile week, 10% of 5 is .5, so your next week, cannot exceed 5.5 miles; the week after, no more than 6.05 miles).

Indeed, I've talked to others who think they need to start running 5 miles per day -- it's one of the dumbest plans I've heard, and I did it when I was a kid (when I was 15 years old, I ran 5 miles a day, EVERY DAY, between May and August, about 100 days. I had no concept of a rest day, particularly for running). The better plan is to run, at most, every other day, and a Mon - Wed - Sat running plan is just fine.

Running Tricks

I do have a few running tricks that are worth mentioning.

Firstly, my buddy bought me the Timex GPS watch for my birthday a few years ago. Arguably, the best (most utilitarian) present I've ever received. It's magical. No more guessing at distances. Though expensive, it truly kicks-ass.

Before I had that watch (indeed, before the engineers even dreamed it up), I nearly always used my bike to calculate distances over a designated route. I usually marked it every quarter mile and ran out and backs. So if I wanted to run 3 miles, I ran out to the 1.5 mile mark and returned. If I wanted to run 4.5 miles, I would run to 2.25 miles and back. I used orange spray paint and marked a small spot in the road with a "2.25." This might be quasi-illegal -- but I would imagine any decent cop would be sympathetic upon explanation. Besides, there are usually tons of marks on any road.

When in a strange city --

I almost always bring my running gear with me when I travel. And it's one of the few times when I will violate my "no running two days in a row" rule. Now, with my GPS watch it's easy to decipher the distance I want to run.

Before, though, I would simply run for time. I typically run 9.5 minutes per mile in training runs; therefore, I know if I run out 20 minutes and back 20 minutes, I will probably have run just over 4 miles. It's close enough for government work.

BTW, I highly suggest running in strange cities -- it's a great way to get out and explore things -- you'll see things running you won't see otherwise. I can't explain why it is, other than perhaps the different vantage point and focus causes this to happen.

CYCLING

Cycling is harder than it looks, particularly when it is done well. I think the novice cyclists (perhaps, particularly the novice clydesdale) doesn't work hard enough when cycling. One can use a heart rate monitor to figure out whether you're getting your heart rate up high enough (but they've always been a headache to me -- and I'm a numbers guy).

Two easy ways to ensure higher heart rates: 1) go climb hills (particularly on a mountain bike). To get up them, particularly when a clyde, requires more effort; 2) Use a computrainer to race against your prior performances, and keep trying to improve your performance. You'll find out what hard work is in a relatively short period of time. Then again, Computrainers are roughly $1,000 bucks and probably hard to get the wife to agree to it. But I've ridden thousands of miles on mine, and it's been WELL worth the cost; particularly for those in cold climates.

Power to WEight Ratio
You'll also learn quite quickly that power-to-weight ratios REALLY matter in cycling (as they do in running, but not so much in swimming). When you're riding, and the skinny rides by you -- it's a big deal.

The physics behind it are interesting: Overcoming gravity takes a great deal of work, when headed up the hill -- the force pulling you down needs to be overcome. On these rides, the skinny kids go to the front and the chunky, invariably, go to the back of the pack and try to hang on. But revenge is sweet: On the flat course, since a cyclist is mostly overcoming wind resistance (a significant force, but similar force against a 225 pound guy, vs. a 115 pound climber) -- the 225 pound guy has power (horsepower) to overcome the wind resistance, while 115 pound climbers generate lots of power relative to their bodyweight, but given similar forces generated by wind resistance, so it's tough for the skinny kids to compete on flat courses.

Which perfectly explains why on a flat course, I can easily power through to about a 20 mph average speed (for a top 30-50% finish) while on courses with any sigificant hills and I drop easily down into the bottom half or bottom 1/3rd.

Cycling Technique

There is some basic cycling technique that needs to be explored by all the new kids. But this you can get by searching the web. Essentially, you want a constant pedal stroke, with little movement of the upper body -- you don't want to come out of the seat frequently -- but enough to keep your nads from going numb. I would think a year subscription of cycling magazine would probably give you the requisite education.

The easiest way to develop proficient technique though, is probably via a pair of rollers. They sure kicked my ass and cleared up my technique deficiencies. Even though I did eventually sell them after a few years. . . I'm tempted to buy a pair again after reading my own words.

Here's a site with a few words about technique.

Cycling Tricks learned through the years:

The key to fewer flats is good tire pressure. Road cycling tires I like to keep inflated with AT LEAST 120 psi, typically more like 130 psi. The rolling resistance is significantly different at higher pressures. And these days you can buy a great stand up pump for $20 bucks. EVERYONE SHOULD OWN A STAND-UP PUMP WITH A GAUGE.

I always buy the adapters presta-shrader converter (and after 16 years of cycling I still can't remember which is the big car one and which is the skinny bike one. I've officially given up on remember that piece of cycling trivia).

Learn how to change a flat tire. You will get them. Frequently. (My guess: I get a flat every 200 miles or so. Which is easily 10 flats per year). And inevitably you get a flat when you don't have your flat fixing gearing with you. Bring two tubes. Bring tire levers to change out the tire. I bring a patch kit with me, but I NEVER patch unless holy Hell has broken loose and I've somehow gone through two tubes on one ride. [This happened for the first time in 16 years, ~30,000 miles last year. I got stuck 15 miles from home and my then girlfriend had to come get me.]

Sunglasses
Sunglasses keep the sun out. More importantly they keep the bugs out of your eyes. I used to get bugs in my eyes on daily commutes on my bike to work. It's painful. My coworkers threatened to take me to the hospital on more than one occassion because my eye began to swell shut. I finally figured out that if I wore glasses, I wouldn't get bugs in my eyes. Problem solved :-). Besides, you can get decent cycling sunglasses from performancebike.com for ~$30 bucks on sale. They're worth it.

Cycling shorts are an absolute must. Don't be an idiot.

Shoes.

I love wearing cycling shoes. But I don't think you necessarily need to begin with them. My general advice to anyone new to triathlon would be this: Get your bike; ride it 500 miles. When you've ridden 500 miles and feel like this is something you really want to do, then great: get cycling shoes, cleats and clipless pedals: I'm partial to speedplays, but I use SPD pedals on my mountain bike. They really are a tremendous help.

Water / Gatorade / etc.

I like to freeze water bottles full of gatorade and take those on rides with me. I also carry a camelback full of water -- (it has dual functionality that I really like: It carries my water, wallet, cell phone and most importantly, extra tubes and flat fixing gear. That way, I don't have to transfer gear if I'm going out on my mountain bike, instead of my road bike. . . a few times I got caught with stuff on teh back of the wrong bike. I resolved that issue by having everything in the camelback and then always taking the camelback).

But I wouldn't take frozen bottles to a race, nor would I take it them on a group ride -- the reason? Well, if you drop the bottles they are an incredible road hazard, if another cyclist hits the bottles, they are likely going to crash (unless they are SO skilled they see it and hop over it. . but the ice doesn't collapse, so it causes the front tire to skid out. . . and sometimes screws up the "true" of the wheels too -- or worse, it can collapse the wheel (taco it). All bad times. But riding alone, I take them all the time.

SWIMMING

I really like to swim, so this has been a joy to pick up this skill and use it for the past 15 years.

Swimming, much more so than anything is in triathlon, is wholly technique driven. And this technique requires assistance to acquire.

I'm sure some people have gained success via TOTAL IMMERSION I've never tried it. . .

There are two things that have dramatically helped me in my early years: Masters workouts with knowledgeable coaches that can correct your technique. And, second, if you compete in open water triathlons, if you can find a way to actually swim in an open water setting you will have a dramatic advantage over the other competitors.

Masters Workouts
As for the masters workouts, it's important, though, that you find a compatible workout program. The first masters club workout I went to (at Columbia University many moons ago) seemed to be filled with elite olympic athletes. I was relegated to the kiddie pool and completely out of breath. It was brutal. Years later, in a southern city, I was introduced to a small program, run by a college swimmer, that was perfect for me. She would correct technique gently and provide a more "appropriate" workout for me. So, all that to say, there are MANY different types of masters programs out there, but well worth it. See -- swimming pool database website for access to pools and masters program.

Open Water Swimming.
I never realized how valuable open water swimming experience could actually be, until I started swimming in open water regularly. I lived in Boston for a long time, and through the summer I would regularly head to Walden Pond and swim out and back (roughly a mile). This teaches you: a) comfort in open water; b) the ability to site on an object far away; c) the ability to swim straight lines and ignore crowds and swim a direct/straight line.

If you can find a lake / pond / ocean, any sort of open water it'll make you a better swimmer. And same distance rule applies: If you can't calculate the distance (for instance, swimming parallel to the shore on an ocean beach -- simply estimate by the time you swam). And, if you're lucky you'll be in the ocean and swimming with the dolphins (it happened to me in NJ and later in California. They just appear and they are quite curious at what YOU are doing in THEIR backyard :-)).

Fear of Swimming
I think the neophyte swimmer often has great fear of it in a triathlon. They shouldn't. You can breast stroke your way through it. And you can swim much further than you imagine. . . I think people just are not used to seeing buoys way out in the water. It freaks them out more than anything.

Additionally, triathlon actually has an amazing water safety record. Accidents do happen, but they are pretty infrequent (I remember there was a drowning 5-10 years ago at a triathlon in Texas. I did a quick websearch and couldn't find it or other recorded incidents. . . ).

NUTRITION

I'm not going to talk much about nutrition, because this blog is filled with it. Your body needs fuel. WE probably never feed it enough fruits and vegetables and feed it too much processed junk (I'm as guilty as everybody else). Some people have better metabolisms than others.

In the end, there are all kinds of decisions made by the hour / day / week / month / year. Do your best and it all works out in the end. . .

k