Well, this weekend was a chance to test my legs. I ended up losing a week of training after having my wisdom teeth pulled, not so much because of any pain, but because the antibiotics made me so nauseous. By Tuesday, I was feeling back to feeling myself, but the day was too busy to run because Erik was leaving the next day, so I grudgingly moved my run to Wednesday. Running after having a week off made my legs feel heavy and my shins a little sore, so I kept the run short and easy.
Because I ran Wednesday, I wasn't able to do my usual Thursday run so I had to make some decisions. A 2 hour long run was planned for the weekend, but so was my first brick of the season. If I ran on Friday, I couldn't do both the long run and the brick on the weekend.
In the end, it was an easy decision because a friend who's also a triathlete, and whose husband was also out of town, agreed to come over for a girls' night out a la triathlon. She brought her bike and we set up the trainers in the living room then we watched a movie while we rode for 90 minutes. After that, a nice meal and wine, and another movie. It was a fun evening when I normally would have been alone.
Saturday, I decided to do my long run. I wasn't sure how long I'd run because my legs had been quite sore on Wednesday and I wasn't sure what to expect. It was cold (-4C 24F) but sunny, and there was a strong north wind that made the air feel even colder, but I decided to venture downtown to run the north end of the half marathon route, which included a 2km climb up the mountain.
I decided to park in the middle of the route so I could stop by the car a couple of times and refill my handheld water bottle, plus I could bail if I needed to. But I didn't need to bail - I felt pretty great in fact! I was quite fast when the wind was at my back, around 6:30/km, but slower when it was blowing against me. I ran along the boardwalk to the bridge and back as my warm up, which was very exposed and quite windy, then I refilled my bottle and attacked the next section, which included the hill.
I was curious to see how it was going to feel and whether I'd be able to run up hill all the way or perhaps be forced to walk. I was happy to find that I could indeed run the entire hill and I kept a faster pace than I had expected (7:20/km). Once at the top, it leveled off for awhile and then there was a steep downhill to the valley bottom again.
I passed the car again and refilled my bottle for a second time, then retraced my original steps on the waterfront boardwalk. By this time, my legs had turned to cement and I had a tough time keeping a decent pace. I was in the 7:15/km area and felt like I was trudging along. As usual, this run was 15 min longer than my last long run so I really felt that last 15 minutes.
Amazingly, my Garmin rolled exactly 17 km just as I hit the 2 hour mark back at the car and although I had hoped to hit 18km today, I was content with the run given the cold and the wind.
I got into the car and cranked up the heat because my fingers always start to go white and tingly (Reynaud's) as soon as I stop running and start to cool down. I felt fine as I drove home but decided to make a quick stop at the store to pick up a few things and immediately started to shiver uncontrollably as soon as I entered the cold grocery store. I guess the only way to avoid this is to be totally prepared and drive straight home after a long run.
Anyway, I am hoping to run that same route a couple more times before the race on March 27. I think it'll be good for my legs.
I am so happy to be able to run up hills and not feel sore the next day. This morning I felt a bit stiff but not injured. And so today, was another test. I had a brick planned - 90 min trainer and a 15 min run - would I be able to run two days in a row, especially after a 2 hour run? Only time would tell.
I laid out a complete change of clothes to run in, all my warm gear of course because it was -4C outside, then I jumped on the trainer and rode. My goal was zone 2 with a few drills thrown in but I decided to watch TV this time instead of listen to my ipod and my effort was really affected. I had trouble keeping my cadence steady and my HR up. I really need the podrunner 190 bpm music playing to keep me focussed so I don't think I'll watch TV again when I'm spinning. After 90 minutes, I quickly towelled down and changed into running gear. It was pretty gross to pile on warm clothes when I was so hot and sweaty but it felt quite refreshing to step outside in the cold.
I only had to run 15 minutes and I was surprised to see I had a decent pace of about 6:15-6:30/km with a zone 2 heart rate. My shins and lower legs felt pretty good with very little of the usual leaden legs that I usually have the first few bricks of the season.
Afterwards, I stretched and iced, and then had a hot epsom salts bath and stretched again before bed. I guess I won't really know if I passed the test or not until tomorrow, or maybe not even until Tuesday when I run again. Right now, my legs are telling me I need a rest day, and that's what's planned for tomorrow anyway, so all is well.
This week will be tough - run 45-60 min on Tuesday and Thursday, trainer on Wed and Friday, long run 2:00-2:15 on Saturday, another brick on Sunday.
I hope I pass.
Kelownagurl: Off and Running in all Directions
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Afraid to Jinx it but....
I'd like to continue with my last positive post and say, I'm still running and I'm still feeling good!
OK, quick, everyone go knock on something made of wood!
It's been a little over two weeks and things are going really well. I've managed to build up my long run to 1:45, about 15 km at a slow pace, and I have started to pick up the pace a little on my mid week runs to see how things go. So far so good.
On Sunday, January 30, I did my planned long run for 90 minutes. I kept the pace slow and easy and focussed on good form, trying hard not to over stride and to keep my body loose and relaxed. I've been adding 15 min to my long run each week and not surprisingly, I always feel great until that last 15 minutes. Funny how that works eh?
That run finished up my second week of Base 1 with a total of 7 1/2 hours of training -
2 X 45 min run
1 X 90 min run
2 X 45 min bike
1 X 90 min bike
3 X 30 min strength
No swimming.
I am doing two weeks of training, followed by a rest week and since the next week included a lot of errands, meetings, and parent teacher interviews, it was a good thing it was a rest week.
During the week Jan 31 - Feb 6
I did 2 X 30 min runs at a little faster pace. I usually run around 7 min / km (11:30 mile) but for these two runs, I did around 6:30 / km (10:15 mile) just to see how it would feel. I had no pain afterward so next week I'm going to bump it up to 6:15 / km. I know I can run 5:30 but I want to get there slowly and carefully.
I didn't get on my bike at all - there was only one day where I could have but I bailed, boo me.
On the weekend, Erik and I went away to Salmon Arm and we went skate skiing for a few hours on Saturday. On Sunday, we came back early because of an impending snow storm and I did a step back long run in a blizzard, running 10 km in 1:15.
During the week, I did continue with my stretching, yoga, and some core but didn't do my hand weights. I also went to one last IMS appt and saw my chiropractor for more ART. I am feeling almost normal now - yay! The skate skiing didn't even bother my groin at all by the way.
This week past, (Feb 7-13) has been a bit messed up. I took my usual rest day on Monday, and then had to make soem decisions about training for the week. Normally I run on Tuesday and Thursday with a long run on the weekend. However, this week, I had my wisdom teeth out and most people thought I wouldn't likely feel like / be able to do my 1:45 long run on the weekend. So I decided to push my Tuesday run ahead a day and make it my long run.
Circumstances were such that I couldn't even start my run until after 7pm so I drove down to the flats and did my run there. Once again, I felt good for 1:30 and only started to plod for the last 15 minutes. 15 km in the bag. That's my longest run in awhile. The interesting thing is that nothing was hurting the next day either - not my foot, my PTT, my shins, nothing. It's such a nice feeling.
I really feel like I'm going to be ready for the half marathon in another month. I mean, I know I could go run the distance right now, but my goal for this race is to meet or beat my Victoria time (2:24) and not feel totally trashed afterward. In fact, I won't even care if I'm a little slower - I think I should easily be able to run it in 2:30 and feel 100% the next day. I know I could run 2:15 or faster right now but I'd be hurting and that's not part of the plan with my half iron coming up in June.
So anyway, this week was supposed to be Base 2 and the only thing that is really getting done is the running. Depending on how I feel, I may do the planned brick (2:00 bike+ :15 min run) on the weekend, but more likely, I'll push that off to mid week, or even next weekend. I have one brick planned every weekend for the next 4 weeks so it may just have to wait.
The biggest risk with my mouth right now, is the possibility of having the clot come out, causing dry socket (very painful) or of the tooth space getting infected. My dentist says it's always a good possibility of happening. We'll see.
Next week, I should be back to normal and hopefully put in a full week of training. I get to bump up the intensity a little as well which should be fun.
OK, quick, everyone go knock on something made of wood!
It's been a little over two weeks and things are going really well. I've managed to build up my long run to 1:45, about 15 km at a slow pace, and I have started to pick up the pace a little on my mid week runs to see how things go. So far so good.
On Sunday, January 30, I did my planned long run for 90 minutes. I kept the pace slow and easy and focussed on good form, trying hard not to over stride and to keep my body loose and relaxed. I've been adding 15 min to my long run each week and not surprisingly, I always feel great until that last 15 minutes. Funny how that works eh?
That run finished up my second week of Base 1 with a total of 7 1/2 hours of training -
2 X 45 min run
1 X 90 min run
2 X 45 min bike
1 X 90 min bike
3 X 30 min strength
No swimming.
I am doing two weeks of training, followed by a rest week and since the next week included a lot of errands, meetings, and parent teacher interviews, it was a good thing it was a rest week.
During the week Jan 31 - Feb 6
I did 2 X 30 min runs at a little faster pace. I usually run around 7 min / km (11:30 mile) but for these two runs, I did around 6:30 / km (10:15 mile) just to see how it would feel. I had no pain afterward so next week I'm going to bump it up to 6:15 / km. I know I can run 5:30 but I want to get there slowly and carefully.
I didn't get on my bike at all - there was only one day where I could have but I bailed, boo me.
On the weekend, Erik and I went away to Salmon Arm and we went skate skiing for a few hours on Saturday. On Sunday, we came back early because of an impending snow storm and I did a step back long run in a blizzard, running 10 km in 1:15.
During the week, I did continue with my stretching, yoga, and some core but didn't do my hand weights. I also went to one last IMS appt and saw my chiropractor for more ART. I am feeling almost normal now - yay! The skate skiing didn't even bother my groin at all by the way.
This week past, (Feb 7-13) has been a bit messed up. I took my usual rest day on Monday, and then had to make soem decisions about training for the week. Normally I run on Tuesday and Thursday with a long run on the weekend. However, this week, I had my wisdom teeth out and most people thought I wouldn't likely feel like / be able to do my 1:45 long run on the weekend. So I decided to push my Tuesday run ahead a day and make it my long run.
Circumstances were such that I couldn't even start my run until after 7pm so I drove down to the flats and did my run there. Once again, I felt good for 1:30 and only started to plod for the last 15 minutes. 15 km in the bag. That's my longest run in awhile. The interesting thing is that nothing was hurting the next day either - not my foot, my PTT, my shins, nothing. It's such a nice feeling.
I really feel like I'm going to be ready for the half marathon in another month. I mean, I know I could go run the distance right now, but my goal for this race is to meet or beat my Victoria time (2:24) and not feel totally trashed afterward. In fact, I won't even care if I'm a little slower - I think I should easily be able to run it in 2:30 and feel 100% the next day. I know I could run 2:15 or faster right now but I'd be hurting and that's not part of the plan with my half iron coming up in June.
So anyway, this week was supposed to be Base 2 and the only thing that is really getting done is the running. Depending on how I feel, I may do the planned brick (2:00 bike+ :15 min run) on the weekend, but more likely, I'll push that off to mid week, or even next weekend. I have one brick planned every weekend for the next 4 weeks so it may just have to wait.
The biggest risk with my mouth right now, is the possibility of having the clot come out, causing dry socket (very painful) or of the tooth space getting infected. My dentist says it's always a good possibility of happening. We'll see.
Next week, I should be back to normal and hopefully put in a full week of training. I get to bump up the intensity a little as well which should be fun.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
By George, I think it's working!
Well I've had five ART treatments with my new favourite chiropractor, Melanie Welder, at Active Living Chiropractic, as well as two IMS treatments with my long time favourite physiotherapist, Roy Gillespie, at Pinnacle Sports Physiotherapy and I've actually seen some serious improvement. I can now pull my left knee up to my chest without pain, I can put on my sox and tie my shoes, and do yoga! I've been faithfully doing my stretches and I'm now back to doing my core and strength workouts. I can run without pain (shin, foot, or hip) and I can ride my bike without groin pain. The only thing I haven't added back to the mix is skate skiing but that's going to change when I go up to Salmon Arm on the first weekend of February.
Some interesting things I've learned.
* My back (spondylolistheses) is definitely a central part of this whole thing. I REALLY need to keep my core strong and my weight in check.
* My foot pain that started on my long run two weeks ago, magically disappeared after my last long run on Sunday. Don't know why, don't care, just glad it's gone. OK, actually I do care why - I noticed that it would go away temporarily every time I had a physio or chiro appt so when it was suddenly better last Sunday night, I decided that my 'cure" was directly related to the treatments I've been getting for my hip/quad/groin. Yay!
* I can know, also magically, touch my toes. I've never been able to touch my toes, as long as I can remember. But now I can. Well, I can after a run or bike workout. In the morning, it's back to 4"-6" away from my toes. Melanie says it's my tight glutes that are the problem - my hamstrings are pretty flexible. My back is could also be to blame when it's tight. So, I will continue to stretch my legs/glutes and strengthen my back.
* I haven't had any shin pain for a long time. Or ITB pain for that matter. Maybe they go into hiding when I'm busy with something else. :) I've been building up my long run slowly, and haven't added speed into the mix at all. I'm just trying to build up my endurance for now. This week I have two 45 min runs mid week and a 1:30 long run planned for the weekend. If I feel ok next week, then I'm over the hurdle. Tentative yay!
* My heart rate is being unpredictable. I've had a hard time keeping it below 160 bpm on my last two long runs (going well into zone 3). I'm well rested and fueled - there's no reason to have a high HR. And then I went for a faster run after work on Tuesday, and my HR stayed in zone 2 the entire time. What gives? I'm curious to see what my Avg HR is on my long run this weekend.
* Diet - I lost 2 lbs but plateaued this week. Been eating 50-75% vegetarian and enjoying it. Still dipping into junk food once in awhile and that is once too often if I want to lose a couple more pounds.
Training
Finishing up Base 1 - Week 1
1/21 - Had my 60 min massage. Did not ride trainer as planned.
1/22 - 90 min on the trainer. W00t!
1/23 - 75 min long run - yahoo!!
Base 1 - Week 2
1/24 - rest day - IMS followed by 20 min stretching and yoga, back sore.
1/25 - 45 min planned run. Felt pretty awesome.
1/26 - ART appt, followed by 45 min on the trainer, followed by upper body strength and stretching, a little yoga before bed. Another woot!
Planned for the rest of the week
1/27 - 45 min run, core and yoga
1/28 - 45 min trainer, upper body and yoga
1/29 - 1:30 long run (swim?), core and yoga
1/30 - 90 min trainer (swim?), upper body and yoga
Some interesting things I've learned.
* My back (spondylolistheses) is definitely a central part of this whole thing. I REALLY need to keep my core strong and my weight in check.
* My foot pain that started on my long run two weeks ago, magically disappeared after my last long run on Sunday. Don't know why, don't care, just glad it's gone. OK, actually I do care why - I noticed that it would go away temporarily every time I had a physio or chiro appt so when it was suddenly better last Sunday night, I decided that my 'cure" was directly related to the treatments I've been getting for my hip/quad/groin. Yay!
* I can know, also magically, touch my toes. I've never been able to touch my toes, as long as I can remember. But now I can. Well, I can after a run or bike workout. In the morning, it's back to 4"-6" away from my toes. Melanie says it's my tight glutes that are the problem - my hamstrings are pretty flexible. My back is could also be to blame when it's tight. So, I will continue to stretch my legs/glutes and strengthen my back.
* I haven't had any shin pain for a long time. Or ITB pain for that matter. Maybe they go into hiding when I'm busy with something else. :) I've been building up my long run slowly, and haven't added speed into the mix at all. I'm just trying to build up my endurance for now. This week I have two 45 min runs mid week and a 1:30 long run planned for the weekend. If I feel ok next week, then I'm over the hurdle. Tentative yay!
* My heart rate is being unpredictable. I've had a hard time keeping it below 160 bpm on my last two long runs (going well into zone 3). I'm well rested and fueled - there's no reason to have a high HR. And then I went for a faster run after work on Tuesday, and my HR stayed in zone 2 the entire time. What gives? I'm curious to see what my Avg HR is on my long run this weekend.
* Diet - I lost 2 lbs but plateaued this week. Been eating 50-75% vegetarian and enjoying it. Still dipping into junk food once in awhile and that is once too often if I want to lose a couple more pounds.
Training
Finishing up Base 1 - Week 1
1/21 - Had my 60 min massage. Did not ride trainer as planned.
1/22 - 90 min on the trainer. W00t!
1/23 - 75 min long run - yahoo!!
Base 1 - Week 2
1/24 - rest day - IMS followed by 20 min stretching and yoga, back sore.
1/25 - 45 min planned run. Felt pretty awesome.
1/26 - ART appt, followed by 45 min on the trainer, followed by upper body strength and stretching, a little yoga before bed. Another woot!
Planned for the rest of the week
1/27 - 45 min run, core and yoga
1/28 - 45 min trainer, upper body and yoga
1/29 - 1:30 long run (swim?), core and yoga
1/30 - 90 min trainer (swim?), upper body and yoga
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Base Training
Well, so far so good. I think I have finally gotten into a bit of a training routine and feel like I'm getting my mojo back again. Although the first two weeks of January were technically "prep" weeks, there wasn't a whole lot of training going on, other than running that is, and even my running wasn't without issues, as usual. But this week, as I begin Base 1, I scheduled a workout every single day and so far, I've managed to "get 'er done". Part of my method was to keep it simple and not over do it the first week.
So here's what I actually accomplished over the first 3 weeks of January.
Week One - Jan 3-9 - Prep
1/3 - Yin Yoga Class - 60 min
1/4 - Chiro appt - 2nd ART/Graston treatment, 20 min stretching
1/5 - 30 min run, 20 min stretching
1/6 - 30 min stretching
1/7 - 45 min run, 3rd ART appt, 60 min stretching
1/8 - skate ski - 2 hours, 20 min stretching
1/9 - 1 long run 60 min, on solid ice wearing trail shoes and gripons. Bottom of left foot started to hurt halfway thru the run
Ate really healthy all week, no meat until steak on Friday night. A bit too much crap on the weekend though.
Week Two - Jan 10 - 16 - Prep
1/10 - foot sore, 30 minutes of stretching
1/11 - 4th ART appointment, no real progress yet
1/12 - foot too sore to run, stretching only
1/13 - foot still sore, stretching only
1/14 - easy cautious run, 30 minutes. felt ok, but not perfect.
1/15 - 50 LT test on trainer, 20 minutes of strength work. LTHR 174.
1/16 - long run, on the road, foot noticeable but ok. Sore later tho.
Ate really healthy for another week and was more cautious on the weekend as well this time. Lost one pound.
Week Three - Jan 17 - 23 - Base 1
1/17 - physio appt today, IMS on low back, adductors and glutes. Supposed to complement the ART treaments. We shall see. More next Monday.
1/18 - elliptical 45 minfoot sore so went to gym
1/19 - 5th ART appt, seeing improvement. 30 min strength training and stretching at home.
1/20 - 50 min slow run, foot ok but not perfect. Then 60 minutes of yoga, strength, and stretching.
Scheduled for the rest of this week
1/21 - 60 minutes massage, hopefully 45 min trainer ride later (maybe), yoga
1/22 - long run 60-75 min I hope. Maybe hit pool for first time today or Sunday - undecided.
1/23 - trainer 60-90 min zone 2 and drills
Swimming
So I'm torn about when I want to head back to the pool. I'm probably going to go swim sometime in the next week or so and see where I'm at and then I'll decide how much swimming I need to do.
This may not be the best training method but I've made one decision. I'm going to swim less this season. Last year, I followed a very careful plan, with lots of specific workouts to improve my swimming but I showed very little gain for the huge time commitment. I've determined that, at least for me, investing a lot of time in swimming is not worth the reward. I'd much prefer to put that time in on the bike and see a 5-15 minute improvement in my bike time instead of a 30-60 second improvement in my swim time. I think that's what makes sense to me.
Maybe some of you might think it's only because I'd do anything to avoid dragging my ass down to the H20 Centre and jumping into a freaking cold pool but my justification does make sense, doesn't it?? ;)
So for now, I'm going to follow the Half Iron plan in my new book (see my last post) but only do 2 swims per week, and I may not even start up the swimming for a few more weeks, we'll see.
Goals this week
- lose another pound (I'm down 2 lbs since Jan 1st)
- Run without foot pain
- Get this stupid groin thing under control between the chiro and the physiotherapist.
- Keep eating healthy meals - I've been mostly going meatless all week and only eating meat on weekends. And even that amount has been cut in half. During the week, I eat lots of fruit and veggies, whole grains and beans, cottage cheese, some eggs, and yogurt. As you can see, dairy is still in there - please don't email me and tell me to cut out dairy cuz I won't do it. :)
- get back on the trainer on a regular basis.
So here's what I actually accomplished over the first 3 weeks of January.
Week One - Jan 3-9 - Prep
1/3 - Yin Yoga Class - 60 min
1/4 - Chiro appt - 2nd ART/Graston treatment, 20 min stretching
1/5 - 30 min run, 20 min stretching
1/6 - 30 min stretching
1/7 - 45 min run, 3rd ART appt, 60 min stretching
1/8 - skate ski - 2 hours, 20 min stretching
1/9 - 1 long run 60 min, on solid ice wearing trail shoes and gripons. Bottom of left foot started to hurt halfway thru the run
Ate really healthy all week, no meat until steak on Friday night. A bit too much crap on the weekend though.
Week Two - Jan 10 - 16 - Prep
1/10 - foot sore, 30 minutes of stretching
1/11 - 4th ART appointment, no real progress yet
1/12 - foot too sore to run, stretching only
1/13 - foot still sore, stretching only
1/14 - easy cautious run, 30 minutes. felt ok, but not perfect.
1/15 - 50 LT test on trainer, 20 minutes of strength work. LTHR 174.
1/16 - long run, on the road, foot noticeable but ok. Sore later tho.
Ate really healthy for another week and was more cautious on the weekend as well this time. Lost one pound.
Week Three - Jan 17 - 23 - Base 1
1/17 - physio appt today, IMS on low back, adductors and glutes. Supposed to complement the ART treaments. We shall see. More next Monday.
1/18 - elliptical 45 minfoot sore so went to gym
1/19 - 5th ART appt, seeing improvement. 30 min strength training and stretching at home.
1/20 - 50 min slow run, foot ok but not perfect. Then 60 minutes of yoga, strength, and stretching.
Scheduled for the rest of this week
1/21 - 60 minutes massage, hopefully 45 min trainer ride later (maybe), yoga
1/22 - long run 60-75 min I hope. Maybe hit pool for first time today or Sunday - undecided.
1/23 - trainer 60-90 min zone 2 and drills
Swimming
So I'm torn about when I want to head back to the pool. I'm probably going to go swim sometime in the next week or so and see where I'm at and then I'll decide how much swimming I need to do.
This may not be the best training method but I've made one decision. I'm going to swim less this season. Last year, I followed a very careful plan, with lots of specific workouts to improve my swimming but I showed very little gain for the huge time commitment. I've determined that, at least for me, investing a lot of time in swimming is not worth the reward. I'd much prefer to put that time in on the bike and see a 5-15 minute improvement in my bike time instead of a 30-60 second improvement in my swim time. I think that's what makes sense to me.
Maybe some of you might think it's only because I'd do anything to avoid dragging my ass down to the H20 Centre and jumping into a freaking cold pool but my justification does make sense, doesn't it?? ;)
So for now, I'm going to follow the Half Iron plan in my new book (see my last post) but only do 2 swims per week, and I may not even start up the swimming for a few more weeks, we'll see.
Goals this week
- lose another pound (I'm down 2 lbs since Jan 1st)
- Run without foot pain
- Get this stupid groin thing under control between the chiro and the physiotherapist.
- Keep eating healthy meals - I've been mostly going meatless all week and only eating meat on weekends. And even that amount has been cut in half. During the week, I eat lots of fruit and veggies, whole grains and beans, cottage cheese, some eggs, and yogurt. As you can see, dairy is still in there - please don't email me and tell me to cut out dairy cuz I won't do it. :)
- get back on the trainer on a regular basis.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
"Your Best Triathlon" by Joe Friel
I just bought Joe Friel's latest book, "Your Best Triathlon: Advanced Training for Serious Triathletes", and I LOVE it!As the subtitle suggests, it is intended for experienced triathletes who are looking to improve past performances and PR that next "A" race. The book is an excellent companion to The Triathlete's Training Bible, which he refers to often, but in my opinion, it could also be used alone.
Your Best Triathlon is well organized and easy to read. I especially like the highlighting of important points and the coloured icons for the various kinds of workouts.
It contains new, updated information, in the ever-changing science of endurance training, but is still built on the basic tenets of periodization. It is definitely a book for an experienced athlete however, and I think that unless you are a experienced endurance athlete of some kind, a first timer would find most of the workouts and training schedules too demanding.
The book is written in sections, (Prep, Base 1, 2, & 3, Build 1 & 2, Peak), each with suggested training plans for all four race distances (Sprint, Olympic, Half Iron, and Full Iron). Each period has a Training Week plan (which you would repeat several times), as well as a Rest and Test Week plan. Joe outlines detailed workouts for each training cycle, some of which I have not seen in his previous books, and he also offers lots of hints and suggestions for athletes who are either older or younger than the norm.
I think this is another reason why the book is more suited to experienced triathletes - you need to have a good understanding of your own body and what it can do, in order to adjust the training schedules to suit your own unique needs. The training times suggested for each plan are pretty heavy from my point of view - even the sprint program relies on 8-10 hours of training per week at the minimum - but that's to be expected if you want to race "Your Best Triathlon".
I think this is one of the best books I've seen so far, for the experienced, self-coached triathlete. And no, Joe isn't paying me to sell his books for him - I wish! Hey Joe - how about a little free coaching for all the good press I give you! ;)
Anyway - I have included Your Best Triathlon in my "recommended books list" at the Amazon.ca or Amazon.com links on the side --->, but I'm sure you can also buy them at your local book store as well.
Enjoy!
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