The Merge ...

Before we get to the real topic, I thought I'd share a picture from the 2009 Beer Mile held just before Christmas. A picture says a thousand words, right? That's me and Ron Shaw trying to "hang on" to our pride after a tight finish .... Happy New Year!!

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Speaking of the New Year .... here at TrainToEnudre we'll have more of the same BUT no doubt lots of different in 2010!! The biggest news first:

1) Though it may be overdue, we have decided to merge my wife's coaching programs, especially her Women's Team, under the TrainToEndure umbrella ... YEAH! So, what does that mean? Pretty simple ... Jen will continue to offer all her great women's and other individual programs, just under the TrainToEndure name and logo. Of course she will update and adapt her programs for the new year but that's about all that will change ... see below for the new website in progress. You can also see her new blog link over on the right sidebar ...

2) Though she has taken a role in the past, often in the shadows, my sister Amy will officially be part of the TrainToEndure Team. She plays a huge roll in support for both mine and Jen's clinics, for our athletes, and when we travel to events. PLUS, she has been my camp "administrator" the last three years and will continue in a larger capacity this year at our camps and events. When it comes down to it, she is our Team Director & Administrator!! A Damn Good One too ;)

3) New Website ... we are in the process of a new website, http://www.traintoendure.com/ , please be patient as we update and merge new information! It's not quite as "flash" as the old one, but it allows us to update it ourselves in a quicker fashion.

That's it for now ... the merge is under way!!

Best ... DL

Give Me the Power!

Hi Folks (especially power users, coaches or those considering purchasing a power meter) ... I'm doing a talk at Echelon Cycle & Multisport this Thursday, details below from Kevin B @ Echelon...

Interested in learning about training with a power meter?

Using a wattage based power meter has become the best way to train on the bike for cyclists AND triathletes. If you have a power meter and feel like you're not using it to its potential, or if you're curious as to how these devices can help you train; this would be a great opportunity to learn more about them. Power meters will help you achieve your cycling goals by making your training smarter and more efficiently.

Coach Dave Latourette will help us solve some of the questions you have by talking about the benefits of using a power meter and what it can do for you. Dave is a professional endurance sports coach based out of the Aria Velo Performance Center (www.ariavelo.com) in Santa Rosa. He works with triathletes, runners and cyclists of all abilities to help reach physical goals. Dave is a seventeen year veteran of coaching and racing endurance event. You can find more information about Dave at www.traintoendure.com and www.davelatourette.blogspot.com

Who can benefit from attending? What are the benefits?

* Triathletes and Cyclists
* Athletes and Coaches
* Those that currently have a power meter or may be interested in one
* Simplify training and racing with a powermeter
* Testing and monitoring progress with power
* Optimizing your time spent on the bike by training smart
* Make the most out of your investment

Coach Dave's lecture:

Thursday, Dec. 3rd, 6:00 p.m.
Echelon Cycle & Multisport
1005 Cleveland Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95401

To RSVP, shoot us an email - echelon@echeloncycle.com

BONUS!! All attendees will receive $50 off a CycleOps Powertap wheel from Echelon Cycle & Multisport!!

It's that time of Year AND Athlete Updates!

First things first ... a shout out to some TTE athletes racing recently:

* Marie Muchow ... for her efforts at the Run for Hunger 10k ... a nice prep as she rolls into the final stages of CIM training!

* Mike Starkey ... a new TTE member, Mike kicked of his partnership with us by executing a great first event at the Santa Barbara Half Marathon. Great to have you Mike!!!

* Leslie Shaw ... for her terrific execution at the Ironman 70.3 WC's in Clearater and top 20 finish in her age group. John & Phil

* John Lander ... the ageless wonder chalks up another gutsy finish in Clearwater at the Ironman 70.3 WC's

* Phil Johnson ... finally wrapped a long season with a fast finish at the Ironman 70.3 WC's as well!!

As these folks are finishing up their season it leads me into the following piece ...

Transitioning Back to Training

Below is an article that I like to re-visit on a yearly basis as we hit a period of recovery or a transitional time of the year where we move back to structured training. These periods are often October or November depending on the athlete, sport or length of season. Currently some athletes are just finishing their 2009 season while others are beginning their 2010 campaign Take a read through the following, it may help you gather some ideas when you think about your 2010 season.

As athletes come off a break and move back to structured training, it’s what I like to refer to as a transitional phase of your endurance sports season. Some of us have started to prepare for next year, some of you are running a December marathon, and some of you are taking this month as a period of recuperation but as some point we all go through this phase. The first thing I should note before addressing my “rules” of the transitional phase is this. It is crucial you have had some recuperation from your season and a break from structured training before you begin this phase. This recuperation period can range from 3-8 weeks of un-structured exercise at low intensity with frequent days off. This period is especially important for those who have had any injuries so that they may be addressed properly. The last thing you want to do is start a new training period dealing with injuries from the last season. Take care of those first before moving on! Of course I'd structure this time differently for each athlete depending on the past year(s) of training and racing. Things you should consider? How much training you did, how much you raced, the type of training and racing you did (long vs. short course distance) are you truly motivated to start back to structured training, and do you still have any existing “injuries” or major deficiencies?

DL's 10 Rules as Applied to a "Transitional Period"

1) Start this period physically and psychologically 100% "ready to roll". If you have to force any part of your training at this point you need to spend more time recuperating.

2) Do NO sustained training above heart rate Level 2 to low Level 3. (relative to my HR Scale) This means very aerobic! NOTE: this does not mean you can’t do some shorter efforts to train “speed”, “power”, accelerations or strength. If you are structurally sound this is a time you can include short hill repeats (full recovery), short strides, accelerations especially into your running.

3) Do strength train. Pay special attention to weaknesses and injury prevention, especially since I am talking about us “older” athletes!

4) Work on being consistent with your training. I'd prefer to see athlete's complete short, frequent training sessions, not big sessions infrequently.

5) Train with more frequency in your weakest discipline. This means short, frequent, high quality, technical sessions.

6) Work on technique often, in all disciplines. Starting with your weakest discipline, make sure you do some technique focus for all activities. Start working on your economy NOW and you'll be better for it in the middle of 2008.

7) At no time should you feel "nuked" from your training. Days off / easy days should be scheduled into our programs or as a result of "life issues", NOT because of fatigue.

8) Better Nutrition! Almost all of us can benefit from this and there is no reason you can't start NOW! Think about changing a key factor that may be detrimental to your daily training, recovery and general lifestyle.

9) Be Patient. This is simple, keep putting money in the "fitness bank" without withdrawing any. You'll need to spend this money later in the season. Any questions see Rule #7.

10) Finish this phase physically and psychologically 100% "ready to roll".

OF NOTE: How long does this period last you ask? For some it’s as short as 3-4 weeks, for others they get a lot of benefit and improvement by rolling it for at least 8 weeks!

Until Next Time ... DL

Kona Shakedown .... uhhh MELTdown

Another year, another Ironman World Championship in the books. It was a tough one, but not because the wind got out of control ... it was bloody hot and oppressively humid. Hawaii is already hot and humid enough but this reminded me of 2002 when you cold cut it with a knife ... though a chainsaw would have worked better. (I'll add some pictures as I get them ... and not ones of me)

Big congratulations go out to Chuck Sloan and Dana Chance who put together really well executed and gutsy races. Special shout out to Eduardo Sturla (who I was able to help in a small way) for constantly moving up thru the day in the pro field when it would have been easy to shut it down. It was a day for those who were willing to fight the demons and the elements ... especially over the last 10 miles of the run. These three did just that, fight!

Dana ... a second go around in Kona and she bested her previous effort from 2006 (an easier weather day) This year was a huge load of races on Dana and she performed admirably EVERY single step of the way in the big ones ... St Croix (3rd), Austria (2nd), Canada 5th, Kona 14th ... WOW! It's been a great year for Dana and I have enjoyed finding ways to not only challenge her but make positive changes in her racing. Three years of patient progression went into those results.

Chuck ... his first shot at Kona and only his second Ironman he actually managed a PB for the distance. Pretty impressive when most of folks went the other direction. Chuck did mention that the race broke him a little bit ... but it lit a fire underneath him, you see Chuck likes a good challenge. For someone who was born and fueled on going fast, the patience and strength of Ironman has challenged him (us) to flatten the learning curve and come back smarter and stronger.

Eduardo Sturla ... a classy, quiet pro from Argentina Eduardo showed true courage when it may have been easier to back off or shut it down on the day. Over an 8+ hour day you wonder why 90 seconds might matter so much? At that level the swim doesn't win the race, but it sure can put you out the back door much too early. Eduardo managed to ride hard and up into the top 30 by T2. He then kept pushing the run and fought his way up to finish 19th ... not bad for a big guy who doesn't look like a runner :) I look forward to supporting Eduardo in the future.

Final Takes On Racing in Kona?

- Why is it, for the most part, that the poeple who execute / race well here are the people you never (or rarely) see around town? It's not that they are or need to be hermits, they are simply better about managing their energy. (managing energy pre-race is another topic in itself)

- At Kona everybody looks "fit". Considering most athletes on the island have done an Ironman within the calendar year, great fitness is never that far away for these folks. I believe alot of the athletes feel like they need to do more and different training in their preparation just because it's Kona. Should the training be different? yes! ... More? for most, no. It's not a race you want to go in to a bit little crispy ;)

- At this race, in this place, you are going to get exposed and significantly challenged at some point. It's important to train for the worst possible and humbling scenario you can think of so you are prepared race day. The reality is the race starts to put a chink in the armour right out of the gate with a non wetsuit, ocean swim, full of talented folks. These little attacks at your outer shell keep coming, and if you aren't prepared mentally and physically, it's about 9-10 mile mark into the run (or maybe even sooner) when the bottom starts to fall out.

- On the run course there are a lot of things that change for the athlete about the 9-10 mile range. 1) You get a true indication of how well you paced, or didn't pace, the first hour of the run. Massive emotional control is needed to keep the pace sane AND to keep your core temperature down. 2) It's about the time frame most need to realize how hot it is, if one hadn't figured it out already 3) Finally, there is about a mile stretch of road here that has an upward trend moving away from the ocean that includes Alii'Dr , Hualalai, and the Kuakini Hwy. THEN this stretch ends with the biggest hill on the course up Palani Rd! Not only does the uphill trend take the bounce out of your step, any sea breeze that exists is now at your back ... yuck. The amount of walking, and those who gave in, up Palani hill this year was astonishing. It was a true indication of how the race can deal it's joker card if not careful

- The last item I wanted to touch on is the heat. No matter what it's hot in Kona, this year was EXCEPTIONALLY hot and humid. If you are racing here it is imperative to plan on how to deal with the heat. This plan should include: pace control, fluid consumption AND absorption, electrolyte consumption, proper clothing choices, and proper placement of ice as needed ;)

OH, and finally ... whether you want to qualify to race there OR you are shooting for a lottery spot, be VERY careful what you wish for! It's not a race to do as a holiday, it simply tends to be way too hard a day and 2009 was a perfect example.

Until next time ... DL

As I sit in the Olympic Training Center here in Colorado Springs I figured it fitting to drop an update since I don't have to walk the dog or do laundry ;) I'm here for a what I hope to be a great program and a wonderful opportunity. The next three days I'll do my best to be a sponge as I spend time with the USA Triathlon staff, coaches, and resident elite athletes here at what seems like 14,000 feet altitude. I'll share some notes and highlights here on the blog when the dust settles and I can organzie my thoughts ... or maybe I'll just keep all the information to myself ;) . I expect it to be great environment as we cover everything from coaching juniors & elites, identifying talent, physiological testing, and more stuff ... enough of that, more later ;-)

Now time for September Athlete Updates!

We had some great results at the Ukiah Triathlon this month for the TTE Coached Athletes and Team Members ...

Leslie Shaw ... 1st Female and 9th OVERALL!!

Phil Johnson ... Age Group 2nd (45-49) and 6th Overall

John Lander ... Age Group 2nd (65-69)

Scott Wing (team member) ... Age Group 2nd

Ron Shaw (team member) ... Age Group 4th

Layne Scoggins (team member) ... Age Group 5th

Congratulations to all!

Until next time ... DL

RACING, Racing, racing ...

The last few weeks has seen lots of racing across the USA AND North America ... and more to come this weekend! Athlete updates, here we go ...


John Lander: - The man is back and rolling this year! Most recently John was able to win the TBF Olympic Distance Race Series by running his way to the victory over his rival. Great to see John back and having better luck this year to go along with the hard work he puts in. The victory was well deserved!

Lori O'Lin:
- 3rd in her category and top 15 overall at River Cities Tri (Louisiana) as a lead in to Ironman Canada
- Doing her first Ironman at Canada last week Lori finished in style going under 12hrs. Considering her "limited" training ,and demanding work schedule, that number is much more impressive than it appears!

Phil Johnson: - After a freshening up period post vineman, Phil went to take on the Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3 ... happy to say mission accomplished with an A.G. 9th and a 70.3 Championship qualifying spot. Well done Phil!!!

Troy Tuscher: - Troy also headed up to Lake Stevens with Phil and rolled through a smoother day than the tough one he had at Vineman!

Dana Chance: - With a Kona spot in pocket from Austria earlier in the year, Dana headed to Ironman Canada (for about the 100th time) with less weight on her shoulders and an open mind. Well, Dana went more than 10 minutes faster than she ever has up at IMC and landed herself a spot on the awards podium (5th) ... next up KONA, gotta keep it rolling!

Marie Muchow:
- Marie had a nice smooth day at the Santa Rosa Half Marathon as she prepares for the San Jose Rock & Roll and the Cal International Marathon! She's got her mojo back ;)


Rob Henley:
- Rob wrapped up his tri-revival season with a solid day at the Pigman Half (Iowa) in very difficult racing conditions. Next up for Rob is the chicago Marathon!


I think that covers it for now ... DL

Ironman Canada

Last weekend we had a couple athletes racing at Ironman Canada. This coming week I'll drop a few updates that inlcude that race plus great performances at Rancho Seco, River Cities and the Santa Rosa Half Marathon ... until then, thought you might enjoy a little video from Ironman Canada, courtesy of YouTube.



Cheers ... DL