Representing RED!

Cortney and I had the pleasure of staying at my Uncle’s house prior to the race which was a few miles away from the start(Thanks John and Donna).  We enjoyed a home cooked meal Saturday night and got a good night’s sleep.  I woke up fresh and ready to roll.  I was unsure of how I would perform, knowing I had not been putting in the time on the road.  I had been cycling a lot, but the previous week I had perforated an ear drum so my swimming was nonexistent.  One area I was very consistent was getting to the gym.  I have a good schedule going working core, stability, strength,and power(not all at once).  I can tell you, I think this is why I performed the way I did at Surf City Half Marathon.  More on that later.

The gun sounded and we were off.  The day could not have been more perfect.  Sunny, cool, calm=GREAT for running.  I fell into the lead pack with seven guys.  At mile one, one guy took off on the front.  I let him go.  At mile two, four younger runners put a little space between myself and two other guys.  Here is where I had to make a decision.  Should I go with the younger guys, or should I stay with the two more experienced runners?  I chose the latter of the two.  I figured the four younger guys would go too hard and fall off the pace later in the race.  I had a nice feel going and I felt confident in my decision.  I soon learned, it was the wrong decision.

At mile four the two guys I was with fell of the pace quickly.  I maintained a 5:15-5:20/mile effort and quickly left them behind.  I could see the four younger guys 150 yards ahead of me and I was confident I would get them.  Mile after mile I saw their backs. I pushed, they pushed.  I felt that I could have touched them, but I could not make contact.  At mile eight we hit a strong head wind on PCH.  I fought through it and assumed the young bucks would falter.  One fell off and I quickly ate him up.  Now there were four ahead of me.  I could still see their backs.  They were so close, yet so far.  I dug deep.  Every time I felt myself falling off, I would dig a bit deeper and respond with a stronger effort.  My body did not fail(thanks strength work).  I was more focused than I ever had been in any race.  It was me and the road.  I heard faint calls of “LUBE” from the spectators, but I blocked it all out.  My mind, my sight, my focus was on digging deep and finishing this race strong.

I never caught the four guys ahead of me.  They finished a few seconds up, but I was happy with my race.  I know it would have been a bit different if I had went off with the four younger guys at the start because I would have had someone to work with.  It is tough to push when you are running alone for ten miles.

I stopped the clock at 1:10, 5th Overall, 5:19/mi avg pace.  I saw the clock tick past 1:09 to 1:10 but I couldn’t run any faster than I was.  Cortney finished 12th Overall Female and 3rd in her division.

I want to thank everyone for all of the support out on the course today, on Facebook, on Twitter, and texts/calls.  It is because of you that I am driven to push myself to the next level.

It was a great start to the season.  I love the pain racing brings.  The only way to get that feeling is by pushing in a race.  Time to hit the gym.  RACE HARD!

Let’s Get Red

For coaching/strength training e-mail me at jim@jimlubinski.com

www.jimlubinski.com

www.redperformancemultisport.com

Mile Splits:

1. 5:08        7. 5:19

2. 5:18        8. 5:28

3. 5:24        9. 5:19

4. 5:24       10.5:21

5. 5:12       11.5:29

6. 5:15       12.5:26

13. Didn’t stop my watch

“Periodize your training, and work on strength, endurance and speed (not at the same time).  Endeavor to concentrate on improving all 3 disciplines.  Finally I would work on core strength and stability. It really helps with efficiency.”

Note, Craig did not say anything about intensity/volume/racing/etc.  He hones in on periodization.  Not enough athletes realize how important periodization is to fitness and performance.  Sure, you can go 100% all of the time, but if you are not properly equipped to handle that stress you will not get the most out of your performance, you will fatigue, and you may get injured.  So what is the easy answer to periodization?  I will try to explain as simple as possible.

Look at your training as three blocks.  The first block is your foundation.  This is the block the other two blocks will be built upon.  I picture the blocks as if they were a building.  The first block would be the foundation of the building.  If you want to build a sturdy building that can support hundreds of floors, you must build a gigantic foundation to absorb the stress.  The same goes with the human body.  You cannot skip the foundation stage of your training.  This is the stage you will fall back on throughout the season in order to make all of the gains you are going to make.  In this stage you build your muscular endurance and your inner stabilization.  Your muscular endurance allows you to go long and gets your muscles accustom to going long.  Eventually, with patience, your body will adapt, and you will be able to go longer and longer.  Regarding stabilization, the muscles you build during this stage are the deep internal core stabilizers from which all of your movement originates.  These muscles are often overlooked because they are not sexy.  You cannot rush this stage.  It takes approx. 4-6 weeks of consistent stage one training before progressing to stage two.

Stage two is where you start building your muscular strength.  If you were is the gym you would start lifting heavier weights.  This is the stage in which you make sure the framework of the building is strong and can support the stress of floor upon floor, outside elements, people, etc.  You should not be concerned with power, cadence, cardiac output, etc.  You are primarily concerned with building the strength of the muscular system to be able to push out a strong effort over a certain period of time.  As the weeks progress you will adapt and stay stronger for longer.  This period is also called strength endurance.  This stage should last 4-6 weeks as well.

The third stage is where you start adding power.  This is the stage of the building where you build floors higher and higher.  You have the muscular endurance and the strength endurance.  In stage three you learn to put it all together.  This is where tempo intervals are introduced as well as threshold and VO2 Max intervals.  You must ease into this stage and up your efforts as your body adapts.  This is the stage in which I use the term, “comfort zone.”  You must learn to push out of your comfort zone and overload your body in order for your body to make the gains necessary for peak performance.  The power stage should last 4 weeks.

After the power phase you would cycle back to phase one for a period of time to recover and freshen up for the cycle to repeat itself.  Within each stage you must build in recovery weeks, but cycling back to stage one for a few weeks will reset your system for a fresh go at stages two and three.

I am writing this in terms of triathlon but you can apply this model to anything whether it be strength training, running, golf, ice hockey, etc.  You must have the proper system in place in order to get the most out of your race day performance.  For more info on coaching/personal training e-mail me at jim@jimlubinski.com, follow me on Twitter @jimlubinski, and check out my website www.jimlubinski.com.  RACE HARD!

www.jimlubinski.com, www.Redperformancemultisport.com

Jim

USAT Coach/NASM Certified Personal Trainer

Professional Triathlete/Elite Runner

Follow Jim and R.P.M. on Twitter @JimLubinski

Go To www.redperformancemultisport.com for more info on endurance sport/strength coaching

“Let’s Get RED!”

15 minute warm up

8 x 5 minutes HARD/5 minutes easy b/t each

Finished off with:

10 x 40 seconds ALL OUT, 20 seconds easy

5 minutes easy

10 x 40 seconds ALL OUT, 20 seconds easy

Just thought you’d like to know

Follow me on twitter @JimLubinski

For more tips and useful goodness check out www.redperformancemultisport.com

I get MAD on the trainer!

It has a busy month.  I haven’t had time to sit down let alone keep up to date on my blog.  I started the month in Tempe, AZ with coach Ryan Riell where we ran a USAT Youth and Juniors Triathlon Skills Camp.  This was a great experience.  It was nice to hang with young athletes who were so excited to learn about the great sport of triathlon.  So many adult athletes think they have every answer.  The kids at the camp wanted to learn and came away from the week with some great improvement in their skills, a new take on how to train for triathlon, and, hopefully, a new found exitement for the sport.

When I got back to Santa Monica, the training for 2012 commenced and it has been a doozie.  I won’t bore you with details, but while training I was studying for the NASM Certified Personal Trainer Certification.  I wanted to gain this Cert. not only to be able to train strength clients, but to also give me more ammo when preparing my triathletes for their season/races.  What this studying did was give me a new outlook on how to design a season for my athletes.  I have always believed in periodization, but by combining the NASM model with the models I already  knew, I think my athletes will be better preparred to CRUSH any race they take on.

Training-wise, I have been living on the trainer.  I ride outside Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday with group rides and I ride the trainer every other day of the week.  This equals a ton of sweat, but I can feel my body adapting with every workout.  I have been slowly building my base in the pool and this morning, January 24th, I believe I swam the hardest workout of my life.  I pushed harder than ever before.  It really hurt, but this is how gains are made, right?  My hamstring is feeling better so I have also been slowly building my run milage.  I hit 40 miles last week and I will top that this week.  Although I took off from running for a few weeks, my speed is still there.  I ran 7 x 1K this morning right after the swim and I averaged 3:20/K.

Riding in Beautiful Mammoth

That’s the boring stuff.  What I have really been honing in on is my strength work.  I have been blasting my core with a HUGE amount of stability work and builing my strength/power exercises week over week.  I feel so balanced and connected.  This, accompanied with my focus on increased flexibiltiy will, hopefully, give me the tools I need to get on the podium with consistency this season.

Red Performance Multisport is rolling.  We have a good number of athletes working harder than ever.  It is going to be a successful season for these dedicated athletes.  I should be getting my F.I.S.T.(Bike Fit) Certification soon, so stay tuned.  I will be better at keeping this blog up-to-date so there is less to catch you up on.  Oh yeah, I am now a frequent contributer to Men’s Fitness.com which is really exciting.  RACE HARD!

      

The view from the top of the "Rock Store Climb" in the SM Mountains

When I was playing ice hockey I remember how the first week of training camp felt.  Absoloutly miserable.  I couldn’t take a step without immense musclular pain.  I couldn’t get up from sitting without using something to help me.  It was a soreness that came from deep within the muscles.  After that first week, it was gone!  The training hadn’t gotten easier, in fact, it had gotten harder and more volume had been added.  The difference was that my body had adapted to the stress placed on it.  I was in good shape, so my body adapted quickly, but I knew, every year, that I would have this great soreness the first week of camp.  As the season progressed, we would “hit it” harder and longer every session and our fitness would improve and keep improving.  To the point that we could play a full 60 minutes of hockey, VO2 Max effort after VO2 Max effort, and not fatigue.

Why do I bring this point up?  At this stage in the season we must be willing to suffer and feel the soreness, knowing that our bodies will adapt.  Too many athletes feel sore and instantly back off their training.  You must have faith that your body will adapt.  I have been cycling a lot as of late.  The first few weeks, I would get home and not be able to get up for a while.  I suffered on my rides, and it was evident.  I was getting dropped and could not do anything about it.  I stuck with my training, fought through the soreness, and I am finally coming out a better conditioned, stronger athlete. This is why I enjoy riding with pure cyclists.  The guys at the CATs 1,2,3,4,5 levels bring it every time they get on their machines.  They bring my effort and performance up to new heights. Once your body has adapted to the stress, you need to push harder to make gains.  These “roadies” push me to my next level.  

The same goes for swimming, running, weight training, and pretty much any other physical exertion you can think of.  Feel the pain, accept the soreness, adapt to the stress, and push the limit to get better.  RACE HARD!