Everyone always remarks about my entrepreneurial spirit because of my business track record. But that spirit was simply born from wanting to do the right thing, and in my mind the only way to do that was to do it myself. Combine that with no fear of the unknown or hard work, and the drive to be the best at what you do and you have a different sort of recipe for entrepreneurship.

Neal Spruce, high school junior.

Long before I owned my first business, I was fortunate enough to still operate independently because my bosses recognized hard work and the drive to be the best. As an auto mechanic, I ran the shop because I was the troubleshooter. If no one else could fix the car, it came to me. But well before that I had a mentor, Howard the Journeyman, who I first worked under when I was 16. He taught me my first real business lesson. Howard was a lean, medium-built, balding man about 30 years my elder who always wore a hat and a red rag in his back pocket — exactly how you would picture a seasoned master mechanic. One day we had this ‘67 Buick that had been to 3 shops to no avail for an unusual intermittent air conditioning problem. After going over everything for about 6 hours and then finally tearing the entire dashboard out of the car, leaving wiring looms and vacuum lines disconnected everywhere, I asked him, “Howard, do you know what you’re doing here?” He came out from under the dash, took off his hat, pulled the red rag out of his pocket and as he wiped his hands, he looked at me and said, “Neal, I am going tell you something you should never forget if you want to be successful. It’s not important to know exactly what you’re doing, it’s only important to know what you’re trying to do”. Well, I have to tell you I didn’t get it right then but I sure got it later. That attitude allowed me to take on any car problem and hang in there till I fixed it. And that carried over into my business life. I always knew what I was trying to do, and was never afraid to take it on, but many times not necessarily the best way to do it. In many aspects of building the businesses, I might have got things done faster with less pain but I am still here and I can say I got it done. Very often hard work will trump intelligence.

Neal in 1980, when his mechanic career ended and his bodybuilding career began.

My first and only business goal was to Personalize Fitness For Every Household, which came almost 20 years after Howard had made his now famous comment. Trying to accomplish that grandiose vision within the confines of a corporation became impossible and that’s the sole reason I started my own business, Apex Fitness. I needed freedom to execute what I thought needed to be done because my goal was different than the company’s goals. It wasn’t money that moved me to start my own business because truthfully I didn’t think about the business making money nearly as much as knowing I needed to control my own destiny, make my own rules, drive to one goal and hopefully make enough money to keep going. I didn’t even have a business plan but I knew what I was trying to do. I also reminded myself that there are fates worse than death, and one would be a life of regret if I just took the paycheck and company orders rather than striking out to do what I wanted to do to make a difference.

I didn’t know exactly what I was doing, but I definitely knew what I was trying to do.

–Neal

Up at 3:50, downed some WheySmooth, slapped on sunscreen and off to downtown Louisville to the transition area.

After a quick bike check and walk to the swim start, it was time to get body marked and throw on the swim goggles. While waiting in line, I started thinking of the overwhelming challenge in front of me and had to bring my thoughts to the present and focus on what I had to do right then and there, and know that the rest would take care of itself. The slight concern turned back into sheer excitement as I approached the swim start.

Then the Van Halen music started pumping as we ran down the pier and through the timing arch and plunged into the Ohio River.

It’s on…

For the 2.4 mile swim, I felt like a salmon swimming upstream. We were all packed together and sprinting for the best position. While getting kicked, hit, and bumped, I did my best to stay in good form and establish a controlled breathing rhythm.

Once around the first island, the congestion thinned out and I was able to fully dial in my technique and rhythm. I kept a 3-stoke breath, 3-stoke spot and breath rhythm. By spotting every 6 stokes I was able to stay on course and keep from zigzagging my way down the river.

After navigating around the buoys and under the bridges, I did a time check and was thrilled to see that I was ahead of schedule. The swim was over before I knew it and I quickly climbed out and ran to the changing tent to throw on the biking gear.

I quickly donned my cycling gear, some sunscreen on my face and shoulders and slammed an NO7rage with some Muscle Defender and Amino boost, because I knew the rage has never let me down in the past and the amino acids would help keep fatigue at bay as well as prevent muscle breakdown during my 112 mile journey through Kentucky.

On the bike, I felt great and started faster than expected. The course had plenty of rolling hills and lots of enthusiastic fans dressed up and playing music (I remember seeing the Grim Reaper). The mile markers were at every 10 miles and they just seemed to fly by. We had aid stations about every 15 miles, and I learned my lesson to slow down considerably to take the hand-off of water from the volunteers (almost bit the big one in St. Croix a couple months back).

Everything went very smooth, except for a minor spill on the hill “oops.” Hey the blood got my adrenaline going and suddenly I forgot how tired I was.

The final miles were downhill as I cruised back to the downtown Louisville faster than my projected goal and I was eager to jump into my running shoes and make the marathon happen.

After stripping off the bike gear, I slammed another NO7rage, with AminBoostXXL, and MuscleDefender. I knew I needed every bit of Rage and muscle protection at this point. I also packed Recover and Rebuild in my fuel belt to take along the way for sustained BCAA consumption.

One week away and I wish I was racing right now. After all of the training, dreaming, sweating, and a little bleeding, I am ready.
The base period (starting in late January) was fascinating as I took my distances and overall training volume up higher than ever before. The period was concluded with the Ironman 70.3 in St. Croix, which served as a preparation race, for my big one.

Upon returning from the US Virgin Islands, it was time to enter the build phase where I increased the distances on my long workouts, added time to the tempo workouts, and enhanced the interval workouts with either more intervals, shorter rests, and/or more intensity.

Finally, I peaked my training to where I took the volume to its highest and kept the speed I had earned in the base and build phases from the faster tempo and interval workouts. I peaked in volume around two weeks ago to give me around three weeks to recover and reap the wonderful rewards from those last couple “epic” workouts.

It’s funny how much your perspective changes after building up your work capacity.  What use to be a “gut checking” training session is now more like a recovery workout.

It’s also interesting how the body reacts to increased training volume and/or intensity; at first you wake up the next day and feel like your legs weigh about 150lbs each and it’s a chore just to walk upstairs. But then you give it a couple days and wake up, hit the road and you feel supercharged, like you went from a V-4 to a V-12.  This cycle happens over and over again, and each time, your engine gets a little bigger, a little louder.

I was pleasantly surprised by the improved training times in my latest long workouts. There were periods of time when my performance was dropping due to the extra load and demand I was putting on my body. But, I stuck to the plan and kept asking my body to recover and come back stronger, and it did.

For example, the first time I ran over three hours and attempted intervals a few days later, I had no juice and “no gears” to shift up too. But now, I was able to run even further and come back two days later and fly on the intervals.

It takes a couple jolts to the system to be able to do this, but once it kicks in, it works like magic. My experience with the biking and swimming are very similar; you keep upping the ante and let the rewards naturally happen.

The body is an amazing adapting organism, all you have to do is give it a reason to get better at something and it will.

Now, I am tapering, where I cut back the volume and still do speed work without taxing my recovery ability. I certainly feel a new zest, with the reduced volume, but I have developed a craving for the long and intense workouts. While training on my big workouts I kept thinking to myself, “There is nothing else I would rather be doing.”

Going into the Ironman, I plan to race my plan and “have fun going for it.” After all of the visualization I feel like I already ran it.

I intend on keeping a “childlike enthusiasm” where I give it my all with complete focus on the present moment and a feeling of excitement and wonder as I go beyond where I have ever been.

I am grateful for the thrill, enjoyment, and growth that I have already experienced with the preparation. The training taught me invaluable lessons about myself, and life in general. Plus, I have met many wonderful people and had the opportunity to help others take action and go for their goals in triathlon, running, or other.

I love the combination of a journey filled with passion, joy, and adventure as one goes for a meaningful goal with their whole heart and soul. When one does this, they already win.

It’s time to pack for Louisville and experience the dream.

Training Update:

I am now in the peak phase of training for the Ironman, which means all of the over distance workouts get a little longer each week. The tempo workouts now have bursts of high intensity segments. For the swim, bike and run interval workouts, the recovery periods have been reduced and/or done at a higher intensity. (For example, I was walking in between intervals, and now I keep a moderate jog).

With the added volume, I needed to increase my calories and pay special attention promoting recovery. With consistent use of the Amino Boost, Muscle Defender, and Recover and Build, I have been able to recover and come back stronger. Thank goodness.

Triathlon is an interesting sport, that teaches you strategies that work for life.

1% Improvement

I learned this concept from author and top competitive Ironman Triathlete, Don Fink. Don realized that all he needed to do was become 1% faster and he could achieve his goals. So he would brainstorm on ways he could get 1% faster.

This fun and powerful concept can be applied to anything. Can you be 1% faster, stronger, or leaner? Can you be 1% better in your job, career, school, or relationships? Just by asking yourself, “Can I be 1% better at _______you receive the answer.

Next ask yourself, “How can I be 1% better?” and write down any and all ideas that pop into your head. The ideas are endless.

I knew I could at least improve1% in my technique, nutrition and hydration, training protocol, equipment, mental training and the like. For example, I got my running and swimming technique videotaped and critiqued and learned the drills necessary for well over a 1% improvement.

Just look for the next 1% improvement you can make from where you are today. If you look too far ahead too soon it can be a little daunting. It’s like climbing a ladder; one rung at a time and you’ll get there.

Segmentation

Don Fink also wrote about using Race Segmentation. Basically you break down the 140.6 miles into smaller bite-size chunks. I use segmentation for various parts of training now and it has made a profound difference in my focus and attitude.

It can be easy to feel overwhelmed when you look at the entirety of the training day or training week all at once. You can only live one moment at a time so why not focus on one segment at a time. I see each segment as an independent piece of the plan.

In my workouts now, I break up the course into segments that are easy to picture and mentally digest. Then I only focus on the segment that I am currently in and let go of the past and future segments. It is much easier for me to concentrate on proper form, pace, cadence and so forth up to the bridge or park instead of thinking, “wow I need to keep this pace for the next 5 hours.”

I like to write out the segments in my journal the night before, which allows me to plan for proper hydration and refueling and gives my mind a chance to rehearse the game plan and work out any kinks that may need to be addressed. It also adds confidence and excitement seeing the whole plan in front of me and knowing that I need now is execution.

This present moment awareness can be used for swim, bike, run, and strength training workouts as well as in every day life. At your job, on a special project, or any endeavor you are engaged in, simply write out smaller, more manageable segments and just focus on one part at a time. Before you no it, you’ll be driving through the final segment and at completion.

Well, I just finished up a 5.5 hour ride and am acclimating nicely to the sizzling summer heat. With 7 weeks to go, I am more motivated than ever in my training and cannot wait to hear my name announced as I cross the finish line of the Ford Ironman Louisville.

THE BIKE

Second, for the bike, I needed to up the stakes. I increased my focus on biking because most of the Ironman race is on the bike and the stronger I get on the bike, the fresher my legs will be for the marathon that follows. I see the bike segment as the path leading me to the run. There is nothing like the feeling of throwing on the fresh socks and running shoes. I needed to increase my overall volume and intensity-specific workouts for the bike. After realizing that most of the top cyclists and triathletes were using indoor trainers with great results, I ran out to the shop and picked one up. It has been the greatest toy I have added to my training since doing incline sprints on the treadmill. I have been hammering away on this thing and loving it. You can do intense interval training and get three times the workout in less time than out on the road. With the trainer, there are no stoplights, pedestrians or traffic to slow you down and you have no down hill and almost zero momentum to help out your speed, it’s just you and the power you generate. So, I crank up my trance music and jam for just under 90 minutes to keep the intensity high.

With the trainer I can focus on my technique, proper cadence (80-90rpms), and speed. I cannot wait to see how quickly this enhances my lactate threshold, speed, power, and overall race performance. For now I use my computer and perform 2-5 mile intervals with around a half-mile recovery. I aim to increase the speed on all intervals and keep a pace that I can sustain for all the work sets. I also added a tempo workout of 20-30 miles at a faster than race pace. My goals are to keep my cadence higher than before, and use better mechanics so I am using my bodyweight on each down stroke and not just leg power. As in running, I focus on being light and smooth with a quick cadence. I now include technical drills and high spin session to my indoor bike trainer workouts to speed up my cadence and enhance my technique. If an athlete averages 85 RPMs and covers the 112 miles of the bike segment in five and a half hours, he or she will have executed 28,050 pedal revolutions. I figure that it’s worth it to make sure I get the most out of each and every 28,050 cycles.

My plan now includes 2-3 bike trainer workouts during the week and a long ride on sloping hills on the weekend. At least one of the bike workouts will be followed by a run each week. This is known as a “Brick” workout in the multi-sport world. I will do a short ride with high intensity intervals or fast tempo ride followed by a fast run, or a long ride and run at race pace. I do the “brick” workouts to teach my legs how to run well coming off the bike. The legs get a unique feeling running right after jamming on the bike. In the beginning it felt like I had someone else’s legs and couldn’t quite figure out the firing pattern for the muscles. But now, it gets easier and easier to get in my rhythm right away. Depending on my progress and recovery, I may add a medium distance ride on the weekend as well. It has been shown that there is a direct correlation between the volume of bike riding and the improved performance on the overall Ironman. The variable seemed to be the most profound, so why not give it a shot.

For added adventure, I am adding some century (organized 100 mile plus) bike rides every 2-4 weeks to practice race pace, and refueling while on the bike. Just recently, I rode a century (pictured) from Griffith Park through Long Beach and back through the LA Bike path. For all LA based cyclists, it is an amazing path and I highly recommend it. Soon, I will add runs of 3-6 miles after the 100-mile bike rides to gear up for the big one in Kentucky. I will include at least one big ride covering over 112 miles.

THE SWIM

I see the 2.4-mile swim as a segment that acts as a warm up for the bike and I am aiming to get to the finish as efficiently as possible to save the juice for the bike and run. For the swim portion, it became apparent that I needed to improve technique first and foremost. The fastest swimmers have been shown to have the longest stroke (most distance covered per stroke) and not necessarily the highest fitness for swimming (VO2Max etc) or the most propulsion. So, I needed to reduce my drag, which will increase my stroke length. To reduce the drag I got with Ingrid Miller, a triathlete and swimming coach and author of “Ironman’s Fearless Swimming, Open Water Skills for Triathletes.” She pointed out some issues I needed to clear up. She is a total immersion swimmer and helped me get the most out of each stroke. Now when I swim, I have a “stroke-thought” before every stroke. My technique has gone from “Just stroke as fast as I can and grab air along the way” to “kick-penetrate and glide, kick-penetrate and glide.” I was splashing and thrashing through the water and now it’s just a series of glides. It changed my mentality from “more effort” to “more grace.”

I went through a period of several weeks only focusing on skills and drills. Now I have added continuous swims of up to an hour at a pace that I can maintain my best form. I will slowly build my long swims up to two hours and perform intervals and tempo swims on other days. Basically, an ideal week would include a short interval workout (500m-1000m repeats), a “tempo” workout of 1500-2000 meters, and a long swim. My primary focus is “technique.” Technique will come before emphasis on speed or duration. There is never a good reason to practice poor technique in anything, especially swimming. My goal is to lengthen my stroke, and be able to cover a lap in fewer strokes and keep that stroke distance for up to two hours. If I keep my stroke rate the same and increase my distance on each stroke then I will go faster. To sharpen my skills, I’ll be visiting my coach for some tune up sessions and perform open-water swimming. Swimming in nature is a great way to practice navigation and dealing with currents, fish, and other people. Most likely, I will practice in the Ohio River where the race will take place.

So far so very good, the training has been challenging, exciting, and very rewarding. Stay tuned for the next blog discussing the mental tools I have learned which has made a profound difference in my training, competing, and overall perspective.

-Jason

It’s been well over a month since the Ironman 70.3 and the adjustments to training have been paying off. I changed up the approach for the running, biking, swimming, and strength training to prepare for 140.6 miles.

My program now emphasizes the Long Run, Long Bike, and the Bike-Run Combo Workouts.  The long run started at 13 miles and will build to 20-22 with a back off run every 3rd week. The Long Bike will average 60-70 miles per workout with a 100-mile plus workout every 3-4 weeks. The Bike-Run workouts will happen every week either being a shorter fast ride (most likely on the trainer) and fast run, or a long ride and run at race pace. The runs will last 30-50 minutes.

For skill training, at I will do technique, and cadence drills for the run and bike (on the trainer) as well as total immersion drills for the swimming. You will also see plenty of high intensity interval workouts for the bike and run as well as functional strength training. Swimming workouts will focus on technical practice first to include interval, tempo, and long distance workouts with open water swimming and instruction.

Workouts are either going to be intervals, tempos, distance, or “Epic Workouts”
I define Epic workouts as workouts that take you to a new distance, simulating race pace. They can be long rides, long runs or long ride/run combo workouts. I have included my goal distances to hit before the big day in Louisville. I am building to hit each of them before the 2-week mark to allow for proper taper and recovery. From weeks 4-2 out, I should hit all four (The big run, big bike, big combo workout, and the big swim).

Sample Week

Monday     A.M. Run 6-8 Mile Tempo Run
P.M.  Strength Training (Upper Body or Lower)
Tuesday     A.M. Indoor Bike Trainer 5 mile repeats (Holding previous 2 mile repeat          speed)
(On alternate weeks I’ll do a fast run, or high cadence spin session after)
P. M. Swim Skills Practice plus 500m repeats
Wednesday     A.M. Run 1 mile repeats (holding the old 800m repeat speed)
P.M. Strength Training (Upper or Lower)
Thursday     A.M. Long Run (up to 20-22 miles)
P.M. Swim Skills Practice plus Tempo Swim (1500m-2000m)
Or rest
Friday     A.M. Indoor Bike Trainer Tempo Ride (20-30 miles) faster than the week before
(On alternate weeks I’ll do a fast run, or high cadence spin session after)
P.M. Strength Training Upper or Lower
Saturday     A.M. Run 2-3 Mile Repeats (holding old 1 mile repeat speed)
P.M. Swim Long Distance (up to two hours)
Sunday       A.M. Bike Long (up to 112 miles)
Or Bike with Run Brick (up to 100 miles with 6 mile run)

Sample Week (Following an Epic Sunday Workout)
Monday     A.M. Strength Training (Upper Body and Lower)
P.M.  Swim, or second half of strength training
Tuesday     A.M. Run 1 mile repeats (holding the old 800m speed)
P. M. Swim Skills Practice plus 500m repeats
Wednesday     A.M. Indoor Bike Trainer Tempo Ride (20-30 miles) faster than before
(On alternate weeks I’ll do a fast run, or high cadence spin session after)
P.M. Strength Training (Upper)
Thursday     A.M. Long Run (up to 20-22 miles)

P.M. Swim Skills Practice plus Tempo Swim (1500m-2000m)
Or rest
Friday     A.M. Indoor Bike Trainer Tempo Ride (5 mile repeats) (holding the old 2 mile repeat speed)
(On alternate weeks I’ll do a fast run, or high cadence spin session after)
P.M. Strength Training Lower
Saturday     A.M. Run 2-3 Mile Repeats (holding old 1 mile repeat speed)
P.M. Swim Long Distance (up to two hours)
Sunday       A.M. Bike Long (up to 112 miles)
Or Bike with Run Brick (up to 100 miles with 6 mile run)

Keeping up a schedule like this calls for extra attention on proper nutrition, sleep, and supplementation. In a later blog, I will address the newest supplementation strategies. For now, just know that I am living on and loving the No7Rage prior to training and the Amino Boost, Muscle Defender, and Recover and Build before, during, and after training.

THE RUN

First, for the run training, which is now geared for covering 26.2 miles after a swim and bike, I needed to add volume and sustainability.
I have increased the distance of most of my interval workouts (1 to 3 mile repeats and 6-8 mile tempo runs) and added a treadmill workout at a 12% incline to improve my performance on the hills. The goal of the interval workouts is to be able to sustain longer intervals at high speeds. What I could keep for 800m, I now want to be able to hold for 1 mile and then up to 2-3 miles. My objective with the tempo run is to be able to perform them faster than before, and then I will increase the distance.

My long runs have become longer (once a week) and I have moved from the streets to the trails in the mountains, where it’s just the coyotes, various reptiles and me. The trails give my long runs built-in intervals with the sloping hills. In addition, the off-road running ads great variety and I don’t have to be concerned with timing all the street lights and avoiding Mr. Jones who is speeding through the intersection to punch in on time.

I also moved my long run to Thursdays to give me fresher, faster legs. I was cranking out back-to-back long bike rides on Saturday followed by long runs on Sunday. But now the rides and runs are longer, requiring more fuel and more recovery.

Finally, I went back to the basics of pose running and added focus to running and cadence drills and diligently watching videos of some of the best pose runners.  Again, the best runners regardless of height have a cadence of over 180 steps per minute.

My goal is to increase my cadence (steps per minute), maintain a more direct heel pull straight toward my glutes on each stride, and run smoother. I like to think of the “The Man With The Golden Shoes” Michael Johnson and his style of running. He is the prime example of a quick heel pull and lightning fast cadence.

The overall plan is to take my long run up to 20-22 miles within 2-3 weeks of the Ironman.

As an added bonus, I may add some 10k races for speed work, and/or half marathons for distance work. Races are great for getting in the “competition mode” and dealing with all the variables. Plus you have to love the added boost you get when others challenge you, and last but not least I enjoy devouring the free food at the end before the complimentary massages.

To me the run is the best part of the Ironman; I cannot wait to slip into my running shoes and go for it, that is where the fun escalates big time.

Hey, if World Record holder Jim Finlayson can drink four beers and run a mile on the track in 5:09:00 (according to beermile.com), I can surely improve my speed and efficiency.

Stay in touch for the next blog, which will break down the bike and swim workouts.

Integration of various modes of training

So we talked about all of the ingredients that make up triathlon training, now let’s talk about a typical week to gear up for an Ironman 70.3 or Ironman.

After studying multiple ways of training and programming a weekly, monthly, and yearly program, I have used a system that emphasized technique, intensity, and volume.

I always aim to improve something. On the speed and hill sessions, you can go faster, shorten the rest periods, or do more intervals. On the distance work, you can either go faster or further. Some days when everything lines up right, you can go faster and further, which are golden moments indeed.

On other days, when you don’t feel quite so springy, you can focus on making it a “technique” improvement day. Here I will allow a little drop in intensity to work on “Mastery of Technique.”

Here is a typical week gearing up for Ironman 70.3 in St. Croix.

Monday A.M. Run 800m Intervals and Technique/Speed Skills
P.M. Full Body Strength Training

Tuesday A.M. Bike Hill Sprints (4-6 minutes in length)
P.M.  Swim 250m Intervals, Technique/Speed Skills

Wed.      A.M. Run 6 mile Tempo (Steady State)
P.M.  Full Body Strength Training

Thurs.    A.M. Bike Long Distance
P.M.  Rest (Eat)

Friday    A.M. Run Mile Repeats and Technique/Speed Skills
P.M. Full Body Strength Training

Saturday A.M. Medium to Long Bike followed by Short Run

Sunday   A.M. Long Run
P.M.  Long Swim plus Technique/Speed Skills

I will vary from this format, sometimes doing a long swim followed immediately by a medium bike ride, or doing two hill workouts on the bike in the same week.

Basically, I know that the most important things for me are the long run, the long bike, the combination a.k.a. “Brick Workouts” (Bike plus Run) and finally the swim technique training.

You will notice that I have a special liking for running, so I ended up doing it more often than the other sports. Plus, I intend on staying active in my running only races of various distances both on and off-road.

Luckily my daily schedule permits me to train as much as I do. The volume in Ironman training demands superior recovery measures. This is where proper sleep, nutrition and supplementation come in. Lately, I have been drinking Amino Boost, and Muscle Defender like it’s kool-aid and popping Recover and Build like its candy.

My next step will be to add self-myofacial release to the mix as well as massage therapy to speed up the recovery.

Well, I am flying out to St. Croix in two days and getting in some exciting training in the warm water and air before the big day. I can’t wait to see what happens and how much I have improved.

It’s all an adventure in the end. I planned my race and now it’s time to race my plan. I am going to have fun going for it and take the feedback I receive and adjust my training to go even faster for the next Ironman.

As they say, “Let The Good Times Roll!”

–Jason

For the sake of this article, the focus will be specifically on biking and swimming for the Ironman.

BIKING

This is where muscle meets machine. Who doesn’t love the free feeling of flying around on a bike? It is especially fun when aiming to soar faster every workout. The key to cycling in the Ironman is not only to go fast and furious for the duration of the bike segment, but to also have plenty of juice left for the run that follows.

For my cycling training I generally do three types of rides. I either do a hill sprint workout, medium distance speed workout, or a long distance ride.

For the hill workouts, I use a series of hills nearby that take from 3 to 6 minutes to climb and use a variety of gears and alternate between seated and standing positions. I personally love these training sessions for the intense burning sensation you get in your legs and lungs.
In my opinion, hill sprints are one of the best ways to boost cycling fitness and force production. In addition, you get plenty of curious looks from the neighbors who see you climb up and fly down the same hill all morning. It’s crazy fun, and it helps to build the “engine” on your machine. I am aiming to go from a v-8 to v-12 and increase my horsepower as well.

Word of caution, your legs will feel like wet noodles for most of the day following these workouts. It’s similar to 20 rep squat workouts, for those who have done them, but here you repeat them over and over. Luckily, NO7Rage and CreatineXXL come in handy to buffer some of that lactic acid. In the end, you have to learn to “love the burn.”

For the medium distance speed workouts, I pick a distance I can cover in 90 min to 2 hours and hit it hard. This is also a great distance to add a run at the end to work on my “Transition” skills. At other times, I will go directly from my swim workout into a medium distance sprint workout or hill workout to shake things up.

For the long distances, I go at around race pace and I focus on covering distance, building the length every workout in order to peak a couple of weeks before the race.

In addition to the fitness training, I have been studying the “pose” technique of cycling as well. It has helped tremendously as it focuses on using a higher cadence and bodyweight transfer to generate speed. The fastest cyclists seem to keep a minimum of 90 pedal strokes per minute, with some going much higher. The other key to speed is “un weighing” your non-working leg as fast as you can and applying pressure with your bodyweight in the 1 to 4 o’clock position of the pedal stroke.

It is a very interesting concept and again turns the sport of cycling into an art form. I will take segments of each workout and focus on my technique, aiming to improve one aspect at a time. For example, while climbing a hill on a long ride I may count 10 pedal strokes on each leg and ensure I am putting my bodyweight into each pedal in the proper portion of the cycle.

The learning process is a continuous one.

SWIMMING

Ah yes, nothing like kicking it in the ocean for a nice “group swim.” The start of an Ironman is a pretty awesome sight. You have thousands of athletes all fluttering in a mad dash like a big school of fish, which is breathtaking to say the least.

First, my goal is to swim faster to get on the bike sooner and to move efficiently in order to save what energy I can for the bike and run.
I have broken my training into three general areas; Aerobic Endurance, Muscle Endurance, and Anaerobic Endurance.

Aerobic Endurance feels comfortable like I could go to a far off island at this speed.  I may use this pace for practicing technique or to warm up. But the majority of my training is at race pace or faster broken up into intervals. In my triathlons, I want to get out of the water in good position and the swim portion is shortest of the three events, so it makes sense to train fast to be fast!

Muscle Endurance is a speed that I can maintain for 90 seconds up to about 12 minutes. I do these in intervals. I’ll usually break it up into either 100m, 200m, 400m, or 1000m segments with 30-60 seconds rest at the wall. This pace feels uncomfortable but bearable. I am aiming for improved times every workout. Similar to running and biking, I pick one technical part of the stroke and concentrate on it for the entire set. I stay with one element at a time for a couple weeks, and then choose another one, once I feel that it is ingrained.

Anaerobic Endurance is where I basically sprint. This is taxing and fun. For me, I get a great burn in my back as I am stroking as fast and strong as I can in good form. I am grabbing as much water as possible with each stroke and pivoting the hips with explosiveness.

These sprints last about 60 seconds or less. I basically go for 50m-75 m with all the gusto I can muster. I then rest at the wall and let my body cool down. While sprinting I picture Michael Phelps going for the Gold, using strong, gliding strokes, which look powerful and effortless.

Gaining swimming fitness is easy, it’s reducing drag that is the secret to fast and efficient swimming. I learned that the best and fastest swimmers take the least amount of strokes per length and cover the most distance per stroke.

Therefore I spent weeks doing one drill only, “Hand Swapping.” This is where you aim to keep one arm extended until the other arm enters the water and then you stroke. This drill has helped me immensely in improving my stroke length.

As with the cycling and running, I train at different intensities to increase the speed I can move and still stay aerobic and help the body go from anaerobic back to aerobic sooner. There will always be periods of anaerobic activity mixed in so it’s important to be able to recover and get going aerobic again. I like to train hard to make the race feel easy.

As far as technique goes, I have been studying the Total Immersion Swim technique. Through books, DVDs, and other coaches I have received great secrets of being “fishlike” in the water.

The keys to being fishlike are swimming long (extending your body), swimming on your sides (like a vessel), and using body rotation for propulsion. These tips alone have made it much easier to go faster.

With swimming being such a technique-oriented sport, I keep technique as a top priority and ensure that every stroke is a good one because you are either teaching yourself to stroke better or worse. Therefore, I end each workout feeling strong and fast with sharp technique instead of taking the workout to the point where fatigue turns your workout into a splashy mess.

I make each stroke count, covering as much distance as possible every time my hand leaves the water.

I can’t wait to get in the warm waters off of St. Croix and race the other fish people. It will be a fun day indeed.

The next article will cover workout structure, while preparing for multi-sport events.

For the sake of this article, the focus will be specifically on running for the Ironman.

Running has been one of my favorite sports since childhood. Many people think running is just running, but when you break down the technique and training programs, running is much more.

Some people only run when they are chased or miss the bus, but today I am talking about training to increase speed, endurance, and excitement.

For the first time since I learned to run, I got coached, video-taped and coached again on my running technique. It was like my blinders where taken off and I saw running with a new set of eyes.

For the running enthusiasts out there, I now follow kind of a hybrid of pose running and evolution running. I traded in my cushioned shoes for minimalist running shoes.

My current style focuses on forefoot landing, higher cadence (steps per minute), forward lean (let gravity pull you forward), and heel pull (as opposed to “pushing off.”

My times are much faster and I can run on concrete for long runs and consecutive runs with zero pain and I go about 180 lbs (last time I checked).

For a couple months straight I focused on running form and drills to instill this new style to the point where I do not have to think about it anymore. Then I could focus more on raising the intensity and volume of my running. The efforts paid off and I could not be happier.

Basically, if you watch a barefoot runner, like the champion Kenyans, you will get an idea of this great style. So running went from just “trying harder” and “pounding the pavement” to artwork.

I highly recommend for anyone who was frustrated with running times or running pain to give pose and evolution running a shot. It has worked miracles for many and returns you back to the way you are designed to run. Hint-it’s not with big cushioned shoes and landing on your heel.

Okay, next lets get into the program design I am using for the run portion of the Ironman.

Basically, I broke down my running training into four categories. The sections are aerobic endurance, muscle endurance, anaerobic endurance, and form/speed work.

Aerobic Endurance is basically my Ironman race pace (which will be coming after a long bike ride). It feels comfortable like I could go for hours and it relies on a larger percentage of fat for energy.

Muscle Endurance for my purposes is a speed that I can maintain for over three minutes. I like to train muscular endurance with intervals. I’ll usually break it up into mile, two mile and three mile intervals.

Following each interval I will walk for 60 to 90 seconds or jog easy for one to two minutes. This pace feels comfortably uncomfortable. I like to do these to get used to running faster than race pace, which makes race pace feel smooth.

I will also train my muscular endurance with weekly threshold runs for intervals of 20-40 minutes.

Anaerobic Endurance is a speed that I can maintain for up to about three minutes. This is where the fun is. This is uncomfortable; it burns your legs and your lungs. I like to go as fast as I can go in good form. I train my anaerobic endurance on the treadmill on an incline, a hill, the road, or a track. I usually walk to recover for 60-90 seconds or more. I need to walk to allow me to go fast once again. Jogging in between does not allow enough recovery.

I have to admit, this is my favorite style of training. It gets the heart rate flying, sets the lungs on fire, makes the legs and arms feel heavy, and the endorphin rush is immense.

I train for speed as well as endurance because I like to do shorter races (both on and off road) as well as the long races and triathlons.

The structure of my routine is geared toward “Raising the Aerobic Line.” Basically the better I get at the faster intervals and the longer I can hold them with less and less recovery. Then the faster I can run and still stay aerobic.

I will continue to progress by going faster at each given distance, and by reducing rest periods, and increasing the number of intervals.

For Ironman triathlons, the key is to stay as aerobic as you can during the race to allow you to use more fat as energy to spare your glycogen for the long haul. Now there will be times when you sprint for position or first enter the water where you will go anaerobic so it is important to be able to bounce back and recover quickly to fall back down into your personal aerobic level.

Staying Aerobic is the key to success in endurance multi-sports and especially Ironman Triathlons.

The other tool that I have added to my toolbox is speed and form work. Like mentioned earlier, my new technique has added much new fun and speed.

I will do form and speed work both before and after my run training. One trick that works really well is to do a specific drill for a specific element (like heel pull.) Then run a length focusing on that feeling. Then return to the drill and repeat an interval of running after every drill. This ingrains the technique into my nervous system, and it’s fun.

Running is one of the most elemental sports you can do, and I will always be a fan and will continue to learn and expand my horizons. I have enjoyed everything from 400m races, to 10ks, to marathons, to Xterra 21k Trail Races and I can’t wait to run the final leg of the Ironman in exactly 4 weeks.

Next article we can discuss the biking and swimming.