Even though the blog is basically dedicated training and sports, from time to time, I'd like to explore some things that touch sport.
I suppose nearly everyone has heard of Myspace, Facebook and the like. In my eyes they are all essentially networking tools with varying degrees of functionality. I also think that functionality is the differentiator between all of them. Sure, people make choices to use one or another for a whole lot of reasons, but if you look at them as revenue generating entities the functionality, how they capture and use the UGC (user generated content) are what the leadership teams sell.
At anyrate, I use LinkedIn (a tool aimed at biz networking), Myspace (a tool aimed a social networking) and Athlinks (a tool aimed at networking athletes).
Athlinks is interesting because it offers users the ability to aggregate and add their race results; share what kind of gear they use, track their friends and, get this, their rivals progress. The user interface needs some tweaking. The tool used to be Virturace and it was previously a results db aimed at event directors. Somewhere along the line they changed the name, and realizing the power of all of the names aggregated in one place turned on the advertising switch so to speak.
In contrast, it took LinkedIn around three years or so to accumulate enough users before they began advertising. So it's a relatively big deal for them to swap names, change the UI and have advertising. I have to guess that their exit strategy is to have it acquired by a Facebook, Myspace or Yahoo, Google, or Microsoft as these three are all in the pay-for-search space.
I don't necessarily see Athlinks doing much to the UI going forward, it appears that they are really encouraging people to simply look up their results and merge them; they clearly need to sell potential suitors on how many active registered users they have.
A potential suitor is more likely to have a team of dev folks working on usability vision, so again in terms of ROI anything Athlinks can do to drive folks to their site, sign up and aggregate results is a good thing for them.
I'm not sure I have a definitive opinion on these networks yet. Some of them attempt to capture users vis a vis exclusivity, while others use a "hey all the cool kids are doing it approach"; as far as business models are concerned it seems that the greater the user base the better. It's odd because the long tail marketing approach would seem to favor a well-defined user base that is specifically sold to.
However, cookie technology has grown so much that a Google can parse their users preferences to the nth degree, and while it is a bandwith heavy approach it seems to be the model that investors prefer.
The obvious next step is weaving in a "recommendation engine" to an Athlinks model; these are already in use by Netflicks (among others) and work by way of tracking user choices, and what they might be logically attracted to next. This could be a powerful way of attracting industry advertising to these kind of networks; for example the recommendation engine could sync up with the advertisers to suggest a better wetsuit, new pair of running shoes, or extra socks based on either an upcoming race that a user puts on his calendar or perhaps writes a race report that says "I swam slow, my wetsuit, brand X just isn't" working.
Anyhow, I'm on Athlinks, so if you are on there, add me as a Friend or a Rival even!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Critical Success Factors
Aside from hitting those aforementioned performance benchmarks, what are the CSF's required for success within the context of the protocol I've outlined?
I have some thoughts about this and I think the keys are: Discipline, Willingness to live up to one's potential and Commitment.
If I am able to execute on each of these three factors, then I believe that I can be successful in attaining the goals I have.
To expand on this, I think it is important to discuss philosophy. I once checked out the famous Percy Cerutty's book from the libary, I was expecting a pretty dry discussion of training methods for middle distance runners, but instead he discussed his philosophy of Stotanism. Stotanism is essentially a blend of the Stoics and Spartan ideals. I didn't understand at the time that my complete focus on acquiring and using knowledge was not too far from what Cerutty espoused.
A Stotan according to Herb Elliot, (his protege' athlete) is a person with the ability to withstand a great deal of discomfort while remaining composed and being prepared to deal with it successfully.
It is interesting because as endurance athletes grow in their respective sports, they find the edge of that discomfort envelope also seems to mirror the limits of the performance envelope.
So, we prepare like the Spartans and Stoics to face those limits because we gladly welcome the internal combat that will come in the heat of competition. I think we seek some transcendant gratification that isn't linked to external rewards such as a personal best, an age group medal, a podium step. What then are we seeking? I think that it a variety of things: Striking that near perfect balance of being on the limit while the threat of physical detonation looms.
Forgetting those limits momentarily, and going beyond them is the result of a Stotan approach to training and racing.
JTT
I have some thoughts about this and I think the keys are: Discipline, Willingness to live up to one's potential and Commitment.
If I am able to execute on each of these three factors, then I believe that I can be successful in attaining the goals I have.
To expand on this, I think it is important to discuss philosophy. I once checked out the famous Percy Cerutty's book from the libary, I was expecting a pretty dry discussion of training methods for middle distance runners, but instead he discussed his philosophy of Stotanism. Stotanism is essentially a blend of the Stoics and Spartan ideals. I didn't understand at the time that my complete focus on acquiring and using knowledge was not too far from what Cerutty espoused.
A Stotan according to Herb Elliot, (his protege' athlete) is a person with the ability to withstand a great deal of discomfort while remaining composed and being prepared to deal with it successfully.
It is interesting because as endurance athletes grow in their respective sports, they find the edge of that discomfort envelope also seems to mirror the limits of the performance envelope.
So, we prepare like the Spartans and Stoics to face those limits because we gladly welcome the internal combat that will come in the heat of competition. I think we seek some transcendant gratification that isn't linked to external rewards such as a personal best, an age group medal, a podium step. What then are we seeking? I think that it a variety of things: Striking that near perfect balance of being on the limit while the threat of physical detonation looms.
Forgetting those limits momentarily, and going beyond them is the result of a Stotan approach to training and racing.
JTT
Weekly Training Summary 12/24/07 - 12/30/07
Mon 12/24- The typical ride in McMinnville from my mom's house: to the Glacial Erratic and back, 57min ride. It's over hill and dale, so even though it is short, a good ride none the less. Kiddos were happy to see me rolling in off the bike. It was the first time outdoors on the bike in about two months. Prior to this I'd been doing 2-3 times a week of intervals/indoor trainer riding.
Tuesday 12/25- I had a 10mile trail run with Bryan planned down in Pdx but snow, lack of daylight and beer conspired to de-rail the workout
Wed 12/26- Ran for about an hour with Bryan in SW Portland, felt like crud from the few drinks we had the night before. Though I can't complain, it's always nice to run in Pdx, it was snowing and we had good run convo. Heck, I think that was the first time we've together since I lived in town, it will be good to have him as a run partner again he knows plenty of good routes and runs everyday so I've never have excuse not to run.
Thurs 12/27- Went to the Y for a swim and the damn lights were out I sat in the spa, complained to the lifeguard and came back to the apt and plodded out a short 30min ride, I felt terrible from traveling all the way back from Portland today.
Fri 12/28- I rode to half of the Spinervals Aero Base builder DVD at a steady 200 watts; I only avg'd 165, which is fine because I still felt like crap, I must have started w/a really low number, and I think I typically try to hold 215 or so, which gets me closer to 180w for the hour. I guess we can worry about that next week.
Sat 12/29- Afternoon Run & Swim. Nothing spectacular, just a nice crisp 30 min run, then straight to the pool for some hand paddle work, kickboarding and 5x100m just to wake up the old muscles, actually felt good today to do a really short double.
Sun 12/30- Did a nice 60 minute run. I have to work on impulse control. I was a little tired from a restless night of sleep and decided I should just run steady 7.30 pace the whole run. Instead, as I start I see a guy who looks like a typical mid-30's marathon runner and decide to stomp him.
Whoops. I ran past him in the first 500m of the "warmup" only to have him tail me at what I'm sure was 6min flat pace for 15min; I guess it was an ego boost because I def. dropped him and heard him peel.
O.k. note to self- "Impulse control" that will be my mantra unless the workout calls for going out like a maniac.
JTT
Tuesday 12/25- I had a 10mile trail run with Bryan planned down in Pdx but snow, lack of daylight and beer conspired to de-rail the workout
Wed 12/26- Ran for about an hour with Bryan in SW Portland, felt like crud from the few drinks we had the night before. Though I can't complain, it's always nice to run in Pdx, it was snowing and we had good run convo. Heck, I think that was the first time we've together since I lived in town, it will be good to have him as a run partner again he knows plenty of good routes and runs everyday so I've never have excuse not to run.
Thurs 12/27- Went to the Y for a swim and the damn lights were out I sat in the spa, complained to the lifeguard and came back to the apt and plodded out a short 30min ride, I felt terrible from traveling all the way back from Portland today.
Fri 12/28- I rode to half of the Spinervals Aero Base builder DVD at a steady 200 watts; I only avg'd 165, which is fine because I still felt like crap, I must have started w/a really low number, and I think I typically try to hold 215 or so, which gets me closer to 180w for the hour. I guess we can worry about that next week.
Sat 12/29- Afternoon Run & Swim. Nothing spectacular, just a nice crisp 30 min run, then straight to the pool for some hand paddle work, kickboarding and 5x100m just to wake up the old muscles, actually felt good today to do a really short double.
Sun 12/30- Did a nice 60 minute run. I have to work on impulse control. I was a little tired from a restless night of sleep and decided I should just run steady 7.30 pace the whole run. Instead, as I start I see a guy who looks like a typical mid-30's marathon runner and decide to stomp him.
Whoops. I ran past him in the first 500m of the "warmup" only to have him tail me at what I'm sure was 6min flat pace for 15min; I guess it was an ego boost because I def. dropped him and heard him peel.
O.k. note to self- "Impulse control" that will be my mantra unless the workout calls for going out like a maniac.
JTT
2007 Key Performance Indicators
Referenced in my last post were some benchmark workouts; I have some data that I should post up because it is all currently logged on paper and I'd like it right here to refer back to over the course of the training year.
Swim-
10x100y: I was able to do these on 1.25-1.27 w/30 seconds rest, and that was pretty comfortable
4-6x200y- I floated anywhere between 2.53 and 3.02-ish (30-40 sec rest) from about May to October, and again this was the speed I could hold and still finish
400y repeats: Generally a 45 second rest and done at low 6's; I never did more than 4x400
I did a 1000yard TT on June 19 in 15min 47sec, which I believe is 1.29/100y
Bike-
I did a couple of 10mile TTs on a computrainer; this is interesting because there was always a delta between the wattage on the CT vs. the Powertap. In fact, sometimes the PT wouldn't register if I was on the CT.
I also did a few hill climb TT's; one with the PT and the other without; the first two were done in may timeframe, the first the climb up Old La Honda (constant 7% grade) near Palo Alto/Woodside; I believe it's a touch under 4 miles, I did a 250w avg up it. I was a few ticks over 20min.
About 3+ weeks later I did the Mt. Constitution hill climb on Orcas Island at exactly 260watt avg; this was a longer TT, 7.67 miles and 46min
Late summer I rode the Mary's Peak TT in Corvallis, Oregon on the same bike but no power meter, light race wheels, removed the aero bars... Since I have no data, I have to extrapolate differently; at this point I was probably more fit, but I was on a lighter bike. The rate at which I ascended the almost 9 miles was a good deal quicker, but each of the climbs were pretty unique in profile. Old La Honda is constant, Orcas is a stair stepper with some really steep grades and Mary's Peak had elements of the both, with a descent in the middle.
The 10mile TT's were right around 25min; the first was June 19 (also the same day as the swim TT, it was the second workout) and the second was in mid October (can't find the log entry!)
Wattage was 248 and 252-ish respectively
Run-
Pretty consistent here, I was able to turn about 72-78sec per 400m and 2.40-2.55 for the 800m repeats.
I wasn't really shooting for any faster, just consistency. Unfortunately I lived in Redmond, WA where using a track consistently all year is actually really difficult.
JTT
Swim-
10x100y: I was able to do these on 1.25-1.27 w/30 seconds rest, and that was pretty comfortable
4-6x200y- I floated anywhere between 2.53 and 3.02-ish (30-40 sec rest) from about May to October, and again this was the speed I could hold and still finish
400y repeats: Generally a 45 second rest and done at low 6's; I never did more than 4x400
I did a 1000yard TT on June 19 in 15min 47sec, which I believe is 1.29/100y
Bike-
I did a couple of 10mile TTs on a computrainer; this is interesting because there was always a delta between the wattage on the CT vs. the Powertap. In fact, sometimes the PT wouldn't register if I was on the CT.
I also did a few hill climb TT's; one with the PT and the other without; the first two were done in may timeframe, the first the climb up Old La Honda (constant 7% grade) near Palo Alto/Woodside; I believe it's a touch under 4 miles, I did a 250w avg up it. I was a few ticks over 20min.
About 3+ weeks later I did the Mt. Constitution hill climb on Orcas Island at exactly 260watt avg; this was a longer TT, 7.67 miles and 46min
Late summer I rode the Mary's Peak TT in Corvallis, Oregon on the same bike but no power meter, light race wheels, removed the aero bars... Since I have no data, I have to extrapolate differently; at this point I was probably more fit, but I was on a lighter bike. The rate at which I ascended the almost 9 miles was a good deal quicker, but each of the climbs were pretty unique in profile. Old La Honda is constant, Orcas is a stair stepper with some really steep grades and Mary's Peak had elements of the both, with a descent in the middle.
The 10mile TT's were right around 25min; the first was June 19 (also the same day as the swim TT, it was the second workout) and the second was in mid October (can't find the log entry!)
Wattage was 248 and 252-ish respectively
Run-
Pretty consistent here, I was able to turn about 72-78sec per 400m and 2.40-2.55 for the 800m repeats.
I wasn't really shooting for any faster, just consistency. Unfortunately I lived in Redmond, WA where using a track consistently all year is actually really difficult.
JTT
Key workouts, Benchmarks and Tools
I believe in having physiological markers or benchmarks to act as reference data points to track progress.
I know based on years of tracking my own progress that at some point during the season a seasoned athlete will begin to touch his absolute limits of terminal velocity, at that point his goal is to increase strength endurance, that is, the ability to repeat his time-trial, half-day and all-day effort speeds.
I also believe in continual development of "force strength", e.g. maximal and supra max. efforts. Peer reviewed research (and my experience) demonstrates that the output of these efforts will cascade down (to some degree) to other effort zones, sort of "a rising tide floats all boats" philosophy. That said, we have to be careful about how much time we spend here as endurance athletes, the ROI here quickly diminshes as we allocate more and more time to these types of workouts.
Here are those workouts, keep in mind if we divide up the season into Winter, Spring, Early Summer, Mid/Late Summer we will then have different goals with the work velocity
Swim-
10x100 on 30sec rest
5-8x200 on 30
3-5x500 on 45
Bike-
3x5min at Functional Threshold power
10mile TT
12mle TT
2x20min
Run-
8-12x400m, 1min rest
4-8x800m, 2 min rest
6-12x200m, done hard, walk a 200m, repeat
3-6x1mile, rest depends
I have historical benchmarks for most of these; the challenge is that I don't have benchmarks for all of these for a full-season of competitive Triathlon, so 2008 will be as much about collecting and analyzing that info as will be about reaching those race goals.
In terms of tools I have a Powertap powermeter that I download bike ride info from. The ride data from a daily ride that doesn't have an element of speed work in it is, I think, somewhat less useful that the interval workouts down on a trainer. There are so many variables that effect what that ride data looks like that I tend not to rely on it to tell much of anything.
In terms of run & swim. I do have a HRM, and in the past I used one quite extensively while running. What I learned is that by mid/end of season, I would go faster for a simple maint. run with slightly less effort. I'm not sure I will use it this year, especially on the short "wake and up run" workouts. For the longer runs, I think yes I will put it on but for everything else, it's probably white noise.
Regarding the swim- well, I have tried to use an HRM in the water, and they don't work. It should have been obvious that the water would disperse the current between my chest and the strap but I can be pretty dense sometimes!
So, what to do about monitoring work w/the swim? I just have to be careful and used PE- I haven't typically worked out with groups, but I have from time to time with other athletes, it's easy to try and match a partner's speed and this is where I can use some impluse control.
I know based on years of tracking my own progress that at some point during the season a seasoned athlete will begin to touch his absolute limits of terminal velocity, at that point his goal is to increase strength endurance, that is, the ability to repeat his time-trial, half-day and all-day effort speeds.
I also believe in continual development of "force strength", e.g. maximal and supra max. efforts. Peer reviewed research (and my experience) demonstrates that the output of these efforts will cascade down (to some degree) to other effort zones, sort of "a rising tide floats all boats" philosophy. That said, we have to be careful about how much time we spend here as endurance athletes, the ROI here quickly diminshes as we allocate more and more time to these types of workouts.
Here are those workouts, keep in mind if we divide up the season into Winter, Spring, Early Summer, Mid/Late Summer we will then have different goals with the work velocity
Swim-
10x100 on 30sec rest
5-8x200 on 30
3-5x500 on 45
Bike-
3x5min at Functional Threshold power
10mile TT
12mle TT
2x20min
Run-
8-12x400m, 1min rest
4-8x800m, 2 min rest
6-12x200m, done hard, walk a 200m, repeat
3-6x1mile, rest depends
I have historical benchmarks for most of these; the challenge is that I don't have benchmarks for all of these for a full-season of competitive Triathlon, so 2008 will be as much about collecting and analyzing that info as will be about reaching those race goals.
In terms of tools I have a Powertap powermeter that I download bike ride info from. The ride data from a daily ride that doesn't have an element of speed work in it is, I think, somewhat less useful that the interval workouts down on a trainer. There are so many variables that effect what that ride data looks like that I tend not to rely on it to tell much of anything.
In terms of run & swim. I do have a HRM, and in the past I used one quite extensively while running. What I learned is that by mid/end of season, I would go faster for a simple maint. run with slightly less effort. I'm not sure I will use it this year, especially on the short "wake and up run" workouts. For the longer runs, I think yes I will put it on but for everything else, it's probably white noise.
Regarding the swim- well, I have tried to use an HRM in the water, and they don't work. It should have been obvious that the water would disperse the current between my chest and the strap but I can be pretty dense sometimes!
So, what to do about monitoring work w/the swim? I just have to be careful and used PE- I haven't typically worked out with groups, but I have from time to time with other athletes, it's easy to try and match a partner's speed and this is where I can use some impluse control.
Sample week of training schedule
Typically my training schedule will look something like this:
Monday-Swim & Run
Tuesday- Swim & Track
Wed- Bike intervals & light run & Swim
Thurs- Run & Easy/Mod Ride
Fri- Swim & Run
Sat- Long Ride & light run
Sun- Long Ride/Run & light swim/run
Swim= 5 sessions
Bike= 4 sessions
Run= 7 sessions
The idea is that I get up and run every morning very easy and then in the afternoon I do a main session; with the exception of Tuesdays when the main set is a run set vs. an easy morning run.
Monday-Swim & Run
Tuesday- Swim & Track
Wed- Bike intervals & light run & Swim
Thurs- Run & Easy/Mod Ride
Fri- Swim & Run
Sat- Long Ride & light run
Sun- Long Ride/Run & light swim/run
Swim= 5 sessions
Bike= 4 sessions
Run= 7 sessions
The idea is that I get up and run every morning very easy and then in the afternoon I do a main session; with the exception of Tuesdays when the main set is a run set vs. an easy morning run.
2008 Goals & Strategy to meet goals
Well, I finished 2007 having accomplished some things that I'd always wanted, in no particular order:
-Raced Escape from Alcatraz
-Competed in USAT Nationals at Hagg Lake
-Learned proper freestyle (still far from from good though)
-Racing near the front of and finishing at the top of local races
-Built more bike strength
-Was able to regularly get to the track and run pretty well off the bike vs. 2006 where I had injured myself in a fall that hampered training
-Rode some really epic rides and events on the west coast: Big Sur, Yosemite, SF, STP, etc.
My goals for 2008 are:
Ironman Canada (finish in a competitive time for my age group)
Half-Ironman in June time-frame (a few races id'd but nothing settled yet)
Continue to finish competitively locally
Race several local cycling time-trials
My strategy to get there is to employ a mildly different protocol than I have over the last couple of years, the foundation of the protocol is:
1. Run everyday- now that I am essentially uninjured I'd like to run 5-6 days a week 30-55min; no more, no less with one session at the track. As I get closer to IM I will weave in more specific track work and a longer run every two weeks
2. Swim everyday- Or at least 5 times a week; same program I followed last year w/event specifc work syncing up three months out from IM
3. Bike- Ride four sessions per week. I would like to continue to do intervals all the way through IM, it really keeps my functional threshold watts up and sharp; last year I stopped the intervals when it got nice out, and while I was still strong I did notice my top end slide just a little; that probably doesn't make too much of a difference for 112 miles but we're going to keep a session a week in there dedicated to sharpening time-trial efforts.
4. Work-life balance: I am moving back to Portland for a whole variety of reasons. I am looking forward to it, there is nowhere else I've trained for long periods that I like more. The terrain is ideal for cycling, there are a multitude of good training partners that will push me when I need it, it offers few distractions and I am closer to my family.
5. Nutrition: This year I will become more disciplined about recovery nutrition and rest. I always train better when I do this.
JTT
-Raced Escape from Alcatraz
-Competed in USAT Nationals at Hagg Lake
-Learned proper freestyle (still far from from good though)
-Racing near the front of and finishing at the top of local races
-Built more bike strength
-Was able to regularly get to the track and run pretty well off the bike vs. 2006 where I had injured myself in a fall that hampered training
-Rode some really epic rides and events on the west coast: Big Sur, Yosemite, SF, STP, etc.
My goals for 2008 are:
Ironman Canada (finish in a competitive time for my age group)
Half-Ironman in June time-frame (a few races id'd but nothing settled yet)
Continue to finish competitively locally
Race several local cycling time-trials
My strategy to get there is to employ a mildly different protocol than I have over the last couple of years, the foundation of the protocol is:
1. Run everyday- now that I am essentially uninjured I'd like to run 5-6 days a week 30-55min; no more, no less with one session at the track. As I get closer to IM I will weave in more specific track work and a longer run every two weeks
2. Swim everyday- Or at least 5 times a week; same program I followed last year w/event specifc work syncing up three months out from IM
3. Bike- Ride four sessions per week. I would like to continue to do intervals all the way through IM, it really keeps my functional threshold watts up and sharp; last year I stopped the intervals when it got nice out, and while I was still strong I did notice my top end slide just a little; that probably doesn't make too much of a difference for 112 miles but we're going to keep a session a week in there dedicated to sharpening time-trial efforts.
4. Work-life balance: I am moving back to Portland for a whole variety of reasons. I am looking forward to it, there is nowhere else I've trained for long periods that I like more. The terrain is ideal for cycling, there are a multitude of good training partners that will push me when I need it, it offers few distractions and I am closer to my family.
5. Nutrition: This year I will become more disciplined about recovery nutrition and rest. I always train better when I do this.
JTT
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