Jan24-30

S: 31,700 yds

B: 8h 45min

R: 5h 27min

Total: 22h 33min

This past week was a bit of a drag. My hamstrings were really, really tight on Monday, so much so that I had trouble doing any sort of running at all Monday evening. I finally started to return to a form of normalcy by the end of the week, but that was only after struggling through a slow threshold workout on Wednesday and skipping fast running on Friday altogether. The strange (and frustrating) thing is I have no idea what the cause was. It seems to have subsided, though, so hopefully I can get in a couple of decent workouts this week before Mercedes comes at the end of next.

On the bright side, we had a really nice (read: warm) weekend which made for an enjoyable but hard (5 climbs) long ride on Saturday.

Jan17-23

S: 20,200 yds

B: 8h 18min

R: 6h 42min

Total: 20h 19min

Ouch. After a month or so of getting back into the swing of things, the hard work starts now. Or, to be more precise, started at the beginning of last week. Making the week less fun was the ridiculously cold weather which continues to persist. The result? I really didnt want to get up this morning. But then Katy Perry came on my clock radio and I was out of bed and ready for another week. Happy Monday!

QOTD

"So that is the basic plan. Nothing fancy. Just a lot of hard work and convincing yourself by matching things that you've done before that you're as fast as you've ever been, and you're stronger than you've ever been because you're doing more work, more volume." -Alberto Salazar

I'm pretty sure AS has been a QOTD recipient before, but he deserves it again. It can be easy to get caught up in the newest training fad, but really training does not need to be that complicated. Just put in the work, and see the results. This doesnt mean it is easy, of course, but it does mean success can be had with relatively simple methods.

The quote came from an interview with Kara Goucher and her coach, AS. The interview focuses on Kara's return to competition after having a baby, and what some of her goals are for the upcoming season. Meanwhile, AS tells how he plans to bring her back and get her ready for the Boston Marathon.

Jan10-16

S: 26,500 yds

B: 9h 25min

R: 4h 58min

Total: 21h 21min

Snow! Yes, snow pretty much dictated last week. Huntsville got 6-8" of snow last Sunday night, causing business closures Monday and Tuesday and school closures for the entire week. This made exercising outdoors a chore, so thankfully it was a pretty chill week on the training front. Well, chill on every front, really! Thankfully the temperature did warm a bit by the weekend, so I was able to get out in the balmy low 40s weather on Saturday for a very solid ride with DV. It was weird still seeing snow on the ground almost a week later but great to get outside for a bit (or a while... OK a long while).

This week, I fear, the real fun begins...

The Man

I was going to pick a QOTD from this article, but then I realized I couldnt decide on just one.

Slowtwitch.com finally got around to interviewing Coach Paulo so if you havent read it yet take a couple of minutes and check it out. I say "finally" because although Paulo hasnt published any books or coached hoards of age groupers, he does know his stuff and is well respected by a number of other top level athletes and coaches. Additionally, he is such a derisive yet influential voice on ST's Triathlon forum that I am sure a number of posters looked forward to this slightly more personal interview. So for those looking to glean some advice from the "evil genius," check it out.

Jan3-9

S: 28,700 yds

B: 6h 49min

R: 6h

Total: 20h 22min

Another easyish week in the books. Well, except for Saturday when I, for some reason, thought it would be a good idea to go on a 4h ride with my cycling friends. Now there are plenty of cyclists who go on "base" rides in the winter and they largely useless, as they are way to easy to illicit any significant physiological adaptations. However, when the cyclists in question are few (3) and all have powermeters, there is no screwing around. This is great, until its your turn to pull into a headwind after 3h in the saddle.

Anyway, although I'm sure my feet, which lost feeling, beg to differ, it was nice to get outside for a few hours over the weekend as I've been stuck inside due to Snowmaggedon 2011. Sunday night the heavens opened up and I now have ~6" of snow in my yard and cant really get anywhere. I thought this was the South??

QOTD

"How many of the top Kenyan runners have sons or daughters who are excelling at running?" asks Pitsiladis. "Almost none. Why? Because their father or mother becomes a world champion, has incredible resources, and the child never has to run to school again."

Yannis Pitsiladis is a biologist at the University of Glasgow who collects the DNA of champions, both sprint and endurance athletes, in an attempt to determine if there are genes which are necessary for success in certain sports. David Epstein quotes him in this great article on SI.com which attempts to shed some light on the age-old "nature vs nurture" debate.

All in all the article is very thorough and well worth the read. Epstein presents both sides of the argument, showing that indeed both nature AND nurture are critical for success. In the end, though, he postulates that perhaps the most important gene is the one that makes an individual push herself to work hard. Either way, there is plenty of evidence to back both sides; either you have the ability to improve, or you are destined to a predetermined fate. I guess that leaves it up to you, then, to determine which you would like want to believe!

Dec27-Jan2

S: 27,300 yds

B: 9h 11min

R: 6h 7min

Total: 22h 29min

Happy New Year! Pretty crazy, eh?

The holiday weekend meant I was able to spend a little extra time on the bike, so I took advantage of the nice weather on Friday and got out for a few hours with Timo. Saturday and Sunday, however, were not so nice, and I was reminded how much bicycling in the winter can, and often does, royally suck. The ride in the partial rain on Saturday wasnt too bad, as it was still up in the low 50s. The on Sunday, OTOH, was awful as my shoes were still wet, the temps were in the mid-30s, and the wind was unbearably strong. Upon finally arriving home, I was thankful all of my toes were still working.

And now, on to 2011. Time to figure out which races to do and try to get an idea of what the year will look like.