Hi all –
Before I head out to Utah St. George Mini Camp – just some input from last weeks training, logs and general observations.
Some of you have asked for a good example out Workoutlog on what I am looking for in the comments section. Here is an example from last week:
The Workout:
1) 3x 5-minute hard tempo/Z3-Z4 efforts – at 80, 90, 95-100 rpms respectively -with 3-minute recovery and
2) 5x 2-minute intervals where you alternate between 10-seconds HARD fast spinning and 10-seconds easy with 2-minutes easy between intervals
The Comments:
Good bike workout.Z2 the first 30 minutes – The three by 5min Z3-Z4 were good. As my cadence went up, I noticed I had to drop the wattage by 10w… 80rpm I was at 300… by 100rpm I was down to 270ish or 280ish..The 10sec spinups were hard as shit… but I attacked and went as fast as I could… I hit 160 a few times. By the end, I was pretty tired. – Spun out the last 12…
What does this tell me? 1) he did the workout correctly as these are the right sensations…he added some insight on what he observed….he gave me corresponding data….he showed me how the cadence had his watts drop off….he properly attacked the spin ups….he was worked by the end which helps me read how he bounces back (or not) the next workout.
The key on comments in the logs are what you observed, how they felt. Your observations show me you engaged in the workout – that you were paying attention, not just going through the motions. How you felt shows me where you are with your training – too hard? Absorbing? Doable? Impossible? Too easy? Fun? All these adjectives help me see what the outcome of the workout was and how you are responding to the ‘load’…
Some of you “just don’t have the time” to fill out your log. I call BS on that. NONE of you are training less than 12 hrs a week, and yet you can’t carve out another 10 minutes every few days to fill out your log? But – here is an example of a great summary…although not a log, its better than nothing AND this athlete actually checks in with me on text.
COMMENTS
“So looking at next week…
* Sim Brick on Sat…hold 7s, leave on 7’30
* Sunday: Do the 13.1 or not? I moved that from this past week to Sunday. Your call. I will do anything at this point because it’s WORKING!
This Week…
* Summary -> Great week…swim is best it’s been in 2 years / bike is best it’s ever been / run is in a good, stable place
* 23+ hours mostly coming from the 130 mile extravaganza on Saturday…
* HIM @ 30’ was able to “comfortably” hold 6’25s…it’s clean and requires focus but doable
* Have noticed my HR start to drop at mid z2ish intensities on the PB…220-230w is actually starting to FEEL like 190-200 used to feel. It’s nice and comfy.
* In my head, I’m starting to approach 280-290w as the “new 260″…mental approach to being able to go these outputs at z3
Again – this tells me he is looking ahead on how to execute a good week. No questions, just planning and THINKING. His training is going well, limited negative observations (which is NOT good since we tend to forget the ugly moments when we just write a summary), Key workouts and observations there on each sport. He basically is telling me which markers he is hitting, which, now allows me to start writing more detailed workouts for him: Swimming I can push him further, Running I see what pace I can work around progressions or speedwork, and cycling he gave me HR data and/combined with Power data. If I can’t write good plan for him – then I should not be a coach!
Lastly – some of you are starting to see – and many of you are still going to see – my AEIOU write up requests…I have started to request a short writeup on key workouts from you. I am basically asking you to grade yourself and the workout. As we repeat many of our workouts, it allows you and I to look back on your grading and see where you have improved and what areas remain to be worked on. We used to do this in swimming, every 4th year in prep for the ‘big show’ season. Its a very valuable exercise in understanding why you train the way you do.
A= attitude – how was it for my training session?
E= effort – was I honest in my efforts to execute the training and intervals correctly?
I = Interest – was I engaged – focused – did I understand what I wanted to accomplish and did I?
O = Opportunity – did I use the workout as an opportunity to learn, improve, become more aware of my ability or lack thereof?
U = Urgency – one day closer to MY finish line, MY result, MY success…did I embrace it?
I know – it’s a lot – but as we go through some key workouts – try it – let me know. Remember, I am a coach…here to help you succeed.
Have a great week!