A New Blog!!

Hey to all followers of this blog, I have created a new blog. I will no longer be updating this blog. All new stuff will go on the new blog. I will leave this blog as is....in case anyone wants to use the information that I have posted in this blog. The new blog will be a bit better organised.

The link to the new blog is:

http://mikecormiertriathlete.blogspot.com/

Mikey

The Lincoln 5 km Road Race - Race Report

This event had a Kids Race and an official 5 km Road Race. Conditions for the race were perfect.

The Kids Race

I registered my 9 year old daughter, Danielle, for the 400 m kids race. For those of you who don't know me that well, probably don't know that I have a little girl with cerebral palsy, she is severely physically impaired in both arms and legs, quadriplegic. All that being said she basically is a very bright little girl with a body that does not work for her. Her determination is what drives me to keep going....she truly is my inspiration. Did I mention she is Daddy's girl and spoiled and she wants to be involved in everything. We had her in Soccer when she was 5 years old.

Here are some great photos taken by Paul Jordon Photography and my wife Denise from the race. The Photo with Danielle and her medal captures a very special moment. Danielle is so proud....the picture gets me every time I look at it. By the way, she had a blast in the race, she was laughing and wiggling with excitement during the entire run....it was a very special time for all of us. Check out the photo where Dan and I have just passed a bunch of kids, she loved passing people....I have no idea where she gets that from.



The 5 km Road Race

My best 5 km Race is a 20:10, this was mid summer last year. At present, I am about 15 lbs heavier and overcoming a major injury that kept me off training for 12 weeks and more recently a leg injury that won't heal and has kept me off hard running going on 5 weeks. So, all this to say I am not at a high level of fitness. My prediction for the race was sub 22 minutes.

I ran a 22:13 finishing 35th out of 135 runners and 9th out 24 runners in my 40-49 age group. The race went down well in the beginning but literally ran into some problems in the last mile of the race.

Distance and Time Race Profile:

• 1 km - Time: 3:48
• 2 km - Time: 8:01
• 3 km - Time 12:31
• 4 km - Time 16:44
• 5 km - Time 22:13

Basically, my leg felt fine during the run but my back went into protection mode and started to spasm at 3.5 km into the race. After the injury my back is super sensitive to stress and the muscles have a hair trigger to lock down into protection mode around the injured area i.e. tighten or engage around injured area to protect and this causes spasms in other parts of the back, mostly upper to middle back for me since I had a lower spine injury. This is exactly what happened.

I first felt this in training on a tempo run it hit at about 4 to 5 minutes. I have been able to train the on set of spasm to later in the hard runs. Before my leg injury I had it at about 12 minutes. So, to get it at about 15 minutes into the race is not bad. I was expecting it. Look at this lovely photo of me coming into the finish, I look awful, to be honest I was in a lot of pain. I actually look like someone running with back pain.

The Team Event

This race had a team event. So Shawn Hamilton, Sheryl Johnston-Beaumont and I (who all work together) registered a mixed team called the Anaerobic 1's. On the backs of stellar runs for both Shawn (18:43) and Sheryl (21:56) we won the mixed team challenge and finished 3rd overall in the team event. Here we are accepting our gold medals, I am the fat ass in the red ; -).



Overall, we had an excellent time with Dan. My race was pretty much what I expected. I need to get this leg healed.

Over an out Mikey.

The Ironman Journey is about to Begin

So here we are, March 1, 2009. Tomorrow marks the beginning of the Ironman Journey for 2009. Lets see if I can make the start line this year. To be honest I will be glad to gets things rolling....sitting idle over the last three weeks getting things healed sucks! On that note the leg is ready for a slow and steady gradual test. I think the 10 Week Preparation Phase I have established will work really well. The volume is moderate and the intensity is low to moderate, perfect way to get back into the swing of things. I plan on posting pretty much everyday to log my workouts and nutrition for each day. So this blog will become my training log book....yawn!!

Stay tuned for the first Ironman Training Log entry ;-).

Mikey

Bricks - For the Half Ironman and Ironman Athlete

As the story goes, a gentleman by the name of Matt Brick gave birth the bike-run workout. The workout has been affectionately named "Bricks" by most in the sport. In this post I will provide some thoughts on how to integrate Bricks into your customised training program.

First lets break into some physiology and try and understand some of the issues our body is being challenged with when going from biker to runner. Here is what is known, the pedal stroke of the biker has a limited range of motion that causes tightening of the IT bands; shortening of the psosa muscle (from being aero), and limited blood flow through the the entire leg. When you go to running and try to run in full stride these tightened tendons, shortened muscles, and limited blood flow will all cause a delay in getting up to full speed on the run i.e. your body will take time to adjust to the new demands. So doing Bricks will get your body used to the demands of adjusting from biker to runner and shorten the time it takes to get to full speed on the run.

The application of the Brick into your training program is a progression that depends on where you are in your training program. Here are some thoughts on application specific to Half Ironman and Ironman training programs.

Note: Split your program into three phases, Early, Middle, and Late i.e. 24 Week Program - First 8 weeks would be Early, second 8 weeks would be Middle, third 8 weeks would be Late.

Early Phase

• Brick that consists of a 1.5 to 3.5 hours on the bike followed by a 20 to 30 minute run all at moderate aerobic effort;
• Every two weeks;
• Start the run within 10 minutes of finishing your bike.

Middle Phase

• Same as early phase but add 10 to 15 minutes on the run and move the effort from moderate to high aerobic;
• Two weeks on and then take a week off;
• Start the run within 10 minutes of finishing your bike.

Late Phase

• Same as middle phase and include another Brick workout i.e. run after long bike workout;
• Do a Brick every week, alternate weeks between moderate distance Brick and long distance Brick. The moderate distance Brick should have a run no longer than 45 minutes and the long distance Brick should have a run no longer than 60 minutes; and
• Start the run within 10 minutes of finishing your bike.

One thing you will notice is in the beginning these workouts will be challenging but as your body adapts it will become easier.

Couple of other points worth mentioning about going from Biker to Runner, a tri bike with the specific geometry really helps the transition. Also, standing up on your bike frequently to stretch out your legs and back will aid in the loosening of tendons and muscles. Also, standing may promote more blood flow to other parts of the leg. Every little bit counts.

Mikey

10 Mile Time Trial - Classic Bike Workout

For me this is one of my favorite bike workouts as my body really responds well to the challenges this workout brings. As referenced in the Title - this is a classic bike workout, it is simple but in my opinion the most effective. It is short enough that it does not wreck you so recovery is pretty quick.

I usually have this workout in the program in my peak phase of training. The most important feature that should be part of this workout is the course. Try to find a 10 mile course that has everything, long gradual climbs, wind, downhill section, rollers, and some flat. It just so happens I have the perfect loop near my home and there is a perfect out and in close to where I work. So that makes this workout ideal.

• The long gradual climbs push on the muscular strength on the bike;
• The wind has the same effect as the climbs but not as significant but there is a mental challenge with the wind as you always feel like you are losing time in the wind so you push harder than you would normally;
• The downhill sections give you a chance to recover and it tests your bike handling capabilities;
• The rollers give you a chance to jump out of the saddle and attack the course to keep your speed going, good for developing the skill to surge. You should use this skill to blow by others in a race. In racing when you have someone in your sights the approach is not only to catch them but to blow by them, mentally this destroys them and there is less chance they will hang with you.
• The flat section gives you a chance to crank out a big gear at a high cadence, I have passed cars on these stretches, they were parked though ;-). Sounded good.
• All of this put together results in an awesome workout.
• The other thing you always have something to strive for....beating your last time....excellent fitness booster.

I don't know if I have sold you on the workout. However, it is one that works for me. Note: I always to a light warm-up and cool down prior to and after this workout.

Mikey