Endorphin Fitness Counsultation

I have been meaning report on my meeting with Michael Harlow at Endorphin Fitness but have been busy following the training plan he created for me. After reading my blog, I encourage you to check out their website by clicking on their logo above.

Meeting Michael one on one was fun and very informative. We talked about my history with the sport of triathlon, my long term goals, races I was interested in, my current training volume, and of course the results from my fitness testing.

Michael already knew a lot about me because I had sent him some background information and race results via email. Michael knew that I was doing a race in July in Vermont and knew that I wanted to do the Patriots Half in September. After we chatted for a bit, he asked me if I had considered any other races. It went something like this.

Coach: Have you thought of any other races you might want to do?

Me: Not really. I was considering a sprint in VA Beach after the Patriots Half that might be fun.

Coach: What about the Luray International?

Me: What's that?

Coach: It is an international distance race on August 13th. I have it on your training plan.

Me: Well, Ok.

And that was that. I now have another race on my schedule. So as it stands right now, this is what my race schedule looks like:

July 17th: Vermont Sun Triathlon, Salisbury Vermont-600 Yard Lake Swim, 14 Mile Bike, 3.1 Mile Run.

August 13th: Luray International Triathlon-Luray, Virginia-1500 Meter Lake Swim, 41K Bike, 10K Run. (in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains-sounds hilly)
September 10th: Patriots Half, Williamsburg, VA - 1.2 Mile Swim, 56 mile Bike, 13.1 mile run.

The plan that I got from Coach Michael Harlow was quite detailed with specific workouts. For instance, here is one of my upcoming bike workouts: 2 x [9 z4 + 3 z5] w/5Ri. This workout is best done on a trainer rather than out on the road. Basically I would warm up for 10 minutes which would include some easy pedaling with some harder efforts to get the engine going followed by 9 minutes at zone 4 and then 3 minutes at zone 5 and then 5 minutes rest. The rest interval would be easy pedaling. Rest does not mean stop. And then I would do it all again. The plan then calls for an intensity run after this bike workout and then some strength training.

The zones refer to heart rate zones. Since I did fitness testing, my zones are all dialed in for my specific fitness level rather than derived from a formula based on my age. My zones for the bike are different from the zones for the run. My swimming zones are based on 100 yard intervals. For instance, for me, zone 4 in the pool is 1:55 for a 100 yard swim.

Now that I have a training plan that is tailor made for me, I just have to do the actual training. On Tuesday morning, I got up at 4 AM to do my 55 minutes on the bike and my 30 minute run afterwards. I really don't like getting up that early but it is necessary. The heat this summer seems particularly brutal with very high humidity. On Thursday I got up a little later, at 4:30 AM, for an intensity run - 3 x 1 mile at 7:10 pace which included a 1 mile warm up. Later that day when I got home from work and stepped out of my car, I thought "I am SO glad I worked out this morning." The heat was oppressive and there was no way I would have been able to work out in that heat.

Well, I better get moving. I don't really have as much time to blog, facebook, etc. Working 10 hour days and getting all my exercise in takes plenty of my time. Plus sitting in front of the computer is not good for my knees so I try to limit it if possible. That is all for now. Thanks for reading.