Team Trout members from left to right: Back row: Jef Mallett, Matt Smith, Deb Semeyn, Pam Otto, Todd Meredith, Michelle Hankinson. Front row: Dan Socie, Pam Kruse, Jody Williford, Tom Trout, Jill Meredith
Not pictured: Kraig Schmottlach and Jim Trout
Thank you to our Sponsors: TomTroutCoaching.com, Mannatech, TwoPeasOnePod.com, M2Sport Creative, Striders, Village Bike Shop, SouthWest Dermatology Center, Dr. Estefan and Lakeshore Chiropractic, and MED I.D..
Team Trout had a good showing in North Carolina on May 5! Dan Socie and I left Thursday afternoon and drove to Columbus before continuing our drive the next morning. We arrived in White Lake around 4 p.m. and decided to have an early pasta dinner before checking in. After dinner and check in, Dan and I went for an easy ride with some accelerations to “prime the muscles” before turning in for the night. We were happy to find out that the forecast was calling for cooler temperatures and overcast skies. Great weather for Michiganders!!
The race was organized into heats with the Elite athletes starting first. We started in the 3rd heat, about 10 minutes behind. The swim was perfect. Cool conditions, and a lake that was calm made for easy swimming although the course may have been about 100 yards long. I exited the water in 28 minutes, and started down the long transition. My plan was to keep my wattage low during the bike in order to find out how fast I could run. My hunch was that by compromising 5 minutes on the bike, I would gain 10 minutes on the run. I was right, as I biked to a somewhat “pedestrian” 2:29, but ran a very strong 1:27 half marathon. I managed to sub-split the second half of the run in the out and back course. Overall, the course was well-marked, safe, and flat as a pancake. My only complaint was that they had only water available on the bike course. I had to carry ALL of my calories, which worked out just fine. I placed 1st overall in my age-group and 8th overall out of roughly 800 athletes with a time of 4 hours, 29 minutes (just 3 minutes behind 3rd overall). Dan Socie, also a Team Trout member, placed 31st overall and 6th in our age group only 12 minutes behind. Dan had the 3rd fastest bike split of the day, establishing himself as the “Uberbiker” he is!
The drive was brutal and probably more difficult than the actual race. We stayed for awards, then quickly hopped in the car and drove 15 hours straight back to Michigan. Would we do it again?….no. The memories, however, will always be there.
One of the most common mistakes that runners tend to make is running at the same pace all of the time. In fact, the same can be said of cycling and swimming. Physiologically speaking, the body responds exactly as it should to the challenges that you ask of it. In essence, when we train we are “teaching” our bodies to become increasingly more capable of handling a certain volume at a certain pace.
Most of us understand that slowly increasing volume results in a gradual increase in the ability to run for a longer period of time. The problem is that many people don’t get a whole lot faster during this process. Why? A simple answer….they are not practicing running at a faster pace. The goal, then, would be to increase endurance over time, while inserting brief periods of faster paced or goal-paced running within several runs throughout the week. You may be wondering why you would insert intervals into a Base Period, when you are supposed to keep your heart rate in your aerobic zone and build endurance. Again, simple answer…. these are AEROBIC intervals, and serve the purpose of teaching your muscles to adapt to a more difficult load.
It is not necessary to muddle through months of training exclusively in zone 1 and zone 2 in an attempt to build a monster base. While the base period is crucial to success, it is also crucial to practice running at a faster pace several times throughout the week (goal pace sessions inserted into longer runs, tempo runs, or aerobic intervals on the track). This way, at the conclusion of your base period you will be more prepared to jump to the build phase of your training, which DOES involve the completion of more difficult anaerobic intervals. Jumping from zone 1 and 2 running for several months to zone 4 and 5 zones without anything in-between can be a recipe for injury, burn-out, and added stress to the body.
Depending on your current level of fitness, the perfect base building would involve 4-6 weeks of zone 1-2 training, followed by 6-12 weeks of zone 1-3 training, followed by a jump to the 1st build phase in zones 1-5. It is important to allow your body to adapt to the new demands you are asking of it. With this in mind, begin your base safely, and continue on with caution by adding short bouts of speed no higher than zone 3 (1-5 minutes). Gradually increase these bouts to up to 30 minutes of tempo running by the end of your 2nd base period.
Armed with these tools for success, you are sure to have a great Fall and Winter for running and for building that so-called MONSTER base! Good luck!