V-CLUB TRAINING CORNER
We’ve teamed up with Marilyn Trout, certified USA Cycling Elite Coach to answer V-Club members’ training questions. You can view her coach profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mountainpedalscoaching80903
Send your cycling inquiries to Marilyn, and for a limited time, if yours is selected to be answered in our V-Club column, VeloWear will send you a $20 gift certificate that can be used towards any purchase on VeloWear.com. To submit your inquiry, e-mail her at trout_mic@msn.com, and type “V-Club Training Question” in the subject line of the e-mail.
V-Club member Edie McKearney is our 51st winner of a $20 VeloWear gift certificate! Her question that follows was answered by Peg Labiuk (nee Peggy Maass), a colleague of Marilyn Trout, and a certified NCCP level 3 coach with a career in international road and track racing. She is a World Championship medalist, World Record holder, U.S. Olympic Team member, former British national team coach and Kreb's Cycle co-founder (British Columbia, Canada).
Alternate Exercise Programs
Dear Coach,
When I started training for a triathlon and specifically, started running at age 48, I eased up on my overall workload in order to give my muscles time to recover.
For about the past 8 years, in addition to strength and core training, I used to alternate between 3-4 spin classes a week and 1 hour of aerobic-level workouts on the elliptical for light days. When I started running, I eliminated these workouts since I didn't want to create muscle damage in the hips from the weight-bearing aspect of the sport (bursitis in the hips runs in the women in my family and is something I sometimes need to deal with) and I also thought the intensity of spinning classes might be a deterrent to my efforts in building base endurance on my road bike. At my age and as a beginner, I was mindful to avoid over-training and always train with a heart-rate monitor, using the numbers outlined for me when I attended a Heart Zones clinic.
Unfortunately, this obviously leads to fewer overall weekly calories burned and problems with weight gain so I actually gain weight when I follow training programs for triathlons, making progress difficult. Modifying my diet by lowering my caloric intake has curbed the gain but I can't get back to the weight I saw prior to sport-specific training.
Following a training and running program for about 5 months has increased my endurance. However, I now find myself at the top of my recommended weight for my age and height and my BMI is higher than it should be. It's rather disappointing to feel like I'm de-training here when I've been diligently following my program.
My question is outside of diet, what is the smartest way to make up the caloric deficit I lost when I started sport-specific training? Did I under estimate my fitness level prior to starting my program?
Staying in the gym seems to produce better results for me but it is certainly nowhere near as fun.
Thanks for your time,
Edie McKearney
Dear Edie,
Wow, there’s a lot going on for you physically and it sounds like you are pretty fit. When you switch to beginner tri training programs, you gain weight and lose fitness, so let’s explore doubling up and not losing out.
You’ve been smart to take it slow, especially when starting running. Walk-run programs do work but they do take time. Since you have access to treadmills I think you should run year ‘round. You can run outdoors in good weather, indoors on the treadmill, and water-run in the pool for variety. The pounding is hard but prevents osteoporosis and your doctor has recommended you continue for the future. If you keep up the running, even if it’s short distances, it will be easier to up the mileage when you train for a triathlon. Running is also one of the best weight management exercises going.
You also mentioned having been tested in the past for heart rate zones. I suspect that the test was done using running. Many multisport athletes find that they have different HR zones for cycling than running. So, I agree with you that you are likely undertraining when it comes to cycling. There are several ways to remedy the discrepancy.
- Retest on the bike
- Experiment with increasing your HR zones for cycling
- Train 20-minute intervals and note the start and finish points. Work at reducing that time from point to point by increasing cadence/speed, regardless of HR.
Primarily your concern is not gaining weight as you start beginner training for triathlon. Basically I’m suggesting that you never stop the tri training, keep it going even as you transition back to the gym where you are stronger. You can burn more calories in the gym because you are better adapted to those movements. You need to do the same with your swim, bike, run. This way you won’t be starting over again at the beginner level each time.
Some suggestions for continuing the tri training include:
- Use the short walk-run as a warm-up and/or cool down in the gym
- Water run before/after swimming workouts
- Cycle year ‘round outdoors and indoors and use the 20 minute interval as your gauge every 7-10 days
You mention that you’ll be able to train with others in the future, which will be more fun. Some of those times you’ll do well to leave the HR monitor at home, work on bike handling skills, play at running on trails, push yourself in the pool. Further to that, I encourage you to:
- Get more information about your hip pain and how to manage it
- Get a bike fit
- Join a masters swim club
- Foster training partners
- Investigate personal tri training – someone local, a coach or club you see weekly
Cheers,
Peg
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