If you don't have access to a Vasa Trainer then I would urge you to find one in your local community. Baron improved his swim split by 8% at IMNZ and, I believe, a good part of it was due to the Vasa being able to teach him a proper catch. I'll be hitting the Vasa seriously throughout the next six months.

Cords or Increased Angle — two ways to increase resistence on the Vasa.

#1 — Jack up the front end. This increases the load on the front end of your stroke, the initial catch phase. If your elbow starts to drop then you have lifted the front end too much. Remember that the rotator muscles at the front end of your stroke are weak — initially, all you want to be training is the movement pattern. So don't be in a rush to crank the Vasa way up. You will find that these muscles fatigue very rapidly at first. So have patience and use a resistance that will enable you to get in at least 30 reps.

#2 — Use power cords. The power cords increase resistance on the back end of the stroke. Quite useful for a swimmer that has excellent swim mechanics and is looking to build strength through the whole stroke phase. Again, I don't think that you need to go crazy here. I'm a mid-50s swimmer and a moderate angle with a light cord is enough for me.

For the first 12 weeks of Vasa use, most of the gains are simply muscle recruitment gains. Just like in weightlifting, you are teaching the muscles to work together — rather than adding a whole lot of strength. Once you have been doing the Vasa for 8-12 weeks, you want to start to challenge the muscles — just like weightlifting. You want to be "feeling it" in the 24 hours post Vasa session. Challenge yourself through increased load, increased reps and/or increased rep speed. Ensure that you keep your shoulder blades down and in (just like with Lat Pulls and Seated Row). Letting your shoulder blade climb when the shoulder is under load can cause shoulder impingement.

A Vasa is not a requirement for swim success — those of you who don't have $750 to spend on the trainer can achieve good results with a pair of swim cords.

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Altitude Room

Baron and I carved 20+ minutes out of our PBs after a month in the room. So it's fair to say that the room didn't hurt us. We get our blood results back this afternoon. Watch Tri Forum for a short summary of my thoughts on the CAT altitude system.

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Heart Rates

I'd like to share this quote from Joe... "Be careful not to have athletes start placing a lot of merit in what their HRMs say. This is a little like trying to determine how good a car is by looking at it's tachometer. There is very limited info to be gained from this. I've spent the last few years trying to convince athletes to use their HRM numbers as interesting info and not to draw conclusions about their fitness or rest status just from this. It doesn't work and, worst, causes them to make decisions about training that are not based on solid evidence. The body does not have one single number that tells us everything about it."

Our well-being and performance is a function of a wide range of variables. Learning to interpret these variables (heart rate, feel, power, pace, mood...) is a key skill that we have to learn.

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Taking Risks

Question:
When Scott talks about risk, is he talking about massive over distance training? Since this is written with Epic Camp fresh in his mind am I correct in my assumption?

Let's look at the top 5% of any AG and assume these athletes have normal jobs and family. Therefore, time is a limiter so let's make the assumption. Since Scott advocates over distance which is time consuming can one achieve results with shorter sessions at higher intensity (short=60'-75'). Along with one session per week at AeT of 4-6 hour range.

I understand everyone is wired differently. And sitting at AeT for 6 hours is one difficult session. I know I had many last year. I am trying to understand where we might take risks given time being a limiter. Your thoughts...

Answer:
I am going to put words in people's mouths here — what I am really doing is presenting different sides of the discussion. It is very important to remember that the correct training approach will vary as you develop as an athlete. "High Volume" can mean 12-15 hours for a novice. "Recovery Week" volume can mean 20-25 hours for a guy like me.

Joe would likely say... focused BT sessions following a deep base period are the way to go.

Scott would likely say... a guy with time limits on his training will be placing himself at a disadvantage to an athlete that has the ability to make training the #1 issue in his life. There is no easy way. Many coaches tell their athletes that they can get by doing less but there is no short cuts to the physiological adaptations that occur with high volume aerobic training.

Scott's not really talking about massive training, although it will seem that way to a guy with large time constraints. Scott is merely pointing out that the time constrained athlete will be competing against other athletes who have the time and ability to train 25-35 hours per week. That amount of aerobic training gives an athlete a large edge in an ultra endurance event such as IM.

My view is that the Top 5% of any AG is made up of guys with an Ottaway-like focus on their training. [NOTE -- Ron is one of those guys that is willing to do "whatever it takes". Do that with true passion for a long time and you get really good.] There won't be many guys qualifying for Kona that are 'normal' in the 2.2 kids, Rotary Club sense of the word.

One can achieve results by substituting intensity for long aerobic training (BT protocol), however, my recent experience is that one can achieve deeper and (surprisingly) safer results from high volume steady work. Longer, steady paced BTs instead of mod-hard BTs. I suspect that what can work really well is heaps of steady and then a little bit of threshold — more risky.

There are many ways to get fast — Scott is influenced by the champions that he knows/trains as well as his own research and personal experience. He also pointed out to me... "how many age group athletes are willing to throw away six months of preparation to get a potential 1-2% improvement?" AeT done right gives you a 95% chance of getting 95% of your potential — that last 5% greatly increases your risk profile.

Let me tell you, it takes a lot of nerves to get yourself so tired that you don't feel right until 24 hours before the race start! Unless you are aiming to win your AG in Kona, I don't think you need to take that kind of chance. You certainly don't need to take that chance to qualify. The Four Pillars are enough to qualify.

As for risks, I personally believe that Zn 3 & Zn 4 work is far more risky than a large volume Zn 1/2 program. By doing heaps of steady training, an athlete is pretty much guaranteed to achieve a large part of their potential. With the tough BT protocol, one can achieve a greater peak fitness but there is also the risk of blowing out (I've gone both ways on different occasions).

I don't think that there is a "right" answer — different approaches with work with different athlete types. Our job is to find the right approach for you.

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Calcium

I've been speaking with the High Performance Director of Tri NZ. Stress fractures in the elite female squad are running at about 30% — in other words, 30% of the females will have a stress fracture in their careers (not each season). Dr. Cordain notes the impact of modern nutrition on calcium loss in bones. Because of this I tend to recommend that my "calcium concerned" athletes to modify their diets to reduce bone mineral loss. Given that these young women are unlikely to modify their diets, I believe that calcium supplementation would be appropriate for at risk females. In this case, pubescent to college age women engaged in sports with a high degree of lower limb impact (running mainly). Personally, I believe that strength training and correct diet can greatly reduce the risk of stress factures. However, having spent a weekend with the elite squad, I doubt that they are willing to modify their diet.

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Downhill Running

Does your AAA race involve hills? If so then this will interest you...

Question:
Is it more efficient to let your running cadence drop on the hills? A runner that is at 88spm on the flats would drop to say 84spm on the hills?

Answer #1:
I think it is more effecient, especially in longer runs, to keep energy output constant on uphills. Most runners tend to power up hills, sending their heart rate up and using more energy. Olivier Bernhard had a good quote after he won Powerman Zofingen again this year (a long duathlon that finishes with a hilly 20 mile run). He said he runs slowly on the uphills, normal on the flats, and then fast on the downhills. By doing this he is tending toward keeping his energy output constant.

Answer #2:
This is the pacing strategy that Molina advises me to use in races — he's a former Zofingen winner as well. Downhill running must be trained for specifically. On a hilly race there is a lot of time that can be made here.

NOTE — downhill running is stressful on the body, can trash your legs and stress your low back. So, moderation is key. Start gradually if you need to build your downhill skills. I've found that the limiter for most people is having the co-ordination and ability to turn their legs over quickly. The most effective downhill runners have an ability to hold a high cadence downhill. Downhill strides and easy paced, quick cadence runs are a safe way to build this up.

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Long Ride Nutrition

Question:
Just a quick question about your "Paleo" diet. I've been on a variation of that for about six weeks now, never felt better!! It has even seemed to lessen the pain of my back problems. Anyway, I'm finding that as workouts are now getting a little longer in duration, I'm finding it harder to maintain energy levels without stuff like cereal grains or other high GI carbs. I won't eat Power bars or Clif bars and I swear by my gluten-free diet. So, my question is, what are you eating in lieu of of "crappy-carbs" to maintain energy (and stave off hunger) during long rides or runs?

Answer:
For long rides and runs, here is what I'll do...

1. eat a substantial breakfast, something like 12-grain cereal (hot) with veggies and a large serving of lean protein
2. use bananas and fruit juices to get energy throughout the training session
3. post workout a smoothie of fresh fruit, juices and protein powder (normally whey)
4. a very healthy recovery meal such as mixed veggies, lean protein and 12-grain or something like couscous.