Yesterday we rolled over the camp’s highpoint and last night we slept at 2,000 feet elevation.
Today’s big ride was rained out and most of the camp did a shorter climb near the hotel.
As usual, Johno led a run option to start the day.
I skipped the run (& bike) and did the swim with the group.
John arranged events for us:
400 to a Split - based on the 70.3 times we submitted earlier, John gave us a 400 split that we were supposed to match as close as possible, no watches allowed.
100 Kick - STRICT form rule from John. I finished last.
50 Free - think I might have won this. My first swim event victory at an Epic Camp. At 64, Molina is slowing down. This camp is the first time I’ve been able to swim faster than him. To be fair to the guy… I think the bike fatigue is hammering his legs.
3x50 Relay - I was on Team Canada with Seth and Molina. We won a Silver. Molina was looking pretty tired by this point and Seth is due for shoulder surgery shortly after camp ends. A good effort by all.
That little bit of intensity gave me a lift and is something you should consider when you want to boost yourself for the following day. Maybe not taking yourself to MAX, like I did for the 50s, but using 2-4 short, high intensity intervals to give your system a boost.
I came back from the pool, and was passing the stair test again.
Last night, for the first time on this trip, I failed the Stair Test. Meaning, I felt unusual breathlessness at the top.
This breathless feeling (at low outputs) is being widely reported at camp, especially for the athletes who have been going since Ventoux on Monday.
As I’m always reminding you…
It takes a lot of General Capacity to…
…to absorb anything big, long or sustained.
Athletes who are not able to absorb their big days during camp, will need to do so afterwards. Those athletes (most of us) will see a decline in performance across camp.
Stress & Training Camps
The greater our functional reserve (defined in different ways) the better our tolerance for stress:
Travel
Different Food
Time Zones
Erratic Sleep
Heat, Cold & Wind
Mental Stress
Chronic Pain & Soreness
Anxiety
…all before we add huge amounts of training load.
If we lack general capacity then the trip (alone) can be enough to tip us over the edge.
“Base training” is training for life.
Weekly Recap (TSS in parenthesis)
Monday: Double Ventoux Ride (407)
Highest 2024 Power for 10/20/60/90 minutes
Tuesday: Easy Run and Swim (79)
Wednesday: Easy Swim, Bike and Run (160)
Thursday: Race Sim Day (357)1
Personal Best (50+) 5K Run
Tempo Bike - 3rd best 90 minute power of 2024
Friday: Queen Stage (399) done Easy (5 hours) then Steady (90 minutes)
2nd Best 60 minute power of 2024
Saturday: Easy Run then Tempo/Steady/Easy Ride (278)
2nd best 20/60 minute power of 2024
Sunday: Easy Swim with 2 fast 50s (35)
Season-best performances are a sign of coping well.
As I mentioned to Seth, all TSS is not created equal.
My threshold powers and paces are FAR below an elite athlete.
There is a lot more velocity in 100 “Sam Long” TSS-points than my own.
TSS doesn’t win races, velocity does.
Preparing For Big Weeks
April 26, 2022 to June 12, 2024 => 778 days.
That’s how long it took me to prepare for this camp.
Three key lessons:
Get the volume first.
Step down at camp.
Pace yourself.
I did a lot of solo training while I was gradually building my endurance.
Get the volume first.
I knew this would be a massive block.
So I did an even bigger one at my Italy Camp in June.
My Italy Camp had…
Higher Overall Volume (peak week was 34 hours).
Longer duration days (10-12 hour total duration rides).
Less Tempo/Red Zone Volume.
How to apply this?
Think in terms of progressive overload.
Don’t push volume and intensity at the same time.
Overcome your fear of resting.
I put a lot of time, thought and effort into figuring out the system I share with you.
It works.
The athletes who cope best are stepping DOWN in terms of volume.
If you want to absorb intensity then VOLUME is the best way to prepare.
Those of you who have read How To Skate A 10K will recognize this approach.
A summary is in my article, A Swedish Approach to Athletic Excellence.
Just because Nils & Johan borrowed a few ideas from my elite career… doesn’t mean I can’t borrow those ideas back. This is how the art & science of sport moves forward.
It’s OK To Say No.
This is a mantra from my Family that applies to training.
Zombie training is a tradition at Epic Camp.
In this cohort, some folks can’t help themselves.
Each day, I’ve been opting out of bonus training.
As I wrote earlier, my goals (measured by my ACTIONS) are different.
I’m aiming towards world-class amateur racing in my 60s.
John’s style of Epic Camp makes it easier to dial things down - providing we maintain the mojo to get through the point-to-point rides.
Friday was 400TSS, 6.5 hours ride time - it’s not easy to pull that off when tired.
Saturday I set a near-best for my 2024 hour of power.
What makes it difficult to execute is the temptation to make ourselves tired in a way that doesn’t benefit our goals.
Specific fitness is not rocket science.
Back home, the bulk of my specific fatigue was generated by long climbing days.
As my writing partner, John Hellemans, writes… specificity is an essential principle to keep in mind when programming training.
Make sure you define specificity correctly.
AND
Maintain outstanding general capacity so you can absorb the early days of the camp.
Tomorrow should be another outstanding day in the Alps. I’ve got my kit and nutrition laid out alongside my bed.
The Galibier looks like a biggie.
I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve.
Note the 5K Run (39) and Hard Swim (55) don’t score high on the TrainingPeaks system. Low TSS scores, generated by Red Zone intensity, can be very fatiguing. On top of Red Zone impacts, heat & altitude stress are not captured by the traditional model (using pace and power).
The limitations of the TrainingPeaks model are not shared by my simple system of looking at AM/PM heart rate metrics. These metrics offer a look at what’s happening with my resting heart rate and heart rate variability.
Combine everything with sleep quality, hunger, soreness and mood… I get a good idea on how I’m doing.