What’s The Cost In Time?

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Year-end reviews can focus on stuff & achievements

I’m grateful for my younger self’s relentless focus on buying me time

I’m shifting my writing over to Substack:

I hope you join the community.

Sunday Summary 18 December 2022

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Getting Faster This Week has published on Endurance Essentials

  • Boston Marathon via Ironman Hawaii
  • Video: Frequency Workouts & Addressing Limiters
  • Podcast: IM Talk
  • Training Update
  • Reduce Stress With A Fatigue Wash Out

I’m shifting my writing over to Substack:

I hope you join the community.

4 Bike Workouts, You Can Use This Winter

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New this morning on my Substack

  • My Favorite Sessions
  • Endurance, Strength and Specials
  • Additional tips I picked up from @Alan_Couzens @coachjorgem @justindaerr

More ideas Monday when I unpack @theryandreyer Lactate Test

👇
https://feelthebyrn.substack.com/p/how-i-ride

I’m shifting my writing over to Substack:

I hope you join the community.

An Ultraman Training Day

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You’ll find today’s post over at my new location on Substack.

Time is a critical component of your endurance training. The article covers the origin of Big Day Training, which was my favorite workout as an elite triathlete. Also covered, is how you can apply the principles for amateur athletes.

An Ultraman Training Day – The Origin of Big Day Training

I’m in the process of moving my endurance writing over to Substack and hope you join the community over there.

Dissatisfied? 5 Simple Steps To Make Your Life Better, While Overcoming Fear Of Failure

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At the start of 2022, a vision came to me:

  • Sitting in the Arapahoe Basin parking lot
  • Running my business from a camper van
  • Alternating ski runs with bursts of work
  • Combining sunshine, exercising outdoors and helping people

That’s was my vision.

What is your vision?

That’s for you to decide.

I’m going to show you how to get there.

I’m ahead of schedule and have done it several times before.

#1 – Write it down

If you’re feeling courageous, maybe tell someone.

Absolutely, tell yourself, in writing.

Own it.

Over time, perhaps you realize your fears are an illusion and you share your vision with the world.

What’s it going to take?

So much work, it’s overwhelming.

  • Most never start
  • The pandemic was a great excuse not to start.
  • After that, I was trying to be a good husband, a good father.

Inside my light was going out.

It was time for a change.

#2 – What are the conditions required for success?

Asking the right question, the answer arrived.

Positive change is built from new connections and action.

How many new connections do I need?

  • 10,000 came to me
  • I’m 53 and I want to be chilling in the parking lot by my 60th birthday
  • That’s four new connections a day

Seemed do-able. Certainly worth trying.

Break the goal down into simple, manageable pieces then do them, daily.

My best case scenario requires 4 new connections a day. I can do this.

What do I know about action?

#3 – Start at a pace you can sustain for 1000 days

  • Most dreams die before birth
  • The next cause of dream-death is failing to give the protocol enough time to work
  • We are on the right path, but we quit before we breakthrough

What actions can I commit to making happen for 1000 days?

  • One Tweet A Day
  • Two Articles A Week

Seems small. Simple is a better way to think of it.

Simple, daily actions.

#4 – Say Yes To Randomness

Fitness takes a long time to accrue. Just the way it is.

Fortunately, the real world is NOT like that.

  • One Friend
  • One Investment
  • One Meeting
  • One Podcast
  • One Tweet
  • One Article

Everybody gets their shot.

Thing is, we never know which connection will come through.

In 2022, Rich Roll gave me my shot. Our podcast goes SuperNova and brings five years of connection in a fortnight.

Keep swinging.

#5 – Double Down On What’s Working

Our connections let us know what resonates.

  • Pay attention.
  • Keep working.

In January, I am migrating to Substack and splitting my blog.

WordPress won’t let me migrate you – you’ll need to sign up.

Subscription is free – there’s an option to financially contribute if you wish.

  1. First up will be my eBook, Endurance Essentials.
  2. After that, I’ll be tackling True Wealth.

Come along for the ride. It’s going to be great.

Durability Is Speed You Can Use, Here Is How You Can Start Building It Today

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Every new cyclist knows the feeling of being completely blown after a hard effort.

In my first bike race, I decided to attack the bunch, downhill. Don’t ask me why. Back then, I’d lose my mind when my HR was up.

The attack left my legs shattered and saw me quickly spat out the back when the bunch rolled me up.

In swimming, as I challenged my ability to swim long via 4000, 5000, 6500 and, eventually, 10000 meter workouts, there would be days when a switch-flipped and, instantly, my pace dropped by 10s per 100.

Like my first bike race, there was no coming back.

In running, particularly long races, my experience was different yet again.

Here, pain would slowly build in in my legs and my pace would gradually slow.

Eventually, my legs would be so beat up, I was unable to place a meaningful load on my cardiovascular system.

Fueled up, and hydrated, with no ability to raise my heart rate.

  • What’s happening?
  • What can we do about it?

Exercise physiologists refer to the above as Durability

…the time of onset and magnitude of deterioration of physiological performance parameters over time during prolonged exercise.

– TTS Podcast with ed maunder & stephen Seiler

Quite a mouthful.

I prefer to think in terms of DEPTH.

Think Deep.

Deep Fitness

  • goes from our skin into our bones
  • permeates every cell of our bodies
  • can’t be disturbed by shocks
    • in pace
    • from heat
    • via altitude
    • over time

Fitness, that goes the distance.

Fitness, nurtured with sleep and nutrition.

How might we build this fitness?

Last Monday, I shared an Endurance Hierarchy

  1. Ability to Move
  2. Ability To Do Work
  3. Work Rate Training
  4. Specific Preparation for Competition

Before you try to get faster, DEEPEN the fitness you already have.

You are going to be surprised by this process.

It will make you faster AND give you the capability to hold your speed.

Dead-simple approach

  1. Time at Aerobic Threshold
  2. Heavy Domain Sets, where you ‘recover’ at Aerobic Threshold

Make sure you’ve developed the Ability To Do Work before starting this training.

How much should you do? Start with a 90:10 split.

If you incorporate hills then you might already be doing this training without realizing it.

That said, if you are ‘trying’ on your hills then you are likely to be training more intensely than required.

This tip, to slow down, will be a recurring form of my advice to you.

++

Skew Errors Left

You’re almost certainly training more intensely than you realize.

It’s not your fault. It’s the way we’re wired.

The solution is simple, aim your mistakes towards “low & less.”

In the unlikely event you’re aiming too low, you get more volume around aerobic threshold.

This is not a problem, it’s a benefit from my approach.

You’ll benefit in avoiding the common pitfall of nuking yourself as soon as you add a bit of “proper” training.

++

What is a Heavy Domain set?

I’ve written out examples for you.

  • Swim – Pace Change Workouts
  • Bike – Big Gear and Favorite Endurance Patterns
  • Run – Favorite Endurance Patterns

Tips for all sports:

  1. Start with 10-15 minutes of work, broken.
  2. Be patient with getting your heart rate up, there’s a lag.
  3. Learn to recover while moving at aerobic threshold pace

Advanced athletes, build up to 40-60 minutes worth of work, broken.

Remember: this is not more than 10% of your total volume

Resist: the urge to go bananas when heart rate rises

Know: The big gains come from:

  • The 90% => time around Aerobic Threshold
  • Sleep
  • Nutrition
  • Stacking continuous work (1000 Day Pacing)
  • Workout by workout
  • Week by week
  • Month by month
  • Season by season

Build fitness that permeates every cell of your body.

Think DEEP

Linked Resources

In January, I am migrating to Substack and splitting my blog.

WordPress won’t let me migrate my existing subscribers.

Subscription is free – there’s an option to financially contribute if you wish.

Come along for the ride. It’s going to be great.

Sunday Summary 4 December 2022

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Upside Strength with Sean Seale – covered season planning, athletic development, personality profiles of elite athletes, individual variation in training response, recovery tactics… and more.

Top Five Threads

  1. Olav Aleksander: Lactate Testing & Podcast #1 Notes & Podcast #2 Notes
  2. Athletes over Winter: Swim/Strength/Run ideas
  3. Half Marathon & 70.3 Preparation
  4. Late-Spring Training Camp Location Ideas
  5. Recovery Case Study: Me, includes my fav recovery tip (legs up the wall)

Endurance Training Tips

High Performance Habits