The week of the Time Trial

Whew...Time Trials (TT's) are over! Week three of my training plan has me doing speedy time trials in all three sports. Seem like a bit much to do them all in the same week, but what the heck? I am a slave to the plan anyway, so I am okay with this!  For those of you who do not know about TT's, I will provide my best explanation.  One way to train (in all three sports) is by heart rate (HR).  In order to train by HR, you must determine your Anaerobic Threshold (aka Lactate Threshold) which is essentially the maximum HR that you can sustain in a 30 minute period.  There are several ways to figure out this value, but an easy way to do so on your own is to run, bike, or swim as HARD as you can for 30 minutes and then take the average heart rate of the last 20 minutes.  This is essentially what I have done this week for all three sports.  To give you an idea, I will include my workouts for today and note the run portion in which I record my average HR for 20 of the 30 minutes.  This average HR is used to set up various training "zones" in which you will target for various workouts. It's really that simple as 1-2-3.

Morning workout (with HR test):

50 minute run.  After 10 minute warm up, you are going to run for 30 minutes as hard as you can for the entire 30 minutes. After starting the run, hit your 'Lap' button so you record the average HR over the last 20 minutes. This can be run on track the or measured course (flat). Record the time and get a 10 minute cool down. Stretch when done and add in Core 1, 2 or 3.

Evening Workout (no HR testing):

Tosa High School Track

Easy spin for 60 minutes in small chain ring.


So I did my morning run as described above.  A time trial for the run is usually best done on a flat course. There is no better option than doing it on a track. For today's workout I chose the home of the Wauwatosa West Trojan's track which is a local high school facility open to the public. A very nice soft running surface and well kept grounds.  And at 5:50 AM on a crisp Thursday May morning, I had the whole place to myself!  Here is how it looked today --->>