Patrick Stinson knows his stuff. If you read Ian Nesbitt and don’t read Patrick Stinson, you must be crazy. His latest article “Why I Sucked In College” is a boiled down version of an article on letsrun.com by the same name. It highlights xc and track running, but it really could pertain to any endurance sport’s training.

If you’ve got 20 minutes to spare, it would be in your best interest to read this: http://www.letsrun.com/2006/collegesuck.php. I just bookmarked it, so if I ever feel like I’m not performing to potential in skiing, I can look back at the article. This is the holy grail of training: knowing how ‘hard’ or ‘fast’ to go during training, and knowing to believe in yourself during competition.

I was thrilled to be able to do three races in two weeks, two of which were triathlons. I have been spending some of my lunch breaks in the pool, which I was surprised actually paid off, because I was much more comfortable in the water and was able to turn former struggling into much more efficient forward motion. I did not do so well in the swim the first time, but I felt much better the second time after failing once. The tris went fairly well, and I don’t have quite the time to discuss them in detail, but they both were good experiences in racing, and I was satisfied and I had fun in both.

On Thursday I got recruited to be the cyclist in the Adams Pedal and Plod, which was held this morning. I was to be racing with Nick Fogel, former Williams runner (turned Williams IM Hockey player) and even though he is training for hockey, he is still quite fast on his feet. I wasn’t surprised when he was up in sixth after the tough 4 mile run. I started my race with an older guy from the Berkshire Cycling Association, and we proceeded to hit the first hill (route 116 in Adams, it climbs for almost 1.5 miles) really hard. We caught ironman Kent Lemme pretty early on, then he passed us and kept a 15 or so second lead on us (there was no drafting allowed) around the second half of the first lap. I took the bottom of the climb really hard to catch Kent, and then went really deep into the ‘pain locker’ to stay with him over the top of the climb. Coming down into Cheshire was unexpectedly painful too, and once we got onto route 8, it took me all I had to stay with them. It was kind of epic, the three of us three wide in the middle of Route 8 battling. As we went past Berkshire Outfitters and came over the bridge, the BCA rider attacked but died going over the top. Kent attacked on the last hill coming into Adams, and gained 5 meters on me in the last straightaway. Surprisingly my legs held up to put in one last huge effort, and I took a huge risk coming around the last corner really hard. It paid off when I straighened up and was right behind Kent. We started to sprint in that last 100m and unfortunately for him, his cleat came out of his pedal and he wasn’t able to finish. Nick and I took second in the team classification and Kent was first for ironmen. I think I had the 2nd fastest split time in the bike, but they didn’t do splits so I’m not sure.

I still love bike racing!
Here’s what the bike course looked like. Very hilly.

Today was a difficult day for me emotionally. One of my high school teachers died last night of thymic carcinoma, a rare and aggressive cancer of the thymus gland. Sean Glew was an outstanding man: well spoken, friendly, smart, and understanding. He leaves behind his wife, Nicki and two children.

Its days like today, when you have something to work for, that often turn out the best workouts. Today I skied for Mr. Glew and his family, and it ended up as one of the most focused, productive workouts Ive ever had. It just shows how a strong mental attitude can change anything. Thank you, Mr. Glew, for your insight into Cold War History, cross country running philosophy, and life. You will be missed and always remembered.

My first workout happened at the pool today. I swam for 0:30+ minutes, focusing on efficiency and breathing. I swam ten lengths in a row which Im pretty sure Ive never done before despite a winter of swim lessons and numerous vacations to Marthas Vineyard and Block Island over the years.

Our group workout today (MotionBased maps coming soon) started out with a brief warmup from the Hancock school down past Ioka Farm and back. Then we did some Hancock-Police-Speed-Sign sprints (Patty, Topher, and I all hit todays high score of 18 but couldnt reach the 19-20 zone) and a little no-pole technique. Intervals started from the black tar line near the wooden posts on Whitman Rd. and took us all the way up to the second tier—there are two tiers of flat pavement, separated by fairly steep gradients. I tried to take the first one easy and I think I succeeded, although my heart rate monitor says my HR spiked up to 192bpm at one point…I dont know if thats true or not. What I do know is that I went farther on each successive interval with slightly more effort and higher heart rate, which is awesome and is exactly what I aim for every time I attempt any intervals. There were around 5-6 minutes rest separating each of the level 4s, which is more than usual, and may have contributed to my success. On every interval, I started out in the lead and Topher caught and passed me at the end of the first tier of flat. However during the last interval I found the strength and efficiency to, after getting dropped a little, fight back and pass him just before the second tier and have a few meters lead when the interval ended. Not always am I able to find the extra energy I had at the end, so I felt like todays workout was special. Thanks, Mr. Glew, for all youve done.

That was it? It seems like my longest week in terms of training hours sort of breezed by. I specialized a little this week when I did ski-related workouts, with 30/30 classic intervals on Monday, specific explosive strength (not too painful when you’re doing it, but it sure hurts afterwards) on Wednesday and a distance skate ski on Thursday. What I tried to do on Thursday was improve my degrading skate technique, but that didn’t actually happen much because my rollerski poles are still too short.

Tuesday was interesting. I went out on what was supposed to be a 50 mile bikeride with a small but determined Tuesday night group, but what happened was we got to 40 miles and we got demolished by a thunderstorm. Hail, 25 mph sustained winds, blinding fog, a sudden 30 degree F decrease in temperature, frequent lightning and drenching rain stopped us, shivering, in the doorway of a roadside restaurant. We ended up riding for about two hours and calling Craig’s wife who, despite her apprehension about thunderstorms, came to pick us up. The four of us rode home with towels around our shoulders and the heat blasting at our hands.

Friday I took a trip to the pool to try to ready myself for the upcoming triathlon (thursday july 16). I learned a lot from the woman who coached me. I found out that I have to lengthen my glide and make the most out of each stroke just like skiing! The difference of course is breathing…I’m having the most trouble with that. Once I can figure out how to breathe I think I’ll be an okay swimmer! I’m heading to the pool at some point on Tuesday and possibly at lunch on Wednesday to ready myself once more. Seeing as I’m not allowed to graduate Williams College without knowing how to swim (just search that PDF for “swim test”) I figured I should start learning.

And finally yesterday I travelled up to Hanover to ride in the 28th annual Prouty century bike ride benefitting the Norris Cotton Cancer Center and Dartmouth Medical. I rode with the “Holderness Bull Riders” but saw a lot of other people I knew, including SMS and my understanding is that there was a larger contingent from Williams also riding, but we didn’t encounter them.

All in all this week I trained 12 hours with workouts every day. I still feel really good. I do feel guilty because cheated and carried some of the hours from yesterday’s Prouty over to today, though. Hope no one minds.

Today we had a sweet OD ski into New York. They have some awesome roads down there. 25mi, 2:30 in total. Incredible scenery and a great day overall.
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/dashboard.mb?episodePk.pkValue=8564277