Substituting workouts, switching things around, and contingency planning in general.

We all miss workouts.  Life presents us with issues that often derail our well-laid plans for swimming, cycling, and running.  Sickness, travel, work and injury are just some of the "hiccups" that we need to be prepared to face during the course of a training season.


I often get the question:  "What do I do if I can't do my ride this Wednesday? Do you want me to substitute it for a run?"


The answer is simple.  Or is it?


As we all know, running is more jarring than cycling and is more likely to sideline an athlete with injuries from overuse or overtraining.  Due to its stress placed on the body, it is unwise to increase the Running Training Stress Score (rTSS) more than 10% each week.  We can sometimes replace a cycling activity with running (or vice versa), but there is more to it than "just throwing an equivalent amount of training stress" at the athlete and hoping for the best.

rTSS Graph from WKO+

In the graph above, we have a representation of our chronic run training stress load (CTL - blue line) and the acute training stress load (ATL - magenta line).  CTL looks back 42 days to at our average TSS/day, but averages in the last 7 days of stress more heavily.  To put it another way - the workout you did 42 days ago is still affecting your fitness today, but the workout you did 2 days ago affects your fitness today even more heavily.  

The acute run training stress load (ATL - magenta line) averages our training stress over the last 7 days, divides by 7, and shows us an average of our current "short term" training stress.  You will notice that the yellow line (Training Stress Balance, or TSB) always acts in opposition to the magenta line.  TSB is a representation of how well-rested we are (or how "fresh" we are).  If our ATL goes up due to increased workouts, our TSB will go down.  In other words, a high ATL and low TSB tells us we're tired.  Conversely, if we're extremely well-rested due to a high TSB and low ATL, we will most likely have de-conditioned.

My grandmother is in her 80's, does not work out, and therefore has a very high TSB.  However, due to her low ATL from never working out, it is unlikely that she will win any time trials anytime soon.

This is exactly what the yellow line represents:

Our freshness.

Therefore, we must find a balance between how well rested we are, and how much training stress we're accumulating if we want to perform well at a given event.  By using this chart, we can keep an eye out for things like overtraining, plateauing, and under-training.  It is also a great way to help avoid injury by adding in too much stress too quickly.

8 Month Illustration of Fitness, Freshness, and Form via the PMC on WKO+

So what on earth does all of this have to do with swapping workouts around?


This introduction to acute training load, chronic training load, and training stress balance are to provide you with some insight about the stress your body receives from a given workout.  Before we consider adding in a bike or run workout to the schedule, we have to look at the following issues:


1.  Are we well rested? - If we have a test or race coming up for which we'd like to perform well, adding in extra training stress during a taper week will compromise our freshness for that test and will inhibit our performance.  If we've missed sleep lately and are feeling tired, it might be best to take the day off.


2.  Do we have any lingering soreness that could lead to injury? - A lingering pain that doesn't seem to go away or a tender area in a muscle or tendon is often a cry from our bodies for rest.  If we are considering adding in extra running to maintain fitness but are likely to injure ourselves by doing so, it would be best to just get in some extra rest.


3.  Where am I with regard to TSS, ATL, and TSB? - If we blindly throw in additional running or cycling without considering its effect on our TSS, we are likely to dig ourselves a hole that could compromise the next several workouts or injure us.  The Nice Tri training program is not just a manipulation of total training time, it is a modification of all training variables (frequency, intensity and duration).  In other words, if we add duration and maintain frequency, we must keep a close eye on intensity to avoid adding too much ATL too soon.  If we add intensity to the training plan, we may shorten duration or adjust frequency for the same reason.  We will never add duration, intensity and frequency all at once.


4.  Is this an anomaly or is this a chronic issue? - If we are routinely missing a workout due to travel, it would be best to adjust the schedule to prevent this.  If traveling for your job is rare and missed workouts are seldom an issue, it is often best to just miss that workout and "Charlie Mike" (if you don't know, Google it).  It is rare that anyone in the Nice Tri program need more training.  In fact, an extra rest day might be exactly what your body needed.


5.  Am I adding in a run workout or a bike workout? - It is very unlikely to be injured by riding your bike for an extra hour for the week if you've been professionally fit.  Injuries on the bike are extremely rare.  However, run injuries are common when we ignore the 10% rule.  Does 10% mean TSS?  Mileage?  Vdot?


Yes! 


We must keep an eye on the TSS and TSB before adding in any running stress.  When we do add in additional running, it is best if we do not add more than 10% TSS or 10% mileage to the total load.  We must also consider what type of training follows the run workout, its intensity and duration, and then plan accordingly.


If we substitute a workout occasionally, it is unlikely that we will experience problems.  However, it is always best to consult with your coach for guidance on what to do, when to do it, and the appropriate intensity.  Try to notify your coach well in advance as this may affect subsequent training sessions.


If you're considering adding in "extra" workouts to your schedule or making them faster in order to get in better shape, this is highly discouraged.  Make sure to have a discussion with your coach about your concerns and goals before moving forward on your own.


Remember - the number one rule in increased physical performance is consistency, and the best way to ensure consistency is to remain injury-free.  If you're missing a workout or two per month, the added rest will not affect your conditioning and it may even be a welcome treat.


However, if you find that you're consistently missing a workout due to a change in schedule, advise your coach for an amended training plan.


That's what one-on-one coaching is all about!


Train Hard.  Race Easy.

Are you headed down the path to overtraining?

We all have the best of intentions when it comes to training.  I have yet to meet a client admitted that they'd like to train so hard that they had to take some time off for rehabilitation of injuries, or wanted to train themselves sick (literally).  No one actually says that, but oftentimes we think that if we're not broken down that we must be doing something wrong.  After all, Ironman is a grueling event, so shouldn't I be physically and emotionally wiped out during my entire training cycle?


Judging by some of the ultra-high volume training plans out there, one would think so.


I have been blessed with a great team of athletes who are not lacking in the motivation department.  They have fought their way through Vdot and power tests when they'd much rather be relaxing on the couch, and have battled the elements on long runs because that's part of the sacrifice you make for Ironman.  

If you constantly feel like this,
you might be overtrained.

I have yet to tell someone that they need to be more diligent with their workouts.  I have, however, had to "encourage" others to remain within the parameters of their workout.  


The question always comes up about training load during an Ironman or half Iron build.  Iron Joe compares his training load with Iron Sally and the question is always the same:  "How many hours are you working out this week"?


The tenet of the average multisport coach is more duration = better results.  How much more? Nobody's really certain (neither the coach or the athlete).  


We just know that we need more!


Nice Tri Multisport Coaching does not just look at the duration of your workouts.  We also look at the frequency and intensity before deciding how much "more" to add to your schedule.  

Sadly, this is often the first sign of
overtraining for many athletes.

If your question about Ironman training is "how many hours per week will I be training?", we can provide a general idea of a time commitment, but much of that depends upon your body's ability to handle an increased workload.  If this concept sounds revolutionary (it shouldn't) or contrary to science, here is some research that proves that it's not all about duration:
"Overtraining is defined as "Training/competition to recovery imbalance." It primarily is caused by too little time for regeneration. Additional non-training stress sources, such as social, educational, occupational, nutritional, and travel factors and the monotony of training increase the risk of overtraining. Symptoms of overtraining are persistent performance incompetence, persistent high fatigue rating, altered mood state, increased rate of infections, and suppressed reproductive function."

This is the good part:

"This review considered three studies that evaluated effects on participants.

• ITV (Increase in Training Volume) consisted of daily monotonous long-distance runs with a volume increase of 100% (from 85.9 km/week to 174.6 km/week).

This is the path of least resistance for most coaches [above].  Just keep adding duration to the workouts....more, more, more!

• ITI (Increase in Training Intensity) consisted of tempo-pace and interval runs increasing by 150% along with a volume increase of 37%. However, this included a much lower training load than that of the ITV condition, one rest day per week of no training, and alternation of hard and easy training days to minimize training monotony.

• ITE (Intensive Ergometer Training Study) exposed less adapted individuals to an unaccustomed intensified training load and monotonous programming.

The ITV condition produced consistently depressed performances that persisted for a three-month period. On the other hand, the ITI study increased performances and did not produce an overtrained state. Its added rest period, greater variety of stimulation, and alternating hard and easy sessions better accommodated regeneration and the avoidance of monotony. [An opinion was offered by the authors that monotony might be just as critical in suppressing regeneration of an overtrained state as is training load.]

This is where many Ironman athletes end up:  severely overtrained and effectively "painted" into a corner or depressed performance for several months.

The ITE study confirmed what the authors had suspected, "that it seems easier to cause a performance decrease in athletes dependent on prolonged monotonous extensive training at a high training load than on intensified training of 1-2 hours per day." (pp. 9-10) In the ITE study, performances improved over the first three weeks but by week 6 performances and motivation were depressed despite the inclusion of extra regeneration weeks (microcycles).

Proposed Principle 1. An increased risk of staleness is likely after three weeks of intensified or prolonged monotonous endurance training.

Proposed Principle 2. If alternating hard and easy days is considered and at least two rest days (one per week) are included, there is only a risk of transient performance depression (overreaching) over periods of less than three weeks with an intensified high total training load" 

- Lehmann, M. J., Lormes, W., Opitz-Gress, A., Steinacker, J. M., Netzer, N., Foster, C., & Gastmann, U. (1997). Training and overtraining: An overview and experimental results in endurance sports. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 37, 7-17.

To summarize:  we need to manipulate both duration and intensity if we want to get the best performance out of our bodies.  If all we do is ride our bike at 16 mph 5 hours per day 4 times per week, we'll get VERY good at one thing:  

Riding around at 16 mph.

If we have aspirations of riding faster than that, we need to spend a considerable amount of time training at 18, 19 or 20 mph.  

So there you have it.  Nice Tri's training hours (especially in the offseason) are typically lower than most coached athletes at this time of year, but the training stress and physiological adaptations that are occurring through shorter, more intense sessions are actually greater.

We look at cumulative training stress, performance markers from testing, and other indications as signals to alter a training load.  You're no good if you're injured or overtrained, so we need to be very cautious about blindly adding training stress to your weekly and monthly load.

Remember:  Quality over quantity.

Train Hard.  Race Easy.