Rob Eakin Triathlete

Weekend of Testing

Well I now know how it feels to be a lab rat. Saturday was spent on the wheel (read: bike) and getting poked for lactate testing. Then Sunday was critical speed testing in the pool.

I had never done lactate testing and needless to say it was an interesting experience. Never really liked needles so getting poked in the finger for a blood sample every 3 minutes was not my idea of fun. But after some nervous humming the first few times(thanks for pointing that one out Alan) it was a breeze. Besides, getting poked is the least of your concerns when you're trying to hold a heart rate of 170 for 3 minutes.

It was definately useful though as I got a better idea of where I should be for easy rides and roughly where my anaerobic threshold is. There's actually some interesting (Warning: math and science geek alert) math and science behind it which I'll share in a future post.

Sunday's swim test was a nice wake up call to get a move on to start incorporating flip turns into my sets. Was fairly happy with my times as I went faster than I wanted to go.

100 m - 1:17 (goal sub 1:20)
600 m - 9:47 (goal sub 10:00)

So now just a week to get ready for Maui...

8 More Sleeps…

Only 8 more sleeps until I get off this continent for the first time in my life and head to Maui for our training camp for the World's in June. Starting to get worried if I'll be ready in time but also so excited.

Thought I'd provide a taste of what we'll be doing (although I'm sure coach Alan has changed the plans since I got this)...

• Arrive on Maui Friday

• Saturday: AM easy 15-20 min run and easy swim 30-45 min / PM info session and easy 30-45 min bike

• Sunday: AM easy 20-40 min run and intensity swim 45-60 min and easy 1-2 h bike and cryotherapy/ PM info session and easy 45-60 min bike

• Monday: AM 45-60 min easy run and 30-40 min easy swim / PM info session and easy 2-4 h bike (some intensity) and cryotherapy

• Tuesday: AM 10-20 min easy run and 60-90 min intensity swim and 2 h easy bike / PM info session and cryotherapy

• Wednesday: AM optional 15-20 easy run and 30 min easy swim and Haleakala Ride #1

• Thursday: AM optional 15-20 easy run and 1-2 h easy bike

• Friday: AM 30-45 min easy run and 90 min easy swim and 2-3 h easy bike / PM info session and 1-2 h easy bike

• Saturday: Haleakala Ride #2 and cryotherapy

• Sunday: Return home

Note the Haleakala rides in bold. A nasty 45 km climb of more than 2000 m up the volcano (for an idea, the climb up Cypress Bowl is about 900 m). Here's a map. Sure to be the highlight of the trip.

Run Time Trial

LETC had our first running time trial of the year on Thursday. Had a great run doing 1600 m (1 mile) in 5:27. Probably went out too fast as by the time the last lap rolled around, I was struggling to keep up the pace (as you can see by the splits below). But considering last year, I wasn't even breaking 6 minutes, I'd say things are coming along nicely.

Alan was nice enough to bring the camera so we could have a look at our running technique. Even though it's only for a few strides each lap, I can see what he means when he says to relax my upper body. The video itself to come...

Splits.
1st 400m 1:17
2nd 400m 1:23 (2:40)
3rd 400m 1:24 (4:04)
4th 400m 1:23 (5:27)

An Explanation

The big question I always get, as soon as someone finds out that I've qualified for the World Championships is "does that mean you're going to the Olympics?". For now I usually answer "who knows, maybe someday" and move on but there is obviously some confusion about the level I'm competing at. So an explanation...

There are two levels of triathlon, age-group and elite. You can almost think of them as amateur and professional. Most age-group triathletes have a job and train in their spare time while elite triathletes training is their job (although there are exceptions to both). I qualified for the age-group World Championships so I'm a ways away from being elite or going to the Olympics. However, the men's 25-29 age category is probably the most competitive out there so while it may not be the elite level, it's not exactly a walk in the park.

For those who know other sports, here are some analogies for where I'm at:

Golf: I've qualified for the US Amateur. I'm not on the PGA Tour and I'm not expecting to make the match play portion but hey, I qualified.

Hockey: I'm playing in some European league or minor league like the ECHL (but not making any money).

Baseball: I'm playing single A ball in some small town in the midwest US.

Football: I'm on the practice roster of a CFL team and an injured starter away from getting in the line-up.

For another day, my response to: "so are you doing Ironman?"

2008 Schedule

A tentative schedule for 2008...