Ryan Rau's blog about fitness training and pro competition

a little training can go a long way

8/24/2012

Trying to compete as a professional triathlete, run a personal training business, coach a triathlon team as well as athletes online, while having a life and being part of a church community along with staying connected with friends and family sounds awesome and it is. However, there are only so many hours in the day and I am guilty of not being able to commit enough time to all of them and quite frankly i often get really tired. Because of the commitments i have placed on myself I need to make the most of the time i put into training for triathlons. That being said i generally focus on quality and intensity over quantity. This is probably why i sometimes get stung by the injury bug (not enough recovery/easy workouts) but i feel that i need the fitness more than the distance training as i can always eat a few more calories to keep me going during the longer sessions and events. So to keep you updated here is the volume I have put in over the past few weeks (june and july), along with some of the key workouts that help monitor my fitness.

May 28-June 3: Swim 7,000 yards (1.2 mile timed swim), Bike 120 miles (44 mile interval work at 250 watts), Run 43 miles (13 x 1/4 at 67-69 seconds, Dexter to Ann arbor Half Marathon - 1:11;44)
June 4-June 10: Swim 9,000 yards, Bike 178 miles (22 mile tempo at 260 watts), Run 47 miles (15:36 5k-Cipriano Classic)
June 11-June 17: Swim 6,000 yards, Bike160 miles (40 miles with 18 x hill repeats), Run 40 miles (8 x 1/4 at 65-68 seconds)
June 18- June 24: Swim 5,000 yards, Bike 145 miles, Run 32 miles (IM 70.3 Syracuse, 4:19:32)
June 25-July 1: Swim 7,000 yards, Bike 150 miles, Run 35 miles
July 2-July 8: Swim 12,000 yards (lots of shoulder pain and a slow swim at Muncie 70.3), Bike 133 (26 mph avg at Muncie 70.3), Run 35 miles (15:56 5k-Hungry Duck, and 35:12 10k at Muncie 70.3)
July 9- July 15: Swim 3,000 yards, Bike 160 miles (299 watt avg at Beatles on the Bay Olympic distance Triathlon), Run 42 miles (34: 27 10k at Beatles on the Bay Triathlon)
July 16- July 22: Swim 2,000 yards, Bike 202 miles, Run 40 miles
July 23- July 29: Swim slim to none, Bike 189 miles, Run 52 miles (Snow King Hill climb race, and lots of mountain running in Wyoming)
July 30- Aug 5: Swim enough to finish IM Boulder 70.3, Bike 189 miles, Run 41 miles (Boulder 70.3 4:05:50)

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boulder 70.3

8/22/2012

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Kind of interesting that despite all my travels i had never been to Boulder, CO (the mecca of triathlon). Well, i'm slightly in love. To be honest though I was spoiled by my home stay family. Kirk and Annie Christofferson are the aunt and uncle of friends from our small group (2/42 Commmnity Church in Brighton, MI). So, it was like staying with family. Literally, my cousin and his wife as well as my parents and of course my girlfriend, Kate all hung out with the Christoffersons and their son's Ian and Conner.

They lived only 2 miles from a point on the Boulder 70.3 bike course and their house was a 30 second walk to the community pool. Conner and I rode the course a couple days prior to the event and i tried to swim (since i kind of skipped that part of training the past two and half weeks) a few times before the race. Running was gorgeous, as you just had to look up at the Rockies to find the little inspiration you might need to keep going. Another aspect of Boulder/Longmont was the bike lanes and overall friendliness of drivers and people in the community to athletes sharing the roads. I have never felt safer cycling.

The race for me was going to be interesting because i knew the swim was going to be tough. Swimming is generally the last thing to acclimate to altitude of the three disciplines. Not to mention i only had 2 weeks at 5-6,000 feet and needed another 7 days or so to feel like i could breathe efficiently for the bike and run. None the less I came out of the water in 28 mins looking for my head which was floating around somewhere in the thin air. On to the bike it took around 10 miles for my legs to stop burning and finally get into a rhythm. I rode the whole first half of the race by myself at 275 avg watts. Funny thing though, when i came around for the second lap of the bike course, my avg speed went up, despite my drop in avg watts as i weaved around all the age group athletes. I have always believed for slower swimmers that racing amongst the age groupers is an advantage as you can use them as "carrots" and to "slip stream" through the field n the bike. I came off the bike in 20th place and within the first 10k had picked up 6 places to move into 14th, which is where i would stay for the rest of the race. A top ten run split and a final time of 4:05.50 was good enough to call it my best 70.3 effort. (i had previously raced to a 4:01 at 70.3 Worlds in Florida in 2010, but that was a draft fest , despite all efforts to not draft on the bike, and a much easier course at sea level).

The best part of the day was hearing the cheers of friends and family along the course and having the opportunity to share the experience with them. Also, the chocolate chip cookies and brownies that Annnie made, Thanks!!

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Giving back and out west

8/22/2012

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After the two weekends of racing it was time to shift my focus back on the Hamburg Fitness Triathlon team that competed at the T-Rex Triathlon race #2 of 3. Although i put a lot of effort in placing as high as i can when i compete, it is just as inspiring to see the athlete that i work with complete their first triathlon ever! The terror they bring to the start line is always replaced by shear joy when the cross the finish line. I'm so proud of our team and I love their attitudes when they are all done. It is a reminder as to why we race....Because we love it and we love the people we "tri" with (terrible pun, sorry).

The next week I had the opportunity to host (with my dad) an endurance retreat/vacation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a group of young athletes, as well as some parents who came along to test their own athletic prowess. It was a successful week of altitude and attitude training for everyone (20 young athletes, 10 older athletes). We ascended more vertical feet than i could count and splashed in as many lakes as we could find in the Wyoming wilderness. I'm not sure who had more fun the kids or the parents, but i know it will be a vacation they will never forget. It was awesome to give back some of the experiences and opprotunities what we have been blessed with. Although, in reality it was God who put the beautiful mountains in place and created an environment for us to enjoy.

Between the hikes and runs we covered 60+ miles (I added an additional 189 on my bike) and competed in the famous Snow King Hill Climb. This event starts in the town of Jackson with a 1/2 mile flat run before hitting the Snow King ski resort trail that takes you up 1570+ ft in the next 1.8 miles. It hurts so good. I finished in second with another PR, as i have tried to compete in this event whenever i am around for it (that is a new PR for 4 road race/running distances and 1 for olympic distance triathlon in the last 3 months if your counting).

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oly tri pr

8/22/2012

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Well, i can't say i have been on top of my blogging. There are some things that people are "good" at, and then there are other things that we would just rather have people take care of for us so we can pursue those things that we have more passion for. I had a discussion with my very talented uncle who plays the piano like know one i have ever heard before. You name it and he can play it note for note with the best of them. However, he has the same issue as me. We want to perform and inspire and teach, but the promotion and organization to do it just often falls by the way side. On that note, i need a promoter or someone to tell me where to go and who to train and i will be there. As long as i can still get in my time so that i don't end up out of shape and uninspiring to those I hope to encourage to help transform their fitness, both mentally and physically.

On to other things....The weekend of Muncie 70.3 which was a Saturday was followed that Sunday by a 12 mile run and 40 mile bike just to continue the "workout" that i started the day before. It apparently set the following week up for some decent training. Then some how despite the fatigue i thought i was going feel the next weekend at the tritofinish.com Beatles on the Bay Triathlon, I actually raced to at PR time of 1:53.45. The course was magnificent. A beautiful run/swim/run in the shallow waters of Lake Huron, followed by a fast flat bike out and back on the road running right next to the lake. Then a decent run out a treelined road (until you hit a corn field for a half mile) before you turned around and headed back for a finish on the beach.

I recommend this race to anyone who wants to go fast and see a wonderful yet quiet part of "the thumb"

The key for me in this race was to make an effort to stay around 300 watts for the entire bike. I ended up with a 299 watt avg (according to my Quarq power meter) which i always wonder how accurate those things are from day to day. Well it set me up for a 34 min and some change run, and a cash prize for winning the race. It was nice to be in a little less tense and cooler atmosphere after the heat and controversy of shortening the course the weekend prior. All in all, when i look back i was pleased with the outcome of the previous two weeks of training and racing.

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a little training can go a long way

boulder 70.3

Giving back and out west

oly tri pr

RYAN RAU

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