Grant's Blog

I think I figured it out. Well I didn’t figure it out, plenty of coaches and exercise scientists figured it out but I am seeing the light. Incorporating speedwork in the base period used to be blasphemy to my ears now its as sweet as music. As I’ve been coaching people I’ve been reading way more training plans and books. This post is about how I’ve structured my base period. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been coaching a friend the last couple months as he trains for Ironman. I have really enjoyed the challenge of conveying my knowledge to others. I also just wrote the training plan for the BYU triathlon club and I’m really excited to see it put into practice. Read the rest of this entry »

In my earlier post on benchmark workouts I talked about the importance of measuring progress in consistent ways. I’ve been keeping track of my 500 yrd freestyle swim to make sure my training is indeed working.

Last week I tested my 500 freestyle and dropped ten seconds of my best time I had posted over the summer. Over the summer I was training for a 10K open water swim. I was swimming about 4 days a week 2-4 miles each workout. My 500 time was just under 7:0o min. Last week I went a 6:49. Considering I’m not swimming 10 miles a week like I was over the summer I’m pretty happy I’m faster than I was then. Here are some thing’s I’ve been doing to help. Read the rest of this entry »

Tuesday morning 3.5 miles into a 6 mile run my IT band got really tight and popped. I walked 2.5 miles back to the school. Last summer when my IT band went bad it took me 3 months to get it back. I’ll do things right this time and should be able to start running soon. I’m fortunately not in any big hurry since race season is so far away. It seems I’m destined to focus on my swim and strength training these next few weeks. Because of my knee I really upped my swim volume this week and its feeling good. Maybe if my knee’s continue getting messed up I’ll get for real fast at swimming. Yesterday I timed myself on two 500′s; The first was in 7:14 and the second in 7:04. I was pretty happy about that considering my best 500 time is 6:59 and I was basically there despite being more fatigued. I’ll try a 500 next week when I’m fresher (not the day after lifting) and see if I can get under 7:00 again.

The really fast athletes already know this that is why they are fast! This is for all those who kinda know what they are doing.

From time to time I run into a runner or swimmer who will tell me they aren’t getting any faster despite running or swimming consistently a few days a week. You’ll see this all the time a runner will go out a few days a week and run 2-5 miles at pretty hard pace. These are the guys who get fit but not fast. They improve for the first few weeks then they don’t feel like they are getting faster then they burn out and quit. That’s the difference between specific training and general, “don’t get heart disease” exercise. This post isn’t about sport specificity its about getting specific-targeted workouts. I’ll explain what I it in general terms, scientific terms will be in another post. Read the rest of this entry »

The weight training has been going really well. I thought I’d do a little follow up on the post I did earlier. This post is on what has worked and what hasn’t. Last season I was at my best when I was lifting weights. Especially with running. I know this doesn’t make much sense — as running is the least “muscular” out of swimming, cycling, and running — but it’s what I experienced. My run significantly got slower as I stopped lifting weights.
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Don’t be a wuss. I know winter is a ways away but I’m starting to think about the winter training to come so I thought I’d make a couple notes about winter training. The nice thing about winter training is it scares a lot of people away. If you can train through the winter you will be killing those guys in the spring races. Read the rest of this entry »

Here are some of my favorite bike workouts. They are my favorites because they are fun but also help me drop time in my racing. These aren’t base workouts they are for building speed and anaerobic endurance. Once you have your endurance base build you can start incorporating some of these workouts into your weekly schedule. Read the rest of this entry »

Now that my life is calming down a bit after the wedding I’ve started exercising again. Race season is a ways away so I’ve started a lifting program. I’ve figured that muscular strength and endurance might be one of my bigger limiters. My resting heart rate is usually really low and I figure my cardio strength is pretty solid. Read the rest of this entry »