Plan for the Winter

Hello all,

I know it has been too long since my last post and many events have passed under the Blogger bridge to try to catch up on all things. Anne and I did sell our home in Highlands Ranch and we are renting in "A" town. We have a 1425sf house that keeps us close and happy. Work is going well and Miche Bag continues to consume a large portion of my time. My parents came home from a Church Mission after almost 2 years and it was great to see them so happy and back in Colorado.

With the off season now in full swing I spent some time with Coach Steve after spending a large amount of time with Team Walton and here is what we decided.
-Training is going to become a bigger challenge as the kids grow so I will continue to adapt and have family as my #1, this will take my training volume down but not quality
-Spending time this winter getting stronger and faster will be my main focus.
-I would like to slim down 10-15 lbs and will work all off season towards this goal.
-Longest race distance will be Olympic Tri's next year and I will try to increase my speed.
-Training LSD while working on training nutrition will be a huge factor and I will expand on this topic below.
-Lexi will learn to ski this winter and so all of Team Walton will be on the hill almost every weekend.
-I will not do an Ironman in 2010 and its Boo Yaa cool that I am not.

Distance training:
PROBLEM: I run out of energy after 1.5 hours of running or 4 hours of biking and have been for the last 3 years
I have come to the conclusion that I have changed my endurance in a major way over the last 3 years but I still feel the same doing longer efforts. On a 2 hour steady effort run I can loose between 3-8 lbs. I have been consuming about the same as those that I train with both Liquid and calories even though I sweat and burn much different.
TRIAL AND ERROR:
Since the I know that the definition of Stupid is doing the same thing expecting different results I am going to work on what I need to consume to feel good and have the energy that I need on distance training and racing.
TRIAL #1: 15 miles LSD in 30 Degree weather.
Goal: I want to over consume calories and H2O to the point that my stomach will allow no more.
VOLUME: 70oz of Water with Gatorade mix at 1.75 normal volume or 500 calories. 2 Gels at 100 calories each. Total calories 700, total Liquid 70oz.
REALITY: The group allowed me to set the pace of the day and we finished 15 miles in 2:45 and my GPS said I burned 2066 calories. I did not weigh my self for this run. I used a Nathan backpack hydration pack with 70oz capacity and finished it by the end of the run. I did not have stomach problems and consumed the majority of the Gatorade the last half of the run.
LESSON LEARNED: I can consume more and will try to take in 300 calories an hour between food and water. However I was able to keep my Heart Rate consistent the entire run and for the first time EVER I felt good at the end of the run. I hurt and was tired but not worn down to below empty. I take this as a positive trial and look forward to the next one.

For all those that do not have a runners body and sweat a ton know that you are in good company. I want to figure out how to have the strength to finish longer distance events and so I will keep you posted on my success and failures.

Love you Anne,

T