After a lengthy phone conversation in which we covered what my goals were, what my previous training consisted of, how Michael works with his athletes (Wow, was I going to be referred to as an "athlete"? This was getting really wild.) and other things, I hired Michael to be my virtual coach.
He would lay out a workout schedule for me each week. I would report after each workout using Michael's coaching web site. We would chat by phone once a week or so.
He suggested a few pieces of equipment, one of which was a workout "watch" with embedded GPS that could be used for running and cycling. All the "data" including heart rate, bicycle cadence, speed, route and altitude are recorded and uploaded to the website after each workout so he would be able to analyze it. Pretty slick.
After looking at my previous three months of workout logs, Michael observed that I had done some good basic conditioning, so we could begin to strengthen my aerobic base. The training plan he would lay out for me would begin there, and would feature longer workout sessions at a lower intensity in order to build this aerobic base. I was sure I wanted a good aerobic base.
If I'm repeating the term "aerobic base" a lot here, it's in the hope that with enough repetition I'll understand what it is. I say that only half jokingly. There's a lot of physiological science behind that terminology which is becoming more evident to me as we go along, but I'm still playing catch-up. I find it all very fascinating.
He also told me that we would start with a series of time trials, in order to measure my lactate threshold. I told him that I assumed this meant how much milk I could drink. Really. The more erudite readers may chuckle. For those who are more on my level, Michael then explained that the "lactate threshold" was the point at which your muscles could no longer process the natural lactic acid build-up that occurs in muscle tissue during strenuous exercise.
That was all well and good. I mean that it was well and good that he knew what he was talking about. I was happy for him to figure all this stuff out and then create a training plan that would work for me. He would make the plans and I would execute them.
I was psyched. This is exactly what I needed. It was November 19th. I couldn't wait to get started. I was going to be able to use the entire winter season to train for the event season next year.
Then I saw the plan for week one.
--
I'll post Part 6 in a few days. Thanks for reading and please visit my American Cancer Society fund raising web site: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/pmeese, click the RED "DONATE" BUTTON and, if you are able, make a small contribution in support of my entry in The NYC Triathlon.
He would lay out a workout schedule for me each week. I would report after each workout using Michael's coaching web site. We would chat by phone once a week or so.
He suggested a few pieces of equipment, one of which was a workout "watch" with embedded GPS that could be used for running and cycling. All the "data" including heart rate, bicycle cadence, speed, route and altitude are recorded and uploaded to the website after each workout so he would be able to analyze it. Pretty slick.
After looking at my previous three months of workout logs, Michael observed that I had done some good basic conditioning, so we could begin to strengthen my aerobic base. The training plan he would lay out for me would begin there, and would feature longer workout sessions at a lower intensity in order to build this aerobic base. I was sure I wanted a good aerobic base.
If I'm repeating the term "aerobic base" a lot here, it's in the hope that with enough repetition I'll understand what it is. I say that only half jokingly. There's a lot of physiological science behind that terminology which is becoming more evident to me as we go along, but I'm still playing catch-up. I find it all very fascinating.
He also told me that we would start with a series of time trials, in order to measure my lactate threshold. I told him that I assumed this meant how much milk I could drink. Really. The more erudite readers may chuckle. For those who are more on my level, Michael then explained that the "lactate threshold" was the point at which your muscles could no longer process the natural lactic acid build-up that occurs in muscle tissue during strenuous exercise.
That was all well and good. I mean that it was well and good that he knew what he was talking about. I was happy for him to figure all this stuff out and then create a training plan that would work for me. He would make the plans and I would execute them.
I was psyched. This is exactly what I needed. It was November 19th. I couldn't wait to get started. I was going to be able to use the entire winter season to train for the event season next year.
Then I saw the plan for week one.
--
I'll post Part 6 in a few days. Thanks for reading and please visit my American Cancer Society fund raising web site: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/pmeese, click the RED "DONATE" BUTTON and, if you are able, make a small contribution in support of my entry in The NYC Triathlon.
Due to the generosity of friends and family, my personal fund raising goal of $3,000 has been exceeded by more than 40%! But don't let that stop you from contributing a little more if you feel this is a good cause and this contribution would fit into your annual giving budget.
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