Disney Training - Week 6

I missed my long run, so I am not too proud with my week. I did get in a long run, but it was running my prior Sunday's long run on Monday. Technically I got in four out of five runs, but it was only three out of five that I should have done. My cat is having issues again, so I don't expect to get all five runs in this upcoming week, but I'll do my best.

Swimming
I got in no swims and suffered most of the week because of it.

Cycling
We have issues in our basement from water damage, so I couldn't get on my bike trainer at all. I'll shoot for a session or two next week.

Running
As I noted, I got in my prior week's long run, as well as three additional runs. For the most part, I felt alright on my runs. However, I did a lot of treadmill running. Although I don't mind treadmill running at all, the treadmill area was in the mid to upper 80's, with no air circulation at all. This really taxed me hard, because I would be sweating heavy by mile 1 and could not cool down or stay hydrated enough. In addition, these conditions are not remotely representative of probable race conditions.

I ordered myself some awesome running lights, which arrived a couple days ago. I'll be fishing out my colder running gear and plan on using the treadmill as little as possible. Plus, I'll get way more hills outside. I have been doing all treadmill runs at 1% grade though, which I actually like a lot for treadmill running.

Strength
Although I got not strength sessions, which is common, I managed to do my stretches every single day. This is a huge win for me, and probably the only reason my runs went so well and I wasn't feeling so awful like I usually would on weeks I get little to no cross training.

Nutrition
Doing a little better with my eating and have lost some weight. Not much, but it's progress. I still need to get myself back into more consistency with logging my food into MFP.

Final Thoughts
Overall a rough week, but I got in four days of running, which was very much needed. I just need to somehow find the time to get in more runs. I'll worry about the rest after.

Disney Training - Week 5

Another well-intended week with house stuff getting in the way. I am definitely disappointed with my training, but we got a ton done at the house, and there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel now. Therefore, I will keep plugging away at house stuff. This upcoming week, however, I have set a schedule to make sure I don't miss any training workouts. I might miss others, but the primary training ones will not be skipped or shifted.

Swimming
I was able to get in one session. I had tried to use a planned workout, but selected the wrong options and although my swim went well, the tracking was messed up. That's a minor detail though, as the main thing is that I actually swam.

Cycling
I had intended to hop on my bike a couple times, but that never happened. I'll keep trying to get more consistent with that. I would hate my current efforts to fade away.

Running
Two out of five runs isn't that great, but it's better than nothing. On a really good note, I felt great on both runs. Granted my treadmill one was rather rough, but there is always so little to no airflow at the gym, so that was expected.

Strength
No formal strength sessions this week. However, I cannot even begin to count the weight I moved up and down over a dozen stair cases. In addition, I lifted countless boxes. I definitely got a good workout, just nothing formal.

Nutrition
I had healthier habits this week. I was able to cut down a lot of the portions. Plus with Blue Apron I have eaten very healthy for a few nights. I still snack way too much, but ever thought I don't have any chips or pretzels.

Final Thoughts
My focus of getting my house finished is still my top priority. I do have a plan in place now so I can get house stuff done and still have time for my scheduled workouts. The real test will be to see if I can get any other workouts in. Here's to a good upcoming week! Cheers!

Disney Training - Week 4

With my foot doing much better, I decided before I got running that I would work on some endurance and continued with my TrainerRoad program. I completed all three TrainerRoad workouts, although one did not go very well. I was pleased to end my week with getting in a run, which I will go into more detail below. I also got in a strength session, as well as a stretch and light cardio session, which really helped me out as well. Overall, an awesome recovery week for my foot that ended with me ready to get back into my Disney training.

Swimming
I didn't get any swimming in, which, as usual, bothers me and I need to improve on this.

Cycling
I got in three TrainerRoad workouts in. I can honestly say I have never been so taxed on riding my trainer before. This has really opened my eyes to structured indoor training and I love it! My Friday session did not go well though. It had nothing to do with the ride, but rather me. I had not slept well the night before and I consumed an insane amount of caffeine that day, which bit me hard for my ride. I was having severe shakes and my heart was going nuts. Therefore, I had to cut my ride short. Sunday went much better. I am not sure I'll be able to get all three sessions in each week, but I hope to get at least two.

Running
My foot was feeling good at the beginning of the week, but I didn't want to risk anything. However, by the weekend I felt 100% so I went out for a run. It was mostly hills and it felt amazing! For the first time in a long time I not only felt good during and after my run, but nothing bothered me; knees, feet, back, or shoulder. I am definitely ready to get back to my Disney training. Although, I will make sure to alter the distance to ease back into it.

Strength
I was able to get in one actual strength session. It was full body strength with a focus on core. It was challenging and I was definitely a bit sore the following two days. This is just further evidence I need to be getting in more strength sessions because I should not have been sore like I was.

Nutrition
I seem to continue to fight the nutrition monster; myself. Things are starting to get a little more normal with the move-in, and we have some Blue Apron meals planned for next week, so I am hoping to get my nutrition a little more on track.

Final Thoughts
A very good week as I mentioned. I know I have said this before, but I really need to get swimming again and must incorporate more strength training. In addition, I think I need to do actual strength workouts, not just HiiT-style full body workouts. I will probably continue with mostly body-weight strength, but it will be a lot more focused on specific muscle groups.

Some TrainerRoad Things I Have Learned So Far

I decided to take the plunge into structured indoor cycling workouts to both help my endurance and improve my overall cycling training. I have tried doing my own thing for years, where I will focus on drills and do cadence training. Don't get me wrong, it has worked really well. For an outdoor ride with hills, my longer rides have gone from averaging 15 mph to 19+ mph. However, I am training not only for an Ironman right now, but my goal is to qualify for Kona. This means putting out some serious bike speeds in addition to exponentially improving my swimming.

Accuracy
If you don't have a smart trainer or a power meter, don't take the actual FTP value as absolute. For example, I know my one friend can turn out some pretty decent power, but my base FTP after my FTP Test was insanely higher than his; 344 for reference. However, that doesn't mean this isn't a really useful number. Along with FTP/kg, you can really plan and gauge progress. Instead of focusing on actual FTP, I'll be focusing on my percent improvement over time. Therefore I will still be gaining all of the benefits I need from knowing this data. The only time accuracy is more important is if you are competing with friends, which I am definitely not, and would buy a power meter if I was.

Heart Rate Broadcasting - Garmin 935XT
Since I am back indoors, plus TrainerRoad needs at least a speed sensor, I put my Garmin speed and cadence sensors back on my bike. Pairing was easy once I had the Ant+ iPad dongle and the 30-pin to lightning adapter. However, my first workout got me stuck with 2 workouts showing up because my HR was tracked on my watch and power and related metrics on TrainerRoad. I learned the other day that the Garmin 935XT, along with many of the newer and more high-end Garmin devices, can broadcast HR for other devices to pick up. This worked and I am so happy. Here is what I did.

On Garmin 935XT Watch

1. Hold "Up" button then scroll to and select "Settings"

2. Scroll to and select "Sensors & Accessories"

3. Scroll to and select "Wrist Heart Rate"

4. Scroll to and select "Broadcast Heart Rate"

5. Your HR is now broadcasting and your app can pick up the data and you can do your workout

You perform this each time you do your ride. Once this is enabled, you do not need to start the activity on your watch. Just leave it as-is. You can now find and sync it with the TrainerRoad app. Perform your ride and enjoy!

You Don't Need an Expensive Trainer

Most people think you need an expensive trainer that measures power and can automatically adjust resistance when hooked in with training apps such as TrainerRoad. I beg to differ, as I am a very cheap triathlete and hate spending money on gear. I purchased a standard magnetic trainer on Amazon for about $50 and that's as smart as I went.

TrainerRoad, not sure about others like Zwift, has a fancy chart to allow you to match a supported trainer with the trainer you have. This obviously adds to less accuracy of FTP, but you can read above for my explanation on that. You will definitely need to buy a skewer, however, as trying to use the quick release that is common on most road and tri bikes doesn't really fit too well and you will be prone to the bike coming loose and risking some serious injury. Other than that, you will need a PC, MAC or iOS device that has an Ant+ adapter. Once you have these things, you are good to go. 

I hope to add more tips and tricks as I learn more. Enjoy your next workout!

Disney Training - Week 3

Another busy week with moving in and getting situated. It seems I am more prone to injuries now with non-sports related activities. I hurt my other foot to add to the mix. Fortunately, it's nothing major and my other foot is starting to recover now. I finally got my trainer setup, so I got in a couple rides, which were tough but felt really good. I wanted to toss in some strength, but psyched myself out and I just didn't get any done. I will be working hard to get over this mental hurdle this week.

Swimming
I didn't get in any swims, which was really disappointing. Honestly, I was too lazy to drive to the gym to swim. I won't make excuses this week, that's my plan.

Cycling
As I noted, I finally got my trainer setup. I signed up with Trainer Road to have some structured trainer workouts this time around. In prior years, I primarily just rode on my trainer, with no real strategy, other than volume and some slight variability in resistance. Since my primary focus is still running, I'll be starting a cycling plan, but will be focused on building up my legs and building back my endurance. It will be very interesting to do training with power, even if it's estimated power. I have always just done cadence training and never really seen too many gains.

Running
As you know, my foot is still healing, so I am doing no running at all, even though I have just completed week 3 of training and am onto week 4. With how my foot is feeling right now, I expect to be back to some light running by the end Week 4, and back into a modified plan in Week 5. I definitely need to be careful, since I have lost a good amount of conditioning already. My thought right now is I will start Week 5 with a modified version of Week 2, and assuming I am fine from that, Week 6 I will do a faster ramp-up.

Strength
Not only did I not start my NTC strength plan this week, I didn't do any strength training either. I had one session of rehab work, which was just stretching and core. I am pretty disappointed in myself on this one, as I know the key to faster recovery, improvement, and injury prevention is to have my strength up.

Nutrition
Nutrition was a mixed bag this week. In most regards, I did pretty well with making sure I had less snacks and higher quality meals. However, my portion control was still very poor, I didn't log my food even though I set reminders with MFP, and I still snacked more than I should have. However, I am starting to cook more again, which aided in some of my better decisions this week, so I am going to keep focusing on progress.

Final Thoughts
This was definitely not one of my better weeks and I had a lot of excuses. I really don't take injury well and I need to get over that somehow. As usual I have a good plan, but let's hope I can actually stick with it. Good luck to everyone with the endeavors!

Building Plan: Week 15 Complete

Another week down! It was a crazy week and I was not home much and my work schedule prevented me from working out at lunch time. However, I was still diligent and got a good amount of workouts in. What is most important is that I didn't miss my strength sessions. My goal for the upcoming week is to not miss any runs, but we shall see, because with any luck I'll be dealing with potentially new home stuff.

Swimming
No time for swimming again. This is still a point of frustration, but my schedule has not permitted me to get to a pool. To make matters worse, I am not sure I'll get to the pool this upcoming week either. I am sure going to try though.

Cycling
I was able to get a cadence ride in last night. I was nervous about doing this because I didn't want to be too exhausted for my strength session. That was silly, because of course I was, but I pushed through and did awesome with my strength session. Also, I am feeling more comfortable than I expected with my new resistance at 90 RPM. I didn't expect to be increasing this for another week or two, but I will be increasing this week.

Running
Although I did not get more than 1 full cadence session in, I still ran 3 times. I have gone back to doing warm-up cardio before my strength sessions. Therefore I was able to get in two 10 minute runs. My cadence was alright for both. With the strength sessions, my legs have been a bit more tired, so it's been tougher to get the turnover I need. This is alright though because my average SPM is increasing even though my legs are tired, showing my strength is improving.

Strength
I hit all of my NTC workouts this week. I feel amazing after doing them, and I keep seeing great improvements in functional strength, mobility, and muscle strength.

Nutrition
I logged almost 100% of everything I ate this week. This was challenging because I didn't always make good decisions; whether it be from stress, needing something quick and easy, or just giving into cravings. However, getting almost everything logged helped me mentally a lot, so I am going to keep focusing on that and with any luck, over the next few weeks my bad habits should start to decrease considerably. On a really good note, my soda consumption is down exponentially! I am no longer drinking or craving Pepsi Max, only drinking Coke Zero when I have Rum and Cokes (a couple times a week), and having a ginger ale when my stomach is upset (this seriously works wonders for me).

Final Thoughts
Overall I am seeing improvements each week. My strength sessions are really having positive effects on all of my cardio workouts. I look forward to keeping up this momentum and once my life schedule isn't as hectic, I'll be able to fit in more cardio sessions.

Building Plan: Week 13 Complete

This week ended up being a recovery week, as my foot was really aggravated and I will do anything to prevent getting injured again, especially my foot. I did not do as much stretching as I should have though, which really bothers me. I need to get back into my stretches. Overall, by the end of the week, my foot was finally feeling better and I am hoping to run during Week 14.

Swimming

I got in three swims, all of which felt amazing! With only swimming once per week typically, I forgot how refreshed and loose my body feels after a swim. I definitely need to increase my weekly swim volume.

Cycling

I got in two rides this week. I had really wanted to get 3-4 rides, but laziness and excuses kept me from achieving that. Overall my rides were really well and I found the cadence a bit easy, so I'll be increasing resistance. It's always exciting to see gains even when that is not the focus.

Running

As I already noted, I did not run at all. My foot would flare up during the week, so I made sure I didn't attempt any running. With my foot finally feeling better Sunday, I am hoping to get some runs in. However, I will be a bit careful and I'll probably set my first run to my Week 5/6 Cadence training plan.

Strength

I did no planned strength workouts this week, which is a major mistake on my part. I had planned on doing my original physical therapy routine 2-3 times, plus stretching everyday. I failed miserably on this and will have to be extra cautious for Week 14 to make sure I don't aggravate my food again.

Nutrition

For the most part, I did alright with nutrition. Super Bowl Sunday was not so good, but I have no regrets because I had a ton of fun cooking.

Final Thoughts

If it wasn't for skipping basically all of my strength routines, I would have said it was a successful week. But, sadly, I still show signs of having trouble to get over injury from a mental standpoint. Going forward, I am going to try and approach injuries like DOMS or general muscle soreness. Hopefully I will then not feel defeated and just do a workout to make it better.

Building Plan: Week 12 Complete

What a week! I started off pretty well, and ended with a minor injury. I started off the week perfectly. I was a bit more exhausted than usual from my Wednesday run, so I had taken Thursday off. For my Friday run, I forgot my usual running shoes so I used a pair I have used in the past, but they did not have my orthotics. This was not an issue since I was running more forefoot and midfoot. However, this caused more muscle impact than I had realized. So when I did my Saturday, lower and thigh intense strength session, I hurt myself. I was feeling too lazy to drive 30 minutes to the gym to swim, so I had done a trainer ride and stretched. However, this only made everything worse and Monday I couldn't do anything. I am still hobbling. So Week 13 is going to be focused on flexibility, blood flow, and being loose.

Swim

I should have swam Thursday to help recovery from my tough Wednesday run. I should have swam Sunday after my legs, back and right foot were doing bad from my Saturday strength session. I did no swimming, and am suffering for it.

Bike

I got 2/3 sessions in. Despite how my legs felt, my 2nd session felt really good and I was able to maintain my cadence with no problem at my current resistance level.

Run

My Wednesday run was rough. The gym was way too hot and I couldn't hydrate quick enough. Overall, it was a decent run though. My Friday run went extremely well, considering I was in different running shoes than I usually wear. Plus I didn't have my orthotics. Overall though, this wasn't a problem since I was fore and midfoot striking. The shoes I was wearing were considerably lighter than my main pair, and I had no issues with turnover, allowing me to easily hit my 180 cadence and have my pace considerably faster than usual. However, I was not able to do my Sunday run due to my injury on Saturday.

Strength

I was able to get 2/3 sessions completed. My second session was focused on lower strength, with targeting of inner thighs and quads. The workout seemed to go well, although extremely tough. However, this workout injured me because I was not aware of how weak my muscles were from my run the prior day.

Nutrition

I did terrible with my nutrition this week. I had a little more stress than usual and therefore at horribly. To make it worse, I did not log most of the junk I ate. I will be working to dramatically improve this issue.

Final Thoughts

Despite the injury and nutrition, it was a very insightful week where I learned a lot about my body, my training, and impacts from workouts and variations in form. Week 13 is going to be treated as a recovery week, and then Week 14 I will get back to running. If I am feeling better later in Week 13, I might try to do a run, but I will be overly conservative on any decision.

Building Plan: Week 11 Complete

So this was a rough week. Monday was an incredibly challenging strength routine. I thought I was doing well on Tuesday, so instead of cycling I ran. Well, I hurt myself a little. Nothing major, but I couldn't do anything for the following two days. I adjusted my schedule though, recovered, and finished out the week on a good note.

Swimming
My shake-out swim was rough. I was spent after my run, but I still managed to get in 800 yards. Had to pound 2 nuun tabs after though to keep me from passing out. Although my swims are designed to just help with my recovery and push myself a little extra, I am happy with how my swims are going. My form has been much better, especially my arm rotation along with my pull and push. It will be exciting later in the year when I start my actual swim training to see what I can do on a fresh swim.

Cycling
I got in a cadence ride this week and it was awesome! I was shocked I could hold my cadence for 45 minutes, which is 15 minutes longer than my previous rides. In addition, I had been having trouble keeping that cadence. I am going to hopefully have another successful cycling week and then I am going to bump up the resistance.

Running
As I noted, my first run was really bad. I started my new cadence training week, 7/8. So aside from it being a lot tougher from that, my legs and body were not remotely recovered from my Monday strength session. Therefore, I was having terrible heart rate spikes and pains all over. My foot is still bugging me slightly. So, I took off 2 days and I waited until Sunday to do another run. My Sunday run was awesome though! I completed it and overall my cadence wasn't too bad. However, it wasn't as good as it could have been because my foot still was slightly bothering me from Tuesday. The gym was also so hot and humid that I was having trouble cooling myself and staying hydrated enough. Looking forward to smarter running and more of Week 7/8.

Strength
Even though I hurt myself, I still got in two of my three strength sessions. They were great as always and I keep seeing more improvement every week!

Nutrition
I am getting better with logging my food. Still not 100% there yet. I have not been too good at quality of food in some cases, but I'll get there.

Final Thoughts
Overall a tough week for me, especially since I don't handle being injured very well. However, I fought through my mental hurdle, recovered, and finished out the week strong. I am so proud of myself for accomplishing that. I look to keep the momentum going into next week!

Building Plan: Week 9 Complete

Another solid week of workouts. I had some extra muscle soreness during the week, so I had to take 2 rest days, but aside from that, I did really well with my workouts. I also did much better with nutrition and logging my meals. I am really pleased with my continued progress.

Swimming

I still have not been able to find time yet to get more swims into my schedule. As my body gets used to my actual planned training schedule demands and my cat gets healthier, I will be able to schedule more time to swim. I was able to get in one swim in this week, although it was short and intended to both push myself after already being exhausted from my run, as well as act as a shake-out to aid in recovery. And it served its purpose perfectly! As I am writing this, I feel amazing. And that was just after a tiny 4 x 100 yd swim. Although, that swim felt like a nightmare though. I was struggling to rotate my arms and kick my legs. I had wanted to get in at least 800-1200 yds, but I had to stop because I felt like I was going to pass out.

Cycling

I got in no cycling this week. It fell on the 2 days I needed to take as rest days. This is fine, however, as my reason for cycling right now is to just cycle and lightly work on cadence.

Running

I got in all three runs! I am so pumped about this. I am also psyched that I did fairly well. I was a bit disappointed that my cadence was so much lower than I really wanted it to be, but that is why my plan is designed to extend an extra week or so if needed. I am expecting my cadence to get closer to my range during Week 10. One thing I am noticing though is that the increased speed and duration are starting to see some strain on my knees. However, it only occurs when I drag my leg back in my kick-back for my stride. This shows a breakdown in my form and thankfully is easy to immediately correct. Once my cadence training is over, I will be starting to adjust the treadmill to incline of 0.5, and then to 1 to more closely mimic the resistance of self-propelling myself forward when running outside on a flat course or track. This might actually be a good article to explain in more detail later.

Strength

I got in 2 out of 3 sessions in this week. I had to skip my 3rd because I had used that as a rest day. My first session of the week was highly focused on legs. And man did that wreck me. I literally could not do a single thing on Tuesday, as my legs were shot. Not going to lie, it was a glorious feeling. I am so excited my legs are slowly getting stronger and I love pushing myself to the max. My second session was mostly hip and back stretches mixed with core strength. I also did a fitness test for my program. It was supposed to take 5 minutes, and it took me 15 and I was having trouble breathing. These fit tests are brutal. I was supposed to end with another leg focus routine, but I was too exhausted from my Friday run. I am going to repeat this program, as it is working really well. I am hoping one more 4 week session of this body weight program and I will be able to start moving to weighted routines.

Nutrition

I logged my meals every day! I didn't really meet my goals much, but I didn't really care about this. I am a stress eater and with the constant trips to the vet hospital every day, I am not going to remove my outlet right now. Once my cat is well, I will be working on changing my stress outlet to something more productive and beneficial.

Sleep

I am adding this section because it's so important. However, my sleep is awful. I have pretty much been passing out from mental exhaustion and my sleep quality is horrible. I don't expect this to change until my cat is better.

Final Thoughts

I going to be shooting for 3/3 for both strength and running for Week 10. Also going to be making sure to keep up with my food logging. Hope everyone is doing well with their goals!

Building Plan: Week 8 Complete

Another week down. I am happy to say this was one of my best weeks! I decided to stop trying to get doubles in and just focus on getting my designated workout in. For the most part, I hit almost all of my workouts.

Strength

I am starting off with strength training this time because this is supposed to be the most important thing for my training right now. However, I only made 2/3 workouts this week. My second workout was heavily focused on legs, and I sadly overworked my legs a little too much. So, this caused me to miss a run, my other strength session, and a ride. I am not too upset though as this is proof I have not been putting the proper training time in. I expect this week to be much better.

Running

I was able to get 2/3 running sessions completed this week. I felt really good for both Week 5/6 sessions and I think I am going to move onto Week 6/7. Overall, my cadence improved significantly for my outside run. I also felt much better. However, the temperature really fluctuated a lot during the short run and that made me feel a bit sick later. All better now though. I am not sure how many more outside runs I will get in, but I will keep trying to get my weekend run to be outside, weather-permitting.

Cycling

I got in only 1 cadence ride. It felt much better than last time though and I plan on slightly increasing resistance this week, as my heart rate stayed in zone 1 almost the entire time. I am hoping to get at least 2 rides in this week.

Swimming

I was not able to get in my swim. I went a bit too late to do my run and when I was done, I had family things to take care of. I will make sure I am not so lazy this week with my schedule.

Final Thoughts

I am still seeing good improvement with my strength and running. Everything is slow, but that is fine because they are not what I am focused on right now. Going forward, I think I am going to structure my weekly workout post to mimic triathlon; Swimming, Cycling, Running, Strength, and Nutrition. I think with a couple weeks of consistency improvement, I am going to tack on nutrition for this week. My main goal for this is to just log everything and try my best to avoid mindless snacking. Hope everyone is doing well with their training.

Building Plan: Week 7 Complete

What a week! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, are enjoying Hanukkah, or just enjoying some time off from work. I had one of my most successful workout weeks in a while, and I am hoping to keep this momentum. I had great running sessions, although my strength sessions were lacking again. I also did much better with cross training.

Strength Training

I only got in 1 of 3 full sessions. I did my usual daily stretches, but that doesn't make up for the 2 days missed. I will be making a bigger effort to make sure I am getting these strength days, as I feel this week was successful because of strength from last week.

Running

I hit all 3 runs this week! I continued my cadence week 5/6 plan. I'll make a post later showing the training progression plan. However, I will note now, and when I post, that this plan was specifically to help correct a running form issue I developed over the last few years due to my injuries and is not a plan I'll be building on. I will be building on my mileage, but this program was focused on my stride and foot strike.

Sunday I was able to get outside and run at a local track. It was an extremely tough run though because I have not run outside in a long time, so my SPM was much lower than I wanted. I was excited to learn the only open-to-public track in my county is the one somewhat near me. I'll be going here a lot more, as there is no substitute for outside running. Don't get me wrong, I have been making incredible strides with the treadmill, and it has been really good to get me going, but I need to wind, extreme temperature changes, and soon, hills.

Cycling

I was got in a cadence ride on my trainer. These rides are still destroying me. I am not too concerned though, as I have no been focusing on cycling or my cycling cadence much. However, I am not going to just hop on the bike to ride and burn calories, so I chose cadence. I am still hoping that once I get my running and strength consistent, I'll be able to bump up to at least 2 cadence sessions a week.

Swimming

I only did a short swim after one of my runs. It was 10 minutes and I was focused on form, especially arm rotation. I did this for two reasons. The first is that I usually recover exponentially quicker when i swim after my runs. Secondly, I wanted to push my shoulders, as they were already tired from my run. I think I did pretty well, and my goal is to always get in a swim after at least one of my runs, if not more.

Final Thoughts

Overall this is one of the best weeks I have had in a while. I plan on continuing this momentum. I'll definitely be adding another week of my Cadence Week 5/6 to my schedule. Although I don't have any running races or triathlons planned for 2017 yet, my dad wants to do the City to Shore ride again, but with the Century distance (100 miles or 160 km). So I'll be training for that.

Spin Bikes vs Bike Trainers

I want to start off by saying I am writing this due to my frustration in my training. This led me to do some research and therefore I wanted to share my thoughts.

What is a Bike Trainer?

A bike trainer is a cycling tool that is designed to allow you to ride your bike while remaining stationary. There are a few different types, but I am not going to go into full detail on each one. Rather, the two most common trainers are one where you put your whole bike on the trainer (first picture above) or one where you remove the rear wheel and hook up the bike via the cassette.

For a base model trainer, you will be able to adjust resistance of trainer, in addition to shifting your gears for additional resistance adjustments. The higher models you go up, the more features you get. A typical benefit to cassette trainers is that if they are "smart" you will get power as one of the tracked metrics. Now, if you already have a power meter on your bike, this might be a moot point. Some trainers will even allow you to adjust for hills.

What is a Spin Bike?

A spin bike is a stationary upright bike that is designed to mimic the ergonomics of a road or triathlon bike. Similar to trainers, the higher end you go, the more metrics and hill abilities you get. As opposed to having wheels like a traditional bike, it basically has a front "friction-less" disc that connect back to the crankset. This whole system is designed to be as low friction as possible, with either a digital or manual resistance adjuster.

What is the Difference

From a pure cardiovascular workout standpoint, both types are great. You can get a wonderful burn and enjoy the benefits of biking while indoors. You can also do various strengthening drills on both, such as one-legged drills. However, this is mostly where their similarities end.

A spin bike is going to be very deceptive to the rider when comparing to real road conditions while on a real bike. Due to the mechanical design of a spin bike, it avoids a lot of the friction and mechanisms you get in a standard bike. Granted, there are road and triathlon bikes designed to reduce friction, but nothing to the level of a spin bike. Also, there is just no beating training on your own bike. There is a completely different feel and balance, even when stationary, to your bike on the trainer versus a spin bike. Your bike is, or should be, set perfectly to your dimensions. A spin bike can be adjusted of course, but most aspects are different. A spin bike also avoids a crucial aspect of road biking; shifting. Since you can't coast on a spin a bike and you adjust frictional resistance versus shifting, you don't get the same experience you would when out on the road. Granted, a trainer is not going to let you coast either, but you will be able to shift.

My Personal Experience

When I first got into road biking, it was already late fall and I started with a spin a bike. I worked up to some of the max resistance of the spin bike while maintaining a very high RPM. When spring came around and I bought my road bike, I expected to hop on and fly through any obstacle with ease and at lightning fast speeds. My first go on the bike I fell over from lack of balance. My first hard bend, I crashed. My first monster uphill, I couldn't even make it up. My first downhill I already wiped out. My first massive side gust, I got blown over. My first race, my time was double what I expected.

My point here is that despite doing all of the recommended drills and training like crazy on a spin bike did virtually nothing to help me with actual road biking. This is a very common theme for most cyclists. This is why most cyclists you will talk to have a trainer at home, or go to a gym where they can hook up their bike to a trainer.

Final Thoughts

I know this was a bit lengthy of an article, but I wanted to stress there is no substitute to training on a bike versus a spin bike. If you race, I can only recommend using a trainer, except for when you just want to get a good cardio workout in to work on endurance. Otherwise, stay away from the spin bikes. However, if you don't have the space for a trainer and spinning is your only option, definitely do it. Just make sure the second you can get back on your bike, you do it.