87 Days! Bye Bye June

June is but merely a memory so time to take a look back on a monthly recap.  June is the first month that I have been able to be consistent with my schedule although I have missed a few OWS due to weather and going down to watch Jamie do her Ironman!!

Training weekend went very well and I'm so pleased that I went because it did increase my confidence going into the race. Work has still been very busy but I have limited my focus to training, work, sleep and Z and I feel better.  I do need to get this move done but Z is helping with all of those details and I should spend some more time with friends which I am going to try and arrange but right now sleep is my biggest priority.

Less than 90 days until the race so I've given up soda, candy, fried food and alcohol. Time to really buckle down and make sure that I put myself in the best situation possible for the race.

JUNE TOTALS:
Swim: 29,301 yards (WOW)
Bike: 223.7 miles
Run: 6
Total: 246.34  (now we are talking)

January Totals:                                    Feb:                             March:
Swim: 9,801 meters                         18,756 yards                   8,625 meters
Bike: 43.46 miles                               123.5 Miles                    92.76 miles
Run (AlterG): 7.16 miles                    13.5 (Alter G)                24.8 miles
Total Miles: 56.71                           Total Miles: 147.6              Total: 122.92 miles

April Totals:                            May Totals

Swim: 7,464 yards               Swim: 7191 yards

Bike: 67.58 miles                  Bike: 44.3

Run: 53.58 miles                   Run: 4

Total miles: 125.4             Total Miles: 58.07

The devil is in the details

How many times a day do you find yourself thinking, "I wish I was as skinny as that person" or maybe "I wish I was as fast or as strong." The risks of comparing yourself without the full details is that you don't know how often that person trains to be that fast, how many years it took them of 5am work outs, you don't know if that skinny person feels terribly about themselves or if they struggle to put on weight. 

A few weeks ago I did metabolic testing to give myself some valuable knowledge as I forge ahead with Ironman training. I wanted to find out my exact heart rate zones so I could heart rate train properly as well as find out my body fat percentage and my metabolic rate just for extra information. I wasn't very shocked to learn my body fat percentage but when I shared the information with some friends they seemed very surprised to learn the number and the response was always "but you are so skinny."  

Let's start with what is your body fat percentage? Your body fat percentage is your total mass of fat divided by your total mass. There is a certain level of essential fat in your body that is necessary for life functions and that percentage is different in men and women.  For men they must have 3-5% for life functions, women must have 8-12% for normal life functions. Please note I am not a doctor, I did not stay at a holiday inn express last night and nothing I am talking about is intended to be medical advice!

My number is....drumroll...27.5%.  This puts me in the average range for women and I would ideally like to be in the fitness range and I believe I can make the necessary changes to get there before Chattanooga. This is not my BMI, personally I don't think BMI is every really accurate because it only uses your height and weight not actual information about your body fat. Let's explore a little bit about why my body fat percentage is 27.5% and what it means.  Where your body fat is stored is more important than the number of how much you have. Of course we have all heard "a moment on the lips forever on the hips" some people carry their body fat on the thighs, hips and butt, some carry it around the middle and some have visceral fat which is stored around the organs.  Unfortunately for me I have the later so I'm what you might call skinny fat and now I need to make some changes. 

Every day your body burns calories just to exist and that is your metabolism at work, I learned that my metabolism is 12% faster than the average person my age, height and weight.  Essentially I burn 12% more calories just to exist and then add in all my work outs and I need to ensure I am taking in enough calories to sustain life. That my friends is how someone gets skinny fat, they don't eat enough calories so their body thinks it is in a famine and begins to store fat for when the food runs out. My focus in the coming weeks will be on ensuring I get to at least 2100 good calories per day, proper fueling before work outs and proper refueling with protein after work outs.  

My avoidance of nutrition has gone on long enough and I need to take it seriously to make sure I get the results that I want from Chattanooga.  Nutrition can make or break race day, the devil will be in those details and I want to make sure I set myself up for success. 

January Totals:
Swim: 9,801 meters
Bike: 43.46 miles
Run (AlterG): 7.16 miles
Total Miles: 56.71 (if my math is correct)

February Totals

Swim :18,756 yards

Bike: 123.5 miles

Run (Alter G) 13.5 Miles
Total Miles: 147.6 (now I just need to do most of that distance in one day :-P)

So much Data...what does it mean?!?

I belong to a triathlon team and our goal is to mentor and guide new women in the sport of triathlon, in fact that is a topic for another blog!  I mention it because today in our private group there was a lot of talk of swim information and what it all means.  These new fancy watches record all this data but what does it really mean to the normal athlete? Well apparently not much, there was a lot of debate and confusion so I thought I would break down some of the swim stats you are seeing from Garmin and what they all mean to me.

See below from my most recent pool swim:

SUMMARY Section:

Distance: Pretty self explanatory, the total meters or yards that you swam in your work out.

Pool Length: Again, this is set by you on the Garmin. You have 25/50 and then you can set custom length. 

Time: This is the elapsed time of your work out

Average pace: This calculates the average time it takes you to swim 100 meters over the course of your work out.

Calories: I never really use this to guide me but it gives you ball park what you burned.

TIMING Section:

Time: Is your total work out time

Elapsed Time: If you tend to pause your clock while working out for breaks, etc this will be MORE than the time section because it is calculating the overall total time. 

Average Pace: Again this is your average 100m time pace

Best Pace: This is the fastest 100m pace of your work out. (I think my watch got confused for this workout)

SWIMMING Dynamics (this is where things get tricky):

Total Strokes: How many strokes did you take in the entire work out? This will be affected if you are doing drills that don't involve strokes with your watch arm.

Average Strokes: This is the average of how many strokes it took you to go one pool length. 

Average Stroke Rate: This is breaking down how many strokes do you take in one minute, depending on how long it takes you do a pool length this number should be higher than your average stroke per pool length. 

Max Stroke Rate: The largest number of strokes that you took in one minute during the work out

SWOLF: The time in seconds plus the strokes it takes you to complete one pool length.  Ideally you want this score as low as possible. 

Now the real question is: What does all this mean to me?

Well as a swimmer you want to be as efficient as possible, gliding in the water with each stroke. Ideally you want to take as few strokes as possible while still moving quickly on each pool length thus having a low SWOLF.  The two values really work together to ascertain your over all swim health because a very low stroke count but a very long time to reach the other side will not be over all efficient.  Same with a high stroke count but low time to cross the pool, you are expending a lot of energy.  You need to find the sweet spot that results in a lower SWOLF.  

Your body composition may also affect these numbers so it is important as with all work outs NOT to compare yourself with others, if someone has longer arms they may have less strokes or if you are doing drills your numbers will be thrown off. If you want to compare work to compare your own workouts to see your development over time but keep in mind certain drills will affect these numbers. Also, try to limit your push and glide off the wall because this will really throw off your stroke numbers, there are no walls in an open water swim!

Did this clear things up? Still have questions? Leave a comment!