New 2013 Kits! Ordering open now!

M2 has been tinkering with a new design for a few years now.  An epiphany finally struck for  our new iteration to keep you looking and feeling great out on the roads and races.  When you look good, you feel good.  When you feel good you go faster!  

Here is a sample of the near final design for the 2013 kits.  Make sure you get your order in by December 3rd, no exceptions!

Visit Voler's ordering site by clicking here.

Recommended Training Kit essentials: 

Cycling Bottoms - recommend bibs for menLong-sleeve and short sleeve jerseyVest Vest (in the absence of a vest a gore-tex frontal base layer works with long-sleeve to keep warm)
Tri Tops and Shorts to finish the look for your races!

2013 Group Training Program

With another successful year at M2 for our training group, capped off with athletes competing at the 70.3 and Ironman World Championships, and even more reaching their personal records in all distances, M2 is planning out the 2013 version.  Big things for next year building off our regular group platform, adding events, and additional services to help get you to your first big race, or new goals for the new season!

Ironman Lake Tahoe is of course the major event for most of the Bay Area's long distance athletes, and M2 will have a program for that, but there are many great races that need attention as well.  Take a few moments to let us know your race schedule for next year to insure we build them into the group, and we can find your training/race partners too.

Survey Here:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BCTCPMJ

Some basics on M2's Endurance Group Training:
- Unlimited access to M2 Studio and CycleOps Power based classes
- Alter-G, High-Speed Treadmill and Computrainer Reservation Options
- TRX Suspension Training
- Vasa Swim Trainers and Ergometers
- Weekend Coached Rides and Runs with designated group leaders.  Routes and maps detailed by Thursday mornings.
- Monthly training plans customized for your event
- Group Forum/Message board for advice and support
- Anecdotal motivational stories from your own M2
- Special training events/camps throughout the year
- Discounts on Auto/Bike Insurance, RunningWareouse.com, CycleOps/Powertaps, Garmin Watches

Full breakdown of M2 services here: http://m2rev.blogspot.com/2012/02/m2-programs-and-services.html

Come join us on Friday, November 9th at 6:00 pm for our Happy Hour to learn more about how M2 can help you attain your 2013 goals!

RSVP's
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/355501017873049/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/112526676583716435355/events/coc4ub0rlr697hapvv3jhifnfsc

Big weekend at the races for M2 athletes!

M2 athletes were across the west taking on Big Kahuna and Vegas for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship.  Congratulations to everyone as we can see some great improvements for everyone.   Some notable finishes needs some attention and praise as these athletes have been putting in big efforts all year coming back from injuries, or just having a break-out season.

Big Kahuna - Santa Cruz, CA

Virgilio Pigliucci - 4:21:49 1st AG and the fastest run in his AG too!
Nick Giometti - 4:37:30 2nd AG, only losing out on the win by 24 seconds
Megan Lewis - 5:46:06 4th AG with her best race of the season
Lauren Skinner - 6:10:36 9th AG Great swim bike combo for the day
Illeana Figueroa - 5:39:25 6th AG Improving in all 3 legs from Wildflower earlier in the year
Amanda Schoenberg - 6:28:19 Taking the big leap into the Long Distance races
Deirdre Geary - 7:04:13 Improving on her Vineman 70.3 result from July


Rounding out the weekend, Mike Vulanich was taking on the world, and the heat, in Vegas for Ironman 70.3 World Championship.  This race, with a non-wetsuit swim, bike course that rivals Wildflower, and temperatures hovering at 100 degrees lead to a brutal day that Mike took on and prospered in.

With a stellar 4:43:47, Mike landed 15th in his Age Group, and well into the top 100 Amateurs for the day.

Fitting M2 Farewell to Ironman in Penticton

Sad, but true.  Ironman for the time being will not be in Penticton, but M2 was well represented in this seemingly final installment up North.  For all that M2 has endured in Canada, he is happy to see PR's and Ironman first timers perform so well on that hallowed course.

Great races all around to our athletes:

Sara Peschel passed nearly a 1000 people with a strong performance finishing at 12:57:22
Jessica Yin finished in 8th in her AG with an amazing race for 11:11:55
Mario Maturo in just under the 12 hour mark for his first Ironman with 11:58:28
Andrew Castaldi had a well balanced race for a PR at 10:37:22
Gary Rafferty dropped under 10:30 in his first IM for 10:25:51

Enjoy some rest and have a safe trip home.

Now we'll have to see if they keep M2's monument around for Challenge next year.

Mid Season Updates and Ironman Lake Tahoe!

Big news around the bay with Ironman Lake Tahoe being announced!  The team here at M2 is feverishly planning out options for 2013 lead up to this inaugural event that has everyone really excited.  Its about time we had an Ironman in our back yard!  You can keep up to date with our preliminary plans and announcements on our Facebook event page by RSVP'ing here.

The first half of our season is wrapping up and we wish our Ironman France and CdA athletes luck on their journeys.  No Lance in France, but from the pictures they've been sending us back, I think we are all very jealous (photo credit to Jenni Kirk, Happy Birthday!).

Some very notable results from our athletes closing out the first six months as well.

Tim Smith punched his Kona ticket at Ironman Cairns by finishing 17th overall (including pro's), and winning his Age Group with a 9:22:25 time highlighted by a 3:15 marathon!

Wildflower saw some great results as well with Sandrine Micoleau capturing 4th in her Age Group while Brett Miller edged out Stefan Irion for 5th in their Age Group during hotly contested race.

Dan Ross has been on a tear taking in Age Group honors with a 2nd at Metro Triathlon, and a 1st at Reservoir Triathlon!

Not to be outdone, Christine Aldeguer took on Escape from Alcatraz and crushed it, grabbing 2nd in her Age Group while breaking the 3 hour mark on that brutal course!

Add that to our impressive showing on the Tour of California ride, and 2012 has started off well for everyone.  M2 would like to say thanks for all the support.  Its a great time to be involved with the studio and we all look forward to more events and adventures to come.  You can check out some amazing shots taken by Loren Geller here, or from our talented, roving photographers here. 

Athletes Take on IM California 70.3!

Some impressive results coming out of Oceanside this weekend to kick off the season!  Regulars at M2 took home some PR's and some hardware to boot!  Nothing like some nasty weather to bring out the best in you as there was cold temperatures in the air, and the water, to compliment the light rain that left a film of grime on you bike to make it look like a warzone out there crossing Camp Pendleton.

Highlights:
Kyle Welch fresh off his IM New Zealand race taking a win in the M50-54 division
Dan Ross finding some redemption to an injury shortened 2011 with a podium 4th place M30-34 and Vegas spot
Kahn WU took 15 minutes off his bike split from 2011 and finished 13th in M30-34.  He also had a sub 30 minute swim which was amazing given the conditions and waves entering the harbor.
Brett Miller coming off his injury and finishing 9th in M35-39
Faith Bolliger put together a great full race and finished 9th in her division too!

Full results from Ironman

Congratulations on a great race to the rest of the M2'ers out there as well.  Lindsey Kasnick, Michael Caughlan, Bita Sistani, Lauren Skinner, Evan Lieginger, Renee Shaening, Dierdre Geary, PJ Gallagher, and Ryan Long.  Sorry if I forgot anyone.  It was a tough day out there an everyone should be proud of their early season result and use it to plan and motivate for the rest of the season.

p.s. Skinner, aren't you supposed to be a swimmer?

Running/Track Questions for M2

Some questions came up during our run this past weekend which are great ones to answer for anyone wanting to take the steps to work on speed.

M2's Training Group had a great run through Golden Gate Park, with a mini track session built into it at mile 6 to help improve people's turnover.  Some in the group weren't familiar with how a track session should work so some basics had to be laid out.

Track Sessions:

- The common start is the corner of the track where nearly all events start.  It is best to start workout there because there is a specific start/stop point.  Many times athletes when given a vague start/stop will take a little leigh-way and not do the entire effort.  A specific point does wonders mentally to helping people complete tasks.  At Kezar, the common start is the South East Corner of the track.
- Stay out of lane 1 unless you are in an interval with good pace
- If you hear "Track", it is a polite way of saying, "Get out of my way!"
- 200 meters is a half a lap
- 400 meters is a full lap
- 800 meters is 2 laps
- Breathing is a very important part to take into consideration for track workouts since you are increasing effort.  If breathing is erratic, a side stitch can be created, and a crash in effort.  Making sure to take deep controlled breaths alleviates this.  One way to do this is by breathing in a 3:2 pattern (should be able to hold a conversation-Conversational Pace), 3 steps to breath in, 2 steps to breath out.  As the effort increases you would go to a 2:2, and even to a 2:1 breathing pattern, making sure to fully exhale.

I first stumbled onto this breathing pattern in High School during Cross Country training.  Reading about it, they also described that there is a large amount of extra force expended at the beginning of an exhale.  Consistently exhaling on the same leg over time would lead to an imbalance, but also injury to that side and the 3:2 breathing breaks that pattern.

Not that anyone did anything terribly annoying on Sunday, but here's a note on track etiquette for everyone.  I wrote it last year in a bit of a fit due to some oblivious folks, but I got over it.

http://clydesdaletriathlon.blogspot.com/2011/03/track-running-for-dummies.html 

As the season progresses, don't ignore the value of increased run intensity along with distance.  Both are just as important.

Here are a few great resources if you want to jump into some track/speed work at Kezar:

SF Tri Club - Tuesdays at 6:45 - Lead by Tom McGlynn, former Olympic Trials Qualifier - www.sftriclub.org
GGTC - Wednesdays at 6:45 - Lead by Dorette Franks, profession triathlon/track coach - www.ggtc.org
San Francisco Road Runners - Tuesday 6:30 - Lead by our very own Jenni Kirk - http://sfrrc.clubexpress.com/
Golden Gate Running Club - Wednesday 7:00 - 1 of multiple club coaches to lead - http://www.goldengaterunningclub.org

Not sure of pricing, but all are about the same at around $160 for the season with discounts for members of each club. 

M2 has a plethora of speed workouts to utilize on your own, or on the High Speed Treadmill.  Even if you are injured, you can still jump on the Alter-G and get some faster turnover work in with these workouts.  Another great resource at M2!  Reserve Here

Sunday's Route - 9.6 Miles

CycleOps 400 Pro - Guest Post - Stefan Irion

With classes filling up, and the season cranking up, an impressive addition to the studio has been the 400PT bikes in the front of the class.  These are a little different as they have an electronic tension mechanism, instead of the knob tension to get resistance.  It takes a little instruction to use it effectively so we asked Stefan to break down some basics for everyone.  

Here is Stefan's first impressions of the 400PT from his own posts on IrionMan.

Having fun on the Cyclops 400PRO

I was riding the new M2 toy 400PRO in this mornings class  at M2 and I thought I share my thoughts, well knowing that this was the last time I rode the thing (because you will all jump on it now). 

While it appears to be similar to the 300 in physical appearance, the resistance dial is a mere dummy and you control the wattage using the little joystick on the right of the Joule head unit that you never used before. Pressing it down cycles between 'gear', 'target grade' and 'target power', while nudging it up or down moves the set value up or down (you guessed that). M2's recommended warm-up is on 'gear', where a higher number indicates an easier gear. I would find a sweet spot and then go up 2 (easier) for the cadence and down 2 (harder) for the stand. 

Moving into the main set of intervals it's pretty simple. Put it to 'target watts' and dial in the watts you estimate you can hold. Note that the unit will make you overachieve this target by about 10-15 watts on your average (ie you set it to X watts and you end up averaging X+15watts). A clever trick is to keep the 'gear' in a high gear so that when you come off a hard effort you can push down on the toggle switch and it becomes easy to pedal/rest. This works great, but there is a slight delay in ramping up and down and it's a bit tricky for very short intervals (ie 20s). Also the watts you are actually pushing fluctuate quite a bit (set point X, will make you push X +/- 20 watts), you can either like this as a rode-like feeling, or hate it. Your choice. I like it.

Overall fun experience, give it a try

----------------------------------------------------

There are currently four 400 Pro's in the studio, so feel free to try them out. 

M2 Programs and Services

The past few years have brought great things to our special studio.  From upgrades, new faces, and new services, M2 hopes to bring a quality, full service experience to all our members.

Cycling Classes

Cycling power is measured in watts. You might think of lifting weights as an analogy, where you can lift X amount of weight for Y repetitions. It is pretty simple to figure out how many times you can bench-press 50 pounds, and one does not need to spend time and money go to a lab or monitor heart rate to do so – it would be pretty silly actually.

Using our analogy, with a power-meter, a rider of any ability can quickly discern how many watts he/she can generate for a particular duration, be it 5 seconds, 3 minutes, 10 minutes, 60 minutes, or several hours. 

At M2 Revolution, our indoor cycles accurately measure power output so that riders of every ability can understand their fitness and enjoy seeing it measurably improve on a weekly basis, both in class and out on the roads.

Alter-G Treadmill

One of the great advancements in rehabilitation and continued training over the past few years is brought to the studio for members to take full advantage of. 

Why spend extra money anywhere else to aid in your recovery from surgery, or that marathon by going anywhere else when you can keep your legs moving on top of a bubble of air.  That is exactly what the Alter-G can do for you and it is brought to our Gold Pass members free (Drop-In fee $30.00).  

Appointments are strongly recommended as demand for this piece of equipment is high.

Click here to reserve: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ASP/home.asp?studioid=8859

High Speed Treadmill

Great for a quick brick/transition run, or dialed in speed work, the Noramco high speed treadmill is a fantastic piece of equipment.  Built to military specs, and to take a beating, M2's treadmill can attain 16 MPH and is sturdy enough to sustain the most brutal punishment. 


Here's a good video from Noramco to show this.  Utilizing the treadmill for sprint/speed workouts, you can jump on and off the treadmill to accomplish your intervals.




Please do not attempt over 12 MPH without a spotter or supervision.  These are dangerous speeds and should not be attempted for the first time alone. 

Computrainer

This is just another great tool to utilize along with M2's cycling classes.  M2 can provide stand alone workouts for the Computrainer system to help anyone achieve their improvement goals.  


Another great benefit of the Computrainer is the Spinscan function that helps to analyze pedal stroke for efficiency and left/right balance.

Bike Mechanic Services

With a dedicated and experienced mechanic Mike Cole on site, why waste time going across town to drop off, then pick up your bike for the weekend.  Mike can provide nearly any service, from minor tuning, to full overhauls at competitive prices.  Many services can be performed while you are in class, alleviating wasteful the back and forth from the bike shop.

Some impressive credentials Mike has accumulated over the years:

• DT Swiss wheelbuilding clinic
• Cannondale/Headshock intensive clinic
• Avid Hydraulic brake setup/bleed intensive private clinic
• Hayes brakes clinic, bleeding intensive
• Fox shox rebuild clinic
• Suspension design clinic with Ibis
• Understanding Vpp and DW link clinic with Mike Stewart (top 20 Pro BMX racer) from Giant
• Shimano disc brake technology 
• Numerous clinics with shimano reps, covering all product lines

Pricing and more here: http://www.m2rev.com/program/bycicle_repair_services.html

Vasa Trainers

For the time strapped athlete, Vasa Trainers and Ergometers are a great tool to aid in improving swim times.  While they do not replace proper swim training, the Vasa equipment can supplement a good swim regimen and easily add swim workout time, without the additional investment to get to a pool.


As with anything, using the equipment properly is required to attain the results, so please inquire with M2 on proper uses and workouts.

Free Weights and Fitness Equipment

From Dumbells to Bosu Balls, M2 has a wide variety of weights and equipment that lets athlete achieve a total body workout while at the studio.  One of the biggest problems athletes face is strengthening their other, non-primary muscles.  All the equipment is on hand the aid in helping athletes put in that extra 10-20 minutes pre or post workout to maintain a strong and stable core, or rehab and ongoing injury.

Jen Rubenstein - CMT, Full Body Certified ART® Therapist

An integrative practice of clinical, sport and deep tissue massage, Active Release Techniques and Cranial Sacral Therapy. Sessions are tailored to the unique needs of the individual with the aim of releasing pain and discomfort as well as addressing the underlying dysfunctions of long held patterns of tension and overuse.

Cycle, Run, Alter G, Functional Strength, and now recover with bodywork at M2. Jen offers online appointment scheduling, http://jrubinstein.com/

Personal Training by appointment with Caroline Jordan Fitness

Caroline earned her B.A. in Dance from the University of California, Davis and is certified by the American Council on Exercise, Aerobic and Fitness Association of America, Schwinn Cycling, MadDogg Spinning, Balletone, and several other cycling and aerobic modalities. She has been recognized as the "Group Fitness Instructor of the Year" by UC Davis and has been a featured fitness professional in Shape, SF Weekly, and IDEA magazine. 

More information and contact here: www.carolinejordanfitness.com/training.html

Open Rehab or Training Appointments

The studio is available, with permission for outside trainers and physical therapists to utilize with current members.  Please inquire with M2 ahead of time and any arrangements can be made.

Group Endurance Training 

Weekend cycling and running excursion throughout the year with athletes training for various endurance challenges.  From triathlons, to ultra trail races, our group sessions welcome all ranges of athletes who love the outdoors and a challenge.  

Last year's group centered around the 20th Anniversary of one of M2's Ironman Canada win's.  

Special Events 

Throughout the year M2 will share great experiences for current local events coming to town, as well as annual M2 challenges.  Past events have centered around Amgen Tour of California, the Shasta Century, and M2's "Epic" run.  Stay tuned to learn more as the year progresses.

Social Media 

Staying ahead of the curve and helping to connect our members and make the most of workouts, advice, or just humor.  M2 Revolution participates on the following platforms so check them out and give them a follow!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/M2Revolution

Twitter: @M2Revolution

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/112526676583716435355/posts Little disappointed that Google+ doesn't give us a better address. 

Strava: http://app.strava.com/clubs/m2-revolution
Mapmyride.com: http://www.mapmyride.com/people/groups/33052/

Start of the Season and Avoiding the Training Sludge

With January coming to a close its a great time to start evaluating the effectiveness of your training time and if this is consistent with the season's goals.  Our M2 training squad has gone through some amazing weekends so far with our rides along the coast, Nicasio/Pt Reyes and Petaluma loops, and runs in the Headlands and on Tam.  Those athletes who are attending classes and group events will have seen a remarkable change in fitness in just one month's time - all good!

Take a step back and try to assess what you've accomplished to be able to plan next steps.  

Some big races like Oceanside, Wildflower, St. George and Texas are coming up on the horizon, is your training matching what you need for these events?  Don't be alarmed, there is still time to get the work done, but finding the best schedule to perform your three targeted workouts for each event, and making it a habit is paramount right now.

Here are some questions to ask yourself and possibly some guidelines to aid in assessing if you are on the right track:

Am I training enough or too much?  Triathletes have a habit of piling on just for the sake of it.  Triathlon does not have to take life as we know it, just be smart about it. 

Do you have at least 8-9 workouts a week? 2-3 swim, 3 bike, 3 run? Consistency is what helps you improve more than purely piling on distance.  For example, two 6 mile run, plush an 8-10 miler on the weekend is better than trying to make up miles by maxing out a weekend run.  More than 3 workouts is great, just remember to not interfere with other focused workouts to accomplish.  Consistency and proper execution of key workouts will be more effective than gloaming amorphous training sludge.

What is your total weekly hourly workload?  8, 10, 15 hours?  For our Half Iron folks, 6-8 hours is acceptable this time of year.  Those with Ironmans in May should see at least 8-10 as we enter the month of February. 

Are you coming to each workout ready to accomplish an objective?  At least one of each swim/bike/run should be a near fresh endeavor to bring some intensity and challenge yourself through an M2 cycling class, track/speed run workout, or pushing it in the pool.

Do you have a good handle on your weekly schedule?  Setting the time aside, or just finding the best fit into your week is an important aspect of training.  The earlier you figure out when and where you can perform your workouts at a normalized schedule, the better you'll feel about how training will affect you in not just a personal, but a professional level as well.  

Ideally, you will be attending M2 group rides/runs.  Having observed individuals and groups over the years, those folks who are generally consistent in their attendance always make, by far, the most progress in their fitness and performance.  

As is always the case M2 is available via email or in studio for questions or direction.  Very excited with the group so far and look forward to the race season approaching!

For a friendly reminder, classes are now as below with the addition of some great time slots.  It has been busy at the studio and demand warranted an expanded schedule.

Monday: 6:15 AM (NEW) and 6:15 PM

Tuesday: 6:00 AM, 7:30 AM, 5:30 PM, 6:45 PM

Wednesday: 6:15 AM, 5:30 PM and 6:45 (SF Tri Priority) PM 

Thursday: 6:00 AM, 7:30 AM, 5:30 PM, 6:45 PM

Saturday: 10:00 AM 

Additional weekend classes are added with inclement weather.  Stay tuned to M2's Facebook and Twitter pages for the most up to date schedules.

Group Riding - Paceline 101

For many, riding in a group is a social thing, but for training, it is completely different.  The group training ride has an objective, and moves along as a cohesive unit to accomplish this.  Working  as a single or double paceline requires some practice, confidence, and an alert sense of self or there can be dire circumstances for yourself and others around you.   

     1. Ride a straight line!

The safety and comfort of a group is greatly enhanced by an order of predictability, ie. riders will maintain a straight-line and will not be scattershot in and out weaving to and fro.  If you get dropped and there are riders behind you, do not drift into the middle of the road – maintain a straight line so that other riders might safely come by you.
  
2. Communication

Again, the safety and comfort of a group is enhanced by each riders' ability to spot and communicate hazards to the rest of their partners.  Riding close to each other has its aerodynamic advantages, but also closes down visibility.  Calling and pointing out bumps, holes, cars, etc is a must for a smooth ride, with minimal flats or other more dangerous events.

3. Beginning a Pull

When it is your turn to Pull the group, begin by ‘pulling through” which means maintaining the current pace without interruption.  If you are a stronger rider, you can begin to pull at a faster pace by gradually easing into the Pull.  Do not dramatically accelerate as you begin your Pull as all this does is yank the paceline like an accordion and cause people to get dropped or unnecessarily stressed.

4. How hard a Pull?

This is a function of how long you are pulling for (shorter pulls can see stronger pace), what the group training objective is, and whether you are trying to keep the group intact.  A common mistake that I see newer riders make is to pull for too long, where the rider’s pace clearly diminishes within their Pull, and which slows and frustrates the group.

5. Ending a Pull

The rider concludes the Pull by demonstrably pulling off to the side and once clear soft-pedals.  DO NOT finish your Pull by soft-pedaling or even stopping pedaling while in front of the group. 

6. Maintain your Distance

Riders should take care to generally maintain a consistent distance from the rider in front.  This consistency helps the group better settle into a rhythm of safe  predictability.  Descents can see wider spacing for safety. 

One tip for maintaining distance is to focus on the riders further ahead of you in the group and use peripheral vision for the rider immediately in front of you.  This forward focus helps you better anticipate changes in pace.

7. Time Trial Bikes

Time Trial, or triathlon bikes, are suitable for a paceline, but by no means are you supposed to go aero while behind someone.  Hands should be kept in the pursuits (bar end with the brake) to make sure you are ready to brake or turn if necessary.  This also makes the rider have to be in-tune with the gearing required as shifting requires more effort.

8. Mixing riders of different abilities

Learning how to effectively ride in a group allows riders of different abilities to share in a common workout.  Tips in addition to all of the above for making this work:

-         Stronger riders to the front – seems obvious, but….

-         Weaker riders should situate themselves further back in the paceline – let stronger riders pull you along without the pressure of you having to maintain a strong pace at the front. 

Here is an example of a paceline we performed along Bolinas Lagoon a month ago. Take note of some of the mistakes, but great use of intervals and reintegration once complete.

Winter Illness and Recovery

The winter months can be an exciting time for athletes who want to make large jumps in their fitness and speed, it is also a time that can put you further back at the same time if you don't deal with colds and viruses properly.  With the Holidays, less sunlight and other stresses in your life, the immune system takes a hit over the winter.  M2 is here to help guide you through coming back after getting knocked out of training from illness.

#1 Fever = No Exercise

While refraining from exercising while running a fever might seem obvious, consider that after offering the above advice to a new athlete at the time, I was admonished for such silliness where this same athlete years back somehow managed to train through pneumonia.  We were not a good match as things turned out.

#2 Aches = Light exercise at most

Preferably easy swim or gentle bike versus run.  Common sense here.  Do not be guided by the obligation to train so you do not lose fitness, but instead by whether a light exercise session might get blood stirring and leave you feeling better as a result.

#3 Chest Cold = Light exercise, short duration, low intensity

Important to respect lower intensities and no excessive duration.  Chest colds can be very draining and if you only drain yourself further and prolong recovery by force-feeding training.

#4 Head Cold = Moderate to L1 intensity 

With many head colds, I have often found it helpful to train at L1ish type intensity, or 10-20 below run LT.  Though not a pretty sight at times, such training can help clear the throat and nostrils of gunk that might otherwise remain stuck there.

Diet

Liquids, soups, vegetables, fruits are always good health agents.  Hopefully as an athlete you have already incorporated a good balanced diet, but maybe this is a chance to start?

Resumption of normal training:

First thing, do not worry that you have lost all your hard-earned fitness, that would take weeks of inactivity for this to occur.

Second thing, do not blast away the first day or even the send that you feel largely normal.  Test the water first with an easy workout, and assuming positive signals, you can upgrade to moderate and then moderate + L1 intensity.  Give a little watts or run pace and don't worry about it.  You should be good to go thereafter assuming the body responds well.