Weekend Workouts - March 23rd and 24th

Building on our great past weekend, we'll be heading up north for another duel ride option out Lucas Valley.  Sunday we'll run the park for some local trails and some track work to finish off! 

Saturday Ride: Lucas Valley - Wilson Hill - Petaluma
56 and 71 mile options

Rolling out Lucas Valley, through Nicasio and taking on either the Petaluma or Chileno Valley Loops, this is a great time to gauge improvement from over a month ago when we first rode these routes.

  56 Mile Option

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71 Mile Option

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Sunday Run - GGP and Kezar Edge

Starting at the West Gate of Kezar Stadium, we'll run a moderately paced tour of GGP.  Heading to the beach via JFK Drive, then back up through the park on the trails on the South side of the park.  After returning to Kezar stadium, runners will work on their turnover with some 400 repeats and cool-down.  We will also review some form drills to help everyone improve their injury resistance as well.

7.5 miles plus track work.

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Participating in M2 Group Events

M2 Group Training members are of course welcome for all rides/runs and events.  Gold Pass members who wish to join in on weekend rides can upgrade their pass $25/month.  10-15 pass members can use a class pass to attend either.  Please email deacon42@gmail.com or mccormack.m@comcast.net for details.

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.