PhD lesson:

I gave my advisor ~140 pages of reading (my thesis and a modified manuscript) on Friday afternoon thinking I could keep him occupied long enough for me to get a couple of other small projects done (including another manuscript and a poster for an upcoming congress)...... and he handed 120 of it back (with comments) already this morning while somehow convincing me to read another 100 pages of literature (part of that is my fault...)...

and I thought I had him beat... juuuust this once, since I also just edited a 100+ page thesis for him/a colleague that I handed him this morning.

Lesson: Your advisor's got you beat, always.

The comments were good, the extra reading... even better.

*sigh*

Not sure if I am closer to "the end" or "the beginning"...

...because the end is getting closer and rumor has it that the best is yet to come!

Almost done
I have some 110 pages of thesis done and only a little more to go before the process of editing and modifying (some of that has already happened).

*gulp*
How did that happen?!

Not all of the pages have "real" text written by me because I have some figures and tables... and there is a pretty substantial list of references... and then there is that special university formatting, table of contents, and some other official compulsory stuff... but my file is currently 110 pages... AND when all is said and done, it will actually end up being even longer when copies of my articles are attached. I am almost done. Almost. Done. (with this part)

Sport
If I had been wanting to compete a lot this winter in skiing, the season would have been a dud. I don't think I have skied this little since I was "little". Huge bummer, especially since there was good snow this year! The reason for my lack of skiing is that darn immune system of mine. It didn't want to cooperate... but the reason for that may have finally been figured out!! I wish it had dawned on me earlier that allergies can do some crazy stuff... and if you get away from the things that cause allergic reactions you might feel tons better. In short: I love oxygen, I'm allergic to something, I am feeling much better and I ran pretty hard this week for the first time in forever.... IT FELT AMAZING! 

Sun is shining... let's go for a swim!

Happy Easter! It is a quiet and sunny day in the countryside. The birds are chirping, the ski tracks are solid (10km out on the lake today).... I am feeling decidedly lazy and overfed. That is what a mini-vacation is supposed to be!

My thesis is about 85% done and I am "between" parts, so I have a solid 3 days of Easter vacation bliss before trying to wrap up the "dirty" part of it (editing is supposed to be easy, right?). With sun, skiing, food, relatives, sauna... views like this:

Quiet sunshine, ski tracks on the lake somewhere over to the left... 

AND SWIMMING!

that is if treading water for a few seconds counts as swimming...  I took a plunge in that hole in the lake pictured below. TWICE (because the picture that I needed to send to the parents as proof did not work out the first time). Yes, that is a mound of snow you see on the left... and yup, that would be an ice covered lake... the same one I skied on earlier in the day. We skied past and each silently thought about daring the others to go for a swim... and then after an offhanded comment about being warm and "the water looks inviting"...well, it was on. And there is no backing out if with this group of cousins :)

THE BEACH!

It IS cold, but it felt pretty good. Refreshing. My muscles seem to have liked it and there was brief talk about going again tomorrow.  =)

Out ON the lake.

P.S. The buildings on the shore are not saunas! There is a heated trailer for changing clothes and an unheated building for changing clothes. That's it!

Should have gotten my flu shot...

or should have skipped getting food poisoning/norovirus in December.... or both! My immune system has not been very cooperative sine the beginning of December and I am starting to get frustrated. Yes, I have worked hard (writing), and was training a fair amount too, but the body is supposed to LIKE that...right? I guess part of it is just bad luck. Blargh. The viruses floating around have been the 2-3 week kind, and while some of them are classified as "annoying", others can be classified as downright mean. I got one of the mean ones for the second time since December..... good thing world champs skiing is on TV =) (maybe my body conspired to make sure I would not miss any of the XC action??). Finally starting to feel normal after a few days of 100% rest (which is mentally challenging when you are itching to get stuff done, go for a run/ski/strength session - but I will admit that my body is happier for it). Next week back to the normal routine?

A few notes on the World Championships:
- I wish I was there to watch it. Holmenkollen was amazing, watching skiers from the side of the trail is special.... TV gives you splits and knowledge of what is happening over more of the course, but there is something about being "out there".
- US Ladies... WOW. As a young skier, I never thought I would see US podiums or the current depth that the team has. I am pumped to see what can develop from the momentum these ladies (the whole team, coaches, wax techs and other support of the US ski community) have created and glad that the men have had some positive results as well. The comments that these folks have made to the media and the team spirit they exude is really something to admire.
- Lots of other inspiring performances. I will always cheer for Finland and the US first, but fun to watch others succeed as well.

Strength

My title could allude to all sorts of philisophical, sentimental and mental things... but I'd rather focus on the physical this time: Strength training is good for you... if you do it right. What is right? For the endurance athlete, not building a whole ton of muscle mass is right. Being STRONG and POWERFUL, is right. Being FAST, is right.

Without getting scientific I will tell about my current favorite kinds of strength training (in no particular order):
* Maximal strength training: for example doing 3-5 sets of 4-6 repetitions with high loads (where the last repetition is haaaarrrd or impossible - in which case be safe and have a spotter). This type of training in the most simplest terms, builds maximal strength. I personally go for the 3 sets and usually keep the number of exercises to 2 for the legs (1 for the quadriceps, one for the hamstrings) and 2 for the upper body (usually chest and back). I can admit to kind of liking the gym now days, but as an "endurance person", I cannot understand 2 hour gym workouts (whereas 2 hours running or skiing makes sense). The rest of the stuff I do at the gym if I am there for more than 30-45min is usually "stability" stuff for the core, but I do less of that because doing maximal strength with free weights "makes" you use your core too.

* Explosive strength training: for example jumps either individually or in series 1-15/20 repetitions. I prefer doing this training with body weight only and maximal effort for each jump rather than having light weights. In skiing and running you do move only your own bodyweight (clothes and equipment), so why use weights? (there are arguments... I just prefer without). There are a number of exercises that can be used for explosive training for the lower and upper body - the key is to move as fast as you can.

*Kettlebells: A very versatile workout for building some strength, muscle endurance and core stability. I leave the program making to the guy who holds classes in the parking lot close to work (year round! rain or shine!). Every move requires help from the core. My core gets lazy at work because of all the sitting and I have found that hitting up kettlebells help me keep my back and core in some sort of decent shape because every movement requires me to keep my core working. Technique for kettlebells is important!

*Other bodyweight stuff: Always with you! Push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, leg lifts, back-ups... the list is long. You can use your body weight to help gain some strength and stability too.

Strength training, while having a lot of potential benefits should be planned (just like endurance training). There should be a goal or a purpose to each workout.



***** In other news, progress has been made on the thesis front. Nothing to get uber excited about yet, but moving forward at a reasonable pace while juggling some other surprises including what appears to be round two of some sort of flu?!?

Back At It & Vakava Coaching Part 2

The conditions while I was home in MN were awesome despite only really getting one significant snowfall. I am really bummed to see that rain and warm temps wiped out the snow almost immediately after I left.... On this side of the pond there is adequate snow and rumors of some coooold temps moving in at the end of the week. We've been having flurries on and off the past day or so, but no substantial accumulation. Becasue we have snow, I have been informed that I am to ski for all those that can't in MN... that will be tough!

Now it is back to the grind for real.... It is thesis time! The plan is to: either joyfully write during the day , train in the evening and ski at night... OR I might get a little antisocial, train and sleeep sporadically and have regular binges involving pizza, red wine/beer and chocolate.... OR I will spend as much time away from the computer sleeping or trying to train in hopes of completing this PhD in better shape than I started it (how cool would that be?) and hope the thesis write itself ... OR I will do my best to maintain a good balance of joyful writing, sleeping, some antisocialistic behavior that is expected of PhD students, moderate (healthy) binging on pizza (or steak), red wine/beer and chocolate, AND training in hopes that I can complete this PhD in better shape than I started it (how's that for a goal?).

ICE is sometimes nice :) - but this was before the rain :(

THE WORKOUT The second workout we did focused on speed and agility. After skiing a few kilometers to warm up, we met at the base of one of the moderate grade hills out on the course at Battle Creek where we did 10 second bursts of skiing as fast as possible using V1 (to the left and to the right) and V2 skate techniques. The first sets were done individually, then we broke the group into pairs/groups of three to the feeling of a little "competition". I don't think my shouting "picture yourself being chased by a pack of cheetahs" works as well as having a teammate on your trails in the middle of winter in Minnesota, but I (still recovering from "da flu") spent the vast majority of this workout yelling "Go! Go! Go!", "Up! Up! Uuuup! and various other forms of encouragement and the occasional technique tip... and I was being pretty loud. The things we talked about in terms of technique included keeping your feet under you/getting over your skis, "using" your glide/using both legs, being "dynamic" without being bouncy (finesse/ the previously mentioned sport-specific economy) and just overall being quick-quick-quick. This part of the workout might be considered as a more "traditional" way (especially for adults) to work on speed and agility, but there are a number of other ways to work on these characteristics too... like getting in touch with your inner child :D so rather than stay on the hill for the entire workout, we went back to the flat "stadium" area to PLAY!

When I was little (or "littler"?) we used to play follow the leader, ski slalom courses and obstacle courses and play various games on skis (with and without poles). These activities seem to typically be reserved for "kids" though, and I'll admit that since some random ski adventures with rock skis in college I have not "played" much on skis with other skiers unless I have been coaching juniors... which makes me a bit sad because playing on skis is super fun AND is a "secret" way to learn or train balance, speed, agility, cornering techniques and passing techniques, how to fall.... so for the rest of the workout, we set up some cones to ski "figure eights" focusing on speed and taking the corners as tight as possible... and in small groups. Then we set up the cones on the flat for a few trials though 1) an easy slalom course, 2) a slalom course with a shortened the distance between the cones, and 3) a slalom course with every other cone moved out a couple of meters to make more challenging cornering. Finally, we simulated mass starts my double poling into skate technique of choice "out of the stadium". Nothing very scientific about this workout, (though I could mention that explosive exercises on and off skis can benefit neuromuscular characteristics of skiing that should positively influence skiing speed and economy... but maybe I will address strength characteristics and strength training another day) but we did get in some intensity and worked on motor skills, both of which will benefit future workouts and races.

THE COOL DOWN... could have been delayed for some more fun and games, but getting a good cool down in and following that up with dinner and sauna is pretty satisfying too. Those "silly" things we did on skis when we were little are pretty fun for adults too, don't you think?  :)

Now back to that thesis thing...

Back At It & Vakava Coaching Part 1

Ok, I am slow. I had promised this training related post already two weeks ago, but traveling kept me from being glued to my computer and this post has taken quite some time to actually materialize... and then I had to break it into two parts :)

Aside from getting the flu, my US vacation included, among other things: visiting family and friends, "working" a bit at the shop, some shopping, knitting, skiing (with high schoolers, friends, family and old teammates who also qualify as friends), watching some races out by/on the trail, watching American football (what?!), and enjoying the daylight that actually included sunshine!! All in all, nice to spend some time on the "other side of the pond".

Twin Cities Championships @ Battle Creek Park - Look close and you will see skiers climbing the hill... and check out those solid tracks!!

During my visit, I also got the opportunity to coach one of my old training groups/teams that I used to work with in the summers during the end of high school and through college of which I am (still?) one of the youngest members. I was kind of surprised to be asked to coach, but also excited that I might be able to offer a different perspective/approach on things after having been away for 5+ years learning from other coaches, athletes, and scientists (and drawing on that which I learned, in part from this group, before grad school). I decided (after getting pretty nervous for a bit) that it would be a fun challenge and good experience (and I have come to develop a "thing" for coaching and observing groups of different levels, ages, and abilities... and for "testing out" different things on said groups if I get the chance... but usually I am working with juniors or master athletes that are just starting out rather than trained athletes with years of experience!).

My nervousness stems mostly from the fact that I have done very little teaching/coaching in English in recent years. I have noticed that most conversations that I have had about training/racing/coaching/science in the past 5 years have been in Finnish even though I write primarily in English... and I think my ability to explain things in English has suffered a bit... I forgot how to say  "ski marathon" the other day (could only come up with the direct translation from Finnish!). Having said that, I'm still learning to talk about training/racing/coaching/science in Finnish too... but then perhaps I will always be learning.

I coached two sessions. The first will be covered in this post, the second in the next post.

Twin Cities Championships @ Theodore Wirth Park - Sunshine and corduroy

THE WORKOUT A high VO2max is desired by almost every endurance athlete, so the theme of our first workout was high intensity endurance training. The goal of the workout we did is to increase VO2max by way of improving stroke volume, which ultimately helps to improve cardiac output (more oxygen for your working muscles!). The workout included 4 sets of 4 minute intervals. The goal intensity for each interval was 90-95% of heart rate maximum. Recovery between intervals was 3 minutes at approximately 70% heart rate maximum. This is a hard workout, but should not leave you completely exhausted. If you include a 10min warm-up and 5min of cool-down, the total workout time is only 40 min! This intensity of 90% means that you should be able to do a 5th minute and a 5th interval (though it is not necessarily necessary) and depending on your fitness level and rate of recovery, you should be able to do multiple sessions a week. Having said that, you do not always have to do multiple sessions a week. High intensity endurance training is often used in the "block training" method but can also be used in other types of training plans (but I will not get into the different types of training plans in this post). I linked to a page dedicated to this workout that is also can be used to calculate VO2max in an earlier blog post and encourage you to look up the work of the Professors "behind the workout" (especially the article focusing on this workout published in 2007).

A high VO2max sounds awesome, so why do endurance athletes do long slow distance (LSD) instead of just shorter high-intensity workouts? Some folks will argue that high intensity endurance training has the same or better effects as slower endurance training.... and they have a point. In terms of actually increasing VO2max, high intensity endurance training is more effective than long slow distance training... but what is endurance? Is it a high VO2max or is it the ability to use that VO2max  efficiently and for a long time? Well, it depends on what you define as "endurance", but my answer is that endurance is all of the above. While higher intensity training improves VO2max and thresholds as well as sport-specific economy, the slower distance training helps to "build a base", improve sport-specific economy and increases endurance (in terms of "lasting") while also acting as recovery from those harder workouts. In addition, distance training is metabolically "a good thing" (especially since the daily physical activity in most folks' lives seems to be dwindling due to advances in technology, more driving, more sitting at computers... but that is a story for another day). Training at different intensities is also important since many skiers ski races at varying intensities a 1km sprint is a whole different ski race from a 50km. Over 1km you might be maxing out, whereas if you max out during your 50km, you are in serious trouble. Distance training is part of building endurance. Some might argue that the "base building" effects of LSD are a myth, but simply put, without easy training, harder training is harder to do AND recovery from hard training is where the actual adaptations to training occur (rather than constantly overloading your system). Balance is the key.

Sport-specific economy is an extremely important variable for all endurance athletes. If skier A has a VO2max of 90 ml/kg/min and skier B has a VO2max of 85 ml/kg/min... which is better? Will skier A or skier B cross the finish line first? In other words, let's put Bjørn Dæhlie and a certain cyclist who is in the news in a big way again on the start line together for a ski race. They both have "epic" values for VO2max (and theoretically the cyclist, if he has been tested on a bike, should have an even higher VO2max running or skiing because of the increased muscle mass involved). Who is going to win? Barring crashes or serious equipment malfunction, Bjørn will make it to the line first because he knows how to ski more efficiently than the cyclist (even if we leave him without fluoros).

Why do we use heart rate to measure intensity? Why not speed, time or lactate? Why not rate of perceived exertion? There are arguments for many different measures of intensity the depend partially on the goal of the workout. Using heart rate is one of the easiest and most accurate measures because it is not subjective and because heart rate has the ability to give more feedback than speed or time and easier/less invasive to measure than blood lactate (I really like lactate though). Heart rate does change, however, from day to day and typically increases during a workout even if you ski/run/bike at the same exact speed for 4 hours. This is normal and a good thing. Have you ever noticed that your heart rate increases faster than normal or that you cannot get it to increase? or that you are doing the same workout, but your heart rate is higher or lower than "normal"? Changes can indicate that you are adapting to training or can, for example, indicate different kinds of fatigue or stress (both the good kind and the bad kind).  Sleep, stress, diet (caffeine consumption), yesterday's workout (or lack thereof) can all influence your heart rate while longer term training and aging also have their influence over time.

COOL DOWN At the end of the workout we did a little bit of classic striding with no poles. No pole skiing is one of those oft forgotten "basic" technique exercises that skiers can do as drills or even as a significant part of a workout for either classic or skate techniques. The legs are much more powerful than the arms, but for some reason, we rely a lot on our upper body when we ski and this is clearly visible when the poles are left behind. Learning how to kick "downthenback" powerfully without poles is valuable (just think of classic mass start carnage... if you can no pole ski with confidence to a spare pole, you will not panic and lose valuable energy). After a couple rounds of no pole skiing, we headed inside with a ski pole to do some "functional stretching". Stretching is oft forgotten and sometimes controversial... is stretching good or bad? My answer: Stretching "too much" is bad. Never stretching probably means you're pretty stiff and this is also bad. Getting your muscles to relax and move in different ways can help prevent injuries and the undesired tight muscles that many of us get from sitting most of the day, so light stretching = happy muscles.

Next post = the second workout!

Da flu

I should not have been proud of my immune system this autumn... it has not been nice to me this December. After the stomach flu or food poisoning that I had, I enjoyed some healthy time in which I was able to get a fair amount of work and physical activity done before heading to the US (but during which I got myself a random eye infection!) and was looking forward to skiing a lot upon arriving State-side, but within 3 days of landing, I got "da flu" (or something similar, it walked like a duck and talked like a duck, so I assume it is a duck, but I did not go get the test for it) and am still hoping that this wicked cold/flu whatever it is works its way out before 2013 (I haven't got much time)!

For some reason I was thinking of "The night before Christmas..." and came up with this poem:


DA FLU

'Twas the second week of "vacation"
I've still got "da flu"
A sniff, sniffle, cough, hack, and a bit of aaah-choo.
I did have a fever, muscle aches and sore throat.
Those are now gone
But I don't want to gloat!

I've tried sauna and "viina"
Stayed under a throw.
Tried skiing a bit.
"Da flu" bug won't go!

My nose is quite sore,
and reindeer rudolph-y red.
Being sick is a bore...
It's not just "in my head"

Why the bad karma?
I'm not really sure.
Probably good for pharma.
Please just give me a cure!

Orange juice in my cup,
Wool socks on my feet.
I'm feeling rather stuck,
this bug must be beat!

This was a lame poem.
But fits with the season
of flu bugs and Christmassy stories...
It's a suitable reason :)

On the brighter side:

*Article #4 was accepted (the status of #3 is unknown, but we are hoping the acceptance letter comes sometime soonish!).

*It is nice to be home.. wish I could enjoy it more, but I still have a week and a half left if I can annihilate this bug!!!

Closer

So I got knocked out by a wicked stomach bug a couple weeks ago. It was awful. I has to skip a trip up north to a friend's PhD defense and was completely drained of energy for a few days. Really lame timing (not that getting sick usually happens with "good timing"). Fortunately, a couple days of total rest pretty much took care of things and after a few solid meals and some fresh air, I was back to business. Skiing, running, the gym... and trying to write THE thesis (gasp!).

Article #3 came back with a request for more revisions. One of the reviewers had good comments, the other was nit-picking about my English (this reviewer's previous review was "linguistic" corrections as well). If I had actually written something grammatically (or dramatically) wrong, or had issues with communicating in English, I might appreciate the suggestions, but I will admit that my feathers get a little ruffled if a reviewer bashes my language skills and does not bother with the science! Now both articles #3 and #4 have been revised and sent back to their respective journals. Here is hoping that the reviewers and editors have a sprinkling of the holiday spirit (providing we did a good job answering their questions) and that they send me happy letters of acceptance (before the end of the year? Santa, can you help with this one?).

The reports from my students were not as good as I had hoped...  One student managed to write the report on maximal oxygen consumption... without mentioning oxygen consumption. Unmotivated? Less than bright? Real bad teacher? Poor instructions? Feedback will be sent in due time.

This coming week, it is back to the USA. I am really looking forward to spending time with the family and seeing friends that I have not seen in a loooong time.


***

....and a note on current events: I am reminded of Old Turtle from some beautifully illustrated books from my childhood. Old Turtle said, "STOP!" Please STOP... this violence has got to end. It is enough, it was enough before, it is more than enough now.... children should not experience things like this. They should not see it in the newspapers or hear it on the news... and they should not be scared to go to school.  They have to grow up too fast anyway. We need community, we need family (in whatever form it may come), we need trust, we need love. Schools should be safe, a place for learning, for growing, for exploring. No one should be afraid to leave their home... the world should be our home. A safe home....

All kinds of grey

No skiing, no snow and it is getting dark! Hrmph. The weather is just being silly. We should be getting below 0C and doing snow dances or hitting the trails with real snow by now! Right now the land is grey, the sky is grey, the water is grey.... there are some colors though, like grey-brown, grey-green and black. Exciting, eh? Fortunately, the forecast looks relatively promising for this week... at least in the snow department. Rumor has it that we should be edging under 0C in the next day or so and the forecasters have put snowflake pictures under Thursday-Sunday. I hope they aren't just teasing us... maybe the snowflakes are discolored pictures of the sun? (I would take that too!) At any rate, we're looking at a change in the weather soonish and I'm looking forward to it.

School schtuff:
I am still waiting on the decision for article #3 and I have just finished corrections for article #4. Article #5 has made some minor progress, but the thesis hasn't really done much of anything and will not write itself even though I have asked it to (and nicely). My presentation at the International Symposium went reasonably well, which is encouraging considering how much time I spent on it. I got some good questions that I was able to answer without having a cardiac event and I got some nice compliments from a number of professors afterwards (which is a first for me!). Teaching last week did not end in disaster and may even be classified as successful despite a small hiccup in the device we were using. I suspect that when I turned my head someone accidentally bumped the keyboard and made the machine stop taking measurements, but I can't be sure... The successfulness of the class will be fully determined when I get the lab reports in two weeks... then I will know if the lesson was learned or not. I am optimistic!

I am experimenting with training right now. I do not really have a goal in mind, but it is fun, so why not? I've been playing with maximal strength since getting back from Norway and for fun (this might not make much sense to others) a friend and I decided to test our weightlifting limits... so I can bench press myself once and for half-squat (skiers and runners do not need to go bum to the ground) I can handle 100kg. In January I am thinking of putting my Norwegian colleagues' advice to the test... which means some serious interval fun, but we shall see how things go.