https://chrisgross.racing/categories/training/Recent content in Training on chrisgross.was.racingHugoen-usMon, 22 Sep 2014 09:54:04 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2014/09/derdiedas-letzte/Mon, 22 Sep 2014 09:54:04 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2014/09/derdiedas-letzte/2 months have passed since the last post — a lot of time for plenty of highs and lows, training and much more. What happened in the past 8 weeks?https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2014/05/vorschaulanzarote/Sun, 11 May 2014 14:03:26 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2014/05/vorschaulanzarote/In 6 days the first season highlight arrives — Ironman Lanzarote. Bags are packed, Tuesday we head to the Canary Islands for the second time this year. What can we expect?https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2014/02/gone-with-the-wind/Tue, 18 Feb 2014 09:35:59 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2014/02/gone-with-the-wind/Lanzarote extreme. It's Sunday, February 16th, 2014. It was to become one of the most memorable riding days of my life...https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2013/10/bye-bye-vegas-aloha-hawaii/Sat, 05 Oct 2013 06:47:04 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2013/10/bye-bye-vegas-aloha-hawaii/The days in Vegas went by faster than expected — a few more impressions to close out the chapter:https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2013/09/3-in-90-phase-3/Thu, 12 Sep 2013 18:24:27 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2013/09/3-in-90-phase-3/3 Ironmans in 90 days — preparations for the final IM of this year have begun. The two weeks right after Ironman Copenhagen fell into the category of "doing nothing", at least sportwise. But even 3.5 weeks later the recovery factor wasn't really there...https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/07/die-letzten-einheiten/Thu, 05 Jul 2012 15:50:20 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/07/die-letzten-einheiten/… are behind me — now it can finally start. What have I been doing over the last few days, and what's still left?https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/07/vorbericht-teil-3-laufen/Wed, 04 Jul 2012 07:14:25 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/07/vorbericht-teil-3-laufen/And last but not least — the marathon, naturally only after you've properly warmed up 😉 Running has become my absolute favorite discipline by now.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/07/vorbericht-teil-2-radfahren/Tue, 03 Jul 2012 09:17:35 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/07/vorbericht-teil-2-radfahren/Part 2 of the race preview covers the second discipline — cycling. A lot depends on equipment here, and to avoid falling behind I've upgraded again … but more on that later.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/07/vorbericht-teil-1-schwimmen/Mon, 02 Jul 2012 09:05:08 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/07/vorbericht-teil-1-schwimmen/Swimming — the discipline with perhaps the biggest question marks? Good question, next question. For me it's still the biggest mystery box.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/07/trainingswoche-02-25-06-01-07-2012-and-tapering/Sun, 01 Jul 2012 15:37:59 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/07/trainingswoche-02-25-06-01-07-2012-and-tapering/What an amazing week … low volume in terms of load, the number of sessions was also reduced a bit … short and fast was the motto. That's a lot of fun, especially when you can't stop grinning during the ride 🙂https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/06/trainingswoche-03-18-06-24-06-2012-peaking/Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:44:13 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/06/trainingswoche-03-18-06-24-06-2012-peaking/Slowly heading into the decisive phase — the last 'real' training week was on the schedule, with City Triathlon Heilbronn planned as the finale.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/06/trainingswoche-04-11-06-17-06-2012-recovery/Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:34:28 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/06/trainingswoche-04-11-06-17-06-2012-recovery/The last rest week was coming up — well-deserved after the previous brutal training block with the Challenge Kraichgau as the small highlight. Looking back, it was probably too much rest — the legs weren't great for last Sunday's test race.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/06/trainingswoche-05-04-06-10-06-2012-hard-knock-life/Sun, 10 Jun 2012 19:27:20 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/06/trainingswoche-05-04-06-10-06-2012-hard-knock-life/The last training week in another three-week block is behind me — a recovery week follows … and then it's only three weeks until Frankfurt. Race numbers were also distributed there this week.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/06/trainingswoche-06-28-05-03-06-2012-rainy-days/Sun, 03 Jun 2012 20:10:47 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/06/trainingswoche-06-28-05-03-06-2012-rainy-days/I've rarely gotten soaked so often and for so long in a single week, with today being the highlight 🙁 At least it was warm — I'd still rather have sun back.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/05/trainingswoche-07-21-05-27-05-2012-fuel-up/Sun, 27 May 2012 20:46:20 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/05/trainingswoche-07-21-05-27-05-2012-fuel-up/After 4 consecutive hard training weeks, it was finally time for a recovery week. Well-deserved, badly needed, and hopefully enough to regenerate and come back stronger.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/05/trainingswoche-08-04-05-20-05-2012-crash-test-dummies/Mon, 21 May 2012 08:13:51 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/05/trainingswoche-08-04-05-20-05-2012-crash-test-dummies/Quick summary of this week: produced a lot of broken gear, fitness is improving … I already wrote about the equipment issues, so here's the athletic side of the last training week.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/05/trainingswoche-08-07-05-13-05-2012-push-the-button/Mon, 14 May 2012 07:59:04 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/05/trainingswoche-08-07-05-13-05-2012-push-the-button/This week saw the first faster sessions back on the schedule. A bit later than last year, but unavoidable given the training deficit. The priority over recent weeks was laying the necessary foundation for exactly these sessions.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/05/trainingswoche-09-30-04-06-05-2012-overtime/Mon, 07 May 2012 07:50:19 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/05/trainingswoche-09-30-04-06-05-2012-overtime/23 hours of training this week, a lot of cycling and running miles stacked — that could be the short summary. Not much excitement happened. OK, on May 1st I stumbled into a neo-Nazi march and the counter-demonstration in Speyer — but that was about the most exciting thing.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/05/trainingswoche-10-23-04-29-04-2012-split-pot/Tue, 01 May 2012 06:54:49 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/05/trainingswoche-10-23-04-29-04-2012-split-pot/After the last exhausting weeks, there were several rest days at the start of the new week, before a small 5-day training block kicked off from Friday.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/04/trainingswoche-11-16-04-22-04-2012-hammer-to-fall/Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:55:17 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/04/trainingswoche-11-16-04-22-04-2012-hammer-to-fall/The title says it all — the man with the hammer seemed to show up at every single session … sometimes earlier, sometimes later, but always right on time. A very loyal and reliable companion.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/04/trainingswoche-13-09-04-15-04-2012-long-and-winding-road/Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:19:07 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/04/trainingswoche-13-09-04-15-04-2012-long-and-winding-road/Stacking miles was the plan this week, in all disciplines and always plenty of them … Not super exciting, but it's delivering the hoped-for progress. My longest run is now up to 2:20h.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/04/trainingswoche-14-02-04-08-04-2012-comeback-kid/Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:02:29 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/04/trainingswoche-14-02-04-08-04-2012-comeback-kid/Finally being a triathlete again … I've really missed that over the last few weeks!!! Now I'm allowed to be one again, and I have this device to thank for it:https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/04/trainingswoche-15-26-03-01-04-2012-running-up-that-hill/Tue, 03 Apr 2012 06:43:06 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/04/trainingswoche-15-26-03-01-04-2012-running-up-that-hill/Be running up that road, be running up that hill, be running up that building, if I only could, oh… — Well, I can run again!https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/03/trainingswoche-16-19-03-25-03-2012-land-of-hope-and-dreams/Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:57:19 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/03/trainingswoche-16-19-03-25-03-2012-land-of-hope-and-dreams/Can it get any worse than the week before??? The answer is: … … … yes 🙁https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/03/trainingswoche-17-12-03-18-03-2012-is-there-a-doctor-in-the-house/Mon, 19 Mar 2012 10:02:35 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/03/trainingswoche-17-12-03-18-03-2012-is-there-a-doctor-in-the-house/Calling it a 'training week' is a bit of a stretch — other than strength training and core work, not much actually happened. Instead, doctor visits were on the agenda. The outcome was pretty much what I already suspected.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/03/trainingswoche-19-27-02-04-03-2012-stop-and-stare/Thu, 01 Mar 2012 18:54:10 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/03/trainingswoche-19-27-02-04-03-2012-stop-and-stare/Not much training was possible, unfortunately — the injury hasn't gone anywhere. So the decision was made to stop running and cycling too, and just fill the time with swimming, stretching, and strength work.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/02/trainingswoche-20-20-02-26-02-2012-hurts-like-heaven/Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:41:57 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/02/trainingswoche-20-20-02-26-02-2012-hurts-like-heaven/The title is unfortunately accurate — the pain has not gotten any less, quite the opposite. Swimming is the only sport I can currently do pain-free; cycling is halfway okay; running is currently impossible.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/02/trainingswoche-21-13-02-19-02-2012-rest-recovery/Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:41:59 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/02/trainingswoche-21-13-02-19-02-2012-rest-recovery/It was supposed to be the third hard training week, but due to pain in my back, glutes, and Achilles tendon I had to take an easy week instead. Where the issues are coming from is still not entirely clear.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/02/trainingswoche-22-06-02-12-02-2012-flash-freezing/Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:32:51 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/02/trainingswoche-22-06-02-12-02-2012-flash-freezing/And it gets even colder … Last week's theme was 'cold' — this past week is better described as 'flash-frozen'. Running at -16°C is kind of doable, but not really fun.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/02/trainingswoche-23-30-01-05-02-2012-cold-as-ice/Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:26:17 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/02/trainingswoche-23-30-01-05-02-2012-cold-as-ice/Right as I start training again, winter arrives … ideal conditions for spending long periods outside. The only positive thing is that it hasn't snowed — the cold is somehow manageable.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/01/going-long/Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:10:49 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/01/going-long/… is the motto for the next 3 months. That means building volume in all three disciplines — up to 5h on the bike and 2.5h running. It's going to be tough at the start again, but it absolutely has to happen.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/01/dreikonigslauf-dielheim-sieg-in-der-ak-gesamt-7/Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:59:03 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2012/01/dreikonigslauf-dielheim-sieg-in-der-ak-gesamt-7/… and a new 10km PR — that's how the new year started. Why it went so well, I honestly can't explain. I did everything in my power in the days before to make sure that wouldn't happen. Didn't work out 😉https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/11/bikefitting-oder-wie-setzt-man-mich-vernunftig-aufs-rad/Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:43:50 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/11/bikefitting-oder-wie-setzt-man-mich-vernunftig-aufs-rad/A few days ago I went to Cyclefit in Bensheim to get a saddle position analysis done and to sort out my discomfort on the bike. Let me say upfront: it was worth it in almost every respect.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/11/saisonplanung-2012/Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:56:12 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/11/saisonplanung-2012/Planning for the new season is mostly done — here are the races I'll be doing: Jan 6, 2012 – Three Kings Run Dielheim (10km), May 20, 2012 – Heidesee Triathlon Forst, and more.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/11/statistik-der-letzten-saison/Tue, 01 Nov 2011 10:00:59 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/11/statistik-der-letzten-saison/For the stats fans among us, here are the raw numbers from the 2010/2011 season: Bike: 360h / 10,262km. Run: 233h / 2,856km. Swimming: 112h / 340km. Total: 705h / 13,458km.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/10/10000-radkilometer-geschafft/Sun, 30 Oct 2011 09:40:49 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/10/10000-radkilometer-geschafft/Last Wednesday was the day — the 10,000 season-kilometer mark on the bike fell. Somewhere on the Rhine levee, doing 45 km/h — fitting, I think …https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/09/vom-pech-verfolgt/Sun, 11 Sep 2011 22:02:39 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/09/vom-pech-verfolgt/Well, that didn't go as planned... Short version: the swim went pretty well despite some heavy wave action. Then the suffering began.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/09/trainingswoche-2-29-08-04-09-2011/Sun, 04 Sep 2011 20:15:12 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/09/trainingswoche-2-29-08-04-09-2011/Or: life almost came to an end... I was incredibly lucky on Wednesday. By just a few very, very tight centimeters I narrowly avoided a head-on collision with an oncoming car.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/08/trainingswoche-3-22-28-08-2011/Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:46:10 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/08/trainingswoche-3-22-28-08-2011/...or life and training in Germany on Indian Standard Time... IST +3.5h — that was the offset I spent last week in. Meaning: very early mornings, work done just after lunch, and in bed by 7pm.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/08/trainingswoche-4-15-21-08-2011/Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:31:37 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/08/trainingswoche-4-15-21-08-2011/Monday: early morning shake-out swim to recover from the previous day's effort. Tuesday: 1h run with short pick-ups and an easy 1.5h bike session. Wednesday: climbing at the Königstuhl...https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/08/trainingswoche-5-08-14-08-2011/Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:21:17 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/08/trainingswoche-5-08-14-08-2011/Monday: unplanned rest day — the body was just too wrecked. Tuesday: well recovered, out on the bike for 75 minutes in the morning; a brisk 1.5h run was planned for the evening — ended up a soggy affair thanks to a thunderstorm.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/07/fakten-fakten-fakten/Fri, 22 Jul 2011 09:17:17 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/07/fakten-fakten-fakten/Or: what did it actually take to show up at the start line on Sunday reasonably prepared? After pulling the numbers together I was genuinely shocked by how much of my life I'd burned through for this — not meant negatively, I did all of it voluntarily and very, very, very, very happily.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/07/trainingswoche-3-04-10-07-2011-2/Mon, 18 Jul 2011 09:15:39 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/07/trainingswoche-3-04-10-07-2011-2/The week kicked off on Monday with a well-deserved complete rest day, and Tuesday's 75-minute bike ride contributed nicely to recovery too. Wednesday brought one more longer brick session on the schedule.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/07/trainingswoche-3-04-10-07-2011/Sun, 10 Jul 2011 20:08:12 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/07/trainingswoche-3-04-10-07-2011/The last big training week before the Ironman started as always with a swim session on Monday morning — unfortunately not a great one, so I called it after 25 minutes. I had the body position of a brick, zero power, zero technique; there was no point grinding through it any longer.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/07/trainingswoche-4-27-06-03-07-2011/Mon, 04 Jul 2011 19:04:26 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/07/trainingswoche-4-27-06-03-07-2011/It was supposed to be a rest week — and at least sports-wise, it was. 'Full capacity due to various external influences' is a much more accurate description though...https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/06/trainingswoche-5-20-26-06-2011/Sun, 26 Jun 2011 20:55:01 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/06/trainingswoche-5-20-26-06-2011/The week started as always with a Monday morning swim. For once it actually went really well — no surprise, since I'd barely trained the day before. A solid week wrapping up a demanding three-week block.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/06/trainingswoche-6-13-19-06-2011/Mon, 20 Jun 2011 06:27:50 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/06/trainingswoche-6-13-19-06-2011/Last week started Monday morning with a one-hour swim that got harder toward the end than originally planned. Not surprising — I was nowhere near fully recovered from the previous day's efforts.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/06/trainingswoche-7-06-12-06-2011/Mon, 13 Jun 2011 09:00:21 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/06/trainingswoche-7-06-12-06-2011/The week started Monday with an easy swim — legs and arms were still pretty beat from Challenge Kraichgau. In hindsight I could have skipped it, since I managed to lose my swim cap, goggles, and swim watch at the pool.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/06/challenge-kraichgau-vergleich-rad-20102011/Wed, 08 Jun 2011 09:39:07 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/06/challenge-kraichgau-vergleich-rad-20102011/After two very busy days I finally got around to digging into my SRM data from the bike leg at Challenge Kraichgau. I mainly wanted to understand why, despite putting out more power, I was slower than last year.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/06/i-am-sailing-i-am-sailing/Thu, 02 Jun 2011 15:28:17 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/06/i-am-sailing-i-am-sailing/… Home again 'cross the sea, I am sailing stormy waters … That was the theme of today's bike session. Tons of wind, me, and my TT bike = an absolute blast!!!https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/05/trainingswoche-9-23-29-05-2011/Sun, 29 May 2011 21:11:47 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/05/trainingswoche-9-23-29-05-2011/55 days to Ironman Frankfurt, and training is getting harder. Week 9 was the last in a three-week loading block — lots of race pace and above, which is brutal but also incredibly satisfying.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/05/ungeplante-cross-einlage-mit-dem-zeitfahrrad/Wed, 25 May 2011 20:27:21 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/05/ungeplante-cross-einlage-mit-dem-zeitfahrrad/During today's session I was involuntarily forced to test my new bike's off-road capabilities. A huge construction site on my planned route home from the Kraichgau left me with three options — none of them great.https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/05/trainingswoche-10-16-22-05-2011/Mon, 23 May 2011 19:44:04 +0000https://chrisgross.racing/archives/2011/05/trainingswoche-10-16-22-05-2011/Last week only had 17.5 training hours, but with other obligations and very little sleep it was right at the edge of what's manageable. I really needed today's rest day.