S...L...O...W

It's that time of the year, the off-season. Time for base training. Time to slow everything down. At least that's the view of many coaches, athletes and "experts"...Mark Allen being chief among them. The theory is, by keeping all workouts aerobic, the body becomes more efficient over time at burning fat for fuel. And, pace will increase at the same output. That's what got my attention. If I travel at, say, 17mph right now at a heart rate of 140 beats per minute (aerobic for me), and do all of my workouts in the aerobic zone for a period of time, I should then be able to travel at maybe 19mph at the same heart rate/effort. There are many other benefits to this type of training as well. The likelihood of injury is reduced, recovery is quicker, etc., etc.

But there's a catch. It's slow, at least in the beginning. Ego has to be left at home while doing aerobic training. Walking up hills, riding in the small ring, getting passed by the old guy in the next lane, turtles laughing as they pass...all part of it in the beginning. At least it has been for me.

I've included aerobic sessions in my training in the past. But I've never done aerobic training solely, in all three sports, over a long period of time, which is what is required for the positive adaptations to take place....according to the experts.

I've been at it now for a little over a week and I haven't seen any improvements...actually, my paces have slowed from the initial few aerobic workouts. Not very encouraging, but I'm trusting the improvements will come. I'll be tracking my progress very closely and will post up some of my results soon.

If you're interested in reading more on this type of training, go to Mark Allen's site(http://www.markallenonline.com) and scroll down to the very bottom of the main page.