Training
Key to Mike Muha's Training Log
March 30, 2002

My training log is probably confusing to the uninitiated. There are many headings, the numbers under one heading don't necessarily match the numbers under another, and the log is divided into weeks and cycles. 

For the aficionado, the training log provides a wealth of information about each workout. Let's start by describing the column headers; in later articles, I'll discuss weeks and cycles.

The training log tracks six types of information:

Where sets the date and time of day of the training session. 

The Real Story presents comments on the training session, and tells about the training conditions (Conditions are actually found way to the right on the page).

The Method tells what activity (e.g., classic rollerski, skate snow ski, running with poles) and how long I did that activity.

The Madness documents how long I spent in each heart rate zone during the "goal" part of the training session. Time spent warming up is not included. That means for all workouts except long slow distance (LSD) and endurance workouts, the time spent on the activity will always be greater than the time logged in the zones. (Actually, as I was figuring out how best to keep my log, I did include some warm-up periods as Zone 1 training, so I haven't been consistent for the whole training season).

For interval and race pace workouts, I'd like to log the actual time spent in Zone 3. Unfortunately, my heart rate monitor does not  allow me to do that reliably. Zone 3 thus contains the amount of time spent doing the interval. It does not include rest between intervals.

See So How Fit Am I Anyways? for an explanation of how zones were determined.

Strength sessions are divided into general and specific. General strength includes weight training or general exercise that use my own body weight for resistance. Specific strength include doublepole-only or leg-only rollerkski or ski sessions, work on the rollerboard, and various stride and skate bounding drills.

Goals target the time spent in various aerobic and anaerobic activities:

• Speed. Very fast intervals, usually in Zone 4. I generally don't do speed workouts.

• Long slow distance (LSD), usually in the lower half of Zone 1.

• Endurance. Distance training in the upper half of Zone 1.

• Intervals. Zone 3 training (anaerobic threshold) over rolling or flat terrain. The intervals can last anywhere from a minute to 10  minutes or more.

• Hill Intervals. Zone 3 training on uphills.

• Race / Pace. Time trials or actual races. 

The time recorded for LSD and Endurance sessions almost always equals the time recorded under "The Method" - no warm-up is required for these workouts.

For all other sessions, the time recorded is the time actually spent doing speed work, intervals, hill Intervals, or racing. It does not include warm-up time.

For intervals and hill intervals, the time recorded shows the time spent doing the interval plus the time spent during rest between intervals. For example, 4 six-minute intervals with three-minute rest between intervals (6 + 3 + 6 + 3 + 6 + 3 + 6) is recorded as 33 minutes under "Intervals" and 24 minutes under Zone 3. 

Because a heart rate doesn't suddenly jump up to Zone 3 at the start of the interval, the number under "Zone 3" probably overstates the actual time in Zone 3. When I get a better heart rate monitor someday, I'll enter the actual time in Zone 3.

What does that mean? Odd notations in the Training Log.
You may wonder what log entries like "Uphill Intervals of 2:29 (1:51), 2:55 (3:13), 2:55 (3:37), 3:01 (3:55), 3:09 (3:55), 3:12 (3:22), and 3:07" mean. The first number in a pair is the time spent in the interval. The second number, in parenthesis, is the time resting before the next interval. The number by itself at the end is simply the last interval.