I
am SO happy with the MAO training program. I started with Maintenance in Dec.
and then switched to Peak Performance in early Feb. Though I haven't
followed the plan exactly because I telemark ski most weekends I noticed
a HUGE difference in how my body felt this past weekend at the Mt.
Taylor Quadrathlon in Grants, NM. I've done this race about 8 times,
and this was the first year that I actually felt good the entire 4 1/2
hours of racing AND I finished in a very respectable time and 3rd female
overall (less than 5 minutes behind the winner). The race is a bike,
run, XC ski, snowshoe event that climbs 5,000 vertical feet and then
descends the same amount. Not only did I feel good during the day, I
had very minimal muscle soreness the day after and though I expect to be
generally fatigued, I can definitely tell the MAO program has already
made me a much more efficient aerobic athlete. What amazed me the most
was that despite strictly adhering to low HR training (even running
uphill and biking uphill...) I was faster than last year when I did hard
uphill intervals and longer/harder runs to train for the race.
I
didn't wear a monitor for the race and I know my HR was most likely above the
prescribed aerobic maximum but what surprised me was how good I felt on
the last leg (the downhill bike), and didn't feel cramped or sore after 4
hours of fairly hard racing. I am so glad I chose to train with MAO
and thanks to Mark and Luis again for selecting me for the elite team. I will get
back on track with my training plan later this week and look forward to
the triathlon season in 2012