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Xtri Chats With Elite Age Grouper, Peter Russo
By Betsy Delcour
6/9/2009 |
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It's been a couple of years, so we decided it was time to check in with our friend and elite age grouper, Peter Russo. While we love getting to know the pros, there's a lot to be said for chatting with age groupers who have to schedule training around their day jobs, and it's even more inspiring when they're as successful and yet down-to-earth as Peter. Unfortunately, Peter's been sidelined through much of his athletic career with injuries, and this time is no different. However, he's using some new high-tech equipment to keep his fitness level up - without causing further damage to himself - as he trains for IM Switzerland...
Hi Peter, it’s been a couple of years since we last talked to you! What have you been up to since then? (Feb 07)
Wow, so much and so little all at the same time. So many things have happened good and bad just like in everyone’s life. I still do so many of the same things I have always done just added on to that. I am busier than ever. I still have my business (Magic Cleaning Inc.) to run. I have become more involved in coaching other triathletes. The German Shorthaired Pointer Rescue league takes up time doing phone screens and home visits to potential GSP adopters as do the summer track meet series I am race director for. I still do some part time work for Aquaman (www.aquamantri.com). Oh, and I still try to get in my training miles.
You raced IMAZ in November of ’08, at the tail end of recovering from an injury. How were you injured, and how did you decide to do this event on so little training? And how’d the race turn out for you? ;)
I had a stress fracture in the femoral neck earlier that year due to a bone density issue. Because of this bone issue the doctor had told me not to run in 2008. I did not run until June of 2008 and even then I really ran very little at all. The longest run I did in 2008 (outside of Ironman AZ) was 14 miles. I decided to race AZ after I did the Mighty Montauk man during the first weekend in October. I had a very good race there and surprised myself at how fast I had gone on such little training. I thought it would be an interesting experiment to see how well I could do an Iron distance race on very little training (for me) and especially very little running. The experiment was very informative. I found out that you really can race pretty well on very little mileage, especially if you have years of base built up. The other side is that you can race well on limited mileage but to be at your peak and your absolute best there is no other way than putting in the work. That doesn’t mean everything has to be about huge mileage and beating yourself into a pulp week after week, but it does mean that you are probably not going to run your best marathon on a 14 mile long run.
The race turned out pretty well, much like I expected it to. With the extra work in the pool and the ideal swim conditions I set a pr for the swim. The bike was strong, fewer training miles than usual but conditions were good so my bike split was just where I thought it would be. The run went just as I thought it would. I was right on pace for 15 or 16 miles and then at that point the wheels fell off. I had a couple of really rough miles and then around mile 22 I pulled myself together a little bit, readjusted my goals and managed (barely) to break the 9:30 mark. I was lucky to get a spot for Hawaii with that time so my options are open for this October.
Who is your coach, and how did you find him? How long have you been working with him?
I am coached by Hank Lange. Years ago I met Hank at a seminar before a race and got to talking with him. I found Hank to be very intelligent, very educated, experienced and a lot of fun. Over the years I had gone to Hank for some concentrated one day coaching sessions. A couple of years ago I went up for one of the “tune-up” days and made a decision to sign on with Hank as a full time coach for a year. The only thing that I regret is that I did not do this much earlier in my career as a triathlete. Hank has helped me become a better athlete and has helped me to enjoy my sport more than ever before. Hank has helped me as much psychologically as physically and has been instrumental in helping get me through some tough crashes and injuries. He really nursed me along all last spring, summer and fall encouraging me to not concentrate on what I was not able to do but what I was able to do. Without Hank’s guidance I certainly would not have been able to race in AZ last November.
Unfortunately now you’re coping with another injury, only this time you’re using some super high-tech equipment to continue training. Can you tell us what your physical issue is, and what equipment you’re using? How do you have access to it?
Injury is my middle name. It is something that I have just learned to live with, not happily all the time but some people seem to be more fragile than others. That is me, just a fragile little flower!
I have a stress reaction in my shin, shin splints is the common term, precursor to a stress fracture. I usually try and run on softer surfaces but this winter was pretty bad here in New England; many of the usual places I run were covered in snow and ice so I spent too much time running on hard surfaces. I am using the most high tech expensive treadmill you have ever seen. It is called the Alter-G treadmill. If you go to http://www.alter-g.com/alterg/ you can see this high tech thing in action. If you go to Youtube there are a lot of videos of it there. I am incredibly lucky that this device is 4 miles from my house; it is the only one in New England. A friend of mine (Vinnie Aguair aka Big Naked Man) had seen an article about it in New England runner. The funny thing is that my massage therapist is next door to Foundation Performance and I had no idea this treadmill was right there. I contacted Mike Silva, owner and head physical therapist at Foundation, and he invited me down to give this treadmill a try. You really need to go to the web site to see this thing. It allows you to run at a percentage of your body weight, all the way down as low as 20%. You can increase in increments of 1% at a time. I started off (due to a stress reaction in the lower tibia) at 35% of body weight and slowly I have increased weight until now I am at 90% and starting to do some short easy jogs on the road while I am walking my dogs Silas and Gunnar.
Access to the machine is great. I am lucky because most of the time my schedule is flexible and I have been trying to get on it 3 times a week. Mike is very generous and great about the machine and if you know you are going to be using it a lot he offers bulk type discounts.
Since the Alter G reduces the weight that you’re carrying on your legs while you run, what types of physical benefits do you receive? Wouldn’t this mean your muscles aren’t accustomed to carrying your full body weight once you’re running on the road? And how does Alter G running differ from just running in the pool?
To me it is so much more like real running and so much better of a workout than pool running. Instead of me trying to answer this question I asked Mike to write an answer to this question.
Here is Mike Silva’s reply : “The G Trainer is the only device in the world that allows you to run with full range of motion, unrestricted, with normal mechanics while reducing the weight bearing effects of your running stride and gravity on your body. It is much different than pool running because as I just mentioned you can attain normal running mechanics. In the pool the resistance of the water and the awkward ground strike (if any at all) of the foot make for abnormal mechanics. Also the G Trainer can accurately control your body weight by lessening it in 1% increments up to an 80% reduction in body weight. The G trainer will allow you to train your body and energy systems as you would with "real world running". We can calculate how much you need to increase your speed or grade to give you the same metabolic training effects as you get during a normal run, all the while you are reducing the trauma to the body. This doesn't mean that you will not be able to run on the roads again. We use it as a means to get you back on the road ASAP or keep you on the road. Most of our athletes are using it to continue to train while they are healing or use it to build strength and tolerance in order to return to training levels after an injury. Our non-injured athletes may use it to do one "easy" run per week on it. We usually only reduce the body weight 10-15%, but this can reduce the cumulative impact of a run by thousands of pounds. This can help keep the cummulative trauma of running injuries at bay and keep the athlete running injury free. “
I agree with Mike in that this is a great tool for just getting faster. When I am done with the Alter-G for rehab I will continue to use it for some speed workouts. You can train your legs to go at a much faster turnover and speed on this treadmill than you can do on the road.
What is your training plan from now until your next big event, IM Switzerland? About how many hours per week do you train?
Because of my running injury my training hours are down, but I have been making sure to get in the long swim and the long bike and get in a lot of quality. I have been very busy with Magic Cleaning Inc. and spending quite a bit of time with some of my clients that I coach and that has cut down on my available hours to train. I have done some 1.5 hour sessions on the treadmill, while that is not long enough for a marathon that is about all I can take mentally and with the neoprene shorts that you have to wear you sweat a tremendous amount from the waist down so I try and drink a lot but there is a dehydration factor that comes into play as well. Most weeks my training is in the 18 to 20 hour range. I have had a couple bigger weeks in the 25 hour range. I will probably throw in 2 to 3 more really big weeks in that range and with some luck that should put me in good shape.
With your 20+ years of experience and expertise in triathlon, you’re now coaching athletes of your own! Can you tell us about what your training philosophy is, and how you guide your athletes towards their goals? What level athletes do you coach?
The training philosophy I use with my clients is simple. Learn from my mistakes. I have made every single mistake you can think of in my training over the years. I try to help my athletes avoid all the pitfalls I have fallen into. The two biggest issues I work with my clients on are as follows:
1. Every workout should have a purpose. If the purpose is to go easy then go easy, if it is to go hard then go hard, if it is to do something in-between then do that. Just know ahead of time what it is you are going to do during that workout and what the purpose of the workout is supposed to be. Too many athletes (I include me in this category for many years) just head out the door without a clear sense of purpose as to what they want to accomplish during that workout. Depending on how you feel and a lot of different factors you may need to change what the workout is mid stream but you still need to head out the door with a basic idea.
2. The second big point I emphasize is to go easy when it is time to go easy and go hard when it is time to go hard. Many people just go out and go somewhat hard all the time. They feel like if they aren’t going hard then they aren’t working and they are wasting time. When you go at this middle of the road pace all the time that is what you end up training your body to do. You are really never rested so when it is time to really go hard and hit that high gear your body cannot respond. Many people will never reach their full speed potential because they are never rested enough to really take their hard speed workouts to the next level.
I try and guide my athletes by setting up training schedules that mesh with their lives and lifestyles. Everyone has a different perspective as to what success is, I help them to define what success means to them in their life and then we set up the training steps to help them get there. I set up schedules to help them achieve their goals, live a good and somewhat balanced life. The other main function I help with is trying to make sure people rest. Many times we get so focused on getting to the goal race you forget you need a rest week and take things down a little bit. I also work with my athletes on doing periodic testing to make sure that they are making the progress they are working so hard to achieve.
I coach different levels of athletes. I work with people who are relatively new to the sport and some people who have been around for some time. I really don’t care what level the person is as long as they are fun to work with and not so serious that they cannot laugh at themselves and how ridiculous our sport can be at times.
As an elite age group athlete who’s been plagued with many injuries over the years, how do you cope mentally and emotionally with the physical setbacks? How do you keep the positive outlook that’s so crucial to athletic performance?
Hank Lange has helped me a lot with that over the past few years. It does get very frustrating to be as injured as often as I do. I have been lucky enough to qualify for Ironman Hawaii a bunch of times. I have missed going due to injury as many or more times than I have actually gotten to go. Many times after an injury that has kept me from Hawaii or some other big race I was shooting for I have thought about retiring from the sport. Last year I took up rowing as a kind of a fall back sport. I really enjoyed it a lot, it was different but there is something about swim/bike/run that I just love. I like to train, I love to race. I guess I get the positive outlook back after the few days of being really cranky and ticked off then I start to think, well I cannot do this race right now but 6 months from now is this other race I always wanted to do or try.
Jennifer my wife keeps me very grounded. Jennifer lets me rant for a day or so when I get injured and then slowly helps me get back on track and I remember that she and my dogs are the most important parts of my life. I have great friends and teammates that are also very supportive. Lastly there are things that I have yet to accomplish in triathlon and I am a very goal oriented person. I don’t like a quitter and no one has ever accused me of that. I know that I won’t quit until I have exhausted every last opportunity and that keeps me positive, motivated and moving forward.
As we learned before, you live in Rumford, RI – maybe not the most “tri-friendly” training location, especially for someone who likes training and racing in the heat! What keeps you in this part of the country?
I really dislike New England. The weather is the number one reason I don’t like it here. The weather is terrible 11 months of the year and the other month it is ok. Many people here are not as friendly as people in other parts of the country (outside the triathlon community, our tri community here is great, very nice people and very welcoming). The current shin injury I have is due to the terrible winter we had and lack of places other than the road to run. I once had the opportunity to take a pro triathlete out for some rides and runs when he was here for a visit and he (a guy from Colorado) could not believe how tough it was to train here with the roads, traffic, and lack of good dirt to run on. So why is it I stay in Rhode Island, Magic Cleaning Inc, which is my business. If I could move my business to Arizona or New Mexico I would do it. I would sorely miss my very good friends and family but I would not miss the cold weather. Besides that all my friends and family would be out to visit me all the time to get out of the terrible weather in New England.
I should not be so harsh on the area. I know many people really love it here in RI. I know some triathletes who have moved to Rhode Island and they could have moved anywhere and others who could move their business anywhere and stay here because they love it so much here. I just prefer the warm weather.
What else do you have planned for this season? Will we see you in Kona?!
I have been so focused on Switzerland that the rest of the season has a question mark after that. I am sure I will do some local races but not sure which ones. Kona is an option this year but I am not sure if I will go. It is a great race with the best competition in a very unique place, one of the most beautiful on earth. Jennifer and I were married there in 1992 two days after the race right in Mokuaikaua church near the finish line. Kona has a very special place in our hearts. That being said there are only so many vacation days and limited funds for travel and so many places all around the world to see and experience that it is always a tough decision. If you go to Kona then maybe you don’t get to see Africa or some other great place. One year I was hit by a car and could not go to Kona, so instead we spent a few weeks all around Spain. It was absolutely fantastic. On the other hand you just never know what I might decide to do for October.
Thanks Peter, and best wishes for a successful (injury-free!) season! |
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