Some thoughts from my 2004 triathlon training season.
My theme for this season was "Learning".
I wanted to learn the basics of the sport and the basics of training. I wanted to make sure that I had more of a many-year perspective instead of a this-year perspective. I knew that going for records and goals on my first season would be a mistake.
So what did I learn?
I learned is that this isn't rocket science. I have a tendency to, shall we say, overanalyze things. I love to collect numbers, figures and stats. But at the end of the day, you work out, you get fitter. There were times this season where I went against my simple intuition and tried to be fancy with it... mostly in tapering periods.
I learned that it's impossible to peak for the entire season. Unfortunately, I didn't learn how to peak but I did experience a couple of them.
I learned that fitness flows from one sport to another. It flows from speed to endurance. It flows from heat acclimatization to cold speed. This was odd for me. Prior to this season I had a very linear belief of fitness. I believed that if you worked out every day you'd just get fitter. Forever. I didn't realize that fitness was so quick to morph.
I learned that there are only so many training hours to be had. So I have to make them count.
I learned that diet is a critical part of training. Unfortunately, I didn't learn how to cook.
I learned that injuries are part of the game. Early in the season I got really frustrated about injuries. I blamed the gods of training and cursed them. Now I know that injuries are my fault. There's no doubt in my mind that elite athletes are elite in no small part because they can avoid injuries, either through smart training or by genetic strengths. For me injuries seem to be in the support stuff. Not in the big muscles. In the support tendons, muscles and fibers that help the big muscles do their jobs. I've also found that the more fit I get the closer I am to an injury. It feels as if being fit means I'm finely tuned. It's rather paradoxical to me that the more fit I am the more fragile I am... able to run faster in a straight line but unable to do much else. Next season I want to work more on my core and some holistic fitness techniques to counterbalance a bit. Stretching. Core. Maybe that'll change my perception of being fit but fragile.
I learned that when you are running and you feel a pain you should stop. I should have learned this lesson six years ago when I ran through a knee pain... which blew up my knee and kept me out of running for five years. But I didn't. I hurt my upper left thigh by running through it.
I learned that sometimes, once you're injured, you can just run through an injury. Like my upper thigh pain. It hurt for weeks on runs. I'd abandon at 25 minutes. The doc said to run through it. I ran through it one day. And it went away.
I also learned that sometimes you can't just run through an injury. Like my IT Band Friction Syndrome. I tried to run through it. It's just gotten worse.
I learned, late in the season, that stretching is important. Thanks Julie.
I learned that increasing running mileage is my highest risk activity. I need to more carefully monitor my running mileage and increase it slowly. I can increase bike and swim quickly without trouble... but not running.
I learned that nutrition is critical to in-race performance. Too many gels and you get stomach pain. Too few and you bonk.
I learned that when I workout, even if I think I'm not sweating, I'm losing a lot of fluid.
I learned to eat smaller portions of food throughout the day.
I learned that the heat can stop me dead in my tracks. Heat hurts me. In the coming years I hope to get more acclimated to heat running, but for now it clobbers me.
I learned that there are many people out there who are excited about training. And they can teach me a lot.
I learned that a lack of joint fitness renders incredible muscle fitness useless. Late in the season I had great fitness in my muscles and cardiovascular systems. But my joints were painful. They didn't allow me to take advantage of my fitness. It was incredibly annoying to run 20 miles with my heart/lungs feeling great, my muscles ready to do another 20 but my joints creaking every single stride.
I learned that I'm bad at tapering. Instead of lowering the time and increasing the intensity I end up just doing little to nothing. And I'm not convinced that long tapers are for me. My legs feel awful after them. I may be at the end of the curve that gains and loses fitness quickly. If so, I can't do long tapers. My best performance was a week after my hardest race and a full week of spinning, running and swimming workouts. My legs just feel more ready to go after a week of workouts.
I learned the feeling of being overtrained. It's subtle. My legs feel heavy. Solid. My motivation is a little low. There are two types of overtraining that I experience. One is that macro-overtraining... the long cycle. In this type I feel dullness in my legs. My long workouts just don't click as much. But overall I feel fine. She micro-overtraining happens when I do two or three workouts too close together or with too much intensity. My legs feel like they're going to melt. And the key indicator is that I can't get my heart rate up. I'll be working out killing myself but it'll only be at 150. Part of it is mental. Part is physical pain. I learned to listen to my body closely.
I learned that even in long races you have to go for it... if you don't you'll spend a lot more energy not going for it. Trust in the training.
I learned a lot.
What did I accomplish?
My best performance was early in the season at the Charles Harris 10K. I ran 36:57. Not bad for me. It was on no taper and I had raced the weekend before, doing a 10K in 39:something.
The short Sweetwater Triathlon saw my best overall finish of sixth. Again, no taper... I planned on doing the race the night before. I felt like I worked hard throughout the race.
At the Callaway Gardens Triathlon I took second in my age group. I felt strong on that race.
I finished an Ironman.
A huge accomplishment is that my left knee, the one that prevented me from running for five years, is as strong as ever. Some twinges at times, but overall I'm able to deliver power with it. Very happy about this. The key was to just slowly increase miileage... which I did well at the beginning of the season. At the end I didn't and paid the price with some new knee injuries.
The most important accomplishment was training and racing with my wife Heather. It brings joy to my heart to spend those hours with her. I love seeing her go by in the middle of a race. I love spinning next to her at the gym. I love our weights workouts. It's just fun having a partner to train with.
So what about next season?
I need to pick a theme. I'm thinking something like "Learning to Train" which would move the learning focus from overall triathlon learning to specific training learning. I'm good at logging some miles and stringing together some workouts. But I'm not good at working all the different combinations of strength/speed/endurance. I don't have a master plan. I go by feel. Which is OK but I tend to think there should be a master plan. So I've started some excel spreadsheets. And I'm re-reading a number of books that I bought this season.
Goals next season?
Not so much. Again, another season of learning. I'm trying to take a five to ten year approach to this sport. I'm still gaining fitness and getting my tendons/ligaments into shape. I've got two Ironmans scheduled next year. I'll do the St. Anthony's race. My mini-goal for that one is to not explode on the run. I'd love to beat my time on the 10K but with my knees the way they are right now I'm just not sure. I'd need to be into speedwork shortly. Not sure if I'll be able to. I'd like to do the Macon Half Ironman again and see if I can avoid blowing up from the heat. I'd like to learn how to get out front in the swim. My times in the pool are too much faster than they are in the races. I think that if I learned to sprint out at the beginning I'd find a lot more open water to swim my pace in. I get caught in packs too much. I'd like to get better at my transitions. Keeping my shoes on the bike for T1 and T2. I need to get better at nutrition in my daily life. And I've got to get rid of the damn belly. It drives me nuts. How many hours do I work out? And I have this layer of fat on my belly that just won't go away. In the offseason I'd like to shed the pounds necessary to get to a good racing weight. During the season I couldn't because I was too worried about losing muscle. Now's the time. More importantly than the way the belly looks I'd like to build up the muscles of the belly so that they work better. I've always lacked the core strength. I need to get it going. Six pack? I'll settle for a two pack.
Triathlon is fun. It's confusing. There are a lot of skills required. And a lot of different training techniques. You can listen to runners and bikers and swimmers all day, but putting them together is a different challenge. It keeps me motivated. When I'm not in the mood for a bike I'll want to go swimming. And vice versa. Always something to get excited about. The gear is great. Three sports worth of gear. I love it. I'm pretty set with the gear right now. Only a few holes and it'll be time to start upgrading one piece at a time. This is a luxury and I don't take it for granted. The biggest thing I love about triathlon is the fact that I feel like I have a lot more potential. And as I get fitter and fitter, the next piece of performance gets that much harder to eek out. I love a good challenge like this.
SufferFest 08 Day 4
