Swim. Bike. Run. 3NDURANCE.

Living to train or training to Live. I'll have to get back to you on that one.

Category: Training

December 25, 2012

Looking Back 2012

Looking back on 2012, first let me admit that I am really happy to see what I have done in triathlon. Mainly, a first and second iron-distance finish in the same year. The first, HITS Naples, concluded my 2011 season. The second was my big race at Great Floridian. Two seasons culminating in two iron-distance races in the same year. However, my “season” this year was merely a shell of the 2011 training season and mistakes were made. So although I am proud, I am not content as there are more than a few things to improve.

Here are the main lessons I learned from mistakes I made this year:

  • Plan Ahead and Change Accordingly

Having lucked out in planning on the go in 2011, I decided to do the same for 2012 but it came to bite me in the butt. While I had my “A” race picked out, that was about it. I struggled to match my training schedule and proper recovery to race dates chosen on the fly and life stresses, such as moving into an unfurnished apartment in the middle of the season.

  • Discipline and Focus

I lacked the focus and discipline that made my 2011 season so successful. Confession: I rarely trained in the mornings. I also became content with just completing scheduled workouts. This bare bones approach to training for an iron-distance race left me far short of my goals. In reality, I need the discipline to wake up when that early morning alarm sounds and focus to make workouts meaningful.

  • Offseason and Recovery

I wasted last offseason by training too much when it was not needed. I tried to carry the fitness from early 2012 into the long 2012 season. I was clealry burnt out by the time race day came. I do not even think I swam in the last month before the race. I trained 24 weeks for Great Floridian and the resulting stress and fatigue caught up to me.

2 comments
November 13, 2012

Revelation: Offseason

So I started an informal gym routine last week and I am shocked to reveal what I have found. I AM WEAK. Not mentally. And my swim, bike, run endurance is certainly not an issue. However, two trips to the weight room and I could hardly walk after. The worst part about it is that I did not even use weights in the majority of my exercises. I just did some exercises that targeted my core; planks, squats, lunges, pushups, bird dog, hip adduction and abduction.

I clearly neglected strength training and have payed the price. The soreness is humbling…. the realization that I have a lot of work to do in the gym is exciting. This is clearly an area that I have an opportunity to improve.

Last offseason, I vowed to address my limiters (strength, balance and flexibility) but, in reality, I just ignored them. I know how to improve them. However, it is another thing entirely to push aside the urge to swim, bike and run and take the time to address those limiters. As I reflect on my season, I see that I may have benefitted a lot more from a more focused offseason. Instead, I kept on swimming, biking and running with little direction and few concrete goals, if any. I tricked myself into thinking I was doing something constructive for next season. While I maintained a decent base of fitness, that was about it, and it seems to have done little good in the grand scheme of things.

This offseason, I pick up where I strayed last offseason. And this time, I will hold myself accountable for strength, balance and flexibility improvements. It is hard to see now but, I know this is just the beginning of preparation for the next challenge. Preparation that will serve me well later on down the road.

4 comments
June 27, 2012

Cause you had a Bad Day…

You know those days when you go for a run and just feel like it’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done? Your legs hurt, your lungs are on fire and you are already going too slow to slow down anymore. Me too. The weird thing is you were cruising yesterday and felt great. In fact, the last few weeks of workouts have been strong but for some reason running that day was horrendous….

Does that sound familiar?

I have now had a few of those days this season. Maybe a handful at most. Since I started keeping my, accurately named, ”recovery journal“, I have been able to pinpoint the reasons behind those awful runs. One or two were directly due to fatigue because I did not get enough quality sleep. The other had everything to do with dehydration. Both were equally terrible.

I was able to pinpoint the problem because I keep track of my food, water and sleep. Three key aspects of recovery between workouts. What I am ultimately getting at is that BAD DAYS are completely preventable if you properly fuel, hydrate and get enough sleep. So, keep that in mind when you are up late at night watching TV. Keep it in mind to drink a little water for every hour you are awake. Most importantly, keep that in mind when you are deciding what to eat.  

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