Now What

So your long triathlon (or running) competitive season has come to an end and you have entered that time of year that the Type A personality triathletes hate, the off-season.  What exactly does that term, off-season mean?  It means that this is the time of year to recuperate, recharge, reflect and redesign. 

 Recuperate

Take this time to let your body heal and recover.  If you are anything like me, you have been putting your body through 15-20 hour weeks for several months now and you have just finished your “A” race and now you deserve to “rest”.  Rest is such a vague term, but I am going to put it as clearly and simply as I can, listen to your body.  During the season, you may have been listening to your coach or your schedule and pushed through on those days when your body put up resistance, but, NEWS FLASH, now you don’t have to do that.  For the next couple months, if your body says “NO”, listen to it and sit that workout out.  Tomorrow is another day and it will be soon enough when you are out grinding miles against your body’s will.

Use this time to go to the physical therapist and work on repairing that sore quad or hamstring.  Or go to a massage therapist to get those knots worked out in your shoulders.  Treat your body right now and maybe it will respond with greater appreciation later in the season.

 Recharge

Remember when training and racing was fun?  I had forgotten until this past weekend when I was working the newly named “Susan Bradley-Cox Tri-for-Sight” and I witnessed so many people smiling from ear to ear and just enjoying the day and the race.  That is why I started competing and that is why I had always “trained”, because it was fun.  So revive that youthful exuberance and get back to the fun of it.  Here are some tips:

1)      Leave the watch, computer, clock at home.  Try going for a run without your watch or a ride without your computer or not counting laps or watching the clock the next time you swim.

2)      Train somewhere different and find a new beautiful bike route even if you have to drive a little to get there

3)      Do a trail run.  Enjoy nature and put a charge in your hill running.

4)      Try Cyclo-cross.  This will greatly increase your bike handling skills, plus it’s really fun.

5)      Skip a workout to eat dinner with family or friends for a change. 

6)      Take a “newbie” on a training ride with you.  They just might be infectious. 

7)      Fake it ‘til you make and put a smile on your face even when you don’t feel like it and soon it will become habit

 Reflect

Take a look back at what you accomplished this season, whether it was just beginning to train or your first half-marathon or that first Ironman finish.  We all accomplished something great and it is time that you recognized that accomplishment.  Allowing yourself to recognize what you did over the past year will go great lengths in helping you to have fun again.  So sit down and put those accomplishments on paper.  Once your list is complete then create a second list of what you would like to accomplish for 2008 and be realistic.  These are your goals for the year and if you make them too unrealistic, then you will get discouraged in your pursuit of them.  On the other hand, if they are easily attainable and not flexible, then you reach them too easily and loose motivation for the rest of the season.  So take some time during this reflection period and be realistic.

 Redesign

Ok, so your mind, relationships and body are healed and you have successfully created a list of accomplishments and goals.  It is time to sit down and put together the training program that will take you from what you accomplished in 2007 to the heights of your expectations for 2008.  So the only logical step from here is to take all of this information (along with a copy of last season’s training) and contact your favorite Mideast Multisport coach to sit down and design the program that will put you on the way to meeting your goals.

Have a great off-season and see you at the planning table.

Jeff

Wisconsin Training/Racing Report

Now that the season is over and Ironman Wisconsin is an event in the past, I would like to reflect upon my training and also the race.  I think that in order to assess my training, I must first reflect upon the race. 

My pre-race strategy was not unlike many others, survive the swim, pick it up on the bike and then finish passing people on the run….well two out of three isn’t bad is it?  The swim start is a little overwhelming for a novice swimmer like myself, but as a group we made the decision to start to the outside, well away from the buoys and try to stay out of the fighting as much as possible.  The first loop was great with very little conflict, but I tried to move closer to the buoy line for the second loop and got beat up, so I swung out wide and then realized that I got way outside and ended up swimming about 150 meters further than I needed, but I was happy with the swim….objective met.

Once on the bike, I felt great and hungry, so I began eating early and often and tailwind was great and I was riding with some good riders and keeping a respectable pace and just went with it.  I was spinning up the hills and passing people and then holding my own on the downhills and flats, but the effort was not taxing so I just kept going with it.  About 2/3 of the way through the bike, I was having trouble keeping up my nutrition pattern and this would come back to bite me again, as my hamstrings started to cramp on one of the final hills and I thought my run was in jeopardy.  However, I was able to save my body and my legs into the wind on the way home….objective met.

Now for the run, my strongpoint……or it at least used to be.  I came out of transition and I felt great and the watch said that I was feeling really great….7:00 miles for the first 3 miles.  Mistake one.  At this point I was feeling on top of the world and just rolling and hadn’t figured out the aid station and wasn’t taking my regular walk breaks.  Mistake two.  By mile 10 my 7:00 pace had jumped to about 9:30 and wasn’t looking good.  I struggled and gave in and walked from mile 16-19 and then was able to “suck it up” and finish strong…..objective denied.

So looking back at this race that my entire training season was centered around, I am happy.  The swim and the bike were great and the times were perfect for the effort that I put in, but the run was a little disappointing.  This was a combination of another failed nutrition effort, not following the designed race strategy and finally not enough long bricks.  I feel that this is the only part of my training that needs some serious revisiting.  In the future I will alter the make-up of my Infinit Nutrition sports drink to reduce the protein and increase the sodium.  Also, I will add some longer bricks and more runs on tired legs to mimic the feelings on race day and finally, I will always, always listen to the voice of reason during pre-race strategy sessions and follow my coaches advice……objective learned.

Here’s to better racing for ’08.

Jeff