training

I'll be sharing from time to time here about my journey back from injury. Rule number one with any injury is to follow your doctor's advice. In my case, very light exercise for the fist week or two, then gradually increasing. Go by feel. We triathletes know that as listen to your body. No running. Walking is great. Also great are swimming and indoor cycling. No running, and absolutely no outdoor riding. No hard efforts, so at the gym, only light loads. The idea is to avoid anything that could trigger more bleeding in the area around the wounds.

A few weeks ago I switched my long Sunday rides from the TT bike to the road bike. Sunday before last, on my first ride to the windward side in ages, I was struck by a postural weakness I have known about for years. Now I find myself on the path to correct it.

Last November I wrote about choosing a BHAG - Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal. Something that scares you to consider. Something that at times seems terrifying. The kind where you wake up at two o’clock in the morning asking yourself, “What was I thinking?” By January I had mine. Ironman 70.3 Hawaii in May, and, the big one, Ironman California in October. Honu was a DNS. Why? A couple of reasons. The most immediate was that I crashed my bike two weeks out and was in no shape to race. The rest I’ll explain later.

If there is one piece of advice I would give to athletes and coaches as a race approaches, it is this: “Don’t screw it up.” I borrow that phrase from the great ultrarunning coach Jason Koop.

The temptation to do “just a little more” can be overwhelming. Longer long rides. Harder swim sessions. More frequent running. Or maybe a small, local race that looks like fun. Why not?

Last time I wrote about spending some workout time going fast. At least race pace, maybe faster. I used the term intensity a lot and this could be confused with going hard – running or biking uphill, for example. What I meant was getting comfortable moving the body faster. Running, in particular, because the running stride involved so many muscle contractions that must be coordinated perfectly in order to run efficiently. I ended that piece by mentioning the increased risk of injury.

Triathletes are famous for having A-type personalities. I do not place myself in that category, but that doesn't mean I am invulnerable to its pitfalls. This week I stepped in it.

The recent pair of so-called Kona Low rain storms has kept me off of the roads and out of the ocean. Not entirely. I did get in a couple of road runs and one decent bike ride, but that was it. Much more indoor running and riding than I am accustomed to, and no swimming. 

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men 
Gang aft a-gley.  -Robert Burns

A training plan that covers most of a year is always a good idea. The plan should target the key races or events the athlete is training for, arrange workouts that fit the athlete’s schedule, and lead to an optimal race day performance, all while taking into account the athlete’s abilities that need extra attention.

For much of North America and Europe the endurance race season has ended. Blog posts and podcasts focus on how to train in the off season. Here in Hawaii, the season stretches into December with the Honolulu Marathon. It can be hard to find the motivation to sit back and plan next year while struggling to find time to train, but if you wait until after the Marathon you will find your free time consumed by the demands of the holiday season. 

Seems like just last week that I earned my Ironman U coaching certification. Now it seems that TriDot, the provider, has split from Ironman. More about this on Slowtwitch. 

I was always bothered by TriDot's push to get us to switch from TrainingPeaks to their home built system. AI driven, at that. No, thank you.

This is a great discussion on a topic near and dear to me and, I hope, every senior athlete. Please give it a listen and drop your comments below. The link opens in YouTube. FastTalk podcasts are also available on your favorite podcast service, and on their excellent website.

Longevity and Biomarkers of Performance