The 2023 season is winding down. In the Ironman world, Kona and Nice mark the end of the year. The Internet is all abuzz with tips on how to train through the winter. Layering. Heated vests. Heated gloves. Heated socks. Those of us living in Hawaii can be grateful for not needing any of that. Not even a wetsuit. At most a rash guard for a morning swim, or a light weight jacket on a long bike ride.
Hard to believe this website has been up for three whole years. A little longer, actually, counting the time it took to create the initial content. In that time I have shifted the focus from a mostly personal athlete blog to a coaching site aimed more at helping other athletes.
Look for some changes. The site has converted to using a secure SSL (https) address. My hosting service also provides a little extra firewall service to block bad actors. So far the change has been transparent.
Finding enough time to train is always a challenge. To make the most out of your limited training time you must always act with intention.
Think about two people going to the mall on a Saturday morning. One has no idea what they will do. They just walk around and see what comes up. The other person has a number of objectives. New shoes for work. A gift for a friend’s upcoming birthday. A new toothbrush. This person has made a list, sequenced to minimize the amount of walking necessary. They get in, and get it done. They act with intention.
When COVID-19 turned the world upside-down, I found myself, like a lot of people, taking a long, hard look at what had been my routine, and what I might change that would provide greater satisfaction. I chose to become a coach. What appealed to me the most was the shift from focusing on myself to helping others achieve their goals. Now that I think about it, that describes my professional career as an IT tech support person. Season planning is a popular coaching topic. Every fall, around this time, I see advertisements from coaches offering to help athletes plan their next season.
Consumers of popular athletic information sources are bombarded with this or that great workout. Headlines shout about doing such and such on your next swim, bike, or run to improve your something or other. These days, there is new variation on this idea, a unique, break-through gadget that will make you perform like a pro. Trackers for everything from sleep to breathing to hydration, and everything in between.
Establishing and following a routine is key to a successful training program. Constantly introducing new workouts with complicated instructions is not helpful, and can result in poor execution and sub-optimal results. Doing the same workout at the same time and place, week after week, is a great way to monitor progress.
Some of the terminology used here is explained more fully in my previous post about polarized training. Be sure to read that first.
Our lives revolve around a seven day cycle, the infamous week. Between work, family, and friends, the best we can hope for is six workouts a week without resorting to two-a-days. If we schedule one hard day and the remaining days easy, we get close to 80/20.
We now know that endurance athletes achieve the best results with polarized training. Sports scientist Dr. Stephen Seiler has led this movement. Master coaches Joe Friel and Matt Fitzgerald are two of many who agree. You can find lots more about polarized training on the FastTalk website.
Workouts generate stress, which we athletes feel as fatigue. Later, as we rest, our body shifts into repair mode. It is during this time that the rewards for all that hard work are received.
Training for triathlon means packing workouts for three different sport modalities into each week. Let me suggest a neat trick to help prevent your schedule from driving you batty - developing a routine.
For many of us, the word routine carries negative connotations. To have an exciting day sounds more desirable than a routine day. But, when it comes to athletic training, establishing a routine is a great way to create the opportunity to get things done. If your plan is to train when you can, you won’t.