Improving each discipline
While I did well last year with my fastest ever Olympic distance race, a careful examination of my training, showed the need for improvement in each discipline. That's not all bad news however, since some of my necessary improvements just require missing fewer workouts. Taking a look at both your strong and weak disciplines can be very enlightening.
The Swim.
After last year's efforts I learned two things:
- I'm a much faster swim
- But not necessarily a much better swimmer.
How did I come to this conclusion? Well I posted a personal best of 35:45 at the Columbia triathlon knocking almost 6 minutes of my best swim time. Along with that however, I had quite a bit of shoulder and arm pain. After talking with my chiropractor it was determined to be due to my habit of only breathing on my left side. I was determined that by my next Olympic tri I would be a bilateral breather. It was so hard to change this habit that I learned some 30 years ago, I actually took 2 months off from swimming and when I went back to the pool I was determined to only swim by breathing on both sides. After about a month and many mouthfuls of water later I had become comfortable, if not proficient, at breathing every 3rd stroke. I should note that while I was making the transition I didn't focus on any other aspect of my swim. All I worked on was being able to breathe on both side comfortably. I didn't track my pace, worry particularly about body position (except how it affected rolling to my "other" side) or worry about stroke count. I was actually prepared to become a slower swimmer, with the idea that the better technique would suffice in the long run. When I was finally comfortable, I went back to one of my standard workouts, and lo and behold, I was actually faster! Without doing anything other than going to bilateral breathing, I had actually picked up between 10 and 15 seconds per 100! I attribute this to 2 things, I now breathe every third stroke which I believe enables me to keep a better body position throughout the course of my swim. Second, I believe my swim is more balanced, i.e. I swim on my side more as a consequence of having to roll to the other side to breathe. I have also noticed I swim straighter and I make fewer corrections to remain on a straight course. I was somewhat skeptical that bilateral breathing would have such a profound effect, but I never write anything off until I at least try it. In this case trying paid dividends, always a good feeling.
The Bike
In general I had a good year on the bike. While I did lament not having the opportunity to participate in any bike races, I felt I had a successful season. One area I found lacking was the amount of intervals I did over the course of the year. I was generally really good at the beginning of the year in preparation for early season races, but afterwards I was slacking a bit and allowing some fast group rides to substitute for interval sessions. This isn't always a bad idea but in general group rides don't always fit into the type of training you may need for an upcoming event. I resolve to be a bit more disciplined this year and hopefully I will be able to reap the benefits.
The Run
OK, let's be frank, I don't really like running all that much. Most workouts that I blow off are run workouts. I love cycling, I need swimming, but really I just tolerate the run. So this year I plan to make sure I don't miss any of those run workout (or at least not as many). I noticed that last year I really didn't do nearly enough speed work either. Speed work, for me anyway, is far more mentally taxing that physically taxing. Once I get out there I'm OK, but actually getting out there is the problem. I'm gonna work on that, but I think I need a partner (any takers????) .
Other stuff
I joined a tri club, Tri Unify which has been great. Meeting like minded people of color who also take an interest in a healthy life style is AWESOME! Check them out at Tri Unify.com
Among other things Tri Unify has open water swim practices, meet and greets, and a wealth of highly motivated people of all levels so no one has to feel intimidated or left out.
Every few months I get an uncontrollable urge to go back to the sport of my youth, namely basketball. One thing I like about triathlon is, no matter how hard the race it is essentially a non-contact sport. Not true of basketball! After just about every game, something is cut, scratched or bruised! The other thing about triathlon is essentially you are always going straight ahead, basketball is about going in 20 different directions, one right after the other, or even at the same time. This requires some specialized preparation since I rarely need to practice running backwards or side to side to prepare for a tri. Anyway, I have caught the bug again and I am about to play in a league or two this winter, I'll keep you posted and let you know how the body holds up.
The Season
I already have 3 races scheduled on my calendar and I am considering whether to step up to the half ironman distance in the second half of the year. A lot depends on how the first half goes, so I figured I would re-evaluate after my sprint triathlon on June 20th. Since we are being hit by unseasonable cold weather I see a lot of indoor training in my future (and yours too!). Don't let this ruin your season, hop on a bike trainer, treadmill or into a spin class somewhere. If this doesn't do it for you get in the pool more often and work on all those things you never work even though you know you should.
As some of you may know I am a personal trainer and I am applying for my USAT coaching license. I will be creating a 16 week training program for the Tri to Win sprint triathlon which is on June 20th. The program will include group training on the weekends and a training schedule for the entire 16 weeks leading up to the race. The training program will be aimed at first time triathletes and those with no experience following a training program. I will be hosting an information session later this month. The training program is schedule to start on March 1st. If you are interested please e-mail me at robert@clarencesoftware.com.
I hope to see all of you out there in the pool, on the road and on the track......
Peace
Rob
