As most of you may know I recently raced my first 70.3 in two years… and my first ‘proper’ race in many more years at Sunshine Coast 70.3
The race was placed at the junction of the build phase and phitness / race specific phase for me so I went into the race fit, robust and generally well prepared minus the race specific conditioning we get from a ‘race prep phase’
But, I enjoyed my prep, I enjoyed racing, I was excited and I genuinely look forward to layering on the race specific conditioning as I lead into Busso 70.3 in December.
So after that preface, I wanted to share some striking thoughts that I had during and immediately post race… And elaborate on them with the goal of educating and perhaps even initiating some conversation amongst the JET Community.
Strength
Firstly, long course triathlon is a strength sport. Not in the typical sense of the word but when your 4-5hrs deep it matters not how quick you can run a kilometer when fresh but how you can hold your form under fatigue; STRENGTH.
So embrace the variation within our programs, the paddle work, the low cadence riding, the running in the hills and the long ride as well as the strength and stability work… it is paramount for race day performance
Acceptance
I used to fear the run when I raced, despite it being a strength for me from my very first outing. Why? Because of the pressure to perform and chase a goal time split. And, well, it is hard. Fatigue. Sore Legs. Warm temps. It is often an uncomfortable environment.
When I started running in Mooloolaba I found myself giving myself a choice… the dialogue in my head went a little like this:
‘Just enjoy this’
“What?”
‘Well you can either just relax and enjoy this, or you can bitch and tell yourself its hard. Which would you prefer’
And it was that simple… for the first time I can remember I ACCEPTED and just ran. I allowed myself to relax and simply enjoy.
There was also the acceptance of where I was at in my preparation, the acceptance of having a flat tyre during the race, the acceptance that I wasn’t going to PB…
You will all have moments throughout training and racing and, LIFE. Accept. Embrace. Even allow yourself to enjoy.
Respect
70.3 miles is a long way. Ironman’s take a long time. We have all chosen an ENDURANCE sport.
Ensure you RESPECT the race. It seems obvious but I have taken it for granted before and I know others do.
Just because you train, even if you train well and you are fit and prepared. The race owes you nothing. No prizes for being fit and prepared. You need to execute on the day to the best of your ability.
Top tips for maximizing this:
– Appropriate and Effective training
– Mindset
– Pacing
– Fueling and Hydration
– Racing to your potential on any given day in light of the points above – APPLYING yourself
No matter how fit you are, how well you SHOULD do, what you THINK you can do, or what you have done in the PAST it isn’t ever EASY and again, nothing is owed to you. You gotta get it yourself.
Respect what it takes to get these things done, and get them done to the best of your ability.
Enjoy the process
Cliche? Perhaps. But you have got to enjoy the PROCESS.
Obsess yourself with improving, applying yourself and execution; in training and racing.
Nail the basics. Be engaged in what you are doing and why.
And carry this into race day.
At the end of the day the splits and times are irrelevant. And ultimately mean nothing. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Your training and racing should not and does not define you.
Being a slave to the numbers whether good, bad, ugly or indifferent is a sure fire way to kill your performance and your enjoyment.
Keep it simple. Remember why you started and focus on our #BeYourBest mantra… whatever that is will take care of itself. All we can ever control is this… Be Your Best at any given moment (presence) and you will do well.
And it is the ONLY criteria we will evaluate at JET.
ROI
A Triathlon Coach discussing ROI (again) … Why?
I considered leaving this out but I think it provides some further context around some of the core values, philosophies and methodologies of JET Coaching. For many years before us and for many more to come Endurance sport coaching and training has and will be centered around the value of hours/kms per week. And this being the barometer of success and improvement for athletes. There are many reasons for this and in some ways they make sense because, well by definition, we go a long way when we race so surely more is more. Well no, it doesn’t work like that. And if it did, well it would be as simple as training more and going faster. Hopefully even the discussion above has dispelled that concept.
Perhaps we should be looking at it another way and thinking about completing the least amount possible to achieve our goals. Not a less is more preach by any stretch but this does flip the whole concept on its head and it calls for a pragmatic approach to training and racing!
So I mention ROI because as already mentioned I did not training specifically for this event and upon looking at my weekly average in hours per week for arguments sake it comes out at about 8.5hrs.
Now in endurance circles this would be considered on the low end of the scale, as many of you would know… but the number of hours is irrelevant. What is important is that they were effective hours that fitted into MY life and they were appropriate to me. Could I have gone faster with more hours? Maybe. Would that have fitted into my life / been appropriate to MY point in the journey? Probably not. In fact; no!
But, I can categorically say that I improved with the training that I did, I enjoyed myself and without a doubt my RETURN on training investment was HIGH.
Some thoughts from me and I hope some food for thought for you… Questions, comments welcomed as always.
Cheers
Jamie