With the first big race of the season behind us no doubt everyone who raced Moana has spent their time post-race pouring over the race results. Usually this means, firstly checking out your own position, then the few athletes either side of you to see how you compared to your last race, then we look at how far behind the winners were and finally how your other club mates went.
Then you look at things in more detail. You look at your swim, bike, run and transitions, how you placed and your times for each leg, especially compared to your opposition. Then you might go through your data from the race – HR, power, pace, stroke rate, cadence, and see if there were any details in it that show an area where you could find some extra time.
In the end the result is a combination of your fitness and your execution. I have talked a lot in the past about execution – the swim start, if you were able to draft, transitions, bike handling, run pacing, but if all of that is in order then it comes down to fitness.
The one thing I love about triathlon is that it rewards effort. If you do the work, it typically shows up on the score card. However, if you are doing the work and the results are still not showing up then you may need to dig a little deeper. My experience is that it really doesn’t take that long to get to and maintain 90% fitness, especially those who have been in the sport for a while.
I have proven this over and over through the many years of my own training and also with those I coach.
But once I get the basics in place the challenge then is finding that extra 10%. How to turn 1.25 100s into 1.17’s, 300 watts into 330 and a steady run at 4.40 into 4.15, as this is where the podium is decided. In the end this comes down to hard work and a targeted approach.
As a coach/athlete we can only play with four variables- frequency, intensity, duration and type of training (technique, strength, hills, …). While there may be some science that says follow this plan or do these sessions for the big gains, the reality is we are all different; different backgrounds, time availability, training history, genetic potential, so training is all about finding the best fit for you.
The main thing is that if your performance is stagnating It may be time to change things up. The body is remarkable in that it can adapt quite quickly to a new training modality. Sure, 1km reps are my go-to run peaking set, but there is the law of diminished return and even a chance things may fall away if we keep doing the same sessions over and over. Which is why our Tuesday night runs move through a wide range of training sessions before we peak with our 1km reps.
So, we need to give some thought to what we have been doing and if there is any scope for improvement by tinkering with those four key areas. For me I know when my swim plateaus out, more frequency and volume tend to help, I love intensity on the bike but sometimes load works and likewise with the run. So, if you have been doing the “same, same” with training for a while then it might pay to change things up a little. Just the simple fact or changing what you have been doing is often enough to bring about gains in performance. It might even be something as simple as building in more recovery days to your plan (it’s not always more is better, sometimes less is best).
So as you pour over the race results also review what you have been doing and see if there is some extra fitness you may be able to generate with a change up to your training.
Happy training and please feel free to contact me if you have any triathlon training, coaching and racing related thoughts or questions.
Nigel