Respect the Distance

'08 W-League
Michigan Hawks vs. Chicago Gaels

One of the most difficult things for me to remember is that not everyone has been an athlete their entire life.  Not everyone has a tried and true re cooperation plan for a mildly sprained ankle and most definitely not everyone  has had time for trial and error to see what works best for their body!

I have been blessed with having had all sorts of opportunities to see what works best for my body in terms of fitness, resting, peaking, injury, motivation, and recovery.  The methods I have come up with are what work best for me - and they may not work at all for you or anyone else, but you need to find what you can enjoy, accomplish and commit to for your body.

Do you have a training plan?  How often do you train?  Do you have any home remedies to common injuries?

I recently confirmed a few more races on my schedule and it has got me and a few others itching for racing season to hit us!  I'll be setting my sights on the ATL 1/2 Marathon (3/20), the Augusta 70.3 Half-Ironman (9/25), and the Marine Corps Marathon (10/30) to round out the season.  3 new distances = 3 new PR's!

Rest at the Beach with your dog!
East Tawas, MI

With these distance events as well as all the smaller races filling out my season I am well aware of the risk of an overuse injury or over-training.  I will be listening to my body very closely this year and when it's screaming FATIGUE I will rest, re cooperate, and become re invigorated!

What are the highlights of your race calendar this year?





Common problems I see with those who are new to training include the following:

• Too Much, Too Soon:  Running, Cycling, Swimming etc.  too far or for too long without proper training.  The body needs time to adapt, work up to your goals don't just go out and try to run 13.1 miles on your first training run.  A good rule of thumb is to increase your mileage about 10% every week.
• Injured vs. Hurt vs. Sore?: You can play hurt, but you can't play injured.  If you are training hard you are going to be sore, your muscles will ache, you will have to dig deep and, yes, at times it will even hurt.  You need to know when it's an injury though - when it's time to pack it up at the first onset of symptoms, get ice, and figure out a cross-training plan. (A PT would be a great person to help you with this)
• SuperMan Syndrome:  During the build phase when fitness is improving and you are seeing the gains you are making it can be hard to take proper recovery time.  Days off and proper sleep are when the body actually gets stronger and you improve - so take proper time off!  Feeling like you can do anything and everything is good - but you will lose out to over training if you don't rest!
• Committing to a Training Plan:  It is hard to wake up at 5 or 6am every morning and get a training session in.  It's also hard to come home from work, lace up the shoes and run out the door.  You'll feel better if you do it - thanks to the endorphin hit!  Get rid of the night time chocolate/ice cream and take up a late afternoon/early evening work out!  Take the time to write out a training plan for yourself, your goals, and your dreams.  Stick to your training plan for 3 weeks and excellence will become habit.

Whatever your racing/training/fitness goals are this year Respect the Distance!  Give your body time to adapt to the demands you are putting on it to avoid an overuse injury or over-training.  70.3/26.2 miles is not an easily traveled smooth freeway - there will be bumps and turns along the way.  Listen to your body, rest when needed and train your mind to know what your body is capable of.

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and 
something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” ~Lance Armstrong

DESIRE

Back into the swing of things, and it feels great! Morning workouts followed by a huge bowl of Special K Red Berries and off to school! 2.5 weeks of relaxation and restoration at home was amazing and it feels great to come back with energy and enthusiasm to train hard and work hard (school wise too). The toughest thing about taking such amounts of time off (and I did do at least 30 min of aerobic activity 5-6 days of the week) is the overwhelming thought that I am losing all my fitness. In actuality I knew I wasn't going to lose all of it but heading out for a run after 5 straight days on the indoor bike trainer isn't the most uplifting and energizing running experience. After just one week of returning to training hard I feel great, some of my runs have been a little slower but that's expected and I tend to run slower when its only 30 degrees outside. My legs just get too cold.

Next weekend I am heading up to a mountain ski chalet in Davis, WV with a group of friends for a ski weekend. It should be a great weekend and I know my legs will get some good strength workouts with all the snowboarding I'll be doing but I would love to get some running in as well. Of course that also depends on the conditions of the mountain roads in town and the weather to an extent but I hope I can make it happen.

Over the past week I patiently contemplated my one word for this year. This word appeared a few times while reading throughout the week and I think it really sums up a little of everything I want to focus on throughout the year. "For where your treasure lies, there your heart will be also..." - the word I have chosen is DESIRE. Desire to train hard, eat right, live well, be happy, have fun, follow my heart, and achieve my goals. As long as I treasure what is most important my desire can help me achieve that which I set forth to do.

I have also been thinking about and planning my racing calendar for the year. With a few races set - the most important one has yet to be decided upon - a half-ironman! For awhile I was thinking Providence 70.3 but more recently I am leaning more toward the Augusta 70.3 due to the late season date and location. Though this is only 2 weeks after The Nation's Tri I think if I plan it out I can get a good peak for both of them.

I am well into The Triathletes Training Bible and have began playing around with trainingpeaks.com. I have yet to sit and write out an annual training plan but I know basically what it will look like and what things in my workout schema I can change or adapt. I do love the book and all the training/racing tips and advice it has to offer. Do you use any software for creating a training plan or do you do it old school and use a notebook?