Thursday, April 18, 2013

Continuing the Relentless Pursuit

Simon Whitfield, an athlete and a person for whom I have the utmost respect, talks a lot about 'the relentless pursuit' [of athletic excellence]. It's a philosophy based on great preparation  great performances, and having pride in your craft. I'm pretty passionate about my hobby and really want to perform well. Going forward, if I want to take it to the next level, I'll have to change things up a touch.

I worked hard in training for Ironman Melbourne. I put in a lot of miles and a lot of hours. I trained in the cold, in the heat, in the dark, in the snow, in the rain, in airports, open roads, crappy pools, dodgy surf, and even in my bedroom. And, I did most of it solo, flying-blind as it were. I didn't know a huge deal about periodisation or the optimum blend of intensities for an Ironman. I learned a lot in that race. I learned something key to endurance training, something that many others have experienced also, and I'll share with you 140-odd characters from Matt Dixon which really sums it up (it kind of has to, it's only 140 characters!):




Simply, it's not just about clocking the hours - there's much more to it. It begins months and months ahead, involves skills, technique, strength, speed, endurance not only physically but mentally. I didn't tick all those boxes, no sir.

So. Now I find myself in the "off-season" for the next 6 months. There will be the chance to dabble in a few events such as the City2Surf in August, but I am going to totally revamp my training and commit to a smarter training philosophy using the experience I gained in the last couple of races, and knowledge I gained from Pete Clifford and Triathlon NSW's Coaching program.

In the pool I have been doing a lot of drill work. I have a number of technical things I really need to work on. I'm also going to try and learn a number of new skills like dolphin kicking, and new strokes. It's going well so far!

The new hoops!
On the bike I've got myself a power meter, in the form of a Powertap, and I'm really looking forward to training with it and using it to really make bounds in my cycling capacity. I did a VO2 max lab test back in November for a mate's lab work and it basically showed that my peak power is OK, but my FTP could use work. I tested today, showing a 3.44w/kg FTP which isn't great. It's not pathetic, but it means there is a lot of room for improvement. I reckon I could write a post on that alone.. stay tuned!


My running could use some work, too. Once my legs begin to feel sharp (still a little sluggish after IM), I want to start hitting the track. Might even get another Half-Mara PB in September if I don't slack off.


So with my refreshed desire to improve and train efficiently and with purpose, I'll be looking forward to [hopefully] making my way up the placings a bit and being competitive with the studs on race day.



Enjoy a little Simon...

Friday, April 5, 2013

Recovery

It's been about 12 days Ironman Melbourne, and I must admit, I'm feeling scarily good. For a year, I had read or heard stories of long recoveries - several months long. And for a few days, I thought I would be in that boat, too, having shelled my legs at the big dance. Then, after a few good nights' sleep, some light activity (namely walking around and some easy swimming), eating reasonably well and doing plenty of stretching and trigger-point, I came back to life pretty darn quickly.

Last weekend (6-7days post-race), I did a couple of light rides at a recovery effort and felt really good. I tried a first jog early this week. It, however, did feel cumbersome and laboured - similar to the end of a +2hr long run. I ran today, and felt great. Not 100%, but 85% - which 12 days post-Ironman I am pretty happy with. I feel like I'm riding really strongly at the moment, as well, having done a couple of hilly little loops this week I was really please with the legs!
Had a good swim this morning with the local squad and even though they beat me up a bit, I still felt pretty good.

Nothing too much on the horizon, though, so there's no rush to do any more or push any harder than what I feel like on a day-to-day basis. I'll just keep training lightly and try to improve technically where I can. I've started doing more strength training, as well, which is a pleasant change.

To summarise for all you folks who skimmed lazily to the bottom in hope of something really exciting, here's Cliff-notes version of why I feel amazing only 12 days after an Ironman:

  • Getting in protein straight away - i.e. right after crossing the line
  • Good sleep
  • Good food
  • Light exercise
  • Stretching
  • Trigger-point (poor man's massage)
Recovery begins here, at the finish line.