This week: Q & A
Every 4th week I'm going to answer basic questions that I get from e-mails, social media messages, or every day encounters. Remember these are just my experiences and opinions.
Question 1
Do pros train every day? Do they take easy days? Do they take off days?
Short answer: yes, yes, and yes.
I remember when I first started triathlon 4 years ago. I wanted to train all day, every day, as hard as I could. It's really just the mentality I have going through life. Well... there was no surprise that I got injured and tore the labrum in my hip two years ago. After that injury I really learned the value of 'patience'. Things take time and nothing is built over night. You know your body and you know when to back off. As professionals, we love to push the limits.
There are a lot of factors in training. This is why we have coaches. The amount of easy days and days off vary. It depends on the time of season, whether you are in the base phase, or racing season, etc. It depends on your strengths and weaknesses as an athlete, which sports you are better at or which you might need more time doing. It finally depends on YOU. What is your body telling you, are you fatigued? If so, there is no reason to try and get 50% out of a workout, when you aren't hitting your numbers and your just getting frustrated. It will only set you back.
Instead of taking full days off, my body recovers better if I do a 30 min run, or an hour bike with Logan, or a short swim. Nothing scheduled and everything on my own. My own pace, my own way. Sometimes if I take full days off I get stiff and tight.
The hardest thing about being a professional athlete is when to say no.
Writer Malcolm Gladwell wrote that one needs 10,000 hours of "deliberate practice" to become world-class in any field.
That being said, if I am sick, extremely tired and fatigued, had a bad day, or some kind of appointment, I'll take a day off. I never feel guilty for easy days or days off. I recover all day. I don't go skiing or run around on my feet all day. I take full advantage of Netflix and chilling.
Taking days off and having easy days allow you to kick ass on the hard days! This is when you give 100%.
Here is an Example week of Training
Monday- easy swim , easy run
Tuesday- hard focus run, hard swim, easy bike
Wednesday- hard bike focus, easy run
Thursday- hard run focus, hard swim
Friday- easy swim / easy bike (optional) / easy run
Saturday- hard swim, hard long group ride, easy run
Sunday- easy ride, hard long run
*This is subject to change.*
I like Justin to put in 'optional' training, just in case something happens and I need to change schedules. I know what I can drop, that isn't necessarily the focus.
Remember: train smarter, not harder.
You only have limited time to train, you can achieve success by having a smaller volume and higher intensity.
Question 2
Where is the best place to train? Do you need to have an elite squad training group?
Like these questions, everyone will probably have a different response.
I train in Colorado Springs, CO, at the Olympic Training Center with my coach Justin Trolle'. Justin coaches Vanguard Endurance and has a couple other elite athletes and some age group athletes. Justin writes my whole program, but I swim with a local club team, CSST, who is coached by Mike Doane. I like getting my butt kicked by high schoolers.
As far as having multiple coaches or having just one, it's really whatever environment you are in. If you need to have three specialized coaches, just make sure they are all communicating. Some run coaches won't understand the swimming or riding and vice versa, I recommend having one full-time coach, it is just less stressful.
I highly recommend finding an elite squad if you want to be on the ITU side of training and even if you want to do non-draft. You know the saying, misery enjoys company. If you are going to be going through hard training, it's easier to go through it with others. Having multiple athletes together pushes your limits everyday, it holds you responsible for training, and they are experiencing the same things in life. I made my some of my best friends training on a squad and I miss them.
Training alone or with an online coach has it's benefits as well. You get to make your own schedule. You have Strava or Garmin Connect to stay consistent with paces, numbers, and watts. My husband can't travel all over the world with me, and being able to come home to him every night and unwind without the stress of triathlon, is so relaxing.
I've had a lot of experiences with different coaches and environments, e-mail me if you want advice.
Just find what environment what truly makes you happy and where you can succeed. It doesn't always need to have the best athletes, but the ones that make you a better athlete and person. It may not happen over night and you may have to go through a couple, but you will find your spot.
Question 3
What kind of milk do you drink: skim milk, 1%, 2%, whole, almond, soy?
LOL. You'd be surprised how often this gets asked.
This is all preference and what you're body needs. I don't drink a lot of milk, but when I do, it's typically 1%. Skim doesn't have the fat content I need, and whole milk has too much fat content for my taste buds. Sometimes I'll drink almond milk in a smoothie. I don't usually drink soy except those Silk chocolate milks.
If you have any questions for next time send them through my Website or Facebook message
or
No comments:
Post a Comment