Mark Lemmon wrote:
I don't think there are that many pros who did 6 or 7 IMs a year for very long. Petr Vabrousek, of course, was an exception. There was the Ironman World Series for several years in the early '90s (I think) that rewarded doing 3+ IMs per year. Scott Tinley won that title three times and ended up with long term issues described as symptomatic of chronic overtraining syndrome and had a hip replacement in 2007. Ray Browning also was a World Series contender who did 3+ IMs per year for several years, but I don't know about any long term health consequences he has suffered.
I am very interested in this topic as a life long higher volume age grouper. Every year since I was 19, I have trained 700 hrs + per year. Most years are right around 800 hrs and I had a few years in the high 800hrs. That's almost as much as some pros. I am 54 in a few weeks. I am able to sustain this rate of training with no problem right now.
Just this week, I did a 32 hrs training week. I was in Kona to watch the racing and do a big week of swimming + cycling with Rob Gray who is training for ultraman hawaii. I had no good reason to go 2.5 times my recent volume other than I had time off and the riding off the QueenK both south and north of Kona are amazing. I was doing 4-6 hrs per day.
But generally I have been doing a lot of swimming and weights and a low volume of running (really just got back into it) and some cycling. Swimming, weights and the rowing machine at fairly high intensity has been my refuge for the last 4 years. I actually feel healthier on slightly lower volume and doing more anaerobic fast twitch oriented training focused on swim racing.
I look at my friends who are racers in both XC skiing and masters swimming in their 60's and 70's. These people are generally doing really well. Runners seem to be doing the worst. Cyclist seem to do fine as long as they have not had major life altering crashes (such as myself).
Having said, that everyone once in while putting down a 22-30 hrs week when I have time off is fun for me. Basically training a bit like a pro "just because". I also really enjoy going to the weight room and pushing heavy weights (for me). I've done weights since I was 16 and I think maintaining your fast twitch muscle fiber has positive impact on anti aging hormones. My 6 pack at 54 is as good as when I was 25, but I work at it.
I do worry from time to time, that i am overcooking it for when I am 70 and MAY regret it. But I can't help myself from enjoying myself now. I could get hit by a bolt of lightening tomorrow or the plane I am in right now flying home may crash anyway. It would be ironic if this plane crashed versus not dying on an 80 kph descentt in driving rain with Rob Gray with the sun about to set (zero visibility) coming down a 15 percent grade near Capttain Cook 2days ago. We were literally hoping that we were staying on the road upright in the rain almost in the dark...but man, was it ever fun coming out the other side