Originally published at: A Triathlete Looks at Forty - Slowtwitch News
Sitting here today, just over six months from my 40th birthday (or my 51st, as my family likes to tease me with because “You are an old man!”), I’m attempting to map out my 16th multisport season. My fifteenth ended unceremoniously with a short meat wagon ride from the mile 9 run aid station at Lake Placid to the medical tent. A few days after that we learned that, because I am a moron, my hamstring had finished a job that my stubbornness had started, fracturing my pelvis apart where I’d put a stress reaction from riding the wrong saddle for months.
It has been a much longer road of recovery this time around. My longest run in six months is a mile. I am only now getting comfortable enough to ride again on the bike, with my longest time in the saddle a whopping 50 minutes. The bulk of my current workout load is using a Concept2 ERG at the local YMCA, occasionally hopping in the pool, uphill touring/SkiMo racing prep, and alpine skiing.
In other words: it’s an extremely frustrating reminder that I don’t bounce back as quickly as I once did. And that if I’m going to have a shot at gluing together something that resembles an athletic year, I’ll need to approach things a bit differently. Here’s just a few of the changes I am looking at for this year.
Race More: More Types of Events, More Often
Yes, I understand that this seems counterintuitive, especially for someone who is coming off the injured list. But it boils down to something like this: I really enjoy toeing a starting line, even when my best on that day might wind up being an absolutely mediocre result. And I find that, if I do a bunch of different things, I’ll stack something together that pieces together for a good result at the big event of the year.
So as we go through the early part of the year, I’m looking at a steady diet of virtual racing on the bike, as well as training for the local mountain’s Uphill Race Series to take part in. And maybe a masters swim meet to toss in there as well. As we turn towards spring, then I might be able to get some running together and train for a longer cycling event before pivoting into some triathlon racing over the summer. Mix in some golf competitions and that’s a pretty good year of getting the adrenaline pumping.
Prioritize Recovery
If you’re going to race that much, stress management is mission critical. That means, well, building some proper recovery into the mix, too. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized just how key sleep is; trying to do workouts on four hours of sleep does nobody any good outside of just building exhaustion debt.
It brings me back to another key point I’ve written about before: stress is stress. Your body doesn’t particularly care whether stress is coming from work, life, or athletics; it needs to be recovered from and built into whatever training program you have. Does work or life stress build fitness? No. But it does rob you of precious recovery time. It’s why when work gets busy, I prioritize shorter, higher intensity sessions. First, they’re achievable given the time window available. Second, it’s just a bang for buck measure. (See: indoor e-bike racing is a favorite “shit, I only have 50 minutes to ride, what should I do?” replacement).
I run on enough sleep deprivation as it is, what with our current weekend schedules in the house. If I get the opportunity to get an extra 30 minutes in bed, I’m going to take it.
Getting Creative in Workout Options
I feel like my third job in life is chauffeur to the child’s endless stream of activities. There’s something each and every day of the week, with actual activity length ranging from 60 minutes to the entire day. It ultimately means that I have to think a bit on my feet in terms of what might get accomplished during that time.
For two of those days, that’s primarily work time; the activity is too short, and the Internet is high quality for me to research and write articles. For two others, that’s prime gym time. Traditionally, I’ve run on the treadmill for some quality, but with my limited running to date, it’s been the ERG machine and lifting weights with a focus on mobility. One day is downhill skiing, as I’m serving as a chaperone for the program (look, SafeSport training finally DID pay off).
And then there’s the weekend, the traditional home of the long run and long bike. Except, we’re on the road to the mountain by 6:45 every weekend, and we’re there all day. So it’s time to earn my turns in the morning, dropping the kiddo off to her ski racing program and try to squeeze as many bottom-to-top-and-back laps as I can in with my SkiMo set-up. Snow has been extremely sticky this year, so speed is down, so I’m only getting two laps in during the morning instead of my normal attempt for three.
It’s good training. Is it “perfect” for my long course triathlon plans? No. But it’s perfect for what I can accomplish.
Managing Expectations
I’m not ready to hang up my competitive hat. When I toe a starting line I want to beat everybody I can. But I also know that, well, Father Time is undefeated. And I’m also not a 28 year old working in a run shop training for 15 hours a week anymore.
PRs are much fewer and further between these days. And my days of trying for an IM Worlds slot are likely behind me. But I’d like to still glue together one decent full before I decide to stop doing them (my track record suggests that this won’t ever happen, but here we are). And I’ve got other events I want to tackle, like the upcoming race series at Stratton, or this year’s B2VT full distance ride.
In the words of the late Toby Keith: “Now my body says, ‘You can’t do this boy’ / But my pride says “Oh yes, you can…I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m as good once / As I ever was.”
Now to just figure out what that once will be.
