how many times during the season are people completely pain free, no stiffness, soreness, or inflamation? It seems the only time i ever feel completely fine is after a few days rest. Do other people feel this, i think its just a product of pushing yourself to do really hard things and thus cannot be avoided, or it may be a sign of too little base work (being relatively new to the sport, and definately new to long distance tris, i dont have the many seasons of endurance sport history that lots of other people attempting long distances have).
Actually I consider that kind of stuff discomfort…real pain is pretty rare for me.
G
It dosn’t get better with age. I would guess less than 10% of my old running /tri buddies over the last thirty years are still able to run more than 15-20 miles a week now.
I don’t think it is too healthy to gobble Motrin till you can’t go anymore either. MY advice is to pace yourself over your lifetime so you can enjoy a lifetime of fitness. G
Personally, I’m absolutely convinced the secret is in flexibility. Pain is at least in part due a lack of flexibility. I may skip a lot of work outs but I hardly ever fail to stretch every night for 20-30 minutes before bed. Also stretch before and after any work out in addition to my regular nightly stretches. I’m 53 yrs old and may not be as fast as the youngsters but I’ve got more fexibility than many of them because I started stretching regularly about 25 yrs ago. And I really don’t get much pain just as long as I keep my stretching routine regular.
IMO stretching/flexibility is very much over looked.
I almost always have some sort of minor discomfort. Right now my ankles hurt for some reason. I think that is normal. I am also pretty stiff and creaky- part of that is just being 42 and having had a lot of injuries.
Pain and discomfort are part of this sport. The two are inseperable.
How old? I’m 46 now. 
I’m hoping my lack of a youthful athletic background and resultant injuries are in my favor…at least that’s what my buddy, the PT seems to think.
G
I have to agree with cervelo on the issue of flexibility, and I think core strength is critical too. I personally have been very fortunate to have missed no time in the last decade or so to injury that falls into the category of “overuse.” Trauma, yeah, but everyone falls off their bike, right?
I still get sore or stiff all the time. Like right now I have a slightly sore lower back from a long ride yesterday where I spent the afternoon climbing in the saddle. I don’t look at it as being a big deal, just part of doing business. I stretch, and train core muscles consistently throughout the season. (not alot, but consistently, totals about 1.5 hours a week)
When I back off and taper for a big race, (only happens once, maybe twice a year) I seem to go through a short period where I get more soreness than usual, but by race day, everything sorts itself out and I have no soreness, ache or pain.
This winter, I took 3 months off completely, and I honestly suffered more soreness and lowback, shoulder and foot pain than I do in season. I did not stretch or weight train consistently during this time, I was under alot of work related stress, and I gained alot of weight too. I could do without letting that happen again, it hurt too much.
Today, after that damn cold-ass duathlon, there is a LOT of pain involved in this sport.
Too much to complain about.
Re the before bed stretch:
Do you warm up before stretching (e.g., 5-10 minutes on the trainer) or just do easy stretches?
I’ve got 25 years in as an endurance athlete. That includes the years that I was building my house near Woodstock and just barely running but still running when I could. Then I started multisport in '94. I’m also a heavy construction carpenter foreman, always moving all day long. 54 years old. I get a lot of soreness after races. Usually the worst is on day two after a hard race, they seem to be getting harder every year. But I’m usually not stiff or sore from my regular workouts. If you are, you are doing something wrong. It’s time to rethink your training. Life is not about suffering (racing is!). Tom says he is sore and stiff right now but he just raced two weeks in a row. Don’t say they were only sprints. Sprints hurt like hell if you race them right!
"just do easy stretches? "
Usually I just do the stretch routine cold although sometimes (winter) I may have done a before bed trainer ride. Some nights I’ve got more natural flexibility than others. Also stretch before and after any activity. I remember reading years ago that the physiologists actually considered the post activity stretch more important. Im not sure what the latest research on this might be.
I’ll stretch tonight. Need it bad since I was doing yard work/garden/openning pool all weekend. Squeezed in a three hour ride, but the rest of the weekend was stuff around the house which makes my muscles tighter than does training
This rmeinds me of an interview I saw with Curt Schilling (former Diamondback pitcher, now with Boston). A reporter asked “When was the last time you were 100%?”
“When I was 16.”
“Trauma, yeah, but everyone falls off their bike, right?”
Actually in 25 years I have never fallen off my road bike - mountain bike is a different story.
I wish I had fallen off when I was younger - I’m sure I hold back a bit when I cycle in dodgy conditions now in order to ensure I don’t fall off, and this means I sacrifice some speed.
And since I am back to only one bike (P2K), I’m not sure I want to practice falling off my bike!
A few more things I’d like to ad. This should be a lifetime sport. You shouldn’t be killing yourself right now if your body isn’t yet ready for it. That will lead to a short carrier in this sport. Training should build you up. Build strength in small increments. Races will tear you down. Training is like putting money in the bank, racing is like a withdrawal. Train smart, fill your bank account, and race happily for a lifetime
I was just talking with a guy at the gym about that. I’m a lot older than you (I seem to remember that you are close in age to my son). Unless I take 3 days off in a row, there isn’t a day that something on me isn’t sore. It’s not really pain, as in "Damn I can’t get up out of this chair "(although after legs day at the gym that is what I saw 2 days later), but it’s just enough to know that I’ve done something.
I have only been at this for 18 months. I may take up Cerveloman’s suggestion and try stretching more. But the one time I did yoga, I was more sore that if I had lifted!
“I may take up Cerveloman’s suggestion and try stretching more.”
tcm, a good place to start is with Bob Anderson’s book “Stretching”. This classic book is where I began about 25 yrs ago when it first came out. The book is still in print in about it’s umpteenth edition, has been upgraded and is still contemporary today. Shows the right way to do it. Highly recommended.
BTW, yoga didn’t work for me either, but I think a lot depends on the instructor.
I’m a little surprised by the answers here. Sure, during and after a hard workout (like my 4x100 IM’s, 4x50 fast sets this morning) my arms are a little tired, but not sore or anything. I certainly don’t feel “pain”. I find the only time I have real “pain” is during a race. Its funny how we can all practice transitions, bricks etc. yet come race day, I am in agony near the end of the run and afterwards for a couple of days. Maybe you are going too hard. one day hard, next day easy?
When I come back to weights after some time, yeah, the first few workouts hurt and I get sore - but after the first two weeks @ 2 or 3 times/week I’m all good. You do have to involve some pain in the beginning of any workout before your body adapts. Maybe you’re taking too much rest as well. Remember, its not only about the amount you do a sport in a day, but also in a week. Sure, running 10km easy at one shot is probably better than 5km in the morning, 5km in the evening BUT sometimes work/responsibilities keep you from doing otherwise. Either way, you’re still getting the 10km for that day. I’ve also learned consistency is key.
If you’re in pain everyday, that can’t be helping you develop each sport specific skills. How can you improve on those swim/run drills if you’re tired? Its about quality just as much as quantity. If I’m exhausted I’ll skip a workout - but I’ll make sure the next one will COUNT.
The only time I have any real soreness is after a race, but I don’t consider that pain, really. I used to be sore for a day or two after a long or hard workout, but I seem to have adapted because I don’t get sore anymore. I get TIRED…the kind of tired where I just feel sapped of energy for a day; heavy legs and sleepy. I can feel it going up or down steps sometimes, too.
On Sunday, though, I went for a hilly 50 mile ride and had searing pain in my foot. I’ve experienced this before, and I don’t know what to do about it. I switched from Look to Speedplay pedals, and it’s made no differece. I switched from Sidi (narrower) to Shimano (wider) shoes, and that hasn’t helped. Had a professional bike fit, that hasn’t helped. The pain started at about mile 40 on Sunday, and from that point on I was in some serious pain. It’s a burning sensation that starts at the base of my toes and shoots from there to the ends of my toes, and it’s only my left foot. I thought my ass hurt until my foot to started to hurt, then I realized I was actually comfortable in the saddle, comparatively speaking. As soon as I get off the bike, I’m fine. There’s some kind of pressure point there that’s causing excruciating pain. Any one else experience this? Any suggestions?
ok I admit, I’ve defintiely had foot pain biking, but that’s just because my shoes SUCK. I’m not sure what pain you’re describing - my toe used to go numb in my sidi’s. But it was because the upper stretched so much that my toe would hang off the rigid sole and dig into the edge; hence pain; numbness. I’ve used a Dr.Scholl’s insert that has a raised lump around the ball of your feet which supposedly helps with metatarsal pain (can relate to that 3/4th toe pain) OR you can try to snatch a pair of inserts from the specialized body geometry shoes. I tried 'em yesterday; they feel REALLY nice inside. Someone else posted here that they loved 'em. I don’t find them wide enough - I’m trying some DMT’s now with limited success; I may get the Shimano TR-01’s which felt fantastic yesterday…
ps. the foot pains are a lot more apparent when I do hill sets since I mash a lot more than spin…