Sprint or Ironman

No, you don’t ever have to do an Ironman
In our sport, it’s easy to get the impression that the Ironman is the pinnacle of triathlon. While completing 140.6 miles is definitely one of the greatest achievements in our sport, it isn’t fair to say that it is THE greatest. The reality is that all distances of triathlon, from sprint to Ironman, all pose unique challenges and exciting opportunities for athletes of all types to showcase their talents. The type of training, endurance, time, and effort required to complete 140.6 distance is truly one of the most difficult things a triathlete can undertake, but does that mean that a sprint race, at roughly 1/8th of the distance is “easier?” Not exactly. While the duration of both the race and the training for the sprint distance is obviously less, the intensity required for an athlete to push a sprint effort isn’t typically possible for an athlete training for an Ironman. The Ironman athlete trains his or her body for hours and hours of sustained effort, where a sprint athlete has to train his or her body to operate on the verge of collapse for an hour. It doesn’t matter who you are, neither of these is “easy.”
Think of the difference between a top fuel dragster and a Rolls Royce Phantom. Both are amazing machines designed to do specific things. If you asked a dragster to drive as fast as it could for 140.6 miles, it would be in first place in seconds, but would run out of gas and break down before the one mile marker, and there goes the Rolls Royce. On the other hand, if you put the Rolls on the drag strip, it can finish the distance no problem, but the dragster will be back in the garage before the Rolls finishes the race.
So is one easier than the other, no. Are they different, absolutely. It’s common to hear people around the fit center, or at the lake saying “I’m ONLY doing a sprint,” or “have you done an Ironman?” or “When are you doing an Ironman?” The truth is you don’t EVER have to do an Ironman to be an accomplished triathlete. Some of the strongest athletes in the world never go beyond the Olympic distance. The Olympic distance is made for OLYMPIANS. Last time I checked, no one was looking at Olympians as if they were slackers, and neither are you. If you choose to meet the challenge of the 140.6, you will definitely be entering an exclusive group, but you are ALL triathletes, and that’s a pretty exclusive club in itself.
Some things to consider:
-If you are a strong swimmer, consider the Olympic distance, the swim is much longer in proportion to the other two events, giving strong swimmers an edge
-If you don’t mind going slow, but want to challenge yourself, think about the 70.3 or the Ironman. You don’t have to run a 6 minute mile or bike 27 miles an hour to complete these races. You can concentrate much more on pacing and enjoying your experience.
-Don’t have the time to train for a longer race, then stick to the short ones. No shame in that game. If you want a challenge, start pushing your time goals. Running 3 miles fast is more fun than running 13 miles anyway 

Off-Season: A love/hate relationship

Regardless of whether we are Ironmen or short course speed demons, one thing that is becoming true this time of year is that its time for off season. What that means, however, varies as much from athlete to athlete as do the races we participate in during season. Some people choose to really take an OFF season and choose to take almost total rest with little or no activity, while others simply reduce volume of training without altering their schedule much. Most triathletes, however, will continue to do some swimming, biking, and running, but at a much reduced volume and without sticking to an iron clad schedule. Whatever road you choose to take, having an off season is important for several reasons:

First, and probably most important, of all, off season provides a mental break. As triathletes who want to be successful, we constantly push our bodies to the limit, and to be able to do that, we must also put a large demand on our mental faculties. Sticking to a schedule, maintaining priorities between, families, work, training, social life, etc. requires our minds to be in every bit as constant motion as our bodies, so our brains need the break just as much as our muscles. The good news is that giving our brains a rest doesn’t mean we have to turn into instant couch potatoes, exercise is still great for the brain and the body, but the relieved pressure from not having to follow a set schedule can do wonders for mental fatigue.

The most obvious impact of off season would be on our tired, worn out, beaten, abused bodies. Triathletes train and race harder than almost any other athletes in the world, and even the strongest bodies need rest to recover. During a race season, even periods of recovery are usually just temporary decreases before we start hammering away again. An extended period of rest allows muscles, joints, tendons, and tissues to fully recover from the abuse they are put through. Again, the good news is that this doesn’t mean we can’t do any training. In fact, off season is the perfect time to make gains in some areas that we cant during the season, while still allowing our bodies to relax and recover.

Strength:
Off season is a great time to increase aerobic endurance and strength. Most triathletes don’t do enough strength training as it is, and rarely want to take time away from swim/bike/running to do it, so taking some time to up the strength in the off season can pay huge dividends when races start back up.

Technique:
Again, during the season so much focus is put on volume that rarely is there time to focus on technique. Off season can be a perfect time to get some swim lessons, gait analysis, or cycling instruction. This way you can really break down your technique without sacrificing mileage or yardage.

Training during the off season can be a fantastic way to increase performance during the season, but it is crucial that overtraining during the off season doesn’t occur. Too much activity can negate any of the gains made by lightening the load and actually cause a decrease in performance during the race season. So kick back, take some extra naps, have an extra helping now and then, but don’t let that bike rust or those running shoes get dusty. Have a great off season and get ready for an even better season next year.

Something Struck Me Today……

Luckily it wasn’t a car, but it was a thought. Whenever triathletes talk to one another, we are usually asking about each other’s training and racing. “What are you training for? What’s your next race?” etc. Then whenever we start to talk about our training we talk about what is the hardest part for us. “Oh its going pretty well, I just can’t get my swimming down.” Or. “Training is going great; I just need to work on my running.” The fact is, we all do these sports, and we all do them fairly well, so I’ve been wondering, why do we always talk about what is giving us trouble? As I was taking a little walk of shame during my five mile run this morning, I realized that maybe this is another aspect of training that we need to pay attention to, this training is HARD! The fact is, as triathletes, we sort of expect ourselves to be super human on a daily, or at very least weekly, basis. We all know we train a lot and we all know that it is time consuming and intense, but as I was trudging along today, it occurred to me that sometimes when I talk about my running or my swimming or my biking being “hard” what I’m talking about is that sometimes I’m just not mentally strong enough to be superman during every workout. Whenever we are injured or have sore muscles, we can say “oh my hamstring hurts, I can’t run.” When we wear down mentally, it’s hard for us to rest from it because we don’t “feel” anything hurt. I have to remember that my mental muscle can get hurt just like my quads can, and just like we hydrate, fuel and rest to recover our muscles, I need to do things to let my brain recover as well. The fact is its really hot out there and the strain can take its toll on us, don’t be afraid to give yourself a mental pep talk and allow yourself to acknowledge that you are working really hard, then strap your shoes on and go run!