Getting faster in the off-season
So happy the race and the season is finally over.
It’s finally over. I’m so happy it’s over and I can relax with my new wife, in my new house. Finally finish building our bike room. Have some beers with my friends. Actually focus on my real job (doubtful). That’s all I could think about after finishing Ironman Florida a week ago. See my racing season was from April-November this year, it felt like it the entire year.. Unfortunately the day after the race I learned I placed high enough to earn a slot to the World Championships in Utah...in May. I wasn’t filled with an overwhelming sense of excitement or accomplishment you might think I’d have as someone who dedicates all his free time to the sport. I wanted to relax, not turn around back into hard training after only a short break but during the 17 hour car ride home from that race it dawned on me. I would have only taken a short break and turned around back into hard training anyway but this type of hard training is going to be different. It’s time to get stronger, not faster, more durable, become a better swimmer (that matters more than you think in triathlon), put more watts on my FTP and revisit my position on my bike.
If this long season taught me anything it’s that the off-season matters just as much as the season. So here are some tips for you to come back stronger, faster, and fitter both physically and mentally next year.
Swim...a lot: Go right ahead and stop what you’re thinking. Stop thinking that a lot more time and work in the pool is only going to cut a few short minutes off your swim and won’t be beneficial towards your race. You’re simply wrong. If you need me to prove why you’re wrong you can easily test this yourself. Go ride FTP for 20 minutes and see how you feel, then go ride FTP for 20 minutes immediately after a 4k swim. If you see a significant drop off in power, get back in the pool and start working on your weakness so you can set yourself up for a strong ride and run. Coming out of the water as fresh as possible is the key to a strong bike ride in triathlon and a strong ride is the key to a strong run off the bike. Not to mention the faster you can swim the closer you are to calories, which in long distance racing is crucial to your performance. Plus if you came to swimming later in life and only swim for the purpose of triathlon you probably don’t like to do it, but there is something satisfying about doing the things you don’t like to do until you actually look forward to doing them.
“Long story short. If your power file during your Ironman bike rides is a steady downward slope, your running form turns to garbage after 90 minutes or you’re so fatigued after 60-90 minutes in the pool that you can’t do your second workout of the day...come talk to me. ”
Time to get strong: One of the first coaches I ever met used to say “if you want to get faster at swimming, cycling and running you have to swim, bike and run.” Pretty obvious statement - and he was certainly right to a certain extent - but the days of triathlon being just swim, bike and run are long gone. Training and racing, especially longer distances, take an enormous amount of energy and are extremely demanding on your body. Muscular endurance and durability are key. Not only will you be getting stronger, faster and handle the demands of training/racing better, but you’ll also be healthier and more likely to stay injury free. I’m sure you’ve heard all of this before so let’s dive into how and why you’ll be less likely to get injured.
Swimming, cycling and running have some things in common, believe it or not, but the most important thing they have in common is that all three sports require us to transfer power from our bodies in order to move efficiently. Key word here is “efficiently”. Efficiency keeps us healthy and it makes us fast. When there is a breakdown in efficiency we’ll either slow down dramatically, stop all together or run the risk of being injured. My guess is that you’ve felt this during a long run, long ride, 5k swim, Ironman, or maybe even a 70.3. Over the years (yes, years) continuous SBR (swim, bike, run) will increase your muscular endurance giving you the ability to go further, faster, in a safer manner but strength and conditioning in the off season will yield big time results in increasing muscular endurance. Efficiency in SBR requires a lot of postural strength, or core strength. It’s your base, the part of your body that is supporting all of your movement. In simple terms postural strength supports your hips, spine, and shoulders which will increase your efficiency. Stronger equals healthier. When you’re healthier and your body moves efficiently you can handle a much higher training load, sit in the aero bars for longer periods of time and have less fatigue during the long swims.
Long story short. If your power file during your Ironman bike rides is a steady downward slope, your running form turns to garbage after 90 minutes or you’re so fatigued after 60-90 minutes in the pool that you can’t do your second workout of the day...come talk to me.
Stop leaving free speed on the road: This is a giant pet peeve of mine. You have an expensive bike, carbon wheels, and an aero helmet...that’s great I guess...Unfortunately your bike is weighed down by 2 bottles behind your seat, some $150 leaking between the arms hydration contraption and two non aero bottles on the frame. You just made your expensive, aero, stiff and light bike a non aero tank. Your carbon wheels are nothing more than deep wheels with cheap bearings, non bladed spokes and slow tires. All while your sweet aero helmet is just sailing in the wind because your head is way too high in the air. Look I’m not knocking anyone for racing their race and getting across the finish but if this sounds like you, reach out to us. You’re leaving speed on the table. Speed that comes with no extra effort from you and is just as expensive or less expensive than what you’re already using.
Usually this is the part of the blog where I tell you how some simple, inexpensive changes (tires for example) will yield benefits for your cycling performances but honestly I get paid for this...and you can’t just have the knowledge that myself and our coaches have gained over decades of experience for free. Any one of our coaches will be more than happy to help optimize your cycling and help you make these adjustments.
Free Speed
Take some time off before planning your season: The post Ironman (or any race) blues are real at the end of the season. My few days of eating candy and cookies post Ironman always seems to turn into months. As my wife would say “that Halloween to Christmas candy season is a grind”. She’s right, I’ve been eating an average of 6 peanut butter cups a day and even though I’m still skinny from the season, I feel like garbage. Honestly, that’s okay and it’s part of the endurance sports game. Everything needs to be in moderation (6 peanut butter cups a day IS my moderation) or you’ll just burn out before you even get the chance to really see what you’re capable of achieving. The same way I like how my mom is concerned in August when my face is sucked in and you can see my hip bones through my shirt, I like when my stomach hurts from indulging in candy in December. It’s called balance.
The point here is that time off is good for you. It’s good for your body and your mind. I get the desire to keep grinding and always wanting to improve and I even get the compulsion to sign up for another race within days of finishing your last race of the season. If you do, just make sure you build in that time to rest so you can mentally refresh and come back even stronger.
“Perfectly balanced, as all things should be...”
Maybe you’re coming off the best season you’ve ever had in this sport. Achieved all your goals, PR’d every race, actually enjoyed yourself during a race, etc, etc. If that’s you, it’s time to set new goals, go even faster and have more fun than ever in this sport. Lucky for you now is the time to make it happen.
As always, thanks for reading and if you are interested in a blog topic that you would like us to cover please let me know!
Ben Rotherham
Coach
Mission Multisport