A few weeks ago I had a choice to make; see my niece and nephew whom I haven’t seen since Christmas or run for 30 minutes ( which would have been my 9th day in a row of running). This may seem like an obvious choice as there is nothing more important than continuing my run streak….I mean family...there is nothing more important than family...

Believe it or not these situations are still a constant battle for me as my emotional/mental health hangs delicately in the balance with my training (<--not sarcasm). As endurance athletes we are presented with choices like mine every day. Some are simple, and you make them without any consideration, but some (like seeing my family) are more complicated and you need to evaluate what is important to you and consider how your choice will affect all of your outcomes. The real question is; what would I have done that day if I had a key workout or if I was close to peaking for an A race? To give you a hint at my answer to that question about a year ago- I found a way to ride for 2 hours the day of my grandfather’s funeral...don’t worry, don’t worry, I didn’t miss the important parts of the day. Hopefully this blog helps you learn from my strengths (and mistakes) and decide when to push through and train and when to redirect your focus elsewhere.

When to Pull the Plug on Training

You’re sick or injured: Knowing the difference between sick and tired, and between injured and hurt is key here. If you’re simply tired, suck it up and train (see below), but the days when you are truly sick... you need to take a break. Pushing through for one more day could lead to you being laid up for a week and that trade off just isn’t worth it. A real injury can also be detrimental to your training and racing. Every coach will tell you that staying healthy is the most important thing a triathlete can do going into a race. Yes, if you train daily... or twice or three times per day... it’s likely that you’ll feel small pains and won’t feel exactly fresh while in the middle of the training cycle. You’re not injured...yet. This is the time you need to be very diligent about body maintenance such as; foam rolling, stretching, diet/hydration, and sleep. Small pains are normal but they can turn into giant problems if you neglect them and that could make you a spectator very quickly.

Life obligations: So my stories above are real believe it or not. I did go ride for 2 hours the day of my grandfather’s funeral and I did give myself anxiety for missing a 30 minute run to see my niece and nephew. However I didn’t actually miss anything important and I was there for all the meaningful moments. If never missing your daughters softball game is important to you, make it a priority and be there...but wake up before work and get to the pool. If you don’t wake up and miss your window to swim, talk to your coach about when you can swim later in the week, just don’t sacrifice your family moments to hit the pool.

Similarly, you might have a job that doesn’t think your triathlon career is as important as you do. If you’re reading this it’s extremely likely that being a triathlete isn’t your full time job, and there will probably be days you planned to get in a ride after work but got stuck in a late meeting or thought you could run at lunch but ran out of time. If your job is the thing paying your bills and keeping you fed, I don’t recommend blowing it off to get your run in. However, you have options even with a high pressure job or busy family- try to work with your coach to create a schedule that accommodates your other priorities and lets you be flexible if other things come up.

You have rest/recovery scheduled: This is the time when you’re supposed to pull the plug on training and relax! I’m very guilty of going out on a rest day and running easy or swimming but your coach has a plan for you and that plan includes a lot of rest and recovery. When it’s on the calendar and it’s time to rest, chill out, put your feet up, catch up on work, do something with your kids and try not to think about triathlon. Believe or not the best athletes are great at doing nothing. A lot of pro triathletes take a full two weeks off during their off season in order to shed all of the fatigue they acquired during the season. When it’s time to do nothing, try to be the best at doing nothing.

When to Suck it Up

You’re tired: Hey guess what? Everyone is tired. Oh and if you’re racing a long race (3-17 hours) you’re going to be tired and even worse you’re going to be running on tired legs. Time to get used to it. A lot of athletes will think that sore or tired legs mean that now is the time for rest and recovery...nope. It’s actually time to keep on running and running on tired legs is a real part of triathlon training that will yield you huge benefits later in your race. The more you run the more you damage your muscle fibers, the fiber more you damage your muscles fibers they will grow back even stronger and you’ll be happy to have the muscular endurance when your still running at mile 22 of your Ironman.

** Side note: Consider why you’re tired. Do you really need to be watching netflix or getting into arguments on facebook until midnight every night? Turn off the devices, relax and go to sleep as early as you can.

The weather is bad: Finally temperatures seem to be cooling off a bit in the northeast but until last week we were seeing daily temps in the 90s. The perfect excuse to not run! If you’d like some advice on how to train and race in the heat you can find it here...I heard someone really smart wrote it. Now that I shamelessly plugged myself the real way to not let bad weather derail your training is to be flexible and be ready to adapt! If you know heavy rain is in the forecast the day you have a bike ride, move your bike to the trainer the night before so you don’t have to make the decision the next day. If the conditions are icy and dangerous later in the week switch your run and indoor bike ride so you won’t slip and fall running outside on ice. Be ready to adapt and change your situation rather than using the weather as an excuse to not execute your plan.

You don’t like working on your weakness: This happens all the time (mostly with swimming). It’s understandable to not want to do something that is challenging or that is naturally difficult for you. This is exactly why you have to work even harder on your weaknesses. I was never a natural runner, in fact until about year ago I didn’t even consider myself a runner. My first marathon was a very average 4:08, I had to walk during half of the Ironmans I had done and I barely could go under 20 minutes in a 5k. I’d tell people I ran “strong” meaning ugly, and I could do well if I swam and rode well enough to have a large gap. Over the course of 4 years I ran 6-9 times a week with several days of double run sessions, hilly runs, long runs, and a ton of slow aerobic runs which lead to a couple 2000+ mileage years. Last year (2019) I was able to run a 3:12 marathon off the bike and a race winning 16:45 5k, I told people I was a good runner after that race. That is working on your weakness and that’s the amount of work it will take to make your weakness a strength. If your willing to put lace up your shoes every day, get to the pool 4-5 times a week or put the trash can next to your bike trainer on hard days you might as well get comfortable with your weaknesses.