This time of year in WA is the when the next season is built. One of the hardest things to do at this time is find a nice balance. Its no good flying in September here... we don't win anything for being king of the club run... it needs to be sustainable, consistent training for now.
ALL the sessions I am leading at the moment are based around setting up the season ahead.
We are spending time working on technique. Get the technique right and the speed will come anyway. Obviously, we are also spending some time working the heart rate up and sustaining it. If we just do longer, slower training, building that base, we will just be teaching the athletes to perform slowly.
Its all about balance.
Last week I discussed the F4L training philosophy (Consistant, sustainable and balanced training) - but I wanted to elaborate on that slightly. Balance is not just a something Anakin Skywalker was supposed to bring to the force. Its making sure we train right. We train hard at the right times. We do not train HARD ALL the time.
We train with focus all of the time.
So at this time of year I am leading the coaches to deliver focused sessions.
We are currently working on things like: strength, technique, race craft, endurance... and yes speed. Getting things right, and putting the building blocks in place now for a wonderful season in 2017/18.
One of the things I think we excel at within F4L is that whilst we are all striving for results, this is a sport and it should be fun. Especially at this time of year. Its why we have team & club socials, group walks instead of a run, treasure hunts on the bike... many of these things are great opportunities for our partners, husbands, wives and kids to spend time with the people we see every day of the week. Triathlon is a very demanding sport, if we can balance that and engage our partners and kids within it too, training becomes easier as those closest support you. At F4L social events are all inclusive, something we actively promote at our club, Phoenix Tri... some of the greatest benefits of triathlon are nothing to do with racing and personal bests.
Its easy to forget some of the other benefits that this sport brings:
- Friendships - I have friends around the world which have been gained through the sport of Triathlon.
- Travel - getting to see new places which host events, or travelling to a training camp, are things most sports don't get the opportunity to do
- Holidays - bolting a holiday on the back of a race (helps keep things smooth at home too, if the kids know they get to fly somewhere, or the week after the event will be doing fun stuff, they will be so much more willing to come and cheer you on at the race start. Even if it is at 5:30am!
- Healthy lifestyle - its not just swimming, cycling and running. We inspire our kids and friends to do this sport. Its fun. If you want to do well, you can't drink every night, you have to get to bed on time, you have to eat healthy.
- Challenges - we do love a challenge don't we!
Its why I love this amazing sport.
Train focused. Train smart. Train right. Love Triathlon.
