I’m antsy. I’ve got work to do.  

It’s been a week since the half iron distance triathlon. The soreness has faded. The feeling of accomplishment is there, but I can’t help feeling that I want to do better, go faster, be stronger. My basic goal for the triathlon was 6 hours, and while I accomplished that goal with a time of 5:55;37, I secretly (or not so secretly) wished I would do better–like 5:45 would have been great. I had wanted to place in my age group, but was 4th (by over a minute).

My rational mind knows that I have to be patient, and I am constantly being reminded by my husband John that the Bassman was my first half distance, which I raced during my first triathlon season. But, to me, that sounds like an excuse, and I don’t want to accept it. So, I’m ready to get to work, but I have to be patient and think long-term. Training too hard right now, just a week after my most intense athletic event ever, will put me at risk for burn out or even worse, injury. I need to let my body recover, which doesn’t mean do nothing. It does mean that I shouldn’t participate in the 18 mile race being held at Long Beach Island this morning, even though I would like to leave right now and head to the race.

I’ve read several triathlon training books that have emphasized the importance of gradual adaptation, including Joe Friel’s The Triathlete’s Ultimate Training Bible,  and Don Fink’s book, Be Iron Fit: Time Efficient Training Secrets for Ultimate Fitness. These books, as well as countless articles from various magazines and websites, stress the importance of gradual adaptation for increasing duration and intensity. Many coaches, trainers, and self-trained athletes recommend that these elements should not be increased by more than 10% from week to week, and athletes should allow for a 5-20% reduction in duration every fourth week to allow for recovery, thereby preventing burnout and injury. For the most part, I’ve followed this rule in my marathon and triathlon training.

For example, if I ran a total of 45 miles last week, I should not increase my duration by more than 4.5/5 miles this week – leading to a 50 mile week. With respect to intensity, if I ran 8 miles of speedwork last week, I should not look to do more than 9 miles this week. In both cases, the speedwork represents just 18% of my total mileage. In running, speedwork should not comprise the majority of your runs.

If you log duration by minutes, the same rule applies. So, if you ran a total of 6 hours last week (360 minutes), you should increase your duration by 36 minutes this week, which would be 396 minutes or 6 hours and 36 minutes. One of those runs would be a long run, one would be a speed run, and the remaining time would be spent in short or middle, easy pace runs.

In addition to the gradual progression, dropping duration every fourth week (from 5-20% of mileage/minutes) is an incredibly helpful strategy for improving one’s overall fitness. It gives your body some time to adapt to the build up of duration and intensity, while also repairing itself from the stresses of such training. I’ve written about the value of recovery weeks in training before, and I continue to believe in their efficacy. Their value is especially easy to ascertain when you haven’t taken one in a while, and you start to feel the effects of overtraining: irritability, anxiousness, fatigue, insomnia, food cravings–especially for sugary foods, slow recovery time, soreness, injury, weakened immune system, and so on. The easiest way to prevent overtraining is to take a single rest or easy day each week, and to have an active recovery week every fourth week.  

So, these are the realities my rational brain acknowledges: I can’t progress from running 45 miles this week to 100 miles next week. I can’t improve from novice cyclist to pro in one short season (or even several seasons!). I won’t be challening Michael Phelps in the freestyle anytime soon. I realize these hard physiological facts from my experiences in marathon running. My first marathon was difficult, and I ran a 3:53. Like my race last Sunday, not the best running I’ve ever done. But, I was able to shave 12 minutes from my time during my second marathon (and qualify for Boston in the process!) because I built upon the base from my first marathon – using the principle of gradual adaptation and recovery. I’m hoping to shave at least another 6 minutes and head into the mid to low 3:30′s for my third marathon: Philadelphia on November 22. But, it would have been unrealistic of me to expect something in the 3:30′s for my first marathon, given my limited endurance experience and my base running speed. However, after a few years of applying gradual adaptation for both duration and intensity, I’m a faster runner than I ever thought I would be.

These principles work – but they rely on patience cultivated by a disciplined mind.

Likewise, John’s first ultramarathon was an impressive 11 hours and 5 minutes. Undoubtedly, when he ran the ultra, his experience in marathon running helped him to finish in the first place. Furthermore, when he runs his second one, he will benefit from the gradual adaptation process to the distance and the rigors of the endeavor.

Gradual adaptation and progression makes sense–to my rational brain. To my emotional mind, I’m disappointed, frustrated and wishing I was better. My emotional mind is terribly competitive, not necessarily with other athletes, although that is true sometimes, but more often I am competitive with myself. My emotional side always pushes me to do better: work or play. Luckily for my body, my rational thoughts serve to keep this aggressive beast in check most of the time. Whenever I don’t listen to reason, however, I suffer the effects of overtraining. So, most of the time, I follow the rule of adaptation, which allows me to make the most steady progress, and in the long term, I have been rewarded. (At least that’s how Ms. Reason explains it to Ms. Emotion.)

Along with the principle of gradual adapation, Fink introduces a useful goal setting tactic: 1% improvements. (In reading this book, I got the impression that Fink has the same rational/emotional split as I do. Friel’s book is very scientific, very rational.) In 1999, after a few years of racing, Fink set a goal to be in the top three of his age group. Yet, he finished 8th in his age group. The next day, he reviewed the race results and realized he was only 1 minute and 40 seconds behind the leader, who was only about 1% faster. So, Fink asked himself, “Can I get 1% faster?” Framing the issue in this way makes our progress much more realistic, and it also allows us to keep in step with the principle of gradual adaption. It’s a way to meet the demands of my rational thinking to work within my means, as well as my emotional desires to be better, get stronger, go faster.

One percent goals also lead to a clear set of plans for achieving them. For example, my plans for improvement as part of my training for Lake Placid 2010 will focus most directly on the bike. In reviewing my race results from the Bassman, it’s clear that my primary weakness is the bike. When reviewing results from racing, in addition to checking your overall place, I recommend checking out your place in each of the sports. This information can help you identify which areas need the most improvement.

For example, I was 136th overall in the bike, but 54th overall in the run. Yet, as I wrote in my previous post, poor performance on the bike is affecting my run. I have to use so much energy to move the bike a measly 18 mph that I’m tired for the run. While many of my female competitors rode faster than me, I ran faster than many of them. I was the 16th female overall – yet only a few of the 15 that crossed the line before me ran faster than me. And, I know that I can run faster than I did. But, with sore hips and burned out quads, I can’t. So, to get 1% better, I need to work on the bike: strength training, group rides, core work. If I feel stronger coming off the bike, I will be able to perform more in line with my running potential.

Another plan is to improve my swim efficiency. I finished 93rd overall in the swim. While this swim finish is better than I expected, I know I can improve upon it. I will attend masters’ clinics, and the strength training and core work will help me here as well.  

Fink’s recommendation to brainstorm all of the ways in which you can get just 1% faster is a productive exercise, and has given new focus to my training for Lake Placid 2010, which is 41 weeks away. Yes, I’ve got a lot of work to do to reach that goal. But, I won’t make it if I don’t apply the rule of gradual adaptation and recovery. After all, it’s hard to go 140.6 miles if you’re fatigued before you even start – or worse yet, suffering from an overuse injury. While I’m antsy today, I’m going to keep my impulses in check because I’ve got some 1% improvements to make.

Tweet This Post Delicious Digg This Post Facebook