A New Perspective

"One has not only an ability to perceive the world but an ability to alter one's perception of it; more simply, one can change things by the manner in which one looks at them." -Tom Robbins

In sport or battle when the great end goal is an accumulation of years of practices, how one perceives what is needed can be the difference between a win or lose. On a more basic level it can be the difference between giving in or deciding to stay the course.

No I haven't been dormant since my last post, I've had several races then. Some better than others, but all subpar for what I was capable of. What was wrong in these races? One could spend hours speculating. Too many races, too much focus on running, a heightened idea of what I was capable of? Maybe I wasn't cut out for it any more. Doubt began to creep in. Then just like many times in the past I had to take a step back and look at it all of what was going on and had been since I started my rookie year as a full professional triathlete.

12 months ago I raced my first triathlon in a long time after taking time focus on running. Only a few months prior to that I had decided to go back to the sport. What had happened since then. The first few months I spent a few times a week (sometimes only 1 day) in the pool or on the bike. Scraped my way into a pro card at Clermont by a matter of seconds, doing so on the run portion of the race.

From there I went back to focusing on running until the end of conference outdoor track meet. Finally summer was upon us and so was triathlon training. I went at it with what I perceived as hard. I thought it was what I needed, but was missing key components. I had only a 60% structure,  the rest was at the will of what I wanted on that day. While that may work out for a lot of people because it allows for freedom and enjoyment. I love to dig deep all the time. In college we had designated recovery days and now I had to find a way to put all three sports together.

Spoiler Alert: I didn't. While I saw success here and there. Having good races was to be honest boiled down to me driving all the way to the finish on the run. Was I ever in the race to start? No. I had to fight my way back. I kept telling myself if I only made it to the lead pack I would kill it. That was the problem, but it never really aimed to create a solution. I just kept hoping and doing the same empty workouts. So it was no wonder my last races were far from the results I was looking for at the peak of my season. Finally, I raced myself into sickness before Jenny pulled the plug on my season.

Somethings had to change so during my time off I set out a plan. I pulled from my own personal experience, read some books, listened those faster than me in the designated sports, and watched countless hours before coming up with a plan as to what needed to be fixed. Three main things were at the forefront when it came to the new structure. Recovery, structured harder bike/swim workouts, and having fun while doing it.

In my head being tired was just part of the job. However, being tired and not properly recovering are two different things. I was constantly pounding away without really having an recovery. So in my new plan I had 2 days in which the purpose was to recover. Now for me that doesn't mean taking the day off, but rather spend the time really utilizing my resources. I would pick a beautiful route, or a group I enjoyed the company and take off on a reduced distance/intensity workout. Along with this I would take hot baths, normatec, roll out,  or even just have some really good comfort food. I knew those days would make the difference in the workouts.

The new structure. With easy days eaiser, the hard days would be harder and thus hero day was born. I had come across many athletes who practiced a similar day. For me Tuesday was the day I would go to the well. It was the day after my recovery day and I had the people to push me. It kicked off at 3:30am when I would hop on my bike for a warm up. Yeah you heard that right. My bike mentor Matt Gardiner somehow convinced me to participate with him in the CVR World Cup Races on Zwift(Indoor trainer rides) at 4am. It was one of best choices I have made in sport. There is nothing going on, and no excuses at that time that something else tired you out that morning. Get to sleep, wake up, get to work. Just like clockwork I would be ready to roll. 60 minutes later I was looking at my numbers from the race while spinning at maybe 10mph before finally laying on the floor. It was the best bike workout I could ask for, plus it was much fun.

I still had a busy day ahead of me so while laying on the floor I had to make the choice to grab a short run now off the bike or in the evening. Both had their benefits, but it would boil down to what my body wanted. Run off the bike and nap in the afternoon, or vice versa. Nap was mandatory. Reguardless I would have my morning class and the next key component would come at 12:10. Distance day in the pool. For years I was a sprinter and when I would make my workouts I would avoid what I really needed. So I put it in Reece Linder's hands. I don't think it matter who came up with distance workouts for me, just I couldn't have a hand in it. I knew from going through 22 swim coaches over the years that I would always find a way to make a set. Just someone to tell me to do it and push my limits. So we set off to crush it every week and the distances varied but we were held accountable by eachother. If you didn't make an interval, the guys behind you wouldn't either. Rotating leads and making sure everyone was suffering. What happened next was something I didn't expect. Distance day was my favorite day of swimming and the distances I would never have swam on my own became my craving. The harder to make the better. A distance swimmer was born.

Don't worry I didn't give up on my sprinting roots as that was what Thursday was for. I would flip the script and make the swim before the bike. VO2 Max and speed was the call for swim. At 7pm a race on Zwift with Iowa boys in the ECrit. Between that and several other high intensity rides throughput the week I was able to get my bike where I wanted to be. Up 100 watts since last year!

Overall, I've learned a lot and made sure to have fun while doing. The people around you, the workouts you do, and everything boils down to loving what I do which I do. Race season is upon us and expect a lot different style of racing. Back in action tomorrow at CAMTRI Sarasota Continental Cup! Thanks to everyone who has supported me over the years!