TRIATHLON OVER TRAININGTriathlon over training is quite common for most novice triathletes and first time Ironmen and they burn up much-needed energy they will need race-day.
Triathlon over-training is so common that most first-time ironmen often leave their best effort out on their bike or run course back home. In some case they even leave much of their energy on parts of the Ironman course just days before the race is to take place. An ironman who is guilty of triathlon over training is usually in for a long day out on the course when Ironman day arrives. Usually about half or three-quarters of the way into the bike the first signs of an energy crash or "bonk" begin to surface. Once the energy drain begins, it's pretty well impossible to get it back. Normally that means the marathon leg of the ironman will be a death march. However, lets take a step back and see what line of thinking causes so many triathletes, or any athletes for that matter, to end up over-trained. BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT... It reminds me of when I decided I wanted to be a marathoner over 35 years ago. The running craze that swept North America was still about 6 years away from really taking off. The very first ironman race had just evolved from being a topic of conversation between John Collins and his buddies to a race around Oahu that involved less than 10 people. I started running and never wanted to stop. I thought that every time I took a day off from running, I would lose all that I had gained. One year I ran 364 days, but was married at the time and my wife said I had to take Christmas day off. Against my better judgment I did, but felt sure I would be back to square one in my training. How screwed up is that line of thinking? I was well on my way toward building a training method that would eventually result in triathlon over training because I simply didn't know any better. I was one of the first athletes in the country to have an arthroscope procedure on my knee. A few years later I had the other one done. Talk about over-training. It carried over to my first attempt at the ironman in Kona in 1984. The Wednesday before the race I was out running ten miles on the "hotter than Hell" king K. highway. Once again it was an obvious case of triathlon over training and was a ten mile run that could not possibly have any benefit for the Ironman just 3 days away. There I was burning up energy and getting dehydrated at the worst possible time. I certainly wasn't the only one who didn't know any better. There were actually many people who were entered in the ironman that year who took part in a 100 mile bike race in Kona one week before the ironman. They thought it would be a good tune-up for the real thing. Right. We were not the only ones who went in way over-trained. There were around 100 Japanese entered in that same race and every day right up until Ironman weekend huge packs of them would head out on the King K. Highway for a 60 or 70 mile ride in the heat of the afternoon. There is no special country where athletes who are guilty of triathlon over training come from. They come from all over the world. EXPERIENCE HAS SHOWN JUST HOW IMPORTANT REST IS... Much has been learned about the importance of resting and tapering in the quarter of a century since that ironman in Kona. Now there are coaches, books, and many experienced ironmen to fall back on for advice and direction, so really, there is no excuse for triathlon over training. Back then the ironman was so new there was nowhere to turn for help. SOME PEOPLE STILL DON'T QUITE GET IT... I can guarantee you that you can go to any ironman race in the world and drive out on the bike and run courses in the last few days leading up to the ironman and see people putting in a last 100 km bike ride or 10 mile run. There will even be people out there plowing through the entire swim course just days before the race. It never fails. There are many reasons why this always happens. First of all, many people train all on their own and really have nobody to guide them as far as how to train and how and when to rest. Others do it because they have not been training as much in the past month or so and actually start feeling really good, so they figure it won't hurt to pound out one last bike ride. In reality what they end up doing is ruining the taper effect and becoming an over-trained ironman. Some do it because they simply can't sit still and relax and have to find a way to get rid of all the excess energy. Actually, there is no excess energy. You will need all that you have for race-day and the more that can be saved, the better you will perform. GIVE YOURSELF AT LEAST A 4-WEEK TAPER INTO AN IRONMAN... The ideal lead-in to the ironman seems to be at least a four-week taper. The last of your big training weeks should be all done in the final month leading up to the four-week taper. From that point on, it seems to work best if training is cut down by 15%-20% every week until ironman week arrives. It doesn't mean your usual training intensity has to be lowered, but the time actually spent training should be less each week. Many times triathlon over training takes place in the last month before the big day. Often it's just nervous energy and the thought in the back of your mind that you are "not" ready for the race. Chances are you are more ready than you think and the most important thing you could most likely do is relax and incorporate more rest in that final month as you taper into the big race. By the time the final week before ironman day roles around rest should be your best friend and certainly not triathlon over training. Try out the water where the race will be taking place, but there is no need to swim every single day of ironman week or to swim the entire course. Maybe on Wednesday take your bike out on an easy 20 or 25 km spin and make sure everything is mechanically sound. That same day, or Thursday at the latest, you could perhaps go out on an easy 5k run early in the morning before the heat of the day begins. Basically, that should be it until race day except for Saturday morning if the race is on Sunday. HERE'S A FEW TIPS FROM THE PROS... Pretty well all the rest of Thursday and all of Friday should be for rest. Dave Scott was a great believer in doing a little bit on the day before the race just to keep loose for the race and get rid of any excess weight or fluid from all that hydrating you should have been doing for the days leading up to the race. It's a simple procedure that will not result in being an over-trained ironman. All you need is a 10-15 minute swim and an easy 10-15 minute run. Most likely your bike will be checked in or else you could do a short 15 minute bike as well. Do 6-8 15-20 second sprints at faster than your normal training pace. Take 2 minutes in between each short sprint and swim, bike, or run easily in between each one and that will be it. Mark Allen calls them "Pick-ups," and strongly believes in doing this the day before any race. I started to do pick-ups before 10km races, marathons, and Ironman races for the last 10 years that I raced and it worked great. Mark is well aware of the hazards of triathlon over training. Before I learned better, I would always take the day before any race off completely. The main benefit of doing those very short sprints the day before the race is to remind your body what will be expected of it the next day. If you are "completely" inactive for days leading up to the race your body may tend to stiffen up. So there is a happy medium between triathlon over training and being properly prepared. ENDURANCE IS BUILT UP OVER MONTHS, NOT IN THE LAST 4 WEEKS BEFORE A BIG RACE... It's important to keep in mind that in the last month leading up to an Ironman there is very little you can do to make your endurance better. That is something you will not get in the last month if you do not already have it. It is simply too late. Endurance is built up over months and years, not weeks. If you can keep this in mind it will go a long way toward preventing you from triathlon over training.
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