Monday, 21 January 2013

Caveman Construction



Off Season with Conrad Stoltz

“If you don’t enjoy the process, your athletic career won’t last very long.”

Prophetic words from Conrad Stoltz, who, at thirty-nine years of age, is still at the very top of the  Xterra tree. With the onset of his 28th triathlon season around the corner, the “Caveman” is certainly the poster-child for athletic longevity, the process of which he has certainly perfected over the years.
“My coach, Ian Rodger, is a firm believer in science, so we only train to what science tells us; far less volume than the more conventional training program out there. The result is less physical and mental stress, with fewer overuse injuries and illnesses on the whole. Plus I really enjoy the multi-sport lifestyle, which I think is applicable to athletes of all levels.”

An added bonus for Stoltz is the opportunity to share his athletic career with his wife Liezel, herself a former captain of the South African Netball squad.
  
“Traveling with my wife is a real treat and makes the racing season even more rewarding. She was a professional athlete for fifteen years and knows what it takes to be successful. Liezel really plays a key role in my success and happiness.


  
“We spend amazing quality time together - she even does some of my easy sessions with me - and Ian’s coaching ensures that I’m still at the top of sport of Xterra.”
  
Rest periods are part and parcel of any professional athlete’s year, but Conrad is unique in the sense that he stays active through various home projects, adventure trips and a fair dose of manual labour. December 2012 was no exception, with the Caveman spending an extended period at his family’s farm in Mpumalanga, South Africa.


  
“The most stressful part of being a professional triathlete is all the traveling and ‘living out of a bag.’ So it is good to finally unpack, stay in one place for a few weeks, get away from the computer and phone, live a slower life and partake in a bit of manual labour; even more so if it is creative! This past December, we started laying out and building dirt tracks for game drives on our farm. Nature, creativity and hard work - sounds a lot like Xterra racing.”

With Stoltz’s imminent debut at the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon on 3 March 2013, swimming training would usually be a challenge living on a farm outside Lydenburg. But as they say, “’n boer maak ‘n plan” and Stoltz lives up to this motto in heaps.
  
“I revived my single-lane pool this December to prepare for the Abu Dhabi Triathlon in March. It is 25m long and with the lack of adequate swimming facilities in the area, it is the answer for putting in some yardage for the big race. I managed to put the plastic back in the pool and funneled the furrow’s water through irrigation pipes.”




Stoltz’s uniquely creative approach to training and racing has come to fruition after years of trial-and-error. As part of a swashbuckling South African triathlon tribe pursuing the French professional circuit during the early 1990s, Conrad regularly raced 30-40 times a season; a necessity to put food on the table.
  
“I would get back from France injured, over-trained and totally over-raced. Being so passionate and eager, I would get straight back into racing in South Africa, which usually involved the season opening Sun City Triathlon in October, and race the whole South African season after the French season. 


  
“With no real coaching guidance for the first ten years of my career, it is sad to think how I just wasted away; my performances kept dropping in my early and mid-twenties due to chronic over-training and injuries. I was especially “hard-headed” back then!”
With such ‘hard-headed’ training days and multiple injuries firmly behind him, the pragmatic Stoltz is excited about his prospects for 2013.
  
“Interesting, a little different and exciting” he enthuses, when expanding on his plans for 2013. After a few Xterra races and MTB events in South Africa, Team Stoltz heads to the USA in April for a full calendar of racing, culminating in Xterra World Championships in Maui on 27 October.