No Pain, All Gain
Having been a participant in endurance sports since my pre-teens, I've been fortunate to encounter and experience the different perspectives of many athletes in their pursuit of peak performance. Be it the fragile yet high-octane thoroughbreds relying on their talent and fast-twitch muscle fibers, or the indestructible diesel engines who never seem to break down, the end goal is always the same; finish ahead of your fellow competitors.
Peer-pressure to conform to various "norms" are at the forefront of many aspects of daily life and endurance sports are certainly not immune to this phenomenon. What with the rigid ideology of quantifiable gadgetry, coaches, athletes, magazine articles, websites and the self entitled "training bibles," many athletes are moving away from their natural instincts and rational thought process. Pursuing peak fitness via the mythical mantras of "training periodization" and "peaking" has become a complicated process indeed. What happened to keeping things simple?
Now I must admit to having been seduced by the above mantras many times in my quest for various sporting goals. Getting in a competitive frame of mind for an upcoming sporting season is exciting and extremely motivating. The key is in our ability to maintain that pre-season excitement and motivation over an extended period.
Most of the best literature that I have read on the subject of training have had no schedules, graphs or flow charts attached. The respective writers have used a mix of personal experience, anecdotal evidence and practical solutions to convey their message to the reader. Many of these articles are in books magazines dating back to the early 1990s and before; yes, I am a hoarder, although I prefer the term collector!
Consider the following slice of conventional wisdom: a few months of aerobic base building followed by some strength work, then anaerobic speed-work and racing, ending with a month of rest. This systematic protocol has been regurgitated over and over in various publications and coaching manuals, yet most people - even some professional athletes - have trouble in following the entire sequence through. Great in theory, but is it practical? What about other lifestyle factors away from sport that influence our daily energy expenditure? Can we really expect to follow a sophisticated and detailed train plan to the letter?
The following passage is from a former professional triathlete, who still maintains an exceptional level of fitness and is very competitive within his age-group. He pretty much sums up a simple yet practical approach to becoming "bullet-proof":
"Here is what i have done to keep it pretty fresh for about 35 years now. I get up every day planning to train, but usually do not know which sport or how far and fast I'm going to go. Except for the very occasional planned workout with a friend, I just see what the day brings. Sometimes I have to go out early, other days i just wait until I get a break in the day. I just try and workout every day that I'm healthy, and, if I feel good, then I go fast. Usually I do not focus too hard until about 3 or 4 weeks before a race, then I put in some race pace stuff, but not too much. I always taper somewhat for every little race, even the ones that are workouts.
I have found this gives my body plenty of rest, but more importantly my mind. Don't obsess about any race or training program, maybe ditch the coach, or at least the training program. You will be surprised how fast you can race not following any plan, but just going out and training hard for fun. At least it has worked for me, and since you are in a rut, worth a try unless you think you have something better. But remember that thinking too much is one of the problems."
If we dissect the above passage into a point form summary, the result might look something like this:
- consider mood and energy levels upon waking
- try to exercise every day
- amount of training dependent on lifestyle factors
- majority of training within the aerobic comfort zone
- occasional intensity when feeling inclined to do so
- rest when tired
- focus on enjoyment and the results will follow
- keep it simple and don't over-analyze
Allowing oneself to let the flow and variables of daily life dictate how we exercise is an invaluable quality. Our intuition is perhaps the single best coach available. That little voice inside our head most often has the right answer to many things; actually listening to and obeying that little voice often proves difficult.
Nowadays, most of my training is centered largely around commuting: easy running to and from work, brisk walking and daily intermittent strength work on site. Weekends are reserved for laid back bike rides in between various projects, chores and social activities. Almost all of this "training" is done at what can be described as a pathetically slow pace; in other words, well within my comfort zone. I don't wear a watch, but judge my workout time purely by feel, weather conditions and destination, checking the kitchen clock before I leave and again upon returning. It is always a fun exercise to try to get as close to my desired training time as possible. Free from the constraints of a stopwatch, time passes by quickly when I'm "in the zone" or slowly when I'm not. Needless to say, my goal is to be "in the zone" as much as possible - the comfort zone that is.
While the physiological benefits of this approach are immediately evident, the psychological effects are equally fantastic as their is no pressure to perform during workouts. If I feel like going hard, I do, but only about once a fortnight. Because this routine is loosely structured and independent of rigidity, very little adjustment is needed if I want to participate in an event or need to travel somewhere. Even after completing the very occasional ultra-distance event, I simply slot back into this easy routine after a few days of complete rest, picking up where I left off. No peaking, no tapering and no extended recovery necessary. Just the same loose template, be it July or February.
One interesting and unexpected result of this seemingly "lazy" approach has been my rekindled desire to compete again, specifically in cross-country and road running. Looking back at my peak training periods, when accumulated miles were top priority, my desire to compete was at its lowest; nowadays is perhaps at its highest. I look forward to these limited amount of races with same anticipation as I did as a teenager and actually enjoy the intense competition that I once loathed in the various endurance sports in which I participated.
Sometimes, taking a step back really does result in taking a few steps forward. Endurance sports are meant to be challenging, yet for the most part should still be fun. Beating oneself up with endless hardcore training sessions and following rigid structures is not only impractical, but squeezes the enjoyment out of sport.
Listen to your body and have fun.
