The next crop of IM stars

Talent identification (TID) in triathlon is a tricky thing - do you develop all-round athletes from a young age, or "cherry pick" more mature athletes with promise? Regardless, it takes athletes with great talent to really succeed in triathlons, not just because they need to be able to swim, ride and run fast, but also handle the necessary volume of training and submit to being under the control of your national federation. Life as an elite triathlete in hard work and all-consuming.

The use of TID has mostly been for the development of ITU athletes, and is most often done via national federations whose tentacles spread far into the community pool of potential candidates. Once they are identified they will usually be sucked into the vortex of programs, systems and more, with the goal of turning the potential into reality. Some succeed, some get burned out and some get disillusioned. Then some others 'graduate' from ITU racing, which is what this article is about.

In long course and IM racing TID doesn't exist in the same sense as in ITU because LC and IM racing sits outside of national federations core business for which it is funded, despite the fact that many members focus solely on this format. So the TID that does occur stems from smaller enclaves of coaching groups, or "teams", or through the individual determination of athletes - you're pretty much on your own in the LC and IM world. The upside is the freedom of choice in terms of training, racing, sponsorships and more, where many of these pro triathletes earn more through sponsorship than prize money. There is arguably more earning potential in LC and IM racing for the majority of athletes.

So where do you look in seeking out the next stars of LC and IM racing? It's too demanding and the time frame for development is too long to be scouring junior ranks to train them up. Trying to "cherry pick" mature athletes perhaps from a single-sport background is fraught with uncertainty. The best age group athletes may make a successful leap to elite, but they would be few and far between, and usually only with modest success. So where do LC and IM stars come from?

The simple answer is from 'graduates' of ITU racing, or younger ITU athletes who realise they are on the fringe of success and see LC and IM racing as a more fertile ground. Specifically, in the 1-3 years after the London Olympics I am sure there will be a flood of ITU athletes crossing over to LC and IM racing - some have already indicated as much, such a Brad Kahlefeldt and Simon Whitfield. Methinks that the current crop of LC and IM athletes should be very afraid!!!

History has already seen the success that good ITU (or short course) athletes have had in LC/IM racing. Mark Allen and Scott Molina are prime examples, as are Erin Baker and Karen Smyers. Moving the timeline forward a little there is Simon Lessing, Michelle Jones and in current racing Chris McCormack, Rasmus Henning, Mirinda Carfrae, and the list goes on. All these athletes experienced success at shorter events before doing the same in longer ones.

The fact these folks did well does not mean every good ITU athlete will do likewise at the longer version. Some are simply not inclined, others do not have the aptitude, or it could be their physiology means that LC/IM racing is simply a bridge too far. But for every athlete who finds that LC/IM is not to their liking, there will be one who does, who posses the talent and grounding in ITU racing to be able to successfully transfer it to LC/IM. It might take them a year or two - or maybe more - to learn and adapt, but once they do, the performance bar will be lifted markedly.

An influx of aggressive ITU athletes could also see changed tactics - just image what the Brownlee brothers would do to a field once the gun went??

So while the LC/IM races for 2012 - and to extent 2013 - will feature many of the names we are familiar with, I think that predicting the winner of Hawaii in 2014 and/or 2015 will very likely include an ITU athlete who raced in the London Olympics. The next interesting question is who will it be, on men's and women's sides?

Great Ocean Rd marathon Moose Mug

The Great Ocean Rd (GOR) marathon has been a favourite race of mine since it began in 2005. Back then I thought the promise of running from Lorne to Apollo Bay (45km) on traffic free roads was too good an opportunity to miss, and thought it might be a one-off so I entered and ran it. It was on again the next year, so I went back, and again, and again, racking up four finishes in a row and thoughts of being the first GOR marathon Spartan (10 finishes), however injuries over the last 3 years put a halt to those and any marathons meaning my last (road) marathon was 4 years ago in this same race. There’s been a LOT of water under the bridge in that time...

Running had been going well and so with a little nervousness I put in my entry a little while ago, and so it was a small victory to get to race week still in one piece and actually able to run a marathon again. But this was not a goal event of any sorts, and in fact concluded a (new) biggest week of running ever, clocking 100km from Mon-Thur, rest Fri, 14km on Sat and a likely 47km on Sunday (45km race + warm-up), bringing it to 161km. My legs were pretty dead & flat, but I was looking forward to a good training run – my plan was to approach it in 3 x 15km segments, starting at 4 min/km, then 15km at 3:50 min/km, then 15km at 3:40 (or under) min/km. This would have been a great hit-out pre-Gold Coast marathon in 6 weeks time if I pulled it off.

Another small goal for the event originated from the US Runner’s World forum, and a marathon discussion thread that included discussion of the “Moose Mug”, which one fellow creates for anyone who achieves the goal of a marathon in less than 2hrs + age (2:20 + age for women). It’s a unique and challenging goal, which I thought I could do but hadn’t run a marathon since learning about it, so in the back of my mind was qualifying for own Moose Mug in the race, based on the time split at the marathon distance point. I’d need to run it in under 2:42hr.

Since the last time I ran numbers in the weekend of events – 6km & 14km on Sat, half & full marathon on Sun – had grown from 1200 to over 4000 this year, with over 900 in the marathon alone. Also lining up this year in the marathon was good friend and great athlete, Kelly Jarrett, who was running to win the women’s race following a win in the half marathon last year. It was great being able to stay with Kel, her sister and several others, and catch-up on life & times, and some good running talk!! Our plan was to run together for 15km, before I picked up my plan according to plan.

Race morning dawned almost perfect – a far cry from the prevailing head winds I’d been used to in previous years – albeit a bit cold, meaning I opted for a t-shirt to run in. There was a nice atmosphere at the start as we mingled, and had a quick read of the race program which listed some of the key contenders...including one female who’d beaten Kelly by 7 mins in Melb marathon last year, Kirsten Molloy. Oh dear!! This meant it would be a tough race for Kel.

On the men’s side there were the customary group of Kenyans who are bought over each year to run, 3 this year, plus 2 other good runners – one from Geelong, Rowan Walker, who consistently runs 2:20 marathons, and Alex Matthews who I know through the 6ft Track race, and a 2:28 runner. So I quickly put a top-5 finish out of my mind, not that placing was a goal but after successive placings of 7th, 2nd, 5th and 8th, I had a bit of pride at stake.

The gun went and quickly the Kenyans shot off into the lead very quickly, easily putting distance into everyone, with Rowan and Alex forming a pair in pursuit, then a mix of 5-6 runners ahead of Kelly and me, including Kirsten. The beauty of GPS watches these days is that they provide feedback on distance and pace, so Kel and I paid close attention to slowing our pace from the start down towards the target 4 min/km. In the first km Kel commented how easy it felt running at 3:50 pace, and we reflected with amusement on that post race after what happened later in the race...

Anyway, Kirsten stayed about 30-45sec ahead of us, within sight – and reach – but requiring us to run a little faster than planned, averaging 3:54 for the first 15km with us in 11th and 12th place but 5 runners within about 75 sec in front of us. As planned, I picked up my pace at 15km and pulled closer the folks in front of me, passing Kirsten and another guy in about 2km, then another a further km on putting me in 8th place with two guys a little way ahead. Then at about the 20km I was surprised to see Alex jump out of porta-loo and join those two guys just ahead, meaning 5th to 7th were just 60-80m ahead.

The GOR marathon course is not easy, with about 500m of ascent, with the two hardest hills coming right after half way. It was here I caught one of the guys, then came up on Alex and we had a little chat during which he explained that his recent doctor’s rounds included seeing a lot of children with all range of sickness, which he’d caught and was coughing up phlegm, not feeling very good and planning to pull out. As we chatted we passed another guy putting us into 5th and 6th place, and as he pulled over at 25km mark I was into 5th place!! He ended up jogging the remainder, since that was the quickest way to get to finish!!

This middle 15km was a tough section due to these two hills, but my avg pace was surprisingly good at around 3:46 min/km, a little faster than planned but still feeling quite strong. The last 15km would be hardest, not just because it is the last 15km but also because of my plan to pick up the pace further. Passing 30km I eased up the pace over the last of the small hills that gave way to small rollers, then mostly flat, for the remainder of the course.

I was clinging to 3:40 pace but it wasn’t easy, with some twangs of tightness (or cramps?) in my right glute. Also, the continuous camber of the course was starting to be noticeable in my right ankle...very minor, but noticeable. I was working hard to maintain pace, by now passing walkers in the half marathon, but it slipped back to 3:41 at about 37km mark, and started to count down the distance and estimated time to the finish. Between 37-40km I really started to struggle, and in stopping for a drink at 40km the avg pace slipped further to 3:43 and I was hurting. But there was only 5km left and a good look behind didn’t show anyone behind.

It was also at this time a couple of people called out that I was in 4th place, which I thought meant they’d missed someone, and kept on running anyway. By the marathon timing mat I was in survival mode, with avg pace now at 3:46 although my time split over the mat was 2:38:45hr (although I think it was 500m short/soon), which was pleasing and even allowing another 500m would give me about 2:40:35hr...a Moose Mug!!! This time split was about an equal second best on the course.

The last 2.9km was a real struggle. I was hurting, my glutes were tight – perhaps from the exercises I did on Friday? – and it was just hard work. Although I was placed well, I barely felt like I was going any faster than the half marathoners I kept passing, just holding 4 min/km...and felt a LOT harder than the ease of this pace at the start!!

The finish chute in Apollo Bay is great, lined by literally thousands of people, some of whom I knew, all giving great cheers. Despite my discomfort, I was really happy and pleased, and very surprised to be called over in 4th place in 2:50:28hr, with a few fist pumps in the air. But I couldn’t stop soon enough, and was a little delirious for 5min or more...it really hurts pushing yourself to your limits!! Although I missed part of the target pace, overall it was quite a pleasing run on tired legs. As it turned out, one of the Kenyans pulled out, and Rowan Walker split the remaining two Kenyans coming in 2nd.

I collected myself and waited for Kelly to finish, with the announcer calling her in first place...a great result for her, and really nice to play a small part in her day. Well done, Kel. Post marathon is always a bit stiff and tired, but to my surprise I’m not really feeling all that stiff right now, considering, and best of all no sore spots!! From here there is an easy few days ahead before a few final, key sessions over the last 6 weeks before Gold Coast marathon...and not to mention a baby arriving sometime during that period, too!! Exciting times ahead.

More is More

When talking about training there are competing schools of thought about how much you should do, with some people promoting quality over quantity, some who emphasise the merits of complementary activities (eg, yoga) and some who even suggest to train less. Well, I'm here to say that more is more, more is better and more is the key to your best performance. Less is not more…less is less. Quality over quantity can destroy an athlete, and complementary activities are a waste of time. So there, I've said it!!!

There is a long and strong history to support the case for the benefits of doing more training, from the epic training stories of the “Big Four”, who learned about multisport training by simply doing lots of it, to elite swimmers who benchmark a 100km training week, and African runners whose documented training volumes are mind boggling. These athletes train so much because they can handle it, and because it is necessary to succeed internationally. In fact, if you survey training volume at almost any race you will most likely find a direct relationship between the highest place getters and training volume...so there must be something to it.

Before any outrage begins, I need to qualify what "more is more" means…that is, so long as you don't get sick or injured, the more training you can do the better your performance will be. Taking it a bit further, the more training you can do that is specific to your goal performance, the better your performance will be. The common element is that as a general rule, more training results in more performance.

Now onto the caveats, disclaimers and warnings because trying to apply "more is more" is full of risks unless some sensibility is applied to it. Doing “more” training is relative to each person, and means simply that...doing more training than you currently are. However heading out the door with the “more” goal in mind can quickly bring you undone, since it takes (a lot of) time to build the capability to train more. Fitness is cumulative, but so is fatigue and wear-and-tear, so planning to do more also means planning a gradual increase in training over time, almost in a two-steps-forwards-one-step-backwards approach. Hasten slowly.

For most people, how much more training you can do will often be limited by life and its constraints, eg, family, work, etc, and these are important and need respect. Pros train all day because their life circumstances allow it, which means that breaking through to elite level is hard as you struggle with the balance of need to work and desire to train. For folks on the precipice of being elite it takes a leap of faith to change something to allow them to train more in order to make the jump to elite standard (but there can be downfalls in this, also).

So assuming you can train more, and you’ve got a sensible and structured plan for making the most of the extra time you’ll be spending training, then what are some things to know? Firstly, don't let your head/ego get ahead of your body, and what it can withstand. One big week of training is just that – it looks and sounds good – but it’s only valuable when you can back up training according to plan in following weeks and not be sidelined because you bit off too much. It’s not advisable to train more at the expense of sleep.

In looking at your overall training, think of all your exercise as a pie with slices relating to different types of training. For example, think of a triathlete who spends 25% of their 6hrs of total weekly training running, which is 1.5hrs, and about 15% of that time is quality, which is 13.5mins. If they increase the size of the pie to 8hrs then 25% becomes 2hrs of running, including 18mins of quality, and benefitting from the extra fitness that brings might allow them to do 20% of quality which is 24mins. In this way, doing more training is not just about the overall size of the pie but the size of the pieces you allocate in various ways.

As a general rule, however, your initial increase in training will mainly be in easy miles with little/no change to the amount of quality training you do. Do your key sessions well and gradually add little extra bits of training around the edges, such as longer warm-up or warm-down, and progressively to adding additional sessions. Gradually you’ll do more quality training, but this increase will be slower than your overall increase in volume.

As your consistency in training more become routine, including necessary recovery, you’ll find breakthroughs in fitness take 6 weeks or so to be noticeable. Things like noting that you recover better from sessions, can complete sessions strongly and more and the telltale signs of fitness improvement.

A final note is to highlight a point I made earlier, which was that the more training you can do that is specific to your goal performance, the better your performance will be. The person with the most hours / miles of training will not necessarily be the best – training long and slow will mean you’ll race long and slow. What you do with the extra hours / miles is equally important, and they should be planned with the objective of improving your performance and not just training for the sake of it. So train more but keep in mind what you are training for, as this should be front-centre of your plan.

A final, final note...although it can often be on crap days, training should not be chore. Be dedicated and motivated, but keep it a real and enjoyable challenge.

Imperial 100 running week

In the last few years I've twice done a race called the King Island Imperial 20, which is a fantastic weekend on a great little island where the actual race is not the only feature activity. Highly recommended. It is called the "imperial 20" because the race distance is 20 miles, which is equal to 32 km in metric terms (1 mile = 1.609 km). Given those parameters and a quick mind you will calculate that imperial 100 is equal to 160 km, and the reason for this post is to note the biggest 7 day running block of my life, covering 160 km from Sat 5th May to Fri 11th May. In fact, there were only 6 days of running with Friday being my non-running day of the week.

In many sports there are some recognised - even if not widely promoted - benchmarks which universally indicate training high level volume / workload per week, and identify athletes who are really striving for their best performance level. In swimming it is 100 km, cycling is 1000 km and in running it is 100 miles, with running measured in miles as a throw-back to the old school days – and ways – upon which many running legends were built. For each sport it takes a long time to build up to, and withstand, the stress this level of training but the fitness rewards can be worth the risk…if you're careful.

My training had been going well through April, albeit interrupted in favour of three races - Run for the Kids, the Geelong half marathon and two team run legs in the Marysville to Melbourne adventure race. The races were good to do, and each gave me both some confidence and a boost in fitness…which also necessitated a drop in volume the following week for my old legs to recover. But come May the race schedule was lighter, which has allowed for some good running in the key month of preparation for Gold Coast marathon on 1st July.

The funny thing about this big week is that I didn’t even realise it until a day or two later, mainly because I usually count weekly distance from Monday to Sunday, and often fall trap to counting kilometres during the week...plus planned distance for the remaining days...to see how the weekly volume is tracking. But because this 160 km didn’t fit that weekly pattern I wasn’t even counting, which made it a nicer surprise when I did realise the milestone I’d reached.

So here’s how the 7 days panned out:
Sat 5th May – 45km, 3:11hr. Good run, with younger brother for 34km. Ran comfortably and strong (42.2km in 2:59:05hr)
Sun 6th May – 17km, 1:16hr. Tired for easy run. Did 10 x short hill sprints at end.
Mon 7th May – AM 15km, 1:06hr. PM 7.5km, 32min. Easy day. Fast strides at end of PM run. Tired legs.
Tue 8th May – 24km, 1:37hr. Hard tempo run incl 2 x 4km + 6 x 1km. Legs felt dead & tired. Hard work.
Wed 9th May – AM 13km, 59min. PM 13.5km, 60min. Easy day with run to and from work. Did 10 x short hill sprints at end of PM run.
Thur 10th May – AM 13km 60min. Midday 12.5km, 51min. Easy AM run, then 8 x 200m efforts in lunch-time run.
Fri 11th May – Non-running day. Hooray!!

So there is the big week!! The key sessions are Tue long, hard tempo and Sat long run. The rest is mainly extra running plus a bit of speed and things thrown in. Hopefully it will get to the line in Gold Coast in shape to run a PB...but not sure if I’ll top the 160km from those 7 days. See you on the road.

The purity of running

There are lots of reasons to like running...the feeling of fitness, the freedom of running trails and paths, or even the time efficient manner of getting a run done. But the thing that I really like about running is the purity of it, being just you, the ground, and minimal equipment needed. You don't need a court, a pool, a machine (bike) or even other people. It is the rawest, simplest and most basic human movement beyond walking...and much faster!!!

Some of my favourite memories of the freedom of running come from travel and holidays where I've used running as a means to look around and quickly get an overview of each location, often in the early morning peace and quiet...it is fantastic. One that sticks in mind is from Paris, where one morning I ran from the hostel down to the Seine river, along to the Eiffel Tower, across to Place de la Concorde, in front of the Louvre, up the Champs Elysees to Arc de Triomphe, and back to the hostel...all in under an hour!! I then spent of the rest of the day re-tracing my footsteps as a tourist, not a runner.

As a contest, running is as pure as it gets...whoever can get to the finish line fastest, which depends little on technology, but a lot on your heart and muscles to get you there. The contest is as raw as the challenge of the event and the obstacles it throws up at you...not to mention the elements. The appeal of a marathon is universal, and it just wouldn't be the same if the distance was a round number, or the route was sheltered and flat.

Equal to the feeling that running provides are the experiences it brings, and space to use your mind without usual interruptions. Each run is a journey that can take your mind on a trip through all kinds of thoughts and ideas. A good run helps to clear your mind, sort through the 'noise' that can clutter it and process issues that have banked up over recent days. Your experiences in running are only limited by your mind, and where you want your legs to take you.

This all sounds very lovely, but one more thing I've learned in ramping up my own running is that it is not always "glamorous", and in fact is hard work. The days when you wake up early, swing out of bed onto tired and stiff legs, the thought of saddling up in your running gear and heading out the door can seem like plain old hard work, and your enjoyment meter barely moves above zero. It's those days where the motivation of a goal burns brightest, and you go for a run anyway knowing that if you didn't the day wouldn't feel complete. It's a little victory over your inner demons, and that hard work or not, the opportunity to go running should never be taken for granted.

Yes, it is the simplicity, freedom, challenge, reward and purity of running that I like most. As long as my legs and body are able to, I'll be heading out the door into the open space...for my legs and mind to explore.

Winter Training KISS

Winter is usually associated with the off-season for most triathletes, coinciding with cold and dark days where the prospect of training is a bit of a drag...especially when it is raining on Saturday morning. Usually it is training that suffers, which makes complete sense, and yet many people will battle with some feeling of guilt over what training they feel they should be doing, or as prescribed by a coach. 

This article to not going to suggest throwing a training plan out the window - a LOT can be achieved during winter - but to take a pragmatic and simple approach to how you go about achieving your winter training objectives. Basically, it is to KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)!!

As a coach I enjoy the challenge of weaving an intricate training plan, complete with necessary periodisation, progression, recovery and more, tailored for an individual athlete. But I realise there is a time and place for everything, including these detailed programs, and winter is often the time where the specific detailed is watered down in favour of JFT (Just F-ing Train), where just training is often more important than tormenting athletes with specific session plans.

There's a few reasons for this. First is that athletes need a break from complex training to just enjoy the simple beauty of getting out and doing something. In saying that, however, I do believe it is possible - and valuable - to insert some short and specific training elements into selected sessions during winter to achieve some training goals, but without making sessions too onerous. Also, training can still follow a strategic plan...we're only talking about the complexity of sessions.

A further reason for keeping it simple is that triathletes like going hard, and given the opportunity in any structured session will try and do it as hard as they can. This is generally not desirable during winter and will likely see athletes pushing themselves into great form in August/September, and then flat and dragging the proverbial chain when the actual race season comes around. So the best way to avoid that is to limit the structure of sessions.

So by keeping things simple, and proving guidelines, broad objectives and a skeleton template for winter training, you achieve flexibility for when sessions can be done to allow for various winter blues. The guidelines and objectives are the key ingredients to ensure athletes arrive at the post-winter phase ready for what is ahead, while the template provides some loose structure for actually doing the training. Of course, different athletes respond to different amounts of detail and information, and this would be catered for. I'll write more on winter training examples in a subsequent article. In the meantime, KISS and JFT for a while...and just enjoy training.

Why I like ITU racing

A great topic to get a group of triathletes debating around a cafe table is about ITU racing, especially when it is discussed in relation to IM racing. Specifically, draft-legal, World Triathlon Series, ITU racing, where the pinnacle achievement is Olympic Gold...arguably the highest prize in triathlon. Now that is an opinion to add fuel to the ITU vs. IM debate!!!

I'm writing this as a triathlon (and sporting) purist - and spectator - to explain why I like ITU racing. This is not about the relative abilities of the respective athletes (that is for another occasion), but about the product as we witness it at races like Mooloolaba, Sydney and elsewhere. It's also not to say that ITU racing is better than IM racing. So here's my reasons for liking ITU racing:

It is faaast!! Just ask Macca what how fast these "kids" (as he calls ITU athletes) are. They know that every second counts, and that any technical or tactical mistake will be punished...especially when either Brownlee is racing. If you are not up to speed in any leg, you will get dropped and just like in a bike race, your chances of getting back on are all but zero. The racing is uncompromising, no one gives an inch and in 2 hrs you have a winner....I like that!!

ITU athletes are very talented, and do not all fit the age-old, stereotypical model of just being good swimmer and runners...and far from it being "A shampoo, blow-dry and 10k run..." (thanks Mr Armstrong for that contribution!!). These guys are very good swimmers, bike riders and runners, and while many single-sport aficionados will scoff, remember that these athletes excel at being triathletes. So to that end, I like watching athletes who are top of their game, and the ITU folks are just that, at the top of the game of being fast triathletes.

The World Triathlon Series has been fantastic for ITU racing. It brings together the best triathletes in the world 8 or so times a year to race head-to-head, with each race earning points for the overall title. Now it is akin to F1 / Moto GP...and even a football premiership season, to an extent...and I like being able to follow the fortunes of athletes across the season, at different race venues, not to mention being able to watch it live on-line (and some even live on TV). The series has done a lot raise the profile of triathlon.

ITU races are spectator friendly. The courses are multi-lap, so you never have to wait more than a few minutes to see the athletes again. The multi-loop format also means it is possible to hold races right in the middle of big cities, so they are also accessible, and free to watch - ITU racing brings the sport to the people. Because you can see the athletes live, multiple times, you can track the movements in the field...I like watching who tries a bike break away, who runs through the field and more. Plus, none of the legs lasts more than about 60 mins.

ITU racing is an Olympic sport. If you are a triathlete and diss the sport you give so much of your time and energy just because it is different format than you like, then you've got your blinkers on. I like that every 4 years our sport is in spotlight at the biggest event on the planet, where I can cheer for our country's athletes for the biggest prize in the sport. What's not to like about that??