Blog September 2015

Throughout my years racing first as an elite amateur, and then as a Professional Triathlete,  I always took some much needed “time off” at the end of the season.  I would take 4-6 weeks after my last big race of the season to do what I wanted when I wanted.  I needed some time off from following specific training schedule and found that the mental and physical break did wonders for me!  This period of time, over the years, became something I really looked forward to!

As a coach of my own coaching business (www.ironfitendurance.com) I encourage many of my athletes to take a similar break.  This can be scary to some!  In fact, to many coaches this can be scary as well…fearful that the athlete will not come back to coaching after the break! 

However, I find that a break from a training schedule is necessary for many reasons: 

1. Many athletes start to feel burnt out by the end of their season.  A break from following a training plan gives the athlete time to “miss training” and can help the athlete to remember how exciting and fun training can be!

2. A break gives the body and mind time to RECOVER!

3. A break is time for the athlete to reflect on the season and appreciate what they accomplished, something that is hard to do in the midst of training and racing!

4. A break gives the athlete a chance to talk to their coach about what they need to work on to improve in the upcoming season.  This may be strength training, swim technique, power on the bike, mental focus, confidence in oneself, or speed on the run!

5. A break from training gives the athlete time to write down goals and figure out a smart race plan with their coach for the upcoming season.

6. A break gives the athlete a chance to do something other than swim, bike, run!  Exploring other athletic endeavors can be fun, but often athletes don’t have the time to fit them in during the season.  The off season gives athletes the chance to stay fit and enjoy other activities!

I do have some general guidelines for the “offseason break”:

1. During the break, avoid doing nothing!!!  Staying active is very important!  The break is not time to take off from everything!  This will make starting back very difficult.

2. Try to get in at least one swim, one bike and one run each and every week of the break!  You don’t want to take off completely in any discipline as you will be starting from scratch when you do get back to training!  Getting in a couple of workouts in each of the three disciplines will ensure that you don’t lose too much.  Find the joy in doing the workouts in whatever order you like and on whatever day you want!

3. Avoid very tough workouts that you feel like you are forcing yourself to complete!  Try to “enjoy” each workout that you do, whether that be a trail run, or a bike with friends.  Workout “as you feel”, meaning you can push it if you feel good on a particular workout, but don’t force yourself to complete a hard workout if you are not into it physically and mentally!  

If you find that you are feeling burnt out and unmotivated, or if it’s just been a long season, don’t be afraid to take a break.  It may be the best thing you do for your upcoming season!

Happy training and racing!

Dee

www.ironfitendurance.com

 There are MANY races to cover for August, so I’ll jump right in!

AUGUST 1^st/2^nd:

SMITH POINT:

Ken Krill had a PR by 11 minutes…wow!

Susan Roman placed first in her division!

The Lam kids WON the High School relay division, and dad Noah Lam raced alongside his kids proudly!

VA Culpepper Sprint:

Erin Miller was 1^st in her age group!

Erin will be competing in two Olympic Distance events this fall!

 AUGUST 8^th/9^th:

Shelley Bache had a PR in the Steelhead Olympic!  This was prep for Timberman the following weekend!

Hilary Topper competed in the USAT Olympic distance Nationals in Milwakee!  This was only her second Olympic distance event after competing in the NYC Triathlon a few weeks prior!  Hilary had a great race against the toughest field in the US!  Read all about her experience here!

RIVERHEAD ROCKS (Thanks Event Power for a great event!): 

Deepak had a strong race before flying to California for work that same day!

I managed to have a repeat of the prior year in which I crossed the finish line first, but actually got 2^nd overall.  I must say I was pleased despite my lack of fitness heading into this one (This was my longest run since September 2014 due to a battle with plantar fasciitis).  I am almost 100% healed now and I do plan to be more prepared for the next race coming up!

Shayne Lewis finished 6^th in his age group here.  He will be competing in his first half Ironman this weekend!

Jose Hernandez finished 4^th in his age group!

Ken Krill had yet another PR on this day, this time he finished his fastest ever Olympic distance!

Gordon Lewis, who has finished first in his age group and has PR’d in EVERY event he has raced this season, managed to finish 1^st yet again with, you got it, another PR!  I must note that Gordon was hit by a car on the run!  He was bumped hard by a car toward the end of the run and had to walk for a bit to regroup and alleviate a cramp that instantly developed after being hit.  Gordon is a Marine and his toughness is extraordinary.   Gordon managed to start running again and was able to finish strong despite the major setback!  He will be competing in Ironman Louisville this October and his toughness will without a doubt pay off in that event!!

August 16^th:

Jose Hernandez was able to help score the overall win for his Mineola Bike teammate in the Prospect park Summer series!

TIMBERMAN 70.3:  HEAT and HUMIDITY!

Shelley Bache finished her first 70.3 event in amazing fashion!  Her confidence after finishing this event helped her to believe that an Ironman is possible, which she will be doing in 2016!

Christa Dwyer had an awesome race, her second 70.3 of the season!  She will be doing another Ironman (Mont-Tremblant) in 2016!

Peter Morandi PR’d in the 70.3 distance by 17 minutes!  His talent in the longer events is apparent as he had limited ability to get in much of training after his performance in Quassy 70.3 in June…incredible!

Irene gets the "perserverance" award for this race as she not only threw her back out 2 weeks prior to this race (and didn’t run after that), but Irene struggled with back trouble the entire season, which prevented her from getting in the proper amount of long runs throughout her training the months leading up to Timberman!  Irene was determined to finish the event, so we decided to rely heavily on swim and bike training to prepare her.  It was paying off too…her bike and swim got stronger and stronger!  Irene had a great swim in the race only to fall off her bike and scrape up her knee coming out of transition!  She got back on, but never felt like she was moving very fast on the bike for some reason.  Irene finally realized that her brake was rubbing from the crash! At mile 35, a man helped her to adjust the brakes, and Irene was on her way.  This GREATLY affected her bike time!  Irene got into transition and was determined to finish (before the race she told me she would crawl to the finish if she had to!)…well, Irene finished allright!!  You can read all about her day here.  Congrats Irene!

AUGUST 23^rd:

John Burgess competed in Aquabike Sprint and finished 9^th overall (they do not do age groups here, but John beat many competitors 10-20 years younger than him!).  The most amazing thing about John just had a hip replacement a couple of months prior to this!  His focus and upbeat spirt enabled him to work hard and recover after the major surgery and now John is simply rocking!  John will be competing in the Aquabike National next weekend! 

AUGUST 29^th/30^th:

Laura Giardino finished 3^rd in her age group at the Tobay Sprint!  Her goal is the NYC Triathlon next year!

My good friend Nancy Cattabiani of Runners Edge finished first!

Susan Roman headed up to Maine to compete in the Challenge Maine Olympic Distance.  Susan never ceases to amaze me in her ability to race!  Since I started coaching Susan last year, she has PR’d in nearly EVERY event she has competed in!  From 5K’s, to 10K’s, to half marathons, to 70.3 to Ironman.  Her attention to detail and race preparation is unmatched!  Well, you guessed it…Susan PR’s YET AGAIN!  You can read all about her experience here.  INCREDIBLE!  Susan will be competing at the Augusta 70.3 in a few weeks!

Iron Fit Endurance athletes have exceeded my expectations throughout this season!  We still have a couple of months of racing ahead, but I wanted to thank every single athlete that I coach.  Not only are they a wonderful people to know, but each and every person adds a different level of excitement to my job.  As the athletes grow and improve I am challenged to develop a training plan that will bring them to the next level.  It is so fun!

Group training continues and changes throughout the year, so check out the calendar on this website if you would like to be a part of that!

Thanks to The Hub!  They agreed to give out gift certificates for ever PR this season!  They have a lot to give out, as you can see here!  Their generosity and support is very much appreciated!

Happy Training and Racing!

Dee

:-)