Love the Hurt: Consistency makes a happy triathlete

Cool LukeWein painting

One thing I've learned about my personality (and I know a lot of triathletes share the same thing) when it comes to endurance sports is the importance of consistency in training. It makes or breaks my mood, my quality of workouts and really, just the balance in my life. My college coach, Irv Ray (now UCR head coach) always harped on the importance of balance and how it is vital in your success as a runner; same applies to being a good triathlete. Triathlon is totally a lifestyle - you have to live the lifestyle if you want to get any good. Lifestyle as in what you eat/drink, what time you go to bed, what you choose to read, what friends you hang out with and what your energy goes into. If your passion is triathlon then you need to feed it with the proper lifestyle and surround yourself with things and people that will make you better. Once you have that lifestyle balance its all about consistency in training. I love a tweet that was sent out from a highly respected coach talking about the definition of insanity. (Paraphrased): "When it comes to triathlon training insanity is actually encouraged: Doing something over and over and expecting a different result." It really is about putting in the work day in and day out - miles and miles of doing the same thing (swim, bike, run) that will make you faster - and eventually will yield you better results!

For myself April and May were not so consistent. Sickness along with all of the racing I was doing really offset my training and I had weeks that my mileage/hours suffered for it. The consistency that I had November-March went away and my momentum kind of went with it. My strength in all three sports followed suite. So over the past few weeks I've been able to get back that consistency and routine. That balance. Once that started happening I started waking up looking forward to training, feeling better in workouts and ultimately getting faster! My attitude towards training and racing are now at an all time high just in time for the peak of triathlon season - Summer! I think the mental game is often overlooked in triathlon. Sure, you want to the body to be ready for the season, but is your mind ready for it? I finally feel that I'm in that place. I'm having fun, I'm healthy and I'm on waiting lists...ha.

Right now I'm on the waiting list for the San Diego International Triathlon which is an Olympic distance triathlon minus 500 meters from the swim. Perfect for me! ha. It really does suite me well. Some good climbs on the bike (30k) and a flat/fast 10k run. I did it last year and placed 6th in my AG and didn't really know what I was doing. As of today it looks like I'm going to get in that race after all, so I'm pumped to see what I can do. Then there's Ironman - Vineman 70.3 which is kind of a last chance to qualify for World Championships...I know, I know.... last post I mentioned I'm sticking with short course this year and that the stars would have to align perfectly for me to do one. Well they just might. Apparently with the exception of one year everyone on the wait list has got into the race...so we'll see if I'll have a chance to race to my potential at that distance.

Training last week? Solid. Got in the pool 6 days (1 was just a soak/recovery day), ran a steady effort mile in 4:53 at the track followed by some 150's and then had a big day Saturday where I put in a long set at the pool and headed straight out for a 4hr ride which included 4x20 mins at LT pace. I had Hebebrand as company which was nice. There was some nasty winds and some good climbs during the intervals but I felt strong throughout. After wrapping up the ride, I headed out for a 6 mile run and called it a day. It was the first time I actually felt "strong" on a long day in quite awhile. Next morning I threw in a 12 mile run to top of the weekend of training.

Ride Stats

Sorry for the random post. Stoked to see I have had over 10,000 hits to the site, at least some people read this! I've never really asked a question on the site before, but I will now. I would appreciate comments via the blog or on facebook.

What topics do you like most reading about?

1. Training stats
2. Race Reports
3. Triathlon related topics (such as this consistency post)
4. Beer
5. Family/personal

I try and incorporate all 5, but was just curious if I should focus more attention on one or the other. I don't pretend to know it all, just having fun documenting my triathlon adventures and hopefully inspiring others to do something active and be happy :)

Just a few pics this week: