By Simon Lessing
Questions submitted by Brad Culp
Sept. 7, 2007 -- This is the first
installment of a new series on Triathletemag.com, in which readers will have a
chance to send their triathlon training questions to former World Champ Simon
Lessing. Twice each month, Simon will select a few questions, personally answer
them and the response will be posted here.
Simon is the perfect athlete
to tackle your training inquiries, as he has had success at every distance in
the sport. This season, Simon has decided to focus on the growing Ironman 70.3
series and he is considered by many to be the favorite heading into November's
World Championship in Clewarwater, Florida.
This week, Simon shares his
knowledge on how to excel at different distances, how to stay strong through a
long season and why he's not a fan of "training races".
If you'd like to
see your questions answered by Simon in the future, please send them to Brad
Culp, at brad@triathletemag.com
It seems some athletes are more specialized
at a certain distance, while others (such as yourself) like to try their hand at
everything from sprint to Ironman. You were a short-course world champ, then an
Ironman champ and now you're a contender for the 70.3 World Championship. What
training advice can you offer up for athletes attempting to excel at different
distance each year, or within the same season (ie, An early summer Ironman and a
fall Olympic)?
During the early to mid 90's,
most of the top pro triathletes raced all distances. In 1989, Mark Allen won the
first Olympic Distance World Champs, Nice and Hawaii. In 1995, I raced Nice and
the Olympic distance World Champs. We all became accustomed to seeing the same
top competitors at every major race.
I do feel now that as our sport has
evolved and the number of competitors have increased, it is impossible to be
competitive at all distances and formats. The primary reason for this is that
triathlon is a very diverse sport attracting specialist with very different
strengths and weaknesses, the key is to identify where you may excel, and the
give it a 100% commitment in order to exploit your ability.
I do feel
because of the popularity of IM, especially here in North America, triathletes
have a tendency to treat IM events like short course races. Some athletes use on
Ironman race as a “training race” for another Ironman!
Key
TipsIdentify your key goals for the season and structure your
plan accordingly to meet your goals.
Be realistic with goal setting and
race planning, it will take you at least a month to feel normal again after a
big Ironman effort.
Avoid the trap of mega volume and concentrate
more on consistency in all three disciplines.
They key to consistency is
recovery.
Do not neglect your weaker discipline.
Structure your training
according to the race distance and perceived effort. For example, there is no
need to be doing 5 hour bike rides if you are training for an OD
race.
Give yourself a 12 to 14 week cycle to prepare for an Ironman
goal
Give yourself a 8 to 10 week cycle to prepare for a 70.3
goal
Give yourself a 6 to 8 week cycle to prepare for an OD
goal
Listen to your body, if you feel tired, then you are tired and you
need to take the day off!
Training is training, racing is racing, do not
race to train!
For those competing in late-season
championship events (Kona, Clearwater, Dallas, Maui), it can be an extremely
long-season. I know many athletes like to back off in the middle of the summer,
to squeeze in a little recovery. Are you a proponent of taking a big step back
in the summer, or do you feel it's more important to work in smaller bout of
rest each week?
As Pros, we used to have a
definite off-season where we could take 4 to 6 weeks off, do nothing, have fun
and recover. As the sport has grown in global popularity, we are now able to
race 12 months a year in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
I
feel many pro's are falling into this trap. It may be ok on a short-term basis,
but I am convinced it catches up to you in the long run.
I have always
had a definite off-season and structure my training accordingly, so no I do not
take time off during the season.
Rather, after any race it is always good
to take a break, this gives you the ability to recover from effort that can
leave both you and your family physically and emotionally drained.
Here
is an example of what I tend to do:
Olympic-distance race - one day off followed by
a few days of light training.
70.3
race - a few days off followed by a week of very light training. I will
not run for at least 4 days after a 70.3 race.
IM race - 7 -10 days off followed by two weeks
of light training.
Among the top pros, there's quite a
discrepancy in race frequency. Some like to race almost every weekend (Craig
Alexander, Emma Snowsill), while others only like to key-in on a few races (
Michellie Jones, Tim DeBoom). What's your take on optimal race frequency and
what would your race schedule look like in the two months before a 70.3 or
Ironman?
I have found that the problem
with racing to often is that it does not give you the opportunity to put in the
necessary ground-work between races. If you are not careful, you end up in a
vicious cycle of racing, recovering, resting and then racing again. In 2003, I
raced six Olympic-distance races in a row, and by the end, I had definitely lost
cardiovascular fitness and strength. This is what works for me by covering all
bases of the race cycle.
Olympic distance Twice a month (June
through to October)
70.3Once a
month, given that it takes me at least 7 to 8 days to recover from a
70.3
Ironman One a year, if
possible, two, as long as they are at least 3 to 4 months apart.
I am a
firm believer that as a pro, you should only race when you are able to give 100%
of yourself. If you are going to spend the time, effort and energy preparing for
a race, give yourself every opportunity to perform at the best of you ability.
Nothing irritates me more than when I hear someone say, “Oh, this is just a
training race.”