It’s what you do on the tough days that matters

It’s what you do on the tough days that matters.

Saturday I participated in my favorite event of the year. It is a two-person team triathlon that features a ¾ mile run into a 1.5 mile canoe into a 14-mile bike ride into a 5K run. Both partners need to stay together throughout the race.

The weather was accomodating considering the massive amounts of rain we’ve had in Philadelphia the last two months. Skies were clear, the course was cleaned up, temps were mild. My partner and I were well rested and ready to go. As were several of my other friends who were doing the race. We were all ready to post our best times, maybe get a good result and possibly be on the podium for our division.

But you never know what might happen. Did the weather change? No. Did someone get dumped out of the canoe? Maybe, but not that I saw.

No, my good friend and former race partner sprained his ankle a quarter mile into the ¾ mile run. Not sure what happened but with a large group running down a narrow path it doesn’t take much to turn a perfect day for a race into a dissappointing day where you and your partner can’t finish.

The thing is, the “can’t finish” part doesn’t come into my friend Mike’s vocabularly. At 63, he is as fit as the fittest 30-year-olds I know. I can’t keep up with him on a bike. I’d like to think I can out run him but secretly I never enter running events with him so he doesn’t have the opportunity to prove me wrong.

Mike and his partner finished the run to the canoe, proceded to paddle to the 8^th best time and then got on the bikes and worked their way up to 6^th overall. They averaged 17.4 mph. And one of them had a sprained ankle.

Then came the 5K. 3.1 miles of running. That just wasn’t going to work. So they walked it. It took them almost an hour. One team after another passing them. Teams they knew they would have beaten.

Mike hid the pain long enough to run the last few hundred yards to the finish line with his partner. They would have finished in the top 5 if it weren’t for the injury. They finished 50^th.

The point here is not “gut it out no matter how bad the pain.” I don’t believe in that. There is no need to risk permanent injury. Mike assessed the issue and decided to keep going. He knows his body. His partner stuck with him.

The point is anyone can have a great day when the conditions are perfect and there are no obstacles in your way. Sunny skies, well-paved roads, nice bikes, etc. The question is, how do you respond when something doesn’t go according to the perfect script? Do you pack it in and say “wait till next year”? Do you let it ruin your whole race? Or do you just work harder on the canoe and the bike knowing that the run is going to suffer?

The sweet justice is that they still qualified for 2^nd in the Masters Division and collected a medal. Goes to show you what happens when you finish.

Swim, Bike, Run, Swim, Bike, Run

Swim, bike, run...is this the extent of your workout?

If you are a triathlete or endurance athlete these three modes of exercise probably define most of your workout.

Most triathlete hold up the elite of their sport as the best athletes in the world. After all, they can run uber miles, swim for an hour and bike endlessly. Who could be more fit than Chris McCormack, Normann Stadler and Michellie Jones, the most recent winners of the storied Kona Ironman?

On the flip side, power lifters and NFL lineman are lifting 300+ lbs of weight and building muscles on top of their muscles. Aren't they the most fit?

I strongly argue that neither the Ironman winner or the NFL lineman are the fittest in the world. The elite triathletes are notably weak when it comes to moving any weight around and, as NFL All-Pro lineman Albert Haynesworth proved during training camp this year when he couldn't run a 1/2 mile, NFL lineman don't have endurance.

If your workout consists of swim, bike, run, swim, bike, run, you need to change it up....even if you are training for an event.

Total fitness comes from a balance of speed, endurance, strength, flexibility, stamina, balance, coordination, power, and agility. The athlete that achieves this or at least regularly works toward it will have more complete fitness.

This training involves total body, functional weight lifting, body weight exercises for muscular control and endurance, traditional cardio exercises done as fast-paced intervals and more.

If your in need of a boost to your fitness program. If you want to be faster on your bike or in your run. If you want to beat people at everything, not just your specialty event, then contact me to discuss using my Interval Strength Training program to get results.