For those involved in triathlon the end of the competitive season has arrived or is looming large. For many this comes after a long, tiring campaign which will have included early morning workouts, squeezing training sessions into an already packed schedule, managing conflicting demands to achieve a semblance or work - life balance, grinding out high volume endurance work, high intensity speed work, strength sessions and trying to recover as well as possible in order to do it all again. In addition to this factor in a busy race schedule which has hopefully culminated with an optimal performance at that big category 'A' race. It is therefore unsurprising that this level of commitment, focus, training and racing brings with it stresses on a number of levels:
- Physical stress on the body and immune system of consistently sustaining this level of intensity
- Mental stress of maintaining the commitment, determination and motivation for all of this
- Emotional stress, including relationships with family and friends who support your sporting aspirations
Training = Exercise + Recovery!
The end of the competitive season presents a golden opportunity to rest, recharge and recover from this sustained period of hard training. Also to reconnect with the world and give something back to the important support systems that athletes are fortunate to have around them. The time frame for this will vary according to the athlete, their events and level of fatigue but it should be measured in weeks rather than days. Some things to consider:
- Reduce training stress and allow your body the time to fully and properly recover
- Remove pressure, be kind to yourself, chill out and think about other things for a change
- Reconnect with family and friends who may not have seen much of you
- Get any lingering injuries properly assessed now with a plan for rehabilitation
- Attend to those jobs around home you've been putting off
- Payback time for work colleagues who may have covered for your absence
- A complete period of no planned training - be spontaneous! - keep it easy & fun!
- Follow this with a structured period of easy, recovery level training - work on technique
- Ensure you have an incremental and structured plan for reintroducing frequency, volume and intensity of training when the time is right
Many athletes ignore this advice and keep the training stress high during the off season or transition into another sport that is in full race mode. Why do they spurn the opportunity and neglect the need to rest and recover? For some, it may be a worry about dropping their level in fitness, "I've had a great season, and achieved a high level of fitness so don't want to let it slip away." Yet this really is a good thing, a continual upward trajectory of fitness is likely to result in injury or illness caused by overtraining. Easing back now, accepting a small drop off in fitness will reduce the risk of injury or illness, enable a strong, fresh start to the next training block with a renewed appetite and make consistent training much more likely.
Those athletes who find the right balance between training and recovery are most likely to achieve consistency in their training, progression in their performances and longevity in their sport
