A road race, pile-up, and sore body later I found some time to write my latest blog. After competing in a local 45 mile road race this past weekend I was reassured that I was NOT invincible. The 8 man wreck left me with a sore lower back and very sore butt. Thankfully this happened when it did and not in the middle of my triathlon season. I usually will not compete in any road races during my triathlon season for this fear. This year I did a few crits that were not very smart and I luckily skimmed by no less than a dozen wrecks and pile-ups there. This goes to show, anyone at anytime can hit the pavement. In my case this weekend it just happened to be a rough road with loose gravel. I was able to get back on my bike and eventually cross the line first, but not without a painful body the next few days.
I basically began my off-season a few weeks ago and just recently started to get back in the groove of things. My first R&R week was nice. I was able to rest a little and take some nice runs and rides at an easy pace, but by the end of this week I was starting to get the itch and by the second week I was ready to get back to my regular training schedule. As most triathletes know rest and recovery are a very important part of training. Knowing this, several athletes continue to skip out on recovery. When you get the ball rolling and you start turning in fast times its hard to take a recovery week. You think to yourself, “I don’t need a week off sitting around; I need to get even faster!” I’ve been there myself and have made the mistake of not taking much needed R&R.
I am excited to start a new program this off-season where every fourth week is a straight R&R week. This is one of the more popular training outlines that athletes choose. I will continue to have my regular recovery days throughout the week, but will add a full week of R&R as well. This seems like too much recovery, but in hindsight the body NEEDS THIS. Looking back at this past season I had very little R&R time. Having the right amount of recovery will definitely benefit in the long run. I have already begun this new regimen and will report back later this off-season to let you know my progress and how it is going. This off-season I will also include a new aspect into my blog titled: Product Review. Everyone knows the off-season is long and can easily become a drag without being able to compete, so I have created this new series where I will test products and post a review of my thoughts on the product. Hopefully this will keep me busy during the winter months. I will include clothing, equipment, shoes, nutritional supplements, etc. Anything new that I can get my hands on this winter I will post a review! Until then
Safe Training
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