Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Coach Steve's late season TRI Tips
Athletes --
I've been thinking lately about the differences between early-season
"B-races" (as defined by anything that is not an A-race for you) and
late season ones. ?And what fun can be had with a couple of the
latter.
The fact is, however your season went, you're likely fitter now than
you have been all summer, and it just makes sense to make good use of
that investment. ?There's a couple of ways to do that.
You could -- and should -- go run a non-traditional race, like this
Thursday's Pearl Street Mile. ?It's a great community event. ?It's
over in a flash of high intensity suffering (the warm-up really will
be much longer than the race) and it's just sort of fun to go out and
see just what you can do for a mile in Zone 3.999. ?Not to mention
watching the kids before and the elites after. ?It's a blast.
You could take a race like the Rattlesnake and go into with a special
dose of confidence since, for those of you coming off the 70.3, it'll
seem pretty short. ?And just go out and race with abandon. ?Or total
zen. ?Or, heaven forbid, after going out the night before. ?Play
around with coloring outside the lines. ?You've got the physical
fitness, and the mental toughness, to do so. ?Quite often, in fact,
athletes have breakthroughs, whether in time or attitude, with a "just
for fun" race. ?So why not try for one when you're fit. ?The lessons
you learn may carryover to your later A-races, whatever they are.
The big thing, though, is to focus on fun with a capital F. ?If it
doesn't sound fun, ask yourself "why not?" and, if you get a good
answer, just don't do it. ?Let a bit of mental recovery seep into your
psyche, even as you begin to germinate dreams of what's next, whether
that's a fall marathon, an upgrade to next year's triathlon
distances/races, or whatever. ?It's not play-time, yet, but just time
to relax, train and have fun. ?Go ride that Old Stage and laugh at it.
Or smile thinking about your first trip up. ?You get the picture.
Speaking of the Pearl Street Mile, hope to see y'all on Thursday (as
well as Saturday). ?I'll be the one chanting Navy SEAL cadences trying
to get my 5-year old around the turn, then laying down a time for him
to shoot at when he's in his, umm, mid-40's. ?And probably even
drinking a beer.
Cheers,
Steve