Triathlon Is Not A Race

It is a journey.... Who am I kidding... It is a race.  But should not always be treated as one.  Sometimes the person who is patient and grinds it out can be much better off than the person who is always going absolutely as hard as they can.

This could be YOU!

Triathlon is not about who does the fastest mile repeats.  It is not about who can sprint to the next city limits sign first.  It is about who can put together three different sports in the most efficient way.  It is a balancing act between a job, family, life and sport (three of them actually).  It is about slowly increasing your training load while still making time for sleep.  It is about keeping yourself in control.  It is being at a party with three different girls.  If you don't give each one enough attention you run the risk of getting a drink thrown in your face and going home by yourself.  But if you play your cards right you may go home with all three! (I have not been able to prove this metaphor to be true in real life yet... One day though... one day)

ESA... Its a thing!

It took me quite a long time to figure out I was good at endurance sports.  Throughout high school and college I was very mediocre at a number of team sports.  I lifted weights and viewed running a mile as a competent workout.  Two years out of college at the age of 24 I found running.  Initially it was simply a way for me to get a workout in when I didn't belong to a gym.  Then I got talked into doing a Muddy Buddy Race with a friend.  Finishing the race was my hook.  I had that feeling of accomplishment and pride that is not easy to come by (step one in the path to Endurance Sports Addiction (ESA).  Then I started tracking my runs in a log (Step 2).  I proceeded to buy a Garmin to help me track my workouts more efficiently (Step 3).  Then I did a marathon (Step 8)...  I never said my training made sense.

A month after my marathon I found myself injured.  Unable to run.  I knew about triathlon and decided to give it a whirl.  I progressed as a swimmer and cyclist in a similar way.  Going all in and hoping I land on my feet.  I kept wanting to get faster and faster.  I quickly increased the volume and intensity of my workouts.  Although I saw short term gains, this path led straight to Injuryville - population me.

Here is what I am getting at... There are no shortcuts to speed.  Training to get fast is not a race.  It is a journey.  You can do as much volume, speed work and intervals as you want but it will not get you faster in the long term unless you do it strategically.  Triathlon is not about your biggest week in a specific training block.  It is about putting in as much work as you can in the long term.  Go ahead and listen to Johnny who gloats about putting in 22 hours of training last week.  He will probably put in 6 hours next week.  When Sally invites you to do 8x800s on the track after her long run yesterday and 9 mile tempo run the day before you can comfortably say "no".  She will probably be in a knee brace next month.

One of the most important lessons I have learned in my two years of triathlon is patience.  Getting fast in a sport that requires skill at three different disciplines takes time.  Your maximum training load has to be steadily increased over time over all three disciplines.  I have friends who can put in 16-17 hour weeks every week without fail.  They have been in the sport for 8 years and their bodies are used to the load.  I understand that this is not the case for me.  I know I can comfortably do 10-12 hour weeks for as long as I want.  Every month or so I will increase that (say by 20%) to stress my body.  I will push myself out of this comfort zone.  Slowly my comfort zone will increase.  As I am able to increase my training load, the speed I am able to race at will follow suit.  The trick is find your "comfort zone".  You want to push yourself out of this while not going too far as to get injured.

The trick is to treat triathlon training as a war.  Not a battle.  It takes strategy, patience and perseverance. Find the load that is sustainable for you right now and SLOWY increase that.  You will thank yourself in the long run.  And your competitors will curse the day you ever read this blog.

An Interview With Alex Baron

With a very successful 2011 race season behind me, and an incredibly underwhelming blog season behind me (my masses of fans have been very unhappy)... I thought I'd take some time to sit down for an interview... with myself.

Interviewer:  Thanks for sitting down with us today Alex.  We really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us.

A very fast 8 ton purple elephant

Me:  No problem Alex.  Its my pleasure.

Interviewer:  So we might as well acknowledge the 8 ton purple elephant in the room... Where have you been all year?  You stopped blogging back in April.  What happened?

Me:  To be honest... I took up bowling.  I quit triathlon and was well on my way to becoming a professional bowler.  Ok so not really.  Life has a tendency to get away from you.  In preparation for Ironman Texas I took training very seriously.  As soon as IM was over my real job picked up.  Suddenly you find yourself devoting all your time to sleep, work, training, family and my girlfriend.

Interviewer:  Well that makes sense.  It can't be easy to find time to have a real job and train at the level of an elite triathlete.  I am very impressed that you also find the time to maintain a relationship.  How do you do it?

Me:  Well I am a very lucky guy.  She is very low maintenance.  Incredibly easy on the eyes.  She doesn't weigh much so it is no problem taking her places.  A joy to ride for hours at a time...

Interviewer:  Wait, we aren't talking about a girl are we?

Me:  What?

Interviewer:  Nevermind.  So tell us about 2011.  What were some of your major accomplishments?

Alex Baron's swim stroke circa 2010

Me:  My first order of business this year was to learn how to swim.  I spent a lot of time staring at a black line this year.  I have actually memorized each black line on the pool at the YMCA.  I also learned not to swim near the day camps... those lanes smell like pee.

Interviewer:  So did all this work in the pool pay off?

Me:  It did.  I had a very successful race season due to some major improvements in the water and a little more time on the bike.  I scored 3 AG podium spots, completed IMTX in under 11 hours and went under 2:20 in an olympic triathlon for the first time.

Interviewer:  Those are impressive accomplishments for only your second year in triathlon.  So tell us, what is in store for 2012

Me:  My first order of business is to go under 5:05 for a Half Ironman.  This will qualify me for Long Course Age Group National Championship at Redman in September.  There I hope to score a top 20 AG spot to qualify me to race at 2013 ITU Long Course World Championship in France.  I also hope to race in a few road races this year.  Maybe try and finish the season as a Cat 4.

At least the bike is aero...

Interviewer:  That is quite a lot you hope to get done this year.  Do you have coach to help you achieve these goals?

Me:  I am now being coached by Walt Yarrow of Muddy Waters Racing.  We began working together at the end of last year.  I am very impressed with him and the plans he has for me these next few years.  We are trying to improve my bike by putting in a lot of volume this winter.  Compared to my swim and run, the bike has the most room for improvement.  He intends to take my threshold from that of a 3 year old on a tricycle to an actual triathlete!

Interviewer:  Well we wish you the best of luck this year.  Anything else you'd like to add?

Damn she is HOT!!!

Me:  I'd like to thank my family for their never-ending support of my obsession with this "hobby". Would also like to thank my coach Walt for all he has done and will do, Team in Training for helping me get my triathlon career off the ground and the men of JSC, Houston's newest triathlon team.  Big things planned for us this year!  Oh! and my girlfriend for her strength and stability during those long training days!