In the first few weeks of getting back into a training plan, it has been important for me to focus on long-term goals, such as performing at an Ironman in 10 months, rather than simply getting back to last year’s pace as quickly as possible. In other words, this means putting in some grunt work now for greater gains later down the road.
While running, this means holding myself back to a MAF pace in order to bolster my aerobic engine before ramping up the intensity in the spring. The MAF method has worked incredibly well for me in the past and, in the few weeks I’ve started running again, have already seen huge gains.
But that doesn’t make the training regimen any more fun. It’s great to see improvements, but when your improvement is from an 11-minute mile to a 10:30-minute mile, it can still be a blow to the ego. The hardest part is not turning down running partners (knowing that they will be running above my MAF pace), but rather knowing that I can in fact drop a 7-minute mile for 10 miles tomorrow if I wanted to. Check your ego at the door and be prepared to trust your methods before embarking on 16 weeks of skill and aerobic development.
In the pool it’s even worse. In my original swim test a few weeks ago, I was somewhat surprised to see my threshold pace not much slower than it was at my peak swim fitness a few months ago. But, as most triathletes know, swimming is more about technique than strength and fitness. Knowing that, I began spending nearly half of my time in each swim session dissecting my stroke and performing drills taken from every credible swim source I could find.
The result? Even without fancy recording equipment or a swim coach on deck, I’ve discovered several weaknesses in my stroke that are taking away from my efficiency, and thus my speed, in the pool. Slow 25’s isolating each part of my stroke have forced my to begin the process of rebuilding my stroke to be more efficient. Moving to my main set in the pool, I focus on implementing those tweaks that I make in drills.
Just like any change to a repetitive and ingrained motion, it feels awkward and weak at first. Your body is literally constructing new neural pathways between your brain and your muscles. When there is a strong neural pathway that is performing nearly the same (but incorrect) motion, it takes a little extra effort to not fall back into your old ways. This translates to a greater perceived exertion while you employ new neural pathways and muscles, no matter how small the changes are.
For me, this means getting slower before getting faster. So not only am I spending 30 minutes in the pool doing 500 yards worth of drills, but my main sets that are supposed to be faster are slower than they were two weeks ago. A few months ago, an hour in the pool generally translated to 3000-3500 yards. Now, it’s close to 2000. Again, check your ego on the pool deck.
Though it may sound like I’m complaining or am discouraged by my slow but necessary improvements, I have found the process to be easier to abide by than expected. Perhaps it’s because in rural Wisconsin, I’m not quite surrounded by some of the fastest triathletes in the Midwest as I was in college last year. But hopefully it’s because I know the hours put in now will pay off in a few months.
