Return To Triathlon: The Great Adventure

Return To Triathlon: The Great Adventure

I’ve made the decision to get back in the game!

After 12 years racing triathlons – 14 Ironman finishes amongst many other races – the 2020 Covid outbreak (and subsequent lockdowns) interrupted my journey.

For 12 years, I had been obsessed with triathlon. This was my passion, my thing and made up a large part of my identity.

When we emerged from the lockdowns, I took a step away from training for, and racing, triathlons. Instead, I focused all of my training energy on swimming. And building Triathlon Swim Squad.

There were a few reasons for this at the time.

Time

My last few triathlon races had not been a great success. I was training for, and racing, Ironman – which I love to do – but trying to do this on less and less training time. With a young family, I found the guilt was too much, and I couldn’t justify being out training when I had increasing responsibilities at home.

Training opportunities became more and more pinched, rather than properly scheduled, and this wore me down a little. The lack of training time took it’s toll on my performances. Frustration followed.

Injuries

Again, the last couple of years of racing were plagued with injuries. Knee. Achilles. Calf. All run-related. This was probably linked to the limited training time, and possibly trying to do too much in the time I did have. Again, frustration.

My last race was Ironman Vichy 2019. I had been injured a while, yet decided to race. A mostly-walked marathon was the result. That bit of the race was zero fun.

Motivation

I’ve never, ever struggled with motivation. I love training. I love pushing myself. Doing something every day. However, after 12 years, and now not being able to ‘train properly’ because of the above, I was losing my motivation to train for, and race, triathlons.

I didn’t lose my motivation to train, as increased volume and frequency of swimming replaced some of the dropped bike and run sessions.

I had nothing to prove – to me or to anybody else – so found it quite easy to switch my attention to swimming.

Why Now?

Coaching triathletes for the last six or seven years, and seeing their joy, their enthusiasm and their results, creates a lot of FOMO!

Again, coaching triathletes and seeing their performances is inspiring. First time triathletes finding their feet in the sport to experienced athletes reaching heights they didn’t think possible. I’m inspired.

On a day to day training perspective, I want to do some different sessions. I want to continue progressing my swim, but I also want to do some bike and run work.

Increasingly, I cannot always get to the pool. And because I ‘just’ have a swim focus, I’ve fallen into the habit of if “I can’t swim (for whatever reason), I don’t train”. I want to shift that mentality.

A Gentle Return

A few people have noticed (and commented!) that I’ve been doing some bike and run sessions over the last month or so. Nothing spectacular. All short. All within myself. All about getting ready to start some form of training programme.

I’m taking the run particularly cautiously. I have a calf that tightens as soon as I lace up my running shoes, so all runs to date have been super slow, and on the treadmill. Trying to build some run resilience before any sort of volume or pace. As I progress this, I’m imagining a lot of run-walk sessions, parking the ego and ‘former-self’ at the door.

The bike has already seen some improvements, albeit starting from a very low, and humbling, base. Without even testing, I manually dropped my FTP on Zwift considerably as I had lost a lot of power. My heart rate response wasn’t too bad – I had been swimming a lot afterall – but the ability to push power disappeared.

Issues

There are some issues to face – and manage – if I’m going to do this.

I’m now 51. That’s not necessarily a problem, but I do need to focus on appropriate intensity distribution through the programme, as well as good recovery between sessions. I’ve coached a fair few athletes older than me, so adopting some of the principles I’ve used with them should see me on the right path.

Knee issues and calf problems have presented problems in the past, and they are still lingering now. Training will need to factor in these ‘limitations’.

A sad fact, but I’m a long way away from ‘race weight’ or even former training weight. I haven’t actually weighed myself, but you just know don’t you? I need to think about improving body composition as part of this process.

Mindset & Expectation Reset

Much like returning to racing in the pool at 49 (my masters swim debut), and having to forget times and performances I achieved in my youth, I am going to try to reset my triathlon goals and expectations.

I am not the same triathlete I was ten years ago – I need to remember this – so I must change my thinking a bit. I won’t be chasing sub-10 hour Ironman performances, or trying to run a 3.30 marathon at the end of an Ironman race.

I need to find a new normal. I will still be ambitious, but I need to face my new reality and set some new goals, with new expectations.

And I don’t know if I will race an Ironman. It could be Ironman 70.3 is the new normal. Who knows?

I suspect this is going to be as much a mental journey as well as a physical one.

General Principles

No Rush. Firstly, there is no timescale ‘to be ready’. I’m not putting a deadline on this.

Build Slowly. Consistency and ‘improving over the long term’ will be my mantras.

Limit Run Intensity. Take the intensity out of the run, focusing on building frequency first and then a little volume.

Enjoy The Training. I used to love the process of getting fit again after an end of season break, feeling the continuous improvement. This will be a longer process, from a lower base, which I’m going to enjoy.

Strength Work. I really need to be disciplined with strength work, fitting this in to my weekly schedule. Every week.

Keep It Rolling. Continue with one of my old habits, the ‘do what I can / something is better than nothing’ approach.

So there we go. The start of the triathlon journey. Again.

Return To Triathlon: The Great Adventure

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