When my coach notified me that this week was a recovery week, I was a little disappointed at first. But after thinking back over the hard work I had done during those high intensity workouts of this last training block and that this was a race week, I accepted the hard truth. Why is it so hard for triathletes to deal with periods of low or no intensity like recovery weeks and pre-race tapers?
Triathletes, in general, tend to be of “type-A” personality or over-achievers. My wife tends to disagree that I am this type, but I think when I set my mind to achieving a particular goal I become this type. My college experience is proof of this. On my first attempt at college, I had no goals and an undeclared major which resulted in a failure. After later finding an area of study that was of great interest to me, I was able to successfully achieve my educational goals. So given this eagerness to achieve, we as triathletes want to continue push harder in order to improve our athletic abilities. Usually during a two or three week training block, we are pushing the limits of our performance in small burst and seeing progress. Most of which is most-likely due to a prior recovery period. When that easy week pops up it kind of poo-poo’s on our parade a bit and we have to suck it up and take it easy. Seems contrary how many people in our society would feel, but we are a different breed. One of the things I try to do on easy weeks is not think about heart zones and race pace and instead enjoy being outside. Go to a trail or park that you don’t normally get to and take in the scenery. This is one of the main reasons I love this sport is the diversity of it and the excuse to be outdoors.
As you can from my weekly training volume graph above, each 2-3 week block of increasing volume is followed by a relatively decreased week. The only exception to this was the week of the IMLP Troy Jacobson Training Camp where I was up over 17 hours. This is also highlighted in the TRIMP(Training Impulse) graph below where the red ATL(fatigue measure) line spiked very high. Along with that spike also came a substantial increase in fitness or CTL which is indicated by the blue area. Through the prescribed periodization by my coach, the recovery weeks brought down that fatigue level while simultaneously continuing to build my fitness levels. The graph clearly demonstrates how those recovery provide more benefits than we realize.
During training blocks of high intensity, we experience instances of increasing performance. This provides us with a “buzz” that pushes us to continue, with the thought of getting faster or enduring a longer distance. The thing we need to be cognizant of is that if we continue to push like this we are it will not continue and may even decrease. The real growth comes from those downtimes when our bodies have the chance to grow and recuperate from that hard training. Once we we realize this those down weeks we take on a different perspective. I think once we realize this those weeks become easier.
As I started into this recovery week, I could feel a strange feeling in my legs. Not sure if this was psychological or not, but it reminded me of those early teen years when you experience those “growing pains.” That feeling eventually transitioned into a fresh feeling as the week progressed, where I started to feel like every became easier. Tonight I felt like I could really fly on my bike ride, but I restrained myself due to my upcoming race. With time comes some experience and I know that pushing those limits too much, has consequences.
Next time you are heading into a recovery week or a taper, think about the hard work you had done the weeks leading up that week. Reward your body some time to catch up and grow into that new level you have just taken it to. Think about those performance increases that will come in the next training block or upcoming race. Also take advantage of the extra time to catch up with your family, friends and household chores you’ve let go for all those times you were out working so hard. Or sit back and watch some of the Olympics and get inspired!
