Training like a pro

I was reading our Tara’s report on the Triathlon Ireland site . She was talking about how much she’d enjoyed the time recently when Pete Jacobs spent a couple of weeks training in the squad in preparation for the New Zealand Ironman on the first of March.

She was suprised to see how similar to her training, Pete’s program was.

What she hadn’t realised was for the past year, she has been training like a pro. Our age groupers train like professional athletes. They have to fit it in around their jobs but their training is remarkebly similar to what a pro athlete does.

All of the members of our squad are over-achievers. They all have responsible jobs and are leaders in their fields. They are all very good at time management. They have to be.

Lots of age group triathletes have the impression that pro athletes do enourmous mileages in training. The triathlon magazines are to blame for this. I often have had to battle with age groupers who believe they should try to emulate the distances talked about in stories, written by journalists about pro triathletes. 

One of the main differences between a pro athlete and an age grouper is recovery time. That recovery time allows an athlete to bounce back a little better after each workout and often fit in another session. All of my athletes have a professional attitude to diet, training and racing nutrition.

Another area age groupers can be more professional is developing core strength and flexibility. In our squad sessions, I include one thirty minute stretching session each week and three short but specific core strength sessions. It’s up to the individual athlete to use what they learn here to improve on their weaknesses.

I am amazed at how some of my squad members who have lofty goals, don’t seriousley work at improving their flexibility. You know who you are. Do something about it.

What Tara has not realised is I am training her as a professional athlete. I have been training her that way for most of her time with me. Once I realised her talent level and we spoke about her goals. I felt it was inevitable she will step across to the professional ranks once she has achieved her Hawaii, age group goals.

This gives us a year to prepare her for a smooth transition. 

It takes years to develop an athlete to their potential. Along that journey the athlete and the coach learn a lot about each other. We might as well do everything as well as it can be done.