07/06/08
Surpassing expecations at Lake Stevens 70.3
This week I received a surprise in my inbox: An athlete's pre-race, post-race report! ironguides coached athlete Jon Puskas decided he would "forecast" his race at 70.3 Lake Stevens. Jon's been battling five years of tepid results due to too much volume-oriented work and his return to the ironguides coaching community has seen him turn himself towards a whole new training approach. Perhaps it was that, or perhaps it was Jon's exercise in positive thinking and visualization that led to a race result that surpassed his expectations. Either way - well done, Jon!
Category: results
Posted by: marc
As Jon put it:
The simple truth is: Easy and long don't butter no parsnips, folks. As Jon found out, it's pretty easy to regain "lost" speed and form after years of training "aerobically" and his much-improved half Ironman split after only 8 weeks of training with ironguides proves it.
Why is this? Our training plans and programs aren't rocket science after all. For $45, anyone can download a simple Sprint Triathlon training plan off the ironguides.net website and see for themselves the madness behind our Method!
And while it's not fair to generalize that a specific set of workouts or approach will always generate results, it is a pretty fair assumption to make these days in triathlonville that our sport's training has catered to the "feel no pain, it's always gain" crowd. The truth is however that sometimes, well shit -- it's just got to hurt. Not for long, and not in the wrong way...but for just the right amount, in just the right way, at the right time, for the right duration.
If you don't train motor skills but opt for a steady plod plod plod, don't kid yourself -- on race day, you'll head out and fall right into that steady plod plod plod. Fast twitch fibers are the first to implode, expecially when they're poorly trained. A fresh aerobic system coming off a few days of rest can deliver some power and speed for a short duration, but once nervous system fatigue hits you are at the beck and call of Dr. Preparation, and he will prescribe to you exactly what you have earned.
In a few short weeks, JP opted to put his faith into a new program, threw himself fully into his training in a completely different way than he had been accustomed to, and in his first outing on no taper, met his stretch goal handsomely.
Jon - you're a natural athlete, it's clear as day. Poor training methods (over-volume, under-effort, not-so-greatly-structured) have wreaked havoc on your natural abilities. Let's keep chipping away at releasing the champion within. Lake Stevens is just the beginning of TLRB - The Long Road Back.
Would I have the HEART to run hard to the finish regardless of my splits? Entering the race, I thought that a 4:55 overall would be my STRETCH goal (:34, 2:40, 1:36)...As it was put to Jon:
4:56: 12 -- that was no stretch and you got a lot of heart.Sometimes as athletes we get caught up in a lot of the "must train more, keep it steady and easy though" school of "triathlon training." Let's face it, it's quite pleasant to head out for an easy run on a pleasant evening. Or an easy bike on a pleasant day. Or an easy swim on a pleasant morning. Or an easy workout in any sport on a crap day...well, you get the picture.
The simple truth is: Easy and long don't butter no parsnips, folks. As Jon found out, it's pretty easy to regain "lost" speed and form after years of training "aerobically" and his much-improved half Ironman split after only 8 weeks of training with ironguides proves it.
Why is this? Our training plans and programs aren't rocket science after all. For $45, anyone can download a simple Sprint Triathlon training plan off the ironguides.net website and see for themselves the madness behind our Method!
And while it's not fair to generalize that a specific set of workouts or approach will always generate results, it is a pretty fair assumption to make these days in triathlonville that our sport's training has catered to the "feel no pain, it's always gain" crowd. The truth is however that sometimes, well shit -- it's just got to hurt. Not for long, and not in the wrong way...but for just the right amount, in just the right way, at the right time, for the right duration.
If you don't train motor skills but opt for a steady plod plod plod, don't kid yourself -- on race day, you'll head out and fall right into that steady plod plod plod. Fast twitch fibers are the first to implode, expecially when they're poorly trained. A fresh aerobic system coming off a few days of rest can deliver some power and speed for a short duration, but once nervous system fatigue hits you are at the beck and call of Dr. Preparation, and he will prescribe to you exactly what you have earned.
In a few short weeks, JP opted to put his faith into a new program, threw himself fully into his training in a completely different way than he had been accustomed to, and in his first outing on no taper, met his stretch goal handsomely.
Jon - you're a natural athlete, it's clear as day. Poor training methods (over-volume, under-effort, not-so-greatly-structured) have wreaked havoc on your natural abilities. Let's keep chipping away at releasing the champion within. Lake Stevens is just the beginning of TLRB - The Long Road Back.