One of the athletes I’m currently coaching was expressing discouragement due to her seemingly slow progress as a swimmer. She was being very self-critical and I told her that though she’s been swimming for about 1.5 years training for triathlon, she is still a beginner - maybe an early intermediate swimmer.

She had done some swimming as a child, but that was around 20 years ago and she hadn’t done much swimming since childhood.

I told her that to reach the top of her triathlon game – in terms of personal potential – it would take some 10,000 hours of training or roughly 10 years. She was surprised.

The first time I heard the 10,000 hour number was at a presentation given by Istvan Balyi during the USA Triathlon Art and Science Conference for coaches about 7 years ago. In Balyi’s presentation he was referring to sport development in young athletes seeking to reach the elite level of sport.

Though my athlete isn't looking to reach the elite level of triathlon, she does need to be patient with her sport development. You may not be aiming to reach the elite level of sport, but perhaps you want to ahieve high levels of personal success. If you're feeling frustrated by your progress, be patient with your development as an athlete.

Champions - and achieving your personal sport potential - isn't achieved in a year or two.

You can find a paper written by Istvan Balyi here.

************************************************

Detailed off-season plans for triathlon and cycling, along with event-specific running, cycling and more triathlon plans found here.

Comments can be added on Facebook.

Ironman and half-Ironman plans available on ActiveTrainer.

The route for the 2013 USA Pro Cycling Challenge wasannounced today. Here are the city stages and dates:

2013 USA Pro Challenge stages
August 19 Stage 1: Aspen/Snowmass Circuit
August 20 Stage 2: Aspen/Snowmass – Breckenridge
August 21 Stage 3: Breckenridge – Steamboat Springs
August 22 Stage 4: Steamboat Springs – Beaver Creek
August 23 Stage 5: Vail Time Trial (ITT)
August 24 Stage 6: Loveland – Fort Collins
August 25 Stage 7: Denver Circuit

The Loveland-Windsor-Loveland-Estes Park-Fort Collins proposed (not final) route covers many of the roads that I ride on a regular basis. We do the route from Loveland to Estes Park a minimum of once per month. This stage, called "the penultimate stage" by VeloNews writer Brian Holcombe, will be fun to watch. The canyon leading to the small town of Glen Haven, is a perfect place to make abreak. The sight-distance lines are short. If a move can’t stick there – the switchbacks will break those who are near the edge.

Here’s the proposed route:

View Larger Map

Below is a link to a ride from Loveland to Estes Park viathe switchbacks and back on Highway 34. This is only a small piece of the stage and it has 3,858 feet of elevation gain: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/164118280

************************************************

Detailed off-season plans for triathlon and cycling, along withevent-specific running, cycling and more triathlon plans found here.

Comments can be added on Facebook.

Ironman and half-Ironman plans available on ActiveTrainer.

A fellow coach, Steve Diggs, sent me the link to this research paper. Several years ago, Steve and I had a discussion about high intensity training (HIT) programs that other coaches were using, as well as repeated training for Ironman distance events. The short of the discussion is that we both had a gut feeling that there is some top limit for the volume of HIT and overall volume of endurance training where if you go over that limit, it is harmful to your health.

Now there is research that is backing up our gut feelings. Here are a few key plucks from the research paper:

· Mohlenkamp et al studied 108 middle-aged German long-term marathon runners and compared them with matched nonrunner controls. They observed a greater atherosclerotic burden in the marathoners as documented by higher coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores.

· Indeed, long-term sustained vigorous aerobic exercise training such as marathon or ultramarathon running or professional cycling has been associated with as much as a 5-fold increase in the prevalence of atrial fibrillation.

The conclusion of the investigation follows:

In some individuals, long-term excessive endurance exercise training may cause adverse structural and electrical cardiac remodeling, including fibrosis and stiffening of the atria, right ventricle, and large arteries. This theoretically might provide a substrate for atrial and ventricular arrhythmias and increase cardiovascular risk. Further investigation is warranted to identify the exercise threshold for potential toxicity, screening for at-risk individuals, and ideal exercise training regimens for optimizing cardiovascular health. For now, on the basis of animal and human data, cardiovascular benefits of vigorous aerobic exercise training appear to accrue in a dose-dependent fashion up to about 1 hour daily, beyond which further exertion produces diminishing returns and may even cause adverse cardiovascular effects in some individuals.

While it currently appears the researchers are saying “some individuals” – the endurance sports and intensities that some of us do repeatedly “may not” be good for overall health.

If it turns out that anything over an hour a day is bad for you – will you give up doing the distances and intensities you love so much?

Or – will you say everyone must die of something and if doing endurance sports year after year does it, I’m okay with that? (Comments can be added on Facebook. )

Note: Find the full article here, including a video interview with the author. The short video is worth watching.

************************************************

Detailed off-season plans for triathlon and cycling, along with event-specific running, cycling and more triathlon plans found here.

Ironman and half-Ironman plans available on ActiveTrainer.

On the road to recovery, there were a few things that surprised me (as in, I had no clue I’d feel this way) and some things I’m pleasantly surprised about.

I’ll give you lots more details on workout specifics after I see the doctor early next week for my follow-up appointment; but a few brief, pleasant surprises. First, I was on an indoor bike for 30 minutes three days after surgery. To date, after every aerobic workout I’ve felt better than before the workout - and it lasted. That is, I didn’t just get an endorphin high that left and also left worse off for recovery. In all cases so far, aerobic work seems to have sped up the recovery process. Within the last few days I’ve had a real run (not walk, jog, shuffle), an hour swim and a decent outdoor bike ride.

One of the things that surprised me is that I was afraid to drive the car for the first time. I had this odd fear that if I’d crash, the seat belt would dig into my surgery area and REALLY hurt. I was paranoid about having an auto accident. Never in my life have I had that fear.

I was also surprised to be afraid of riding my bike outside for the first time. When I tried to analyze why, it seemed I was afraid of falling – perhaps popping open wounds – and I had an odd fear that I would get so tired that I wouldn’t make it home. Turns out there was nothing to fear, I didn’t fall and I made it home fine.

Finally, because it’s not comfortable to have anything tight around my belly button area or even low and pushing up against the belly button (like low cut jeans will do when sitting) – I’ve found myself being attracted to those velvety workout-looking pants and hoodies. I can see how they make the perfect public attire for those not wanting to wear anything tight.

I have yet to purchase said soft-looking, stretchy outfit – but I was surprised at how I was suddenly attracted to them. Those that know me well say they day will not come when such a purchase will occur…

...don't count on that. When comfort is key, people will do unusual things.

************************************************

Detailed off-season plans for triathlon and cycling, along with event-specific running, cycling and more triathlon plans found here.

Comments can be added on Facebook.

Ironman and half-Ironman plans available on ActiveTrainer.