Isn't it nice to be a driven athlete? Most of us have a deep motivation that our friends, family and peers cannot fully fathom. In fact, I am sure that many of us only let them see a sliver of the forces that push us along on our endurance journeys, our personal quests for excellence.

Many of us have had long and intense seasons. Some of us may have even ended our seasons a down note, and as a result, are eager to "redeem" ourselves. When you are feeling like you must go out and hammer please consider a few points.

Do you want to be fast next spring or next summer? Going hard early can yield excellent results for a few months, but it is extremely unlikely that we'll be able to sustain a six month peak (many have tried!).

Listen to your body. Unless you are very new to the sport, your body and mind will need an extended preparatory phase to recover from the efforts of the previous race season. Take me for example - I needed nine weeks to recover from IMC. When it comes to season recovery there are no "right" answers. It could take you three or 30 weeks to bounce back. One thing is absolutely sure, when we ignore the signals that our bodies send us, it takes a lot longer! If I had recovered properly after IMC (instead of trying to "maintain"), I would have been able to start my base training four weeks earlier. If you think you might need some more recovery, then you need it. Resting in November and December is far less "costly" than having to take three weeks off at the end of February. Get healthy, then get fit.

Take a little time to consider why you want to smack it out and consider if there might be a more appropriate channel for that energy. Strength training and long slow distance work provide ample opportunity for blowing off a little steam. In November and December riding, I like my butt to give out before my legs. When that happens, I know I had my pace about right.

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Training Long and Low

Which brings me quite nicely to my next topic that I wanted to share with you. I went for a very long, very slow ride last weekend and monitored my pace. I was holding 26-28 kph on the flats - that's about 75% of average ironman race pace (IM pace for the whole course). So, my average flat pace is about 17 mph with a cadence of about 90-100 rpm. This is the speed that I do nearly all of my sessions this time of year. I might do one slightly more intense ride for my brick session, but at least 80% of my saddle time is at this intensity (i.e. very, very low).

Assuming that my rather unscientific 75% rule applies, then a six-hour ironman rider would be riding at 14 mph and a seven-hour rider at 12 mph. The Kiwi roads are crap compared to the US, so if you are American, perhaps you could add 1 mph due to less rolling resistance. Note that this would be your pace on the flats - NOT your average pace for your ride.

Does this sound incredibly slow? Well, it is for the first three hours, after that, it seems about right! My main point is that if you are an ironman athlete, November and December can be an excellent time to get in some long endurance sessions.

When I was new to running, my long hiking sessions made a big difference to my endurance. Given that I have only been riding for three years, I expect that these long rides will improve my aerobic capacity at the muscular level - remember that many of us are competing against athletes that have been riding for years. Like it or not, they may have an edge at a physiological level.

Once I get my powertap, I bet the power data will show that I am operating at far lower than 75% of IM race intensity. It certainly feels that way.

"Long and low" endurance sessions have always been a part of my training. Before the weather gets awful and the heavy weights kick in - you might want to give it a go.

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Supplementing Long and Low

Long and low going to drive you mad? Well, it hasn't been all slow for me. I have decided to try something different on my strength training. I have added quite a few functional exercises to my routine, started using the swiss ball for my core and eliminated all my "traditional" upper body work. I did five weeks of light upper body work in Prep One and then stopped.

What did I replace it with? Well, I have a new swim coach and he's handling my upper body training (if you know what I mean!). His sessions are pretty full-on. Right now, I am limiting myself to Monday and Friday masters sessions (LCM, 90 mins a pop). My other workouts are a 90-105 min technique session with Coach Roly and a 80-90 min solo technique session where I work on Roly's tips.

I've also started using stretch cords before my technique sessions - about ten minutes worth of drills focusing on high elbow, catch and tricep strength. I hope to be able to handle four masters sessions by the end of March. I'm committed to do my best to take my swimming to the next level and I am going to train like a swimmer. No more complaining about kick sets, non-free sets and hard work. Roly took himself from zip to the Para Olympics and I am placing myself in his hands. We'll see what happens!

On the running front, I am following my usual regime of minimal volume. I am running three to four times per week. One long run (two to three hours), one or two transition runs and one short strides session. I will start my Half IM muscular endurance/VO2 Max campaign when I finish my MS weights at the end of January.

Careful, readers will have noted the upper ceiling on my long run is three hours. My runs over two hours so far this year have ALL ended in extended recovery. However, I continue to experiment and see what's possible. Once I start lifting heavy then my ceiling will be my normal two hours and more likely hover at 90 minutes.

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New Stuff

As I mentioned a while back, I was planning on starting yoga. Well two weeks in, the results have been amazing. I feel great and my swim stroke has become significantly smoother - I suspect due to the absence of tension that I used to carry in my traps and shoulders. My long rides are also more comfortable, although that could be due to my easy pace as opposed to improved hip flexibility. I'll keep you posted. By the way, I am a fair distance from doing "real" yoga. Right now, we are focusing on a flexibility routine that was specifically designed for my needs as a triathlete (hips, shoulders, low back). If I boogie then I can get through it in 90 minutes. Taking my time, it takes close to two hours. I was surprised at how fast the time goes when I am doing my routine. Right now I am stretching 5-6 hours per week. If I had the time then I could easily spend double that without becoming bored. One of the benefits of trying something new!

I also have my powercranks set-up on a training bike. The cranks are challenging and fun. I am not yet sure what they are doing for me, but I am working pretty hard so they must be benefiting something! After two weeks, I am up to a 30-minute session (not continuous, yet) and I expect that another three weeks will have me proficient enough to venture outside. The PC intensity is more mental than cardiovascular. A little difficult to explain. Kind of like when I was learning to swim. I flame out early, so the aerobic stress is low and recovery is quick.

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Final Thought

Congratulations to Kevin Barry, Greg Vadasdi, Ronnie Godwin and Dan Dungan. You guys executed your race strategies and delivered. A fine showing from Team Florida! The "Smack Down Boys" should kick back for a while and think about non-tri activities. Take a break as you've earned it.