The single advantage to nursing my minor muscle strains is that they have encouraged me to get my bike up on the trainer and get back to pedaling. True, the only thing more tedious than a run on the treadmill is cycling indoors. But it allows me to work on building my cadence and rhythm, slowly build my base, and start toning muscles that haven't been used in a bit. Joshua has sat mostly silent and patient since late last fall. So, the last two nights I have cycled. Tuesday night, I opted to skip my regular swim to baby my strained pec, and instead I alternated 10 minutes of hard, fast cycling with one set of my upper body regimen, and repeated this 3 times. It felt good, and I was mildly sore the next day, knowing I worked myself well. Last night was drill night so my time was limited. I cycled a solid 30 minutes at decently high revolutions, then ran on the treadmill for an easy 1.25 miles. I wanted to run further, but was testing out the strained calf muscle, happy to report that there was not even a slight twinge, so I will start back running. I will force myself to add running time slowly and carefully to avoid further mishaps. I followed last night's workout with 20 minutes of stretching, paying special attention to the piriformis strain. It was a great workout, short but sweet. Then I scarfed down a dinner of chicken breast and baked yam before dashing off to drill night at the station.
Training for triathlons is not easy. It is time consuming and has the potential for overuse injuries. I know I need to "Make haste more slowly," but that is really difficult for me to do. I like pushing my body, finding my limits and stepping just beyond, but this can be a recipe for injury. I have tested the waters of muscle strain and overuse injuries already this year, and I can attest that they are cold and bitter. As much as I know that I need to reach a high level of fitness by the end of August, I also know that sidelining myself with strained or pulled muscles will only frustrate me and interfere with my agenda. I have to work Smarter, not Harder. I need to redefine my focus.
I am thinking that the best way for me to train will be in "blocks" of about 4 weeks. Each block will have a slightly different emphasis, a tighter focus on one of the disciplines. I have been very intent on my swimming since the first of the year, pushing myself harder and further. It is now no big thing to swim 2 miles, but I am beginning to develop a few twinges of tendinitis in my shoulders so it may be time to back down a bit from distance and focus on drills. Now will be a time to start building my cycling base, while continuing with running, and maintaining my swimming base. In four weeks I will switch up to running as my main focus, but maintain my cycling and swimming levels. This will be much like the idea that it is safer to play seasonal sports as they come along, than to focus on one sport the entire year. Sports physicians report a higher level of sport related injury in young athletes who focus on only one sport, versus the all around athletes who compete in a variety of sports throughout the year. I will take this concept and shorten my "seasons." Then, as I hit summer I should have a solid base, no injuries (*fingers crossed*), and can spend several months refining and building, adding bricks (one long workout combining two disciplines), and reaching September in the best condition I can reach in the time I have. It is a thought, a plan, and a good one, I think. You know me, I always like to have "A Plan."
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