For USAT Performance Coaching Newsletter

By Coach Matt Russ

The most difficult training plan to design is one that addresses multiple and diverse events in a single season. For example: an athlete may want to compete in short course and ultra distance triathlon events as well a marathon; and, of course, peak for them all. This may or may not be realistic, and as coaches it is important for us to outline the implications of each event choice, and discuss how they impact and interact with each other.

I often begin this discussion by letting the athlete know that their goals are their own. We should not impose our own ambitions or objectives as coach upon the athlete, but are there to help and guide them. The athlete should take ownership of their race choices, within the bounds of sound peaking strategy. A written and detailed annual training plan helps both coach and athlete understand how the season will unfold and aids greatly in the planning process. Training phases, tapers, and rest and recovery weeks should all be outlined, as well as the fitness substrates targeted and perhaps long endurance workouts. We must be patient as the athlete explores different event choices, however, once the peak races are determined and the training plan set in motion, the athlete must also realize that they are now moving in a specific direction and should not change that direction mid-season.

It is important to note in the planning process that the athlete can be “good at some, or great at one” event, and again this is a personal decision made on the part of the athlete. It is a rare athlete who is able to excel at diverse events in a single season. A training plan with a more narrow focus on a single event type is optimal. The onset of the annual planning process is a good time to discuss long term goals or even lay out a 5-year plan. The athlete may not have looked very far down the road, and taking a broader view will be helpful in selecting their events in the proceeding season.

Once the peaks are set other races of different priority, distances, or type may be incorporated as “B” or “C” events throughout the year. “A”,”B”, and “C” events should be defined to the athlete. “C” events can be trained through, require little recovery, are the most sundry, and should occur farthest from peaks. An example could be a charity bike ride. “C” events should not detract in any way from peak training or require fitness building. “B” races are complimentary in nature to peak events and serve as good test races to get re-acclimated to the racing process. They require a small amount of rest during the race week, limited recovery thereafter, and also should not take away from peak fitness building. An example may be a sprint distance triathlon.

Can a marathon be a “B” race? Even if the athlete is training for an Ironman? Herein lies the challenge of the planning process, and the risk of overtraining the athlete. On the surface a marathon is substantially less duration than an Ironman and could serve as a long training run, just as a 10k road race could serve as a “B” race for an Olympic distance triathlon. The problem is that athletes are programmed to race and will do so in any competitive situation. An athlete will always push harder on race day, perhaps substantially harder, and sustain more trauma as a result. A marathon requires a taper and, more importantly, a substantial amount of post-race recovery. This is, of course, individualized but generally several weeks or more of reduced volume, especially run volume, are required before resuming full fitness building. Inserting a marathon into an Ironman peaking phase may significantly affect overall sport-specific volume and may push the athlete over the edge of recoverable stress.

For this reason, if an athlete has marathon goals it may be best to choose a race outside of the peaking phases for other events. A peak race is any that requires significant and targeted fitness building (and recovery), and this is definitely the case for a marathon. An athlete can build marathon mileage on as little as three days per week while maintaining triathlon fitness to a high degree. Would a pure marathon plan produce better results? Yes, but if the athlete has triathlon goals later in the season, they would also spend a significant amount of training time rebuilding bike and swim fitness. It takes a relatively modest amount of volume to maintain the swim and bike, and the focus should be on maintaining endurance, preferably in-between runs. My masters-level athletes have remarked that this type of training plan actually produced better marathon results as the reduced impact facilitates greater recovery between runs, and subsequently better quality training. Once the marathon is complete, swim and bike volume may immediately be increased as long as the athlete is recovering adequately and intensity is kept low.

This is an example of the complexity of designing a hybrid plan and the balancing of disciplines required for coaching multi-sport athletes. The amount and types of racing the athlete can handle is individualized as well. If the athlete is targeting ultra distance events, they will need to keep the number of races on their calendar to a minimum, whereas short course triathletes can race and peak more frequently. The taper and rest period combined for a single Iron distance race can be as much as 8 weeks. If the athlete chooses just three Ironman events, up to 24 weeks of tapering and post race recovery may be required before designing base, build, and peaking phases! This does not leave a lot of room for peripheral events or training.

Athletes can be like “kids in a candy store” when it comes to choosing their races. It is only by laying out the ramifications and discussing how the events interact and perhaps detract from race performance, will they begin to narrow their focus. Each race chosen has implications for the season and they will rely upon their coach’s judgment to help design the best macro plan.

Matt Russ has coached and trained athletes up to the professional level, domestically and internationally, for over 15 years. He has achieved Elite coaching licenses from both USA Triathlon and USA Cycling, and is a licensed USA Track and Field Coach. Matt is Head Coach and owner of The Sport Factory, and works with athletes of all levels full time. He is a free lance author and his articles are regularly featured in a variety of magazines and websites. Visit www.thesportfactory.com for more information or email him at coachmatt@thesportfactory.com