With Melanie McQuaid

“Deciding on, and committing, to a direction was key for me, with or without events. Motivation and optimism stem from direction.”

For this column I was asked to summarize how I coached myself through the 2020 season in light of recent success in one of Ironman’s VR events (I won the final IM VR21 500-m swim/40-km bike/3-km run event).

In March 2020, I changed every aspect of my planning for the season. My primary goal (truly my only goal left in triathlon) is racing the Ironman World Championship. My initial response to this situation was disappointment, but I quickly realized there was a lot of opportunity to make this goal a reality in 2021.

Deciding on programming without events, measuring progress without race outcomes and staying motivated without results built one of my best seasons ever. Marking a season without a race schedule was strange and liberating. Without the strict deadline of an event date, I could train until I needed a change, instead of having a calendar compartmentalizing blocks of training. This approach improves consistency and offers more flexibility. Those two words perfectly describe why my year was successful: I was consistent and flexible. Here is how I planned the year. racing behind me, I was the transport truck and wanted the turbo. In my opinion, specific preparation for long-distance triathlon is like sharpening a pencil; over time the pencil is getting shorter. This is year I started manufacturing new pencils, while at risk of being unprepared if Ironman racing resumed. The programming decision for 2020 was rebuilding capacity for running and cycling using local segments and the running track for marking progress.

Step 1: Decide

I think the most important and difficult part of the 2020 season was planning. With no events to plan for, there seemed like nothing to base decisions on. Deciding on, and committing, to a direction was key for me, with or without events. Motivation and optimism stem from direction.

A great way to illustrate the consequence of indecision is comparing the feelings athletes have after a major goal event. The days and weeks following a major goal are difficult, because this phase leaves athletes directionless. They no longer feel control, progress, or motivation because those driving forces require vectors of force application. They need a path to follow. Once they decide what they are going to do next, immediately they are positive, optimistic and motivated again. I did not want the indecision of “wait and see” killing my motivation.

Within a week of the pandemic lockdown, my plan became about rebuilding my capacity. When I talk about “capacity” I am referring to engine. Building an engine includes how many cylinders can create power and how “high performance” they are tuned. The extremes for athletes are like a tiny engine with massive turbo (a Ferrari), or a giant engine that goes a long distance at moderate speed (a transport truck).

Starting 2020, with a quite a few years of Ironman

Step 2: Goal set

Specific 2020 goals included increasing run speed and maximum power. With races nowhere in sight, I used the local loops and segments along with power measurement for testing. Specifically, I chose testing my 1,500-m run and five-minute power best efforts. I set dates to test progress for these goals and then organized training blocks around those dates.

Despite starting 2020 with specific swim goals, swimming was not a discipline I spent any time worrying about. A total of zero hours. Pools closing was a challenge and an opportunity. I saw athletes and coaches attempting to recreate swimming, whether it was stretch cords or bungying to the wall in a tub of water and rejected this programming entirely for three reasons: 1. It is ineffective swim training and potentially introduces technical flaws in the stroke cycle (the prime limiter in triathletes). 2. The time spent doing these ineffective replacements for swimming is better spent doing effective training for running, cycling or strength. 3. When appropriate training is reintroduced, swim fitness is regained in six to eight weeks. Eliminating swimming is a great opportunity to put extra energy and time into the other two disciplines, so that is what I did.

By focusing solely on cycling and running, I could effectively train at lower total volume and higher quality from March to August while still actually training more volume for running. This is a key factor in my improvement. Focusing more time on two disciplines meant both could improve concurrently and more effectively than before.

Step 3: Stay motivated

The opportunity we have during training – let alone those we are granted while racing – is incredible. Having this mindset, that each day training hard is an incredible opportunity, makes staying motivated while training through a pandemic easy. And, if you are training consistently, guess what? You get faster.

I enjoy training and am so grateful I can still train hard this late in my career. I also appreciate that I can share what I am doing with my team. I believe the triathlon community is key to maintaining motivation, so I encourage anyone reading this to find a community. Without races, you might need to focus your attention on more local connections until it resumes. Whether it is a squad to train with, a coach or an online training group, find people that share your passion for triathlon. No one achieves any level of success alone.

This approach to 2020 is the secret to any season’s success. Decide how you are going to improve, set goals to make sure you are headed in the right direction and share your experience with a support network. This foundation of planning, goal setting and consistency is the “cake” and the races are simply the “icing on top of it.”

A key lesson from 2020 is that athletes need primary goals independent of races. Use metrics, time trials and challenges as outcome goals for 2021, not just as part of the process. Race outcomes can still be on your list of 2021 goals, but having challenges like habit changes, route completions and local loop personal bests will mark the year successful, whether you reach a start line or not.