My apologies to
those who enjoy fast food and quick fixes. The desirable effects of
triathlon training are neither of these, but will come with time.
Herein lies the theme of this article: Patience = Progress.
Triathlon is a
test of many things—injury prevention, lactic acid threshold,
thermo-regulation, mental toughness, and much more. Most of all, triathlon
is a test of one’s ability to endure months and years of training
alongside minute improvements. Triathlon is a test of patience. As
such, you should be aware of the indices of impatience (i.e., overtraining).
Here’s a quick overview:
Sleeplessness,
irritability, inability to recover from workouts, prolonged soreness,
recurring illness, lack of appetite, loss of interest in training
or competing, and a plateau or decrease in performance.
If you experience
two or more of these symptoms, then you are likely overtraining, and
need to treat it like an injury. It will take rest and an adjustment
to whatever is causing the injury—your training and recovery
program. Generally speaking, triathletes are chronically “impatient”;
we are addicted to intense training. I regularly hear beginner triathletes
talk of two-a-day training, long bike climbs, and three or more runs
a week. A proper training program should be progressive, but manageable.
It should also be fun!
Train Smart,
Scott Poston
Member of the Board of Directors for the Rocky Mountain Region, USAT
SANCTIONED
EVENT CALENDAR DEBUT
USA
Triathlon presents the long-awaited 2006 sanctioned event calendar
to assist members as they plan their seasons. The calendar shows all
the basic information on sanctioned events as recorded by the event
directors including distances, registration links and website for
more detailed information. The federation is grateful for the patience
of the membership while this project came to fruition. Future improvements
will expand searchability, allow members to create a personalized
calendar page and much more.
The
calendar is fueled by event organizers and race directors via the
web-based event sanction process. As the race director passes through
the stages of sanctioning, approved races are added in realtime to
the calendar. The calendar now gives race directors the option of
pre-sanctioning their races up to 5 years in advance for display on
the USA Triathlon calendar.
Click here
to reach the calendar.
For
a complete list of Rocky Mountain Region Triathlons click here.
ROCKY
MOUNTAIN TRI-CLUBS
Did
you know there are 37 triathlon clubs listed on the regional website?
Emails and websites are provided too. So, if you are sick of training
alone consider joining a local tri club. It’s a great way to meet
like-minded people and learn a great deal about triathlon at the same
time. Check it out by clicking here.
Looking
for a triathlon club in your area? Check it out today!
RACE
HIGHLIGHT: THE TABLE MOUNTAIN TRIATHLON
The USAT-Rocky
Mountain Region would like to highlight a very popular race for juniors
and the under 23 (U23) crowd. July 15th & 16th are the dates for
the next Table Mountain Triathlon at Duncan YMCA in Golden, CO. This
is also a Regional Championship Race for Juniors and U23! Here’s
the rest:
Adult
Race: 500 yard pool
swim, 20k bike, 5k run
Kids, Juniors and Junior Elites Races:
10 & Under: 100 yard pool swim, 3.1
mile bike, and 0.6 mile run.
11 &12: 200 yard pool swim, 6.2 mile
bike, 1.2 mile run
13-15: 400 yard pool swim, 6.2 mile bike,
1.5 mile run
16-19: 500 yard pool swim, 20k bike, 5k
run
23 & Under: 500 yard pool swim, 20k
bike, 5k run
For
more information, or to sign up, click here.
ABOUT
USAT & THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
USA
Triathlon is the national governing body for the multi-sport disciplines
of triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United
States. USA Triathlon is a member federation of the U. S. Olympic Committee
and the International Triathlon Union. USA Triathlon coordinates and
sanctions grass-roots and elite multi-sport events across the country
and works to create interest and participation in those programs. USA
Triathlon’s 50,000-strong membership is comprised of athletes
of all ages, coaches, officials, parents and fans striving together
to strengthen multi-sport. On the elite level, USA Triathlon is responsible
for the selection and training of teams to represent the United States
in international competition, including the world championships, Pan
Am Games and Olympic Games. It conducts national camps and clinics and
provides coaching education programs. On the developmental level, USA
Triathlon fosters grass-roots expansion of the sport, which is facilitated
by the sanctioning of age-group events and triathlon clubs. National
and regional championships are held for triathletes from junior to senior
age divisions. USA Triathlon’s mission is to provide leadership
and structure for the growth and development of excellence in multi-sports.
The organization’s vision is to be the “gold standard”
for triathlon worldwide. USA Triathlon will inspire fitness as a healthy
lifestyle, create a culture for excellence in leadership and competition
and be a world leader in the sport.
USA
Triathlon, and its regions, are governed by a Board of Directors, which
has general charge of the business affairs and activities of the organization
and defines the policies to be followed in carrying out the purposes
of the organization as set down in the bylaws. All members of the Board
must be current annual USA Triathlon members. For more information visit
the website at: www.usatriathlon.org.