THREE on training without weights: Run faster, Sprint harder
Finding your "sun" through fitness
Our last edition questioned the importance of an offseason break given 2020’s lack of racing opportunities. How many of you thought about the question after you deleted the email? Did some of you decide on a course of action? I was grappling with that same question while writing our last edition: “Do I train for something right now, or do I use this opportunity to focus my energy on a non-athletic goal?” It’s important to live what you preach. Actions, after all, are votes for the person we desire to become.
There is enough information out there already; you don’t need more of that. THREE succeeds insomuch as it inspires you to take action toward the things that matter to you. I took a bit of my own advice. I grabbed my training partner (Brooke, 6 months old, loves running!) and we went for a jog and thought about how pursuing an athletic goal fit into my life right now. Immersing myself in nature has always helped put my decisions into perspective. There’s an instructive quality to nature that we miss if we rush without noticing.
The trees lining our jogging path, quite literally, showed me the way forward. It's easy to forget that trees are living things, and it’s the nature of living things to strive towards that which gives them life. I thought, “How miraculous is it that trees know to grow towards the sun?” Of course growing all the way to the sun is a goal the humble tree will never achieve! Still, it grows up. Think of all the great things—shade, fruit and foliage, to name a few—we wouldn’t enjoy if the tree just looked to the sun and said, “Eh, I’ll never get there, forget it.”
Are those trees so different from one of us who desires to achieve a lofty goal—athletic or otherwise? No, they’re not.
I continued running, Brooke passed out, and I started to think of the trees as wooden philosophers. They don’t forget to distribute resources to their underground roots. Without that network, they know they could not continue reaching higher. They also know the importance of a strong, stable core. I even saw one tree that looked as though it had it all figured out until it sensed an electrical wire!
Of course I can’t tell you which actions to take, but you can pay attention to what makes you feel more energetic, excited, and motivated. Our goals do not need to be the same, but we can be inspired from one another’s processes in the same way trees share nutrients and support through their root systems. I’ve decided to get into better triathlon shape—not because I have a ton of free time or because I want another medal—but rather because that dedication to challenge and fitness is my “sun.” It makes me feel inspired to reach higher and dream bigger, even in areas of my life that have nothing to do with sport.
Now, returning to last edition’s question, just because I’ve decided to train does not make you wrong if you chose to take some downtime. The point is the choosing and the distribution of your resources. Remember, trees grow both up and down. I look forward to sharing bits of my process over the next few editions. I hope it will inspire you to connect, engage, and most importantly, act.
Joe Maloy 2016 U.S. Olympic Triathlete, Co-Founder and Editor-at-Large
• STAND TALLER, RUN FASTER Clamshells are a simple exercise that doesn’t require weights or even much time that could help improve your run. In this edition’s Triathlon Training by an Olympian on YouTube, THREE’s Joe Maloy demonstrates how clamshells work your small, stabilizing muscles. These supporting muscles stabilize your core and help bigger muscles perform, potentially allowing you to run faster.
• RESISTANCE BAND CYCLING WORKOUT Continuing the theme of keeping things simple, a new column on bicycling.com shows how “resistance bands can help you build and maintain the muscles responsible for sprinting, powering up steep climbs, maintaining your overall position on the bike.” This week’s demo highlights a 30-minute resistance-band workout to activate the muscles you need to ride strong. Here is a great option if you’re motivated to add the versatility of resistance band training to your routine.
• IT’S (VIRTUAL) MARATHON SEASON In a normal year, we would be heading into fall marathon season. But, alas, most races remain canceled and many runners are struggling with whether and how to maintain their training regimens. This week, The Wall Street Journal published a Personal Journal column on How to Motivate and Safely Train for Marathon Season During the Pandemic. The report looks at the growing trend toward virtual racing, including the New York City Marathon which will allow runners to complete their 26.2 virtual miles between October 17 and November 1. The article also features experts weighing in on how to stay motivated and get across the virtual finish line injury free.
• TRAINING FOR A RACE THAT MIGHT NOT HAPPEN As a few races get scheduled that are intent on taking place IRL, there’s a certain mental outlook required to properly train for an event that may get canceled before race day. Triathlete.com talked to a sports psychologist who shared tips for training in this era of uncertainty. “Like many aspects of the pandemic, it’s best to think of uncertainty as a permanent fixture, and develop ways of managing its negative effect on motivation,” the author writes.
“To stay motivated to train for events that may not happen, athletes need to get back to what they love or value about the sport, aside from competition,” said Tommy Fritze, a sport psychologist with Premier Sport Psychology. “Whether that’s the camaraderie of training partners, favorite running routes, the flow of a long swim, or feeling very fit.”
• TRY HARD NOT TO TRY This mind-body conclusion may surprise some: The harder you try, the more elusive the goal becomes. Outside Online’s Sweat Science writer, Alex Hutchinson, looks at how this hypothesis applies to runners in his column The Myth of Synchronized Breathing.
“In the game of Mindball, two players compete to push a ball whose motions are dictated by their brain waves, as measured by electrodes on their scalps. The harder you try, the weaker the force you exert on the ball. This (as the author and philosopher Edward Slingerland noted in his 2014 book Trying Not to Try) is a modern incarnation of the ancient Chinese paradox of wu wei, or effortless action. And it’s strangely reminiscent of the challenges we encounter in pursuit of running well.”
The writer uses the synchronization between breathing and stride rate while running to demonstrate the point some researchers are making. “Whether we’re talking about breathing patterns, running cadence, or the content of your thoughts, the characteristics of good runners all seem to contain an element of effortless action.”
• HOW MUCH DO THE BEST REST? The past two editions we’ve delved into the question many athletes struggle with this time of year: How long should your end of season break be? To help give context to your answer, or at least make you feel OK taking a few weeks off, Sweat Elite’s co-founder, Matt Fox, lists The End Of Season Rest Periods Of The World’s Best Athletes. “There is no right or wrong answer to this question,” Fox writes. “It depends on many things. Like, how long until your next important competition?” TL;DR: Usain Bolt takes between four and eight weeks off, depending on the year.
• GIVING UP AT THE FINISH LINE What would you do if you were in fourth place, rounding the corner towards the finish line, and suddenly the third-place athlete took a wrong turn catapulting you to a potential podium finish? Spanish triathlete Diego Méntrida Zamarra faced this exact situation earlier this month and decided to do what he thought was the sportsmanlike thing: wait for the wrong-turn runner to catch up. Méntrida Zamarra explained his quick decision in an essay for Newsweek titled Why I Gave up a Triathlon Medal at the Finish Line. Would you do the same?
“I then slowed down because I felt that I didn't deserve third place, it wasn't the way I wanted to get a position on the podium. Although I would have liked to have stood on the podium and had a photo with Javier Gómez Noya and Kevin Tarek Viñuela, who had finished in first and second position respectively, I stopped and I waited for James at the finish line. I wasn't sad, because I was satisfied with my race, but obviously I was a little disappointed not to stand on the podium as a medal winner.”
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
Time flies. The end of summer marks 20 years since triathlon debuted at the Sydney Olympic Games. This Sunday marks the first-ever London Marathon taking place inside a biosecure bubble. (If you’re in the U.S., you’ll need to wake up early to watch.) And if you’d like a bird’s eye view of the new women’s world champion road cyclist, check out this helicopter tracking shot that’s making its way across social media.
Enjoy the ride. We hope to see you on a starting line soon.
