Vision Quest Coach Katie Bolling wrote the following article and asked that we post it here on the site.
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Rule Number One of Ironman: Reach the start line injury-free
by Katie Bolling
While training for Ironman Florida in 2004, I met up with Cameron Widoff and his brother, Ben, at a race in July and, through the course of the remainder of the season and up through Ironman Florida, I was fortunate to gain some of their deep knowledge of Ironman training, the wisdom shared by the top elite and the most important rules of even the best professionals. The main piece of information that was repeated to me time-and-again was “The number one rule of Ironman training and racing is that you’d rather be under-trained and injury-free than over-trained and injured”. Now, while there’s more to the puzzle than just this one phrase, it’s the center of what you should keep in mind on the journey to your epic day. With the help of this “mantra” and these following tips, here’s to your success at being in 100% health for race day!
• Work with a coach. Coaches are the best way to ensure you are healthy through the long season. By working with someone who is a “valued resource in the field”, you will leave the guess work out of what type of training is best for you. Your coach will place safe and healthy guidelines for your road to Ironman. Be sure you choose a coach you respect and trust as you want someone you are 100% confident with in ensuring your healthy road to Ironman.
• Listen to your body. It’s a long season - understand that no one work-out will make or break your Ironman. A big part of Ironman training is understanding how much is too much and taking a break when need-be. I can’t stress how critical this is. The majority of us train in groups and it’s easy to be consumed with what others are doing for their work-outs. This builds upon my first point on hiring a coach but it’s absolutely crucial that you and your coach are the only consultants you should have when determining your work-out. If you feel an adjustment is needed to compensate for how you are feeling, be the smartest athlete you can be by taking a rest-day and then work with your coach in modifying the next few days if need be.
• Ironman training is more than Swimming, Biking and Running. I log anything I do to give myself the best chance to ensure a healthy Ironman. Massage, Rest days, Yoga, you name it…if I’m doing to it to ensure a healthy race, I log it to combat any conflicted feelings that I should have been swimming, biking or running. I had an unfortunate stress fracture take me out of contention in my age-group in Kona this past year but I was still determined to finish the race. For the three weeks prior, I stayed completely off my foot doing everything I could to give it the best chance to heal. Instead of feeling blue about my predicament, I took an active roll in making sure I had a chance to complete the race. My log was full of useful information to help others that might fall into a similar situation. And, although I didn’t have the Ironman I had initially hoped for, come the finish line in Kona, there had been no other race that I had ever felt prouder in knowing I had done my best to reach the 140.6th mark?
• As Ironman athletes our days tend to be focused around how to “fit it all in”. As a coach, I help my athletes keep a “healthy balance and good perspective” to it all so that no work-out seems to be earth-shattering. When life is balanced, things tend to fall into place which creates a lower stress life. Keep this in mind when sorting out how to fit work-outs in…take care of the big picture and the training schedule will take care of itself. When you have less stress, chances are your body will be in a great state to handle the demands you place on it as an Ironman athlete.
I hope this sheds some new light on this important topic. I know most people who read this will know the other key factors in injury prevention such as proper sleep, massage, stretching, great diet and superb hydration. My hope is that you look at the bigger picture and stay focused on the number one goal of being healthy for the big day. To sum up the above points, I will end with a story of one of my athletes… I worked with an athlete who could do about 5-10% of the run volume that most Ironman athletes strive for. Instead of focusing on what she couldn’t do, we concentrated on what she could do…with confidence. She likened herself to Shakelton and I knew she had what it took to find a way to arrive at Ironman on her own terms…ignoring the terms of others. We relied on an additional bike volume to compensate for the roadblocks she faced with running. And, instead of sneaking in runs here and there to test herself, we both believed what we were doing for her was the smart and healthy way to go. She never compared her work-outs to her training partners nor did she become stressed about missing the runs. Sure enough, come her first attempt at Ironman, she was 110% ready and in good health. Not only did she complete the race with a good marathon split but she won her age group at Ironman Brazil stamping her ticket to Kona. Furthermore, she was then able to add in running as the season progressed due to her smart training. Ending the season with a 6th place result in her age-group at Kona, she kept rule number one in mind: Start the race injury-free. Here’s to hoping that you all do the same!!
