I was extremely fortunate to spend the last week in Aspen with three very speedy guys. They’ve all managed to qualify for Kona this October and will be dueling in the Mens 40-44.

I used to think that my peer group was unique but as I get to know more uber-vets I have realized that there are a lot of triathletes going big! Spending time with the guys reminded me how hard the top athletes in our sport are working towards their goals.

There are lessons that we can learn from watching how the best amateurs organize their lives. Before I get into that, here’s a summary of what we did.

Travel Day: Weights (AM) and ~3,000 ft climb to 12,100 feet (PM)
Day One: Threshold swim (4,500 yds); 100 mile ride (big ring only, 5,000 ft vertical); transition run (20 mins)
Day Two: Hour Run; ride to 12,100 feet (4,000 ft vertical, easy/steady effort)
Day Three: VO2max swim (3,000 yds); 2:30 ride includes max effort 30 min TT (ending at 9,500 ft); 2:40 mountain run
Travel Day: 60 minute mixed swim (AM) and nap (PM)!

Ideas that are relevant:

• A fit athlete can do big training, immediately, at altitude. I think the “secret” is to keep the camp duration short and get “down” for recovery after the camp. Personally, there is a big difference between 5,500 ft (my home in BoCo) and 8,000 ft (Aspen). It is tough for me to sleep up there and I needed Monica to drive most of the way home because I was whipped! Sleep doesn’t make a big difference across four nights but it would if I was there for longer. If you plan on long duration high intensity training at altitude (especially above 6,000 ft) then you should taper into the camp.
• The shorter the camp, the greater the scope for higher intensity work. At our camp, the running was back-end loaded and the volume was front-end loaded. We placed the bike TT and fastest swim on the last day. Two main reasons for that: (a) I think that it is safer to “go fast” when tired; and (b) if you blow up then the camp’s over anyway! In case you are wondering, thirty minutes all out at 9,000 feet is ~4 watts per kilo for me.
• We didn’t taper out of the camp — we arrived, hit it, then got back down lower. At 8,000 ft, recovery is far slower than sea level so once your training is done get home. I slept great last night in BoCo (which is my sea-level).
• This was a training camp, not a family vacation. None of us had material obligations across the camp. We took life stress way down.
• The guys only had to train — meals, laundry, support — all were sub-contracted. I think many top athletes (elite and amateur) follow this protocol year-round.
• The Three Amigos are well balanced. They have different strengths, enjoy each other’s company and can challenge each other. Train with people you like!
• We all like to think that we do tough training — as I get to know more and more top vets, I realize that everyone (that is decent) is doing big training.

---

Who You’re Up Against
A common misconception is that you merely need to wait it out before you’ll age-up into better relative performance. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen. Our sport is growing and triathletes wear-out far slower than pure runners!

Within my 40+ peer group, I know:

• Olympians
• World champions
• Long term AG champions
• Full-time amateur athletes
• Former elite triathletes

It’s a big ask to expect to close the gap on these athletes as a class unless you set your life up so that you can consistently outwork them. The best that many of us (myself included) can hope for is emulating, rather than dominating, these athletes.

---

How To Play It
We had a recent thread on our forum asking, “If I increase my workload by X% then what performance gain can I expect?” A similar question is, “What level of work is required to achieve a certain result?” This is a common, but flawed, view of performance.

Within our daily lives, we will have room for a base level of training. At this level, our life will be in balance with emotional, physical and financial stability. That’s what you have to work with, period.

If you want to do more then you must create space, before adding stress.

Focus on making your basic week as even, and as balanced, as possible. Most of us are life-limited — keep working on your life.

Spend your time addressing:

• Biomechanical limiters
• Financial stability (work and savings)
• Emotional stability (marriage)
• Core fitness (strength, stamina, quickness, agility)
• Motivation

Long term performance is about not quitting — the list above is why people quit.

---

Strategic Overload
I had a look at my calendar for the last 52 weeks. Across that period, I attended 12 training camps.

These training camps ran from three to 15 days. Let’s say the average camp is six days — that’s 72 days of camps each year. Does that sound like a lot?

When I was racing elite, I had about 210 days of high-load training per annum.

Within my age group, I may have a 5% performance edge on most the speedy guys. That edge requires a lot more than 5% extra effort.

When my training load falls, my performance reverts to the mean. For me, the shift (downwards) makes perfect sense within my life. I’ve traded athletic motivation for a more balanced sense of personal well being. Because mean reversion is slow… my ego is soothed.

Here’s the way I play the game:

Harmonious Time Management:

• Monica invests in our daughter (family) as I invest in Endurance Corner (work). As a couple, both goals are important to us.
• Nearly all my high-load training is part of Endurance Corner (work).
• We schedule time with each other to balance my non-work training (vacation). If I’m going to do vacation training then it is placed to directly benefit a performance that I want to achieve.

Addressing Blindspots Through Learning:

• I’ve written in the past about how I use work to learn about my personal passion (athletic performance). I’ve always tried to get close to people that have succeeded where I want to achieve.
• One of the traps that can befall experienced players is intellectual arrogance. It’s why I have athletic role models that are 10, 20 and 30 years older than me. I know how I achieved my results (today), so I study the athletes that have sustained their edge at 50, 60 and 70 years old.

It’s tough to do everything right — I can’t pull that off. However, it is fun to whittle away at the performance gap that the experienced players have on us.

---

Change You Can Action Today
I’ll offer areas/items that might help you improve.

Self-Awareness: Where do I spend my time, where so I spend my money, what do I enjoy? Harmony helps performance.

Intellectual Arrogance: Which successful people have nothing to teach me? This is an exercise in understanding bias (and a trick question). When people succeed despite their approach then, perhaps, their approach isn’t what’s important!

Habits: What traits are strong in my role models but weak in myself?

The questions above help formulate my strategy. For triathlon performance, I’d suggest the following tactics:

• Replace sugar calories with good fats
• Simplify your life
• Focus on specific performance, not pain
• Run often
• Swim more