"Life is tough. But its a lot tougher when you're stupid". - John "The Duke" Wayne
I found the above quote, one of my personal favorite, to be apropos for today's topic. So without hesitation or delay, let's get into it.
Recently I was on a flight from Austin to Chicago, which marked the final leg of a very busy and action packed 24 hours. Too tired to read, bored with my music, and just feeling fried, I decided to shell out the 7 bucks to watch television for the trip home. (Side note - is it me, or is airline travel becoming slightly ridiculous? I mean 7 bucks to watch basic cable for 2 hours and 20 minutes? I wanted to ask the flight attendant if I was going to be charged for using the bathroom)
Flipping through the channels, I landed on NBC Sports Universal, and much to my pleasant surprise, they were airing the Men's ITU Triathlon Race from Madrid, Spain. For those unfamiliar with ITU races, they are standard Olympic distance tri's - 1.5K swim/40K bike/10k run, they are draft legal, and usually have several loops on the bike and run. This makes it spectator friendly, which is actually pretty true. Having seen this style of racing up close, its significantly more engaging than your standard tri. I rather enjoy watching these races, as the athletes are cranking out 27-30 mph on the bike, and running sub 32's for the 10K to win. Most races tend to be close, with the top 3-5 guys all in contention till the final mile, unless one of the Brownlee brothers is racing. Which just so happened to be the case for this event.
As I sat back and watched Johnny Brownlee, the younger of the 2 British triathlon phenom's - Johnny took Bronze at the 2012 Olympics, while his brother, Allistair took the Gold, I was in awe of his ever increasing speed as he clicked off the kilometers, on a pretty technical, 6 loop run course. Even with all the turns, he seemed unfazed, just gliding along, absolutely crushing the rest of the field, which included 2012 Olympic Silver Medalist, and perennial top ITU athlete, Javier Gomez, separating himself from Gomez as if Gomez was jogging. The commentators were doing their best to keep TV fans interested at this point, as it would obviously take an act of God to slow down Brownlee, when one made a comment that I found to be extremely offensive and very frightening. This is the direct quote - "We are not seeing some of the other top ITU athletes at this race, like Johnny's brother, Allistair, who is home watching, due to an injury. But that's what we should expect to see, as these athletes are running upwards of 140 kilometers a week, making them injury prone. That's the direction of the sport; high volume training that will cause some minor injuries to the feet or legs, thus most ITU athletes won't be expected to race a full season."
I went from being slightly out of it, to completely focused and extremely alert. I wished I could have replayed that part. But I was in luck, as this commentator went on to explain that most of the men's field were all nursing some nagging injury, plantar fascia, IT band syndrome, stress fractures in the feet, or tibia, and as well as Johnny was running - he went on to run a 30 minute 10k, that the cost of such training is WORTH the injury that follows. Really? Are you joking me? Assuming this guy was half right, think about this. Let's say your a coach or a budding triathlete, who is looking to make noise at ITU races. Are you really prepared to believe and then proceed to train knowing that you will get injured? That these "small" injuries can have lasting effects, and shorten your career? Assuming that's the only way to get to the top of the ITU ladder, or triathlon podium in general isn't just offensive, its well, wrong.
And I have a real life example for you. But first understand the numbers so we're all on the same page. 140K a week, is roughly 85-95 miles. Figure those are non-race week numbers, so all of preseason, a steady diet of that much running. Then, add in the cycling - normally 300-400 miles a week, plus another 12-15 in the water. Notice what's missing? Strength and conditioning. You know, the things that would actually help PREVENT an injury and keep the athlete in top form all year. My suggestion would be Crossfit, but I know that word makes Endurance athletes pee themselves, so let's say, well, Crossfit. Just had to say it. However, the point is valid. What would happen if these top guys backed off some of the insane mileage, and added Crossfit? Isn't it worth their careers? And their long term health?
Normally I would go on about the benefits of Crossfit for the endurance athletes at the elite level, however I have something more solid to make my point. At the request of the athlete, I can't use her name, but she agreed to let me review her training program to see the major changes she's made. Our athlete is a real, elite, ultrarunner, having placed in the top 5-10 consistently in over 30 ultra running races. However, she has suffered over 2 dozen injuries in her career, the last couple which threatened her career. She was on a steady diet of over 140 miles a week of running, sometimes, 180 plus miles a week, no strength work, no stability or agility work. After sitting for 3 months with a stress fracture on her 2nd and 3rd metatarsal, on her left foot, she finally took a friend's advice, and tried out the local Crossfit gym. She was immediately hooked, and after her initial hesitation, she was going 6 days a week. She went for her first run after 5 months, and felt better than ever. This was after 2 months of nothing but Crossfit.
This year, she tried something radical - running only 2 times a week, and Crossfitting 6. Since January 1, she has logged 482 miles, which includes 4 ultras - 2, 100k's, 1 100 miler, and 1 50K. That means she's been running less than 8 miles a week in training. And her performance? Still a top 5-10 finisher, and best part, injury free. No more physical therapy, no doctor visits, crutches, etc. She's planning her longest race season ever, because she's in top shape, top physical shape, making her bomb proof for all race conditions.
So, I ask you, is more mileage the answer? Or is it just possible that this whole, crazy Crossfit "thing" might actually be practical for elites as well as amateurs? Maybe the stubborn and most proud of you will scoff at this, and say "One example isn't enough to sway me. I'm sticking to my high mileage, bad diet, lack of mobility training method". And to that I say, great. Your body, your choice. But to those who may have just seen the light after reading this, perhaps its time to actually walk in to that Crossfit gym in your area and tell them what you do, and where you want to go in your sport. Unless you really like paying that insurance deductible and putting your doctor's kids through college.
Stay strong,
Guy
