Notes on Form – In the Zone

At 5:30AM my planned recovery swim began. And if you are like me, recovery weeks can be the toughest weeks for training. If you’re a type “A” person who is used to pushing yourself to exhaustion and always “one upping” the other guy, recovery weeks are probably migraine inducing. Having to cut calories because there are less calories burned in the day, watching the heart rate to stay within the recovery zone can be more stressful sometimes than rigorous workouts.

My trick? Working on form. Instead of just running, biking, swimming lightly for 45 minutes or less, I break up the time into segments. Each segment has a drill that produces excellent form. Check out the last several posts on Friel’s blog (to the right) where he goes into depth about a plethora of excellent drills and practices.

Besides eventually producing faster times and improving your overall triathlon, form helps me stay in the zone. Today, for instance, I had to drag myself out of the pull to be at work on time. In a steady-state light intensity swim at the end of my workout, my improved form (from focusing on the swim the last couple months) put me in this Zen state of mind where I moved almost effortlessly through the water. Seven months ago this would have not been the case. The water and I did not get along and I struggled to put in a good swim workout. My arms and back did not work in sync and breathing (well that’s another story).

With the use –and focus- on drills, especially during these base period months, the body and mind seem to come to a closer understanding of how to work together to achieve better and faster times. One should never feel they are fighting with their body to either run, bike, or swim. Yes, you have to push yourself to finish strong, but the movements should –and could- feel natural.

Brad Kearns often refers to this Zen-like state of mine in his book, Breakthrough Triathlon Training. Check this book out if, like me, your life demands a lot out of you or if you want to keep both your training and your spouse.