A few case studies to share with everyone; very proud of the athletes and the hard work is starting to pay off in very meaningful progress!

I use a focus in training primarily to make improvements in a specific skill of an athlete that has been identified as a limiter, or to work with an athlete in a single sport during the off season/ break in their triathlon race schedule. This focus usually ends with a single sport race (marathon, swim meet, time trial). When an athlete tries to make improvements to limiters during the season while trying to maintain a balanced workload they usually see marginal results; too many things going on. A focus, a concentrated focus from an athlete that is committed to doing whatever it takes to make improvements usually results in meaningful progress! I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a few of my athletes make that kind of progress lately and it’s worth writing about.

Swim Focus: Mark Weinberg

Affectionately known as Marky Mark. Totally committed to improving his swim. We decided on a 16 week block of swimming that was broken into 4 weeks of endurance, 4 weeks of strength, 4 weeks of speed and 4 weeks of mixed sessions.

Over the last 11 weeks he has averaged 19k per week (one four week block averaging 22k per week) and he has been swimming 5x per week religiously. More than some, less than others. Point is, over the last 18 months his average week was about 8k per week.

A year ago Mark did a 4k sessions that finished with 4x 400 w/ 10 sec rest and touched in 3:09 - 3:10. In his log he noted that it was the fastest he swam for 200s.

How Meaningful?
In his last 5k session he finished with 5x 200 on the 2:50 and touched them all in 2:41 - 2:45! A true breakthrough in his swimming and a very wise use of his time that will certainly pay big dividends over the race season. This is a fantastic example of how the right focus at the right time can bring meaningful results.

Congratulations and well done Mark! Your hard work is paying off.

Mitch

Yeah, it really is paying off. I'm doing workouts now that I couldn't even dream of completing a year ago. If I go back 2 years in my log, the progress is even more encouraging. Some of these workouts are brutal. But the payoff is really there. I can no longer consider myself a lousy swimmer.

Having that early season focus has been a big part of my improvement across the board over the last 3 seasons. The first year we started working together, we focused on my run. I had a breakthru later that season with some great runs at Lk Stevens and Kona. Last year we focused on bike strength and I saw some really big gains in my IM power and raw strength (and good bike results at CDA, Honu and Soma). This year, it's been all about my swimming and I'm seeing similar improvements. Given how weak my swim was (relative to my bike and run), I'm really encouraged to see how this season goes. If I can just get out onto the bike 5 mins sooner, it will make a huge difference in the amount of traffic I have to deal with early on.

It's hard to focus on your limiters. I can't deny that I will be happy about not going to the pool 5x/week. But it's also very satisfying when you see the kind of progress that I've been seeing. I guess when you are working on a limiter, the only way to go is up. And as you've told me before... you can't do everything. So having that focus early in the season is a great way to make big improvements.