The Break is Over

As I sit here aching from two days of training after nearly a month layoff, I decided I should take a rest day.  In the past few years I have only taken a couple of weeks fully off, with a couple of easy weeks, but this year, due to other events, it made sense to have a complete rest for four weeks. And I am noticing the difference as I try to get fit again.

As hoped, this has given me a new motivation to train and compete, and hopefully my body, like my mind, will soon be ready to do so.  As so many athletes are also preparing to step back into winter training, I thought I would give a few hints and tips to help ease back into it.

Before I start, lets remember that it is important to take a break from training and competition. It allows both your body and mind to recover, and allows athletes to re-focus. However, when you stop exercising completely you loose aerobic fitness, lungs loose elasticity, blood vessels shrink and blood volume decreases. You use oxygen less efficiently and your heart pumps less blood per beat, not only that but you will also have lost muscles strength. Therefore, when you go back to exercise, just like a car that has been parked in a garage for several years, your body needs to be warmed up before it is taken out for hard exercise. If an athlete was to return to the same types of workouts as they were doing before the break, then the athlete risks straining inspiratory and expiratory muscles but also joints and muscles can become more stressed and increase the risk of injury.

Below are some simple tips which will help reduce the problems faced when athletes return back to exercise:

• Have a plan - it’s easier to commit, especially when motivation drops, when you have a plan, and a plan can stop you from doing too much too quickly
• Set attainable goals - and ease back into training, build slowly and allow momentum to grow.
• Weight training (even if it’s just body weight) - this allows you to build strength and prevent injury. Functional exercises are great to start with. 
• Get training partners - help to maintain motivation especially when the cold nights are coming in.
• Stretch - improve recovery, help flexibility and prevent injury.
• Try something new - Those athletes who are used to running and cycling on the roads could be encouraged to try cross country running or mountain biking to help gain fitness in a different environment, one which will  help challenge the core muscles too.
• Keep warm - whilst out training and when you finish training remember you will cool down fast too.  Remember to take layers to keep warm once training is finished.
• Stay Hydrated - Even during the winter and in the colder months you need to stay hydrated and remember to drink even when you may not feel thirsty. 
• Plymometrics - Be aware of explosive movements. When cold these movements pose a greater risk of injury.  Always remember to warm up properly.

The Ageing Athlete

Today is a very big day for me.  This time 35 years ago, I was born.  Happy birthday me!

Turning 35 as an athlete is a big deal.  It means that I can compete as a masters V35 athlete - a category especially for athletes aged between 35 and 40!  While I plan to continue competing as a senior athlete, becoming a V35 has given me an additional boost, and some additional stretching, but exciting goals to aim for.

New Goals

When I was delivering a goal setting workshop earlier in the year, I used my target for this summer as an example of a SMARTER goal.  The goal is to win a medal in the 2,000m steeplechase at the European Masters Championships later this summer.  That's a pretty Specific goal!  It's also Measurable - at the end of the day, I'll either have a medal around my neck, or not.  Now for the Ambitious bit - well I've looked at some previous results and I will have to be at my best too achieve a medal, but my best times would put me in the mix - making the goal Realistic.  The goal is Time-bound - the day is Tuesday 26th August - and it is definitely Exciting - a trip to Turkey, a European medal, and a  shot at a V35 Irish record, all genuinely excite me.  And the goal is Relevant.  It's what I do!

Motivation

All these exciting new goals are giving me new motivation.  In an earlier blog we spoke about the relevance of goal setting in other aspects of lifestyle management, but the main thing that goal setting does is provide motivation.  After having similar goals for the past 10 years or so, I'm glad that I now have something concrete to aim for, and that's really helping with motivation.  As we get older, it's important to set goals that keep us motivated.  By the time we reach 35, we have a clear idea of what we can and can't achieve, and what motivates us - be that intrinsic or extrinsic factors.  There are of course unachieved goals and dreams, and now is a good time to reevaluate what's important and what will keep me motivated moving forward.

Adapting Training

Over the years, I've learned what works for me and what doesn't.  Keeping injury free is important, and experience has thought me that taking a day or two off now, can prevent missing a few weeks later now the line.  I am getting good at distinguishing between a bit of muscle damage soreness that will go away after a day or two, and a niggle that needs attention and rest.  There are more niggles than before, but a lot fewer actual injuries.

I also train a bit differently.  Running is mostly a hobby, and I have stopped being obsessed with times. Some days I leave the watch at home altogether.  That's not to say that I don't run hard.  Sometimes I run very, very hard, but I have realised that there is no point in getting hung up on what times I used to run, and thinking too much about what is and isn't possible.

Role Models

For some athletes, age doesn't seem to be a factor.  I was lucky enough to witness 3-time Olympian Jo Pavey run a European and Commonwealth Games qualifier for 10,000 m.  Pavey is 40, and was just returning from having her second child.  The following week she ran a world V40 record for 5,000 m, in the sort of time that athletes 10 years her junior can only dream of.  While I'm never going to achieve the sort of times that Pavey is running, I can hope to get close to my personal best times.

And if I fancy changing sport, there are many examples of shooters and equestrian athletes who participated at the Olympics well into their 70s.  Indeed, Oscar Swahn (shooting) won an Olympic gold medal when he was 64!