Pete jacobs triathlete biography books
100 Bedtime Stories for Triathletes
Balboa Press
Copyright © 2017 Allan PitmanAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5043-0651-5
CHAPTER 1
WORK WITH THEM; THEY'RE YOUR BIGGEST ASSETS
inter is the time of year when we can creep forward, always gaining a little bit. You don't have to kill yourself in training in the colder months to gain. They say summer's races are won in winter. Every one is going to struggle a little bit getting out of bed when it's cold and dark outside. It's the time of day when the strength of your goals is tested.
It's times like this when our training partners, our mates, are our biggest assets. Having a commitment to meet someone is one of the best tools to have in our toolboxes. Many of us can let ourselves down by taking the easy option, but most of us will not let our mates down. The thought of our training mates waiting out in the cold, dark morning is often enough to force us to make the move.
I have to admit that in thirty years of Ironman (IM) training, I have had periods of low motivation. I have used commitments to meeting people to get me out of bed on many occasions. It's always easier when spring comes and the days are longer, but the steady work done in winter gives you a better platform on which to build your new season.
Right now I am fourteen weeks out from Hawaii Ironman. I know that my main training includes the ten to twelve weeks leading into the race. I also know how fast the last ten weeks seems to go. At fourteen weeks, it seems an awfully long time until I need to be fit, but I also know that the consistency built through winter is a huge asset to take into the final ten weeks.
At my age and my stage of development, training for my forty-second Ironman, I have different training needs from my developing athletes. But my developing athletes will probably be gaining more than I can hope to gain by being super consistent through winter. A developing athlete needs to focus on accumulating training hours
Ironman World Champion Pete Jacobs rediscovers that the journey is just as important as the destination as he articulates below.
Everybody has different motivations for becoming an Ironman and for continuing to complete these races again and again. My motivation is made up of many different aspects, but the overriding theme is probably similar to many others – the need to find out the limits of my own abilities.
I am driven by my own goals, my own dreams, of what I believe I would be capable of if I learned everything there is to learn about myself. And perhaps that is it – that a feeling of enlightenment will follow if the “meaning of one’s life” is revealed to one through Ironman. As I notched up my 26th Ironman in Frankfurt 2013, and a week earlier watched an Ironman for the third time this year, I rediscovered what Ironman means to me, and who I want it to help me become.
A fortunate side-benefit from my current position – a position that requires answering lots of questions – comes from being asked constantly about life, job, training, racing, career, life balance, relationship, future, inspiration and motivation (just to name a few topics). Doing so forces you to say things you otherwise may never have said, and perhaps never have realised. Often, those words lead to other realisations. In particular, having to answer a question on the spot without time to analyse what you will say makes for honest answers that can sometimes surprise you, and it is often very enlightening and helps you to find out more about who you are, and why and how you do what you do.
“BEING OPEN TO CRITICISM, BLUNT QUESTIONS, AND BEING HONEST, ACCEPTING, AND OPEN TO CHANGE FROM WITHIN IS MORE BENEFICIAL IN AN IRONMAN JOURNEY THAN ANY AMOUNT OF TRAINING”
Having someone to ask you those questions helps you learn more about yourself, and that is what makes you faster in an Ironman. It’s not more training or harder training, nor is it a more expensive bike. Finding out How to train for an Ironman is an eternal question for many triathletes. Some triathletes who have really perfected the art and science of Ironman training are Mirinda Carfrae, Chrissie Wellington, Pete Jacobs and Jan Frodeno. Training the way they have has led them to 14 Ironman World Championship podium finishes, including nine wins. Let's uncover what professional triathletes' training schedules and principles are like in the real world. We'll then finish off with some advice on how to apply this knowledge to your own triathlon training. (HINT: don't try to follow a Chrissie Wellington or Jan Frodeno training program. Us mortals would break before a week has passed.) Some training elements are so fundamental for Ironman success that it is plain to see that they are common to all professionals. These include Training volume is certainly a key component. Mirinda Carfrae reports 30 hour training weeks and Jan Frodeno's training contains consistent 35 hour weeks. In her racing days, Chrissie Wellington was known fo How to train for an Ironman like Jan Frodeno and other pro triathletes
UPDATE June 2016:
Since I first wrote this post I've started following pro triathlete Jesse Thomas' training pretty closely.
When he won the highly competitive Wildflower long-course triathlon in California on 30 April I decided that I just had to look at his training even closer and see how exactly he structures his training.
I extracted all the stats into easy-to-overview charts and highlighted key sessions, and wrote down my thoughts and takeaway messages. And then I compiled it all into a PDF-report that you can access below to get all the goodies of what pro triathletes have to do to stay competitive today!Common attributes of all professional triathletes' training
Fighting Fatigue - Pete jacobs