Quality requires time and patience. It’s like producing a good wine or to cook a good brasato al barolo. If you want to obtain an excellent result, you know it will take a long time and there will be no shortcuts. If on the other hand, you’re looking for something quick — but of uncertain quality and result — well, you can still go to a fast food.
The same concepts applies to training, particularly endurance training. Hard work works, but it won’t happened over the short term. Yes, you can have good results in the medium term, but it’s in the long run that you’ll make the real difference.
This lengthy intro was just meant to say that I’m really proud to see the developments of my athletes over the last year. They worked hard, posed many questions, had a positive attitude, trusted my coaching and training methodology and they applied their energies over the long term. And now it’s their first harvest time.
Let’s look at Katia’s development in swimming to begin with. Last year, on November 6th, she performed her first Critical Swim Speed (CSS; yes, we know it’s only a functional prediction, but it still works OK in conjunction wit other tests). In that occasion she swam the 400s in 7 minutes 20 seconds (pace 1:50 per 100s average) and the 200s in 3:32 (1:46 average pace). That gave a CSS pace prediction of 1:54 per 100s over the 1,500 metres. Three days later she also performed a 1,000 metre swim test that she completed in 19:45 (pace 2:02)
Fast forward to December 4th of this year (2019) and she did another CSS: she swam the 400s in 7:02 (pace 1:41) and the 200 in 3:25 (1:46). On December 6th she performed the 1,000 metres in 18:08 (pace 1:49 per 100s). If you don’t like maths, that gave an improvement of 18 seconds over 400 metres, a slower 200 m test (lots can be said on this, but just bear in mind that she trains for half distance triathlon) and finally, an improvement of 1 minute 37 seconds over the 1,000 metres. THAT IS MEGA !!! Her long-distance swimming pace increased by 13 seconds every 100 metres.
She is modest, and she says: “well, I was not feeling well during that first test in 2018.” Ok, let’s look at her second 1,000 m from February. She clocked 18:44 and that was still 36 seconds slower than the latest one we did this year. GOOD GOING !!!
Her ‘partner in crime’ Andrea - on the other hand — improved the 400s by 4 seconds and the 200s by 2 seconds year on year. You think that is not enough? Well, it’s still an improvement, and the more you advance in the sport, the more it’s getting harder to improve of course and I would always take a couple of seconds here and there! (he has already finished two full Ironman and several middle distance ones). Plus, he also improved 17 seconds from the first 400 performed in 2018 and 2 seconds from the one performed in 2019. Let’s not forget that even the ability of pacing yourself is a skill we all need to learn and improve at.
Now, let’s move to Switzerland. On December 1st 2018, Benjamin ran the 8.3km Chlauslauf (the run that celebrate my more famous namesake: Santa) in 39 minutes 23 seconds at a pace of 4:49 min/km. On December 7th 2019, for comparison, Benjamin ran the same course in 36:54. That equals to 2:29 minutes faster in just a year over 8km and at an average pace of 4:33 min/km. CHAPEAU!
Congratulations once again guys.
Keep working hard and you’ll get anywhere you set your eyes on!