K.I.S.S.

by Chris McDonald

In my opinion, the title of this column is a term that has been forgotten or simply not used enough!

Are you asking yourself what is K.I.S.S? Keep It Simple Stupid!

After my last article on the 40 boring weeks, I got bombarded with the question, “What should I do during the 40 boring weeks?” I can say just about every person who wrote me was trying to make it far more complicated than it really needs to be.

A good example of K.I.S.S was handed to me in my first days of triathlon. I was living in Christchurch, New Zealand, and went to see the famed doctor and triathlon coach John Hellemens for some coaching. We sat and talked about what I had done and where I wanted to go. John proceeded to write Monday through Sunday on the back of one of his script papers and then filled in a weeks worth of training. As John handed the training to me he said, “Chris, here is the week. Repeat this same week six times and report to me at the end of each week.“ This simple coaching came from a guy who has coached Olympians, Ironman champions, multisport champions… the list could go on and on.

I had a very similar experience the first time I was face to face with Brett Sutton during the period of time when he was coaching me. With Brett, however, it was a 10-day block, but he used the same basic theory.

What I am trying to get to here is it is very important to seek advice and guidance from a coach, but you also have to remember that getting fit is not rocket science! It is about putting down a plan and taking it step by step as you move towards your end goal.

Now, as for what needs to be done in that period when we are not racing each year, here are my thoughts -- in no particular order -- on what everyone should touch on:

• Strength – Hit the gym a little. Between racing hard and the process of tapering, you can lose a lot of strength.
  
  
• Technique – For most of us this means swimming, but it can also be your bike handling or run technique. Choose a period of time when you are not racing to make changes for the better. Remember, sometimes you will have to go slower to go faster.
  
  
• Nutrition – When you are training very hard it is tough to make big nutritional changes. Try to make a change in the off-season, and then make it a habit. This way, when you are tired from training you just fall into the routine of making good food choices.
  
  
• Planning – Plan the year so there is some period where you will be pushed well outside your comfort zone. This may be a camp environment or just a long weekend away with some buddies.

Most importantly, you need to keep it fun! I say the 40 “boring” weeks because of simplicity, not because you need to hate it.

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