Recovery and Longevity

by Ron Tribendis, D.C.

As you may have noticed, EC’s theme for November is recovery. I’ve decided to tie recovery and longevity together because I strongly believe they go hand in hand. Athletes who know how to recover and re-energize from a long triathlon season wind up being around to race at a high level year after year.

Through my chiropractic and coaching businesses, I’ve identified a trend that is hurting athletes from recovering from a long triathlon season.

The conversation typically goes like this: “What are you doing now that your triathlon season is over?” Response: “I am going to focus on my run and do a bunch of 5ks, 10ks, halfs and marathons.”

Around 90% of the people that have this conversation end up in my office with some form of overuse injury, muscular imbalance or weakened core.

I usually ask them (trying not to be too sarcastic), “Are you a triathlete or a runner?” I recognize that during the winter, working on limiters is important; however there are ways to work your limiters as they relate to triathlon. What concerns me is the athlete that competes hard at triathlon through spring, summer and fall and then dives right into a heavy marathon training program. A program like that may work for a year or two; however, we are talking about recovery as it relates to longevity.

Here is a deeper look at why this is a problem:

Fatigue layering -- You competed all year. Most of us have work stress, family obligations, and other non-sport responsibilities. Your fatigue levels at this point of the year are higher than your fitness levels. Fatigue needs to be shed over the winter in order to develop as an athlete the following year. If you keep layering fatigue year after year one of two things (if not both) will happen: You will get hurt or you will get slower.
When just focusing on a marathon you take away from the consistency of the other aspects of triathlon and often neglect the things that will make you stronger come April and May.
Intensity requires a period of moderation in order to remain productive. Constant pressure can cause cracks in the strongest substance. Athletes are no exception. Pressure to compete year round can blur what is most important during your triathlon season.

Many athletes fail at recovery since they feel as though it is the lack of discipline after a successful season of discipline. I feel the exact opposite. Recovery requires more discipline than training. There’s a saying in Yoga: “When you control your breath, you control everything.” This is also my philosophy for recovery: When you control recovery, you control everything.

Ron Tribendis, D.C., is a member of the Endurance Corner coaching network. He has been competing in triathlons for over 10 years, qualifying for Kona and the 70.3 World Championships. He has also coached multiple athletes to Kona and Clearwater. He currently lives in Frisco, Texas, where he operates a sports medicine chiropractic clinic, North Texas Performance Chiropractic. He is a USAT Level 1 coach and active release (ART) full body certified.