With the New Year, I trolled thru my training diary to summarize my workload for the past 8 years, to see if I could learn anything from a ten-thousand foot view:
Yr Swim#/hrs/dist Bike#/hrs/dist Run#/hrs/dist Wts#/hrs Ski#/hrs Totals
2007 126/103/262653m 178/349/5081mi 170/149/1029mi 79/69 12/26 565/695
2008 137/119/316179 168/327/5062 180/160/1078 74/56 11/29 570/690
2009 137/119/323940 177/361/5734 187/163/1095 61/48 19/37 582/728
2010 80/62/177487 125/256/4288 124/106/745 28/24 16/36 373/483
2011 140/106/284413 144/283/4700 165/134/926 85/65 11/20 545/608
2012 124/95/254548 141/260/4488 141/128/875 65/37 17/31 488/551
2013 117/96/6265757 139/274/4589 151/156/1089 111/44 7/12 526/584
2014 113/99/268774 132/275/4500 149/159/1083 105/52 25/49 524/634
A few comments about the years:
- 2009 featured my highest volume, most workouts, and overall best results: 2 course record/IM AG wins, a trip to Kona, and my run and bike PRs for an IM
- 2010 was cut short in Mid-Sept; extrapolating to a full year, the totals would have been a bit less than the year before
- 2012 was repeatedly interrupted by a series of minor surgeries, which really ate into my swimming, and disrupted training in general
- 2014 results: Boston Marathon finish > 5 minutes under the BQ time; IM age group wins x 2 @ CDA and AZ; Qualifying for USAT Nat’l Team for ITU World Championships in ’15; a sorry finish in Kona. Ski numbers are inflated by a ski trip this December.
Conclusion: I think volume does make a difference when searching for the final few % needed for ultimate success. I intend to up the work in all three sports this year, a lot in cycling, some in swimming, and a little in running. Also, the best year I had in triathlon, was also the year I skied the most the previous winter (2009), for whatever that’s worth.