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Me and Triathlon Stuff - A Season Wrap-Up...

Monday, 18 November 2019 23:10

By Ted Treise (Submitted 11/13)

Well the season is over and here I am on a Saturday morning at Isles Buns, a local coffee  shop/bakery in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis. I haven't had a serious workout since Augusta at the end of September and it's been a nice change of pace. The first couple weeks were a little ADHD'esque. From going full bore since the start of December with at least 2 scheduled workouts each day to zero leaves me a little antsy without the structure I've been accustomed too.  With that extra time, I still love to do a little something  each day exercise-wise along with staying in the office a little later. As much as I try to separate  myself from this sport during this time to rejuvenate, it's hard not to think about triathlon.  What went well during last year? Where did I mess up? How could I have avoided being injured? What things should get more attention and what things are a waste of time? One thing that fell by the wayside was writing and probably social media in general. Sorry sponsors! So with that, enjoy this longer-than-it-should-be write up called "me & triathlon stuff".
 
To recap the past 11 months so we're all on the same page, here are some bullet points highlights....

 
- Started training in December 2018 for 2019
- January Tri Camp w/ Matt Hanson
- April IT Band injury
- Ironman 70.3 TX - 1st Pro Race; DNF
- Ironman 70.3 St. George North American Champship ;DNF
- Engaged to Dani Vsetecka (eye heart emoji's & high fives)
- LifeTime Maple Grove Triathlon; 1st place
- Ironman 70.3 Augusta; 14th place
 
Alright… glad we're on the same page. 
 
Things that went well
 
-The base season 
 
At the end of 2018, I was pumped. We just came off a great season ending with a win at Ironman Waco 70.3 and I was on my way to filing for my pro card, the big leagues. Granted at Waco, I ran myself into an injury hammering hills on a 'Hoka Time to Fly Segment' for some free shoes (worth it!), the month off of running with PT at Odom Health and Wellness seemed to fly by. Once December hit, Coach Nate and I were getting back into wkos on the trainer and spending some time in the gym getting ready for the real season to begin in January. I think this time went really well. It was a no pressure part of the year where watts or pace aren't too much of an issue and just putting in the time to build the foundation. 
 
-Swimming
 
You might say, "but Ted, you didn’t make a swim pack past 200 yards, and spent over $300 on lost swim bets with Dani". And I'll say "meh, I did learn to not play cards with the hustler that I share a roof with (I BEAT HER almost EVERY OW PRACTICE SWIM), but I think I finally learned how get better (slowly) at swimming." It started with swimming more. Dani would go to the pool every day during the winter vs. my 3 days a week. So, I started going every day too, doubling the weekly yardage. This changed my perspective from swimming being a skill sport to something you just need to put time into. Still a focus on great form, but it's not the only ingredient. Form-wise, we did a camp with Julie Dibbens in Boulder in June and learned how to open up the entry, keep the hips in-line, and finish each stroke. It was very helpful and looking forward to more time in the water  going into 2020.
 
- How to be healthy'ish
 
What went well about me being healthy'ish was the appreciation I received from being able to lace up and go for a run. I don’t mean appreciation in the sense of #blessed #runlove #cantstopwontstop. More in the sense of the time it takes to make the body run fluidly. There was a time this year where I would kind of slam my way through workouts. Not enough warm up or cool down. Choosing some slippery ice with Yac-Tracks on for a tempo run vs. being slightly bored on the treadmill. The appreciation of running came to the contrary. Warming up with some dynamic movements and doing a Jasyoga reset after each run along with some band work. 
 
 
Things that could have gone well-er
 
- Not getting injured
 
Yeah, no, this really stunk. April through about beginning of August was me trying to run 30 min without pain. The problem was finally overcome working with Andrew  at Odom along with slowing down my run speed to about a 8 min pace. From there, I was able to build and slowly work my way back into form. But how could it be avoided? Ah... hard to put a single explanation on it. I think it was a few things going into it. 1.) Putting too much time in outside on the snowy trails in yac- tracks, tempo runs and all. 2.) Bad footwear. I am not a 130lb runner with perfect arches I've learned. No super fly % shoes for me! 3.) Rushing back into the injury a little quickly didn’t help too much either. This could be a write-up in itself, but there’s something to be said to allow the body to heal and not leave an attempted run. 
 
- More patience on getting better
 
When making the shift from the AG field to the pro field, there’s an immediate ‘things are getting real’ moment. Something similar to closing the cargo door of a UHaul as you move across the country or putting on the cap and gown as you’re graduating college. These same feelings were sparked in triathlon when the Texas 70.3 roster came out. “Let’s see, TO, Starky, Matt Hanson, TJ Tollakson, … (some others)… &   Ted Treise. Yup. That makes sense.” I had a mind shift from being an athlete hitting his numbers to an Alchemist trying to make gold out of something that’s already on simmer, ready to be served, in the oven. So how could this of gone well-er? In the future I’ll have more patience for the time it takes to improve. This means, to me, observing workouts as they happen, knowing I am doing the best I can, and having more segregation of where I am vs. where I think I should be. When going to races, do everything I can do execute my plan and hit the numbers.
 

- Fueling
 
 
By far one of the most important things within a triathlon race. In 2018, I went from eating a Nature Valley bar or two on the ride to dialing in how many carbs/hour. This was a huge breakthrough. In 2019, I continued this strategy with an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality. However, ‘ain’t broke’ was broke. My stomach would go through cramps as I rode the waves of blood sugar spikes and troughs. I thought this was as expected for going pretty hard for 4 hours, but after talking with others, there’s lots of room for improvement here. I will continue to dial in a better nutrition strategy. Maybe using Gen-UCAN and less Clif bars. We will see!
 
 
Well that’s a wrap, hope you enjoyed ‘me & triathlon stuff’. As always, I could not have gotten through this year without the sponsors behind me. Odom Health and Wellness for their support and great PT work. Chris Balser for a world class bike fit and someone to talk to about all things triathlon. All the great people at Jasyoga, I do a HIT RESET after every run and it was absolutely key coming back from injury. And finally, Kiwami for the best kit on the starting line.