This weekend was the Cheltenham Triathlon at the Sandford Park Lido, a fantastic open-air 50m pool in the heart of Cheltenham. It's a super-sprint event that appears to be growing year-on-year with around 700 entrants this year. My finishing time (for the 500m swim, 15km bike and 2.8km run) this year was 53:15. An improvement from 2008 where my time was just over 55minutes. @stoddy38 also improved on his 2008 time finishing in 52 minutes and change.
This then sparked a conversation that I have had with Stoddy a number of times. Namely at what age do you stop improving on your times and they start to deteriorate? This is as, almost without exception, whenever we have done an event the next time we do it we have improved our times and last I checked we're both ageing at the same rate! There are a number of factors that contribute to this not least of all the starting position!
1. You can only beat what's in front of you
When I started training I was in my late 20's although I would say only seriously when I was around 30/32. I didn't really do sport as a kid and only got going in my 20's playing football socially with work colleagues and the like. Occasional games of squash. This at the same time as being out a lot drinking and eating rubbish! It was during this period that I did my first marathon. London in 1997 finishing in a grand time of 4hr 20mins. Hardly tearing up trees but I did it. I then got married and had a son and so things went on hold until I started running again in my early 30's with work colleagues. I was out of shape and struggled to keep pace with guys that were up to 20years older than me. This is where I got hooked and started running properly. This then evolved to triathlon. When I trained for my first tri (Tewkesbury Sprint) I wasn't very scientific about training. I ran, biked and swam a bit. That was it. Fit enough to get around I did just that. Later that year I did Windsor Olympic distance and was in better shape but hardly brilliant.
What I learned though was what I needed to do. So more structure, smarter training and better eating etc to get a better performance. Over three years competing at Windsor I took nearly 15minutes off my first time despite being 3 years older. This trajectory sounds impressive (and I am proud of it) but is essentially down to the fact that my starting out times and performances were very average. My marathon time and PB illustrates this perfectly - aged 27 I completed London in 4:20; aged 38 I completed Gloucester marathon in 3:15.
2. Smarter
As you train, particularly in triathlon, you get into the lifestyle. Magazines, books, novels, websites - total immersion if you will. Everything is full of advice, the best kit, the best food the best races. How to swim properly drills. Brick sessions. As a newbie it's all a little daunting but over time I believe that you assimilate this knowledge to the point where you can even diagnose injuries. As knowledge improves so does performance (if you actually follow it I guess). Becoming a smarter athlete will improve your performance.
3. Experience
The first time you do it you don't know what to expect so maybe perform within yourself to ensure that you do not DNF. Once you have experience of a number of races and hours of training then you can push on in races with greater confidence.
4. Diet and Lifestyle
As I have matured (coughs) I drink much less alcohol, eat much less junk and get more sleep. That's bound to help?
So what's the answer? I think that there is little limit on performance that we do not control ourselves. I know what I need to do to be race fit, its up to me to do that or not. I think my performances will continue to improve as my knowledge continues to do so and each year I think I am probably a little bit more healthier holistically. One thing for certain is that whenever my times start to deteriorate I will continue to train and take part in events as ultimately that's a small part of the reason for doing it. The benefits of fitness, health and vitality are much stronger reasons for continuing in this direction than watching the clock.
