A look ahead

I am about to make a link between ultra endurance athletes and Special Warfare soldiers, only to prove a physical conditioning point, not a correlation between an ironman finisher being equal to a Special Warfare Operator. Because there isn't. 

Members of special warfare groups are not born with a patch on their shoulder or chest, they earn it through years of schooling and aptitude. In these schools are three phases of physical conditioning. The short term Toughening Phase where you are immediately pushed to beyond the breaking point in order for the cadre to determine if the candidate has the physical foundation and mental ability to start the program and complete it. Snivelers, those hiding injuries or those unable to show the endurance, coordination, strength or stamina are washed out over a day or at most a week or two. 

From the Toughening stage, which also triggers the body to adapt to lactic acid removal and increased blood flow, the candidate moves into the Conditioning Phase.  This is a longer phase of development occurring over several weeks or months where the body becomes more adaptable to the training stress placed upon it and the  rapid improvements in physical areas generally become the new standard of fitness. Improvements at this apex point tend come much more slowly. 

At this point the candidate enters the Sustaining Phase, where the new level of fitness is at the peak of the Conditioning Phase and is continued with less effort to maintain. A new norm is created where the learned physical behavior is maintained for as long as the person challenges them self to hold it. 

For those that are endurance athletes, do you see the similarities between how a soldier becomes a Green Beret and how a couch potato becomes an multiple marathoner or ironman?  The macro training schedule, the accumulation of a particular skill sets which in some cases take months or years to master? Both soldier and civilian achievements also suffer from large percentages of people who attempt to complete the challenge and fail due to a wide variety of obstacles or injuries. 

Back to me. Maybe you too. Even though I just finished an ironman distance event and my physical powers should be at high level of ability, after I recover I am going to go back to a Toughening Phase. Why?  Because my goals have changed for the near future. I have no desire today to train for another ironman. I will still swim and bike and maintain a level of high Sustainment in those categories assisting my team mates attempting to complete their own iron races, but my focus is going to be on becoming a faster, lighter runner in preparation for the Sally Meyerhoff 5k on December 10th. 

Running in preparation for finishing an ironman, from my finishing time perspective, is not the same as preparing to compete in a short road race or even stand alone marathon. It is a completely different animal. It is also a completely new challenge which is also important in creating a well rounded endurance life. Running will take on new meaning when it is judged in minutes instead of hours. When it is based on squeezing the life out of the road rather than feeling the course is slowly squeezing the life out of you. 

Oh, this is nothing new and comes as no surprise to accomplished runners. Training is always predicated on course distance. Yet, even with a focus change on running speed and distance, just by maintaining swimming and cycling with my team it will allow me to sustain a level of triathlon fitness that would allow me jump into any triathlon up to a half iron and finish it. Not saying compete in the Age Group, but finish. And that is enough for me at this point. 

It's not enough to exist, I am going to live.