The debate about whether talent or determination is more important when it comes to reaching the pinnacle of professional sport is a difficult topic for me to assess. Arguably I was lacking on both fronts, and therefore it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which I got close to reaching even the lowest levels of professional sport, yet alone the pinnacle. Nevertheless I still look towards professional sport for ideas which can improve me as an amateur athlete. Even though the motivation to try to run fast times may have diminished over recent years, I still look towards professional sport for ways to make my training more efficient, more effective and more enjoyable.
On of the areas I’ve looked at particularly closely is around rest and recovery. For athletes at any level, it is a hugely important aspect of whatever training plan you are following, and also one which directly impacts your day to day life. If you feel stiff or sore for 3 or 4 days following a hard training session, that can reduce your motivation to put in a similar effort again in the future, particularly if you find that impacting your sleep and your daily energy levels, as those issues may also impact your performance at work, what activities you do at home and many other areas of your life. Therefore if you can find a way to improve your recovery to maybe reduce the period where you feel stiff or sore to maybe only 1 or 2 days, that isn’t only going to have a big impact on your ability to train throughout the week but your everyday life. I don’t always get things right in terms of my recovery, but these days I know what good habits look like in this area and try to follow those as much as I can.
However, in terms of longer periods of rest, I generally haven’t done what the professionals do. Whilst the globalisation of professional sport has eroded the traditional calendars for most sports, elite athletes will still generally have at least one period of at least 2-3 weeks away from training each year, and to be able to hit peak performance you would normally want a longer rest period than that to allow your body time to fully recover. I’m approaching two weeks since my last run, and the last time I did that was December 2019, immediately after I completed my 12th Marathon of that year. Since then it has been incredibly rare for me to go more than one week without running, and when I have, typically I’ve still been training on my bike. Which indeed I’ve been doing this week, albeit 3 of my 4 sessions have been incredibly light sessions.
Whilst the past week has been frustrating, particularly as I’m not sure whether running would aggravate my back injury or not, I’ve at least been able to reassure myself that this period of light training will do me good in the longer term. I was definitely overdue a longer period of rest, and having struggled a bit with my training over the past two Summers, this enforced rest might be something which really benefits me in a few months time.
But why did it take an injury for me to take a longer break? Well, what happened to Wout van Aert this week was sadly the perfect example of why. For context, WvA had built his entire Winter and early Spring schedule around being in the best shape possible for the Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix. He rode a reduced Cyclo-cross season, even missing the World Championships, missed Strade Bianchi and even the first monument of the season, Milan San Remo, all in an effort to peak for these two races. And then on Wednesday in his last race before the Tour of Flanders, he was one of multiple riders caught up in a bad crash, broke his collarbone and multiple ribs and will not only miss both the Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix, but also a number of races after that.
On the one hand, this is very bad misfortune. Had he avoided that crash, maybe he would have gone on to win one or both of the upcoming monuments and then the decision to focus on these races would have been vindicated. On the other hand, as an athlete at any level, you know that the next injury or illness could be around the corner at any time. Taking a rest now to feel better in two months is good provided everything goes to plan, but if misfortune does strike, the frustration is doubled, as you not only have the frustration of any future events you will miss, but also the frustration regarding any events you chose to miss in order to take an extended rest.
Ultimately, I prefer not to plan too far ahead and instead listen to my body. Right now it is telling me I’m not ready to return to full training, so I’ll view this as an opportunity to rest, even if that is an enforced rest.
Scorpo Stories 