Coach Lance Watson in Kona: Building an Ironman Champ
By Lance Watson
Oct. 15, 2007
-- At Triathlete's "Legends of the Lava" seminar last week, a question was posed to Mark Allen, Dave Scott and Paula Newby Fraser: "Why did you guys race so fast back then, compared to now?” As a coach fascinated by models of long term athlete development (LTAD), my ears perked up to hear their answers.
Paula talked about having no barriers and chasing the guys in training, rather than a structured regime that might present limits. Mark and Dave eluded the fear factor of racing each other and training for a 7:45 Ironman and 2:30ish marathon, to be fit enough to lay that down if necessary. There were less group tactics and more going solo and going hard.
Relative to Paula's comments, in my own experience I have seen what high level training partners can do for an athlete's preparation. I think back to Greg Bennett helping Simon Whitfield get ready to win Olympic Gold in 2000. Good work ethic and a great training program coupled with training mates who push you that extra little bit. And, as Mark and Dave alluded to, if you are constantly exposed to the highest level of training and competition, it becomes the norm that you strive for. Building the National Triathlon Centre in Canada, I always welcomed international athletes into the program, because I knew the impact of that on our young Canadian athletes. Many of those young athletes are now amazing international competitors. Maybe you have heard of Kirsten Sweetland, a 19 year old winning World Cups internationally?
Reflecting on their winning times, PNF's 8:55 and 8:58 are unbelievable. That woman is an exceptional athlete. Looking at Mark's 8:07, and Luc Van Lierde's 8:04, it seems that a sub-8 in Kona is well overdue.
Most proponents of LTAD would agree that an athlete in their teen years needs to work on motor skill acquisition (i.e. learn how to swim and run efficiently), speed and threshold, with less focus on endurance. I am regularly asked by parents on how to prepare their 8, 9 or 10 year old for a 10k run. That is hard on their growth plates and also too long to go for that age, even if they tell you they love it! It's better for their health and long term potential to run school cross country at 1 to 3 miles and go as fast as they possibly can.
Consider that many of the finest Ironman athletes have also won short course worlds: Michellie Jones, Erin Baker, Greg Welch, Mark Allen, Karen Smyers and now Chris McCormack. Normann Stadler and Natasha Badmann also won World titles in duathlon at the 10k run-40k bike-5k run distance. It means that these guys and gals needed to be really, really fast in their early to mid-20's. As I watched Macca and Crowie tear up the run course yesterday, I was immediately reminded of witnessing their run prowess at the shorter distances, and the speed and finesse with which they tackled 10k's off the bike.
With the proliferation of Ironman and the excitement that surrounds it, it concerns me that many late teen and early 20's athletes will solely turn their attention to long distance training, and miss those critical threshold-development years that will ultimately impact their Ironman potential. Like Haile Gebrselassie or Paula Radcliffe in the marathon, they first honed their 5000m and 10000m speed before moving up to longer distances.
Kudos to the World Triathlon Corporation for building a bridge to Ironman with the 70.3 series. I believe this pathway will greatly build depth and ultimately for performance at the Ironman World Championships. With Craig Alexander and Samantha McGlone's performances this year, the proof is already in the pudding!
LifeSport coach Lance Watson is in Kona as the Official Coach of Ironman. He has coached 16 Ironman wins. To learn more about LifeSport or to start on a great coaching journey, contact Coach@LifeSport.ca, or visit www.LifeSport.ca