This year David has set another aggressive goal for himself.  I am so excited about the uniqueness of this goal and how David plans to go about executing on it!  We will all undoubtedly learn a great deal as things unfold.

As you may have seen on his Home page, David feels that the primary challenge facing him during this summer’s process will be “recovery time”.  He will be increasing his race count (from his 2008 feat) and significantly decreasing his recovery time between races.  Over the summer, I will be concentrating on helping David with his mental recovery time.  This first article lays some foundation for that focus.  I hope it helps you with your newest challenge, too!

To begin with, let me state the obvious reality as this: whatever time David has between races will be the amount of time he has to recover – mentally, physically and emotionally. Unlike his approach last summer – when he had the opportunity to “run” the race ahead of time and then visualize the route for some of the races (a widely-used preparatory process used by elite athletes and other high performers in various fields), there will be times this summer when he will arrive at a race site, sight-unseen.  What he does with the time between races will be the key to maximizing his performance throughout his demanding schedule.

“Taking rest breaks is probably the most underestimated element of training in an athlete's program”, says Glenn Cook, Great Britain junior triathlon squad coach, many-time European and UK triathlon champion, and trainer for triathletes and runners from beginners to elite. 

For more, see http://www.timeoutdoors.com/Expert-advice/Running-advice/Training-for-running/Rest-and-recovery-for-runners. 

So now that David has begun training in earnest for this summer’s challenge, here are my coaching points for him to consider and experiment with as part of his preparation regimen.  I encourage you to conduct a modified parallel experiment if it makes sense to you.  Over time, we will have the opportunity to explore his experiences – and possibly yours - and mine any nuggets to share with his readers.  We are also thinking about post-race interviews that include exploration of his experiences from a mental perspective.

• Build in rest time each and every day.
• Build in active recovery time at appropriate intervals.
• Keep a journal each day about how much rest is taken and when.
• Notice how you feel each day before and after resting and capture those feelings in your journal.
• Note any exceptions to the ‘plan’ and their affect, if any, on you.
• As you plan your travel from city to city this summer, negotiate ‘rest’ periods with your hosts and dialogue with them about what you need from them and the environment when on site.
• Consider arranging for drivers between race sites to create rest opportunities you might not otherwise have.
• Spend time visualizing your preparation process so that it includes rest time.