Constant Training vs. Constant Racing ... what's your approach?

I was recently faced with a dilemma of sorts this past Thursday: I had committed to racing in a super-sprint tri, but also had a planned trainer session that afternoon per my workout plan. Now, I'm not a frequent racer by any means. I typically pick 3-4 longer races a year and just train for those year round, but I felt a huge pang of excitement for hammering out a quick 400m/8mi/1.5mi sprint and maybe bagging a Top 5 finish. My coach was promptly called and informed of my on-the-fly race decision. Then I got yelled at. Big time. I couldn't understand it.

(Paraphrased, just in case there are kids reading my blog. Like it matters. Ya never know.)

"It's just a sprint," I said.

"Ummmm.....didn't you want to PR Augusta!!?," he quickly shot back.

"Of course, but this is just a short, hard workout for me!"

"Stick to your training plan. If Tom passes you on the run in Augusta, I'm going to be pissed."

Hell hath no wrath like a coach scorned.

I understood where my coach was coming from. The miles represented by that super-sprint had no purpose for me. They aren't representative of the training I need to have to race a 70.3.

He needs his athletes to stick to their plan so they can perform at their best during their A-Races. I would be the same way. If I had an athlete that shot off-the-cuff to do a low-priority race in lieu of regular training, I wouldn't let them hear the end of it. I was just excited at the time.

You see the pros do this all the time. They'll go hammer out a Top-10 finish at a high-profile Sprint, Oly, or 70.3, take a couple weeks, and repeat all season long. Some athletes think, "Well if that guy/girl can race that much in a season, why can't I?" I've got four words for you: THAT IS THEIR JOB. The year of a pro is meticulously planned specifically so they can sustain that level of effort at that frequency as well as minimize their injury risk.

Us mortals, not so much. Sure, we can sign up for all the races we want. You might be able to muster a 100% awesome effort for the first couple races, but unless you've got the discipline to recover and train smartly, all those hard efforts will catch up to you and likely lead to some unplanned downtime or undesirable finish times. 

How did the story from above end, you ask? Well. It rained that day. Hard. There was no race to go to that afternoon anymore. I'm guessing the Tri Gods heard the discussion between me and my coach and decided to intervene. The trainer session was great and, as an athlete, I feel better served by it.

Cheers everyone. Train well.