C.: I need to train for the Cat Skills games, but I need some motivation. I think one of the chapters in d.c.’s book, “Beyond the Thirteenth Mile; The Iron Man Chronicles” has something to say about training. It got a five star review, so this may be a good source for my training.
There is a difference, as everyone who has ever laced up a pair of athletic shoes knows, from the infamous “weekend warrior" to the consummate professional, between pain and injury. Pain is something that an athlete must learn to deal with on an ongoing basis, while an injury is not. Although it’s sometimes extremely difficult to know the difference between the two, being well informed about this can save you both time and money, as well as avoid exacerbating an injury. Knowing your body well enough to know when it’s informing you that there’s something wrong beyond fatigue can help save you from unnecessarily damaging your muscle tissues or joints.
Most professional athletes have extremely high thresholds of pain, which serves professional football and hockey players well. A true "weekend warrior" with too much of a “good thing'' can do serious damage to his or her body, though.
Actually, a more accurate term would be “sweet discomfort.” This feeling takes you out of your comfort zone, but doesn’t mean you’re suffering pain beyond what’s tolerable for you. That would mean injury, and knowing the warning signals that you’re injured will, in the long run, keep you, as an amateur athlete, from becoming injury and accident-prone.
Since most injuries are largely due to overtraining, setting up a schedule that won’t overtax your body is very helpful if you’re beginning a new chapter in your athletic career. Starting out slowly will help you get your body acclimated to its new routine.
A "light week" (doing 50% of what your body is capable of doing) is a good way to start. This should be followed by a "moderate week" of exercise (about 75% of your maximum capabilities), followed by a "hard week" (90-100% of the physical activity for which you’re training should be attempted during this week.) Each of these weeks should include one or two rest days (even three is acceptable during your hardest week of training). These three weeks should be followed by a "rest week," which is exactly what it sounds like—a week during which you don’t exert yourself to physical exhaustion. (I personally believe that most people would benefit from a “rest week” every now and then when it comes to real life.) Don’t sit on your duff, though. A well-trained body will atrophy quickly if this happens.
An "active recovery week" can also be beneficial when you’re more mentally tired of training than physically. It’s also a preferable alternative to complete and total rest (the exception would be if you’re injured and are following a doctor’s orders). An active recovery week includes exercising with no time or distance goals involved. In other words, "stop and smell the roses." (It’s my own personal belief that many people would also greatly benefit from an "active recovery" week or even a day like this every now and then, as well as a rest week.)
Of course, you should taper your physical activities beginning two weeks before a major event, and always consult a physician when nagging pain lingers. In conclusion, as a novice, you shouldn’t up your physical activities by more than 10% per cycle.