Natural
talent or consistent hard training -
which is the most relevant for success
in endurance sports?
This
has been the age-old question, debated
and theorized for years by top coaches,
physiologists and top athletes. Now
a real-live human experiment will settle
this issue once and for all. What happens
when you take one of the top triathletes
of all time, de-train him for 10 years
and then launch a comeback to attain
elite level fitness for masters (age
40+) competition?
Andrew MacNaughton was one of the greatest.
There have been only a handful of triathletes
with the cycling ability that Andrew
displayed throughout his career as he
shattered course records and cruised
to over 20 victories around the globe.
Andrew competed on the professional
circuit from 1986 to 1993. Among west
coast athletes he is best known for
his three Wildflower wins and a bike
course record that stood for nine years.
Few can forget the off the bike leads
he forged of 13 minutes at the Monterey
Bay Half and the seven minutes at the
Wildflower Event 1987, or his "double-half"
week in May of 1990, when he won Wildflower
Half and then Bakersfield Half the following
weekend.
Even
today with space age equipment, superior
training methods and increased competition
and interest in triathlon, many of MacNaughton's
course records remain untouched for
over a decade. Some may never be broken.
Since
1993, Andrew has been sitting at a desk
staring at a computer screen, building
his JAG Enterprises web design and film
production business. Endurance training?
"I've averaged a 90 min ride on Saturdays
and one spin class a week since 1993,
all of it at a relaxed pace. During
that time, I did a couple events on
a whim and was surprised with the results
(overall winner at The Admirals Cup
in March 1998 and one of the faster
bike splits at the Challenged Athletes
Relay in 1999). I speculate that the
skill set developed by my 15 years of
intense training and incredible weekly
volume will hold and carry me through
the event, even with a reduced training
schedule, advanced age and a 10-year
taper. At 40 my muscle volume is supposedly
decreasing, but those who've known me
for a long time tell me I never had
much muscle volume anyway, so I won't
notice a difference."
For
his comeback, Andrew is eager to implement
some of the knowledge he acquired the
hard way during his career to train
more efficiently and avoid overtraining.
"Back when I started, there were no
coaches who could claim any credibility
or experience working with triathletes,
heart rate training was in its infancy
and conventional wisdom about diet and
performance supplementation was minimal.
I basically pounded my body with as
much training and I could handle, ate
a bland, high carbohydrate diet and
slept a ton trying to absorb the regimen,"
explained Andrew.
For
several years, Andrew AVERAGED over
300 miles per week on the bike, 50 miles
running and 15,000 yards swimming. Before
the days of drafting legal events, MacNaughton
would feast on hilly bike courses and
essentially decide the race after he
caught and rode away from the leaders
on the bike.
Today
with financial incentive diminished
and life responsibilities increased,
Andrew has no desire to return to the
high volume, total focus nature of his
pro career. Instead, he will embark
on a reasonable schedule of 8-10 hours
weekly training, a much healthier whole
foods diet and a targeted supplementation
program.
We
will follow Andrew on his quest to return
to the race course and challenge the
world's top athletes in the elite masters
division. Andrew turned 40 in fall 2002
and has set his sights on the Wildflower
half in May as his first event. He will
compete in the professionial division
on special invitation from the race
committee as a past-winner.
