I’ve come to think that it takes about 4 years of dedicated focus to master a new skill. The progression may be faster or slower depending on the level of effort and amount of time put into the skill but I think 4 years is a good timeframe to work with. In my mind I like to break these four years into the same structure as high school and college: freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years. This makes it easy for me to guage my progression and keep my expectations in perspective.
When thinking back on my running background it’s easy to see a progression from a high school freshman to senior and then from a college freshman to senior.
Freshman:
Typically, freshman year is a learning and development year. You learn to be consistent and may not score a lot of points for your team in cross country or track. They tend to learn from their mistakes and need the first year to learn the ropes from the upperclassmen. They may have a few great races here and there and then a lot of races to learn from.
Sophomore:
Your sophomore year is a continuation from your freshman year but you start to make bigger gains and your races show it. You tend to make less mistakes but are still not at the top ranks. A sophomore will tend to score points in races but isn’t going to be consistently in the top 3 overall.
Junior:
As a junior you are now looked at as being a team leader. You’ve got two years under your belt and rarely make the rookie mistakes like the underclassmen. You tend to see a lot more top 3 finishes and are very consistent but you aren’t dominating the competition.
Senior:
Your senior year is the year to shine. You are now a threat to win every race that you enter and are a contender for national titles. You can be counted upon race after race for a top performance and you are very confident in your abilities. You have a vast amount of knowledge to share with the underclassmen and do your best to help them along the way.
Moving Up:
After dominating in high school it’s time to move on to the college rankings. Unfortunately the distances covered are longer and the competition is stiffer. You no longer have the fastest “kick” at the end of the race so need to adjust your expectations and race strategy. The longer race distance and higher training load is an adjustment and you find yourself back where you started in high school……bottom of the totem pole. The cycle repeats itself until you are yet again the team leader and a threat to win every race when you hit your senior year.
The Correlation To Triathlon:
I’m following a similar path to the one above with my triathlon career to this date. Currently I find myself in my sophomore year of college since last year was my first season racing in the pro field.
“High School” Freshman (2004):
The 2004 season was my first season training for triathlons. I didn’t race in 2004 but I signed up for my first race and got in 6 months of dedicated training. I got dropped on training rides by the guys that have been around for a while and bonked too many times to count. I didn’t have much direction with my training but was learning every step of the way.
“High School” Sophomore (2005):
In 2005 I raced 4 times with mixed results. I placed 3rd and 5th in my Olympic distance races and completely blew up in my half Ironman and Ironman. There was some promise shown in training and a couple of races but the mistakes made were plentiful.
“High School” Junior (2006):
The 2006 season was the first time placing top 5 in the age group ranks in a big time race. The season started off with some top 3 and top 5 finishes in local races and a top five in my age group in a national race: Ironman Lake Placid. This race qualified me to race on the international level at the Ironman World Championships. I was knocking on the door during the junior year but still needed another year of development to have a really solid performance.
“High School” Senior (2007):
In 2007 I was a threat to win the local races and had a breakthrough race at Ironman Florida where I went 8:49 and set a new M30-34 AG course record. Instead of going to Kona in 2008 to challenge the AG for a top finish I decided to move up to the pro ranks after qualifying with my Florida performance.
“College” Freshman (2008):
The 2008 season it was back to the drawing board. The competition was much stiffer and the rules changed. Race tactics play a much bigger role and the ability to make the swim pack becomes more crucial. The wetsuit rule got moved to 72 degrees instead of 78 degrees as an amateur, the draft zone is longer and there is no slipstreaming, and the guys you are racing against are blazing fast. In 2008 I think I tried to take some shortcuts to getting ready to race against the top guys and it pushed me to an injury that lasted throughout the season. I was also a bit intimidated by the level of competition and had a hard time finding my place within the ranks. It’s tough to be a freshman all over again!!
“College” Sophomore (2009):
This year, 2009, I find myself in the middle of my sophomore year of the pro rankings. I’ve decided to figure out who the “Seniors” were by doing race recon and put them out of my mind while in each race. That way I’m only concerned with the guys that I feel I have a shot to beat…..the other underclassmen. I’m still making mistakes but am also showing some promise by placing a top 5 at Rhode Island and top 6 at Eagleman. Next year, as a junior, to keep up with my progression I will need to consistently place in the top 3-4 overall at the 70.3 races and in 2011 I’ll be knocking on the door for some 70.3 victories. That’s the plan!
Summary:
It takes time to develop a new skill and once you feel like you’ve got a good handle on it you can always move up to the next level. I like to break things down like this to remind myself that a lot of the guys that I’m racing against have been doing this for quite some time and I’ll get there if I’m patient and stay focused on the tasks at hand. There’s always that tendency to try and rush the process but some things just take time and experience.