It's a numbers game, but should triathletes just be chasing numbers?

Hours, miles, kilometres…. just some of the numbers triathletes track and chase on a weekly and annual basis. What's more important, quality or quantity? Let's discuss the numbers game.

These days, it's so easy to log, track and record every last detail of our training, diet, race performance, even our daily steps and sleeping hours. As type-A personalities, we love to pore over stats, crunching the numbers to fine-tune our training and performance with every passing year. 

Even before GPS watches, activity monitors, and smart phone apps, triathletes loved to chase numbers. I bet every old-school triathlete has a pile of paper training journals in the attic, charting decades of mile splits, victorious PBs, and DNFs they'd rather forget.

So why do we spend so much time and energy chasing the numbers of our sport?

I think the answer to that is clear enough: because we want to make progress. And what can be measured, can be improved. But I wonder how many of us actually make good use of all that data we collect? And do we chase quantity of numbers at the expense of quality sessions?

How many times have you heard triathletes ask "how many hours does it take to train for an Ironman?" Perhaps you've even asked the same question yourself. But how often have you heard anyone ask "what pace should I aim to hit for the bike leg of an Ironman?", or "how intense should my swim sprints be 6 months out from my Ironman race date?"

I guess it's human nature to think bigger is better, and to constantly think "more"! Most triathletes have the mentality that more is better, and total hours logged is the ultimate number to chase during training (yet, ironically, they're looking for the least amount of total time during a race!) As an endurance sport coach, I agree that numbers are important. But are they the be-all and end-all of successful triathlon training? I don't think so. Yes, it's critical to keep a close eye on pace, speed, distance and time. But it's also very important to think about quality. 

There comes a point when more is no longer more. When some of your mileage becomes "junk miles", when you chase round numbers just for the sake of it, when you add a training session to compete with a club mate or to boost your ego, it's time to step back and reassess. 

My challenge to you as we move into 2015 is to focus on quality before quantity. I'm not worried that any of you are going to skimp on training volume (you're triathletes, after all!) So trust that the distance and time will take care of itself if you focus in on the quality of your miles. Think about race pace, sprint sessions, intervals, and lactate threshold. Work harder and smarter, rather than longer. Don't go for the easy route of adding a few more slow miles to your run or ride, just for the sake of the numbers.

What do you think?