Coming Back to Triathlon After a Break

Returning to triathlon after a break can seem like a daunting challenge, but it is more common than you may imagine. Breaks from sport happen for many different reasons: injury, burnout, fatigue, work stress, focusing on family, big life events, etc. For over 20 years Playtri Coaching has helped countless athletes come back to triathlon after a break.

As a coach and athlete who has come back from numerous breaks, here are my top recommendations.

Accept where you are. I’ve seen this in a lot of athletes (my younger self included): an athlete has great success in the sport, then has an injury or steps back to focus on family or work, and gets stuck in thinking about the glory days. This athlete ends up thinking more about how much fitness they have lost because of the break instead of thinking about how much fitness they are gaining after the break. You can’t make progress in sport if you are focused on how things used to be.

Acknowledge your limits. It’s important to acknowledge that your life is different after the break then before, so don’t expect to be able to do the same type of training and racing. You may have limited time because of new family or work commitments. You may have limitations on your training because of return from injury. And there is a bit of grief in acknowledging those limits. It’s okay to grieve that things are different, but don’t let that grief dictate what you do. You may not be able to go out for regular 3 hour rides, but maybe you can go out for 2 hour rides with the occasional 3 hour ride every free weeks. Do what you can with what you have.

Find joy in regaining health. In 2017 I had shoulder surgery that required my dominant arm to be immobilized for 6 weeks and then required 6 months of physical therapy to get back strength and range of motion. Regaining that strength and range of motion was more difficult than I could have imagined. Instead of resigning myself to never doing the sport I love ever again, I found joy in the improvements: when I was able to lift my baby daughter over my head, when I was finally able to bike and run without discomfort, and when 2 years later I was finally able to swim with no pain. When we come back from a break, we are given the opportunity to experience our sport as a new athlete all over again.

Focus on the process, not the outcome. As triathletes, we like to set big goals. And setting a big goal after a break from the sport is natural. But… don’t let the desired outcome be your primary focus. Let’s say you come back to the sport and your goal is to qualify for a World Championship or get on the podium or break a certain time goal. You put in the training and you work hard and then what happens if you don’t reach that goal? Was coming back to the sport a failure? No. Because in that return to sport maybe you learned new bike handling skills or you improved your swim or you are running faster than you ever have or you learned how to train your gut for race day or you regained your health. Your development as an athlete and a human being is much more important than a specific outcome.

Work with a coach. The benefits of working with a coach as you return from a break should not be underestimated. A good coach can inject some realism into your goals, can develop a structured training plan to ensure you progress, and can offer accountability. Returning from a break is hard. Going it alone is even harder. No matter the challenges or limitations you feel like you have a good coach can help you maximize your time and abilities so you can regain fitness and perform at your best on race day.

Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 4 Coach and Coach Education Lead, a USAT LI Certified Coach, an NASM Certified Personal Trainer, and an Ironman and 70.3 World Championship Qualifier who works with adult athletes from beginners to IRONMAN World Championship qualifiers. Learn more about Jim at www.playtri.com/jim-rowe