POSE IN PRESS A collection of articles about Pose Method and Dr.Romanov in various publications.
220 TRAITHLON MAGAZINE (UK)
April 2001 #128
All about… Tim Don
After finishing a tremendous 10th in Sydney, what does 2001 have in store for the congenial Tim Don? 220 finds out…
Q. While the rest of us brave the British winter, where are you? And what are you up to?
A. I don't like the cold. My mum and dad didn't pass on their Northern resist-the-cold genes and so I'm in South Africa for the winter, again. My broken wrist of last year has not put me off coming back here.
After the Olympics, which was out of this world, I had a holiday in Thailand pretending to be a 'backpacker' and getting up to things one can't do while in training. Then it was back to the serious stuff and I left the UK in mid November. Sorry to go on about it but it makes such a difference to me training in the sun. I haven't spent a winter at home since 1997 and the conditions here are ideal. As with Australia, where I spent some of last year and also the winter 1998/9, South Africa's outdoor lifestyle means that the facilities and people are so supportive of all sportsmen and women. I am in good company - I often see Jan Ulrich and the Telecom Cycling team when I'm out on the road, and the Swedish National Squad and some GB pole-vaulters use the same track as me.
Q. What are the facilities like? And are there any follow GB triathletes out there with you?
A. I have been based at the Stellenbosch University campus.
They have a 33m outdoor pool, 25m indoor pool, a top quality track with a gym, massage and physio back-up.
The rest of the GB Tri-squad arrived at the start of February, which has been great. In fact, they had only been here a couple of weeks before I came home for ten days for some 'testing', with my coaches Graham Fletcher and Dr Nicholas Romanov (A big thanks to Alan at the King Edwards pool in Sheffield for all the pool time he was kind enough to give us). The testing was very successful and showed I am getting stronger and faster.
Q. How have you varied your training this winter?
A. My winter training does not alter that much from year to year. Graham and Nic are definitely from the low volume school of coaches but are very scientific. All my quality sessions are based around my ability to recover. Heart rate is the crucial element and means my programme is totally individual. For example, when I'm doing a number of intervals on the track, I have a target time to complete the required distance in, as usual. But instead of having a set recovery time, it is decided by my HR dropping to a certain level. It does, however, mean that I do all my quality cycling and running on my own and don't have a training partner to help remember rep times. Polar's S Series HR monitors are the answer, they enable me to download all the relevant information (rep time, average HR of rep and time to recovery HR) straight into my computer.
New this year, Polar have introduced a power output device for cycling. Wattage, pedal balance and power distribution (during each round of pedaling) are the statistics available. Again, this works out ideally in combination with the HR feedback. I know that my cycling is getting stronger, because at the same HR I have increased my power output. Also, in the same way you get a coach to look at your stroke in the pool, the power distribution feature gives me constant feedback on the smoothness of my pedaling and confirms I'm using the correct muscles at the right time.
Q. What other areas of fitness are you focusing on?
A. Another key factor to my training is speed. The training cycle is designed to build on the speed I can run at over short distances, into running 10k quicker. I have a four-week cycle: the first three are spent trying to get quicker over distances, with the fourth week being an easier week but with time-trials. The distances vary for each four-week cycle.
Hand-in-hand with speed is good technique. Again, most people will have their swim stroke looked at but running technique is just as important. The POSE method of running (developed by Dr Romanov - see issue 125 of 220 to master this technique) has been fundamental to increasing my speed. Continually monitoring and adjusting my technique with drills and strength exercises improves my muscle elasticity and running efficiency.
Q. What are your goals for the up-coming season?
A. I can't wait for the season to start. My 10th place at the Olympics has given me masses of confidence. I really want to start challenging for a place on the podium at World Cup races and I will start the season in Japan at Gamagori, and a week later at Ishigaki.
The Europeans are also a major target and with 8th in 1999 and 6th last year, I want a medal this year.
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