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Before each
training session, ask yourself what the aim of the session is,
(skills, endurance, recovery etc) and stick to it.
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Write out a
weekly training schedule taking care to spread out your swim, bike
and run sessions and rest/recovery periods.
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The percentage of
time you train in each discipline should roughly mirror the
percentage of each discipline in triathlon, i.e. 20% swim, 50% bike
and 30% run for an Olympic length triathlon.
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Concentrate on
your weaknesses without neglecting your strengths.
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At the end of
each session, your aim should be to still have some energy left in
the “fuel tank” for the next session. Avoid completely exhausting
yourself.
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Don’t use up your
race mileage in your training. Look at it like a bank account;
steady training is like putting money in the account that builds up,
over time, to an amount that you can then withdraw to pay for the
race. Constantly taking money out of the account by training too
intensively/extensively leaves you “overdrawn” for the race.
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If your legs are
feeling a bit tired, bike instead of running.
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When increasing
your training load, increase intensity or distance/time but
not both at the same time.
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Try to keep
training time increases to no more than 10% extra per week.
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When swimming, to
go faster, concentrate on lowering your stroke count, by making your
strokes longer, rather than speeding up your stroke. Less strokes =
more efficiency = faster speed for the same effort.
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Avoid very long
runs. 18 miles maximum even for Ironman training. You will get your
endurance from long bike sessions and bricks (bike/run combos). Very
long runs require very long recovery periods resulting in lost
training time.
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Try using a heart
rate monitor to gauge your effort.
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Have at least 1
rest day per week.
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If overly tired,
have an extra rest day. It takes 4 days to start de- conditioning so
you are losing nothing by resting the extra day.
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Your
rest/recovery time is as important as your training time.
Improvement happens during rest and recovery which you then see in
your next training session. Treat rest/recovery time as an integral
part of your training instead of “dead time” between training
sessions.
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On the bike, try
and spin a lower gear faster (90 rpm) rather than “mashing” a higher
gear slower. This will increase efficiency and save your knees from
blowing up!
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Above
all, enjoy your training! Although primarily used to get you race
fit, training can be a means to an end in itself with many
triathletes quietly admitting to enjoying the training more than the
racing!
