Olympic Tri traning

[psquared]

A few questions:

I used a very basic training plan for a long sprint. It was a 10 week program. Would it make sense to just double it for Chicago? Would the taper be a little different? I am always second guessing training.

When do you combine strength training. I am a clydesdale so I dont want to put on much weight. Do you do it on swimming days? Biking? Does it matter?

[Aussie Rob]

I lift in the winter months. Cost/benefit doesn't pay off in summer....time usually better spent SBRing imo.

Durno knows a thing or two about the oly distance. *Paging durno*

[Janet E]

I also cut back on the strength training in peak season and try to SBR more.

One thing that you may find useful is to check out some of the free training programs offered on sites like the one below to give you a guide of some general recommendations.

www.trinewbies.com/tno_trainingprograms.asp

[jen]

ontri.com is also another site that you can access some things for free. You can put in the race type you are doing and the date and will get weekly e-mails and you can login and input what workouts you did and compare what you've done time-wise to what they suggest. It's been a good tool.

[watchman]

Jun 23, 2009 14:58:41 GMT -5 jen said:

ontri.com is also another site that you can access some things for free. You can put in the race type you are doing and the date and will get weekly e-mails and you can login and input what workouts you did and compare what you've done time-wise to what they suggest. It's been a good tool.

Jen

Thanks for that website.

It seems like it has some good stuff.

I like the training plans

mike

[MarkD]

Patrick,

A couple of thoughts on lifting... I don't see value in it during this time of the year - especially if you are training regularly. You'll get much more benefit from an extra swim or bike than you would in the gym. Save the weights for the off-season.

Regarding training - go with the basics for each discipline - one long - one tempo - one speed/resistance workout per discipline per week. If you can do more (like I said above) get an extra swim or bike in (don't risk injury by over-running).

Long workouts - all at aerobic pace for the first half - then pick it up toward the end:

Bike: Minimum 2 hours (shoot for 2.5 to 3 hours if you can)
Run: Minimum 70 minutes (shoot for 90 minutes + if you can)
Swim: Minimum 40 minutes (do them in open water if possibe)

Tempo workouts:

Do all disciplines slightly slower than race pace and for about the length of the race. Add in a 10 minute warm up to start.

Speed/Resistance workout:

Do them about the length of time that you will race each discipine and add in a 10 minute warm up & 5 minute cool down to these.

Bike: Do at 5-6 good size hills (i.e. metropark climbouts) or do 2 minute hard pickups on flatter terrrain.

Run: Hill workouts like the bike or a good track workout (I'm a big fan of the track - others are not). On the track - do 6-12 intervals of 400 meters and go about 5K pace (with a minute or two of joggin in between). Don't sprint these or you will die/puke quickly !!

Swim: Intervals, BABY !! Mix it up 100's/200's/300's/400's. Always finish with some FAST 25's or 50's before the cool down.

In all disciplines - focus on form during speed work.

Don't fear the lung searing pain - you'll thank yourself on race day !!

[psquared]

Thanks Mark. Great info. I think I just have trouble scheduling with the daily grind. I will try to focus on this. Might look at a tri coach for next year. Want to do a half iron. You interested?

[MarkD]

I've got 4 half irons under my belt. Next year I'm thinking about doing the Wildflower half Iron in early may (to establish my base), then doing the HFP series in the summer (all Olympic). Then, closing out the year with another Half Iron... but, we'll see. Too focused on this year right now.

[Steve Yutzy]

Without writing a book (or at least a long book) here are a few thoughts:

-I agree that weight training (ie lifting weights) isn't all that useful during the season. Things like running hills, short bike intervals and hill climbs, and swim sprints can take its place during the season. Save the weights for the off-season, and even then remember that being a triathlete is very different from being a bodybuilder or powerlifter (with the exception of Matt Collister of course)

-From a racing standpoint, olympics aren't that different from sprints. Your intensity level is a little lower, but you're still within the range where you can do it without training taking over your life and without having to worry about nutrition as the 4th discipline.

-Strictly speaking about confidence, I think it's a great idea to know that you can complete each of the distances before doing the race. So make sure you can swim a mile, bike 25-30, and run 7 or so.

-There's no "magic workout" that'll make you get faster. You get faster by throwing things at your body that it doesn't expect then letting it adapt. There's no super secret swimming set or perfect track workout or one particular hill to ride that'll do all the work for you.

-Swimming: make sure you can swim in the lake. Go swim at Columbia, Bratenahl, or Munroe falls to make sure you're comfortable in the water. A lot of triathletes make the mistake of thinking that since a triathlon swim is just a long 1500m swim that you just have to go swim for a half hour straight in practice. Do intervals just like Mark mentioned. Join a masters team and see what a "real" swim practice is all about. If you need workout ideas to do on your own just post something or shoot me an email.

-Running:three main runs I would do preparing for an olympic: long, tempo, and speed. long is just that: your long run for the week, getting up towards 7 miles or so. Tempo would be kind of a race simulation run. Speed would be intervals on the track, hill sprints, something like that.

-Riding: longer, easier rides (25+) to make sure you can actually stay on your bike for that long. Intervals (ie 2:00 hard/2:00 easy or something like that) and hills are great for developing some power on the bike.

-Brick: you can combine a shorter ride with a tempo run to get a nice brick workout. I also like to run for 10 minutes or so after every ride. Remember the goal is to learn how to get from bike mode to run mode as fast as possible, and the more race-like your bricks can be the better.

-Build slowly as you transition from sprint to olympic. Don't jump from 15 mile rides right into 30 milers, for example. Increasing distance or intensity too fast is a recipe for injury.

-Know the difference between pushing through muscle pain (the good hurt) and other pains (the bad hurt). Pushing through muscle pain makes you faster in the end. Pushing through things like joint pain makes you injured in the end.

-If you're training more, you need to be more conscious about recovery. Take in some food quickly (ie within 30 minutes) after a workout. Drink chocolate milk. There's only a short window after a workout in which your cells are more receptive to "recharging" so make sure you take advantage of it.

That's about it for now. I'll probably think of more later, but I should probably try to get some real work done this morning.

[MarkD]

Steve - good point on the brick workouts - I forgot to mention the importance of that. I recommend at least one bike/run brick every 2 weeks. Swim/bike bricks aren't a bad idea either. When doing them, try to simulate race pace (or a tad slower) on the run.

[watchman]

Mark and Steve

What you guys wrote is awesome and very helpful.

For me it kinda confirms what I have been doing. Just a few things a little different.

In the off season you guys and a few others should do a class on this stuff.

mike

[MattCollister]

Bodybuilding and tanning are both important parts of a complete, well-rounded summer.

[Steve Yutzy]

I forgot to mention that if you paint your bike glossy red it'll go faster