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Triathlon Training

 

  • The Intelligent Guide to Heart Rate Training

    A complex sport like triathlon demands that you build swim, bike, and run training into your schedule right along with strength training, stretching, and well, you know, the list goes on and on. Question is, how do you get the most out of the time you have available? The short answer is sparse coding. Sparse coding is a concept I borrowed from artificial intelligence. Specifically it means you throw away everything except the most pivotal aspects of training.  And in this article, I apply this concept to heart rate training so that you get the biggest bang for your training time and can … [Read More...]

    How to Set Up a Drama Free Swim Start

    The swim start can be a pretty scary part of any triathlon and with good reason.  If you’re like most triathletes then your swim training is primarily focused on improving your freestyle swim stroke.  One key aspect to an efficient freestyle stroke is to minimize drag by looking down and slightly forward while you swim.  That means you spend most of your time not looking where you’re going.  Not a big deal when you’re doing laps in the clear pool water.  But when you add poor underwater visibility at many venues and anywhere from a few dozen to a couple of thousand other competitors … [Read More...]

    The Wonder of Wetsuits

    Unless all your races are going to take place in tropical waters, such as in Hawaii, then a wetsuit is an essential piece of race equipment.This holds true whether you come from a competitive swimming background or not. Speed RULES Free speed is the most significant performance benefit of a wetsuit.  The reason is simple:  the benefit of wetsuit buoyancy improves your body position so you “ride” higher in the water.  This translates into less resistance which directly correlates with faster times.  This advantage is certainly greater for less experienced swimmers than for … [Read More...]

    How to Build Success Into Your Training Plan

    If you wanted to, couldn’t you just wing it and “get by” in your next triathlon?  Some racers have only one real race goal:  to cross the finish line.  For them, all it takes is getting in enough swimming, biking, and running to make it through the distances.  But if you’re like me, the goal of adding another T-shirt to your collection won’t cut it.  We want to finish strong, AND we want to get the most out of the training time we have available.  This takes commitment, passion, and focused ACTION. Getting into forward motion toward your goals is foundational to success in … [Read More...]

    The Secret to Your Best Season Yet

    To crank up your performance in 2013, make consistency a top priority.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re new to triathlon or a seasoned veteran consistency will impact your results more than any other training aspect bar none!  The cumulative effect of frequent, focused training over time is where real gains are made.  And we have data to back this up. Research over the last few years on what it takes to become an expert establishes a threshold of 10,000 hours of focused practice.  Interviews with the 2012 women’s IM World Champion and the 2011 men’s IM World Champion bear this … [Read More...]

    Tri Bike Training: Different strokes for different sports

    If you read the trade rags there’s a new article every year on how a top pro is changing their tri bike training in hopes of a stronger overall IM performance.  Last year it was Craig Alexander and this year it’s Mirinda Carfrae.  When we talk about cycling is there really a difference between road bike training and tri bike training?  The answer is No.  And Yes. What’s the Same? All bike training, particularly in the early season, whether it’s for your next triathlon or for an upcoming century ride shares the same three basic elements, or what I now call the Holy Trinity of … [Read More...]

    How to be a FORCE on your bike

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    Tri Run Training: More Than Just a Slow Dance

    To be a better endurance runner it takes more than lacing up a pair of shoes and heading out the door for a long slow run.  It also means you need to progressively become more efficient, i.e. save energy, by improving your running speed skills. Like any new skill, learning running technique must become part of EVERY session, and not simply relegated to an occasional workout.  Much like learning to play the piano, practicing scales and memorizing chord structure is what takes you from hack to virtuoso – same goes for running. To crank up your tri-run training without piling on lots of … [Read More...]