TRI SPEAK
Wondering what ‘bonking’ is, or where to find your M-dot?! Make things easy with our guide to common tri terms…
‘A’-Race
The most important race of your season
Age-grouper
Non-pro triathlete (most of us!)
Aerobic
Aerobic exercise involves or improves oxygen consumption by the body
Anaerobic
How much energy your body can produce without using oxygen
Bilateral breathing
Breathing every 3 strokes when swimming
bonking
Running out of energy mid-race or training session
Brick session
When you ‘brick’ two disciplines together, e.g. bike & run
Catch
The part of the swim stroke where you pull on the water
DNS/dnf/DQ
Did not start/Did not finish/ Disqualified
Drafting
Hitching a ride on someone else’s slipstream in the bike or swim
HIT
High-intensity training
HRmax
Your maximum heart rate
Intervals
Intensive training using repeated on/off efforts
Lactic acid
Produced in high-intensity workouts, it can inhibit oxygen movement around the body and slow you down
Main set
A block lasting 40-50% of a session where the heart rate is elevated
M-dot
Abbreviation for the Ironman logo – often seen as a tattoo!
Pull
The mid part of the swim stroke where the hands and arms accelerate using the purchase from the catch
reps
Pre-fixed distances covered and pre-fixed recoveries maintained
Rest interval (RI)
Period of rest between reps
T1/T2
‘Transition 1’ (swim to bike) and ‘Transition 2’ (bike to run)
Taper
Reducing your training in the days just before your big race
time trials
A setdistance session, where the aim is to swim as fast as you can over the allotted distance
Transition area
The place where you rack your bike and swap kit between disciplines
Tri-bars
Also known as aerobars, they help you race aerodynamically
Turbo trainer
A frame that attaches to your bike, turning it into a static trainer
V02 max
A measure of the body’s maximal ability to use oxygen to produce energy
Watt (w)
The unit of measure in which power is expressed
Waves
Groups you’re put in to start a race, usually split by age