RAC E CALENDAR
Wondering what the ‘washing machine’ 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
Carb-loading Eating a carb-heavy meal prior to a race to boost energy
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
Duathlon Usually a run/bike/run format
Elite Another word for a ‘pro’ – e.g. the Brownlees
HIT High-intensity training
HRmax Your maximum heart rate
Hyponatremia A deficiency of sodium in the blood
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!
overpronation Foot rolls inwards on impact rather than outwards
overtraining Common symptoms of training too much with inefficient recovery include insomnia, headaches, moodiness, loss of enthusiasm and increased illness due to a suppressed immune system
PB Personal best
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
Sighting Looking ahead/at an object while swimming to keep on course
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
Threshold run A run at about 80% of your max heart rate for no more than 20mins
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
Tumble turn Fast way of turning at the pool wall by performing a forward roll, push off and a twist to return to the initial stroke position
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 The groups which triathletes are put in to start a race, usually split by age