20 WAYS TO STAY RACE SHARP
UK triathlon racing is back! So here are some innovative and fresh ways to become ready for the swim, bike and run action
On the 9th of July, it was announced that recreational sports – aka multisport – would return, albeit in a different guise. As Tim Heming told us in last issue’s piece, The Biggest Transition, which investigated the impact of Covid-19 on triathlon at a national level, we’re now looking at virtual race briefings, time-trial starts and, of course, being aware of your competitors to reduce the aerosol effect (trying ‘not to closely follow another participant and either try to run alongside, overtake or drop back slightly to maintain at least a two-metre gap’). As for your gear checklist, that’s broadly the same as normal, yet supplemented with the obligatory hand sanitiser and anti-viral wipes.
Despite the restrictions, a number of race organisers sought British Triathlon race permits to host their either adapted and/or postponed events. These include the Blenheim Triathlon, Hever Castle, Outlaw X and the Croyde Ocean Triathlon. Not only does that mean the excitement and fervour of racing, it means you need to tweak your current plan to crank up race speed.
Which is where our array of tips and sessions comes in. What follows are proven and more experimental ways to maximise your performance at what, in most likelihood, will be your first and last multisport event of the 2020 season – a season that’ll live long in the memory for unique reasons. All the ideas are ones that you can implement now, though some are more beginner-based while others are higher end. Either way, these race-refiners will ensure you’ll line up – apart – at your race in the best shape possible…
01 WARM-UP PERFECTION
A proficient warm-up optimises performance and reduces the chances of injury. It should also be specific, whether that’s in training or racing. When it comes to the latter, aim to allocate up to 10mins for each discipline and slowly increase your heart rate to 70-75% of max. You should also work through the disciplines in reverse order, so run, bike, swim. For duathletes, we’re talking bike first, then run. It means you’re primed for the first race leg. If logistics allows, try to finish your warm-up just 5mins before race start.
02 KEEP IT NON-COMPETITIVE
The belated 2020 race calendar came with many caveats, including British Triathlon’s urging of non-competitive swims. So focus on you, not your fellow athletes. A good way to distract yourself is by varying your pacing, mixing up 100m slow, 100m medium and 100m fast in build-up sessions. Knowing your stroke rate will help here. In training, count your strokes over a 200m warm-up. Then swim 800m as 8 x 50m drill/50m swim at a steady pace. The drill laps should focus on lengthening your stroke. A good example is the catch-up drill where you keep one hand extended until the recovering arm touches it. At the end of the session, swim another 200m at the same pace as the warm-up. Try to reduce your average stroke count per length.
03 SWIM STRAIGHT, SWIM FAST
A proven session to boost fitness, technique and confidence is the eyes-closed drill. Now you’re allowed back into pools, during your warm-up (in an empty lane) swim as far as you can before veering into the lane ropes. An imbalanced stroke is often the cause of erratic navigation where, for example, your left arm crosses the midline of your body but your right arm doesn’t, resulting in you heading left. You can rectify this by imagining a clock and aiming your fingers for 11:30 and 12:30 on the clock (if you continue to cross, aim for 11 and 1).
04 TAKE IT EASY
The tri swim can be daunting for beginners. But it needn’t be so. Firstly, there’s no rule saying you must frontcrawl; in fact, many novices breaststroke faster and conserve more energy than those who persist with FC. A mix of the two’s the ideal if you’re not a strong swimmer. But if you run into trouble, simply flip over onto your back and take a break. Practise in training. And start at the back of the pack where it’s less chaotic.
05 COLD-WATER ACCLIMATISATION
Cold-water shock is well known and includes elevated breathing rate, elevated heart rate, constricted blood vessels and elevated blood pressure. Less well-known is the diving reflex, which is triggered by cooling and wetting of the face, resulting in opposite responses to cold-water shock such as a lowered heart rate. This HR conflict raises the possibility of arrhythmia. For some, this is can be dangerous. With triathlons into October, it’s vital you practise in the open water. Cold showers and a good race warm-up further help the acclimatisation process.
“Caffeine is a proven ergogenic and its many qualities include lowering your perception of effort”
06 BIKE-RUN RECCE
It’s the day before your race. You’re checking out the race HQ but, while you’re there, tick off your final workout. Keep it short and punctuated with high-intensity efforts. That’s where a bike-run ideally on the bike or run course comes in, helping you physically and mentally prepare for showtime. A 25min bike followed by a 10min run including accelerations to goal race pace, followed by 5-10mins of stretching, will prime you for performance.
07 PACE AND POWER
Triathlon’s multi-disciplinary nature means astute pacing is imperative. On the bike, while there’s some evidence that a low-ish cadence of 70-75rpm (rotations per minute) might reduce energy cost over 30mins of cycling and a subsequent 15min run when exercising at a high intensity, there’s little pre-race time to reprogram your neural system to make the switch. More realistic is to vary your cadence by +/- 5% while cycling uphill, downhill or in windy conditions. This flexibility maintains a more even pacing strategy, maximising both energy stores and speed. Variable pacing on the flat, however, is deemed inefficient.
08 POO FOR SUCCESS
With a hilly race approaching, this isn’t the time to go on a crash diet in search of time-savings. Yet there are short-term strategies you can do to climb faster and more efficiently. The first is to break your climb down into a series of shorter targets. It’s mentally less tiring than a huge goal that seems unachievable. This is called ‘chunking’. A pre-race evacuation is wise for many reasons, too, including weighty ones. Apparently, the average large poo weighs a pound. That’s a 0.5% increase in climbing speed for many triathletes. If you’re struggling to offload, a large coffee and star jumps will help. A low-fibre diet a few days before also leaves less weight in your stomach (though hinders that evacuation!).
09 THE PERFECT PLATFORM
Saddle problems are common in triathlon, especially for (usually!) female athletes where waxing can worsen an already debilitating issue. That’s why before the Rio Olympic Games, British Cycling’s Phil Burt advised female cyclists to trim instead of wax. Each rider was then issued with Doublebase gel, an over-thecounter moisturiser containing liquid paraffin, to treat any tender spots. They were also given Dermol 500, an antibacterial shower gel. In the six months prior to Rio, reportedly not one single rider complained of saddle sores. A chamois cream such as Paceline Chamois Butt’r (£12.99) also helps with soothing.
10 A TIMELY BOOST
Caffeine’s a proven ergogenic, its many qualities including lowering your perception of effort. But you should practise being caffeine literate in the build-up. Firstly, most studies show a performance boost with dosages around 400 to 600mg caffeine. That’s three to five coffees or a couple of strong coffees before your race topped up with caffeinated gels. Timing is key when topping up as you should examine the profile of the bike and run, identify the tough sections – hills – and consume 20-30mins before (though it can take up to an hour to peak in the blood, so experiment in training).
“Studies show that the 10:20:30 session can improve your 5km time by 4% with seven weeks of training”
11 10:20:30
Jens Bangsbo, professor of exercise and sport sciences, is a legend of the sector with one of his greatest breakthroughs his 10:20:30 session. Simply put, this is where you run at maximum speed for 10secs followed by 20secs at a moderate pace and 30secs easy. You then repeat five times followed by 2mins rest and then another block. Bangsbo advises two, three or four blocks in all. Studies show this speedendurance work improves 5km time by 4% from after seven weeks of training. Give it a go today.
12 MANAGE YOUR INTENSITY
The final week before your race is make-or-break time. Overdo or undercook things and you’ll feel flat. Hit the sweetspot and a new PB beckons. Studies show that a modicum of highintensity work results in better performance than slow or no training. Why’s not fully understood, but it’s generally thought that it maintains or even improves muscle-recruitment patterns; in other words, you remind your limbs to move fast. One method is up to a couple days out, include three or four reps of around 90secs at maximum effort followed by 3min recoveries.
13 PROVEN SPEED-BUILDER
The surefire way to performance plateau is one-pace training. That’s where Fartlek training comes in. It means ‘speedplay’ in Swedish. Fartleks were invented by Gosta Holmer in 1937 for the Swedish cross-country team and simply comprise varying your pace by the natural environment as opposed to your watch. As an example, a 40min run set with a 10min warm-up and cool-down could include a 20min Fartlek where you run at 5km pace to the next lamppost or tree before easing off to marathon pace. And repeat. Many times. This is a fun way to boost speed.
14 TREAD VERY CAREFULLY
With gyms now open, many of you will be spending more time on the treadmill. That’s no bad thing as the softer surface cuts peak forces through the joints and so lowers the potential of injury. To maximise indoor running, you should increase speed over incline as the incline’s an added variable that’s inconsistent between different treadmills. Also, set the treadmill to ‘manual’ as this gives you more control over how much you push yourself. And listen to music – hip hop and rock – that features a strong beat.
15 GO WITH GRAVITY
Several Garmin models plus the TickrX, which we tested last issue, measure vertical oscillation. Essentially this is the amount your torso bounces up and down. As we want running to be a horizontal activity, this is wasted energy. So how can you tweak run technique to maximise the horizontal over the vertical before your next race? One simple method is leaning slightly from the ankle. This is a key doctrine of the Pose Method of Running that GB tri legend Tim Don followed. During a long run, quicker and shorter strides also help.
16 SPEED OF SUPERSTITION
Placebo is arguably the strongest ergogenic there is. Cue Zeebo Honest pills (£20 online). These supplements are what’s called open-label placebo that, unlike unknowing placebo, the user is aware the contents are inactive but, say Zeebo, you can still enjoy a performance boost. The jury’s out but it does highlight how a placebo can be anything from putting on your wetsuit’s left arm first to putting your water bottle down with your right hand. In short, don’t neglect your racing superstitions.
17 VIRTUAL BUILD-UP
Lockdown proved the mother of invention with many race organisers turning to the virtual in an effort to stimulate your racing synapses. Popular online gaming sites such as Zwift feature numerous opportunities to test your mettle, while Ironman’s hosted a popular series all summer where you face a run, bike, run whereby the run is outdoors, while the bike utilises the online platform Rouvy.
18 STAMINA FROM SLEEP
Need convincing of a daily nap? Thirty-one professional rugby players used wrist-watch activity devices during a 13-day pre-season camp to measure the quantity and quality of sleep. During the camp, athletes who undertook daytime naps enjoyed an average 33mins more sleep. The result? They enjoyed greater training benefits.
19 PRIMED FOR A NEW PB
Priming is a common technique employed by elite track cyclists, which is useful if you’re a triathlete looking to maximise midweek time-trials in the build-up to your triathlon. This is where you legally stimulate testosterone in the morning, with the ‘power’ effects continuing into the evening. Research by physiologist Liam Kilduff showed that a brief morning weights workout, using exercises across the kinetic chain, like squatting, followed by a protein lunch and a couple of hours sleep, will mean your testosterone levels are ‘primed’ for a power event later in the day.
20 STAY COOL, TRAIN HARD
Many triathletes continue to turbo train even with the loosening of restrictions. Well, according to SiS, their new product, Turbo+, will improve indoor performance by up to 5%. The idea is that lack of airflow and higher-intensity sessions means you generate more heat indoors, resulting in reduced power output. The addition of menthol improves your heat tolerance, both SiS’ and independent research says. The new product comes in tubs and gels.