TRI SPEAK

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

Aquabike

Race with just swim and bike elements, no run

Bilateral breathing

Breathing every 3 strokes when swimming

Biomechanics

The forces applied to your body during exercise

bonking

Running out of energy mid-race or training session

Brick session

When you ‘brick’ two disciplines together, e.g. bike & run

Cadence

Pedal rate on bike, in revolutions per minute (rpm)

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

Core strength

Development of the stomach and lower back area in support of whole body strength

DNS/dnf

Did not start, did not finish – abbreviations in race results

DOMS

Delayed onset muscle soreness (after racing or training)

DQ

Disqualified, abbreviation in race results

Drafting

Hitching a ride on someone else’s slipstream in the bike or swim

Drag

The amount of turbulent displaced air that an object creates, resulting in a slowing effect

Duathlon

Usually a run/bike/run format

Electrolyte drink

Contains sodium and potassium to help your body hydrate

Elite

Another word for a ‘pro’ – e.g. the Brownlees

Glycemic index

A ranking system for carbohydrates based on their effect on blood glucose levels

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

Kona

Place in Hawaii where Ironman Worlds are held every October

Lactic acid

Produced in high-intensity workouts, it can inhibit oxygen movement around the body and slow you down

Low glycogen training

Training without taking on carbs to increase the body’s ability to burn fat

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!

Midfoot strike

When running, your front foot strikes the ground flat – as opposed to toe or heel first

Muscular endurance

Your muscles’ ability to produce a given level of force for an extended duration

Negative split

Completing the second part, e.g a run lap, faster than the first

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

Pronation

The natural ‘turning in’ of the foot

Power output

Measured in watts on your bike. In essence, work divided by time

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

Sculling

Swim drills that use your hands alone to propel you

Sighting

Looking ahead/at an object while swimming to keep on course

Swimrun

Partner race where you do multiple swims and runs

T1/T2

Abbreviation for ‘Transition 1’ (swim to bike) and ‘Transition 2’ (bike to run)

Taper

Reducing your training in the days just before your big race

Tempo effort

Challenging, sustainable effort for 20mins-plus

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

Underpronation

Foot rolls outwards on impact rather than inwards

V02 max

A measure of the body’s maximal ability to use oxygen to produce energy

Washing machine

Common way to refer to a chaotic open-water swim start!

Watt (w)

The unit of measure in which power is expressed

Watt bike

A static variable-resistance trainer

Waves

The groups which triathletes are put in to start a race