Preparing for your first triathlon

Everyone likes to think they can turn up to a race in the best shape. Some people don't know how to prepare for triathlons because they are just starting out. They don't know how much to train, what to train and why you do specific sessions/ workouts. I've done my fair bit of racing since my first triathlon at Eton Dorney back in 2013 and I hope that this article can help people prepare correctly whether they are doing their first triathlon or just looking for advice. Hopefully this article can provide people with information on how to create their training schedule and how to fit it around their other commitments (a triathlete's life is very busy).

Swim

In general, swimming is the sport that most people struggle with the most and this is because they don't train correctly for it. Let's face it, you don't just think to yourself "Yay, I'm going to wake up super early tommorow and jump in a freezing cold pool and swim up and down for an hour staring at the black line at the bottom of the pool" You have to motivate yourself to wake up. This is how I do it: I think that I'm one of very few people who wake up at an ungodly hour and by the time I get to school, I've already done swum while other people are eating breakfast in registration. I think it's definitely worth while to join your local swimming or triathlon club. There, you will have an expert who looks at you swim and points out things to improve. Speaking from experience, there is always something to be approved on. Another advantage to training with a club is you will socialize with people of similar interest. There are tons of triathletes in my swimming club who I talk with in the mornings and their tips and advice are very interesting.

Another thing to think about is consistency. Don't sit down and write yourself a training program where you swim every morning or you will feel completely shattered and be less likely to want to go anyway. Instead, maybe swim every two days or if you need to do something on a Thursday morning one week, just simply rest, you don't need to subtitute in every session you miss. If you get the oportunity, swim open-water once weekly in a wetsuit once it gets warm enough. It's a great change from the swimming pool and you will have to adjust your stroke a bit because it's not as controlled an environment.

Cycle

The cycle leg is the one I struggled with the most last year. Mainly because I only rode my bike at the races. It's probably the easiest of the 3 disciplines to improve on if you start from scratch because you just have to cycle regularly. I would recommend cycling at least 3 times per week for half-olympic distance racing (20km bike leg) and at least 4 times for full olympic distance (40km bike leg). Aerodynamics are very important in cycling so make sure you tuck your elbows in and keep your head low. 

Make sure to spin your legs instead of grinding. Take example from team SKY's Chris Froome who won the Tour de France in 2013. His RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) is over 100. This means that with one leg (wither left or right) his leg spins around 100 times in a minute. You will find that this is much more easy and energy efficient than "grinding" where you do about 60 RPM. It is definitely worth training with other people (of similar ability) but make sure you do at least one ride a week by yourself because in non-drafting races where you are not allowed to cycle in a group, you will be doing the same. 

Run

Joining an athletics group or a triathlon club is, again very beneficial as you will have people giving you tips and pushing you. I would reccomend doing 3 runs a week. Do one interval session where you focus on running really fast. These sessions should be with a group of people and should be really high intensity but not too long. Another run should be moderate. This could be training at race pace but doing longer reps like 800m-1km focusing on form and efficiency. Another one should be a long run that you can do with another person that you can talk to. If you can't talk during your long runs, run slower!

Transition

Transitions are the only part of a triathlon that is not physically demanding (Thank god!) but they are certainly mentally demanding. Make sure to know where your transition area is and how your equipment is layed out. What I do when I race is I lay my things out in the order that I will pick them up. It's probably best to take your time a bit in the transition so you don't muck something up and the only way to improve your transition like anything is practice, practice, practice.

Recovery

Many of you will think, what is he talking about? Recovery is not training but it is one of the most important things. Make sure to have a day in the week where you do absolutely nothing. Make sure to go out with family, catch up with friends and enjoy yourself. 

Diet

If you ask anyone I know, they will tell you that my mum's cooking is absolutely fabulous. After coming back from a workout, I know that I will sit down at the table and eat something amazing. To be honest, I don't find diet too much of an important thing. I think meals should be nutritious and tasty and involve a mix of vegetables, carbohydrates and protein but make sure to have a good dessert too to reward your hard work.

How many calories should you eat? If your looking to drop a few kilos, eat a lot in the morning, moderately for lunch and not too much for dinner. This is because you are more likely to burn the calories that you have in the morning throughout the day. Don't starve yourself and always enjoy your food.

I would like to thank my sponsors:

Zone3 who provide me with my trisuit and wetsuit and who I am a young Ambassador for.

The Dave Aitchison Fund who financially support me with equipment, competition and training.

The Jeremy Wilson Charitable Trust who financially support me with equipment, competition and training.

I hope that many of you will have a good idea on how to make your training plan and be fit as a fiddle for your next triathlon. I will update the blog regularly and will write about racing tips, what equipment I use and a look into my weekly schedule. Good luck!

For more from Aurel be sure to check out his blog here.

Triathlon readiness - preparing to Mass Start

Triathlon readiness - preparing to Mass Start

You've been training hard in the pool, got your new season Zone3 wetsuit, and maybe done a few open water swims. On the start line you are ready for the starter horn; and it's a go! Arms, feet, bodies, cold water; bashed, bumped, squashed and swum over. The Washing Machine that is the triathlon mass start open water swim. 

If you haven't experienced it before it can be a bit of a shock, no matter how strong you feel. The inexperience can lead to over breathing, loss of swim stroke, panic thrashing which burns oodles of energy and an overwhelming start to a thrilling sport! It's easy to overlook preparing for it. 

This was my first experience and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one. You need to build confidence not only in your own ability but also in your preparedness and personal strategies that work for you, preferably without hampering others. 

Nothing can beat practising mass starts with others and if you are lucky enough to be part of a good triathlon club, or have one you can join, this is either something you can request as part of a club training session; if it's not already done or organised as an out of session group activity. 

However, there are also some simple things that you can do to try to prepare yourself even if you do not have access to mass start practice:

•           Get used to swimming close to people even if it's just one or two people in the pool, practice swimming close enough to touch and trying to keep your swim rhythm or match theirs
• 
  
•      Acclimatise to cold water, starting Open Water swimming as soon as possible will get your body used to cold water. Always swim with others in Open Water.
• 
  
•      As difficult and awkward as it might feel practice breathing bilaterally, even if you cannot sustain it for the whole swim it may get you out of trouble if you get stuck with someone on your preferred breathing side.
• 
  
•      Think about where you want to place yourself at the start; if you are not a fast starter or powerful swimmer you may not want to pop yourself right at the very front and risk the powerhouses swimming over you. Place yourself a little further back to still benefit from the momentum and draft from others or to the side/very back if you want as much space as possible. 
• 
  
•      Even in a lake swim you are unlikely to find flat water; so do practice swimming in water that has some chop and think about reducing the amount you glide in order to keep momentum going. One way of doing this is to increase arm cadence.

If even the things above seem too much, or you need strategies to manage nerves, again there are things you can try. It may take a few trial and error attempts before you find what works for you, as not one strategy fits all but why not give some of these things a try:

Cold

If the cold affects you; keep your core body temperature up by layering up before the race and putting half your suit on well in advance, once it's time to pull on the rest of your suit keep moving to stay warm. Get into the water as late as possible, keep moving but get your face in and open your mouth under water (don't drink!).  Acclimatising your head to the water will reduce cold shock as you start and give you a chance to stabilise any reaction to the cold in your breathing pattern.

Breathing

Over breathing due to nerves is easy to do and can have a detrimental effect on the whole race. Rapid breathing also goes hand in hand with fear, anxiety, nerves and panic.

The following simple breathing techniques can slow down breathing and reduce symptoms of panic or nerves. 

•      Time the number of breaths you are taking in 30 seconds then:
• 
  
•      Breathe in through your nose to the count of three (3 seconds) and say to yourself: "IN, TWO, THREE".
• 
  
•      Breathe out through your nose, again counting to three, and say to yourself: "RELAX, TWO, THREE".
• 
  
•      Keep repeating this for two to three minutes, and then time your breathing for 30 seconds again.

·        This breathing technique can be used to slow down breathing and put you in control and feeling calmer (it can be done anywhere without anyone else noticing!!)

Staying busy and positive

Keeping your mind occupied prior to the start can also help manage your nerves and could form part of a pre-swim routine.  Once you are in your suit carry out a series of stretches that will keep you warm and get your joints and muscles ready for action. Again do what works for you but gentle arm swings and stretches along with core rotation are a good start. 

And remember your positive thoughts!

If you get through it once you can do it again!

Develop a mantra that reminds you of that or what you want to achieve and repeat it in your mind to focus your thoughts on positive outcomes.

Paratriathlon

Don’t forget if you have a disability you can ask event organisers to provide additional support in the water, i.e. canoe support and additional space or end of rack positioning in transition so that you have room for any additional equipment or a seat if required.  Additionally, depending on your disability you can have a helper or handler in transition. See www.britishtriathlon.org/great-britain-teams/elite-teams/paratriathlon for more information

Most of all enjoy the small achievements and build on them. 

Article by Sarah Pearson

Zone3 athlete Dan Pinn shares his key tips on racing the Blenheim Triathlon

I’ve now taken part in 3 Blenheim Triathlons and I won the adult super sprint race in 2014. This year will see me step up to the Elite level and compete in the super series events. It will be a huge step-up but im looking forward to the challenge and feel equipped to succeed with my new Zone3 Vanquish wetsuit!

Blenheim is one of my favourite events on the triathlon circuit. It’s a great course set against a spectacular backdrop of the Palace and lake. The support is awesome and it’s really well organised.

I’ve taken a few moments to put together a few key tips so that you’ll enjoy your experience of the Blenheim Palace Triathlon

Blenheim Triathlon Guide

Swim:

·       Wetsuit – Ensure that you have trained in your Zone 3 wetsuit prior to race day. You’ll need to feel comfortable swimming and breathing correctly. Practice taking off your wetsuit beforehand.

·       Positioning is key- if you’re a speedier swimmer position yourself towards the front, if you’re not as confident go further back

·       Position towards the left or centre at the start- If you position yourself too far right, you will end up swimming a longer distance than necessary

·       Pace it- Don’t start off too quick, pace your efforts and find your rhythm; race your own race!

T1:

·       Pace the 400m run up to T1- it is quite a steady incline from the water to transition so don’t knacker yourself

·       Pull your wetsuit down halfway- this makes it easier to take off once in transition

·       Know where your kit is- pick out something in the surrounding environment to line your kit up with

·       Practice, Practice, Practice- Practicing your transition before the event is crucial

·       Zone3 Race Belt- having your race belt underneath your wetsuit helps save time once in T1 

·       Helmet on first- before touching your bike, your helmet must be put on first

T2:

·       Zone3 Elastic laces- elastic laces on your running trainers will help with a quick, smooth and efficient transition

Bike:

·       Know how many lap you are doing- don’t go into the race unprepared, know your distance and know it well. The marshals won’t count your laps for you.

·       Higher cadence- towards the end of your bike leg, increase your cadence. This helps get your legs ready for the run

Run:

·       Be Prepared- the run is quite undulating, be prepared

·       Pacing- don’t start off too quick, it is better to have a stronger finish

·       Enjoy it- it is an amazing event with fantastic spectators, Enjoy it!

Check out more from Dan on Twitter: @daniel_pinn

The Best Swimming Aid!

If you’re like me then you've got pretty much every swim aid invented by man in the hope they will unlock that hidden Phelps inside.  However, over the last three or four months there is one aid that has become indispensible to me, which I’m convinced should be placed on your immediate shopping list if you haven’t already got one!

So what is it?  First let me just start by asking a couple of questions – Hands up if you are unaware that an evenly (or just slightly negatively) paced split, whether it’s swim, bike or run, is the fastest way to get from A to B. And hands up if you’ve only neared the end of the first 50m of a long set before you’ve realized that your effort and pace are nowhere near sustainable?!  I’m willing to bet even those of you who think you are pacing sets correctly would be surprised if your 50m splits were recorded and how much they vary.  Unfortunately, not many of us have a handy friend willing to be timing every lap for us and trying to catch a sneaky look at your own stopwatch just isn’t practical or easy! 

All of this adds up to mean that a metronome should be your number one swimming aid, if it isn’t already!  I use the Finis Tempo Trainer, which allows me to control my pace exactly on sets, with the metronome set to beep at the rate I wish to hit each 25m of a 300m interval for example.  It will soon become apparent whether the pace you’ve chosen was too easy or two hard as you try to make a 2000m set!  Of course it also allows for one of the fundamental training principles to be implemented that of progression – small incremental changes to put additional training stress on your body so that you ultimately get faster!  There has been the odd time when I’ve been struggling and seem to have plateaued and I’ve changed the metronome to beep just 1/10 of a second faster (per 25m), making me a whopping  4/10 of second faster per 100m.  This may sound fairly unimpressive taken on its own, but of course all of these improvements over the weeks and months soon add up to a new PB!

However, the fun doesn’t stop hereJ The metronome can also help you with your cadence i.e strokes per minute (SPM).  In very simplistic terms there are potentially a couple of advantages of upping your SPM – firstly it can get rid of any over gliding or dead spots at the front of your stroke and secondly, a more “punchier” style is usually more advantageous in open water swims to cut your way through choppier water.  The end result is even on technique days I still have the metronome stuck under my swim cap to get me used to a slightly faster cadence when performing drills, using an alternative mode setting of setting the number of beats per minute.

If any of you are familiar with the Swimsmooth website then lots of this information will sound familiar.  If you’re not familiar with it or the concept of a metronome then I’d highly recommend their website for more detailed (and betterJ) explanation of this wonderful gadget’s benefits.

By

Simon Gill

Be sure to check out this related article giving an insight into using your metronome for CSS training.

A Brief Introduction to CSS Swim Training

CSS stands for Critical Swim Speed - a really simple concept that could improve your swim fitness, pace judgement and training motivation.

In this short blog Zone3 ambassador Phil Mosley explains what CSS is, how it can make you fitter and how to test your CSS. He’ll also give you some sample CSS training sessions to take home.

What Is CSS?

CSS is the pace at which you’d currently swim a 1500 Time Trial (in yards or metres). There’s nothing complicated to worry about - it’s simply an effective way to prepare for race distances of 400 and above.  Here’s why:

The Benefits of CSS Training

1. CSS is a pace that’s tough enough to develop your aerobic capacity but not so hard that it’ll take you days to recover. So you can improve your swim fitness and still have enough energy to go running or cycling (or swimming again?!)
2. CSS is a race-specific training pace. It may not make you the fastest 50 or 100 swimmer, but it will train you to sustain a moderately high speed for longer distances.
3. CSS training teaches you about pace awareness the hard way (which is usually the best way!) Go off too fast and you’ll pay the price later. Ouch!
4. Thankfully you can test your current CSS pace without having to swim a solo 1500 Time Trial. See below for instructions.
5. Once you know your CSS pace, you can use a Finis Tempo Trainer Pro to help you train. It’s a small beeping device that attaches to your goggles. Dial in your CSS pace and it’ll happily beep every lap so that you can maintain perfect pace.

How To Test Your CSS

To test your current CSS pace you need to swim a 400 and 200 Time Trial within the same session (see Test Workout below). Ideally, get a friend or coach to time you and record your 100 splits and strokes per minute. Failing that, simply record the 400 and 200 times yourself.  Once you’re done, enter your 400 and 200 times into this CSS CALCULATOR.

CSS Test Workout

Warm Up

- 300 easy freestyle  - 200 fins as 50 choice drill, 50 freestyle - 4 x 50 freestyle (25 fast + 25 easy) 

+10secs rests

- 4 x 100 freestyle (+20secs rests) Do these 100’s at what you perceive to be the AVERAGE pace that you can sustain for a 400 Time Trial.

Main Set

- 400 time trial

Take 5 to 8 minutes easy swimming/stretching. Feel fully recovered, then:

- 200 time trial

Warm Down

100 easy choice of stroke

CSS Sample Workouts

Once you’ve worked out your CSS pace, the training possibilities are endless. You could start off by trying these four simple workouts. You can shorten them if you’re not quite ready for 2000 metres or yards yet. Don’t forget to include a warm up (400-800m/y) and warm down (100-200m/y) too.

1. 20x100 with 15secs recoveries. All at CSS
2. 10x200 with 20secs recoveries. All at CSS
3. 5x400 with 30secs recoveries. All at CSS
4. 3x600 with 45secs recoveries. All at CSS

Conclusion

Including CSS sets into your swim training can help improve your sustainable speed and enhance your pace judgement. In addition to CSS training, it’s also important to strike a balance between speed, threshold and endurance workouts in order to meet the needs of your target races. Technique work and open water training are equally important too!

Be sure to check out Zone3's great range of training products here

Phil Mosley is Coaching Editor at Triathlon Plus magazine and coach/owner of MyProCoach.net.

Twitter: @phil_mosley and @my_pro_coach