Just like everything in triathlon, more is not always better. In fact given that majority of any triathlete’s training should be spent swimming, biking, and running, excessive strength training can easily affect other workouts. Unlike bodybuilding I never recommend going all out with strength training, always leave a little of energy left in the tank for the workouts that count.

Myth #2: Weight Training Will Cause You To Put On Bulk

Unless you’re eating an extra 500-1000 calories a day you simply won’t get big from strength training. Triathletes are burning so many calories with swimming, biking, and running it’s near impossible to put on a lot of weight unless you’re eating in excess.

Myth #3:Weight Training Will Increase Risk For Injury

Quite the opposite is true. In fact several studies have shown that runners and cyclists who regularly conducted strength training actually reduced their risk for injury. Given that a majority of running injuries are caused from a muscular imbalance, strength training can address and fix these imbalances. For example I have the athletes I coach do single leg squats (with one foot on a bench, box, or stability ball), when switching sides almost everyone notices one leg is noticeably stronger and/or more stable than the other.

Myth #4: Weight Training Is Less Important Than A Swim, Bike, or Run Workout

This is my biggest pet peeve as a triathlon coach. Although swimming, biking and running is the the bread and butter of triathlon, often times strength is just as important. For example most triathletes aim to complete 3 bike and 3 run workouts a week in base phase of their training year. In most individuals I see much better results in just 2 runs and 2 bikes with 2 strengths sessions a week. I guess you can easy the amount the workouts is the same, but strength, biking, and running workouts are balanced.

Myth #5: High Reps Are Better For Endurance

This was conventional wisdom for many years which is understandable given triathlon is an endurance sand not so much a strength focused sport. This being said new research is coming out suggesting that traditional “heavy” weight lifting is very beneficial for runners and cyclists. Two Norwegian studies for example, had runners and cyclist do 4 sets of 4 repetitions of front squats 3 times a week for 8 weeks. By the end of the 8 weeks this study found dramatic improves in the performance of both the cyclists and runners.

Myth #6: Only Certain Individuals Need Strength Training

It is true that older athletes benefit more from strength training, however I believe all endurance athletes can see a benefit from incorporating strength training in their training program. The key is making the strength training specific to the needs of the individual.

Myth #7: Strength Training Is Only Important In The Offseason

Strength training should be a major priority in the offseason/early season for a triathlete however, it’s very important to maintain strength as the race gets closer. Additionally incorporating plyometrics in strength workout just a few weeks before a race has been shown to provide endurance athletes with some extra speed on race day.

Myth #8: You Need To Go To A Gym For Strength Training

It is nice to access to a variety of equipment but as discussed in detail in How To Have The Ultimate Home Gym For Under $100, you can create your very own gym right in your house. This saves time, money, and can be fun to incorporate with your family.

Myth #9: Crossfit Is The Best Way To Train For Endurance

As a personal trainer as well as a triathlon coach, I love many of the crossfit methods and employ them myself and with my clients. However, when it comes to endurance athletes I often find these high intensity workouts leave triathletes sore or injured for too long, affecting other workouts. Stick with exercises you know how to perform properly and that will be specific to you and your goals.

You As A Runner:

When it comes to running here are the most common variables that can affect your running form:

• Biomechanical factors
• Fitness and Training
• Fatigue
• Age, Gender, Body type
• Weight of clothing and shoes
• Environmental conditions

As you can see many of these variables such as environmental conditions, age, gender, etc. are out of your control. However the key takeaway from this is the things you can control. For example through proper training you can improve your fitness level, biomechanics, and time to fatigue when running.

Mental Running Que’s to Maintain Good Form:

If you could think of just one thing when running it would be overall posture. Ask yourself: are you slogging through the miles looking down with a curve back? Fix yourself to run tall and proud!

In taking things to the next level I like the athletes I coach to do a head-to-toe assessment of themselves as the run. Here is what to look for:

• Head looking straight ahead (or about 10ft in front of you), not down towards the ground.
• Shoulders relaxed, not high and tight.
• Upright torso, not leaning too far forward or back.
• Relaxed hands, not clenched fists.
• Arms relaxed, not held too tight.
• Hips pointing straight ahead, not turned out.
• Legs beneath both with knees bent, not long bounding strides with almost locked knees.
• Feet landing on mid-forefoot, not on the heel of the foot.

Running Drills to Improve Technique:

Every coach has different drills they cling to for teaching proper running technique, I personally have seen little success with traditionally butt kicks and high knees, therefore opt for drills that focus on forefoot landing and what I call “springiness” in runners. The following are my three personal favorite running drills.

1. Skips:

These could also be considered skip hops. To do these, let your knee and opposite arm drive up while pushing off with the opposite foot of the knee driving leg. Think of yourself as super mario in a video game jumping up to catch a coin!

2. Strides:

Strides reinforce excellent technique amazingly, here is an example stride workout:

Run 10-20 minutes to a park or an area with a flat grassy place you can run on. Take off your shoes and run 8-10×100 yard repeats at just below all out sprint pace, in your barefeet, focusing on forward lean, forefoot strike and high cadence. Recover between each repeat by walking back to the start. Run back 10-20 minutes, aerobically, and try to implement the same barefoot running techniques while using your shoes

3. Jumping Rope:

Simple as it sounds, grab a jump rope a few times a week and jump away for 30,60, or even 90 seconds. I like athletes to jump rope before every strength sessions, not only to strengthen calf muscles and spring, but to provide a warm-up.

Training

To be good in triathlon you need to train and better yet train properly. Find a coach, coach yourself, or have a training plan. Don’t train too little or too much and most importantly enjoy the journey of training for a triathlon. There is no secret workout, training plan, or other training technique that will bring you instant success. Stay consistent day-to-day, week-to-week, and month-to-month and the results will come.

Nutrition

Being a triathlete requires a diet to meet the needs of extreme physical activity. Ensure your pre, during, and post activity foods are of the highest quality for your needs. What you eat outside of training is what to you, I personally follow a paleo style diet high in vegetables, animal protein, and healthy fats. This being said this type of eating may not work for you as an athlete. I coach several individuals who follow a vegetarian or pescetarian (vegetarian but with fish) diet as it works for them. Whatever your diet is, just be sure it’s helping you achieve your goals.

Rest

I can’t express enough the importance of rest/sleep enough. If you don’t feel like training, don’t be afraid of missing a workout. Your body will often give you signals it’s needs rest, listen to them. Beyond resting during waking hours, take sleep just as serious as training. Never sacrifice less sleep for more time to workout. If you do find yourself overtrained or need to recover quickly, read the 10 Shortcuts For Recovering From a Workout In Record Time.

Mental fitness

This aspect of triathlon is just as if not more important than physical training but is rarely mentioned in most the information around the internet. I believe the reason for this is it’s uncomfortable to talk about. I personally have accepted a 2nd place finish simply because I didn’t want to go out of my comfort zone and I’ve won races because my competition didn’t. The moral of this story is when you’re racing to the finish line dead even with the guy next you, he or she who wants it more will get it.

Building mental fitness can be more challenging than building physical fitness as it’s not black and white. While I’m not a sports psychologist, as a triathlon coach I have found that overcoming obstacles in training is one of the best ways to build mental fitness. In other words, working through the pain of hard indoor cycling session and remembering that experience creates confidence on race day.

Racing

You could train like a champion but if it doesn’t translate into racing, in my opionion it is wasted. Remind yourself in your training that you can “win” workout, instead focus on how workout will help you on race day. Also, find ways to improve in every triathlon you do. Even professionals that have been racing for 20+ years still make mistakes and learn from them.

The Bottomline

The ultimate triathlete is not created overnight or with shortcuts. Consistency and balance is the key to never ending improvement. Good luck on your personal triathlon journey!

1. Take in a Gel before the swim

This isn’t as important for shorter, sprint and/or olympic distance triathlons. But for a half-ironman or full ironman distance triathlon you’re definitely going to need some extra fuel. A gel before the swim start provides some quick digesting carbohydrates to fuel the fast-paced swim start and keep your energy stores topped off.

2. Hold back the first few miles of the bike

If you’re not being passed in the first few miles of the bike, slow down, like seriously… slow down. Sprinting in the start of the bike provides no benefit and 9 times out of 10 causes you to slow down towards the end of the bike leg and on the run due to fatigue. Save the hard efforts for later in the race by slowly building to a steady effort in the bike leg.

3. Visualize Transitions

Towards the end of the swim and bike legs of a triathlon start to visualize your transitions. Think about what you are about to do as soon as you exit the water or dismount bike. For example when coming in from the bike I visualize the transition process then say out loud just before I dismount “rack bike, drop helmet, put on running shoes, grab race belt, go!” Typically I do all this without thinking and find myself on the run course before I even knew what happened.

4. Break things up

Take each leg if a triathlon separately in your mind. This doesn’t mean race the swim, bike, and run, but rather just focus on the moment you are in. For example when starting the swim, the only thing on your mind should be swimming in the moment, at the pace you planned, not about the fact you will biking and running later in the day.

5. Focus on heart rate and breathing when starting the run.

When running off the bike your legs are going to feel weird or even jello like, this is normal and shouldn’t be of concern. Focus on your heart rate and breathing to find your pace, if you paced correctly on the bike the fatigue in your legs will subside.

6. Gauge your progress at the the halfway point

Both on the bike and run, do a physical and mental evaluation of your progress. Ask yourself if your pacing correctly, then estimate the effort needed for the rest of the race to adjust accordingly.

7. Repeat your own mondra

When things get hard in a triathlon (and they will), have a mondra that keeps you moving. It can be as simple as “keep pedaling, keep pedaling” or something like “run to the next aid-station”. Whatever you chose, just be sure it’s positive and keeps you moving.

Training for a triathlon wouldn’t be very exciting if all you did was swim, bike, and run either hard or easy for an extended period of time to increase performance. While there is a time and a place to train relatively easy for a long duration (i.e. zone 2 aerobic workout) or hold a certain pace or heart rate (i.e. tempo workout), to truly improve as an athlete and push the envelope of your performance you need to train with intervals.

Intervals are one of the fastest ways to improve performance and weather you’re aware of it or not your current workouts could be considered interval training. For example almost all endurance workouts involve (or at least should involve) a warm-up, a main-set, and a cool down. In this basic model the main-set is the interval. However, in this article we will discusses interval training that involves several different intervals at a certain heart-rate, power, or pace followed by a rest period.

As seen in Top 10 Indoor Trainer Bike Workouts, one of my favorite bike workouts is what I call 5×5 hill climbs. This workouts looks like this:

Warm-up: 20min Gradually increasing effort

Main-set: 5x5min Z4-5 intervals (sitting and standing) hill climbs. 3 minute recovery between sets.

Cooldown: 30min Z2

As you can the workouts above involve holding a difficult effort in Zone 4-5 for 5 minutes. Followed by a 3 minute  rest period. Even if you are competing a half-ironman which is predominantly raced in Zone 3 or an ironman which is predominantly raced in Zone 2. A workout like this can build a significant amount of muscular endurance needed to get you to the finish line.

While almost any triathlete no matter the distance can benefit from the workout above, the intervals you use in your training should vary week to week to challenge your body, and be based around you, your goals, available time to train, and the distance of triathlon you are competing in.

TIPS FOR INTERVAL TRAINING

Train solo: Intervals are difficult to complete with a group or even a training partner. Consider doing running and cycling intervals away from traffic and other distractions where you can really focus on the workout. I personally found intervals are the best time to listen to music when trianing.

Don’t go out to fast: Even intervals as short as 30 seconds can be ruined if start them too fast. Even though it may feel like you’re holding back, build into each interval so you don’t blow up at the end (just like in a race).

More is not better: While it’s true that interval training is one of the best ways to increase performance, more intervals is not always better. Remember intervals are for training not racing, don’t overdo it.

Don’t do intervals when tired: One of the fastest ways to get injured is to do hard intervals when tired, sick, or under emotional stress. If you’re not feeling good during an interval workout, don’t be afraid to stop as you might be causing more harm than good.

If you’re confused about interval training or have any questions/comments please leave them in the comments section below.

A race taper or “peak” is a period of time lasting anywhere from 21 to as little as 3 days before a specific race or event. The taper involves reducing training intensity and/or volume for a period of time before an event to maximize performance on a certain day. Talk to any experience athletes and they will tell your, the taper before an event is both an art and science that varies from athlete to athlete and even year to year as an athlete improves overtime.

Should You Taper Every Race?

Although it would be nice to be in peak shape for each race of the season, tapering for every race can greatly affect your entire year. As discussed in How To Plan Your Triathlon Season triathletes should prioritize races on importance. For example. Joe triathlete may want to focus on half-ironman triathlon as his  “A” race, have a few olympics triathlons as “B” races, and  lastly a few sprint and 10k races that are considered “C” races. For the B races joe triathlete will have a mini taper of just a few days, whereas for the C races he or she will simply use those as training sessions and not devote anytime for tapering. Organizing races by priority puts a focus on the “A” or key race but also allows athletes to race other events within the year.

Field note: I once coached an athlete didn’t want to do an A race and instead wanted to race basically every weekend for 4 months. In this case, I organized all his races as “B” races allowing him to actual get fitter as the season went on. Although we never had a full blown peak in training performance, he was able to race consistently over the 4 month period.

How Long Should A Race Taper Be?

The duration of a given taper depends entirely on the individual. For me personally I taper 10 days for a half-ironman triathlon, 7 for an olympic triathlon, and only 5 days before a sprint triathlon. As with everything in triathlon, more is not always better and balance is key. Take too much time tapering for an event and you can find yourself feeling lethargic and sluggish on race day. But don’t taper enough for a key race and you may find yourself slowing down towards the end due to fatigue. This being said it’s always better to be untrained than overtrained. Dozens of professional triathletes have credited being injured which forced them to rest as their ticket to a victory.

How Do You Taper Correctly?

There are a few different ways to taper for an event. The most common method is to cut volume as the event approaches (i.e. cut a 90min run down to 45min). The other and my personal favorite is to take 2 days easy allowing your body to rest, then every 3rd day complete a short but intense workout to maintain that top end speed, such as a 40min bike w/ 5min race pace intervals followed by a 20min run w/ 2min race pace intervals. As triathletes gain experience from season to season they learn the best way to peak for an event.

SWIM-TO-BIKE TRANSITION (T1)

1. Have your wetsuit half way off before T1

Going from swimming horizontal to running vertical isn’t easy, so take your time getting out of the water, but as soon as you get your bearings begin to remove your swim cap and goggles. As you are still moving towards T1 take off the top-half of your wetsuit and let if hang at your waist as you continue to run into T1 (see picture right).

2. Step your way out of your wetsuit

Don’t be that guy that needs help getting a wetsuit off. Contrary to what many believe there is an incredible easy way to get out of a wetsuit. All you need to do is step with your legs, which will pull the wetsuit down to your ankles where you can remove it easily (tri-slide makes this even easier).

3. Avoid changing clothes

Unless you are competing in your first triathlon, try to avoid adding or removing additionally clothing. This can literally add minutes to your time.

4. Keep It simple

Simplify T1 is much as possible. The less steps, the faster you will be. Besides donning a helmet, sunglasses, and bike shoes ask yourself what do you really need?

BIKE-TO-RUN TRANSITION (T2)

1. Don’t consume food. 

T2 is not the time to take in fuel, if you think you need to take in more calories get to the first aid station instead of trying to force down a gel in transition. Not only does this ad additionally time, but it’s easy to take in more food than you can handle.

2. Fly out of your bike shoes

Instead of un-clipping from your pedals, running awkwardly in T2, to then remove your bike shoes… Simply take your feet out of your bikes while moving and place them on top of your shoes. Then as you approach the dismount simply step of your bike and run into T2 barefoot (See picture right).

3. Roll up socks (If you wear them)

Most triathletes can go without socks for the sprint and olympic distance events, but for half-ironman and ironman events they become more important. The trick to getting socks on quickly is to roll them before hand.  Then when you enter T2, simply roll them down on your feet.

4. Get situated while moving.

Don’t stand still while your situating your race belt or visor. Get moving! You can fix those things as you’re moving forward, remember that’s the point of a race!

Have A Race Plan

This is where having a coach comes in handy, if your self-coached you need to take a realistic look at your training times and previous race experiences to establish a pacing strategy. Beyond establishing your pacing, a race plan should include what you are going to do in the days leading up to the race. This includes your pre-race meal, the logistics of getting to the event, how you will warm-up before the event, etc.

The following is a sample race plan for an Olympic Triathlon:

Friday:

7:00am 30min bike/15min run workout with 4x30sec race pace intervals.

8:00am Double check all bolts on the bike for tightness, ensure chain is cleaned and lubricated.

9:00am Ensure all gear is packed, depart for race venue.

11:30am Arrive at hotel, unpack, relax, nap if needed.

3:00pm Walk to pick up race packet, walk back to hotel (.5 miles each way).

4:00pm Attach race numbers to bike, helmet, and race belt. Lay out/prep all other gear for race.

5:30pm Eat dinner with fellow triathletes (Keep it clean: small piece of steak, baked sweet potato, and broccoli).

7:00pm Quietly meditate/ visualize race day.

9:00pm Bedtime.

Saturday (race day):

5:00am Wake up, shower, foam roll muscles.

5:20am Enjoy breakfast (baked sweet potato with honey).

6:00am Leave for race venue.

6:30am Set-up transition, pump bike tires,

6:45am 5min bike warm-up, practice transition to a 5min run warm-up.

7:00am Practice running into transition from both the water and the bike entrance.  

7:10am Put on wetsuit then make way down to swim start, take in 1 gel.

7:20am 5min swim warm-up (work on sighting the buoys)

7:30am RACE START!

Swim: Start in the lead pack and stay calm in the starting chaos. Once things even out begin to search for someone to draft off of. Don’t forget to stay on track and sight often. Towards the end of the swim begin to kick slightly harder to get some blood back in the legs.

T1: Exit water slowly than start to jog in transition. Toss wetsuit then immediately don sunglasses, helmet, and bike shoes. Take off!

Bike: Start off slow (let people pass you!) then slowly start to build into planned heartrate/power. Keep things steady without going above zone 5 on the hills. Continuously drink sports drink and water. Lighten up on the pedals for last 2 miles.

T2. Flying dismount into T2, rack bike, toss helmet, don running shoes, grab race belt while moving.

Run: Start off slow for the first mile to allow your legs to adapt to running. Build into planned pace, push the pace for the last 5k. Take in half a gel at first and fourth mile. Finish strong!

Learn to Race in Training

I can’t express the importance enough of having race like workouts. As your race gets closer your training needs to mimic what you will be doing on race day. Practice pacing, fueling, staying aero, and listening to your body in training to become familiar with these experiences.

Note on cramping: Although the science of what causes cramps is still under debated, I rarely see athletes that train how the race have cramps on race day. It’s usually individuals who have haphazard training then show up on race day and push their bodies beyond what they are accustomed to that get cramps.

Pace Yourself

Just as you should have established in your run plan, a pacing strategy is the difference between racing your best triathlon and simply finishing. Everyone has different paces which they have developed in training however, as stated above training and racing are different things. For example just because you can run a 10k in 42 minutes in training doesn’t mean you can when coming off a 40k bike in an Olympic distance triathlon. Be realistic with yourself on race day and don’t suddenly think you are going to have some hidden speed in your legs. When it doubt with your pacing during your race, hold back slightly on the bike and the first half of the run, then start to pick it up.

Don’t burn all your matches

This ties in pacing slightly however, most triathlons aren’t on a perfectly flat course with no wind so pacing isn’t always going to be perfect. There are indeed times in which you will have to go out of your planned pacing zone to get up a hill, pass another rider, or deal with a head wind. In situations like this the key is not to get off pace too many times, or in other words burn all your matches. I tell the athletes I coach to keep a mental matchbook, meaning every time they accelerate out of their planned pace to note they have burned a match, if they burn too many they will literally having nothing left to get them to the finish.

Start Time:          6:30 AM

Entry Fee:           Fundraiser

Location:             La Jolla Cove

Address:              1180 Coast Blvd.

City/State/Zip:  San Diego, California 92037

Country:              USA

Race Website:   http://www.challengedathletes.org/site/c.4nJHJQPqEiKUE/b.6449147/k.2719/San_Diego_Triathlon_Challenge.htm

Description:

The 2014 Aspen Medical Products San Diego Triathlon Challenge

Reputation:

What began more than 20 years ago as a fundraiser to help one athlete, Jim MacLaren, to regain his independence after a tragic second accident has grown to become one of the most highly-regarded and motivational events in the triathlon world. Since that first event, the Aspen Medical Products San Diego Triathlon Challenge has been instrumental in raising the funds that have allowed more than 8,200 challenged athletes around the world to make it to the starting line and inspired a new generation to realize they have no limits.

Event Features:

A one-of-a-kind “challenge” distance triathlon

One of the most breathtaking courses in the country.

Opportunity to compete side-by-side, as an individual or on a relay team, with Ironman Champions like Chris McCormack, athlete super-stars like Bill Walton, world-class challenged athletes and other celebrities.

A motivational “A Celebration of Abilities” dinner and awards presentation showcasing some of CAF’s amazing stories.

The industry’s “best schwag bag,” (valued at $350) including custom Converse sneakers, CAF sweatshirt, shirt, running shorts and more.

Unique event amenities like a participant continental breakfast and post-event BBQ.

Chance to fundraise for awesome incentive prizes including products from Oakley, Garmin, 2XU and more.

An inspirational sports festival including the Tour de Cove cycling marathon, 5K Fitness Walk, Family Fun Zone, CAF Village of exciting exhibitors, a silent auction and CAF store.

Start Time:          6:30 AM

Entry Fee:           Varies

Location:             Tempe Beach Park

City/State/Zip:  Tempe, Arizona 85281

Country:              USA

Registration:      http://www.somatri.com/

Race Website:  http://www.somatri.com/

Description:

Life Time The Healthy Way of Life CompanySM proudly presents the 11th annual Life Time Tri Soma. This race is the perfect tune-up for Ironman or just a great way to get out and compete in a half-Ironman distance event in a phenomenal setting. Race this one and you will get a custom visor, a tech tee and one heck of a good time!