Treadmill Workout: 55-60 minutes, but very easy to add or decrease the time.  We always set the treadmill at at least 1% incline.
–9 x 5 minutes, increasing the speed by 0.5 MPH every 5 minutes. This ends up being a total increase of 4 MPH over 45 minutes. Start slow! For Trevor it looks like:
5 min @ 7.5MPH
5 min @ 8.0MPH
5 min @ 8.5MPH
5 min @ 9.0MPH
5 min @ 9.5MPH
5 min @ 10.0MPH
5 min @ 10.5MPH
5 min @ 11.0MPH
5 min @ 11.5MPH

Some days the last 5 minutes is extremely hard, so we’ll drop the incline to 0 for the last interval.  Or, every minute, increase the speed by 0.1 instead of a full 0.5 for the entire interval.

After the last interval, go straight into:
10 x 1 min at slow pace and 0% incline (Trevor at 8.0 MPH), increasing gradient by 1% every minute. The last 3 minutes of this end up being uncomfortable: Example: 8.0MPH at 9% for last minute.
Cool down as desired.

Power Beam Pro bike trainer workout: 1:45 minute total

10 min warm up
Main:
8 x 10 minutes (7 min aero and 3 min seated)
Increase wattage by 10 watts every 10 minutes. Last interval should be very hard.  If you’re a numbers person, aim for 80-85% of your FTP.
15 min cool down.

Bring a workout:

Having a workout printed out on a piece of paper (in a baggie to keep it dry) helps insure you’ll get the planned workout done.  Simply going to the pool with the  intention of swimming doesn’t cut it.  Write it down and get it done!  That said, your swim workout doesn’t need to be so complicated that you waste time standing at the end of the pool trying to figure it all out.

Swim long and swim lots:

4000-6000 yards? Yep, you are, after all, training for an Ironman…or maybe not.  Understandably not everyone is going to have the time to swim that much, 5 or 6 times per week.  But do your best to get a length of swim that is longer than your planned distance at least once per week.

Use the clock:

Learn to use the clock to keep track of your distance.  If you know your average pace per 100 yards, then you can forget counting the number of times you hit the wall.  Just know how long it takes you to do a 200, 300, 400 and longer,  and then all you need to do is glance at the clock every couple laps.  Plus – looking at the clock will keep you honest and keep you working hard.

Count by 1oo’s

Count your swim distance in terms of 100′s.  Not by laps.  We often hear new swimmers asking us how many laps we do.  Nobody in the swim world thinks in terms of number of laps, it’s all yardage or meter distances.  For the record, though, our definition of a lap is “There and back”….50 yards in a short course yard pool, or 1oo meters in a long course pool.

Swimming seems like a small portion of triathlon, both in distance and relative time of any given race.  We can assure you though, being fit and ready to make the swim feel easy will allow you to fully tap into your bike and run potential.

Look at a typical Ironman taper and recovery – for us as professionals it’s two weeks on either side. Two week taper where we continue to train, but at about half the volume of our big training weeks. Then the recovery, in general we give it two weeks of easy ‘get out and move’ type training before getting back into the swing of things, building up to normal volume. After our last big race of the year we’ll use that two weeks recovery period as our off-season (no tri training required). For a Half Iron distance race the taper and recovery is even shorter – maybe a 4 day limited taper and a few days easy recovery training post race. So, if you were to do 2 Ironman races in a year – that’s already 2 MONTHS of easy training. Pretty hard to justify a long off season with that sort of downtime already incorporated into the year – at least if you’re serious about improving.

If you train consistently throughout the year, your body won’t NEED the extended off season.

—-
In Greek mythology, sirens were bird-women, portrayed as seductresses, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.

In endurance circles, we have our version of the sirens. Their song tells us there is an easier, faster way to be successful. You can train less, recover more and be more successful than your peers. You can have balance in your life and still be on top of those that relentlessly pursue the same goals you have.

Especially sensible to the song are those that are looking for the shortcut, those that think there is a secret, easier way to achieve their goals. Those that constantly doubt themselves and their path and look for clues to achieve success. “This is hard, there HAS to be an easier way!”

Invariably, these athletes end up shipwrecked, by simply lacking the necessary consistency in training to be successful. Invariably, these athletes are beaten by those that have kept their head down, stayed on the path and went through the process. Invariably, listening to the song of the sirens gets you further away from your goals.

So, if you’re running on a treadmill and have strides on tap, how do you go about doing them?  Changing the speed for a 15-20 second stride on a treadmill can be mighty annoying if you’re constantly trying to push buttons.  Instead of worrying about changing the speed at all, simply set the treadmill to the pace you’d like to do your interval.  When you’re done with y0u’re 15-20 second effort simply jump off and walk around the gym a bit to recover.  When it’s time to go again, jump back on and you’ll already be at full speed.  Note: Use of the handrails for a couple seconds is strongly advised!

Understandably this can look a bit strange while in a crowded gym, and someone in a position of authority may even get mad a you for leaving a running treadmill.  In that situation rather than walk around leaving your treadmill unattended we just do a stationary recovery on the edges of the treadmill.  Not ideal, but it works.

Despite using an 11/23 rear cassette with 39/53 front chain rings for many years, our favorite gearing for racing and training has shifted to an 11/26 rear cassette and 39/53 front chain rings. This set up allows you to keep a higher cadence on hills and prevent that excessive leg burn that can be so detrimental to finishing your race with a strong run leg. On extremely hilly, long-distance courses such as IM St. George, we’ll even use a 12/28 rear cassette.  A general rule of thumb is that if there is any question at all – go with the easier gearing.

Long, steep climbs aside, having the larger gears in back can also help save you from that oh-so-annoying shift to the small chain ring when you hit some small rollers or false flat sections.  Having the ability to stay in your 53 front ring and get into the 23 cog on the back without crossing the chain over too far can be nice advantage.

One small disadvantage to having a cassette like a 12/28 is that you lose the ability to pedal hard at over 40 miles per hour.  I.e. when you’re going downhill.  In our opinion that  little bit of lost speed on fast downhill sections is more than made up for on the rest of the hilly course.

When making equipment decisions it is important to look past the macho stigma of pushing big gears.  There is no shame in throwing on a 28 tooth cassette if it’s going to help your overall finish time – and it always feels good to cruise up a hill past all those mashing away and having to stand in their 23.

RULE 60: Pre-race, you must be tranquilo, resting on your top tube thusly. This may also be extended to any time one is aboard the bike, but not riding it, such as at stop lights or while waiting for riding partners

As triathlete we often bear the brunt of many jokes coming from die-hard road cyclists – AKA: Roadies. Quite honestly, many of these jokes are well deserved! Here’s a collection of rules put together by the Velominati, we suggest you read them and learn. As comical as they are, there is an element of seriousness to all of them.

Here’s a quick sample before going over to read the list in it’s entirety, which by having read this far you are required to do.

RULE 28:
Socks can be any damn colour you like. White is old school cool. Black is good, but once again were given a bad image by a Texan whose were too long. DeFeet Wool-E-Ators rule.

RULE 31:
Spare tubes, multi-tools and repair kits should be stored in jersey pockets, or in a converted bidon in a cage on bike.

RULE 32:
Hydration packs are never to be seen on a road rider’s body.  No argument will be entered into on this.

RULE 61:
The bike is the tool a Velominatus uses to convey their art.  It must be cherished, and when leaning it against a wall, must be leaned carefully such that only the bars, saddle, or tires come in contact with the wall or post.  This is true even when dismounting prior to collapsing after the World Championship Time Trial.

RULE 7:

Tan lines should be cultivated and kept razor sharp.  Under no circumstances should one be rolling up their sleeves or shorts in an effort to somehow diminish one’s tan lines.  Sleeveless jerseys are under no circumstances to be employed (See below if you are a triathlete).

As a triathlete we would be willing to offer a slight bending of rule number 7 (above).  You may wear a cut off jersey so long as it is not your race singlet, or skin tight.  It must also have 3 pockets in the back mimicking a conventional riding jersey.

As mentioned, we require that you read the remainder of the rules on the Velominati website.

If you can’t avoid slanted roads, try to switch sides now and again to try and keep it as even as possible. Do a loop in the opposite direction, or stay on the same side of the road for an out-and-back. Always use your judgment and be sure to make visibility to other road users a priority, but take steps to avoid the slant!

If you’re extremely hard-core and ride in temperatures where your water bottle actually freezes, the best thing to do is mix a slightly stronger than normal drink – First Endurance EFS, for example.  The sugars and electrolytes will not only help keep you hydrated and topped up calorically, but the solution will keep the fluid drinkable.  Then again, they make some pretty darn good indoor trainers nowadays!

So, the next time you’re out riding or running in cold weather and you start feeling a little lethargic, think about the fluids you’ve taken in; it’s possible you could be running on empty.  Your body needs to be hydrated in order to function at its optimal level. If there isn’t enough liquid in your body, essential functions like circulation don’t go as smoothly as they should.  Proper hydration will also help regulate body temperature and keep you in a good mood. If you haven’t been drinking enough water, you can feel tired, cranky, or irritable. You might even imagine that you’re hungry, when your body is actually craving is water.

Drink up!