Tips For Beginner Ironman Training
1. Training for the SWIM – Avoid open water swimming, regardless of if you have a wetsuit or not. Swimming pools are usually equipped with turns that allow you to rest if needed. Continual swimming coupled with a lot of nervous energy and you can end up being totally spent. If you do not have experience in being able to handle this, your bike performance can end up suffering.
Half Ironman Training – Only Half?
The 70.3 is known as a very difficult race; it is also known as the Half Ironman. It is a blend of momentum and the ability to endure. As a swimmer, the mind has to attempt to calculate how quickly to swim, how to provide fuel to the body, how hasty to be in transition, how to run, and the moment of the final kick. Read on to learn five half ironman training techniques that could save you from disastrous errors. These techniques could be the difference between losing or saving the race and going the distance.
3. More fuel than you need on the bike. In half ironman training, begin taking in more calories than you normally would on the bike. This technique is suggested to provide you with enough fuel and water to get you through what is known as “minimally fueling” for the Half Ironman run. We recommend that males take 350-400 calories per hour on the bike, and females take 300-350. Because of gastrointestinal distress, you should stop fueling at least 10-15 minutes to your run transition, then fuel yourself with only 100-200 calories per hours while on the run. We recommend grabbing a gel or a chunk of banana a maximum 2 to 3 times.
4) Try something different like a Walk-Run plan. In the 70.3, the half ironman, a 20:1 ration could work very well compared to the normal longer walking periods practiced in a marathon or Ironman. Practicing this tip and you will soon see the difference it makes. It allows your core to cool slightly and you are able to grab much needed fuel or water without the stress of choking. Walk at a brisk rate and then take up your previous pace. In a typical race, you are looking at running for 3 miles and walking for 60 seconds.
5) Push yourself on the last leg, the final 10K. During your half ironman training, it would be wise to include some progression runs. This translates to running an aerobic 10K with a very controlled gait, then hit another 10K with all you’ve got. Keep practicing this until you reach your maximum potential. This is a good strategy to strive for in most Half Ironman events.
Instill the desire to let loose at the half way point and you will enjoy the outcome of the race. Of course, the other side to this is going out for the transition too hard and blowing up before the halfway point.
Tips For Beginner Sprint Triathlon Training
For a beginner to the world of triathlon competition, all the ins and outs of everything that is needed as far as equipment, training, and learning the right techniques can be quite overwhelming. Hopefully this won’t stop you from triathlon training part of your life. Triathlon is a cardiovascular sport and as such offers excellent benefits for your health. Not only will you have increased energy, but you will look and feel better as well. As a result, you will have more confidence and others will notice a difference in you. That should be reason enough for you to train for a triathlon.
After 3-5 months of building your endurance, you can add the other two sports to your training schedule. So, if you trained running for the first 3-5 months then you will now add cycling and swimming to your routine. At this point, you should train each sport twice a week. This will be the time for you to work out a schedule as well. If you like to train for six days and then take a day off, then that is the schedule you should follow. You can also choose to train longer in a day, rotating sports so that you can have several days off consecutively. You may have to experiment to see which option best suits your energy levels. You will need to change things up every once in a while to create muscle confusion, this ensures that your training continues to increase your strength and endurance. Remember, everyone has bad days where they would rather stay in bed, but keeping the pay off in mind will help you to stay on track.
For a beginner, sprint triathlon training shouldn’t be an obsession. Don’t stress too much about your swimming, cycling or running speeds; instead, focus on endurance. You want to be able to finish a race; it won’t do you any good to be fast if you can’t last for the duration. Swimming is one sport that you should focus on when it comes to endurance. You should be able to swim for a half a mile without stopping; but you should shoot for a whole mile. In fact, training yourself to the point where you can complete distances further than the race you are about to compete in will put you into a very comfortable position for your race. Your speed will increase over time, so don’t stress too much about it at first.
On race day, don’t get too worked up. Relax and enjoy it, you’ve worked hard over the past year getting into good enough shape to actually compete, that is something to be proud of. A fun mentality is important. Do what you need to in order to relax and enjoy yourself. Don’t forget, this, much like anything worth doing, requires baby steps to do it right. A good training program to get you in competition shape will benefit you for all future races as well. When you are ready, you can increase your goals and take bigger steps until you are running towards your goal!
The Dos And Dont’s Of Beginner Triathlon Training
In order to be considered a great athlete, both amateurs and semi-professionals alike feel that participation in triathlons are the key to that distinction.
DO: Make sure that you spend extra time training any sport that you are aren’t good at. This applies to your muscles too. If you have a muscle group that is weaker than others (for example, weak arms and strong legs), then you need to work harder and longer on that muscle group until a balance is created.
DON’T: Think that you don’t have to train a sport that you already excel in. While you will want to put more focus on any areas you are weak in, if you don’t continue to train the other sports, then you will find that they become your weakest link when you compete.
DO: Allow your endurance to increase by pushing yourself to your maximum boundaries. Everyone fears injuries, but if you let that stop you from pushing hard, you won’t reach your goals. Get on your best gear and get to work on achieving your goals without fear.
DON’T: Be unrealistic. You aren’t going to achieve your speed goals one week into training. If you want to run a five minute mile, but your current speed is a 7 minute mile, with beginner triathlon training you need to be aware that this increase will take time. If you try to achieve your goals too soon, you will get discouraged, you may give up in frustration and you may end up injuring yourself. There is a difference between pushing yourself and being unrealistic; learn the difference and apply it.
DO: Plan, plan, plan. Not only should you set goals for yourself, but you should also establish a schedule and stick to it. Improvising is not beneficial in triathlon training, you need to know what to expect each and every day. Once you develop a schedule, stick to it, it will help you to prepare yourself for what the next day is going to bring (a mental preparation will be needed as well as a physical one).
DON’T: Get so stuck on your schedule that you allow an injury to occur or your feel burned out. While planning is essential, there needs to be some flexibility if something comes up that needs to be addressed. It can take months or even years to recover from an injury; it is better to change things up for a couple of days than to suffer an injury that will prevent training at all.
The Importance Of A Triathlon Training Schedule
If you want to be a successful triathlete, then it is of the utmost importance that you stick to a triathlon training schedule. Triathlons are extremely challenging and training for them takes a serious individual. The triathlete must give all to her training. There is never a day when she can wake up and contemplate if she feels like training or not.
On the other hand, training too hard is as risky as not following a triathlon training schedule. If you are body becomes useless because of over training, then it cannot perform. A schedule must be maintained at all times. A triathlete must not take days off and must not take it easy on the days she feels weary or discouraged. The triathlon training schedule becomes your guiding light on days like that.
True triathlon training takes a large amount of discipline. It is the discipline that empowers your determination and enables you to make progress. It is also very important to follow a schedule so that it prepares you for being in the best condition possible on the most important day – the day you compete. Triathletes have been known to map out their triathlon training schedule a year in advance of the competition.
Behind every schedule is the idea of working yourself up to optimal performance step by step. As stated, you do not want to train too much and cause yourself to feel burnt out or risk becoming injured. You do want to be at the top of your game for the actual race. After your big race, you need an acceptable amount of rest to prepare for the next one.
If triathlon training is new concept for you, work with a coach that can set up a schedule that will bring out the best in you come competition time.