Harlech Triathlon Training Tips

Swim        Bike        Run    

Winter Cycle Training

Coming soon - a 6 week training schedule to help you prepare for the race

Beginner to Finisher by Anne Fuller

Anne Fuller has competed as a member of Thames Valley Triathletes for over 15 years and is also a member of Reading Cycling Club.  She has represented GB in the age group team on a number of occasions and has successfully completed five Ironman triathlons.  Her target race for this year is the European Long Distance Triathlon Championships in France.  If you have any questions you can email Anne at the address novices@harlechtriathlon.org.uk

What are we aiming to achieve? 

Improving your swimming 

How well do you swim at the moment? 

Question 1 - can you comfortably swim a length of the pool?  If your answer is ‘No’ then your priority should be to arrange some lessons. 

 Question 2 - can you comfortably swim a length using front crawl?  If your answer is ‘No’ then you have a decision to make.  Swimming breaststroke is always allowed in triathlons but if you can master front crawl it will be faster and easier in the long term. 

 How can you swim faster? 

Work on three areas – technique,  stamina and speed. 

Technique – ideally work with an instructor but here are two things that you should be able to improve by yourself:

1. Concentrate on keeping your body horizontal in the water – i.e. keep your legs close to the surface and your head down.  This reduces the resistance of the water.

2. Travel as far as possible each time you push off.  Grab the wall and push hard so that your body travels under the water.  Your hands should be touching and your arms straight out in front - think ‘fish’ as you glide though the water.  Kick your legs for propulsion and finally surface and use your arms.  You should travel up to 5 metres before using your arms.

Stamina - gradually increase the distance that you swim without resting and also the total distance swum in a session.   Build up the distance until you can swim at least 20 lengths without stopping and 50 lengths in a single session.

Speed - swim fast for a short distance – between one and four lengths – then rest until your breathing has recovered.   Aim at building up to 6-8 repetitions - e.g. 8 times 2 lengths fast with a minute of rest between each.  Make sure that you start with some easy swimming to warm up and also warm down at the end.

Training sessions are easier when the pool is organised for length swimming – contact your local pool and find out which sessions are designated for lane swimming

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Focus on the cycling

The cycle stage of a triathlon is organised as a time trial – meaning that you ride a measured distance by yourself as fast as possible.  Don’t be confused by races you might see on TV where athletes ride in a group – these ‘drafting’ races are only for elite competitors.

The Harlech race has a much longer bike than is typical for sprint distance races – the choice of roads is limited in Snowdonia and we have to pick a route that is safe.  The fastest cyclist in the 2002 race completed the course in just under one hour – Tony is regularly placed in the top three in the Welsh Best All Rounder competition so ‘normal’ mortals can expect to take somewhat longer. 

Taking a typical competitor the ratio of time spent during the race swimming / cycling / running would be something like 10 / 80 / 30.  It is worth bearing this in mind when you allocate your training time although you should also focus on your on weakest areas.

Indoor training

When the weather is cold and the nights dark, training in the gym is a very attractive option.  It is possible to develop pedalling technique and strength using a stationary bike.  When you start your session it is best to have a clear programme in mind – for example:

• 10 times 1 minute pedalling as fast as possible followed by 1 minute pedalling at 90 rpm
• 10 times 1 minute standing and pedalling a high resistance followed by 1 minute pedalling light resistance
• A pyramid – 1 minute hard / 1 minute easy, 2 minutes hard / 2 minutes easy.  Increase the intervals e.g. to 5 / 5 and then work back down again

 Always include a warm up and warm down – 10 minutes spinning the pedals with a light resistance

 There are two problems with indoor training.  The first is boredom – it is difficult to keep motivated for long sessions.   Two suggestions for avoiding monotony: 

• Join a spinning class or train with friends – much more fun than training alone and the peer pressure can push you to try harder
• Add “Brick Sessions” to your training – these sessions alternate bike and run to simulate a triathlon.  For example – warm up and then alternate 10 minutes on a bike followed by 5 minutes on a treadmill.  To add interest you can alter the focus of the sessions – one week cycle steadily but work hard on the run, the next time work hard on the bike and use the run / jog as a recovery.

Unfortunately the other problem is not so easy to solve.  You cannot practice technique – cornering, descending, climbing, gear changing - without getting on your bike so wrap up warm and get out onto the road.

On to the road

You can use any bike for the race but perhaps best to get it serviced if it has not been used recently!  If you plan to use a mountain bike try changing the ‘nobbly’ tyres for ‘slicks’ – these are much faster because they offer less resistance. 

When planning your training rides try to build in one or more of the following aims for each ride:

• Go the distance – before race day you should complete at least one continuous ride lasting 2 hours.  This is more than the length of the cycle leg so you can be confident on the day. Build up your time in the saddle gradually.
• Good cornering – concentrate on losing as little time as possible on corners.  Select suitable gears going into the corner, brake before the turn and then accelerate out of the corner to build up your speed again.
• Practice climbing – choose a route that includes hills.  There are two types of hills to practice – short steep ones that may involve you standing up on the pedals and longer hills for which you can remain seated.  For the longer hills, select a gear which allows you to maintain your ‘cadence’ (pedal revolutions per minute) – avoid grinding up hills in a gear which is too hard.
• Practice descending – choose a route that includes different types of descents.   On the straight descents with good visibility practice being aerodynamic – your body should be as low and narrow as possible on the bike.  For twisty descents concentrate on your position on the road and practice safe braking.

 Joining a club is one of the best ways to improve. Look for triathlon and cycling clubs in your area and try to find a club that encourages novices.  You can learn from experienced athletes and find friends to train with. 

 You may notice that some cyclists ride without a helmet – their excuse will usually be ‘it is too hot or uncomfortable’.  Personally I never ride without a helmet – my head matters to me – and on race day a helmet is compulsory.

For further advice on Winter Cycle Training click on the link.

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Get running!

Think technique

If you watch the world’s top runners you could be forgiven for thinking that perfect running technique is not an essential pre-requisite for success.  Paul Radcliffe is famous for her nodding head whilst Haile Gebrselassie began his athletics career by running 10 kilometers to school and back as a child and still has an uneven arm action from holding his satchel under one arm.  This said it is still important to develop an efficient running technique – it will minimise the effort required and reduce the risk of injuries.  There are many aspects to good running technique but the main things to concentrate on when you start are:

• Stride length
  Don’t try to take too long a stride – for distance running it is more efficient to take a shorter quicker stride.
• Body position
  Allow your body to tip slightly in front of the vertical – this allows your body weight to help you as you move forward.   When doing this remember to keep your torso straight and your hips forward – avoid leaning forward from the shoulders and sticking your bottom out.  This forward position is especially important when running down hill – it prevents you from ‘braking’ with your body.
• Relaxed shoulders and arms
  Try not to tense your shoulders and arms. Use your arms to complement your leg stride – think of moving your elbow backwards and forwards at 90 degrees to your body.  Keep your hand open and relaxed.  When you increase the pace or run up hill you can increase the vigour of your arms to balance the extra effort from your legs.
• Steady head position
  Keep your head still but relaxed. Look forwards and down – you should focus about 15m in front of you.
• Even relaxed breathing
  Avoid taking shallow breaths and concentrate on deep even breathing.  If you find your breathing becoming ragged try the following:
  synchronising your breathing with your stride – e.g. breath in for two strides and out for two
  concentrate on breathing OUT – this ensures that you avoid CO2 build up and possible stitch

Go the distance

When you first start running your initial aim should be to increase the length of time for which you can run.  Very few people can go straight out and run for more than a few minutes but by mixing running and walking it is possible to cover a reasonable distance. 

• Start by running for 30 seconds and then walk for 90 seconds - repeat this nine more times for a total of 20 minutes.   Repeat this session at least 2-3 times per week.
• Progress to running for 45 seconds and walking for 75 – again the total time should be 20 minutes
• Move to 60/60, 75/45 and then 90/30 - eventually you will be able to run for several minutes at a time between walking breaks and finally run for 20 minutes without stopping.
• When you are running keep taking the ‘talk test’ – if you can’t hold a conversation without gasping or feeling out of breath you should slow down.
• Concentrate on going farther, not harder.  Once you have achieved 20 minutes of running use the same principle to build up to 30 minutes and then increase to 40, 50 and 60.  At this early stage speed does not matter - Increasing endurance is your first priority.   Even when you are more experienced, one run session a week should be focused on steady distance – aim for at least twice your anticipated race distance.

Fast and strong

Once you can comfortably run for 40+ minutes you can start thinking about improving speed and strength.  ‘Quality’ run sessions fall into 3 main categories:

• Speed sessions
  These sessions involve repeated short intervals – for example 200 / 400 / 600 or 800 meter repetitions.  As an alternative you can use time as the measure for the repetitions – 1 / 2 or 3 minutes.  Run the intervals faster than your intended race pace and try to maintain the same pace for each of the intervals.  The number of repetitions to complete will depend on the length and your fitness e.g. 8-12 times 200m or 3-6 times 800m.  Be sure to warm and warm down.
• Speed endurance (threshold) sessions
  These sessions involve an extended period at your race pace or slightly faster.  For example following a 10 minute steady warm up you the run at your race pace for five minutes, easy for five minutes and then again at race pace for five minutes.  Gradually build up the time until you can run for twenty minutes at race pace.  Warm down for 10 minutes to complete the session.
• Strength sessions
  You can build strength by running up hills – short (up to 200m) steeper hills for pure strength and longer (up to 800m) shallower hills for strength endurance.  Complete a series of repetitions (e.g. 8-12 times for short hills and 3-6 times for longer hills).  Try to maintain the same pace for each of the repetitions. Use the return downhill as your recovery – concentrate on relaxed running and allow your body to tip forward so your weight ‘falls’ down the hill.   Be sure to warm and warm down.

VERY IMPORTANT – do not increase your volume or speed too quickly.  You can avoid injuries by gradually building up the amount of quality running.

Injury prevention

• Warm up and warm down
  Start and finish each run with two to three minutes of brisk walking and once you start running take it easy for the first 10 minutes.
• Progress slowly
  Increase the time spent running by no more than five minutes a day and never increase your mileage by more than 10 per cent a week. The main cause of injuries to beginners is running too far / fast before they’re ready.
• Stretch
  Devote 10 minutes to stretching after each run. Pay particular attention to the hamstrings, calves and quadriceps.
• If it hurts stop
  Running with an injury is a sure way to turn it into a chronic problem
• Beware hills
  For experienced runners hill training can be used to boost fitness and strength. For novices running up and down steep hills can increase the risk of injury from jarring – when you start working on hills pick a long gradual incline to build strength.
• Pick your surface
  Avoid pavements if possible – they are hard and uneven
  Asphalt is a lot softer than concrete so run on the road when possible – try to avoid running on a steep camber
  Grass is the softest surface to run on, but it can be uneven – beware of bumps and holes etc
  Running tracks are easy on your legs but circling a 400m loop to be mind-numbingly boring. Use tracks for speed sessions not endurance runs
  Treadmills provide a cushioned surface but like running on the track the sessions can become very dull.  Use them for speed work or ‘brick’ sessions which alternate bike and run
  The ideal surface is a smooth dirt track – arrange your long runs for the weekend and consider travelling to the country if you do not have suitable routes locally
  

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