Macmillan Triathlon Guide
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
we tRaiN heRoES Macmillan Triathlon Guide In partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support Triathlon Guide Getting Started 2 getTing staRtED Macmillan Cancer Support Triathlon Guide Getting Started 10 Top Tips 3 10 Top Tips 1. Performance Athlete 6. Adapt To Succeed If you want to be a better triathlete than you are today, then it’s time to call You have a plan now, but don’t just be a slave to it. Your body is an amazing yourself a performance athlete. Start to make the right mental affirmations to machine, if you feel tired and sore consider training at a light intensity for that commit to the training you need to do to develop. day – stretching, eating well or getting some massage. Rest allows your body to heal and recover. 2. Have A Routine 7. Set Targets Your body likes to work hard. Give it a routine and it will adapt and start to become fitter. Get used to being an athlete in training and being organised with Training plans contain weeks of training. Set some targets that are realistic sleep, food, training schedule, stretching and exercises. Plan each day and within this journey to race day. Targets will motivate you and help you check think ahead to fit it all in! your progress. There are loads of running races, galas and cycling sportives you can use to break up your training to set intermediate goals. 3. Safety First 8. Find Your Strength Biking and running on open roads and swimming in open water requires Including the exercises in this guide will add variety to your training and help respect. Look at the technique and tips in this guide but always seek the you remain injury free and develop more strength endurance. advice of a professional before training on your own. 4. Technique Focussed 9. Fuel And Recover Your body needs rest and fuel in order to train and improve. Clever athletes We’ve included some basic tips on swim, bike and run technique in this guide. sleep well and have a diet rich in protein & micro nutrients supported by high Focusing on technique for each discipline is key for success and spend time as quality carbohydrate. Snacking and eating between meals and sessions helps the race gets closer practicing your transitions. to fuel training correctly and promote active recovery. 5. Monitor Your Energy 10. Keep It Social Triathlon can sometimes put a real strain on the body as you try to develop Endurance sport can be very sociable. You will find it easier to keep the your fitness across 3 disciplines. Remember recovery is critical and be consistency of your training if you can link up with others prepared to train prepared to cut back if you need to keep energised and enjoy the training. with you. Macmillan Cancer Support Triathlon Guide Getting Started Training Triangle 4 Training Triangle Keeping It All In Balance Performance training and developing your fi tness can seem complicated at times with lots of information and confl icting advice. In truth it can be kept pretty simple. The key is the T training triangle you see to the right. Most of us think about the training sessions we need to do to become stronger, fi tter or faster. In reality you won’t make gains until the other two sides of the triangle, rest and nutrition are considered. As you increase your training, keep the triangle in balance by improving your nutrition – listen to your body and respect its need to rest in order to improve. In the next few pages we cover each of these areas in turn. R n Training Rest Nutrition You training and conditioning is designed to Your body improves and progresses during rest Fuel your training and recovery correctly ensuring progressively overload your muscles. When they phases, rest days and as you sleep. We provide you have the right macro and micro nutrients to recover from that overload they will get stronger. our top tips in the second part of this guide. both have the energy to train hard but also to allow Our training plans include a mix of different effort your body to heal and to keep you blood, bones levels to progressively build endurance. and immune system healthy. Macmillan Cancer Support Triathlon Guide The Training 5 the TrAINiNg Macmillan Cancer Support Triathlon Guide The Training Glossary 6 GLoSsARY Here you will fi nd a glossary of the terms used in our training plans. Rest Threshold Sessions To help your body cope with the workload, rest is going to be as important a After the long run, threshold sessions are probably your most valuable part of your training schedule as the running itself. Listen to your body and workouts. They are completed at a controlled brisk pace, about 80–85% take heed of any warning signs. If you feel fatigued even before you’ve run a of your MHR, you’ll only be capable of uttering a couple of words to your step, fi nd yourself thinking up excuses not to train or start suffering a series training partners. Tempo/threshold runs or bike sessions improve your lactate of minor injuries; you probably need more time off. Taking enough rest allows threshold (the speed above which your body struggles to cope with the lactic physical and mental recovery and gives your body the time to adapt to your acid created by burning energy without oxygen), your economy and aerobic workload. capacity . Recovery Sessions Interval Training Training for endurance requires your body to work harder than it has ever Intervals help to boost specifi c race pace speed and involve running, done. To see improvement without breaking down, you’ll need some recovery swimming or biking timed efforts with a controlled recovery. The effort level sessions. These should be nice and easy and you should feel relaxed. Enjoy is around 85–100% of MHR, depending on the duration of the event you are the scenery. You should be breathing easily and be capable of holding a training for and the length and volume of intervals used. A typical example conversation throughout the swim, bike or run. This will mean that you are might be 6 x 3 minutes @ 5km race pace with a 90 second recovery. training in the 60–70% range of your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR). It also helps with the removal of the waste products which accumulate in your muscles after harder efforts. Warming Up / Warm Down When you are going to do any faster training (such as interval training), it is important to warm up gradually. A 10-15 minute easy swim, jog or bike lets Brick Sessions your muscles warm up and improve their range of movement. Transition from one activity to another – ie bike to run. Note the duration and intensity of the session, including any intervals at effort and recovery. Macmillan Cancer Support Triathlon Guide The Training Using The Plans 7 usiNG the PlANS Our training plans are structured as follows: Anatomy of a session: The colour shows the type of session you’ll be completing Swim 800 m total. This section gives you details of Main set: 10 x 25 m fast with 15 secs rest. the session’s volume and effort Stretching using our Triathlon Guide Core training using our Triathlon Guide What the colours mean: Swim Bike Run Brick Rest Swim session. Bike session. Run session. Brick session. Rest is critical to adaptation Note the duration and intensity of the Note the duration and intensity of the Note the duration and intensity of the Transition from one activity to and progression, you might be session, including any intervals at session, including any intervals at session, including any intervals at another – ie bike to run. completing core or stretching on effort and recovery. effort and recovery. effort and recovery. Note the duration and intensity of the these days though! session, including any intervals at effort and recovery. Macmillan Cancer Support Triathlon Guide The Training Swim Tips 87 SwIM Tips wu Warm up Practice your breathing Check the swimming pool Look after your kit Don’t get in the pool and begin swimming After you’ve done some gliding, try going session times You should wash your swimming gear lengths before you are warmed up. on your side and getting some breathing Book and choose the best time slot for you! thoroughly after each swim to ensure that Start your session by completing a few practice. Breathing is the key to a successful Many swimming pools now have allocated you are getting rid of the chlorine. This will mobility drills and then gliding or very easy stroke alongside remaining relaxed. sessions when the lanes are sectioned help to prolong its life and also prevents swimming. This gets the blood fl owing and off. Outside of lane sessions you could be hygiene issues. your body gets used to the temperature and weaving in and out of other swimming pool feel of the water. users which can be really frustrating! Choosing your gear Get a plastic box for your gear Wear a swimming cap De-mist your goggles Choose carefully and make sure you aren’t Go to any of the DIY warehouses and buy Regular use of a heavily chlorinated pool or Goggles are an essential part of swimming just buying what looks good but what is one of the plastic tubs that you use for home swimming outdoors can affect your scalp correctly and they can mist up if they are actually practical. Take advice before storage. Throwing wet gear into one after a and on occasions make it sore.