Triathlon: Sprint & Olympic Distance

TRIATHLON: SPRINT & OLYMPIC DISTANCE TRIATHLON: SPRINT & OLYMPIC DISTANCE By Mark Yeoman (Bsc)

Mark is a qualiﬁ ed Physical Education teacher and has represented Great Britain at the World Triathlon Championships three times!

Q: WHAT IS A TRIATHLON AND HOW DOES A SPRINT VARY FROM AN OLYMPIC DISTANCE RACE?

Triathlon is the fastest growing sport in the world. Introduced into the Athens Olympics in 2000, the sport has risen from strength to strength. It comprises of three popular activities, swimming, cycling and running which are combined back to back to form one event. Distances range from the sprint through to an Ironman which has replaced the marathon as the ultimate modern day physical challenge.

Everyone can achieve and train for a triathlon as most gyms have a pool, stationary bike and running machine. As a result, it becomes a great motivational and physical goal to work towards as the three disciplines allow you to vary training and keep it fresh and interesting.

Sprint and Olympic are the two most common distances. They cover different distances per discipline, those being:

• SPRINT: 400 – 750m swim, 20km cycle & 5km run. • OLYMPIC: 1500m swim, 40km cycle & 10km run.

Just in case you wanted to know how hard an Ironman is:

• IRONMAN: 2.4 mile swim, 112 miles cycle & 26.2 mile run.

It’s not called an Ironman for nothing, that’s why it’s known as the longest day! The elite will ﬁ nish in just over 8 hours, with the rest happy with 14 hours.

The following programmes will cater for the ﬁ rst timer looking to race over the sprint distance and the individual who wishes to push themselves physically and mentally to race over the popular Olympic distance.

• SPRINT: Triathlon programme will be based on an 8 week programme. • OLYMPIC: Triathlon programme will be based on a 12 week programme.

1 SPRINT DISTANCE TRIATHLON TRAINING PROGRAMME

MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT SUN

Run 5 mile jog Swim 400m Cycle 1km x 8 Swim LSD Rest or 3 mile Cycle LSD Run LSD WEEK 1 + 5 x 1 min x 4 2km rest 50 mins jog 90 mins 60 mins efforts 1 min rest 2 min rest

Cycle 30km Swim Cycle 3km x 4 Swim LSD then 50m x 5 + Run 400m x 8 2km easy Run 3 mile TT WEEK 2 Rest 60 lengths Run 2 mile 100 x 3 1.5 min rest cycle G.S.B jog 1 min rest rest

Cycle 3 km Run LSD Rest or 3 mile Swim LSD then run Run 4 m @ Cycle LSD WEEK 3 Rest 60 mins jog 60 lengths 800m x 4 5km pace 90 mins

Cycle 20km Swim 200m Run Hills Rest or 30 Cycle 5 mins Swim LSD then Run 2 WEEK 4 x 8 150m x 6. lengths swim x 5 10 lengths x 6 Rest mile fast 1 min rest 1 min rest 2.5 min rest 2 min rest FAST

Swim Run 5 mile Cycle 3km x 5 50, 100, 150, jog Swim LSD Rest or 10km 2km Cycle LSD Run LSD 200 + 5 x 1 min 60 lengths WEEK 5 cycle easy cycle 90 mins 60 mins x 2 efforts rest 1 min rest 2 min rest

Swim Swim LSD Cycle 35km Cycle 1km 50m x 5 + Rest or 10km Run 3 mile TT 10 lengths x 6 Run LSD then WEEK 6 x 10 100 x 4 cycles G.S.B 1 min rest 60 mins Run 2.5 mile 2km rest 1 min rest jog

Run 5 mile Swim.Cycle. jog Cycle 30km Swim 400m Rest or 10 km Run 5 x 1000 Run + 5 x 1 min then WEEK 7 Rest x 4 cycle 3 min rest 200m efforts Run 2 mile 1 min rest 15km 3km 2 min rest jog

Cycle 3km x 5 Swim 200m 2km easy Rest or 3 mile Run 4 m @ SPRINT WEEK 8 x 8 Rest cycle Rest jog 5km pace RACE 1 min rest Rest

S = Swim B = Bike R = Run 400 – 750m SWIM 20KM BIKE 5KM RUN

2 OLYMPIC DISTANCE TRIATHLON TRAINING PROGRAMME

MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT SUN

Run 5 mile jog Cycle 5 mins Swim LSD Rest or Run 3 mile TT + 5 x 1 min Run LSD Cycle LSD WEEK 1 x 5 10 lengths x 6 30 lengths G.S.B efforts 60 mins 90 mins 2.5 min rest 2 min rest swim 2 min rest Cycle 3km x 4 Run Hills Swim 400m Rest or 3 mile Swim LSD 2km Rest or Cycle LSD WEEK 2 150m x 6. x 4 jog 50 mins easy cycle 3 mile jog 90 mins 1 min rest 1 min rest Rest Swim Cycle 3km Cycle 35km Run 400m x 8 Rest or 10 km 50m x 5 + Run LSD WEEK 3 then run Rest then Run 1.5 min rest cycle 100 x 3 70 mins 800m x 4 2 mile jog 1 min rest Cycle 20km Swim LSD Run 4.5 mile Cycle then Run Rest or Cycle LSD Run LSD WEEK 4 10 lengths x 6 TT 1km x 8. 2 mile fast 3 mile jog 90 mins 60 mins 1 min rest G.S.B 2km easy FAST Swim Run 5 mile jog Cycle 1km Cycle 40km 200, 150, 100, Swim LSD + 5 x 1 min x 10 Run O & B Rest then Run WEEK 5 50 x 2. 60 lengths efforts 2km rest 30 mins out 2.5 mile jog 1 min rest 2 min rest Cycle 3km x 5 Swim 200m Run Hills 2km Run 4m @ Swim Run LSD Cycle LSD WEEK 6 x 12 150m x 8. easy cycle 5km pace 1500m TT 60 mins 90 mins 1 min rest 1 min rest Rest Swim Run 5 mile jog Swim.Cycle. Swim LSD 50m x 5 + 100 Rest or 10km Run 5 x 1000 + 5 x 1 min Rest Run WEEK 7 60 lengths x 4 cycle 3 min rest efforts 400m 1 min rest 2 min rest 20km 5km Cycle 3km Swim 400m Swim 250m Cycle 50km Run 6 mile TT then run 800m Run O & B Rest or 3 mile x 6 WEEK 8 x 6 then Run G.S.B x 4 30 mins out jog 1 min rest 1.5 min rest 3 mile jog

Swim Cycle 2km Swim Run Hills Rest or 10km 1500m TT x 10 200, 150, 100, Cycle LSD Run LSD WEEK 9 150m x 8. cycle Then 2km rest 50 x 3. 90 mins 60 mins 1 min rest 100m x 4 1 min rest Swim.Cycle. Rest or Swim 400m Cycle 55km Run Run 800m x 8 Run O & B Run LSD WEEK 10 30 lengths x 5 then run 400m 2 min rest 30 mins out 60 mins swim 1 min rest 3 mile jog 20km 5km Swim Cycle 3km x 5 50m x 10 + Run 6 mile TT 2km easy Rest or 3 mile Swim Run LSD Cycle LSD WEEK 11 100 x 5. G.S.B cycle jog 1500m TT 50 mins 70 mins 1 min rest Rest Run 5 mile jog Cycle 3km Swim 200m Rest or 30 Run 5 x 1000 + 5 x 1 min OLYMPIC WEEK 12 then run x 12 Rest lengths swim 3 min rest efforts RACE 800m x 4 1 min rest 2 min rest

S = Swim B = Bike R = Run 1500m SWIM 1500m SWIM 10KM RUN 3 Q: WHAT ARE THE RUN SESSIONS ON THE PROGRAMME?

RUN TEST Known as the Cooper 12 minute run test, you should endeavour to perform this once every three weeks or so as it is designed to monitor your progress. Basically see how far you can run within 12 minutes and keep a record of the distance. The ﬁ tter you become, the further you will go!

O & B = OUT & BACK Run the set time or distance out in one direction, turn around and try to come back quicker. Conserve your energy on the way out to ensure your return run is a negative split – which means it was quicker than the outward run.

INTERVALS These are designed to improve muscular speed so when you run at your desired race pace, your legs will operate more efﬁ ciently. The rest in between efforts should be just under half the time it took to cover the set distance.

HILLS These are designed to make your legs stronger and develop power so when you experience an increase in gradient, you don’t slow down and end up going backwards. Either locate a local hill which is around 100 – 200m long or set the incline on the running machine to 4%.

TT = TIME TRIAL GOLD SILVER BRONZE (G.S.B) Set your self a target time to achieve the set distance. Look to win a medal for your time. GOLD is quicker, SILVER is your target time and BRONZE is slower than your target time. It’s amazing how this will motivate you to push harder.

TEMPO This is where you run hard, but under control. This is normally slightly quicker that your goal race pace. You need to maintain focused to avoid stopping when the going gets tough. Show your body who’s in control!

L.S.D = LONG SLOW DISTANCE This is your ‘getting back to basics’ session, normally performed at the weekend when you have more time to complete the run. The Long Slow Distance is designed to physiologically develop the body’s ability to sustain long periods of low intensity exercise. Basically you are developing stamina and teaching both the body and mind to handle long, slow runs.

This can either be constant or the time can be broken down into run and walk blocks. Make sure the walks only last one to two minutes, as this is sufﬁ cient time for your body to replenish energy stores. Make sure that your mind isn’t playing tricks and encouraging your to stop without just cause.

4 Q: WHAT SPEED SHOULD I BE RUNNING AT?

In order to ensure that you are working at the correct intensity for each session, follow this simple guide to how hard you should be working.

• Warm up Jog, 45 – 50% effort: This is a gentle slow jog. You should be able to hold a conversation

• Long Slow Distance, 50 – 55% effort: Able to give sentence answers to questions

• Out & Back, 55% to start moving to 60 – 70% effort: Controlled pace going out, with the intensity / speed picking up on the return

• Time Trial G.S.B, 60 – 70% effort: Aim to build the pace up until you feel you are close to your limit of sustained pace

• Run Test, 80 – 100% effort: You are aiming to go as fast as you can for as long as you can, yes no answers only

• Tempo, 70% effort: Few words spoken if asked a question

• Intervals & Hill, 80 -100% effort: Only able to grunt!