Eamonn Tilley’s mid-winter training tips

Eamonn Tilley has outlined a few key points to think about for your winter training.

Plan and prepare for the Weeks /Months and Years Ahead

Set out some short and long term goals for 2010, now is a great time to discuss these matters with your coach or experienced person in your club. There are some fantastic Triathlon /Run /Swim and Cycle coaches here in Ireland

Get yourself on a weekend course, prepare to train

Periodisation

By breaking a training period into smaller pieces it is possible to achieve smaller short term objectives which can build towards the overall goal or aim. This has positive physical, psychological and motivational effects and will lead to improvement

Training Last minute

Don’t leave your training till the New Year, Start now with some gentle walk run swim or cycle and you will be glad that you had some done in 2010 (Money in the Bank)

Base Training (Nov to Feb):

Build the blocks that will assist and help you to compete in the months and years ahead. Aerobic capacity training to strength and endurance work.
( at 60-65%) base endurance

Don’t raise your running volume too quickly:

Bump you’re running mileage up too quickly, and you can count on it bumping back. While your cardio vascular system responds rapidly to running, it takes the muscles, bones tendons and ligaments some time to catch up. If you’re new to running and triathlons and can make it though the first year by being patient (increasing volume no more than 5 to 10% every three weeks) you’ll have a solid, consistent year of base work under your belt. Get injured because of impatience and you’ll be back where you started.

Diary 2010

Start getting your diary in shape, look at the full event calendar, pick your races that you would like to compete in, dont be caught out and be left in the starting blocks have your races sorted when they go live in the New year. You don’t want to be disappointed when your friends are racing and you aren’t.

It is also a useful tool to measure your progress and look back at what you have achieved over the weeks and months and help you move forward into the next couple of years.

Listen to the signs

Listen to your body, (Heart rate monitors or two finger pulse test)

Take a Break ( a couple of days off is better than a week or two if you are sick)

Take the necessary precautions (Vitamins, etc)

Develop a foundation of strength and balance

Core strength not only helps reduce the risk of injury due to imbalance and lack of support but also helps you channel more power to locomotion. Balance is importance in swimming, biking and running: muscular imbalance often lead into a downward spiral of performance.. Developing core strength and balance and keeping them in check are invaluable to a long and prosperous career.

Uphill running for strength.

The Key to preventing hamstring injuries (along with other running injuries) is to develop strength using hill training or running up stairs. By add a session or two of stair running or light hill repeats into your training week, you’ll be the business.

Don’t overuse the track.

Track workouts are addictive because they give you specific feedback as to your fitness, and when you start getting stronger, stopwatch times plummet and you want to use the track more. But tracks are generally hard surfaced and are always circular, both attributes that invoke injury danger, particularly when running fast. You can do a speed or a tempo workouts on the trails or on the road, to lower the chances of injury.

Don’t run in broken down shoes.

While the outsole on a pair of training shoes may not appear even remotely diminished (most are made of very tough carbon rubber), the true heart of a shoe is the midsole , which wears down much more quickly. Running shoes certainly aren’t cheap but if you can find a way to rotate in a fresh pair every three months (or sooner), you’ll reduce the chance of certain injuries.

Incorporate mandatory rest days.

Taking one day off a week from training is a smart way to allow your body to recover, and it also teaches your mind and body to deal with a day without exercise. If you work a tradition Monday to Friday, and train a lot at the weekends, try and take Monday off.

Power Napping.

It a proven fact , that taking a 20 to 30 minutes nap during the day help the body deal with higher stress levels and also gives the body a pick me up for the day ahead( note that this is not a deep sleep , Try sitting in a chair and holding a spoon between you 2 fingers , what happens next ? Yes you guessed it the spoon drops and wakes you up). It is a proven fact those 5 minutes before 12 O clocks is better than 30 minutes after.

It is also recommended that the body need between 7 and 9 hour a day of rest to allow the body to regenerate itself.

Equipment

Keep warm, especially in these conditions at this time of the year, you can peel off but you can’t put pieces of clothing on if you don’t have the on in the first place.

Talk to you local (running, cycling, triathlon), shops .Check out some equipment on line, speak to your coach or friend before you pay out your hard earned cash on something that will be discarded because its not doing the right job for you…

Get your bike serviced, talk to your local bike shop they will be only happy to help you out.

Technique /Technique/Technique

Now is a great time to focus on Technique, correct it now while you can are training at a low intensity, again get a friend to video you on the track or in the pool, share your experience with some of Irelands great coaches that are out there and they will help you become sharper for the months and years ahead.