Like most beginner cyclist, I made many mistakes at the start due to lack of knowledge.  Early morning cycle without breakfast, straight to work and did not eat until lunch resulting in mid-afternoon fatigue. Or I went out on a long cycle, without refuelling properly from the previous day’s session.  It would be a momentous struggle to complete the cycle, as tiredness kicked in and I had no food to take on board.

So as not to repeat these common mistakes, I have prepared a guide for your fuel intake for before, during and after your training session. This is based both on my painful personal experience and reinforced by my studies in Strength and Conditioning, Sports Nutrition and my personal experience with advising clients at metabolise

Firstly the some basic physiology; You need energy to fuel all activities and this fuel is provided by carbohydrate, fat and protein. We burn various combinations of carbohydrate, fat and protein, depending on the training intensity, training duration and fatigue level. In a relaxed state and low-medium intensity exercise, we normally burn fat more than carbohydrate. Fat is an abundant source of energy and we have enough fat on our bodies to fuel activity for days or even weeks. As the intensity of exercise increases, our fuel source switches from predominately fat to carbohydrate. Carbohydrate is an excellent fuel source, as it can release energy more quickly than fat. However, a major drawback of carbohydrate as a fuel source is that we have limited supplies in our bodies. At a decent cycling pace, we have enough carbohydrate to fuel 90 minutes of exercise, although this will vary with training status and diet.

If you are going on a 2 to 3 hour Cycle, then there is a real possibility that you might empty your body’s carbohydrate stores. At which point, the body switches to burning fat.  The consequence of this is that you cannot maintain the same training intensity. It also leads to unpleasant physical consequences: marathon runners call it to “hitting the wall” and cyclists call it “the bonk”. Symptoms include tiredness, fatigue and lack of energy.

The good news is that all this can be easily avoided. By making the correct food choice , we can ensure that we start training with high carbohydrate stores, top them up while we cycle and refuel afterwards to prepare for our next training session.

Pre-Training

Pre training food

You need to ensure that our body’s carbohydrate stores are full, by eating foods such as potatoes, rice, pasta and bread. As a rule, we should eat brown coloured carbohydrates (brown bread, rice, whole grain noodles and pasta) as opposed to white. Brown coloured carbohydrates are healthier for us in the long term and give a more sustained release of energy. Preparing for your training session should begin the day before. Eat a mixture of carbohydrates for breakfast (e.g. weetabix), lunch (e.g. baked potato) and dinner (e.g. pasta). Also, eat carbohydrate containing snacks (e.g. low-fat yoghurt’s) throughout the day. This ensures that you’re giving your body the fuel it needs and the time it needs to process and store it.

If you’re training early in the morning, you might not have time to eat a proper breakfast. In which case, eat a light snack or carbohydrate containing food before training – something that’s not too heavy or rich. If you’re training later in the day, continue to consume carbohydrates throughout the day. Eat your last meal 2-3 hours before your session.

During Training

Follow the above to make sure that you are prepared for training. However, depending on your training intensity, after an hour and a half, you might begin to feel tired. This is because you’ve burned much of your body’s carbohydrate stores and they’re now running low. Your blood sugar levels may also be dropping as your liver carbohydrate is used up. To prevent this, we need to start consuming carbohydrates in order to keep supplying the body with energy. This is easily achieved, but needs some forward planning.

You may experiment with different foods, but the most popular choices are sports drinks and sports gels. These foods are generally designed to ensure quick absorption of sugar into your bloodstream, fuelling exercise. You should be consuming 60-90g carbohydrate per hour. Gels are generally well tolerated but may have some unpleasant side-effects like bloating. Experiment with different gels and drinks to see what’s suitable for you. There are many cheap alternatives to Gels and sports drinks. Raisins and figs are two natural foods which were used by cyclists in years past when sports gels didn’t exist.

Post Training

So, you’ve completed your cycle, maintained a good intensity and are feeling rather pleased with yourself. Well, you’re not finished yet! The last thing you need to do is to refuel and repair your body so that all the potential improvements in fitness from your cycle can be realised.  Firstly, you have a 45-60 minute window after finishing exercise when your body is better able to take up sugar and refuel. What I normally do is drink chocolate milk immediately when I get home. Chocolate milk contains carbohydrate for refuelling, protein for rebuilding the muscles, fluid for rehydration and various electrolytes and nutrients which are important for your health and fitness.

One to two hours after you finish, you can cook and eat a healthy nutritious meal. Although many people prefer pasta, you can eat nearly any carbohydrate containing meal, once it’s low in fat. This will continue the refuelling and rebuilding process and ensures that your fitness will increase. If you trained in the morning, continue to refuel throughout the day by eating carbohydrate containing meals and snacks, every 3-4 hours. Make sure to include protein (e.g. milk, eggs, fish, chicken) in your meals to help repair and rebuild muscle.

I hope you enjoyed this article. Hopefully you will now be properly prepared for your next cycle.

Kevin Beasley is a sports nutritionist who runs Metabolise Sports Nutrition. He has a background in sports science, strength and conditioning and sports nutrition. Metabolise Sports Nutrition is Ireland’s only dedicated sports nutrition consultancy. Metabolise give simple, effective and easy to implement advice to allow you to train and compete to the best of your ability. Check out our website to view the wide range sports nutrition service we offer.

Kevin is an avid cyclist and believes that at 37, it is still not too late for him to achieve his dream of securing a pro-tour contract.

Go short and go off-road where training volumes are low enough for off-season recovery, but also the short races will keep you in touch with your speed over the winter.  To see the benefits for short course triathletes, you only have to look at how many of the top Irish olympic distance triathletes have a serious cross-country pedegree; Aileen Morrison, Bryan Keane, Liz Lee and Colin Turner have all raced cross-country for Ireland.  Just looking at the recent Dublin Novice X-Country and SuperCross Cyclo-Cross races, triathletes must have made up 10% of the field.

Clear benefits for Irish triathletes

X-Country Running: If your look to improve on the hilly and technical run courses like Liam Ball, Kilkee, Beast of the East, Dublin City, then a winter racing cross-country is only going to help you.

Tackling the jumps at this month's Supercross Round 1

Cyclo-Cross: I think there are few people who would not say that triathletes would benefit from the better bike handling skills that cyclo-cross racing will give you.  Plus the short bursts out of the corners are a much more fun form of strength training, than lifting weights in the gym.

So what’s involved and what do I need?

Distances

Cross Country: Most of the Irish cross-country running races are less than 10km, with 4km common for the women’s races.  Typically the novice races are 6km for the men and 3km for the women, with the intermediate and senior races 10km-12km for the men and 4km for the women.

Cyclo-Cross: Races are on short laps (5min to 10min long) and the number of laps is choosen to keep the race to about 40mins for the Novice race and 60mins for the elite race.

Terrain

sometimes it gets muddy!!!

Parkland is the order of the day, this is not hardcore IMRA or mountain bike racing.  Hills are short, rarely more than 1min long.  Ground conditions depend on the amount of rain, sometimes great, sometimes a mud bath!!!  There’s almost always jumps in the cyclo-cross cycle races, but there are rarely jumps in the cross-country runs.

Equipment

Cross-Country: A pair of running spikes with 12mm spikes. (15mm spikes are useful for muddy conditions)

Cyclo-cross:  A cyclo-cross bike or mountain bike.

Note: there’s the usual nonsense with licences etc., so you’ll need to be a member of an athletics club for the AAI cross-country runs and take out a one-day licence for the Cycling Ireland cyclo-cross races.

Some Cross-Country running races this winter

• 23 Oct 2011- Gerry Farnan / Masters Trials – Phoenix Park, Dublin.
• 23 Oct 2011- Munster Novice – Newmarket-on-Fergus, Clare
• 30 Oct 2011- Leinster Novice – Belvedere House, Mullingar
• 06 Nov 2011 – Dublin Senior – Santry
• 06 Nov 2011 – Cork Senior – Bandon
• 13 Nov 2011- Leinster Intermediate – Adamstown, Wexford
• 13 Nov 2011 – Munster Intermediate
• 20 Nov 2011 – Dublin Intermediate – Tymon Park
• 20 Nov 2011 – Munster Masters
• 26 Nov 2011 – Bhaa NSRT/Smart – The Ward
• 27 Nov 2011- AAI Intercounty Championships – Sligo
• 11 Dec 2011- AAI Novice Championships – The Curragh, Co. Kildare
• 15 Jan 2012 – Dublin Masters
• 22 Jan 2012– Leinster Senior – St Senan’s, Co. Kilkenny – 12noon
• Feb 2012 – National Intermediate
• Feb 2012 – National Senior

 Some Cyclo-cross races this winter

• Sat Oct 22 – Super Cross Cup – Swords
• Sun Oct 23 – Ulster Cyclo-Cross – Seacourt, Larne
• Sat Nov 5 – Super Cross Cup – Corkagh
• Sun Nov 6 – Ulster Cyclo-Cross – Moira Demesne
• Sat Nov 19 – Super Cross Cup – St Annes
• Sun Nov 13 – Ulster Cyclo-Cross – Ormeau Park, Belfast
• Sun Nov 27 – Ulster Cyclo-Cross – Kilbroney Park, Rostrevor
• Sat Dec 3 – Super Cross Cup – Tymon

Useful Websites

Cross-country running:  AAI, Dublin Athletics Board, BHAA.

Cyclo-Cross cycling: IrishCX, SuperCross Cup (Dublin Series).

“Lots of people find it hard to get used to open water swimming. Even if they glide through the pool with ease, being in the sea or a lake just isn’t the same. It’s not unusual to come across triathletes who can hold great times in the pool but who see slower pool swimmers emerge in to T1 ahead of them. Very often this is simply because they are not practising often enough in the open water. Sea or lake swims can’t replace the controlled work-out of a pool session but taking a plunge at least once a week can make you a better triathlete. Here’s why…

Kevin Keane likes double espressos, swims off the coast of Killiney, long spins over the hills and epic runs in the mountains, in that order. He also loves racing but believes that if sport isn't fun, there's no point in turning up. After starting out in mountain running, where he represented Ireland at a number of European and World Championships, he emigrated to the far more glamorous world of triathlon. When not training he likes to sleep, polish his bikes and when necessary, go to work. He still heads up the nearest mountain when the opportunity presents itself. He is a member of Belpark Triathlon Club and races for Wheelworx.

1 You Don’t Race in a Pool
With the obvious exceptions of some of the early season triathlons, just about every race on the calender is held in the open water. But to get a good performance on the day you need to be comfortable with your surroundings. Like all training, the principle of specificity applies – training should replicate racing as closely as possible. Swapping at least one of your pool swims once a week will make you more comfortable with the open water and that in turn will allow you to give it your all on race day.

2. There’s No Tumble Turn in a Race.
One of the big differences between pool and open-water swimming is that every 25m or so a pool swimmer gets to rest their arms for a few seconds as they tumble turn and push off the wall. This might not sound like much of a break until you consider that in a 1,500 swim you get 60 of these breaks! Practising in the open water will help get your arms used to covering long distances without the benefit of a tumble turn (aka ‘a break’).

3.The Wide-Open Will Keep You on the Straight-and-Narrow
Zigzagging your way around a swim course can cost you places. Swimming in a staight-line comes naturally to some but for others it isn’t as easy as it sounds.
The trick is to cock your head upwards mid-stroke without breaking rythym. Like all training, the more you practise this the better you’ll become. You don’t have to keep that head out of the water for long, just enough time to establish your direction (and take a breath while your at it). Some swimmers need to sight every eight strokes but other, more practised swimmers can go a lot farther without looking up. Sighting can cause your legs to drop and thus slow you down but remember that having to look up a lot is preferable to heading off towards the horizon while the rest of the field leaves you

4. Spend Some Quality Time with your Neoprene
It’s surprising the number of people who find phantom holes in their wetsuits, or that their googles aren’t adjusted properly on the morning of a race.
Using these bits of kit regularly can avoid any nasty surprises turning up on race day. Also the more you wear your wetsuit, the more comfortable you’ll find it when it comes to race-day.

5. Don’t Forget to Bring Your Common Sense
Finally, swimming in open-water can be dangerous, no matter how strong a swimmer you are. Currents and other hazards often can’t be seen from the surface. Conditions can change in a matter of minutes. And although the sea and lakes are usually benign, they can be deadly. Always err on the side of caution and use your common sense. Don’t train where there are a lot of boats, don’t go swimming off rocks or piers where there isn’t any easy way to get out of the water. Talk to the locals and let them tell you what parts of the water need to be treated with caution. If the sea looks too rough for your level of swimming, it probably is. Most importantly of all though, never swim alone.

Getting your preparation right in the final weeks before your key triathlon race can make all the difference to your performance.  This period is commonly called a taper.

Before going any further, it is important to define what we mean by ‘taper’.  This is the training or physical preparation you do in the weeks leading up to a race to optimise performance.  It is not rest – rest is passive!

By manipulating the type, volume and intensity of training you can optimise performance.  An effective taper has been shown to improve performance by up to 6% in well-trained athletes.

Alot of scientific research has been carried out looking at the ideal taper, yet it is still an area that is not fully understood.  Not much research has been carried out on endurance events lasting 2 hours or longer, and there is a limited understanding of the physiological, neuromuscular and biomechanical factors involved.

So getting your taper right is still a combination of art and science, and you are likely to come across conflicting advice.

Based on existing research,the most effective taper appears to be onethat starts 2 – 3 weeks before the race.  During this period a 40 – 60% reduction in training volume should be incorporated, whilst maintaining training intensity and potentially including a small (~20%) reduction in training frequency.

So What Does This Mean In Practice For You?

The main aim of the taper is for you to feel fresh (both mentally and physically) by the time that race day arrives so you can perform at your best.

If you are fairly new to triathlon and have not got much of a training background (eg you have done around 300 hours of training per year or less – which works out at an average of 5 to 6 hour per week), then you should taper your training for only around a week.

This is because you are not doing enough volume of training to need longer.  Also if you were to reduce training volume for 3 weeks you would start to lose fitness due to not having a significant training background.

If you have a good training background and are have been averaging about 10 hours training per week, then you can afford to have a longer taper – about 2 – 3 weeks.

Regardless of how long your taper lasts, you should reduce the volume of training by around 50% but still maintain the intensity of sessions.  In other words reduce the duration or frequency that you train but keep the training at the same pace/intensity as you have been – not lower and not higher intensity.

This is to provide enough stimuli to prevent detraining, and to maintain feeling for race pace, muscle elastic properties and neuromuscular activation.

Generally this would mean doing work at race pace, but you might have longer recovery between intervals during your taper than you would normally, and fewer intervals.

During your taper, focus your training more on your weakest discipline.  For swimming you may have to reduce the volume by more than 50% as you are likely to have local muscular fatigue more than in the other disciplines.

As swimming is such a technical event you will need to gauge how much you need to keep doing to maintain your technique and ‘feel’ for the water.

During your taper you should pay particular attention to your recovery from each session in order to really maximise your adaptations. Intelligent Triathlon Training’s recovery page has lots of information and techniques for optimising your recovery.

If you are training and racing at a high level, then your taper could start with a few days of rest, before gradually building your training back up again.  The rationale is that you would be able to take advantage of the being fully recovered to enhance training tolerance and respond effectively to the training done at this time.

As mentioned earlier, getting your taper right is a blend of art and science. So whilst you can use the principles above, you will need to play around with the exact details of your training to get it right for your key race.

In general the higher the volume of training you have been doing the longer your taper will be.

Most triathletes will want to peak for 1 – 3 key races per year.  You can use an early season race to practice your taper for your key race(s).  For all other minor races, 2 – 3 days rest before the race should be enough.

Don’t worry if you feel lethargic during your taper.  This is quite common, particularly if you are used to doing a high volume of training.  This doesn’t mean you need to up your training though. This period of recovery is important for you to perform well on the day!

Final Preparations To Maximise Triathlon Performance

During the last week or so before your key race it is a good idea to practice your transition skills.  Also, find out what type of swim start your race will have and practice this if necessary.
Particularly if you are preparing for an Ironman then ensuring a high carbohydrate intake during the few days before the race is important. Intelligent Triathlon Training’s nutrition for competition page can help you get your race day nutrition right.
Lastly, check out the race course so that you know what to expect on the day. Intelligent Triathlon Training’s guide to preparing for race day has lots of tips to help you with your final preparations.

Summary Of Tapering For Peak Performance For Triathlon

• Duration of the taper will depend on your training background
• Reduce volume of training
• Maintain intensity of training
• Reduce frequency of training
• Focus on your weakest discipline
• Everyone is different, so practice your taper to perfect it before your key race.

Written by Rhona & Mark Pearce

Rhona (sports scientist) and Mark (triathlon coach) have developed the website www.Intelligent-Triathlon-Training.com, a resource for anyone wanting to understand and get the most out of their triathlon training.

Few people enjoy these moments; nerves play havoc with breathing, limbs feel heavy and doubts can often set in.

So can regrets. “I should have trained harder”, “I ought to be in better shape”, “If only I had another two weeks I’d beat so and so”.

Unfortunately, the truth is that by the time you’ve made it to the start line, most of the factors that will influence your race, such as training, have already been set in stone.

But there still are many things within your control that can make or break your race, as triathlete Kevin Keane explains.

“Before approaching any race it’s a good idea to ask yourself what you want to get out of the event. For some this might be nothing less than victory but the vast majority of people just want to improve on a previous result or finish ahead of a rival.

One good yard-stick to measure yourself by is being able to cross the finish line saying you could not have done any better on the day. But being able to say this starts with your preparation a few days out.”

The Week Before

Unless you are using your race as a training session to gear up for a more important event, “tapering off” will make sure your body is ready to race.

Tapering involves cutting the intensity and the duration of training to allow the body translate training in to performance.

Tapering is an art, not a science and different people will find different approaches to tapering more or less beneficial. But a good rule of thumb is that the longer the distance you’re racing, the more important the taper. For a sprint distance event, start cutting down on training intensity and duration by about 25% about seven to five days out.

The idea with a taper is not to allow the body forget what exercise feels like but to reduce the stress placed on it temporarily so that it is ready to go full-steam on race day.

Two Days Before

Get all your race gear together two days before a race. This will help avoid last minute rushes to the shops or phone calls for emergency bike maintenance.

Rest up, there’s no training you can do now that will make you faster!

The Day Before

Getting a good night’s sleep is obviously important. Stay off your feet. Try to have an easy 20min run and a short swim to stretch the limbs.

Nutrition and the Morning of a Race

Should I eat a bucket of pasta on the night before? What should I have for breakfast? How many energy gels do I need to tape to my handlebars for the race?

A good rule of thumb with racing is that you don’t do anything in competition that you don’t do in training. This means if you never eat pasta, don’t start the night before a race. If you are used to eating porridge for breakfast, that’s what’s best for you on the morning of your race.

Also, the best time to start hydrating is the day before.

And if you don’t take energy gels or drinks in training, it’s not a good idea to take them for the first time in a race.

Getting Your Race Head On

When in a race try to focus on the process rather than the result. This is especially true in the swim leg when it’s vital that you maintain form and stroke rate. Take each leg as it comes. But remember if there’s someone on your shoulder in the run and you think, “they must be stronger than me, I can’t keep this pace up” they are probably thinking the same thought! Often results are decided according to who throws in the towel first. Don’t let up till you cross the line!

Enjoying the Race

Sometimes we forget that the reason we train and race is because we enjoy it. Training is meant to be fun (most of the time) and racing should be where you reap the rewards of your hard work.

Recovery

Having a good recovery routine after a race will help repair damaged muscles and get energy levels back to normal quickly.

Try to consume a protein drink or protein bar (or any foodstuff with a high protein content) within the first 20mins of crossing the line and make sure you head out on a light warm-down run.

Finally, DO reward yourself with a favourite food or a night out, what’s the point in living like a triathlon-monk!

Richard Cattle is an Age-group International Triathlete, Triathlon Coach and Founder of Tri-Planet. Tri-planet is a Triathlon Coaching company and specialises in Triathlon Boot Camps & Coaching sessions for ‘Triathlon Newbies’ and Triathletes looking to improve their performance. For more information please see www.tri-planet.ie

‘If you fail to plan you plan to fail’

Yes, I know it sounds like a quote from Ricky Gervais in ‘The Office’ but it especially bears fruit when it comes to Triathlon race day. As a Triathlon Coach and Triathlete I have competed in numerous Triathlon races and I would like to thank Irish Triathlon for giving me the opportunity to share some this knowledge with you, to help you on race day.

1. Pack the night before
Don’t leave it until the morning of the race to pack. Your tri-suit won’t be where it normally is and you’ll end up waking up the rest of the house searching for it or, you’ll find out that you’ve forgotten to mend the puncture from your last race and you’ll just end up in a tizzy

2. Eating: Race Day and Night before
The night before a race, a bowl of plain pasta with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper would suffice. Don’t go for spicy food or you will regret it the next day. On race day make sure to load up on the carbohydrates at breakfast – a large bowl of porridge would be ideal. If you have a long drive you’ll need to bring some extra food with you (Superquinn rolls with Jam are my favourite), as you’ll need to eat again around 2-3 hours before the race.

3. Keep hydrated
Dehydration is the enemy of all endurance athletes, so make up several bottles of high Energy drink and sip away continuously throughout the day. You don’t have to go for the expensive energy drinks either – buy yourself a tub of glucose from your local chemist, and mix it with cordial, water and a sachet (McDonald’s size) of salt

4. Check List
Get your clipboard out and print out your check list – a sample of one is detailed below. It will mean that you can have a worry free journey to your race. There are some basic items here, like a cycle helmet, but you wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve heard of people turning up to races without one. There is also toilet paper – why you ask? Well, there are a lot of nervous people around before a race and the porta-loos often run out. I have also included things like suncream…you’d be surprised how burnt your shoulders get even with the poor weather we’ve had recently. This list is only guide and you’ll want to develop one specific to yourself – e.g. the elastic bands are only for those confident enough to keep their cycle shoes on their bike to reduce time in transition.

Here’s the list I use:

Helmet
Bike – yeah I know it’s obvious but it has happened!
Bike pump
Bike shoes
Elastic bands – for fixing bike shoes to bike
Savalon – for the nethers!
Vasaline – for neck, wrists and ankles
3 x bottles of Hi-Energy drinks – One before, during and after race.
Bananas -
Energy gels – take one before, one on the bike and one on the run
Tri-suit
Swim Goggles
Wetsuit
race belt – to attach race number
Race runners
Small towel for Transition
large towel for afterwards
Spare inner tube & if possible spare Wheel
Swim hat – 2 hats are warmer than 1
Flip flops – good for the walk to race start
Suncream
High energy bars -
TI Card -
Watch
Puncture repair kit
run hat
sunglasses
Toilet paper

5. Timetable
It’s a good idea to structure your race day and to write out a basic timetable. Starting from when you get up in the morning all the way through to race start. Here is a sample of one I had planned for recently for the Sprint Triathlon in Dunmore East.

7:00 Breakfast – Large bowl of Porridge & coffee
7:30 leave house and drive to Dunmore East
10:00 Arrive in Dunmore East and register
10:40 Eat pre-prepared Jam rolls
11:00 Head to transition for set up
11:45 Practise Run through Transition – swim entry, cycle & run entry & exit
12:00 Run warm up – slow jog interspersed with short sprints
12:15 Into Wetsuit and warm up
12:30 Into Sea for swim warm up and acclimatisation
12:40 Race Start.

6. Transition Practise
Every race has a different transition set up so it’s always prudent to do a transition practise run so you know exactly what to expect. This involves running from the swim into transition, putting on your helmet, wheeling your bike out of transition and over the mount line, taking a short spin out and then returning back to the dismount line, returning your bike, putting on your runners and running out of transition.

7. Marker for your bike in Transition
One of the easiest ways to lose time in transition is not being able to find your bike. When you exit open water you are often disoriented and finding your bike can prove problematic. So, it’s always a good idea to look for an external marker near your bike in transition (i.e. lamp post or tree) that you recognise so that you can find (and return) your bike quickly.

8. Warm Up
It’s important to wake up the muscles before the start of the race. Ideally you want your heart rate to be up at race level ready for the start. Apart from a quick spin in and out of transition do not be tempted do too much cycling before the race as the potential for punctures is not worth the risk. So focus your warm up on the run and the swim. For the run I would recommend a 20minute slow pace, interspersed with short 30m sprints (no more than 5 sprints). For the swim, get into the wetsuit around 20mins before race start, do some stretches and arm exercises. Even try running in the wetsuit and do a few high knee drills to get the heart rate up. With 10-15 mins to go, get into the water to acclimatise yourself to the cold and to regulate your breathing – this can be achieved by short sharp sprints of both front and back crawl. Keep this up for as long as possible to that when the race gun goes, your heart rate is elevated and ready for action.

9. Wet Suit
Before you pack your wetsuit cut off around 2 inches from the bottom of the legs – this will help to get your wetsuit off without any fuss. Also, a good tip is to vasaline your wrists, ankles (also to ease off the wetsuit) and neck (to stop the rubbing).

10. The Swim
If you are a slow swimmer, start at the back or towards either side and begin slowly to avoid crowding and jostling which might put you into a panic. If possible try and draft behind other swimmers throughout the swim as it reduces the energy expenditure required to maintain a given pace. The ideal candidate is someone who is swimming slightly faster than your own pace.

So, to sum up, a successful and enjoyable race is what we all want whether you’re a beginner, experienced age-grouper or Elite Triathlete. Most of us have put in the training so we don’t want to let ourselves down on race day. Hopefully by following these tips you too will have the experience you deserve.

Racing is all about going faster – the faster you go the better your result, and the more satisfaction you’ll feel when you’re finished.

But as anyone will tell you, there are no short cuts to becoming faster.

Kevin Keane likes double espressos, swims off the coast of Killiney, long spins over the hills and epic runs in the mountains, in that order. He also loves racing but believes that if sport isn't fun, there's no point in turning up. After starting out in mountain running, where he represented Ireland at a number of European and World Championships, he emigrated to the far more glamorous world of triathlon. When not training he likes to sleep, polish his bikes and when necessary, go to work. He still heads up the nearest mountain when the opportunity presents itself. He is a member of Belpark Triathlon Club and races for Wheelworx.

Well, this isn’t strictly true – there are a few ways to get faster without breaking a sweat.

Of course there’s simply no replacement for training but here are some simple tips that could save you precious time in a race.

1. Get Transition Right

Look down through the results of most races and you’ll often see that mere seconds separate individual places.

Now have another look and see which people get through transition the quickest? It’s those at the top of the field.

In a race where every second counts there’s no excuse for dropping valuable time in transition. And there’s no reason why athletes in the middle or the back of the field

shouldn’t be recording transition times similar to those in front.

Rehearse your transition in advance (yes you’ll look silly) – be practiced at stripping off your wetsuit, performing flying jumps on and off your bike and getting your shoes on efficiently.

Have a plan for what you will do in transition and stick to it.

Be efficient and most important of all don’t dawdle.

If you idle through transition you’re throwing away valuable seconds that require hard

racing to win back – don’t do that to yourself!

2. Pimp Your Bike

A nice road bike can cost a lot of money and a nice tri-bike costs even more.

But a tri-bike does make a difference – all that sexy carbon and strange angles are focused on improving rider aerodynamics and once you hit a certain speed, aerodynamics are vital. (This is why drafting is banned in Age Group racing and why in

professional cycling the peloton invariably catches the breakaway group).

But you don’t need to have a tri-bike to make time-savings. In fact the single most effective way of improving your bike splits (apart from training) is also the cheapest – a pair of tri-bar extensions.

These can be picked up for as little as €40, attached to your regular handle bars in ten minutes (in an ideal world…) and with a bit of practice can see you make enormous aerodynamic

improvements to your riding position, which translates in to more speed with the same effort!

Next up on your shopping list, in terms of bang-for-your-aerodynamic-buck is an aero-helmet (also available for less than €50 if you shop around). Only when you have those two in play should you even consider things like expensive deep-rimmed wheels or a full time-trial bike.

For bike nerds, the cycling website Bike Radar has an excellent article explaining the science behind bike aero dynamics.

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/how-aero-is-aero-19273/

3. Do Some Homework

It’s not always possible, but taking a few spins around the bike course or a swim in the lake/sea before race day will help enormously with your confidence during the event. Knowing what lies ahead helps you relax and can you help plan your strategy for a race and thus avoid the unexpected in competition.

If you can’t get out on the course ahead of race day then at least have a look at the route

online or talk to someone who’s familiar with it (but as with school exams, avoid the doomsayers when seeking advice about a race course).

4. Pay Attention

Heard one race briefing, heard them all? No you haven’t.

Apart from being vital from a safety perspective, race briefings can contain information that could save you from costly mistakes once the race-blinkers come down. Crashing out on a tricky corner you had been warned about or exiting the water in the wrong spot are not good race moves and can cost you precious time.

5. The Minor Details

There are a lot of minor details that can make a difference in a race. Things that don’t require much effort but can really throw you off your stride if they go wrong.

Making sure your gear is in order is critical. Are you comfortable with your goggles and

wetsuit? Are your bike tires pumped to the correct pressure (100 – 110psi in most

cases)? Is the gearing and braking on your bike smooth? Are you sure those new runners won’t give you blisters? Do you need a pair of sunglasses or a hat for the run?

Sorting out all of these things well in advance might not make you go faster but it will prevent you from being slowed down.

Transition is often called the fourth discipline of triathlon and with good reason. It’s the easiest part of a triathlon to get right and a surprisingly good place to pick up time.

Kevin Keane likes double espressos, swims off the coast of Killiney, long spins over the hills and epic runs in the mountains, in that order. He also loves racing but believes that if sport isn't fun, there's no point in turning up. After starting out in mountain running, where he represented Ireland at a number of European and World Championships, he emigrated to the far more glamorous world of triathlon. When not training he likes to sleep, polish his bikes and when necessary, go to work. He still heads up the nearest mountain when the opportunity presents itself. He is a member of Belpark Triathlon Club and races for Wheelworx.

Remember – having a swift transition is the key to beating that person who runs, swims and bikes as fast as you.

1. Rehearsal

Just as you rehearse swimming, biking and running, transition needs a bit of practice too.

Removing a wetsuit quickly becomes easier the more you do it. The same goes for jumping on and off a moving bike. And for getting those running shoes on.

A good way to practice is to incorporate rehearsal in to your training. Rip that wetsuit off when you emerge from the water on a training swim. Run and jump on to your bike as you head out on to a midweek spin.

2. Have a routine

The night before a race, and again on race morning, run through T1 and T2 in your head. People don’t think straight in races. If your routine is ingrained it will all be automatic once the race-blinkers come down.

3. Be organised

Only bring what you need in to the transition area. Try to be neat and remove all non essential items. This makes things less confusing in the pressure of competition.

4. Remember where you’ve left your bike!

After you’ve arranged your gear in the transition area, practice your routine.

Jog from the swim exit-point to your bike. Practice the route from your transition spot to the bike exit and to the run exit.

Yes you will look silly.  But you’ll also know exactly where you’re going come race time.

5. Make Haste Slowly

Be deliberate with all your actions during transition. Try to slow your thinking down and focus on what you are doing. Stay calm and above all, avoid mistakes.

6. But Remember, This is a Race!

While you’re staying calm, don’t view transition as an opportunity to have a rest! (unless you really, really need it).

This is a race and a transition is a great chance to pick up places. It’s the easiest discipline of triathlon! Get it right and you will see an improvement in your results.

The first time I entered a Sprint Triathlon I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I spent the 5 weeks prior to the race frantically trying to prepare for the big day, all the time worrying about my ability to complete the swim section of the event. Just three years later, I crossed the finish line of my first Iron Distance race.

For those of you who are interested in taking on the challenging and rewarding journey to becoming an Ironman, here are some tips to help you along the way!

Stepping slowly into deep water.

Build up your Race Distances

No matter how fit you are, it’s important to build up your race distances over two or more seasons so that your body can adapt to the stresses of training and racing. This period will also allow you to gain a valuable understanding of how to manage your race nutrition needs and any injuries you may be prone to. If your considering competing in an Ironman event then we’d recommend racing at least two races at each distance (Sprint, Olympic) as well as completing at least one Half-Iron Man before tackling the Ironman distance.  This will greatly increase your chances of success and also your enjoyment on the big day!

Buy a Decent Bike & get it Fitted

Bike Fitting by Git4bike.com

If you’re planning on competing in Triathlons (especially at longer distances) it’s vital that you have a bike which is safe, reliable and the correct size to fit your body. I’m not suggesting that you should blow your life savings on an expensive Time-Trial bike, but you should at least purchase a good quality road bike. Check online and locally for the options which may suit your budget and make sure that you’re professionally measured up for your bike fit. Cycling a bike which is the wrong size can not only lead to a loss of power but also greatly increase the risk of injury. For those watching their wallets it’s possible to pick up a decent road bike for as little as a €1,000, but quality and reliability are very important. It’s also worth noting that if your bike has a decent frame you can continue to improve it when you can afford to i.e.: adding better wheels etc…

Joined Coached Swim Sessions

Coached Swim Session

Coached swim sessions are an excellent way to improve your technique and become a stronger swimmer. In these sessions you’ll be graded according to your ability (or lack of!) and then provided with the coaching and encouragement you need to improve. I know from my own experience that learning to swim can be a challenge, but don’t let the pool environment intimidate you. Contact your local Masters’ squad or Community swimming pool and let them know you’d like to join. If you’re willing to commit and put in the hard work, you’ll discover another world of enjoyment in the water!

Do your Research & Manage Expectations

An Ironman race requires athletes to swim 3.8Km before next biking 180Km and then finally running 42Km. Training typically involves 15 to 20 hours of training a week during the peak phase and as such, be prepared for the Ironman to dominate a large part of your life. You may find that instead of socialising you’ll want to rest during the spare time you have after training and this can strain relationships with both friends and family. Make sure and assess the impact that training for an Ironman may have on your life and if you’re in a relationship, have an honest and understanding conversation with your partner. The Ironman journey will affect their life as well so it’s important that you have their support and appreciate their concerns.

Join a Triathlon Club

Most triathlon clubs are very beginner friendly

Triathlon clubs are always looking for new members and are usually very supportive and friendly. (The full list of irish Triathlon clubs are here). The members of most clubs can vary from complete novices to semi-professionals and as such are an excellent place to share knowledge and ask questions. Being a member of a Triathlon club will also usually give you access to subsidised training sessions and an excellent support network that will make your journey to Ironman much more enjoyable.

Choosing your ‘Iron Distance’ event

Choosing your Ironman event is very much a personal process. Most races under the ‘Ironman’ brand tend to sell out in a matter of hours or days so be prepared to book a year in advance and be sitting at your PC at the moment that entries are released online. There is also a second organisation which also runs ‘Iron-Distance’ races called the ‘Challenge’ group (two race examples would be Challenge Barcelona and Challenge Copenhagen). These races are identical to the ‘Ironman Corp’ races in distances and only differ in the branding of the event and the fact they charge a cheaper entry fee.

A number of factors to consider when selecting your Iron Distance race include:

• Location – remember you will have to travel and also transport your bike and equipment.
• Climate - Is the race location a lot hotter or colder than the climate you will have trained in?
• The Time of year – Will you be able to take holidays from work or does it clash/compliment the school calendar? (for those with children.)
• Time to prepare – Are you giving yourself enough time to adequately prepare for the race?
• The Race Course Profile – some Iron Distance races can have tougher courses than others. It can be a wise move to ensure that your first ‘Iron Distance’ race has a course which will compliment your strengths as a Triathlete (hilly bike etc..)

More than anything, remember to have fun and enjoy the training and experiences that you have on the way to becoming an Iron Man. The journey is tough and will test your commitment, but may also be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life.

Safe training!

Article written by: www.NewToTri.com

Injury

One of the biggest concern’s facing all triathletes is injury.

Are you avoiding knee injury?

This may present in the form of muscle tears, stress fractures or many other injury types, but regardless of the injury type, its bad news. Avoidance is to be priority. Many seasons and careers have been ruined by injury; Grant Hill, one of the best basketball players of this era lost many of his prime years to injury, Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldo perhaps never got the recognition for the great player he was as he couldn stay uninjured, while rugby player Johnny Wilkinson has suffered from constant reoccurring injuries. These athletes have available to them the best of sports medicine and more than enough in the way of finances to solve these injuries, yet still lost large amounts of their career to injury. Triathlon Ireland president Mark Riseley has raced in the Hawaii Ironman, the highest level of triathlon but said things didn’t go as he planned not because he over-trained, but because he under-recovered. Training is telling the body what you want it to do (improve, progress) but it is not until the body is at rest does it carry out these instructions. Being that triathletes are often called A-type personalities, we have a habit of having a poor work to rest ratio. So in short, train hard, rest harder.

Favouritism

Danny on the Bike in the Phoenix Park Duathlon

One of the most common mistakes made by triathletes is favouritism. In the 2010 Hawaii Ironman, mega-swimmer Andy Potts came out of the water with a comfortable lead of 3 minutes over the main players. This lead was gone by mile 15 of the 112 mile bike. Chris Lieto the mega-biker had a lead of 7 minutes over eventual winner Chris McCormack, but didn’t even manage a top 10. Pete Jacobs had the fastest run of the day, but was over 12 minutes behind Macca at the end. Each triathlete, whether at the top of the game in Kona, or racing locally should ask themselves how they can improve their overall performance the most. A swim, bike and run split does not matter, it is the combination of these at the end of the race that matters most. If you can swim 750m in 11 minutes but can’t break 25minutes for a 5k run, the large amount of hours that it takes to become a 10.30 swimmer would be better off spent wearing your runners.

Misinformation

In Brad Kearns book ‘Breakthrough Triathlon Training’ he refers to speed training as having little benefit. This however contradicts the findings of most recent sports science literature. VO2 (aerobic capacity) is one of the 3 major limiters of performance for endurance athletes. Most available research has found that to substantially increase VO2, training between 90-110% of VO2 MAX is necessary. What the hell does that mean? It means hard intervals increase VO2 MAX most substantially. Although Kearn’s book is interesting and worth a read, a lot is based on personal experience and as he was a long distance pro he writing reflects his own experience. However as a much larger amount of people will race shorter races, many of his theories are very flawed. Training programmes and sessions should never be based on opinions of just one person. If you choose to do a programme or sessions that is outside of the norm, make sure you are not being led astray.

Specificity

Playing flute does not make you a great guitarist. This is obvious. Yet in the fight to be great triathlete we swim mostly in a pool? A swimming pool is a fantastic way to swim. It’s the perfect way to tackle technique issues and to measure improvements made. But come June, July and August when you’re swimming 1700m in a 1500m swim, those few seconds per hundred you trained so hard to gain go out the window. I can vouch for this. Getting out into the open water, getting used to being in a pack of swimmers, being offshore, wearing a wetsuit, sighting and drafting are a better time investment then yet another set of 10-20 by 100m in the pool. Preseason training should be done predominantly in the pool, but don’t make the mistakes I did in my first triathlon. At Triathy, I had only been in open water twice. After consuming some of the lovely River Barrow at the start, I swam the rest head out of the water. Thank god it was downstream!

Eh Health!?

High Intensity training increases likelihood of URTI (upper respiratory tract infection). If you feel off and you think your immune system might not be at its best, take time off (or at least keep the training intensity low). This is Ireland, it is very cold for a lot of the year. It is not worth training so hard in January that you don’t get February and March.

Train as you intend to race

There is a principle in sports science that states the body will make Specific Adaption’s To Imposed Demands (the SAID principle). This is part of the reason strongly built muscular triathletes, even those with good technique, can be embarrassed by 12 year old string-armed swimmers. If you want to race competitively as an Olympic distance triathlete in non drafting triathlons, get used to time trialling. Developing general bike fitness should be followed in the preseason with race specific efforts. Don’t expect that easy intensity 80k cycles will be enough to put out a cracking 40k tri-time trial. Fast runners often cannot harness their strength on the run as the bike leg takes too much out of them, so get used to doing bike to run sessions (bricks) to be able to run on tired legs. If you are having multi-session days it is worth putting them in the order they will appear in your next race.

Psychological approach

Psychological approach!!!!

There is no shortage of athletes who have spent time racing competitively only to become burnt out and never return. One of the all-time great swimmers Ian Thorpe, lost motivation and retired at the age of 24. Haile Gebresellassie, one of the greatest runner of all time has a number of times gone into retirement only to quickly reverse the decision. Motivation should always be to better oneself and the love of the sport. Remember each time you train why you are in the sport.

Happy Training.

Danny Roe.

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Responce by Peter Kern (PB-coaching) highlighting how you often race to your strengths, even though you need to train to your weakness.

“Dear Editor,

I just read an interesting  article  posted  on  your website

- Common mistakes made in pre season training-

in this article the author expressed some interesting views.

We all know here is many ways to go to  Rome, but I feel like it might be interesting to give a different point of view, that focuses more on monitoring and analyzing performance rather than coaching doctrines.  Realizing with the limited length o the article the author had to jump to conclusions.

Firstly, the author speaks of favorism. I could not agree more with him that triathlon is about the right balance in all 3 sports . Unfortunately I believe the examples he used do not do justice to the mentioned athletes,at all.

Andy Pots has a huge swimming  background-most likely one of the to 10 fastest swimmer ever to have entered triathlon- for him to swim the times, he swam does, requires very little swim training, and it helps his main sponsor immensely to be in the front out of the water, and he manged to stay out of the rush out of T1 where many contender obtained  blocking or drafting  penalties.

Chris Lieto who has made huge sacrifices to improve his  running after his 2nd place 2009! ( i personally would question that it was a good decision by him to change to forefoot running in 2010 but thats a completely different subject)

Pete Jacobs obtained a blocking penalty at the beginning of the bike and lost contact to the leading group. after a 4 min penalty stop, In normal circumstances it,s fair to assume that he would have done  fine,in the Craig Alexander group. And I think we all  remember his slower run splits not many years ago.

None of those 3 athletes favored one sport and especially, if you look at  Petes jacobs progress one might even go that far to suggest  that Pete  might have neglected his favorite discipline this year and he could have avoided being in the scramble of the first miles on the bike and avoid the blocking penalty had he trained more swimming to stay with andy pots in the swim… pete is naturally strongest at swimming.Besides lets not forget  there was other 20 athletes who did not achieve their goal.

The reason I felt like to elaborate on this point-when it doesn’t make his main argument wrong- is that  many, athletes and coaches, change their training completely based on ONE race performance before proper analyzing, where did I/the go right and where did I/they go wrong, and generally we are always where quick to  say X Y Z did this and thats  why he won at lost , rather than  looking at the bigger  picture.

Triathlon is not rocket science,but at the same time its very important to analyze in depth what causes what and how swim,bike,run performances are related, to talent, training, and race day tactics,and  sometimes even a  bit of luck, before one can make a judgment about an individual athlete.

After all Andy Pots won his first 2 Ironman races, ever, in 2010……….

With his run Pete Jacobs has certainly gained respect amongst his peers,and sponsors…..

Misinformation vs train as you intend to race.

I Believe the author makes valuable points in the train as you intend to race paragraph that also mostly correspond with  the paragraph about health and  injury.

.Personally, I fail to understand in his misinformation paragraph,why he stresses the importance of Vo2 training  and disagrees with the book  author, when most beginner and intermediate Triathletes tend to race an  Olympic distance in a similar intensity than pros race IM(in fact i notice  more chatting in age group Olympic racing than during IM  pro racing ……)

I do not wish to enter and argument weather Vo2 training is in the top 3 most important factors of performance. I prefer to focus on, that this very much depends on the, level, fitness,years in the sport(or sport background), age,physiology and race distance of an triathlete.  Fact is an  elite oly  triathlete will race at much higher intensity than an intermediate oly triathlete, who in a proper paced race dosnt mot enter the red zone and therefore,it would be more important, for esp  beginner and intermediate ADULT athletes to focus, more to push their 2nd deflection point up, or their FTP (ie push the intensity percentage up, before  they enter the red zone) rather than focus on max speed when they are not  fit. Ater all triathlon is an endurance sport and not a5 k run race.

Even in elite Trithlon one could argue that for an athlete like Tim Don, who has one of the fastest 3k race PB,s ever run by a triathlete, but has a bit struggled to  hold the constantly  faster pace over 10k lately, Vo2 sessions would not necessarily  in the top 3 most important aspects of training (i believe he did less intensive interval work, in 2010..and won the race with the highest  price money in  2010). While one could argue that Javier Gomez,who has probably the biggest engine in Tri ,has his vo2 as one of his limiter besides just not having the kick that some Itu athletes have.

What i am trying to point out is, The devil is in the detail and its hard to generalize,.what’s most important for whom, and here we are talking about athletes that train in the whereabouts of 30 hours a week and have an extremely high level of fitness and are amongst the very  best triathletes in the world.

For the more average athlete I think the authors point to, train as you race  would make more sense for the majority of athletes. More focus on tempo sessions tend to give the majority of age group triathletes better value. Note, I do not say that there is no place for Vo2 training but especially for the improving athlete its more the icing on the cake rather than a bread and butter exercise. Certainly , If we talk about the more  traditional periodisation .  and of course thats also depends on the discipline….

Generally, i do observe too much flat out run intervals in Age group triathlon in Ireland.

I have  coached athletes that  respond well to a more high intensity approach and i have coached athletes that respond better to an  more endurance focused approach, and there is  many  factors that depend on what suits whom. However, its  a  quite normal that 8,5-9 out of 10 Ironman I coach, become also faster over the Olympic distance and only the once that have already reached a  pretty high level before they decide to approach an IM tend to slow down a bit.

Overall, one size does not fit all is I guess what I am trying to say. or in other words you can never say what works for one has to work for the other.  Different athletes have different needs,  and often you have to make the best of what you have. Thats why coaching is a  mix of art and science, especially  with athletes  that enter the  sport at  later  stages  of their  life, which is  very  common in triathlon.  At the end of the day, it does not depend that much on trainings doctrines it depends on results, so if it is successful its right, results are the ultimate test what works and what not,but we  can not just judge 1 race or even just 1 season. I think the  only  point science, coaches and athletes  all  agree  on is athletes are not built in one day and it takes many years to reach your peak, and there is  not  shortcuts.

yours  in sport

peter kern”

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Please feel free to add more comments below.