lisa’s corner
I hope your training is going well and you are making training for the Great White North Triathlon part of your daily routine.
Most of Canada is enjoying a much milder then normal winter so this certainly makes it a lot easier to get out and run outside or even sneak in the odd outdoor bike ride. If you are buried in snow at anytime this month try and get out for a snowshoe or a cross-country ski for a great workout and a bit of variety.
With Spring just around the corner, you will have better temperatures for the bigger mileage workouts. Right now, it is about consistency. Do your swim, bike and run sessions each week and lay down the foundation for the bigger training to come. The bigger the base, the higher the peak!! It is better to be get in something rather than nothing and while the darker days can be depressing and can make you want to stay under the covers, just get out for 10 min of your workout and if you aren’t happy, then go home. I can guarantee you that after 10 minutes, you will be happy you are exercising and before you know it, the session is done and you are ready to tackle “life”.
In terms of training at this time of year, I like to do a swimming time trial once a month to see how I am progressing and to really test myself. Depending on where you are in your training this could be a 400m, an 800m and even up to your race distance at GWN which is 2k. Always have a good warm up and warm down. I like to include a little speed set at the end of the warm up to prep for the longer set. If you are swimming alone, then break up this time trial as a bit of a fartlek as suggested below. The fartlek will keep you on task and I always found that I swam the same for a fartlek as for a time trial.
This month I would be getting in one longer bike ride per week about 2-3 hours in duration. Your default cadence should always be 90 RPM. Riding at 90 RPM is the most efficient cadence to ride at and will also help you run off the bike. The best runners run at 90-100 rpm, so it is best to duplicate that with your cycling as well. Of course, there is time for big gear work when you “over gear” to simulate riding hills and for some bike strength. In these cases, you should switch to a bigger gear or increase the tension or watts on your trainer and ride some 3-5 minute sets at 60-70 RPM. This will help to recruit all of the muscle fibers and the teeny tiny little bits into stronger bits that will propel you to a faster bike split. The goal is to build strength with the low cadence big gear strength work and couple that with your patterned 90 rpm cadence so that you are strong and fit enough to push that big gear at 90 rpm on race day! Also, this month is a good time to try running off the bike after your longer ride. I try and get out the door within 10 minutes of getting off my bike. Try 30 minutes and just run easy. Get your legs used to the demands of being a triathlete and running tired. You can also work on your nutrition with these transition runs since you have to have enough fuel to keep moving.
Endurance swim (Time-Trial) – warm up 300 swim easy, 200 as 25 kick or drill, 25 swim – repeat for 200; a little prep set to get your arms turning over quicker-8 x 50 as 25 fast, 25 easy; take 10 seconds rest between then rest for 1-2 minutes then – long endurance swim-try and swim the 2nd half of the swim faster or the same time you swam the first half.
1 x 1000 straight swim; get a time on this for future reference (depending on where you are in your training this could be a 400, 800, 1000, 1500 or even 2000. finish with 200 easy kick with board.
The farlek version would be 1000 as 25 fast, 25 cruise, 50 fast, 50 cruise, 75 fast, 75 cruise, 100 fast, 100 cruise, 100 fast, 100 cruise, 75 fast, 75 cruise, 50 fast, 50 cruise, 25 fast, 25 cruise.
Bike/Run- Bike steady with some strength/hill simulation - warm up 30 minutes easy at 90 RPM – HR to about 70% of your MHR; then try some strength work so ride 3-5 minutes in a big gear at 60 RPM, then right into 3-5 min big gear at 65 RPM, then right into 3-5 min big gear but at 70 RPM – so you are gradually moving up the 9 minute or 15 minute hill; take 5 min easy spin and repeat this set for an hour or just do it a couple of times through; To finish ride 30 minutes at 90 RPM easy to steady effort. Or for more advanced riders, ride the last 30 min as 1 min high cadence at 100+ rpm (easier resistance) followed by 4 min at 90 rpm. Run off the bike for 30 minutes-just an easy pace. Have fun with this!
Lisa
**for personalized individual coaching programs you can reach LBT coaching at coaching@lisabentley.com