Making the most of winter training for triathlon

MAKING THE MOST OF WINTER

With winter just around the corner and the race season winding down, many triathletes will be looking forward to their post season training break. Aside from the obvious benefits of letting your body have some much needed quality rest it is a good time to be with your family, friends and eat cake.

Once you have enjoyed the extra cake and sleep ins it's time to start thinking about your winter training. With races months away now and a long cold winter ahead it is all too easy to fall into a familiar routine of easy jogs, slow swims and boring turbo rides....
While this may be good for the first 1-2 weeks back into training after that you're just wasting your precious time and energy! Avoid that plateau by moving out of your comfort zone!
Winter, especially early on, is the perfect time to improve your weaknesses, try new things or work with a coach! Check out my thoughts on these below.

Improve your weaknesses - with three sports to train for, triathlon can be a time consuming sport. As most of us do not have the luxury of being a pro athlete we need to make the most of the time we have to dedicate to training. I suggest sitting down and having an honest conversation with yourself about where your time will be best spent.
For example, if you swim 5 times a week, ride 2 times a week and run 3 days a week but in races you get out of the water at the front but find yourself at the back of the race after the bike then you are burning too many matches in the pool and not enough on the bike.
We only have a certain amount of matches to burn, so don't waste your matches for minimal return on race day.
At the end of the day the athlete with the fastest overall time wins the race. Even if you lead the swim out by 2mins, get off the bike 10mins in front of your nearest rival you will lose the race if you proceed to run 15mins slower than the guy (or gal) chasing you.
It may be nice to claim the 'fastest' bike split but at the end of the day you didn't win the race.
If you are worried about losing some of your advantage on the strengths, there is always time to bring these back up once you have made improvements in your weaknesses - think of it as a short term sacrifice.

Try new things - we all know that saying "don't try anything new on race day". Well since you will not be racing for a while winter is the perfect time to try out new things. Educating yourself and reading up on ways to improve your swim technique or cycling threshold power is time well spent especially if your transfer your findings into your training schedule! But beware to avoid short term fads and trends. Hiring a coach or talking to an experienced athlete can help you avoid wasted time doing one legged cycling drills.
Always remember primary school - K.I.S.S ?? Keep It Simple Stupid.

Hire a coach - the off season is the best time to work with a coach as this is the time when the most changes and improvements can be made to your fitness and skills!
A good coach can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. They can then put together a progressive programme to help you make the most of your training time and improve over winter.
Do not expect miracles to happen if you approach a coach just a few weeks out from your goal race. There is not much they can do except help you avoid overtraining before the race.

Hydration; the why's and how's for triathlon training

With the weather heating up it is more important than ever to keep on top of your hydration.

Here are some things to think about when planning your training this summer;

* Drinking fluids is essential to staying alive - duh. The human body is compromised mostly of water. 

* Hydration starts well before you train or compete in an event. Drink as soon as you wake in the morning. Continue to sip during your training or event. Remember to hydrate after to replenish body fluids and flush out metabolic waste.

* Sweat keeps you from overheating during exercise and in hot environments.

* Measure your water losses - weight yourself (naked) before exercise, perform a 1 hour intense workout with no fluid intake, the change in body weight reflects fluid loss. 500grams = 2 cups of fluid lost.

* Aim for your pee to be light yellow. Clear pee is showing you are diluting your body's sodium levels with too much water. Dark yellow you are not hydrated enough. 

* Dehydration can hinder athletic performance. 

* Headaches and cramping a common signs of severe dehydration. 

* Add a Nuun tablet or sports drink to your water to add electrolytes and salts to help avoid depleting your sodium levels during prolonged exercise. Electrolytes help regulate nerve and muscle functions. 

* Sodium containing liquids help retain the fluids consumed. When electrolytes and water are consumed together they stay together causing the body to retain the fluids you have just consumed.

Keep safe and stay hydrated!

Strength and conditioning for Triathlon.

Incorporate single leg work into your strength routine to improve your muscle balance (left vs right), reduce your chance of injury and increase your triathlon performance.

Try these no equipment needed exercises:

- single leg glute bridge (pictured)
- single leg squats
- single leg step ups
- one legged bend and reach (bend from the hip, reach down to the floor)
- balancing on one leg with your eyes closed

Start off with 2-3 sets of 10 reps on each side and slowly build up to 20 reps over the space of a few weeks. With the balancing start with 30sec on each leg and increase the time as you improve.

You will notice the difference in all three Triathlon disciplines as you get stronger, more efficient and more balanced!

Ocean Swimming Skills for triathletes

Sighting - Pick a higher point directly above the buoy/person in the water to sight to. Look up regularly to make sure you are staying on course. Kick harder when sighting to stop your feet from sinking. Only lift your head as high as necessary while still being able to spot your destination. Triangulate by looking for two aligned, easily visible objects on land.

Breathing - It is a good idea to practice turning your head to either side to breathe after you have looked up to sight. Make sure you are breathing into the shore when there is a large chop or waves to avoid getting a mouthful of water. 

Drafting and close swimming - practice the high five drill for gaining confidence in touching other swimmers around you and to practice lifting you head and breathing to either side. Keep close but do not disrupt the persons stroke who you are drafting off. Feet are better to draft off than hip as the leading swimmer will be able to go faster - meaning the drafting person will also go faster. Drafting off someones hip makes it harder for them to swim.

Stroke rate - The ocean is different to swimming in the pool as the water is constantly moving with surface chop and currents so a higher arm rate works better than trying to glide like you would in a pool. A higher arm turn over will also keep you warmer in cold water. Make sure you find a rate you are comfortable with and practice.

Happy swimming everyone!

Cauliflower pizza recipe

Yields 1 pizza crust

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cauliflower florets (about 1 medium head)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasonings
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 egg, beaten
• Pizza toppings (pizza sauce, olives, mushrooms, fresh vegetables, fresh herbs, meats or extra cheeses)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Using a food processor, lightly pulse the cauliflower in batches until it resembles rice. Place the cauliflower "rice" in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave for 6-8 minutes or until soft and allow to cool.
3. To the cauliflower, add the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, the egg and season with salt and pepper, mixing very well. Add the mixture onto the baking sheet and press down to form desired pizza crust shape.
4. Bake the pizza crust for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Top with desired pizza toppings and bake again for an additional 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and serve immediately

Speedo Swimsuit Review

Winter Swim Tips for Triathletes

Winter Swim Tips for Triathletes.

In this article I will be discussing some techniques and ideas based on how to keep motivated and work on your swimming during winter. If you are new to Triathlon swimming or an experienced racer looking to improve, I hope you find something new to try out!

Keeping motivated to swim during winter is crucial, as this is a great time to be working on your swimming to get ready for an awesome summer of racing! If you are struggling with motivation, try get a buddy or a group together to swim with or join a swim squad over winter. You could set a challenge for your own session, a small goal to work towards, such as swimming 1km non stop or taking 20 strokes per lap instead of 22 . The most important thing is to get excited about it and enjoy it, make it interesting!

Here are some technique tips to think about while you are swimming up and down the black line:

Look straight down. Keeping your eyes to the bottom of the pool reduces the amount of drag you create by keeping your torso high and feet up at the surface. Keeping your head down also reduces strain on your neck and lower back

Make each breath count. Exhaling all the air out of your lungs into the water before turning your head will help you to take a quick full breath to the side. Beginner swimmers will need to breathe after every stroke but as endurance improves, begin to breathe every 3 strokes to alternate the side you breathe to. This will reduce the strain on the neck and shoulders caused by repeatedly breathing to one side.

Kick like your feet are fins. When kicking, your feet should remain long and flexible, while your legs are long and taut, scissoring through the water. Your feet should snap at the downstroke. If you are struggling with flexibility, buy a set of fins to help add flexibility.

Try these ideas to make your pool session more open water Triathlon specific:

Instead of pushing off the wall each lap, try to flip or turn at the black T. Pick a couple of lengths to practise sighting your drink bottle at the end of the pool or your swim coach on the side. You could even practise dolphin diving in the shallow end of the pool (if your pool is shallow enough). To simulate a race situation try to swim two or three wide down the lane with some friends and practise drafting off each other. This will also help you to get a feel of what it is like swimming close to another swimmer. Swim half lengths and pretend there is a buoy in the middle of the lane and practise turning around it - you could even get a friend to pretend to be a buoy. Practise hypoxic breathing to improve lung capacity, for example, 100m increasing the amount of strokes you do between breaths each 25m - breathing every 3,5,7 strokes.

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