Many athletes overlook transitioning and leave it out of their training program. You are not going to win the race on the transition but you can definitely lose it. If you are looking to improve your time by minutes with very little effort then transitioning is where you will get the most bang for your buck.

First off, you have got to have a plan. Too many triathletes wait for race day to start thinking about what they are going to do at each transition point and this shows through in the time it takes them to pass through. You have got to start thinking about this and practicing it weeks before the race. First things first, if you are wearing a wet suit then you will want to have your biking clothes on underneath. That way when you come out of the water all you have to do is peel of your suit and you are ready to go.

At the swim to bike transition it is best to have your shoes already clipped to your bike. You also want to make sure the pedals are in the proper position so that when you go to run with your bike to the mounting area the pedals are not going to get caught on the ground. In addition, most triathletes prefer not to wear socks on the bike, this will save you a lot of valuable time if you can just peel of your wetsuit, put on your shades and helmet and be on your way.

The bike to run transition is also very important. Make sure you get off your bike in the appropriate area. If you are doing a sprint or Olympic distance triathlon you may decide to wear racing flats and so perhaps you won’t wear socks for this leg either. Whatever the case may be, make sure to tie your shoes up tight and grab any accessories you may need like hydration belts, visors, etc. If you practice your transitioning at least once a week you will undoubtedly shave a substantial amount off your overall time. Plus, you won’t run the risk of forgetting something or getting injured while trying to make the switch.

Runners often have difficulty structuring a season because they do not really know where to start. It can be a foreboding task when you are six months out from a target race and looking to structure your season in order to meet your goals but as you will see it gets a whole lot easier when you divide the season into periods.

Many runners fail to reach their full potential because they waste much of their training time doing so called “junk miles.” Basically junk miles are runs where you are not really improving anything in your running repertoire. Running is dynamic; this means that if you are not improving then you must be declining in some aspect because your fitness is never static.

A successful training plan will insure that that you are improving ever day ever so slightly all the way up to the day of your target race. The best place to start structuring your season in this way is to use a concept called periodization. In the chart below you will find an example periodization for a four month training season with four weeks of racing.

Base Period 4-6 weeks

Build Period 4-6 weeks

Peak Period 4-6 weeks

Race Period 4 weeks

The base period is spent building your endurance and strength for your target race. So if you are training for a 10K then this will be spent progressively increasing your mileage each week until you feel very comfortable covering the distance or even double the distance.

In the build period you want to progressively replace your endurance mileage with progressively shorter but faster running. For the example listed above you might in the first week run 90% of your workouts at an easy pace and then 10% at or above race pace. Every week you will want to increase the fast running and decreasing the slow running.

In the peak period you will want to work on aspects of your running that are holding you back from achieving your goal. So you can run your target pace for the first 6 kilometers of a 10K but then with about 4 kilometers left you start to burn out. In the peak period you would want to concentrate on improving this aspect so perhaps you would structure a few workouts each week so that you fatigue yourself up to the point where you normally burn out and then from there begin repetition and interval training.

Finally, during the race period you are not going to improve too much and should concentrate more on resting and tapering for the target race. The key here is to keep your legs moving at a fast pace but not to stress them to the point where they are greatly fatigued. You are not going to lose much fitness over the course of three weeks to a month as long as you continue to do short bouts at or near race pace. It is better to rest up so that on race day you can run the fastest you have ever ran before.

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Perhaps you are tired of waking up in the morning and going for just a boring old run. Maybe you are looking to spice up your training or get an edge on the competition. Well you are in luck because in this post we will be discussing some fun and exciting ways to spice up your training that likely are not found in a conventional training plan.

Sand Running

First off is sand running. There are a million different workouts you can do in the sand, one simple one is to mark of a short distance of about 200 meters and do a set number of repeats with a short break in between each. It is also wise to time yourself so that the next time you do the workout you can try and better your time.

Running Downhill

Another great workout to improve leg turnover is running on slight down hills. For this one it is best to have a distance of at least 100 meters. What your you want to do is gradually increase your pace until you are running at or even faster than your 100 meter race pace. This workout is great for getting you used to higher rotation speeds so that when someone starts to push in a race you will be able to answer back.

Ankle Weights and Bike Pulls

If you are looking to build strength two great workouts are running with ankle weights or pulling a bike. The ankle weights are pretty self explanatory. If you would like to try the bike pulling workout then you will need to find a friend who is willing to assist you with your training. What you do is tie a rope of about 6 feet to a bike and then tie it to a belt. Next you just put on the belt and run. In order for the workout to be of benefit though you want to make sure to never allow any slack in the rope. You can instruct your friend at the beginning to gently hit the brakes whenever there is too much slack in the line.

Tire Pulls

Lastly, another great workout is to attach a harness and run pulling a tire to simulate running in hilly areas. Typically, this is a great training for runners in flat areas. Start with a small tire and build up.

These are just a few examples of unconventional workouts that as a runner you can use to spice up your training and make you an all around better runner. Keep your eyes open and use your imagination because you never know when you are going to come across a new technique to incorporate into your training.

Most importantly, have fun.

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The question is asked by cyclists young and old, new and experienced, how much do I need to train in order to be successful? There is no easy answer, it depends on an array of factors. In this post we will discuss goal setting and how this will determine the amount you train.

First of all you have to have a goal. The amount you train will be determined by how high you set your goals. It is important to note that dreams are not goals, dreams are dreams. It is good to have dreams in the back of your mind as a source of motivation, but if you treat your dreams as goals it may lead to frustration and a loss of self confidence if you fall far short of them.

You want to set your goals high enough so that you have to dig deep in order to achieve them but not so high as to make it impossible. So let us say your goal is to win your age group in a local time trial. That’s not that lofty and is definitely doable if you dedicate enough time and effort. The amount you train is different for everybody and if you’re a newbie it will probably take you a few years to figure out your ideal mileage. A few pointers to help you map out your training are as follows.

It is better to under train than to over train. At least if you under train you know that you can increase the mileage next season and come back as a stronger cyclist. If you over train you will have no idea what your potential is and most of the season will have been wasted.

Rest is just as important as workouts. Most cyclists, especially newbies, have difficulty resting on rest days. If you don’t rest though you body doesn’t have a chance to sufficiently repair itself, and so you run a high risk of over training.

Your weekly long ride should be at least the length of the event you’re training for. You want to make sure you are totally comfortable riding the distance of your highest priority race. You do not want the race itself to be the first time you have ridden the distance. Even for an event like an Ironman where the bike distance is 180 kilometers, many athletes prefer to ride up to seven hours for their long ride so that the race itself is nothing new or out of the ordinary.

Finally, you need to listen to your body. If you are scheduled to do a hard spin session but when you get on the bike your legs feel very fatigued and you are having troubles even keeping a moderate clip, it is best to just call it a day and get some extra rest. There is no sense in pounding through a low energy session when you are not feeling rested, the workouts going to do nothing other than put you at a higher risk for injury and over training.

It will take time to get the feeling of how you respond to certain types of training but if you keep the pointers listed above in mind you’ll be well on your way to having a successful season. Once you set a goal, you want to structure your training accordingly to achieve that goal. You don’t need to train 45 hours a week in order to win your age group at a local time trial. If you’re realistic about your goals and training volume I can assure you that with hard work and determination you shouldn’t have any problem achieving them.

The goal of all serious endurance athletes is to one day complete an ironman. It is a grueling 3.8K swim, 180K bike, and then a marathon. Completely just one of these legs is no easy feat and requires plenty of training, but how in the world can you train for and complete all three?

Well first off you have got to set your goals. If you are just looking to complete an ironman, and I use “just” here loosely, your training is going to look much different then say trying to win your age group or qualify for the world championship. Once you have your goals in mind you then have to determine which ironman you will be competing in. The amount of time you will need to train will vary person to person but for most it is somewhere in the 20 to 30 week range. If you have lived a relatively sedentary lifestyle up to this point then you may need a little more time because you are going to have to strengthen connective tissues that have likely had little use.

Now that you have determined which race you are going to attend you can begin writing up your training plan. The average training time for most amateur triathletes is somewhere in the 13-25 hours per week range. If you are looking to complete an ironman it will be somewhere in the 13 range and if you are looking to compete in your age group or even overall then it is going to be on the higher side.

In the first 10-15 weeks you are going to want to get comfortable with the distances, building muscular and cardiovascular endurance, strengthening connective tissues, and working on overall body strength in the weight room. It is good to plan it out so that each week you gradually increase your training by no more than 10% up until the point where you feel comfortable completing the individual distances.

During the next 5-15 weeks you will want to begin combing the three sports together and working on any weaknesses. So perhaps one day you can swim and then bike, another day you can bike and then run, and then at least one day a week you can do all three.

Finally, you want to begin to taper about 2-3 weeks out from your target race. Basically you want to reduce the mileage but still train each day at your target pace. The goal is to get rested up without losing any fitness.

Completing an ironman is a challenging feat but if you set your goals, write up a manageable training schedule and stick to it there is no reason why you cannot achieve what you have set out to do. There will be times during the season where you will not feel like going for that 20K run or 100K bike ride but you have got to do it in order to achieve the ironman designation.

There comes a point in every runners race, even elite runners, where they encounter a weakness. The problem with average runners is that they tend to shy away from working on their weaknesses and stick to what they do best. This might be all fine and dandy in training but once you get into a race situation the weakness will still be there and will limit your performance. In this post we will determine the most common weak points and suggest some exercises you can do to get them up to par.

Weak Start

Many runners have a weak start. Some go out too fast, others too slow and get boxed into a bad position. The best way to overcome this weakness is to work on it in training. So at the beginning of every workout after you are good and warmed up you will want to start as if you were in a race. If you feel you start too slow then you will want to try and push yourself during the mock start, and if you feel that you take off too fast you can either continue to take off fast until you are used to it or slow down to a more manageable pace.

Weak Finish

Another common weakness is the finish. This can easily be corrected by sprinting at the end of all your workouts. I is a great routine to get into even on your long runs. You do not necessarily have to sprint to the finish every time but at least increase the pace so that if you find yourself in a situation where you need a final kick you will be confident in your abilities.

Racing Lulls

Even the best runners have a lull in their race at some point. Lets say for example you are training for a 10K and you find at about 5K you are feeling a little sluggish but then at 8K you regain your composure. This means you have a mid-race lull and it needs to be corrected if you plan on reaching your full potential. A great technique to work on this weakness is to structure your training sessions so that you have the most difficult aspect of your training at the 8K mark. One example could be to structure your run so that at the 8 kilometer mark you come to a local hill. From there you can do another 2 kilometers hard but uphill, this will make the 8 kilometer point in a flat race seem like a gift from heaven.

Whatever your weaknesses are make sure you are consciously trying to improve upon them. There is no sense in avoiding your weaknesses because when the time comes to demonstrate your fitness they will definitely limit your performance. It is better to suffer in training and have a good race then to have easy training but a bad race.

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