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I often encounter athletes who are stepping up the triathlon ladder, athletes that are new to the sport, and are seeking new challenges, so the 70.3 and Ironman distances is a natural path for them.

However, I also come across athletes who are doing it the other way around. They have trained and raced Ironmans for a few years, and be it for lack of time or any other reason, they feel like training and racing short course races is an appropriate choice at that moment.

But how can one make the most out of this experience, fitness and background in long course races? How to race faster if most of the training you have done in the past, were the long workouts, especially on the weekends?

There are some key aspects that those athletes should know if you want to step down to sprint triathlons and Olympic Distance tris:

Race tactics:

At an ironman race, the average age group athlete is racing the course, not other athletes since at an IM, if you are stronger on the bike you can put on 30min on someone, but also lose that much on the run.

Short course is different. Everyone is so close together for the whole race, that you are racing each other and not only the course. This is why race tatics plays much a bigger role and you should consider and use it to your favor.

There will be some parts of the race that can have a huge impact on the final placing, such as swim start, transitions, and mental games. Some of those aspects can be trained, some others not.

Swim start is one of the parts that you can train for and a good example on tatics. If you are racing against hundreds of athletes in your same wave, at an OD race, when the first swim buoy is only 500m from the start, then everyone is suppose to turn left, you want to get to that buoy as close to the front pack as possible, since there isn’t enough space for everyone, if you are left behind, the turn around the buoy will be very slow, you will find yourself behind people swimming breastroke, and after that it will be very hard to catch up to the front group.

So the swim training is something that can be really different from the IM training, you need to be a faster 400m swimmer, than just hang on that pack, while for a long course race, there is no need for speed at all in the water, all you want to do is to swim the course as efficient as possible, that is, at a decent speed, but saving as much energy as possible for the rest of the race.

Technique Skills:

Long Course races is mostly about fitness, pacing and nutrition. You can still be a decent Ironman athlete even if you can’t corner or downhill properly on the bike, the fitness will make up for that, especially at the average age group level. Short course is a different story, since a mere 5 minutes in your total time, can cost you a podium place in your age group.

Race specific training:

Due to time limitations, ironman athletes spend most of their weekends doing the long workouts, 4 to 6 hours on the bike and 2h plus on the run can be the norm on an ironman plan.

With short course training is no different, you want to improve your racing skills and fitness when you have time and other athletes to train with. I usually prescribe a little and hard bike/run brick every weekend for my athletes, and get them to race as often as possible, any sort of race will do it. Road running, aquathlons, duathlons and even “training races” such as group rides or group open water swims. Each race is a learning opportunity.

Have fun at the short course races!
Vinnie Santana – ironguides Head Coach

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ironguides is the leading Lifestyle Facilitation company for athletes of all abilities. We provide coaching and training services, plans and programs, as well training education, health and fitness products to help you learn and live a healthy lifestyle. Come get fit with one of our monthly training subscriptions, event-specific training plans, coaching services, or a triathlon training camp in an exotic location! ironguides also provides Corporate Health services including Corporate Triathlons, Healthy Living retreats and speaking engagements. Atironguides, your best is our business!

More info at www.ironguides.net

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Video: Trick to kill pre-race anxiety and increase your triathlon performance

October 31, 2019

Home, various

If you struggle with pre-race anxiety, you feel that it is getting on the way for that breakthrough performance or simply is taking some of the fun away from racing, our coach Vinnie Santana explains in the video below a very easy trick that will shift your approach to a triathlon event and result in a faster performance and a lot more fun experience on race day.

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The Benefits of the Treadmill

August 27, 2019

Home

The treadmill is a very misunderstood part of the arsenal of tools available to a triathlete. Using the treadmill, you can get a better return on your training time if you learn to use it in the right way. For example, one ironguides athlete turned his two-hour long run into his 1:34 long run over the course of about a year using the treadmill for specific sets including his long run.

Most of the people I coach are encouraged to make heavy use of the treadmill, especially if they are based in big cities with limited access to good running venues. I can tell you that a few professional world champions have run almost exclusively on the treadmill for long stretches and come off running faster than ever. How does a treadmill contribute so much to improved run skills?

In basic terms, running on a flat treadmill enables you to run at the same aerobic load as on land, but to run at a faster pace for that aerobic load. Meaning: You can run faster for longer, which means you are training neuromuscular patterns to fire at a rate that equates to a faster run pace. The aerobic training component in either case is the same

What does this mean? It means you are getting more bang for your training buck. Yes, a 7min mile on a flat treadmill “feels” easier than a flat 7min mile on land — and it is — but remember that the context here is to run at the same aerobic load. If you can hold a 7:00min/mile pace on land for 20min, and you can hold a 6:50min/mile pace on the treadmill for 20min, that 20min run on the treadmill will give you the same aerobic training load but will teach your motor neurons to fire at a faster pace. Do this often enough for long enough and you are teaching your nerves to fire at a faster rate — your muscles follow suit and learn to contract at a faster rate. You run faster because you’re training more than just your aerobic system.

As you come to better feel and understand the usefulness of this approach, you can come to use the treadmill then to simulate triathlon running more closely. You can make use of the gradient option, a nearby spin bike or weight machines to strip the strength from your legs and force yourself to run fast on tired legs. As long as you approach the session with the underlying goal of running with best-possible form (don’t get lazy or sloppy), you can quickly improve triathlon-specific run skills. There are all kinds of ways of doing this outside, too.

By enabling you to closely control the variables (wind, gradient, surface), the treadmill lets you better monitor improvement over time and get a better feel for how your body responds to changes in your training environment: Sleep, nutrition, life stress and so on. Over time, you develop a better intuitive feeling for your training state of body and mind and as your training career progresses, you can use your past sessions to compare current treadmill performances in certain sets and immediately see where your fitness level is without having to test yourself over race distances.

So getting back to your question: Running on a flat treadmill at the same pace as on windless, flat land (hard or track or similar surface) is easier to maintain. But by inverting that standard way of perceiving the situation and asking: Does a treadmill allow me to hold a faster pace at no extra aerobic burden? you can come a step closer to making use of some great tools and structuring your training in a way that makes your training much more effective and specifically useful for triathletes.

Enjoy your training,

Vinnie Santana

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Train with ironguides!

Personalized Online Coaching: Starting at USD190/month

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Training for an Ironman? This race simulation workout is crucial on your preparation

July 29, 2019

Home, ironman, various

If you are training for an ironman, it’s very likely you are following a training plan that calls for a weekly long swim, long bike and long run, these are on separate days and the idea behind breaking the work down, you can train fresher, with better technique, faster, and recovery quicker from each of these, the day after a long bike or long run for example, you can easily do a high intensity swim workout and keep on adding fitness with no long recovery needed within your week.

However, beginner athletes, with zero to little experience in the ironman distance may benefit from a race simulation during their prep. The benefits are:

Confidence: The suggested distance is as long as your body can handle without requiring a long period of recovery. Anything longer than that and you may as well do the whole ironman distance in training. You can’t really simulate the back end of the ironman marathon while training, you are better by stopping just before that, recovering fast, then getting back to consistent training.

Specific Endurance Training: While you can acquire endurance by training each discipline separately and that has its benefits too, a long training day is as specific as it gets for your endurance, once you bounce back from the stress of this race simulation, you will find your fitness at a new level

Pacing strategy: You will be able to simulate, at least under a less stressful environment (no pre-race adrenalin), how well you can pace at this strange. You will see guidelines and goals for each segment of the simulation. On race day, pacing, along with nutrition, are the two biggest components that will impact your race, since there isn’t anything you can do about your fitness on that day. Failing to get the pacing right in training is a guaranteed recipe for disaster on race day.

Equipment testing: How many times have you done a long swim in your wetsuit? If you live in a warmer weather place, chances are you didn’t even have a wetsuit before signing up for your ironman overseas and the chafing some of these suits give is something you want to be aware of and be ready for on race day (with a lot of Vaseline). Make sure you also test all the equipment you plan to use on race day, wheels, helmet, shoes, anything that you keep on a race bag and only use when racing, should be tested on your race simulation day

Nutrition: The goal here is to test for any issues related to either your stomach not tolerating well your nutrition, or you just get sick of the gels and flavoring you first thought you would handle over the race. Keep in mind that race day will see additional stress on your stomach so your nutrition strategy has to be perfect in training, if you have small issues, these are likely to be much bigger come race day

Other weaknesses: Putting the body through enough stress can also show you a few weak links that a normal training day won’t. It can be a comfort issue on the bike for example, tight neck or back that without the swimming prior you don’t feel but in this simulation it will allow you to tweak details such as bike fit, core strength, flexibility, that would have slowed you down on race day.

Scheduling it within your training plan

Pick a weekend, 6 to 8 weeks out, that works for you. This will allow you plenty of time to fully recover then start the final and most specific training plan, including the lessons you learned on your race simulation and adjust your training to address any weakness shown at the simulation day.

Best day to do this is on a Saturday, as if the weather doesn’t cooperate you can push one day and this will also allow you to enjoy Sunday as a sleep in and rest day.

Requirements:

To be able to get this training done and recover from it relatively quick (within 1 week) you must have completed within 6 weeks of the session:

*4 long rides of at least 4 hours each
*4 long runs of at least 2 hours each
*4 swims of at least 1 hour each

If you can’t meet the above requirements, this race simulation will do more harm than good, you will be better off by just doing a normal weekend of long sessions and also work on your training consistency

Another requirement is to have done an official half distance race within the previous 12 months of race day. If you haven’t, book an event instead (these can be 4-10 weeks out), the pre-race adrenalin, traveling, dealing with the real world experience can’t be simulate on training. Race simulation works well for experienced racers who are stepping up to the full distance, but you need that half distance race in your legs before your full distance.

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The set up

Ideally, do this at a place you have access to a convenience store (your aid station for the day) or take a cooler with your fuel and leave inside your car. A course that you can do several laps is also required to track your pacing.

As swimming pool access can be far away from cycling venues, it is ok to drive after the swim to a more appropriate place to drive, just try to keep the transitions relatively short

SWIM: Duration = 1 hour

Pre-establish a swim distance before the session that will take you around 1 hour to cover, then break the swim in at least 2 equal parts with a short break in between, your goal is to swim the second half faster than the first

If wetsuit is allowed on race day, use it today, unless is an exceptionally hot day pool (over 27C) – additionally, if you are swimming in a wetsuit and you live in a hot weather country, break the distance down in even shorter repeats, take at least 2 bottles with you (1 of iced water to pour on our head, the other of sports drinks to sip through the workout)

TRANSITION 1: Duration =up to 30min

Here is the exception to the rule of “use everything planned on race day on your simulation day” – at transition 1, you want to have a small snack that includes both carbohydrate and protein (fat is optional) – this will help to reduce your recovery window. Logistically, a short drive from the pool to a bike and run venue is fine.

BIKE: Duration = 5 hours

Similar to the swim, you can pre-establish a distance on the course you will be doing and target to increase the pace in 3 different segments, for example up to 1h40, then you need to increase the pace a little until the 3h20 mark and the final 1h40 should be the fastest of them all. Stop every 100min or so to refill your water bottles

If possible, do the bike on a course that simulates race day, hills, technical descends, flats, find something that will get you mentally and physically ready for the big day.

TRANSITION 2: Duration =up to 20min

Transition two should be a lot quicker than the first one as it won’t require changing venues and you should also run on the same gear you plan to on race day, for many athletes that is a trisuit or two piece. Just put your bike in your car (or store somewhere) and head out for the run.

You also want to have a snack here, something easy to digest with plenty of water. Remember, your goal is to finish today’s session with your tank “half full”, this will make recovery a lot faster, slow down if you have to, to be able to process all the calories and liquids you are taking in today

RUN: Duration= 1 hour
While the swim and bike are quite close to race distance, a one hour run may be only a fourth or a fifth of the time you will be running on race day, why is that? Running requires a much longer recovery time compared to swimming and cycling due to the impact of running – that is the same reason why you should never do a marathon on your preparation. The goal here is to run enough to learn pacing, practice your nutrition, test your equipment, but stop before you dig too deep.

Do this preferably on a lap that won’t take you longer than around 30min to complete, this will allow you to track your splits, as the aim is to do the second lap faster than the first, and also provide you access to your nutrition and cooler half way into the run.

Take one quick break at the 30min mark to refuel, then bring it home the final 30min faster than the first. By the end of it you want to be feeling strong and feeling that you could have kept on going, if you don’t feel that way, this is a red flag that your pacing goals wasn’t appropriate for your current fitness level.

RECOVERY:

Have a snack, straight after the workout, then go home and another meal within 2 hours of finishing the session. Researches have shown better replenishing rates within 30 and 2 hours of exercising, this will allow you to get back to training faster and will also help your immune system to bounce back, avoiding any potential sickness in the week following the race simulation

Here is a suggested recovery guideline for the simulation on Saturday:

SUNDAY: 30-40min swimming, as 20-30min of easy 50m repeats with paddles/buoy + 10min easy kicking (25 or 50m) with board. Doing something today as an active recovery is far superior to a total day off, easy swim or easy spin on the trainer will get your blood pumping a little faster, help the muscles to heal and clean any lactic acid remaining in the muscles

MONDAY: Easy 30-40min spin on the bike trainer or gym bike

TUESDAY: DAY OFF – with 2 active rests days behind you, a total day off will boost your recovery even further

WEDNESDAY: 40min easy run

THURSDAY to SUNDAY: Get back on your training plan on both a reduced intensity by one notch and volume (cut it short by 25-33%)

Following week, back into the full plan

FINAL 5-7 WEEKS:

Once you are back in training, resist the temptation to do another race simulation day, remember that doing shorter and more frequent long workouts gets you fitter than big, race simulation days. Just adjust your training based on your performance on the race simulation day and stick to it until the final two weeks when you should star tapering

In this final block you should also avoid any type of racing as this will break training consistency once again. Keep on adding fitness without pushing it too hard

Enjoy your training,

Coach Vinnie Santana

Train with ironguides!

Personalized Online Coaching: Starting at USD190/month

Monthly Training plans (for all levels, or focused on one discipline): Only USD39/months

Event based training plans:

Sprint Distance (USD45 for 8-week plan)

Olympic Distance (USD65 for 12 week plan)

Half Ironman (R$95 for 16-week plan)

Running Plans (10k, 21k and 42k – starting at USD40)

Race Day Nutrition

June 27, 2019

Home, Nutrition

We are heading into Ironman season again and the big topic among athletes is always what to do with nutrition come race day. Yet again it amazes me how many athletes will have read an article and decide on a new path to take for race day rather than the tried and tested methods they have used in training. There is a simple message in this article and it is STICK WITH WHAT WORKS.

There really is no magic nutritional strategy for Ironman, there is no set amount of calories you need to be taking per hour in order to guarantee success or any specific ratio of fructose glucose in products that works better than another despite everything you may have read. What you will find is that your body is adapted to what you typically eat and drink when training and in normal life in order to get the calories it needs.

So the first thing to do when you start to think about race day is to think about what you take in during your normal training days. If you’re on a long bike and stop to refuel and the choice is Coke then this is what you should be thinking about on race day not some energy drink that you have never used. Same goes with taking on solid food – if you’re on a long ride and you always stop for a sandwich or munch on chocolate bars then this is what you should be taking with you on race day not a gel or energy bar that you assume must be better because you saw advertising in a magazine before the race or see at the expo.

We have all heard athletes complaining after the race that they just did not feel like eating or could not stomach another gel and that it ruined their race in one way or another. Speaking with these athletes you do tend to find they will not have trained on these products and just followed last minute advice looking for a miracle.

So what should you do?

First let’s look at some facts:

Our bodies will take on between 250 and 350 calories per hour while exercising at Ironman intensity,
Hydration on race day will vary hugely due to environmental conditions so do not rely on liquid calories,
Don’t count on chocolate if you’re racing in a hot environment as it will melt.

Calories

We cannot store enough calories in our muscles to get through an Ironman so we need to eat and drink during the race in order to race to our body’s ability. Numerous studies and athlete experience have shown that we can take on between 250 and 350 calories per hour when racing at Ironman intensity. This does not mean aim at 350 calories; it is a guide and should have been experimented with in training.

When looking at the top athletes in our sport we tend to see they are the ones who can tolerate the upper limits of this. At the same time we see athletes who excel in short distance racing who cannot move to long course as they simply cannot tolerate the calories needed.

We need to find what works for us and again look to your training as a guide – if you eat and drink very little in training and have no issues with lack of power or energy then you are likely to lie on the lower side of the calorie level. If you find you’re regularly losing power and strength and always hungry in training then you will most likely be on the upper end.

Liquid calories

The environmental conditions we race in for Ironman are always different and we cannot ever guarantee what they will be so I think it is crazy to base your calorie consumption off liquid calories. A big problem I see with this regularly is in cold races such as Ironman UK – athletes simply do not feel like drinking in these conditions and so they will be taking in far too few calories in the cold when the body is needing more than normal to both move and keep warm – athletes then start feeling really cold due to calorie shortage and feel even less like eating or drinking which just leads to the body shutting down.

My advice is always to case calories off solid food (I do include gels in this) and then drink to thirst using energy drinks or Coke.

Another big issue with liquid calories is carrying them in the race, I have had athletes suffer in recent events due to on course drinks being extremely watered down and thus not providing the necessary calories and derailing the athletes race. If you like to have Coke on the bike then take some with you or put some in special needs – see video attached on a unique way to attach Coke to bike that is extremely aero and saves weight over more expensive devices!

Solid calories

Personally I prefer my athletes to race with solid food as this is essentially what our bodies are most used too. I will always have my athletes look to what they feel like and typically eat when training. There is NO right or wrong here, I have had athletes race with salami and cheese sandwiches on their bikes and others who like mints and jelly babies – just make sure it is appropriate for the environment and have a little variety as you will find over the course of an Ironman bike your taste will change.

One thing I have noticed recently is athletes complaining of a dry mouth when racing, this can happen when we have a little too much sugar in drinks – sometimes happens with Coke in hot conditions. If this happens maybe having some mints or sweets you can suck on would be a wise addition to your race nutrition.

See picture below for a great example of a mixed nutrition selection for race day for an event in cooler conditions!!

In conclusion stop reading articles and listening to what other people do for their race day nutrition and start thinking about yourself. Think about how you generally feel and what you generally eat when training and then use this as the basis of your race day nutrition. Keep it simple and success will follow!!

Enjoy your training

Coach Alun “Woody” Woodward

http://youtu.be/-tFS6hEDnf4

ironguides is the leading Lifestyle Facilitation company for athletes of all abilities. We provide coaching and training services, plans and programs, as well training education, health and fitness products to help you learn and live a healthy lifestyle. Come get fit with one of our monthly training subscriptions, event-specific training plans, coaching services, or a triathlon training camp in an exotic location! ironguides also provides Corporate Health services including Corporate Triathlons, Healthy Living retreats and speaking engagements. At ironguides, your best is our business!

Train with ironguides!

Personalized Online Coaching: Starting at USD190/month

Monthly Training plans (for all levels, or focused on one discipline): Only USD39/months

Event based training plans:

Sprint Distance (USD45 for 8-week plan)

Olympic Distance (USD65 for 12 week plan)

Half Ironman (R$95 for 16-week plan)

Running Plans (10k, 21k and 42k – starting at USD40)

5 Most Common Mistakes on Race Month

May 28, 2019

Home

There are so many ways to ruin a perfect performance on the weeks leading up to the race. Learn from others athlete’s mistakes, don’t repeat the same mistakes described below.

1) Tapering too early and too much:

I’ve written in a past article, why marathon tapering is different than the “conventional” tapering we keep hearing about. To sum it up, marathon, especially at the age group level, is all about fitness and not speed like the events that were the origin for taper (short course track or road) for that reason if you start cutting back on training 3-4 weeks out of race day, you will get to the start line feeling super fresh, but also very unfit!

Marathon taper should start no earlier than 2 weeks out and no later than 1 week, for most of the athletes. And you should cut down first on intensity, then on volume and last on workout frequency.

2) Letting the body shut down on race week:

Stay active! Stay loose! Once you get to race week, is a matter of getting a rest but not letting your systems shut down or you will feel just stale on race day. Do a lot of 20 to 40 minutes easy sessions, with a few fast strides here and there at race pace and race technique, that way you keep your muscles firing and familiar with the work that will come on race day, but keep those strides short so that won’t be long to take anything out of you for race day!

Avoid a day off the day before the race, two days out is better, do a little touch (10 minutes) the day before, just to get your rested legs going again.

3) Mental fatigue from race week hype:

Keep the hype under control. I often recommend my athletes to get to the race venue as late as possible, by doing that I know that the damage done to those who are easily caught by the hype, will be limited to a few days. If you can book your accommodation a few miles away from the race area, that really helps too.

Another great way to switch your mind off the event for a good few hours before race day is when you have a family member or friend with you. Although supportive (since that person is there with you anyways!), I’m sure that a conversation at dinner about something else than running, would be quite a relief for that person, this will help to put your mind at ease, relax and save your mental energy for the last 6 miles, where you will need to squeeze out every bit of mental strength to keep putting o foot in front of the other.

4) Physical fatigue from race week:

How many times have you gone to bed the night before a race and thought “ouch, my legs are tired, I shouldn’t have walked the expo for that long today”? Once again walking around the expo, standing around and talking to your buddies for hours is also part of the experience, but you should avoid those situations, especially if you are trying to improve your own PB or to perform at your best on race day.

Get one period of one day, best if 2 days out of race day to do all the socializing and shopping you want. For example if the race is on a Sunday, spend Friday morning at the expo, buy all the souvenirs you have, take as many photos you want, and catch up with all your friends on their training and racing expectations. Than this is it, avoid going back there.

5) Radical changes at your diet or sleep habits:

If you go to bed every day at mid night, is very likely you won’t be able to sleep by nine at the night before a marathon race. You will only frustrate yourself and make things even worse. For most of the athletes, if you get enough rest from a reduced training load and good sleep nights for the whole week before the race, the actual night before, doesn’t make a big difference. Same rule with your diet. Keep it simple, eat the same breakfast (or meal) you usually do before your training sessions. Diet alone won’t make you any faster on race day, but a different diet can sure cause your problems. The carbo-loading usually happens on race week anyways since you do get less training than the usual in the last few days before a race, so if you keep eating what you usually do, you will be eating more calories anyways, there is no reason to over eat the days before a race.

Some coffee drinkers try to stay away from coffee/tea on race week (or even weeks before that) to decrease caffeine tolerance, then once you have a double espresso on race morning the boost would be stronger. This can be a terrible idea since the lack of coffee will make you feel terrible, which can result in a worse than normal training session, feeling overly tired and might even play up with your confidence, which can result in bad choices. If coffee makes you feel good, keep drinking it up to race morning!

Stay fit, stay calm, tune out the noise, organize yourself and race fast!

Coach Vinnie Santana

Train with ironguides!

Personalized Online Coaching: Starting at USD190/month

Monthly Training plans (for all levels, or focused on one discipline): Only USD39/months

Event based training plans:

Sprint Distance (USD45 for 8-week plan)

Olympic Distance (USD65 for 12 week plan)

Half Ironman (R$95 for 16-week plan)

Running Plans (10k, 21k and 42k – starting at USD40)

Treadmill as a Training Tool

May 2, 2019

Home, Running

The treadmill is a tool that is not explored as much as it should be. It has a reputation of being boring compared to running outside. As much as there is a good deal of truth to this, it also offers many benefits that can’t be replicated on the roads for athletes of all levels. Learn more about this excellent training tool in the article below.
More Efficient Biomechanics

Running on a treadmill with zero degree incline allows you to run faster than you would on the road, but with the same aerobic load, which means you can run faster for longer, thus developing the motor skills associated with that improved speed. Make sure you keep the treadmill completely flat (no incline) at 0% grade, not 1% as some coaches or articles recommend.
What does this mean? You have a greater benefit from the same workout. This is because the feeling and load when you run for example at 4’30″/ km on the treadmill is easier than the same pace when running outside, so in order to generate the same aerobic load you are able to increase the speed.

If you can run at 4’30″/ km for 5 km outside, it is likely that you can hold around 4’15” / km on the treadmill, at the same aerobic load, same heart rate and very similar perceived effort. However, you work your motor skills at a faster rate, and by doing it frequently, your muscles will be used to working and getting that rhythm and you end up running faster because you are training your legs at a faster rate than your aerobic system.
Fewer injuries and faster recovery is another benefit of treadmill running. While it is crucial, especially for long races, to get some pounding into the legs from the long runs, for most of the other run sessions, the impact on the legs from a treadmill is lower than running outside. This allows the athlete to train at a higher quality and volume without increasing the risk of injury.
Controlled variables

The treadmill allows you to better monitor your workout improvement and that gives you the opportunity to better understand how your body responds to external factors such as sleep, diet or stress. The more often you run on the treadmill with consistent variables, a feedback is generated on where you are in terms of fitness in relation to your recent training. This can also be a gauge for your fitness level without the need of entering a race very often.

This is only possible when factors that are variable outside, become controllable on the treadmill, such as gradient, wind speed and temperature.
As you get used to doing your running on the treadmill, you can simulate the reality of a triathlon race. You can use gradients, or combine with a spinning bike to simulate your race day needs. Depending on the gym, you can swim then run, or lift weights then run and that will teach you to run on tired legs. As long as you do every workout in order to run with the best technique, you will greatly improve your ability to run well in a triathlon.

Learn Pacing

One of the major limiting factors of every athlete is to run at an appropriate pace both in training and races.

The treadmill helps you learn to control your pace, because unlike running outside, if the pace is too fast and you need to slow down, you have to manually make this change in speed and slow the treadmill down, while out on the roads, your speed may drop without you noticing.

Each time this happens, it is a stimulus for you to try to maintain the next repeat or run at the same speed until the end.

This also simulates running with a strong training partner since when you run with a faster athlete, it is easier to stick to that faster pace compared to running alone. The motivation to run with a training partner helps you achieve new speeds and goals. The same can be done with the treadmill, because you need to make the decision manually, to “give up” when you slow the treadmill down, or compared to outside running, you decide to let your training partner go.

Convenience

For some athletes based in big cities, the commute to a park or a track can just take too long, while there is usually a gym close to home with a good treadmill (which reaches at least16km/ h). You have the benefits of finishing the workout at the gym, either before or after work, in addition to the always mild temperature, regardless if outside it is too hot or cold.

Safety is also another reason for treadmill training that should not be ignored. Some athletes only have the opportunity to train early in the morning or late in the evening. The treadmill allows athletes with non-traditional schedules to train safely at whatever the time they have to run, and it also keeps them safe from cars or bicycles.

Improves ability to stay focused

The main reason for most athletes to not use the treadmill is the mental part, we may all agree that a run on the treadmill without a challenging set can be relatively boring and it just won’t beat the fun of running outdoors, especially in a nice place with a group of friends or in nature.

Enjoying training is one of the reasons why we do this sport, and the lifestyle benefits. I had an athlete who once told me “I refuse to train indoors, I do triathlons to feel the wind blowing through my hair,” which is an understandable argument. But once you care a little about performing in races, or you find yourself in a situation and circumstances where you aren’t allowed to train in nice environments, try to structure your workouts into sets on the treadmill and it can become extremely fun and challenging.

Every athlete must also learn to understand the positive side of every situation, in addition to all the benefits already mentioned in this article, running on the treadmill makes you mentally stronger and not easily distracted. This has a great value in triathlons, as you will find yourself in a situation when you will need to focus on the effort you are doing, especially later in the run leg when you are getting fatigued.

Enjoy your training,

Coach Vinnie Santana

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Triathlon Injuries: 3 most common and 2 treatments

January 24, 2019

Home, recovery

Training for top level performance in Ironman, injuries are inevitable but there is a lot we can do to prevent injuries from occurring. So many of us focus on simply swim bike run and neglect the little things that can make sure we do not break down.

When we focus on simply endurance training little problems can be developing below the surface like a time-bomb waiting to explode. This is normally in the guise of tight muscles or stiff joints.

The problem we face as athletes is the body is extremely adaptive and will compensate for any tightness by using different muscles to perform required movements – the result is we do not notice the problem as it is occurring and then it builds to a point and we get a sudden breakdown.

So how do we prevent this from happening?

Firstly I would advise at the start of any new season having a full movement screen by an experienced coach or physiotherapist – they should be checking all basic movements are correct and the correct muscles are working and no underlying tightness is present. From a screen like this you should be able to go away with a set of exercises to address any problems or if all is ok you have a bench mark to work from in case anything does come up during the season.

This option will not be available for everyone and can be quite costly, so how do we check ourselves?

While it is not possible to do a full check we can certainly go through some basic movements to see if we do have problems. As triathletes there are some areas that are typically tight and dysfunctional – these are hips/ lower back and glutes.

HIPS

Stand up with feet shoulder width apart – keeping legs straight put both hands above head and then try to lean back as far as possible. What should happen is in order to lean back, hips will push forward to allow the movement to occur. If you are tight in the hips you will tend to have very little movement doing this and you may even feel strain in you lower back. In bad cases of tight hips you may notice when standing you have excessive curvature of the lower spine and your bum sticks out!!

LOWER BACK

Standing with feet together and hands by your side try to lean over so your hand traces a line down to your knee – this should be smooth and pain free. If you have tightness in your lower back this will feel very uncomfortable and you will find you want to twist in order to allow the moment to happen.

GLUTES

Sit on a chair with back straight and looking straight forward. Now place the ankle of one leg over the other knee and press down slightly on the knee of the raised foot. Now gently lean forward and keep your back straight. If the glutes are tight you will probable feel a deep cramping/ aching sensation as soon as you move, if they are in good condition you should be able to lean forwards with a straight back fairly easily.

Treatment

If you find any issues from these basic movements above then it would be wise to address these before staring any training program, starting a program with an underlying issue is asking for trouble. Spending a couple of weeks working on mobility and maybe seeing a specialist to advise on exercises will make training when you get started much more productive but will also allow you to be more consistent with your training and this really is the key to success.

Day to Day care

We all have our daily routines, what we do first thing on waking up and how we go about our days, simply adding one thing to this routine for all endurance athletes would significantly reduce injury occurrence and in my opinion enhance your ability to train consistently.

What I advise is having a foam roller or trigger point roller close at hand and getting on for a quick check through your muscles for any areas of tightness. This process would take no more than 5 minutes and you will be surprised what you will pick up. The number of times I have had athletes tell me everything is good only to have them jump through the roof after one roll through a muscle group is testament to the fact we really do not feel tightness building up until its at quite an advanced stage.

When rolling look to start at the feet and work up through the body, aim to roll 10 times over each major muscle group, so feet, calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, ITB bands, glutes, lower and upper back.

This rolling has been called the paupers massage but in my opinion is even better than massage as nobody can feel what is going on inside your body quite like you can. If you find an area that is particularly sore then spend more time with small rolls over the muscle until you feel it ease off. If you are not able to relax the muscle you can then consider visiting a sports therapist for deeper more targeted massage.

By performing this simple task day to day you will not only be keeping your muscles in great shape you will be alerted to any problems way before you will feel any tightness or problems in your training.

When we are looking towards achieving the best we can in terms of physical performance we need to be achieving long periods of consistent training in order to reach our true potential. If you were to look at the day to day life of our sports top athletes compared with top age groupers the main difference is not the hours of training as you would be surprised with how little some our best performers train but its the little things around the program that enable them to knock out week after week of hard training. For example hitting the gym for 10minutes after a swim session to work through a hip strength routine or some rotator cuff exercises, spending 10minutes on the roller before a hard run session… all small things but they make a huge difference to development.

Take a step forward with your training and add this 5 minute check to your daily routine and you will reap the rewards come summer.

Enjoy your training.
By Alun “Woody” Woodward
ironguides is the leading Lifestyle Facilitation company for athletes of all abilities. We provide coaching and training services, plans and programs, as well training education, health and fitness products to help you learn and live a healthy lifestyle. Come get fit with one of our monthly training subscriptions, event-specific training plans, coaching services, or a triathlon training camp in an exotic location! ironguides also provides Corporate Health services including Corporate Triathlons, Healthy Living retreats and speaking engagements. At ironguides, your best is our business!

Train with ironguides!

Personalized Online Coaching: Starting at USD190/month

Monthly Training plans (for all levels, or focused on one discipline): Only USD39/months

Event based training plans:

Sprint Distance (USD45 for 8-week plan)

Olympic Distance (USD65 for 12 week plan)

Half Ironman (R$95 for 16-week plan)

Running Plans (10k, 21k and 42k – starting at USD40)

Ironman Training – Spring Mistakes

January 4, 2019