ironguides

Training for the Laguna Phuket Triathlon can be a tricky challenge. The race is very different is many aspects, use the following tips in your weekly training sessions and racing strategy:

• The Distance:

The unique 1.8k swim/55k bike/12k run combo, is too long to be faced as an Olympic Distance Triathlon, be it in training or when racing. The main tip here goes to race-day nutrition. For the Olympic tri, you should be fine with only the calories from your sports drink bottle, but for Phuket, aim for 200 calories an hour, once you are on your bike. That is roughly 1 gel every 30 minutes. Or 1 gel and 1 bottle of sports drinks per hour.

That said, the race is too short trained and raced as an Half Ironman event. Make sure you do some lactate tolerance training during your preparation, as the LSD (long slow distance) training will only get you so fat.

• The Course:

--Swim: Swimming in the ocean is great, the water density helps you float, the water feels fresh and cool. But once you are done with the first 1k of swimming and run across the beach to the lake, then it is normal and expected to feel like you are sinking. The water density changes brutally and you need to be trained for that. One way to simulate this is to do some specific swim sets with the first half of it with a PULLBOUY, than ditch the buoy for the second half. A good main set can look like the following:

300m race pace with a large pullbuoy

300m without the pullbuoy

repeat the above 3 times

This will teach you how to focus on your stroke rate and head position, and get yourself on the top of the water again.

--Bike: Although short, the hills in Phuket are very steep. If you are a weak rider, you can either use compact cranks, or make sure you are running a big cog in your cassette. If you live in Bangkok or in a flatter area, you can do specific strength training on a flat road or on the trainer.

30minutes as:

3minutes riding in your biggest gear (big chain ring / small cog) at a hard effort

3minutes easy spin

You can also play with the duration of total set, and intervals, depending on your body type and racing/training background.

Have fun in Phuket!

Vinnie