TRIATHLON TIPS: Making the Most of Your Off Season Training

As we head into the fall and winter months most of us are now in the off season. Although we will start again soon enough, it is vitally important to make the most of our off season. In fact, what you do in your off season can shave valuable time off of you race times come spring and summer. For most of us, we had our share of highs and lows throughout our racing season. Even if things didn’t go your way on the course, by taking an objective look back at your season, you can turn those weaknesses into great strengths. It is truly important to be as thorough and as objective as possible when you evaluate your season. Here are some of the most effective things you can do in the off season to make your racing season its absolute best.

Have Your Bike Fitted to Your Build
Riding a bike that is not fitted to your build can cause unwanted pain and injury and it could even be making you slower. I recently had a 3-D bike fit performed at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine in Boulder, CO. This test is conducted by attaching sensors at key points throughout your body and then projecting a 3-dimensional picture of your cycling form onto a computer screen. Using this advanced imagery, a physiologist can determine places that you can gain power and save energy. After making a few adjustments on my bike it was estimated that I would save three and a half minutes on a 90k ride. When you think about it, cutting three minutes off a 90k, by doing nothing more than adjusting your bike to fit you is pretty incredible. In addition to saving time by getting your bike fit, you can also save yourself a lot of misery. By riding in a position that isn’t suited for you build, you can do some pretty serious damage to your body. By finding the position that is right for you, you can get in more volume with less injury.

Have a Lactate Threshold Test Conducted
This is another area that you can make the most of the time you spend training. The lactate threshold test is performed to dial in your exact heart rate zones. With as much time as we spend training at certain heart rate zones, doesn’t it make sense to make sure that the zone you are using are right for you? Many athletes that I know train much harder than they need to be and this can cause injury and fatigue. For more information on a lactate threshold testing please see our September newsletter.

Hire a Professional Coach
Hiring a coach has become more the norm than the exception in the world of endurance athletics. The truth is that a coach can make all the difference in your success. A coach can build you a precise plan using the data from your lactate threshold test, as well as building you a solid periodized plan. If you are trying to plan your training season and individual weeks on your own, you will almost undoubtedly benefit from having a trained professional do this for you. Not only will you be getting accurate, detailed plans, you will be saving yourself valuable time by allowing a coach to do this for you. A coach can also help you find free speed by analyzing your from in your sport and making corrections if needed.

If you decide to hire a coach, be sure that you research your options. Coaching services can be large companies with a big name, or a one man operation. Think about what you want from a coach. Do you want to have minimal contact with a coach, or do you want someone that you communicate with everyday? Think about where you need the help the most and be sure that you find someone that specializes in that area. A coach can be your greatest motivator at times and it is important that it is someone you like and respect. To a certain extent you need to trust your gut on this. Before putting money into this, be sure that your coach is right for you.

Make Necessary Equipment Upgrades
It is no secret that our sport requires a lot of equipment. The question is…is your equipment truly helping you maximize your potential? One of the most common equipment errors I see is a wetsuit that fits improperly. Any loose pockets of air, especially in the chest area and crotch area will quickly become filled with water in a race. It’s like trying to swim fast while dragging a bucket of water along with you. On the cycling end of things many of us ride bikes that are worth more than some cars, and yet, our components are far from the best. When looking at all of your equipment and components for your bike, think lightweight and aerodynamic. For instance, look at your wheels. There are a number of wheels out there that are lighter and more aerodynamic than the wheels that come with our bike. By upgrading to a set of lightweight and aerodynamic wheels you are shaving valuable time off your pace, with no additional effort. Look at your race helmet as well. Many manufacturers are making aero helmets that are appropriate for triathlons. This is another area where aerodynamics can save you valuable time. On the run, take a look at your feet. If you have never tried running with flats and elastic shoelaces, now may be the time. Running in lightweight and easy to slip on flats can make you much faster. Also look at your clothing. Be sure that what you are wearing is comfortable and isn’t slowing you down. Think back on everything that you use in a race or in training and ask yourself if everything you are using is working for you. If you find that something may be slowing you down, make the necessary upgrade.

Strength Training
I know most of the time the last thing endurance athletes want to do is lift weights mainly because it is too time consuming. However, a proper lifting routine throughout your season can be vitally important in dropping your race times and in keeping you injury free. This is an area where I highly recommend seeking guidance from a coach. Strength training can be very complicated and dangerous. A good coach will know exactly what types of lifts you should do for your particular sport as well as proper sets and repetitions to match your periodization plan.

In Conclusion
While most of the work that we do to be ready for race day will come after the New Year, that doesn’t mean that you can make the off season more productive. One of the most important things that you can do is to take an objective look back at your season and make the appropriate changes. By doing this you can turn the things that didn’t quite go your way on race day into very positive changes next season.

Coach Howie’s Tip of the Month
Many of us will soon be entering the base phase of our training for next season. The general train of thought is that the base phase is a time to put in a lot of long slow miles. While I agree with this, I think it is important to remember that high end speed training should not disappear altogether. To keep those speed muscles firing, I suggest putting in very short bouts of high speed at least once a week through out the base phase. For example, in the water, put in some fast 50yd repeats. On the bike, throw in a few 30 second to 1 minute attacks, and on the run try a few 100m strides at 2mile to 5k pace. Happy base training!