Monday 25 March 2013

This Week's Triathlon Training (March 25th)


After a week of ridiculously wet and cold weather I'm glad to say I got nearly all of my sessions done, the only one that got away was Saturday's brick session which had to cut short due to risk of frost bite! I'm also lucky enough to be off work for two weeks now so I'm ramping up my training, just a little. This week the focus is on building speed and staying not injured at the same time as I have a race on April 06th. That's why there is a big emphasis on Stretching. This is my last week of intense training before I taper off next week for the race. Any thoughts or comments welcome!
Monday: 
Run: 5k medium pace, 5k race pace.
Stretching and foam rolling: 40 minutes.
Swimming with Activ Multisport in the N.A.C. Swim Sets 2500 m+

Tuesday: 
Cycle: WU 2k easy, MS 20k fast pace. WD 2k easy.
Stretching: 20 minutes.
Swim: 30 minutes of drills, working on rotation, kicking and recovery.

Wednesday: 
Run: 5k easy.
Stretching: 15 minutes.
Swim:1000m easy.

Thursday: 
Brick: Bike, WU 7k easy, MS 5 x 2k intervals with 3 minutes rest, 7k easy. Run 2k medium pace, 5x 200m intervals with 1 minute rest, WD 2k easy. 
Stretching and foam rolling. 40 minutes.

Friday: 
Swimming: WU 400m easy focusing on technique. MS, 8 x 200m fast pace with 90 seconds rest. WD, 200m easy.


Sat: 
Brick: Bike, WU 2k easy, MS 3 x 7k fast with 3 minutes active recovery, Run 6k easy. 
Stretching and foam rolling: 40 minutes.

Sun: 
Run: Tri Club session, approx 1 hour of speed work sets.
Swim: 1000m recovery swim.
Stretching and foam rolling: 40 minutes.

Thursday 21 March 2013

Increasing your V02 Max

Your VO2 max (Volume, Oxygen, Maximum) is probably the best indicator of your aerobic fitness and increasing it will almost certainly make you a better athlete. So what is it? In short, it is the exercise intensity at which your body reaches it's maximum volume of oxygen consumption. Usually if you run 1500m to 3000m at race pace (the fastest pace you can sustain for the distance) or the equivalent in cycling or swimming you will be operating at your VO2 max. The greater your VO2 max level, the more oxygen you can get to your muscles, and the faster or longer you can swim, cycle or run. That's my understanding of it anyway.

So, how can we increase it? Consistent steady aerobic training is an effective way to increase your Vo2 max. However, once you have built a strong aerobic base, running long intervals (3- 5 minutes with 2-3 minutes rest) at a pace that forces your body to perform at it's VO2 max can be introduced. These intervals force your body to adapt and improve as a response to the stress of the training. That's the idea anyway.

Here are some workouts that I will be trying in my training. All sessions should take less than or about an hour to complete depending on your ability.


Running: WU, 2000m easy. MS, 6 x 1000m race pace interval with two minutes rest. WD, 1000m easy.

Swimming: WU 400m easy focusing on technique. MS, 8 x 200m fast pace with 90 seconds rest. WD, 100m easy.

Cycling: WU, 7k easy graduating to moderate pace. MS 6 x 2k fast pace with 2 minutes rest. WD 7k moderate graduating to easy pace.

Tuesday 19 March 2013

Triathlon Training for This Week (March 18th)



Swim training and brick sessions are priority this week. I have a race coming up on April 06th so I want to put an extra bike and run session together to get the legs more used to running off the bike. I'm keeping the mileage low enough and separating the sessions by a couple of days to reduce the risk of getting injured. Sunday session is optional, based on how the body is after Saturday. Here is what the plan looks like. Any ideas or tips appreciated.

Monday: Swimming with Activ Multisport in the N.A.C. Swim Sets 2500 m+

Tuesday: Swim 2100m. WU, 300m easy, focus on nice easy strokes maintaining good technique and breathing. Main Set, 250m pull buoy, 200m kick, 150m pull buoy, 100m kick, 50 m pullbuoy, Repeat Twice. WD, Repeat WU.

Wednesday: Brick Session: WU, 5 minutes spinning easy gear. Main Set, Cycle 30k, Race Pace. Straight into 6 k run, relaxed to medium pace. 30 mins stretching and foam rolling.


Thursday: Swim 1500m Recovery pace.


Friday: Swim 2000 m. WU, 200 m easy. Main Set, 16 x 100 m fast with 30 seconds rest. WD, 200 m easy.


Sat: Repeat Wednesdays Training


Sun: Run 1 hour +. All on hilly trails. WU, 2 k easy. Main Set, 6 x 1000 m fast with 2 mins rest. WD 2 k comfortable. 20 mins stretching.

Thursday 14 March 2013

Ouch, but worth it.

Today is my rest day, After a lot of training some of my muscles are getting tight. This is despite lots of stretching and foam rolling. For me that means it's time to go to my Physical Therapist. No not Physiotherapist. There's a few differences between the Two, but the main one is Physical Therapy really focuses on hands on treatment of the soft tissues - muscles, tendons ligaments and fascia. When I go, I know it's going to be sore, fist clenching stuff, but tissue is sore when it gets rubbed out, especially the IT band, that's just the way it is. It's really just about the result though, afterwards my muscles feel great. I had my legs and back rubbed out because these get a lot of use in triathlon. So, why did I go if I wasn't injured? Simple, I don't want to get injured. Prevention is better than cure in my book and keeping my muscles in good condition helps with that. So yes, it was sore, but if I can stay injury free it'll definitely be worth it.

Sunday 10 March 2013

Triathlon Training for this Week (March 11th)




Great week of training last week to get me back on track. The weather didn't help but I'm glad I did it. I'm just after my Sunday run now and feel great. We did 2 mile warm up and then 6 x 3/4 mile efforts with 2 minute rest, then a 1 mile warm down. The muck on the trails is slippery as hell which makes running slow but its good for strengthening the legs. This is what my training looks like for the coming week. Hopefully the weather holds up so I can get an enjoyable week in.
Monday: Swimming with Activ Multisport in the N.A.C. Swim Sets 2500 m+

Tuesday: 5 k Run, Medium pace. 20 mins Stretching and foam Rolling.

Wednesday: Brick Session: Cycle 40 k, Dublin City Tri Course, Medium pace. Straight into 5 k run, relaxed pace. 20 mins stretching and foam rolling.


Thursday: Rest Day


Friday: Swim 2000 m. WU, 200 m easy. Main Set, 16 x 100 m fast with 30 seconds rest. WD, 200 m easy.


Sat: Bike 2.5 hours, 40 k easy pace. Speed Work, 8 x 1 k sprint efforts with 4 minutes rest. WD, 10 mins spinning easy gear. 20 mins stretching and foam rolling.


Sun: Run 1 hour +. All on hilly trails. WU, 2 k easy. Main Set, 6 x 1000 m fast with 2 mins rest. WD 2 k comfortable. 15 mins stretching.

Wednesday 6 March 2013

Love Rain


Great day for training, I was soaked through after just 30 k on the bike. You just cant beat the cold, wind and rain for enjoyable training! Really? No, it's actually a pain in the arse.... Thats all!

Monday 4 March 2013

Triathlon Training for this week, March 04th



After a Weekend that can only be described as a write off, I have to pick myself back up and get some good training in. It's not easy sticking to training over Weekend's when there's a lot going on. I think however, that if your going to miss training for a party or whatever other reason, you might as well enjoy it. Party properly. That way, you'll be more motivated on Monday knowing you blew off some steam. Like I am now. Right, back to work. Here's an easy week's training to recharge the body.
Monday: Swimming with Activ Multisport in the N.A.C. Swim Sets 2500 m+

Tuesday: Strength and stretching work, 45 mins.

Wednesday: Brick Session: Race simulation, Cycle 40 k in the phoenix Park race pace straight into 10 k run. 20 mins stretching.


Thursday: Rest Day


Friday: Swim 2000 m easy. Focus on swimming slow with good technique.


Sat: Bike 3 hours. Cycle to Blessington. Relaxed pace.


Sun: Run 1 hour +, Sunday Morning Run session with Activ Multisport, focusing on speed work. 20 mins stretching and foam rolling.