The thrill of the season's final triathlon is over. Or perhaps you completed your first tri and got hooked on the sport. It's time to take a rest and assess your strengths and weaknesses. Once you've done that, you can fine-tune your swimming, biking and running techniques. At the same time, you'll want to build strength, speed and aerobic capacity. Fall and winter workouts will help you perform better during the next triathlon season, even though you're not racking up as many miles as you did during your full-on race training sessions.
Step 1
Take a break after your last race of the season. You need to let both your mind and your body rest. You can stay active. Play a new sport or try a new type of workout. You don't have to quit swimming, running or biking altogether, but do these casually.
Step 2
Focus on your technique. When you start training specifically for your event again, keep your workouts moderate and concentrate on improving your form. This is the best time of the year to do so, according to USA Triathlon-certified coach Luis Vargas.
Step 3
Take a film of your swim stroke. Have your bike fit and work on pedaling circles. Do interval training runs to improve your speed. For example, on a track run four 200 m sprints with 400 m of recovery in between. Go at 60 percent of your max, then 80 percent, then 100 percent, and then 110 percent, or "vomit speed." Then do six 100 m sprints with 200 m of recovery in between. To finish, repeat the first set of alternating 200 m and 400 m runs.
Step 4
Do intervals on your bike that have a ratio of 1 to 1, such as 5 minutes at full speed followed by 5 minutes at moderate speed. You can crank some heavy metal music and do this inside with your bike on a trainer or on a stationary bike or outside if the winter weather supports cycling where you live. Such drills will improve your VO2 max, which is your maximum aerobic capacity.
Step 5
Shore up your weaknesses. If swimming bogs you down in the race, for example, concentrate on technique improvements rather than swimming for time or distance. Michael Ross, sports chiropractor and USAT-certified coach, says triathletes need to strive for efficiency in the water, 99.9 percent of which comes from technique. Vargas adds that doing long swims will actually cement bad technique into your muscle memory, making it harder to fix.
Step 6
Join a master swim class, offered at most local YMCAs. The certified swim coaches can create a swim practice regimen for you. Or work on swim drills like "catch up" for 30 minutes two times a week. In this drill you keep the left hand out in front of you as you rotate your torso and body and take a stroke with the right. When you complete that strok, you bring the right hand out front and repeat on that side. Doing this drill, in which you always keep one hand out in front of you as you swim, makes regular swimming seem like a breeze, Ross says.
Step 7
Concentrate on strength training. This helps strengthen muscles generally not used during a triathlon. Strength training will help you prevent injuries and improve your power. Ross recommends two to three 45-minute sessions a week. Concentrate on exercises that strengthen multiple muscles such as deadlifts and power cleans rather than those that work only one muscle like a bicep curl. Do five to six sets with of four repetitions each. When you go over six reps, Ross advises, you begin to move out of strength training and into muscular endurance training.
Step 8
Make a plan for the upcoming racing season. Many races fill up quickly, meaning you need to sign up right away when they are announced. Choose a few shorter races early in the season. End with a longer race. Leave enough time between races of different distances to do the proper training. Vargas recommends you work backward from big-goal races, setting up shorter races to use as stepping-stones on the way.
Tips and Warnings
- Refine your eating habits during the "off season." Improving your nutrition plan can make it easier to gain endurance and strength.
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