Olympic Distance Triathlon Training Tips (2-3 hour finish time)

Category: Olympic Training Documents

Weeks 1-4

SWIM

  1. Wiggle your fingers in the recovery phase to “teach” yourself to relax the muscles during this phase of the stroke.
  2. Practice alternating laps of the pool, breathing to one side – left for a length, right for a length. This will enhance your rhythmic breathing.
  3. Keep your chin tight. Practice swimming with a tennis ball between your chin and sternum. This will keep your eyes focused downward – ultimately elevating the hips.

BIKE

  1. Practice dropping your heel (just slightly) at 3 o’clock during your pedal stroke. This will engage the glutes, hamstrings, and vastus medialis (a muscle on the inside of the knee).
  2. Wait until 5 o’clock during your pedal stroke to bring in the power of your big toe.
  3. Cornering – stay low, do not sit up, break lightly on the front break – not the back. This will prevent fishtailing.
  4. Increase your “sustained strength” by lengthening the out of saddle time on the flats. Shoot for 3 minutes continuous. How long can you do this drill?

INJURY PREVENTION/STRENGTH & STRETCHING

  1. Practice streamlining – biceps squeezing your ears and arms extended on all push offs during the swim.
  2. Stretch your low back and mid back before stretching other body parts. Lie on your back, legs extended. Cross one leg over your body. Keep arms extended to the side. 2nd stretch – Bend at the knee and allow legs to flop side to side.
  3. If your neck is sore, make sure your sunglasses allow you to look forward (on the bike) without hyper-extending your neck. Buy bigger glasses – seriously!
  4. Put a stretch band around your ankles and walk around for 2-5 minutes as if you have wet pants. This strengthens your glutes and surrounding muscles of the hips.

NUTRITION

  1. Do not eat after 7:30 pm and do not skip breakfast.
  2. Eat 25%-30% of your total daily calories in your mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks.
  3. Yes, you can indulge in moderation. All desserts should be able to fit in the palm of your hand.

NUTRITION BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER EXERCISE

  1. Eat or drink a minimum of 80-120 calories before you’re a.m. exercise session. These calories “top” off your blood sugar and lower glycogen, which are low after a nights sleep
  2. For moderate intensity, exercise above one hour, an athlete will burn between 400-800 calories per hour. During exercise, try to replace approximately 25-33% of the total calories burned.

RUN

  1. Focus on lifting your foot on contact. Do not emphasize a thrust with your big toe.
  2. Relax your lower back by softening the arch of it. Keep your hips forward.

RACING TIPS

  • Nutrition before, during and after exercise
  1. Fueling before exercise limits muscle breakdown and spares muscle glycogen, enhances your immune system. Consider taking an FRD with carbs and protein.
  2. Mark your water bottle with a permanent marker at 3-4 ounce increments. This will remind you to drink “to the line” every 8-12 minutes during your exercise session.
  • Transitions
  1. Consider putting some lubrication on the inside of your shorts – right where the contact points are during your ride. Do this before the start!
  2. Start your run with short strides and use your arms to bring up the leg speed.
  • Run
  1. Tighten trapezious muscles that run from your shoulders to your upper neck. Run like a “waiter or waitress”. Open your hands as if you are carrying a small cocktail tray. This drill teaches “soft” shoulders.

Weeks 5-8

SWIM

  1. Keep your chin tight. Practice swimming with a tennis ball between your chin and sternum. This will keep your eyes focused downward – ultimately elevating the hips.
  2. Use the tennis ball during training. Grab them lightly during freestyle. This teaches you to feel your forearm during the pull. Your nerve endings in the palms of your hands will be stimulated after releasing the balls.
  3. Lift your heels up to the surface rather than emphasizing a deep downward kicking motion.

BIKE

  1. Practice with your aero bars on your bike for at least 6 weeks prior to competition.
  2. Move your butt slightly forward and back during your training and competition to alleviate the “hot spots” and to change the muscle recruitment.
  3. When cornering, always look ahead then turn – don’t watch the pavement. EYES UP!!
  4. Do not just dawdle on your longer rides. Include 2-3 reps of 30-50 minutes at race pace or above.

INJURY PREVENTION/STRENGTH & STRETCHING

  1. Tight calves quite often conceal knee problems. Use weight bearing (i.e. wall stretch) and non-weight bearing. Sit down with a bent knee and grab the ball of your foot.
  2. Maintain your injury prevention routine year round for your glutes, hips, back and rotator muscles.
  3. Hold multi-joint stretches for 90 seconds – 2 minutes.

NUTRITION

  1. Kashi and Amaranth are two cereals that have 8-13 grams of protein per serving. Look for cereals that have these protein levels.
  2. Eat a mixed nut combination (1-3 small hand fulls per day of almonds, walnuts, peanuts, dried cranberries or cherries, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and flax seeds).
  3. Limit foods that have high fructose corn syrup.
  4. Do not wait – get in your carbs and proteins within 15 minutes after exercise. Use a fluid replacement drink.
  5. If you GI distress when you exercise, consider eliminating wheat, soy or milk for 3 days prior to your exercise session. These are the top 3 foods that may cause stomach issues.
  6. Do not eat any foods that have hydrogenated fats, practically hydrogenated soy, palm, corn, coconut oil, or palm oil.
  7. If you are prone to upper respiratory tract infections, colds and or your muscles fatigue quickly, boost via supplement of glutamine (5-15 grams per day). This is the most abundant amino acid in your body found in your lungs and skeletal muscles.
  8. Take 50 mg of Alpha-lipoic Acid daily. It’s the super scavenger of antioxcidants – crosses the water and fat-soluble membranes.

NUTRITION BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER EXERCISE

  1. Mark your water bottle with a permanent marker at 3-4 ounce increments. This will remind you to drink “to the line” every 8-12 minutes during your exercise session.
  2. The window of opportunity post exercise is 15-45 minutes. Your body wants and needs the simple sugars and protein from a Fluid Replacement Drink, or a concentrated recovery drink. Fuel up during this time and over the next 2-3 hours post exercise.
  3. A chicken, tofu, black bean, rice, tomato, avocado burrito is perfect for 2-4 hours after exercise to replace protein and carbohydrates burned.

RUN

  1. Practice squeezing your shoulder blades together then relaxing. Hold this relaxed upper body.
  2. Knees are always forward while running. Draw an imaginary line from your chin to your kneecaps. They should intersect.

RACING TIPS

  • Swim
  1. Racing – accelerate around any buoys to drop your competition.
  2. Dorsi-flex your ankle several times over the final 50 yards of your race. This will stretch out your calf muscles to prevent cramping.
  • Bike
  1. Stand up within 10-15 minutes of beginning all rides (during competition also) to stretch out your hips, lower back, and most importantly to change the muscle recruitment.
  • Nutrition before, during and after exercise
  1. Having a fueling plan during exercise will allow you to maintain the highest energy output for the longest period of time.
  2. Put a couple of drops of H2O in your gel flask to lightly dilute the gel. (It will squeeze out easier).
  3. Drink 4-12 ounces of fluid replacement drink (FRD), 10 minutes before your race. The calories and electrolytes will be utilized when the gun goes off.
  • Transitions
  1. Over the last 6 miles of the bike increase, slightly, the intake of your Fluid Replacement Drink. Your sweat rate goes up during the bike-run transition. You will need the extra fluid and electrolytes to begin the run.
  2. Do not drink anything in Transition -1 or Transition –2. Wait until you are 10-20 minutes into the bike segment and 4-8 minutes into the run before intake of a Fuel Replacement Drink, allowing your breathing rate, muscles and sweat rate to readjust to the discipline.
  3. Do not wear socks on the bike or run during competition. Every second counts in the transition!
  • Run
  1. Periodically drop your arms and shake them out – relaxing your upper arms, shoulders and trapezious muscles.
  2. Start from the top of your head by relaxing your forehead, neck, ears, shoulders, upper and mid back, lower abs, and hips – constantly reminding yourself to be loose and supple.