Efficient Triathalon Training

Of all the athletic endeavors that demand endurance training, perhaps none requires more care and balancing than the longer triathlon, specifically the Ironman.

But does serious triathlon training necessarily take the huge weekly mileage totals traditionally racked up by elite marathon and ultra marathon runners?  Apparently not.  According to a very interesting report a few years ago by marathon runner Martin Dugard in an issue of Runners’ World, successful,  elite triathletes do not necessarily train heavily, but they do train efficiently.

Most of us will not be aiming our sights at an Ironman length triathlon, of course, but the training to these top triathletes can be profitably adapted to serve the needs of any competitive or fitness athlete.  Here are some thoughts to consider in designing and following through on your own training program where it fits:

• Plan:  Mark Allen has won the Hawaiian Ironman five times in a row with an Ironman marathon PR of 2:40:04.  Allen’s performance rests on a 10 month  plan that leads right up to the Ironman finish line. that kind of achievement can occur only when training time and energy are used “wisely” and according to a planned, long-term schedule.
• Running Alone:  Allen says that he generally restricts his group training sessions only to his hard training days when he might be pushed to overextend, and then he trains alone on his recovery days. Allen is very careful to protect his full recovery cycle so that he goes into each hard session fully prepared to make the most of it.
• Long slow distance: Allen tries to put in one slow, steady endurance run of three hours each week.  He takes these runs not so much to build endurance, speed or strength but to prepare his mind to deal with the psychological stresses such distances impose on him.
• Quality Over Quantity:  All of the triathletes interviewed emphasized the value of focusing their energies on intense, quality workouts for which they were adequately rested instead of the long, obligatory mileage that drains energy and risks injury.  Paula Newby-Fraser noted, for example, that earlier in her triathlon career, her training mileage had increased, but it ultimately failed to produce quality results because, she said, “I was tired all the time.” For Newby-Fraser and several of the other triathletes, workouts that involve relatively short bursts with various recovery intervals as opposed to consecutive long runs were favored.
• Quicken & Shorten: Mike Pigg, top U.S. short-Course triathlete, says he worked to shorten and quicken his running stride in the same way top cyclists learn to spin pedals at a relatively high spin rate for best efficiency and for high power acceleration.
• Transitions: Pigg has also developed a transitional training technique that involves alternating 10 minutes of hard pedaling on a wind-trainer, a fast mile on the track and a one lap recovery run.  He repeats the sequence five times in a workout, efficiently packing in a lot of quality in a short, punchy session.

Such training techniques are surely not for everyone, but if you are moved to improve and the methods suit your mood and temperament, there may be no good reason not to go for it.

–Bernard (Bun) Gladieux, Jr.