subject: The Top 5 Free Triathlon Training Tips That You Should Probably Ignore If You Are Trying To Get Fast [print this page] Triathlon is growing at a rapid rate and free triathlon training tips are every place both on the internet, your triathlon club, masters swim team and group rides. Beware! Not all the advice you hear is true, and not all you hear is going to work for your body type, fitness and training level especially when it comes to being fast. So here are the top 5 free triathlon training pieces of advice you should ignore if you want to go fast.
#5 "don't go hard on the swim" In your first triathlon this is probably a good piece of advice to follow. However if you want to beat your time, be faster and get on the podium then get tight with a strong swimmer or stick with the lead group. You may have to swim your guts out to stay with these athletes but shortly into the bike the swim will be a distant memory and you'll be in a better position over all.
#4: "You need to carry at least one bottle of water for each hour of the bike." Not really. One big problem with this free triathlon training tip is that most races now have aid stations. Technically, all you need is just enough water to get you from aid station to aid station. Anything more will weight you down, unless you have a strategy of "dropping" your competitors at an aid station as they slow for water, in which case you could carry enough water to get you through two aid stations.
#3: "Ease yourself into the run, and don't start too hard." Your run pace is going to be dictated by how you set the pace in the beginning, and while this free triathlon training tip will probably have you finishing without feeling too exhausted, it's not going to make you any faster. Go out of T2 like you've got a pack of wolves chasing you, get your feet moving with a
The recommendation is not to set yourself up to blow up early, but rather to get achieve a mindset early in the run that you are, in fact, racing!
#2 "Practice it in your training before you race." How could you ignore this free triathlon training tip? This piece of advice can actually be a huge mistake made in your training. Especially for long course athletes who feel the need to cover the race distance in there own training. Many athletes arrive on race day over trained having tried to ride 112 miles, run 26 and done a steady 4K open water swim in the closing weeks to the race. Here is a tip : As long as you have covered roughly 75% of each distance leading up to race you'll be OK. Its better to go into a race a bit under trained VS over trained.
#1 "Have a huge breakfast on race day a few hours leading up to the race" This is a method used by many long course athletes. For those doing a sprint or Olympic distance race this tip will do nothing more than shave off a few hours of sleep. Your body has enough carbohydrate stores to last you 1.5-2 hours and if you choose sleep over breakfast you can get away with just a gel at the race start. If you do choose to have break fast there is no need to have a 1500 calorie feast. A few sweet potatoes or energy bar will get the job done.
