TRAINING LONGER
As we come towards the end of the Triathlon season no doubt we’re all looking forward to a break from hard, structured training. Maybe 3 – 4 weeks of walking, gym & strength work, pilates, yoga, climbing, surfing and so on. In fact whatever you fancy to stay active with maybe the occasional ride or run or swim but nothing structured.
In fact this is also a perfect time for a break from the gadgets and data and for getting to know your body again. What pace feels easy, what feels hard and what is in between.
Then come November/December we’ll all probably be getting back to our regular training programmes with the weekly swims, rides, runs and of course strength sessions. And this is the ideal opportunity to reset and start from the ground up for some consistent base training to build your aerobic capacity and strength through your muscles, ligaments, tendons and bones before you increase the load.
Whichever aerobic discipline we’re talking about, and indeed whatever the distance, here are a few simple guidelines to improve your stamina and endurance while reducing fatigue and risk of injury.
1. FOUNDATIONS
Build gradually and allow things to settle. Start with short and easy, relative to your history and experience. That might mean walk/run but the key thing is sticking to your plans and building slowly with regular consistent training. It’s better to go slower and not get injured as injury simply knocks bricks out of your training wall……It’s not about what you could do 10 years ago, or pre injury, it’s about where you are now.
2. RECOVERY
And there it is again - more is not always better. In fact we will all hit a point of diminishing returns, if we haven’t been injured in the meantime that is. Recovery allows the body to do just that…recover…..muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, immune system, metabolic system and more. Rest and good nutrition are key for recovery.
3. CONSOLIDATION
We can’t increase our volume on every session. You may choose something like: build, build, consolidate (so session 3 is a repeat of session 2). And so on…. And don’t forget a recovery week with reduced loading and intensity during your programme – maybe every 3rd or 4th week depending on your conditioning. Consistency is far more productive than on again, off again training…..
4. INTENSITY DISCIPLINE
The biggest mistakes are usually training too hard eg. running too quickly. This seems to be even more likely among novice athletes and athletes who’ve had time out. We think about what we used to be able to do, maybe months or years ago, and try to jump back in at the same level. New athletes simply haven’t yet got the experience to recognise the difference between training intensity levels. Easy should feel easy – in fact it should feel like you’ve hardly done anything and could go out again and repeat the session. And walk/run is a great way to start with your running.
Then there are the athletes who believe every session should be hard - but your growth in capillaries and mitochondria, allowing more oxygen and energy to get to your working muscles, will happen while recovering and training at an easy level. You will build your capacity from the ground up so being able to train long at a low heart rate is key – it means all your ‘zones’ will move up as, over time, the aerobic base gives you more speed for the same heart rate. Ultimately it means more speed at threshold pace and so on…. The winter season is the ideal time to work on this.
5. STRENGTH
I know we’re already managing 3 different sports while juggling work and family life, but passing on strength training is a false economy. The stronger your body the less likely you are to get injured and also, crucially, to slow down at the end of a long race. It’s never the engine that gives in first, it’s the chassis.
WHAT MIGHT ALL THIS LOOK LIKE?
Build your overall total volume and individual session volume over time - either by increasing the distance or the time on task. As you increase your total volume and long sessions you will increase stamina
Make your long session about 25-30% of overall mileage
If building your running then there is an accepted point at which your returns diminish – this is a long run of around 2h30. Ok if you’re doing a marathon run then you will want to probably hit one really long run to get your head and body around the 26miles, but in training in general then 2h30 is a golden target.
Finish your biggest training sessions about 3-4 weeks pre race ( depending on your race distance, eg. probably only 7 – 10 days pre sprint events)
Don’t attempt a long session every week – maybe monthly to start with then every 2-3 weeks in the final few months pre event
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