Base Training

After two weeks without a post, finally there is time to sit down and write a few notes. Christmas was over so quickly it is difficult to believe it was almost a full two week holiday this year. We had a great time, ate and drank too much, similar to most Christmas breaks. Training was sporadic in the run up to Xmas with work being very busy, plenty of entertaining and just lacking in time to get out. Finally when it came, the break enabled a full set of Bike and Run sessions, this means that swimming will be the focus over the next few weeks in an attempt to get back to where I was before the break.

There is often a trade off in Triathlon training when it comes to picking a discipline to focus on; I shall focus on the Bike and Swim this year whilst trying not to neglect running too much. The thinking behind this is three fold:

1) The swim is my weakest discipline with the greatest room for improvement in the short term.

2) With L’Etape, I need to work on my bike skills which will also help my triathlon.

3) In terms of age group ranking, the run is my best discipline with smaller gains possible as I improve, in fact even if I lose run time at the expense of bike time there will probably be a net improvement in finishing time as the bike leg of a triathlon takes up roughly half the event time.

So if there is a decision required then I shall go for the Bike or Swim as opposed to the Run. I have a ½ marathon scheduled in March which will indicate whether there has been a critical drop off in run performance which will hopefully allow time to recover the situation before my first “A” race three months later.

The weather over Christmas has been very cold and generally sunny, long rides and runs in the early morning have been refreshing with the sun rising over the fields on the horizon and the freshness in the air makes the sessions so much more enjoyable. This time of year is the time to focus on Base Training: this means focussing on aerobic fitness and endurance as opposed to speed; speed training comes later in the year in the build up to the racing season. Base training generally takes place at the lower intensity Zones 1 and 2. LSD or Long Slow Distance is the order of the day during base training with long runs and long rides taking up most of the training.

Once “A” races have been identified then the annual training plan can be structured with a goal to peak for each event. Typically most well organised “Age Groupers” aim to peak up to three times a year with a good four week gap between each peak. The triathlon season typically starts in May in the UK which means winter and early spring are set aside for Base Training, nine weeks of “Specific Conditioning” or more speed focussed or intensive sessions will start in Mid February before moving to peak sessions for the four weeks up my first “A” race.

Training Done: -
Last Week (New Year week):- Bike: Muscular Endurance (ME) Intervals; Bike: 60Km group ride (so cold my water bottle froze); Tempo Run (Z3): Bike: 70' Z2 on the Turbo.
Week Before (Xmas Week):- Bike: 20' Z3; Run: ME intervals; Bike: 30Km Z2; Run: 45' Z2.