Training - Page 4

The Top 3 Triathlon Metrics Most Triathletes Ignore But Shouldn’t – Part I

Swimming, biking, and running without the use of metrics may produce some improvements for the triathlete in training, but only to a moderate extent. If there’s one thing that’s been proven in the sport of triathlon, it’s that aimless training is substantially inefficient. Ultimately, numbers do have meaning. Their trends and patterns offer invaluable insight. The more triathletes can correctly interpret and utilize data, the more likely they are to reach their full potential. However, the sport produces so much data! How do you know which metrics are the most important? It’s probably easier to answer this question by looking at three key metrics triathletes shouldn’t ignore: Functional Threshold, Bike-to-Run Factor (B2R) and Race Execution Percentage (or RaceX %). These…

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TriDot Check-In with Coach Natasha Van Der Merwe

NATASHA VAN DER MERWE is a professional triathlete, TriDot coach, and member of the Tri4Him Elite Team. In her first full year as a pro triathlete, she qualified for 70.3 Worlds. Natasha has coached more than 200 athletes covering all aspects of the sport from functional strength training to technique on the swim, bike, and run. Her athletes have qualified for 70.3 Worlds in their first year of triathlon, qualified for USAT Nationals, finished Ironmans much faster than they expected, and PR'd at all race distances. Her full Ironman PR is 9:29. Her half Ironman PR is 4:27. What is your background in sports and triathlon? I was born and raised in South Africa, where I grew up playing tennis.…

Training / TriDot Check-In

Jared Milam

Practices Don’t Make Perfect, Optimized Practices Do

You can swim laps all day, but if you’re using improper form, pushing too hard, or not hard enough, results will be few and far between. You can hammer every day on the bike, but if your training intensities are a random mixed bag or if your volume is haphazardly too much or too little, the set-up for failure you’ve just concocted is on point. And, of course, you can run consistently every day of the week, but if you’re stuck in the same old pace or over/under training in volume, your ultimate goals will remain just out of reach. Generic, hit-or-miss practices won’t make you an accomplished triathlete, but optimized practices will. Therefore, we need to understand what makes…

Training / Triathlon

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Why Triathlon Training Should be Fast Before Far and Strong Before Long – Part 2

In this morning’s blog, we discussed two key reasons why “fast before far and strong before long” is a wiser, more productive training strategy: It emphasizes stamina over endurance and recovery over merely logging miles. Here are two more crucial benefits: 1. Fast Before Far and Strong Before Long emphasizes proper form Perhaps the greatest casualty in the “first far then fast” mentality is it often produces poor athletic form. As the body overstresses and is exhausted by the overreached distance, it starts to break down and lose form. The result is poor body mechanics, as the body isn’t as fresh, alert, and responsive as it should be. TriDot Founder and four-time IRONMAN Jeff Booher cautions athletes to avoid “having…

Training / Triathlon

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Why Triathlon Training Should be Fast Before Far and Strong Before Long – Part 1

Traditional training principles and workouts in distance events often preach the theory that one must first conquer the desired distance and then work toward increasing speed and strength. This may at first sound good and seem to make sense. But it can be short-sighted, self-defeating, and possibly even injury-inducing. It can also result in meaningless and even harmful “junk miles” and increased training time. The better strategy is “fast before far and strong before long.” It’s one of TriDot’s fundamental beliefs which focuses first on developing strength and speed, and then emphasizes distance. Here are two of four primary reasons this belief makes good sense and produces better results: 1. Fast Before Far and Strong Before Long emphasizes stamina, not…

Training / Triathlon

TriDot

5 Tips for Your Best Triathlon Start

We’ve heard it before – how you finish is more important than how you start. And triathlons often reflect this importance with crowds, cameras, and screams of encouragement. Truth be told, the not-so-spectacular start of a triathlon has just as much importance to the overall performance and psychological well-being of your race than you might imagine – and can impact how well you finish. Going out too fast or too slow, failing to familiarize yourself with the course, and not having a sure and steady race plan are all miscues that can cost you valuable time as well as create added physical and mental strain during your race. These five tips will give you an added edge at the triathlon…

Race / Start / Training

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3 Reasons to Train with Purpose

Roger Bannister, the first man to break the four-minute-mile barrier, talked about the purpose for which he ran in his autobiography, “Four Minute Mile.” He wrote that it “should become a striving to achieve more and more, not for purely selfish motives, but because of the recognition of some higher purpose.” Bannister found the purpose for why he ran, and he changed his life and the world around him. You can do the same in triathlon training. If you can find your purpose for competing in triathlons and train with that purpose in mind, you’ll not only be able to determine a motivation and method for your athletic pursuits, you’ll develop the strength and mental fortitude to accomplish them. There…

Inspiration / Training

TriDot

TriDot Check-In with Athlete Rodney Friend

RODNEY FRIEND is an IRONMAN and the founder and president of Merchant Management Group, a full service credit card processing company in Panama City, Florida. A city commissioner who is active on several boards as well as his local church, he is also a founding member of Team Reach, a triathlon group who raise funds and awareness for three non-profit organizations. Married to Jeanette, his wife of 27 years, they have a daughter, Katelyn, who is a senior in high school. How did you get started in triathlon? I didn’t have a big athletic background but I did a lot of athletic things growing up, like a lot of other boys. Basketball was my primary sport. I also competed…

Training / TriDot Check-In

Jared Milam

Why a Proper Triathlon Bike Fit Improves Efficiency

I’ll never forget the sight I saw at my first IRONMAN 70.3 as I rode along the coast of Lake Michigan (yes, I’m talking about Steelhead). However, the spectacle before me had nothing to do with the race venue. It was the proficiency of my competition that had me baffled. As a novice triathlete at the time, I’ll fully admit I knew next to nothing about the intricacies of cycling. Especially on a time trial bike. But even then I had a hunch something was wrong as I whipped by athlete after athlete upright and un-aerodynamically atop my cheap aluminum frame road bike. What were my fellow age group athletes riding? Full carbon fiber time trial machines ranging in brand…

Bike / Training

TriDot

3 Reasons to Consider a Triathlon Coach

Triathletes are typically a solitary lot. Self-driven. Self-trained. Self-reliant. They often like to do things alone. The notion of seeking a coach to add value to their triathlon training can take many out of their comfort zones. But triathlon is a rigorous, multi-dimensional, multi-disciplined sport, which requires more than the average demands on an athlete. When you add the uniqueness of each athlete, from body composition, to athletic background, to triathlon experience, the best data and an experienced coach who can assist in the physical and mental demands of the sport will give you the best advantage you can ask for. A coach delivers three key values to your athletic achievement and enjoyment: 1. Securing a triathlon coach reduces…

Coaching / Training

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