Challenge Vichy - Sunday 21st August 2011
Geography
The inaugural Challenge Vichy is situated in the thermal spa town of Vichy, on the banks of Lac d'Alier. It's well located in terms of getting flights from the UK to either Lyon (2.5h drive) or Clermont Ferrand (30 min drive), train or comfortable 6 hour dr...Read on..>
Sun, warm weather, sand and sea are very good reasons to prioritise Abu Dhabi as an early season 'destination' race. By destination, I mean an excuse to combine a race with a holiday/ late Winter getaway to warmer climes. Top priorities in order to race Abu Dhabi in good shape and complete a 3k swim, 200k bike, 20k run are: enduring endless indoor turbo training hours, freezing 150km+ rides from Hampton to Henley and consistent Winter training. Abu Dhabi International triathlon has firmly established itself in only its second year as an iconic race to do, much like the Alpe D'Huez triathlon. Both these races require specific preparation!
My preparation for Alpe D'Huez in the past has been straightforward, very specific and structured. In contrast my preparation for Abu Dhabi was exactly the opposite this year, as a late replacement for my ill hubby. I was fairly pleased that I had at least been getting out to ride and run at the weekends, but most weeks I averaged the grand...Read on..>
With 2010 finished and a brand new year ahead, it's time to start finalising races, events, training camps and consider how you could utilise additional effort/time to bring about significant changes in your weaker element/s of triathlon performance. Take a look at your early season event schedule and make sure it's not too biased in terms of your stronger discipline, it's important to expose yourself to racing simulated efforts on your less favoured sport, whether it be swimming, cycling or running in order to improve all round as a multisport athlete. There are many types of events you can use throughout the year, starting in the Winter months to hone your triathlon racing skills in your less favoured discipline, such as:
Winter:
Running events - 5k, 10k and half marathon are the most effective distances to race as training events as part of your Winter preparation and build up to the triathlon season. They cou...Read on..>
Snow, ice, plunging temperatures and the UK grinding to a halt doesn't mean that your training has to follow suit. Draw inspiration from triathletes across the pond in Canada and North America who manage their training for many months in extremely cold conditions, and bring variation to your Winter training
Inclement weather brings new training opportunities and builds physical and mental toughness. Some of the sessions or training events you'll do in the next few months will be the ones that you'll remember clearly and draw upon for strength next season, to get you through tough patches in any race. My top picks for sub-zero training:
- Try substituting a dry-land swim session if the local pool is closed. All you need are some stretch cords or elastic tubing you may have lying around after some physio treatment. Added benefits are specifically working on your catch and pull through, or experimenti...Read on..>
I've been using functional strength training as a triathlete for a number of years, from early days working with sports therapist and personal trainer Bruce Butler who specialises in movement and performance enhancement. My progam has developed over the years as a result of seeing the benefits in terms of injury prevention and having better muscular balance and joint stability. Where functional strength training differs from regular machine or gym based strength training for triathletes, is that the various exercises utilise similar movement patterns that are used in swimming, cycling and running.
I recommend functional strength training to any triathlete stepping up from standard distance Ironman distance triathlon, or particularly to triathletes who have had a history of injuries which may have hampered their ability to perform. Here are some tips if you are thinking about getting started over the winter, and incorporating 2-3 sessions per week i...Read on..>
At this time of year as a coach I'm busy planning, periodising and poring over people's race plans to put together a 'master' plan for the season ahead. Increasingly I've noticed some confusion in the conversations that go along with this process, over two key elements - motivation and goals.
I've heard and read many instances where athletes and coaches use principles from their working lives for goal setting and then try to use this to define their motivation in their life as a triathlete. When people generalise that motivation being 'goal' or 'process' orientated, they are utilising an extrinsic model best suited to setting goals in a corporate world where essentially the objective is making money and keeping employees focused on that task to pay their wages! As an athlete, motivation needs to be sourced from intrinsic factors, for longevity and autonomy. This is essentially realising and d...Read on..>
Enjoy this aptly amusing guide to cycling style etiquette written by fellow coach and Pro cyclist Josh Horowitz. A highly entertaining guide as well as highlighting reasons why many cyclists are not overly enamoured with triathletes joining their group rides.... Enjoy, and if you're short on time cut straight to the paragraph about the Friday ride hero and Group riding ettiquette :)
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You Look Mah-velous: Cycling Style Etiquette
You could fill a library with all the rules in the unwritten book of cycling etiquette. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that bike racers don’t hit their prime until their mid 30’s. It takes that long to learn all the rules before you can really concentrate on riding strong! With the summer months and group rides aplenty, it’s time to take a scientifically-proven but tongue-in-cheek look at looking good on the bike… Billy Crystal and his alter ego Fernan...Read on..>
