What You Mustn´t Forget When Shifting To Long Course Triathlon
4 April 2015
What You Mustn´t Forget When Shifting To Long Course Triathlon
Distances, timing and hours per week

Let´s begin with essentials. The following information is about different triathlon distances:

- Olympic Distance 1500 m + 40 km + 10 km
- Long Course (Half-Ironman) 1900 m + 90 km + 21 km
- Ultra Distance (Ironman) 3800 m + 180 km + 42 km

As you see the difference between the swimming stage of Olympic distance and that one of Long Course is less than 30% which is minor difference. However cycling and running stages nearly double. Ultra Distance Triathlon by definition twice longer than the Long Course and that is quite serious.

How much time do you need to cover Half Ironman and Ironman distances?

Regardless the weather conditions and topographic features, let´s say men usually complete the Long Course race in 5:45 +/- 10 minutes, and women need 6:10 +/- 10 minutes. Estimated times for Ironman is about 12:45 +/- 10 minutes for men and 13:45 +/- 10 minutes for women.

Covering Olympic distance usually takes sportsmen 2.5-3 hours. This means that you need twice longer time to cover the Long Course! Those who after finishing Long Course dare competing in Ultra Distance must be ready to spend 2.5 times more time on that.

Sportsmen getting ready for a Long Course race (half Ironman) spend 10 hours per week training with a maximum of 13 hours. Amateur athletes who are training for a Long Course race usually train 14-16 hours per week.

Now when we clarified what to train for and for how long, let´s discuss five key issues you must keep in mind when training.

Feeding on the race

There are a few peculiarities about feeding you mustn´t forget when going to a Long Course race. Firstly, on a longer swimming stage you burn more calories and lose a little more liquid before the cycling stage. Secondly, you will have to cycle two times longer that is why calories and water consumption must correspond with your body needs.

In addition, it´s important to save enough forces for a good long run. On short distances you might not burn all your glycogen reserve, in extreme cases you might need just a little feeding, whereas on long distances a proper feeding is a must.

As anything else, before the race you need to try everything you are going to eat in the racing day to make sure it suits you.

Cycling stage

It´s important you feel comfortable on the bike. It must become your best friend. On Half Ironman distance you´ll have to spend not less than three hours on a bike, and not less than six hours on Ultra distance. It´s high time to think well not only about how fit you are but also about how comfortable you would feel in the saddle for such a long time.

Make sure you feel comfortable on the armrests during long rides. Otherwise, why have an elaborate fairing bike if you can´t make use of all its advantages. If you have a road bike long rides will be a perfect reason to finally mount armrests on it. Anyway, it´s still important you feel comfortable on them.

The longest training rides when preparing for a Half Ironman race should be 3.5-4.5 hours and 5-7 hours for Ironman correspondingly. Introduce such trainings gradually together with feeding process. The better you pass the running stage the better you will run.

You don´t have to run much

You don´t have to run a marathon just before an Ultra Distance race. Instead, if you want to finish a marathon you´d better Schedule it in the beginning of the season long before the race starts.

The reason to do that is simple – marathon is a hard load for the body and complete recovery will take about a month. (However, if you are an experienced marathon runner and know well how to recover it might take you less time).

When preparing for Half Ironman running trainings last 1.5-2 hours with 2.5-3.5 hours for Ironman race. How long you train will largely depend on your fitness and your proneness to traumas.

If you have had fatigue traumas or you have just started running long distances don´t hesitate to switch to walking if needed.

Don´t forget about weight training

Sportsmen often ignore weight training referring to the fact they ride and run a lot. However weigh training is essential to strengthen key muscles and to prevent traumas.

You should pay special attention to shoulder blades and thighs. Strong thighs are vital for cycling and running. The more you cycle and run the stronger your thighs and corpus must be. Pay attention to muscles responsible for the right posture, work out to strengthen them.

Training for 20 minutes 3-4 times a week could have remarkable results. For example you could watch Jay Johnson’s General Strength and Mobility program on the internet.

Never forget recovery

The harder you train the more important it is to recover properly. Recover also means that you eat in the right way before, during and after trainings. To recover is to sleep well, do flexibility exercises or do yoga, have a regular massage.

Recovery means exercises with a massage roller, cold shower, compression knee socks etc. However, if you follow the main rules – eat well, get enough sleep and do recovery exercises that would be quite enough.

Regardless the distance you are training for it´s important to listen to your body´s signals. Stress of work and family life affect your ability to recover as well. If you feel tired it´s not a big deal you miss one day of training.

Following these simple tips you´ll find it easier to switch to long distances. Good luck!

Source: trilife.ru