Making tall shadows short. Pre season training for XTERRA triathlon
March 8th, 2009 by stoltzracing
Making tall shadows short.
Logging the hours is by far the best prep for a great racing season. Time in the saddle, time on your feet, and yes, even time in the wet stuff. This time of the year (March) is time to lay a good aerobic base. (for the Northern hemisphere athlete. For the South, just add 6 months) This low intensity, long duration block is the most important part of your yearly training. Sounds wrong, but take my word for it! (Rookies want to go fast and suffer year round- I was one too!)
I would say initially cycling should be the more important discipline- its non weight bearing, (helps prevent injuries) you can keep your heart rate lower, (assuming you are still fresh out of ice cream and beer season) which enables you to do more hours per week. You are conditioning the aerobic system, (low intensity) conditioning the muscles for the rigours of quality and racing later on, and kick starting your fat burning capabilities which helps with um, losing that mound of pudding thats occupies the place where your butt used to be.
Defy gravity.
Climbing is another very important ingredient to the pre-season pie. Once I have some basic fitness (3 weeks for me, but it could take you a few months or even a season if you are new to endurance sports)
I try to climb as much as I can. I totalled 3000m (9000ft) of vert gain in this 4h15 ride. The hills is where the races are won (and lost) and good strength in pre season will translate into good speed later on. First strength, then speed. In this pic you can see my Suunto t6 says I’m climbing 1310 meters per hour. (4300ft/hr) Importantly, my heart rate is low! I never ever will let my heart rate go over 75% of my max during base training. Longer but slower is clevereder.
Dont forget to ENJOY the process. Pick fun routes, look at the scenery, catch up with friends, (steer clear of the racing-in-training type) and relish the newness of training again.
Dont relax too much… Keep your mind on the big picture- dream about what you want this season, but keep your eyes on the road- you may have to dodge some seriously slippery babboon poop!
Test equipment. Early season training is perfect for experimenting with new equipment & nutrition. Test tires (Specialized Armadillo Elites in pic), tire pressure (26psi), suspension set up, your position on the bike, cleats, Gu gels, drinks (Gu2O), salt pills (Salt Stick) anything you are not 100% will work in the race. Dont leave these things for race week, changing things last minute is a recipe for disaster.
Next thing you know, your shadow will be short- if the ride went by relatively painlessly, you did it right. Now repeat, repeat, repeat.
Happy repeating…
March 13th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Thanks Conrad! great meaningful write-up and to the point! in particular the statement “I never ever will let my heart rate go over 75% of my max during base training”
Thanks again!
August 19th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
I’ve just got into this race against mother nature thing and trying to prep for my first race the end of October. The three other team members are pretty fit and two of them has the youth thing going for them, up to now I’ve been living the life of a Rugby supporter. My biggest downfall is cardio.
So like a teenage quarterback pumped up on carbs and pimped out in my new active attire and a protein shake in my bag I started hitting the gym with such enthusiasm and aggression that by the end of my sessions I was any heart specialist’s and my medical aid’s nightmare, a good friend of mine Bernhard Kullin gave me some pointers and told me to have a look at this Blog
I read the article and started applying the long and slow theory and made sure my ticker does not go over 75. (the slow part was right up my alley)
One week into my new training routine and my sessions are feeling much better, I can actually feel the difference every time I do a cardio session. And the best part is I don’t need a gym partner with CPR skills watching over me now.
Thanks for this great link Berns! and the good advice Conrad
PS: In the process of embarking on my new active lifestyle and trying to look like a lifeguard I’m also trying to quit smoking I’ve cut out the beers totally. What is your take on supplements such as USN’s VO2 max?