has 7-10 hours per week to devote to train- ing for an olympic-distance triathlon. The strategy behind a 7-10 hour training week is making sure each workout is high quality and purposeful. “Quality verses quantity” is the name of


the game in a program with limited time. A 90-day period allows you to design a five-week base period followed by two three-week builds, a peak week and then race week. focus on endurance, muscular endurance, speed skills and force-specific workouts during the base period. In addi- tion to systems worked in the base period, add power and anaerobic endurance workouts during the build periods. The peak week allows you to fine tune areas that need attention. The peak week leads into a taper on race week (and it is often necessary to stress the importance of “recovery” during their taper).


DON’T FORGET THE MENTAL PREP often times as coaches we prepare


some of the best training plans on paper, but we forget to do any mental prepara- tion for the athlete. The power of the mind is incredible, and positively harnessing it allows your athlete to maximize his or her outcomes. Your focus should be sharing these tools with the athlete as they train so that they can utilize them on race day. There are various tools and techniques that can be found in books, articles and podcasts, and from sports psychologists. Using mental exercises will help your ath- lete overcome his or her physical, mental and emotional obstacles as he works towards having a very successful race.


TEACH YOUR ATHLETE HOW TO FUEL THEIR ENGINE having a tried and true nutrition plan


is critical in going from a sprint distance race that may take 60-90 minutes to an olympic-distance race that might take up to three hours. In general, we need to fuel our bodies with 110-130 grams of carbo- hydrates for every 45-60 minutes in events longer than 90 minutes. It is essential to have a nutrition plan that will work on the athlete’s olympic-distance race day. re- mind your athlete to practice their routine on training days so that they know how their body will handle the type of nutrition they choose to use.


HIGH QUALITY PURPOSEFUL WORKOUTS The workouts you prescribe need to


be specific and have a purpose, but also should be stimulating. Below are some ex- amples of my favorite swim, bike and run workouts for an olympic-distance athlete. each workout describes how it is designed to accomplish a specific goal and where it should fall into the overall training plan.


Swim Workout: Focus – Muscular Endurance (During Build Phase)


Purpose: To focus on strength endurance, increase lactate tolerance, and get a feel of race pace effort.


Warm-Up: 100 free (30-45’), 4x75 as (25 kick, 25 drill, 25 free) (15’ rest)


Main Set: 4x200 at 10 seconds slower than tempo pace (30’ rest) 50 kick easy 3x200 at 5 seconds slower than tempo pace (30’ rest) 50 kick easy 2x200 at tempo pace (30’ rest) 1-minute rest 200 all out effort


Cool Down: 3x100 focus on form (20’ rest) Total Yards: 2,800 yards/60 minutes


Bike Workout: Focus – Anaerobic Endur- ance (During Build or Peak Phase)


Purpose: To elevate vo2 Max, maintain a high effort and increase lactate toler- ance.


Warm-Up: 20 minutes, include 2-4x30-sec- ond single-legged pedal drills. 4x15-sec- ond spin-ups increasing cadence to 110 rpm with 45 seconds recovery between.


Main Set: 5x3 minute intervals building up to heart rate zones 5a with a 90-second recovery spin between.


Cool Down: Steady the rest of the time. heart rate zones 1-2, 3 on hills. Total Time: 1:00-1:15


Run Workout: Focus – Force (Base or beginning of Build Phase)


Purpose: Increase muscular strength and economy.


Warm-Up: 15 minutes, include 2x20-sec- ond increasing speed, focusing on form.


Main Set: Within your run find a hill that takes 2-3 minutes to climb at a 6-per- cent grade. 4-6x hill repeat focusing on


good form and increasing your heart rate to zone 5a at the top. recovery is a walk or light jog to the bottom.


Cool Down: Steady run the rest of the time.


Total Time: 40 minutes.


Swim-to-Bike Brick Workout: (Build Phase) Purpose: race day simulation. open-water swim, either 1,000 yards or 20 minutes straight. focus on sighting and form, at the halfway point start to build your speed to race pace. prepare for a quick transition. first 10 minutes on the bike increase heart rate into heart rate zones 2-3, then transition into a 1x15-minute race effort. Steady the rest of the time. Total Time: 1:30


Bike-to-Run Brick Workout: (Build Phase) Purpose: race-day simulation. find a course that is similar to the race terrain. After warming up, focus on a strong race effort for 30 minutes, then a quick transition into a 30-minute run. Use the first 5 minutes to get your breathing into a rhythm and then start to increase the intensity, finishing strong at race pace.


Total Time: 2:00 now, you are ready to prepare your


athlete for the best olympic-distance race of their season. remember prepara- tion is key and includes everything from a proper training plan to nutrition and mental preparation.


Kim Dunker Reistad is a USA Triathlon Level I Certified Coach, and a USA Cycling Level III Coach. She is an athlete and cur- rently co-manages and races for Dream Believe Tri. For more information, visit http://www.dreambelievetri.com.


PERFORMANCECOACHING | page 11


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16