Holiday Time - How To Stay On Track

7 Habits of Highly Effective (Tri)Athletes

  

Now that the race season is over and the holiday season is approaching, our training can really take a back seat.  Here is a recap of article I came across a few years ago that identified 7 common similarities among successful pro and age group athletes.  Yes, it's good to take a mental as well as a physical break from a truly focused training season but you don't necessarily want to dig yourself a too big a hole to dig yourself out of.  So, here is a list of 7 habits that are key to effective training.  Over the holidays, give yourself a break and a pat on the back if you hit 5 out of 7, the jump back into the training game in January won't be too painful.

#1 -Effective Training  #2 - Consistent Training

On these two points,the article stressed the need to train your weaknesses as well as your strengths.  Another aspect of effective training to consider is to focus on proper form and technique and to train at an appropriate level of intensity.  So, over the holidays, if the swim is your weakness, at least try to get in for a few short swims to keep the frequency of your workouts up and to keep the feel for the water.  Do some drills that work on your stroke weaknesses.  The same goes for the bike and run:  don't skip them entirely.  If you have time for only a short workout, make it count:  work on form or do some intensity work so you don't lose the sense of what it takes to work hard and go fast.  And if you don't fit in as many training days as usually do, just set a goal that works with your social calendar. Even try to make some of your social activities a training day.  Meet a friend for a swim, bike or run.

3.  Adequate Recovery

This one should be easy to do this time of year!  As well as physical recovery, the mental break is important. Also, take the time now to connect with friends and family you don't get to see as much when you're in full on race training mode.  You got this one!!

4.  Setting Goals

As you're drifting off to sleep, watching old race videos or showing all your friends your latest race photos, take some time to identify your training and racing goals for next year.  Do you have a goal race or do you have some performance goals?  Take some time and map out a plan for next year's race season.

5.  Coaching

I guess you could argue that self-coaching qualifies as coaching so this could apply to any of us whether we have a third party coach.  Coaching implies some objective determination of the steps it will take to get you from where you are today to where you want to go.  If you have a coach, plan to sit down and assess the goals and the training objectives. If you are self coached, think about putting together a written plan that will help you build safely and surely to your goals.  If you are planning on working with a coach next season, start doing some research, ask a friend, think about goals, budgets and schedules.

6.  Nutrition

There are lots of temptations this time of year and we can all afford to indulge a little bit but try to let all the goodies and beverages take too much of a toll on your body or put you in a bigger hole than you need to be after the holidays.   There are tons of tips and tricks on how to be careful about diet when you're faced with so many temptations this time of year.  Find one that works for you. I'm a black coffee kind of person so it works for me to focus on getting a great cup of coffee. Coffee does go really, really well with chocolate & cookies, though so I don't go entirely without little treats.  

7.  Positive Mental Attitude

That's what the holidays and spending time with friends and family is all about.  Take some mental time off from training and enjoy the company of family and friends.  Also, take some time to look back at your race season and reflect on your successes, see the positives in how you were able to overcome hurdles and obstacles along the way.

What to you think?  Can you make 7 out of 7 or even 5 or 6?

Contact me directly here if you want a copy of my Holiday Triathlon Plan including gym sessions;

How To Get Faster In The Swim, Bike & Run - This Trick Really Works!

I got you to read this far so clearly that got your attention.  Swim, bike & run training has one thing in common with diet trends:  people are often looking for that quick fix, that trick, that will give them big results with just a little something.  Unfortunately, there is no quick fix, there is no trick, there is no instant miracle free speed.  At least, you won't find it here because I  that instantly fixes anything that will miraculously give you free speed.  By 'free speed' I mean improved results are instant and didn't take any effort on your part.

So, here's the 'trick' I read in an article on TriSwimCoach.com (which inspired this article):  in order to swim better, all you have to do is to swim more.  Yup, that's it.  No surprises, no tricks, just more work.  They explain it very well and succinctly:  form declines during a workout or a race for one of two reasons:

1. You've reached the limits of your endurance. 
2. You've lost your focus and your form falls apart as your mind wanders.

(Triswimcoach.com has some great articles and I totally recommend checking them out once in a while).

The training effect from more swimming, biking and running will build your endurance so you can maintain form for the duration of your event.  Or doing yoga, rowing or climbing for that matter.

As for mental focus, there is a technique that will work and will help kick up your fitness level at the same time:  mix it up with intervals.  Quality workouts not only break up the tedium of a longer set or session that causes mental drift but it also tests your physiology and ups your fitness levels.  There are decades of studies and evidence to support this so trust the science and do the harder work.   I've always said:

More isn't necessarily better; better is better.

If your next question is what intervals to do, consider these points:

1. Intervals are just durations of time over and under a certain benchmark.
2. How long you spend over and how long you spend under that benchmark will test different thresholds.
3. Harder intervals will be shorter and require more recovery relative to a less stressful interval.
4. You can get scientific and test VO2Max, heart rate limits, even FTP (Functional Threshold Power) on the bike but even without testing to figure out what your benchmarks are, you know what 'uncomfortable' means and know how to get your body there.
5. You can also get scientific in determining which type and duration of intervals to do when and in what discipline but, even without all that technicality, just doing something is better than doing nothing.
6. With intervals, failure is an option. If you get there, you know you'll have tested your limits.

Here is the trick:  do at least one challenging interval workout in each discipline each week.  It almost doesn't matter what you do and when you do it as long as you get started.  That is the only real trick.

Here's my last list for today.  Here's what I've found works for me:

1. For swim workouts, I always have a plan for pool sessions.  I find it too boring to just do mindless laps so I always break it up into sets with different intensities and durations.
2. Ditto for treadmill workouts on the run.  I run on the treadmill a lot, a lot, in the winter. I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and I don't like cold weather. I am a total weather wimp.  Even a short 30 minute run will be broken up with changes in incline and speed.
3. I ride 3 to 4 times a week indoors and most of those will be interval based, and at least 2 of those sessions will have high intensity sets. It kills me but the sessions are short so I don't spend a lot of mindless hours on the trainer. Quality over quantity always on the bike.
4. I ride on Zwift and have a few new followers every week. Now that I know I am part of a new tribe on Zwift, I know any of them can check up on me to make sure I'm still working hard.  I find that level of accountability motivating. I want to keep getting "Ride On"s from my people.

You find the system that works for you and hopefully some of my 'tricks' will give you some ideas.

(If you want more suggestions, even some of my specific workouts, you know all you have to do is ask!)




There are so many blogs out there talking triathlon, cycling & swimming, covering issues ranging from training to gear to motivation.  Seriously, if read them all, you'd never have time to train.  How you found me,fact, I'm not sure but entirely thankful that you've taken the time to find us here and read along.  Thank you for reading this and I hope you found something you can use to add spice to your training diet.

The Accidental Triathlete's Accidental Christmas Training "Camp"

Christmas can be one of the best times of the year - spending time with friends and family, enjoying a little extra time off work and enjoying all the Christmas goodies that seem to pop up everywhere.  It's awesome but it can also derail your training.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  A little break from structured training is perfectly fine as long as it is just a break, not the new normal.   But for those of you who love a little structure of if you just want to get in a few workouts just to make you feel yourself again (or at least to alleviate some of the guilt over too many holiday treats), you might want to consider planning few workouts with friends.   That's my plan this year:   My Accidental Christmas Training Camp.

My Accidental Christmas Training Camp 2018

With my work schedule, I have a block of 4 full days off in a row.  Believe me, since I work in retail, this is a very rare occasion.  My goal is to get in at least 2 swims, 2 bikes and 2 runs in over those 4 days. Just like my DIY  Training Progam process, I started with the the few rules or fixed things I had to work around:

1.  The pools are closed early on Christmas Eve as well Christmas Day & Boxing Day.  So, my 2 swim sessions have to be Sunday & Monday, the 23rd & 24th.
2.   I always like to get in a short run on Christmas Day.
3.   I always like to get in a bike workout on Boxing Day..
4.   My gym is open Christmas Day and usually has a yoga class at 10AM Christmas Day.
5.   I have family things in the evening on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. We just chill at home on Christmas Day.

So, here is what I started with:

For me that was pretty easy since I only had a few family/social things to work around.  If you have young children or a big family and/or more social engagements, you might find that Christmas Day is a complete write-off for you and that's absolutely fine. Do what works for you - one of  the goals of the "camp" is to provide an outlet to get away, to be an escape, a physical release and a way to work off any stress, not cause stress.  (When fitting in training sessions becomes a source of stress in other parts of my life, that defeats one of the reasons I enjoy training. Who needs more stress in this world?)

You are your own sample size of one so you find a path that works within the structure of your own life.  

So, I'll add one more of my rules or habits:  I pretty much always do my 'long' ride on Zwift every Sunday.  After that, all I have to fit into my training camp is one more run workout.  It was pretty easy to fill in the rest:

I am in Edmonton, Alberta and, if you find yourself here over Christmas, you are more than welcome to join me for any part of my Accidental Christmas Training Camp.  The more, the merrier, the fitter, the stronger we'll be and the more fun we will have.  Happy, happy.

Christmas Gift Wish List - Useful S#it We All Need All The Time

Have you ever, ever, even just once, opened a gift and thought "OMG, it's like they don't even know me at all?!"  Well, maybe they just ran out of time or ideas.  Maybe you're just difficult to buy for?  No, that can't be it - there are tons of things that cyclists and triathletes can always use.  If the gift isn't going to be fun or pretty, at least it can be useful.  Here's a short list of inexpensive, useful s#it we all need to re-use, replace, re-find, duplicate, clean, you name it. These are some of the staples of our sport and our lives.

1. Socks.  C'mon - you knew this one was going to be on the list.  You might have a favourite pair but eventually, you'll lose one or it will lose its mojo.  Fun, wild, printed, striped, anything seems to be fair game but your loved ones won't go wrong with high visibility ('hi-vis') socks with reflective details. Nothing says "I love you" better than socks that will flash your existence to vehicles while you're riding out on the road.
2. Bike care kit. A travel size kit like the CarbonPro bicycle care kit is perfect for you!  We all know that a clean chain runs faster (saves watts) and lasts longer and this kit has everything you need to give your bike a spa day at home.
3. Nutrition stuff.  We go through gels and bars constantly so any contribution to our stash is helpful and appreciated.  Things like Skratch Chews and Honey Stinger Chews make great stocking stuffers and nothing says "I care" more than a tub of your favourite recovery drink or EFS Optygen or Multi-V, right?
4. Triswim Shampoo or Body Wash. If you're swim training, you need this, it's just that simple.  
5. Tubes and CO2 cartridges.  It might sound like the least glamourous or exciting gift in the world but if you have deep rim race wheels and need tubes with 80ml stems, the cost of flats adds up quickly.  Plus, if your non-cycling friends and family actually noticed that you needed 80ml stem tubes, that would really show you that they were paying attention, right?
6. SportCount Swim Lap Counter.   This little device does what it says - it counts your laps in the pool.  For those of us who don't like the feel of a bulky GPS in the pool but still want help counting laps, this is the ticket.  Again, the fact that they know all your little training quirks is pretty dang thoughtful.
7. Elastic Laces.   With every new pair of shoes, you'll need a new set so even if you don't need a new set right now, you'll need them soon.  Be thankful!
8. Anti-fog spray, drops or wipes.  Here's another consumable product - you'll need it soon enough.  And it shows that they care that you can see where you're going during your open water swimming - you'll be faster if you can see the swimbuoys well enough to follow them so this is a gift that shows they want you to do your best.
9. Chamois butter.  This one really shows they care about every little part of you.
10. Sunglasses.  I lose them all the time or at the very least, I don't always have a pair when I need them.  Something like the Goodr polarized sunglasses would be perfect and fun gift you can wear for everyday too.  I'm not sure you can ever have too many.

Now, make sure you share this list with anyone and everyone who might have even the slightest thought about buying you a gift.  Make it as easy as possible to say "yes" and to find you the perfectly thoughtful item.  

Gift Guide Gallery

DIY Triathlon Training Plan - How I Got Started As An Accidental Triathlete

When I first started training for triathlons, I honestly didn't even realize that's what I was doing.  I had some friends I had been running with who started swimming a few mornings a week and they asked if I wanted to join them.  I had swam a little as a kid, having spent two years on a summer swim team when I was 10 and 11 years old so I was pretty confident I wouldn't drown.  Again, being honest, the biggest reason I decided to join them was just because they asked.  Cycling happened pretty much the same way.  Spring and summer rolled around and they started riding road bikes around town.  One of the group got a new bike so  they asked me if a I wanted to hop on the spare bike and join them on a ride.  I literally went along for the ride.  Within 6 months, I went from running with a few friends to swimming, biking and running with them.  As you sometimes do when the opportunity presents itself, err on the side of saying "yes".  That's how I became an accidental triathlete.

All I had done myself was add some swimming and biking to my run routine without really giving it a thought. Then, someone else in the group signed up for a triathlon.   That's when I realized what we'd been doing. Without giving it a conscious intent or plan of my own, I was training for a triathlon.  My training program at the time was a spontaneous thing just evolved from doing stuff with my friends. Not only did my accidental program work well enough to get me through my first year in triathlon but it could also be a simple example of another DIY Triathlon Training Plan.

My Very First DIY Triathlon Training Plan, circa 1993

As we started to train with others, we did different workouts but there was no overriding training program or plan.  We were just doing it for fun and challenge.   Now, don't get me wrong - some of the crew had a pretty serious approach to racing:  they were there to win.   And since I was quite literally along for the ride, I guess I was as prepared as they were so I went as hard as I could.  Man, it was fun!  If challenge and fun are what you are looking for in triathlon, maybe a plan like my first DIY Triathlon Training Plan can work for you.  Here's pretty much what it looked like:

My basic training week now vs then has one thing in common:

• If I had hired a coach then or if I took one on now, other than fine-tuning the content of some of the workouts, there's not much they could do differently. Once you put real life on a calendar and try to fit the rest around it, the training options are limited.

Sometimes, all you have to do is say "Yes" and jump in to get started.  What does your plan look like?

DIY Triathlon Training Plan - Fine-tuning The Schedule - Getting Ready To Set Up The Workouts

Having a schedule, a plan to get out there and do a workout, is one thing but when the time rolls around, what are you going to do?  To put is simply, you just have to do something, just start swimming, biking or running, get your body moving.  In fact, you might have already started and you haven't realized it yet:

1. Are you coming from a run background?
2. Are you in a masters swim program?
3. Do you have a regular group ride or take a spin class at your local gym?

If you answer 'yes' to any of those questions, you're already on your way to training for triathlon.  Looking at triathlon training in the simplest way, you just have to swim a few times a week, run a few times a week and ride a few times a week.  In order to get the most benefit out of the time you spend training, though, and in order to keep in interesting, you can add some variety to your workouts in terms of the duration and intensity of the sessions.  But you don't have to go think about that yet.  The first goal in a training program is to establish habits by getting into a schedule that works with your left.  In order to do that, I am guided by two principles in setting up my program:  the K.I.S.S. Principle and the F.I.T.T. principle.  

The K.I.S.S. Principle

Most of us know have heard this one at some point in their lives:  Keep It Simple, Sister.  (Yes, I know there are some other options for that second 'S' but I thought I'd use a friendly one).

Quite simply, you could train for a triathlon by simply swimming a few times a week riding a few times a week and running a few times a week.  Overall, you just want to build up the total duration of your workouts and your overall weekly training load to the point where you can cover the race distance in some of your training sessions.  For a shorter distance like "Try a Tri", Sprint or even International/Olympic distance races, most people will be able to build up to and even go further than the race distance either regularly or at least once or twice before the race:

• You'll  swim 750 meters or longer in a swim workout. (1500 meters for Olympic or Standard International distance).
• You'll do a bike ride of 20 kilometers (or 12 miles) or more in one of your bike rides. (40k for Olympic distance).
• You'll run 5 kilometers (3 miles) in one of your run sessions (10k or 6 miles for Olympic distance).

If you can cover all 3 of those distances (or 2 1/2 of them), you'll be able to finish a Sprint or Olympic distance triathlon.  The workouts don't have to be fancy, you don't have to worry about intervals, hills, or even tracking your workouts on your GPS watch.  Just get your body moving over the goal distance and you'll get there.  It really doesn't have to be complicated.  You've got this!

The F.I.T.T. Principle

This is so simple to remember, it's always stuck with me as the overriding guideline to setting up my program and each workout.  

F - frequency - How often do you train and how many workouts of each discipline do you do each week? 

I - Intensity - How hard do you have to push yourself in each session?

T - Time - How much time do you commit to training every week and in each session?

T - Technique - Proper technique will help you prevent injury and over-training can cause form to deteriorate and increase your risk of injury.

To set up my training plan, I first go through each of these principles in terms of my approach to the weekly schedule as whole.  But, following the first principle of KISS, if you want to keep it super simple and still get to your first race, as long as you deal with the issue of "Time", you'll be fine.

Time To Train - Filling Out Your Triathlon Training Plan

There are only so many hours in a day and days in a week and you have other things to get through in your day besides training.  For many or even most of us, your available time daily and over the week will be the limiting factor in your training.  If you can only spare 30 to 60 minutes a day to train, if you can 'only' train once a day, those are the factors that will form the basis for your training schedule.   Now, before we start marking down the goal duration of your daily workouts, you just have a few points to consider.   

How long should your workouts be?  

They'll be as long as they need to be or as long as you have time available to fit them in.

1. Some days you'll have more time and some days you'll have less and that's OK.    If you have more time, train a little longer and then on the days you have less time, you'll know you've banked some time.   
2. Not all workouts need to be race distance or longer.  On the days you know you'll only have a short block of time, include a short session as either a recovery day or a quality day.  A recovery session will be short and easy and is just intended to loosen you up, work out some kinks and get the blood flowing or even just to enjoy the fresh air.  A quality day will have some short hard efforts that will help improve your fitness, speed or strength.
3. Save your longer race distance or longer workouts for the days when you have fewer other commitments.  For example, if you work Monday through Friday, you'll likely schedule your longer workouts on Saturday and/or Sunday.

Mark your goal workout time on your triathlon training plan.

1. If you are in a master swim group and the workouts are 60 minutes, put that on the schedule.
2. If you take a spin class and the session is 45, 60 or 75 minutes, mark that on the schedule.
3. If you have a weekly group run, you got it - put in on the page.

Here's what my program looks like now:

(Disclaimer: I am training for a half ironman distance race so the overall volume and the weekly 'long' sessions are more than you'd need to race shorter distances. Having said that, this is lower volume than some people might do for half ironman and that's OK too. This is what fits into my weekly routine right now.)

Now it's time for some brutal honesty on my part:

1. 1. This is as far as I go in setting up my own triathlon training plan.   I fill in the workout details as I go.  
2. 2.  Yes, I do interval sessions on the bike and run where you see red squares but I don't plan it out in advance. I have a few 'go-to' workouts that I rotate through for my run sessions and I pretty much let the weather dictate which one I do on  a given day.  Today (Friday), the roads are icy so I'm going to do my run speed session on the treadmill.  
3. 3.  My Tuesday & Saturday rides are coached sessions so I just do what I'm told.  Ok, since I promised honesty, I have to admit that I lead the Tuesday bike workouts so I do make a conscious plan for that session.  Again, I have some favourite 'go-to' sessions that I repeat and build on regularly.  I'll share those with you, absolutely, but that is a topic for another day.  
4. 4. Periodization:  You'll probably hear this term and, in simple terms, it refers to the change in training volume and intensity as you move through the season and move towards a race.  I actually don't do anything more formal than build up training distance until a few weeks before a race. Then in the last few weeks prior to the race, I reduce the volume but I don't follow any hard and fast taper formula.  My "taper" is more pragmatic:  when the bulk of the training is done, I change my focus to catching up with other things in life, resulting in what I call my 'accidental taper'.  You might want a more formal approach to periodization as you gain more experience or if you have specific performance goals. 

In the next issue, I will work through a specific low volume training schedule, including sample workouts, that is based on just 6 sessions in total per week.  Yes, I'm going to take you back to my early days, when my triathlon journey was just starting. 

Until then,  K.I.S.S. yourself a schedule that works in your own life:  go train already!