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It has come to my attention that
on various forums there are debates on whether
or not we should be doing intervals or Long Slow
distance (LSD) training at this time of year or
not. So, I thought I would write my views on this
issue.
Before starting any training programme it is important
to set out �the goals or aims�.If you enjoy training
slowly and that is what gives you pleasure, then
I can honestly say that LSD is what you should
be doing. For most of us, triathlon is a hobby,
and hobbies are meant to be enjoyed
If improving your race performance is your main
aim, then you will need to be a bit more scientific
and LSD training just doesn�t cut the mustard!
As triathletes, we have 3 disciplines, but today
I am just concentrating on the run. Having said
that, why waste your time doing a 30 minutes slow
recovery run, which is just to help flush out
the lactates from your body, when you could do
that same thing via an easy drill set in the pool.
Not only do you recover but you also get to improve
your swimming technique at the same time�a double
bonus.
Swimming is also less stressful on the joints,
so you are less likely to get injured.
I definitely recommend replacing short easy recovery
runs with swim drill sets for triathletes.
The LSD run, has its place, but in general if
you are training for sprint and Olympic distance
triathlons, it can be replaced by an LSD bike
ride.
The LSD run is to improve aerobic capacity and
open up the capillaries allowing the muscles to
work more efficiently. A two hour run will do
that job quite well, but the stress on the joints
will be intense and will increase the possibility
of injury.
So I replace it by an LSD bike ride; this has
all the aerobic benefits of the LSD run but with
much less stress on the body. It is also possible
to get more aerobic benefit from a bike ride that
the run!
With a little training, most of us can do a 4
hour bike ride, but we would struggle to do a
4 hour run! Not surprisingly an LSD bike ride
will also benefit your cycling performance.
It is widely accepted that the body becomes efficient
at what it does most of. If you always jog at
10 minutes per mile, you will become very good
at running 10km in 60mins. If you want to go faster
you must teach your muscles to function at a faster
pace. That does not mean for example doing a sub
40 minute 10km run every time you put your trainers
on; that would be too much. However, if sub 40
minute 10km is your aim, you will have to run
at that pace from time to time. I recommend breaking
the distance down into manageable intervals to
help get you started.
At this time of year my athletes start off with
400m repetitions. This allows plenty of time for
recovery so that they can hold race pace without
too much of a struggle. As it is early season,
the reps are short. This week at Eton we only
ran between 8 and 12 reps of 400m. However, all
good schedules need progression, so we shall add
on 2 reps on per week up to 24.
Once we have done this, the reps drop down but
the distance of each interval goes up from 400m
to 800m. Initially, we shall only do 6 repetitions.
This allows the body time to recover and adapt.
As with the 400�s we shall add on one 800m rep
each week, until we are doing 12x 800m. (6miles)
After the 800m, the distance of each rep, rises
to 1,200m. And after that up to mile repetitions.
As you can image all this takes this quite some
time, and so it should, as it takes time for a
physiological change to take place.
After the mile reps it will be spring and the
next phase of our training will be preparing for
the race season, and my athletes will be in perfect
shape to start their early season speed work.
For anyone who wants to join in, there is still
space in the groups. For those that don�t or can�t
make it down, the key thing is to enjoy whatever
training you do.
Next time, I will look at other types of training
to complement this weekly track session.
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