Carefully Curated Triathlon News for February 16, 2023

IN THIS EDITION…

  • Reframing recovery strategies for more gains
  • Simplified freestyle: what to focus on first
  • 3 powerful fartlek sessions
  • Better running with more strength
  • Aero choices for immediate speed

REDUCING AEROWATTS

In most IRONMAN triathlons you can expect to spend about 50% of your race time on the bike.  During that time in the saddle, up to 85% of the watts you generate are used to overcome wind resistance.

So it makes sense to do whatever you can to streamline your position and upgrade your gear to obtain the greatest aerodynamic gains possible. 

In this video Olympian and ex-pro cyclist Rob Hayles examines the relative aero gains in watts that various kit and adjustments to bike fit have on the power required to maintain a specific speed.  To make this study practical for age groupers, he tested at speeds of 25, 35 and 45 kph.

Watch the video to discover the aerowatt savings from each modification and decide if it’s cost-effective for you.  Amazingly, when all the changes were combined, a rider could realize a 36% improvement in overall power savings.

SIMPLIFIED FREESTYLE

Swimming can seem infuriatingly complex, especially for those who entered the sport as an adult.  It can feel overwhelming to decide what to work on first.

Coach Andrew Sheaff cuts through the confusion by pinpointing the 3 areas of freestyle to focus on for long term improvement.

His goal is to simplify the process by focusing on the stroke components where you’re likely to make the greatest gains.

Sheaff explains why each area is so important to your overall performance, describes the mistakes he commonly observes in age group swimmers and provides his favorite drills for enhancing your skills.

If you’re serious about improving your triathlon swimming this season, then this is a great place to start.

REINFORCED RUNNING

Back in the Dark Ages, endurance athletes thought that strength training would make them bulkier and slower.  This myth has been debunked by countless scientific studies and anecdotal examples of strong and fast winners.

But how do time-crunched triathletes like us make strength training work in the real world?

In this post coach Taren Gesell shares his 7 benefits of strength training for endurance athletes.  Then he goes deep, precisely describing the exercises to perform and the equipment you’ll need to achieve your goals.

Now there’s no excuse not to make strength a priority.

A REAL HEAD-TURNER

Experienced swimmers know that how your head moves through the water dictates the speed and technical proficiency of your entire freestyle stroke.

As Olympian and coach Glenn Mills say, “A stable head means a controlled body that’s faster and more efficient in the water.”

Until now, determining if you’re maintaining an optimal head position is nearly impossible without the aid of video analysis.

That’s all changed with the latest update to the FINIS Smart Goggle, which now allows you to evaluate your head position after every swim.

Post-workout, connect your goggles to the app and view an automatically generated 3D video of your actual head motion over your entire session.  See every breath, turn and twitch, then identify areas where your form breaks down and you can improve.

FINIS transformed what was once difficult into actionable daily feedback that will immediately accelerate your improvement.

As always TriathlonWire readers get 20% off with coupon code TRIWIRE at checkout.  Start becoming a faster swimmer today.

NEVER PASSIVE

Long distance triathletes are in a constant battle with fatigue.  Race preparation often comes down to how well we manage our recovery days.

But there’s much more to recovery than simply taking a day off from training.  According to coach Marilyn Chychota, there are 3 specific types of recovery days that you should be scheduling into your training plan, and each provides a different benefit.

In this article Chychota dissects the nuances of planning your systematic recovery.  She touches on the 3 pillars of recovery, assessing your overall life stress load, and guidelines for developing your own personal recovery plan.  You’ll never treat recovery as an afterthought again.

SPEED PLAY

As most of you know, “fartlek” is a Swedish term for “speed play” and describes a type of running workout that combines different lengths of intervals into one continuous flowing session.

Master coach Lance Watson explains why this is an important tool for triathletes of all fitness levels.  Fartleks help you adapt to pace variations, build mental toughness, master your perceived exertion, and become faster over longer distances.  Plus, they can be a lot of fun!

Check out Watson’s 3 favorite fartlek workouts that will enhance strength, speed and endurance.

QUICK HIITS:

  • Leaner Faster
    Fat loss starts with your diet, but is amplified in the gym.  Get a head start on your body composition goals with this proven 6-week pre-season HIIT program. There’s plenty of scientific data that supports using HIIT for fat loss. So grab your dumbells and jump in.
  • Tired Again
    Learn the latest about what tire choices are best for triathlon in this comprehensive review by BetterTriathlete.  Discover the top 5 tire choices used among pros at the 2022 Hawaii IRONMAN, and determine if clinchers, tubulars or tubeless are the best choice for you.
  • Top of the Charts
    The PTO has unveiled a massive overhaul of its World Ranking System.  Thanks to the data-crunching by Thorsten Radde of TriRanking.com, the PTO finally has what promises to be a compelling and defensible means of rating pro triathlon performances across various distances and events.  It even factors in the influences of strength-of-field and environmental conditions.