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November is kick off month for our coaching - step one on the journey to better fitness and, in many cases, big events. I'm just going to throw down the most common tips and guidance I share with my athletes at this time of year. Always keep in mind that there are many right ways to train for triathlon. Here are some points that have worked for my athletes through the years.
Training is a Marathon: The gun goes off and full of excitement and adrenaline countless runners start at WAY too fast a pace. The same thing can happen with your fall training. It's a long journey so start at a sensible pace. No, you're not behind schedule. Just start at volume of training that suits your current fitness and put one foot in front of the other. If you were exercising 3 hours a week in October, don't jump to 8 in November. Build slowly. Too fast a start can lead to injury and eventual burnout.
Repeatable Week: Your first priority is to find a weekly schedule that works for your life. All the pieces need to fit and remain in balance. Things like family and work must be cared first. You may have a solid weekly plan but remember that life happens and the schedule will change on some weeks but this will be your foundation to try to always return to. It will serve you through to spring when things will likely change as the weather improves.
Environment: Create a training environment that helps you to enjoy the process. This is approached in many ways. Perhaps you enjoy in person social workouts. In that case find classes or groups that provide that and the right workouts as well. If at home, your equipment set up will be key. Having the right space for biking and strength training, maybe running as well, can make a huge difference. Equip your space with all you need including smart trainer, fan, table, strength equipment and more.
Strength and Mobility Training: The fall and winter is a time for added focus on fixing imbalances in our body and increasing strength. With three sports to include in our week it can be hard for some to fit in strength work. If that describes you here's a tip: add 15 minutes of work to the end of a short run or ride. You're already warmed up so you save time right there. Have your gear and your plan all set up so you can get right to work. When doing strength focus on the quality the movement over the loading (ie keep load on the light side for most exercises). I prefer athletes do more exercises (movements) than more sets of fewer movements. And....do lots of quality downward dog stretches when you're warm! It is a miracle working move for glutes, hamstrings, and lower legs.
Practice Recovery: Start including in your day and week the recovery strategies that will be even more important when the volume increases next spring. That means attention on your nutrition around workouts. Eat well to fuel your workouts and your recovery afterwards. Watch your hydration levels especially now that the furnace is on and our houses are drier. Foam roll and break up periods of sitting to increase blood flow. Work on your sleep habits including regular patterns and no late screen time.
Learn: You're reading this so this one is off to a great start! Find more resources and consume them, on this site and others. My seminar series will fit nicely with some short trainer rides (see video page). Even if there was an internet in the 80's there wouldn't have been anything much to post. We were making it up as we went. Nowadays the information supply is bottomless. One caution though: The vast majority (read: 99%) are NOT written for masters athletes, especially 50+. So don't grab a generalize training plan or guidance and assume it's right for you.
Rehearse Spring Riding: November and April are sister months when it comes to the weather. Get out in the late fall for some rides if only to learn what clothing you need to make the transition outside a smooth one next April. Buy whatever gear you might be missing.
Workout Variety: Mix up what you're doing to keep your motivation fresh.
Swim different sets ideally with different strokes. Work on your turns too!
Once you have a base on the bike work on building your higher intensity intervals across a range from 60", 2', 3', 5'. ( '=minutes ). Save long aerobic rides for the spring and focus on higher intensity work in the fall/winter. Anything longer than two hours on the trainer is not recommended due simply to the mental fatigue.
On the run know the value of short outings. Many runners would opt for not running unless they have at least 30 minutes. Getting out there for 10 to 20 minutes is hugely beneficial as it fires your biomechanical structures and aerobic system that will be a reminder to the body to adapt and become more injury resistant.
And one more point on running: SLOW DOWN! I only say that because almost every athlete I've ever coached runs too hard on their long runs. Conversational pace, people!
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