Off-Season Triathlon Training

With the first day of fall right around the corner, many triathletes will race or have raced their final event of the season.  This transition gives us an opportunity to reflect on our performances from the past year and start preparing for next season.  Over the course of the next couple of months, I recommend athletes do two things: take a bit of a break, and concentrate on aspects of training that are often forgotten during the racing season.

 Take a physical and mental break

Once you finished your last race of the season it is time to take a break. It is important to let your body recover but perhaps more importantly, let your mind rest from all the training and racing stress. Play a team sport, go hiking or go on a skiing trip. You can still do some running, swimming or biking. Just keep it fun and unstructured. New activities will invigorate you. Not to mention that your non-triathlete friends and loved ones would be glad to see you.

Train your weaknesses
This is a great motto but make sure that training weaknesses does not turn into doing mega-mileage during the off-season. If swimming is your weak sport concentrate on technique improvements rather than swimming 5000 yards five times a week. Most swimming improvements come from technique. If you swim 25,000 yards a week and have bad technique you will be cementing bad technique into your muscle memory and make it that much harder to fix. You will become a very fit slow swimmer. On the other hand if running is your weak sport I do not recommend training for a marathon to become a better runner. Work on your running technique with running drills as mentioned above. Finally, if the bike is your weak sport it is usually because of lack of experience on the bike or a bad fit on your bike. Get the good bike fit at your local bike shop, get on your trainer, or go outside if the weather permits. Get a consistent dosage of aerobic riding during the off-season. Getting on a trainer may not be the most fun activity over the off-season, especially for runners and swimmers. Make that commitment and you will be glad you did when triathlon season comes around.

Strength training

As triathletes we like to think of ourselves as very fit individuals. We run, we bike, we swim, we do it all. Yet we find ourselves getting sore if we go play tennis or a competitive game of softball. This is even more so as we get older. Strength training will help us strengthen those muscles that we generally do not use in triathlon.  I recommend strength training year round. However, I know that many athletes cannot seem to find the time to do all three disciplines and also hit the weight room. The off-season is a great time to get back on some strengthening program. It will improve your power, and help with injury prevention. Ask your Trainer to design an off-season strengthening program for you.

Plan your racing season

Start planning your racing season now. You may have to sign up soon as many top races are filling up way in advance. Some people enjoy a nice progression to a racing season. Schedule some shorter races early in the season and finish with a big effort on a longer race. Other scenarios are possible. Just be sure to give yourself enough time between races of different distances to do some proper training. This will improve your chances of performing your best.

Don't be a (January) National Champion

Training takes effort, it causes pain and it wears on you. Save that energy for when it counts later in the season. Being fit in January does not mean that you will be that much fitter by summer. The more likely scenario is low performance during the summer due to over training and getting mentally drained from all the high intensity.  Work hard, but don't overdue it in the off-season.

Most importantly, enjoy the off-season!  Be proud of the work you've put in over the past year and get excited for what's to come!

Via: MarkAllenOnline