Blog Articles

Triathlon Pre-Season Training

Are you going to make the same mistake again this year?

Well maybe not you exactly because, surely, you have never made any of these mistakes. But your fellow triathletes have!

Every year in the autumn, all triathletes – recreational, experienced and professional – review their season and set targets on what they want to achieve for the next 12 months.

And every year… some will make the same mistakes! They look at the equipment: the bike, the shoes, the clothes the wet suit, the running shoes (all three pairs), the GPS, the heart rate monitor, the compression kit, the foam roller…

They decide which one of these is responsible for their lack of speed or stamina or which one caused the injuries they sustained and, finally, they decide which one of these they should change.

Another bike fit will be useful just in case something has changed or moved.

Then they look at the volume of training they can do: so many swim sessions a week, a couple of runs per week and, of course, as many long bike rides as possible. Volume of training seems to be the priority – to get in as many hours of training that work or family commitments will allow.

The programme they downloaded off the internet, or borrowed from a fellow triathlete, was specifically written for them and their weaknesses, so they will follow that same one again this year.

The online coach they pay monthly is “OK” because he or she has at least 2-3 years’ experience doing triathlons and they have read loads of books on the subject.

If they are in pain or have a repetitive strain injury and can’t run, they avoid the running completely and substitute it with swimming and cycling to keep up the fitness levels. Then they change the shoes (because the shoes are to blame for all running injuries!) so they look on the internet at the best and fastest shoes and buy that pair. They starting doing more stretching and foam rolling and decide to come back to running later.

Did you know that over 64% of all injuries to Recreational Triathletes are caused by running?

During this whole time, they ask fellow triathletes for advice on injuries (because, of course, “they know” having suffered the same strains and pains last year and thinking about it… they still are!)

The second most popular action is searching the internet for quick solutions to IT Band pain, patella femoral pain, calf strains, and Achilles pain. Because everything is on the internet and everything on the internet is correct! Its bound to provide the solution for this particular problem. Surely, the best medical professionals will put the answers on the World Wide Web specifically for recreational and serious triathletes to treat themselves and cause more damage to their bodies.

Finally, if the problem persists, they will reluctantly seek the advice and services of a physiotherapist or sports therapist but, of course, this is the last resort.

By the way, just in case any of your fellow triathletes wanted to know, the primary reason triathletes get running injuries is the landing stress caused by the amount of time we spend on the ground. The heavier we land the more stress we cause.

The second reason is caused by over-compensation from a previous injury or movement pattern.

So why don’t you try something NEW during this pre-season?

Why don’t you look after the most valuable piece of equipment you own? Look after it better, improve it, and teach it new techniques! Get it to operate more efficiently… get it to operate faster! Why don’t you look after your own BODY!?

Why don’t you…

…get your movement and running technique analysed to see if you are moving and running efficiently and to ensure that is not one of the reasons you are getting injured!
…see a physiotherapist for a full body assessment and get treatment for the problem!
…get yourself some technique coaching so you can run better, less heavy, more efficiently and cause less stress!
…get a bespoke running and speed programme by the people who work with hundreds of recreational and professional triathletes every year?
But only if you are making any of these mistakes!

If you’d like to tune-up your body and make improvements, The Running School is here to help. Email tri@runningschool.com to see about our special packages for triathletes.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

runningschool-logo

Thank You

Your message has been submitted and we will reply as soon as possible