Triathletes must endure more when it comes to race day and be in perfect mental and physical shape. The race event is overwhelming for all level athletes and requires weeks and months of preparation; if you are to complete the event, leave alone win it.
For this to happen, you need to condition your body for the adversity you are about to face. And this is where a triathlon training planner spreadsheet will be useful.
A successful triathlon training plan should incorporate all three disciplines (swim, bike, and long run) into a single program.
The Purpose of a Triathlon Training Plan
Running a triathlon requires triathletes to have muscular endurance and bursting aerobic energy to sustain them through all the disciplines. A triathlon is a race of endurance and tactics. You must know when to slow the pace, hold it, and burst into life during different points of the race.
A triathlon training plan will help you achieve the following:
Base aerobic fitness
Building your aerobic capacity is the first step when training for a triathlon. It entails making your body efficient in converting fat and carbs into fuel (energy) using oxygen. Your muscles have
mitochondria that turn food into energy. The more you stress your aerobic system, the more mitochondria are created and more energy to sustain you through the event.
Boost muscular endurance
Your leg muscles will be under constant pressure repeatedly, and with proper training, you should be able to endure the stress. However, muscle fatigue can make you run slow or drop out of the race if you can't cope with the overuse of your leg muscles.
Running on your final legs is challenging, but you should be able to finish strong, which means powering through muscle fatigue.
Mental preparation
Running a marathon is challenging but running a triathlon is even more adverse. It means that you need more mental preparedness than when running a marathon. Therefore, part of the triathlon training plan should include boosting your confidence to overcome and endure the pain and distance of the race. In addition, your training should prepare you to push your limits within a comfortable zone.
Understanding the Types of Triathlon Events
You can participate in any of these four triathlon events depending on your fitness.
· Sprint: 750M swim, 20Km bike, 5Km long runs.
· Olympic: 1.5Km swim, 40 Km bike, 10Km long runs.
· Half Ironman: 1.9Km swim, 90Km bike, 21.1Km (half marathon) run.
· Ironman: 3.8Km swim, 180Km bike, 42.2Km (full marathon) run.
On average, the sprint will take around 1:30:00, Olympic 2:45:00, Half Ironman 6:30:00, and Iron man 13 hours. But only if you have trained and conditioned your body well.
Important Phases of a Successful Triathlon Training Plan
A triathlon training plan spreadsheet should have at least
three phases.
Base
At this stage of your training, the aim is to grow your aerobic experience. The exercises will have a mix of all three disciplines. The length of this stage depends on the kind of triathlon event you are preparing to run.
On estimate, it should take around 4-12 weeks. Success during this phase is to create discipline in workouts and get you strong.
Build
After building your base, the following fitness step is to build your power. The workouts get more intense at this stage, and the volume is also high. At this point, you will learn to push your limits as the focus is to improve every aspect of your body for each discipline.
You need cardio workouts and upper body and leg muscles to prepare for the event. The sprint triathlon aims to oxygen volume and control so that you have the pace and ability to maintain it all through the race.
The Olympic distance is relatively moderate but requires high-intensity routines, strength, and endurance exercises to sustain all three disciplines. Therefore, the training plan for this race type is high-intensity interval training that keeps adding in volume gradually.
Training for the half and full-distance triathlon (Ironman) is more tactical. Even though speed is important, endurance will get you over the line. Therefore, you need to balance between high-intensity workouts and endurance. But remember that the plan should always be to adjust the length of your workout during training. You should be prepared to do more work with every passing week.
Speciality
By this phase, you will have some insight into your strengths in all three disciplines. It's here that you refine all the workouts to match your abilities. Now that you know you have the strength and endurance bagged, this phase should have a mix of workouts that challenge individual areas of your conditioning.
Learn how to transition from each race discipline smoothly and train for the pace you can sustain during the race.
How to Choose the Triathlon Training Plan That's Right for You
If you don't have a coach to shape the triathlon training plan you need, you can find various options on the internet or other sources. The problem is you don't know which plan is reliable.
Before choosing a plan, consider the event type you want. No single training plan can convincingly prepare you for all four distance events. After knowing the distance, consider what you want from the race.
· Are you running to complete the race
· Are you chasing after your personal best time
· Do you want to win the competition
· Is the event solely for PR and fun
Once you establish why you are participating in the triathlon, you can determine your commitment level and choose a choreographed plan to meet your ambitions.
Your training plan should have the volume based on your running distance. You must also consider the training time available before the event and your experience.
How To Plan Your Triathlon Training
A triathlon race is a three-discipline event, and it's logical to include them in your training. Start training early and include resistance exercises to maintain your strength ahead of the race.
Also, focus on conditioning your body by allowing it time to recover from workouts. Finally, practice transitioning from one event to the other. For example, the bike-to-long run transition is challenging for many beginner triathletes.
Biking uses different body movements from running. When you step off your bike, ready to start running, your body reroutes blood to your leg muscles. Practicing the transition is critical to any athlete who wishes to be competitive.
Conclusion
Training for a triathlon event requires patience and proper planning. You will need a triathlon training planner spreadsheet to guide your workouts to achieve this goal. You can condition your body and avoid injuries when you have everything penned down.
Be careful when picking out your triathlon training plan; even though you want a winning guide be careful not to overtrain. Set achievable goals if you have yet to participate in any triathlon event. The best starting point is to try and finish the race regardless of the time you will post.
