Complete triathlon guide

368 Pages·2012·3.26 MB·English

by  USA Triathlon

C o m p l e t e

TriaThlon
G u i d e
Compiled by triatHlon's national GoverninG body
Human KinetiCs
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Complete triathlon guide / USA Triathlon.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-4504-1260-5 (soft cover) -- ISBN 1-4504-1260-2 (soft cover)
1. Triathlon--Training. I. USA Triathlon.
GV1060.73.C64 2012
796.42'57--dc23
2011052796
ISBN-10: 1-4504-1260-2 (print)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4504-1260-5 (print)
Copyright © 2012 by USA Triathlon
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C o m p l e t e

TriaThlon
G u i d e
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
part i training
CHapter 1 Developing Your Seasonal Training Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
CHapter 2 Customizing Training for Specific Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
CHapter 3 Yoga and Flexibility for Triathletes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
CHapter 4 Strength Training for Triathletes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
CHapter 5 Training for Triathlon Swimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
CHapter 6 Training for Triathlon Biking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
CHapter 7 Training for Triathlon Running . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
CHapter 8 Recovery and Overtraining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
CHapter 9 Exercise Physiology for Triathletes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
CHapter 10 The Art and Science of Tapering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
part ii technique
CHapter 11 Bike-Handling Techniques From the Pros . . . . . . . . . . . 147
CHapter 12 Setting the Perfect Cadence and Stride Rate . . . . . . . . . 157
CHapter 13 Assessing Your Running Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
CHapter 14 Improving Your Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
CHapter 15 Troubleshooting Your Freestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
iv ◾
part iii Competitive strategy
CHapter 16 Open-Water Race Tactics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
CHapter 17 Strategies for Drafting and Nondrafting Races . . . . . . . 207
CHapter 18 Performance Tips for Any Distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
CHapter 19 Mental Strategies for Training and Racing . . . . . . . . . . . 227
CHapter 20 Traveling for Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
part iv the triathlon Lifestyle
CHapter 21 Fitting Triathlon Into Busy Lives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
CHapter 22 Choosing the Ideal Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
CHapter 23 Choosing a Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
CHapter 24 Developing Young Triathletes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
CHapter 25 Dealing With Common Injuries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287
CHapter 26 Nutrition for Endurance Athletes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
CHapter 27 Hydrating During Training and Competition . . . . . . . . . 309
CHapter 28 Beyond Swim, Bike, Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
CHapter 29 Long-Term Triathlete Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Appendix: USA Triathlon University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
About USA Triathlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
About the Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
◾ v
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IntroduCtIon
Welcome to Complete Triathlon Guide. The sport of triathlon is growing at a tremendous
rate as more and more people participate in triathlons to stay healthy, get fit, and
have fun. Triathletes are highly motivated, and they want to learn everything they can
about the sport to help themselves become better athletes. Training for triathlons is a
challenge because of the unique balance needed in swimming, biking, and running
in order to achieve success. This book provides athletes and coaches of all skill and
experience levels the best training information and racing strategies available. It is an
absolute must-have resource for coaches and athletes who are serious about taking
performance to the next level or those wanting to learn more about the sport. Complete
Triathlon Guide is filled with training tips and information from the best-known experts
in the triathlon field.
When we started discussing the possibility of putting this book together, we were
excited to have the leaders of triathlon coaching, training, and racing willing to write a
chapter on a topic they are best known for. Each of these authors has enough knowledge
and expertise to write their own books, and many have, so we are grateful to each of
them for sharing a piece of their knowledge in this book.
Part I, Training, includes chapters 1 through 10. Chapter 1 focuses on developing
your seasonal training plan and understanding periodization. Chapter 2 discusses how
to customize training for special groups including beginners, youth, and masters and
female athletes. Chapter 3 introduces you to yoga by talking about the benefits of yoga
and types of classes while also providing several yoga poses that can be practiced at
home. Chapter 4 helps you understand how to incorporate strength training for triath-
letes by covering resistance training concepts, organizing a strength training program
for triathlon, and explaining specific strength training exercises that can improve a
triathlete’s fitness and performance.
As we move into chapter 5, we start getting into sport-specific training by covering
swimming pool workouts for open water including the warm-up, technique work, main
set, and cool-down. Chapter 6 discusses training for triathlon biking, while chapter 7
gets into the specifics of triathlon run training. Chapter 8 is dedicated to helping you
understand overtraining and recovery, how to balance stress and recovery, and how
to anticipate and prevent overtraining. Chapter 9 sets the foundation for the book as
it discusses exercise physiology, covering the energy, muscular, and cardiorespiratory
systems, and shows how manipulating the training loads affects physiological adapta-
tions. Chapter 10 will teach you several key points about tapering including managing
the training load during the taper, enhancing recovery during the taper, managing
nutrition and hydration during the taper, and other details related to tapering.
Part II, Technique, includes chapters 11 through 15. Chapter 11 discusses bike fitting
and mounting, essential skills for the road, and race-day skills. Chapter 12 covers how
to set, improve, manage, maintain, and train your bike and run cadences. Chapter 13
goes over the key concepts of how to assess your running form including head, neck,
and eye position; breathing; and head-to-toe body position. Chapter 14 explains the
◾ vii
viii ◾ Introduction
importance of setting up your transitions correctly, how to move from the swim to
the bike and the bike to the run quickly, and how to have a great swim start. Chapter
15 focuses on how to reduce drag and create propulsion in the water by using body
position and an efficient swim stroke.
Part III, Competitive Strategy, includes chapters 16 through 20. Chapter 16 covers
everything you need to know about open-water training, tactical race aspects, rules,
prerace warm-up, and specific swim tactics. Chapter 17 helps you understand the
differences between cycling in a nondrafting race versus a drafting race as well as
the skills used in each. Chapter 18 discusses how important it is to understand your
limits when it comes to training and racing for triathlons as well as how to strengthen
your weaknesses, increase your strengths, and individualize your training. Chapter 19
focuses on getting you mentally prepared for race day by evaluating your mental skills,
describing mental skills strategies, and teaching you how to practice mental skills.
Chapter 20 helps you prepare for traveling to a race by teaching you how to pack your
bike and race gear, how to travel comfortably, and how to arrive at your destination
relaxed and ready to race.
Part IV, The Triathlon Lifestyle, includes chapters 21 through 29. Chapter 21 provides
you with strategies to help you fit training into your daily schedule while balancing
your work and personal life by using time management skills and building a support
network. Chapter 22 is a comprehensive discussion of the technological milestones
that have been key to triathlon development and how to choose the best swim, bike,
and run gear to match your skill level. Chapter 23 discusses what qualities you should
look for in a coach, from education and background to philosophy and programs, as
well as how a coach can help you with physical and mental skills, fitness assessments,
and testing and time management.
Chapter 24 is dedicated to helping you promote an athletic childhood for the children
in your life, how to get kids started in triathlon, and how to create champions of sport
and life. Chapter 25 covers the most common injuries seen in triathletes, including
specific swimming, cycling, and running injuries, and how to treat injuries and when
to seek a medical professional’s advice. Chapter 26 explains how to use the nutrition
periodization concept and how to eat based on your physical activity and what phase of
training you are in. Chapter 27 discusses the physiological role of water and hydration
and the specific fluid needs for athletes before, during, and after training and competi-
tion. This chapter also covers the adverse health effects related to hydration. Chapter
28 covers other multisport activities beyond just triathlon including duathlon, off-road
triathlon, winter triathlon, and adventure racing. Chapter 29 covers how to assess your
athletic range and depth of fitness and how to be a lifelong triathlete through safe and
effective training.
Much of a triathlete’s swim training will take place in a pool. Internationally, both
short-course and long-course pools are measured in meters, and pools in the United
States are moving toward this standard. For this reason, meters is the unit of measure
we have chosen for pool distances. However, we realize that some readers will be
training in yard pools. In this case, readers can swim the same number of yards as
meters stated.
This book is a basic guide and resource for the safe and effective development of
a comprehensive triathlon training and racing program. It is an absolute must-have
resource for coaches and athletes who are interested in their first triathlon or competing
Introduction ◾ ix
in their 50th triathlon. It is loaded with invaluable training information that experts in
this book have spent years developing. The authors hope that athletes, coaches, and
triathlon enthusiasts will gain an appreciation and a better understanding of what it
takes to train for and compete in a triathlon. We hope you enjoy the book!
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