Triathlon Race Day Preparation Warm Up
By Coach Mike Ricci
For Olympic and Sprint Distance Triathlons
When racing the shorter distance triathlons, proper transition set-up and warm-up are essential to having a successful race. Just by following the few simple steps below, you can have a more successful and enjoyable race.
Make sure to arrive early on race morning. This will give you time to register, stretch, get numbered, and get to the bathroom. When you get into transition area, figure out where the swim exit and entrance to the transition area is, and then position your bike in the best rack possible. I would suggest being closer to the bike exit, so you don’t have to run very far with your bike. Walk this once or twice to get orientated – and since everything will be at full speed during the race, my suggestion is to run it all full speed at least once before the race.
Next, get in a short workout in each sport before the race. I like to work my way backwards, from run to swim. I suggest a run of about 15-20 minutes and with a few strides (surges) of 15-20 seconds. At the end of the run, run into the transition like you are coming from the swim, run to your rack, put on your bike shoes, helmet, and glasses and take your bike and spin for a short 10-15 minutes with 4-6, 10-15 second sprints out of the saddle. After the bike warm-up, enter back into the transition area and go through the paces as if you were actually in the race. Dismount, run to your transition area, take off your helmet, put on your running shoes on and head out toward the Run exit. Just like in the race.
Complete article here
Hard Lessons of Not Warming Up Pre Race
By Coach Simon Butterworth
Recently along the Front Range we had our first outdoor Triathlon of the season. Temperatures had been in the 80’s earlier in the week but Friday night the mercury plummeted and the wind started to blow hard from the North. This particular race is held in Longmont at Union Reservoir in open country. There is not much stopping the wind from the North to the South except the open prairie. Air Temperature was just above 50 degrees, and the wind chill, was in the low 40’s. The water temperature was a balmy 65 degrees.
I did a short warm up, but nothing nearly as long as I usually do and that was a mistake! The wind was howling and it was much too cold for anyone to warm up on the bike. What I usually recommend is a routine that I learned from Olympic Coach Bobby McGee. Unfortunately I made the mistake of not following this routine!
I start with a few standing ‘static activation’ of key running muscles followed by 5-8 min easy running. Next I perform another group of ‘dynamic activation’ exercises ending with 5-6 strides peaking at just under 5k pace. These exercises don’t just activate the running/cycling muscles but are a great swim warm up as well.
This warm up should be timed to end at a point that allows getting into the water about 15 min before the start, in order to do a few minutes of swimming. My big mistake was not following my own advice as I did not get into the water when I should have. I was worried about getting wet and then cold, and instead stood on the beach, shivering from being in my wetsuit. Eventually, I did join the few in the water for a short swim – but not more than a minute or two. I am sure in hindsight that the land based activation was by now wasted. The result was that I swam like hell out to the first buoy and it was much harder than it needed to be. The winds had picked up to a steady 40 mph at this point and the water was rough with two to three foot choppy waves to swim against!
Complete article here
How to Warm Up for a Long Course Triathlon
By Coach Jim Vance
If you ask many athletes and coaches what a good warm-up is the answers will likely vary for each person you ask. Some might say no warm-up is necessary for a longer event like Ironman, while others might want a very large and highly detailed warm-up. So what is the perfect warm-up for you and your race? The answer largely depends on three key variables.
1. Goals for the Event
If you are trying to get a Kona or 70.3 Worlds’ slot then you must be ready to race hard from the beginning, and that really can’t happen without a great warm-up. The higher the goals you have, and the higher the intensity of the race, the more important the little things like warm-up matter.
If you are just trying to finish an Ironman, then chances are the intensity you are racing at is not something which really requires a significant warm-up for high performance. You just need to be prepared for the conditions of the race.
2. Weather and Water Conditions
If the temperature of the air or water is cold then your body will not respond well to the conditions without a significant warming of the body. Jumping into frigid waters and trying to swim fast does not work well and worse, it brings a risk of hypothermia. You will not be able to generate the heat you need to keep yourself warm if you are not warmed up beforehand.
In hot conditions and warm water it doesn’t take long to warm up the body at all. Still, a warm-up is necessary to be fully prepared. However, an excessive warm-up might be detrimental since it may cause overheating.
3. Length of Event
There is some truth that the longer the event the less warm-up time is actually needed. Again though, goals and intensity will determine part of this. Even in Ironman it is important to get out with the good pack.
If you will be starting a race at a very high intensity, say for an Olympic triathlon or if you are trying to win your age group, you must prime the body to be able to get to that intensity right away. Without it, you may get left behind.
Additional key points include:
– Knowing When You’re Ready
– Warming Up the Mind
– Warming-up the Nervous System
– Warming Up the Muscular System
– Order of Exercises
Complete article here
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