TRAINING » GOOD PRACTICE
you will want to rest the next day. If you
activated your muscles, your body will be
awake and ready to race the next day.
I believe in getting my heart rate up to
at least my lactate threshold or 90% of
max heart rate the day before a race. But
it is rare to see other amateur athletes
do a warm-up with similar intensity. Even
my wife sometimes queries why I waste
energy the day before a race. But I’ve
stayed at the same hotel as pros before
a race and have seen them do the same.
They sped off on their bikes, then came
back, grabbed their running shoes and
did a short, fast run. Case closed!
WARM UP ON RACE MORNING
WARM UP THE DAY BEFORE
It’s a myth that you have to rest the day
before a race. What is well documented
is that your body only remembers what
happened the day before. If you rested,
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Here are six reasons to warm up
from sports performance coach
Dusty DeStefano:
1. Increases overall body and muscle
temperatures which increase blood flow
to the active muscles.
2. Increases the body and muscle
temperature which helps to increase the
rate of energy production.
DON'T LIMIT YOURSELF TO
A MULTISPORTS GROUP
Triathlon comprises three sports and
we can all learn from specialists in each
of those sports. You may run after the
bike, but that is no reason not to take
tips from marathon runners like Eliud
Kipchoge. You may run slower, but the
basics are still the basics. It’s a principle
that Javier Gomez and the Brownlee
brothers subscribe to, too. Besides the
obvious benefits of honing your skills in
each discipline, you will gain new circles
of friends.
FINALLY, HAVE FUN
Enjoy the training, the learning and the
people you meet on your journey. The
only growth and intrinsic joy you will ever
experience is when you learn something
new and spend years perfecting it.
Consider that you do this for yourself and
nobody else. It’s about you having fun
and improving against yourself. If you do
triathlon for the outside world, you are
not doing it for the right reasons.
Be sure to practice
swimming in the surf if
your race involves an
ocean swim.
slows you down, but it creates a choppy,
bouncy gait that puts extra pressure on
muscles and bones, making you more
prone to injury.
It’s generally accepted that a turnover
of 90 strides per minute is optimum
for most people. That’s 180 steps per
minute if counting both feet.
I recommend every runner reader
Dr Nicholas Romanov’s Pose Method
of Running. He describes the best body
position, and how to use gravity to push
yourself forward.
It’s very important to master good
running technique. If you look at triathlon
pros who are constantly injured, the
reason is usually in their running form.
Feet that land under your hips, and bent
knees, are optimal and the most efficient
way to absorb the shock.
It’s not true that your physiology
limits or dictates your form. Once again,
dedicated work with specific goals in
mind will help you change your running
form to a more efficient, easier style. The
only thing that is required is patience
and dedication.
I’ve heard people say that warming up
is common sense, but it doesn’t seem
to be common practice at the races I
attend. At the recent IRONMAN African
Championship, I saw only a handful of
people warming up.
It is vital to warm up. Warming up
helps you to save energy and get into
a rhythm as quickly as possible. It also
keeps you safe! It helps you to manage
the anxiety we all feel before a big day
and reduces the stress on your heart.
3. Contraction and reflex times
are improved with higher muscle
temperatures.
4. Exercising without warming up places
a potentially dangerous stress on the
heart. Warming up reduces the stress on
the heart.
5. Soft tissue (tendons, ligaments,
muscles) injuries are less likely.
6. There is also a psychological benefit
from properly warming up (the athlete
feels more ready to participate).