Welcome to what will, hopefully become a regular feature of our Newsletter. I thought for the first instalment, given that there a number of people commencing their IM training – some for the first time that I would talk on training, and more to the point, consistency.

 Consistency comes in two forms, the first is relating to training frequency whereas the second is training intensity, and both are important to achieving the outcome that we are ultimately after – becoming faster during races.

 For many it is difficult to set a program and work through it on a daily basis without missing sessions, for the average triathlete this isn’t a bad thing given work and family commitments, though to head into an Ironman underdone can make a long day even longer and in the delirious moments in the later part of the race questioning why………yep, it happens!

 So…..how do we ensure that we are able to train consistently without upsetting the household or the boss while balancing training intensity and motivation? I hope to offer a couple of tips shortly.

 In relation to training intensity, besides your bike, runners and goggles, a Heart Rate Monitor is the next most important part of a triathletes training kit (and if you have a spare 2 grand a power meter would be next). To be able to train and monitor ones own performance on each training session by HR is a major performance bonus and one that will see rapid gains if used correctly.

 If following a weekly program, each session should have the desired intensity included so that there are key sessions plus others that are used to consolidate what has previously been done – I think we all know that we can’t train each session at the same intensity that we would race, though we do need to add specific sessions to bring us up to the race speed and duration – over a programmed period (including interval sessions)!

 Now, back to consistency whilst training. The majority of sessions outside of the key sessions will be at a relative low HR of 70-75%, during these sessions it is still important to try and maintain your HR at the same level so that you are consistent in your training approach and consolidating so that you will be able to push harder during your chosen race. It is important also that during this type of session you do not push to hard and elevate your HR to high otherwise you may not have the energy stores available to go into your next key session where you need to be able to take everything you can away from that session.

 Now, back to a few tricks in trying to maintain consistency with training days and ensuring that others in your life support you on your journey instead of dreading January to April each year!!!

 1.      Set your training sessions around your family and work commitment with your families input.

2.      Put your training plan on the fridge – make sure others are aware of your sessions in advance, no use heading out the door on a long run and yelling, “see you in 2 and a half hours”, this one doesn’t go down well!

3.      Have a catch up session on your program so that if you miss a session you can still fit it in on this particular day – I make mine Friday afternoon so I ensure I don’t miss a session midweek (otherwise I miss a session of the liquid kind).

4.      If you do have to miss a session don’t feel guilty (even if point 3 above doesn’t work).

5.      Make sure you have training buddies for 50% of your sessions.

6.      Ensure if training with buddies that you are still able to do what is on your program if there are specifics included for that session.

7.      Have a training buddy know your program so that if you are lacking in motivation and missing a few sessions they can offer a gentle reminder why you are doing this.

8.      Work provides your income for your family, do not jeopardise work for a training session.

9.      If your boss appreciates work/life balance s/he may offer you some flexibility in start/finish times so that you can fit longer sessions around work (though refer to 8 above if not).

 As a final note, consistency in training, both in session attendance and intensity will see a rapid result improvement, though missing sessions and yo-yoing in intensity will see an average result achieved.

 Train smart and train safe, and next week I will talk about Interval training and how this will assist in a faster time.

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