Triathlon E-Book

Steve Trew

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 201

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Crowood Sports Guides provide sound, practical advice that will make you a better sportsperson, whether you are learning the basic skills, discovering more advanced techniques or reviewing the fundamentals of your sport. This book offers practical advice on the skills and techniques of the three disciplines of triathlon (swimming, cycling and running) and a consideration of how to achieve the correct balance of training that is required in this multi-discipline sport. An analysis of triathlon's fourth discipline - the 'transition' - and the particular training required is also studied, as well as a discussion of tapering, nutrition and how to achieve the positive mental attitude that is vital for success. Finally, there is an examination of race preparation and how to analyse performance. Superbly illustrated with over 100 sequence and action colour photographs.

Leseprobe

CROWOOD SPORTS GUIDES

TRIATHLON

SKILLS • TECHNIQUES • TACTICS

Steve Trew

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2010 by The Crowood Press Ltd Ramsbury, Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2014

© The Crowood Press Ltd 2010

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978 1 84797 862 2

Disclaimer

Please note that the author and the publisher of this book are not responsible or liable, in any manner whatsoever, for any damage, injury, or adverse outcome of any kind that may result from practising, or applying, the techniques and methods and/or following the instructions described in this publication. Since the exercises and other physical activities described in this book may be too strenuous in nature for some readers to engage in safely, it is essential that a doctor is consulted before undertaking such exercises and activities.

Dedication

For Marilyn and for Shane, who changed my life even more than triathlon.

Acknowledgements

My thanks to Nigel Farrow for his inspiring photography, and to athletes Emma Dearsley and Toby Radcliffe for their patience and humour throughout all the sequence shots.

My thanks also to the athletes with whom I have worked over the years. You have all been inspirations.

CONTENTS

Preface

Part 1: Introduction to Triathlon

1

The Sport: History and Disciplines

2

Getting Started: Facilities and Equipment

3

The Triathlon Family

4

Coaching and Teaching Triathlon

5

Triathlon for Health

Part 2: The Technique of the Three Disciplines

6

The Basics of Technique

7

Swimming

8

Cycling

9

Running

10

Transition

Part 3: Training

11

Principles of Training

12

Swimming Training

13

Cycling Training

14

Running Training

15

Brick Training, Back-to-Back Training, Specific Triathlon Training

16

Diet and Nutrition

Part 4: Competition

17

Mental Attitude

18

Preparation for Racing and Competing

19

Analysing Performance in Racing and Training

Part 5: Where to Go from Here

20

National and International Structure and Organization of Triathlon

Index

PREFACE

Triathlon is a sport that has caught the public’s imagination; perhaps following on from the marathon boom, triathlon is seen as the all-round sport that will not only keep you fit and active but also promote an active and balanced lifestyle.

This book advises on the basic skills and techniques of the three disciplines which comprise triathlon, and provides help on balancing the training required in a multi-discipline sport. An analysis of swimming, cycling and running, along with the fourth discipline, the transition, and the particular training required to be able to deal with that, is set alongside sequence photographs that explain the appropriate techniques.

There is also advice on preparation for and analysis of racing, as well as tapering, nutrition and achieving that essential positive mental attitude.

CHAPTER 1

THE SPORT: HISTORY AND DISCIPLINES

Triathlon is a multi-discipline sport comprising swimming, cycling and running. These disciplines are normally undertaken one immediately after the other with no break in between. The changeover between the disciplines is called the transition.

Triathlon History

Popular myth has it that the sport of triathlon began in Hawaii, but this is not true: triathlon’s roots can be traced back to sunny, southern California in 1974, at Mission Bay in San Diego. Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan organized this triathlon, taking over and moving on from a swim- and-run biathlon staged the previous year. Jack Johnstone added a bike discipline, and the sport of triathlon was born. However, triathlon had very little initial impact. Very slowly more triathlons were organized in and around the San Diego area and some were held a little further afield, though mainly still in southern California. There was no overall organization or structure at this time and both the distances of the three disciplines and the overall length of events differed widely. Often the distances would reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the race organizers and their experience, particularly if they intended taking part in their own event. There were individual races, relays, and events with two or more separate distances in some or all of the disciplines.

Fast transitions are an integral part of triathlon. © Nigel Farrow

One man who did take part in that first ever triathlon in Mission Bay was a certain John Collins, and it is perhaps thanks to him that triathlon has established its current popularity. John Collins was a naval captain at the time he took part in the event; he was later promoted to commander. Just three years after the Mission Bay triathlon, Captain Collins was a competitor in the relay running event around Hawaii. After this event, in discussion with other athletes and competitors, not only runners, John Collins came up with a proposal that was to popularize triathlon. In 1977 there were three endurance events on the island of Oahu; the Waikiki rough water swim of 2.4 miles (3km), a two-day cycle event around the island of 112 miles (180km), and the Honolulu marathon of 26.2 miles (42km). In 1978 on 18 February, the dream became a reality and Gordon Haller (USA) won the first ever ‘Ironman’ event in 11 hours 46 minutes. Of the 15 athletes who started the event, 12 finished. Television coverage followed in 1980 and the Ironman became too big for Oahu and was moved to the ‘big’ island of Hawaii.

Triathlon achieved real fame and even notoriety in 1982. Triathlete Julie Moss was leading the women’s event when, within sight of the finish line, she collapsed and began to crawl towards and over the finish line, only for Kathleen McCartney to run past her. The TV and general media coverage captured the imagination of all watching, and guaranteed continued interest from the general public, who perceived this new sport as something outside the normal run of things.

From its early beginnings in California and Hawaii, triathlon started to gain acceptance as a sport in its own right in Europe in 1982. Scott Tinley, a leading US triathlete had been commissioned by the International Management Group (IMG) to organize a triathlon in the principality of Monaco. However, Princess Grace of Monaco (formerly Hollywood film star Grace Kelly) was killed in a car crash and the race had to be abandoned. As all the planning had been done, the race was moved to Nice, France, and a number of the top Americans raced including Mark Allen who went on to win the inaugural ITU World Championships in 1989 and many Hawaii Ironman Championships.

Dagenham newsagent Aleck Hunter was the man who brought triathlon to Great Britain. Aleck had raced in that first Nice event and was captivated by the sheer professionalism and discipline of the American athletes in particular. Together with Olympic pentathlete Mike Ellis, and endurance cycling record holder Dick Poole, Aleck formed the British Triathlon Association (BTA) in 1983 over a drink in a Hammersmith pub.

In these early days, organization of triathlon tended to be fragmented and a little haphazard, and it was not until 1989, the year of the first Triathlon World Championships in Avignon, France, that the world organizing body, the International Triathlon Union (ITU) was founded. The BTA eventually became the British Triathlon Federation (BTF). In a very short time, triathlon was accepted into the Olympic Games and made its debut in Sydney 2000. Australia has become one of the world’s leading lights in triathlon and it was entirely appropriate that its Olympic debut was here. The distances of this first Olympic triathlon were 1500m swim, 40k cycle and 10k run. These distances had been accepted as the standard distances for a number of years since that first world championship, and were taken from existing events on the Olympic programme in the separate sports of swimming, cycling and running. The Commonwealth Games followed in Manchester, England in 2002; the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece; 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia and then the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

World championships in triathlon have been held every year since 1989 as have continental championships including European championships.

Simon Whitfield of Canada, the first Olympic male gold medalist for triathlon, in Sydney 2000. © Nigel Farrow

The Disciplines

The three disciplines of triathlon are swimming, cycling and running. However, the nature of the sport – with no time gap between disciplines – has created a fourth discipline: the transition, or changeover between events.

Many people accept that it is this continuous nature and fast change that have made triathlon unique. There are, of course, many other multi-discipline sports: the decathlon and heptathlon in track and field, the modern pentathlon mix of swimming and running, fencing, shooting and riding. But these events are not non-stop and continuous; triathlon is. In the early days in Great Britain, swimming was sometimes replaced by canoeing, and still today there are variations on the triathlon theme. One popular substitute is indoor rowing on a fixed machine such as the Concept 2. However the swim–cycle– run format is now accepted as triathlon proper, although local conditions may occasionally mean that the order may differ, or one discipline may be split.

Emma Snowshill of Australia and Vanessa Fernandez of Portugal, gold and silver medal winners in the Beijing Olympic triathlon. © Nigel Farrow

Everything about triathlon is exciting! © Nigel Farrow

CHAPTER 2

GETTING STARTED: FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT

What do we need in the way of facilities – a place to train—for triathlon? Ideally, the same facilities that are needed for our three discipline sports: swimming, cycling and running.

Swimming

For swimming, a swimming pool is of course essential and additionally, access to a safe open water venue is a big advantage. Swimming pools come in all shapes and sizes, perhaps the most common are the standard 25-metre long pool although some areas still have the older 33.3-metre pool. (There still some 25-yard pools in existence, and many of the older 33.3-metre pools are actually 362/3 yards, because the distances competed in Great Britain were 110 yards rather than 100m.) There are 50-metre pools, but these are still few and far between. There is almost always public swimming in local authority pools but this can sometimes be crowded and unpleasant for novice swimmers. However, most enlightened authorities now have time set aside, often in the early mornings, for serious swimmers who perhaps don’t want to belong to a swimming club. At these times, some (perhaps all) of the pool will be sectioned or laned off, and swimmers will be able to swim up and down the lane. Most pools will also have designated slow, medium and fast lanes or recreational, semi-serious and serious swimmer lanes so that people are able to choose the most appropriate standard for them. However, it is far better to be able to swim under guidance, particularly for novice swimmers. Swimming is all about technique, and without a good technique, progress will be minimal. Most swimming clubs now have a ‘masters’ section for swimmers (normally) over the age of twenty years, some even have a fitness or triathlon section to cater for adults. The importance of the help of a qualified teacher or coach cannot be over-emphasized, and improvement in technique can be fast. You will normally be told to swim in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction for safety reasons to avoid collisions. Alternate lanes will swim in alternate directions to avoid the possibility of arms clashing as they recover over the water.

Alternate lanes clockwise and anticlockwise to avoid unnecessary collisions

Pool layout and lane patterns.

Access to a safe, open water venue is a huge advantage for the triathlete intending to race in open water events. It is essential that the venue is safe, that the water quality is good and that there is always some form of safety and rescue on hand. Triath letes and swimmers should never swim alone or unsupervised. Lakes are normally safer than rivers or the sea; currents and tides can be deceptive and dangerous.

Kit and Equipment for Swimming

While some triathletes prefer to wear an all-in-one ‘trisuit’ for competitions, for training swimming trunks or costume are the essentials, but there are also the almost-essentials and a variety of other equipment that will help in training.

Foremost of these are swimming goggles. Swimming goggles have only really been in existence for twenty years or so and prior to this, weeping eyes during and after swimming training sessions were commonplace amongst swimmers. Goggles protect the eyes from chemicals and infection and also greatly assist sighting, looking at their own or other swimmers’ techniques under water.

Swimming caps or hats will keep long hair out of a swimmer’s eyes and will also help in maintaining body heat, particularly in open water swims (one-third of body heat is lost through the head). Neoprene or insulated hats are also a great advantage in open water swimming when the temperature is low.

Many triathletes prefer to wear a trisuit. © Nigel Farrow

The swimmer’s kit.

Kickboards and pull buoys are used to isolate and focus on the leg action and arm action. However, overuse of these can be detrimental. Good kick action is essential to make progress in swimming, even though it is predominantly an upper body activity; new triathletes will often try to ‘short-cut’ their swimming deficiencies by too much use of the pull buoy that will lift their body position artificially. Similarly, too much use of kickboards can make the lower back sore and make the kicking process artificial.

Fins (often wrongly called flippers) are extremely useful, particularly when starting to learn new drills and techniques, as they remove the necessity of having to kick hard to maintain a good, flat body position. They are also very useful for kick practice but kicking work should also take place without the use of fins. Short, specialist swim fins are essential. The long, underwater and snorkelling fins can slow down the kick, giving a false sense of ability; they also put pressure on ankles and feet when kicking hard.

A water bottle is essential for all the disciplines, not only swimming. Particularly in swimming, the effects of not drinking enough, early enough, and possible dehydration can easily be underrated.

Rubber tubing can be used around the ankles to isolate the legs and force the swimmer to focus on pulling. They quickly give an insight into how important good kicking is for balance and position.

A wetsuit is essential for open water swimming in Great Britain. A specialist swimming wetsuit is advisable and recommended. Diving, surfing and canoeing wetsuits are often too inflexible and are unsuitable. The neoprene rubber of the wetsuit comes in different thicknesses (often 3mm and 5mm) and you should take advice on what is best for you.

Wetsuits are essential when the water is cold. © Nigel Farrow

Cycling

Cycling can be practised wherever there are roads. However, traffic on roads is inherently dangerous and care must always be taken when deciding where to ride. This is particularly important when in a new area, perhaps arriving early at a race venue. (Greg Welch, Australian Triathlon world champion was stopped when found cycling along the motorway when in Manchester for the 1993 World Championships.) Ideally, stay away from main and busy roads; also be wary in country lanes where traffic may not anticipate one or more cyclists coming around a corner. Above all, exercise caution! Hills are a necessary and welcome evil. If you don’t ride hills in training, then you won’t ride hills well in races.

Getting off the roads and mountain biking in safe surroundings is recommended, but you will need caution again if you are not an experienced mountain bike rider: the chance of falls and accidents can be higher.

Highly recommended is a turbo trainer (sometimes called a ‘wind trainer’ or ‘wind load simulator’). A turbo trainer is a floor-based metal frame with a roller at the back. You set your bike on this with the rear wheel on the roller. Pressure can be adjusted for the roller and wheel. The front wheel is sometimes still attached to the bike, sometimes removed, and the front forks safely fixed. You are ready to train safely on the cycle indoors. One advantage of this is that there can be no distractions when doing a quality, interval-based training session. The turbo trainer is a valuable tool that will help training immensely.

Cycling Equipment and Clothing

You will need a bike that must fit you perfectly. Your mechanical efficiency and aerodynamics position will depend on this. You also need to be comfortable. The main components and equipment on a bike are: frame, wheels and tyres, freewheel, chain, brakes, headset, handlebars and stem, gears, chainwheel and bottom bracket, pedals.

Although bike size is important, it is not the be-all and end-all as there are a number of adjustments that can be made. Sizing and position adjustments can only be guidelines, and if you do need to make changes, make them gradually and in easy stages of a maximum half-centimetre each time. The adjustments that can be easily made for height and for reach are: saddle height, saddle front and rear position, handlebar height, and handlebar forward and back position (stem length).

The most important piece of clothing is not shoes, shorts or jersey, but a crashhat. You have to wear a crash-hat to be allowed to compete; you can be disqualified if you are seen riding at a race without one. Wearing a crash-hat may save your life; it did mine.

Cycle shorts have a chamois or padded insert in the crotch area to make you comfortable when sitting on a saddle for a long time. A cycle jersey has two or three pockets at the back to allow you to carry food and emergency repair articles. Make sure that you always have a water bottle, puncture repair outfit and/or spare inner tube, and a mobile phone. Your bike should have a water bottle carrier and a pump attached to the frame. Wearing cycle mitts (gloves) will stop your hands rubbing on the handlebars.

Riding up hills is a necessary evil. © Nigel Farrow

Olympic triathlete Hollie Avil on the turbo trainer. © Nigel Farrow

Running

You can run anywhere. However, as with cycling it can be pleasant to choose a quiet route away from main roads. Running on grass can often be easier on the legs because of the softer surfaces. The down-side of a grass surface is that it may not always be level so it is important to watch where you are running. It is extremely useful to have access to a 400-metre running track so that periodically you can check and monitor your training times. Most running tracks are now all-weather surfaces with eight lanes. If you choose to run in any lane except lane one (and some tracks insist on this to save wear and tear on the inside lane), you will run further than 400m each time and your times will demonstrate that.

Running Clothing

The most important item of running clothing and equipment is a good pair of shoes. With these, you are more likely to avoid injury. However, there is no one correct type of running shoe and each individual will need ones that suit them. There is a great deal of choice: straight, slightly curved and curved; board-lasted (normally the heavier training shoes) and slip-lasted (normally the lighter racing shoes), or a combination of both with the board-lasting from heel to mid-foot. Care must be taken when changing to a new, different pair of shoes as there can be a significant difference in foot plant with a new shoe. It is also helpful to seek advice as to whether you are a pronator (where the ankle pushes inwards on foot plant), a neutral runner (straight on foot plant), or suprinator (where the ankle pushes outwards on foot plant). The majority of runners are pronators or neutral type runners. Most good specialist running shops will give this advice.

Running shorts and vests should be comfortable and light; if you are new to running, it is worth knowing that many a runner suffers from sore nipples when their vest rubs on the chest. Applying Vaseline will stop this. Lace locks rather than laces will save a few seconds in the transition area when changing from cycling to running shoes. Hats, sunglasses, woolly hats and running tights are also useful for changes in weather.

Finally, heart rate monitors (which do what they say, monitor your heart rate) are useful tools to check how hard you are training. These can be used for all three disciplines including swimming, although male swimmers may want to wear a trisuit rather than swimming trunks to keep the heart rate monitor in place on the chest.

Running can be done anywhere. © Nigel Farrow

Racing in a pack can still be fun. © Nigel Farrow

CHAPTER 3

THE TRIATHLON FAMILY

Triathlon is swim, bike and run. However, there are other combinations that are part of the triathlon family and are governed by national and the international bodies.

Duathlon

Duathlon used to be called biathlon and is like triathlon for non-swimmers; you run, then you bike and then you run again. Biathlon became duathlon to avoid confusion with the winter sport of the same name that incorporates cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Duathlon has a lower profile than triathlon and is not (yet) an Olympic sport. The ITU, triathlon’s governing body, runs a World Championship for both elite and age group athletes over a short distance of 10k run, 40k cycle and 5k run; and a long distance of 10k, 60k, 10k. However, perhaps more so than in triathlon, duathlon competition distances can vary. Athletes who want to run and cycle even further can enter the Powerman events, a world series of events based around the original Power(wo)man Zofingen race which has a 10k first run, 150k bike and 30k second run. Not all the events are this long but they have to be a minimum of 10k:60k:10k to be part of the long distance series.

Swimming, an essential skill. © Nigel Farrow

Aquathon

The aquathon is a swim–run event. Unlike a duathlon that traditionally has three stages (run, bike, run) an aquathon often has just two: swim and run. The swim usually, but not always, precedes the run. Aquathons take place all year round and distances range from as short as a 500m pool swim and a 5k run up to 2000m open water swims and 10k runs. The ITU organizes its aquathon World Championships as a run–swim–run event with the second run normally half the distance of the first, although sometimes it is a 2.5k run, 1k swim, 2.5k run.

Another variation of the sport, and run under the pentathlon governing body, is biathle. This is also a run–swim–run combination and has a series of events around the world and a World Championship.

There is also aquabike wherein you swim and then bike, but the discipline has no formal status and these are often races put on as part of an overall triathlon-based competition weekend where the organizer is trying to offer variety.

Winter Triathlon