Dear Athletes,
Today we are going to have a look at what type of off season training you should be doing. Should you focus on slower km’s or keep speed in the mix? Without knowing you all individually, some may say this email is a tough ask, but I think I have a few basic rules for you to follow.
We all know training requires balance. You work hard, you overload, you recover and you become fitter. Many mistakes are made when an athlete prescribes to the belief that more is more. What if you can do less to get more, and is the off season the time to do more or less. Are you confused yet…..?
LSD – the time for volume
The off season is the time to do your base work – or long slow distance (LSD). The importance of the base km’s underpins your long term progression as an athlete. Without base work, your body will not be ready to sustain a high level of more intense training as you move towards racing and peak performance. It is this time, in the off season period, that there is no substitute for volume. The most important thing to remember is that as volume increases, intensity must drop, and vice versa. For your longer training days or higher volumes, it is important you plan this time.
Speed – the move to less volume
When speed is the key ingredient to racing fast, it is important not to stray too far away from speed for too long a period. A simple explanation of the ‘need for speed’ is that an endurance base is built up over many years, and is relatively slow for a decline to be noticed. With high intensities however, the loss of performance is much faster, and also arguably harder to regain. So if high intensity is harder to gain and easier to lose, there is an argument to keep it in all year round.
Triathlon is an endurance sport, but given it is made up of 3 disciplines, the speed element is vital to racing well. You need speed in the swim to start well, you need speed on the bike to chase, jump packs and get away and you need speed on the run, because without it you will be left behind. While it is important to take some time to build a base, you should not stray too long from speed or harder training intensities. Speed at different times of the year can be introduced at different intensities, and during the off season the least intensive type may be added. An example is a simple fartlek during a run, mixing up the pace and intensity of periods to remain in touch with some element of your speed.
Know yourself – know what works for you
As an athlete you need to know yourself and your own body. You need to know what helps and what doesn’t – or what your body responds best to. Prolonged periods of volume did not personally work for me, and left me feeling flat and tired. While there is a time for this, I liked to remain in touch with training intensity and elements of speed in my training. This was particularly true for my swim – which was the least natural discipline for me. Don’t be afraid to have discussions with your coach to make sure you are confident in your planned workload. There always needs to be a reason why you are training a particular way, and you as the athlete must understand why.
Racing Skill – the art of racing learnt elsewhere
Racing skill, also known as race craft and racing IQ is something which can be worked on in the off season. Racing skill is vital to racing well and understanding how to read what is going on around you, understanding when to attack, what pace to hold and when to sit-in (draft) or go along. Racing skill can be learnt very well with the use of running races. These races do not have to be long either, I always have my athlete’s race 1500m and 3000m track events as well as 6km cross country and 5km road races. These shorter races improve an athlete’s speed and quality of running and sharpen up run technique. They are quick, and force you to learn the skill of racing, thinking quickly and reacting quickly – the skills you need in a triathlon. As with Athletics, bike racing can upskill athletes in the bike discipline. Valuable lesson of breaking away, jumping packs, climbing, using the wind to improve athlete bike racing IQ. Many athletes use criterium races, but I prefer road racing because the suffering and skill required to remain in the bunch is intensified in a tough road race. If you can find some off-season bike and run races, they are very useful to fine tune your skills.
I hope the above helps provoke thought on what you can do on your off season. You need a break from triathlon, you need to work on volume, but you also need to stay in touch with speed. Know what works, and always look for opportunities to learn about racing fast, because that is the key to racing well.
Emma
