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The last lap

PUBLISHED : 31 Mar 2011 05:01:07 | Jonathan Hall

Congratulations, if you have managed to stick to the plan, you have done a great job in preparing for the Nissan/BRW Triathlon for 2011. With the work done, now it is time to taper and reap the rewards of your training. While this appears to be an easy process, it is often the most complicated as your body has become used to working at certain intensities and durations and you are going to break that rhythm.

The key for a taper is to reduce your overall load while maintaining some intensity. Most important is to keep the frequency of sessions. Friday will be the only complete rest day this week so have your equipment prepared on that day. If you need to have your bike serviced, this is the day. On Friday you also need to consume the valuable carbohydrates that will allow you to participate to your best ability on Sunday.

The key to the sessions are as follows:

1. Easy pace: 60 to 80 per cent of your average time from the time trials

2. Steady pace: 98 to 102 per cent of your average time from the time trial

3. Race pace: 102 per cent to 110 per cent of your average time from the time trials.

Monday: 10 minute walking warm-up followed by four minutes of running at easy pace and one minute walk completed four times. Before the 10-minute walk warm-down, complete 4 x 100m strides running at race pace. This will keep your body moving at the pace for Sunday’s race.

Tuesday: Swim 600m as 6 x 100m: two at easy pace, two at steady pace and two at race pace. Take a two-minute break between 100m efforts.

Wednesday: Ride 30 minutes in total at easy pace. Make sure you keep the load on your legs low by pedalling at a high cadence.

Thursday: Swim to be completed as 4 x 50m as 25m easy-pace freestyle and 25m hard kick. Then swim 400m at easy pace continuously and warm down with 4 x 50m at 25m hard kick/25m easy pace freestyle. Run: As per Monday. Run easy with a walk break and finish with some strides at race pace.

Friday: Day off. Make sure you have everything you need for race day and that your bike is clean and running well.

Saturday: Before the race is an important one-off opportunity to go over the course. I like to get my athletes down to the swim site to work out sighting lines, direction and to check the currents. Ride 8km on the cycling course to check for holes and to gauge wind direction and turns or corners. Run an easy 20 minutes from inside transition so again you can create a mental picture of where you will have to go once the race starts.

Sunday: “The Big Dance.” Make sure you allow at least three hours to prepare before the start time. Finish eating at least two hours before start time and allow plenty of time on reaching the race venue to check into transition and work through the your plans.

The line at the Portaloos will be long, so give yourself enough time. Remember, take confidence in the fact that you have done the work and stick to what you have rehearsed to get 100 per cent out of your training.

Warm up by actively increasing your heart rate and this can be done by jogging, skipping, walking, riding or getting in the water if you feel comfortable to do so. Remember, when you cross the line, give a big smile and a wave to those who have supported you through this program. Good luck!

Former world champion Jonathan Hall (themultisportbrain@hotmail.com) is head coach for the Victorian Institute of Sport’s triathlon program.

Look about, hop on, ride away

| Brendan “Kung Fu” Sexton

In this final week, you should set time aside to practice all the tips we have set out for this event. For this week you should look to put all the pieces together. The final piece of the puzzle is in mounting your bike following the transition from swim to bike riding. In every triathlon, there will be a mount line where you are given the green light to get on and ride away.

On race day you need to work out how many people are around you so you can then decide if this is where you will get on your bike.

Remember, this is just the first place you can get on. If it is busy, it can be smart to run a little further to clear the traffic jam caused by people trying to get on their bikes at the same place.

A picture like the one shown paints a thousand words. Anyway this is how you should get on your bike. The tips are the same as for running with your bike. Head up, hold the bike in a position you feel is stable and create some space so you can get on your bike cleanly.

Congratulations on the work done so far and all the best of luck on race day. Good training.

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