Stepping Up The Distance

Stepping up from standard distance to middle and long distance triathlons doesn't need to be as intimidating as it is made out to be! Once you’ve got your head around the different names, such as: Ironman, Challenge, Outlaw, and many other titles which try and scare the s**t out of you and you actually understanding the distance, then it is quite achievable. Of course you will have friends and fellow athletes who will have battle stories from previous races which they will have told you to try and intimidate you even further. But try not to pay too much attention to these, after all, I’m sure you will have your own stories to tell in the future!

One of the big attractions to middle distance and long distance racing, is the sense of achievement which you get from it! It is a remarkable achievement to put yourself through all of the pain and one that should be recognised and celebrated. But how do you get there? Well its not as difficult as you may think. Although it is going to be a challenge, the shift in training from Standard to Middle Distance is relatively simple and if done correctly, it can be quite enjoyable. Long distance is a different story!

In this blog I am going to decipher the three disciplines and tell you how you can adapt your training to prepare for your first Middle or Full Distance Triathlon, as well as my top tips to consider along the way! As a coach and athlete, I understand what it takes and the challenges that you may face, but with a smart and structured approach, anything is possible!

Swim

If you are preparing for a Middle Distance Triathlon, the swim is largely unchanged, going from 1500m to 1900m, it is still the smallest portion of the race. However, because of this, many people tend to neglect the swimming portion, when in fact, there are a lot of gains to be made here. Swimming relies heavily on having strong core muscles, which allows you to apply power through your arms and legs. If you lack rotational core strength then you will fatigue quickly and this will also have a negative impact on the bike leg, and especially the run leg. So don’t neglect those swim sets!

In addition to this, with the bike leg and run leg being considerably further, it is important to exit the swim with as little fatigue on the body as possible, so having strong swim fitness will allow you to be in control and have plenty left in the tank for the two legs that are to come. 

The swim in a long distance triathlon is considerably longer. Double the length of a middle distance swim in fact, at 3800m. It is important that you prepare yourself to swim this distance and understand that it is going to feel quite a bit further. However, like the middle distance, you need to condition your body to a point where you can be in control and exit the swim leg with as little fatigue on the body as possible.

Bike

In any triathlon, whether it is a Sprint or a Long Distance event, the bike leg is always the biggest portion of the race, and therefore, this is the area where the most gains can be made.

This is also a key area of your training to build up your overall fitness and and endurance. First of all, cycling has little impact on your body and therefore you can increase the intensity and volume in your training with little recovery required compared to say running. This is a huge benefit, especially to those that have more time to train than others as you can add in a lot of extra volume, without sacrificing the performance in other sessions. Typically, you could begin by just extending your usual long ride by an hour, or increase the length of your warm ups & cool downs during your more intense sessions to add a bit of extra volume.

The second reason why it’s a huge advantage to be a strong cyclist, especially in a Middle and Long Distance event, is because you want to come off of the bike feeling as ‘fresh’ as possible, so that you can survive the run without too much pain.

Run

Unlike swimming and cycling, running provides the most amount of stress and impact on your body, and therefore you have to approach training in this discipline carefully so that you do not cause too much stress on the body, and increase the risk of injury, as this could seriously jeopardise your training. 

A common approach to your run training, as you step up your distance, is to slightly reduce the intensity, otherwise you may over stress your body as you try to maintain the high intensity and increased volume, which is paramount to Middle and Long Distance training.

The most important thing to remember when stepping up the distance is time and consistency. If you have both of these then you are well on your way to success.

Top Tips

•  Time - Make sure that you give yourself enough time to train for the distance you are stepping up to. If you try and rush the process you could risk injuring yourself and not making it onto the start line.

•  Set Goals - Make sure that you have a goal in mind. This could be anything from completing the new distance, or a time based goal. Whatever it is, its a really good way to help keep you focused and motivated.

•  Train with others - Middle and Long Distance training can be quite time consuming, and it is likely you will be training for longer, so having a group of friends to train with will really help to keep you motivated and you may even learn a thing or two along the way.

•  Recovery - When you step up the distance, this should be at the top of your priority list. Make sure that you get enough sleep, dial in your nutrition and take rest days as required in order to help improve the quality of training and reduce the likelihood of injury.

•  Get a Coach - Having a coach on board to look after your training is probably the best investment you can make. This will remove all of the stress and anxiety that comes with planning your training so that you can just focus all of your energy on the sessions. In addition to this, having a coach will make sure that you are working on the areas that you need to and not just choosing your favourite sessions or your favourite discipline.

• Now is the time! - If you are seriously thinking about stepping up the distance and taking on a Middle or Long Distance triathlon, now is the time! With the race season being delayed, you have even more time to prepare yourself for what is going to be a jam packed season of racing in 2021! So what are you waiting for! Get after it!