Pacing: the key to long distance

Half and Long Distance are two disciplines idolized with and without too much reason in the world of sports but, especially in the Triathlon.

 

Who has not dreamed of participating in an IRONMAN? How many times have you not told us that you have to dare and sign up for this type of competition? Our collaborator Jose Luis Caballero tells us in a real case how to face a distance test.

 

 

Previous moments and doubts before departure

 

Well, although reality is far from the fiction that more than one has in your head, no one should care to dare and think about taking the step if you already have a demonstrable experience in Triathlon, something less logical, more daring and irresponsible would be jump off the couch and decide that in X time we have to do it by c .......

In this article we will go to see a case study done to an athlete of my own training group (Jacobo) who participates in GGEE combining work, family, friends with the Duathlon and Triathlon. Recently he participated in a distance competition Half Ironman and, after breaking down their data, I hope that all those who have decided to debut will bring a point of optimism, control and why not, new ideas on how to face a career of this kind.

Everyone knows that the physical preparation an amateur athlete differs a lot from a professional, we can not become how they try as hard as we do not have their potential, nor train as much as they do, nor do we live this but sometimes we must Mark similar career strategies to achieve a good result. Obviously we should adapt the training to our availability, our physical condition and our strengths and weaknesses that will be the focus of improvement.

We begin by exposing the data of Lionel Sanders in Florida MD '16 - Source: TP

 

This already gives us an idea of ​​what high performance athletes do when they face a competition, how their rhythms fluctuate in a bike ride with a slope and what happens in the final phase of this sector but, is what we should do US?

Yes and no, let's move on to see how we propose the race.

 

SWIMMING SECTOR

In this case, and based on the training we were having in swimming, we decided that it was a sector in which we knew we could push, we had to take feet and in turn get out in decent positions (although not first) out of the water, we knew that with a good swimming we would go out in TOP10 and that is something that “got us into the race”. Be careful, it is something that you have to take care of because if the level is not good it is preferable to give the advice to swim comfortably, have a good group, look for references to swim the fewest meters possible and make a decent sector that allows us to leave whole to make a bike with guarantees and without digestive problems that can arise from bumps, choking, hot flashes, stress….

In spite of everything, typical swimming almost in any discipline of this sport except Sprint and Super-Sprint distances:

Typical Swimming of a Medium Distance Triathlon

 

CYCLING SECTOR

By bike we knew our potential and also the area in an approximate way, we knew it is a discipline where, despite not having trained as much as who focuses his season only around the Long Distance, we were going to have a good race but we had a " but "what made us raise it with caution:

• The orography is very uneven (see later screenshot), even with the forecast of good swimming, we did not know how the race was going to really take place and in this distance together with previous experiences, something must not go wrong, LA CABEZA, we have a strategy and you have to be cold-blooded enough not to get carried away and “throw away the race”.

 

WHAT WAS OUR STRATEGY?

Exit in front of the water (Finally we left 9º), have the objective of not panicking and that this made us go out for the first ones since the beginning of the bike, once this was achieved and after the first initial climb, our key, PACING , to maintain a strip in the favorable terrain of 155-165ppm only letting oneself be carried in the steep slopes (maximum pulsations were of 174ppm) and doing the descents of comfortable form and eating (technical zones and zones where to give or not to pedal is indifferent).

 

Orography and FC in the cycling sector (90Kms)

 

Hey, but NUTRITION is also important, right? How much do we eat?

• Jeukendrup has the key, 60-90grs CHO per hour in the way that best feels and taking care of hydration, is not the goal of this article but give a brushstroke never comes bad. =)

 

I still have my doubts about the bike sector ... Why this rhythm of Competition?

One Zone 3 = Tempo to compete in medium distance (90kms of cycling), which is equivalent in pulse to a 80-82% of FCM in the case of this athlete, we know very well that we are capable in this field to maintain and lower integers (who are not rested to run).

This rhythm is not invented, it is verified in training, there is a database of athletes and it is correlated with more coaches and athletes of a similar level.

 

Comparison of data in cycling, slope, speed and pulse.

 

And with this that you tell us ... What do we do in the race on foot?

 

RACE ON FOOT

There is no doubt, we must set a new strategy based on our strengths and weaknesses, our experience and the risks we should or should not take, we have our records in competitions of 5K, our brands in 10K and even triathlons where we have run with a lot of fatigue in average distances between Olympic and Half.

In addition, we have a good database to pull from, some comparisons and estimates that we must keep and do not risk. The half distance running race (21Kms) goes a long way and it is better to leave a conservative point in order to assimilate intakes, facilitate the first transition kms and arrive with legs at the end of the race so, if possible, give one more point and finish the competition without 1gr of force when it crosses the finish line.

With a bike like this, and what the data showed us, we were looking to finish the half marathon in 1h26', even having doubts about the routes since the organizers reserved them until the last minute and did not publish them. This was our "Typical Weather" if the race was flat and without rain finally to which to adapt in sensations depending on the day we left.

We fail ...... or not?

Well, despite being an athlete, today, shorter than half distance, letting go with a career start too fast, he knew how to listen, correct and give the necessary calm point for fatigue to arrive at the 18K , already close to the objective, very close and get a result almost traced to what was planned.

 

Profile, Rhythms and Pulses in the race on foot of the test.

 

Finally 1h24 came out 'being the Half Marathon short with some 500m, therefore ...... WE LAUNCH EXPECTED TIMES

 

Honestly, this is the coach's biggest responsibility but, in turn, the greatest satisfaction; plan, put into practice, meet with athletes who know how to suffer and sacrifice for a joint goal SEEING THAT THEIR FORECASTS ARE FULFILLED AND THE WORK OF BOTH PARTIES IS REWARDED.

By the way ... .. Do not forget to be fast too, and therefore TRAIN, transitions.

 

Do you still have doubts? Write and solve them, it is always worth a simple question to live in ignorance!

 

J. Luis Caballero

Triathlon Coach - FTCV

email: contact @ behealth.es