Off season running training – What to work on now to improve your run for next triathlon race season
With bad weather putting a dampener on long bike rides. And dark mornings making getting up for those pre-work swim sessions a bit of a struggle. The off season is the ideal time to work on your running, so you can hit next race season feeling confident you can run strong out of T2.
But what should you be focusing on over the winter months to improve your triathlon run split? In our guide to off season running training, we take a look at what to work on now to become a better runner next season. And how incorporating treadmill running into your routine will help you get there.
Work on your form and efficiency
In the early stages of the off season, when you’re likely to want a bit of a break from high volume and/or high intensity training while you recover from racing. Focusing instead of your running form and efficiency is a good place to start with your off season running training. And the treadmill is the ideal place to do that.
If you’ve got a treadmill at home, set up some mirrors in front of it – and ideally to the side too. This will allow you to take a look at everything from your posture and your arm swing, right through to where your foot is landing relative to your hips and how your foot strikes the ground. The ‘best’ run form will differ for everyone, because we all have different biomechanics. But addressing any obvious inefficiencies and working on running with a ‘tall’ posture while keeping the shoulders relaxed will help you to run faster for less effort.
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Build an aerobic base
Regardless of whether you race short course triathlon or the full Ironman distance – endurance is always going to be a pillar of your overall fitness to be able to perform on race day. Once you’ve had some recovery, building a really solid aerobic base is a good place to start with your off season running training so you’ve got the endurance and the resilience in place to build from once it’s time to get back into race-specific training.
Think base work is boring? Connect your smart treadmill up with platforms like Zwift, the easy miles will fly by. [Photo: Wahoo]
Consistency is key here, so if bad weather and limited daylight hours has historically seen you taking several weeks at a time off running over the winter months, consider taking some of your run sessions indoors to make sure you keep ticking off those easy base miles. The treadmill is also a useful tool if you struggle to be disciplined and actually stick to a truly easy pace for base miles. Get your heart rate on the display, set an easy pace and stick to it. If boredom is a factor and you find yourself getting tempted to speed up just to stay entertained, consider getting a smart treadmill and using a training platform like Zwift so you’ve got something to keep you occupied!
Start boosting your VO2 max
Rested, recovered and base miles building nicely. Next it’s time to bring some intensity back into the mix. A good place to start is by working on improving your VO2 max. Put simply, your VO2 max is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can utilise during exercise. As your VO2 max gets higher, so does your ability to go faster for longer before your body tips over your lactate threshold. Once you get at or above threshold, the body can no longer provide the muscles with enough oxygen to produce energy and therefore the lactate energy system kicks in. The byproduct of which causes that burning fatigue you feel that ultimately forces you to slow down/stop.
Think of raising your VO2 max as a bit like raising your ceiling. If your VO2 max is higher, you’ve got more space to raise your threshold. Whereas if you just focus on threshold, without raising the VO2 max – you’ve only got so much head room. In its simplest form, raising your VO2 max will significantly improve your aerobic fitness. Meaning your steady pace is faster for the same level of effort, and your capacity to push harder to get better top end speed is raised.
Example VO2 max run sessions
For VO2 max sessions, you’ll want to be working in Zone 5 (or 90% of your max heart rate) for the efforts. The idea is to have enough recovery between the efforts so you can continue to hit the target pace throughout. Aim for steady running between efforts rather than total rest so your body gets better at active recovery.
You should have a good level of run fitness already in place before you start incorporating VO2 max sessions into your routine – comfortably able to complete 60 mins+ of steady state running. The following sessions are examples, and should be tailored to match your current fitness level. VO2 max sessions can feel quite hard, so it’s worth doing these workouts on a treadmill if you can – that way if you need to cut the session short, it’s easy to do so (if you’ve been looking for an excuse to kit out your indoor training set up with a new smart treadmill, this is it!)
Week 1: 3 x 5 mins
Warm up: 10 minutes starting in Zone 1 and building to Zone 2
3 x (5 mins hard [Zone 5], 5 mins easy [Zone 1-Zone 2])
Cool down 10 minutes gradually reducing your pace to bring your heart rate down.
Total running time: 50 minutes
Week 2: 4 x 4 mins
Follow the same structure as above but progress the main set to 4 mins hard, 4 mins easy
Total running time: 52 minutes
Week 3: 5 x 4 mins
As above but (you guessed it!) progressing up to 5 x 4 on 4 off.
Total running time: 1 hour
VO2 max sessions don’t need to be fancy or complicated, and they’re not about going as hard as you possibly can during the efforts. If you don’t run to heart rate or know your pace zones, in the above sessions you want to think about running at a around your 3km-5km pace. You’re working hard and pushing, but you’re in control and you can maintain a steady jog between the reps.
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Get better at running off the bike
We can all get a bit formulaic with our triathlon training, and leave brick sessions (running straight after cycling) until we’ve got a race right around the corner. And while you don’t need to be doing ultra-high intensity brick sessions as part of your off reason running training. If you’re someone who has really struggled with the transition from the bike to run in your races. Practicing running off the bike with low-moderate intensity brick sessions in the off season can be a way to get your body (and your mind) better at making the switch.
You don’t necessarily need to be doing brick sessions every single week, but you might consider adding in a run off the bike every other week. This will help your body to get better at switching between the recruitment of muscle groups more efficiently, and it’ll help to build your confidence so when race season rolls around you’re not worrying about the dreaded jelly legs coming out of T2.
Indoor training is a great way to brick sessions done with minimal hassle, especially if you have access to a treadmill and turbo trainer at home. No need to change kit to deal with the wintery weather, just hop between the two with a quick shoe change and you’re good to go.
Practice your pacing with tempo build run sessions
Along with the jelly legs sensation coming out of T2, another issue triathletes can face when they hit the run is pacing. We’ve all fallen into the trap of setting off way too fast at the start, convinced we can hold the pace because it feels ‘easy’, only to fade a few miles down the road as fatigue kicks in.
Being able to control your pace is key in triathlon so that you can hold yourself back a little at the start of the run, and leave yourself with enough in the tank to maintain – or even pick up – the pace as you get to the final miles. Get it right, and you’ll find yourself flying through the field and gaining a significant number of places in the closing stages of the race.
Incorporate pacing technique practice into your off season running training. Use the treadmill so you can get really precise and start making that mind-body connection so you know exactly what each pace feels like. A build run session, working progressively from your easy pace up to tempo is a great way to make pace practice engaging. And you’ll get a good training effect to boot.
ELEVATE YOUR RUN TRAINING
Example tempo build run session
5 minutes easy warm up jog
7km progressive pace – start steady and increase your pace by 10s/km after each kilometre. For example kilometre 1 @ 5:40/km, kilometre 2 @ 5:30/km and so on.
10 minutes cool down gradually bringing your pace down from the tempo pace you reached at the end of your 7km progressive to a steady jog and then a walk for the last minute or so.
The aim is to just arrive at your tempo pace for the last kilometre or two during the progressive 7km, rather than maxing out early on and clinging on until the end. It’s about getting a feel for the pace and developing your capacity to build into your pace, rather than trying to go as hard as possible. Depending on where your run fitness currently is, you might want to drop down the progressive pace section to 4 or 5km to begin with. Or if you’ve already got a really solid base of running fitness, you could increase it to 10km if you want a longer session – just make sure to adjust your starting pace and the increment by which you increase your pace so you’re not spending too much time running at high intensity.
Don’t forget to balance training with rest during the off season
It’s important to remember the ‘off’ in off season. If you’re feeling motivated to get faster and stronger for next race season, it can be tempting to keep trying to train as hard as possible all year round. But your body needs rest and recovery to give it the capacity to adapt and improve. And your mind needs a break from the heavy training regime you put it through during race-specific training blocks, so you don’t lose the joy.
Make sure you reduce your overall training volume during the off season, and focus on quality over quantity. With a healthy dose of doing the things you enjoy alongside it! If you’re choosing to put time into working on your run, that means you’ll need to drop down your bike and swim volume so you’ve got the appropriate balance of training and rest to perform the ‘quality’ run sessions properly.
Remember: it’s no good getting to the start of next year’s race season super fit, if you’re also super tired before the really hard work has even started!
SET YOURSELF UP FOR YOUR STRONGEST TRI SEASON YET
