Sometimes you need to leave the gadgets at home!!!

As triathletes, we're all about the bling. We love shiny kit, gadgets and things which beep and bleep. But sometimes it's nice to leave the gadgets at home and get back to nature.

Don't get me wrong, I think triathlon technology is fantastic and I wouldn't be without my GPS, sports watch, power meter and laptop software. I love uploading data from my runs and rides, crunching the numbers, and poring over the stats. I work to heart-rate, pace and cadence, I measure energy output and wattage. I get a thrill when I see some numbers tumbling and live for the day when other numbers climb. And I'm even more excited about data from my clients. The numbers all our tech generates is a concrete way of charting our progress as triathletes, in training and in races. It's all there, in black and white.

What exactly is a Brick session anyway???

We're taking it back to basics today with a triathlon 101 Q&A blog post. What exactly is a Brick session - and why should triathletes do them? 

People often say triathletes talk their own language. Brick sessions (or just "bricks") are a great example of that. We know what it means but, to everyone else, it's a confusing term. So, what is a brick session?

Brick sessions are integral to a triathlete's training programme. You already know that our sport consists of three disciplines: swimming, cycling and then running (in that order). It's all very well training each discipline separately, in fact you might end up being very good at two or even all three of them. But then comes race day…

The importance of quality sleep for athletic performance and training recovery

As endurance athletes, you already know how important training and nutrition are to your sports performance and recovery. But how much thought do you give to sleep: routine, duration and quality?

Regular, good quality sleep is the missing piece of the puzzle for many endurance athletes. Better (and more consistent) sleep can help with muscle repair, mood and energy, weight loss and weight management, hunger and cravings, strength, power and the ability to train harder. Nothing in life is a magic wand but good sleep is about as close as it gets!

Sleep is highly anabolic, this means that it helps the body recover, repair tissue and rebuild after training or racing. Sleep also increases the natural secretion of the hormone "growth hormone", which is responsible for cell regeneration (including muscles, tendons and ligaments). If you don't get enough sleep, or if the sleep you do get is interrupted or of poor quality, your body will not get enough time in this lovely anabolic state. The result will be impaired recovery, possibly leading to niggles and injuries and certainly leading to sub-optimal performance. 

Number 1 mistake athletes make on race week

It's now race season for some runners and triathletes, so I'm going to briefly touch on the number 1 biggest mistake that athletes make on race week. I spoke about The Myth Of The Taper last year and this blogpost makes the point more succinctly; the biggest mistake I see athletes do on race week is letting the body shut down. 

During race week you must stay active!

Once you get to race week, it is a matter of letting to body rest but not letting your systems shut down. If you shut down all your systems, you body will simply feel stale on race day.

Do a lot of 20 to 40 minutes easy sessions, add in a few faster efforts here and there at race pace, that way you keep your muscles firing and familiar with the work that is about to come on race day (keep the efforts short so they won't take anything out of you for race day!).

Sometimes its good to avoid a day off the day before the race, two days out is better, then just touch the energy systems (maybe 10 minutes) the day before, just to get your rested legs going again.

Train smart all and have an amazing season!