Training Tips

The Quickie

By Dr. Scott Murr, Training Performance Director of Furman University's FIRST Program

You're signed up for a triathlon next month, but have not started training yet. Maybe you were pressured into it by coworkers and friends or maybe you've simply procrastinated. Regardless of the reason, you can still squeeze in a quickie training plan. Don't expect to place in your age-group, but at least you can finish in a respectable time.

If you need to cram in a little fitness in order to get ready, here are three quick workouts - one for each sport - that will help you prevent embarrassing yourself on race day. 

If you've been a good boy or girl and have been doing some training, these workouts will add a little "oomph" to your fitness level.

SWIM Workout

SWIM Warm-up • 200 yards (50 drill, 100 swim, 50 drill)

• All measurements given in yards

• 5 x 50 – First 25 slow then second 25 at  a medium effort (30 sec. rest interval)

• 5 x 50 – First 25 moderate then second  25 at a fast effort (60 sec. rest interval)

• 5 x 100 – Descending set; each one faster than the previous one (60-sec.  rest interval)

• 5 x 50 – 25 moderate, rest 10 seconds, 25 sprint (60 sec. rest interval)

• Cool Down – 50 kick, 100 Freestyle

      Total Yards: 1600 
 
 
BIKE WORKOUT

This workout can be done on a trainer, a fitness center bike or out on the road (preferred).

BIKE Warm-up• 10 minutes easy

• 3 minutes in an easy gear and at a  fast cadence (over 100 rpms)

• 3 minutes in a big gear so that your  cadence is 55-70 rpms

• Repeat this 3 min. fast, 3 min push  sequence one more time

• Spin easy to recover for 3 minutes.

• At a perceived effort of “hard” (hard  is approx. 85% of maximum effort), go  for 90 seconds.

• Recover at an “easy” effort for 30 seconds.

• Repeat this “90 seconds at a hard  effort, then 30 seconds at an easy  effort,” 6 to 10 times.

Cool Down – 10 minutes easy

      Total Ride Time: 55 minutes 
 
RUN WORKOUT

This workout can help you mentally learn how to push when fatigued, which is important at the end of a race. It will also help you learn how to start out at a pace so that you can finish strong (and look good for your friends and finishing photo).

RUN Warm-up• Run for 10 min. easy, "warm-up" pace

• Follow with 5 min. of a drill called “butt  kicks.” While running in place with a  slight forward lean, kick your heels up  as close to your butt as possible. See  how many you can do in 15 seconds.

• Perform this drill 2-4 times.

• Run one mile faster than warm-up pace

• On miles two and three, increase your  pace by 5-10 seconds

• On the fourth mile (your final mile), try  to run your actual 5K race pace

      Total Miles: 5 (including warm-up)

Feel free to make each of these workouts longer or shorter – depending on your training schedule. You can also adjust the intervals to your fitness level.