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Do you feel like running is too hard on you? Do you feel like your legs are giving up anytime soon? Do you think that you are running slower than everyone else?
Running is a very natural thing to do. Humankind has been running since the very beginning of time. Why then do a lot of triathletes find running so hard?
Running requires decent technical skills. So, if you are searching for ways to intensify your triathlon running skills, then, here are the top 5 most effective ways to enhance your triathlon running for your next race.
Top 5 most effective running techniques:
Do more brick workouts
The first tip is not significantly a secret because I know everybody has heard of it numbers of time. It is called the brick workout.
Brick workouts are vital to starting and finishing your run strong.
If you can not hop off the bike and reroute all of the blood flow in your body into your legs very quickly, odds are you are going to cramp up, and you are going to have a very tough start to the triathlon run; that then results in having a tough triathlon run overall.
At least, before you do a triathlon, you should have done at least six triathlon training brick workouts, going from the bike to the run as quickly as possible.
Once you start training a lot, ideally, do a brick workout every single week.
Know your nutrition
The second thing you need to know that will make your triathlon running a lot stronger that is not related to running is to figure out your nutrition.
If you are fading towards the end of the run or if you are cramping in any way, the odds are outstanding that you have not figured out your triathlon nutrition as well as you should have.
Train for the nutrition in the race just like you would run in the race.
You got to figure out in your training what works for you, how much works for you, how little jobs for you, how many electrolytes you need, what type of electrolytes you need, what kinds of gels, chews, bars, all of that needs to be figured out before you hit the start line.
Treat it just like you would all the three main sports of the triathlon.
You’ve got to figure it out and spend the time on it before the race comes.
Run slow
The third thing that is a little bit counter-intuitive that you might not be thinking about to make your triathlon running quicker is to run slow.
Many amateurs run way too fast on most of their runs.
And then stop to tie their laces when it is totally unnecessary.
The majority of your runs should be at a comfortable pace.
You should be able to hold a discussion and finish your sentences without getting out of breath.
The purpose is that you need to develop your base fitness, and that is best done by consistent training at a low intensity.
During the off-season, a unique strategy for running is called: Maffetone method training. It is heart rate training.
What you do is you train your running at a low-intensity.
In my case, it’s to not bring my heart rate up over 140 beats a minute. What you do is run as fast as you can while keeping your heart rate under that level.
When you’re starting, you’d be surprised at how slow you can go. In my case, I was starting at a 9-minute mile; that’s crazy slow for me.
What happens is, the more running you do at that pace, the quicker you’re going to be able to go at a lower heart rate.
As you start going faster, you’re able to go more quickly at lower heart rates, so it doesn’t feel nearly as hard once you start getting closer to race season and increasing the intensity.
Look up Maffetone method training. It is good stuff.
Run fast, really fast
The fourth thing that you might not be considering about to make your triathlon running faster is the precise opposite of tip number three.
By running further, you will gradually increase your base fitness, and you will become more effective as a runner (expend less energy at any given pace) by just preparing your body the movement patterns of running. Also, your shoes should help you with that a lot 🙂
Do not do sudden raises in running volume, though. Grow your capacity by at most ten percent per week, and drop back down a bit every third or fourth week.
As triathlon race season gets a little bit closer, what you want to do is equip your body to move in really, really quick movements.
Sometimes, it takes breaking through a plateau, where your biomechanics do not want your legs and arms to turn over quick enough to increase your running pace.
One way to get ahead of this is while you are still several months out from your racing because you do not want to beat yourself down, and this is a tough thing to do. It is to do at least 50-meter sprints or 100-meter sprints.
You do these at an all-out max effort, turning your legs over with as quick a cadence as you can go.
The longer you do this; the higher your body is going to understand that it can turn the legs over quicker and turn the arms over quicker, increasing your cadence and making it easier to increase your pace.
As long as your heart is healthy, Maffetone method training and your overall training volume are enough; this will make it easier for your body to increase the pace that you can go for a given period.
Run farther than your usual
The fifth and final tip that will make your triathlon running faster-come race day is to run what I call: Over distances.
Particularly for triathletes concentrating on the longer spans, fast-finish long runs are gold.
They give your endurance a massive boost by getting you used to run at a high-intensity when you’re already fatigued.
There are some tremendous metabolic advantages as well, but know that these are among the most beneficial workouts you could do.
Do not do it every week, since they were taxing, but every other week in your competitive season is all right.
If you are doing a half-Ironman and Olympic distance races, that means you should be running more extended than the distance that you will be running on race day.
An example of how to do this would be a 1.5- to 2-hour run, with the first hour at a relaxed pace, then run the next 40 minutes at a moderate speed, and finish off with 15 minutes at close to your lactate threshold pace.
The final 5 minutes are for cool-down. It is a tough workout, but immensely satisfying afterward.
Why you do this is so that when you come to race day, the race distance that you’re doing is not the longest run that you’ve ever done.
In the case of sprints, you can do at least 10 to 15-kilometer runs. In the case of the Olympics, certainly, push it up toward 20.
In the case of half-Ironmans, go upwards of 25’s, a little bit more.
In Ironman training, once you start pushing the 30, 35-kilometer run, you are probably beating yourself down more than you need to, but at those shorter distance runs, it certainly helps to have a lot more volume in.
There were indeed things that you didn’t know until the last you realized that these five tips are helpful to get you faster on your next race.
