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Just because you can swim, ride and run doesn’t mean you have all the necessary
triathlon skills. Here are some tri-specific techniques that can make you a better
multisport athlete.
Swimming
- Draft: You can save energy by swimming as closely behind another competitor
as possible without touching his or her feet. But make sure it’s someone who’s
going at your normal pace or slightly faster, or you’ll get lulled into swimming
too slowly.
- Sight: Most triathlons take place in open water, so you can’t rely on a
pool’s lane lines to guide you. Before the event, pick a landmark to aim for. It must
be visible from the water’s surface. Every few minutes, lift your head briefly to check
your course (or, better yet, follow someone who’s sighting regularly).
- Bi-lateral breathe: Practice breathing on both sides. It helps you sight
(especially on an out-and-back course), keeps one side of your neck from getting too sore,
and lets you switch sides to avoid swallowing water from waves.
- Use your legs: Toward the end of the swim, start using your legs more. You need
to get blood circulating to prepare for the bike ride.
Cycling
- Go aero: Stay on your aero bars as much as possible. (Exceptions: group-training
rides, moderate to steep climbs, sharp turns, tricky downhills, busy roads.) Think of the
aero position as free speed—you’ll go faster without expending any more energy.
A few weeks before your event, train on the bar as much as possible to accustom your muscles
to the different position.
- Spin: Try to maintain a cadence of 80 to 100 pedal RPMs (number of times one pedal
makes a full circle in a minute). Many triathletes tend to stomp a big gear, but this is less
efficient, wastes your legs for the run, and can lead to injury.
- Gear down: Toward the end of the bike leg, shift to an easier gear to loosen your
legs for the run.
- Be prepared: Lay out what you’ll need for the ride on a small towel next to your
bike. Practice transitions to see what works for you. Suggestion: Put your helmet on your aero
bars and sunglasses in your helmet. Make sure shoes are undone so you can put them on fast.
Put an energy bar on your saddle to remind you to refuel right away.
- Don’t change: Instead of changing clothes for each discipline, save time by
wearing your swimsuit for the whole race. (Don’t forget to apply pre-race sunblock.)
Some suits come with a padded crotch area for the bike leg. Men: Try a form-fitting sleeveless
tri top. It won’t flap in the wind while riding and isn’t too hot for the run.
- Switch bottles: Boost your aerodynamics by swapping standard frame-mounted waterbottle
cages for cages that mount behind your saddle out of the wind, perhaps coupled with an easily
refillable aero bottle (with straw) that fits on your aero bar. Pull a bottle from behind your
saddle and take a sip—or dump some liquid into the bar-mounted bottle—and return the
first bottle to its cage. On training rides, practice reaching behind for a bottle.
- Go sockless: To save transition time, don’t wear socks on the bike leg. (And put
baby powder in your shoes so your wet feet slide in easier.) Practice riding sockless to get
used to the feeling.
Running
- Start easy: Take shorter-than-normal steps to start the run, so your legs can get used
to the new motion.
- Check out: Pace lagging? Try “checking out”—pick a point up the road and
increase your pace until you reach it. Your pace may fall off slightly once you get to that point,
but you’ll still be going faster than you were originally.
- De-stress your shoulders: As you tire, you tend to tense your shoulders, which saps
even more energy. Relax your shoulders by rolling them back and dropping them.
- Drill your legs: To get your legs used to bearing weight after the ride, start the
run with a few running drills such as high steps or butt kicks.
- Dust your toes: Brush off your feet before putting on running shoes (and socks,
if you use them) so you don’t attract any debris that could cause a blister.
- Run tired: In training, do some bike-run workouts to get used to running on tired legs.
Even veteran runners are surprised how tough it is to run after a hard ride. (Do a few swim-bike
workouts, too, to get your body accustomed to that transition.)
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